Russia withdraws key defense advisers support to Maduro, seen as major setback

Russia has withdrawn key defense advisers from Venezuela, an embarrassment for President Nicolás Maduro as Moscow weighs the leader’s political and economic resilience against growing U.S. pressure.
Russian state defense contractor Rostec, which has trained Venezuelan troops and advised on securing arms contracts, has cut its staff in Venezuela to just a few dozen, from about 1,000 at the height of cooperation between Moscow and Caracas several years ago, said a person close to the Russian defense ministry.
The gradual pullout, which has escalated over the last several months, according to people familiar with the situation, is due to a lack of new contracts and the acceptance that Mr. Maduro’s regime no longer has the cash to continue to pay for other Rostec services associated with past contracts.
Russia has been among Maduro’s biggest international supporters, but the winding down of Rostec’s presence shows the limits of Russia’s reach in the South American country at a time when Moscow is facing economic difficulties—in part due to the impact of U.S. sanctions—at home. Venezuela has been one of Moscow’s largest customers in South America.
Rostec’s withdrawal of permanent and temporary employees is a major setback for Maduro, who has frequently touted assistance support from Russia and China as a sign that other global powers are willing to assist him in his bitter standoff against the U.S. Russian military support has been central to Mr. Maduro’s pledge to defend Venezuela from any foreign invasion.
His government’s inability to pay Rostec also reflects the economic calamity gripping the country. The Maduro government didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Ocasio-Cortez tells Democratic hopeful Delaney to 'sashay away' after Medicare-for-All comment

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday used her formidable social media presence to play 2020 Democratic gatekeeper and told John Delaney, the former governor of Maryland, to "please sashay away" after he labeled Medicare for All “not good policy.”
Delaney, who was addressing the California Democratic Convention, was overwhelmingly booed when he raised concerns about the policy that would kick "150 million Americans off their health care." He said the initiative may sound good but “it’s actually not good policy, nor good politics.”
Medicare for All is a proposal that would put the government in charge of most health benefits. The AP recently reported that polls suggest that Democrats approve the idea, but many are hesitant about an abrupt shift from private insurance. Some are calling on a more incremental approach toward single-payer health care.
Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand have voiced their support for single-payer but have room for private insurance companies to still play a role in the system.
Warren told a voter at a Virginia town hall last month that it’s not “inconsistent” to pursue Medicare for All as well as smaller steps to get there, such as lowering the age for Medicare eligibility.
Some estimates put the 10-year cost of the plan at more than $32 trillion. Sen. Bernie Sanders said at a Fox News town hall that it would mean many Americans would "pay more in taxes." But he also argued the plan's costs would replace premiums and deductibles already being paid by American families, claiming many would pay less in the end.
Delaney was booed for his comments at the convention and tried to clarify that he is in favor of universal health care. But the crowd continued to boo.
“We should have universal health care,” he said. “We should have universal health care. We should have universal health care, but it shouldn’t be a kind of health care that kicks 150 million Americans off their health care. That’s not smart policy.”
Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to call on Delaney to step aside.
“Since there’s so many people running for President (& not enough for Senate), instead of obsessing over who‘s a “frontrunner,” maybe we can start w some general eliminations. This awful, untrue line got boo’ed for a full minute. John Delaney, thank you but please sashay away,” she posted.
Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Cartoons, Kamala Harris Cartoons

Veterans walk out on Ocasio-Cortez after she bashes Trump, US foreign policy

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bashed US foreign policy during a private meeting with Bronx community leaders, prompting two military veterans to storm out.
“She knocks the country, she knocks the president. And that’s not what America is about,” said Silvio Mazzella, a Vietnam War vet and treasurer of Community Board 11.
Anthony Vitaliano — an Army veteran who worked in the NYPD for 38 years, and commanded the Bronx’s homicide detectives — was sitting between Ocasio-Cortez and a staffer for the freshman Dem.

“She knocks the country, she knocks the president. And that’s not what America is about.”
— Silvio Mazzella, Vietnam War vet

“I just couldn’t hear her BS anymore,” the former CB11 chairman said. “I just got up, got my umbrella in my hand and walked right out.”

“I just couldn’t hear her BS anymore. I just got up, got my umbrella in my hand and walked right out.”
— Anthony Vitaliano, Army veteran who worked in the NYPD for 38 years

AOC held the closed-door meeting with about a dozen members of the board on Wednesday night, marking a rare visit to the Bronx part of her district.
One Middle Eastern board member raised the issue of the conflict in Yemen.
The progressive firebrand slammed the US policy of providing bombs to Saudi Arabia, which has supported Yemen’s government in a brutal civil war, according to attendees. Some blamed her for not including the roles of other nations in explaining the volatile region’s violence.
“Talking about America, that really turned me off completely,” said Mazzella, 74, who said he fought in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968.
When Israel came up later in the meeting, Ocasio-Cortez suggested President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are autocrats, according to a person at the meeting.
“I was revolted,” said the attendee, who didn’t want his name published.
He, Mazzella and Vitaliano said they all walked out in disgust before the end of the session.
Earlier, board members complained about problems with the US Postal Service, which regularly misses mail deliveries and a local Amtrak property that is a magnet for graffiti vandals. CB 11 is a working-class neighborhood on the eastern side of the Bronx covering Allerton, Morris Park, Pelham Gardens and Van Nest. In addition to parts of the Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez’s district includes north-central Queens.
“Did she care about the issues? She wrote them down,” said Vitaliano, 78. “The jury will be out on the local issues.”
She “danced around the whole” question of Columbus Day, for which the neighborhood holds a parade every year, said Vitaliano, who supports creating a day for indigenous people but wants to preserve the treasured Italian-American tradition.
AOC’s office denied that anyone stormed out of the meeting.
“The only person that left the meeting while it was underway was someone who had to go pick up their children,” said AOC spokesman Corbin Trent.
Asked about Trent’s comment, Vitaliano said, “That’s bulls–t. Everybody that was there knows I walked out.”

Mexican president expecting ‘good results’ on immigration from US-Mexico talks

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Saturday that he expects “good results” from upcoming talks in Washington and suggested he is open to reinforcing efforts to stem illegal immigration, according to reports.
The U.S.-Mexico talks will come less than a week after Trump announced on Twitter incremental tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico into the U.S. starting June 10 – unless Mexico stops the flow of migrants across the border.
The tariffs will start at 5 percent and rise 5 percent each month to an eventual 25 percent in October.
Lopez Obrador added that Mexican officials plan to convey what their country has been doing to stop illegal immigration to U.S. officials and they are open to additional measures – “without violating human rights,” according to the New York Post.
In a public letter penned to Trump on Thursday after his announcement, Lopez Obrador said Mexico wants to avoid confrontation, but stressed his country is already doing everything it can about immigration.
"Social problems are not solved with duties or coercive measures," he said.
Mexico’s foreign minister will leave for Washington on Wednesday.

Kamala Harris protester interrupted Bernie Sanders rally in 2016, report says

A protester who grabbed the microphone from U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris on Saturday at the California Democratic Party State Convention reportedly also interrupted a Bernie Sanders rally in 2016.
The protester, identified as Aiden Cook, 24, hopped onto the convention stage in San Francisco and snatched the microphone from Harris, saying he wanted to discuss “a much bigger issue,” the Mercury News of San Jose reported.
Harris look startled as the protester approached. The California Democrat, who is seeking the national party's 2020 presidential nomination, had been speaking about gender pay equality during a discussion sponsored by the liberal group MoveOn.org.
Moderator Karine Jean-Pierre quickly stood up, yelling, “Hey, hey!,” and attempted to grab the microphone back from Cook when security personnel suddenly intervened and took Cook away.
“It’s OK, folks. People have their own big ideas but we also want to make sure we are being respectful,” DJ Carmen Spindiego said as Harris briefly left the stage.
The candidate soon returned, laughing to cheers of “Kamala!”
“It’s all good, don’t worry,” Harris reassured the audience.
After the event, MoveOn posted an apology to Harris on Twitter.
"We sincerely regret that a protestor was able to gain access to the stage at our forum today & we apologize to Sen. @KamalaHarris," the message said. "The protestor was removed & the program resumed. MoveOn members were excited to hear Harris continue to discuss her Big Idea to achieve pay equity."
Animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere said afterward that Cook wanted to "call on Harris to support ordinary citizens rescuing animals,” the Bay Area's FOX 2 reported.
A total of 14 presidential candidates congregated at the convention Saturday, drawing both by cheers and some heckling at their respective appearances. The event represented an opportunity to win support from voters and party activists in the nation's most populous state.
While Harris had a strong start in January, her campaign has stalled in recent weeks as other Democrats have raised their profiles.
Cook told reporters he was not being charged with a crime, according to the Mercury News.

AOC's Green New Deal could have Dems facing blue-collar backlash at polls

California knows about fault lines. And political observers in the Golden State say the Democrats’ proposed Green New Deal may be a fault line that splits the party’s support – in California and elsewhere.
The environmental high-mindedness of the plan for combatting climate change – put forth by Democratic U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ed Markey of Massachusetts – appeals to the “elite” professionals the party has been courting for years.
But the potential disruption for the American labor, in which untold numbers of employees might have to transition from “old economy” jobs to “green economy” jobs, may be offputting for many blue-collar workers – potentially turning many of them away from Democratic candidates at the polls, some political observers say.
“Unlike the Mueller report --- and impeachment and indictment — people vote on whether or not they’re going to lose their job,” Jessica Levinson, a professor of politics and ethics at Loyola Law School, told Politico.

“Unlike the Mueller report --- and impeachment and indictment — people vote on whether or not they’re going to lose their job.”
— Jessica Levinson, professor of politics and ethics, Loyola Law School

In addition, Levinson said, many people who’ve spent years working in blue-collar union jobs “don’t necessarily want to be retrained” for so-called “green jobs.”
Signaling a potential blue-collar backlash, chants of “Garcetti’s gotta go” greeted Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in April when he launched his “Green New Deal LA” plan, Politico reported.
“[Garcetti's] got the big corporations with him, and he’s not thinking of the effects on the common people,’’ Paul Valdez, 58, a building trades worker from Thousand Oaks, told Politico. “If they start taking away our jobs, who’s going to pay our bills?”

“[Garcetti's] got the big corporations with him, and he’s not thinking of the effects on the common people.’’
— Paul Valdez, 58, building trades worker

Similarly, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio – a Democrat who’s now running for president – was openly mocked in May when he launched his local version of the Green New Deal.
The mayor was forced to shout for much of his speech amid jeers from a crowd of about a dozen protesters inside the lobby of Trump Tower, which also had music blasting over the speakers. A number of protesters rode up and down the escalator behind de Blasio carrying cardboard signs with slogans like “Worst Mayor Ever,” “Failed Mayor,” and “Trump 2020.”
“They’re scared of the truth,” the mayor said. “Anyone that has a problem with saving the planet, I have a problem with them.”

“They’re scared of the truth. Anyone that has a problem with saving the planet, I have a problem with them.”
— Bill de Blasio, Democrat running for president

The Garcetti and de Blasio plans were part of an effort by Green New Deal backers to push the effort through left-leaning local and state governments rather than face the Republican-led U.S. Senate and the veto pen of President Trump.
In New Mexico, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed her state’s version of the plan, the Energy Transition Act, into law in March.
“This is a really big deal,” Grisham said in a statement at the time. “In every corner of this state, advocates, utilities, young adults, unions, elected officials and families came together to push for and, today, enact this transformational law. The Energy Transition Act fundamentally changes the dynamic in New Mexico. This legislation is a promise to future generations of New Mexicans, who will benefit from both a cleaner environment and a more robust energy economy with exciting career and job opportunities."

"The Energy Transition Act fundamentally changes the dynamic in New Mexico. This legislation is a promise to future generations of New Mexicans, who will benefit from both a cleaner environment and a more robust energy economy with exciting career and job opportunities."
— Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-New Mexico

But not all workers find a potential transition to be exciting.
On Saturday, dozens of members of California’s Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents more than 400,000 workers, planned a “Blue Collar Revolution” demonstration at the California Democratic Party Convention site in San Francisco.
Robbie Hunter, president of the labor group, told Politico what the Green New Deal represented to the group’s members.
“All it does is do what the Democratic Party seems to be very good at lately — which is export our jobs, while doing nothing for the end game, which is the environmental,’’ Hunter said.
Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in California, says Democrats should heed a lesson from West Virginia.
“West Virginia, until 2000, was considered solidly blue,” Pitney told Politico, until the George W. Bush campaign reminded the state’s coal miners of opponent Al Gore’s ties to the environmental movement, which the miners viewed as a threat to their jobs. The state’s voters ended up backing Bush, 52 percent to 46 percent.
“So yes,” Pitney told the magazine, “this is a real hazard for Democrats, something that somebody from a state with extractive industries may want to recognize.”
Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Steny Hoyer Cartoons (House Majority Leader)