The Tap: Saturday, September 17, 2016

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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 #35 of The Tap, which was published on September 24, 2015. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• A series of terrorist attacks took place in New York, New Jersey, and Minnesota on Saturday that resulted in injuries to almost 40 people. There was an explosion in Chelsea, a neighborhood in New York City, a stabbing in a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and an explosion in a garbage can near a Marine Corps charity run in New Jersey. Police arrested Ahmad Khan Rahami in connection with the attacks in New York and New Jersey. The attacker in Minnesota, whom ISIS labelled a “soldier of the Islamic state,” was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. In addition to these attacks, explosive devices were found in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and a pressure cooker wired to a cell phone was found in Chelsea. Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton made statements regarding all of these events over the weekend and throughout the week.
  • Clinton discussed the terrorist attacks during a press conference on Monday, September 19. She emphasized the importance of supporting local law enforcement in antiterrorism efforts and launching "an intelligence surge to help identify and thwart attacks before they can be carried out." She continued, "In the Middle East, we have to smash ISIS’ strongholds with an accelerated coalition air campaign, more support for Arab and Kurdish forces on the ground and intense diplomatic efforts in Syria, Iraq and across the region." When asked to comment on whether Trump’s immigration proposals should be considered given that one alleged perpetrator was an Afghan immigrant, she said, "But let us remember, there are millions and millions of naturalized citizens in America from all over the world. There are millions of law-abiding peaceful Muslim-Americans. This is the kind of challenge that law enforcement can be and is prepared to address, namely going after anyone who would threaten the United States. So I am absolutely in favor of and have long been an advocate for tough vetting, for making sure that we don’t let people into this country — and not just people who come here to settle, but we need a better visa system. Let’s remember what happened on 9/11. These were not refugees who got into airplanes and attacked our city and our country. So let’s not get diverted and distracted by the kind of campaign rhetoric we hear coming from the other side."
  • Trump addressed the attacks in an interview on Fox and Friends on Monday, saying, “I should be a newscaster because I called it before the news.” As reports of the explosion in New York were still coming in, Trump stated at a campaign rally on Saturday night, “Just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what's going on.” In the Fox and Friends interview, Trump suggested that there could be more attacks in the future: “This is something that will happen, perhaps, more and more all over the country. Because we’ve been weak. Our country’s been weak. We’re letting people in by the thousands and tens of thousands. … We’re allowing these people to come into our country and destroy our country, and make it unsafe for people. We don’t want to do any profiling. If somebody looks like he’s got a massive bomb on his back, we won’t go up to that person ... because if he looks like he comes from that part of the world, we’re not allowed to profile. Give me a break.”
  • See also: 2016 presidential candidates on national security and ISIS and terrorism

• The New York Times reported that although the Clinton campaign has established 57 campaign offices in Florida and has spent tens of millions of dollars on television advertising there, she is underperforming compared to President Barack Obama in 2012 among white and Hispanic voters in the state. “If she’s getting 34, 33, 35 [percent] among whites in Florida, I’m going to start to buy a lot of antacids,” remarked Steve Schale, who was also the state director for Obama's campaign in Florida in 2008. In a Monmouth University poll of Florida voters released this week, Clinton polled at 35 percent with white voters.

Local

• In Butte County, California, a recall election for two Paradise Irrigation District board members was scheduled for January 24, 2017. The recall targets Division 3 board member Larry Duncan and District 4 board member Sep Carola. A third board member, Ken Hunt, would have been included in the recall attempt, but he is already up for re-election in November 2016. Recall supporters said they did not take issue with the remaining board members and are seeking the recalls due to the board's allegedly poor money management and poor communication with its constituents. The recall petition stated that the board's financial mismanagement drove the district close to bankruptcy. Recall proponents needed to collect 3,203 valid signatures for each official to schedule a recall election. There were 4,231 signatures on Duncan's petition and 4,157 signatures on Carola's. The county certified the signatures in September 2016.

Preview 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

• Donald Trump will speak at a private event in Houston, Texas, for The Remembrance Project, a group that describes itself as an advocate “for families whose loved ones were killed by illegal aliens.”
• Gary Johnson will be in Seattle for a fundraiser and a public rally. The fundraiser is set at $1,000 per person and will be hosted by former Nirvana member Krist Novoselic and Price Is Right host Drew Carey. Two high-profile Republicans in Washington state who have publicly expressed opposition to Donald Trump have said they might consider supporting Johnson: Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Bryant and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert.
• Hillary Clinton will give a speech at the annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards dinner in Washington, D.C., where she will receive the Trailblazer Award in recognition of her becoming the first woman to receive a major party’s presidential nomination. U.S. Reps. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) will also be honored.