John Gizzi of Human Events explains why he expects the birth certificate controversy to die down now that President Obama has released what he says is his long-form birth certificate. He also sees a less than stellar conclusion to Donald Trump’s flirtation with a White House bid. Gizzi also offers his insights into why Haley Barbour decided not to run for president and what America will get with Leon Panetta running the Pentagon and Ge. Petraeus in charge of the CIA.
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Kevin Williamson of National Review are relatively happy with Obama’s new national security team considering how bad some of his other nominees have been. We also mourn lethargic GDP numbers and discuss how Obama got back to ‘serious business’ after dealing with his birth certificate.
As gas prices fly north of $4.00 per gallon, plenty of political blame is being thrown around, but what are the facts? Texas Rep. Joe Barton is a former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and answers our questions. Why are gas prices rising so quickly? Is President Obama suppressing energy production in the Gulf of Mexico or is he allowing the highest output of energy in eight years as he claims? What would be the impact of opening up the Gulf, our oceans, Alaska and major reserves on land on our quest for energy independence? What can Congress do about lifting burdensome EPA regulations on energy exploration? And what should we make of Obama’s plan to end subsidies for major energy companies? We discuss it all with Rep. Barton.
Freshman South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney says he and other Republicans have spoken with concerned citizens about the GOP’s plan to enact major reforms to Medicare. Why are older Americans most supportive of the Ryan plan? Is it because their benefits are guaranteed or because they know there are huge problems? How do skeptical voters respond after hearing the details of the plan and the scope of our debt crisis? Will the House GOP compromise on the debt ceiling and 2012 appropriations bills or toe the line on major changes? And what major changes would be required for the GOP to agree on raising the debt ceiling? We discuss it all with Rep. Mulvaney, a member of the House Budget Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Dan Foster of National Review are hopeful that Obama releasing the birth certificate will diminish Donald Trump and make the liberal media move on to something else. We also rip liberal interest groups for trying to duplicate the grassroots rage of town hall events in years past through their thuggish tactics and we mock the United Nations for inviting Syria to join the Human Rights Council.
Two pastors and an elder from a Hemet, California, church were arrested by the California Highway Patrol earlier this year for reading the Bible near the entrance to a local DMV prior to the office opening for business. How did the arrest take place? What was the reason for the arrests? And where does this stand legally? We discuss this free speech case with Jennifer Monk of Advocates for Faith and Freedom, which is representing the three defendants.
On Monday we learned that Washington-based law firm King & Spaulding is withdrawing as the legal team defending the Defense of Marriage Act on behalf of House Republicans. Why did the firm back out of the agreement? Who will lead the defense of DOMA? How strong are the cases for and against DOMA? And how long will it take to sort this out in the courts? We discuss it all with Mathew Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel. Staver has defended traditional marriage in many states around the nation.
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Daniel Foster of National Review praise House Republicans for keeping the pressure on President Obama to cut spending and we cheer the American people for pushing the GOP to be more bold in restoring fiscal sanity. We regret that Haley Barbour will not be running for president and we wonder why Obama forgot to issue an Easter proclamation.
Georgia Rep. Tom Price is a longtime physician, a member of the House Budget Committee and a member of the House GOP leadership as Policy Committee chairman. Price explains why the Supreme Court’s decision not to fast-track the Obamacare case is unfortunate but not likely to harm efforts to strike down the individual mandate as unconstitutional. Price also says GOP House members are getting far more grief from voters about not being tough enough on spending than they are for allegedly going too far in their efforts to reduce the size and scope of government. Price also reveals what type of conditions he will demand before voting for any hike in the debt limit.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that it would not expedite its hearing of a constitutional challenge to the new health care laws – and in particular the legality of the individual mandate. Is this a major setback? What’s the silver lining in the timing of all this? When could the high court hear this case? And what is the cost of implementing the health care plan while this legal fight plays out? We ask Brian Gottstein, director of communications for Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
