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5/22 TGIF – Long Weekend News Round-up and Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on May 22, 2020 by BennyMay 23, 2020

Politicians still separate climate issues from the wedge ones, not seeing the intersectionality.

Here Are the Corporate Lobbyists on the DNC Committee That Blocked the Climate Debate https://t.co/LmCctGL8ha

— Jamal Raad🌲 (@jamalraad) May 22, 2020

Perez had come out against amending the rules to allow for a climate debate in a June blog post, although he later unilaterally changed other sanctioned debate qualifications, such as the individual donor threshold. At the time of the climate protests, Sludge reported the DNC was accepting large donations from fossil fuel executives, placing the party outside of the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge endorsed by every leading Democratic presidential candidate.

Who, then, are the DNC members of the Resolutions Committee who first voted against recommending a climate debate?

The DNC does not make the membership lists of its standing committees available to the public, but Sludge obtained a full DNC committee roster as of September 2019 from a DNC member.

The 28-member Resolutions Committee contains at least five members with backgrounds in advancing corporate interests: three current corporate lobbyists, one of them a co-chair of the committee and another a News Corp lobbyist put forward by Tom Perez; one past electric utility lobbyist and drug industry consultant, who established a Democratic precedent of corporate PAC fundraising; and one principal with a consulting firm whose current clients include large corporations and whose past clients include BP. The committee also includes Symone Sanders, a senior advisor for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

Crucially, at least 13 of the standing committee’s 28 members are at-large DNC members, which means they were put forward as a slate by Perez and approved by a voice vote, not individually elected. Of these 13, ten committee members voted against a climate-focused debate when the matter was voted on by the full DNC membership, as tracked by a publicly-viewable spreadsheet released by Michael Kapp, a pro-transparency DNC member from California, as well as Kenji Yamada, also from California. (The previous roll call of the 17-8 Resolutions Committee vote to not recommend endorsing a climate debate is not available online.)

The party Charter states that the Resolutions Committee “shall receive and consider all resolutions proposed by a member of the DNC on matters of policy proposed for adoption, by the Democratic National Committee, and shall report in writing.” However, no written records of deliberations around party resolutions are made available online or to anyone outside of a DNC member who requests them, and video is not recorded and put online for later viewing of committee proceedings.

The Resolutions Committee is co-chaired by Hon. Lottie Shackelford, an at-large DNC member who was mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas from 1987-1988. As one of three senior advisors at consulting firm Global USA, Shackelford’s past lobbying clients include Allstate Insurance, Hyundai, and from 2000-2008, a coalition of Big Bank trade groups called FM Watch.

According to records maintained by ProPublica, Shackelford and Global USA lobbied for several months in 2006 for Strategic Communication Company on “Taxes pertaining to oil and gas companies.” Shackelford did not respond to an email inquiry requesting more information about this lobbying activity, or seeking comment on how her committee evaluates and discusses potential conflicts of interest among members with corporate clients.

The committee’s other co-chair is Stuart Appelbaum, a DNC member from New York who is the current chair of the DNC Labor Council. Appelbaum is president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) and was appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the state’s Regional Economic Development Councils.

Both co-chairs, Shackelford and Appelbaum, voted against approving a climate-focused presidential debate in the full DNC member vote in August 2019.

Below is a rundown of several other members of the Resolutions Committee and their affiliations with corporations that engage in lobbying.

Charlie King—at-large DNC Member

King is a partner at lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs and a former senior advisor to New York Gov. Cuomo’s re-election campaign. Mercury was hired by 68 clients to lobby the federal government in 2019, including the Government of Qatar and defense company United Technologies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, receiving a total of $9.5 million in lobbying fees. In 2018, reporter Lachlan Markey found eight additional foreign-registered clients signed by Mercury after it succeeded in getting Russian aluminum parent company En+ removed from the Treasury Department’s sanctions list.

Mercury Public Affairs had several lobbying clients last year in the energy and natural resources sector and the oil and gas industry, including natural gas company PennEast Pipeline ($120,000), methanol maker Yuhuang Chemical ($420,000), and EnVen Energy Ventures ($80,000), an oil and gas exploration and drilling company in the Gulf of Mexico. This year, EnVen and Yuhuang continue to use Mercury for lobbying, and the public affairs firm keeps large clients in industries adjacent to fossil fuel production. Last year, these clients included the South Carolina Ports Authority ($160,000), Hyundai motor company ($240,000), and defense contractor General Dynamics ($290,000).

King explained his vote against a climate-focused debate to the San Francisco Chronicle in September 2019 as a vote to keep other fundamental civil rights issues in the spotlight, saying, “I can’t remember the word ‘poverty’ mentioned in any of the debates. For us to elevate to one critical issue over every other critical issue, I just can’t do.” King’s firm did not respond to an email inquiry for comment on how he addresses conflicts of interest with fossil fuel clients in his work on the Resolutions Committee.

Hon. Tony Coelho—at-large DNC member

Coelho is a former U.S. representative from California who in 1986 was elected House majority whip. After being named chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1980, Coelho pioneered aggressive party fundraising from corporate PACs that had business before Congress. In 1985, a profile in The New Republic reported that he fought to retain tax breaks enjoyed by independent oil and gas drillers, lining up their financial support for the Democratic Party.

After resigning his House seat in 1989 due to a brewing loan scandal, Coelho later lobbied the federal government as a founding partner of Vectis Strategies in 2013 and 2014 for electric provider Edison Utilities. His many corporate board seats have included being elected chair of consulting services company ICF in November 1998 and commercial bank Esquire Bank.

Joanne Dowdell—at-large DNC member

Dowdell, who ran as a Democratic candidate for a U.S. House seat in New Hampshire in 2012, has been since April 1, 2016 a registered lobbyist for News Corp, where she is senior vice president of global government affairs. Dowdell was one of several corporate lobbyists put forward as at-large DNC members by Perez in an October 2017 “purge” of party leaders who had supported Perez’s rival, then-Rep. Keith Ellison, and greater transparency measures within the DNC. At the time, Bloomberg reported, “A DNC aide who asked not to be identified defended including the lobbyists, saying they were all carry-overs from the last presidential election cycle and were renominated because of their service to the party.”

Symone Sanders—at-large DNC member

A senior adviser to the Biden campaign and previous press spokesperson, Sanders had called a climate-focused debate “dangerous territory in the middle of a Democratic primary process,” saying it “would fundamentally change the game” of what the campaigns had been told. Sanders defended her position on Twitter in the days before the full DNC member vote, saying she does not represent the Biden campaign as part of her responsibilities on the DNC’s Resolutions Committee. Sanders then voted with the majority against holding a climate debate.

Craig Smith—at-large DNC member

A Democratic strategist since Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign, Smith is currently a principal at PSB, a research firm and consultancy for businesses, governments, and politicians. PSB’s current corporate clients listed on its website include the California Chamber of Commerce, Coca-Cola, Ford, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, McDonald’s, and Microsoft. At the time of the firm’s 2001 sale to advertising giant WPP, PSB’s corporate clients also included American Express, BP, and Novartis. Founded by pollster Mark Penn, the firm is known for its services to centrist Democrats such as Joe Lieberman’s 2004 presidential bid and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s runs in 2001 and 2005, as well as Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Five DNC officials have not responded to multiple requests for comment over the past several months on how DNC members implement the party Charter’s commitment to a political ethics where officials “shall refrain from acting in their official capacities when their independence of judgement would be adversely affected by personal interest or duties.”

https://prospect.org/politics/corporate-lobbyists-on-the-dnc-committee-blocked-climate-debate/

Good thing it is a long weekend ahead. What’s on your radar? Join us in the comments below!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Climate Change, DNC, Open Thread, Sludge

5/10 AOC Youngest Female Member to Preside Over the House; Biden’s “Middle Ground”Climate Change Plans; TGIF Afternoon/Evening Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on May 10, 2019 by BennyMay 10, 2019

I could get used to this. pic.twitter.com/HD3a2ZdebL

— John Iadarola (@johniadarola) May 10, 2019

Today I presided over the House floor for the first time.

Every day here is a sacred privilege + responsibility entrusted to me by my community. I never forget that, and moments like these drive it home.

Thank you to the people of NY14 + beyond. This House belongs to all of us. https://t.co/EPW5vP3lrP

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019

Someday, if she’s not president or VP first!

More Chitter chatter, news, videos and tweets in the comments. TGIF Happy Hour!

Posted in 2020 Elections, grassroots, Justice Democrats | Tagged AOC, Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, Joe Biden

8/2 News Roundup and Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on August 2, 2018 by BennyAugust 2, 2018

Today’s big story broke this morning in the NYT: Trump Unveils His Plan to Weaken Car Pollution Rules The proposal would freeze rules requiring automakers to build cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars, including hybrids and electric vehicles, and unravel one of President Barack Obama’s signature policies to combat global warming. It would also challenge the right of states to set their own, more stringent tailpipe pollution standards, setting the stage for a legal clash that could ultimately split the nation’s auto market in two. The Trump administration’s proposal, jointly published by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department, would roll … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged California, Climate Change, EPA, Trump Administration

4/6 News Roundup – #ShellKnew About Climate Threat Decades Ago; Democrats Divided On Being In Disarray & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on April 6, 2018 by LieparDestinApril 6, 2018

Shell Knew, Too: New Docs Show Oil Giant’s Scientists Secretly Warned About Climate Threat Decades Ago

Royal Dutch Shell’s scientists warned the oil giant about the threat that fossil fuel emissions pose to the planet as early as the 1980s, according to a trove of documents obtained by a Dutch journalist and published Thursday at Climate Files.

Environmental advocates say the documents—which bolster an investigative report published last year—demonstrate the “stunning” immorality of oil and gas companies. The records are expected to aid global efforts to hold the industry to account for its contributions to global warming.

One such document, a confidential 1988 report entitled “The Greenhouse Effect,” outlines a comprehensive study of climate science and the projected impact of fossil fuels, and reveals that the company secretly had been commissioning such analyses since at least 1981. The report acknowledges the central role that fossil fuels—especially oil—play in increasing CO2 emissions that drive global warming.

“Although CO2 is emitted to the atmosphere through several natural processes,” the report states, “the main cause of increasing CO2 concentrations is considered to be fossil fuel burning.”

This latest confirmation that Shell, for more than three decades, has been privately aware of its products’ contributions to the climate crisis but opted to publicly promote skepticism about climate science mirrored similar findings about ExxonMobil in 2015.

The new revelations on Thursday were met with both frustration and fresh demands by environmentalists for legal consequences.

Friends of the Earth Netherlands, or Milieudefensie, sent Shell—a Dutch company—a liability letter on Wednesday informing the oil giant that it has eight weeks to bring its policies into compliance with the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, or it will be forced to face off against the environmental group in court.

Posted in Activism, Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, News, Open Thread | Tagged Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, Democrats, News, Open Thread

3/22 News Roundup – Warren Introduces Bill To Curb Pain Of For Profit Healthcare System; Climate Science On Trial & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on March 22, 2018 by LieparDestinMarch 22, 2018

‘We Need Medicare for All,’ Says Warren, But Until That’s Achieved Her New Bill Aims to Curb Pain of For-Profit System

Acknowledging that Medicare for All must be the end goal for an ultra-wealthy nation in which tens of thousands die each year due to lack of health insurance, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced legislation on Wednesday aimed at making immediate fixes to the current system to protect consumers from the “nasty tricks” of the private insurance industry, lower prescription drug costs, and shield low-income families from premium hikes.

“So long as private health insurance exists, there is no reason to allow our health care to be held hostage by insurance companies that refuse to do better,” Warren said in a statement unveiled alongside her legislation, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). “Our bill will hold them accountable while significantly improving access to healthcare for millions of Americans.”

Warren is attempting to address problems in the short-term that are contributing to soaring healthcare costs and kicking Americans off their insurance entirely—from the Trump administration’s relentless sabotage efforts to the outlandish costs of prescription drugs.

Under Warren’s plan, for instance, insurance companies would “be barred from changing the kinds of drugs that they cover in the middle of the year, as well as how much of those drugs’ costs are born by consumers,” Marans notes. “Consumers would also be shielded from the effects of an insurer dropping a plan during their course of treatment.”

“Too many Americans have to battle with their insurance companies just to see their doctor or get a prescription filled,” Warren wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “We need a healthcare system that puts patients first—not insurance companies.”

Today I’m introducing the Consumer Health Insurance Protection Act with @SenSanders & our colleagues. We need #MedicareForAll – and until we get it, there's no reason private insurers can't provide coverage that lives up to the high standards of our public health care programs. pic.twitter.com/Ke7laLd164

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 21, 2018

More news/video/tweets/etc.

Posted in Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, Elizabeth Warren, Healthcare, Income Inequality, News, Open Thread | Tagged Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, climate science, Elizabeth Warren, Healthcare, News, Open Thread

2/20 News Roundup – Youth Voices Lead Calls For Progressive Legislative Action, ‘RussiaGate’ Dividing Dems & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on February 20, 2018 by LieparDestinFebruary 20, 2018

At White House Lie-In, Teens Call on Congress to ‘Protect Kids, Not Guns’

Building on the nationwide mourning and outrage that followed a Florida school shooting last week that left 17 people dead, dozens of teenagers held a “lie-in” at the gates of the White House on Monday to protest years of congressional inaction on gun control and highlight the National Rifle Association’s pernicious influence on the political process.

The demonstration began with protesters—many of them from the group Teens for Gun Reform (TGR), which organized the event—lying on the ground in front of the White House for several minutes, symbolizing “how quickly someone, such as the Parkland shooter, is able to purchase a gun in America.”

“We have organized this protest in solidarity with all of those who were affected by the horrific school shooting in Florida,” TGR said in a statement. “We call on President Trump and leaders from both parties to finally act in the interest of America’s youth and end these tragic mass shootings. It is imperative that American children are safe in their classrooms, churches, malls, movie theaters, and streets.”

Hoisting signs that read “NRA: There Is Blood on Your Hands” and “Protect Kids, Not Guns,” demonstrators also directed “Shame on you!” chants at the White House.

But President Donald Trump—whose speech in the aftermath of the Florida shooting didn’t mention guns once—was not in the White House to hear the chants or listen to the protesters’ demands, as he spent President’s Day playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

We should lower the voting age to 16!

The students I teach are more than capable of understanding the issues. They deserve to have their voices heard to demand gun reform, action on climate change, and policies to make college more affordable. https://t.co/4LwNdjsl1V

— Cathy Myers (@CathyMyersWI) February 19, 2018

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

Posted in Activism, Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, Guns, News, Open Thread, Video | Tagged activism, Climate Change, Gun Control, Guns, News, Open Thread, youth

2/2 News Roundup – Sanders’ ‘State Of The Climate’ Address, Four Environmental Defenders Killed Per Week In 2017 & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on February 2, 2018 by LieparDestinFebruary 2, 2018

Sanders, climate activists urge action to create grassroots environmental movement

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and group of climate change activists spoke about the importance of reducing fossil fuel emissions at an event in Lisner Auditorium Wednesday.

Sanders along with Bill McKibben, the co-founder of the climate group 350.org, Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., the president and CEO of the community activism group Hip Hop Caucus and other activists discussed the importance of respecting the environment and staving off the impacts of climate change by moving away from fossil fuel and toward alternative energy sources.

The event, “Fossil Free Fast: The Climate Resistance,” was organized by a group of environmental organizations to discuss climate issues the day after President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address.

…

Over the course of the night, activists from many different backgrounds — black, white, Native American, male, female, gender non-binary and undocumented immigrants – spoke about their experiences and how they related to climate change and environmental justice.

“We cannot separate climate and environmental justice from other struggles for justice,” said Jameka Hodnett, a national field organizer for the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 Campaign, which aims to encourage cities and towns to commit to getting 100 percent of their energy from renewable sources.

Jacqueline Patterson, the director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program and the first person the NAACP ever hired to work solely on climate justice, took to the stage and said that minority groups are the ones that suffer the worst effects of climate change and pollution because major plants are often built in low-income and minority communities.

“At the NAACP, we know children, like Elijah, from Indiantown, Florida, who lives near a coal plant and has such severe asthma that he is dependent on taking a handful of drugs every day in order to be able to get through the day so that his air passages are open and he’ll be able to survive,” Patterson said.

The speakers also recognized that the movement for climate justice extended beyond the United States’ continental borders, adding that their organizations are challenging the use of coal-fired power plants all over the world.

https://youtu.be/1AKhJzmjLz4

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

Posted in Activism, Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, News, Open Thread, Video | Tagged 350.org, Bernie Sanders, Bill McKibben, Climate Change, environment, News, open therad

1/19 News Roundup – Sanders: “Congress Must Get Its Act Together”, Trend Continues as 2017 Among Hottest Years Recorded & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on January 19, 2018 by LieparDestinJanuary 19, 2018

Starting the day off with Bernie’s speech from the Senate floor calling for Congress to do its job:

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments, including:

*Bernie Meets with Dreamers
*New office will help medical providers deny treatment on religious grounds
*Chelsea Manning: ‘I’m a very different person than I was 10 years ago’
*Amazon Short-List Proves Something “Deeply Wrong” With America’s Race-to-the-Bottom Economy: Ellison
*Pipeline news, Water Protector Updates & more

Posted in Andy Thorburn, Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, Healthcare, Immigration, Jess Phoenix, News, Open Thread, The Economy | Tagged Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, News, Open Thread

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