On Wednesday, Congressional Democrats successfully voted to adjourn until after the midterm elections – without passing a budget or addressing the Bush tax cuts which are set to expire at year’s end. How much will Dems suffer for pushing off this vote? Will moderate Dems avoid a backlash for opposing the effort to adjourn? We ask John Gizzi of Human Events, who will also offer his thoughts on the Pennsylvania Senate race and major political changes in Britain and North Korea.
This week, Harvard Pilgrim announced it would be dropping its Medicare Advantage program and McDonald’s is reportedly considering dropping coverage for hourly workers because of burdensome mandates on insurance carriers. So is this the tip of the iceberg that critics of the new laws warned about or just a couple of isolated incidents? Is this what the sponsors of the new laws expected or even wanted to happen? What do these stories tell us about the infusion of bureaucracy the health plan is bringing in? And are President Obama’s recent efforts to boost support for his reforms doing any good? We ask Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute.
Rhode Island is one of the most solidly Democratic states in America, but voter frustration with the status quo is impacting the Ocean State as well this year. Republican John Loughlin is surprising a lot of experts by making a strong run for the seat held by retiring Rep. Patrick Kennedy. So why is he doing better than expected? Can he really win? And how is Loughlin distinguishing himself from his Democratic opponent? We ask John Loughlin.
On Wednesday, House Democrats barely fought off an effort by Republicans and three dozen embattled Democrats to force a vote on extending the Bush tax cuts for all Americans. So how did this play out on the House floor? Why didn’t Democrats try to extend the middle class tax cuts as proposed by President Obama? How will this impact the midterm elections? And how will it impact small businesses? We ask Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole.
On Wednesday, House Democrats barely fought off an effort by Republicans and three dozen embattled Democrats to force a vote on extending the Bush tax cuts for all Americans. So how did this play out on the House floor? Why didn’t Democrats try to extend the middle class tax cuts as proposed by President Obama? How will this impact the midterm elections? And how will it impact small businesses? We ask Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole.
Authorities in the U.S. and Europe have apparently thwarted plans for highly coordinated terrorist attacks in Britain, France and Germany that would have resembles the massacre in Mumbai, India, from a couple of years ago. Why are attacks using waves of gunmen in public places considered more sophisticated than attacks aimed at airplanes or trains? Why is the real story the explosive growth of Jihadist networks in the urban centers of Europe? How hard is it to blow up these sects and how can western nations improve cooperation in trying to stop future attacks? We ask Dr. Walid Phares, terrorism expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
The Justice Department may soon file a series of corruption charges against Mahmood Karzai, brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. So what has Karzai done? How significant would an indictment be against a sibling of the Afghan president? How does the rampant corruption in Afghanistan imperil our military efforts? We ask Ann Marlowe, visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute and frequent embed with U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
The Republican establishment has been frustrated by the Tea Party movement in many primary races, but former Mitt Romney campaign manager Ben Coes says the rift won’t hurt the party in November. Why not? What will determine how much progress Republicans make in November? If Republicans do win a majority, are they more likely to stay true to their promises now that the Tea Party is watching their every move? We discuss all these questions with Ben Coes, who is also author of the new novel “Power Down”.
On Monday, President Obama signed the small business bill he has been championing for months. So why is the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) saying the bill does very little to help businesses and create jobs? Why is certainty in the tax code and government regulations much more important? What else do business owners want from Washington? And how well do politicians in Washington understand small business? We ask Dan Danner, president and CEO of NFIB.
The polls suggest Republicans will gain seats this year, but why does one GOP pollster suggest the shift could be anywhere from 60-100 seats? Are voters returning to the Republican Party or are they just furious at the Democrats? How big is the enthusiasm gap between supporters of the two parties? How certain are voters about whom they will support more than five weeks before the elections? And will a barrage of negative ads help the Democrats? We ask David Johnson, CEO of of the polling firm Strategic Vision.
