Just after 2012 dawns, Iowa voters will have the first say in what could be a long road to the Republican presidential nomination. Professor Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia explains why Newt Gingrich is surging despite no money and little organization, why Romney’s greatest liability among GOP voters may be his greatest asset against President Obama and why the primary schedule may not be kind to the winners of the early votes.
Blackouts on the Horizon
House Republicans are actively trying to roll back Obama environmental regulations they say will stifle job creation. But now the National Center for Public Policy Research reports that some regulations will create far more headaches by crippling America’s coal-fired power plants and making rolling blackouts a common event in some parts of the country. What regulations are at issue? How could they bring the coal industry to its knees? What can be done to prevent this? We ask Dr. Tom Borelli, senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research.
Gingrich Surges, Romney Survives
John Gizzi of Human Events says Newt Gingrich is looking strong as we approach the Iowa Caucuses, but he says Romney is poised to win the nomination over the long haul. Gizzi also takes us inside the Christmas party for White House correspondents and assesses the fallout from Russian elections and the fraud allegations that followed.
Three Martini Lunch 12/12/11
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review cheer the Supreme Court for taking up the case of Arizona’s immigration laws after the state lost to the Obama administration at the appellate level. They also scold Mitt Romney a bit for his offer of a $10,000 bet to Texas Gov. Rick Perry. And they wonder why NBC hired Chelsea Clinton as a special correspondent.
Boeing Clear for SC Takeoff
For the past several months, a political firestorm has been raging between the National Labor Relations Board and Boeing. The NLRB blocked Boeing from moving into a massive new plant it had already built in South Carolina because it feared the consequences of a company headquartered in a union state establishing a major presence in a right to work state. On Friday, the NLRB backed down after Boeing struck a new deal with the machinists union. So how significant is this for South Carolina? What will this episode mean for the NLRB in the future? And how could this all end up hurting union states down the line? We discuss it all with South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, whose district is greatly impacted by this development.
Holder Must Go
On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee grilled Attorney General Eric Holder on two key subjects. Lawmakers want to know why there’s a two month gap in the paper trail of then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan in the effort to build a legal defense for the Obama health care laws. Republicans say Kagan’s role in that should prompt her to recuse herself from the Supreme Court’s upcoming consideration of the health care laws. Lawmakers also pressed Holder over who is responsible for the badly bungled Operation Fast & Furious that allowed hundreds of guns to walk into the possession of Mexican drug cartels. And now there are questions about millions of U.S. dollars laundered through the cartels and whether the whole thing was an effort to limit gun rights in America. We discuss all of this and more with Texas Rep. Ted Poe, a former judge and member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Rudolph, the Green Energy Reindeer
The Capitol Steps suggest an answer to energy independence may soon be possible if we just tap Rudolph’s glowing nose. They also explain how Santa is tracking who’s naughty and nice in cyberspace.
Three Martini Lunch 12/9/11
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Daniel Foster of National Review Online enjoyed watching Obama allies Eric Holder and Jon Corzine squirm in their Congressional testimonies on Thursday. They also groan as President Obama contends unemployment benefits and temporary tax breaks are better for the economy than the Keystone Pipeline which would create tens of thousands of permanent jobs. And they have some fun with the news that two Democratic Congressional staffers are fired for getting drunk on the job and telling the world about it.
Terrorism or ‘Workplace Violence’?
This week, we learned that the Defense Department has classified the 2009 Ft. Hood killings as ‘workplace violence’ – and not terrorism as many others believe is the case. Texas Rep. John Carter represents the district containing Ft. Hood. What does he make of this classification? What does it say about our approach to this war? Are semantics like this pervasive in the military or is this a product mostly of the Washington culture? And what benefits and honors are likely to be denied to the victims of the Ft. Hood shootings because of this designation? We discuss it all with Rep. Carter.
GOP vs. EPA On Dust Regulation
On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved legislation requiring changes in a proposed EPA rule on air pollution. Republicans are demanding that dust kicked up on dirt roads or in the process of farming not be gauged in the same manner as smog and other pollutants in the cities. So why does there need to be a distinction? How would jobs be at risk if the rule is not amended? And will this bill see the light of day in the Senate? We discuss it all with Colorado Rep. Scott Tipton, a member of the House Agriculture Committee. Rep. Tipton also updates us on the committee’s hearings on the collapse of investment firm MF Global.