Archives for July 2011

Tennessee Rep. Diane Black shares her thoughts on the impending debt ceiling deadline on August 2. A member of the House Ways and Means Committee and House Budget Committee, Black believes President Obama’s meeting on Thursday will be fruitless unless he agrees to avoid raising taxes. Black wants to know why Obama didn’t think tax increases were a good idea in December but now wants one trillion dollars in new taxes. What plans do the Republicans have for reform? What are they demanding in return for a short-term increase in the debt ceiling? We discuss it all with Rep. Black.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review applaud Minnesota state Republicans for not backing down over their refusal to raise taxes. They laughed at Obama’s call to leave politics at the door of debt debates on the federal level and are preparing for battle after the president predicts hand-to-hand combat if Republicans win next year.

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We are now less than a month away from the August 2 deadline issues by the Department of the Treasury to address the debt ceiling.  Despite pressure from President Obama last week, Congressional Republicans are firm in saying they will support no tax increases of any kind.  So how will lawmakers get past this impasse on taxes?  Will America really go into default if nothing is agreed upon by early next month?  Why is President Obama guilty of demagoguery on what will be eliminated if the debt ceiling is not raised?  And are the American people really ready to embrace some budgetary upheaval in order to begin real fiscal discipline?  We ask Georgia Rep. Tom Price, chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee and member of the House Budget Committee.  Rep. Price also explains why he is not in favor of a short-term debt ceiling extension in order to buy time for a more comprehensive deal.

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The Senate cut short its Independence Day recess to focus on reaching a deal over the debt ceiling.  But what is the Senate actually doing this week to move the ball forward?  Is President Obama right in saying that Republicans are mainly interested in helping the rich or is he just engaging in class warfare and focusing on microscopic portions of the budget?  How much would taxes need to be raised to meet our current spending levels?  What will it take to get Republicans to support a debt ceiling increase?  Are Republicans committed to the type of reforms needed to restore fiscal sanity?  We ask Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns, who also explains what he wants to see from President Obama in the next few weeks of this debt debate.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review confirm that President Obama’s stimulus plan was a bad idea, but the results should make for a good argument for the GOP nominee. They aren’t surprised when Obama is endorsed by the National Education Association, but they are surprised the endorsement came before the Republican nominee is determined. And, they question whether or not Joe Biden will make the cut and appear on the ballot as Obama’s running mate in the 2012 presidential elections.

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