Oral arguments begin today in King v. Burwell, the latest Supreme Court challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Also, only about 8.6% of voters turned out in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Then,as AirTalk celebrates 30 years on the air, we look ahead to how political parties will shift in the decades to come.
SCOTUS debates Obamacare
Oral arguments begin today in King v. Burwell, the latest Supreme Court challenge to the Affordable Care Act.
At the heart of the case is whether residents in the 37 states that did not set up their own marketplaces still qualify for federal subsidies. The outcome will be determined by how the court chooses to interpret a key phrase in the section of the law that defines those subsidies. A victory for the plaintiffs could seriously rollback a critical portion of Obamacare.
Lisa McElroy joins us to break down the legalese and what it means for the future of health care.
Guests:
Lisa McElroy, Law Professor at Drexel University, where she specializes in Supreme Court cases
Sarah Ferris, health and politics reporter for The Hill who’s been following the Supreme Court challenge. She was at the oral arguments this morning. She tweet at
What you need to know about yesterday’s elections
Only about 8.6% of voters turned out in Los Angeles on Tuesday to overwhelmingly approve Charter Amendments 1 and 2, two measures that will align municipal and school board elections with bigger turnout statewide and nationally in even-numbered years.
Guests:
Raphe Sonenshein, executive Director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CSU Los Angeles
Kathay Feng, Executive Director, California Common Cause and Member, City of Los Angeles Municipal Elections Reform Commission; she was co-chair of the campaign for Charter Amendments 1&2
Ben Allen, Democratic California State Senator representing the 26th district, which includes the Westside and coast South Bay communities of Los Angeles County. Co-Chair of the Joint Oversight Hearing on L.A. County Voter Turnout
Annie Gilbertson, KPCC education reporter
The science of taste and the curry-ous reason behind why Indian food tastes so good
With its combination of pungent aromas and unique flavor profiles, Indian food is one of the most coveted cuisines in the world.
In a new study from researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, we’re getting a look at what makes Indian food different than most other cuisines around the world. Data scientists compiled more than 2,000 popular Indian recipes and discovered that flavor profiles for the ingredients in most Indian dishes almost never overlap, making for a much more complex tasting experience than is found in most Western cuisines.
What is the science behind why the flavor profiles of Indian dishes are so different than here in the West? How does the body identify the ways that different ingredients react and overlap with one another? What can we learn in Western cuisine from the findings of this study?
Guests:
Roberto Ferdman, reporter for the Washington Post’s “Wonkblog” covering food, economics, and immigration. He wrote the Post’s article on the Indian food study.
Emily Liman, associate professor of biological sciences at USC’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. She’s an expert in taste, smell, and pain
AirTalk at 30: California Republicans say it's time to adapt — or fail
California — which makes and breaks national elections — once sent Republicans Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to the White House. But the Republican Party in the state is at a crossroads as 2016 approaches, and those who would see the state GOP succeed argue that it's time to adapt to the new realities of the state's increasingly diverse population.
That was the prevailing view of panelists who spoke with AirTalk at a forum, Monday, on the future of the California GOP, which took place at Sunnylands, the historic Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage. The occasion was AirTalk’s 30th anniversary.
Republican groups are seeking both to emphasize a more diverse pool of candidates and to reframe issues to appeal to the state’s growing bloc of independent voters, whom politicos call NPPs, or no-party-preference.
“There’s a narrative that 'we can target our base, boost turnout’” and win elections that way, said Mindy Romero, director of the nonpartisan California Civic Engagement Project at UC Davis’ Center for Regional Change. “That ship has sailed in California.”
One sign that the state GOP is already preparing for the future: This week, the state GOP formally recognized the gay rights group Log Cabin Republicans in its charter.
“This wasn’t a close vote,” said Log Cabin Republicans outgoing chairman Charles Moran. “It was an overwhelming landslide.
He added: “We are part of a line of strategic moves to incorporate diverse Californians.” He also pointed to GOP gains among Asian-Americans in Orange County.
Party members also point to the local GOP's importance on the national stage as 2016 approaches:
- Former California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina may be mounting a presidential campaign.
- Prominent governors like New Jersey’s Chris Christie, Texas’s Rick Perry and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal are coming to rally votes, not just to collect checks from donors.
- And constituents who once were seen as automatic Democrats — young voters and people of color — are more and more likely to call themselves independents.
By 2040, California will have 8.3 million new registered voters, according to projections by the nonpartisan California Civic Engagement Project at UC Davis’ Center for Regional Change. Of those, 8 million will be people of color.
Old white guys need not apply?
Latinos, meanwhile, are the fastest-growing group in the state, accounting for 38 percent of the population, according to the U.S. Census.
“Speaking as an old white guy, I’d advise the party not to run people like me,” said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College and longtime Republican observer.
There’s no magic formula for the perfect candidate to attract Latino voters to the GOP, said Ruben Barrales, whose political action committee Grow Elect funds up-and-coming Latino Republicans.
“I don’t know if it was a blue and black dress or a white and gold dress,” he joked. But Barrales sees color-flipping opportunity in the voter registration rolls when it comes to expensive and controversial public policy.
“The largest growing demographic in our state is Hispanics. So guess who’s going to be holding the bag in 10, 20, 30 years, when in comes to pension reform or education reform?” he asked.
California Republicans often chafe against the image that the national party projects, particularly its emphasis on social issues.
“There are a lot of people — aside from the social issues — who would connect deeply with the Republican Party. [But] we’re seen as a party that rhetorically if not actually wants to run the car into a wall,” said Pepperdine professor Pete Peterson, who was the Republican candidate for Secretary of State in 2014.
Moran echoed that sentiment, referring to candidates like Peterson, whose party affiliation looms in the minds of socially progressive Californians.
“We have got phenomenal candidates that we're running in this state, but they're getting completely washed out because people want to argue about abortion and gay marriage and immigration, even though the bulk of the elected officials on the municipal level in the state of California are Republicans."
The disconnect between state and national Republicans may cut both ways. Pointing to the GOP's major Congressional wins in the 2014 midterms, Claremont McKenna’s Pitney noted that Republicans in California “probably would have picked up more seats if the national party had been more supportive.”
Barrales pointed to Republican members of Congress who are elected repeatedly in majority-Democratic districts in the Central Valley, like Modesto’s Jeff Denham and Hanford’s David Validao.
On issues like immigration, Barrales said, “You’ll see them distancing themselves [from the national party]. They’re the models I think for successful Republicans in California.”
Likewise, Pepperdine’s Pete Peterson had an optimistic slant.
“There are some significant changes going on within the Republican Party in California. And we’re competing against a party in the Democrats that is showing fissures.”
AirTalk panelists had some suggestions for areas of improvement in Republican messaging when it comes to engaging California voters:
- Pete Peterson: “We have got to do a better job of promoting life. Foster care… adoption… these are Republican issues.”
- Jack Pitney: highlight Republicans’ record of supporting people with disabilities
- Ruben Barrales: Education, pension reform. “We’re not spending a lot of time on ideology. I think that’s the model.”
- Charles Moran: Pension reform (“it’s coming” in the form of a ballot initiative). “The public and the vast public in California is going to be with us.”
- And advice from non-partisan researcher Mindy Romero on for anyone looking to engage Latino voters: “You have to have deep contact.You have to connect. You have to talk their realities, their community, and why vote at all.”
Which issues could California Republicans own? If you’re an NPP voter (no party preference), or a Democrat, could you be persuaded to choose a Republican candidate? Please post a comment below, post to our Facebook page or answer on Twitter (@AirTalk).