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--:-- John Bickley: Three weeks until Election Day, and Deep Blue Oregon is poised to potentially elect its first Republican governor in 40 years.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We look at the surprising race and the three candidates vying for the key role. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, October 17th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: The DOJ has pressed charges against 11 activists in Tennessee, saying the group blocked the entrance to an abortion clinic. We're singing and reading scripture, praying for folks. What are the protesters saying, and why is the case getting national attention?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to be renewed for an unprecedented third term, and he's promising to double down on his aggressive agenda. What do we know so far about his plans for China? And what are the global implications?
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. The American economy is still feeling the traumatic effects of a two-year pandemic and lockdown-induced recession, which is why you should take action to hedge against inflation right now and solidify at least some of your investment portfolio with gold from Birch Gold. Text WIRE to 989898 and Birch Gold will send you a free information kit on how to diversify and protect your savings with precious metals.
--:-- John Bickley: With just three weeks to go before Election Day, polling shows that one reliably blue state could elect a Republican governor for the first time in four decades. Here to discuss the race and the Republican looking to make history in Oregon is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, you're absolutely right. It has been 40 years since Oregon has had a Republican governor. That's the longest drought of any state in the country. But that could all change this year, as Republican Christine Drazen, state's former minority leader in the House, has a serious shot to break the Republican losing streak.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. Oregon has a unique dynamic with this three-way race. Tell us more about that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So typically third-party candidates only pull a few points here and there, but don't end up being major factors in the race. But that is not the case in Oregon. In addition to Democrat Tina Kotek, who's pulling around 32% in most polls, you've also got independent Betsy Johnson on the ballot, and she's bringing in about 20% right now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And she's also out-fundraised both candidates. So something that you almost never see from a third party.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, while Johnson has attacked Democrats as wanting to make Oregon, quote, woke and broke, she did spend nearly 20 years as a Democrat herself and is definitely performing better with liberal voters. And that's a huge advantage for Republicans who are really benefiting right now from the vote being split.
--:-- John Bickley: What's driving the momentum for the Republican, Dresden?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, unlike other states where Republican candidates have found success focusing on the economy and inflation, in Oregon, the main issue has been homelessness and crime. According to a recent poll from the Oregonian, one in three voters there say that homelessness is the largest issue facing the state while crime came in second with one in six voters listing that as their top issue.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that has really benefited the Republican Drazen who promised to declare a statewide state of emergency to address homelessness, and who, unlike other candidates, has actually touted her support from law enforcement and said that she'll refund the police, which is noteworthy in a state that had really leaned into the defund the police movement.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For example, here's a recent ad in support of Drazen. Christine Drazen is a bold new leader who's endorsed by law enforcement. Drazen's roadmap for Oregon declares a statewide homeless emergency, expands treatment and services, works to make meth and heroin a crime again, and fully funds police.
--:-- John Bickley: So as you can hear, not the kind of message that you typically expect to hear working in a state like Oregon, but it really shows the discontent from a lot of voters there as the state has struggled over the last few years, especially with homelessness.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it's also worth pointing out, the state's current governor, Democrat Kate Brown, consistently polls as one of, if not the most unpopular governors in the country, with a disapproval rating in the mid-50s. So that is certainly dragging down the Democrats as well.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, I'm sure.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, this race got some additional attention over the last few weeks after an unexpected donor stepped into the mix, correct?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That is putting it lightly. Nike co-founder Phil Knight made a million-dollar donation to the Republican, Christine Drazen. This was especially noteworthy because Knight isn't exactly a traditional Republican donor. He actually donated $2.5 million to the independent Betsy Johnson earlier in the campaign.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But this new donation is important because it does seem to indicate that Knight believes that Drazen is going to win or at least has a really good shot. And a number of outside observers say that Knight's donation is less about political ideology and more about the fact that he wants to end up backing the winning horse, given that Nike's headquarters are based in Oregon.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But regardless, a fascinating turn and yet another sign that Republicans appear poised to have a surprisingly strong performance in deep blue Oregon.
--:-- John Bickley: It definitely seems that way. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And we should note that Cabot and I addressed this race and other key governor's races in the latest episode of Election Wire. For those who haven't checked it out yet, Election Wire is up on the Morning Wire feed and Daily Wire's YouTube channel.
--:-- John Bickley: The FBI has indicted 11 pro-life protesters in Tennessee for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The charges have riled conservatives who say the Department of Justice has been weaponized against pro-lifers after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Here to discuss the charges is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey, Georgia. The DOJ has charged 11 people with obstructing or conspiring to obstruct access to an abortion clinic in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. A group of pro-life protesters in March of last year gathered in a hallway leading to the Carefam Health Center, a clinic located on the second floor of a medical office building.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Video shows members of the group refusing to make way for members of the clinic staff and refusing multiple requests by police officers to take the protest outside. At one point, a police officer trying to escort a woman into the clinic shoved aside a couple protesters before the woman eventually left.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Morningwire spoke to Paul Vaughn about the incident. He is one of the activists charged by the DOJ. Here's how he described what happened.
--:-- Paul Vaughn: Somebody came up, a patient came up in the elevator. Anyway, he was trying to force, you know, push through the crowd and stuff. And he came in shoving and pushing. And that's on video, on the video that's circulating out there, where he shoves two of the pro-lifers against the wall.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that's the only two acts. The one lady that came down the hall, got convicted. She's like, that's way too much trouble. I don't want to, you know, whatever. And she didn't even get close. She didn't try to come to the door. She just turned around and walked off with one of the pro talking to her.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now what is the FACE Act and what kind of penalties are these protesters facing FACE stands for Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances. And the act prohibits any kind of obstruction or intimidation techniques that inhibit patients from accessing reproductive health care clinics or parishioners from entering places of worship.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So basically, it protects abortion clinics and places of worship. It also protects against vandalism of these same institutions. If convicted, the seven accused of conspiracy face a max sentence of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and up to $350,000 in fines. The five others who face just charges of obstruction face up to a year in prison, one year of supervised release, and up to $10,000 in fines.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, the activists don't deny that they were congregating in the hallway and that police were needed to escort a patient past them. What are they saying about the situation?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, some defendants and their supporters addressed the charges in a press conference from the steps of the federal courthouse in Nashville last week. The speaker suggested that the charges are being selectively leveled against pro-life protesters and not against those who vandalize pregnancy centers for political reasons.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And they generally characterize their situation as a struggle of good against evil. Among the arrested is Eva Edel. She's 87 years old and a survivor of a Soviet labor camp. She's been protesting against abortion for decades and has been arrested dozens of times for allegedly blockading abortion clinics in the 80s and 90s.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's what she had to say last week.
--:-- Eva Edel: I was nine years old when I was shipped in a cattle car to be starved to death in a concentration camp in Yugoslavia. Sorry. Oh, I wish that people would have gathered at the entrance of my camp to plead for our lives, even at the risk of their own freedom.
--:-- John Bickley: State Senator Mark Pote referenced a spiritual battle going on in the U.S. and contrasted the treatment of the pro-lifers to that of rioters and looters last year. Just last year, there were riots just a few blocks from here, breaking in buildings, looting. And they didn't have the same law enforcement against them as what happened as a peaceful rally in Mount Julian.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it sounds like they feel there is an unequal application of justice.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right. All right, well, Tim, we're going to continue to monitor this. Thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire's Tim Pierce.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In a nearly two-hour speech in front of more than 2,000 delegates, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a ramp up of military development, signaled that China would use force to take over Taiwan if necessary, and doubled down on the country's zero COVID policies.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, John, you spoke to Gordon Chang. He's a columnist and author of The Coming Collapse of China. You spoke to him about Xi's speech and his appointment to a third term in leadership, which is a break in precedent.
--:-- Gordon Chang: Well, this is historic if he's reappointed as expected. It's also important to note the context here. China's government removed term limits for the presidency back in 2018, which allowed Xi to potentially be president for life. So we're witnessing the consolidation of power by Xi on multiple fronts.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As you noted, the Communist Party he controls has been tightening its grip on the country over the last decade. This speech Sunday appears to have been designed to underscore that point in many ways. Xi is officially the most powerful leader of China since Chairman Mao, and his government is really starting to mirror Mao regime and its iron grip on the country.
--:-- Gordon Chang: Well, and a good example of that that we covered quite a bit on this show is Xi approach to COVID. Right. Perhaps the most draconian in the world. In fact, dozens of Chinese cities have implemented extreme lockdown measures just in the last two months and they've done so based on very small numbers of cases, often just a handful.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The result has been devastating economically. Despite that and pleas from citizens who are being crushed by these lockdowns, Xi made clear in his speech Sunday that he was going to keep imposing these strict measures.
--:-- Gordon Chang: Now, what got the most attention, at least in American media, from this speech was Xi's focus on the military. What did we learn there?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, in short, we learned that Xi is committed to ramping up the military and taking control of Taiwan. In the speech, he called for an increase in military development, which, of course, comes as tensions between China and the U.S. have been really escalating over China's more aggressive militaristic approach.
--:-- Gordon Chang: What was particularly notable Sunday is that Xi spoke early on about Taiwan, seeming to emphasize its importance to his regime. At one point, he said that China will never commit to abandoning the use of force and control of Taiwan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: His language, especially in the latter part of the work report, does suggest a new sense of urgency about the situation. But really, we've known Xi Jinping has believed that during his tenure, China must absorb Taiwan. So in a sense, although there are some rhetorical nods here, I don't think there's really been any change in his attitude.
--:-- Gordon Chang: Xi Jinping's vision is, first of all, taking Taiwan, taking parts of India, breaking apart Japan and the Philippines, taking territory under the control of others, also controlling the global commons. He believes, for instance, that the South China Sea, which is international water, belongs to China. Blue national soil is the phrase that Chinese officials use these days. And they actually even talk about Tian Xiao, or all under heaven. In other words, the view that China is the only legitimate ruler of planet Earth.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And since 2018, Chinese officials have actually been talking about the moon and Mars as sovereign Chinese territory. So there's never been a more ambitious ruler in history.
--:-- Gordon Chang: So what we have here is Xi using the platform of this major national speech to signal that China is moving full steam ahead toward a more aggressive military nation.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, we've also seen an increasing number of reports about China's financial struggles. Did Xi address anything about that?
--:-- Gordon Chang: Actually, not really. So according to me and many others, China is in a true debt crisis, most notably when it comes to plunging property prices, which has been caused by these large developers that have been defaulting on loans.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But Xi conspicuously did not address these issues of collapsing property prices. He also failed to talk about another major issue, significant youth unemployment that's been plaguing China as well.
--:-- Gordon Chang: So Cheng said that those notable emissions really show that the Communist Party has no solutions to these core economic problems the country's facing.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, a historic and very significant speech. Indeed. We'll see how much this impacts the U.S. and China's relations going forward.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week. The Biden administration has now opened applications for the president's so-called student loan forgiveness program through its beta mode website. The website is set to be fully active by the end of the month. The nonpartisan CBO estimates that the program will cost taxpayers around $400 billion.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
