POLITICO Nightly: President Biden and King Charles’ marriage of convenience

 

View in browser   BY CALDER MCHUGH U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry (sixth from left) speaks to President Joe Biden and Britain's King Charles III during a climate meeting at Windsor Castle today. | Pool Photo by Kevin Lamarque via AP THE MONARCH AND THE COLONIAL — On the way to a NATO summit in Lithuania, President Joe Biden today made a quick stopover in England for tea with King Charles III — and an unusual discussion of policy. Biden’s first bilateral reception with Charles since he ascended the throne last September was devoted to a dialogue on environmental issues that included a joint briefing from Britain’s Energy Secretary Grant Shapps and U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry on trans-Atlantic attempts to “accelerate the deployment of literally trillions of dollars” of climate change investment, according to Kerry. Historically, visits between U.S. presidents and English monarchy have been more ceremonial than policy-oriented; they’re more likely to produce incidents like tittering from etiquette experts when former President Barack Obama gave Queen Elizabeth II an iPod as an official gift (though word is she loved it ). And Biden’s Irish-American roots suggest that his bond with Charles is not a natural one. In his autobiography Promises to Keep, Biden wrote, “When I told my mother I was going to have an audience with the Queen of England, the first thing she said was, ‘Don’t you bow down to her.’” His decision not to attend Charles’ May coronation roiled some pro-monarchy English politicians . Still, the two have found common ground. In 2021, Biden told then-Prince Charles that “we need you badly” to help with climate targets at COP26. And on Sunday, before their meeting, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that Biden has long considered Charles a “clarion voice” on climate issues. To some degree, it is a marriage of convenience. While the official website for the British monarchy says that “The Sovereign no longer has a political or executive role,” Charles isn’t about to pause his lifelong work of advocating for sustainability just because he’s finally on the throne. Meeting with the American president on the issue burnishes his credentials on a matter he cares deeply about. For Biden, the meeting offered an opportunity to showcase his commitment to climate issues just as his reelection campaign starts cranking — and his team has decided that investment in green technology is a winning issue . The two were determined enough to establish a new kind of relationship that they broke protocol in other ways as well. When Biden met Charles at Windsor Castle earlier today, he patted the king on the back — a gesture that violates royal norms, though one that’s commonplace for the often physically affectionate Biden. It’s a way of ever-so-lightly stripping down the veneer of cold formality. Responding to the contact, a source inside Buckingham Palace said , “His Majesty the King is entirely comfortable with that kind of contact — and what a wonderful symbol of warmth and affection it was between both the individuals and their nations.” The meeting with Charles wasn’t the only thing on Biden’s agenda today. He also met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, working on a relationship that the White House and 10 Downing Street are hoping to rebuild after the turbulent tenures of former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. (Biden and Sunak’s meeting was reportedly focused on Ukraine). It’s too early to tell if the meeting will lead to any progress on climate or significant diplomatic promises to one another. Symbolism remains at the heart of Biden and Charles’ meeting today. But the two are using centuries of tradition to try to tell a new story: about the priorities of the throne and the intentions of a president in a close race for reelection. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmchugh@politico.com or on Twitter at @calder_mchugh .   JOIN 7/11 FOR A TALK ON THE FAA’S FUTURE: Congress is making moves to pass the FAA Reauthorization Act, laying the groundwork for the FAA’s long-term agenda to modernize the aviation sector to meet the challenges of today and innovate for tomorrow. Join POLITICO on July 11 to discuss what will make it into the final reauthorization bill and examine how reauthorization will reshape FAA’s priorities and authorities. REGISTER HERE .     WHAT'D I MISS? — Senate GOP lands a top recruit in Nevada: Sam Brown, a decorated Army veteran who lost the GOP primary for a Nevada Senate seat last year, is launching another run for Senate — this time with the support of Republican leadership. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), the chair of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, endorsed Brown as he announced a bid today to oust Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen. It’s the latest example of Daines’ willingness to wade into primaries after a disappointing midterm cycle where his party failed to reclaim the majority. — Top Marine general steps down with no Senate-confirmed successor in place: Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s seven-month hold on all senior military promotions ran head-on into the long military history of smooth leadership handovers during a pomp-filled ceremony today at the Marine Corps Barracks in Washington. Commandant Gen. David Berger, whose four-year tour as the Marines’ top officer came to an end, was supposed to hand the reins over to Gen. Eric Smith, who has been nominated for the job. Instead, Smith will run the Corps on a temporary basis while he waits for Senate confirmation, thanks to the hold. Because he’s not confirmed, Smith will have to hold off on making any strategic decisions for the service. — Democratic Texas state senator launches bid for Ted Cruz’s Senate seat: Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez announced today he will run for U.S. Senate against Ted Cruz , making him the second prominent Democrat to challenge the incumbent Republican. Gutierrez, whose district includes San Antonio and the town of Uvalde, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school last year, criticized Cruz and other Republicans for having “abandoned” rural Texas communities in a new campaign video. NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 TRUMP RIPS ANOTHER GOP GOV — Former President Donald Trump publicly let loose against Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in a social media post today, following a New York Times report that detailed the Republican governor’s close relationship with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, POLITICO reports. “I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!” Reynolds has said she won’t formally endorse any of the candidates in the Republican primary, keeping in practice with past governors of her state, which holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses. However, the governor has appeared with DeSantis at each of the three events he has hosted in the state, including his first in-person campaign event, where she described her fellow governor as “a candidate who has shown us that he can, and all you have to do is look at his record.” DOUBLE SECRET PROBATION — There are a number of spots on the campus of Dartmouth College that would serve as bucolic backgrounds for a presidential candidate trying to win over the student body that gets to vote in the New Hampshire primary. The Alpha Delta house would not seem, on the surface, to be one of them. Located a stone’s throw from the college green in Hanover, the fraternity — known colloquially on campus as AD and culturally as the inspiration for the film Animal House — is neither imposing nor inviting. It is not a particularly inspiring place, even if there are those who love it. And yet, Alpha Delta has a semi-rich history of hosting those aspiring to be elected to the White House. Over the weekend, POLITICO reports, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and current candidate for president Nikki Haley became the latest to make the pilgrimage to the land of Bluto, Pinto and Flounder. TESTOSTERONE PRIMARY — Francis Suarez is bragging about placing sixth in an Independence Day 5K in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Vivek Ramaswamy, a former nationally ranked junior tennis player, is flexing his weekly pickup victories over former collegiate athletes at a Life Time Fitness outside Des Moines. And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the muscle-bound, 69-year-old longshot Democratic presidential hopeful, went viral for doing pull-ups shirtless at a Gold’s Gym. More than a month before the election cycle’s first debates, the 2024 presidential contest has careened into a kind of testosterone primary , POLITICO reports, a frenetic fit boy summer sidequest in which candidates are drawing fewer contrasts on policy and proving more keen on comparing feats of strength. AROUND THE WORLD President Joe Biden speaks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a meeting at the G20 summit in Indonesia last year. | Made Nagi/AFP via Getty Images OPEN FOR BUSINESS — President Joe Biden is planning to hold two high-profile bilateral meetings during the NATO summit this week , finding time to sit down one-on-one with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, write Jonathan Lemire and Alexander Ward . The sessions, described to POLITICO by two people familiar with the planning, will come on the sidelines of the two-gathering of transatlantic allies this week. On Tuesday, Biden will sit down with Erdoğan to convince the autocrat that he should accept Sweden as NATO’s 32nd member. Erdoğan has blocked the move for more than a year, claiming that Stockholm was too cozy with Kurds that Ankara considers to be terrorists. The last few weeks have featured a flurry of diplomatic activity to break the deadlock, and Biden will likely aim to secure a pathway forward in his face-to-face chat. The meeting with Zelenskyy, which is planned for Wednesday but not finalized, would be equally as testy. Kyiv hopes NATO would provide Ukraine with a speedy path into the alliance, even though Biden and other member nations oppose the idea of doing that soon. One reason is that making Ukraine an ally now would essentially put NATO at war with Russia, which continues its nine-year invasion. Biden will look to convince Zelenskyy that removing a series of bureaucratic hurdles and reforms, in addition to a large security commitment by the U.S. and some NATO allies, was the most Kyiv could get in Vilnius this year. Ukraine has not confirmed any plans for Zelenskyy to attend the summit.   UNLEASH THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE WITH POLITICO, A 7/20 INTERACTIVE EVENT: Imagine a future where rare genetic diseases are not only treatable, but potentially curable. Where our approach to chronic illness takes a monumental leap forward. That future is already taking shape in the form of next-generation health care treatments such as gene therapy. Join POLITICO on Thursday , July 20 and delve into the burgeoning field of gene therapies, which hold the power to redefine our health care landscape. Are you ready to explore this new frontier in health care? Don't miss this chance to be part of the conversation. REGISTER NOW .     NIGHTLY NUMBER $3.6 million The amount of money that Win it Back, a new group with ties to the anti-tax organization Club for Growth, is spending on an ad campaign in key early primary states to stop Donald Trump from steamrolling to the Republican nomination. The ad blitz will run through the end of the month. RADAR SWEEP RUNNING FOR YOUR LIFE — Do you think you could run for 24 hours straight? And on top of that, do you think you could do it on a monotonous track in suburban Pennsylvania, without any changing scenery to distract you? It takes a very particular kind of person to complete the ultramarathon “Dawn to Dusk to Dawn” — nicknamed D3 — where the goal, above all else, is to just keep moving. For Slate, Stephen Lurie visited the marathon and took a long look into the psyche of the people competing: why they do it, what it means to them to complete it and the community that surrounds the event. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1976: Queen Elizabeth II tours Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home, accompanied by historian Frederick Nichols (left) and curator of the Jefferson Museum James Bear (right). | AP Photo Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh Katherine Long @katherinealong   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Connolly leaving Boston DSA

 

BY LISA KASHINSKY FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: CONNOLLY CALLS IT — Mike Connolly isn’t giving Boston’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter the chance to kick him out. The Cambridge state representative says he’s dropping his affiliation with the leftist political group, days after 16 of its members filed a motion to expel him over a list of alleged breaks with DSA policies . His offenses, they said, include supporting Maura Healey for governor, voting for Ron Mariano for House speaker, backing Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s “milquetoast” rent control plan and promoting the British royals’ “greenwashing junket” to a climate-tech startup in Somerville last year. Connolly initially fought the effort to oust him, on social media and in various news outlets , blaming the call for his removal on new leadership of the Boston DSA chapter. Several prominent progressives, some of them Boston DSA members, publicly rushed to Connolly’s defense. Newspaper columnists weighed in on his behalf. Yet others called to let the group’s process play out at its July 23 meeting. In an attempt at compromise, eight DSA members proposed censuring , rather than expelling, Connolly for a pared-down list of alleged transgressions that includes not engaging with the group’s endorsement process after his initial 2016 run for state representative (which he disputes) and “undermining Boston DSA candidates and campaigns” by sometimes endorsing against them. But instead of mounting another defense, Connolly now says he’s “guilty as charged, and proudly so” of working with Democratic elected officials and activists who don’t fully align with DSA but are still “delivering results for working class and marginalized communities,” per a statement shared first with Playbook. “Why continue with an organization whose new leadership has made it clear they oppose seeking common ground with state leaders or building broader coalitions to benefit working people?” Connolly wrote. “The answer, sadly, is there is no reason to continue with an organization that holds such beliefs.” Boston isn’t the first DSA chapter to try and punish one of its own for allegedly deviating from the group’s values. Earlier this year, the Providence DSA withdrew its endorsement of a state lawmaker who the Providence Journal called a “rising star on the left” because he voted for an establishment Democrat to continue as state House speaker. Several DSA chapters pushed to expel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) in 2021 after he traveled to Israel and voted for funding for its military, but the national group’s overseers ultimately decided against it . The rupture over Connolly now stands as another example of the tension on the far left between maintaining ideological purity and growing political power. It also offers a window into the fissures that exist in Democratic politics in this deep-blue state where Republicans are the ones who typically draw headlines for infighting, but where disagreements among Democrats are starting to spill more into the open. And it’s a setback for the Boston-area democratic socialists who, after years of making gains on local city councils, are now watching their state legislative ranks dwindle from two representatives to one. GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Are you a Boston DSA member? Email me, we can keep you anonymous: lkashinsky@politico.com . TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll visit the Sumner Tunnel command center at 9:30 a.m. in Boston, attend a Black Empowerment Council meeting at 10:30 a.m. at the State House and visit the Haymarket RMV at 1 p.m. Driscoll meets with the Massachusetts Restaurants United board at 2 p.m. Rep. Richard Neal visits Camp Atwater at 1 p.m. in North Brookfield.   JOIN 7/11 FOR A TALK ON THE FAA’S FUTURE: Congress is making moves to pass the FAA Reauthorization Act, laying the groundwork for the FAA’s long-term agenda to modernize the aviation sector to meet the challenges of today and innovate for tomorrow. Join POLITICO on July 11 to discuss what will make it into the final reauthorization bill and examine how reauthorization will reshape FAA’s priorities and authorities. REGISTER HERE .     DATELINE BEACON HILL — AND THEN THERE WERE THREE: U.S. Army National Guard veteran Bruce Chester is the third Republican in the race to replace Democratic former state Sen. Anne Gobi in the Worcester and Hampshire district. Chester twice ran against state Rep. Jon Zlotnik , who’s also now running for Gobi’s former seat. Chester joins state Rep. Peter Durant and Rebekah Etique in the Republican primary. — REWIND: I joined Axios Boston’s Mike Deehan and NBC10 Boston’s Cory Smith on “@Issue” to talk about why there’s still no state budget and what could make the final bill. — MCAS CHANGES POSSIBLE: Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler told WCVB’s “On the Record” that the Healey administration plans to “take a close look at” whether MCAS should remain a high school graduation requirement as teachers unions push to discontinue the practice. “It’s possible it could change,” Tutwiler said. But “I wouldn’t say soon.” — “Special interest groups spar over wealth flight claims,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “A new report by the left-leaning policy group Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says IRS data from 2020 to 2021 shows that Massachusetts has a lower rate of outmigration among high-income households earning $200,000 or more a year than that of low- and middle-income households.” — “‘A nightmare of epic proportions’: Thousands of Mass. residents languish on subsidized housing wait lists,” by Diti Kohli, Boston Globe: “Among the lesser-known aspects of Massachusetts’ acute housing crisis are the myriad wait lists low-income residents go on to become eligible for a subsidized home. There is not one, but rather dozens of different lists — each maintained by a local housing authority or nonprofit. … In 2017, the average wait time across the lists was two years. By last year, it had doubled to four, according to a January report from the advocacy organization Housing Works.” — “What does the Governor's Council do? The Eagle catches up with North Adams' Tara Jacobs, who has been serving on it for the past seven months,” by Greta Jochem, Berkshire Eagle. FROM THE HUB — COUNCIL CATCH-UP: Veteran Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty cited the council’s infighting as a reason for abruptly ending his reelection bid last week. “A lot of the good work and the great effort gets lost with some of the infighting, as well as colleagues that have not been engaged in ethical and lawful behavior," Flaherty told GBH’s Alexi Cohan . That last piece is a nod to the $3,000 fine Councilor Ricardo Arroyo paid to settle a conflict of interest violation and to Councilor Kendra Lara crashing a car into a house and facing a host of alleged motor vehicle violations, including driving with a revoked license. Lara apologized in a statement Saturday that didn’t mention the alleged violations. "We are all accountable for our actions, and I am no different, which is why I offer my sincerest apologies to everyone, especially the people of District 6," Lara tweeted . "As an elected official, I've worked hard to center the dignity and humanity of my constituents. Today, I ask you to also see mine as I work to correct my mistake." She also pledged to continue serving on the council. Boston City Council President Ed Flynn, who admonished Arroyo and Lara in a statement last week but did not call for their resignations nor outline any discipline against them, is now asking the city to check the license , vehicle registration and insurance for every City Hall worker and councilor who takes advantage of the city’s employee parking, the Boston Herald’s Gayla Cawley reports. Two council hopefuls also told Cawley that they see the chaos as an opening to get elected to the city’s governing body. — “The discovery of a dead body in Southie led to 4 kids entering DCF custody and is now the front line of a Boston culture war,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe. THE RACE FOR CITY HALL — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: State Sen. Lydia Edwards , Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta and former Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley are endorsing Henry Santana in the at-large council race, his campaign said, marking some of the first major endorsements since Flaherty exited the field. — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Boston state Rep. Christopher Worrell and Councilor Brian Worrell are endorsing Sharon Durkan in the special election for District 8 city councilor. — WALSH WADES BACK INTO BOSTON POLITICS: Former labor secretary Marty Walsh is out of government and jumping back into local politics. The former Boston mayor is backing John FitzGerald in the race to replace District 3 City Councilor Frank Baker , who isn't seeking reelection, the Dorchester Reporter's Gintautas Dumcius scoops . — “For one Boston City Council candidate, questions about potential campaign violations prompt an apology,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “[Enrique José] Pepén reported more than $11,000 in campaign contributions for June, a haul that may contravene state law, which prohibits paid municipal employees who are not elected officials ‘from directly or indirectly soliciting or receiving contributions or anything of value for any political purpose.’”   UNLEASH THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE WITH POLITICO, A 7/20 INTERACTIVE EVENT: Imagine a future where rare genetic diseases are not only treatable, but potentially curable. Where our approach to chronic illness takes a monumental leap forward. That future is already taking shape in the form of next-generation health care treatments such as gene therapy. Join POLITICO on Thursday , July 20 and delve into the burgeoning field of gene therapies, which hold the power to redefine our health care landscape. Are you ready to explore this new frontier in health care? Don't miss this chance to be part of the conversation. REGISTER NOW .     PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES — “The MBTA’s new leader is more optimistic about Boston’s subway than you are,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “[Phil] Eng says he isn’t here to just fix [the T’s] long festering problems. He envisions a future where taking the T is a no-brainer, and not just for commuting. He sees throngs of New Englanders happily choosing to travel by train from brewery to brewery (he’s a big beer guy), instead of driving." — LOL: What’s worse than getting stuck in the Sumner Tunnel shutdown traffic? Not getting stuck in it, the Boston Globe’s Beth Teitell reports from a Dunkin’ at Logan Airport. ROLLINS REPORT — “Rachael Rollins ethics investigation transcripts withheld from the Herald,” by Flint McColgan, Boston Herald: “A Herald request for the interview transcripts behind the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel’s investigation into ex-U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins has been denied in full, with the agency citing ‘personal privacy’ exceptions.” FROM THE 413 — “STCC advocacy group, irked by president, logs complaints with AG’s office,” by Ron Chimelis, Springfield Republican: “A group that has advocated for administrative changes at Springfield Technical Community College has filed two complaints with the state Attorney General’s Office. The complaints raise questions about a possible conflict of interest and dispute the college’s references to where it stands in a national ranking of community colleges.” — "Think tank, the Western Massachusetts Policy Center, setting up shop in Northampton," by Mercedes Lingle, Daily Hampshire Gazette. THE LOCAL ANGLE — DOLLARS AND SENSE: The millionaires tax just didn’t add up for the Celtics’ Grant Williams , who’s now headed to the Dallas Mavericks , per The Athletic: “In Boston, it’s really like $48 million with the millionaire’s tax, so $54 million in Dallas is really like $58 million in Boston and $63 million in L.A.” — “Amid hiring slump, Massachusetts police departments look to leave civil service,” by Sean Cotter, Boston Globe: “Dozens of police departments across Massachusetts have left or are seeking to leave the state’s civil service process, saying the system that was created nearly 140 years ago to increase fairness and decrease political patronage in government jobs is now a roadblock to hiring the officers they want.” MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND — “Driver privilege cards for undocumented residents of 5 states — including Rhode Island and Vermont — now invalid in Florida,” by Edward Fitzpatrick, Boston Globe: “The driver privilege cards Rhode Island and Vermont are issuing to undocumented residents are considered invalid in Florida, meaning some drivers caught in the Sunshine State could face misdemeanor charges, or worse." 2024 WATCH — AND SO IT BEGINS: Iowa Republicans will hold their presidential nominating caucus on Jan. 15, 2024. New Hampshire’s primary will likely be Tuesday, Jan. 23 — but whether it’ll count on the Democratic side remains to be seen. — “Can Joe Biden make it ‘Morning in America’ again? Reagan’s ‘84 campaign offers a potential blueprint for reelection,” by Jim Puzzanghera, Boston Globe. — “Nikki Haley Makes Her Pitch in New Hampshire. It’s Unclear Whether Voters Will Swing,” by Maya King, New York Times. HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Equitable Opportunities Now policy co-chair and KG Consulting principal Kevin B. Gilnack and Green International Affiliates civil engineering project manager Corinne S. Tobias welcomed their first son, Tobias Gilnack , at 7:44 p.m. on June 8. Tweet . TRANSITIONS — Vikram Savkar has been promoted to EVP and general manager of compliance solutions at Wolters Kluwer. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Tamarack Garlow and Edie Mead Holway. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .   Follow us on Twitter Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters FOLLOW US

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This is how Biden shows whose side he’s on And how he can best define “Bidenomics” ROBERT REICH JUL 10 Friends, Let me begin today’s letter with a question: Why isn’t Joe Biden calling out Starbucks, along with its billionaire founder and recent CEO Howard Schultz, for its fierce union-busting campaign? (Also, for that matter, Reed Hastings’s Netflix for its refusal to treat its writers better, fueling the writers’ strike? And, very soon, Jeff Bezos’s Amazon, for its refusal to pay truckers more, fueling the UPS strike? And Elon Musk for firing three-quarters of Twitter’s workers?) Sometimes there’s no better way for a president to communicate what they represent than to say whom they’re opposed to and why. Exhibit A is Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech on October 31, 1936, in Madison Square Garden, while running for a second term: “In 1932 …. we had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.” If “Bidenomics” is to be understood as more than a bunch of technocratic policies, Biden has got to be seen to be on the side of workers — including young baristas trying to organize their workplaces — and squarely against people like Schultz, a billionaire Democratic fundraiser who supported Biden in 2020 but detests unions. Starbucks Workers United has won union elections in more than 300 Starbucks stores since December 2021, covering more than 8,000 workers — and won most by overwhelming margins — gaining between 70 and 80 percent of the total votes cast so far, and in parts of the country where private sector unions rarely win. Its campaign against Starbucks has inspired young workers across the country and breathed life into a labor movement whose official leadership has sometimes appeared out of touch with a new generation of labor activists. But Starbucks has refused even to bargain a first union contract. And to discourage further unionization, Starbucks has fired scores of pro-union workers, closed stores that have unionized, threatened to withhold wage and benefit improvements from stores considering unionizing, and packed them with new workers and outside managers. In response, the National Labor Relations Board has issued more than 93 complaints covering 328 unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks and ordered reinstatement of at least 23 fired workers. This is an opportunity for Biden, who calls himself the “most pro-union president in American history,” to send a powerful message: Howard Schultz and his Starbucks are a disgrace. Biden will not abide union-busting by Starbucks or any other corporation — including Elon Musk’s Tesla and Jeff Bezos’s Amazon. I know, I know: Biden wants to heal America rather than pick fights. (And the Democratic Party wants to keep corporate campaign donations rolling in, especially now that CEOs are increasingly reluctant to finance Trump.) But a president is understood not just through the allies they make but for the enemies they skewer. It’s time for Biden and the Democrats to show whose side they’re on by denouncing union-busting billionaires, such as Howard Schultz and Starbucks — as well as Reed Hastings’s Netflix, Jeff Bezos’s Amazon, and Elon Musk’s Twitter. What do you think?

July 9, 2023 HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

July 9, 2023 HEATHER COX RICHARDSON JUL 10 So many weeks of fog and rain here that it still barely feels like summer, but the gray skies make for interesting reflections in the water. Taking tonight off. Will be back at it tomorrow.