Archives for July 2011

After a three-week government shutdown, Minnesota has resolved its budget impasse.  State House Speaker Kurt Zellers tells us how Republicans were able to reach a deal with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton without giving in to Dayton’s demands to raise taxes.  How did the GOP win the debate?  How did they actually get a tax cut out of the deal?  How was the $5 billion impasse resolved?  And what advice does Zellers have for his Republican colleagues in Washington?  We discuss it all with Speaker Kurt Zellers.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review like a new CNN poll showing a strong majority of Americans backing the GOP budget approach and even more supporting a Balanced Budget Amendment.  We also discuss the terrorist attack in Norway and assess the debate between Reps. Allen West and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review cheer the decision of former GOP Rep. Pete Hoekstra to run for the Senate.  We also wince as a new poll suggests the public is siding with Obama on the debt ceiling debate.  And we rip Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin for suggesting a “cult fringe” is responsible for holding up a debt reduction deal.

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President Obama and others in his administration have said they cannot guarantee Social Security checks will be sent after August 2 if a debt limit increase is not achieved.  Florida Rep. Daniel Webster is looking to eliminate that uncertainty by offering the ‘Prioritize Spending Act’ in the event the debt limit is exceeded.  What would his bill do?  How worried are his older constituents about the Social Security uncertainty?  And what must be part of any bill to raise the debt limit before Rep. Webster will support it?

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Indiana Sen. Dan Coats is pushing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow a floor vote on the GOP debt reduction plan known as ‘Cut, Cap and Balance’.  He explains why America needs a balanced budget amendment even more today than when he supported one back in the 1990s.  Sen. Coats also explains why he’s wary of the Gang of Six and the McConnell backup plan.

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The only debt reduction plan that’s actually on paper just passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening. President Obama has made many demands of both parties, but at this point he has failed to offer a specific plan of his own. So New York Rep. Tom Reed led a group of House Republicans to the White House this week to deliver a letter demanding some concrete ideas from Obama. What precipitated this letter and visit to the White House? Just how specific do they want Obama to get? Do these members expect results or do they believe Obama is just posturing for next year’s campaign? We discuss it all with Rep. Reed.

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Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist explains the recent debt reduction proposals from the Senate do little more than raise taxes while making empty promises on spending cuts.  What is the truth about the Coburn plan and the Gang of Six approach that President Obama clearly supports?  And how has Norquist’s group become such a prominent voice in this debate.  We cover all this and more with Grover Norquist.

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Senate Republicans are now pushing hard for the Senate to consider the “Cut, Cap and Balance” approach to debt reduction that passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday.  How will Senate Republicans try to force a vote?  How optimistic are they that a Senate vote would go their way?  We discuss these questions and more with Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, who says if the GOP plan fails he will most likely support the Gang of Six plan, even though many other conservatives contend the plan would mean one to two trillion dollars in new taxes.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review credit one mainstream media reporter for pointing out that President Obama has never had a debt reduction plan and we marvel at the White House response.  We also slam the Gang of Six for pushing tax hikes as a way to fight the rising debt.  And we try to determine why Herman Cain is spending so much time on what Muslims should and should not be allowed to do.

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Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs is one of 87 new GOP members who were elected in part because they promised to address America’s debt crisis.  So what are they proposing?  What will they accept as a solution if the Balanced Budget Amendment is rejected?  And what can Congress learn from the congressman’s state of Ohio and other states in dealing with all the red ink?  We ask Rep. Gibbs.

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