The Horse Race

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Episode 124: Testing 1, 2, 3 Mar 25, 2020

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3/25/20--It's another week of podcasting from our respective bunkers, and another week of coronavirus developments coming at us at breakneck speed. The impacts of the outbreak are even dipping into our elections even, exhibited by the moves to push back the March 31 special elections. Governor Charlie Baker administered a stay-at-home order, shuttering all non-essential businesses. Will Bay Staters listen to the Governor's call? According to the newest poll put out by The MassINC Polling Group and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the majority probably will, as most residents have already been tamping down their social interactions and non-essential errands already. Becky Walker Grossman is a Newton City Councillor running for Congress in the Massachusetts 4th Congressional District, and she joins Steve and Stephanie remotely to talk about her run. She says the outbreak has brought new significance to the issues that were important before all of this -- namely universal health care and access to childcare. 526950

Episode 123: Home Alone Mar 19, 2020

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3/18/20-- The spread of coronavirus has continued to ramp up across the state and the nation at large, and lots of people are switching to remote work. That includes us over at Horse Race Global Media HQ, so bear with us as we transition away from the comfort of our cozy podcast studio and wrangle with the technology that allows us to conduct interviews from a distance. Our first guest is Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, who updates us on how the Council operations have changed, and what it's like trying to connect with constituents in a time when connecting in person is medically inadvisable, but people are concerned and have many questions for local leaders. Next, Representative Jon Santiago serves the 9th Suffolk District of Massachusetts as both a member of the House of Representatives as well as an emergency room doctor for Boston Medical Center. He gives us a sense of what people -- both patients and fellow physicians -- are concerned about, as well as what policy ideas are circulating on the state and federal level to ensure the needs of our most vulnerable populations are met.

Episode 122: The Women Explain It All Mar 11, 2020

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3/11/20-- This week on The Horse Race, we're celebrating International Women's Day with an all-female cast. We begin with the scary news of the ever-growing novel coronavirus that has now been officially dubbed a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Here in Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker has declared a state of emergency, and as Politico reporter Stephanie Murray can attest, candidates campaigning for office are taking measures to limit human contact and reduce risk. WBUR reporter Zeninjor Enwemeka drops by talk about her recent coverage on the individual and state-level responses to the virus outbreak. Stores are suffering wipeouts of necessities like canned goods and toilet paper as consumers stock up for potential quarantine. But, she mentions, people she's spoken to are not exhibiting an attitude of panic, but rather an eagerness to be prepared. Meanwhile, the MBTA announced it will be cleaning and disinfecting its vehicles every four hours to tamp down on the spread of the contagious illness. Next up, Nina Liang, Quincy City Council President and executive director of Emerge Massachusetts makes a reappearance on The Horse Race, this time to talk about the national and state climate surrounding women in politics. Elizabeth Warren supporters were vocal about feeling dejected when the Massachusetts senator declared her withdrawal from the presidential race, and many of them pointed to the issue of sexism and the constant nagging buzz in Warren's ear that she didn't possess electability, a critique that's been widely branded as sexist on its face. Liang talks about the future of women in politics and what Emerge, an organization dedicated to aiding Democratic women who want to run for office, is doing about it. Finally, BFF of the pod and newly elected President of the Massachusetts State House Press Association Katie Lannan brings us an update on the new role as well as how the organization and the state legislature is doing in terms of gender parity.

Episode 121: The Horse Race LIVE: Super Tuesday Recap Barn Burner Mar 05, 2020

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3/5/20-- Super Tuesday has come and gone, and The Horse Race team is breaking down how it all unfolded. This week on our very special live edition, however, the Horse Racers were not the sole hosts! Gina Christo and Wilnelia Rivera of the Deep Democracy podcast served as special guest co-hosts, bringing insight and no shortage of hot takes to the conversation. Later, Will Rasky of Rasky Partners joins the discussion. He serves as an advisor to Unite The Country, an independent expenditure group supporting Joe Biden, and had a few things to say about the wild ride that has been Biden's ranking in the Democratic primary.

Episode 119: Debate Night & the Feeling's Right Feb 19, 2020

Show notes

2/19/20--We're coming at you today sandwiched between two debate nights. The first was yesterday's face-off between U.S. Senate candidates Congressman Joe Kennedy III and incumbent Ed Markey, and tonight's is, of course, the Democratic Primary Debate on the Las Vegas stage, where candidates Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. First, Jennifer and Stephanie recap last night's U.S. Senate debate hosted by WGBH. The two Democrats share most of the progressive views, and as Jenn noted, neither candidate voiced a succinct and definitive reason as to why he stands out in this race. "Both of these folks have been doing their, sort of, press tour about why Markey thinks he should keep the seat and why Kennedy thinks he should get it, but they didn't, either of them, really seem to have a short, quick, clean answer even after all of this time," Jenn said. -- Laws mandating that mental health be treated with the same level of seriousness and coverage as physical health have been on the books for 20 years now. But state lawmakers are now calling out a lack of regulation that has kept mental health on the back burner for decades, leaving many people with mental illness struggling. And last week, the Senate passed the Mental Health ABC Act. Steve sat down with Senators Julian Cyr and Cindy Friedman, two of the people responsible for the bill. Friedman said of the mental health parity laws that were first established 20 years ago, "I believe that the way that we enforced it was very general, and I think that what we saw is that it was just a lot of self-reporting." With the new legislation, Friedman says, "What we've done is say, 'Okay, we're really serious.'" Under the new bill, carriers would be responsible for reporting that they comply, and, as Friedman explains, "They have to show us, for instance, what the process is for determining whether a medical surgical benefit is covered versus what the process was for a similar mental health benefit." Cyr has had his fair share of mental health struggles and said that outpatient mental health therapy has been helpful in both managing his anxiety and "in helping me do things I never dreamed I could." Cyr himself has not been able to get consistent insurance coverage for his mental health care. "I'm probably one of the most savvy consumers you can imagine. I'm a 34-year-old State Senator. I know how to navigate bureaucracies and systems," Cyr said. "If I can't do this, imagine how many other people in the Commonwealth can't get the care they need and deserve."

Episode 118: NEIGHboring States Feb 12, 2020

Show notes

2/12/20-- The day we've been talking about for months has come and gone: The New Hampshire Primary. It presented few surprises if you've been paying attention for the past couple of weeks. Pete Buttigieg won the Iowa Caucus, and Bernie Sanders has enjoyed first-place polling status in the state. Sanders came out on top with 25.7% of the vote with Buttigieg right behind at 24.4%. Amy Klobuchar pulled out a startling third-place finish with 19.8% and six delegates. Neither Elizabeth Warren (finishing fourth) nor Joe Biden (fifth) who've previously enjoyed instances of high popularity this campaign won a single New Hampshire delegate. Last week, after the release of new data from The MassINC Polling Group on Massachusetts residents' opinions on climate change , we talked a lot about net-zero carbon emissions. The goal of net-zero by 2050 is one shared by the Massachusetts Senate, House, and Executive Office. And during MPG's poll release event, Secretary Katie Theoharides of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs emphasized the importance of this science-based target. But we didn't delve into what exactly net-zero emissions by 2050 means nor what steps we can expect will be taken to get us there. For that, Steve spoke with Eugenia Gibbons, Policy Director for the Green Energy Consumers Alliance. "We have to reduce those emissions as quickly as possible," Gibbons said. "The first way you do that is to try to eliminate the amount of emissions you're putting into the air through your human activity, but then net-zero is achieved when you allow for other strategies to absorb the remaining carbon from the atmosphere so you can get to a place where there's zero." Steve brought up the debate swirling about whether to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we should rely on existing sources of energy like natural gas as an interim step to ultimately get us to completely clean renewable energy. "The science tells us where we need to be. and we don't have anymore time to waste," Gibbons responded. "We do need to stop investing in fossil fuel infrastructure, and we do need to be looking at ways to accelerate adoption of clean alternatives. And the longer we take to do that, the harder it's going to be to get to where we need to be."

Episode 117: Net Zero to Hero Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

2/3/20-- Earth Day is not for another two months, but there's a lot of talk circling climate change in Massachusetts these days. Steve and Jenn break it down today with special guests, but first, an incident involving national horse race polling broke over the weekend that we at The Horse Race have a duty to address. A Des Moines Register / CNN poll surveying likely Democratic Iowa Caucus-goers was pulled before it was set for release Saturday night. According to Politico, a call center interviewer enlarged the question's font on their monitor, potentially cutting off some candidates' names in a randomized list following a question. Lis Smith, a senior adviser to Pete Buttigieg's campaign, announced the campaign had heard from a survey participant telling them not every candidate running was named when the interviewer asked who the participant supported. The incident prompted an empathetic response from Steve, our resident pollster here on the pod and president of The MassINC Polling Group who called the news "sad." "Polling involves dozens or even hundreds of things that you have to make sure are right, and they're all small things, and they're almost always all right because they're cut and paste from previous polls and that sort of thing. But something can go wrong, and something did go wrong here." The most recent poll conducted by The MassINC Polling Group avoided that fate, luckily. And it sheds new light on how Massachusetts residents think about climate change. First and foremost, the statewide poll of roughly 2,300 Massachusetts residents found that a majority of them see climate change as a serious challenge and are already feeling its impacts. There's a notable shift happening now in public opinion on climate change, which Steve can attest is rare. "On so many public opinion issues, it's just stable," he said. "The most visible example is Donald Trump's approval rating. This wild storm of stuff happening in national politics, and... nothing changes." On the issue of global warming, however, this poll finds 53% of Massachusetts residents say it is a high priority. That's a jump from 32% as recently as 2014. "This is one which reminds me more--potentially more-- of marijuana legalization opinion or same-sex marriage opinion where just inexorably over a period of years, stuff goes from one reality to a completely different reality." Find the detailed report at massincpolling.com/the-topline. Turning now to Beacon Hill, Steve and Jenn make their way to the State House to speak with Senate President Karen Spilka and Senator Mike Barrett about the trio of climate bills passed by the state Senate last week. They include, among other things, the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, which, Sen. Barrett describes as, "a very ambitious goal." He said, "It puts Massachusetts right where the United Nations body wants the world to be, and in that sense we are offering world leadership." Senate President Spilka said of the legislation, "We recognize that people across the state are asking us to take action, so we strengthen our goals and our requirements for down the line." Plus, Spilka provides a look ahead at the Senate's next big priority: mental health.

Episode 116: Do More with Lesser Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

1/29/20--Believe it or not, we are less than a week away from the Iowa caucuses, and the podcast bunker is filled with anticipation. Especially because after Iowa comes New Hampshire, and after New Hampshire, Super Tuesday when we all get to exercise our right to vote and revel in the democratic experience. In other news, the impeachment trial continues, and we turn to our very own pollster Steve Koczela to break down what voters think about whether Senators should call former National Security Adviser John Bolton to testify during the trial. This comes after revelations that a book manuscript written by Bolton contains evidence that would incriminate the President. Stephanie Murray has just returned from New Hampshire, where she covered an Elizabeth Warren canvassing event and met campaign surrogates who connected with Warren after being victimized by the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. They shared their story with Stephanie. Finally, we turn to the most vocal advocate for an east-west rail link, State Senator Eric Lesser, whose high hopes for the potential project include improving the congestion crisis in Eastern Massachusetts and stimulating the economy in Western Massachusetts.

Episode 115: If I Had a Billion Dollars Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

1/23/20--On Tuesday night, Governor Charlie Baker delivered his annual State of the Commmonwealth address, promising aggressive action to address climate change, a partnership with vocational schools and, in a breakaway from his usual stance, additional funding for the MBTA to the tune of $135 million. Stepping right into the chaos of Budget Day, Steve and Jenn drop by the State House to grill reporter and BFF of the pod Katie Lannan about what's inside the proposed state budget. Later, Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, discusses the status of the ROE Act as well as the national threats to the landmark reproductive rights decision Roe v. Wade, which celebrates its 47th anniversary this week.

Episode 114: Whatever Floats Your Vote Jan 15, 2020

Show notes

1/15/20--Tuesday's Democratic debate left Steve and Stephanie with little to discuss save a symbolic handshake snub that points to a breakdown of the Warren/Sanders alliance. The pact between the two Senators had previously established a no-attack zone. But news broke Monday that the Sanders campaign allegedly dispensed a canvassing script to staffers containing talking points that were negative toward Warren. She made a statement later that day claiming Sanders had said in a private meeting in 2018 he didn't think a woman could win the presidency. Two days later, tension was palpable between the two, not just during the debate, but afterward, as seen by an attempted handshake from Sanders to Warren, which she ignored. The gloves are off, and these ungloved hands are not shaking. This week's Horse Race guests tackle the thing all of us (who are eligible) will be doing come November: voting! With just weeks until the New Hampshire primary, one Massachusetts-based group is focused on getting Independent voters in the Granite state to vote blue. The group, known as the Welcome Party, it partners with a local Democratic political incubator called the Blue Lab. Scott Ferson, founder of The Blue Lab, drops by The Horse Race. He says the purpose of the group is to engage Independent New Hampshire voters to vote in the primary, which he says, will make them more likely to vote in the general. Next, Evan Falchuk of Voter Choice Massachusetts gives us his take on why Ranked-Choice Voting is the right choice for the Commonwealth. Come November, voters in the state will vote on a ballot question to determine whether to implement RCV. Falchuk argues that people winning elections without a majority, as is happening in our current system, isn't fair. He points to 2018's 3rd Congressional District election as an example, when the winner received 22 percent of the vote. And finally, it's trivia time! Now that the new crop of city councilors and select board members are sworn in and active across the state, we have to ask. Who was the youngest person ever elected to the Boston City Council?

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