The Leslie Marshall Show

Latest 2020 Election News; Trump Further Inflames Race Relations with Kenosha Visit

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His new show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.

Brad is first joined by Shawn Zeller, Deputy Editor of CQ Magazine, and host of the 'CQ on Congress' podcast. Shawn's Twitter handle is @ShawnZeller.

Brad and Shawn discuss the latest 2020 election news, whether President Trump visiting Kenosha this week helps the situation, race relations in America under Trump.

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Tara Devlin and Mark Grimaldi.  The roundtable expands on the topics from the first half hour, and also discusses Trump's world-worst response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tara is a New York City based comedian, writer, and the founder of RepublicanDirtyTricks.com, also known as RDT Daily. 
Tara’s unapologetically-liberal podcast, "TARABUSTER,” is 100% listener supported, free from corporate influence, and 5-star viewer-reviewed.  
Join the resistance by becoming a Patron of Tarabuster and R-D-T Daily at Patreon.com/TaraDevlin.
You can follow Tara on Twitter at @REALTaraDevlin and on Instagram at @Taradackty. 

Mark Grimaldi has been a progressive political activist for the past 12 years.  He volunteered for the campaigns of President Obama (2008 and 2012), Senator Bernie Sanders (2016), and Secretary Hillary Clinton (2016). Mark is also involved in campaign finance reform efforts around the country, and philanthropic efforts for Cancer research.  His Twitter handle is @MarkJGrimaldi.

Brad writes a column every Sunday on the 2020 Presidential race for 'The Hill.'  He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon and watch episodes of his show at www.Periscope.TV/BradBannon.  His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.

Trump's Anti-Union NLRB (National Labor Relations Board)

Leslie is joined by Tom Conway, President of the United Steelworkers (USW).  They discuss how the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency responsible for protecting workers’ rights, has done the opposite under President Trump by becoming an avenue for silencing workers’ voices and defending corporations. 

Leslie and Tom detail the union-busting tactics of President Trump's NLRB, which have chipped away at long-established rights and practices that allow workers to organize for better lives.
(related blog here by USW President Tom Conway: https://www.usw.org/blog/2020/a-thousand-cuts)

For example:

·         The NLRB imposed additional required steps to the union election procedure solely to stall the process and give employers more time to squash organizing efforts.

·         The NLRB also made it possible for employers to withhold contact information like email addresses of employees, making union communication more difficult.

·         Employers can now legally discipline workers just for mentioning a union drive to a co-worker while at work.

·         The NLRB sought to overturn an Oregon ruling that employers could not force employees to attend anti-union meetings. If that gets overturned, workers will get hit even harder with corporate coercion and fear-mongering, weakening the potential for successful union organizing drives

If the NLRB overturns Oregon’s law, employers will ramp up the coercion and launch anti-union campaigns every bit as brutal as the one Kumho Tire waged against workers in Macon, Ga., three years ago.

After workers began an organizing drive with the United Steelworkers (USW), Kumho forced them into daily anti-union meetings—each lasting up to 90 minutes—in which the company repeatedly threatened to close the plant, haul away the equipment and eliminate their jobs.

Kumho augmented that torture with shop-floor conversations in which supervisors continually bullied workers and demanded to know how they planned to vote. The pressure tactics began the moment workers began their shifts each day, creating an atmosphere of pure hell inside the plant.

These and other unfair rules allow employers to viciously bully workers with anti-union tactics while forcing employees to stay silent or else risk losing their jobs. 

But the pandemic has also fueled the momentum for unions among many in frontline and essential jobs

·         From Whole Foods to Fed Ex and Trader Joe’s, workers have mobilized to gain union protection in the midst of the pandemic

·         The pandemic further widened America’s rampant income inequality and underscored corporations’ indifference to workplace safety, as workers at Cort Furniture and Orlando International Airport discovered when their bosses herded them into anti-union meetings despite the need for social distancing(!)
These and other exploited workers realize that only by organizing can they win family-sustaining wages, decent benefits and safe working conditions.

An NLRB that enforces labor rights is necessary for building better lives for millions of Americans.

·         The president nominates NLRB members and the NLRB general counsel, and the Senate confirms those nominations.

·         The current NLRB leans heavily anti-worker. The five-person board includes the corporate lawyers John Ring and William Emanuel, and GOP congressional staffer Marvin Kaplan.

·         The board’s general counsel, Peter Robb, is a longtime anti-union, management-side attorney, who has set in motion many of the anti-worker stances the current NLRB has taken.

·         To truly fulfill the mission of the NLRB and protect workers, America must have federal officials in charge who truly care about labor rights.

The website for the United Steelworkers is USW.org.  You can follow them on Twitter and Instagram using the handle @steelworkers.

You can also watch this episode here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vJ7wXzoFz-g 

Comparing 2020 Democratic and Republican National Conventions

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.

Brad is joined by three special guests to analyze and compare this year's Democratic and Republican national conventions. 
Brad is joined for the first half of the show by Amie Parnes, Senior Political Correspondent for The Hill and Co-Author of the #1 NYT Best-Selling book "Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign."

Then, during the second half of the show, Brad hosts his provocative progressive political panel.
His guests for today on the panel are Tim Zenk and Mark J. Grimaldi. 

Tim Zenk is a Principle at 'Molecule,' a business and public affairs company, a former Democratic staffer, and a well known renewable energy expert.  His Twitter handle is @GreenCrude.

Mark J. Grimaldi has been a progressive political activist for the past 12 years.  He volunteered for the campaigns of President Obama (2008 and 2012), Senator Bernie Sanders (2016), and Secretary Hillary Clinton (2016).  Mark is also involved in campaign finance reform efforts around the country, and philanthropic efforts for Cancer research.  His Twitter handle is @MarkJGrimaldi.

Brad writes a column every Sunday on the 2020 Presidential race for 'The Hill.'  He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.

Watch a video broadcast of the show here on Twitter/Periscope: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1lPKqLwQNYLxb

Or here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brad.bannon1/videos/10157267861945880

Student Debt is a Civil Rights Issue

Today's guest hosts are Brent J. Cohen and Charlotte Hancock, Executive Director and Communications Director for Generation Progress.

On today’s show, they come back to a conversation from one of their first shows after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and the resulting economic crisis took hold in the U.S. The student debt crisis has been a crisis long before the pandemic started, but it has long been clear that COVID-19 was going to make the crisis even worse for many student borrowers—especially for student borrowers of color and student borrowers working in the service industry. Since we covered the subject on our last show, the limited relief provided by the CARES Act, which included suspending loan payments and stopping collections on defaulted loans, has expired—which has left many borrowers in a very precarious position.

To talk with Brent and Charlotte more about how student borrowers are being affected by the pandemic, what the government can do to provide real relief, and why student debt is a civil rights issue, they are joined by Natalia Abrams, the Executive Director at Student Debt Crisis.  They’re also joined by Mike Pierce, Policy Director at the Student Borrowers Protection Center.

Here are the Twitter handles for today's guests and their organizations: Natalia Abrams - @nataliaabrams, Student Debt Crisis - @DebtCrisisOrg, Mike Pierce - @millennial_debt, Student Borrower Protection Center - @theSBPC.

The website for Generation Progress is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress.
Brent J. Cohen's Twitter handle is @BrentJCohen and Charlotte Hancock's handle is @CharlatAnne.

Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, and Other Top Highlights of DNC Day One

Leslie is joined by Brad Bannon, who runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns.

They share, and give their reaction to, the most talked about highlights from the first day of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Day 1 of Democratic National Convention With Rep. Ro Khanna Interview

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.

Brad is joined by three special guests to discuss the beginning of this week's Democratic National Convention.
Brad's guests (in order of appearance) are:

- Kim Scott, Founder and Publisher of DemList, LLC, a free national daily political column and resource site for Democrats and allies - a unique, central source that connects people to the who, what and where of Democratic events, issues and activism.  Her Twitter handle is @TheDemList.

- Congressman Ro Khanna, who is serving his second term representing California’s 17th Congressional District, located in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Representative Khanna sits on the House Budget, Armed Services, and Oversight and Reform committees and is first vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He also serves as an Assistant Whip in the Democratic Caucus. His Twitter handle is @RepRoKhanna.

- Anisha Singh, Director of Judiciary and Democracy Affairs at the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.  Her Twitter handle is @Anisha_S113.

 

Brad writes a column every Sunday on the 2020 Presidential race for 'The Hill.'  He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.

Watch a video broadcast of the show here: https://www.pscp.tv/BradBannon/1LyxBajQZOLJN

Former Senior Biden Advisor On State of Presidential Race

First, Leslie gives her take on the latest news of the day in her 'Ripped from the Headlines' segment.

Here are the stories that she covered:
1. AXIOS: "National Governors Association leaders express concern over Trump's unemployment order"
2. Axios-Ipsos poll: 1 in 2 has a personal connection to COVID-19
3. AUDIO: "Trump claims he would have not called for Obama to resign over 160,000 virus deaths"
4. ASSOCIATED PRESS: "Inaction by Congress leaves states to pay for election costs"
5. AXIOS: "Sports stadiums may become voting sites amid pandemic"
6. LAW AND CRIME: "‘Obviously Required to Provide It’: Trump Given Deadlines to Produce DNA in E. Jean Carroll’s Defamation Lawsuit"
7. N.Y. TIMES: "A Bible Burning, a Russian News Agency and a Story Too Good to Check Out"

Then, Leslie is joined by Moe Vela, who served in President Obama’s administration as the Director of Administration and Senior Advisor in the Office of Vice President Joe Biden.  

The two talk about the state of the 2020 presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, including what Vela's time working with Biden as Vice President taught him about the current Democratic nominee.  Leslie and Moe also discuss new polling showing that only 31% of Americans trust what President Trump says about the coronavirus.

Moe Vela's time serving in the Obama/Biden administration was the second White House appointment for Mr. Vela, who served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Advisor on Hispanic Affairs for Vice President Al Gore. Mr. Vela holds the distinction of being the first Hispanic American and gay American to serve twice in a senior executive role in the White House.
His Twitter handle is @MoeVela.

Biden VP Options; Trump Attempts to Defund Social Security and Medicare

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His new show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.

Brad is first joined by John Nichols, the National Political Correspondent for 'The Nation,' and Author of the new book, "The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party."  (Available for purchase here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48624170-the-fight-for-the-soul-of-the-democratic-party)
John's Twitter handle is @NicholsUprising.

Brad and John analyze the possible candidates that Democratic nominee Joe Biden appears to be weighing for his choice of a running mate.  They also discuss Trump's new attempt to defund social security and Medicare through his recent executive order disguised as a 'payroll tax cut.'

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Bina Venkataraman and Mark Grimaldi.  The roundtable discusses the 2020 presidential election, what type of challenges that Joe Biden would be faced with as President if he wins in November, the New York State Attorney General's lawsuit against the NRA, and more.

Bina Venkataraman is the Editorial Page editor for 'the Boston Globe.'  She is an MIT lecturer, a fellow at New America and the director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.  Bina previously was a journalist for The New York Times and The Boston Globe, and served as senior adviser for climate change innovation in the Obama White House.  She is the author of "The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age."
Her Twitter handle is @binajv.

Mark Grimaldi has been a progressive political activist for the past 12 years.  He volunteered for the campaigns of President Obama (2008 and 2012), Senator Bernie Sanders (2016), and Secretary Hillary Clinton (2016).  Mark is also involved in campaign finance reform efforts around the country, and philanthropic efforts for Cancer research.  His Twitter handle is @MarkJGrimaldi.

Brad writes a column every Sunday on the 2020 Presidential race for 'The Hill.'  He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.

Watch a video broadcast of the show here: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1YpKkNqyQWPxj

School Re-Opening and COVID-19—What Should Be Done?

Today's guest hosts are Brent J. Cohen and Edwith Theogene, Executive Director and Organizing Director for Generation Progress.

During today's episode, they discuss how school districts across the country are prepping for (or already in the thick of) back-to-school season. This year will look different for many schools as they attempt to navigate the threat posed by the pandemic—which has loomed even larger as the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have climbed in recent weeks. While Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos have pushed hard for in-person schooling to resume—even threatening to withhold funding from schools that choose to stay online—many experts are wary of the inevitable safety risks that will come from bringing students, teachers, and staff back on campus. 

Aside from the academic challenges of distance learning, schools are also working to figure out other challenges that will arise if students aren’t physically at school, such as how to get supplies and food that they normally provide students to children and families learning at home and what will happen with childcare for families with parents who are working. As always, many of the downsides of both returning to school during the pandemic and pursuing fully remote learning will disproportionately impact low income families and families of color. 

To talk with Brent and Edwith more about how COVID-19 will impact K-12 education this year, they’re joined by Elizabeth Davis, the president of the Washington Teachers’ Union in D.C, and Khalilah Harris, the managing director of the K-12 policy team at the Center for American Progress. 

Here are the Twitter handles for today's guests and their respective organizations: Elizabeth David - @davis704, Washington Teachers’ Union - @WTUteacher, Khalilah Harris - @Ed2BeFree, K-12 Policy Team at the Center for American Progress - @EdProgress

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress.  Brent J. Cohen's Twitter handle is @BrentJCohen and Edwith Theogene's handle is @WhoIsEdwith.

Trump Attempts to Sabotage Mail-In-Voting, Biden's VP Search, COVID Stimulus Negotiations

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His new show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.

 

Brad is first joined by Paul Lisnek, a multi-Emmy, Cablefax, Telly and Beacon Award winning television host and analyst. Paul has been the political analyst for WGN-TV since 2008, appearing on all the station’s newscasts discussing political issues of the day. He is the host of Politics Tonight on CLTV, on which he interviews the leading political figures in the city, state and country, and also serves as a fill-in anchor. Paul has interviewed presidents, governors, senators, congressmen, local representatives and mayors too numerous to count over the last 25 years.  His Twitter handle is @PaulLisnek.

 

Paul and Brad analyze President Trump's threat to delay the presidential election, and how his attacks on voting-by-mail look to be far more dangerous to America's free and fair elections this fall.  They also discuss the latest news surrounding Joe Biden's choice of a presidential running mate.

 

During the second half of the show, Brad is joined by Robert Borosage, a leading progressive writer, activist, and contributing editor of 'The Nation.'  Robert created a range of progressive organizations including most recently the Campaign for America’s Future, ProgressiveMajority, and ProgressiveCongress.org. He guided the Institute for Policy Studies for nearly a decade. Robert also served as issues director for the Jesse Jackson 1988 presidential campaign, and consulted on many progressive campaigns, including Senator Paul Wellstone and most recently, Representative Jamie Raskin.
His Twitter handle is @Borosage.

 

Brad and Robert discuss the latest news coming out of the COVID-19 stimulus negotiations, as well as Robert's latest piece on the subject titled, "Congress Isn’t Doing the Bare Minimum for Pandemic Relief." (link here: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/congress-pandemic-relief/)