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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, and I'm here with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, January 19th.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. Are you in the market for a new career? One of the fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. is diversity and inclusion manager. We'll take a look at the new demand and expectations of these new positions.
--:-- John Bickley: And we'll also be discussing the new governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, and his first week in office. But first, let's talk about the latest Gallup poll. Republicans now have a five-point advantage over Democrats, the largest lead since 1995.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. And we're here to dig into the reasons behind this historic shift.
--:-- John Bickley: So, let's get right to it. We have Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips joining us to discuss the latest polling numbers. Cabot, thanks for being here.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: So, let's start with the numbers. What do we know about this poll?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, more Americans now identify as Republican than at any point in the last 30 years. According to Gallup polling, 47% of Americans say they consider themselves Republican compared to 42% Democrat.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a significant shift. Can you tell us more about what's driving this change?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, that kind of volatility is just unheard of. How does President Biden's performance play into all this?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, President Biden was at 55% approval this time last year. But as we've covered, he sunk to 47 in August and is now in the high 30s and low 40s in most polls.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a big drop. What do you think is behind this decline in popularity?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Polling experts have cautioned that Biden's performance isn't the only important factor to note here. They point to the general unpopularity of other Democrat leaders like Vice President Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who are all doing pretty poorly in polling also.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about the issues that Americans care about right now? How do you think those are playing into this shift?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: If you look at the specific issues Americans care about right now, it gives a better idea of how we got here. For example, COVID and inflation have both shot to the top of many Americans' minds, and those are two issues Democrats have really struggled on with polling.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a great point. And what about the big picture? What does this poll tell us about the future of elections?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The big takeaway is that Republicans have a great shot at taking the House and Senate in November. Typically, midterms are less about the actual candidates on the ballot and more about how voters view the party who's in power.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a big deal. And what about the Republican Party itself? How do you think this shift affects their popularity?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Following President Trump's departure from office, many experts have predicted that Republicans would face setbacks for a decade, but that just clearly isn't happening.
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--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, Cabot, for breaking down the numbers for us.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, let's talk about diversity and inclusion managers. We have Daily Wire's Megan Basham joining us to discuss the rise of this new job title.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, 10 years ago, diversity trainings were like an annual HR department thing. But now it sounds like dedicated diversity executives are a must-have for large companies. What's behind this shift?
--:-- Megan Basham: I think part of the reason those jobs are topping those recruitment lists is because so many companies felt that they got caught flat-footed by those activist demands after the summer riots of 2020.
--:-- John Bickley: And how do you think companies are responding to these demands?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, to give you one example, when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was dealing with bad press related to that lack of diversity at the Golden Globes, it hired several of these DEI consulting experts.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But then when the organization implemented the recommended changes quickly enough, the consultants cut ties with the HFPA and sort of trashed the organization to the press.
--:-- Megan Basham: So in the end, the HFPA ended up with an even bigger PR nightmare on its hands.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a great example. And what about the job function of these DEI executives? What kind of changes are they implementing?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, in the past, it was more kind of an ephemeral educational seminar kind of thing about how to speak, what terms to use. Now, with the rise of in-house DEI executives, we're seeing much more in terms of concrete policies.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Companies are openly looking at metrics and numbers in their workforce to make sure they have a certain number of minority and female staff.
--:-- Megan Basham: And in some cases, DEI executives will sometimes contract with hiring platforms that specialize in offering only candidates of color for open positions.
--:-- John Bickley: That sounds like it might not be legal.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, that was my instinct as well. So I reached out to a former entertainment lawyer who's now general counsel at a multibillion-dollar tech firm.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what did he say about this practice?
--:-- Megan Basham: He told me he doesn't think an overtly race-based quota in hiring is constitutional. And he believes we're going to start seeing some unlawful discrimination and termination suits.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a big deal. And what about the potential for bad press in the other direction? We've seen some companies get caught up in controversy over their DEI initiatives.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, that's a risk. And it's already starting to happen. We've seen companies like Coca-Cola get caught telling employees to be less white.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And then you also reported on a race-based training at Disney that really outraged a lot of fans.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, absolutely. And that's something that this attorney mentioned as well. He says that if you look closely, you're already beginning to see some retreat in the cutting-edge industries like tech and cryptocurrencies, who were ironically the ones at the forefront of DEI a couple of years ago.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, Megan, for breaking down the rise of DEI executives for us.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, let's talk about Virginia's new governor, Glenn Youngkin. We have Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond joining us to discuss his first week in office.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: So, what can you tell us about Governor Youngkin's first week in office?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, he got right to work on day one, immediately fulfilling some of the campaign promises that got him elected.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what were some of those promises?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: On his first day, Youngkin issued several executive orders, including an end to critical race theory in public education, an order to combat human trafficking, and another to request an investigation into wrongdoing in Loudoun County related to the sexual assault of a young girl in the girl's bathroom at school.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a big deal. And what about his stance on mask mandates in schools?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: He's also pushing his team to get tough on crime. His new attorney general Jason Miarez fired 30 employees and started an investigation into the parole board.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about the response from schools and local officials?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Arlington Public Schools, a district in Northern Virginia where I actually attended and graduated from high school, put out a statement shortly after saying they will continue to require all staff and students to wear masks inside on school grounds and on buses as part of their layered approach to safety.
--:-- John Bickley: That's interesting. And what about Governor Youngkin's message to parents?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: My message to parents is this. You have a fundamental right enshrined in law by this General Assembly to make decisions with regard to your child's upbringing, education, and care. And we will protect and reassert that right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a big deal. And what can we infer about the midterms based on this new direction in Virginia?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, as we said, Youngkin won in a state that had become reliably blue in recent years, and he did it by campaigning on some of these culture war issues.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, Charlotte, for breaking down Governor Youngkin's first week in office for us.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we have for today. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And if you're interested in hearing more about the topics we discussed today, check out our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members.
--:-- John Bickley: Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members.
--:-- John Bickley: Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
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