The race for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District seat between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff is the most expensive House race in U.S. history - and drawing big celebrities. We also look at a new SCOTUS case from Wisconsin to decide on partisan gerrymandering; following the heat over "Julius Caesar," when does political commentary in art go too far?; and more.
The Hollywood angle to the Georgia 6th District race everyone’s watching
The most expensive House race in U.S. history is under way in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.
The race for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District seat between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff has become a proxy for the national political climate and a bellwether for the 2018 midterm elections.
The high-profile race has drawn the interest of Hollywood as well. Celebrities from Samuel L. Jackson to comedian Chelsea Handler have voiced their support for Ossoff. In response, Handel and her supporters have run television ads targeting Ossoff’s Hollywood ties. One spot, for instance, is titled “Hollywood Versus Georgia.”
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guests:
Ted Johnson, a senior editor at Variety who covers the intersection of politics and entertainment; his piece looking at Jon Ossoff’s Hollywood support was published today
Celeste Headlee, host and executive producer of talk show “On Second Thought” on Georgia Public Broadcasting; she lives in Georgia’s 6th district
SCOTUS case in Wisconsin could decide the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a gerrymandering case which could set new rules on how state legislatures draw district lines.
As reported by Bloomberg news, the Wisconsin case would determine whether legislative maps showing too much partisanship should be deemed unconstitutional. This would be an unprecedented move for the Supreme Court, which has never denounced a legislative map based on partisanship.
The last time the issue was presented to the court was in 2004, when Justice Anthony Kennedy gave the deciding vote to keep Pennsylvania congressional districts in place. Kennedy said the challengers lacked “a workable standard” to prove there was an overreach in partisanship. The court will hear arguments in October.
Libby Denkmann speaks to Bloomberg News’ Greg Stohr for a breakdown of what the Wisconsin case could mean for the rest of the country.
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guest:
Greg Stohr, Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg News; he has been following the story; he tweets
How to close the gender gap in political ambition
Women represent 21 percent of our current Congress.
That’s actually an all-time high, and the numbers for female office holders in the U.S., from mayors to governor to members of the House, are all similarly low, despite women winning elections and raising money at similar rates to their male counterparts.
So what can be done to encourage women to run for public office?
That’s something Jennifer Lawless, director for the Women & Politics Institute, has been studying for years. She co-authored a report that found two crucial factors in cultivating girls’ political ambitions: involvement in sports and parental encouragement.
Female listeners, have you ever considered running for political office and if so, what encouraged or deterred you? Parents, have you talked to daughters about running for political office, or cultivated their ambitions? Why or why not?
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guests:
Jennifer Lawless, current director for the Women & Politics Institute and professor of Government at American University; she is the co-author of the report “Girls Just Wanna Not Run: The Gender Gap in Young Americans’ Political Ambition”
Vanessa Cardenas, director of strategic communications at Emily’s List, a political action committee that aims to elect Democratic women
Middle East watchers round up latest from Iran, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Qatar
We’re hearing some good news out of Iraq this morning as the Iraqi military is reporting it has surrounded the Islamic State’s stronghold in the Old City of Mosul after liberating the city’s al-Shifaa district.
U.S.-backed forces will now look at how to go about reclaiming control of the city, which is ISIS’ de-facto capital, without collateral damage to the hundreds of thousands of people suspected to still be in the Old City.
Meanwhile, Iranian forces launched a missile strike on an Islamic State target in the eastern Syrian city of Deir el-Zour in response to terrorist attacks in Iran’s capital, Tehran, earlier this month. President Trump had previously put Iran ‘on notice’ regarding missile tests, and it remains to be seen how the White House will respond.
This comes as tensions between the U.S. and Russia heighten after the U.S. shot down a Syrian government jet on Sunday and Russia responded by threatening to target any U.S.-backed jets west of the Euphrates River. It’s all part of a continuing proxy war that the U.S. and Russia are fighting through Syria.
There are also questions on the horizon about the United States’ future involvement in Afghanistan after President Trump gave Secretary of Defense James Mattis authority to decide on troop levels there, a decision that some are questioning.
We’ll also take a look at what has happened since four Arab nations cut ties with Qatar.
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guests:
Borzou Daragahi, Middle East correspondent for Buzzfeed News; he tweets
Aaron David Miller, Vice President for New Initiatives and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center; he tweets
After controversial ‘Julius Caesar,’ when does political commentary in art go too far?
In the New York Public Theater’s latest production of “Julius Caesar,” the titular character is styled as a caricature of President Trump – and the murderous climactic scene, which leaked before the play opened, has angered the president’s supporters.
Advertisers have pulled back or distanced themselves from the play, as well as the Public, while artists and Shakespeare scholars have defended the staging, saying that art should not be muzzled, and that the play itself is a condemnation of political violence.
Shakespeare, and “Julius Caesar” in particular, have long been a vehicle for artists to critique those in power. Is this latest iteration all provocation without political substance? Can art offer a rigorous critique of politics? Is this violent imagery dangerous in our hyper-partisan landscape or justified by the play’s ultimate message?
Guest host Libby Denkmann in for Larry Mantle
Guest:
Bob Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University