Radio America Online News Bureau

For the past few days, conservative circles have been buzzing as GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich try to embrace mandates while denouncing the Obama health plan.  Gingrich also called the new House Republican Medicare reform plan “right-wing social engineering”.  So how are Congressional Republicans reacting to all of this?  Where do most stand on mandates?  And is the Ryan plan radical – especially when compared to Obamacare?  We discuss it all with Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy, who is also still a practicing physician.

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The unemployment rate is 9.0 percent and the real rate is much higher.  Nearly all experts say mall businesses are the key to getting out of this jobs funk.  But what do they need to start hiring?  How is runaway spending in Washington hurting job creation efforts?  And what can Congress do about burdensome bureaucratic regulations?  We discuss it all with Tennessee Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a member of the House Small Business Committee.

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The waters of the Mississippi River have severely impacted several states and Louisiana is now next in line.  How is a state with such low elevations bracing for the flooding?  How many people in rural areas will be impacted by efforts to divert the high waters?  Will opening the spillways be guaranteed to save Baton Rouge and New Orleans?  And what are the state and federal governments doing to help?  We ask Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy, who represents the Baton Rouge area.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review applaud Paul Ryan’s explanation of why his Medicare reform plan is not radical and how it’s much preferable to Obamacare.  We also rip the blatant politics involved in granting Obamacare waivers – as businesses in Nancy Pelosi’s district account for 20 percent of all waivers granted in April.  And we savage the government again as we learn light bulbs will cost between $40-$50 each next year thanks to government condemnation of the incandescent bulb.

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Texas Rep. Kevin Brady is vice chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and is releasing a new study showing that the Federal Reserve policy of Quantitative Easing is weakening the dollar so much that Americans are paying an extra 56 cents per gallon as a result of our plummeting currency rates.  So how does he reach that conclusion?  How would he like the Fed to change course and what can Congress do about it?  We ask Rep. Brady and get his insights into how Congress will respond to today’s announcement that our nation has exceeded our debt limit.

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It’s been an eventful few days in the 2012 Republican presidential race.  Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump are taking a pass on the race while Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are taking on water over their health care positions.  So who benefits from the Huckabee exit?  Should we be at all surprised that Trump isn’t running after all?  And how badly damaged are Romney and Gingrich for their embrace of health care mandates?  We discuss it all with Dr. Larry Sabato, professor of political science at the University of Virginia and director of UVA’s Center for Politics.

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Over the weekend, Syrian demonstrators tried to illegally cross the border into Israel.  Israeli Defense Forces repelled the effort, leaving a few of the demonstrators dead and others injured.  Why is Syria sudden;y provoking Israel?  How is Iran involved?  And how worried are Israelis about the greater bonds between Hamas and Fatah?  We ask retired Israeli Brigadier Gen. Elihu Ben-Onn, who is now a radio talk show host in Jerusalem.  Ben-Onn also weighs in on this week’s meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netahyahu.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are pleased to see Obama’s poll numbers drifting down again.  We also unload on Newt Gingrich for calling Paul Ryan’s brand of Medicare reform “right-wing social engineering”.  And we wonder why Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky says the bin Laden death photos depict a violent crime scene.

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Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe is one of the very few public officials who have seen the death photos of Osama bin Laden.  What do the pictures taken just after the kill shots look like?  What can be seen in the photos taken aboard the USS Vinson?  What is Inhofe’s position on the debate over releasing the photos?  Does he think the president will ever change his mind?  We discuss it all with Sen. Inhofe.

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Recent policy decisions on military tribunals means the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay will stay open for awhile.  But Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe is advancing legislation that would block the president from ever closing the facility.  Why does Inhofe believe this bill is necessary?  Why does he want more inmates at Gitmo?  And what does he make of the International Red Cross push to allow family members to visit Guantanamo detainees?  We discuss these and other questions with Sen. Inhofe.

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