RINGSIDE POLITICS – MARCH 18, 2021

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Welcome to another edition of Ringside Politics with Jeff Crouere

Today’s Hot Topics:

1) California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday broke his relative silence on what he called a partisan, Republican recall, directing supporters to a newly launched anti-recall campaign website that asserts his opponents are “anti-vaxxers, QAnon conspiracy theorists, anti-immigrant activists and Trump supporters.”

“I won’t be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it,” Newsom proclaimed in a tweet on Monday morning, adding, “There is too much at stake.”

“Getting Californians vaccinated, our economy safely reopened, and our kids back in school are simply too important to risk,” Newsom said.

2) Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the situation on the southern border cannot be fixed overnight, but it shows why the country needs to rebuild its immigration policies.

“Our primary responsibility is to keep our homeland and the American people safe. We are safer when we take a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to border management, ensuring that policies and procedures at the border are consistent with American values, immigration laws, and regulations,” he said in his written opening statement.

Mayorkas is testifying in front of lawmakers today and he’s expected to be grilled on the surge of migrants being held at the border, causing officials scramble to provide resources for the increase in minors and families.

3) White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci pushed back Wednesday against Sen. Rand Paul’s claim that New York has overcome the coronavirus pandemic because it achieved herd immunity, telling the Republican lawmaker he’s “not listening.”

In an exchange at a Senate hearing on the nation’s coronavirus response, Paul claimed that New York’s death rate is among the highest in the world despite shuttering businesses and schools earlier this year to curb the spread of the coroanvirus.

He also compared New York’s response with that by Sweden, which decided to keep its economy relatively open. Public health experts have said that Sweden’s vulnerable population paid a price for that decision. The Kentucky U.S. senator also said New York has achieved enough herd immunity from the coronavirus and is “no longer having the pandemic.”

“To those who argue that the lockdown flattened the curve in New York and New Jersey, the evidence argues otherwise,” Paul said, accusing Fauci of being a “big fan” of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York’s “shutdown” despite its high number of Covid-19 deaths.

4) Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar called out President Biden for not visiting the US-Mexico border himself and said a recent visit from a White House delegation was insufficient.

“Any president should come down [and] really spend time with border communities. You know, the president sent a delegation and a bunch of folks from the White House,” the nine-term Congressman told Fox News. “They didn’t talk to anybody, not even members of Congress down here.”

Today’s Guests:

1) Col. Allen West, Chairman of the Texas Republican Party – calls in the state of affairs in the Republican Party and the nation as a whole.

2) Steve Konos, Ringside Politics Creative Director; Ringside Politics Parody of the Week – joins the show to share and discuss his weekly political parody.

3) Josh Bernstein, Ringside All-Star – joins the show to opine with callers and discuss the events of the week.