adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Politics

Wisconsin again? Swing state a hotbed of virus politics – 570 News

Published

 on


MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin has been the battleground for political proxy wars for nearly a decade, the backdrop for bruising feuds over labour unions, executive power, redistricting and President Donald Trump.

Now, six months before a presidential election, the state is on fire again — some might say still. With a divided state government and a polarized electorate, Wisconsin has emerged as a hotbed of partisan fighting over the coronavirus, including how to slow its spread, restart the seized economy, vote amid a pandemic and judge Trump’s leadership.

In recent weeks, every political twist has been dissected by the parties, political scientists and the press, all searching for insight into which way the swing state might be swinging in the virus era.

300x250x1

The answers have been conflicting. Democrats notched the most significant recent win — a contested statewide Supreme Court race — giving them a claim on sense of momentum after making gains in the 2018 midterm elections. But Republicans this week won a special election for Congress, albeit in a GOP stronghold, and successfully had the governor’s stay-at-home order tossed out by the state Supreme Court.

But no one in the state — nor the many outsiders paid to mine it for votes — will make many predictions about Wisconsin in November, other than to note that the latest fight over the fallout from the coronavirus may be the most important of them all.

“The jury’s still out,” said former Gov. Scott Walker, perhaps the figure most closely associated with Wisconsin’s political turbulence. The Republican had previously said the economic recovery favoured Trump carrying the state. On Friday, he said the November presidential election will be a referendum on Trump’s handling of the pandemic.

“One, how do you feel about your own health and health of your family,” Walker said. “Two, how do you feel about the health of the economy, particularly your own job. … If people are still freaked out, then I think it’s always tough for any incumbent.”

Taking their cues from Trump, who has called on states to “liberate” residents from stay-at-home orders and get back to normal, state Republican lawmakers challenged Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ order in court. Similar manoeuvrs have been tried in Michigan and Pennsylvania, the other Rust Belt states that backed Trump in 2016 and handed him the White House.

But only in Wisconsin have Republicans gotten what they wanted, suddenly taking ownership of the state’s coronavirus response and, with it, new political risk. While some Wisconsinites rushed out to bars to celebrate the court’s ruling, many in the state were confused about the new patchwork of restrictions. Meanwhile, a solid majority of Wisconsin residents have said they support Evers’ handling of the crisis, according to a new Marquette University Law School poll.

Democrats were quick to cast the issue as much larger than the previous partisan feuds.

“By November, a significant fraction of Wisconsinites might be close to someone who has been hospitalized or even died because of coronavirus,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler said. “And those are, unlike passing news cycles, the things that can create scars that change how people view politics in their own lives.”

As in other states, the virus has moved beyond Wisconsin’s big Democratic cities. Brown County, home of Green Bay and a number of meat processing plants, has become Wisconsin’s fastest-growing coronavirus hot spot.

In 2016, Trump easily carried the county. But in last month’s election, Democrats’ choice for the state Supreme Court, Jill Karofsky, won Brown County, part of her surprisingly strong showing in an election plagued by long lines at polling places and widespread worries over whether it was safe to be voting at all.

Evers tried at the last minute to postpone the election, but Republicans refused. Again, Wisconsin’s drama was projected on the national stage — and mined for lessons about organizing, mail-in voting and ballot access.

“Republicans in my district were begging us not to hold an in-person election,” said state Rep. Robyn Vining, a Democrat whose district spans western Milwaukee County and GOP-leaning suburbs. “People who said they had voted Republican their entire lives were furious.”

Whether Republicans will take out any frustrations on Trump is far from clear. The Marquette University poll this week found Trump has a 47% approval rate in Wisconsin, virtually unchanged from March. The poll also registered the impact of the state’s decade of political battles — an intense polarization.

“There’s not much of a middle in Wisconsin, at least as far as Donald Trump is concerned,” said John Johnson, a research fellow from Marquette University Law School.

The partisan division has been building for nearly a decade. The state was a hotbed of tea party opposition to Barack Obama’s administration in 2010, sentiment that helped Walker win office and move to cut public-sector unions’ bargaining rights. The effort ignited mass Capitol protests in Madison and prompted a bitter recall election a year later. Walker beat it back and went on to win reelection in 2014.

His tenure hit at the heart of Wisconsin’s once-progressive tradition. In addition to his labour legislation, he enacted deep tax cuts and prevailed over a challenge to Wisconsin’s legislative redistricting — leaving the state with districts heavily gerrymandered to favour his party.

Since Trump’s narrow 2016 victory in Wisconsin — the first by a Republican presidential candidate since 1984 — Wisconsin has become home to a permanent campaign. Democrats began a year-round organizing initiative that led to a comeback with Evers’ narrow defeat of Walker in 2018.

Republicans, too, have invested in organizing in the state, particularly in hunting for new voters in the rural counties where Trump made strong gains over past Republicans candidates.

The Trump campaign says its staff of 60 turned its attention this week to a special election for a congressional seat in northern Wisconsin. They made 2.4 million get-out-the-vote calls in the district — roughly half of all the voter contacts they’ve made this election cycle in the state.

State Sen. Tom Tiffany won the seat by 14 percentage points. Trump carried the district by 20 percentage points in 2016.

Walker said he didn’t think that was a sign of trouble for the GOP in Wisconsin. If voters were angry with Republicans, “then Tiffany would not have won by a significant margin. It would have been razor thin, or he would have lost.”

___

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa, Burnett from Chicago.

Thomas Beaumont, Scott Bauer And Sara Burnett, The Associated Press

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Politics

Larry David shares how he feels about Trump – CNN

Published

 on


Larry David shares how he feels about Trump

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Larry David shares how he feels about former President Donald Trump and the 2020 election. Watch the full episode of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” streaming March 29 on Max.


03:21

– Source:
CNN

Adblock test (Why?)

300x250x1

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Trump's claims on crime rates clash with police data – NBC News

Published

 on


Surging crime levels, out-of-control Democratic cities and “migrant crime.”

Former President Donald Trump regularly cites all three at his campaign rallies, in news releases and on Truth Social, often saying President Joe Biden and Democrats are to blame.

But the crime picture Trump paints contrasts sharply with years of police and government data at both the local and national levels.

300x250x1

FBI statistics released this year suggested a steep drop in crime across the country last year. It’s a similar story across major cities, with violent crime down year over year in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

NBC News analyzed crime data to evaluate Trump’s assertions about the topic.

U.S. and big city crime rates

Trump’s campaign often refers to crime levels, regularly pointing the finger at Biden.

“On Joe Biden’s watch, violent crime has skyrocketed in virtually every American city,” the campaign said in a news release published this month on its site.

Trump himself has made similar remarks.

“Four years ago, I told you that if crooked Joe Biden got to the White House, our borders would be abolished, our middle class would be decimated and our communities would be plagued by bloodshed, chaos and violent crime,” Trump said in a speech last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “We were right about everything.”

Government figures don’t support that characterization.

Reported violent crime dropped 6% across the board when comparing the last three months of 2022 to the same period in 2023, the FBI reported.

The reported drops were especially pronounced in the big cities that Trump often assails, many of which have Democratic mayors. Violent crime dropped by 11% in cities with populations of 1 million or more, according to FBI data, while murders dropped by 20%, rape was down 16%, and aggravated assault fell by 11%.

Reached for comment, the Trump campaign pointed to other reports indicating that certain types of crimes increased in specific cities.

At the national level, the reported rate of violent crime in 2022, the most recent full year with comprehensive FBI data, was 380.7 offenses per 100,000 people. That’s lower than the overall reported violent crime rate from 2020 — the last full year Trump was in office — when the figure was at 398.5.

The lowest reported violent crime rate of Trump’s presidency was in 2019, when the metric was at 380.8 — in line with the 2022 rate.

The FBI said it will release more comprehensive 2023 crime data in October, just before the election.

The Trump campaign, reached for comment, cited certain categories of violent crime, such as motor vehicle theft, as having increased during the Biden administration, according to FBI figures.

“Joe Biden is trying to convince Americans not to believe their own eyes,” campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, adding that “Democrats have turned great American cities into cesspools of bloodshed and crime.”

New York City crime

Trump, who was born and raised in New York but now lives in Florida, often rails against what he portrays as an increasing crime rate in his former hometown.

Those references to soaring violence have only increased as he faces criminal charges in New York accusing him of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty in that case, must also post a $175 million bond to prevent state Attorney General Letitia James from collecting the judgment from a New York civil fraud case.

“I did nothing wrong, and New York should never be put in a position like this again,” Trump posted on Truth Social about the civil judgment in all capital letters. “Businesses are fleeing, violent crime is flourishing, and it is very important that this be resolved in its totality as soon as possible.”

In a separate post, he claimed that “murders & violent crime hit unimaginable records” in the city.

However, major crimes in New York City are down this year by 2.3%, according to police department data comparing year-to-date figures to the same period in 2023.

Those figures for last year were also far below the highs from recent decades. In 1990, more than 527,000 major crimes were reported, compared to more than 126,000 last year, according to New York police data — a drop of more than 75%.

In 2001, more than 162,000 major crimes were reported in New York. The figure dropped by more than 20% over the next two decades.

At the same time, New York City data indicates that the number of major crimes increased in the past few years, though reported violent crimes like murder and rape were down last year from previous years.

‘Migrant crime’

Trump’s dehumanizing language about migrants has become a mainstay of his political speeches since he first sought office in 2015.

In a news release this month, his campaign said the “border Crisis has created a tragic surge in violent crime against innocent American citizens at the hands of some of the world’s most violent criminals.”

Trump has also focused his energy on high-profile cases such as the death of Laken Riley, who was killed in Georgia while jogging. The suspect is a Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022.

“Every day, innocent citizens are being killed, stabbed, shot, raped and murdered because of Biden migrant crime,” Trump said in a video posted to his campaign’s X account last week.

However, there is no evidence of a migrant-driven crime wave in the U.S., according to local police department data.

Crime reports have decreased in several major cities targeted by Texas’ Operation Lone Star, a program backed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that flies or buses migrants from the state to Democratic-run cities across the U.S.

Several of those cities — New York, Chicago, Washington and Philadelphia — have had decreases in year-to-date reported crime totals compared to the same period last year.


Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Federal government promising a 'renters' bill of rights' in upcoming budget – CBC.ca

Published

 on


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government will introduce new measures — including a new “bill of rights” — that he says will help protect those who rent their homes as part of the upcoming budget.

Trudeau said the new measures are specifically geared toward younger people, who are renting more than previous generations.

“It’s about changing the rules of the game in a way that meets young people where they are,” he said on Wednesday.

300x250x1

Ottawa will work with provinces and territories to develop a “renters’ bill of rights” that would introduce a national standard lease agreement and implement requirements for landlords to disclose an apartment’s pricing history to allow tenants to negotiate their rent.

The new measures will also include a $15-million fund for provincial legal aid organizations that help tenants fight against “renovictions” and landlord abuse.

The Liberals are also proposing to change federal rules so that making rental payments on time will count toward someone’s credit scores, something Trudeau said is meant to help renters looking to one day buy a house.

“If you look at someone who pays a $2,000 [per month] mortgage, they’re getting recognition and credit for that from their bank as part of their credit score,” the prime minister said.

“But if you’re paying $2,000 a month on rent, you get no kudos.”

Typically the government doesn’t discuss what is in an annual budget until it is introduced in the House of Commons. But the announcement was made weeks prior to the release of the Liberals’ next budget, which is slated to drop on April 16.

Releasing tidbits from the budget ahead of time is part of a new communications strategy for the Liberals, sources told CBC News. Trudeau and his ministers are expected to make a number of similar announcements in the run-up to the budget, the sources said.

WATCH | Trudeau says new measures aim to help tenants: 

Liberals promise ‘renters’ bill of rights’ to fight housing crisis

5 hours ago

Duration 2:07

The Liberals are looking to create a ‘renters’ bill of rights’ to help deal with Canada’s housing crisis. Justin Trudeau says the plan is geared toward younger people suffering from a rising cost of living. The Conservatives call the measures meaningless.

Before revealing the planned rental measures on Wednesday, Trudeau took a moment to plug the April 16 fiscal plan, saying that the budget will be about “fairness.”

“For Canada to succeed, we need everyone to succeed,” he said.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland joined Trudeau for his announcement and hinted about further announcements ahead of budget day.

“Over the coming days and in the April budget, we are going to launch a no-holds-barred plan to wrestle down the cost of owning and renting a home,” she said.

Wednesday’s announcements came on the same day that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released a report that found a surge in new apartment construction drove housing start increases in several major Canadian cities last year.

But the report also cautions that demand continues to outweigh supply.

The opposition Conservatives, who have enjoyed a healthy lead in recent polls, have made housing — and other cost-of-living issues — a key point of attack against the governing Liberals.

Following his announcement, Trudeau was asked whether he thinks he bears any responsibility for people feeling left behind in the current economy and whether the new measures would be enough to convince younger people to support him in the next election.

In response, Trudeau suggested that a recent rise in the cost of living is not unique to Canada.

“Young people who are key to our present, and obviously key to our future, are seeing a system that is stacked against them. That’s true in Canada but also true elsewhere around the world,” he said. “What we’re focused on now is making sure that young people can see their success in the economy.”

Opposition parties criticize Liberal announcement

Scott Aitchison, the Conservative housing critic, said Wednesday’s announcement was Liberal posturing that won’t get results.

“Today’s photo op is just another set of meaningless measures that won’t result in building the homes Canadians need,” he said in a statement.

NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan criticized the announcement for not going far enough.

“The Liberals are so out of touch with what Canadian renters are experiencing that they keep offering half-measures instead of a real action,” Kwan said in a statement.

The NDP is calling on the government to invest more in affordable housing while temporarily preventing for-profit firms from buying designated affordable-housing spaces.

WATCH | Liberal government promises better protections for renters in upcoming budget: 

Liberal government promises better protections for renters in upcoming budget

9 hours ago

Duration 11:39

The Liberal government unveiled three new proposals Wednesday to better protect renters in Canada. Power & Politics speaks to Marci Ien, minister of women, gender equality and youth, about the proposed protections.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending