IT’S ELECTION DAY, TIME TO ROCK THE VOTE | Trump Vs. Courts on The Daily Podcast | The Hot Bench Returns
November 7, 2017
ROCK THE VOTE
|Today, Americans across the country will head to the polls and vote in local, state and special elections. NPR’s Brett Neely tells us what to watch for in these elections, noting, “In an era when, to flip an old phrase, all politics is national, these low-profile, low-turnout elections might have a lot more to say about the direction of the country than may have been the case just a few years ago.” Read his rundown on races in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York to name a few.
THE BLOOD OF INNOCENTS
|In The Washington Post, Eugene Robinson responds to the horrific mass shooting that occurred in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday in which 26 people were killed during services at the First Baptist Church. He opines, “The United States is alone among advanced countries in having gun policies that facilitate, rather than obstruct, deadly rampages such as Kelley’s. The Supreme Court has made clear in its rulings that the Second Amendment permits reasonable gun-control measures. This crisis is political, not constitutional. You and I have the power to elect leaders who will reduce gun violence. The blood of innocents is on our hands.”
TOP-ED
|“The question for the U.S. Supreme Court is whether protecting rodents counts as ‘interstate commerce.'” In The Wall Street Journal, Senator Mike Lee and Jonathan Wood urge the justices to consider taking up a challenge to the federal government’s authority to regulate Utah prairie dogs under the Endangered Species Act. They write, “As Utah has shown, states are well equipped to protect threatened species. State biologists and officials have more local knowledge and are more accountable than far-off regulators. The Supreme Court and Congress should restore federalism to its rightful place and enforce the Commerce Clause’s intended limits. Utah’s prairie dogs and countless other species depend on it.”
PODCAST DU JOUR – TRUMP VS. COURTS
|The latest episode of “The Daily,” the podcast presented by The New York Times, looks at a pattern emerging between PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP and the American court system. NYT Supreme Court reporter ADAM LIPTAK joins the pod for a conversation about how the president’s comments can influence court rulings.
STAY TUNED
|Last year, SCOTUSDaily presented “The Hot Bench” — a series of interviews dedicated to getting to know the journalists and commentators who cover the Supreme Court and tell us everything we need to know about the justices, their big decisions and how they connect to our daily lives. It was a smash hit with guests such as NINA TOTENBERG, JEFFREY TOOBIN, ROBERT BARNES, SHANNON BREAM, MARK SHERMAN, and many, many more. And here’s the deal: We’re bringing that old thing back starting this week! So stay tuned for the first installment the The Hot Bench re-boot, and until then, catch up on old interviews from last year to get ready for more SCOTUS-goodness from our favorite SCOTUS watchers.