How Rep. Nunes is viewed by his own constituents, divisions among Democrats on Gov. Brown transportation tax, celebrate International Pillow Fight Day in DTLA
Nunes constituents come to his defense amid national scrutiny
California Congressman Devin Nunes used to be pretty much unknown outside his rural California district. Now, as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Nunes is leading an investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election.
It was recently revealed that he met with an unnamed source on the White House lawn to receive intelligence reports. Now, The New York Times and Washington Post are both reporting that White House staffers were the source of those documents.
This has Democrats accusing Nunes of being a presidential lapdog rather than a congressional watchdog. Even some Republicans have expressed alarm.
But one group of people came to Nunes' defense: His constituents in his district around the town of Tulare.
It's a bright red area in a mostly blue state.
"It's 43 percent Republican and 33 percent Democrat," Lewis Griswold, a reporter for the Fresno Bee, told Take Two's Ben Bergman. "There's never been a serious challenger against [Nunes] or at least a well-funded one."
Griswold has been talking to folks in Nunes' district to find out what they think of their congressman.
"Amongst his friends and neighbors, there's a strong sense of support for Devin," Griswold said. "I think they perceive him as being under attack."
Nunes has come under scrutiny by many of his colleagues and national media observers for how he's handled the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. But his local constituents feel a kinship with him.
"He's a hometown guy," Griswold said. "They know him."
Griswold said that camaraderie makes Tulare residents feel a little more defensive when they hear national voices go after Nunes.
"If you're in farming and you hear what's being said, your hackles go up," Griswold said.
State of Affairs: Reps. Nunes and Schiff spar, Gov. Brown pushes gas tax
Today on State of Affairs:
- Two California representatives continue to spar over the House investigation into Russian election meddling
- Jerry Brown pushes a tax hike to pay for a big upgrade to the state's roads and highways
Carla Marinucci, senior writer for Politico's California Playbook and Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, professor of public policy at USC, joined Ben Bergman to discuss.
Click the blue play button above to hear the full interview.
The Binge: Patriot, Big Little Lies and Crashing
Every month we take a look at all of the options you have to stream, from Hulu and Netflix to Amazon Prime, HBO Now and Showtime Anytime. Our very own Mark Jordan Legan offers three great new picks.
BIG LITTLE LIES (HBO GO)
Based on a best selling novel and was adapted for television by the legendary David E. Kelley who has given us everything from L.A. Law to Ally McBeal to the recent Billy Bob Thornton series Goliath. But this taut little murder mystery is set in the beautiful town of Monterey California and stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley. Big Little Lies does a marvelous job of shining a light on the hypocrisy and gossip in these wealthy little towns.
Reese Witherspoon’s character is as if Tracey Flick, from the brilliant political satire ELECTION, grew up and married money. Every episode is expertly directed by Jean-Marc Valle – who as a feature director has made everything from Young Victoria to Dallas Buyers Club to Wild – where he worked with both Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern.
PATRIOT (Amazon Prime)
This dark, quirky spy drama comes from Steven Conrad – who has written or co-written some really good films like Pursuit of Happyness, The Weather Man and The Promotion. This show focuses on a young espionage agent who is struggling with the emotional realities of his dangerous job. He works for his father – a top Intelligence officer – played by the excellent character actor Terry O’Quinn.
It has some of the dark humor of Fargo and some of the sharp insight of the spy game like The Americans. Totally worth checking out.
CRASHING (HBO GO)
Crashing was created by and stars comedian Pete Holmes and is loosely based on his real life experience. Just like Holmes, the TV character was raised in a devout Christian home, went to Christian college and married young. But his desire to perform stand-up comedy puts a strain on his marriage.
Things go bad in the marriage and Pete soon finds himself out on the street where he needs to start crashing on fellow comedian’s couches as he tries to figure out his next move. Real life pros like Sarah Silverman and TJ Miller play themselves as does ex-Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lange.
Mark Jordan Legan is a writer living in Los Angeles, check out past episodes of the Binge here.
(click on the blue arrow to hear the entire interview)