2019
July
12
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

July 12, 2019
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Peter Grier
Washington editor

Welcome to the Monitor Daily. Today we’re covering shifts in the U.S.-Iran confrontation, perceptions of sexual abuse allegations against the wealthy, what it’s like on-scene at the southern border, the culture and history of moon-related movies, and strange food at the Calgary Stampede rodeo.

But first, could President Trump lose Texas in 2020?  The state Republican Party is warning he could. It issued a fundraising email on Wednesday naming Texas “the most important swing state” in the next presidential election, Newsweek reports. If GOP voters don’t show up, the email said, Mr. Trump might lose the White House.

Part of this is hyperbole meant to open wallets. But it also reflects real concern. Democrat Beto O’Rourke nearly unseated GOP Sen. Ted Cruz last November. The state’s Hispanic population – and increasing numbers of educated whites – theoretically could turn Texas blue within a few years.

That brings us to the citizenship question and the census.

Yes, the U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the administration from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 survey.

But Mr. Trump has ordered the government to glean that data from other records. And the underlying goal remains: eliminate noncitizens from the data used to draw political boundaries.

Republicans would benefit if the Supreme Court allows this switch. Texas is a great example why. Boundaries based on citizenship would enlarge the power of red rural areas. And Texas Republicans could gain two members of Congress.

Texas’ slide to the left could be slowed, or blocked.

Citizen-only districts probably won’t happen by 2020. But it’s an example of what’s at stake in battles over gerrymandering, voter ID, and other election issues. The structure of voting can determine whose voices count.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Jon Gambrell/AP
A pilot speaks to a crew member by an F/A-18 fighter jet on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on June 3. In response to harsher U.S. sanctions, Iran has broken through uranium enrichment and stockpile limits set by the 2015 nuclear deal.

On Film

AP/File
French magician and toymaker Georges Méliès’ semi-animated short film “Le voyage dans la lune” (“A Trip to the Moon”) is a genre favorite.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Brian Lokhorst eats a “Monster Bug Bowl” – ice cream with bugs on top, including a big June bug and silkworms – while his wife, Nancy, reacts during a food tour at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta. About 30 bug bowls are sold each day.

The Monitor's View


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

David J. Phillip/AP
Diana Moreno carries a sandbag to her vehicle July 12, 2019, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ahead of Tropical Storm Barry. The National Weather Service in New Orleans says water is already starting to cover some low lying roads in coastal Louisiana as Barry approaches the state from the Gulf of Mexico.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us today. Come back Monday. We’ll have an on-scene report on weather recovery from the New Orleans region.

More issues

2019
July
12
Friday
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