New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith is leading the fight against taxpayer-funded abortions. But as pro-life groups mark the Roe v. Wade anniversary and the grim reality of the lives taken over the past 38 years, Smith says the pro-choice side of the debate has skilfully kept Americans in the dark about the horrors that take place every day in U.S. abortion clinics – not just in the criminal practice of Dr. Kermit Gosnell. We discuss the Gosnell case and Monday’s March for Life with Rep. Smith.
New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith is one of the leading pro-life voices among House Republicans and is man leading the fight to ban taxpayer-funded abortions. Are there taxpayer-funded abortions right now? What will happen when the Obama health plan is fully operational? What other fights are coming down the pike over abortion – including over Planned Parenthood? We discuss it all with Rep. Smith.
Last week, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the president’s health care plan. Now the GOP is moving forward on its ideas to reform the health care system for the better. So what are its big ideas? What are the four major components of the plan sponsored by Georgia Rep. Paul Broun, who is also a longtime physician. How would Republicans expand consumer choice and keep health care costs down? Would they incorporate some of the components of the Democratic plan – like removing caps on coverage and rejecting patients with pre-existing conditions? How would Republicans use tax breaks to tax breaks to greatly ease the cost of health care? We discuss it all with Rep. Broun.
Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty happily bid farewell to MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. They also shake their heads at Democrats still planning to spend their way out of the slow economy and worry about deficits later. And Greg and Jim have differing thoughts about whether George Allen should run for his former Senate seat once again.
Missouri Rep. Sam Graves is the new chairman of the House Small Business Committee. What does he see as the key to sparking more job creation in the private sector? How aggressive has the Obama administration been in adding regulations through bureaucracy that it could not do through legislation? How does government spending factor into all this? And what do small business owners tell Graves would be the best thing Congress can do for them? We discuss all these questions with Chairman Graves.
Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty like the plan of House Republicans to make a ban on taxpayer-funded abortions their next legislative goal. They also examine President Obama’s rising poll numbers and have a lot of fun with some of the nicknames of the mafia figures rounded up on Thursday.
In the wake of Sarah Palin’s television series and as we wait for her to decide on a possible White House bid, the Capitol Steps have some fun with the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee.
Iowa Rep. Steve King is starting the new Congress with a bill to end birthright citizenship – the practice of conveying U.S. citizenship to anyone born in America regardless of their parents’ immigration status. So why is he proposing this change? Will it require changing the Constitution? How much of a difference will ending birthright citizenship make in stemming the tide of illegals flowing into the country? And how does Rep. King respond to allegations that his legislation lacks compassion and is even discriminatory? We discuss it all with Rep. Steve King.
Republicans won back control of the House of Representatives due in part to a promise to bring runaway spending under control. Now, House and Senate conservatives are unveiling $2.5 trillion in spending cuts through 2021. What specific programs are being targeted for spending reductions? Which ones would be scrapped completely? Will Democrats go along with any of this? And are Republicans ready to make major changes to the political lightning rods of Social Security and Medicare? We ask California Rep. John Campbell, a member of the House Budget Committee and the Republican Study Committee, which is proposing the spending cuts.
We discuss a busy week in politics with John Gizzi of Human Events. Why did Joe Lieberman decide to retire? Are Democrats a lock to keep the seat? Are Republicans heavy favorites to win the North Dakota seat being vacated by Democrat Kent Conrad? Did anything change in America’s favor after this week’s state visit by Chinese leader Hu Jintao? Will the Republicans be able to even force a vote on the repeal of Obamacare in the Senate? And Gizzi offers his memories of January 20, 1981, when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated and the U.S. hostages were freed by Iran.
