MORNING MESSAGE
There’s a Big Hole in the Center of the Democratic Party
Consultants Mark Penn and Andrew Stein want to steer the Democratic Party safely away from calls to restore economic justice, end pointless wars, and to protect women and people of color. They're the ones who are taking us off course.
Health Care Protests
GOP Sen. Palco says will vote against ACA repeal at packed KS town hall. Kansas City Star:“The mass of people stretched into the grass outside the community center in western Kansas where U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran laid out his objections to the Republican-crafted health care plan Thursday. The room at the McKenna Youth and Activity Center was meant to house 65 people but roughly 150 showed up for the town hall in Palco, Kan., population less than 300. Moran, a Kansas Republican, has emerged as one of the key swing votes in the fight over health care. He warned that the current Senate bill, which slashes Medicaid funding, would harm rural hospitals and endanger the state’s elderly and disabled populations.”
People with disabilities are staging protests in senators’ offices all over the country. Vox:“President Donald Trump called the Republicans’ health care plan ‘mean.’ Disability advocates have another word for it: deadly. Worried about the proposed cuts to Medicaid in the Senate Republicans’ version of the health care bill, several activists with disabilities staged a sit-in at the Phoenix office of Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on Wednesday. One protester, Anastasia Bacigalupo, live-streamed her arrest on Facebook as she and two other women being arrested shouted, ‘I’d rather go to jail than die without Medicaid.'”
As Trumpcare Protests Grow, GOP Senators Duck and Dodge Determined Voters. Common Dreams:“As the Republican Senate leadership aims to push through a deeply unpopular healthcare bill, GOP senators across the country are spending their July 4th recess clashing with their constituents—or avoiding them. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine, and Dean Heller of Nevada were all met with impassioned protests when they arrived at Independence Day parades and gatherings.”
Government Ethics Director Resigns in Protest
Ethics Office Director Walter Shaub Resigns, Saying Rules Need To Be Tougher.
NPR:“Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub Jr. is turning in his resignation on Thursday. The move follows months of clashes with the White House over issues such as President Trump’s refusal to divest his businesses and the administration’s delay in disclosing ethics waivers for appointees.”
NPR:“Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub Jr. is turning in his resignation on Thursday. The move follows months of clashes with the White House over issues such as President Trump’s refusal to divest his businesses and the administration’s delay in disclosing ethics waivers for appointees.”
States Sue DeVos
States sue Betsy DeVos over student loan rule delay. CNN:“Democratic attorneys general from 18 states and Washington D.C. sued Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Thursday after she delayed an Obama-era rule meant to protect student borrowers… The rule would have clarified the federal loan forgiveness process for students who were defrauded or misled by their colleges. While students in this situation could previously apply for forgiveness, the rule would have created several protections.”
Trump Mob Pal Cooperates With Feds
Trump business associate with organized crime links is cooperating in money-laundering probe. ThinkProgress:“Felix Sater, former business partner of President Donald Trump with deep ties to the Mafia and Russian government, is cooperating in an international investigation into an alleged money-laundering network. Sater has a history of channeling money from prominent families in the Eastern bloc into Trump properties. This could pose problems for Trump, given Sater’s history of outing former close associates in exchange for immunity.”
Illinois Lawmakers End Budget Impasse
Illinois lawmakers override budget veto, ending two-year stalemate. NYT:“After more than two years of political sparring, missed payments to creditors and plunging credit ratings, Illinois did on Thursday what most states do every year. It finished a budget. Yet as some lawmakers and state officials cheered an end to the longest state budget impasse in the nation’s modern history, at least one prominent and unyielding critic remained. Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican who has clashed with the Democratic-held Legislature since the moment he took office, had vetoed the spending plan, which includes a tax increase. The governor doubled down on his disgust even as at least 10 members of his own party joined Democrats to override his veto, ending the standoff.”
More from OurFuture.org:
Why Democrats Should Unite On A Charter School Moratorium. Jeff Bryant:“The nation’s largest labor union, the National Education Association, broke from its cautious regard of charter schools to pass a new policy statement that declares charter schools are a “failed experiment” that has led to a “separate and unequal” sector of schools that are not subject to the same “safeguards and standards” of public schools… Now that labor and civil rights groups have come together in a unified call for a moratorium on these unregulated, privately-operated schools, prominent leaders in the Democratic party can champion this issue knowing they have a grassroots constituency that supports them.”
Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action.more »
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