What A Day: You can run but you can't Hyde

BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI & CROOKED MEDIA

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

—Trump, apparently misinterpreting the 75,000 people who showed up to protest his visit to the U.K.

POLICY PALOOZA

Good news: Democratic presidential candidates are doing what they’re supposed to, and turning this primary into a policy bonanza! It’s not just Elizabeth Warren anymore!

Here are the ambitious proposals that candidates announced just today:

Beto O’Rourke on Voting Rights and Political Reform: Create automatic and same-day voter registration, ban voter ID laws and other restrictions, make Election Day a federal holiday, and impose term-limits and lobbying bans for members of Congress, and term-limits for Supreme Court members. The plan aims to register over 50 million new voters.
Cory Booker on Affordable Housing: Introduce a renters’ tax credit for people spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing and ban housing discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. A Columbia University study shows that his tax credit policy would help over 57 million people and bring 9.4 million out of poverty.
Jay Inslee on Fighting Global Climate Change: Keep protections for Central American migrants leaving their homes for the U.S. because of climate change’s effects, add climate standards to all new U.S. trade agreements, and work to cut fossil fuel use and improve green technology worldwide.
Kirsten Gillibrand on Legalizing Marijuana Nationally: Expunge all non-violent marijuana convictions, tax recreational marijuana sales, and use the proceeds to “repair the damage done by the War on Drugs,” with emphasis on communities of color that have been disproportionately affected by enforcement. She would also require health insurance providers to cover medical marijuana.

Former Vice President Joe Biden also made headlines today about his controversial stance on reproductive rights. His campaign reiterated that he supports the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for abortions, after he told a constituent in South Carolina last month that “it can’t stay.” (The campaign said he “misheard” her question.)

Many Democrats oppose the Hyde Amendment because it doesn’t give lower-income women who rely on Medicaid (government-funded insurance) the same access to care as wealthier women. According to the leading pro-choice advocacy group NARAL, the Hyde Amendment “translates into discrimination against poor women and women of color.” In response to Biden’s stance, many other Democrats in the field reaffirmed their calls for the Hyde Amendment’s repeal.

According to the leading womens’ health physician group in the country, it’s inaccurate to call abortion restrictions “fetal heartbeat bills.” These doctors say that the recent “arbitrary” bans don’t reflect science or fetal development. “What is interpreted as a heartbeat in these bills is actually electrically induced flickering of a portion of the fetal tissue that will become the heart as the embryo develops,” said the president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dr. Ted Anderson.

We’re not calling them fetal heartbeat bills anymore. You shouldn’t either.

A bipartisan group of senators wants to block Trump’s plan to go around Congress and sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Congress wants to block the sales because of these countries’ involvment in Yemen’s civil war and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The Trump administration claims that a growing threat from Iran is enough of an emergency to let them go around lawmakers’ reviews.

The Trump administration has canceled English classes, legal aid, and recreational programs for unaccompanied child migrants staying in federal shelters across the country, citing budget constraints amid record-levels of migrants arriving at the border. The elimination of these programs may violate a federal court settlement and state licensing rules that require education and recreation for minors held in federal custody.

Drug company Pfizer knew since 2015 that its arthritis drug Enbrel appeared to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 64 percent, but it decided to keep that information to themselves. According to the Washington Post, additional research “would require a costly clinical trial—and after several years of internal discussion, Pfizer opted against further investigation and chose not to make the data public.” An estimated 5.8 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s in the U.S., and there is currently no effective prevention or treatment methods. Great stuff guys, you should be really proud.

Dallas Police have enlisted the help of the FBI in investigating the murders of young black transgender women after Chynal Lindsey, a 26-year-old trans woman, was found dead over the weekend. At least two other trans women have been killed in the Dallas area since October, with Muhlaysia Booker’s murder garnering national attention just weeks earlier.

House Democrats passed the Dream and Promise Act to give 2.5 million unauthorized immigrants a pathway to citizenship on Tuesday. The bill is expected to die in the Republican-controlled Senate—yet another reason we need to flip four seats and the White House in 2020 →

The U.S. private sector added the fewest jobs since 2010 last month, according to the ADP National Employment report. In other worrisome economic signals:

A key metric assessing U.S. manufacturing dropped to its lowest level in two-and-a-half years.
Business investment is slowing, despite the Trump administration’s extensive corporate tax cuts.
Economists predict the U.S. could experience a recession within three quarters, due to the Trump administration’s ongoing trade war with China and China’s subsequent retaliation.

Bernie Sanders appeared at Walmart’s annual shareholder’s meeting on Wednesday to present an employee proposal to add workers to the company’s board and call on the company to raise its minimum wage to $15. Elizabeth Warren has campaigned on a similar proposal to require 40 percent of board members at large corporations to be chosen by workers. The proposal Sanders presented was ultimately voted down by shareholders.

Sephora closed all U.S. stores on Wednesday morning for diversity training for its 16,000 employees. In April, R&B artist SZA accused employees at the beauty retailer of racial profiling.

Thanks to her music, makeup, luxury fashion brand, and more, Rihanna is the wealthiest female artist in the world. Her net-worth stands at $600 million, ahead of Madonna, Celine Dion, and Beyoncé.

What A Day: You can run but you can't Hyde

Crooked Minis takes a step back from the chaotic breaking news to offer a new series every month that explores an issue or event that reflects cultural, political, or societal changes in America and needs more than a 10-minute conversation and a split-second news cycle to unpack.

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