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The Tap: Wednesday, August 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 #30 of The Tap, which was published on August 20, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

  • The Cook Political Report painted a grim picture of Donald Trump’s chances of winning the general election in an analysis based on its electoral college ratings. “For now, 84 days before the November 8 election, we see this race settling into a very high probability that Hillary Clinton prevails over Donald Trump, though the size of the margin is still up in the air,” writes editor Charlie Cook. The analysis states that Trump could win every state that Cook currently rates as a “Toss Up” and still lose. Tossup states, according to Cook, include Florida, Iowa, Maine (CD2), Nebraska (CD2), Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio.
  • Hillary Clinton talked tax policy at a rally in Ohio, highlighting both her proposals and those of her opponent Donald Trump. “We’re going to tax the wealthy who have made all of the income gains in the last 15 years. The superwealthy, corporations, Wall Street, they’re going to have to invest in education, in skills training, in infrastructure,” said Clinton. Commenting on Trump’s proposal to eliminate the estate tax, she said, “So if you believe that Donald Trump is as wealthy as he claims—we can’t say that for sure, but let’s assume it—he would, by eliminating the estate tax, save the Trump family $4 billion—and do absolutely nothing for 99.8% of all Americans.”
  • Richard J. Cross III, who drafted a speech delivered at the Republican National Convention by the mother of a U.S. information management officer killed in Benghazi, wrote an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun saying that he may vote for Clinton. “Despite what I wrote in that nationally televised speech about Hillary Clinton, I may yet have to vote for her because of the epic deficiencies of my own party's nominee,” wrote Cross.
  • Tim Kaine reportedly told a Virginia newspaper in 2002 that Bill Clinton should have resigned as president during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In the 2002 interview, which was uncovered by The Daily Beast, Kaine said, “If the allegations are true, he should definitely resign.”
  • The Associated Press reports that Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has been tied to “undisclosed foreign lobbying” in Ukraine. The AP writes, “Donald Trump's campaign chairman helped a pro-Russian governing party in Ukraine secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments to two prominent Washington lobbying firms in 2012, and did so in a way that effectively obscured the foreign political party's efforts to influence U.S. policy.”
  • After taking some criticism for not reaching out to the African American community, Trump made a direct appeal to black voters in a speech in Wisconsin. Commenting on the riots in Milwaukee, he said, “Law and order must be restored. It must be restored for the sake of all, but most especially for the sake of those living in the affected communities. The main victims of these riots are law-abiding African American citizens living in these neighborhoods. It’s their job, it’s their homes, it’s their schools and communities which will suffer the most as a result. … It is time for our society to address some honest and very difficult truths. The Democratic party has failed and betrayed the African American community.”
  • Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her VP pick, Ajamu Baraka, participated in a CNN Town Hall event. They discussed a range of topics, including Hillary Clinton, vaccinations, Barack Obama, and foreign policy.
    • Hillary Clinton: Stein’s questioned Clinton’s trustworthiness and judgement, saying, “I do have serious questions about Hillary's judgment, her safeguarding of national security information and above all, her trustworthiness in the job where she will have her finger on the button. … I have serious concerns about Hillary. That's why I'm in this race -- to provide an alternative.”
    • Foreign policy: Stein criticized the approaches of the Bush and Obama administrations in the war on terror: “We have a track record now of fighting terrorism ... This track record is not looking so good. We have killed a million people in Iraq alone. … What do we have to show for this? Failed states, mass refugee migrations and repeated terrorist threats.” Stein also critiqued Clinton’s stances on foreign policy, saying, “The war effort that Hillary has especially been the engine behind ... To my mind, that's just not compatible with what my view of feminism is, that has a responsibility, not just to your own family, but to all families and to the human family.”
    • Vaccinations: Asked if she was “anti-vaccine,” Stein said, “I think there's kind of an effort to divert the conversation from our actual agenda. The idea that I oppose vaccines is completely ridiculous.”
    • Barack Obama: VP pick Ajamu Baraka expressed disappointment with Obama, saying, “You have to basically call it as you see it and be prepared to speak truth to power. Obama had an historic opportunity to transform this country. He allowed his commitment to neoliberal policies and a neoliberal worldview to undermine the possibility of greatness.”
  • Gary Johnson wrote an editorial for Time, arguing, “We need to stop criminalizing personal choice.” Johnson voiced his support for smaller government and lower taxes, saying, “When government grows and takes more of our money in taxes, we lose freedom.” He also spoke about marijuana legalization and his stance on same-sex marriage: “Our nation learned from Prohibition that arbitrarily and unnecessarily banning behavior doesn’t work. The same lesson should be applied to marijuana. … Fortunately, the Supreme Court finally confirmed that the Constitution protects Americans’ freedom to marry who they wish. That decision was long overdue. Why do we need government to restrict marriage freedom?”
  • The Navajo Nation sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the agency’s role in the 2015 Gold King Mine spill. EPA personnel and a company under EPA contract triggered the release of toxic wastewater in an attempt to remove wastewater from the mine in August 2015. An October 2015 investigation by the U.S. Interior Department found that the spill could have been avoided if the EPA had monitored water levels inside the mine before it began digging. The lawsuit alleged that the EPA had failed to clean up the spill adequately and had delayed and resisted recovery efforts over the past year. Many Navajo have been concerned about the potential health effects and the negative effects on agriculture production due the heavy metals that have settled upstream from the Navajo Nation.
  • While participating in Fusion’s Libertarian Presidential Forum, Gary Johnson expressed opposition to hate crime laws. He said, “Look, I am scared to death regarding hate crime legislation. You’re talking about me throwing a rock through someone’s window. I should be prosecuted on throwing the rock, not my thoughts that motivated me throwing the rock through that window.” Johnson’s running mate, Bill Weld, took a different position. “Yeah, I don’t know. I think a burning cross on the lawn of a black church–you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know there is an overtone there,” Weld said.

State

  • Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D) resigned from office two days after she was convicted on seven misdemeanor charges and two felony counts of perjury. Her first deputy attorney general, Bruce Castor (R), automatically succeeded her to become acting attorney general.
    • Castor’s succession changed the partisan control of the office, as he was elected on the Republican ticket to two terms as Montgomery County district attorney and two terms on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners before joining Kane’s administration in 2016. Kane appointed him first deputy attorney general in July. Castor also ran for attorney general in 2004, losing to future Governor Tom Corbett (D) in the general election. On August 18, Governor Tom Wolf (D) nominated Inspector General Bruce Beemer (D) to serve as interim attorney general for the remainder of Kane's term. Beemer formerly served as first deputy attorney general under Kane, but he left in July after his name appeared on a list of witnesses for the prosecution for her perjury trial. Beemer was replaced as first deputy by Castor, who will continue to serve until Beemer is confirmed and sworn in—at which time, the office will shift back under Democratic control. Republican Senate leaders issued a statement praising Beemer's appointment and promising a swift confirmation vote.
    • The office is up for election in 2016, and filing deadlines have already passed; neither Castor nor Beemer can run for a full term in November. The winner of the general election will assume office in January 2017.
    • Click here to read more about the charges against former Attorney General Kathleen Kane.
  • A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upheld a lower court's decision preventing Michigan from repealing its straight-ticket voting option. In January 2016, Governor Rick Snyder (R) signed into law SB 0013, which eliminated the straight-ticket voting option on Michigan election ballots. On July 21, 2016, federal Judge Gershwin Drain issued a preliminary injunction preventing the state from implementing the bill's provisions. Drain found that the law discriminated against African Americans, who tend to vote Democratic. State officials appealed Drain's decision to the Sixth Circuit. In light of the Sixth Circuit's decision, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he intended to petition the entire Sixth Circuit for a stay of Drain's order. As of August 2016, 10 states provided for straight-ticket voting.
  • Arizona State Board of Education President Greg Miller resigned at the request of Governor Doug Ducey (R) in response to an ongoing feud with Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas (R). Disputes between Douglas and the board included several lawsuits over staffing purview and distribution of powers between the superintendent and the board, as well as an allegation of assault by Douglas against Miller. In November 2015, the Republican Senate president, majority leader, and majority whip together sent a letter to Miller and Douglas, imploring that the two end their disputes in order to allow the investigative unit of the board to effectively look into allegations of teacher misconduct. The state Senate introduced legislation in February 2016 moving the investigative unit under the purview of the superintendent, but granting authority over staffing changes to the board; Ducey signed the bill into law in May. Following the resolution, Miller and Douglas continued to clash over policy positions. In a statement announcing his resignation, Miller accused Douglas of "refusing to collaborate" with the board and allowing her "personal issues" with him to interfere with the board's agenda, which she denied.

Local

  • Cook County, Illinois, Circuit Court Judge Valarie Turner was removed from the bench after allegedly permitting a lawyer, Rhonda Crawford, to wear her robe and to preside over two trials. Both trials were related to traffic violations and will be retried by a sitting judge. Crawford is an employee of the court system who reports to Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. Evans made the decision not to pull Turner from the bench until the situation could be investigated, and he also suspended Crawford from her position. Turner was first elected to her judgeship in 2002 and was retained in both 2008 and 2014. Crawford is running unopposed for the Cook County First Subcircuit Court judgeship after defeating two opponents in the Democratic primary on March 15, 2016. The general election will be held on November 8, 2016.
  • In Los Angeles, leaders of the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative (NII) announced that if Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) concedes to city development reforms, the group will drop support for its March 2017 ballot measure to impose a moratorium on construction. The group’s desired reforms include a ban on city officials and real estate developers meeting privately, location-specific zoning regulations called "spot zoning," and developers selecting the consultants responsible for estimating the impact of construction projects. Members of NII also called for the Los Angeles government to rewrite its development plan soon. Mayor Garcetti met with the group following the announcement and indicated that he would consider its requests. Opponents of NII include some labor organizations and business groups who have put up their own ballot measure for November 8, 2016. This measure would require developments of a certain size to incorporate affordable housing and encourage developers to use local workers, pay standard wages, and employ members of apprenticeship training programs and workers with real-world experience.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to file in the general election for the mayor’s office and two city council seats in Irvine, California. The election will take place on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline was extended because no incumbents filed in the race by the first filing deadline on August 12, 2016. Following the second filing deadline, multiple candidates had filed for all three seats. Irvine is the 14th-largest city in California and the 85th-largest city in the United States by population.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #29 of The Tap, which was published on August 13, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

Local

  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to file in the general election for three city council seats in Bakersfield, California. The election will take place on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for the seats in Wards 2, 5, and 6 was extended because no incumbents filed in the race on the first filing deadline on August 12, 2016. Bakersfield is the ninth-largest city in California and the 52nd-largest city in the United States by population.



The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
March: 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
April: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
May: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
June: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
July: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
August: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
September: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
October: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7• 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
November: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
December: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 31
January: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
February: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17
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