For the past few days, conservative circles have been buzzing as GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich try to embrace mandates while denouncing the Obama health plan. Gingrich also called the new House Republican Medicare reform plan “right-wing social engineering”. So how are Congressional Republicans reacting to all of this? Where do most stand on mandates? And is the Ryan plan radical – especially when compared to Obamacare? We discuss it all with Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy, who is also still a practicing physician.
Archives for May 17, 2011
How to Help Small Business
The unemployment rate is 9.0 percent and the real rate is much higher. Nearly all experts say mall businesses are the key to getting out of this jobs funk. But what do they need to start hiring? How is runaway spending in Washington hurting job creation efforts? And what can Congress do about burdensome bureaucratic regulations? We discuss it all with Tennessee Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a member of the House Small Business Committee.
Louisiana vs. the Mississippi
The waters of the Mississippi River have severely impacted several states and Louisiana is now next in line. How is a state with such low elevations bracing for the flooding? How many people in rural areas will be impacted by efforts to divert the high waters? Will opening the spillways be guaranteed to save Baton Rouge and New Orleans? And what are the state and federal governments doing to help? We ask Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy, who represents the Baton Rouge area.
Three Martini Lunch 5/17/11
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review applaud Paul Ryan’s explanation of why his Medicare reform plan is not radical and how it’s much preferable to Obamacare. We also rip the blatant politics involved in granting Obamacare waivers – as businesses in Nancy Pelosi’s district account for 20 percent of all waivers granted in April. And we savage the government again as we learn light bulbs will cost between $40-$50 each next year thanks to government condemnation of the incandescent bulb.