Progressive Breakfast: Exposing The Right-Wing Mob

The daily Progressive Breakfast serves up what progressive movement members need to know to start their day.

Progressives Prevent Right-Wing Mob From Masquerading As The Middle

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow thoroughly reviews the direct connections between lobbyists and organized disruptions at congressional town halls, as Rep. Lloyd Doggett returns rhetorical fire against the right-wing mob.

W. Post's Harold Meyerson questions the clear absence of representation in the right-wing mobs: "What's particularly curious about these two protests is that they took place on very liberal turf -- Philadelphia and Austin -- yet the local liberals and people of color seemed absent. Philadelphia is a heavily African American city, yet one strains to see any blacks among the protesters on the YouTube clips. The activists who have been whipped into a frenzy, and who have dominated the recess meetings so far, appear to be conservative whites."

DNC releases new ad "Enough of the Mob"

FireDogLake posts disturbing video of right-wing protesters who "Mock Dodd’s Cancer, Tell Him To Kill Himself

CNN poll finds support for health care reform, but opponents have greater intensity.

Krugman mocks conservative economist Arthur Laffer, bats down anti-government talking points: "Art Laffer (why is he, of all people, on my TV?) asks what it will be like when the government runs Medicare and Medicaid. But I’d raise a further question: he warns that when the government takes over these, um, government programs, they’ll be like the Post Office and the DMV. Why, exactly, are these public functions unquestioned bywords for 'something bad'? ... I don’t find the Post Office a terrible experience — no worse than Fedex or UPS ... nobody likes going to the DMV, but the one on Rt. 1 I go to always seems fairly well managed ... And in general: is dealing with these government agencies any worse than, say, dealing with the cable company?"

The Treatment's Harold Pollack notes to hypocrisy of anti-government conservatives lying to scare seniors who cherish their Medicare: "...conservative politicians and talk radio hosts are trying with some success to frighten seniors. This rhetoric is a bit strange. Aren't Democrats the ones regularly accused of pandering to seniors and ignoring the entitlement crisis? I guess that's yesterday's (and maybe tomorrow's) talking point. As the Republican base conspicuously grays, the party's rhetoric is changing. Today's talking point is that liberals want to divert resources from Medicare to address other social needs and constituencies. The irony of yammering to seniors about the evils of government-financed care is always notable, as is the selfish appeal."

Ezra Klein notes the media pick and choose what town hall participants they cover: "Single-payer activists are very well organized, and they make a point to dispatch their people to these events and get their members to the microphone and ensure that their perspective is heard. But as the bills under consideration suggest, politicians have had no problem ignoring the single-payer grassroots. Max Baucus ruled out their participation on day one. The media hasn't shown the slightest inclination to cover their presence at event after event after event ...The political system does not have some sort of consistent reaction to grassroots pressure. Rather, it picks and chooses when it wants to listen to the views of the very, very non-representative groups of people who sit through at town halls and panel discussions."

Under The Influence reports that the insurance lobby is trying to distance itself from the right-wing town hall rioters: "[Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans,] also said that while AHIP was sending its supporters to Democrats' town hall meetings on health care during August, it had nothing to do with protesters organized by Conservatives for Patients' Rights, who have been disrupting those meetings."

The Treatment's Jonathan Cohn offers tactical advice for grassroots progressives: "Progressives also have to start playing offense as well as defense. It's great, and essential, to show solidarity with members of Congress who favor ambitious reform plans. But progressives must also pressure those on the other side. Mike Enzi and Orrin Hatch are going home over recess. So is John Boehner. Are reform activists making appearances there? The chances of changing their votes may be slim. (In Boehner's case, non-existant.) But such vivid examples of grassroots energy can help shape media perceptions and, ultimately, the political discussion."

Simple Majority Vote on Health Care Talked Up

WH-Senate meeting further opens door to health care legislation with simple majority vote. NYT: "President Obama urged Democratic senators on Tuesday to persevere in trying to get a bipartisan deal on health care, but left open the possibility that they might have to pass a bill with only Democratic votes if Republicans stood in the way."

Baucus may break off talks in mid-September. CQ: "Baucus had discussed a Sept. 15 deadline for a deal with the small group of Finance Committee negotiators, but he backed off publicly after the Republican participants objected. The White House has set no hard deadlines. 'Sometime around the middle of September, we may have to have some serious discussions of what’s next,' Baucus said."

Some new Senate Dems are soft on public option. Politico: "[Sen. Sherrod] Brown plans to fight tooth and nail for the public option, as do three other ’06-ers who sit on the HELP panel: Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats ... But that’s not the path favored by most of the ’08 Democrats. In a letter to Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) last month, nine of the ’08 Democrats praised Baucus for trying to reach a bipartisan consensus and urged him to focus on cutting costs. The letter took no position on the public option — even though two of the signatories, Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, sit on the HELP Committee."

House progressives send stern letter to Speaker. The Hill: "The letter stresses that 60 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus have signed a letter opposing the deal leadership made with several Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee. They say the deal weakens the government-run 'public plan' by raising reimbursement rates for providers, therefore making it more expensive for patients. They also object to cutting subsidies intended to make premiums more affordable. They want the subsidies restored and they want reimbursement rates tied to Medicare rates."

Might the insurance industry split over the public plan option? NYT: "The proposal to create a government-run plan, which remains one of the main sources of division within Congress, could create the greatest rift among insurers. ... If Congress and the president propose a government plan, and some insurers are willing to compromise, it could become 'the first fracture in the coalition' of insurers, predicts Michael A. Turpin, a former senior executive for UnitedHealth and now a high-ranking official at USI Holdings, an insurance broker."

USA Today edit board rips co-op compromise as too weak: "The simplest public option is to let people without employer-provided health insurance to buy into Medicare, or a similar program, at cost. It would pay doctors and hospitals rates close to what Medicare pays, and it could be a powerful engine for holding down costs. Since it could build in part on the existing Medicare system, it could be up and running at the national level reasonably quickly ... press some co-op enthusiasts for details, and there's a lack of clarity about how they'd get started, how much the start-up would cost, how long it would take, how they'd grow big enough to compete with private insurers, how they'd significantly differ from the original state Blue Cross/Blue Shield organizations and, most importantly, how they could save serious money."

LA Times looks at differing views within the small business community over the public plan and employer mandate.

Sen. Ben Nelson talks, but won't listen, to Nebraska small businessman who supports public plan option, reports HuffPost.

HCAN's Jason Rosenbaum answers the question "what's in it for me?" for various categories of typical Americans.

Climate Update

Baucus pledges to track House approach in Senate climate bill: "The Senate isn’t likely to differ significantly from the House in the way it would allocate emissions allowances in its global warming legislation, according to a key chairman. 'I doubt it’ll be major. There’ll be some,' [said] Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus ... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has given committees a deadline of Sept. 28 to complete their sections of the legislation. Baucus said his committee would take up the bill in mid- to late September."

Rural Dems unenthusiastic about climate bill talk down Senate prospects to Politico: "many Democrats fear the lack of political will and the congressional calendar will conspire to punt climate change into next year. 'The reality is [the health reform bill] is going to happen before cap and trade,' said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Collin Peterson ...'Who knows if it will ever come out of the Senate?' Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) ... has also publicly questioned efforts to move a Senate climate change bill this year."

Still more forged coal lobby letters. W. Post: "A total of 12 forged letters -- all appearing to come from local groups unhappy with a climate-change bill -- were sent to three congressional offices this summer by a Washington lobbying firm, according to the pro-coal group for which the firm was working ... Jack Bonner, the founder of Bonner and Associates, denied that his firm was fired [by the coal lobby] and said it finished its work under the contract. In an e-mail Tuesday, he said that the letters were written by a 'temporary employee who worked for us for 7 days [who] acted alone'..." BUT NYT reports: "Gwynn Geiger Hegyi, a partner at Bonner, attributed the letters to a 'person on our staff' — not a temporary employee — in a July 22 letter..."

Coal lobby presses on. Politico: "The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a lobbying group reviled by environmentalists, plans to target Democrats at home over the August recess with online, radio, billboard and, likely, television advertising ... The coalition also plans to deploy teams to question senators at town hall meetings, advertise at state fairs and other summer events and visit lawmakers’ offices back home."

Yet another study shows negligible economic impact from Waxman-Markey climate bill: "Let’s set aside for the moment that the Energy Information Administration (EIA) doesn’t fully model the House climate and clean energy bill — they utterly ignore a major cost containment provision and the clean energy bank, while underestimating likely efficiency gains. The EIA analysis, 'Energy Market and Economic Impacts of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009,' still finds that the average cost to households from 2012 to 2030 (discounted) is $83"!

Under the Influence spreads good advice for Republicans on the climate bill, from someone inside the family: "Republican pollster Glen Bolger says the current GOP message on energy policy is a dog because it offers no support for alternative sources of power. "

Car and Battery Stimulus

Bloomberg reports Senate will extend cash-for-clunkers: "The U.S. Senate is poised to inject $2 billion into the 'cash for clunkers' program, as Democrats secured enough support to pass the measure and Republicans said they won’t block a vote."

Advanced battery manufacturing grants to be announced today. Earth2Tech: "Vice President Biden is slated to announce the first round of grants under the $2.4 billion program, officially called the Electric Drive Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative ... during a talk in Detroit about the economy and stimulus spending." W. Post adds: "The grants will go towards funding 48 projects in 25 states, administration officials said Tuesday night on a conference call with reporters. The projects are expected to create tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs."

Major Econ Push Today

NYT on the high-profile economy pitch: "With poll numbers showing that support for Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy has declined, the president and other top administration officials — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke — will hit the road on Wednesday in a coordinated show of force."

Banks still lagging to rectify foreclosure crisis. NYT: "The Treasury Department said on Tuesday that only a small number of homeowners — 235,247, or 9 percent of those eligible — had been helped by the latest government program created to modify home loans and prevent foreclosures. A report released by Treasury officials identified lenders who had made slow progress in offering more affordable mortgages, naming Bank of America and Wells Fargo as among those failing to reach large numbers of eligible borrowers."

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