The Leslie Marshall Show

Leslie is joined by Moe Vela, Former Senior Advisor to Joe Biden and on Board of Director of 'TransparentBusiness.'

The two preview tonight's Democratic Debate, the final debate before the Iowa Caucuses on February 3rd.

They cover:

- The dwindling amount of diversity on the debate stage for Democrats

- How much foreign policy talk will take place during the debate following the recent military actions between the U.S. and Iran

- Senator Warren confirming the news that Senator Sanders told her in 2018 that he did not believe a female candidate could defeat Donald Trump and become President (Senator Sanders denies saying that)

- Which candidates could realistically afford to lose Iowa, and potentially New Hampshire, but still win the race to become the Democratic nominee for President

- The significance of Vice President Biden picking up his tenth endorsement from a black member of Congress

Mr. Vella 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. Mr. Vela holds the distinction of being the first Hispanic American and gay American to serve twice in a senior executive role in the White House. 

You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeVela.

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 preview the final Democratic Debate before the Iowa Caucuses, which will take place on Jan. 14th and Feb. 3rd, respectively.  In the wake of recent military actions between the U.S. and Iran, Brad and Shawn discuss whether foreign policy will overtake healthcare as the hot topic of the debate.  They also analyze Vice President Biden being the top candidate in the Democratic primary polls among people of color, and its significance in the race to become the Democratic nominee for President.

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with two guests who continue the discussion on the upcoming debate, the Iowa caucuses, and also analyze the role that money is still playing in choosing presidential candidates.

The two round table guests are Kimberly Scott and Mark Grimaldi. Kimberly is the Founder and Publisher of DemList, LLC, a free national daily political column, calendar and resource site for Democrats and allies - a unique, central source that connects people to the who, what and where of Democratic events, issues and activism.

You can find out more about them at DemList.com and follow them on Twitter @TheDemList.

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.

Today's guest hosts are Edwith Theogene, Organizing Director for Generation Progress, and Emily Leach, Senior Press Associate for Generation Progress.  They're joined by a pair of expert guests to discuss and analyze the latest news on the impeachment of President Trump.

 

To help detail how the impeachment process has progressed and explain what’s still to come, Edwith and Emily are joined by Jeremy Venook, a Research Analyst with the Moscow Project and Morgan Finkelstein, the Press Secretary for the Moscow Project.

 

Some of the areas they cover are:

 

- Recapping the most important parts of the public impeachment hearings in the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee

- What is (and is not) currently happening in the Senate regarding the process for setting Senate rules for the impeachment trial

- What witnesses still need to be heard from (but have not yet testified) and why their testimony would be important

- How folks can get involved in the process and what they can say to their Senators about ensuring a fair impeachment trial in the Senate

 

The website for the Moscow Project is www.theMoscowProject.org and their Twitter handle is @Moscow_Project.   Jeremy Venook's handle is @JVenook and Morgan Finkelstein's handle is @momofink.

 

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress.  Edwith Theogene's Twitter handle is @WhoIsEdwith, and Emily Leach's handle is @emilyfleach.

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's guest for today's show is Colonel Cedric Leighton (Ret.), Founder and President of Cedric Leighton Associates, a strategic risk and leadership consultancy serving global companies and organizations. The Colonal's website is CedricLeighton.com and his Twitter handle is @CedricLeighton.

The two discuss and analyze the crisis between the United States and Iran.  This includes whether the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani was justified, the 'razor thin' intelligence showing that Suleimani was planning 'imminent attacks' on Americans (which is the rationale Trump has provided for ordering the killing), what other options Trump had, what Iran's response to the attack might look like, and how all of this could affect America's current political landscape.

 

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.

Today's guest hosts are Brent J. Cohen, Executive Director of Generation Progress, and Edwith Theogene, Organizing Director for Generation Progress.

 

They discuss a case that’s currently making its way through the Supreme Court, Comcast v. National Association of African-American-Owned Media. This case has significant implications for one of the oldest civil rights statutes that provides core protection for African Americans and other marginalized groups, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

To explain what is happening with the case and why we should all be paying attention to it, Brett and Edwith are joined in-studio by Dariely Rodriguez, the director of the Economic Justice Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Dorian Spence, the director of Special Litigation and Advocacy also at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

 

The website for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is LawyersCommittee.org and their Twitter handle is @LawyersComm.

 

Dariely Rodriguez's Twitter handle is @DarielyEsq and Dorian Spence's handle is @DLSCivilRights.

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress.  Brent J. Cohen's Twitter handle is @BrentJCohen and Edwith Theogene's handle is @WhoIsEdwith.

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 Hope Frye, an internationally recognized immigration lawyer focused on disadvantaged populations, especially women and children. She is the Co-founder and executive director of 'Project Lifeline,' a nonprofit focused on children who are or were in immigration detention in CBP jails, ORR shelters or ICE family detention facilities. Their mission spans the child’s experience with the goal of providing continuity of care. They are the only nonprofit with a medical and legal programs.Project Lifeline's website is www.ProjectLifeline.us and their Twitter handle is @ProjLifeline.

Hope and Brad discuss a new video that is challenging the narrative put out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding the recent death of a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant while in their custody.  Carlos Gregario Hernandez Vasquez died in a South Texas Border Patrol Station on the morning of May 20th, but not the way CBP would have the public believe, video published by ProPublica indicates.

Hope and Brad also analyze what's causing the disturbing trend that has led to six children dying while entering the U.S. after being detained by government officials since December 2018.

 

During the second half of the show, Brad is joined by Hope Frye's colleague, Dr. Dona Kim Murphey.  Dr. Murphey is the other Co-founder of 'Project Lifeline,' (along with Hope Frye), where she is the Director of Medical Initiatives.

 

Under the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols program (MPP), or “Remain in Mexico," asylum seekers are forced to stay in Mexican border cities for the duration of their asylum proceedings—a process that can take months or years. Since MPP was implemented in late January, more than 50,000 people have been sent back to wait in Mexico.  Matamoros is one of the Mexican cities where refugees have been forced to live while they wait for their asylum proceedings.  There are about 1,500 people living in a squalid tent camp in Matamoros, half of which are children, and according to Amnesty International.  

 

Dona and Project Lifeline just rolled out a new service this past weekend for the refugees waiting in Matamoros, Mexico, where they provide asylum seekers with forensic psych evaluations.  Since Dona was just in Matamoros this past weekend, she knows the latest on the conditions there. The cartel presence makes it too dangerous for humanitarian organizations to come in and provide regular food, water and sanitation.  However, CBP has deemed Matamoros safe enough for refugees to wait months for their hearings, and calls any accounts of kidnapping and violence “anecdotal,” yet the State Department warns U.S. citizens that it is a “Level 4 – Do Not Travel” region “due to kidnapping and crime.”

 

Dr. Murphey's Twitter handle is @dunkindona.

 

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.

Leslie is joined by Jonah Minkoff-Zern, Co-Director of Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People campaign, where he works to build a national movement for our democracy by building grassroots support nationwide to get money out of politics and ensure all voters have access to the ballot. He has mobilized people to push for a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, helped win voting rights and other election reforms in New York state and coordinated national support for the Second Chances Florida ballot initiative, which restored the eligibility to vote to Floridians with felony convictions.

Jonah and Leslie discuss the over 470 'Nobody is Above the Law: Impeach and Remove' events taking place nationwide on the eve of the House's full impeachment vote.  Public Citizen, which is one of the sponsors of the events, available for signup at Impeach.org, had the following press release on the demonstrations:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After two articles of impeachment were approved against President Donald Trump today in the House Judiciary Committee, a coalition of dozens of progressive groups and grassroots organizations announced that “Nobody is Above the Law” actions slated for the eve of Trump’s impeachment are now planned in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (The full House Impeachment vote is tentatively scheduled for next Wednesday, December 18th.  So the demonstrations are tentatively scheduled nationwide for Tuesday, December 17th at 5:30pm local time)

More than 470 “Nobody Is Above the Law” mobilizations are planned across the country on the night before the U.S. House of Representatives votes to impeach Trump, with more than 100,000 grassroots activists signed up via impeach.org to rally in support of impeachment. 

Over the past three weeks, members of the U.S. House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees have built a case against Trump from the testimony and public comments of national security officials and diplomats who observed the president attempting to extract personal political concessions from Ukraine in exchange for approved taxpayer military aid and an Oval Office meeting. 

On the eve of the House vote, protesters will gather in front of the district offices of House members as lawmakers finalize their positions. They also will gather at U.S. Senate offices and other locations, as Senators prepare for a likely trial. Activists will call on lawmakers to uphold the U.S. Constitution and their oaths of office by supporting Trump’s impeachment and removal. 

The evidence is overwhelming that Trump pressured Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 elections, using U.S. military aid and a White House meeting to extort Ukrainian officials into manufacturing fake dirt on Trump’s political opponent and then engaging in a criminal cover-up. While Congress continues its work on health care, the economy and other important issues, it also needs to continue these impeachment proceedings because nobody – especially Trump – is above the law and because Trump’s corruption and abuse of power represent an ongoing and imminent threat to the integrity of the 2020 elections. 

Americans from Beckley, W.Va. to Los Angeles, Calif., are ready to amplify the need to impeach, hold their representatives accountable and declare that not even the President is above the law. 

Activists who want to get involved can RSVP for an #ImpeachmentEve “Nobody Is Above the Law” events via Impeach.org, or participate in a town hall or rally in their district. 

Public Citizen's website is Citizen.org and their Twitter handle is @Public_Citizen.  Jonah's Twitter handle is @JonahMZ.

Leslie is joined by former Congressman, and current Democratic Presidential Candidate, John Delaney.  He won U.S. House District 6 in Maryland in 2012, and was re-elected in 2014 and 2016.  Rather than seek re-election to his House seat in 2018, in July of 2017, John became the first candidate to announce that he would run for President against Donald Trump in 2020.  Prior to his congressional career, John founded two New York Stock Exchange companies, as well as Blueprint Maryland, a nonprofit organization focused on the creation of jobs in Maryland's private sector.

John is the son of a Union Electrician and he and his wife April have four daughters.

 

Leslie and John discuss his Healthcare plan, his approach to Trade, Trump, and why John is running for President.

 

John's website is JohnDelaney.com and his Twitter handle is @JohnDelaney.

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 Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director for the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN), an alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies which address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations.The Coalition’s members include civil rights, religious, labor, and professional organizations, service providers and those concerned with the well being of children, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.Her Twitter handle is @DebbieWeinstein and the handle for the Coalition is @CoalitionHN.  The Coalition's website is CHN.org.Debbie and Brad discuss President Trump eliminating SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) for 688,000 Americans.  This is the first of three proposed moves by Trump's Agriculture Department that could impact 3.7 million low-income people, and not only able-bodied adults without kids. The Urban Institute estimates that as many as half a million families with children could lose SNAP eligibility.

During the second half of the show, Brad is joined by Leslie Marshall's Executive Producer, Mark Grimaldi.  Mark and Brad discuss the Teamsters Presidential Forum that Leslie moderated, and Mark reported on, from this past Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  This includes audio from former Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

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.

Today's guest hosts are Brent J. Cohen, Executive Director of Generation Progress, and Charlotte Hancock, Communications Director for Generation Progress.They discuss Gen Progress' annual 'Fight 4 a Future' summit, which is taking place this week.  The summit brings together advocates, activists, and organizers in the criminal justice reform + gun violence prevention spaces, from across the country, to discuss their work and goals and to learn from one another. To talk about their own activism, and what brought them to DC for the 2019 Fight 4 a Future Summit, Brent and Charlotte are joined on air by Chicago-based organizer Ronnie Mosley (Twitter: @RMosThere), and gun violence prevention advocate Karina Sartiaguin Vargas.You can find more information on the summit at genprogress.org/the-summit.The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress.  Brent J. Cohen's Twitter handle is @BrentJCohen and Charlotte Hancock's handle is @CharlatAnne.