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Presented by Better Medicare Alliance: The unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Mike Zapler | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | Happy Indigenous Peoples/Columbus Day, Playbookers. Whatever you choose to call it, we’re publishing a little later today for the holiday — thanks for bearing with us. I’m Mike Zapler, Playbook’s editor, taking a hand at the wheel to give our round-the-clock-working team a breather. It’s also Boston Marathon day — and lo and behold, there’s a tie-in to reconciliation (just our luck!). Turns out KYRSTEN SINEMA is competing — and according to the Boston Globe, protesters plan to “birddog” her during the race to pressure her to back BBB. It’s the latest instance of activists using ever more — pick your descriptor: envelope-pushing, inventive, obnoxious, harassing — tactics to lean on key Democrats. BLOW-ING IT — You know things have taken a really bad turn for Democrats when liberal NYT columnist CHARLES BLOW describes the state of the party in terms you’d be more likely to read on the WSJ op-ed page. Here’s a sampling of Blow’s latest, headlined, “ Democrats, You’re in Danger”: “They just aren’t getting enough done. … The warning signs are all around. ... “Democrats are still wrangling over their infrastructure and social spending bills. … There is still a crisis at the border. … Then there is the massive, widespread assault on voting rights … [and] it is still not clear if there are enough votes in the Senate to pass voter protections … As for police reform, negotiations … completely fell apart. … “Not to mention that Covid is still killing far too many Americans . … Democrats have been unable to deliver much to make their voters happy … As a result, many recent polls have shown Biden’s approval ratings plummeting to the lowest level of his young presidency … Black voters continue to be Biden’s strongest supporters on many of these metrics, but even their support seems disturbingly soft.” Lest you think this is all a windup to an admonition to pass the infrastructure/reconciliation package … not quite. In Blow’s view, even that might not cut it: “[T]hose investments may come too late to discharge growing dissatisfaction.” Otherwise, the outlook is great! — Chris Cadelago and Laura Barrón-López have a simpler explanation for Biden’s woes: It’s the pandemic, stupid. “For the president and his allies, there’s only one clear way out: Reports from leading party operatives, some shared with the White House and Democratic committees, and polling provided to POLITICO, all point to Biden needing to get a handle on the virus to claw his way out of the muddle,” they write. — Related: “‘Frustration is at an all-time high’: Behind Biden’s falling poll numbers,” by WaPo’s Cleve R. Wootson, Jr. Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook, where we wonder what DAVID SHOR would say about the debate over what to call today’s holiday. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. | | A message from Better Medicare Alliance: 27 million seniors and people with disabilities are counting on Congress to stand up for Medicare Advantage. With a 98% beneficiary satisfaction rate, the lowest monthly premiums in 15 years, $1,640 in average annual consumer savings, and better health outcomes for seniors, it’s no wonder that so many Medicare beneficiaries entrust their health to Medicare Advantage. Read more about the Medicare Advantage difference. | | | Long weekends are a time for editors to assign “stepback stories” — big-picture pieces that ideally say something interesting and help fill the news hole when not much is happening. Here are a few we recommend from overnight: — The NYT’s Brad Plumer and Winston Choi-Schagrin write that the Democrats’ twin mega-bills “would be the most significant climate action ever taken by the United States. Because Democrats could lose control of Congress after 2022 and Republicans have shown little interest in climate legislation, it could be years before another opportunity arises — a delay that scientists say the planet cannot afford.” OTOH: “Falling short would hamstring Mr. Biden next month, when he is expected to attend a major U.N. climate summit in Scotland to try to convince other world leaders to take stronger climate action. ‘The whole world is watching,’ said Rachel Kyte, dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a climate adviser for the United Nations Secretary General. — Our own Sam Stein has a smart piece about how Biden and Democrats are getting little credit for the $300 per month per child checks that are flowing to Americans — a finding from a recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. “‘It’s great to deliver and do things, but you have to actually go out and tell the f---ing world about it,’ conceded one top Senate Democratic aide who worked on getting the child tax credit passed. ‘That’s not a two-month project. It has to keep going.’ “It’s also compelling officials in the party to revisit the calculation they made in January. Giving people money may not be the dispositive political winner that they imagined.” — WaPo’s Marianna Sotomayor takes stock of the House Progressive Caucus, writing that while it “has managed to surprise critics by remaining united and disciplined during tense standoffs this year, that cohesion could soon fracture when members will probably be forced concede that their shared policy concerns addressing climate, immigration, housing, education and health care may not survive the House and Senate negotiations …” | | A message from Better Medicare Alliance: Seniors are counting on Congress to stand up for the health coverage they need and deserve. Learn more about how Medicare Advantage creates value for taxpayers and provides high-quality, affordable health coverage to a more diverse, more at-risk beneficiary population in our 2021 State of Medicare Advantage report. | | | BIDEN’S MONDAY: The president will depart Wilmington, Del., at 3:25 p.m. to return to the White House, where he is scheduled to arrive at 4:20 p.m. The HOUSE and SENATE are out. | | | | THE MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE 2021 IS HERE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider” newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the largest and most influential gatherings of experts reinventing finance, health, technology, philanthropy, industry and media. Don’t miss a thing from the 24th annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, from Oct. 17 to 20. Can't make it? We've got you covered. Planning to attend? Enhance your #MIGlobal experience and subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray talks to members of the Massachusetts National Guard before the 125th running of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, Mass., on Monday, Oct. 11. | Jennifer McDermott/AP Photo | BEFORE WE GET TO THE SERIOUS STUFF — Headline of the day, courtesy of WSJ: “Rodents the Size of St. Bernards Swarm an Exclusive Gated Community” POLICY CORNER UNDERSTANDING OUR SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEM — The NYT’s Peter S. Goodman zeroes in on the Port of Savannah to explain what he dubs “the Great Supply Chain Disruption: They are running out of places to put things at one of the largest ports in the United States. As major ports contend with a staggering pileup of cargo, what once seemed like a temporary phenomenon — a traffic jam that would eventually dissipate — is increasingly viewed as a new reality that could require a substantial refashioning of the world’s shipping infrastructure.” REFUND THE POLICE — Another Goodman at the Times, David J., takes a look at the “abrupt reversals” on police funding a year after the George Floyd protests: “In cities across America, police departments are getting their money back. From New York to Los Angeles, departments that saw their funding targeted amid nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd last year have watched as local leaders voted for increases in police spending, with an additional $200 million allocated to the New York Police Department and a 3 percent boost given to the Los Angeles force. The moves “come in response to rising levels of crime in major cities last year, the exodus of officers from departments large and small and political pressures.” | | | | A message from Better Medicare Alliance:   Read more about the Medicare Advantage difference. | | | THE EX PANDEMIC A COVID PILL? — “Merck & Co Inc. said on Monday it has applied for U.S. emergency use authorization for its tablet to treat mild-to-moderate patients of COVID-19, putting it on course to become the first oral antiviral medication for the disease,” Reuters reports. AMERICA AND THE WORLD AFGHANISTAN LATEST — AP’s Kathy Gannon writes that after a weekend meeting between U.S. and Taliban officials the “U.S. has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster, while refusing to give political recognition to the country’s new Taliban rulers.” IRAQ’S ELECTION — Although Iraq unveiled a new voting system that enabled more independent candidates to compete, polling sites experienced low voter turnout in the country’s latest election over the weekend. “The vote was nonetheless expected to merely chip away at the edges of Iraq’s troubles,” NYT’s Jane Arraf reports. “Traditional political factions, many of them attached to militias, have seemingly insurmountable power, and much of the electorate has become too disdainful of politicians to feel compelled to vote at all.” | | | | INTRODUCING CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO’s new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. GET A FIRST LOOK AT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Terry McAuliffe got jiggy with it. Ron Klain liked a tweet by Mehdi Hassan suggesting that he, too, has had his fill of talk about David Shor. Tulsi Gabbard announced she’s been promoted to a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. Jared and Ivanka surfaced in Israel, attending an Abraham Accords event with Bibi. Also spotted: Mike Pompeo and Steve Mnuchin. (h/t Hadas Gold) Donald Trump sent a personalized video message on Ashli Babbitt’s birthday to “demand justice” for her. The Capitol Police officer who shot Babbitt on Jan. 6, when she tried to break through a barricaded door in the Capitol, said he did so as a last resort and has been cleared of wrongdoing. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — VP Kamala Harris is scheduled to speak at the 2021 Global Inclusive Growth Summit this Thursday, along with a slate of other speakers including former President Bill Clinton, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) and more. The details — Afua Atta-Mensah is joining Community Change as its first chief of programs. She most recently was executive director at Community Voices Heard. TRANSITION — Jackie Gulley is now SVP of comms at the Moody’s Corporation. She previously was a VP at S&P Global. ENGAGED — Jason Rodriguez, COS to deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves, and Dao Nguyen, a principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs, got engaged on Friday at El Secreto de Rositas, their date spot. They first met at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala two years ago as they staffed their respective bosses — Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) for Dao and Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) for Jason. Pic WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Taylor Bower, digital fundraising director at the NRCC, and Taylor Black, of DoD, got married on Sunday at Keswick Vineyards outside Charlottesville, Va. Pic — Tom Readmond, president and CEO of the Readmond Group, and Shivleen Dhaliwal, a public health adviser at HHS, got married Friday at the Sikh Foundation of Virginia, with a Christian ceremony Sunday. SPOTTED: Chris Butler, Bob Heckman, Liz Mair, Fernando Laguarda and Patrick Anderson. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) … Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) … Prime Policy Group’s Charlie Black … WSJ’s Tarini Parti … Katie Boyd of Sen. Roy Blunt’s (R-Mo.) office (4-0) … Maura Gillespie of Rep. Adam Kinzinger's (R-Ill.) office … Joel Riethmiller … Reason’s Mike Riggs … former Defense Secretary William Perry … former Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) … POLITICO’s Sara Smith, Brad Anderson and Javeria Khan … JetBlue’s Robert Land … Tom Gardner … Bruce Bartlett (7-0)… Maureen Rama of CRC Advisors … Twitter’s Lauren Culbertson … Alana Conant … Rob Speyer of Tishman Speyer … Jamie Weinstein, host of the “Jamie Weinstein Show” podcast … Kristina Costa … John Robinson … ProPublica’s Talia Buford … Marcus Veazey … Ken Danieli … Sandra Klassen … Karen Sommer Shalett … Michael Collins … Robert Lighthizer Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | A message from Better Medicare Alliance: With a 98% beneficiary satisfaction rate, the lowest monthly premiums in 15 years, $1,640 in average annual consumer savings, and better health outcomes for seniors, Medicare Advantage continues to prove its value to Medicare beneficiaries and the health care system.
Now, seniors are counting on Congress to stand up for the health coverage they need and deserve.
Learn more about how Medicare Advantage creates value for taxpayers and provides high-quality, affordable health coverage to a more diverse, more at-risk beneficiary population in our 2021 State of Medicare Advantage report. Read more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
