wake up to politics - march 4, 2014.pdf

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THIS ISYOURW KE

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Headline

Kerry Heads to Kiev, as Obama Threatens Economic

and Diplomatic Isolation for Russia

Secretary of State

John Kerry is in

Kiev, Ukraine

today to meet

with top officials

of the country’s

new government.

In his one-day

trip, Kerry willstrive to reiterate

the strong support

of the United

States for

“Ukrainian sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and the right of

the Ukrainian people to determine their own future, without outside

interference or provocation,” according to the State Department.

This follows similar statements made by both the Secretary and Presidentover the weekend and on Monday, where both floated potential sanctions on

Russia for President Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of the former

Russian territory of Crimea. Before meeting with Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, President Obama told repor ters, “I think

the world is largely united that the steps Russia has taken are a violation of



international law. Over time, this will be a costly proposition for Russia.”

The President continued, urging Congress to pass a bill granting aid to the

Ukraine government, and saying that the U.S. government was considering

economic and diplomatic steps that would “isolate Russia” if they do not

withdraw forces in Ukraine. Secretary Kerry also threatened sanctions for Russia Sunday. “He’s going to

lose on the international stage,” Kerry said of Putin on NBC’s Meet the

Press. “Russia is going to lose, the Russian people are going to lose, and he’s

going to lose all of the glow that came out of the Olympics, his $60 billion

extravaganza.”

But the gears have already started turning on punishments for Russian

actions in Ukraine. The seven nations that make up the G8 (without Russia)

released a joint statement Sunday condemning the Russian government. TheG8, or the Group of 8, is made up of the world’s leading industrialized

governments – of which Russia is the largest. The group meets annually, and

the next summit is set for June – in Sochi, Russia.

In response, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the

United Kingdom, and United States joined together to announce in the

statement the suspension of all preparatory meetings for the Sochi summit.

And the U.S. is moving even further. On Monday, the White House said

they would not be sending a Presidential Delegation to the ParalympicGames set to open in Sochi on Friday.

The Delegation, which would attend the Opening and Closing Ceremonies,

attend events, and meet with athletes, was going to be led by Rep. Tammy

Duckworth (D-IL), an advocate of the disabled since the loss of both legs

and wounding of an arm in Iraq.

These are expected to be just the beginning of steps on the part of the United

States and other world powers to punish Russia and urge the nation to pull

back troops stationed in Ukraine, in hopes of decreasing tensions there.

White House Watch

The President’s Schedule At 11:10 AM, President Obama will visit Powell

Elementary School, a D.C. public school.



At 11:30, the President will speak from Powell Elementary about every kid’s

favorite topic....the budget! This is the perfect day for that speech as it is the

very day the budget process will start for the next fiscal year, as White

House aides deliver to Congress a bound and sealed copy of the President’s

FY2015 budget request. The President’s budget request, the White House outline of what the budget

should look like, is technically supposed to be submitted to Congress on the

first Monday in February, which was just over a month ago.

Proposals we already know will be in the President’s budget include more

spending for job training for laid-off workers; Earned Income Tax Credit,

for the working poor; as well as expand education options for preschoolers.

Obama is expected to offset the costs for these programs by ending tax

breaks for corporations. We also know the budget will include a large cut to personnel strength at the

Pentagon, as well as a greater focus on technology and equipment. The 2015

budget proposal will scratch the Army down to its smallest size since the

1940s. Obama will drop the “chained CPI” proposal from last year’s budget,

which would decrease the rate of increase for Social Security checks; and

also will call for a 1% increase in federal workers’ pay.

Following the First Lady Michelle Obama will be at the State Department

today to join Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom in honoringthe recipients of the International Women of Courage Award. As I explained

in today’s Headline, Secretary of State John Kerry is in Ukraine for the day.

Established in 2007 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary’s

International Women of Courage Award annually honors women across the

globe courageously working to advance women’s rights. The award is

always bestowed in a ceremony with the First Lady and Secretary of State

(unless when he/she is solving an international crisis) on or around March 8,

which is International Women’s Day. March as a whole is Women’s HistoryMonth.



Election Central

2014 Primary Season Gets Off to a Start Texas voters go to the polls

today for the first primary election of the 2014 season. Here’s a rundown of

some of the races to watch:

U.S. Senate John Cornyn, the Senate’s No.2 Republican, is running for re-

election to a third Senate term. After coming under fire for a number of

votes, on TARP, the debt ceiling, and opposing his home state colleague Ted

Cruz’s filibuster, Tea Party leaders were on the hunt for someone to

challenge Cornyn.

They found conservative Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX). After a campaign

launch that brought the endorsements of many Tea Party groups, Stockman’s

campaign went down quickly, and was poorly run with little funding. Top

conservatives began distancing themselves from Stockman, who is expected

to lose his challenge to Sen. Cornyn.

Texas Governor This is the first open race for Texas governor since 1990, as

incumbent Republican Rick Perry has announced he will not run for a third

term. Today will not be very suspenseful, as Democratic State Sen. Wendy

Davis and Republican Lt. Gov. Greg Abbott are expected to take home their

respective parties’ prizes. The general election will bring more fireworks,

with Democrats hopeful that rising star Davis can take back the Governor ’s

Mansion for their party. Polling, however, consistently show Abbott leading

the race.

U.S. House The one House race I’ll be watching today is Texas’ 4th district,

where Ralph Hall is facing the fight of his political career. Hall is seeking a

17th term, and at 90 years old, is currently the oldest member of the U.S.

House. Hall is also the oldest member ever to be elected to a House term,

which could bode badly for him today.

Ex-U.S. attorney John Ratcliffe has spent over $400,000 out of his own pocket to oust Hall, on the grounds that the congressman is too old and out

of touch to represent the people of northeast Texas.

From the Editor’s Desk



Run2Lead Hi everybody! I hope you all enjoyed and were interested in the

feature story, “Covering Common Ground,” from yesterday’s Wake Up, on

my interview with Molly Barker, founder of Run 2 Lead, a program

partnering fourth-graders and lawmakers to run a 5K together. You can read

the CORRECTED version of the story here.

Question of the Day

Today’s Question Today, March 4, is the day U.S. presidential

inaugurations used to be held, before the date was moved to January 20.

Which date has hosted more presidential inaugurations, March 4 or

January 20?

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