Are Thursday’s deadly bombings in Iraq likely to increase now that the U.S. has completely withdrawn? What factions and outside players are likely to trigger the most chaos in Iraq? Is there anything the U.S. can do from outside the country? We ask retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis, now a senior strategist for the Army. He also explains why North Korea may also be less stable as a change in dictator occurs there.
Some House Republicans are still in Washington, asking Senate Democrats to come back and finish hammering out a bill to extend the current payroll tax rates. So is there any sign the Democrats are coming or will the GOP have to pass the two-month bill and prepare for another showdown in a few weeks? We ask Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, who also explains the concerns many business owners in his district have about the brief extension of the tax rates and Medicare reimbursements for doctors. Brady also weighs in on the next debt ceiling deadline – which believe it or not is just a few weeks away.
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review enjoy fresh analysis that President Obama’s re-election effort will be very tough and it’s mostly his own fault. They also wince as the third quarter economic growth is revised downward again. And they discuss Ron Paul’s handling of a controversy involving his newsletters in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Senators have gone home but House Republicans are urging them to come back and hammer out a compromise to extend payroll tax rates and reimburse doctors for treating Medicare patients. Has there been any indication that the Senate plans to come back? Why did Democrats push for a year-long extension of the tax rates but end up insisting on two months? Do Republicans feel like public sentiment is on their side? Is this impasse a result of poor communication between GOP leaders? And how long are Republicans willing to wait? We discuss it all with Georgia Rep. Tom Price, a member of the GOP House leadership and a conferee on the payroll tax bill if a conference committee is ever established.
Iowa Rep. Steve King joins us to discuss the Preborn Non-Discrimination Act which would ban abortions based on the gender or race of the child. How big of an issue is that in the U.S. and how would the ban be enforced? King also discusses the provision within the new Defense bill that many believe would allow the government to indefinitely detain American citizens considered to be a threat to national security. And he offers insight on the upcoming Iowa caucuses.
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review dig deep to find some good news out of a survey showing Americans deeply discouraged with the state of the country and with leaders from both parties. They also slam Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee for suggesting President Obama unilaterally extend the payroll tax rates. And Jim unloads on Gary Johnson for bolting the GOP and running for president as a Libertarian.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton weighs in on the transition in North Korea following the death of dictator Kim Jong-Il. What was Bolton’s experience negotiating with that regime over nuclear issues? What does he expect from the new leader? What, if anything, would convince the North Koreans to abandon the nuclear program? And why does he think regime change and the dissolving of North Korea ought to be America’s goals there? We discuss it all with Amb. John Bolton.
Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold is one of many House Republicans who refuse to approve the Senate version of a payroll tax extension because they want the extension to be for a full year and not just two months. Why is that so important? What else is different about the House version? Is this impasse actually the fault of the Republican leaders? And what is he saying to his constituents about the first year of the new GOP majority in the House? We ask Rep. Farenthold.
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are pleasantly surprised to see The Washington Post tire of President Obama’s class warfare message. They also blame the Senate for needlessly tying up a payroll tax extension. And they wonder where Jay Carney was in 2001 when he claims we didn’t go into Afghanistan to go after the Taliban.
Over the weekend, two key but largely unrelated participants in the battle over Communism died. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il was head of the most repressive regime on earth. Former Czech President Vaclav Havel was a common man who fought against Communist oppression in Czechoslovakia, helped to spur the fall of the Iron Curtain and was then reluctantly elected the president. What are the real legacies of these two men? We discuss it all with California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a longtime Cold Warrior and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
