What A Day - If You Have A Stalled Economy And Need Cash Now

Episode Date: March 18, 2020

Yesterday, three states voted in the first post-pandemic-declaration elections of the presidential primary, and former Vice President Joe Biden won in all three. Plus, we interview Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon about switching to vote by mail as the primaries continue. And, Several Democratic Senators have been calling for direct cash payments for all Americans under a certain income level.And in headlines: Tom Brady leaves the Patriots, Duncan Hunter sentenced, and Big Brother’s german cast finds out about coronavirus.

Today's show is brought to you by HBO. Coming to HBO is The Plot Against America, a limited series from the executive producers of The Wire that reimagines an alternate American history told through the eyes of a working class Jewish family. Based on Philip Roth's novel, the family witnesses the rise of Charles Lindbergh, whose run for president turns the nation towards fascism. The Plot Against America is streaming now only on HBO. And tune into the Plot Against America podcast where David Simon and NPR's Peter Sagal break down the major themes and critical moments from each episode available wherever you get your podcasts. You're indoors, you have time. It's Wednesday, March 18. I'm Akilah Hughes.

And I'm Gideon Resnick. And this is What A Day, where we're still the soundtrack to your commute, even during coronavirus. Yeah, whether it's across town or from your bed to your couch, we're going to be there for you. Your co-pilot is Lieutenant Watt. Enjoy the flight. On today's show, an interview with Democratic Senator Ron Wyden about vote by mail, some results from the weirdest primary ever, and then some headlines. But first, here's the latest. I think we've done well. I think the states have done well. We're all working together. The best thing we can do is get rid of the virus. Once that's gone,

it's going to pop back like nobody's ever seen before. That's my opinion. Yeah, super keen to see the world pop back like nobody's ever seen before. That's my opinion. Yeah, super keen to see the world pop back like nobody's ever seen before. He appears to think the pandemic is a dented bumper. He must. But here's the news. The White House is calling for an $850 billion spending package. That's more than what was passed in the 2008 financial crisis. The administration also said it supports sending checks to Americans in the next two weeks. We don't know how much, but the White House also wouldn't say.

But we do know that at least we will all be home to retrieve the mail. They got the idea from several Democratic senators who have been calling for payments of $2,000 per month for adults and children under a certain income level. And within that plan, if the pandemic is still raging in July, that number would increase by $1,500 more and continue as long as needed. Meanwhile, the House repassed a pared back version of their paid sick leave bill. So we were telling you all earlier this week about three bills.

This is the second bill. And it has some major gaps in terms of making sure all workers have paid leave. But Democrats are saying they're working to fill that gap in a future bill. And this is the last bit of legislative news. In response to Trump's push for industry bailouts, Democrats are setting conditions. For example, yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded that any bailout package would also have to include a $15 minimum wage for workers, a ban on share buybacks, and no dividends or executive bonuses for three years. Leadership. So it looks like our precious stock market also ended the day up after hearing all that news.

Yeah, that is good. I'd love to see some response to an economic crisis, but what about the pandemic itself? Oh, yes. All right. So there are now over 6,000 confirmed cases, and the official death toll in the U.S. has reached 100. According to a Washington Post analysis, most of the deaths are people over 70 years old. We'll have more accurate reads on the numbers when we get those tests the government promised us over a week ago, but that's what we're working with now. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio says New Yorkers should prepare for the possibility of shelter in place precautions. And that's going to be akin to those in the Bay Area within the next 24 hours, though the governor says the state would have to

make that order and isn't considering it at this time. So mixed messages abound. There's plenty more happening than that, but we'll keep you posted on the big news as this wild week continues on. And now to 2020 news. We have results from the first primaries held in the midst of these coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings. Voters in Illinois, Florida, and Arizona still went to the polls, while Ohio delayed its elections at the last minute, which caused serious confusion for voters and poll workers. But Gideon, what went down? Yeah, what a bizarre time we live in. So as of recording, former Vice President Joe Biden won Florida the biggest delegate prize of the night and Illinois in pretty commanding fashion against Senator Bernie Sanders. And Arizona is projected to go Biden's way as well.

So overall, Biden's going to be looking at a growing delegate lead and is in a commanding position to be the Democratic nominee. That's the long and short of it at this point. But given the ongoing pandemic, the day and the voting felt muted, to say the least, with in-person turnout in all the states lower than normal, an obvious byproduct of people being concerned about large gatherings. And bizarrely, after this, we're not really going to see much more in the way of action in the primary for quite some time, with the actual voting days moved and events canceled. Here was Biden speaking in an empty room following his wins. This pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives and every aspect of this campaign. Most of all, my heart goes out to all of those of you who have lost a

loved one, to those who have contracted the virus, to all the brave Americans who are working harder than ever to help their neighbors. But amid all the concerns about people having to physically show up and vote during a global pandemic, there has been an increased and more urgent call for universal vote by mail. Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Amy Klobuchar have unveiled legislation that would allow for all Americans to vote by mail if 25% of states declare an emergency related to the coronavirus. At this stage, 48 states have declared emergencies. Advocates have long argued that vote by mail increases participation and vote by mail has been growing in popularity in many states.

But across the country, there are at least 16 states that discourage it unless a voter is casting their ballot absentee. And even in the states where it is in use, many of those make it difficult by requiring voters to proactively request a mail ballot. Wyden and Klobuchar's bill would allocate something like $500 million of federal funding to states to help them prepare for emergencies like the coronavirus. And it comes after a number of states and territories have had to postpone their primaries due to the pandemic. I spoke with Wyden yesterday about his bill and how he's hoping it can calm nerves about the remaining primaries and the general election in November. Here's our conversation, recorded by phone at different parts of the country, so bear with us.

What's important about this is you shouldn't have to give up your health in order to secure your constitutional rights. And a great percentage of the people who work the polls, in fact, it's 60 percent of poll workers, are over the age of 60, according to the Election Assistance Commission. So we shouldn't be sacrificing their well-being and the well-being of other voters because we don't have the vote-by-mail option.

And the reality is, all it is is scaling up what is already going on in most jurisdictions with absentee ballots. I read and have to admit I'm not a regular reader of the Palm Beach Post, but I got a clip that even Donald Trump will be voting by mail in this election. And my view is if it's good enough for Trump, it ought to be good enough for Mitch McConnell and he ought to support our bill. And does it have support from other senators so far? How soon do you think that this could actually make a difference and potentially be passed?

We have six months essentially before the election. And this country has a track record of being able to move really fast when important stakes are on the line. And here we're talking about constitutional rights. And that's why I mentioned this is essentially scaling up what's already going on. Most states have some version of absentee ballots. They've already cleared out a lot of the obstacles. Used to be I had to have an excuse to get an absentee ballot. And then under my legislation, we would make $500 million available to ease the transition. Senator Klobuchar and I are working closely together, and we're going to look at every possible legislative vehicle to make this happen.

And you look at a situation like what is happening in Ohio and their primary. Do you have concerns about how these primaries are being rearranged sometimes in a last-minute fashion, like in Ohio, in response to the coronavirus coronavirus and how that could impact the general election in November? I'm very much concerned about the developments just today. I mean, right now, it seems that in a number of states, there's practically chaos trying to figure out how to deal with an election in the face of the coronavirus. The governor of Ohio today unilaterally postponed their election, and it's certainly unclear what happens next. Now, according to the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners asked the governor to move to an all-male election, but the governor declined there. So you've got a lot of

moving parts. I do think that we're seeing progress. Maryland moved their primary to June, except for the special election for Congressman Cummings' seat, and that's going to be an all-vote-by-mail election. And some people might ask when they read about this or they listen to people talking about this, what has actually been the impediment to vote by mail in some places? It sort of seems only natural that people should have the opportunity to do that. Well, I consider this to just be common sense. You know, I'm the nation's first mail-in United States senator. One time in our state, it was partisan between the Democrats and Republicans. Then voters basically said, look, this is just common sense. And they said, we like the convenience.

We know it saves money. We have strict rules to protect the integrity of the ballots. And it seems to me that what's going on right now is states are basically choosing between vote by mail or not holding elections. And I think this is just common sense. And that's what I'm arguing in the case I make to my colleagues. And in your opinion, then, should any more states hold in-person voting at this point in the next few weeks? Well, what I've said is I want to make it possible for us to have an option that is safe and secures people's constitutional rights. We've been hearing about all of the recommendations by healthcare professionals about the risks. And it seems to me that what the Senate should do is say,

we're not going to let government flounder during this crisis. The government, particularly the federal government, ought to ensure that democracy can go on, give the states and local communities the tools to vote by mail. And that's the fastest, most cost-effective way to do it in a public health crisis. And so are we looking at a potential scenario in November of the entire country having the ability to vote by mail and the possibility of perhaps the majority of the country taking that option? That is essentially our scenario. That's what I and Senator Klobuchar are saying in our efforts, is we basically want to make sure that everybody has this option. In my first proposal, and I've been working on this for well over a decade, what we said is, hey, look, if 25 percent of the state declare a coronavirus emergency,

then everybody in the country could be able to vote by mail. I think it's pretty clear that a great many communities are going to be declaring a coronavirus emergency. That was Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. Yesterday, also, the DNC voiced its support for more vote by mail and warned that under its current rule, states that delay their primaries past June 9th could lose up to 50% of their delegates. The DNC is also reportedly looking at ways to adjust delegate selection given the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, one more piece of election news before we go.

It appears that Marie Newman has defeated Democratic incumbent Dan Lipinski in the primary for Illinois' 3rd District. Lipinski was one of the last remaining anti-abortion Democrats in the House, and now he's lost his job. How's it hanging, WOD Squad? You know, as the lockdown lifestyle is setting in, we're checking in with each other to make sure things are feeling easy breezy. Sound good? All right, Gideon, did you cross anything off your to-do list that you're really proud of? Honestly, I got groceries in sort of a frenzied way, which was good and late, but a good thing to do for sure.

How about you? Do you have new skills to report back with? Oh, for sure. So I decided I'm going to spend this break learning languages and musical instruments. So thus far, I've learned a couple of songs on piano. I've learned a few new chords. We got D minor on top of the D chord. So you're out here killing it. Yeah, I feel good about it. I feel like I could start a band by the end of all this. We should. That should be our next watch step. I like it. All right. And this was Life During Lockdown. We are still accepting new names for this segment, but we hope this felt like calling an old friend and catching up for a hot second. So relax. It's going to be all right. Let's wrap up with some headlines.

Headlines. The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyanyahu authorized a measure to begin tracking the cell phone location data of millions of israeli residents to combat the spread of the coronavirus the goal is to monitor who's been close to someone known to have the virus and to send them a direct text to isolate themselves in classic bb fashion the measure was passed in a shady way without holding a vote or getting the parliament's approval. Critics say the new measure is a major invasion of individual privacy and sets a dangerous precedent for government tracking. The United States, though, might not be far behind on this exciting new trend.

The Washington Post reported that our government is in talks with major tech companies to monitor the location data of American cell phones to aid in virus containment. Very cool move, but you don't need advanced technology to track me. I am always on the couch in my studio apartment. Former Republican congressman from California, Duncan Hunter, has been sentenced to 11 months in federal prison. This comes after Hunter admitted to stealing over $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses, including, but not limited to, parties in D.C., shopping sprees for his wife and weekend getaways with his mistress. His life was a perverted adult man's version of blank check. He's the second congressman to be sentenced to federal

prison this year, the other one being Republican Representative Chris Collins from New York. Both were reelected while they were indicted. A Democrat and a Republican are currently fighting for Hunter's seat, representing one of the solidly red districts in California. Blank Check was a pretty sick movie, so good rep. Tom Brady announced that he's leaving the New England Patriots on Tuesday, marking what Boston residents will refer to from now on as the St. Patrick's Day of 1,000 tears. Brady spent 20 years with the Patriots and led them to six Super Bowl victories. His bosses took his departure well enough, with Pat's owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick wishing him good luck and applauding his contributions to the team.

He's set to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, barring unforeseen circumstances. Moving to Florida, plus having a foreign-born model wife and a very specific diet, could complete Tom's transformation into football Trump. The pandemic may have already lasted a thousand years in our minds, but some people are just finding out about it. The current contestants of Germany's Big Brother got cut off from the outside world last month

when there were just a handful of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Europe. Before they got the update last night on live TV, they were still living in a world of blissful ignorance where exposure was good and hand sanitizer flowed like water. Jared Leto also found out about coronavirus yesterday after 12 days of silent meditation in the desert. That's what he said online, at least, though this could be just another devilish prank to help him get into character as the Joker. An NPR poll showed just about 56 percent of Americans believe coronavirus is a real threat. The results were divided along party lines, with 76 percent of Democrats considering the danger of coronavirus to be real compared to 40 percent of Republicans. Spread the word. It's real. It's real. Listen to WOD. Yes, listen to WOD. Come on. And those are the headlines. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick. And please stream Blank Jack on Amazon Prime.

It's time for us all to watch that movie America as a group. Let's get that water slide out the side of the house. What a day is a product of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tun is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein and our senior producer is Katie Long. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.