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In the high-profile, expensive Senate race between Rep. Joe Kennedy and incumbent Ed Markey, Kennedy has made one argument particularly central to his bid: that Markey has not leveraged his Senate seat as effectively as he could to further the goals of the Democratic Party. The two men broadly align on liberal policy priorities, but Kennedy has repeatedly emphasized that theres more to being a senator than just casting votes and filing bills, and that he would make better use of a Senate seat than Markey has or will.

To underscore his point, Kennedy regularly refers to the way hes leveraged his seat in the House of Representatives, where he has served since 2013, namely the many fundraising trips he made during the 2018 midterm cycle, when he raised nearly $5 million for other Democratic candidates and helped his party flip the House. During that cycle, Kennedy served as a mid-Atlantic and New England regional vice chair for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and stumped for candidates in at least 15 states and D.C., including battleground races in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Arizona.

While Kennedy acknowledgesthat he has not used his platform to bring national attention to policy issues like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Ayanna Pressley have, he speaks proudly of leveraging his seat in a way that is most natural to me.

Yet his eagerness to claim credit for flipping seats two years ago contrasts with how Kennedy used to talk about such partisan efforts.

Following a rough 2014 midterm cycle, during which Democrats already a minority in the House lost 13 seats in that chamber, party officials began discussing how one of the partys young, rising stars might be key to reversing Democrats fortunes in 2016. Party operatives turned their sights to Kennedy and Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas as top candidates to potentially take over the DCCC and guide the party forward. One of the primary goals of the DCCC and its counterpart in the upper chamber, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is to flip seats held by Republicans. Kennedy, then 34 years old, was just finishing up his first term in Congress and was seen as a particularly appealing contender given his knack for fundraising, driven by his lineage and last name. The DCCC chair at the time was New York Rep. Steve Israel, who had already declared that he would not continue on for the 2016 cycle. California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who was expected to be reelected as House minority leader, would get to select the next DCCC chair.

But after Politico reported that party leaders were looking at Kennedy, the Massachusettsrepresentativequickly made clear to House Democratic leadership that he had no interest in a role that would mean dedicating his energy to unseating Republicans.Its an important job, Kennedy told Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi. But its not something that interests me. If I do the job right, I would be finding ways to beat those guys. Since joining Congress, Kennedy had been making a point to cast himself as more open to working with Republicans than many of his Democratic colleagues. He was a member of a small 6:30 a.m. exercise group led by Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, and a study from the Lugar Center and Georgetown Universitys McCourt School of Public Policy ranked him as the most bipartisan House member in all of New England.

In 2013, amid the federal government shutdown, Kennedy earned headlines for defending his tea party colleagues at a time when many, including President Barack Obama, were describing them as much more akin to extortionists. Theyre people too, Kennedy said, when asked his opinion of the tea party. Everyone here got elected. Everyone here got someone to vote for them. Everyone is genuinely trying to do the right thing for the country. At the time, nationwide public opinion of tea party Republicans had declined precipitously.

Kennedy then proceeded to dismiss the medias depiction of congressional divisions and said he understood that tea party Republicans are just seeking to represent their constituents who have a different worldview than those who live in Massachusetts. We talk about the Red Sox, their kids, and whether theyll have a chance to see them on the weekend, Kennedy told the Boston Globe. Regular old things co-workers would talk about.

When asked about his lack of interest in 2014 to lead the DCCC and if his thinking on partnering with Republicans has evolved, campaign spokesperson Brian Phillips Jr. said in an emailed statement, Congressman Kennedys legislation has always been guided by building relationships with his constituents and learning the needs of his district. In those efforts, he has developed diverse coalitions to deliver on those priorities, including tackling racial inequities in our education and health care systems, building a national manufacturing network, and enacting environmental justice policies. Beyond his efforts in Washington, he has served in a leadership role in the DCCC, campaigned in dozens of Congressional districts, raised millions for Democratic candidates and traveled the country to fight for progressive causes.

The high-profile race between Kennedy and Markey has grown increasingly competitive in the final days ahead of the September 1 primary. A new poll released on Monday of likely Democratic primary voters found Markey leading Kennedy by2 points 44 percent to 42 percent with 15 percent still undecided. Another poll, conducted by University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB and released last week found Markey with a more substantial 15-point lead over Kennedy. Two polls released in early May had shown Kennedy up by 2 points and 16 points, respectively. On Tuesday night, the candidates will face off in their final debate.

Politico reported earlier this week that Markey had raised $1.55 million in the preprimary period, which runs from July 1 to August 12, in addition to the more than $10 million he had raised by the end of June. The incumbent has $3.5 million on hand to spend in the last two weeks. Kennedy had raised nearly $1 million during that same period, on top of his nearly $8 million raised by the end of June. All told, more than $20 million has been raised for this contest.

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As a Rising Star, Joe Kennedy Didnt Want to Help Democrats Beat Republicans - The Intercept

Talk of tax rates and big-picture economic efficiencies may quickly glaze over plenty of eyes.

But when you talk about tax rates and someones fair share, youre likely get plenty of people fired up.

There are several different ways to think about tax policy, but a new study suggests many Americans view the topic of taxation through the lens of fairness.

That could be helpful context for viewers as the Democratic and Republican national conventions approach and talk of taxes and economy recovery from the coronavirus will surely be a theme.

The shared feelings about fairness is good news for a deeply-divided country. The bad news is, theres a deep divide on what counts as fair when it comes to income taxes and estate taxes.

While everyone cares about fairness, the meaning of this concept greatly differs across respondents: fairness truly is in the eye of the beholder.

Fairness is highly-mentioned and evenly distributed across the political spectrum, wrote Harvard University economist Stefanie Stantcheva. But while everyone cares about fairness, the meaning of this concept greatly differs across respondents: fairness truly is in the eye of the beholder.

Two different profiles of taxpayers emerge, Stantcheva said, working off two 2019 surveys, each with more than 2,000 participants. (The economist conducted the survey two years after President Donald Trump enacted tax cuts that lowered the rates for most income brackets and lowered the corporate tax rate.)

Dont miss:This is how much American workers saved during the first year after Trump tax overhaul

On income taxes, one profile typically says the tax code is unfair, adding that money in the country should be more evenly distributed. The other doesnt think the tax code is unfair or that inequality is a serious problem. Republican affiliation was the strongest predictor for someone to fall into the second profile, she said.

As for estate taxes, one group of taxpayers didnt worry about the personal effects on them and their family but they were worried about rich-poor divides when thinking about the tax. The other side thought most people were being wronged by estate taxes, which they viewed as unfair.

Again, Republican affiliation was the strongest predictor for fitting the second profile, Stantcheva said.

Using open-ended questions and word clouds, Democrats key words about income taxes touched on words and phrases like fair share, rich, lower class, middle class, tax wealthy and loopholes. Republicans focused on phrases like hard work or phrases that referenced government spending and waste.

Democrats used words like middle class and rich when talking about estate taxes, while Republicans used words like already taxed/paid and grieve.

On estate taxes, Democrats key words included middle class and rich. But Republicans focused on phrases like already taxed/paid, and words capturing the personal effect, like grieve or bury.

Under the Trump 2017 tax overhaul, the 40% federal estate tax starts at estates valued above $11.4 million and $22.8 million for couples. In 2026, it reverts back to 2017s exclusion of estates under $5 million, adjusted for inflation.

Americans have been linking taxes with fairness since before they were Americans: Patrick Henrys 1765 argument of no taxation without representation became a rallying cry for the 13 colonies. Meanwhile, well over 90% of taxpayers have consistently told the Internal Revenue Service that every American has a civic duty to pay taxes, according to the tax collectors annual data.

But the study, circulated Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, lands just ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

Joe Biden, the former vice president under Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic nominee, wants to increase the top income bracket from 37% to 39.6%, the Obama-era rate. He wants to raise the corporate income rate from 21% to 28%, which is underneath the 35% Obama-era rate. He would put the estate tax rate exemption at historical norms and get rid of the step up in basis, where an assets value resets in tax purposes when an heir receives it.

On Bidens own website, he says hell bring on economic recovery with programs and funds that come by reversing some of Trumps tax cuts for corporations and imposing common-sense tax reforms that finally make sure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.

On the other side of the aisle, Trump has floated the idea of fewer taxes on capital gains and an income tax cut for the middle class.

We are looking at expanding the cuts that we have already done, but specifically for middle -income families, and you will be hearing about that in the upcoming few weeks, Trump said at a news conference last week.

Earlier this month, he signed an executive order that would defer the payroll tax that employees have to pay, beginning in Sept. 1 and ending Dec. 31. The tax helps fund Social Security and the payroll tax deferral has critics on both sides.

Biden says the payroll tax should be applied to people making more than $400,000. Right now, the tax exemption starts for people making $137,700.

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Republicans and Democrats are split over whether estate and income taxes are unfair - MarketWatch

TOPLINE

With the Democratic National Convention underway, Republicans have begun to unveil plans for their own event next week, including a divisive speaker list featuring the St. Louis couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters earlier this summer, the Convington teenager captured in a viral interaction with a Native American elder and anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson.

Trump accepts the nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Patricia and Mark McCloskey, the St. Louis homeowners who gained national attention for wielding guns at protesters marching through their private neighborhood, were announced as speakers at the Republican National Convention on Monday, as the Democrats kicked off their first night with headliners Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

President Trump has repeatedly defended the couple, who was later charged with a class E felony for unlawful use of a weapon, siding with those who thought the McCloskeys had a right to defend their private property with arms.

Also speaking at the RNC is Covington Catholic High School graduate Nicholas Sandmann, who recently settled with multiple news organizations over a 2019 viral video in which the MAGA-clad teen was accused of being disrespectful to Omaha tribe elder Nathan Phillipsbut later footage showed Sandmann and his classmates were themselves being taunted by another group.

Criminal justice reform advocate Alice Johnson, whose life sentence on federal cocaine trafficking charges Kim Kardashian convinced the president to commute two years ago, was revealed as another RNC speaker on Tuesday, intending to showcase the Trump administrations justice reform progress.

Broadening the range of issues the RNC appears poised to address, former Planned Parenthood clinic director turned anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson and Andrew Pollack, the father of Parkland shooting victim Meadow Pollack, will also deliver speeches during the four-day event.

Other speakers include First Lady Melania Trump, several of Trumps children, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, GOP senators Tim Scott and Joni Ernst, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Pennsylvania congressional candidate Sean Parnell.

The RNC runs from Monday, August 24 through August 27. The overall theme for the week will be Honoring the Great American Story, with each day boasting its own tagline: Land of Promise, Land of Opportunity, Land of Heroes and Land of Greatness.

The president is expected to accept the nomination from the White House, drawing concerns over a possible ethics violation, while a group of approximately 300 Republican delegates will gather in-person in Charlotte, North Carolina. After initially fighting to hold an in-person convention in Charlotte and then Jacksonville, Florida, Trump canceled the plan in June due to coronavirus risks. Vice President Mike Pence will speak from Fort McHenry in Maryland.

Bernie Sanders, John Kasich To Pitch Biden To Non-Democrats In DNC Speeches (Forbes)

Donald Trump In The Crosshairs On First Night Of Democratic Convention (Forbes)

All The Republicans Who Have Endorsed Joe Biden For President (Forbes)

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Republican Convention To Feature Slate Of Viral Conservative Stars: St. Louis Couple, Covington Teen And More - Forbes

More Americans approve than disapprove by a 25-point margin.

August 16, 2020, 1:00 PM

3 min read

More Americans approve than disapprove of Joe Biden's choice of Sen. Kamala Harris for the 2020 Democratic ticket by a 25-point margin, 54-29%, in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Approval of the pick ranges from 86-8% among Democrats to 25-55% among Republicans -- notable that one in four Republicans approves. It's 52-29% among independents, potential swing voters in presidential elections.

See PDF for full results.

While reaction to Harris is broadly positive, the margin narrows among those who have strong opinions. Thirty-four percent of Americans strongly approve of her selection, while 22% strongly disapprove, a 12-point margin. One reason is that her strong support slides from 59% among liberals to 35% among moderates (and 17% among conservatives). It's also 30 points lower among racial and ethnic minorities under 40 compared with those who are older.

An undated handout photo shows former Vice President and presumptive Democratic candidate for President Joe Biden with Sen. Kamala Harris, after the campaign announced Biden has chosen Harris as his vice presidential running mate, Aug. 11, 2020.

Seventeen percent overall have no opinion in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates -- and initial impressions can change. Views were similarly positive, 60-34%, when John McCain selected Sarah Palin for the 2008 Republican ticket. Opinions of Palin turned more negative as the campaign progressed.

Seventy-eight percent of Black people and 65% of Hispanics approve of Biden's choice of Harris, compared with 46% of whites; these largely reflect partisan predispositions. Views are similar among women (56-29%) and men (52-30%). It's 55-28% in the suburbs. And results are similar among all adults, registered voters and likely voters alike.

Apart from Republicans, disapproval of Harris' selection is highest among conservatives (especially "very" conservatives), white evangelicals, rural residents and non college-educated white men, all core Trump support groups. Beyond Democrats and Black people, approval peaks among liberals, Northeasterners, those with postgraduate degrees and urban residents.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event, on her first joint appearance with presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden after being named by Biden as his running mate, at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Delaware, Aug. 12, 2020.

This is an initial release from the new ABC/Post poll; see full results, on Good Morning America and here on ABCNews.com, at 6 a.m. Monday.

This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Aug. 12-15, 2020, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults, with 75% reached on cell phones and 25% on landlines. Results have a 3.5 percentage-point error margin for the full sample, including design effects due to weighting. Sampling, field work and data processing by Abt Associates of Rockville, MD. See details on the survey's methodology here.

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54% approve of Harris selection, including 1 in 4 Republicans: POLL - ABC News

U.S. senators left Washington this week without taking action on another round of legislation to respond to the continuing COVID-19 crisis. Why has this proven so difficult? Like many other issues to face Congress in recent years, it has a lot to do with divisions among Republicans.

Recent weeks have seen two hallmarks of Majority Leader Mitch McConnells (R-Ky.) approach to legislating, especially during the Trump era: trying to use a deadlinereal or manufacturedto force favorable action, and in the words of the Washington Posts Robert Costa, letting [White House] players new and old try to take the lead in talks. Then when things fall apart, he talks to the president and gives him the 11th hour options. The problem is, however, that sometimes, both strategies have failedoccasionally spectacularly. In late 2018, for example, after weeks of efforts by the White House to secure funding for a border wall, the McConnell-led Senate tried to avoid a shutdown by adopting a short-term spending bill that would have kept the government open. But when a group of House Republicansled in part by now-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (R-N.C.)convinced the president to hold out for a measure that contained money for the wall, the federal government ended up partially shut down for a record 35 days.

This approachwhich, again, requires delay if it is to be successfulhas been deployed in pursuit of McConnells underlying goal: to preserve the Republicans Senate majority in 2020. In the current circumstances, however, it is unclear that there is agreement among his rank-and-file colleagues about what kind of policy response achieves that goalor whether one is even necessary. There are six seats held by Republicans that Democrats have a reasonable possibility of winning in Novemberin Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Montana, and North Carolinaas compared to just one, in Alabama, that Democrats expect to lose to Republicans. Recent polling of six swing states that include two of these (Arizona and North Carolina) finds popular support for additional direct payments to individuals, funds for state and local governments, and extending the $600-per-week in enhanced unemployment benefits.

But there is a substantial bloc within the Senate GOP conference who does not support those policies, even if they would help their most vulnerable colleagues electorally. Some of these opponents may actually believe, despite economic evidence to the contrary, that continuing to provide enhanced unemployment insurance benefits disincentivizes people to return to work. But more importantly, the anti-deficit rhetoric that many are using to describe their opposition suggests some number of the Republicans may be preparing for a potential Biden presidency in which obstruction of new spending, especially that benefits disadvantaged communities, is framed as fiscal restraint.

Negotiations have been made more complicated by what the White House has chosen to prioritize in negotiations. In particular, some White House priorities, like a payroll tax cut and funding for a new FBI building in downtown Washington, are not shared by Republicans in the Senate. Others, like a tax deduction for business meals, have Senate champions, but are not related to the more substantive issues at stake. While these kinds of smaller issues can be key material for trades in negotiations, focusing on them at the expense of the larger core provisions can make it more difficult to reach an ultimate deal. In addition, the White House has alternately indicated it is and is not willing to move forward without the so-called liability shield for businesses, which McConnell has referred to as his red line in the negotiations. There are certainly times in congressional bargaining where one participant will insist that something is non-negotiable merely to avoid blame for it getting rejected down the road. But, usually, members of the same political party are on the same side of those fights.

The White House been represented in the negotiations by Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Mnuchin has bargained with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi successfully in the past, including over a deal to raise the debt limit and statutory spending caps in 2019. Meadows, on the other hand, has a history as a House member of advocating actions that hurt Republicans chances of keeping the majority. In 2017, for example, Meadows was one of the chief architects of an amendment to the GOPs Obamacare repeal bill that weakened protections for people with pre-existing conditionsa provision on which many Democrats successfully ran against Republicans in the 2018 midterms.

Whether Congress and the White House can manage to revive the enhanced unemployment benefits and otherwise advocate additional, much-needed federal aid remains to be seen. But the well-being of millions of Americans depends on it.

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Why Senate Republicans and the White House cant agree on badly-needed COVID aid - Brookings Institution