Archives for February 2011

Wisconsin State Senator Glenn Grothman joins us from the center of the Wisconsin pensions debate to explain exactly what is being proposed.  He also responds to Democratic allegations of Republicans getting tough on unions while giving tax breaks to the rich and demands that unions get to negotiate how much its members contribute to pensions and health benefits.  What choice comments does Grothman have for Senate Democrats who fled to Illinois?  Why does he call striking teachers terrible role models for children?  And why does he call Barack Obama the most divisive president of his lifetime?  We discuss it all in a lively conversation with Wisconsin State Sen. Glenn Grothman.

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Madison, Wisconsin, is home to major political strife this week as Republicans try to trim the state’s deficit by making public sector workers contribute more to their pensions and to their health care benefits.  Democrats say this is a political vendetta by the new GOP governor against the unions.  What is the real financial state of Wisconsin?  What might really be behind these raucous protests?  What kind of shell games did the previous Democratic governor play to balance the budget?  We ask former Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman and current Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, and ask Priebus how he is dealing with his own massive deficit at the RNC.

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On Friday, the House of Representatives voted 240-185 to defund the nation’s largest abortion providers for the remaining seven months of Fiscal Year 2011.  Indiana Rep. Mike Pence tells us why he has led this charge for the past several years?  Will is pass the Senate?  How does he respond to Democratic contentions that taxpayer dollars fund Planned Parenthood programs other than abortions?  How does he counter assertions that Republicans are coldly depriving women of a legal procedure?  And what will House Republicans do if this plan gets blocked in the Senate or by President Obama?  We discuss it all with Rep. Mike Pence.

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President Obama’s budget for Fiscal Year 2012 arrived with much fanfare this week, but it landed with a thud for Congressional Republicans and a surprising number of moderate and liberal commentators.  So did Obama make a better case as the week progressed or did more time just show the plan is not up to the challenge of addressing our enormous debt?  How should we read the protests building in several Middle East nations?  How is Jay Carney doing as Obama’s new press secretary?  And how should we judge the tenure of former spokesman Robert Gibbs?  We discuss it all with John Gizzi of Human Events.

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Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty cheer on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for taking on the unions in order to help restore fiscal sanity to his state.  We also slam the Obama administration for planning to condemn Israel at the United Nations.  And we try to figure out what New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to accomplish by sending a truck around the United States while displaying the number of gun-related deaths in this country.

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The House of Representatives is plowing through dozens of proposed amendments to the bill aimed at cutting $100 billion from the federal budget for the remaining months of Fiscal Year 2011.  Why is this ‘open rule’ allowing unlimited amendments so significant?  Are the proposed amendments mostly legitimate or are some lawmakers just trying to stall the process?  We ask Georgia Rep. and House GOP Policy Committee Chairman Tom Price.  Rep. Price will also explain his three amendments, including calls for the end of funding for the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

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Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty cheer heartily as Chris Christie brings a dose of reality to Washington.  They worry about what Iran might be doing through its Suez mischief and enjoy the public groundswell of support for a Robocop statue in Detroit.

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The battle of the budget is underway in the House of Representatives as Republicans push major spending cuts in an effort to restore some fiscal sanity and Democrats accuse the GOP of abandoning women and children in the process.  Texas Rep. Bill Flores unseated an incumbent Democrat last year due in large part to concern over our debt and expansion of government.  So now that he’s finally in the fight, what does he hope to achieve?  What does he hope to bring from his days as a chief financial officer in the private sector to his work on Capitol Hill?  Why is he underwhelmed at the Obama budget?  What can we expect from the GOP budget proposal?  And is either side really ready to take on the thorny issue of entitlement reform?  We discuss it all with Rep. Flores, a member of the House Budget Committee.

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Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty cheer on the protesters trying to bring down the execrable regimes in Libya and Iran.  They groan as House Democrats predictably accuse Republicans of putting women and children last as the GOP tries to cut spending.  And Jim chronicles his effort to get NYU to respond to the detestable online comments of Nir Rosen.

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At a recent House hearing, Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf admitted to California Rep. John Campbell that the president’s health care plan will cost the nation 800,000 jobs over the next decade.  Why will it cost that many jobs?  What portions of the law are to blame?  How does this impact the ongoing debate over Obamacare?  Will House Republicans succeed in de-funding the health plan?  And are they ready to stand their ground in removing funding no matter what Democrats and the president do in response?  We discuss it all with Rep. Campbell, a member of the House Budget Committee.

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