MORNING MESSAGE
Republicans Want To “Make America Work Again”? That Would Be Real Change
Tuesday was “Make America Work Again” day at the Republican National Convention. But this day wasn’t about making America work again for working people. This was, as always with conservatives, all about tax cuts for the rich and corporations, deregulation of oil and coal companies (and other paying corporate clients) and austerity cuts in the things government does to make people’s lives better. There was nothing about how to actually make America “work again.”
ECONOMY NIGHT FEATURES LITTLE ECONOMY TALK
Trump officially nominated with “eighth-lowest delegate percentage in Republican history”notes W. Post.
Economy night offers little on the economy. Bloomberg:“On a night that was supposed to be devoted to the economy—an issue that the campaign has argued is a linchpin for attracting more minority voters—there was little talk about how the party or Trump would ‘Make America Work Again.’ … ‘Their theme should have been, “Make the Republican Party Work Again,” because it clearly isn’t,’ Luis Miranda, communications director for the Democratic National Committee…”
Speaker Paul Ryan awkwardly delivers speech touting conservative vision. W. Post’s E. J. Dionne:“House Speaker Paul Ryan would like to pretend that the Trump rebellion never happened and that Donald Trump is not the Republican nominee … his approach involves ignoring one of the major reasons for Trump’s rise: the impatience of many working-class Republicans with free market bromides that do little to enhance their economic situations. They get little out of tax cuts for the wealthy and have grown increasingly skeptical of free trade.”
Convention delegates off-message on economy. Time:“‘Michigan’s a comeback state actually,’ said Nancy Jenkins, a representative in the Michigan state legislature … Jerry Murphy, a retiree and a delegate from Wisconsin [said,] ‘Wisconsin’s doing really good—we have low unemployment and a high labor participation rate,’ he said. Zan Bunn, a training consultant from Raleigh, North Carolina, described her state as ‘Comeback Carolina.’ … Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina aren’t outliers. In the eight years since the worst financial crisis in a generation, the U.S. economy has grown significantly…”
More from GOP delegates in Politico:“‘Actually, we’re doing great’” says Donna Gottschall, a human resources consultant in Greenville, S.C. ‘Employment’s up. Housing’s up. Everything’s green in Greenville!’ ‘Oh, yeah, unemployment is way down,’ says Al Baldasaro, a state legislator and retired Marine from Londonderry, N.H. ‘Obviously, it’s gotten better.’ ‘Things are wonderful in our town,’ says Ranae Lentz, a Republican county chair from Bellefontaine, Ohio. ‘We can’t fill all the job openings.'”
PENCE ADDRESSES CONVENTION TONIGHT
USA Today previews Pence speech:“Pence’s anti-abortion and social conservative bona fides are well established, so it’s likely a major part of his speech will be spent assuring like-minded Republicans that Trump is someone they can get behind.”
NYT explores Pence’s education record as governor:“Mr. Pence’s tenure has been one long tangle with the new superintendent, Glenda Ritz, a Democrat. Mr. Pence took state money to create a kind of shadow department of education — a move he later reversed … Mr. Pence pushed the Indiana legislature to give charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run, an extra $1,500 per pupil … Pence also pushed to expand the number of students receiving public vouchers to attend private schools … He also expanded eligibility to include students who had not previously attended a public school…”
CLINTON NARROWS VP LIST
Sen. Tim Kaine and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack top Clinton’s VP list. W. Post:“Although her list is not limited to those two, Clinton has spoken highly of both in recent days to friends and advisers as she closes in on an announcement … Clinton is expected to campaign alongside her running mate on Friday or Saturday in Florida … Both fit Clinton’s ideal of low-key, loyal effectiveness … [Vilsack] was considered as a running mate for then-Sen. John F. Kerry in 2004 and served as head of the centrist Democratic Leadership Conference … [He] is seen as likely to deliver Iowa … People close to Clinton say that political considerations will come second — if they factor in at all.”
National security top of mind for Clinton, reports NYT:“… Kaine [is] a former Virginia governor who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee … Mr. Vilsack has limited national security experience, but emerged as a vocal critic of the Iraq war during the Bush administration. [Sen. Sherrod] Brown — known mostly for his fiery stances against global trade deals, which could help Mrs. Clinton in Rust Belt states — sits on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.”
Clinton campaign works phones to avoid convention conflict. Politico:“The plea to keep any policy disputes in-house, and off-camera, underscores the campaign’s determination to present a united front at the convention … There were no minority reports coming out of the platform committee meeting … dramatically reducing the chance of a fight when Democrats vote on the platform at the convention. The Clinton campaign is hoping for similar success at the convention’s rules committee, which meets Saturday.”
STATES MOVE AHEAD ON OBAMA CLIMATE PLAN
Republican governors quietly working to implement Obama’s climate plan. NYT:” The Supreme Court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to halt the plan until after the states’ lawsuit is resolved [which] may not be decided until 2018 … Republican governors in some states, including Indiana, New Jersey and Wisconsin, have issued ‘pencils down’ orders to state regulators … In some cases, the governors moving forward with drafting state-level climate change plans are Democrats in places that have some form of climate policy in place, like California and New York. But in some Republican-led states, even those with ‘pencils down’ orders, regulators are sketching out how they might eventually comply.”
Shell shifting from oil to gas. Bloomberg:“‘We’re more a gas company than an oil company,’ says Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive officer. ‘If you have to place bets, which we have to, I’d rather place them there.’ … It’s considered a crucial ‘bridge fuel’ in the transition to a low-carbon future … If Shell gets it right, gas is ‘not just going to be a bridge’ but a lucrative part of the energy mix indefinitely, Van Beurden says.”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Roger Ailes may soon leave Fox News. NYT:“Mr. Ailes and 21st Century Fox, Fox News’s parent company, are in the advanced stages of discussions that would lead to his departure as chairman … The development follows a sexual harassment suit filed on July 6 … Mr. Ailes, 76, has also long been at the center of Republican politics …”
“Wisconsin Residents Can Vote Without a Photo ID in November” reports NYT:“Wisconsin residents without photo identification can vote in November’s election if they sign an affidavit swearing to their identity, a federal judge ruled Tuesday … In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Lynn S. Adelman of the Federal District Court in Milwaukee said a ‘safety net is needed for those voters who cannot obtain qualifying ID with reasonable effort.'”
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