Monthly Archives: January, 2023

Crime is a growing concern for Americans the new year begins, according to newly released polling data.

Gallup released the poll that shows that 72% of surveyed Americans predict crime rates will increase, not decrease, this year.

That figure comes after an earlier poll showed a record-high 56% of Americans said crime is higher where they live than it was a year ago.

“The 56% of U.S. adults who report an increase in crime where they live marks a five-percentage-point uptick since last year and is the highest by two points in Gallup's trend dating back to 1972,” the group reported in October. “Public perceptions of an increase in crime at the national level have also edged up since last year, as 78% say there is now more crime in the U.S. This is tied with the 2020 measure. The record high was 89% in 1992, when crime rates soared in the U.S.”

Notably, FBI crime data this year was incomplete since several major police departments failed to report their numbers. Anecdotally, though, several major cities have seen violent crime soar. Overall, violent crime has seen an increase since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the ensuing riots and defund the police movement.

The homicide rate, in particular, has soared, rising about 30% in 2020 alone.

Crime concerns played a significant role in the midterm elections. Pew research polling released in late October showed that “six-in-ten registered voters (61%) say violent crime is very important when making their decision about who to vote for in this year’s congressional elections.”

Notably, Gallup reported in November that 55% of surveyed Americans support the death penalty for murderers.

"Regardless of crime's eventual impact on voting, we have clearly seen some significant upticks over the past year or so in the public's concerns about crime. Personal worry about crime increased to its highest level since 2016 in Gallup polling earlier this year," Gallup's Frank Newport said. "Americans' satisfaction with the nation's policies to reduce or control crime was lower than satisfaction with almost any other issue in a list included in Gallup polling conducted in January of this year."

Concern varies by political affiliation.

"Worry about crime is currently also higher among Republicans than among Democrats. The perceived importance of crime as an election issue is much higher among Republicans than among Democrats," Newport said. "Relatively few Americans of any political persuasion mention crime as the nation's top problem, but such mentions are nonetheless more frequent among Republicans than among Democrats."

(The Center Square) – The reaction to Gov. Tony Evers’ inaugural address is about what you’d expect from Republicans and conservatives in Madison.

Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, didn’t waste much time in ripping Evers’ speech to start his second term.

“It comes as no surprise that Governor Evers devoted much of his inaugural address to advancing the erroneous idea that Wisconsin voters provided him with a sweeping mandate to push through a laundry list of partisan ideas that emanate from Madison and Milwaukee,” Stroebel said. “[The governor] conveniently glosses over the fact that Wisconsinites voted to return stronger Republican majorities to both Houses of the Legislature.”

Stroebel added that he doesn’t expect the governor to get much of what he wants, because as Stroebel puts it, he doesn’t want to “reverse course on key reforms.”

“Gov. Evers’ calls for bipartisanship and unity will ring hollow if he insists on defining ‘bipartisan’ as the garden variety liberal agenda,” Stroebel said. “It becomes even more difficult to ‘forge forward, together’ when those who do not share his liberal political ideology are caricatured as threats to both democracy and the ‘tenets and institutions’ of our constitutional republic.”

Eric Bott with Americans for Prosperity in Wisconsin also didn’t have any praise for Gov. Evers’ speech.

“It comes as no surprise that Gov. Evers’ focus on more spending and big government still rings true in the New Year,” Bott said. “Wisconsin doesn’t need additional money being thrown at a broken system when families and businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Instead, we need transformative policy solutions that will prioritize our students, deliver quality health care at affordable prices, and create a strong economic environment.”

Evers on Tuesday used his inaugural speech to press for more money for local governments, more money for Wisconsin’s public schools, more people enrolled in Medicaid, and more abortion access in the state.

However, it’s unlikely he will get much of that from Republican lawmakers.

U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., failed a fourth time in two days to win his bid to serve as Speaker of the House Wednesday as Republicans remain divided and the position remains unfilled.

Another vote will be needed to confirm a speaker, and until then the newly seated chamber will remain stalled.

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, nominated U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., to oppose McCarthy Wednesday, pointing out this is the first time two black Americans have been nominated for Speaker of the House.

“Byron Donalds is a good man raised by a single mom who moved past adversity, became a Christian man at the age of 21, and has devoted his life for…his country, and he has done it admirably,” Roy said. “But there is an important reason for nominating Byron, and that is this country needs a change. This country needs leadership that does not reflect this city, this town that is badly broken.”

The new speaker would need 218 votes to secure a majority. After November's elections, Republicans hold 222 in the House, leaving them a slim majority.

Donalds was able to peel away enough votes to keep McCarthy from winning the speaker's role and force another vote.

Wednesday’s vote comes a day after McCarthy failed to get the needed 218 votes for the position three times on Tuesday. About 20 Republicans voted for U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, that day with Democrats backing Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the expected Democratic successor of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Former President Donald Trump vocalized his support behind McCarthy in a post on TruthSocial Wednesday.

“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY, & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA,THE ONLY SPEAKER IN U.S. HISTORY TO HAVE LOST THE ‘HOUSE’ TWICE!” he wrote. “REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB - JUST WATCH!”

The failure to confirm a speaker marks a divide in the party and growing frustration from the conservatives in Congress who feel betrayed by party leadership as the deficit continues to rise and conservatives have won few legislative victories in recent years. Even during Trump’s term, the party struggled to implement his agenda in Congress, though that was in part because of Trump’s failure to rally support and remain focused on the legislative agenda, opting to rely more on executive action.

That party division was further highlighted late Tuesday by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who sent a letter to the Architect of the Capitol blasting McCarthy, who has already moved into the Speaker’s office, saying “no member can lay claim to this office.”

“What is the basis in law, House rule, or precedent to allow someone who has placed second in three successive speaker elections to occupy the Speaker of the House Office?” the letter said. “How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?”

Despite the opposition, McCarthy told reporters Tuesday night that he was not dropping out.

Some conservative Republicans, though, have been unwilling to throw their support behind the California Republican, who many saw as too liberal, but so far no challenger has arisen with enough clout to get the needed votes.

“In his 14 years in Republican leadership, McCarthy has repeatedly failed to demonstrate any desire to meaningfully change the status quo in Washington,” U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., said. “Despite our deep reservations we have continued to work in earnest to find a path forward with McCarthy, knowing that this crucial moment would come.

As The Center Square previously reported, Perry said he and other conservative members in the House laid out conditions for McCarthy but that he “balked” when faced with them. Those conditions included a promise to vote on a balanced budget, the “Texas Border Plan,” term limits for members of Congress, and the Fair Tax Act, which would create a national sales tax on certain services and property to replace the current income tax, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes.

“We requested transparent, accountable votes on individual earmarks that would require two-thirds support to pass, and to ensure that all amendments to cut spending would be allowed floor consideration,” Perry said. “He dismissed it.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers used his inauguration address on Tuesday to tell lawmakers and voters that he wants more abortion, more state spending and more money for public schools in the next four years.

Evers started his wish list with a rollback of Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law.

“People voted because they believe, as I do, that we should expand Badgercare and work to ensure everyone has access to quality, affordable healthcare. Because it’s 2023 and they believe we shouldn’t be beholden to a law passed in the 1800s, way before women had the right to vote,” Evers said.

“We must restore the freedoms that Wisconsinites had until June 23, 2022, the day before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. And I believe that together we will,” the governor added.

Wisconsin is one of nearly two dozen states where pre-Roe laws went into effect when the Supreme Court shot down Roe last summer.

Evers is fighting the old law in court. It’s all but certain that the Republicans who control the Wisconsin legislature will not vote to change the law.

Evers also used his inaugural speech to ask for more shared revenue for local governments, a Medicaid expansion, and more money for public schools in the state.

He also said he wants to see marijuana legalized.

“Our state and our country’s histories are punctuated by moments just like this one — moments where we have the chance to do the right thing — not for ourselves — but for each other,” Evers will say. “There’s no question that the work we must do to build the future we want for our kids, our grandkids, and our state is only possible if we’re willing to do it together. And I believe that together we will.”

The governor will face an uphill climb on almost every single one of his priorities.

Republican lawmakers have shot down attempts to legalize marijuana, expand Badgercare, and increase state spending in the past.

The governor will speak to those Republican lawmakers next month when he delivers his budget address.

More than 500 foreign nationals were apprehended after attempting to illegally enter Florida on the first two days of the year, an unpreceded number, officials say. They arrived by boat mostly off the coast of the Florida Keys, prompting multiple agencies to issue warnings to Floridians and a national park was forced to close to the public.

The record number of apprehensions in first two days of the year was after the Miami Border Patrol Sector reported a more than a 500% increase in apprehensions in fiscal year 2022.

It was also after the sector apprehended a record 1,661 illegal foreign nationals and reported 107 gotaways in December, according to preliminary data obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent.

On Tuesday, Miami BP Sector Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar issued a warning to Floridians saying, “agents were on scene in Key Largo where a sailing vessel involving a large number of migrants made landfall. Please transit the area with caution and allow space for responding agencies.”

Slosar encouraged visitors and residents to report suspicious border activity anywhere in Florida by calling a newly established hotline: 877-772-8146.

National Park Police, U.S. Coast Guard, and all federal, state and local law enforcement partners were actively working “to protect our Florida border,” Slosar said, after Border Patrol agents “responded to a high volume of migrant landings in the Florida Keys” on New Year’s Eve. As a result, there was an “increased presence of law enforcement and first responders in the area,” he said.

Agents encountered over 160 people arriving in the Florida Keys in at least 10 separate landings starting on midnight on New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day.

By Jan. 2, Dry Tortugas National Park announced it was temporarily closing and prohibiting public access as law enforcement and medical personnel dealt with a group of 300 people who’d arrived. The park would remain closed until everyone was transferred to Key West for processing.

“The closure, which is expected to last several days, is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to attend to the migrants,” the park announced. “Concession-operated ferry and sea plane services are temporarily suspended.”

It also issued a warning to residents and visitors stating: “Like elsewhere in the Florida Keys, the park has recently seen an increase in people arriving by boat from Cuba and landing on the islands of Dry Tortugas National Park. You may observe migrant landings at the park and visitor areas may be impacted.”

“While the park is closed, vessels may seek safe harbor in the designated areas within the one nautical mile anchoring zone around Garden Key, including Bird Key Harbor,” the warning states. “There will be no visitor services available while the closure is in effect and emergency services will be extremely limited.”

Dry Tortugas, a 100-square mile park, is mostly open water and only accessible by boat or seaplane. Located 70 miles west of Key West, it consists of seven keys collectively known as the Dry Tortugas.

It’s home to Fort Jefferson, the largest all-masonry fort in the U.S. built between 1846 and 1875 to protect America’s gateway to the Gulf of Mexico and a major shipping channel.

“Irregular, illegal maritime migration is always dangerous and very often deadly,” Rear Adm. Brendan C. McPherson, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District and director of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast, said, warning foreign nationals “Don’t take to the seas.”

In response to those who landed at the Dry Tortugas, McPherson said, “They will be removed, provided food, water and basic first aid before transfer to federal law enforcement agents in the Keys for processing by [Miami Sector Border Patrol] to determine their legal status to remain in the United States or be processed for removal and repatriation to their country of origin.”

Also on New Year’s Day, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tarpon's crew transferred 25 foreign nationals to the Bahamas after apprehending them in a boat at sea near Cape Canaveral. Those apprehended were citizens of the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Venezuela. Lt. Commander Beal warned, “human smuggling is both unsafe and illegal.”

Also on Saturday, Cutter Richard Etheridge's crew repatriated 80 Cubans they’d apprehended to Cuba. “These voyages are not only illegal, but also incredibly dangerous,” Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Estrada said.

The U.S. Coast Guard says any inquiries potential family members have about those who attempted to illegally enter Florida and were interdicted at sea to contact their local U.S. representative’s office. The Coast Guard “will not confirm the names of migrants in our custody out of concern for their privacy and safety,” it said.

The U.S. Coast Guard apprehended a record 2,723 Cubans between Oct. 1 and Dec. 10, 2022 – after they apprehended a record 6,182 in fiscal 2022, according to Coast Guard data. By comparison, they apprehended 49 Cubans in fiscal 2020.

California Republican Kevin McCarthy failed Tuesday to get enough support in the first three votes as his bid for Speaker of the House struggles to cross the finish line.

The U.S. House adjourned with no debate after the third vote and is scheduled to reconvene at noon Wednesday. Until a new speaker is elected, the House cannot conduct other business.

McCarthy – or whoever wins the speakership – needs 218 votes to secure a majority. The California Republican received 203 votes twice, then 202 in the final round of voting Tuesday.

After November's elections, Republicans hold 222 in the House.

The failed vote leaves the race for speaker up for grabs. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is the main Republican opponent to McCarthy.

Between the second and this votes, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., flipped his support from McCarthy, saying he didn't have the support needed to become speaker.

"The reality is Rep. Kevin McCarthy doesn’t have the votes," Donalds tweeted. "I committed my support to him publicly and for two votes on the House Floor. 218 is the number, and currently, no one is there. Our conference needs to recess and huddle and find someone or work out the next steps."

Failure in this bid is not new to McCarthy, who withdrew his 2015 bid for the leadership position, which eventually went to Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. McCarthy reportedly was aggressively lobbying his Republican colleagues leading up to the vote and appealed to them in a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning that grew heated.

Conservative Republicans hesitated to throw their support behind the California Republican, who many saw as too liberal, but no challenger arose with enough clout to get enough votes.

McCarthy had reportedly already moved into the office of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ahead of the votes.

“In his 14 years in Republican leadership, McCarthy has repeatedly failed to demonstrate any desire to meaningfully change the status quo in Washington,” U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., said. “Despite our deep reservations we have continued to work in earnest to find a path forward with McCarthy, knowing that this crucial moment would come.”

Perry said he and other conservative members in the House laid out conditions for McCarthy but that he “balked” when faced with them. Those conditions included a promise to vote on a balanced budget, the “Texas Border Plan,” term limits for members of Congress, and the Fair Tax Act, which would create a national sales tax on certain services and property to replace the current income tax, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes.

“We requested transparent, accountable votes on individual earmarks that would require two-thirds support to pass, and to ensure that all amendments to cut spending would be allowed floor consideration,” Perry said. “He dismissed it.”

The public questioning of McCarthy undermined his effort and showed lawmakers were not afraid to voice their opposition.

Some did throw their hat in the ring. The biggest Republican challenger in the first vote was Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who got a handful of votes in the first round but none in the second.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the successor of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., received the Democratic vote but not enough votes to win the speaker's spot.

“Even after the McCarthy Machine’s attempts to whip votes and smear my name for several weeks, McCarthy is still well short of the 218 threshold,” Biggs said late Monday. “Our party still requires new leadership and I will continue to oppose McCarthy for House Speaker.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s governor has issued more pardons than any governor in modern history.

Gov. Tony Evers last week issued another 171 pardons, bringing his four-year total to 774.

“A pardon is both an act of forgiveness and an acknowledgment that an individual has done the work to make amends for a past mistake and put forth the effort to be a positive contributor in their community,” the governor said in his latest pardon message.

This list includes a number of people with decades-old drug convictions, but also includes several people with theft convictions, and at least one person convicted of welfare fraud.

“[Pardons are] an important tool to not only live out our Wisconsin values of empathy, compassion, and respect, but to open the doors of opportunity for individuals, their families, and their communities. I am proud of the work we’ve done over the past four years to give so many a second chance and look forward to continuing this work in the new year.”

A pardon restores a number of rights for the formerly-convicted, including the right to serve on a jury, the right to hold public office, and the right to hold certain professional licenses. A pardon does not expunge court records.

Evers pardoned more people in his first four years than any other Wisconsin governor, and his office said the governor has pardoned more people than “any governor in contemporary history.”

Evers begins his second four-year term on Tuesday.

Gas prices won't be as volatile in 2023 as they were in 2022, but motorists can likely expect high gas prices this year, according to an analysis by GasBuddy.

GasBuddy released its 2023 forecast and projected that gas prices would average $3.49 a gallon.

The past year saw extremes in the U.S. prices of gas at the pump. Gas prices averaged $5.03 per gallon in June 2022, the highest ever, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But by December, gas had dropped to $3.32 a gallon.

“2023 is not going to be a cakewalk for motorists. It could be expensive,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a news release. “The national average could breach $4 per gallon as early as May – and that’s something that could last through much of the summer driving season. Basically, curveballs are coming from every direction. Extreme amounts of volatility remain possible, but should become slightly more muted in the year ahead. I don’t think we’ve ever seen such an amount of volatility as we saw this year, and that will be a trend that likely continues to lead to wider uncertainty over fuel prices going into 2023.”

GasBuddy's 2023 forecast says California may face gas prices near $7 a gallon in the summer but most cities will see prices peak at $4 a gallon. GasBuddy predicts the highest average price will be $4.12 per gallon in June.

"Additionally, as the world continues to navigate Covid recovery, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a high level of uncertainty is again a factor in 2023, making an accurate forecast very challenging," the forecast states.

GasBuddy projects total gas spending will be $470.8 billion in 2023, which is less than the $526.3 billion spent in 2022, but far more than $280.0 billion spent in 2020 when the pandemic started.

Gas prices were reportedly rising Jan. 2 across the country. AAA reported the average price of gas was $3.21 per gallon as of Jan. 2, 11 cents higher than a week ago.