| | |  | BY DAVID SIDERS | Presented by the National Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCLA) | With help from Renuka Rayasam DESANTIS VS. NOEM — You should take the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll with a shaker of salt. Rand Paul won it the year after Mitt Romney lost the 2012 election. By the time the next election rolled around, Donald Trump — the eventual president and, now, CPAC idol — finished third in 2016. But even if it’s not a predictor of future success, the CPAC poll still offers a glimpse of where GOP passions burn today. And what the popularity of Ron DeSantis and Kristi Noem demonstrated in Orlando, Fla., over the weekend is that, among conservative Republicans, there is an appetite for a standard-bearer who is an anti-lockdown, anti-Anthony Fauci Covid skeptic. “Welcome to our oasis of freedom!” DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said at the convention, where he finished second in the straw poll in which Trump’s name was included — and first in the one that assumed Trump doesn’t run again in 2024. Noem, who finished behind DeSantis in both polls, trumpeted the state she governs, South Dakota, as “the only state in America that never ordered a single business or church to close.” And in a ballroom where CPAC organizers had been heckled for asking people to put on masks, she added that South Dakota never mandated them. “My guess is that a year ago, most of you had no idea who I was,” Noem said.
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. | Getty Images | Yet thanks in no small part to their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans are paying more attention to Noem and DeSantis now. The two Republicans’ ascent in part reflects a sincere difference of opinion between Republicans and Democrats about what values to elevate during the pandemic — to what extent a reduction in caseloads merits a restriction on economic and religious liberties. Florida’s death rate is slightly lower than the national average. Both DeSantis and Noem highlight positive economic indicators in their states. As of December, South Dakota (along with Nebraska) had the lowest unemployment rate in the country. But the praise heaped on DeSantis and Noem by the Republican base is also about something more instinctual: owning the libs. And in that crusade, DeSantis and Noem, who had once been sharply criticized for their pandemic response, are benefitting from the misadventures of two big-state Democrats who were once widely hailed as Covid heroes. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is confronting accusations of sexual harassment and, separately, scrutiny over his administration’s handling of Covid-related deaths at nursing homes. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing the prospect of a recall election spurred in large part by his management of the pandemic. Even if the prospects of California tossing him out are low, Newsom’s approval rating has plummeted. He has become a subject of mockery on Saturday Night Live . At CPAC, the crowd booed when Noem mentioned Cuomo, and it broke into applause when she said that Fauci is “wrong a lot.” “Noem and DeSantis are popular because they’re doing what Trump did at the local level, and they got treated like Trump, like Covid villains,” said Jim McLaughlin, the pollster who conducted the straw poll. “And what did the media make them Covid villains compared to? Cuomo and Newsom.” Noem has been criticized by public health experts — and some Republicans — for her refusal to issue mask mandates and for allowing a massive motorcycle rally in her state, an event linked to widespread infection. Deaths per capita in her state rank eighth-highest in the country. But for a crucial segment of the electorate, her rhetoric works. “This is part of the Trump lane,” said Tony Fabrizio, who conducted the CPAC poll for years before McLaughlin. “They’re acting like Trump and being treated like Trump. These are high-information voters and they’re paying attention.” Fabrizio said DeSantis enjoyed a home-field advantage because the conference was held in Florida. Even so, he said, DeSantis is ascendant in the estimation of Republican voters because of the negative press coverage of his coronavirus response (something POLITICO explored two weeks ago). Covid villainy did not play well in 2020. Many establishment-minded Republicans believe that, had Trump taken the coronavirus more seriously last year, he would still be president. Instead, his handling of the pandemic was a persistent drag on his campaign. But the CPAC poll is for Republican activists, not general-election undecideds. And Noem, McLaughlin said, is “a rock star.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news and tips at dsiders@politico.com and rrayasam@politico.com, or on Twitter at @davidsiders and @renurayasam.
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A message from the National Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCLA): Long term care staff are doing everything they can to keep residents safe – but they can’t do it alone. We must prioritize nursing homes and assisted living facilities for additional COVID-19 resources: https://saveourseniors.org | | | | | ALL ROADS LEAD TO MENENDEZ — In just six short weeks in office, President Joe Biden has bombed Syria, sanctioned Saudi Arabia and Myanmar, and taken steps to reenter the Iran nuclear deal. But if Biden thinks he can make foreign policy decisions without consulting New Jersey’s Robert Menendez, he’s got another thing coming, Andrew Desiderio and Nahal Toosi write. The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has been in this role before, and didn’t much like the way the Obama administration conducted international affairs as if it were the sole discretion of the White House. As a result, he often made things more difficult for Obama, especially in areas that required congressional approval. The 67-year-old third-term senator and former longtime House member told POLITICO that he was often frustrated by Obama, who would simply notify Congress of his decisions rather than consult with lawmakers beforehand. Menendez ultimately came down on opposite sides of the White House on several issues, including the Iran nuclear deal and Obama’s bid to reset relations with Cuba. He’s hopeful, though, that things will change under Biden — and that he can be the person to get Congress to fall in line. “Beyond the realities of a 50-50 Senate, when we talk about foreign policy, whenever we can get a bipartisan basis for something — maybe not absolute, 100 members — we are stronger in the world,” Menendez said in an interview. “And I believe President Biden believes that.”
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| — De Blasio suggests Cuomo should resign if allegations substantiated: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested today that Cuomo will have to step down if an investigation into sexual harassment allegations by two former aides corroborates the accusations. — More Cuomo fallout: One of the former aides who has accused Cuomo of harassment is encouraging others to come forward if they’ve had similar experiences. — Senate set to take up $1.9T Covid aid bill as soon as Wednesday: Democrats are racing to pass the Covid aid package into law before March 14, when boosted federal unemployment benefits expire. — Duckworth urges Biden admin to release intel on Russian bounties: Sen. Tammy Duckworth is urging the White House to declassify and release intelligence regarding Russia’s alleged offer of bounties to the Taliban to target U.S. troops in Afghanistan. — WH: Biden not considering sharing Covid vaccine with Mexico: Press secretary Jen Psaki said today that Biden would not consider Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s expected request that the U.S. share its coronavirus vaccine supply with its neighbor to the south. — Sarkozy sentenced to jail in corruption trial: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted today on corruption charges, shaking his conservative allies and diminishing hopes for a political comeback. — Newsom strikes school reopening deal with lawmakers: Newsom and state lawmakers struck a deal Sunday that would push school districts to open classrooms to the youngest students by the end of March while stopping short of new requirements regarding vaccines and collective bargaining.
| | AMAZON IN ALABAMA: POLL TIDE — Biden offered up his support Sunday for Amazon workers in Alabama organizing to form a union, though he stopped short of endorsing an actual union. Labor reporter Rebecca Rainey told Nightly’s Renuka Rayasam today over Slack that it’s still a “huge messaging boost for the labor movement as a whole.” The two chatted about what the moment means for the future of unions in the country. This conversation has been edited. Just how big a deal is Biden’s message to Amazon workers? Organized labor is billing this as the “most pro-union statement from a president in United States history.” One union leader I spoke with broke into tears in reaction to the message. Arguably, the last time a president demonstrated so much support for a union drive was in 1944, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the seizure of Montgomery Ward’s properties after the merchandising giant repeatedly refused to comply — ironically — with labor agreements brokered with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (which is the union Amazon workers are voting to join.) So why not offer a more full-throated endorsement? Biden appears to be walking a fine line here. He’s not explicitly calling out one of the most powerful companies in the world, that also notably contributed to his campaign and has volunteered to help with vaccine distribution. But he’s also touting the benefits that a union could provide and broadly endorsing unionization. That move seems to check both boxes when it comes to keeping business interests and labor interests happy. While he didn’t call out Amazon directly in his video, some labor officials said that this was intentional, because Biden was encouraging workers to exercise their collective bargaining rights. By not explicitly telling workers to vote yes on the union, some union leaders say Biden was truly promoting the ideals of the National Labor Relations Act, by allowing workers to decide for themselves. However, Biden was sure to remind workers of what he said were the benefits of holding a union card, such as higher pay, increased safety and better benefits. Will this message translate into anything concrete? Beyond just the Amazon election, union leaders argue that this message could promote Biden’s labor agenda, which calls for a broad overhaul of federal labor law that would expand worker’s ability to unionize. This isn’t the first time Biden has flexed his muscle in favor of organized labor. In his first days in office, he ousted two Trump-era general counsels from the National Labor Relations Board who were opposed by organized labor for several pro-management moves at the board. The firings marked the first time a president has removed the top lawyer at the NLRB since Harry Truman did so in 1950. More: Rebecca breaks down what the president’s statement means for the union push — and for Amazon in the latest POLITICO Dispatch.
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| | | | | Nightly asked you: What moment marked the beginning of the pandemic for you? More of your lightly edited responses are below: “In late February 2020, I flew to Denver for what I thought would be the first of many trips to the offices of the company that had just acquired my employer. Covid was a topic that people were just starting to discuss seriously. As some co-workers and I waited in the terminal for our return flight to Chicago, we saw a dollar bill that somebody had dropped on the floor. People walked by it, looked at it and exchanged embarrassed glances with strangers, but not a single person was willing to pick it up. That was the moment that I really knew something big was happening. I haven’t been back to Denver.” — Scott Downing, senior content marketing manager, Skokie, Ill. “I had a flight to see my 81-year-old grandmother and chatter was rising about Covid. I decided to make the 8 hour drive and forgo the flight. After work on Thursday, I got in my car and drove halfway before stopping at a hotel. When I got into the car, the NBA season was in full swing. By the time I got to my hotel, the NBA season was cancelled, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson had Covid, and the president had given a national address about the virus. I felt like the world had shifted in those four hours.” — Autumn Hanline, nonprofit professional, Charlotte, N.C. “It really hit home for me when I saw the fatality projections to be 100,000 to 200,000 in the U.S. lt was then I understood this was a ‘real’ pandemic and was likely going to affect me or someone I was close to.” — Pamela Foster, project manager, Duluth, Minn. “My wife and I live in Celebration, Fla., on the edge of Disney World, so we are constant visitors to the parks for dinner, drinks, etc. By Sunday, March 15, it had been made known that the parks were going to be closing the next day. We had dinner that night in EPCOT and were among the last guests to straggle out at closing time. At the exit gate, Mickey and Minnie were lined up, holding sparklers and waving farewell. It was surreal. My sense of gloom was sealed when the guy behind me shouted, ‘Goodbye Mickey. See you in bankruptcy court.’” — Michael Rothman, attorney, Celebration, Fla. “Jan. 3, 2020. In reading our clips, a mysterious new virus from a Chinese province told of a handful of instances of people with pneumonia-type symptoms. I printed the story and inquired during a senior staff meeting if anyone knew the numbers of passengers on average we had from that city. No one had even heard of it, much less what the passenger load was. Who knew within a few months it would be the greatest challenge our country and the world had faced in recent history? I kept the clip taped to my credenza until the day we departed, so everyone would realize what may be one very small event at the start can change the world as we know it.” — Todd Inman, former chief of staff, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C. “March 13, 2020. My employer, American Girl, was way ahead of me in recognizing what was coming. Toward the end of that workday, they gave us a quickie seminar in setting up a computer in our home. On March 14, we all started working from home. It’s been a year and I’ve hardly left the house, but I can’t say I’ve suffered what so many others have. I’m having my second shot on March 13, 2021. Ironic.” — Marg Sumner, retail support, Madison, Wis.
| | LONDON (HOSPITALIZATIONS) FALLING — The chance of needing hospital treatment for Covid-19 falls by more than 80 percent after a single dose of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid jab, according to new analysis in the U.K. U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock unveiled what he said were “very strong” findings at a press conference in London today, where he claimed a “vaccine gap” between older people who had been immunized, and younger patients yet to receive a vaccine, was emerging. It “shows the power of science,” he added. The study suggests that a single dose of either of the two vaccines currently approved for use in the U.K. is more than 80 percent effective at preventing hospitalization, around three to four weeks after the jab. The Pfizer vaccine led to an 83 percent reduction in deaths from Covid-19, Public Health England’s preliminary study claims. More out of the U.K.: Schools with controls in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus show similar levels of infection among staff compared with the wider community, according to research on English schools released today.
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| | JOIN WEDNESDAY FOR A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH NRCC CHAIR TOM EMMER : House Republicans surprised many observers in November flipping 15 seats and defeating several Democratic freshmen who delivered the House majority in 2018. Then the Jan. 6 insurrection set off an internal battle within the GOP, including among top House leaders. Join Playbook co-author Rachael Bade for a conversation with Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, to discuss his strategy for the 2022 midterm elections, President Donald Trump's role in the party, and the continued fallout from the assault on the Capitol. REGISTER HERE | | | | | | | | |
| | | ‘DRESSED ALL IN BLACK, WEARING A TACTICAL VEST’ — The Proud Boys gathered at the Washington Monument at 10 a.m. on Jan. 6 dressed “incognito” to avoid detection, and then fanned out across the Capitol to prevent law enforcement from identifying them en masse, prosecutors alleged today in a legal filing that provides the most detail yet about the group’s actions on the day of the insurrection, Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report. In one of the most detailed filings describing the violent nationalist group’s activities, prosecutors say the Proud Boys — bereft of their leader Enrique Tarrio, who had been arrested two days earlier — turned to new leaders, including Ethan Nordean, a Seattle-based Proud Boys leader, who helped orchestrate the group’s role in the assault. In a filing seeking Nordean’s detention pending trial, prosecutors say he helped hatch a plan to provide Proud Boys with walkie-talkies — a Chinese brand called Baofeng — and communicated privately with individuals willing to fund and provide equipment for the Capitol siege. But most notably, Nordean helped hatch the tactics the Proud Boys would use when they split up at the Capitol to avoid detection. “Defendant — dressed all in black, wearing a tactical vest — led the Proud Boys through the use of encrypted communications and military-style equipment,” prosecutors allege, “and he led them with the specific plans to: split up into groups, attempt to break into the Capitol building from as many different points as possible, and prevent the Joint Session of Congress from Certifying the Electoral College results.” | |
A message from the National Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCLA): While Congress has offered some help during the pandemic, long term care residents and staff need additional resources to make it through this crisis. From enhancing infection control to supporting our health care heroes, we must stand with our frontline workers as they protect our nation’s greatest generation: https://saveourseniors.org/ | | | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. | |
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