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Host Lily Guiney and temporary host Griffin Wiles recap the midterm election, MSU 2022 Security and Fire safety report and "March For Our Lives" gun violence advocacy group rally at the State Capitol.
Welcome to The 1909, the podcast that takes an in-depth look at The State News’ biggest stories of the week, while bringing in new perspectives from the reporters who wrote them.
Griffin Wiles 0:10
Hello and welcome to The 1909 your home at The State News for everything happening on campus and around Lansing. I'm not Lily Guiney, as you might be able to tell. My name is Griffin Wiles, and I host Dinner Table podcast here at The State News, and it is truly an honor to be taking over for Lily this week hosting The 1909.
Unfortunately, Lily came down with the sickness and completely lost her voice. So she will not be able to host today. But fear not; earlier this week, she recorded an interview with Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin to discuss her campaign and what's at stake for Mid Michigan in the November midterms.
Griffin Wiles 0:48
Rep. Slotkin is running for re-election in the newly redrawn eighth congressional district against Republican Tom Barrett, so be sure to stick around and check out Lily's interview with Rep. Slatkin it is so good. You will not want to miss it. I guarantee it.
Griffin Wiles 1:04
But this week in the meantime, I will be diving into the midterms myself recapping two events from opposing sides of the political aisle. I'm also going to be taking a look at the MSU 2022 Security and Fire Safety Report which tells us how crime on campus looked in the first year with students back.
So starting off strong let's first ask that most pressing question here at MSU. Is Samuel Stanley still the president as of right now? Yes, he is. This week he submitted recertification of the Title IX report from 2021 that previously fell under scrutiny by board members who claimed it was falsified by Stanley following a review by the board of SEC documents. He also submitted the 2022 Title IX report documenting any issues of alleged sexual misconduct by university employees and the 2022 fiscal year. As far as we know, Stanley's contract remains under review by the board, but he is still very much the president of Michigan State University.
Griffin Wiles 2:02
Moving forward the gun violence prevention advocacy group March For Our Lives and local activists jointly hosted a protect our future rally at the Michigan Capitol on September 30. The rally sought to promote voting rights and to discuss the issues at stake on the ballot and November's midterms March For Our Lives co-founder David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting was in attendance and address the crowd. Hogg discussed the importance of youth participation in politics and said he was, quote, tired of seeing more and more young people that are 17 years old, like I was when I started, that are becoming products of a failed political system that lets down our young people time and time again. Michigan House Minority Leader Representative Donna Lasinski and Michigan Senator Curtis Hertel also attended the event.
Griffin Wiles 2:49
Gun violence remains a top priority issue for many voters not only in Michigan but across the country. And the event at the capitol is the latest in a string of initiatives to turn out more students in the November midterms. Now on to another event from last week that centered on the upcoming elections. Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Warren on October 1, where he campaigned for the Michigan GOP ticket.
At this rally, we heard from gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, Attorney General candidate Matt DePerno and Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo. The speakers focus largely on their hopes of securing a decisive Republican victory in November. And some shots may have been fired at Democratic incumbents Gretchen Whitmer, Dana Nestle and Jocelyn Benson. The event would Trump is significant for a couple of reasons. One, it could be a lifeboat for Republicans lagging polling numbers that we've seen in the past few weeks and two, it was also confirmation that at least in Michigan, the Republican Party is still very much united behind Donald Trump.
Griffin Wiles 3:52
All three of the top-of-the-ticket candidates in the Republican Party are pulling behind their democratic opponents, with the widest gap being between Dixon and Whitmer in our 17-point deficit, according to polling done last week by the Detroit News. Other speakers at the event include Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, both of whom have voiced falsehoods regarding the 2020 presidential election.
Trump himself maintained in his speech that he won that election by a landslide and said, quote, I don't think we'll ever have a fair election. Again. We'll have to wait and see how the midterms turn out. But the rallies seem to indicate that we haven't just yet seen the last of the stop the steel movement.
Griffin Wiles 4:32
Moving forward. The Michigan State University 2022 Security and Fire Safety Report, which is made public last week, shows us how various reported crime rates change in the first in-person year back on campus. Crimes do not have to be proven to be included in this report. And if a full investigation finds that a crime is false, it will be considered unfounded. The report contains a section for unfounded crimes as well.
Griffin Wiles 4:57
Compared to 2020 a majority of crimes have I reported numbers MSUPD communications manager Dana White said this can be attributed to the fact that far more people lived on campus in 2021 compared to the year prior. It's important to compare these numbers to the 2019 data. In that years Canada's population was much more comparable to 2021. motor vehicle theft was the highest reported on-campus crime in 2021.
With 31 reported cases, burglary and rape are the second highest each with 19 reported incidents. Stalking reports have decreased each year since 2019, and dating violence reports have decreased 47% from 2019 to last year. However, domestic violence reports have increased since 2019, with five reported cases last year. The report also covers robbery, aggravated assault and arson. And last year, these crimes had three four and one report respectively.
Griffin Wiles 5:53
Now, I'm excited to introduce the league weenies interview with Representative Elissa Slotkin.
Lily Guiney 6:00
So that's our news recap for the week. Well, a disclaimer before I get into our guest. This was recorded on Monday, October 3. So if you hear us using last week, this week, that's the week we're referring to this was just recorded at a separate time. And now I'd like to introduce our guest, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin.
Elissa Slotkin 6:19
Thanks for having me.
Lily Guiney 6:20
Thanks for being here. So if you're not familiar, Congresswoman Slotkin is running for the United States Congress here in the Lansing area. And if you're an MSU student, she will be your Congresswoman if she wins in November. So we're going to just get into some questions here. First off, how are you feeling? Where's your head at about your race in the next 36 days?
Elissa Slotkin 6:39
Well, you know, what I always say like the last five or six weeks of a campaign are just insane. And you sort of it becomes a blur. I ran and won for the first time in 2018. And to be honest, Michigan State students were a big part of why I won this district. And so I feel pretty good. But you know, as someone who's from a genuinely swing district, you just the minute you sleep on this district is the minute you lose. So we're, we're in pitch battle right now. But I feel pretty good about it. Yeah.
Lily Guiney 7:12
So your race against Tom Barrett. Tom Barrett is your Republican opponent, has been reported to be one of the most expensive congressional races in this midterm cycle. So what do you see on the line for Mid Michigan in November?
Elissa Slotkin 7:24
Well, I think what's on the line? First and foremost is, you know, who do we want to be represented by in this district, like what best represents Michigan? And for me, I think a lot of first, the first level is just principled leadership. And whether you're a Democrat, Republican or an Independent, I think the average Michigander just wants decent leadership, who's not ideological, who's not extreme, but just takes a principled and independent approach to legislating.
But then I think, you know, to be honest, right now, for Democrats, we have a four-seat majority in the House of Representatives in the Senate, it's split 50/50. So like, it is really about control of the House, and we are in one of the top 10 most competitive races in the country. So we here in Mid Michigan, you know, will decide the fate of the house. And if myself and a few other members lose, then the house will flip to the Republicans. And so, to me, I think what's on the line is how we approach the economy. It's how we approach things like lowering our bills, like on prescription drugs and health care. It's our approach to things like student aid, but then pretty fundamentally, here in the state of Michigan, it is definitely also about the issue of choice. It wasn't wasn't a topic that used to come up for years.
Elissa Slotkin 8:43
But you know, we will we, you know, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I think one we have a choice to make in November on our own ballot. But if the house flips, the Republicans have made very plain that they will try to impose a federal ban on abortion. So it won't matter what your state, you know, allows or doesn't allow, it will supersede that. That is I think what we have to contend with if we flip the house, so that one feels pretty irrelevant. I gotta say, Yeah.
Lily Guiney 9:10
Yeah. I know, that's an issue that a lot of voters here in Michigan are saying is going to be their number one thing. And I agree with you, it is a new thing that this is people's number one issue for a midterm election. So you had your first debate last week with your opponent, Tom Barrett. What were your takeaways from that?
Elissa Slotkin 9:30
Well, I think you can tell a lot by who wants to talk about what right. And I think I think he was he's pretty good at sort of delivering talking points that are being delivered in pretty much every competitive race around the country right now. There's no doubt about it. Inflation is really difficult for everyone. I don't know anyone who's kind of doing the same thing they were doing a year and a half ago because of inflation. So got some talking points around that. He does not want to talk about the issue of choice. He's been, you know, he has campaigned on 100% pro-life, no exceptions, not for rape, not for incest, not for health of the mother.
Elissa Slotkin 10:08
So as you can imagine, there was a lot of bobbing and weaving on that topic because he's now in a competitive race. And he knows that it's not popular to say "no exceptions." I think it was interesting that foreign policy even came up, you know, we have different approach to China. And I think it just made pretty clear that there really, there is a choice in November. And that's, you know, that's why I like doing debates is because you're just putting it all out there. And let the voters decide. It's like, as old as our country that sort of has that sort of way of debating.
Lily Guiney 10:40
Yeah. And the one thing I like about watching congressional debates or even state level election debates is that you get a little bit less of the flash handshake charm stuff you get in presidential debates. It's a little more policy-oriented, a little more nitty gritty. So I'd encourage anyone who's listening or videos of these debates online, you can go find them, and watch them and decide make your decisions based on those because that's a really great resource for people.
Elissa Slotkin 11:06
And we have another one coming up this Thursday in the Lansing media markets. So the other one was in the Detroit media market. Those are our two biggest markets. So it'll be a Thursday evening. State students don't watch a ton of television. But it will be available online as well. So yeah, we'd love to have as many and Michigan State issues are gonna come up, right?
Lily Guiney 11:26
Yeah, that'll that'll be great to hear. So by the time this airs, that will have been already happened. So if you're listening to this, go look it up. So you spent time on campus here at MSU. In the past anything to say to our student listeners who might be voting for the first time in this district, or their first time voting away from home.
Elissa Slotkin 11:45
Yeah, I really think that Michigan State students have the opportunity to decide this election, full stop. And that's why we've invested a lot of time and a lot of resources in voter registration. The clerk is going to be is basically starting this week are going to be on campus with a temporary location. So you can register and vote right there. With the clerk, you don't have to go home, you don't have to apply for something.
And I think, you know, while lots of people you know, are this is their first time away from home, and they may not think about it, it is in an erase that's going to be won or lost by between five and 15,000 votes, you can see how Michigan State can just seal the deal for folks. So, registering to vote, no matter how you vote, I think is super, super important.
Lily Guiney 12:31
And for anyone who's listening, MSU has some great resources for getting registered and getting if you're voting absentee. MSU vote is the organization and they do some great work here on campus, making sure that people are registered and ready for November 8. So one thing that kind of sticks out to me, you have a huge background in foreign policy and in national security or at the CIA, or at the Department of Defense. And a lot of people say that, you know, foreign relations and international policy as a whole isn't something that voters want to hear about or care about during midterm elections. What do you say to that?
Elissa Slotkin 13:09
Yeah, well, I think certainly, you know, I'm what's called a 9/11 baby. So I 9/11 happened when I was in grad school. On my second day of grad school, actually, I just moved to New York City. And it was like my second day of school when 9/11 happened. So it completely changed my life. And I got into national security; I would got recruited by the CIA right out of grad school. And then, you know, kind of from there went on.
But I think that there are a lot of things that are related to national security and International Affairs that are also hyper-relevant for a place like Michigan. And the issue that I feel like lives in that zone all the time is the issue of future of work. And whether our jobs go overseas to places like China versus staying here, our supply chains, I don't know anyone who hasn't been affected by supply chain issues. That is an international affairs issue. It's because our supply chains have been so outsourced to places like China, especially microchips, right every student probably has 12 microchips on their pocket right now with their phone and their gadgets. And so we make 0% of the microchips that go in cars, and we make cars in this state.
Elissa Slotkin 14:15
So you can imagine that that issue, I think, is one that is relevant. But then I just did a big thing on campus with on Ukraine and Russia Ukraine issue, and the room was packed. And I think that people understand whether it's the price of gas, whether it's like the future of you know, democracies in Europe that international affairs kind of comes to our shores whether we want it to or not.
And then to be honest, as someone who worked her whole life preventing attacks on the homeland immigration, the issue at the southern border, you know, today right now, as we speak, I know you're going to be recording this but the Ambassador Bridge is closed on the Canadian side because of a suspicious package. You know, it just, we may not wake up every morning and say, oh, you know, national security is my number one thing, but it comes for you whether you want it to or not in some form or fashion. And I think having that background and frankly, totally nonpartisan background doing national security, helps my approach to the job is just a serious like be straight about what is happening on policy issues. It helps me. Yeah.
Lily Guiney 15:23
So this is kind of a big, a big overarching question. But where do you see Michigan in sort of the current national political scene, we know that we're a swing state, we know how crucial we are to most of the decisions that will be made going forward. But what's your take on that?
Elissa Slotkin 15:41
So I cannot express to you how many people are interested when I go to Washington every week to vote. People are like what's happening in Michigan, like they want to know and in our particular race, right, and we're such a swing district that they want to know about Michigan, and they they're watching our race in particular, but in general, Michigan, as a swing state is often considered like a canary in the coal mine on national trends.
Elissa Slotkin 16:04
So you know, the look, I look at what's going on in the Republican Party right now, there's like in Michigan, there's clearly a real fight going on between kind of the Trump, pro-Trump wing, and then sort of the standard more conservative wing, people are interested in that as a signal of maybe what's going on. They're interested in how a district like ours, that voted by, you know, just not even a full percentage point for Joe Biden, like, where's it gonna end up?
And I think that Michigan, a lot of people say, Well, if it works in Michigan, then that's something we should do nationwide for both parties. So I don't think people in Michigan, I certainly didn't realize when I was in college, how many people look at our state, but it is amazing how often I get asked to weigh in on things from our perspective.
Lily Guiney 16:51
Yeah. So now to change gears a little bit, we actually talked about this a little bit on our way into the building. There was a rally where Donald Trump was present here in Michigan this past weekend. So for anyone listening, that would have been October 1, and there were all of the top-of-the-ticket Republicans present for the state of Michigan. There was a lot of speaking and a lot of different issues brought up that I think could have kind of been right at the top of people's minds in terms of education, particularly.
They're all speaking, you know, in terms of the culture war topics on there saying things about, you know, speech in schools and use of books that reference LGBTQ people. And the idea of critical race theory. And I think this is probably one of those other issues, that there's no way of avoiding for anybody in this campaign cycle. It's very prevalent. What's kind of your take, obviously, you're not only dealing with a district here that has a university in it, but tons and tons of public schools. What's kind of your take on that whole thing?
Elissa Slotkin 17:57
I mean, I think that for you know, that there's been a lot of amplifying of issues, culture war issues, that is way, exaggerated from the amount of actual deep, deep concern, right. I never heard Honestly, I never heard of critical race theory as a concept before about two years ago. Yeah, maybe less.
Lily Guiney 18:17
I'm a political science adjacent major here. And I haven't read all that much critical race theory in my college classes. Right. That's definitely something to consider.
Elissa Slotkin 18:29
So I think I think what's happened is a lot of these culture issues, you know, they sort of seize on them, and amplify them and try to use fear, right to scare people. When in actuality, I don't know of one school in Michigan public school that is teaching critical race theory, right? That's even using it. Now. Maybe they're using it as a symbol that they don't want to talk about history. They don't want to they don't want to really look at American history, wars and all, you know, problems and all. And if that's the case, I have a real problem with that. But I think what we've seen them do from issue to, issue to, issue is focus on something that is purposely scaring parents and amplifying it. We're seeing it at our school board meetings all the time, on the stuff around LGBTQ folks. I mean, that one is very personal to me. My mom came out in 1986, long before it was him to be gay in suburan Detroit. Let me tell you; we hid it when I was in high school. I mean, my brother and I didn't tell anyone. There was no LGBTQ clubs, there was no like straight but not narrow. There was nothing and she you know, she passed away but before she got to, you know, see things like gay marriage and stuff like that, but I just, live and let live I think is a really good philosophy for the state of Michigan. Just there we have a lot of different opinions here.
Elissa Slotkin 18:29
We have a lot of different hobbies and things that people like to do, just live and let live. And I feel that strongly obviously, for the LGBTQ community. So, you know, I think what what we have to do is call some of that fear-mongering out. And my opponent, I think what, what really crossed over a line for me was he sent out a fundraising text that highlighted that said, your child's gender reassignment is scheduled for tomorrow, the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, if you want to cancel it, click here.
And then it linked you to a fundraising page. That, to me, is over the edge that is literally using fear stoking up hate against LGBTQ communities, and we call them on it. And I think you worry about your children. And other people will worry about their children and schools. People who are actual parents at the schools should have those conversations, not paid people from other areas who come down and and purposely use this as a political forum. Parents have real rights in their schools, and they don't have the right to go to someone else's school district and agitate on an issue that doesn't involve their children.
Lily Guiney 21:10
So you brought up a Tom Barrett campaign tactic there. This is kind of just off the top of my head, actually, my roommate brought it up to me this morning. There have been some really aggressive ads on Hulu against you. Are you a Hulu watcher at all?
Elissa Slotkin 21:29
I do have Hulu, except I think I paid for the non-ad one. So but trust me, I have not missed the millions and millions of dollars of attack ads that have run we're the most expensive race in the country. Yeah, I think it was four and a half million dollars spent just on attack ads in September against me.
Lily Guiney 21:46
Yeah, it's a lot. Yeah, that's especially for a midterm congressional race. That is hefty,
Elissa Slotkin 21:52
My dad's gonna shoot the TV. I mean, he can't watch a show, you know, that is his, but yeah, it's everywhere. And, you know, it's part of the nastiness of a campaign. And and I think, you know, they have gone out of their way to take things, you know, clips from my own videos, things that, you know, way out of context. And, you know, what can I say? I think there are certain lines and campaigns that shouldn't be crossed. And they don't mind crossing them. We have a difference of opinion about that.
Lily Guiney 22:20
Yeah. So that brings us kind of to the end of our questions. So thank you so much, again, for being here today. And for anyone listening, this has been The 1909 from The State News. You can catch us every week on Mondays, wherever you get your podcasts and signing off from East Lansing. I'm Lily Guiney.
Griffin Wiles 22:37
Well, I hope you enjoyed Lily's interview with Rep.. And I hope you enjoyed this episode of The 1909. I had so much fun hosting. Unfortunately, I will not be back next week, assuming Lily gets her voice back. But you can hear my voice every week on The Dinner Table podcast. Be sure to check out The State News' other podcasts. Sports Roundtable hosted by Nick Lundberg and Houselights hosted by Liz Nass, they're all great. They're all incredible.
And I want to shout out our awesome podcast coordinator Shakyra Mabone for editing all of these. She's wonderful. So thank you so much for listening to this episode of The 1909! We'll see you next time.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai