Radio America Online News Bureau

Archives for June 2019

Democrats, Health Care, and Your Freedom

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Listen to “Democrats, Health Care, and Your Freedom” on Spreaker.

Some Democratic presidential candidates want to pursue a single-payer, government-run health care system. Virtually all who don’t want to go that far endorse adding a public option to the existing structure.

Seems like a compromise, right? A decade ago, a public option was dropped from the Affordable Care Act because even some Democrats thought it was putting too much power in the government.

In this podcast, Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner explains why adding a public option wouldn’t bring more competition to the health care market but simply grease the skids for single payer. She also discusses the looming cost to taxpayers if the U.S. goes down this road. Finally, she lays out the financial of Democrats wanting to extend taxpayer-funded health care to people in the U.S. illegally.

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GOP Border Bill Passes, Kamala Shines, The Mystery of Marianne

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America celebrate the passage of the Republican border aid bill and pop the popcorn as Nancy Pelosi and AOC butt heads again. They go over last night’s second Democratic presidential debate and the standout performance from Sen. Kamala Harris. And they chuckle at the presence of Marianne Williamson in the Democratic primary.

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What to Expect from the New Sanctions on Iran

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President Trump opted for additional sanctions against Iran in response to the shooting down of a U.S. drone last week, and one expert says the new economic penalties will make Iran leaders even less popular among its own people.

The new sanctions are aimed at key individuals inside the regime, including Supreme Leader Ali Khameini as well as military officials and even Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

“This is an attempt by the administration to hit back at Iran for its escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf but do so in a non-military fashion.  There’s been a lot of ink spilled in the media about how President Trump is rushing to war, but it’s very clear that he doesn’t prefer military confrontation,” said American Foreign Policy Council Vice President Ilan Berman.

“He wants Iran to pay but he wants Iran to pay in a way that doesn’t escalate actual physical hostilities,” added Berman.

But while Iran avoided military strikes, Berman believes the sanctions could do even greater damage for the long-term health of the regime.

“This is a very shrewd move by the administration because it plays on a fault line that is very visible within Iran but much less so outside.  Ordinary Iranians understand very well that the supreme leader and the unelected clergy that run Iran have enriched themselves tremendously at the expense of ordinary people,” said Berman.

“The administration is trying to widen that rift that exists between the Iranian people and the Iranian leadership by highlighting just how corrupt that leadership is,” he said.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Berman explain why he thinks the sanctions will force Iran back to the bargaining table and why he believes Trump’s decision to pull back military strikes sent the wrong message.

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Beto’s Bilingual Bomb, SCOTUS Blocks Census Question, Tulsi & Ryan Clash

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America relish watching Beto O’Rourke get exposed yet again as an empty suit who only knows platitudes and pandering. They also cover the Supreme Court’s decision that will likely keep the citizenship question off the 2020 census. And they discuss Tim Ryan and Tulsi Gabbard clashing on the Afghan War while summing up the rest of the candidates in the first Democratic debate.

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Congressional Border Battles

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The House and Senate will need to reconcile vastly different bills designed to provide billions of dollars in emergency aid for the humanitarian crisis building on our southern border.

On Wednesday, The Senate rejected legislation passed by House Democrats and approved its own $4.6 billion measure.  House Democrats say the Senate bill is a non-starter.

While the two chambers head to the reconciliation process, Florida Rep. Ted Yoho says lawmakers cannot embrace what he considers an abandonment of law enforcement personnel along the border.

“It limits the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to surge employees at the border.  [The House bill] cuts overtime hours cuts overtime for the exhausted officers that we have working overtime.  They want to cut this.  These are the very people doing what we hired them to do,” said Yoho.

Yoho says Democrats also want to cut funding for the National Guard at the border and voted down funding for enhanced border technology that could not only detect illegal entry into the country but also protect migrants from sexual assault and trafficking by drug cartels.

He says the partisan bickering on this issue needs to stop.

“The border crisis is not a political crisis.  Well, it is a political crisis because Congress has failed to act.  But we should not be Republicans or Democrats.  We should come together to have a border security bill that solves this problem,” said Yoho.

“If we were doing what we were supposed to with border security and enforced the laws on the books, we wouldn’t have a crisis down there,” said Yoho.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Yoho discuss whether the House and Senate can find common ground in the border funding bill.  He also details why he believes the Freedom Caucus deserves credit for forcing a fight on this issue and how his forthcoming bill to reform policy for immigrant workers in the agriculture, hospitality, and construction sectors can help address the larger need for immigration reform.

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GOP Voters Want No Moore, NRATV Signs Off, Mayor Pete Feels the Heat

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Listen to “GOP Voters Want No Moore, NRATV Signs Off, Mayor Pete Feels the Heat” on Spreaker.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see Roy Moore a distant third in the GOP race for U.S. Senate in Alabama.. They also cover the National Rifle Association’s decision to shut down NRATV. And they discuss Pete Buttigieg facing new criticism for his handling of police and race issues as mayor of South Bend.

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Mexico Sends Troops to Border, Chinese Concentration Camps, Bernie Proposes Student Loan Plan

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and guest host Gregory Knapp discuss the Mexican government deploying 10,000 troops to the border to crack down on illegal immigration to the U.S. They cover the real concentration camps that the Chinese have constructed. And they discuss Bernie Sanders’ plan to wipe out all student loans.

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Istanbul Elects New Mayor, Sestak Joins Democratic Race, Founding Fandoms

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Jim Geraghty and Gregory Knapp of National Review discuss the impact of the Istanbul mayoral results on Recep Erdoğan, President of Turkey, and his party. They cover the entrance of Joe Sestak, former congressman from Pennsylvania, into the Democratic presidential primary. And they discuss the emerging rivalries between fans of different Founding Fathers in response to Alexander Hamilton’s exploding popularity.

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