Sep 30, 2016 5 min read

Wake Up To Politics - September 30, 2016

Friday, September 30, 2016

4 Days until the Vice Presidential Debate (Oct. 4)
9 Days until the Second Presidential Debate (Oct. 9)

40 Days until Election Day 2016 + my 15th birthday (Nov. 8)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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Capitol Hill News

Wake Up To Politics has been reporting for weeks about the Justice for Sponsors of Terrorism Act, as the bill made its way through both houses of Congress, and then to the President's desk, and then back to Congress as the House and Senate voted to override Obama's veto on Wednesday. Then, a very surprising development came Thursday:
Less than 24 hours after overriding a presidential veto of the bill, congressional Republican leaders said Thursday that they believe the Justice for Sponsors of Terrorism Act - passed to allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia - would result in unintended consequences, including leaving U.S. soldiers vulnerable to retaliation by foreign governments. Both House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), in separate press conferences, signaled support for rewriting the bill, and passing a new version that would limit lawsuits of foreign governments to just 9/11 families, or creating a new legal system for these lawsuits.
Who did Ryan and McConnell blame for their mistaken support of the bill, just after they led huge majorities in their chambers to override President Obama's veto? President Obama, who McConnell said showed "a failure to communicate early."
“Everybody was aware of who the potential beneficiaries were but nobody had really focused on the potential downside in terms of our international relationships, and I think it was just a ball dropped,” McConnell told reporters Thursday, a day after the Senate voted 97-1 to override Obama's veto.
"It’s hard to take at face value the suggestion that they were unaware of the consequences of their vote, but even if they were, what’s true in elementary school is true in the United States Congress: Ignorance is not an excuse — particularly when it comes to our national security and the safety and security of our diplomats and our service members," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

2016 Central

Today on the Trail Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton campaigns in the key state of Florida today. At 11:30am, Clinton will deliver remarks at Sunrise Theater in Fort Springs, announcing a new national service program for people under age 30, a continuation of her outreach to millennial Sanders voters. At 3:30pm, the Democrat will hold an organizing event at Coral Springs Gymansium in Coral Springs.
Republican nominee Donald Trump will hold a rally at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan at 5pm.
Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence speaks at a 12pm rally at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein also stops in Florida today, speaking at Miami-Dade College at 6pm.

White House Watch

The President's Schedule This morning, President Barack Obama attended former Israeli President Shimon Peres' state funeral in Jerusalem.
At 8:20am Israeli Daylight Time (IDT)/1:20am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), the President arrived in Tel Aviv.
At 9:30am IDT/2:30am EDT, Obama attended the memorial service for Peres at Mount Herzl. The President spoke at the service, honoring the life of the former Israeli leader, who died Wednesday at age 93. Obama was joined at the service by a number of world leaders, including Prince Charles, French President Francois Hollande, German President Joachim Guack, and others. Obama praised Peres as an integral part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, pointing out Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' presence as "a reminder of the unfinished business of peace."
In Obama's eulogy to Peres, the U.S. president compared the Israeli to other 20th Century leaders. "In many he was he reminded me of some other giants I've had the honor to meet: men like Nelson Mandela, women like Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth," he said. "Leaders who've seen so much, whose lives span such momentous epochs that they find no need to posture or traffic in what's popular in the moment. People who speak with depth and knowledge, not in soundbites."
Obama continued: "Like these leaders, Shimon could be true to his convictions even if they cut against the grain of current opinion. He knew better than the cynic that if you look over the arc of history, human beings should be filled not with fear, but with hope."
The word "giant" was not evoked only by Obama: Israeli president Revuen Rivilin referred to his preddescor's death as "the end of the era of giants."
The President personally led the U.S. delegation to Peres' funeral; other members included former President Bill Clinton, Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, Secretary of State John Kerry, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), as well as other members of Congress and U.S. officials and diplomats of past and present.
At 12:30pm IDT/5:30pm EDT, Obama attended a private ceremony for Peres.
At 2:25pm IDT/7:30am, the President departed Tel Aviv.
At 6:50pm EDT, Obama will touch down briefly in Bangor, Maine for an Air Force One refeuling.
President Obama arrives back at the White House at 9:30pm.