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The Tap: Wednesday, September 21, 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

  • The Wall Street Journal reported that the Clinton campaign ended August with $64.8 million in cash on hand. Combined with the $84 million held by a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic Party and $41.5 million recorded by super PACs backing her campaign, Clinton and her allies closed out August with $194 million. The Trump campaign ended the month with $50 million on hand. His joint party accounts totalled $47 million while his super PACs had approximately $6 million, giving Trump and his allies a total of $103 million at the end of August. Trump, however, outraised Clinton with small donors. Twelve million of the $41.7 million that he raised in August came from donations of $200 or less. $8.4 million of the $60 million that Clinton raised in August came from donations of $200 or less.
  • In a Fox News interview, Trump responded to a question about what he would do to cut down on inner-city crime by advocating the use of stop-and-frisk, a policing technique known for its use in New York City. He said, “I would do stop-and-frisk. I think you have to. We did it in New York, it worked incredibly well. And you have to be proactive and, you know, you really help people sort of change their mind automatically. You understand. You have to have – in my opinion, I see what’s going on here, I see what’s going on in Chicago, I think stop-and-frisk, in New York City, it was so incredible, the way it worked. Now, we had a very good mayor. But New York City was incredible the way that worked. So I think that would be one step you could do.” A federal judge ruled stop-and-frisk unconstitutional in 2013. On Thursday, Trump clarified that he was talking specifically about the city of Chicago, telling Fox and Friends, “Chicago is out of control, and I was really referring to Chicago with stop-and-frisk. They asked me about Chicago, and I was talking about stop-and-frisk for Chicago.” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) criticized Trump’s comments. He said, “Donald Trump talks about stop-and-frisk like he knows the facts. He has had no experience with policing, no experience with public safety. He should really be careful because if we reinstituted stop-and-frisk all over this country, you would see a lot more tension between police and communities.”
  • In an interview in Ohio, Trump responded to a question about why he decided to announce last week that he believes Barack Obama was born in the United States, saying, “Well, I just wanted to get on with -- you know, we wanted to get on with the campaign. And a lot of people were asking me the questions. And we want to talk about jobs. We want to talk about the military. We want to talk about ISIS and how to get rid of ISIS.”
  • Adam Walinsky, a former speechwriter for Sen. Robert Kennedy, wrote an op-ed in Politico, explaining why intends to vote for Donald Trump. He said, “[T]oday’s Democrats have become the Party of War: a home for arms merchants, mercenaries, academic war planners, lobbyists for every foreign intervention, promoters of color revolutions, failed generals, exploiters of the natural resources of corrupt governments. … in all the years of the so-called War on Terror, only one potential American president has had the intelligence, the vision, the sheer sanity to see that America cannot fight the entire world at once; who sees that America’s natural and necessary allies in this fight must include the advanced and civilized nations that are most exposed and experienced in their own terror wars, and have the requisite military power and willingness to use it. … That candidate is Donald Trump.”
  • Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have both offered reactions to the police shooting deaths of two black men, Terence Crutcher in Oklahoma and Keith Lamont Scott in North Carolina:
    • At a campaign event in Ohio, Trump commented on Crutcher’s death, saying, “I must tell you, I watched the shooting in particular in Tulsa and that man was hands up, that man went to the car -- hands up -- put his hand on the car. To me, it looked like he did everything you're supposed to do. And he looked like a really good man -- and maybe I'm a little clouded because I saw his family talking about him after the fact ... but he looked like somebody who was doing what they were asking him to do. This young officer, I don't know what she was thinking. I don't know what she was thinking, but I'm very, very troubled by that and we have to be very careful. Did she get scared? Was she choking? What happened? But people that choke, maybe they can't be doing what they're doing.”
    • Regarding rioting in the city of Charlotte that has followed the death of Scott, Trump said on Fox and Friends, “There's a lack of spirit between the white and the black. It's a terrible thing that we're witnessing. There's a lack of something. Something is going on that's bad. What's going on between police and others is getting worse. You have to have law and order. At the same time, you have to have a level of spirit, a level of unity. There's no unity. You look at the level of hatred, the rocks being thrown.” At a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Trump said, “If you're not aware, drugs are a very, very big factor in what you're watching on television at night. … There is no compassion in tolerating lawless conduct. Crime and violence is an attack on the poor and will never be accepted in a Trump administration. Never, ever.”
      • Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts responded to Trump’s comments about drugs in the Charlotte riots, saying, “I think it's presumptuous for him to make a conclusion like that without having thorough conversations with some of the folks who are here on the ground and really aware of what is going on and what the reasoning is. Several of our council members were out in the crowd last night, talking to people. I've been listening to folks. I've gotten lots of phone calls, I’ve talked to a lot of folks on the street. We have a much better understanding than Mr. Trump.”
    • Clinton addressed Crutcher’s and Scott’s deaths at a campaign event in Orlando, Florida. She said, “There is still much we don’t know about what happened in both incidents. But we do know that we have two more names to add to a list of African Americans killed by police officers in these encounters. It’s unbearable. And it needs to become intolerable.”
    • See also 2016 presidential candidates on the Black Lives Matter movement
  • At a rally in Orlando, Florida, Clinton shared her vision for an “inclusive economy that welcomes people with disabilities.” She made the following policy proposals to expand job opportunities for workers with disabilities: achieving a fair wage, increasing accessibility to higher education, launching a program called Autism Works to improve the success of workers with autism, and ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
  • The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to examine whether IRS Commissioner John Koskinen’s involvement in the investigation into the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups warranted impeachment. According to The Wall Street Journal, “House GOP hard-liners say impeachment is warranted because of the destruction of evidence sought by congressional investigators and because Mr. Koskinen failed to promptly inform Congress when he learned of the destruction.” Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) said to Koskinen, “Your overall record is one of gross incompetence and extreme negligence.” He then urged Koskinen to resign. After the hearing, Koskinen defended himself, saying, “There is no evidence anywhere that I knew something I didn’t tell people about, that I falsified or misrepresented or lied.” He added that he will not resign and that moving to impeach him would deter qualified people from working for the government in the future.
  • The Senate rejected a motion to block a $1.15 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia by a vote of 71-27. Sixty votes against the motion were needed to move forward. Supporters of SJRes 39—Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Al Franken (D-Minn.)—are concerned that Saudi Arabia will use the tanks and other equipment in missions to kill civilians.

State

  • Sarah Capp (R) was named the replacement candidate for District 82 of the Arkansas House of Representatives at a GOP convention after incumbent Bill Gossage (R) resigned. Since Capp was named less than 76 days before the general election, Gossage will stay on the ballot and his votes will be counted for Capp. Gossage is unopposed in the general election. Arkansas is one of 23 Republican trifectas, meaning that the Republican Party has control over the governorship, the state House, and the state Senate.

Local

  • Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) appointed state Rep. Don Ipson (R) to state Senate District 29 and appointed Walt Brooks (R) to state House District 75 on September 21, 2016. Ipson was appointed to replace Stephen Urquhart (R), who resigned on September 9, 2016. Urquhart resigned because his new job required him to relocate. Brooks was appointed to fill Ipson’s vacant seat. Both members are running for full terms in these districts in the November general election.
  • In Charlotte, North Carolina, a state of emergency was declared after the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparked violence and protests. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) called the National Guard to the city as protesters continued to attack reporters and civilians, break windows, and set fires. These violent incidents sprang out of a peaceful prayer vigil held at the condominium complex where Scott was killed by police officers on September 20, 2016. A group splintered from the prayer vigil and marched downtown, where a protester was critically injured. Charlotte police said that they did not fire on the man and the cause of his injuries remains unknown. Mayor Jennifer Roberts (D) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney called for calm. African American leaders representing the Scott family simultaneously held a press conference reminding citizens of other shootings and abuses of black men. The shooting of Scott came on the heels of the shooting of Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man, by police in Tulsa, Oklahoma. President Barack Obama (D) called both city mayors to obtain updates on the protests and to offer “assistance as needed.” Charlotte is the largest city in North Carolina and the 16th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney (D) condemned a state bill that would punish the city for its sanctuary status. Sanctuary cities are cities with policies limiting cooperation with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs (ICE) agency. The bill, sponsored by state representative Martina White (R-170), passed through committee on September 20, 2016, and will head to the full Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The bill would open the city to lawsuits for damages that result from crimes committed by people living in the country illegally. The bill will be withdrawn if the city discontinues its sanctuary city policies. The majority of sanctuary cities, identified and tracked by ICE, are located in California. Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the fifth-largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • In Austin, the election for Travis County sheriff will determine whether the city becomes the first sanctuary city in Texas. Democratic candidate Constable Sally Hernandez, who is favored to win the race, has pledged to reduce the county’s cooperation with ICE if she wins. The county would no longer hold inmates on ICE detainers, which are civil requests to hold potentially deportable prisoners who would otherwise be free to leave. According to ICE, Austin—the state’s capital and the largest city in Travis County—would become a sanctuary city under Hernandez’s proposed policy change. The Republican candidate, Joe Martinez, favors cooperating with ICE but has said he would only hold the worst offenders on civil detainers. Republican legislators have voiced opposition to Hernandez’s plan. Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) announced plans to introduce legislation that would strip sanctuary cities of state funding. Previous legislative attempts to ban or censure sanctuary cities in Texas have failed. Austin is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 11th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • In response to a spike in local and national violent crime rates, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) announced plans to hire nearly 1,000 additional police officers. The two-year hiring process will begin in January 2017 when an additional 100 recruits will be enrolled in the police academy each month. Emanuel has not announced a funding plan, but he vowed not to raise taxes to fund the expansion. It is estimated that the additional police officers will cost about $135 million annually, which increases to $175 million once the officers reach their fifth year of service. The police department will hire beat officers, detectives, and supervisors in an effort to decrease violent crime rates and increase “clearance rates”—the number of murder cases solved. Emanuel also pledged more resources for creating educational opportunities for and mentoring at-risk youth. Critics have questioned Emanuel’s ability to fund his proposal and have asked why current police officers could not be moved from safer areas into more crime-ridden sections of the city. Emanuel and police superintendent Eddie Johnson cited support for the plan, including the police union, multiple city aldermen, and crime expert James Alan Fox of Northeastern University in Boston. Chicago is the largest city in Illinois and the third-largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • In September 2016, the San Jose City Council voted 10-1 to declare a state of emergency over police staffing shortages. The declaration was backed by the San Jose Police Officers Association and Mayor Sam Liccardo (D). Beginning September 11, 2016, Police Chief Eddie Garcia received the power to reassign 47 officers from special duties such as investigations to fill vacancies as police officers. The San Jose Police Department estimated that 348 shifts are regularly filled by voluntary and mandatory overtime because of staffing shortages. San Jose is the third-largest city in California and the 10th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

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

  • The CEO of Mylan, Heather Bresch, the daughter of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D), will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on price increases for its EpiPen product. EpiPens are used by those with severe allergies to treat anaphylactic shock. A pack of two EpiPens costs $600, six times higher than in 2004. The hearing is being held in the wake of public criticism over the price increases, which led Mylan to begin offering $300 coupons for EpiPen and selling a $300 generic version. The committee is also investigating ways to increase competition for EpiPen and quicken approval of generic alternatives and plans to also call the FDA’s deputy director at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research to testify.
  • Impeachment vote: The House was expected to hold a vote to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Thursday, September 15, but House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) agreed to postpone the vote. Jordan and Goodlatte agreed to hold a hearing on Wednesday, September 21, when Koskinen will testify before the Judiciary panel. The Freedom Caucus released the following statement after the agreement was reached: "The House Judiciary Committee will finally hold impeachment proceedings of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen next Wednesday. This hearing will give every American the opportunity to hear John Koskinen answer under oath why he misled Congress, allowed evidence pertinent to an investigation to be destroyed, and defied Congressional subpoenas and preservation orders." According to Politico, “Conservatives say Koskinen impeded a congressional investigation when subpoenaed documents related to the IRS-tea party controversy were destroyed on his watch. Koskinen says he had nothing to do with lower-level employees erasing backup tapes of emails written by Lois Lerner, the IRS official who led the department that singled out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.”
    • On Thursday, September 15, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) said he still intends to hold a vote on impeaching Koskinen after Wednesday’s hearing. He said, “It only takes one. We're going to have a vote next week. I would be very disappointed if they waited till November or December or next year.”




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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