Archives for August 2012

Five members of the House of Representatives have come under bipartisan fire for requesting an investigation into government personnel who may have troubling ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.  The most high-profile name mentioned is Huma Abedin, a very close aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  But as the call for a probe is roundly rejected, Act for America founder Brigitte Gabriel says such an investigation is badly needed.  Gabriel details some of the reasons Abedin’s position concerns her and she believes there are many others in the government worthy of further scrutiny.  Gabriel says the problem is real and growing.  She says political correctness and a lack of proper oversight led to the Ft. Hood massacre and she says evidence shows some 100 radicalized Muslims are in the military right now.  Gabriel says the United States should not recognize any government led by the Muslim Brotherhood regardless of how it comes to power.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review enjoy learning that 2009 comments from President Obama about how his health plan cuts Medicare benefits directly contradicts what Obama is saying on the campaign trail now.  They also groan as Obama brings back the issue of how Mitt Romney treated his dog on vacation 29 years ago.  And they unload on Joe Biden for telling a largely black audience that Romney and Paul Ryan want them “back in chains”.

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Most Democrats are slamming newly minted Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan over what they contend are budgets that reduce deficits by gutting vital entitlement programs like Medicare.  The critics allege Ryan will end Medicare as we know it and leave senior citizens paying much higher out-of-pocket costs.  But that’s just not true, according to Tennessee Rep. Diane Black, a member of the House Budget Committee which Ryan chairs.  Rep. Black says the Ryan budget preserves Medicare rather than kill it as Democrats claim.  She says Ryan does not propose anything near the hundreds of billions in cuts that President Obama has already started through his health plan.  Instead, Black says Ryan sets up market-based competition that would allow seniors to eventually choose between the existing Medicare program or a private sector competitor.

On the flip side of the debate, Black says she cannot say for certain whether the Ryan plan actually reduces Medicare spending or simply reduces the pace that spending increases.  She’s also not worried about Ryan’s votes in favor of TARP, auto bailouts and last year’s hike in the debt ceiling.  Rep. Black says Ryan is committed to growing the economy by unleashing the free market and rolling back many of the big government initiatives enacted by the Obama administration.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are big fans of a video showing Clinton Chief of Staff and Obama debt commission chairman Erskine Bowles heaping praise upon Paul Ryan and his budget.  They rip anonymous GOP operatives for telling Politico they think the Ryan pick is a loser.  And they sigh as Michelle Obama tells Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas that she shouldn’t have eaten an Egg McMuffin after winning her first medal.

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In the past few weeks, two proposed United Nations treaties failed to advance.  The small arms treaty failed at the UN while opponents of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) amassed enough votes to block it in the U.S. Senate.  Now, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint says another UN treaty threatens American sovereignty.  It’s called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.  Proponents, including many Republicans, claim it will help to expand rights and opportunities for disabled people in all nations, but DeMint isn’t buying it.  The senator says the U.S. is by far the most accommodating nation in the world for people with disabilities and he sees no need to sign this or most other UN treaties because it can only erode American sovereignty.  DeMint says the language of the treaty suggests it will promote abortion and chip away at parental rights – particularly the rights of homeschooling parents.  DeMint explains what he thinks supporters of the treaty are missing and hos he thinks a Senate vote on the treaty would go if it were held today.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review cheer the choice of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s running mate – both for his intellect and his command of the economic problems we face.  They also fear Ryan’s budget gives Democrats ample opportunity to make attacks that the GOP may have trouble defending.  And they marvel as DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz claims she has no idea if the Super PAC behind anti-Romney ads is headed by Democrats.

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Former Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra easily won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate this week.  He now faces two-term Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.  The senator holds a double-digit lead according to two different polls, but Hoekstra says when voters understand how Stabenow has been a loyal follower and supporter of President Obama’s agenda – which Hoekstra says has been terrible for Michigan and the nation.  The GOP nominee also takes aim at a common Obama narrative that his administration’s bailout and restructuring saved the U.S. auto industry.  Hoekstra says the Obama approach will reap temporary benefits because of all of the money spent but he insists a free market approach would have set up Detroit for much stronger growth in the long term.  As for the state of his campaign, Hoekstra admits a Superbowl ad brought a lot of trouble for the campaign.  The ad featured a girl in China thanking Debbie “Spend It Now” for making China rich off our debt and the recipient of U.S. jobs.  Unions and other critics blasted the campaign on multiple fronts and Hoekstra slipped in the polls.  Hoekstra says many lessons were learned in that experience and claims his campaign is stronger than ever for having endured it.

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In late June, the Obama health plan and the individual mandate survived Supreme Court scrutiny.  It happened because Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s four liberal justices to keep the law alive.  Now the Capitol Steps go inside what the GOP calls a betrayal by one of their own.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review think an attempted New York Times hit piece on Romney actually shows Mitt Romney to be thoughtful and generous.  They also unload as President Obama accuses Romney of being complicit in tax fraud and possibly paying nothing in taxes.  And they discuss reports that Guantanamo Bay detainees are completely fascinated by “The Fresh Prince from Bel Air”.

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President Obama has been actively fundraising and campaigning for re-election, but other than claiming a superior tax plan, Obama has said very little about what he would pursue if given another four years in office.  WND.com Senior Correspondent Aaron Klein tells us what we should be ready for if Obama wins again in November.

In his new book, “Fool Me Twice: Obama’s Shocking Plans for the Next Four Years Exposed,” Klein and co-author Brenda J. Elliott detail the goals being pushed by the same progressive organizations that influenced Obama on his stimulus plan, health care plan and many other policies over the past four years.  Klein tells us explains what “fairness” could mean over the next four years – the government deciding wages in the private sector by determining the value of a job, much more government spending and even higher tax rates to pay for it all.  Klein also says the agenda will likely include a major push for a single-payer health care system – possibly without consultation with Congress.  Green jobs will remain a high priority according to Klein, who says the Left wants to create a Green Bank and kill disagreement to the climate change movement through the return of the Fairness Doctrine.  Klein also asserts that Obama wants to radically change the military – away from a force ready to defend the nation to one that supplements diplomatic efforts and combats global warming and poverty around the world.

And Klein reveals how Obama’s leniency toward illegal immigrants will take on new dimensions, including an effective ban on policing out own borders.  He explains why he believes these plans are good indications of where Obama would take the U.S. and why Obama isn’t saying much publicly about his intentions.

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