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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm your host, John Bickley.
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--:-- John Bickley: Democrats have long dominated the election ground game, but could a new change to an old law level the playing field for the GOP?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Friday, June 21st, and this is Morning Wire. The Ten Commandments will now be displayed in every public school classroom across Louisiana. Today we fulfill our promise to bring drastic reform to our educational system and bring common sense back to our classroom. And the WNBA has hundreds of thousands of new fans thanks to the popularity of rookie sensation Caitlin Clark. Clark way downtown, knocks down a three, in the slot, off a pin down, feet under her shoulders, and launch.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: As we approach this summer's Republican and Democrat conventions, both parties and their campaigns are starting to gear up their ground games. Democrats have long held an advantage in that area, but a new tweak to an old law might be giving Republicans a chance to even up the odds.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to discuss the legal change and how the Trump camp hopes to use it is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey, Dave. So what exactly has changed here?
--:-- David Marcus: On March 20th, a Federal Elections Commission advisory opinion came out that allows corporations, nonprofits and some dark money organizations to contribute more directly to a federal campaign. The action was brought by Democratic groups, including the Elias Law Group, but the Trump campaign has been quick to take advantage.
--:-- David Marcus: According to reporting in the Bulwark, Team Trump has reached out to three dozen outside conservative groups to help with the campaign's ground game to the tune of $100 million and over 3,000 canvassers.
--:-- David Marcus: James Blair, who heads up the field operation for Trump, says, quote, we're going to beat them at their own game. They think they're helping themselves. They're actually helping us, end quote.
--:-- David Marcus: This is a big infusion of potential cash and could get a lot of doors knocked on for Republicans.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah. Why is the ground game so vital in this presidential election? And can this new policy really reverse the Democrats' advantage?
--:-- David Marcus: Well, one of the things that we've stressed quite a bit about this election John is that it will be decided by a very small group of people in in a very small group of states And that where a targeted ground game can really be affected in getting those specific individuals out where you need them
--:-- David Marcus: And while these paid on the ground efforts have always been important, in modern elections with weeks of early voting, in many cases, it's not just one bite at the election day apple. The ability for these outside conservative groups to help the effort will help the Trump campaign, no doubt about it.
--:-- David Marcus: But money only takes you so far, and it remains to be seen if Republicans have the organizing ability to take full advantage of this influx of funds.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. Funding is one thing, organization another. Who are some of the groups that will be helping out, and how much of it will they control as opposed to just giving the Trump campaign or RNC money?
--:-- David Marcus: So we're talking about organizations like America First Works and Turning Point Action, which is the direct political arm of TPUSA. Trump spoke for that group last week at their conference in Detroit.
--:-- David Marcus: The way the new rule is structured, these groups will have to do a lot of the work by themselves as opposed to Joe Biden's campaign funded in-house efforts that are tightly controlled.
--:-- David Marcus: That having been said, there are young conservatives like Scott Pressler and others who have focused on voter registration and ground game much more than older Republicans have in the past. And there's reason to think some of that could have success.
--:-- John Bickley: Right.
--:-- David Marcus: Finally, there was some rare good news in the polling for Joe Biden this week and from a somewhat unlikely source.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, Fox News's latest poll had the president with a two point lead over Donald Trump, 50 to 48 percent. This represents a three point swing to Biden since May when Trump's trial and conviction took place.
--:-- David Marcus: It's also the first lead that Biden has had in this particular poll since last October. This could be owing to some small upticks and certain economic indicators or conceivably to Trump's conviction, though his numbers have stayed steady at about 50 percent for months.
--:-- David Marcus: It's more Biden who fluctuates.
--:-- John Bickley: This is only one poll, and Fox has actually had this race super tight the whole time.
--:-- David Marcus: That didn't stop Donald Trump from reacting in a statement saying that the Fox poll is, quote, trash, that it oversamples Democrats unfairly.
--:-- David Marcus: The next few weeks of polling, especially after the debate on the 27th, will let us know whether this is a canary in a coal mine or just an odd outlier.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, a lot hinging on that upcoming debate.
--:-- David Marcus: Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- John Bickley: The state of Louisiana will require a copy of the 10 commandments posted in every public school classroom from kindergarten through college. Governor Jeff Landry signed the bill this week, making Louisiana the only state in the country to make such a requirement.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about it.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey, Tim, so what can you tell us about this new law?
--:-- Tim Pierce: It requires a poster of the Ten Commandments displayed in the words of the law in a large, easily readable font in all public classrooms. Each poster must also have a context statement that explains that the commandments had been an important part of American education until only very recently.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry explaining more about the law this week. Because if you want to respect the rule of law you got to start from the original lawgiver which was Moses Amen All right
--:-- Tim Pierce: The law also seems to encourage the display of documents important to the history of the United States such as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance. Those are not required under the law, though.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And all the displays will be paid for through private donations without the use of taxpayer funds.
--:-- Tim Pierce: In addition to this bill, the governor signed several other education-related pieces of legislation, one of which bars classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in most cases.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, Louisiana is the only state to have this requirement on the books at the moment, but where else are we seeing this type of bill being considered?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Lawmakers in states such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Utah have recently considered versions of this bill, but none passed.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Much of the hesitation here is due to questions over the legality of these types of laws.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Landry himself admitted that Louisiana is likely to be challenged in court over this bill.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He told a group of Republicans in Tennessee on Saturday that he, quote, can't wait to be sued.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The legal question here is over the Constitution's Establishment Clause that says the Congress can make no law respecting an establishment of religion.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Conservatives generally say that this clause applies to the establishment of a national religion by the federal government.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Progressives take a much wider interpretation, however, and generally argue the clause restricts any government from appearing to promote any religious message for religious reasons.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The legal history, though, is somewhat messy.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The Supreme Court has banned Ten Commandment displays in certain places and approved others over the motivation behind them.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. Now, what's the reaction been to this new law?
--:-- Tim Pierce: We've already got at least one lawsuit, correct?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right. Unsurprisingly, the state has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, which announced its lawsuit Thursday.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And many other groups have pledged to follow up with their own.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And Republicans in Louisiana are under attack by Democrats in the media as well.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here is Democratic consultant and Louisiana native James Carville on CNN. One of the dumbest waste of time I've ever seen in my life. The schools in Louisiana traditionally have ranked very low in the rankings of schools in America.
--:-- Tim Pierce: It's gone up, I think, pre-K through 12 has gone up a little bit in recent years, but not by much. Governor Edwards, John Bell did a great job. I mean, he got us, you know, off the bottom, but Governor Landry is intent on putting us back on the bottom, it seems like.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But Landry has gotten a lot of support, too.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's First Liberty attorney Matt Krause. Whether it's history, whether it's law, whether it's media, whether it's education, the Ten Commandments has been present and prevalent in all of those arenas since the founding of our country.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And so while there is certainly a religious nature to that, the Ten Commandments, more than anything, have that rich history and tradition in American law.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So we will likely see a lot more about this bill in the future.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, I'm sure we will.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Good to be on.
--:-- John Bickley: As Clark gets inside and has the first two points of the night. Clark on the hesitation. Clark with a big shot. It's Clark finding Boston. Clark gets freed up. From up top. WNBA standout rookie Caitlin Clark continues to make headlines after not making the U.S. Women's Basketball Olympic team.
--:-- John Bickley: We're joined today by David Cohn from Crane & Company.
--:-- David Cohn: Hey, Dave. So Caitlin Clark is really a media sensation, yet it seems other players in her league are attempting to sort of diminish her success and take maybe cheap shots at her on the court.
--:-- David Cohn: Is this actually the case?
--:-- David Cohn: Well, to begin, let's take a look at the timeline. So Kaitlin Clark is only two months removed from breaking the all scoring mark in women collegiate basketball and playing for a national championship She was then immediately drafted number one overall in the WNBA and thrust into game action on the league's worst team.
--:-- David Cohn: If this were football, a player would have eight months of offseason to prepare for their professional debut.
--:-- David Cohn: So, Kaitlin enters the league with more hype than we've ever seen, and she's competing against many of the same young women she battled against in college.
--:-- David Cohn: Angel Reese of LSU is a prominent example.
--:-- David Cohn: As for the cheap shots, yes, several of these fouls have been egregiously intentional. Others are acceptable within the scope of a basketball game, but they still go viral because Kaitlin Clark has become a superstar.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah. Now, it seems odd that WNBA players in a league that's never turned a profit financially aren't fully embracing Clark as a healthy addition to their organization.
--:-- David Cohn: There does seem to be, even apart from the fouls we discussed, a negative demeanor towards Kaitlin from many seasoned veterans.
--:-- David Cohn: Now, obviously, race has been brought up many times in this discussion over the last few weeks, given that Kaitlin Clark is white.
--:-- David Cohn: But keep in mind, there are many white WNBA players. I suspect the reasoning is multifaceted.
--:-- David Cohn: Yes, she is white in a league that is 64% black. But more importantly, she really doesn't share any of the, how would you say, intersectional qualities that this league has typically promoted.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah.
--:-- David Cohn: So Caitlin has officially been left off the U.S. women's Olympic team. Was she snubbed?
--:-- David Cohn: Great question. The reason given for Caitlin not being a part of the team in Paris is that she's not one of the 12 best players in the WNBA.
--:-- David Cohn: And that is a legitimate argument that may be true. However, 42-year-old Diana Taurasi made the team despite having worse stats than Caitlin Clark in almost every consequential category.
--:-- David Cohn: So clearly exceptions to that reasoning are allowed.
--:-- David Cohn: Then again, as we just mentioned intersectionality, Diana Taurasi is married to a woman and she has the full support of the WNBA as an organization.
--:-- David Cohn: It seems like a missed opportunity financially for Clark to be excluded from the team.
--:-- John Bickley: Do you know the current financials of the league?
--:-- David Cohn: Oh, yes. Caitlin Clark has caused a profound boon in viewership.
--:-- David Cohn: Her game with the Indiana Fever against Angel Reese, who we mentioned, of the Chicago Sky, drew an average viewership of 2.2 million on CBS Sports.
--:-- David Cohn: That's the league's most watched game on any network in 23 years.
--:-- David Cohn: According to WNBA officials, there are approximately 400,000 fans that attended games in May.
--:-- David Cohn: That's the most through the first month of a season in 26 years.
--:-- David Cohn: More than half of all the games that month were sellouts, an increase of 156% from last season.
--:-- David Cohn: Games airing on ESPN, CBS, they're averaging 1.3 million viewers.
--:-- David Cohn: That's almost three times higher than last year.
--:-- David Cohn: And even the merchandise is up. The WNBAstore.com has seen an increase of 756% in sales.
--:-- John Bickley: Yet, John, despite these highs, the league is still expected to lose $50 million this year.
--:-- David Cohn: All right. So even Caitlin Clark might not be able to turn that around. If they don't embrace her, no.
--:-- John Bickley: David, thank you so much for coming on.
--:-- David Cohn: Thank you.
--:-- John Bickley: Hey, thank you for listening this morning. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
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--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know. Thank you.
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