Greg Corombos and Jim Geraghty enjoy how the Romney campaign gets the mainstream media jumping over rumors that Condoleezza Rice is being considered as Romney’s running mate. At the same time, Greg strongly dislikes the idea of Rice on the ticket while Jim sees good and bad points. Neither of them expect Rice to be the choice. They also excoriate President Obama for unilaterally gutting the 1996 welfare reform law – both as a terrible policy move and as a blatantly unconstitutional act. And they shake their heads as Obama tells CBS News that people think he’s done a good job on policy but wish he would do more storytelling.
Akin Makes His Case
Todd Akin has been a Republican congressman from Missouri for nearly 12 years. This year, he’s locked in a tough GOP Senate primary for the chance to take on embattled Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. Akin says McCaskill is out of touch with her state since voters have overwhelmingly rejected the Obama health plan while she continues to defend it. The congressman also lays out his vision for addressing the economy – radical spending cuts, keeping taxes low and rolling back draconian regulations on American businesses. Akin also says he expects to win the GOP nomination because he is the only candidate that has already made tough conservative stands on issues ranging from opposition to ‘No Child Left Behind’ to opposing the Wall Street bailout to opposing last summer’s debt ceiling compromise.
Three Martini Lunch 7/12/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review like Mitt Romney’s performance before a tough crowd at the NAACP. They also sigh as rampant corruption in the Washington, DC government leaves another mayor in political peril. And they discuss the bizarre absence of Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Three Martini Lunch 7/11/12
Brett Winterble of Radio America and Dan Foster of National Review talk about the House vote to repeal Obamacare. Also, Romney is raising more money than Obama, but he will need more than funds to win in November. Romney is also receiving criticism for money in Swiss bank accounts while we find out that Obama surrogates are also guilty.
‘This IS A Jobs Bill’
House Republicans are moving forward with their second attempt to repeal all of the Obama health plan. The House passed the repeal in January of last year but the effort died in the Democratic-led Senate. Since then, the House has voted to repeal specific parts of the law, but only one small component has been removed. Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey is a longtime physician. He says Republicans will not get the repeal through the Senate this time either but the GOP has a responsibility to fight against this plan at every opportunity. Gingrey rejects Democratic complaints that the debate takes away from legislation that could spur job creation. He says repeal is the best thing Congress can do for job creation since business owners are currently paralyzed by the regulations and restrictions aimed at them in the Obama plan. Gingrey says this will be a major issue in the Fall campaign since it is so closely connected with our lackluster economy. The congressman also details what concerns him most of all about the Obama plan and he explains what Republicans want to put in place of Obamacare if it is ever repealed.
Three Martini Lunch 7/10/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review cheer Mitt Romney’s big win over President Obama in the June fundraising race. Jim also slams and exposes Obama’s fraudulent claims that Romney was fond of outsourcing jobs at Bain Capital. And they rip Democrats for stalking Republican House members at their homes and elsewhere hoping to catch them in a bad moment.
‘It’s All Politics’
President Obama is once again calling for an extension of the current income tax rates for middle class Americans but he is also demanding an increase for Americans making more than $250,000 per year. At issue is the so-called ‘Bush tax cuts’. The original plan passed in 2001 but Senate Democrats forced the cuts to be removed at the end of 2010. At that time, Congress and President Obama agreed to extend the rates for another two years. Obama wants an extension of another year for those below the top tax bracket and Republicans want a year’s extension for all taxpayers. Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He says while Obama is demanding that wealthier Americans pay their ‘fair share’, the real victims in this effort are small business owners. Terry says the majority of small businesses file their taxes as individuals and many of them bring in over $250,000 per year. He says this is exactly the wrong time to be making life tougher for America’s business owners. Terry also says extending tax rates for a year does not provide any certainty for business owners – even if all tax brackets get a year’s reprieve. He adds that a year’s extension could give Congress enough time to welcome a new president and put forth some permanent changes in the tax code.
‘She’s Completely Disconnected’
Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is one of the most endangered incumbents in the 2012 cycle. On August 7, Republicans will choose a nominee from a very competitive field to run against her. The leading GOP candidate at the moment appears to be Sarah Steelman, a former state senator and state treasurer. Steelman says it is clear the Obama agenda is not leading to greater job creation and she says Sen. McCaskill has joined Obama on every single legislative priority. Steelman rips Obama for once again demanding higher taxes on the wealthy and she says class warfare is not what made America great. Steelman strongly disagrees with the Supreme Court decision on the Obama health laws and sh says McCaskill’s ongoing support for the law shows the senator has completely lost touch with her state. The GOP front-runner says she is the best nominee from her party because she is willing to fight for what’s needed and not be a go-along-to-get-along Republican.
There’s Actually A Cooling Trend
In the midst of recent wildfires, deadly storms and a record-setting heatwave, many climate change proponents claimed these extreme events were further proof of man’s impact on our environment. They claim part of the human impact is greater volatility in our climate. Dr. Tim Ball says that’s nonsense. Ball is a former professor of climatology at the University of Winnipeg and is one of the leading scientific voices challenging the climate change movement. Ball says the events we’re seeing are cyclical and are actually the start of a cooling trend for our climate. He explains how winds from the north and south are leading to the extreme temperatures and he says we will probably see them again for years to come as part of this trend. At the same time, Ball says Europe, Russia, Asia and parts of the western U.S. are seeing rather cold and rainy conditions – all part of the cooling cycle we’re witnessing. Ball gives us further insights into the factors causing these conditions and explains why all the talk of human activity causing these events is just a convenient political move and nothing based in actual science.
Three Martini Lunch 7/9/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are encouraged by a Hill newspaper poll showing a majority of voters think Obama’s ‘change’ has made America worse. They also agree with criticism of Mitt Romney that suggests he has to do much more in making the case for a change in the White House. And we shake our heads as DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz defends the Obama jobs record.