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Welcome to another edition of Ringside Politics with Jeff Crouere

Today’s Hot Topics:

1) Texas senator Ted Cruz faced widespread criticism after flying to Cancun amid a deadly winter storm in his home state which left millions without heat or power – but some prominent conservatives have jumped to his defense.

2) A federal $15 minimum wage could soon become reality, thanks to Rep. Pramilya Jayapal’s seemingly successful efforts to secure its inclusion in the House’s forthcoming $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Democrats are celebrating this potential win, believing that it could lift millions of working class Americans out of poverty.

But they should hold off on the champagne. Some workers might benefit from a $15 minimum wage, but many others will suffer the consequences.

As part of their rationale for raising the minimum wage to $15, Democrats are citing a new Congressional Budget Office analysis finding that it would lift 900,000 workers above the poverty line. Yet that same analysis also finds that the “Fight for $15” would leave 1.4 million fewer workers employed, and that prices would rise to offset much of the costs. And there’s every reason to believe these downsides would paradoxically hit disadvantaged and marginalized workers hardest.

3) Jen Psaki dodged a question Sunday on whether Joe Biden still considers New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s COVID-19 response the ‘gold standard’ in the midst of his nursing home scandal.

‘Does President Biden still consider Andrew Cuomo the gold standard when it comes to leadership on the pandemic?’ ABC ‘This Week’ host John Karl asked the White House press secretary.

‘Well, Jon, we work with Governor Cuomo, just like we work with governors across the country. He’s also chair of the NGA,’ Psaki dodged. ‘So, he plays an important role in insuring that we’re coordinating closely and getting assistance out to people of his state and to states across the country. And we’ll continue to do that.’

Karl pushed: ‘All right. But, Jen, my question was, does President Biden still believe that Andrew Cuomo is the gold standard – represents the gold standard on leadership during this pandemic? Just a yes or no. Does he still consider him a gold standard?’

‘Well, it doesn’t always have to be a yes or no answer, Jon,’ she shot back.

4) The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Manhattan district attorney to review former President Donald Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns, in what is a major legal defeat for the former president as the DA continues his probe of potential “criminal conduct.”

Trump has continually fought the DA’s subpoena for his tax records, which came as part of an investigation into “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization,” prosecutors said in a court filing. Little is known about what exactly led to the investigation and what it entails, but hush-money payments to women Trump allegedly had affairs with—including porn star Stormy Daniels—are part of the investigation. Trump has slammed the DA’s effort, claiming it is politically motivated and, as usual, part of a “witch hunt” against him.

Today’s Guests:

1) Chris Cox, Bikers for Trump – joins the show to discuss the probability of Trump returning for a 2024 Presidential campaign.

2) Chad Rogers, Publisher of TheDeadPelican.com; Ringside All-Star – joins the show to take callers and share his unique, pessimistic outlook on the future.

3) Doug Schexnayder, Conservative Crawgator – calls in to discuss the latest events surrounding Washington and takes calls from guests.