Archives for May 2012

When the Obama health care plan was being pushed in 2010, one of the major selling points was a series of tax incentives aimed at small businesses of help defray the rise in health care coverage for employees.  But recent statistics show only 170,000 of the nearly four million eligible businesses have applied for the credits.  Some have decided that the benefits are not worth all of the jumping through bureaucratic hoops.  Others have calculated that it’s still more cost effective to end health coverage and pay the fines than to continue providing benefits with the tax credits in effect.  North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers is a member of the House Small Business Committee.  She says small business owners in her district and around the country are feeling burdened by the regulations coming out of the Obama administration and the health care laws are some the biggest problems.  Ellmers also highlights what Congressional Republicans are pursuing to bring relief to small business owners.

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The front lines in the legal battle over the definition of marriage will soon be in the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court.  On Thursday, a three judge panel of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled unanimously that the federal government could not refuse spousal benefits to legally married gay couples.  The judges did not wade into whether they considered gay marriage to be a constitutional right and they did not reject the right of states to define marriage for themselves and deny gay marriages performed in other states if they wish.  Harry Mihet is senior litigation counsel at Liberty Counsel.  He says the logic in today’s decision is deeply flawed since the court has no problem allowing states to define marriage how they see fit but apparently the federal government cannot.  Mihel says he is confident the high court will side with the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) for that very reason, and he says the series of recent court decisions against DOMA are largely a result of gay marriage supporters shopping for liberal, sympathetic judges to advance their case.  Mihel also tells us that if the Supreme Court does not reverse the appellate court then American taxpayers will essentially be forced to fund gay marriage.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are happily stunned that President Obama thinks comparing broken promises is a winning issue against Mitt Romney.  They also sigh as Donald Trump and his birth certificate obsession are back in the headlines.  And they discuss the oddity of Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter failing to get his name on the ballot in his campaign for re-election.

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The House of Representatives will vote Thursday on a Republican bill that would ban abortions sought because of the unborn child’s gender.  The original version of the plan also banned abortions based on race, but the revised version focuses solely on gender.  Iowa Rep. Steve King is one of the leading proponents of the bill.  He explains how recent politics prompted sponsors to remove the racial component of the bill.  In an additional hurdle for supporters, House Republican leaders are bringing up the plan for consideration without going through the usual committee process.  That means passage will require a two-thirds majority rather than a simple majority.  Rep. King is fine with that decision, saying it should be a no-brainer to ban the killing of baby girls just because they are girls.  Some pro-choice advocates are opposing the bill on the grounds that it punishes Asian-American women who are raised to prize male children over females.  King says that argument fails the logic test since the legislation would save the lives of many Asian-American females.  The congressman admits it may be tough to get a two-thirds majority but vows to press on through regular order if Thursday’s vote is defeated.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are happily stunned that President Obama thinks comparing broken promises is a winning issue against Mitt Romney.  They also sigh as Donald Trump and his birth certificate obsession are back in the headlines.  And they discuss the oddity of Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter failing to get his name on the ballot in his campaign for re-election.

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On June 5, Wisconsin voters will put an end to one of the most tumultuous years any state government has seen in recent years as they determine the fate of Gov. Scott Walker.  The governor is the subject of a recall attempt by public sector unions over new laws Walker and a Republican legislature approved last year to force union members to contribute more to their benefits and pensions.  The plan also restricted the collective bargaining power of unions.  Critics succeeded in getting the recall effort on the ballot.  Right now, Walker seems likely to survive the attempt to remove him from office and he’s finding plenty of support among the Tea Party Patriots.  The grassroots organization does not formally endorse candidates, but co-founder Jenny Beth Martin says her group is sympathetic toward Walker because he is one of the few politicians who has done exactly what he promised to do despite a torrent of opposition.  Martin also believes recall efforts undermine the principles of a democratic republic.  She says barring extraordinary circumstances, public office holders should be held to account at their next scheduled election.  Martin also tells us how the Tea Party Patriots are involved in other races around the country and why three core principles – and not specific candidates – are at the heart of the movement.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Daniel Foster of National Review are impressed by the detail and boldness of Mitt Romney’s new ad ripping President Obama for wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on green energy loans for his political cronies.  They also shake their heads as the Obama campaign’s rebuke of Cory Booker leads to the departure of Booker’s communications director.  And they take aim at MSNBC’s Chris Hayes for suggesting that referring to deceased soldiers as heroes leads to calls for more war.

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In the past few weeks, President Obama has outlined his vision for U.S. drawdown and eventual withdrawal from Afghanistan.  His goal is to be done with our current mission by the end of 2014.  In the past week, other NATO members have advocated leaving sooner or even immediately.  South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson is a member of both the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.  He is confident that the U.S. will pull back responsibly and leave the Afghan government and security forces in the best possible position to fend for themselves.  Wilson says he is not worried that rampant corruption in Afghanistan will sink the country’s future.  He admires President Hamid Karzai, although he admits that’s an opinion not many others share.  The congressman also chides Pakistan for sentencing a U.S. intelligence asset critical to the Bin Laden raid to 33 years in prison on treason charges.  Wilson says it’s clearly in Pakistan’s best interest to ally with the U.S. and root out Al Qaeda, which is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in Pakistan.  However, Wilson says we should not be threatening to reduce foreign aid to Pakistan because less influence could mean greater instability in a nuclear nation.  And Rep. Wilson shares his thoughts on Memorial Day and the incredible men and women who wear our nation’s uniform.

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