RINGSIDE POLITICS – MARCH 26. 2021

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Welcome to another edition of Ringside Politics with Jeff Crouere

Today’s Hot Topics:

1) President Joe Biden said plans are underway to provide journalists access to border facilities, but didn’t provide a timeline on when that would happen.

2) Senator Ted Cruz rebuffed a reporter’s request that he wear a mask while giving a Senate presser on Wednesday.

As Cruz stepped up to the microphones, an unidentified journalist asked: ‘Would you mind putting on a mask for us?’

‘Yeah, when I’m talking to the TV camera, I’m not going to wear a mask,’ Cruz responded, adding: ‘All of us have been immunized, so…’

The reporter is then heard saying ‘it’d make us feel better.’

‘You’re welcome to step away if you’d like,’ Cruz replied.

‘The whole point of the vaccine – CDC guidance is what we’re following,’ he said.

3) Gov. Greg Abbott’s order allowing just one ballot drop-off site in even the largest Texas counties last fall, and impending GOP moves in Austin to throw up further voting roadblocks, came under fire Wednesday at a U.S. Senate hearing on expanding federal control of local election rules.

Democrats are pushing one of the most sweeping election bills in decades, to expand early and mail-in voting, ease ID requirements and require states to provide same-day registration and automatic registration for eligible voters.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans in statehouses across the country of trying to disenfranchise voters with rollbacks aimed at avoiding the sorts of losses they suffered in 2020. Schumer said they were justifying “shameful” moves targeting minority voters by perpetuating false claims of fraud peddled by Donald Trump.

“Shame. Shame. Shame,” he said.

4) Fox News and its powerful owner, Rupert Murdoch, are facing a second major defamation suit over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election, a new front in the growing legal battle over media disinformation and its consequences.

Dominion Voting Systems, an election technology company that was at the center of a baseless pro-Trump conspiracy about rigged voting machines, filed a lawsuit on Friday that accused Fox News of advancing lies that devastated its reputation and business.

Dominion, which has requested a jury trial, is seeking at least $1.6 billion in damages. The lawsuit comes less than two months after Smartmatic, another election tech company, filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Mr. Murdoch’s Fox Corporation and named several Fox anchors, including Maria Bartiromo and Lou Dobbs, as defendants.

Today’s Guests:

1) Chris Holton, Vice President of Outreach, Center for Security Policy – calls to discuss the latest in the Biden administration.

2) Dennis Phinney; Author, Historian, Water systems engineer – joins the show to talk with Jeff.

3) Donna Carol Voss,  author and commentator joins in the final segment to take several callers, address today’s hot topics, and much more.