Politics with Amy Walter

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A Look at the SCOTUS Nomination Fight Sep 25, 2020

Show notes

The U.S. has observed a week of mourning since Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, in addition to partisan warfare regarding her replacement. Senate Republicans have decided they will move to confirm President Trump's nominee ahead of the general election. His announcement is expected Saturday. President Trump has said that the election could be decided by the Supreme Court and has implied that a justice appointed by him would be loyal in any case involving the election. NBC News National Political Reporter Sahil Kapur discusses what we can expect from the nomination process from now through the election.

Wisconsin is among the few states that played a decisive factor in Hillary Clinton's 2016 loss. This year, the state made headlines because of a flawed primary election that took place towards the beginning of the pandemic. Election officials struggled to keep up with absentee ballot requests, thousands of mail ballots were ultimately rejected, and when it came to in-person voting, photos of people waiting in line for hours, at the height of the pandemic, went viral.

Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, Politics Reporter and Washington Bureau Chief for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Craig Gilbert, and Wisconsin Public Radio’s Laurel White dissect Wisconsin's political landscape and share how seriously we should be taking polling.

Also, Black voters are the backbone of the Democratic Party. They are one of the party's most reliable voting blocs and failing to secure their votes will have significant electoral consequences. There is also a significant generational gap between younger Black Americans who feel alienated from traditional politics and older Black voters who are typically loyal to the Democratic Party. Vice President and Chief of Campaigns at Color of Change Arisha Hatch shares how Black voters are thinking about the voting process.

These conversations are part of a series called Every Vote Counts.

How Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Death will Affect the Battle for the White House Sep 19, 2020

Show notes

After serving 27 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday from complications associated with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman to be appointed to the highest court in the land. Early in her career as a lawyer, she was a champion for gender equality and in the time since has been elevated to a feminist icon.

Clara Spera, Ginsburg's granddaughter said her grandmother dictated the following statement before her death: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

While the race for the White House had already morphed into a turbulent, hyper-partisan event there's no doubt that Ginsburg's death underscores how consequential the November 3rd election will be.

In a statement issued on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Trump's nominee "will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.” That statement exists in direct opposition to his stance on Barack Obama's 2016 nomination of Merrick Garland.

Professor Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, and Sahil Kapur , national political reporter at NBC News, discuss Ginsburg's legacy and how her death could change the trajectory of the election cycle.

Raising (Votes in) Arizona Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

Arizona has been a reliably Republican state at the presidential level in every election since 1952 — except when Bill Clinton won in 1996. But a rapidly growing population has chipped away at the Republican advantage. In 2020, Arizona is rated a toss-up.

The state has had no-excuse absentee voting since 1991 and the numbers of voters who use this method continue to grow. As the president continues to malign the U.S. Postal Service and absentee ballots and question the integrity of the upcoming election, we hear from Katie Hobbs, Arizona Secretary of State, KJZZ Phoenix host Steve Goldstein, and P rofessor Lisa Sanchez from the University of Arizona.

Latino voters are a growing share of the population in states like Florida, Texas, and Nevada. In Arizona, they account for about a quarter of voters in the state according to Pew.

While national polling indicates that Joe Biden is ahead of President Trump when it comes to Latino voters, he hasn't been able to match Hillary Clinton’s margins from 2016. The Trump campaign is appealing to Latinos with a message centered on crime and the economy. The Biden campaign is using President Trump's response to the pandemic to illustrate that he's unfit to lead.

Daniel Garza, president of the conservative Libre Initiative, and Carlos Odio, co-founder of democratic Latino polling and analysis firm Equis Research, share their insights as to what's at stake for this electorate.

These conversations are part of a series called Every Vote Counts.

How North Carolina's Electoral Process Is Unfolding Sep 11, 2020

Show notes

While the bedrock of democracy is free and fair elections, the President has been sowing seeds of distrust throughout the course of the campaign. He's used his platform to spread conspiracy theories about the integrity of absentee ballots to his millions of followers.

The consequences of those lies can be seen in a recent Monmouth University poll that found almost 40 percent of Americans don’t believe that the elections will be conducted fairly and accurately. A majority of Americans say that they think the Trump campaign will try to cheat if necessary to win in November, while 39 percent say the same of the Biden campaign.

Aside from Barack Obama in 2008, North Carolina hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter in 1976, but polls show President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are neck and neck there. A contentious senate race is also on the ballot in the state.

North Carolina began sending out absentee ballots on September 4th. The more than 700,000 mail ballots that have been requested has shone the national spotlight on the Tar Heel State.

Chair of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, Damon Circosta, Michael Bitzer, a professor of Political Science at Catawba College, and Rusty Jacobs, politics reporter at WUNC North Carolina Public Radio, walk us through the state's electoral process.

Many credit Barack Obama’s win in North Carolina to strong turnout from African American voters. Exit polls that year showed African Americans making up almost a quarter of the electorate and they gave Obama 95 percent of the vote. Congresswoman Alma Adams of North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District and Professor Kerry Haynie, Political Science and African & African American Studies at Duke University, describe how the Biden/Harris ticket is working to convince Black voters to turnout.

As part of our continuing series on how the pandemic has changed campaigns, we checked in with Chase Gaines, Coalition Director North Carolina GOP. He describes what it's like to organize at this moment and what he's heard from voters while knocking doors.

These conversations are part of a series called Every Vote Counts.

The Role of Political Disinformation in the Race for the White House Sep 04, 2020

Show notes

Since May, protests have unfolded to denounce the way police interact with Black Americans. Most recently, the shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed father, has grabbed national headlines. Blake was shot in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The violent event has resulted in many taking to the street and demanding answers to why this keeps happening.

Maya King, political reporting fellow at POLITICO, and Katie Glueck, national politics reporter for The New York Times unpack how questions surrounding the role of law enforcement could alter November's election.

NextGen America is a political group that engages young voters to support progressive causes and candidates. Before the start of the pandemic, they interacted with students in-person on college campuses through voter registration drives and casual conversations about voting. Jared DeLoof, State Director NextGen America explains how they've adapted to the new reality.

The idea that disinformation and conspiracy theories thrive on the internet is widely known and has been part of the mainstream conversation since the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Despite attempts to remove bad actors and regulate social media networks, conspiracy theories are still making their way to the forefront of our politics in 2020.

Ben Collins, covers disinformation, extremism, and the internet for NBC, and Cindy Otis, vice president of analysis at the Alethea Group and author of “True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News” describe the methodology behind these nefarious actors and why they're committed to their cause.

Whose Convention Resonated Best? Aug 28, 2020

Show notes

Over the last two weeks, both the Republican and Democratic parties have proposed their visions for America and they could not be more different.

President Trump used his primetime speech to convince those watching that he was still the outsider that had been elected four years prior and that he would not conform to establishment politics, even though he is now the establishment. Joe Biden used his time to demonstrate that he believes that Trump is a threat to democracy and that reelecting him would mean four more years of divisive politics and the continued mishandling of the coronavirus.

Toluse Olorunnipa, White House Reporter at The Washington Post, Tim Alberta, Chief Political Correspondent at Politico, and Elaina Plott, National Political Reporter at The New York Times analyze the Republican National convention and share what the next 60 days could look like.

The economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic has left millions of Americans without work. That includes Angelica Garcia, who was a barista at Starbucks in The Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for 19 years. She shares what the last few months have been like for her and what her hopes are for the future. Plus, Heather Long from The Washington Post describes the overall health of the U.S. economy and whether Americans can expect more economic relief from the federal government.

In 2018, former defense department analyst Elissa Slotkin flipped a seat from red to blue in a suburban Michigan district that Trump carried by seven points. She credited extensive grassroots organizing for her success, including the 200,000 doors her team knocked. This time around, the restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic have made it impossible for her to reuse her 2018 playbook. Congresswoman Slotkin shares how she's adjusted her campaign and how she's working to safely interact with voters in person and online.

A Virtual Democratic Convention Aug 21, 2020

Show notes

This week, Joe Biden officially became the Democratic nominee for president in the first-ever virtual convention. While there were no crowds, handshakes, or applause to demonstrate excitement, the new format allowed for Americans across the country to participate.

Each night consisted of live and taped speeches where voters implored those watching to vote for Joe Biden. They spoke about President Trump's failure to address climate change, structural racism, gun violence, economic insecurity, and the coronavirus that has killed more than 170,000 Americans. A significant portion of the week was dedicated to bringing Republicans into the fold as many shared that they had voted for Trump in 2016 and came to regret doing so.

Headliners like Michelle and Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren stressed that the country is at an inflection point and that those in positions of power are working to dilute American votes.

Maya King from Politico, Astead Herndon from The New York Times, and Alex Roarty from McClatchy reflect on the historic convention and how it was received by those watching from home. Yamiche Alcindor, White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour, analyzes how President Trump spent his week.

Also, progressives are using a method called “deep canvassing” to engage with voters ahead of November’s general election. These are longer conversations that take place over the phone or in-person with the goal of changing someone’s beliefs by using personal stories and empathy to create a lasting connection. In the early 2000s, Steve Deline and Ella Barrett got involved with deep canvassing to understand why people had voted against same-sex marriage in California. They now run the New Conversation Initiative, a group that works with People's Action to teach deep canvassing to progressives.

This conversation is part of our continued look at the limits of campaigning during the pandemic and how activists and candidates are trying to connect with voters in spite of restrictions.

Processing a New Kind of Election Night Aug 14, 2020

Show notes

The surge in absentee ballots because of the coronavirus could mean the outcome of the presidential race remains undetermined for weeks after the first Tuesday in November. Recently, The New York Times published a piece about what the media may not understand about covering election night 2020.

The way election night coverage has unfolded in the past makes this new reality particularly tough to understand. But just because the exit poll data and electoral college tally that we are used to seeing populate our screens may not all be there by the time we go to bed does not mean there's something sinister going on.

Caitlin Conant, Political Director of CBS News and Rick Klein, the Political Director of ABC News describe how they're preparing both their newsrooms and the American people for election night.

This week, Joe Biden announced that Kamala Harris would join him on the Democratic presidential ballot as his vice president. Black women have been among the most loyal supporters of the Democratic Party, even though they're underrepresented in positions of power within the party. The Biden-Harris ticket is historic, especially as notable women in media and politics announced that they would be paying special attention to the way the media covers them. Valerie Jarrett, Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama reacts to the news.

On this show, we've been following how elections and campaigns have changed because of the pandemic. Among the most notable differences is the way campaigns interact with voters since large gatherings have been discouraged. Americans for Prosperity Action, a conservative organization linked to the Koch network, is knocking on doors in swing states in support of Republicans running in senate and congressional races. Tim Phillips, President of Americans for Prosperity, shares what he's learning from voters at the doors.

Black Women Are Center Stage in 2020 Aug 10, 2020

Show notes

This week, Cori Bush defeated longtime Democratic Congressman Lacy Clay, in the primary for Missouri’s First Congressional District. A safe Democratic seat, Bush is all but guaranteed to win in November when she will become the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Missouri.

Bush is one of more 100 Black women running for Congress this cycle, a record-breaking number, according to an analysis by the Center for American Women and Politics.

Women of color have also become the focal point of discussions around who Joe Biden will choose as a running mate. With this attention and scrutiny has come criticism and attacks, many from within the Democratic Party itself, which fall along familiar lines of racism and sexism.

Guests:

Kimberly Peeler-Allen, a visiting practitioner at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

Aimee Allison, is the founder and president of She the People.

In Pursuit of a Coronavirus Vaccine Aug 09, 2020

Show notes

While many countries have curbed their total number of coronavirus cases, the U.S. has recorded more than four and a half million, and more than 160,000 deaths. Inadequate national leadership has caused one of the easiest and simplest solutions to curb the spread of the disease, mask-wearing, to become the latest front in the culture wars

The White House has spread not only conflicting messages about the severity of the virus but also conspiracy theories about the science and the solutions to stopping the pandemic.

With no certainty to the end of the pandemic, many are relying on a vaccine as the only way back to the way things were but even a vaccine comes with its own set of issues. Finding a way to distribute hundreds of millions of doses of a vaccine in addition to convincing Americans that it is safe and effective could be an uphill battle. Communicating transparently is especially important with communities of color who have been disproportionately hurt by the coronavirus.

Guests:

Umair Irfan, Staff Writer at Vox

Carolyn Johnson, Science Reporter at The Washington Post

Dr. Jesse Goodman, Professor at Georgetown University and the Former Chief Scientist at the Food and Drug Administration

Gary A. Puckrein, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Minority Quality Forum

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