Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Care And Harris: Where Does She Stand?
Modern Healthcare: Here Are Biden VP Pick Kamala Harris' Healthcare Policy Positions
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday announced California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Here's where she stood on healthcare issues during her own presidential campaign. It took months for Harris to clarify her position on healthcare in the primary battle, even as she criticized Biden for not going far enough on healthcare reform. (Cohrs, 8/11)
AP: Women Say They Will Fight Sexism, 'Ugly' Attacks On Harris
In the weeks before Joe Biden named Sen. Kamala Harris his running mate, women’s groups were readying a campaign of their own: shutting down sexist coverage and disinformation about a vice presidential nominee they say is headed for months of false smears and “brutal” attacks from internet haters. ... The groups say intense scrutiny of a vice presidential nominee is to be expected, but women are often unfairly criticized as overly emotional, weak or unqualified, or for their appearance or demeanor in a way that men are not. The attacks, which include false smears and threats of violence online, not only hurt campaigns but dissuade women from seeking office. (Burnett and Seitz, 8/12)
In other election news —
The Washington Post: Trump Suggests No More Rallies Before Election Day Because Of Empty Seats
Trump appeared to declare the end of the rally era Tuesday. He said the events — the success of which he has always measured by the size of the crowd and the “ratings” — are a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic. Or more exactly, of the dispiriting optics that proper social distancing would mandate. “You can’t have empty seats,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Sports Radio. “You know, if I had five empty seats — for instance, they said, ‘Would I do a rally, sir?’ The reason I won’t do them [is] because, ‘You can have one seat and then seven around that seat, sir, have to be empty.’ ” (Gearan, 8/11)
The New York Times: A New Clash Over Mail Voting: The Cost Of The Postage
The Senate’s highest-ranking Democrat assailed the Postal Service on Tuesday for what he said was an effort to jack up the cost to states of mail-in voting, a new line of criticism in the escalating dispute over ensuring Americans can vote safely this fall in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said the Postal Service under the postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a major donor to the Trump campaigns, had “informed some states that they may need to pay a first-class rate to deliver ballots rather than the normal rate — nearly tripling the cost.” (Broadwater and Fuchs, 8/11)
AP: He Set Out To Mobilize Latino Voters. Then The Virus Hit.
Across the U.S., the coronavirus outbreak is disrupting Latinos’ long and difficult climb up the political ladder. The disease has disproportionately sickened Latinos, destabilized communities and impeded voter registration ahead of the November presidential election. In North Carolina, only 5,000 Latinos have been added to the voter rolls since mid-March, less than half the number added during the same period four years ago. (Riccardi, 8/12)
