Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are pleased to see that even General Motors sees the Chevy Volt has been a massive bust. They also shudder as Vladimir Putin wins the presidency in Russia amidst claims of rampant voter fraud. And they shake their heads as two of the four GOP hopefuls fail to make the ballot in one Super Tuesday state and Rick Santorum fails to amass a full slate of delegates in the battleground of Ohio.
Mourdock Makes His Move
Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar is the longest-tenured Republican in the U.S. Senate. In most years, winning a seventh term would be pretty routine and winning his own party’s nomination would certainly be a slam dunk. But Lugar is working hard to fend off a primary challenge from Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock. Mr. Mourdock tells us why he’s running to unseat a member of his own party. He also tells us why he believes Lugar is not even eligible to represent Indiana in Congress. Mourdock chronicles the issues on which he feels Lugar has recently changed his views in order to win the primary. He also responds to allegations he has often been AWOL as state treasurer and that he may be too conservative to win a general election. Listen here for our conversation with Richard Mourdock.
Help Me, Honda
On Tuesday, Mitt Romney won the Michigan primary by a narrow margin over Rick Santorum. Santorum tried to pull ahead at the end by slamming Romney for opposing the auto bailout – even though Santorum opposed it as well. Today, the Capitol Steps take us back to 2009, when the fate of the U.S. auto industry was very much in doubt.
‘Yes We Can’ Drill Out of This
President Obama says there are no silver bullets to bring down energy prices and anyone who says we can drill our way to lower gas prices doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Texas Rep. Bill Flores begs to differ. A 30-year veteran of the oil and gas business, Flores says there are concrete steps that Washington can take to give increase supplies and relieve the pain at the pump. In our interview, Flores details those steps and explains how they would impact gas prices. He also has some choice words for the president over Obama’s suggestion that it’s time to end tax breaks for the big oil companies.
Three Martini Lunch 3/2/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review like to see how the shocking death of Andrew Breitbart brought conservative healing to a movement fractured by the primaries. They also explain how the Obama administration is tone deaf by publicly saying it’s not trying to lower gas prices and clueless by thinking higher taxes on energy companies will bring prices down. And they marvel as Obama compares himself with Nelson Mandela and Mohandes Gandhi.
The Price of Redundancy
Earlier this week, the Government Accountability Office reported that taxpayers lose tens of billions of dollars to redundant government programs. There are literally dozens of programs in some areas that are tasked with the very same things. Leslie Paige of Citizens Against Government Waste says this is nothing new and the real cost is probably above $100 billion per year. Listen here as Paige explains how this happens and why new programs keep getting added when identical ones already exist. She also explains which areas of the budget see the most redundancy.
Momentum for Mitt
Mitt Romney scored big wins in Arizona and Michigan on Tuesday. In reality, Romney only won half the delegates at stake in Michigan but John Gizzi of Human Events says the momentum gained by winning the Michigan vote not only helped him dodge a huge embarrassment but gives him a leg up heading into Super Tuesday. Gizzi also breaks down what he expects from the four candidates next week . We also ask him to assess the real and political fallout of President Obama’s apology to Afghans for the inadvertant burning of Korans. And Gizzi shares his thoughts on the sudden passing of conservative journalist activist Andrew Breitbart.
Three Martini Lunch 3/1/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review set aside the normal martini format to discuss the shocking death of conservative journalist, publisher and commentator Andrew Breitbart. They discuss Breitbart’s rise in online media, his confrontational style and some of his biggest stories.
Jobs, Growth and Revenue
In his State of the Union address, President Obama publicly embraced an “all of the above” position on expanding our domestic energy supply. Republicans promoted that same policy just a couple of years. Clearly, they don’t mean the same thing, so we ask Virginia Republican U.S. Senate candidate George Allen what the biggest differences are. Allen discusses the type of job growth, economic gain and federal tax revenue that would be available if his state were permitted to drill for oil and natural gas in the Atlantic Ocean. He also explains why America’s rampant deficit spending is contributing to the soaring price of oil and gasoline.
Presidential Candidate Report Card
As the Republican field advances through the primary season, voters are evaluating the candidates on a number of issues. However, conservative stances on spending and taxes loom even larger than they did in previous years. With every candidate posturing as the real fiscal conservative, the National Taxpayers Union combed through the congressional voting records of Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. NTU Executive Vice President Peter Sepp explains which one does the best job of talking the talk and walking the walk. He explains how each of them stack up against fellow Republicans during that same stretch. He also offers some thoughts on Mitt Romney’s record and review President Obama’s Senate voting record and his policy choices since being elected to the White House.