Morning Wire - Congressional Races Tighten & SCOTUS Convenes | 10.3.22

Episode Date: October 3, 2022

Key congressional races tighten, Supreme Court takes on several pivotal cases as its new session begins, and separating fact from fiction on Italy’s new prime minister. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Control of Congress is on the line in November, and with just over a month to go, several swing state races are getting tighter. We break down the latest polling on the key races and what issues are making the difference for voters. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howell. It's Monday, October 3rd, and this is Morning Wire. The Supreme Court convenes for their fall session, where they'll decide on affirmative action, religious liberty, and state election laws. We discuss the cases on the docket and how the court is expected to rule. And American legacy media raises the alarm about the supposed rise of fascism in Italy, while right-leaning media praises the God family country message that won the election.

We separate fact from fiction regarding Italy's new prime minister, Georgia Maloney. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Have you considered what could happen in the stock market if our economy stalls out? Don't wait until it's too late to solidify some of your investment portfolio with gold from urge gold. Throughout history, gold has maintained its value better than any other investment in the world. Text wire to 9898998 today for a free zero-obligation info kit on holding gold and a tax-sheltered retirement account. Again, text wire to 9-8-9-8-98 and secure the gains you've made while you can. With midterms now just six weeks away, polls in a number of swing states are getting

tighter, with one crucial battleground race now closer than ever. Here with more on where things stand nationally and which races you should be watching down the home stretch is Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips. Cabot will get to the national trends. But first, let's start with Pennsylvania where things have really tightened up. Yeah, they have and quickly. So we've talked a lot about Pennsylvania's Senate race so far and with good reason. This is a race that both parties view as a sort of must win if they want to hold a majority. And each side is responding accordingly. They're pouring in millions and millions of dollars. This is a battleground state in every sense of the work. Right. So as of just four weeks ago, the Democrat John Federman was ahead in virtually every

poll and some by as many as 13 points. But five different polls out in the past week and a half all show one thing. And that is Republican Dr. Oz gaining serious ground. He now trails by anywhere from four to even just two points in each of these polls. That's a fast turnaround. Yeah, it is. And if you dig into the data some more, one interesting nugget that also seems to bode well for Republicans is their performance right now in so-called competitive suburban and ex-urban communities. Remember, this is where midterms are often decided. Well, according to a recent batch of polling from ABC and the Washington Post, Republicans hold a 21-point lead in those competitive districts. We haven't seen a gap that big in these kinds of districts since 2020 or 1994, which were both wave elections for the party

out of power. Now, the trend in Pennsylvania seems indicative of a broader momentum shift back toward Republicans in several states, right? Yeah, there's just no question the Democrats had gained a lot of power over the last three months. Remember, in the spring, it really seemed like a sure thing the Republicans would take the House and Senate. But over the summer, as Rose has returned

and gas prices started to come down a bit, we saw a major Democrat bump in the polls. But it appears the momentum nationally is shifting once more, and this time back towards Republicans. After pulling dead even and even taking the lead in some generic ballots, that new Washington Post ABC poll we mentioned

found the Republicans now hold a five-point lead when voters were asked which party they want in control of Congress. That's a significant gap. It is. And don't forget, midterms are largely still a referendum on the president in power. And even though Biden's approval ratings have ticked up a few points since their low point in July, he's still sitting in the high 30s and low 40s in nearly every poll. So really struggling. That's not good news for Democrat candidates. And that's also one reason you have not seen him making many appearances on the campaign trail.

What's the main factor playing to Republican advantage? Inflation, inflation, and inflation. I wish I had a better answer, but that is still what it is. Look, we know abortion shot up the list of biggest issues for voters after the Dobbs ruling, but this race is still all about the economy. Every single poll still shows at least a third of voters listing inflation and the cost of living is their top issues. And despite repeated promises that inflation was going to drop, it just hasn't.

And remember, last month still marked a record increase for grocery bills. and gas, even though it came down a bit, is still well above where it was two years ago. And there's also that all-important enthusiasm gap, some more good news for Republicans there. That Washington Post ABC poll from earlier found the Democrats were trailing by one point with registered voters, which sounds pretty good,

but if you look closer, it actually isn't so good for that. When you narrow that list to likely voters, the Republican lead jumps to five points, which is really significant in the midterm where turnout is usually relatively low, much more important to look at likely voters, not just voters. Right.

So what are some states where Democrats are performing well? So according to most polls, they still hold a lead in Nevada and New Hampshire. And in Ohio, the race between Democrat

Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance for Senate is probably the best example of Democrats exceeding expectations. Right now, Ryan is leading or tied

in a number of polls, which is surprising. Remember, Trump won Ohio by eight points in 2020 and 2016. So a Democrat win, there would be a serious blow

to Republicans. Well, things are far from over. A lot can still happen. Cabot, thanks for coming on. Anytime. That's Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips. Coming up, the Supreme Court kicks off their fall session with a full docket of hot-button issues. If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter available exclusively to DailyWire members. Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at DailyWire.com slash subscribe.

Use code MorningWire to try Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents. The Supreme Court begins a new session today with several high-profile cases on the docket. Last session, the court heard a number of cases on hot-button issues, including abortion and gun rights. Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade, Alorty is here with the details for us. So, Marade, tell us about these upcoming cases. Hi, Georgia. Sure. So the Supreme Court is set to consider cases that deal with the First Amendment, affirmative action, and control of election laws. One of the upcoming cases involves, a Christian Colorado woman who designs wedding websites

and does not want to be forced to design them for gay couples as that would violate her beliefs about marriage. The woman wanted to put a notice on her business website to alert potential clients about her beliefs and let them know she was willing to help them find another designer who could help them instead. That case is called 303 Creative LLC v. Elanis. Another case deals with the future of affirmative action.

That case is between Harvard University and a group of anonymous Asian American students who were rejected from Harvard and claim that the Ivy League School discriminates against Asian American applicants in its admissions process. The plaintiffs allege that Harvard admissions officers rated them lower in personal qualities

such as likeability, despite their high academic scores, while other racial groups like African Americans received higher median ratings for their personal qualities. Finally, two other highly anticipated cases involve election laws. Morvee Harper deals with how much power

state courts have over federal elections in their state. Another case, Merrill v. Milligan deals with allegations of racial gerrymandering. Both cases could have an effect on how much power states have to decide when, how, and where residents are able to vote. And do we have any predictions about how the court is expected to rule on any of these cases? Well, Chief Justice Roberts sided with Alito and Thomas against affirmative action in the past. So if he maintains his stance from Fisher v. University of Texas from 2016, and at least two of the three Trump-appointed judges sign on with Roberts, Alito, and Thomas,

then that should be enough to secure a conservative ruling. Similarly, the current court has firmly upheld religious liberty on multiple occasions even just this year. So that's a good omen for the Colorado web designer. For example, the court ruled six to three in favor of a football coach in Maine who had a habit of preying at the 50-yard line during games in 2022. The wild card this season will be the election cases. Right? Well, we haven't done in-depth.

stories on those election cases just yet on this show, but we're definitely going to do that this fall. Marade, thanks for reporting. That was Daily Wire investigative reporter Marade Allorty. Italy's election of conservative Georgia Maloney as the country's next prime minister has been drawing sharp reactions from the American media, with many framing her rhetoric as concerning. Some have even gone so far as to call her dangerous. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here now to detail the responses Maloney is getting and analyze what it is about her political views that's so worrying to some U.S. news outlets. So, Megan, what are some of the common themes we're seeing?

You know, the biggest standout to me is how many stories are connecting Maloney to fascism? The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC. If you Google Maloney and Fascist, you're going to get a lot of search results from news outlets. Now, one prominent example is the Atlantic story describing her win as, quote, the return of fascism in Italy. The story went on to say Maloney, quote, represents continuity with Italy's darkest episode, the interwar dictatorship of Benito Mussolini. Now, while I could find conservative policies, I couldn't find specifics on what those

fascist policies would be. That Atlantic article, for instance, points to her desire to preserve Italy's national identity and reduce immigration. But it's hard to say why that's explicit. fascist by nature and not really just the same thing a lot of Republicans in America might include in their platforms. The Washington Post also likened her criticism of global bodies like the EU setting environmental policies for European nations to Mussolini. But again, that's not an authoritarian or dictatorial position. You could arguably say it's a policy against that. In fact,

Maloney's own political rival, former liberal prime minister, Matteo Renzi, told CNN that there's no truth to the idea that Maloney is a fascist or that her win signals a return to fascism. We are and will be rival always. At the same time, I think that is not a danger for Italian democracy. She's my rival. I'm rival. We will continue to fight each other. But the ideas are now there is a risk of fascism in Italy is absolutely a fake news. I asked Alvino Mario Fantini, who is publisher and editor-in-chief of the European Conservative and who supports Maloney, where he thinks these characterizations are coming from. And he really just pointed to journalistic laziness. I think they're not doing their research. They're not doing their homework. They're not really looking at what does Georgia Maloney stand for.

If they did, they would realize they had nothing to do with fascism properly understood. In fact, many of Maloney's economic policies, like government daycare and government benefits for infants, would actually be pretty liberal by U.S. standards. But she is on the right politically by Italian standards. So what is it about her that's drawing those labels? Well, I think it's important to note that the conservatism American news outlets are highlighting is largely social conservatism. So much of the criticism you're hearing here is based on her red, regarding family, sexuality, gender, and religion. There's one particularly impassioned speech from the 2019 World Congress of Families where Maloney spoke against what she views as the left's assaults on God,

their traditional family and national identity. Now that went viral. Here's a bit of it. We've said of everything for this Congress. They've said that we're retrograded, that we're figgated, that we're impresentable, that we're impresentable, that we're oscourantists, that's a scandal, that there's someone who

wants to defend the family natural fondate on the matrimonial, that want to incentivize the natality. Interesting to note, last Wednesday, YouTube users noticed that the platform had removed this video, saying it violated its community

guidelines. When several conservative news outlets reached out to YouTube to ask what those violations were, YouTube said there had been an error and the video went back up. A YouTube spokeswoman said, quote, we enforce our policies regardless of the speaker's political views. But at least what we can see here is that the same sort of subjects that get conservative political speech suppressed here in the U.S. on social media platforms was also what led to Maloney's

video being taken down. And they're not really views that would qualify as fascist. You might more accurately call them populist. Well, based on the response she's gotten in Italy, I would not be surprised if we start seeing some politicians imitating her. Megan, thanks for reporting. Yeah, anytime. That was Daily Wire Culture reporter, Megan Basham. Other stories we're tracking this week. Florida Governor Rhonda Santas said over the weekend,

over half of residents who lost power during Hurricane Ian got it back within two days. Recovery efforts continue as charities and businesses have donated supplies to those impacted by the storm. Florida is also working with Elon Musk's Starlink to provide internet service. At least 125 people died and many more were wounded following a stampede at a soccer game in Indonesia Saturday night. Fans rushed the field after the home team lost to the visiting team for the first time in 23 years.

Tier gas was deployed by security, leading thousands to attempt exiting the stadium at once. A lawsuit filed on behalf of Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was shot down on all counts by a judge on Friday. Fair fight action, a group Abrams formed, filed. the suit after she refused to concede to Republican Brian Kemp, the suit alleged that George's election laws were racially discriminatory and violated federal law. Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.

Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.