The Labor Department reported Friday that 80,000 jobs were added to the economy in June – well below already meager expectations. The overall unemployment rate stayed at 8.2 percent. Texas Rep. Kevin Brady is chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, which closely studies the monthly jobs reports. Brady says the current trend shows job creation getting even slower and Obama presiding over the most sluggish response to a recession in several decades. He says the Obama health plan and other regulations have business owners holding off on plans to hire, grow and expand. Brady admits that Obama inherited a rough economy but adds that he hasn’t made it any better in three-and-a-half years. The chairman responds to Obama’s accusations that uncooperative House Republicans are responsible for paltry jobs numbers and explains why he thinks Mitt Romney would be a far better steward of the economy. Finally, Brady discusses the House-passed jobs bills that are gathering dust in the Senate and outlines the stark choice facing voters in November.
Ten Pills
A few weeks ago, we learned that President Obama won over the support of the pharmaceutical industry for his health care plan. One concession Obama made was to stop his public push for generic and imported prescription drugs. That means all your favorite TV ads for those drugs will keep rolling along and the Capitol Steps are taking notice. Our guest is Steps star Elaina Newport.
Three Martini Lunch 7/6/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review recoil as the June job numbers come in very weak. They also shake their heads as President Obama calls the report a step in the right direction and a key economic adviser says we shouldn’t read too much into one report. And they discuss the latest evidence of a hard Left turn in HBO’s programming.
What Next on Fast & Furious?
Last week, the House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. That would normally trigger an investigation and prosecution by the Justice Department and a U.S. Attorney, but the DOJ has already announced it will not be moving forward on the action against Holder. The contempt citation came after what Republicans say is more than a year of deception and stonewalling from Holder and his colleagues at the Justice Department in connection with the gunwalking scandal known as ‘Fast & Furious’. Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar is a member of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee that first voted out the contempt citation. Gosar says he is deeply disappointed by the politics involved in the Justice Department’s decision and he says civil contempt charges should be coming soon through the Republican leadership. Gosar also discusses the myriad of immigration and border security headlines in recent days – from the Supreme Court decision on Arizona’s immigration laws to the Department of Homeland Security refusing to cooperate on cases of illegals detained in Arizona to the DHS telling border agents to ‘run and hide’ if confronted by violence.
Three Martini Lunch 7/5/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are glad that Mitt Romney finally decided to call Obama’s individual mandate a tax almost a week after the Supreme Court did so. They also sigh as the expected job creation for June is nowhere near the growth needed to expand the economy or bring unemployment down. And they discuss how green activists and the Feds shut down a fireworks display in Oregon out of respect for sea birds.
Obamacare’s Taxes
The individual health insurance mandate survived a major court challenge last week when Chief Justice John Roberts declared it could exist as a tax. While President Obama and his allies still insist the mandate is not a tax, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist says the plan has always been full of taxes increases on the American people – more than 20 in all. Norquist walks us through some of the most onerous taxes, from targeting investors to the mandate tax to the medical device tax. He calls it the largest middle class tax increase we’ve ever seen.
‘We Are At A Crossroads’
When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Obama health plan last week, opponents were left one realistic strategy for thwarting the full implementation of the plan – the ballot box. Republicans will hold another repeal vote in the House of Representatives next week, but it is doomed to languish in the Senate and never reach President Obama who would veto it anyway. Louisiana Rep. John Fleming says the point of that move is to reassure the American people that Republicans are not done with this fight. Fleming explains why he believes the fight against the law needs to continue and what needs to happen on Election Day for opponents to have a chance at repeal. He also reacts to conservative arguments that there is a legislative ‘silver lining’ to the recent Supreme Court decision.
Three Martini Lunch 7/3/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review gently cheer a new battleground poll showing Mitt Romney ahead by eight points when putting the 15 most competitive states together. They also scold Mitch McConnell for complaining about how hard it will be to undo Obamacare – even if the GOP wins a majority in the U.S. Senate. They groan as global warming alarmists blame fires, heat and the ‘derecho’ on climate change. And they give a quick tip of the hat to Andy Griffith, who passed away on Tuesday.
Hostile Takeover
FreedomWorks has been one of the leading voices of the Tea Party movement over the past three years. Deficit spending and the push for the Obama health plan galvanized millions of activists to change the complexion of Congress in 2010. FreedomWorks President and CEO Matt Kibbe says Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling will only serve to rally the grassroots organizations to play a major role in this year’s campaign. Kibbe is also the author of “Hostile Takeover: Resisting Centralized Government’s Stranglehold on America”. He explains how America thrived as a decentralized nation that allowed its people the freedom to pursue their dreams. He says that’s not the case anymore and that voters need to begin the march back to limited government by firing our “senior management” from both parties in Washington. Kibbe also gives us insight on how to tell which candidates are serious about shrinking the role of Uncle Sam and which ones just want your vote.
Three Martini Lunch 7/2/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are glad to see President Obama so worried about his fundraising numbers. They also slap their foreheads as Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom echoes the Obama campaign in saying a mandate brings a penalty but not a tax for failing to purchase health insurance. And they recount the deadly ‘derecho’ that struck the Mid-Atlantic on Friday.