Which presidential hopefuls are likely to secure their party's nomination?; a new tech show explores the newest innovations on the planet; and learning about the long-term counterterrorism efforts that must take place to ensure effectiveness.
Tuesday primary analysis, plus crunching the numbers on who’s on track to win the nomination
Arizona was the biggest prize on “Western Tuesday” as voters in both parties there and in Utah hit the polls.
Respective party frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both cleaned up in the Grand Canyon State while Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz won their respective parties’ caucuses in Utah. Idaho Democrats also caucused Tuesday, with Bernie Sanders winning there as well.
Despite stealing a few delegates from their rivals, the victories for Cruz and Sanders don’t do a whole lot to change the landscape of the 2016 election. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton still hold firm leads in their party’s races. With the general election picture becoming clearer every week, we’ll take a look at percentages of delegates candidates would need in the remaining primaries to secure the nomination, plus analyze what yesterday’s primary results mean for the candidates moving forward.
Guests:
Susan Del Percio, a New York-based Republican strategist and founder of Susan Del Percio Strategies, a full service strategic communications firm; she tweets
Bill Burton, Democratic political strategist and former deputy White House press secretary for Barack Obama; he tweets
Philip Bump, writer for The Washington Post's 'The Fix' blog; he tweets
How the Supreme Court vacancy could complicate the latest challenge to Obamacare’s birth control mandate
Today, the Supreme Court hears challenges to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate.
In the case, Zubik v. Burwell, non-profit religious groups argue that even the accommodation in the law, which allows faith-based groups to opt out of the birth control mandate, remains a burden on their religious beliefs.
In order to withdraw from responsibility, objecting employers must write a letter to the government, which then notifies a 3rd-party insurance provider to take up the cost of the contraceptive coverage. Religious groups face an uphill battle without late Justice Antonin Scalia, who voted in favor of the 2014 Hobby Lobby decision that granted certain privately held companies the right to refuse to pay for birth control under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.
Concerns are also raised that a 4-4 split will leave the case unsettled until the vacant seat is filled.
Guests:
Margaret Russell, Professor of Law at Santa Clara University. Her areas of expertise include constitutional law and the Supreme Court
Marcia Coyle, Chief Washington Correspondent at The National Law Journal. Coyle has covered the Supreme Court for over 25 years as both a lawyer and journalist. She is also a regular contributor of Supreme Court analysis to PBS’ The NewsHour
‘Hello World’ digital series travels the world seeking innovations in technology
A new video show, “Hello World,” launching today from Bloomberg.com travels the world exploring the latest innovations in technology, including medical technology (such as exoskeletons for humans), artificial intelligence advances (including a somewhat creepy computer baby), and rocket science with Richard Branson.
The fresh-looking visuals incorporate Snapchat content and rely heavily on tech journalism darling Ashlee Vance, author of the best-selling Elon Musk bio.
Guest:
Ashlee Vance, Host of “Hello World” on Bloomberg.com; Author of “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future”
Connecting the dots between Syria and the Brussels attacks
Since the civil war began in Syria in 2011, security experts have feared that the war-torn country will become a breeding ground for a new legion of Islamist terrorists.
And yesterday’s terror attacks on Brussels are proof once again that any long-term counterterrorism strategy must include ways to stabilize Syria and neighboring Iraq.
Guest:
Brian Michael Jenkins, senior adviser to the president of the RAND Corporation and author of numerous books, reports, and articles on terrorism-related topics, including “Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?” (Prometheus Books, 2008)
Iraqi youth movement launching counter-terrorism efforts
To combat extremist ideology in Iraq, a burgeoning youth group with some help from political scientists from around the world aims to launch an Internet movement - with all the bells and whistles - opposed to "Jihadist" violence.
Eric Davis, a Rutgers scholar focusing on democracy in Iraq, was on the ground in Iraq this month and says, "When we met with the students, we had some apprehensions about how to talk to these students about activism, but it was fantastic, just fantastic. The men and the women were eager." As Davis writes on his blog "The New Middle East:"
Perhaps in no other country of the Middle East has the issue of national reconciliation ... been so central to the national political discourse as in Iraq. A true policy of national reconciliation would constitute an important nail in the terrorist coffin. Offering all Iraq's religious sects and ethniocities a place in the political system would be a sure bet to promote stability and undercut the allure of terrorist groups.
With sectarian-based violence a common occurrence throughout Iraq, how much success are activists for democracy and reconciliation having? How could a website or social media platform gain traction against "Jihadist" violence?
Guest:
Eric Davis, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University just returned from Iraq; past director of the University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies; His blog is “The New Middle East”
New poll shows Clinton and Trump are viewed unfavorably by a majority of Americans
Though Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are ahead in the primaries, a large percentage of Americans don’t favor either candidate.
A recent poll conducted by CBS and the New York Times finds that more than half of registered voters nationwide hold unfavorable views of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Among registered voters, 52% find Clinton unfavorable and 57% find Trump unfavorable.
These percentages are higher than any seen for previous front runners from both parties since 1984, when the poll began. Most Democrats hold negative views of Trump and similar is true for Clinton among Republicans, but among independents, over half find both candidates unfavorable.
More Democrats have positive feelings about Clinton than Republicans for Trump. Six out of 10 find Clinton favorable whereas, only half feel favorably for Trump. Only 28% of Americans view the Republican Party favorably while 46% view the Democratic party favorably. In a general election matchup, Clinton has a 10-point lead over Trump among registered voters. In a Clinton-Cruz matchup, Clinton leads Cruz by 3 points, but would lose to John Kasich by 4 points.
What is it about the candidates that make them poll so poorly? What characteristics and personality traits hurt them most? What role does empathy play?
Guests:
Charles Prysby, professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the co-author of the book, “Candidate Character Traits in Presidential Elections” (Routledge, 2014)
Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and a fellow at the New America Foundation. His latest book is, “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society” (Penguin Press, 2015)