The Tap: Thursday, June 9, 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 #20 of The Tap, which was published on June 11, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• David French, the National Review writer and attorney whom Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol tried to recruit to run as an independent candidate against Donald Trump, published an article arguing that delegates to the Republican National Convention are not bound to vote for Trump. French stated, “Not one delegate is required to vote for Donald Trump. … If Donald Trump does emerge as the nominee of the Republican party, it will not be because anyone forced him on the GOP. It will be because every level of the GOP made a decision that he should represent its principles and values in 2016. No one can hide, and no one can run for cover. The party will decide.” With his article, French joined a growing chorus of conservatives arguing that the rules of the Republican Party either already allow or should be changed to allow delegates at the convention to abstain from voting for Trump or to vote for a candidate other than the one to whom they were allocated (namely, Trump).
  • See also: RNC Rules Committee, 2016, Rule 16 and its impact on the 2016 Republican National Convention, and NeverTrump movement

• The U.S. Supreme Court issued three opinions on Thursday.
  • In Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle et al., a six-justice majority affirmed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in holding that Puerto Rico is not a separate, sovereign government “deriving its power to punish from an independent source” under the meaning of the double jeopardy clause. As such, Puerto Rico cannot successively prosecute an individual for the same conduct under equivalent criminal laws if that individual has been prosecuted by the U.S. government.
  • In Dietz v. Bouldin, six justices affirmed the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that a U.S. district court has the inherent power to rescind a jury discharge order and recall jurors for additional proceedings after the jurors have been discharged, but only under circumstances that are carefully circumscribed to guarantee a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury.
  • In Williams v. Pennsylvania, a five-justice majority vacated the judgment of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Former Chief Justice Ronald Castille, one of the Pennsylvania justices hearing Williams’ appeal of his capital sentence, was the district attorney who authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty upon Williams’ conviction of murder. The U.S. Supreme Court held that “where a judge has had an earlier significant, personal involvement as a prosecutor in a critical decision” in a defendant’s case, that judge is obligated to recuse himself or herself under the due process guarantees of the 14th Amendment.

• President Barack Obama formally endorsed Hillary Clinton in a three-minute web video after meeting with Bernie Sanders at the White House. “I know how hard this job can be. That's why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office. She's got the courage, the compassion, and the heart to get the job done,” he said.
  • Vice President Joe Biden also endorsed Clinton. Discussing the Democratic effort to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, he said, “Keep in mind, we have another entire term of this potential confusion if the vote is not allowed this year. Anybody who thinks that whatever the next president — and God willing, in my view, it'll be Secretary Clinton.”

• U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) endorsed Clinton in an interview with The Boston Globe. “I’m ready. I’m ready to jump in this fight and make sure that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States and be sure that Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House,” she said. Warren also delivered a speech on Thursday night that criticized Trump and the Republican Party. She said, “Donald Trump chose racism as his weapon, but his aim is exactly the same as the rest of the Republicans. Pound the courts into submission to the rich and powerful.”

• A divided en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Second Amendment does not protect the right to carry concealed firearms in public in any degree, and that any prohibition or restriction a state may choose to impose on concealed carry—including a requirement to demonstrate “good cause,” however defined—is necessarily allowed by the Amendment. As this appeal was heard en banc by a federal appeals court, a subsequent appeal would be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court should the court grant certiorari and decide to address the Ninth Circuit’s ruling.

Bills and Amendments

• Key vote: The House passed HR 5278 - the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act or PROMESA by a vote of 297-127. The legislation proposes a plan to help Puerto Rico address its debt crisis “by establishing an oversight board, a process for restructuring debt, and expedited procedures for approving critical infrastructure projects.” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest asked the Senate to act quickly on the bill, saying, “We urge leaders in both parties to build on today's bipartisan momentum and help Puerto Rico move toward lasting economic prosperity.” Puerto Rico has a $2 billion debt payment due on July 1.

State

• Twin brothers Chris and Mike Schrimpf, who most recently worked together in the communications department of John Kasich’s presidential campaign, opened a consulting firm, Red Tack Strategy. Chris told the Columbus Dispatch, “We plan to do a mix of corporate, nonprofit and political work and are launching with half a dozen clients across that spectrum.” Chris previously worked for the Republican Party of Ohio and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, while Mike was deputy chief of staff for Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner. They worked together at the Republican Governors Association in 2010.

• The Michigan Board of State Canvassers unanimously approved a recall petition against Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) over the Flint water crisis. The petition, submitted by Calvin Hodges of Sterling Heights, states the reason for recall, saying that Schuette “publicly announced that he had appointed attorney Todd Flood as special counsel to spearhead … the Flint water crisis probe." Schuette appointed Flood on January 25, 2016, along with a team of investigators under a $1.5 million contract. He was later criticized for the appointment due to contributions made by Flood to the political campaigns of both Schuette and Governor Rick Snyder (R). Hodges called the team of investigators "a waste of taxpayers' money," as the state employs its own investigators, who Hodges asserts should have handled the case. Schuette had earlier cited the many civil lawsuits filed against various state agencies over the Flint water crisis as a conflict of interest for his investigators, so he therefore hired an outside agency. Petition backers must collect 789,133 signatures within a 60-day period in order to get the recall on the ballot. In other state recall news, the petition drive to recall Governor Snyder extended its collection deadline to June 27, disqualifying all signatures collected during the first three weeks.
  • Click here to read more about how recalls work in Michigan.

• Governor Jerry Brown allowed the Overturn of Citizens United Act Advisory Question to appear as an advisory question on the November ballot in California, although he did not sign the legislation. Senate Bill 254, the legislation calling for the question to be put before voters, was passed in the state Senate in June 2015 and in the state Assembly in May 2016. The question will be nonbinding and will ask voters whether or not state legislators should use what power and influence they have over federal issues to overturn the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission U.S. Supreme Court decision, which declared that the use of money in independent political advertising was protected by the right to free speech.
  • A previous version of the advisory question was slated to appear before voters in 2014 after Senate Bill 1272 was passed by the state legislature and approved for the ballot. (The governor did not sign the legislation). The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association filed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of legislatively referred advisory questions appearing on the ballot, and the measure was withdrawn pending court review. In January 2016, the California Supreme Court ruled that advisory questions could be referred to the ballot as long as they connect with what legislators will do in the future, making it possible for the question to appear on the 2016 ballot.

• West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D) has vetoed a budget from the state legislature. The budget covered a $270 million gap, but Tomblin wrote that the plan was “irresponsible” because it relied on $292 million in one-time cash from account sweeps and the state Rainy Day Fund. This was the legislature’s third attempt at a budget, and without one, the state government will shut down on July 1. State revenue this year was worse than expected due to hits to the coal and natural gas markets. Tomblin has offered the legislature tax increase ideas, but the House has historically rejected tax hikes and isn’t expected to vote differently, especially in an election year.

Local

• Two years after the Michigan state government kept Detroit out of bankruptcy, the state legislature decided to do the same for Detroit Public Schools. A $617 million bailout narrowly passed the Michigan Senate by a vote of 19-18 and will make its way to Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) desk. If signed, the law would split the school district in two and relieve it of its debt. The new district, Detroit Community Schools, would educate students, while the old district would serve as the district’s tax base and would be used to resolve the district’s debt over eight and a half years. The plan, supported by a unified GOP, has been criticized by Michigan Democrats who argue that it supports school choice and charter schools to the detriment of the public school system. Critics are also concerned that the money is inadequate to fix a district facing a large decline in student enrollment and that the proposal would not create an oversight committee to check the growth of Detroit-area charter schools. No alternatives, however, were proposed by the Democratic Party or community opposition. The school district was in danger of declaring bankruptcy during the upcoming summer months due to its budget crunch. Detroit is the largest city in Michigan and the 18th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Preview of the day

There were no items for this day in issue #19 of The Tap, which was published on June 4, 2016. See the "Review of the day" tab for more information.