Interview with Bob Weiner, fmr Chief of Staff w/House Aging Committee during Clinton Administration
The News
Wenesday’s headlines…Sotomayor hearings, Health Reform, Hillary on Iran, Dow soars.
Dems Health Plan Creates Bureaucratic Mess
Rep. Kevin Brady warns Dem health plan creates bureaucratic mess, will deny treatment to sick and elderly.
Dems Health Plan Costs Too Much
Minnesota Rep. John Kline says Dem health plan costs too much, will force out private coverage.
Sotomayor ‘Not Credible’
So how did Sonia Sotomayor do on the first day of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee? Did she deflect concerns about her repeated comments that a wise Latina judge would make better rulings than a white male? Or did her explanation fall flat? Will she closely follow precedent on the bench or will she be a judicial activist? We ask Ed Whelan III, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
The News
Tuesdays Headlines: GOP grills Sotomayor. Dems unveil health plan. Obama talks jobs in Michigan. CIA flap continues, and more.
Democrats vs. CIA
Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers weighs in on the latest Democratic assertions that the CIA has engaged in a pattern of misleading or lying to Congress, and that former VP Dick Cheney told the CIA not to brief Congress on a program aimed at Al Qaeda. Is the CIA broken or are the Democrats engaging in a purely political exercise to protect Nancy Pelosi and diminish the intelligence community? Why does Rogers see this as a major blow to CIA morale? We also get an update on his discovery that the Obama administration ordered terrorists captured in Afghanistan to be read Miranda rights.
The Many Costs of Reform
President Obama is launching another PR campaign to revive support for massive health care reform – an idea losing popularity among lawmakers and the public. So what does Obama need to explain? How will he pay for this huge overhaul of the health care system? Are tax hikes inevitable? What about the coming bureaucracy? Will we see rationing? And will the elderly and chronically ill be denied treatment because they’re not worth the money? We ask former Clinton administration official Larry Haas.
Sotomayor’s Charade
On Monday, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor promised ‘fidelity to the law’ and vowed the same again in her testimony on Tuesday. But is that true? How do her legal decisions and public statements compare to her pledge to be an impartial arbiter of justice? Does her track record show a strict adherent to the law or a judicial and political activist? We ask Mario Diaz, policy director for legal issues at the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee.
The News
Monday’s headlines…Sotomayor hearings, surgeon general nominee, stimulus debate, Dow up.