Radio America Online News Bureau

News & Politics

Scooter Libby Pardon Coming? Comey & Trump Trade Insults, Comey’s 2016 Admission

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America welcome the news that Scooter Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, may soon be pardoned by President Trump and have his convictions from the Valerie Plame fiasco scrubbed from the record.  Jim and Greg don’t excuse Libby’s conduct in the investigation but point out there never should have been an investigation since there was no underlying crime.  They also roll their eyes as excerpts from James Comey’s new book slam Trump as being shorter than expected, wearing his ties too long and using tanning goggles, while Trump tweets that Comey is an “untruthful slimeball.”  And they react to Comey’s admission that he revealed the re-opening of the Hillary Clinton email probe because he was sure she would win the election anyway and might not have done so if he thought Trump could actually win.

Share

McInerney: Russia Probe Makes Syria Policy Much Tougher

by

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. General Tom McInerney suspects any response to apparent chemical attacks in Syria may be on hold while the Trump administration tries to build a coalition for any action and he says solving the problem in Syria is much more difficult because partisan sniping over Russia is hampering our ability to find common diplomatic ground with Moscow.

Earlier in the week, reports suggested a military response could come by the end of the week.  On Thursday, President Trump made it clear a more deliberate approach may be in the works.

“Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!” tweeted Trump.

McInerney says there is likely a very good reason for a delayed response.

“I think his national security advisers have advised him to get a coalition involved with this, to include the UK, French, perhaps the Jordanians, the Egyptians, Israelis, Saudis and Emirates – a coalition of the willing that can represent a very broad front,” said McInerney.

“When you have a coalition like this, it means they’re all in agreement and they’re willing to use their forces.  And you have Arab forces.  I believe it’s important to use Arab forces,” he said.  “It makes us define the problem more.”

McInerney says another critical element is to confirm the chemical attack actually came from the Syrian government.

“We’ve got to confirm with the most precise accuracy that it was the Assad regime that did this.  The reason I say that is because Al-Nusra was looking for chlorine stocks a number of months ago and it would be in their interest to want to keep the U.S. involved and for the U.S. to attack the Assad forces,” said McInerney.

He says there may be an easy way to determine blame in this case.

“Was it an airplane with barrel bombs or was it an IED?  Because we know the Al-Nusra forces do not have aircraft,” said McInerney, who adds that U.S.-led surveillance ought to provide critical evidence on whether the attack came from the air, although it may take time to comb through the intelligence.

If Assad is responsible, McInerney favors a big response?

“I think we need to eliminate his air force.  Is that difficult to do?  Yes, it is, because he has moved his forces on Russian bases with Iranians.  I’m not worried about killing Iranians.  I think they need to be pushed back and of course the Israelis are very concerned about this Shia Crescent that is sweeping across,” said McInerney.

In addition to the Syrians, Russians, and Iranians, U.S. policy must also consider how any action impacts the Kurds, ISIS, the Free Syrian Army and other groups in the area.

McInerney says the complexity of the issue is immense, and he says it’s now far more complicated because of the ongoing Russia probes here in the U.S.

“Because the Democratic Party laid out this false narrative, this fake news about Russian collusion, it has soured the diplomatic relations with the U.S. and Russia.  It’s difficult to communicate with them in a reasonable way.

“That’s why the Mueller investigation must be terminated as quickly as possible.  Clearly Russia is a great power.  Still, it’s got lots of nuclear weapons which concern us.  They are modernizing their nuclear forces, and we do not want to let this get out of control,” said McInerney.

McInerney says the region is also more complex as a result of the Obama administration pulling the U.S. out of Iraq entirely and failing to honor the red line it set for chemical weapon use in Syria.

“Unfortunately, because of Obama’s ineptness, he helped create the vacuum that the Russians were able to move in on,” said McInerney.

Standard Podcast [ 11:46 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Pompeo in Peril? Americans Clueless on Holocaust, RNC’s Lame Anti-Comey Campaign

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America shake their heads as the Republican National Committee furiously tries to line up a few Democrats to push Mike Pompeo over the finish line as the next Secretary of State.  They also hang their heads as large percentages of Americans demonstrate very poor knowledge about the Holocaust, including 41 percent of Americans and 66 percent of millennials who have no idea what Auschwitz was.  And they throw up their hands, as the Republican National Committee tries to discredit the upcoming media blitz from former FBI Director James Comey by favorable quoting Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Maxine Waters.

Share

Cuccinelli: I’m Happy to See Ryan Go

by

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., announced Wednesday he will not seek re-election this year, a decision welcomed by conservatives who see Ryan as a great disappointment during his years running the House of Representatives.

“I’m happy to see him go,” said former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who now leads the Senate Conservatives Fund, which recruits conservative candidates to run against Senate Democrats and liberal Republicans.

“As establishmentarians go, he’s a very nice guy, but he has stabbed conservatives in the back.  He has made public promises that he hasn’t kept on very basic things like how he was going to run the House.  He has gone back on those promises,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli says in almost three years as House Speaker, Ryan has only managed to turn one major campaign promise into law when the tax reform bill was enacted late in 2017.

“They literally have one thing to show for his tenure in the House and that’s that tax reform bill.  There’s nothing else positive to point to except – look I’m really anti-regulation and I really appreciate them peeling out one regulation at a time – but in the big picture, that’s small potatoes,” said Cuccinelli.

The most recent example of Cuccinelli’s frustration is Ryan agreeing to the $1.3 trillion omnibus that jacks up domestic spending along with defense spending.  Ryan defenders say the House did pass individual spending bills at more responsible levels but the omnibus became necessary because the Senate could not find the votes to tackle the appropriations bills one at a time.

Cuccinelli says Ryan should have rejected any idea of an omnibus bill and insisted that the Senate approach the bills one at a time, negotiating only when the Senate passed something.

“That’s all he should have done.  This whole complaining schtick about the Senate doesn’t go anywhere when they can actually stick the Senate with the work they’ve done and they refuse to do it,” said Cuccinelli, who also blames President Trump for the massive spending increases.

“This is weak-kneed stuff and the president shouldn’t have signed the bill.  ‘Oh gosh, this is a terrible bill and I’m going to sign it but I’m never going to sign one again.’  How outrageous is that?  That’s a real failure on the part of the president,” said Cuccinelli.

Ryan also managed to get a health care bill through the House, although the idea fizzled in the Senate.  Cuccinelli says the House bill was no triumph of conservatism.

“It’s the biggest promise in yours and my political lifetime.  Not only did Mitch McConnell betray us on that but if you look at what Paul Ryan put through, you will see that it would basically leave us with the outer structure of Obamacare.  They liked to call it ‘skinny repeal.’  What that means is this is not repeal,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli also blasts Ryan for reneging on a vow to the House Freedom Caucus to restore then-Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, to the House Agriculture Committee as a way to win caucus support for his candidacy for Speaker of the House.  But after pressure from the Chamber of Commerce and others, Ryan refused to return Huelskamp from the panel.

So who should be the House GOP leader now?  The names most commonly mentioned are House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.

McCarthy is next in line in leadership but Scalise is likely to be a sentimental favorite after his comeback from last year’s congressional baseball shooting.

Cuccinelli says Scalise is the perfect example of who conservatives should not want in leadership.

“Scalise used to be a conservative.  What he would tell you is you can’t do that and be in leadership.  Let’s reinterpret that.  So you can’t keep your principles if you take this particular job, and when you had to choose between the two you had to abandon your principles for this title.  OK, and now you want us to make you speaker?” asked Cuccinelli.

However, Cuccinelli says McCarthy is worse.

“McCarthy is going to claim a closer relationship with Trump, but McCarthy really is unacceptable to a broad swath of the caucus,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli wants to see Re. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus ascend to lead House Republicans.

“Jordan is the kind of person who can gather up that kind of support because he has been such a professional.  You can’t cast him as a firebrand, but he has stood for principles and sought to use the power of the House to advance the principles they all campaigned on.  What a concept,” said Cuccinelli.

If someone like McCarthy or Scalise emerges as leader, Cuccinelli suspects the intense GOP friction will continue.

“As long as [Ryan] and the rest of that leadership make war on the conservative base that elects them, we will not have peace in the Republican Party,” said Cuccinelli.

He also believes the Republicans are headed to a bloodbath in the midterm elections unless they get a lot done on spending, immigration, and more in the next few months.

“If all you have to show to your entire base is one bill, you’re going to get wiped out.  They’ve got to get work done in the next six months, or they’re going to be arguing about (who becomes) minority leader, not speaker,” said Cuccinelli.

Standard Podcast [ 11:13 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Zuckerberg Gets Grilled, Ryan to Retire, London’s Anti-Knife Nonsense

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are happy to Republicans senators like Ted Cruz, Ben Sasse, and John Kennedy pin down Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on critical issues like censorship, free speech, and user policies that actually benefit Facebook members.  They also react to House Speaker Paul Ryan announcing his retirement, looking both at his record and the increased likelihood that Democrats will take back the House this year.  And they have fun with London’s ridiculous new knife control push after 50 stabbing deaths in the city this year, including police confiscating scissors and pliers as deadly weapons.

Share

‘Dumbfounded by the Dumbness’ of London Knife Control

by

Officials in London are responding to 50 stabbing deaths this year by declaring war on knives and pleading with people never to carry one in public, decisions one second amendment expert calls “silly” and says is proof that taking away people’s guns doesn’t remove the desire of criminals to harm people.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted “No excuses: there is never a reason to carry a knife.  Anyone who does will be caught, and they will feel the full force of the law.”  There is also an aggressive #knifefree campaign featuring teenagers discussing their dreams and their intention to never carry knives so they have a chance of achieving their goals.

Local police are tweeting images of items they’ve confiscated as possible weapons, including scissors, screwdrivers, pliers and gardening tools and declaring relief that such implements were now in police custody.

TheGunMag.com Senior Editor Dave Workman is shaking his head in disbelief.

“The mayor of London is acting silly , frankly, because bad guys who use knives to commit crimes are not going to turn those knives in.  It’s just that simple, just like bad guys aren’t going to turn their guns in,” said Workman, who is also affiliated with the Second Amendment Foundation.

“I think this is an example of government run amok.  They think they’re going to solve a problem by disarming the wrong people,” said Workman.  “They’ve already disarmed the wrong people by taking their guns away from them and that makes them vulnerable to knife attack.  I’m dumbfounded by the dumbness of the people in London under this mayor.”

One of the stabbing deaths this year came when a 78-year-old British man stabbed the upper body of a home intruder, who later died.  Police arrested the man on suspicion of murder and appalled citizens erected a memorial to the deceased criminal across the street until neighbors tore it down.

“This 78-year-old man was simply defending himself inside the confines of his home from this criminal.  For the Brits to even suggest that they might put him on trial for murder is just abysmal,” said Workman.

“At least in the United States, we still recognize that the individual citizen has the right to defend himself or herself from violent crime.  In Great Britain, apparently it’s not that way anymore,” said Workman.

So how might the London story impact the U.S. gun debate?  For starters, Workman suspects Britain will not be held up as the gold standard of gun control anymore.

“The next time a gun prohibitionist brings up the British example or the London example, he’s going to get laughed right off the stage,” said Workman.

He says the murders in London demonstrate why we need a robust second amendment.

“We’re boiling it down to the question of should you bring a knife to a gunfight.  In the United States, where we’ve got more than sixteen-and-a-half million people licensed to carry, that’s a very real problem for the recidivist criminal who may want to bring a knife,” said Workman.

Gun control activists could point to the fact that the rash of stabbing deaths still do not equal the number killed in the Las Vegas shooting.  Workman says that argument misses the point.

“Dead is dead.  Whether you get stabbed to death with a knife or shot by some lunatic with a firearm, who shouldn’t have had it in the first place and sent all kinds of warning signals about his intentions, I’m not sure it makes all that much difference,” said Workman.

He says one thing that’s become clear in the wake of the Parkland shooting is that gun control advocates, including former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, are openly calling for a repeal of the second amendment.  A federal judge has also ruled that the second amendment does not protect the right to own semi-automatic weapons.

“I think where this is going is that it’s still feeding this monster of civilian disarmament.  For the gun control people to continue claiming that nobody’s coming to take your guns and nobody wants to take your guns is just a flat-out lie,” said Workman.

Share

China Blinks on Trade, Feds vs. Cohen, FBI Vets Sour on Comey

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see China made some minor concessions on auto tariffs and intellectual property issues in the wake of tariff battles with the U.S.  They also discuss the FBI raid on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and what it means, if anything, for the larger Mueller probe.  And Jim discusses his new column, which reveals that former FBI personnel who once thought well of former director James Comey are now very critical of Comey’s embrace of a political role that casts him as a hero and a martyr.

Share

Florida Senate Slugfest, Twitter CEO’s Real Agenda? Seeing Government as Parents

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America have fun with three different headlines, starting with the news that Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott will run for U.S. Senate this year, possibly giving Republicans their best chance of winning that race.  They also scratch their heads as Twitter CEO and supposed free speech champion Jack Dorsey describes a Medium article as a “great read” after it calls for all of America to follow the progressive path of California, says that conservatism must be thoroughly defeated, and labels Republicans as “bad guys on the wrong side of history.”  And they fume after former First Lady Michelle Obama likens the presidencies of her husband and Donald Trump to parenting children.  They also get a kick out of Mrs. Obama saying we shouldn’t look to make someone president just because they give a good speech.

Share

‘We Are Being Invaded’

by

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., is thrilled to see President Trump ordering National Guard personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border but says the only way to fully stop the flow of illegal immigration is to make sure potential migrants know they have no chance for a job if they come here.

Tancredo served in the House of Representatives for ten years, where he became known as one of the strongest opponents of illegal immigration.  He was a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008 and twice ran for governor of Colorado.

He says Trump is doing the right thing by calling up the National Guard.

“It’s a long time coming.  I can’t tell you how glad I am to see it happen,” said Tancredo, who says the Guard can make a big difference.

“I think with National Guard, you do not have the posse comitatus issue,” said Tancredo referring to federal law that bars the military from being used as domestic law enforcement.  “We use them a lot in areas of floods and fires and earthquakes and people who are causing trouble (through riots, etc.),” said Tancredo

Tancredo says the situation is urgent.

“We are being invaded, have been for a long time.  The government of Mexico has participated in this for a long time,” said Tancredo.

Years ago, Tancredo saw firsthand in Arizona how the Mexican government facilitates illegal immigration into the U.S.

“I was with the Border Patrol and we were glassing the desert in Mexico.  We saw two buses pull up, let the people out, who then swarmed across the line into the United States, into the desert mind you.

“Those buses were hired by the Mexican government.  People on them were provided a bag of food, water, and…an explanation of what to do when you ran into a border patrolman.  This was all part of a Mexican government activity and funded by them,” said Tancredo.

Tancredo says that posture from the Mexican government is directly relevant to the current border crisis.

“This idea that the Mexican government is aiding and abetting this caravan for instance is certainly not new.  It is an act of a hostile, hostile neighbor,” said Tancredo.

What leverage does the U.S. have to persuade Mexico to stop exacerbating illegal immigration?  Tancredo says it starts with trade.  He says the length of the National Guard deployment could have trade implications.

“It probably becomes part of the bargaining that’s going on between the United States and Mexico in an around NAFTA.  I wouldn’t doubt for a moment that the president is using this as another bargaining chip,” said Tancredo.

He says another effective tool could center on the money being sent back to Mexico and other Latin American nations from inside the U.S.

“The other thing you could is make it much more expensive to send money back home to Mexico.  Presently, Mexican nationals in the United States send back about $25 billion a year,” said Tancredo.

When he was in Congress, Tancredo says that money wiring constituted the second largest influx of money into Mexico, second only to their national oil company.

However, Tancredo is adamant that there’s only one real way to solve the illegal immigration problem.

“You would pas a law mandating E-Verify for every business in the United States and then you have to enforce it.  You’d have to make sure than if an employer that ignores E-Verify hires people even though they haven’t gone through the E-Verify process gets fined.  If it happens a couple more times, maybe they spend time in the cooler.  If you do that, you eliminate the draw,” said Tancredo.

But there’s a problem.

“Because it would work, you will never see it pass this Congress, at least this Congress,” he said, noting Republicans are a major part of the problem along with most Democrats.

“You’ve got Republicans who are as adamant in their opposition to actually securing our borders as any Democrat because they are what I call part of the Chamber of Commerce Republicans.  They are just as much of a block to doing something significant,” said Tancredo.

Tancredo says he’s all for Trump’s wall but says that only addresses the symptoms rather than the cause of illegal immigration.

“Until you (enact E-Verify), you have to build barriers as much as you can.  I’m all for them.  Don’t get me wrong, but they will not solve the problem,” said Tancredo

Standard Podcast [ 8:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

No Nonsense Nikki Haley, More Trash Talk Over Trade, Pawlenty Rides Again

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America salute UN Ambassador Nikki Haley for her clear language and strong defense of American priorities on the world stage.  After briefly condemning The Atlantic’s firing of Kevin Williamson, hey also groan as President Trump and China exchange threats of even more aggressive trade action against one another.  And they scratch their heads as former two-term Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty runs for the job again.

Share