Archives for January 2012

Texas Rep. and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith joins us to discuss President Obama’s plan to relax rules on illegal immigrants.  The president plans to allow them to apply for new visas before going back to their countries of origin.  And he would greatly reduce the amount of time illegals have to wait in their home countries before being allowed to come back to the U.S.  Chairman Smith explains why he thinks relaxing the existing rules is a bad idea and why he is concerned about the Obama administration pursuing critical policy changes without the approval of Congress.  Rep. Smith also responds to Obama’s contention that all border security concerns have been addressed.

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With the New Hampshire primary now behind them, the Republicans vying for the 2012 nomination now head to South Carolina for a crucial primary there next Saturday.  Van Hipp was part of the team that created the South Carolina primary and he is a former South Carolina Republican Party chairman.  He explains how much Mitt Romney’s momentum will matter in the Palmetto State and which of the alternatives might emerge as the toughest challenger for Romney.  Hipp also discusses South Carolina’s reputation for rough and tumble politics and whether Romney will encounter resistance because he is a Mormon.  Hipp also offers a bit of a prediction.

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On Wednesday, we learned that yet another Iranian nuclear scientist has been killed under mysterious circumstances.  This time the director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility was killed after motorcyclists attached magnetic car bombs to his vehicle which exploded a short time later.  The U.S. State Department has strongly condemned the killings.  Retired U.S. Navy Captain Chuck Nash discusses the series of killings, who might be behind them and whether they are succeeding in delaying the progress of the nuclear program.  Nash also tells us what would trigger a military response from Israel and why an uprising of Iranians would be the best way to kill the nuclear threat.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are pleased that the attacks on capitalism did not impact the New Hampshire vote and they were somewhat impressed with how well Mitt Romney drew distinctions between himself and President Obama.  They are not happy that the turnout continues to be less than expected given the lack of any real Democratic contest.  And they wonder how Jon Huntsman can be so happy after finishing a distant third place in the state where he invested everything.

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The granting of waivers for the president’s new health care laws remains a major controversy, as Republicans accuse the Obama administration of looking out for their donors and preferred groups and leaving the rest of the nation to fend for itself.  The latest news is that organized labor is getting a huge percentage of the latest waivers.  Indiana Rep. Larry Buschon is a longtime surgeon and says this pattern of waivers is no coincidence.  Rep. Buschon discusses whether there is anything illegal about the waivers or if it just smells of political favoritism.  He also explains which aspects of Obamacare he expects the Republican-led House to address this year.

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As they share their faith, Christians can face some very tough questions from skeptics – ranging from the existence of suffering to how our world came into being.  Evangelist Ray Comfort explains the best ways to tackle those questions from a biblical perspective and tells us why having the conversation only on an intellectual level is likely to yield little progress.  Comfort also discusses why his short internet film on abortion has changed so many minds towards the pro-life side of the debate.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review like a U.S. News and World Report survey showing Americans’ greatest fear in 2012 is President Obama being re-elected.  They’re also dumbfounded as Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry attack a very vulnerable Mitt Romney over the most conservative part of his record.  And they wonder what’s behind another exit of a White House chief of staff.

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As New Hampshire voters head to the polls, the economy is still the dominant issue in the minds of voters.  Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin tells us why the jobs picture is not good enough to be an asset for President Obama and why the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare could well hurt the president regardless of the verdict.  Holtz-Eakin also discusses what the GOP nominee will need to articulate on the economy and the impact of the massive debt increase piled up in the past three years.

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Former WMUR-TV News Director Scott Spradling examines how much the Iowa win is helping Rick Santorum in New Hampshire, how much Romney needs to win by to meet expectations and how big the stakes are for Jon Huntsman.  Spradling also talks about the scramble for third place and why results from Iowa don’t matter much in New Hampshire.

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The full implementation of the new health care laws won’t be complete until 2014.  But some provisions are kicking in now, including a new tax on may this year to help fund comparative effectiveness research.  We discuss how big of a tax is this, what comparative effectiveness research is and how it impact this debate.  We also examine how this could impact your relationship with your doctor and whether President Obama’s vow that his reforms would lower your costs is proving to be true.  We discuss it all with Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy, a longtime physician.

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