Florida Gov and GOP 2024 also-ran Ron DeSantis looks to lead in wake of violence and major hurricane | Former SC Gov and UN Ambassador under President Trump, Nikki Haley is having a moment, kind of | President Biden names first 10 drugs subject to negotations with Medicare | 60th anniversary of the March on Washington
Song plays
Intro by host
Welcome to Heartland Pod Wednesday!
Support this show and all the work in the Heartland POD universe by going to heartlandpod.com and clicking the link for Patreon, or go to Patreon.com/HeartlandPod to sign up.
Membership starts at $1/month, with even more extra shows and special access at the higher levels.
No matter the level you choose, your membership helps us create these independent shows as we work together to change the conversation.
Alright! Let’s get into it:
Hurricane in Florida / Shooting in Florida
POLITICO: DeSantis knows how to handle a hurricane. The racist shooting poses a bigger dilemma.
A racially-motivated Jacksonville tragedy, couple with a looming storm, pose big tests for the governor.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center and his wife Casey, right, bow their heads during a prayer.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (center) and his wife Casey bow their heads during a prayer at a vigil for the victims of Saturday's mass shooting on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, in Jacksonville. | John Raoux/AP Photo
By KIMBERLY LEONARD
08/28/2023 04:14 PM EDT
Updated: 08/28/2023 05:12 PM EDT
MIAMI — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handling of back-to-back crises — a racist mass shooting and a potentially catastrophic hurricane — could help burnish his image as a can-do, effective governor or further damage his standing with Black Americans who have grown livid over his policies.
Already, DeSantis’ attempts to show leadership in the immediate aftermath of the Saturday shooting were poorly received by some Black lawmakers, Democrats and residents in Florida. In the hours after a 21-year-old white man killed three Black Floridians near a historically Black college in Jacksonville, several state Democrats blamed DeSantis, who is running for president, for creating an environment, through policies such as loosening gun laws and ending diversity programs, that helped hate fester.
DeSantis has condemned the shooting and said “targeting people due to their race has no place in this state of Florida.” But attending a Sunday night vigil in Jacksonville, he was jeered and booed by people who had come out to remember the victims. At one point, a Jacksonville Democratic councilmember stepped in to calm the crowd, urging people to “put parties aside.” Later during the event, a pastor took issue with DeSantis describing the gunman as a “scumbag,” and said he should have used the word “racist” instead.
The vigil stood in contrast to press conferences in Tallahassee on Sunday and Monday, when DeSantis appeared visibly tired but spoke authoritatively about preparations overseeing Tropical Storm Idalia, which is forecast to become a major hurricane. He canceled campaign appearances and fundraisers, and told Floridians Sunday they could “rest assured” because “I am here” and would “get the job done.”
DeSantis says politics won’t interfere with storm response
“He needs to be in Florida for as long as it takes,” said Adam Hollingsworth, the former chief of staff to Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who served as governor before DeSantis. “His presidential ambitions could be a distraction, but first Gov. DeSantis has to dance with the one who brought him. Right now, that’s the people of Florida.”
Though the shooting and looming storm are taking DeSantis away from campaigning for president following a high-profile debate, they’ll also allow voters and donors to see the governor at work leading the hurricane response, letting the public assess how he balances multiple priorities, displays empathy and projects leadership in moments of tragedy. At the same time, the shooting has shined a spotlight on DeSantis’ record and vulnerabilities on race, one of the areas for which he has faced the most criticism and controversy as governor.
In times of tragedy, opponents are “looking for a misstep,” acknowledged Craig Fugate, who led Florida’s emergency division under Gov. Jeb Bush and oversaw FEMA during the Obama administration.
“They’re looking for something to go wrong — particularly for the opponents; they’re looking for something to capitalize on,” Fugate said.
DeSantis began his Monday morning hurricane preparedness press conference by first addressing the mass shooting. He pledged $1 million in security funding to Edward Waters University, a historically Black university that the gunman is believed to have initially targeted, as well as $100,000 toward a charity for the families of the victims. He also deployed state law enforcement officials to evaluate the campus’ security and make additional recommendations, pledging to continue to assist in the “days and weeks ahead.”
But many Democrats in the state panned his response. They pointed to laws he enacted in Florida to carve up representation in a Black-majority district that eventually led a Black Democratic congressman, Rep. Al Lawson, to lose his seat. They also pointed to his policies, approved by the GOP-led Legislature, banning what he calls “critical race theory” in schools, as well as his defense of a public school curriculum on Black history that required middle-school teachers to instruct that enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
Florida Minority House Leader Fentrice Driskell, a Black Democrat of Tampa, said it was “absolutely” the right decision for DeSantis to attend the vigil but added that she didn’t want to give him a pass.
“The reality is, a number of wrongheaded decisions about the state of Florida, and who we are as a people, I think contributed to this charged political climate that resulted in the violence that we saw,” Driskell said in an interview.
The accused gunman, identified as Ryan Palmeter, had a racist manifesto and drew swastikas on his weapons. He also had a history of mental illness, having been involuntarily institutionalized for emergency mental health services as a teenager, police said.
During DeSantis’ vigil remarks Sunday, Democratic state Rep. Angela Nixon, who represents the district where the shooting took place, could be seen glaring at the governor in videos and photos widely shared on social media.
“We feel the same,” the NAACP wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
AXIOS: Biden set to name first 10 drugs subject to Medicare negotiations.
The blood-thinners Eliquis and Xarelto are among the 10 prescription medicines the Biden administration will seek lower Medicare prices for as part of a new program allowing the government to negotiate drug prices for America's seniors.
Why it matters: The administration's landmark announcement Tuesday detailed the first-ever set of drugs subject to Medicare price negotiations, a longtime Democratic priority included in last year's Inflation Reduction Act over drug companies' fervent objections.
Other drugs up for negotiation include:
Jardiance, a diabetes drug.
Januvia, also for diabetes.
Farxiga, another diabetes drug.
Entresto, for heart failure.
Enbrel, for arthritis and psoriasis.
Imbruvica, a blood cancer drug.
Stelara, used on psoriasis, Crohn's disease and other illnesses.
Fiasp, also used for diabetes.
Of note: Insulin is already subject to a $35 monthly co-pay cap for Medicare prescription drug plan enrollees under a different provision of the IRA.
State of play: The drugs' manufacturers will have just over a month to decide whether to participate in negotiations — which the industry is battling in court — or sit out the process, at the risk of significant financial penalty.
Drugmakers who refuse to negotiate with Medicare face an excise tax of up to 95% of their U.S. sales, or they can withdraw their drugs from Medicare and Medicaid coverage, shutting them out of huge markets.
What they're saying: "The cancer moonshot will not succeed if this administration continues to dismantle the innovation rocket we need to get there," Stephen Ubl, CEO of industry trade group PhRMA, said in a statement following the release of the list.
Zoom out: The medicines up for negotiation were chosen from a list of the 50 products with the highest spending in Medicare's prescription drug program, Part D.
The selected drugs accounted for 20% of Part D prescription costs between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023, according to the Health and Human Services Department.
Some of the highest-cost Medicare drugs were not eligible for this round of negotiations, either because they still have market exclusivity, they're the only option for a rare disease or another factor.
The prices won't take effect before the 2024 elections, but Democrats are expected to tout the negotiations, along with other drug cost reforms in the IRA, as part of their campaign messaging.
What's next: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will submit price offers to the drug companies by Feb. 1, with negotiations continuing until next August.
CMS will publish the drugs' final maximum fair prices by Sept. 1, 2024, and prices will go into effect in 2026.
What we're watching: Ongoing legal challenges could draw out or halt the negotiation process.
Drugmakers and allied groups have already filed eight lawsuits against the Medicare drug negotiation process, and more lawsuits could follow Tuesday's announcement.
President Biden and his health officials committed this morning to fighting industry lawsuits.
"Let me be clear: I am not backing down. There is no reason why Americans should be forced to pay more than any developed nation for life-saving prescriptions just to pad Big Pharma's pockets," Biden said in a statement.
Nikki Haley
DAILY BEAST: Is it time for Republicans to take Nikki Haley seriously?
According to a new Emerson College Polling survey, “Haley saw the largest increase in support among Republican candidates, jumping 5 points from 2 percent to 7 percent” following last week’s debate.
“Nikki Haley’s support increased from about 2 percent to 9 percent among voters over 50 [years of age],” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, “while Trump’s support dropped within this age group from about 56 percent to 49 percent after the debate.”
Republican Debaters Agreed on One Thing: They Hate Vivek Ramaswamy
This jump is modest, inasmuch as it still leaves Haley in the single digits. But it’s also no outlier. According to a poll conducted by The Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, and Ipsos released last Thursday, voters were persuaded to at least give her a second look. “Pre-debate, 29 percent of GOP primary voters who watched the debate said they were considering voting for her,” according to the survey, “and that increased to 46 percent after the debate.”
So how did she do it? Haley caught our attention by being first to hit Trump (from the right), when she criticized him for “adding eight trillion to our debt.” This surprised everyone, demonstrated courage, and put to rest the notion that she is merely running to be Trump’s vice president.
Haley also staked out a strong position on abortion. While stressing her pro-life beliefs, she made the pragmatic case that a federal abortion ban would require 60 votes. Instead, Haley urged Republicans to focus on consensus issues, like banning late-term abortions, making sure contraception is widely available, and supporting adoption as an alternative.
Trump’s former veep, Mike Pence, who supports a 15-week federal ban on abortion, took umbrage with this. “Nikki, you’re my friend, but consensus is the opposite of leadership,” Pence scolded. (As the Never Trump conservative writer Jonah Goldberg has pointed out on his podcast, building consensus is often a key attribute of leadership.)
The Republican Debate Was a Futile Pudding Wrestling Match
This exchange, like others during that same debate, made it clear that in a general election Nikki Haley would likely be Joe Biden’s most challenging opponent.
Having served as governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations, she has the experience needed for the office. She also has sharp elbows. (“You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,” she told Vivek Ramaswamy.)
At 51, Haley would present a stark contrast in terms of generational change, assuming that Joe Biden was still the Democratic nominee. And (unlike others) she is not staking out an abortion position that might render her effectively unelectable, should she become the Republican nominee.
Haley (who frequently cites Margaret Thatcher’s line, “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman”) was the only woman on that stage. Her identity, temperament, and policy positions could help chip away at the gender gap that has only grown in recent years.
The obvious caveat here is that all of these things would make Haley a great candidate to beat Joe Biden if she somehow wins the Republican nomination. But that’s an awfully big “if.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: GOP Debate Showed How Not to Pick a President
Haley’s answer to this is to make the electability argument: “We have to face the fact that Trump is the most disliked politician in America,” she—and she, alone—averred during last week’s debate.
But will that dog hunt?
Right now, the electability argument isn’t persuading Republicans to jump off the Trump bandwagon, even though that argument is likely the only one that could ever work. At some point (perhaps after Donald Trump goes on trial and it’s too late), Republicans might be convinced that, as entertaining as Trump is, he simply can’t win.
Based on all of this, you might expect me to suggest that it’s time to clear the field—to rally every freedom conservative, Reagan Republican, and Never Trump conservative to coalesce around Haley as the GOP’s last, best hope.
Some of my colleagues are already there. The New York Times columnist David Brooks, for example, declared last week that “Wednesday’s debate persuaded me that the best Trump alternative is not [Tim] Scott, it’s Nikki Haley.”
But here’s my problem. Haley has been all over the map for years now. One day she’s courageous and impressive, and the next day she’s a pathetic Trump toady.
Haley is a political chameleon, which makes me reluctant to ever trust her again.
Trump and Ramaswamy Show Us How the Worst Get to the Top
On the other hand, anyone looking for purity (as it pertains to Trump) can also dismiss Pence and Chris Christie—both of whom supported Trump until Jan. 6—and a vast swath of today’s leading Never Trumpers. As the Good Book says, “Who then can be saved?”
Nikki Haley’s got a long way to go before she clears the not-Trump lane of candidates, much less taking on the final boss himself. And though nothing has yet made a dent in Trump’s domination of the GOP voter base, he’s never run as a candidate on trial before. But the whole 91-felony indictment thing might just do the trick.
If Haley can prove herself by stringing together two or three of these kinds of courageous performances—in which she not only characterizes Trump as the guy who already lost to Biden, but also that she’s as real a conservative as any of the other contenders—there is a path to success.
It’s hardly guaranteed, and as I’ve noted, courage comes and goes with Haley. But in the “Matt Lewis primary,” you can count me among the 46 percent who are now considering voting for her.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
SEMAFOR: Nikki Haley’s abortion message could catch on in the GOP
Morgan Chalfant and Kadia Goba
Republicans worried about Democrats leveraging abortion (again) to make gains in 2024 want GOP candidates to take a page out of Nikki Haley’s debate prep playbook.
Haley dismissed the idea that a 15-week national abortion ban could pass through Congress. Instead, she argued the focus should be on finding “consensus” around banning “late-term abortions,” sustaining access to contraception, allowing doctors who don’t support abortion refuse to perform them, and preventing women who get abortions from being penalized.
Defeated Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon bluntly said on Fox News that Republicans would lose the messaging war in 2024 unless they followed Haley’s “perfect response” in the debate.
“No one really understood how important abortion would be in 2022 because no one had run in a post-Roe world, so we suddenly got attacked, viciously attacked, by the Democrats, and it is a winning message for them,” she said. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer highlighted Dixon’s opposition to rape exceptions in abortion bans in their contest, which took place alongide a ballot initiative guaranteeing abortion rights that passed by a wide margin.
“The only candidate on the stage that talked about how we should protect women and not demonize them was Nikki Haley,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. said Sunday on CBS of the first GOP presidential debate. “And that is a message that we have to carry through. We have to be pro-woman and pro-life. You cannot go after women and attack them because they make a choice that you don’t like or don’t agree with.”
And Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who represents a district President Biden won in 2020, told Semafor at a watch party last week: “She had probably the best-packaged message on abortion that I’ve heard, I want to say, in my entire adult life.”
Haley might have won herself some fans, but her position wasn’t a favorite within the anti-abortion movement, which has rallied around a 15-week federal ban as a minimum ask for candidates.
