Burning Issues: Understanding The Children Fleeing To The U.S.
Adriana Bertrán of the Washington Office on Latin America explains the tragic causes of the child immigrant wave, and then looks at how the presidential candidates are speaking to those causes, in the latest Burning Issues video.
Moral Mondays Leader Launches 15-State Tour
"Moral Monday leader launches 15-state tour calling for more love in politics" reports Facing South: "In an election year that has seen violence at presidential rallies and targeting of vulnerable minority groups by state officials running for re-election, faith and civil rights leaders led by Rev. Dr. William Barber, the architect of North Carolina's Moral Monday movement, are launching a 15-state tour that aims to redefine morality in politics as including love and mercy ... The tour will include revival meetings, religious services, trainings for clergy and young activists, and direct actions in state capitals to dramatize the suffering inflicted by unjust policies"
WI Tomorrow As NY Looms
Sanders rips Gov. Scott Walker in WI. The Hill quotes: "Governor Walker has allowed his right-wing ideology to prevail and to deny some 120,000 people in Wisconsin options to get into Medicaid and maybe, for the first time in their lives have health insurance ... As a result of that decision, there is no question that people will die, people will become much sicker than they otherwise would have become."
Hillary faces NY "fractivists." NYT: "Even after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo banned fracking statewide in 2014, many activists — who call themselves fractivists — remain on the front lines of climate fights, and many are skeptical about Mrs. Clinton because of views she held in the Obama administration and earlier, as a New York senator from 2001 to 2008. Concerned about her prospects upstate, she plans a heavy schedule of campaigning in the region..."
Campaigns continue debate negotiations. Politico: "In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos ... Clinton said her campaign had 'offered dates, which they refused.' She also mentioned that "GMA" had offered a debate during its April 15 show. 'I’ll be there ... I understand there’s a debate in the works for the night of the 14th. I will be there' ... Sanders' campaign on Sunday blasted out two statements on the matter. Neither of them mentioned events on April 14 or April 15, though they both alluded to Sanders' major rally in New York City on the 14th ... campaign spokesman Michael Briggs declared that the 'Clinton campaign should stop playing games,' noting that the campaign had proposed April 10, April 11, April 12 or April 13 and Sanders 'has accepted an invitation from NBC News for a Sunday night prime-time debate on April 10.'"
Clinton openly agitated by Sanders' criticisms. Bloomberg: "Hillary Clinton is becoming increasingly irritated by Bernie Sanders’ pointed attacks that portray her as a tool of special interests, people close to her say, leading her to sharpen her approach to the primary at a time when she hoped to get a head start on the general election ... Sanders said he sees Clinton's remarks as a sign not of frustration but of anxiety. 'I think the secretary is getting very nervous,' he said Sunday on ABC’s This Week..."
Al Hunt sees lasting impact from Sanders campaign: "One virtual certainty: The next Treasury secretary won’t come from Wall Street ... the public has moved closer to his view on economic fairness, and his call for free public higher education is a debate that will endure."
GOP Prepares For Brokered Convention
North Dakota GOP elects 25 unbound delegates. W. Post: "... no Republican presidential candidate won North Dakota. Cruz's campaign identified 18 supporters among the 25 delegates who won ... But the delegates are not required to support Cruz [and] not everyone listed on the Cruz 'slate' was willing to commit to supporting the senator."
Trump and Cruz teams work to block Kasich at convention. NBC: "...aides to both men tell MSNBC it is in their mutual interest to keep Kasich off the ballot. The convention rules control who is on that ballot ... Operatives for Cruz and Trump say they will have major sway over what the committee does..."
GOP insiders eye Paul Ryan nomination. Politico: "Ryan, who’s more calculating and ambitious than he lets on, is running the same playbook he did to become Speaker: saying he doesn’t want it ... Top Republicans tell us 'fresh face' is code for 'Paul Ryan.'"
Dems see 10 more House districts becoming competitive thanks to Trump. The Hill: "Democrats would need to gain 30 seats to retake the House, an exceptionally tall order. And some of these districts still lack a candidate ... Multiple competitive races feature freshman GOP incumbents who aren’t as well known to their districts, making it easier for Democrats to tie them to the candidate at the top of the ballot."
GOP Resists Pressure To Back Garland
Dems ramp up SCOTUS pressure. Politico: "Top party aides say more than 400 editorials have been written in their favor, that 2,500 liberal activists turned out over the two-week break and that hundreds of thousands of messages have been delivered to GOP senators demanding they change their position."
GOP digs in. W. Post: "Only two of 54 Republican senators say they favor hearings. And two other senators who previously supported hearings reversed their positions under pressure from conservative activists..."
Breakfast Sides
Eighty percent of business executives support raising the minimum wage. W. Post: "The [private] survey of 1,000 business executives across the country was conducted by LuntzGlobal, the firm run by Republican pollster Frank Luntz ... and obtained by a liberal watchdog group ... Luntz told state chamber [of Commerce] executives ... 'If you’re fighting against a minimum wage increase, you’re fighting an uphill battle'..."
Massive leak uncovers offshore accounts held by world leaders. Bloomberg: "Leaked files from a Panama law firm that creates shell companies show that politicians, criminals and celebrities worldwide have used banks and shadow companies to hide their finances, according to a series of reports by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Within hours of publication, the divulgences prompted a parliamentary vote of confidence in Iceland, a curt denial from Argentina and ridicule from a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin."
