Archives for May 2012

As President Obama and likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney remain locked a virtual dead heat, is there any room for a third party to make a statement or even be competitive in 2012?  That’s the hope of the Constitution Party and its nominee, Virgil Goode.  The 65-year-old Goode was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1996, left the party in 2000 and caucused with the Republicans.  He officially ran as a member of the GOP in 2002 and lost his seat in the 2008 election.  As the Constitution Party nominee, Goode tells us the biggest issues driving his candidacy – namely our soaring debt and lackluster job creation.  Goode says Obama’s spending is completely out of control but Republican proposals are also not good enough because he says the budget needs to be balanced now and not in a few years or a couple of generations from now.  He expects a fierce fight with Congress about cutting spending, but his plan would not focus on entitlement reforms.  Instead, Goode envisions big cuts in discretionary spending – both in the defense and domestic portions of the budget.  When it comes to jobs, Goode’s top priorities are to end illegal immigration and nearly put a stop to legal immigration in order to prevent foreign workers from competing with Americans for the job opportunities that exist.  Goode says he would also seek to repeal Obama administration regulations that he says are stifling job creation.  He would start with the Obama health care laws which Goode considers the most repressive to job creators.  The former congressman says he is not a spoiler in the race but is a much needed voice on fiscal responsibility, ending government programs for illegal immigrants and other issues.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review cheer Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker for defending private equity and Bain Capital.  They also recoil as Hamid Karzai thanks American taxpayers for all the money and NATO leaders look for the easiest way out of Afghanistan.  And they have a lot of fun as New York Times columnist Tom Friedman bombs on Jeopardy!

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On Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner served notice to the Obama administration that the coming debate over another debt ceiling extension would be resolved through offsetting spending cuts.  South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney has been very critical of Boehner’s performance in last year’s fights over the continuing resolution and debt ceiling.  Mulvaney says he welcomes Boehner’s stance this time around but wants to see it backed up by verifiable spending cuts that take place soon and not years down the road.  The timing of the debt ceiling debate is also a political spectacle according to Mulvaney.  He says Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner ultimately decides when the government exceeds the debt ceiling – and he claims that determination will be based on what President Obama considers to be best for his re-election chances.  A strong supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry during the Republican presidential primary season, Mulvaney is now confident that Mitt Romney is an excellent choice to take on the debt issue.  The congressman says Romney may seem boring compared to Obama’s rock star persona, but he will be very happy with a boring but competent leader.

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In recent months, Congress has been investigating rampant taxpayer waste at the Government Services Administration (GSA).  Allegations include lavish parties in Las Vegas, thousands of dollars wasted on clowns and mind readers and a week spent in Hawaii for one hour of official business.  As you might imagine, the Capitol Steps are not missing a chance to poke fun at this corruption.  Their new song is “Harpin’ ‘Bout the GSA”.  Our guest is Steps Co-Founder Elaina Newport.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review give a new Romney ad a thumbs up for saying his first acts as president would be to approve the Keystone pipeline and put an end to Obamacare.  They also vent as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner gets frustrated that Congressional Republicans won’t just rubber stamp a new debt ceiling extension.  And they comment on the renewed curiosity into President Obama’s past after a 1991 biography lists Obama as being born in Kenya.

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For the past two days, Vice President Joe Biden has traveled around Ohio touting what he claims is a successful reversal of the economy thanks to Obama administration policies.  But Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson says Biden is badly separated from reality.  Johnson says job growth has occurred in his district in southern and southeastern Ohio.  However, he contends the jobs are coming from private investment in private projects on private land and that the uptick is coming in spite of crippling new regulations from the Obama administration.  In particular, Johnson says he is fighting feverishly to block a pending Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that would close the last two steel plants in the U.S. that incorporate manganese into production.  The congressman is also furious at Obama and the EPA for already implementing new “clean air” rules that could spell death for many coal-fired power plants.  Johnson says well over 50 percent of Ohio’s power comes from coal and losing multiple plants would not only mean job losses but higher energy rates.  Finally, Rep. Johnson explains why he’s confident Mitt Romney would pursue policies friendly to his district and the businesses inside it.

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One of the most competitive open U.S. Senate races in the nation this year promises to be in New Mexico.  Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman is retiring after 30 years and Republicans see a chance to gain the seat after strong performances in the state in 2010.  Heading into the June 5 primary, former Rep. Heather Wilson is considered the favorite to be the GOP nominee, but conservative challenger Greg Sowards believes he’s poised for a come-from-behind victory in less than three weeks.  Sowards explains the five questions he would ask before backing any legislation – ranging from impact on the family to whether it adds or subtracts rights to whether it’s constitutional.  He also tells us why a bill that is 90 percent good and 10 percent bad is not good enough.  Sowards explains how his small business background gives him a good idea of what Congress can do to create a better economic climate. And he explains why he believes Rep. Wilson is a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and insists his votes would be based on devotion to principle and not to his party.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are happy to see the U.S. Senate join the House of Representatives in unanimously rejecting the Obama budget.  They also wonder whether a GOP Super PAC plan to focus on Obama’s relationship with Rev. Wright will help attract voters or distract them from issues like the economy.  And they comment on Joe Biden’s contentions that Mitt Romney doesn’t know how to create jobs and that Republicans don’t think middle class and poor people have big dreams.

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The U.S. Senate has not passed a budget resolution since 2009.  Not only has the Democratic majority failed to approve a blueprint in over 1,000 days but it has not even proposed one in that time.  Senate Republicans are launching an uphill effort to advance their own budget priorities as they see debt piling up and time running short.  Utah Sen. Mike Lee is one of the leaders in this effort.  He says Democrats apparently hope they can avoid accountability by failing to produce a budget but Sen. Lee contends the current fiscal path is unsustainable.  Lee says multiple GOP budget plans are headed to the Senate floor, including proposals from the likes of Rand Paul of Kentucky and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.  For his part, Sen. Lee is offering the “Saving the American Dream” plan.  He explains to us how he would balance the budget within five years, partly be using means testing for entitlements and increasing the age of eligibility for Medicare and Social Security.  Lee would scrap the estate tax and payroll tax and most deductions.  He would then simplify most of our tax bills down to taxes on income and consumption.  He says simplifying the tax code that way would not only pay for government operations but also give Americans a much better idea of how much government spends.  Sen. Lee is not predicting any breakthroughs in the Democratic Senate but he says with votes starting today there will be a constant push toward more fiscally responsible government in Washington.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review like a new Rasmussen poll showing Mitt Romney ahead by eight points in North Carolina.  They’re also unnerved by President Obama claiming that the reason he faces a tough re-election is because his name is Barack Obama.  And they shake their heads at the revelation that the Obama administration has included Obama in the biographies of previous presidents on the White House website to link him to certain moments and policies of those leaders.

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