Polling at just one percent in nearly all the major early 2020 presidential polls, Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) is hoping to break through on the debate stage Wednesday night by portraying himself as the one leader who faced hardships similar to most Americans.
"I'm just going to be myself. I know who I am, and where I come from, and I want to share that with the American people," Ryan told Cheddar at Rep. Jim Clyburn's "World Famous Fish Fry" in Columbia, South Carolina on Friday night.
A self-described capitalist, Ryan's 2020 stump speech has been for the worker. The district Ryan has represented for eight-terms, Ohio 13, is located in the northeast portion of the state, and includes working class, auto manufacturing cities like Lordstown and Youngstow, both of which have been crushed by changes in the industry. Ryan drew parallels between his constituents and the South Carolinian voters at Clyburn's event.
"This is a working class state, and our motto is 'JOBS, JOBS, JOBS,'" Ryan said. "I mean the best social program is a job, and we want to start building things again, and the communities I represent like Youngstown, Ohio look a lot like South Carolina."
In March, Ryan's district was hit hard when a massive GM manufacturing plant shuttered in Lordstown with nearly 1,700 hourly workers being sent home without a plan in sight.
But these hardships might help a presidential candidate understand the reality Americans face in 2019. Ryan wants to increase U.S. investment in electric vehicles and solar energy as a way to both go green and drive job growth.
On the debate stage Wednesday, Ryan intends to discuss what he has overcome (or is in the process of overcoming) as a way to level with the American people. "I come from a community that has seen job loss, has seen an opioid epidemic, that has seen an infant mortality epidemic, and the next president has got to deeply understand what the American people are going through."
David Levine, elections integrity fellow with Alliance for Securing Democracy, joins Cheddar News to discuss Politico's bombshell finding revealing the RNC's plan to contest the elections.
A survey by the BMO Real Financial Progress Index found that 25 percent of Americans are pulling back on retirement contributions to offset the cost of inflation. This comes as market volatility reduced retirement savings with the S&P 500 shedding more than 12 percent this year alone.
As abortion rights take center stage in courts around the country, so do discussions about reproductive health. Signs and social media posts say things like "protect women's rights" and "her body, her choice," leaving others who need and receive abortions completely out of the picture. The potential end to Roe v. Wade would impact far more people and facilities than you may think. Cheddar News' Baker Machado breaks it all down.
Arkansas is planning to reshape itself by putting a strong emphasis on technology through computer science in the classroom. Governor Asa Hutchinson joined Cheddar News Buffa to discuss the state's efforts to promote itself as a future tech hub. “It gives young people such a huge opportunity for success," he noted. The term-limited governor also touched on the issue of gun ownership, offering up the idea of possibly raising the age limit to obtain rifles like the AR-15 to 21 instead of 18 as it currently stands.
The dating app Bumble has sponsored bills and pushed lawmakers to criminalize the online practice of sending unsolicited nudes or “cyberflashing." Payton Iheme, Bumble's head of public policy for the Americas, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the app was going after the harassing behavior beyond its own platform. "Now, while we went to work internally in the company, and we created something called private detector to automatically blur those images so the user can decide if they want to see them, there's nothing for the rest of the internet," she said. "And so that's why we went to work with these laws."
Constituent service platform Indigov recently raised $25 million in a Series B funding round. Indigov bills itself as a constituent relationship management tool that helps elected officials improve the way they organize, respond to, and engage those they serve. The startup's services are being used by federal, state, and local governments across the country, including the U.S. House of Representatives. Alex Kouts, founder & CEO of Indigov, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
