The Leslie Marshall Show

Black History Month: Voting Rights and Women Of Color Voters

Today's guest hosts are Edwith Theogene, Organizing Director for Generation Progress, and Charlotte Hancock, Communications Director for Generation Progress.

With February being Black History Month, they discuss voting rights and the power of women of color voters.  They're joined by Marcia Johnson-Blanco, the co-director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Danyelle Solomon, the Vice President of Race and Ethnicity Policy at the Center for American Progress.

The website for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is LawyersCommittee.org and their Twitter handle is @LawyersComm.
 
Marcia Johnson-Blanco's Twitter handle is @mfjblanco, Danyelle Solomon's handle is @danyindc, and her organization's handle is @CAPTalksRace.

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress.  Edwith Theogene's Twitter handle is @WhoIsEdwith and Charlotte Hancock's handle is @CharlatAnne.

State of Democratic Primary Race, South Carolina and Super Tuesday Preview

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.

The two discuss the current state of the Democratic Primary race, including the following questions:
- After this big win in Nevada, is Bernie Sanders a strong favorite to win the Democratic Presidential nomination?- Which (if any) of the moderate Democratic candidates is best positioned to stop Senator Sanders?- What would happen if Senator Sanders goes to the Democratic convention with the most delegates but fails to win the party's nomination for President?

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Phil Noble and Mark Grimaldi.  The roundtable continues the discussion surrounding the state of the Democratic primary race, with a large focus on South Carolina's February 29th primary election.

Phil Noble is a Democratic Strategist hailing from the state of South Carolina.  For over 30 years he has been an innovator politics, media, education and government.  His Twitter handle is @PhilNobleSC.

Mark Grimaldi, or 'Marky Mark' as Leslie Marshall calls him, is the Executive Producer of this show.  In addition to being the Executive Producer for the Leslie Marshall show for 14 years, for the past 12 years Mark has been a progressive political activist and campaign volunteer of President Obama's (2008 and 2012), Senator Bernie Sanders' (2016), and Secretary Hillary Clinton's (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.

Trade Infrastructure for Global Competitiveness

Leslie is rejoined on air by Roxanne Brown, the USW’s new International Vice President at Large. For 20 years, she has served USW members from the union’s Legislative Office in Washington, D.C., most recently as Legislative Director.  Brown continues to oversee the union’s public policy and legislative agenda as well as its political work.

The two discuss trade infrastructure for global competitiveness.  Here are some of the important questions that Roxanne answers during the interview:

- How has disinvestment in domestic shipbuilding, port development, and highway maintenance undercut the ability of the U.S. to compete globally?
- Is there anything that our government can do to help improve our country's trade infrastructure? -  How does not being able to build our own ships affect America's safety?
- What is the current status of our country's highways and bridges?
- What should our country prioritize when planning investments for our highways and bridges?
- Three U.S. House Committees studying this issue have put forth a robust infrastructure plan called, "The Moving Forward Framework."  What would that entail?

Throughout her career, Roxanne Brown has worked with members and allies to advance policies on Capitol Hill and with regulatory agencies to help workers. She has extensive experience in defense procurement policy, environmental regulation, energy, cement, specialty metals and biomass carbon neutrality.

She helped advance legislation to strengthen U.S. defense procurement laws, ensuring that the vehicles, planes and ships used by our military – and built by USW members in Newport News, Va. (Local 8888) and York, Pa. (Local 7687) – are made with USW-produced materials.

Brown also played a key role in shaping environmental policies with the potential to affect USW jobs, including the Boiler Maximum Achievable Control Technologies (Boiler MACT) rule intended to reduce hazardous air pollutants from boilers. Brown worked with USW members and the EPA to achieve environmental, worker and community safety goals while avoiding a broad negative impact to USW members.

You can follow Roxanne on Twitter, where her handle is @BrownRox.  Follow the USW using the handle @steelworkers, and visit their website at USW.org.

Trump and Black Voters, Winning Tax Reform for Democrats, Veterans Defend Vindman from Trump's Attacks

Leslie is joined by three different guests this hour to discuss three different topics.

First, front page editor at HuffPost, Philip Lewis discusses his piece titled, "Trump, Famous Birther, Frames Himself As Hero To People Of Color." His Twitter handle is @Phil_Lewis_.

Second, Leslie brings back on the show her favorite Economist, Dr. Robert Shapiro. He's chairman of Sonecon, an economic advisory firm and a Senior Fellow of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
He chats about his blog titled, "A Fair and Winning Tax Reform for Democrats: Broad Payroll Tax Relief Financed by Wealthy Americans." His Twitter handle is @RobShapiro.

Finally, Leslie has another one of her favorites stop by the show. This time its her favorite Military expert, Colonel Cedric Leighton (Ret.), Founder and President of Cedric Leighton Associates, a strategic risk and leadership consultancy serving global companies and organizations.
Colonel Leighton discusses a Veterans coalition condemning President Trump’s continued attacks on Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified against him during the impeachment hearings. Colonel Leighton's Twitter handle is @CedricLeighton.

The Democratic Demolition Derby

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.

You can also hear Brad guest host for Leslie each Monday from 3-4pm ET with his own program, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon.'

Leslie and Brad discuss his latest column for 'The Hill,' titled "The Democratic Demolition Derby."  They also discuss the Democratic Debate in Las Vegas.

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.

You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.

Federal Judges Association and Former DOJ Officials Sound Alarm on A.G. Barr

Leslie is joined by Ed Chung, Vice President for Criminal Justice Reform at the Center for American Progress, where he co-hosts 'The Tent' Podcast.  Before working at CAP, he served as Senior Adviser on criminal justice, policing, and civil rights issues for the Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice.
The two discuss Chung and more than 2,000 other former DOJ officials calling on Attorney General Barr to resign, as well as a Federal Judges' Association calling an emergency meeting after Barr and the DOJ intervened in the case of Trump ally Roger Stone.
In addition to his current work, Chung also held positions in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, including special counsel to the assistant attorney general and federal prosecutor with the Criminal Section, where he received the John Marshall Award for successfully prosecuting the first case under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

Some of our audience will also recognize Ed's voice, as he has guest hosted the show a number of times in the past.
Ed's Twitter handle is @EdChungDC and the handle for his podcast is @TheTentPod.  The website for the Center for American Progress is AmericanProgress.org.

Bloomberg Makes Waves, the Impeachment Effect, and Democratic Infighting

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 Bennett, Washington Bureau Chief for 'The Independent.'  John's Twitter handle is @BennettJohnT.

The two discuss President Trump's re-election efforts, the Democratic primary race, Michael Bloomberg entering the scene, and whether impeachment is backfiring for Democrats.

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Moe Vela and Mark Grimaldi.  The roundtable discusses Michael Bloomberg's candidacy, how impeachment will affect the election, and whether Democratic in-fighting could be a major hurdle in defeating Donald Trump in November.

Moe Vela is a former Senior Advisor to Joe Biden and on the Board of Directors of 'TransparentBusiness.'  Mr. Vela served in President Obama’s administration as the Director of Administration and Senior Advisor in the Office of Vice President Joe Biden.  The stint 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.  His Twitter handle is @MoeVela.

Mark Grimaldi, or 'Marky Mark' as Leslie Marshall calls him, is the Executive Producer of this show and a Democratic Activist. 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.

Trump Budget's Devastating Cuts to Pay for Ultra Wealthy's Tax Breaks

Leslie is joined by Stephen Prince, a Tennessee businessman, founder and CEO of Card Marketing Services, and Vice-Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires.  The group is composed of hundreds of high-net-worth Americans who are committed to making all Americans better off by building a more prosperous, stable, and inclusive nation. They promote public policy solutions that encourage political equality, guarantee a sustaining wage for working Americans, and ensure that millionaires, billionaires, and corporations pay their fair share of taxes. 

Leslie and Stephen discuss President Trump's proposed 2021 fiscal year budget, which calls for significant cuts to domestic spending, primarily social safety net programs, and also projects extending the administration's signature 2017 tax cuts through the end of the decade.  The massive cuts would be to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP, Cancer Research funding, Education, the EPA, and more.

The website for the Patriotic Millionaires is www.PatrioticMillionaires.org, their Instagram handle is @PatrioticMillionaires, and their Twitter handle is @PatrioticMills.  Morris Pearl's Twitter handle is @StephenPrince51.

The Leslie Marshall Show - 2/12/20 - The Rise of Digital Disinformation

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

They discuss the spread of digital disinformation—and how the spread of lies and half-truths on social media platforms in particular have the potential to greatly influence our elections and the health of our democracy.

Pew Research published a report this past October that found that over half of adults in the U.S. get their news from social media “often” or “sometimes”—an 8% jump from the previous year. Those statistics get troubling when you consider both the amount of inaccurate or misleading information that gets circulated on social media—through organic posts from individuals, ads from campaigns, and even intentional interference from other countries—and the fact that this disinformation can be amplified via hyper-targeted paid advertising without much oversight at all.

To take a closer look at this problem and how we can start to solve it, Brent and Charlotte are joined by Rachel Curley, a Democracy Advocate with Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division, and Michael Beckel, Research Director at Issue One.

The Twitter handle for 'Public Citizen' is @Public_Citizen, and Rachel's handle is @rachEcurley. The handle for 'Issue One' is @IssueOneReform and Michael's handle is @mjbeckel.

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

The McKay Coppins article mentioned from 'The Atlantic' about digital disinformation is titled, "The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President." Here is a link to the article: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-2020-disinformation-war/605530/

New Hampshire Primary Preview

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 is 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 review Friday's Democratic Debate, analyze the race to take on Trump in November, and preview tomorrow's first-in-the-nation primary, which takes place in New Hampshire.

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with two guests who discuss the Democratic race for President, including a brand new Quinnipiac poll that shows some noticeable changes in the race.  The two guests are Will Jawando and Mark Grimaldi.

Will Jawando is Councilmember At-Large for Montgomery County, Maryland.  Described as “the progressive leader we need” by revered civil rights activist and Congressman, John Lewis, Will has worked with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senator Sherrod Brown, and then-Senator Barack Obama.
During the 8-year Obama Administration, Will had the honor of serving as Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, followed by a position as an advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in the U.S. Department of Education.. His Twitter handle is @WillJawando.

Mark Grimaldi, or 'Marky Mark' as Leslie Marshall calls him, is the Executive Producer of this show and a Democratic Activist. 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.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.