Voters head to the polls in Kentucky & Oregon tomorrow; it's upfronts season and some are wondering whether a TV pilot the best way to predict the success of a new show; And Larry Mantle digs into the role of money in California politics with a panel of some of the state's political heavyweights.
The week ahead in Trump & women, a third party hope and #freethedelegates
The remarkable Presidential race just gets weirder: A former girlfriend of Donald Trump, Rowanne Brewer Lane, blasted the New York Time's story of the presumptive GOP nominee's interactions with women.
Also, the claim that over the years Donald Trump pretended to be his own publicist, under a fictitious name. Well, who would do it better? Then, there's Trump's former butler's Facebook posts calling for a military coup and the killing of President Obama.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney and collaborators are hoping to find an independent candidate to run in November. It's designed to assure Trump's loss and get more Republicans out to the polls.
Guests:
Peter Dreier, professor of political science at Occidental College
Lori Cox Han, professor of political science at Chapman University
Untangling the Supreme Court's deferral of Obamacare contraceptives case
In a surprise move today, the Supreme Court justices issued a unanimous decision saying it would not rule in a major case challenging Obamacare's birth control coverage requirement.
Instead, the high court instructed lower courts to find a compromise.
Practically, some analysts say the Court cleared the way for the government to provide no-cost contraceptives for workers and students at non-profit religious institutions, but barring penalties for those institutions that fail to provide access themselves.
Both sides declared victories. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the administration is pleased by the Supreme Court's action in the birth control dispute. One of the attorneys suing the government, Mark Rienzi of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told reporters the ruling showed the government overstepped its bounds.
Guest:
Margaret Russell, Professor of Law at Santa Clara University. Her areas of expertise include constitutional law and the Supreme Court
It’s the upfronts, plus how to gauge the success of new TV
Television “upfronts” begin today at the mid-season point when the networks introduce new shows to replace cancelled ones.
But with the proliferation of platforms and our continued preference for on-demand viewing, predicting what will become a hit--and measuring exactly what it means to be a hit-- has changed the process of how a show makes it from pilot to series.
Guest:
Joe Flint, media and entertainment report for the Wall Street Journal; he tweets from
Debra Birnbaum, executive editor of television at Variety
Money in politics: Finance, regulation and disclosure in California's ballot initiative process
As we look to the November ballot, this is expected to be a record year for citizen initiatives in California with more than a hundred already proposed and filed with the Secretary of State.
Enacted in 1911, California’s citizens’ initiative process allows citizens the opportunity to put their own propositions on the state ballot. But is the average voter as well equipped to deal with complex legislation as elected legislators and their full-time staffs?
While direct democracy is the intent, the process of qualifying and passing initiatives in such a large state allows monied interests to wield big clout.
Do you think California's initiative process is controlled more by large industries, labor unions and wealthy individuals than by voters? If so, do you have ideas for reforming the process? Would you ban initiative financing that comes from out-of-state? Do you think citizen initiatives are a waste of time and money and should be scrapped altogether?
Guests:
John Eastman, professor of law and community service at Chapman University
Richard Hasen, Chancellor's professor of law and political science at University of California, Irvine
Jessica Levinson, professor at Loyola Law School
John Matsusaka, USC Charles F. Sexton chair in American enterprise, professor of finance and business economics, and executive director of Initiative and Referendum Institute
Pete Peterson, interim dean of the School of Public Policy and executive director of the Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University
Peter Scheer, executive director of First Amendment Coalition