Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer is now the only major Republican presidential candidate to be excluded from the televised GOP debates. What does he make of the networks continuing to ignore him? How are actual voters responding to his message? And how would he have answered some of the most important questions from Thursday’s debate? We discuss it all with Buddy Roemer, a former Louisiana congressman and governor who is now seeking the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
Three Martini Lunch 9/23/11
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review Online are glad it will be tough for President Obama to duck the Solyndra scandal after company executives plead the 5th before Congress. They also slam Rick Perry for suggesting anyone who opposes his in-state tuition for illegals doesn’t have a heart. And we wonder why Rep. Thaddeus McCotter is endorsing Mitt Romney just months after describing Romney and Obama as “running mates”.
Accustomed to My Facebook
Despite an economy in crisis, Middle East tension and an intense presidential campaign, millions of Americans were outraged to learn Facebook had changed several of its features this week. The Capitol Steps try to put the Facebook craze in perspective. Our guest is Steps star Elaina Newport.
CLASS Clown
In the final weeks of the 2010 health care debate, Democrats added a long-term care provision known as the CLASS program. Democrats pitched the program as reducing the cost of the health care overhaul by $70 billion over 10 years. So why do experts on both sides of the aisle now see the CLASS program as a financial time bomb that will saddle taxpayers with another massive entitlement? If that happens, what will it mean for the care that members of the CLASS program receive? What can Congress do about it? And what parallels are there between the CLASS program and Solyndra in terms of what was promised and what taxpayers actually get? We discuss it all with Texas Rep. Mike Burgess, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Big Government Killing Jobs
Tennessee Rep. Diane Black details the federal government’s harassment of Gibson Guitars over the past three years. And why? The company has American workers assemble the wooden parts of their guitars but U.S. law mandates that workers from the country where the wood originated do that work. Why does that law exist? What is being done to change it? Why did House Republicans pass a bill designed to keep the National Labor Relations Board in check? We ask Rep. Diane Black, who also explains why the Obama jobs and tax bills are non-starters in the House and how GOP members are beginning the work of fundamental tax reform.
Three Martini Lunch 9/22/11
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review enjoy the further erosion of President Obama’s case for his jobs bill – this time by telling the real story of Obama’s favorite bridge in the Midwest. They also welcome Gary Johnson to tonight’s Republican presidential debate but wonder why Rep. Thaddeus McCotter is on the outside looking in – at least we were before he dropped out this afternoon. And they have some fun with today’s Charlie Rangel portrait unveiling.
A Dilemma of Obama’s Making
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says President Obama’s United Nations speech was long on evenhanded rhetoric toward Israel and the Palestinians, but he says Obama is largely responsible for this confrontation over Palestinian statehood. He adds that by not decisively stopping it, Obama is giving unspoken approval to the idea. Bolton also says Obama is giving an overly rosy assessment of the international scene in order to justify ignoring national security concerns in favor of his domestic agenda. We discuss this and much more with Amb. John Bolton.
Obama Speech Has No Teeth
Last week, Republican Bob Turner shocked the political world by scoring a convincing upset win in New York’s strongly Democratic 9th Congressional district. One of the reasons for his success was his condemnation of President Obama’s approach towards Israel in his Middle East policy. Today, Rep. Turner explains why he was not impressed with Obama’s United Nations speech on the Middle East, what the president should have done to ward off a push for a Palestinian state and what Congress may do if the statehood idea advances. We discuss it all with New York Rep. Bob Turner.
Three Martini Lunch 9/21/11
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Kevin Williamson of National Review enjoy the news that even tax-hiker-in-chief Bill Clinton doesn’t think now is a good time for President Obama to pursue tax increases. They also groan at Obama’s moral equivalence on the grievances of Palestinians and Israelis. And they’re not exactly stunned that the Ed Rollins experiment didn’t work out for the Bachmann campaign.
The Persuader Rule
President Obama and the Democratic Congress failed to pass the bill most favored by organized labor and now the idea known as ‘card check’ is on indefinite hold as Republicans control the House. In response, the Obama administration is seeking to implement the agenda piece by piece through new regulations. The latest is commonly known as the Persuader Rule. What does the rule mandate? What would be the impact on employers and anyone they consult for anything that could possibly be linked to their workforce? Will this mean more or fewer jobs? We discuss it all with Diana Furchtgott-Roth of the Manhattan Institute. She is also a former chief economist for the Department of Labor.