--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: The Democrats' sweeping $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill is in jeopardy. With some more moderate Democrats pushing back on the bill, while progressives refuse to budge, we'll look at what's in the bill and what could end up derailing it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, September 15th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: The U.S. having fully withdrawn from Afghanistan, the Taliban are now installing their new government. Amid reports of the Taliban torturing and murdering citizens, we'll look at the latest developments in Afghanistan and the Biden administration's attempt to turn the page.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And corporate America has been responding to Texas' new abortion law, which bans abortion after a heartbeat can be detected. While some executives have lost their job for speaking out in support of the law, other companies have instituted new policies to show their opposition.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by WyoTech. WyoTech, one of the nation's leading auto and diesel training schools, sees the trades as America's front lines. WyoTech is shaping young men, women, and veterans to build careers and businesses. America is built on the trades, and WyoTech is leading the way in training. Visit WyoTech.edu to subscribe and donate to the future technicians of America.
--:-- John Bickley: Democrats are attempting to push their massive social spending bill through Congress, but are hitting some major roadblocks. Here to discuss is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks, John. So there are two bills Americans are hearing a lot about. First is the bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate last month. It includes what we normally think of as infrastructure, roads, bridges, water systems, etc.
--:-- John Bickley: However, right now it's held up because Nancy Pelosi is trying to pass it along with the second bill.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Tell us a little bit more about that one. So the second is this $3.5 trillion social spending bill that Democrats are trying to pass with absolutely zero Republican support. They hope to do so using the budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to pass the Senate with a simple majority.
--:-- John Bickley: So 51 votes, including Vice President Kamala Harris's tiebreaker. In the House, Democrats can afford no more than three defectors. So they need nearly unanimous support.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Right. This second bill, the so-called Human Infrastructure Package, includes efforts to expand social policies, Medicare, address climate change, provide universal pre-K, and two years of free community college. Some even want to include immigration proposals like providing green cards to millions of undocumented immigrants.
--:-- John Bickley: So a giant omnibus bill. But it's hitting some roadblocks?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: It is. Senator Joe Manchin, the moderate Democrat from West Virginia, is kind of on the front lines of the push against the partisan bill. He suggested he won't support more than $1 to $1.5 trillion in spending.
--:-- John Bickley: He's also asked Democrats to take a pause on passing the bill while the economy struggles due to inflation and bad unemployment numbers despite the many jobs available.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Your party leader, Chuck Schumer, says he's moving, quote, full speed ahead with this package. Will he have your vote?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And that's fine. He can He will not have my vote on 3 And Chuck knows that And we talked about this
--:-- John Bickley: Another Democrat pushing back against the bill is Senator Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona. She said she won't support $3.5 trillion.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: With all this pushback, are there any signs that Democrats might trim down the bill? Not really. Progressives aren't happy about the pushback and are sticking to the high price tag.
--:-- John Bickley: Earlier this month, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Manchin, saying he was beholden to big oil lobbyists like Exxon.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Manchin responded, saying rhetoric like hers just continues to divide people. Senator Bernie Sanders has also said he is staying with the higher price plan.
--:-- John Bickley: So how do Democrats plan to pay for all this? More taxes. Right. According to a leaked Democrat tax plan draft, they're looking at proposing $2.9 trillion in increased taxes.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: By rolling back Trump-era tax cuts and particularly hitting businesses and higher-income Americans. $2.9 trillion, that's a steep increase.
--:-- John Bickley: So what's Pelosi's next move with these two bills? Pelosi is trying to get both of these bills done at the same time to keep moderate and progressive Democrats in Congress happy.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: She really needs both sides of her party on board to make the bills happen. And, of course, that's just the House. Once the big spending package gets to the Senate, if that price tag doesn't come down the way some moderates want it to, it might ultimately jeopardize President Biden's efforts to alter social policy in pretty significant ways.
--:-- John Bickley: Charlotte, thanks for the reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, the situation in Afghanistan worsens as the Taliban installs its new government.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to discuss is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Thanks, John. So Ian, fill us in a little bit. What's happening now in Afghanistan?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, first off, fighting is still ongoing between the Taliban and resistance forces in the Pangaea province.
--:-- Ian Howarth: In recent days, communications have been cut in the valley, but the BBC recently reported that despite having promised restraint, the Taliban have been torturing and murdering civilians in the strategic stronghold.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Panjia Valley is the last region to hold out after the Taliban swept to power last month.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And this news comes as the United Nations is seeking to raise more than $600 million in aid for Afghanistan, warning that the country is facing a major humanitarian crisis.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But the Secretary General of the UN also admitted that they were working with the Taliban to distribute this aid, leading many to question whether any of this aid will actually reach the Afghans who need it most.
--:-- Ian Howarth: The U.N. has a key role to play in humanitarian aid to a people that is now in a desperate situation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And so we decided that it was our duty to engage the Taliban to create the conditions for the possibility of effective humanitarian aid, impartial, to reach all areas.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Meanwhile in Kabul, the Taliban have formed their new interim government, drawing criticism from numerous international groups, not for links to terrorism or extremism but for a lack of diversity.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This is all happening as we are beginning to see a return to the type of widespread discrimination faced by women and girls under the Taliban prior to 2001.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And then it also being reported that the Taliban so Ministry of Virtue and Vice is back a religious police force which viciously enforces Sharia law.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that's the notorious ministry that they imposed in the 90s, right?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Precisely. And we also can't forget that it's also being reported that American citizens, green card holders, and Afghan allies are still scattered throughout Afghanistan, with many effectively being held hostage by the Taliban.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And there are still no clear plans being shared when it comes to their rescue.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been testifying to Congress this week and admitted that the number of green card holders still in Afghanistan is largely unknown.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Green card holders is something that we don't track directly. So what we've done is we've solicited people, if they are green card holders, to let us know.
--:-- Ian Howarth: I think the the best estimates are that there's several thousand green card holders in Afghanistan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, there was some severe backlash for the president during that initial period of the withdrawal, which we covered a lot on this show.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Has that continued? To some extent, yes, but most of the criticism seems to be moving away from President Biden and towards Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
--:-- Georgia Howe: However, it does seem like Afghanistan is hitting President Biden in the polls, with more Americans disapproving of his performance than approving.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Since the start of presidency, Biden has enjoyed pretty healthy approval numbers, but these dropped below 50% in mid-August because of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But we do need to look at this in the context of a narrative strategy designed to move on from the Afghanistan crisis.
--:-- Ian Howarth: For example, even as more details emerge regarding the August 29th drone strike, which reportedly killed 10 innocent civilians by accident, including seven children, the Biden administration and many media outlets are choosing to focus on other domestic issues like the economy and COVID-19.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So with this in mind, we'll have to wait and see whether the criticism the Biden administration is facing will be short-term or follow them through to 2024.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Fascinating. Thanks for the update.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- John Bickley: The CEO of a video game company was forced to step down after voicing his personal support for Texas' new abortion law. Meanwhile, other companies are showing their opposition to the law through corporate policy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to give us the details on what happened with the CEO and how other companies have been responding is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Megan, to start, can you tell us a little about this video game company and what the now former CEO said?
--:-- Megan Basham: Sure. So John Gibson was the co-founder and CEO of a company called Tripwire Interactive. and it publishes some very popular video games, a series called Killing Floor and Chivalry 2. It's very popular. It has millions of players.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So on September 4th, Gibson posted a tweet on his personal account expressing his support of Texas's abortion law.
--:-- Megan Basham: And here's what he said. As an entertainer, I don't get political often, yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, you know, as you can hear, Gibson was pretty clear that he was only speaking for himself.
--:-- Megan Basham: And he got some backlash for this. Yes, he did. It was a pretty familiar scene.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Gibson was swarmed with thousands of angry comments, as were Tripwire's corporate accounts.
--:-- Megan Basham: Right. And two of their development partners put out statements slamming Gibson.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One studio Torn Banner said Gibson statement stands in opposition to what we believe about women rights
--:-- Megan Basham: Another studio Shipwright announced it was canceling all of its existing contracts with Tripwire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So at that point, Tripwire put out a statement saying they were deeply sorry about what Gibson said, and they promised that the company would take swift action, which they did.
--:-- Megan Basham: Later that same day, Gibson announced he was resigning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The same day, that was really fast.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah. I know other companies have waded into this issue as well, but I don't remember others losing their jobs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. And, you know, in those cases, to go even further, the companies didn't just put out official statements opposing the law. They implemented actual policies.
--:-- Megan Basham: For example, the ride-sharing company Lyft announced it would pay any legal fees of drivers who might get sued under this new law.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Really? The company's CEO gave an interview to NPR in an official capacity and said, quote, we do not appreciate how this law limits a woman's right to choose.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Lyft made it clear here that their purpose is more than legally shielding their drivers. It's part of an ideological position the company is carving out.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, another company, Match Group, which owns the dating apps Tinder and OkCupid, announced that it's setting up a fund for its Texas employees who might want health care outside the state.
--:-- Megan Basham: So I think the implication here is that they will pay for employees to get abortions in other states.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So again, we're talking about an explicitly partisan stance.
--:-- Megan Basham: If we step back and look at this bigger picture, what does this contrast tell us about where conservatives stand in the broader marketplace?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, you know, I think we need to go back to Gibson's original comment. He said that because so many in his industry are outspokenly pro-choice, he felt like it was important to represent pro-life views.
--:-- Megan Basham: And what it seems like is that we have a trend where conservative views on family, gender, and life are necessarily becoming covert in the marketplace.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's even becoming controversial for companies to just stay out of politics altogether.
--:-- Megan Basham: So on Sunday night, late night host John Oliver attacked AT&T on his HBO show for its policy of staying silent on abortion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Oliver said, not taking a stance on this issue right now is taking a stance.
--:-- Megan Basham: So what we're seeing is that corporate America is continuing to develop as the latest front where these political battles are fought.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'd say Gibson's case, contrasted with the case of these other CEOs, shows what the power balance is.
--:-- Megan Basham: And right now, it's a pretty stark picture.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, it definitely is. Thanks for being here, Megan.
--:-- Megan Basham: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire entertainment reporter, Megan Basham.
--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week. Comedian Norm MacDonald passed away Tuesday after a long and private battle with cancer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The former Saturday Night Live cast member had been battling with cancer for nearly a decade. He was 61 years old.
--:-- John Bickley: And California Governor Gavin Newsom has managed to remain in office after facing a historic recall vote on Tuesday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The governor needed a simple majority to keep his position.
--:-- John Bickley: Newsom is the second governor to face a recall in state history.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like 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.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
