Archives for September 2012

Democrats have been moving further and further away from the Judeo-Christian values that built our nation, and formally embracing gay marriage should be the step that triggers a mass exodus from the Democratic Party.

That’s the argument from Bishop E.W. Jackson, a longtime minister and a former candidate for U.S. Senate in Virginia.  Jackson was raised as a Democrat but left the party over cultural issues in 1980.  At the time he considered it a personal decision and did not feel compelled to urge others to follow his example.

In the intervening 32 years, however, Jackson says the Democrats have placed themselves increasingly at odds with scripture and a formal endorsement of gay marriage in the 2012 platform was the point of no return.  Jackson says while there are many issues of concern in this campaign, Americans need to separate themselves from a party that “seems to have clearly committed itself to evil”.

The bishop is also appalled that Democrats and other supporters of the homosexual movement frequently compare it to the civil rights crusade for blacks in the 1950s and 1960s.  He says race is a physiological characteristic and sexual orientation is a behavior that has been deemed sinful by God.  “To equate, therefore, being black with sinful, wrong behavior is an insult to the black community,” said Jackson.  “I’ve talked with a lot of black folks across this country, all of whom sense and feel that insult but they just haven’t had a platform to say anything about it.”

When reminded that Republicans Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have both endorsed gays serving openly in the military, Jackson makes clear that this is not a movement designed to enlist more Republicans but simply to send a message to the Democratic Party that its moral and cultural drift is unacceptable.  He contends the stated moral principles of the GOP are far preferable to the Democrats but GOP candidates also have a tendency to veer away from those principles.

Standard Podcast [ 7:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The turmoil over rampant debt in Greece and other nearly insolvent European nations is sparking new riots and tension over efforts to rein in excessive spending.  Here in the U.S., the Republican ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is warning that without greater fiscal discipline, our country is headed towards a Greek-like crisis.  Always wanting to help, the Capitol Steps use the music of the hit musical “Grease” to educate us on the debt mess in Greece.

Standard Podcast [ 8:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are mildly encouraged by polls showing Mitt Romney closing the gap in Nevada and the GOP holding a solid lead in the Senate race there.  They also cringe as the Obama administration incarcerates the anti-Islam filmmaker on a probation violation.  And they evaluate the “logic” of Obama supporters on issues ranging from government dependency to the crisis in Libya.

Standard Podcast [ 11:31 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

For most of 2012, the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race was considered a yawner.  Incumbent Democrat Bob Casey held a strong lead for months and was up by 20 points just a month ago.  But four new polls are showing a much different story, as Republican challenger Tom Smith has now closed to as few as three points behind Casey.

A businessman for 44 years, Smith says his biggest challenge was building name recognition and informing voters of the real Casey legacy.  Smith refers to Casey as “Senator Zero” for his failure to pass one piece of legislation after nearly six years in office.  But that doesn’t mean Casey doesn’t have a record to defend.  Smith is pounding the senator over his support for raising the debt ceiling, dramatically increasing spending and providing the decisive vote for the Obama health care laws.

The alleged Democratic “War on Coal” is high on the agenda for Smith as well.  He says a resource-rich state like Pennsylvania could create countless jobs and be a major part of the nation becoming energy independent – if the federal government would just get out of the way.  Smith further advocates shuttering the Department of Energy, contending it has utterly failed to achieve the purpose for which it was created more than 30 years ago.

Smith expects his surge to continue in the race against Sen. Casey.  While President Obama is expected to win the state, Smith points out that 2010 was a huge Republican year in the state and he expects 2012 to be more of the same.

Standard Podcast [ 9:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review like Mitt Romney’s new ad asserting that President Obama measures compassion by how many people he adds to the welfare rolls and Romney measures it by how many people he can help get good jobs.  They grimace as the economy continues to show anemic growth yet Obama seems to get little of the blame.  And they laugh as Paul Krugman and Lawrence O’Donnell believe a Politico satire piece that suggested resentment between Romney and Ryan.

Standard Podcast [ 11:46 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Americans fought to win our freedom from Great Britain.  We fought to preserve it in our Constitution.  But now we’re in danger of failing to sustain it as our nation drifts further away from what made us great.

That’s the thesis of the new book “A Free People’s Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future” by renowned spiritual and cultural author Os Guinness.

Guinness contends America’s greatness is underpinned by the three-legged stool of virtue, faith and freedom and all of those are eroding on this generation’s watch.  Guinness further asserts that the U.S. may only have five more years before our cultural decline is irreversible.  He argues great leadership that clearly articulates what made America unique in world history must emerge and inspire our nation back to those principles.  Sadly, Guinness does not see anyone poised to take on that role anytime soon.

He further asserts that an instinctive cultural backlash against any notion of virtue or faith make the challenge even more difficult.  Nonetheless, Guinness is optimistic that America can reverse course and restore our greatness.

Standard Podcast [ 9:47 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are appalled but not surprised by new reports showing the Obama administration knew within 24 hours that the attack on the Benghazi consulate was the work of Al Qaeda and not some sort of spontaneous mob upset by a video.  They also cringe as Iran announces its has test-fired missiles designed to take out ships.  And they like the idea of the Romney campaign bringing out “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe to extol the value of blue collar work and slam the notion that there is only one educational path to a good career.

Standard Podcast [ 13:15 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

President Obama addressed the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.  Obama paid tribute to murdered U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and continued to hail the Arab Spring, despite many of those same countries now aflame in deadly rioting.

Two comments are drawing more attention than any others, however.  After days of edging away from blaming most of the recent Mideast chaos on an obscure internet video critical to Mohammed, Obama again spent considerable time denouncing a video that he says spawned the outrage that led to scores of deaths, including those of American diplomats in Libya.  The president later said the video was no justification for the violence and he defended America’s right to free speech.  But later in the address, Obama said “the future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam”.

Mississippi Rep. Steve Palazzo is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.  He says Obama is coming “full circle” by once again denouncing the video at such great lengths.  He also fired back on Obama’s denunciation of any speech critical of Mohammed, saying that Americans are increasingly the ones being denied the right to free speech.  He also slammed the administration for infringing upon the first amendment rights of our fighting men and women who are no longer allowed to share their faith.

Palazzo also believes the venue for Obama’s speech was appropriate.  “I think it was definitely fitting that he did it at the UN”, said Palazzo, “because like the UN, this administration has often relied on words that sounds good but they aren’t backed up by any meaningful action or strength.”

Rep. Palazzo also scolds the president for planning to go forward with massive defense spending cuts at a precarious time in world events.  Palazzo says responsible spending cuts and getting our economy going again will put our nation back on much better footing without gutting our military.

Standard Podcast [ 9:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review applaud several figures in the mainstream media for calling attention to President Obama’s decision to refuse meetings with other world leaders while at the United Nations.  They also slam Obama for once again blaming the past two weeks of Middle East chaos on a video and for telling the UN “the future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam”.  And they discuss the uproar over the mistakes made by replacement NFL officials.

Standard Podcast [ 13:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On Wednesday, the inspector general for the Justice Department  issued his report on Operation Fast & Furious.  That’s the gun walking operation that sent thousands of guns into the possession of Mexican drug cartels.  Those guns were later shown to be used in the murders of hundreds of Mexicans and in the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

The report placed blame with several different figures within the Justice Department, but frequently stated that critical information never made it to the desk of Attorney General.  In June, Holder was held in contempt of Congress by the House of Representatives for failing to cooperate with the GOP-led investigation into Fast and Furious.  Holder’s defenders claim the report essentially clears him of wrongdoing, but his critics strongly disagree.

Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold is a member of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, which conducted the Congressional investigation on this issue.  Farenthold says Holder should have known what was happening during such a program and being unaware of the facts is not much of a defense.

Farenthold also takes us inside two of his questions for the inspector general – namely whether the Obama administration was justified in invoking executive privilege to withhold documents from the House committee.  Farenthold says if we’re to believe neither Obama nor Holder  even knew about Fast & Furious, then what communications could exist between them on this crisis?  He also wants to know what political considerations are behind what the congressman sees as two years of stonewalling from the administration.

Farenthold also updates the committee’s work on Fast & Furious, noting that only one of three reports has been issued.  The next report will deal with management of Fast & Furious by the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  He says the final report will focus on the alleged cover-up by the administration.

Standard Podcast [ 8:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download