President Obama pushes his economic agenda and mocks the Republican approach, GOP advocates preserving tax cuts and slashing federal spending, controversy over burning the Koran on 9-11 continues.
The News
Archives for September 2010
‘He’s Got It Wrong’
President Obama says a Republican majority in Congress would return America to the leadership that led our economy into decline. He also says Republicans are being hypocritical in pushing for extended tax cuts that he claims would add to the deficit. Not true, according to Missouri Rep. Blaine Leutkemeyer. He says Obama clearly fails to see that excessive spending – not lower taxes – created huge deficits despite record revenues. He also says the GOP economic strategy is pretty simple – slash spending and freeze the tax cuts. We discuss the president’s economic approach, the Republican alternative and much more with Rep. Leutkemeyer.
BP, Drilling and Obamanomics
In a new report, BP takes some responsibility for the Deepwater Horizon explosion that triggered a three-month gushing of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. However, the energy giant is also quick to blame Halliburton and Transocean for their alleged negligence as well. How is the report playing along the Gulf coast? Will a second explosion on an oil rig in recent days damage efforts to lift a drilling moratorium in the Gulf? We ask Louisiana Sen. David Vitter and get his reaction to President Obama’s latest economic proposals and the president’s plan to allow some Bush tax cuts to expire.
Debate the Koran – Don’t Burn It
Pressure continues to build from every direction against a Florida pastor’s plans to burn a Koran on Saturday – the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Act for America founder and terrorism survivor Brigitte Gabriel says burning the Koran may well incite Muslims but will also deprive Americans of a genuine debate on the Koran – a debate she says will reveal the radical ideology that is driving our enemies in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond. So what does the Koran say to back up her claims? How was it interpreted by Mohammed and his early followers? And why does outrage in the Muslim world manifest itself so much more violently than protests from Christians, Jews and adherents to other faiths? We ask Brigitte Gabriel.
Call Off the Koran Burning!
The pastor of a small ‘renegade’ church in Florida plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. But Open Doors USA is part of a growing Christian chorus urging Terry Jones and his congregation to cancel the event. So what do we know about Jones and his church? Why does Open Doors USA believe publicly burning the Koran would violate the commands of Christ and also endanger Christian believers in Muslim-dominated countries? We ask Jerry Dykstra, media relations director at Open Doors USA.
Obama’s New Economic Plan
President Obama is unveiling a new economic agenda, including $50 billion in new spending and tax breaks designed to spur growth and expansion for small businesses. But will any of it do any good? Will the tax breaks accomplish much if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire? And should be be bearish or bullish on where the economy is headed over the next couple of years? We ask Brian Wesbury, former chief economist for the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
Another Massachusetts Miracle?
In January, Republican Scott Brown shocked the political world by winning the U.S. Senate seat once held by Ted Kennedy in deeply Democratic Massachusetts. Could it happen again? Could a Republican Congressional hopeful knock off a longtime Democrat who has won all re-election attempts by landslides? What issue is driving this campaign? And why does GOP hopeful Marty Lamb believe he can emerge from a crowded Republican field and defeat Rep. Jim McGovern in November? We discuss all these questions with Marty Lamb.
Obama’s Iraq Decision Political
On Tuesday night, President Obama declared combat operations in Iraq to be completed and that Iraq was officially was now in charge of its security and its future. But how much combat will our remaining troops still see? Why might the timing of this decision be more political than strategic? And what was obviously missing from the speech that indicates how the Obama administration approaches the ongoing threat posed by Islamic extremists? We ask retired USMC Gen. Geoffrey Higginbotham.