Morning Wire - Tuesday | September 14, 2021

Episode Date: September 14, 2021

Californians vote on whether or not to recall Gavin Newsom, governors push back on Biden’s vaccine mandates, and NYC’s schools reopen under strict Covid restrictions. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The recall election for California Governor Gavin Newsom is today. With Californians deciding first if they want to recall the governor and second, who they want to replace him, we'll look at the latest developments and talk with the leading candidate in the crowded field of contenders. I don't know any level, any front, any policy that this man has done that has made life better for Californians in the last two years. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley.

It's Tuesday, September 14th, and this is Morning Wire. President Biden has mandated vaccinations or weekly testing for private companies employing at least 100 people. The move has set off a backlash from Republican governors nationwide. We'll look at their objections to the president's sweeping mandates. And after more than a year of no in-person classes, students returned to New York City's public schools this week. But the school experience in the city has changed dramatically. We'll discuss the restrictions placed on students and concerns over the impact they could have on student learning.

Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by MyBooky. It's winning season at MyBooky, and that means placing bets on NFL games has never been more profitable. Head to MyBooky.ag and choose from a variety of boosts,

contest, and promotions up for grabs, and use promo code Wire to double your first deposit and your winnings. Today, Californians decide whether their governor will be one of the few elected officials to ever be recalled in California history. John, we've been watching this recall and we've been tracking the polls

and now here we are, it's Election Day. Yeah, here it is. So what do we need to know watching the results? Yeah, as we discussed some yesterday, this is a major event for California. We need to say that from the beginning here. To put this in some perspective, since 1913, California has had nearly 200 recall attempts

and of those attempts, only 11 got enough signatures to even qualify for the ballot. And just two of those were governors, by the way, that includes Newsom. So just getting to this point is significant. So just the fact that we're holding a recall election is a big milestone. Right. It really shows the degree of dissatisfaction with the governor. The leading issues we saw were his COVID policies and rises in crime and homelessness that have been well documented. So we've seen some pretty significant movement in the polls.

A few weeks ago, things were really tight, close to 50-50, but more recent polls are showing Newsom, pretty comfortable. Yeah, the aggregate polling like 538 shows the keep Newsom vote at around 57 percent and the support for the recall in the low 40s. That's why analysts are predicting he's going to stay in office. But of course, many are highly skeptical of political polling. Like you mentioned, in early August, it was 50-50, and all this required for Newsom to be recalled is a simple majority. And now conservative radio host and author Larry Elder has been the leading contender, where did his support end up? Yeah, he just continued to pull away from the others. Multiple polls in the final days showed him would the lead as large as 25 to 30 points.

So if Californians do vote to remove Newsom, he'll almost certainly be the new governor. I spoke with him yesterday and asked him about the significance of the recall. Here's what he said. Well, you're right. It is difficult. It's only happened two times. The recall is on our Constitution. I've been there for 110 years. I think it's because of how badly this man has managed the state for the last two years. About 2 million people signed a petition, nearly a quarter to a third of them, were the very people that voted for him just two years earlier. The majority of Hispanics voted for him.

Two years earlier, I think it was 63% if I'm not mistaken. And now the majority of Hispanics won him out. The majority of independents voted for him two years earlier. Now the majority of independents won him out. I also asked him about the final polling data showing Newsom ahead. Here was his response. I feel good. I know that some people are claiming that the anti-recall side is gaining steam.

I don't see it that way. I think the Democrats voted early. Republicans tend to be less trustful of mail-in voting, more likely to vote in person. So I think it's going to be a huge surge of Republicans and independents voting that way. So he still sounds pretty confident. Yeah, he suggested the recall itself is already a big win for conservatives in the state. And he also said he sees some signs that Democrats support in the state is shifting. The message is people have had it.

The message is that Democrats have lost this Jedi mind trick that they used to have over black and brown voters. I think that a lot of black and brown people are going to rethink their historical allegiance or recent allegiance to the Democratic Party. Well, as former Californians, this is going to be exciting to watch. Right, it is. John, thanks for reporting. Enjoyed it. Coming up, Republican governors push back on President Biden's vaccine mandates. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are,

all on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be the first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news and you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts, no matter where your day takes you. In addition to federal workers and contractors, President Biden has mandated that private businesses with at least 100 employees have their workforce vaccinated or be subjected to weekly testing.

More than 20 Republican governors, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Florida Governor Ronda Santis, and South Dakota Governor Christy Knoam have promised to resist the mandate in the courts. Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson has been tracking their responses, and he's here to share them with us. Ben, welcome. Morning, Georgia. So several governors are pushing back on this man. What are there legal arguments? The most important response has been that imposing an employer mandate through executive action violates the Constitution. Vaccine mandates have always been made at the state level.

The federal government traditionally only issues vaccination requirements for legal immigrants and federal workers. Florida Governor Ronda Sanda said the U.S. doesn't have a tradition of rulers issuing binding edicts to their citizens. So it's not based on science, and you can say he's saying he's losing patients with people. You know, at the end of the day, we don't live with a one-person rule in this country. We live in a constitutional system which people's rights are respected. Arizona Governor Doug Deucey released a statement calling the president's mandate an egregious, big government overreach that robs Americans of their fundamental right to make health care decisions. He went on to call it dictatorial, wrong, and un-American.

Oklahoma Governor John Stitt put out a statement saying, as long as I'm governor, there will be no government vaccine mandates in Oklahoma. So a lot of pushback, and it seems like these governors believe the Constitution doesn't allow President Biden this power to issue a mandate like this, at least on private employers. Right. And aside from the legal argument, they're also making an economic argument. The GOP says that threatening to find employers $13,600 for each separate violation is the last thing businesses need in this economy. They also argue that this mandate's counterproductive. Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said that if Americans are dubious about the

government statements about the vaccine now, they'll only be more suspicious when the government forces it on people. It's not building the public trust to mandate these vaccines. The people who haven't gotten them need to be brought along by us talking to them, sharing data, not by having the heavy-handed government ordering them to do it. I mean, this is still America. This is not the Soviet Union. So they believe the unforeseen consequences of this order will harm individuals and businesses. And is there a political angle here? A politics factor into every decision a president makes, and this is no exception. The week before this mandate, President Biden's approval rating reached a record low of 43 percent, so Republicans accuse him of trying to change

the subject. It's no worthy that the vaccination rates in minority communities remain below the national average, so the president runs the risk of alienating part of his key constituency with this mandate. Ultimately, Republicans say their opposition isn't just about this president, or this mandate, it's about preventing any future president from encroaching on Americans' freedoms. Here's Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. And it's not just about this one issue. I mean, what are they going to do next? If they set the precedent for this, what are they going to come for next in your business

or, you know, in your nonprofit that you're running? That's what scares me. And what about President Biden? How has he responded to the blowback? So far, the White House has been confident in public. President Biden responded to the threat of lawsuits over the weekend with three words. Have that it. We're obviously looking at a legal battle with a resolution in the courts.

Yeah, it sounds like we're going to be hearing about this for a while. Ben, thanks for joining us. My pleasure. That's Daily Wire reporter, Ben Johnson. Public schools in New York City opened for in-person learning Monday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. But classrooms look very different, with numerous, restrictions in place that will keep the school year from feeling like a full return to normal.

Here to discuss those restrictions is Daily Wire Editor Ash Short. So Ash, what's school like for kids in New York right now? Well, it's a very different school experience for sure. Kids are returning to school wearing masks. Some schools won't let kids use lockers and others have disabled water fountains. New York's education department suggested sports and clubs, particularly band and choir, are too risky because of the amount of breathing involved. The amount of breathing? Yeah, like the rapid breathing from playing sports or the act of blowing into an instrument.

Got it. Also banned, field trips, group projects, and parties. Students will have to eat lunch outside and aren't allowed to talk with their friends. They'll also need to fill out a daily symptoms report each morning before class. And remote learning is no longer an option? Right.

This is the only option this school year. Schools chancellor, Misha Porter, acknowledged that students needed to be back in school for their mental and developmental well-being, but obviously there are questions about whether students can thrive under these circumstances. And how long has it been that schools have been disrupted at this point? It's been about 18 months now, and this is going to be the third straight school year affected by health restrictions. Now, these restrictions are much more stringent than the kind of things, we see in adult workplaces. Why are we seeing this kind of rules for kids? Mostly teachers unions. Even though kids present the lowest risk for severe complications from COVID-19, teachers' unions

insist the risk to adults is still high. Part of their argument stems from the fact that children under 12 can't get the COVID-19 vaccine, but teachers can get the vaccine, so the imposition on children are controversial. Now, Ash, is New York an extreme example? Not really. We're seeing these types of rules in a lot of upper-middle-class areas. In Bedford, Massachusetts, for example, students will also have to eat outside without tables while sitting in chairs that are all spread apart and facing one direction. It should be noted that children age 12 to 15 in the town have an 85% vaccination rate above the rate health experts have said is needed to stem the virus.

And how are parents reacting to this? We haven't heard too much yet. Many believe in-person learning, even with these restrictions, is preferable to another year of remote learning. Right. Other parents are asking why there isn't a remote learning option since they fear their children will catch COVID-19 if they're in the classroom. And this is the first week that kids are going back to school. How are they doing so far? Day one started off Rocky since the website used for reporting symptoms experienced a glitch and everything had to be done by

hand when kids showed up. So it was pretty chaotic Monday morning, and it'll take a little time before we know how kids are handling school with all the restrictions. Well, Ash, you'll have to keep us updated. Sure thing. That's Daily Wire editor, Ash Short. Other stories we're tracking this week. The trial began Monday in Boston for two parents accused of fraud and bribery in the Varsity Blues College admission scandal. John B. Wilson of Linfield, Massachusetts, and Gamal Obdelaziz of Las Vegas are being tried jointly in a U.S. District Court. Both have pleaded not guilty. High-profile parents Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin have already served short sentences after pleading guilty to involvement in the scandal.

And a hospital in upstate New York will stop delivering babies this month after dozens of staff members quit their jobs rather than get COVID vaccines. Lewis County General Hospital says it's now unable to safely staff its maternity ward. If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.

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