The Tap: Monday, September 12, 2016
From Ballotpedia
The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
Review of the day
The excerpts below were compiled from issue #34 of The Tap, which was published on September 17, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.
Federal
On Monday, September 12, Ballotpedia’s senior staff writer Jim Barnes released a survey of more than 200 Democratic and Republican strategists, pollsters, media consultants, activists, lobbyists, and allied interest group operatives. The survey, conducted from September 2 to 6, found the participants divided over the likelihood of Democrats taking over the Senate this fall. Republicans concede that it is basically a 50-50 proposition that they will be able to retain their majority. Democrats were more bullish, but not overly confident they’ll be able to prevail.
The party operatives were asked to rate the chances on a scale of zero (no chance) to 10 (virtual certainty) that the Democrats would win the Senate. The 100 Democratic Insiders who participated in this survey gave an average score of 6.5, while 105 Republican Insiders registered an average of 5.1.
Ballotpedia also surveyed these same Democratic and Republican Insiders on their thoughts on the fate of the House of Representatives this November. The party operatives were asked to rate the chances on a scale of zero (no chance) to 10 (virtual certainty) that the Democrats would win the House. The 101 Democratic Insiders who participated in this survey gave an average score of 2.7, while 105 Republican Insiders registered an average of 2.0.
See also: Insiders divided on Senate races, give nod to GOP in battle for the House
Democratic responses
Republican responses
- In an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN, Hillary Clinton said she did not think her pneumonia was "going to be that big a deal." She continued, "I was supposed to rest five days -- that's what they told me on Friday -- and I didn't follow that very wise advice. So I just want to get this over and done with and get back on the trail as soon as possible.” The Clinton campaign also announced that it would release more of Clinton's medical records throughout the week.
- In an interview on CNBC, Donald Trump said that Janet Yellen, the chair of the Federal Reserve, has created a “false stock market” by keeping interest rates low to bolster Barack Obama’s legacy. Regarding interest rates, he said, “Well it's staying at zero because she's obviously political, and she's doing what Obama wants her to do … Any increase at all will be a very, very small increase because they want to keep the market up so Obama goes out and let the new guy ... raise interest rates ... and watch what happens in the stock market.”
- The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a petition submitted by the Minnesota Democratic Party to remove Donald Trump's name from the state's general election ballot. Minnesota Democrats charged that the Minnesota GOP had violated state election law when it filed the names of alternate presidential electors who had been selected by the state GOP executive committee instead of by the state convention. The court ruled that the Minnesota Democrats waited too long to submit their petition and that “every day of delay increases the potential prejudicial impact on election processes and the electorate's right to vote." The court also stated that more than one million ballots had already been printed in the state.
- The Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina endorsed Gary Johnson for president. The paper said, “We’ve surprised even ourselves with this endorsement, our first for a Libertarian for president. But the timing has never been better for this particular Libertarian, Gary Johnson of New Mexico. He is everything the presidential candidates for the two major parties are not, thank God.” The paper endorsed Barack Obama in 2012 and John McCain in 2008. The Winston-Salem Journal was Johnson’s second newspaper endorsement. The Richmond Times-Dispatch endorsed him on September 3, 2016.
- See also: Endorsements of Gary Johnson
- James Woolsey, who served as director of the CIA during Bill Clinton’s presidency, joined Donald Trump’s campaign as a senior advisor on national security issues. Woolsey, who had previously advised John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, indicated that he joined the Trump campaign because of Trump’s willingness to expand the defense budget, saying, “He seems to be very much more so than his opponent in favor of a strong defense budget and we have got a lot of space to make up, problems that have been left in defense by the Obama administration.”
- President Barack Obama met with some of the insurers that continue to sell plans on the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss what changes could be made to the exchanges to make them operate better. Some of the major attendees included Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Humana, and Highmark, Inc. The meeting was held ahead of multiple congressional hearings about the exchanges.
Congressional legislation
- Veto threat: Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said that he is confident his colleagues will override a promised veto from President Barack Obama of S 2040—the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). Cornyn said, "This would be the first one under this president and I think it would be well deserved.” He added that it is "baffling that ... Obama would rather make life easier for state sponsors of terrorism than he would lend support to the families of 9/11." The legislation proposes allowing victims of terror attacks to sue countries that support terrorism, even if the country is not on a designated list of state sponsors of terrorism. The legislation would specifically allow the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who carried out the September 11, 2001, attacks were Saudi nationals, but the Saudi government has denied having anything to do with the attacks.
- The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued statements of condemnation concerning the JASTA. The head of the GCC said the law was "contrary to the foundations and principles of relations between states and the principle of sovereign immunity enjoyed by states," according to Reuters. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also issued condemnations of the bill. UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement, "Such laws will negatively affect the international efforts and international cooperation to combat terrorism."
- The House passed HR 5484—the State Sponsors of Terrorism Review Enhancement Act—by voice vote. The legislation proposes prohibiting the president from removing a country designated as a state sponsor of terrorism from the sponsor list until it has been verified that the country has refrained from sponsoring terrorism for 24 months. Current law requires a country to refrain from sponsoring terrorism for six months. Additionally, the president would be required to submit to Congress a report justifying the removal of a country from the sponsor list 90 days before the country is removed. Current law requires 45 days notice.
State
- Former California Assemblyman Tom Calderon (D) was sentenced to one year in prison for laundering money for his brother, former state Sen. Ronald Calderon (D). He allowed bribe money to be funneled through the Calderon Group, a political consulting company. Calderon will serve half of his sentence in prison and the other half under house arrest. Tom Calderon represented District 58 in the state Assembly from 1998 until 2002, when he was succeeded by his brother Ron.
- Moody’s Investor Service has placed New Mexico under review for a possible downgrade of its bond rating. New Mexico currently holds an Aaa bond rating, but state revenue has been lower than expected due to the downturn in the oil and gas industries. Moody’s claims the review is triggered by the state’s recently released revenue estimates, which show a reduction of $348 million in expected revenue in fiscal year 2016 and a $556 million reduction in fiscal year 2017. Moody’s noted in its press release that New Mexico has “a long track record of taking timely action to address budget shortfalls and to maintain adequate reserves” and that the state legislature is expected to convene this month to address the issue. In addition to and as a result of this review, the service also placed four New Mexico public universities under review for downgrades.
Local
- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) nominated a new member to the Los Angeles Police Commission. The nominee was Shane Murphy Goldsmith, a social change activist. Goldsmith was nominated to replace Kathleen Kim, a three-year member of the commission who resigned to focus on her professional career. The commission is a civilian oversight panel that oversees the operations of the Los Angeles Police Department and has an inspector general that audits the police on the commission’s behalf. If confirmed, Goldsmith would be the third new commissioner added to the five-member panel in 2016. Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in California.
- The Cleveland City Council voted to put a minimum wage measure before voters in May 2017. If approved, the law will set the city’s minimum wage at $12 on January 1, 2018, and then increase it by $1 per year until it reaches $15. The city’s current minimum wage is $8.10. Cleveland is the 48th-largest city in the United States by population and the second-largest in Ohio.
- New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D) signed a bill banning firearms from certain city recreational facilities and imposing fines on individuals who fail to report lost or stolen firearms. The measure drew the attention of the National Rifle Association, who called the new law “misguided and potentially unlawful.” Landrieu had initially pushed for more regulations, but Louisiana law prohibits local law from imposing more stringent gun restrictions than exist in state law. New Orleans is the 51st-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in Louisiana.
- Click here to read more about preemption conflicts between state and local governments.
Preview of the day
The excerpts below were compiled from issue #33 of The Tap, which was published on September 10, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.
Federal
- The U.S. Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote on the Water Resources Development Act. The bill would fund $4.5 billion in water projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Approximately $4.8 billion would go toward water infrastructure updates nationwide, with approximately $220 million going toward drinking water programs for residents affected by the lead contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan. Conservative group Heritage Action told senators to vote against the bill, arguing that the legislation would increase federal involvement in local matters. The Sierra Club, an environmental group, criticized a provision in the bill that would give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certain enforcement authority over coal ash sites rather than allowing only citizen lawsuits challenging coal ash site operators in court.
State
- Chelan County Superior Court Judge T.W. Small will hold a hearing to determine if a recall effort against Spokane Mayor David Condon will proceed. City resident David Green filed a petition seeking Condon's recall due to allegations that the mayor withheld information during an investigation of Police Chief Frank Straub. State law requires a recall petition to show proof of malfeasance or misfeasance before signature gathering is initiated.
- The Tennessee General Assembly will convene a special session to repeal a law that would prevent the state from receiving $60 million in federal highway funds. Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notified state officials that unless they complied with federal law they would lose funding. During this year’s regular session, the legislature passed a DUI law that does not comply with the federal “zero tolerance” drunk driving statute. The state’s new DUI law raised the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for 18-to-20 years old to 0.08 and added tougher penalties for violators. The federal “zero tolerance” law sets the BAC limit to 0.02 for all drivers under 21. To avoid calling a special session, Gov. Bill Haslam (R) spent weeks in discussion with federal officials over a compromise, even promising that the law would be repealed in the legislature’s next regular session in January 2017, but the U.S. Department of Transportation would not budge. The state must repeal the law before the fiscal year begins on October 1 or permanently lose the $60 million. The special session will cost taxpayers $25,000 a day.
- House Speaker Beth Harwell (R) has also said that the legislature will attempt to expel state Rep. Jeremy Durham (R) during the special session. On July 13, 2016, the state attorney general's office released a report that found state Rep. Durham had inappropriate sexual conduct with 22 women affiliated with the legislature. Durham was defeated in the Republican primary on August 4, 2016. Unless he is expelled, Durham will receive a lifetime pension of $4,130 per year.
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