Protests against President-elect Trump continue for a second day in California, with 28 arrested in Los Angeles for impeding freeway traffic; we check in with Mayor Garcetti on the newly passed Measure HHH and M; what will Trump’s presidency mean for Covered California?; plus, we look at why voters chose to expedite the death penalty rather than abolish it.
Protests in DTLA, Santa Ana and nationwide
In Downtown Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Oakland, Dallas, New York - from New England to heartland cities like Kansas City -, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets and highways to protest the election of Donald Trump.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti responded to the LA protests by saying that they're understandable, maybe even healthy for people unhappy with the election results, but must be peaceful. Portions of the 101 freeway were blocked by protesters for several hours, while others took to the steps of City Hall with placards saying “Not My President” and “Wall Street is the Enemy. Not Muslims and Immigrants.” Trump surrogate, former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said on Fox News Channel's "Fox and Friends" that most of the protesters are college-age students and seem to be "1 percent of 1 percent of 1 percent.” He dismissed them as “college-student” “cry babies.”
In Oakland, the hectic anti-Trump rally swelled to 7,000 yesterday afternoon. Police arrested 30 people and issued 11 citations for assault on an officer, vandalism, unlawful assembly, failure to disperse, and possession of a firearm. More protests are being planned in the coming days.
What impact are the different degrees of protests having? Should the LAPD have allowed the freeway to be shut so long? Let's talk about it after the news. If you were out there protesting last night, we want to hear your thoughts on the night's goal and whether you thought the protests were successful. If you were stopped on the freeway, we also welcome your perspective.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Chief Charlie Beck, LAPD
Abraham Marquez, a Los Angeles-based member of Answer Coalition, the group behind the protests in L.A. and other cities across the country
Bennett Kaspar, protester who was out last night; he’s originally from Texas and has been living in Los Angeles since 2014
Mayor Garcetti on measures HHH, M and Trump protests
Returns from the election show that Angelenos have approved two pricey measures that seek to address a couple of pressing issues facing the city: homelessness and public transportation.
Measure HHH, the homeless bond, would tax property owners to help fund the construction of a number of housing units for homeless people over the next 10 years.
"We actually started the conveyor belt a long time ago. HHH just speeds it up," said Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Measure M, meanwhile, would increase sales tax in the city to pay for an ambitious expansion of public transportation including street improvements.
Both measures seem to have achieved the two-thirds of the votes needed to pass. Final ballots are still being counted.
"People really answered that call," Garcetti said of Measure M's support. "It’s also a blueprint for how we start moving this country forward."
Garcetti spoke with Larry about what’s next for both projects, as well as respond to last night’s protests.
Garcetti warned protesters against blocking freeways, which he said would distract from their message by becoming the story, but he also expressed support for their right to express themselves.
"I’m very proud of this city, not only what we stood up for and what we speak out for, but modeling what love is about and standing against division and hatred — and that was 99 percent of what we saw on our streets," he said.
Click the blue play button above to listen to the full interview.
Guest:
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
Covered CA executive director, health policy experts answer questions about future of state healthcare exchange, Affordable Care Act
California has a lot to lose if President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress fulfill their campaign pledge to repeal Obamacare.
The Golden State fully embraced the Affordable Care Act by expanding Medicaid coverage for the poor and creating its own health insurance exchange for about 1.4 million enrollees. Supporters held California up as proof the health law could work as intended.
But now President Barack Obama’s signature law is in serious jeopardy and California officials are left wondering what Republicans in Washington may put in its place.
Peter Lee, the executive director for Covered California, told AirTalk that it was important for those fearful of Obamacare's potential to be repealed to focus on the present, as it is too early to predict what exactly will take place in the years to come.
"We’re focused on the here and now. We’re in open enrollment, people are renewing their coverage and they should be looking at renewing. For 2017, that coverage is there, it’s intact, the financial assistance is there and intact, the rates aren’t changing for 2017," he said. "Before we jump into the morass of what repeal and replace look like, Californians should know that in the here and now, sign up for coverage. Make sure you don’t go without insurance."
Lee also told AirTalk that it was important for the state to keep making its presence felt politically.
"California has been in Washington, and we need to keep being in Washington. We’ve been speaking since Day 1 with both sides of the aisle," he said. "We've said as a state for two years, let's put the politics behind us and provide subsidies for those who really need it, create a competitive marketplace, have a benefit design where in California, the deductible isn't in between you and your primary care doctor. Those are important lessons."
Guests:
Peter Lee, executive director for Covered California
Kavita K. Patel, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution; she’s also a practicing primary care physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine and was previously a Director of Policy for The White House under President Obama
Yevgeniy Feyman, adjunct fellow and deputy director of the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Medical Progress
Former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announces campaign for governor
Despite Californians’ overall move to the left, death penalty remained a holdout
California moved further to the left on Tuesday night, as the country moved to the right.
The state legalized recreational marijuana and continued to push criminal justice reform, voting yes on Prop 57, making it easier for people to win parole and rejecting warnings from police leaders that crime would likely go up as a result. But they stopped short of abolishing the death penalty.
Larry talks with listeners about how they voted on Props 62 and 66 and why.