Playinghardball
Playinghardball's JournalHillary in Crisis: Hollywood Democrats See Elizabeth Warren as Plan B
A version of this story first appeared in the March 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.As questions mount about Hillary Clinton's use of a private email account while serving as secretary of state, some Hollywood Democrats are beginning to think the unthinkable: If not her, then whom?
Norman Lear, the reigning elder among Hollywood progressives, sums up a common fallback position. If Clinton, 67, declines to run for president in 2016, he'll back lightning rod Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whose industry supporters are numerous and passionate. "Women only," Lear tells THR. "I think Elizabeth would make a great president."
Warren, 65, a former Harvard Law professor, has said she will not seek the Democratic nomination, but MoveOn.org has been organizing "Run Warren Run" gatherings on L.A.'s Westside. Among the movement's supporters are Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon, Matt Bomer and Darren Aronofsky. Other potential candidates being debated at industry functions are New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and even former Maryland Gov. and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
The new questions about Clinton's viability come in what has become a season of discontent for industry Democrats. Many in Hollywood privately have expressed dissatisfaction with President Obama. The more conservative power brokers are disappointed with his handling of threats to Israel, capped off by his recent clash with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran's nuclear program. Hollywood's more liberal contingent feels that many of Obama's policies on national security and his relationship with Wall Street have offered no improvement from predecessor George W. Bush.
More here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hillary-crisis-hollywood-democrats-see-780450
Elizabeth Warren says Pacific trade deal alarming ‘for everyone’
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday unleashed a fresh attack on a Pacific Rim trade deal being negotiated by the Obama administration, saying part of the proposed agreement raises “alarm bells” for everyone from conservatives to progressives.
In a call with reporters, the Massachusetts Democrat ripped the so-called investor-state dispute settlement process, a section of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. President Barack Obama is pushing hard for the TPP, which is a proposed 12-nation deal Obama says will benefit American workers and businesses.
Warren, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership, disagrees, at least about the section she singled out in comments on Wednesday.
“ISDS allows foreign companies to challenge American laws and potentially to pick up huge payouts from taxpayers without ever stepping foot in an American court,” she said on a call organized by the group Alliance for Justice. Warren added companies that want to challenge U.S. laws could do so before an international tribunal.
Warren said that conservatives oppose the process for challenging U.S. sovereignty; libertarians dislike its effective subsidy to countries with weaker legal systems; and progressives oppose its allowing companies to weaken labor and environmental rules
More here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/elizabeth-warren-says-pacific-trade-deal-alarming-for-everyone-2015-03-11
Iran Foreign Minister Gives GOP Senators A Dose Of Reality Medicine
Asked about the open letter of 47 US Senators to Iranian leaders, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Javad Zarif, responded that "in our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy. It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history. This indicates that like Netanyahu, who considers peace as an existential threat, some are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content.
Zarif expressed astonishment that some members of US Congress find it appropriate to write to leaders of another country against their own President and administration. He pointed out that from reading the open letter, it seems that the authors not only do not understand international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy.
Foreign Minister Zarif added that "I should bring one important point to the attention of the authors and that is, the world is not the United States, and the conduct of inter-state relations is governed by international law, and not by US domestic law. The authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfil the obligations they undertake with other states and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations.
The Iranian Foreign Minister added that "change of administration does not in any way relieve the next administration from international obligations undertaken by its predecessor in a possible agreement about Irans peaceful nuclear program." He continued "I wish to enlighten the authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement with the stroke of a pen, as they boast, it will have simply committed a blatant violation of international law.
More here: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/03/iran-foreign-minister-gives-gop-senators
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