Archives for March 2011

From international military action in Libya to unrest through the Middle East to a terrorist attack in Israel, what are we watching unfold in real time in the world’s most volatile region?  How does the rest of the region view Obama’s performance on Libya?  How should we assess the unrest in other Muslim and Arab nations?  What can we predict about Egypt’s future from the actions of its military leaders in recent weeks?  What should the U.S. be doing differently?  And where does Israel fit into all of this?  We ask Dr. Mike Evans, longtime Middle East expert and author of “Jimmy Carter, the Liberal Left and World Chaos: A Carter/Obama Plan that Will Not Work”.

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Texas legislators are moving closer to implementing stronger voter identification requirements.  How likely is this to pass?  What will be required of Texans at the polls?  What evidence is there of irregularities in the current system?  How do supporters of stronger ID requirements react to accusations of racism and discrimination?  And does all of this connect to the simultaneous debate over enforcement of immigration laws?  We ask Texas State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, chairman of the committee which drafted the voter ID legislation.

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The Capitol Steps roll out their brand new CD, “Desperate House Members”, by taking comedic aim at the TSA’s intrusive new security procedures.  Our guest is Steps co-founder and star Elaina Newport.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Kevin Williamson of National Review are encouraged by new polls showing Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow as very vulnerable in next year’s election.  We also dismiss the supposed shift in command to NATO in our Libya mission and rip the Obama team for constantly delivering contradictory messages.  And we have some fun with President Obama being temporarily locked out of the White House.

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Louisiana Rep. Bill Fleming wants to know why President Obama is so reluctant to open up the Gulf of Mexico to more energy exploration but is begging Brazil to boost its oil drilling output.  A doctor, Fleming also continues to push for a de-funding of Obamacare as the law reaches the one-year mark and explains why he’s against additional short-term spending measures.  And Rep. Fleming criticizes Obama for committing our troops to combat in Libya without telling most lawmakers and only giving the Speaker of the House 90 minutes notice.  We discuss all these major issues with Rep. Fleming.

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John Gizzi of Human Events sizes up the biggest stories of the week and offers some of his infamous predictions along the way.  What is the biggest problem President Obama has with Congress over how he proceeded on Libya?  Will this really be over in a few weeks?  Will Gaddafi still be in power when we leave?  We also get Gizzi’s insight on how financial irregularities will impact Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill’s re-election efforts next year.  And he weighs in on the possible presidential run of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review hope Michele Bachmann’s likely presidential run will speed up decisions from other GOP hopefuls.  We’re also disgusted that President Obama has no trouble saying what we won’t do to achieve victory.  And we condemn the administration’s lame efforts to say we are not at war in Libya.  We are engaged in “kinetic military action”.

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The U.S. is going to great effort to assist the Libyan rebels against Col. Gaddafi and his forces.  But who exactly are the rebels?  Would they be better than Gaddafi?  What kind of power struggle would occur among the various factions?  We ask Dr. Walid Phares, author of “The Coming Revolution” and a professor of global strategies here in Washington.  He also dissects the unrest in Yemen and analyzes today’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem.

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Michigan Rep. Candice Miller says there is no clear national security interest for the United States in Libya and President Obama should remove our forces from this operation immediately.  Why does she say that?  How does she respond to the Obama rationale that there is a significant humanitarian threat posed by Gaddafi’s forces?  What does she think of arguments that Gaddafi (like Saddam Hussein) sponsors terrorism and has U.S. blood on his hands so he must be removed?  And what does she make of Obama going to the United Nations but not to Congress to authorize military action?  We discuss it all with Rep. Miller, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

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A few weeks ago, even the most ardent defenders of traditional marriage in Maryland didn’t see how they could stop the enactment of gay marriage legislation in their state.  But just when passage seemed inevitable, concerned citizens of all political stripes banded together and convinced enough lawmakers to remove their support that the bill has been shelved for at least a year.  So what brought these activists together?  What message got the attention of lawmakers?  And where does the debate go from here?  We ask Maryland Delegate Donald Dwyer, the leading opponent of the gay marriage bill in the Maryland legislature.

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