The Leslie Marshall Show

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

Award Winning Author Talks New Book on How Newt Gingrich Helped Lead to Trump

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

Here are the stories she covers during the segment:

1. Oregon Public Broadcasting/The Washington Post: "Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets"

2. The Daily Beast: "U.S. Shatters Coronavirus Record—Again—With 77,000 New Cases in One Day"

3. Forbes: "New IHME Model Projects More Than 224,000 Coronavirus Deaths In U.S. By Nov. 1"

4. The Sun Sentinel: "Nearly one-third of children tested for COVID in Florida are positive. Palm Beach County’s health director warns of risk of long-term damage"

Leslie is then joined by Julian Zelizer, the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, and a CNN Political Analyst.
His previous books are "Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974," and "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society," the winner of the D.B. Hardeman Prize for Best Book on Congress.
Zelizer has been awarded fellowships from the New York Historical Society, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and New America.

During the interview, Leslie and Julian discuss his newly released book, "Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party."

Julian's Twitter handle is @JulianZelizer. (Here is a link where you can purchase the book: TinyURL.com/BuyBurningDownTheHouse)

You can watch this episode here on Twitter/Periscope: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1rmxPYBqwyQKN

Or here on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/609932097/videos/10157988246252098/

AAM's Scott Paul Evaluates Joe Biden's $400 Billion 'Buy America' Procurement Program

Leslie is joined by Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a partnership established by some of America’s leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers union.
For over a decade, Mr. Paul and AAM have worked to make American manufacturing a top-of-mind issue for voters and our national leaders through effective advocacy, innovative research, and a savvy public relations strategy.

The two discuss the new film “Working Man,” and how it shows that factory life is about much more than just factories.

They also talk about Joe Biden's newly proposed $400 Billion 'Buy America' procurement plan, as well as Senator Gary Peters' 'National Institute of Manufacturing Act.'

The website for AAM is AmericanManufacturing.org and their Twitter handle is @KeepItMadeInUSA.  Scott Paul's handle is @ScottPaulAAM.

Health Security Expert Discusses Criteria for Reopening Schools Safely

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 first joined by Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, and the Department of Epidemiology, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

She is also part of Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 Testing Insights Initiative, which is working to fill the void of publicly accessible COVID-19 testing data.

Her Twitter handle is @JenniferNuzzo.

 

Dr. Nuzzo and Brad discuss what criteria should be used to help guide schools on whether to reopen with in-person classes, virtual learning, or a combination of both, and how to best protect students and teachers during school.

She also explains why it's important that the decision to reopen schools should be made locally, but why it's also important that schools receive guidance from our national scientific leaders like the CDC. 

Dr. Nuzzo also reveals that she and her colleagues are calling for increased funding where schools are requesting it in order to properly train their staff, and prepare their buildings, to create the safest possible learning environment during the pandemic.

She also expresses concern that the debate to open schools has become an unproductive political fight that we need to change in order to best serve students and teachers.

 

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Tim Zenk and Mark Grimaldi.  The roundtable discusses President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos attempting to bully schools into reopening by threatening their federal funding, Joe Biden's 'Build Back Better' economic plan, and whether Biden should try to 'go big' and expand the electoral map this coming fall.

Tim 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 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/1mrxmEjYoeLxy

The DACA SCOTUS Decision and What Comes Next

Today's guest hosts are Edwith Theogene and Emily Leach, Organizing Director and Senior Press Associate for Generation Progress.

During today's episode, they discuss the recent ruling from the Supreme Court on the Trump administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (commonly known as DACA) back in 2017. On June 18th, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 majority that the decision from the Trump administration was unlawful, which brought temporary relief and peace of mind to the 650,000 Dreamers who have been anxiously awaiting this decision for years. This win is a huge testament to the tireless work of Dreamers and young immigrant activists who have fought for this outcome.

But it is also a reminder of how far we still have to go to prevent people in this country from living with the constant threat of deportation. As we speak, the Trump administration is already putting plans in place to end the program again, and depending on the reasoning they use this time, they may ultimately be successful.

To talk with our guest hosts about this monumental decision, and what must be done right now to protect Dreamers and all undocumented people living in the United States, are Claudia Flores, the immigration campaign manager on the Center for American Progress’s Immigration team, and Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, the state and local policy manager at United We Dream.

Here are the Twitter handles for today's guests and their respective organizations: Claudia Flores - @claudsDC, Center for American Progress Immigration Campaign - @CAPImmigration, Juliana Macedo do Nascimento - @Juli_Nasciment0, United We Dream - @UnitedWeDream.

The website for Generation Progress is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress. Edwith Theogene's handle is @WhoIsEdwith and Emily Leach's handle is @EmilyFLeach.

Charlie Cook of the 'Cook Political Report' Gives 2020 Election Outlook for President and U.S. Senate

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 Charlie Cook, Editor and Publisher of the 'Cook Political Report.'  His Twitter handle is @CharlieCookDC.

The two discuss the presidential election matchup between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, what Americans think of the President's response to the virus, how Joe Biden has done in running his campaign during the pandemic, and how important his choice of a running mate could be.

Charlie also gives a breakdown of the 2020 Senate races to watch, as well as how good of a chance he thinks Democrats have of regaining control of the Senate.

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Tara Devlin and Mark Grimaldi.  The roundtable discusses Senator Bernie Sanders' proposal to redistribute 10% of Pentagon spending to grant money for high-poverty areas of America.  The grants would be for building public housing, community health centers, and schools; decontaminating drinking water; payroll for teachers, and prohibits the money from being spent on prisons.
They also debate whether Democrats should end the filibuster rule if they take control of the Senate.

Tara Devlin is a New York City-based comedian, writer, and founder of RepublicanDirtyTricks.com, also known as 'RDTdaily.'  Tara's Twitter handle is @REALTaraDevlin and her Instagram handle is @Taradacktyl.  Tara's unapologetically liberal weekly podcast, "TARABUSTER" is recorded LIVE every Saturday evening at 6PM eastern on the RDTdaily Facebook and Youtube channels and replayed starting Sunday at 6PM eastern on Progressive Voices, or any time on the Progressive Voices app.  You can become a 'patron' of Tarabuster and RDTdaily at www.Patreon.com/TaraDevlin.

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/1BdxYnLaZXEKX

Colonel Cedric Leighton Discusses Russian Bounty on U.S. Soldiers Going Unanswered by Trump Administration

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

Here are the stories she covers during the segment:

1. AUDIO: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert at the National Institutes of Health, warned that the U.S. could see 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day, while he was speaking at a Senate hearing today on COVID-19

2. CNN: "From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump's phone calls alarm US officials" by Carl Bernstein (Investigative Journalist who helped break the Watergate scandal)

3. AXIOS: "European Union extends ban on U.S. travelers as borders reopen"

4. AXIOS: "Amy McGrath wins Kentucky Democratic Senate primary"

Leslie is then 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 the reported bounties that Russia offered to pay out to the Taliban in Afghanistan for the killing of American soldiers. Additionally, they discuss new reporting from the Associated Press that President Trump and top White House officials had been briefed on the bounties multiple times dating all the way back to March of 2019.

Leslie and Colonel Leighton also speculate as to why there has been no response by the Trump administration against Russia for the bounties, and what kind of message that sends to U.S. military members and their families.

Colonel Leighton's website is www.CedricLeighton.com and his Twitter handle is @CedricLeighton.

SCOTUS Abortion Ruling; Russian Bounty On American Soldiers

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 breakdown today's 5-4 Supreme Court decision striking down Louisiana's restrictive new abortion law, while also leaving Roe v. Wade intact. They also chat about whether Chief Justice John Roberts has become the 'swing-vote' that Justice Anthony Kennedy used to be known as before he retired, as well as how Justice Roberts may rule in the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Then, Paul and Brad discuss the New York Times story that Russia offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, and that the Trump administration has known about it for three months and done nothing to respond.

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, Vice President Biden's election strategy, the strength of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement, whether we have reason to be optimistic about the future of America, and how Facebook is finally heeding calls to stop allowing their platform to be used to spread hate.

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: www.pscp.tv/w/1MYGNVaAXNXGw

World Renowned Infectious Disease Doctor Talks Latest COVID-19 News

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

Here are the stories she covers during the segment:

1. THE GUARDIAN: "Pence hails 'truly remarkable progress' after US sees record new Covid-19 cases"

2. ASSOCIATED PRESS: "Despite pandemic, Trump administration urges end to ACA"

3. AXIOS: "America's workers still aren't protected from the coronavirus"

4. ABC NEWS: "Officials see pushback as more states, counties require people to wear masks in public"

Leslie is then joined by Dr. Bob Bollinger, the Raj and Kamla Gupta Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Bollinger holds joint appointments in International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and in Community Public Health at the JH School of Nursing.
He is Founding Director of the Center for Clinical Global Health Education (CCGHE). Their website is main.ccghe.net and their Facebook page is Facebook.com/CCGHE.

Leslie asks the Doctor whether we know if those who have recovered from COVID-19, and have antibodies from it, can become reinfected.
Dr. Bollinger also details the efforts of the world medical community to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.

Also, here are some of the other the latest COVID-19 related news items that Leslie gets Dr. Bollinger's take on:

- Coronavirus cases trending upward in about half of U.S. states, including several reporting record-breaking daily new case counts this week, as the U.S. reported 39,972 daily cases of the virus yesterday, a new daily record

- Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stating that the actual number of infections is likely 10 times the number of reported cases, meaning that CDC officials estimate that 20 million Americans, or 6% of the nation's 331 million people, have actually been infected. This also means that the vast majority of the population remains susceptible to contracting COVID-19

- One day after pausing additional efforts to reopen Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday announced another round of restrictions, including closing bars and limiting restaurant occupancy. And in Florida, bars on Friday were prohibited from allowing alcohol consumption.

- Today Florida reported nearly 9,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours totaling 122,960 cases. The single-day confirmed cases increase was the most for any state since the pandemic began, and it is the 19th day in a row the state has hit a new average high. The median age of new cases is from people in their mid-30s.

- Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert at the National Institutes of Health, told Congress on Tuesday that the next two weeks will be "critical" in how the country addresses the surge in states like Florida, Texas and Arizona.