As we continue our effort to keep you up-to-date on how money corrupts American government and politics, as well as other news of the day, we’re pleased to publish this daily digest compiled by BillMoyers.com’s Michael Winship.
No nukes –> In June 1963, President Kennedy came to American University in Washington to make a landmark speech on nuclear disarmament. Today — one day before the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima — President Obama comes to American to defend the Iran nuclear deal. At Medium, the White House has posted the text of the agreement, annotated by Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Yesterday, the president met with the leaders of 20 American Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, AIPAC and J Street.
Politico’s John Bresnahan and Amy Palmer report, “Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran, created by the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC], has shelled out more than $11 million since mid-July running ads pressuring lawmakers to vote against the deal when it comes before Congress next month, according to totals compiled by the Tracking Firm, a data company.” That includes TV ads in 23 states, but so far, congressional Democrats are holding firm in their support.
It’s about time –>WaPo’s Drew Harwell and Jena McGregor: “The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to finalize on Wednesday a long-delayed rule forcing businesses to share their ‘pay ratio,’ a simple bit of arithmetic that would cast an unprecedented spotlight on one of corporate America’s thorniest debates.” Once in place, “millions of workers will know exactly how their top boss’s payday compares with their own, revealing a potentially embarrassing disparity in corporate riches that many companies have long fought to keep hidden.”
Going to be a LONGGGGG 16 months –> Well, now we know who’s on the big boy bus and who has to ride in the kiddie car for the first of many Republican presidential debates Thursday night. While you wait for the overwhelming excitement to begin, read Kira Lerner’s “11 Things You’ll Probably Hear During The First GOP Debate That Are Totally False” at ThinkProgress. ALSO: Katrina vanden Heuvel on “Questions this GOP debate demands.” AND: At Every Voice, Adam Smith has some important questions for the hopefuls about money and politics.
In the shadows –> Super PACs associated with a particular candidate have raised twice as much as the candidates themselves so far this cycle, garnering 96 percent of the total outside funding in the 2016 presidential race. A new report, “Shadow Campaigns: The Shift in Presidential Campaign Funding to Outside Groups,” from the Brennan Center for Justice: “Citizens United administered a shock to the post-Watergate system whose full effects we are only now beginning to see — although Congress and the Federal Election Commission share the blame due to their failure to effectively regulate outside groups even within the bounds set by the Supreme Court. As a result, as the first set of fundraising totals reflects, donors can now offer financial support to candidates far in excess of candidate contribution limits.”
Jeb Bush said what? –> While speaking about defunding Planned Parenthood at the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Jeb Bush declared, “I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.” This, as The Nation’s Michelle Chen writes, “The war on reproductive health care is also an assault on poor women of color. Reflecting demographic changes across the country, the proportion of blacks and Latinas among the population needing care has risen more than whites in recent years. Immigrant women are especially dependent on subsidized community clinics, as they are often excluded from formal health care services like Medicaid.” AND: Amanda Marcotte at AlterNet has “6 Things to Say to Your Conservative Relatives Who Buy Into Anti-Planned Parenthood Propaganda.”
Worth reading –> Conor Friedersdorf at The Atlantic offers this clickable list of “Roughly 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism: Exceptional nonfiction stories from 2014 that are still worth encountering today.” AND: Karen DeYoung’s long, hard look at the National Security Council in The Washington Post.
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