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News & Politics

Northam Caves on Taxes, Green New Deal Nonsense, Gabbard’s Unwanted Admirers

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are still shaking their heads over the political chaos in Virginia, but they are happy to see a weakened Gov. Ralph Northam give Republicans most of what they want on tax relief.  They also point out some of the most insane provisions included in the Green New Deal, proving how out of touch the socialists in the Democratic Party really are.  And they shudder as former KKK official David Duke endorses Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for president because he thinks Gabbard is least likely to send troops to die on behalf of Israel in the Middle East.  Gabbard has denounced Duke and rejected the endorsement.

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Green Deal or Con Job?

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On Friday, supporters of the Green New Deal released details that one conservative analyst says is proof that the “green agenda” is not about the climate at all but rather a major push for a bigger and more powerful government.

“There’s some real tells in here. It’s not about the climate. There’s no assertion (about) what the temperature would be or that the temperature would be any lower.
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“It’s in the name of climate change but there’s something immoral about imposing policies in the name of averting a catastrophe that you don’t claim – and no one claims – would actually impact the alleged looming catastrophe,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Christopher C. Horner.

The Green New Deal calls for government-guaranteed jobs and health care for everyone, and safety net for those unable and even those unable to work.

The plan also calls for the end to fossil fuels by 2030 the hope that air travel would also be unnecessary by then. Supporters says paying for it up front is not critical because of the economic transformation resulting from an economy based on renewable fuels.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Horner discuss whether renewables can bring about an economic boom and why he believes just laughing off this proposal would be a very mistake.

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Scott’s Secret, Minnesota Mean? What Next in Virginia?

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss the news that Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott knew about the allegation against now-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax before Fairfax took office.  They also react to former staffers unloading on 2020 Democratic hopeful and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar over her alleged cruelty and constant criticism.  And they marvel at how slowly many Democrats are reacting to the political chaos in Virginia and conclude that none of the officials embroiled in controversy will actually resign.

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Is A Cancer Cure Really A Year Away?

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Last week, the world took great note of reports that Israeli cancer researchers believe they are just one year away from developing a cure for cancer and that the treatment would be quick with very limited side effects.

So what is different about the way Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies is approaching the fight against cancer and is all the excitement warranted? What other hurdles need to be cleared before clinical trials can begin? And how could it be done with minimal side effects on patients?

Greg Corombos gets answers from Stanford University oncologist Dr. Joshua Mansour, who also updates other promising efforts to effectively treat the scourge of cancer.

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Trump’s High Notes, Foreign Policy Fumbles, Herring Admits to Blackface

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are pleasantly surprised at President Trump’s State of the Union address, in which he extolled the greatness of America, condemned socialism and late term abortion and found several issues where bipartisan cooperation seems plausible.  They also cringe at some other moments in the speech including Trump’s contentions that investigations of him will hurt the economy, that you can negotiate peace with the Taliban, and that another summit with Kim Jong-Un is a good idea.  And their jaws hit the floor as Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring admits to dressing up in blackface while in college, just days after calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to resign.

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Cuomo Blames Trump for Lost Revenue, Dem Voters Sticking with Northam, Fairfax Accuser Hires Ford’s Lawyers

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America see a teachable moment as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blames President Trump and the GOP tax reform for many wealthy people leaving his state over high taxes, but the solution would seem to be pretty simple.  They’re also surprised to see 50 percent of Democratic voters in Virginia approving of Ralph Northam as governor – even after the yearbook controversy.  And they react to the accuser of Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax hiring Christine Blasey Ford’s legal team.

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Cuccinelli Dissects Northam Mess

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Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli III says he is surprised that the Ralph Northam he knows would put a racist photo in a medical school yearbook, but he thinks Northam needs to resign.  But he says revived allegations of sexual assault against the man who would replace Northam make things even more complicated.

On Friday, Big League Politics broke the story of the photo showing one man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.  Northam initially apologized for appearing in the photo but later said he was certain he was in in it and has no idea how it got on his yearbook page.

Cuccinelli served with Northam in the Virginia State Senate and says the revelation came as a very big surprise.

“It’s really at odds with his personality and his behavior.  I’ve never observed him undertaking a racist act or statement or seen evidence of so much as a thought in all of the years I’ve known Ralph, which is more than a decade now.  So this is all the more shocking,” said Cuccinelli, who seems to agree that Northam can no longer effectively lead Virginia.

Cuccinelli says this saga also opens an old wound in the commonwealth’s history.

“I think this is a reminder that while we are growing out of the racist past Virginia had, those remnants are still around and they still matter in people’s lives,” said Cuccinelli.

Despite calls to resign from the vast majority of Virginia and national Democrats, Northam is refusing.  Some of his critics want state lawmakers to pursue impeachment charges, but Cuccinelli says they really can’t.

“It’s really up to the governor because impeachment in Virginia is more or less the same as at the federal level.  It’s only for acts taken in office,” said Cuccinelli.  “There’s no availability of impeachment here.  It’s really in Ralph Northam’s hands whether he resigns or not.”

The story got even more bizarre on Monday, with reports that Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  Fairfax is vigorously denying the charge, which was never prosecuted, but Cuccinelli says the Northam mess and the Fairfax allegation are emerging at the busiest possible time in Virginia politics.

Tuesday is what’s known as “crossover,” when the House of Delegates and the State Senate must pass any bills originating from their members or else the opportunity is lost for the year.  Key votes on tax relief and budgeting are taking place with both Northam and Fairfax heavily distracted.

If Northam exits and Fairfax becomes governor, Cuccinelli says the lieutenant governor’s position will remain vacant, but the Senate President Pro-Tem would effectively take over the duties of the office, which could lead to some interesting moments on deadlocked votes.

“[This] could allow him to vote on a bill which then ends up in a tie, and he gets to break the tie,” said Cuccinelli.

While Cuccinelli is aghast at the Northam allegations, he is also stunned that the media could barely stifle a yawn two days before the yearbook story broke, when Northam seemed to defend infanticide in a radio interview.

“The dichotomy has been quite extraordinary

Listen to the full podcast to hear Cuccinelli discuss the Northam and Fairfax allegations in more detail and his frustration with media’s disinterest in the Virginia abortion debate.

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World Rejects Maduro’s Madness, Virginia’s Northam Nightmare, Superbowl Ads Flop

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America welcome news that military and police are starting to defy President Maduro and that more influential nations are recognizing Juan Guiado as the interim president. They also wade through Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s shifting explanations for the racist photo in in his medical school yearbook and Northam defying both parties by refusing to resign. And they give thumbs down to most of the Superbowl ads for being too serious and too obvious in their efforts to be woke, saving their biggest eye roll for the Washington Post.

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Trump Strategies to Lower Drug Prices: One Smart, One Not

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President Trump is trying to make good on a campaign promise to ease the financial burden Americans face when paying for prescription drugs, but a leading policy expert says one Trump strategy is right on target while another could lead to disaster.

Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs by a wide margin, and American Commitment President Phil Kerpen says it’s because other nations are taking advantage of us.

“Pretty much all of the other rich countries have some form of government price controls.  So they set prices far lower what a market-clearing price would be through government policy,” said Kerpen, who says American pharmaceutical companies do not have the option of not dealing with those other nations.

“If you try to do that, the other country will typically just try to steal your patent and have a local company produce it without compensating you or compensating you even lower,” said Kerpen.

As a result, the Trump administration is pressuring developed nations to ease price controls on prescription medications through trade negotiations.  Kerpen says Canada and Mexico are already on board with paying higher costs through the new trade deal that will soon replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Kerpen believes trade negotiations are the best way to address the problem and says the best argument for raising costs abroad is that the additional revenue will lead to more effective treatments for many ailments.

“If the other rich countries gave up their price controls, two things would happen.  We would get a lot more new cures developed because we’d get a lot more research and development.  There would be a lot more incentive to invest in it.

“The best research shows we’d get 10-13 new drugs per year if they loosen price controls in the other rich countries, but we’d also get lower prices in the U.S. through more competition,” said Kerpen.

The prices Americans pay for drugs provides the bulk of the funding for research and development.  Kerpen says bringing a new drug to market costs $2.5 billion to $3 billion when factoring in the cost of compliance with government regulations and all the resources spent on drug projects that fail.

While pushing hard on the trade side, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is exploring price controls here in the U.S.  Kerpen says Trump needs to abandon that effort or else innovation could be strangled.

“[It] feels good in the near term.  We’re paying less.  That seems good, but that would completely undermine the incentives for R&D in developing new cures.  Instead of the rest of the world free-riding on us.  There would be no one to free ride off of.  There would be no place to earn a market return.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Kerpen’s full diagnosis of the high prescription drug costs we face and why he says the Trump administration must abandon the domestic price controls if it hopes to win trade concessions from developed nations.

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