The Leslie Marshall Show

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/)

Investors Are Doing Great In This Crisis, But What About The Rest Of Us?

Leslie begins the show with her 'Ripped from the Headlines' news segment.

 

Here are the stories she covers during the segment:
1. WASHINGTON POST: "Postal Service backlog sparks worries that ballot delivery could be delayed in November"

 

2. AUDIO: President Obama yesterday, while delivering a eulogy for the late Congressman and Voting Rights Leader John Lewis, talks about how Lewis devoted his time on earth to fighting the very attacks on democracy that we're seeing circulate right now

 

3. VANITY FAIR: "Kushner's coronavirus team shied away from a national strategy, believing that the virus was hitting Democratic states hardest and that they could blame Governors"

 

4. ABC NEWS: "Teachers are writing their own obituaries as schools near reopening amid COVID-19"

 

Leslie is then joined by Dr. Robert Shapiro, Chairman of Sonecon, an economic advisory firm and a Senior Fellow of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

 

They discuss his newest piece for 'Washington Monthly,' which is titled, "Investors are Doing Great in this Crisis, But What About the Rest of Us?"

 

Dr. Shapiro is an internationally-known economist who has advised, among others, President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Jr., British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and then U.S. Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He was Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in the Clinton Administration.  His website is Sonecon.com and his Twitter handle is @RobShapiro.

John Lewis' Legacy and Push to Restore Voting Rights Act in His Honor

Leslie begins the show by giving her take on the latest news in 'Ripped from the Headlines.'
Here are the stories that she commented on:

 

1. AUDIO: Attorney General Bill Barr tells House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler that he's discussed President Trump's re-election effort with him, but declines to elaborate when questioned about it 

2. AUDIO: Rep. Cedric Richmond tells Barr that when he took over DOJ, he put no Black people into top staff roles, which speaks volumes

3. AUDIO: Rep. Steve Cohen calls out Bill Barr for his unconstitutional secret police and Epstein’s suicide of convenience

4. AUDIO: Barr is asked by Rep. Eric Swalwell whether he is investigating Trump for intervening in Roger Stone's sentencing

5. AXIOS: Press freedom incidents have surged during police protests

6. AXIOS: Biden to unveil plan to address racial inequality

7. Richmond Police: Richmond riots instigated by white supremacists disguised as Black Lives Matter

8. The Daily Beast: "Trump’s New Favorite COVID Doctor Believes in Alien DNA, Demon Sperm, and Hydroxychloroquine"

 

Then, Leslie is joined by Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the country’s most important and long-tenured national civil rights organizations in the pursuit of equal justice for all.  

 

Leslie and Kristen talk about the legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis, and how he championed civil rights for over 60 years, including being one of the original 13 'Freedom Riders' in 1961.

 

They also discuss how the Lawyers’ Committee is leading a coalition of civil rights groups that is demanding that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hold hearings and vote to restore the Voting Rights Act (something that Rep. Lewis tirelessly fought for right up until the end of his life). 

 

The website for the Lawyers’ Committee is lawyerscommittee.org and their Twitter handle is @LawyersComm.  Kristen's handle is @KristenClarkeJD.

Additionally,  the Lawyers’ Committee powers '866-OUR-VOTE,' which is working 365 days a year to advance and defend your right to vote. You can call 866-OUR-VOTE with your voting questions and issues! (Remember this number between now and Election day!) Their website is 866OURVOTE.org.

 

Leslie Takes Cognitive Test Trump Bragged About; Shifting Political Landscape in Ohio

Leslie takes the 'Montreal Cognitive Assessment' on air.  This is the test that President Trump bragged about passing to Fox News' Chris Wallace during a recent interview. The test is frequently used by relatives, caregivers and medical professionals to test if someone is in cognitive decline.

Then, Leslie is joined by David Pepper, Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. The two discuss whether Trump’s ongoing campaign troubles could see Ohio turn back into a swing state, the Ohio Speaker of the House being charged in a $60 million bribery investigation this week, why expanding 'Vote Drop Boxes' during the COVID-19 Pandemic is a common sense idea that protects the health and safety of voters and our elections, and finally David's new book, "The Voter File," which has received this high praise from President Bill Clinton: "Pepper comes through again with this clever tale of how cyber sabotage of elections, coupled with highly concentrated ownership of traditional media operations, can undermine American democracy."

"The Voter File" is available in HardCover, Audiobook, or Kindle Edition at Amazon.com.

David's Twitter handle is @DavidPepper and his website is DavidPepper.com.  The website for the Ohio Democratic Party is OhioDems.org.

Get the Facts Out On Climate Denial

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

 

In the year 2020, you could be forgiven for thinking the debate on the existence of climate change is settled and over.  In a way, you’d be right—97 percent of scientists agree that climate change is happening and that human activity is responsible for it.

But the disturbing truth is that there are still many people in our government—both in the executive branch of the current administration and in Congress—who deny the existence of climate change or the role that human activity plays in causing it.  This is incredibly dangerous since most experts agree that we have very limited time to act in order to mitigate the existing effects of climate change, and prevent climate change from continuing.

Thankfully, young people across the political spectrum are overwhelmingly united on the need to take action on the climate crisis now—nearly three quarters of young people believe that climate change poses a significant threat to our planet (including 60% of self-identified Republicans).

In recognition of this— Generation Progress will be relaunching their 'Get The Facts Out' campaign on July 23rd to expose people in power who continue to deny the reality of climate science. The website—which we encourage you all to visit at GetTheFactsOut.com—gives people the tools they need to identify climate deniers serving in government roles, debunk myths surrounding climate change, and voice opinions on the issue using GenProgress' 'click to tweet tool.'

To talk with Brent and Charlotte more about why climate denial is dangerous and what must be done to push back against it, during this episode they’re joined by Jessica Loya, an environmental advocate and equitable policy strategist who has led the charge for the inclusion of Latinx community voices in climate, conservation, and water policy. They’re also joined by Shaughnessy Naughton, the President of '3.14 Action' and a former candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania.

 

Here are the Twitter handles for today's guests: Jessica Loya - @dc_envirolatina, Shaughnessy Naughton - @VoteShaughnessy.

Also, the handle for 3.14 Action is @314Action and their website is www.314Action.org.

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.

Pandemic Shines Light on Need for Unions, Organizing in the Time of COVID-19

Leslie is joined by Maria Somma, Organizing Director for the United Steelworkers (USW).
They discuss how Covid-19 has shined a spotlight on the devastating economic inequality in the United States, revealing low wages and a lack of access to affordable health care for many front-line, essential workers like food service workers, grocery clerks, delivery drivers and more.

This daily risk and poor compensation demonstrate how important it is to have a voice on the job.
Though workers want and need unions, organizing during a pandemic presents its own challenges.
And it’s not just blue collar workers who need unions; the pandemic revealed the urgent need for professional unions as well.

In a positive development, Union organizers and workers have found new methods of capacity-building by organizing remotely and holding campaign events through social media channels.

You can find out more by visiting USW.org, or following them on Twitter or Instagram, where their handle is @steelworkers.

National Security Priorities; Democratic Convention

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 Colonel Cedric Leighton, Founder and President of Cedric Leighton Associates, a strategic risk and leadership consultancy serving global companies and organizations.  He founded the company in 2010, after serving in the US Air Force for 26 years as an Intelligence Officer and attaining the rank of Colonel.

 

They talk about what Joe Biden's national security priorities should be if he is elected President, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman being denied promotion and bullied out of the military by the Trump administration, President Trump doing absolutely nothing in response to Russia putting bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan, and whether it's time to remove American troops from Afghanistan.

 

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Kim Scott and Mark Grimaldi.  The roundtable previews next month's Democratic convention, and also analyzes what it means to have former Republican Governor John Kasich speaking at the convention in support of Joe Biden.  The panel also discusses the troubling news out of Portland, Oregon where federal agents were apprehending protesters while wearing military uniforms with no identification, and putting the protesters in unmarked vehicles.  A Navy veteran who was peacefully protesting also had his hand broken by the federal agents and was then tear-gassed in the face by them right after.  Perhaps more troubling is the news that Trump's Department of Homeland Security may be expanding their plan to target protesters with unidentified federal forces, with Chicago being next on their list.

 

Kim Scott is the Founder and Publisher of DemList, LLC, a free national daily political column, calendar 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.  You can find out more about them at DemList.com and follow them on Twitter @TheDemList.

 

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 his previous 'Deadline D.C.' broadcasts at www.Periscope.TV/BradBannon.  His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.

 

Watch a video broadcast of this episode here on Twitter/Periscope: www.periscope.tv/w/1OwxWLbmwBmKQ
Or here on Facebook Live: tinyurl.com/BradFacebook72020