Sep 14, 2016 8 min read

Wake Up To Politics - September 14, 2016

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

12 Days until the first Presidential Debate (Sept. 26)

55 Days until Election Day 2016 + my 15th birthday (Nov. 18)
I'm Gabe Fleisher for Wake Up To Politics, and reporting from WUTP world HQ in my bedroom - Good morning: THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!!!

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Need to Know

Campaign 2016: Flanked by Daughter Ivanka, Trump Unveils Child Care Plan In a new outreach effort to the female vote, which Hillary Clinton is winning in a landslide, Donald Trump unveiled his family leave plan and child-care tax credit proposal Tuesday, two new policies he said were inspired by his daughter Ivanka, who joined him at the Pennsylvania announcement.
Speaking before about 300 supporters, Trump explained "that he would try to cap the deduction at the average cost of care in each state and that the wealthiest Americans — individuals earning more than $250,000 annually and families whose combined yearly income exceeds $500,000 — would not qualify for the credit," according to Politico.
Trump also rolled out a proposal for the federal government to guarantee six weeks of fully-paid maternity leave, a policy generally supported by Democrats but ignored by conservative Republicans.
“We need working mothers to be fairly compensated for their work, and to have access to affordable, quality child care for their kids,” Trump said. “We want higher pay, better wages and a growing economy for everyone."
In her introduction for her father, Ivanka Trump spoke of the need for paid leave, calling the issue “a reform that is of critical value and long overdue.”
“As a society, we need to create policies that champion all parents, enabling the American family to thrive,” she said.
The GOP nominee was in a much softer form Tuesday as he outlined his plan, but couldn't help but get in a dig at Hillary Clinton. "My opponent has no child care plan," Trump said. Critics in and out of the Clinton campaign immediately noted the Democrat's extensive plan on the issue; her website outlines details proposals to guarantee new mothers 12 weeks of maternity leave (although workers would only earn two-thirds of their salary in that time) and to increase child care investments "so that no family in America has to pay more than 10 percent of its income to afford high-quality child care" and improve the quality of child care by guaranteeing higher wages to child care workers.
Trump's policy rollout was clearly aimed at women voters, especially moderate Republicans and Independents; although he outperforms Mitt Romney among white men, it is widely believed that he cannot win the White House without at least meeting Romney's support among women. Since the outset of this election, polls have shown women reacting most negatively to Trump's brash rhetoric, especially as his treatment of women has become an issue since he rebuked Megyn Kelly for raising it in the first debate.

Politics Planner

All times Eastern.

Campaign 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will hold a 7pm rally at the Canton Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio - the hometown of President William McKinley. Recent Ohio polls have been divided as to Ohio's lean in the presidential election: a Bloomberg poll released Wednesday morning shows Trump leading by 5% in Ohio, while a CBS/YouGov survey of the state gave Clinton a 7-point advantage. Ohio has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1964.
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spends her third straight day off the campaign trail after announcing Sunday that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia (she will continue campaigning tomorrow). In her stead, husband Bill Clinton will headline a 10am rally at the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, which she had been scheduled to attend. The former Secretary of State was also scheduled to guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today; the appearance has been canceled.
Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson will stop at the Detroit Economic Club (DEC) for a 12:30pm address. According to their website, the DEC is a "non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to the discussion and debate of important business, government and social issue" and "known internationally as an important venue for prominent business and government leaders." The club has over 3,800 members, who are all exclusively invited to Johnson's speech.
"Major announcements are often first delivered at our podium," the website also says, noting the 70+ years of addresses by top business leaders, Cabinet members, and state/federal politicians that have been made on the DEC stage. Every sitting U.S. President since Richard Nixon has spoken at the DEC. This cycle alone, presidential candidates Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Rand Paul, and Jeb Bush all spoke at the club, according to the Detroit Free Press, which also reported that "an invitation has been extended by the club to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, but her campaign has not responded yet."
In the annals of presidential campaign history, the Detroit Economic Club is also known as the venue of Mitt Romney's infamous 2012 comments that his wife "drives a couple of Cadillacs."
Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence will hold a 7pm rally at Kenworth of Pennsylvania in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Pence's Democratic counterpart, Tim Kaine, attends two fundraisers in Chicago today: one at the home of Bill Daley (who served as White House Chief of Staff under Obama and as Commerce Secretary under Bill Clinton, and is the son and brother of former Chicago mayors) and his wife Bernadette Keller; and another at the home of art dealer Paul Gray and his wide De.
Green Party nominee Jill Stein, who Wake Up To Politics interviewed Saturday, will continue in the second and final day of her Northeast college tour, stopping today for rallies at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine (12:30pm) and the Abromson Community Education Center in Portland, Maine (6pm).
White House President Obama and Vice President Biden will sit down today with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma (Myanmar). Suu Kyi and the President will likely discuss the continued easing of U.S. economic sanctions on Myanmar. Obama and Suu Kyi have met three times before; at the White House in September 2012, when she was receiving a Congressional Gold Medal for her democratic activism, and on two presidential trips to Myanmar. Suu Kyi is known for being put on house arrest in 1989 after protesting the military's refusal to recognize election results; she remained a political prisoner until 2010.
Suu Kyi is ineligible to become President of Myanmar; since April of this year, she has served as de facto leader of the country, as State Counsellor - a position equivalent to Prime Minister, which was created specifically for her.
After the 11:20am meeting with Suu Kyi, President Obama and Vice President Biden will have their weekly lunch in the White House Private Dining Room.
The final event on Obama's public schedule for the day is a 4pm Oval Office meeting with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
Congress The Senate begins its business for the day at 9:30am; after Leader remarks, morning business will begin at 10am and last until 11am. In the first half hour, Democratic speakers may address the floor; Republicans control the second half.
After morning business, the chamber will return to the Water Resources Development Act, the bipartisan, $9.4 billion water infrastructure bill. The Senate will hold a cloture vote on the bill today; the measure is expected to advance with large support from both parties, preparing it for passage in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the House will continue debate on the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016, which would make it easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire or demote employees "based on performance or misconduct." The VA Secretary already has the power to fast-track the removal of top agency officials for misconduct, a power granted by a bill passed two years ago which the VA said earlier this year it would no longer use. The Obama Administration called the bill the House is currently debating "misguided and burdensome."
The lower chamber will also vote on a resolution prohibiting the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Also today: House Democrats will make their second gun control protest from the House floor in as many months; during legislative business, when any members is allowed to speak. One at a time, a number of Democrats will step up to the microphone to demand a vote on gun control legislation, each holding up pictures of gun violence victims.

Daily Data

Trump May Win a Single Maine Electoral Vote Every electoral vote counts. While 48 out of 50 states award their electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis, Nebraska and Maine allocate electoral votes by the Congressional District Method, where the winner of the state is awarded two electoral votes and then each candidate wins one electoral vote for every congressional district they win. Only once has either state actually split their electoral votes: in 2008, Barack Obama won an elector from the 2nd congressional district in Nebraska, a traditionally Republican state.
A Boston Globe/SurveyUSA poll released Wednesday morning shows Hillary Clinton winning Maine, 42% to 39%. However, Trump wins the 2nd congressional district, the most conservative part of the state, 47% to 37%, signaling potential for him to snag at least one elector in Maine.
In his book "Audacity to Win," Obama's 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe writes that Nebraska's 2nd was his "personal favorite target,” and that he would talk about a scenario in which a victory in the one district would bring Obama to victory by a single electoral vote. “Let’s try not to have it all come down to Nebraska 2," Obama would tell him, Plouffe writes.
However, this isn't just fodder for political junkies: in an election that has the potential to be very close, every electoral vote will count as both candidates fight their way to the magic number of 270.

Today's Trivia

Today's Trivia Gary Johnson announced Tuesday that he had gained ballot access in all 50 states. In 2012, when he was also the Libertarian nominee, he was on 49 state ballots. Which state did he miss in 2012?
Answer by emailing me at gabe@wakeuptopolitics.com. Correct respondents will be featured in tomorrow's newsletter, along with the answer to Monday's question!