Radio America Online News Bureau

Senate Democrats are working feverishly to ratify the START agreement on nuclear weapons hammered out between the Obama administration and Russia.  Republicans are trying to change the deal in order to strengthen America’s missile defense posture and modernize our nuclear arsenal.  So far, those efforts have been rejected.  Are these badly needed changes or are Republicans just trying to kill this treaty by any means possible?  Why do conservatives see this treaty as badly flawed?  What kind of final vote can we expect?  And how solid or weak is the Obama argument that this treaty is vital to verifying what Russia is and is not doing on the nuclear front?  We ask former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.

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Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty breathe a sigh of relief that North Korea did not strike South Korea today.  Greg vents his frustration over the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, while Jim finds a couple of silver linings.  And they express their dread at the Christmas travel season after a computer monitor in a checked bag shuts down an entire terminal in Newark.

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Greg Corombos and National Review’s Dan Foster celebrate the victory of the American people over big government Democrats AND Republicans as the omnibus bill collapses.  But they also dread the terrible votes the Senate may soon make on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the DREAM Act.  And they have some fun with John Kerry’s mocking of those who want bills to be read by lawmakers before they vote on them.

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Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk says Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats are trying to change U.S. policy on Guantanamo Bay detainees by sneaking a provision into the current Defense Authorization Bill.  The provision would give President Obama the authority to transfer detainees to the U.S. to get them ready for prosecution or if moving them enhances our national security.  So why is Kirk outraged?  Why does he say this process lacks transparency and integrity on the part of the Democratic leadership?  Why does he believe the transfer of detainees to the mainland would be bad for the nation and for Illinois?  What is Kirk prepared to do to slow down this plan?  And can he find enough support to block the provision if it is not removed?  We discuss it all with Senator Kirk.

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On Thursday night, the House of Representatives passed the bipartisan tax compromise and sent it to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law.  Several prominent conservatives balked at the plan to keep tax rates in place because they worry about additional deficits.  So how do Republican supporters of the plan answer those concerns?  How is this huge bill very different from the stimulus plan that passed early last year?  How will a two-year tax rate extension impact the decisions of small businesses?  What will a Republican majority do next year to make this deal work even better?  We ask California Rep. Dan Lungren, who calls the entire lame duck session “an insult to the American people” and also discusses the ‘huge’ significance of Republicans scuttling a $1.1 trillion spending bill put forth by Democrats.

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Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe says supporters of ending the ban on gays in the military may or may not have the votes to pass the bill, but he the impact of passing it would be extremely negative.  Why would a repeal complicate and hamper training and combat missions?  How much could it dent the military’s recruiting and retention numbers?  And why didn’t the strong opposition of the U.S. Marines and others at least trigger a pause in the Democratic march to repeal this policy during wartime?  We discuss it all with Sen. Inhofe, a military veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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On Monday, a federal judge ruled the individual mandate in the new health care laws is unconstitutional.  It’s a victory for the Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and the Virginia law forbidding the federal government from ordering residents to purchase health insurance.  So why did Cuccinelli have a stronger case than other groups and states challenging the mandate?  How does he respond to Obama administration officials who say the mandate is necessary to provide health care access to everyone while keeping costs down?  What does he say to their claim that everyone will need health care at some point so forcing us to buy insurance now is legitimate?  What power will the government have if Virginia does not win this case?  And what does Cuccinelli make of the voter backlash against the health plan?  We discuss it all with Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

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Republicans across Capitol Hill are gagging at the amount of earmarks in the new omnibus spending bill unveiled by Senate Democrats.  And many House conservatives have also decided that too much pork has been added to the bipartisan tax compromise too.  Will either bill make it to the president’s desk?  What about START and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?  We discuss it all with John Gizzi of Human Events.

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Greg Corombos and National Review’s Dan Foster are both fascinated and alarmed by President Obama allegedly wooing House Democrats to back the tax compromise by saying his presidency is doomed if it fails.  They also bemoan the increasingly unacceptable contents of the tax compromise and consider the audacity  of Joe Biden to suggest Senate Republicans need to get out of the way on Democratic priorities like the START agreement.

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Two major fiscal debates are playing out in Congress – over the tax rate compromise and the proposed $1.1 trillion omnibus spending package.  Why are more and more House Republicans souring on the tax compromise?  What earmark-type clutter is now part of the package?  We ask Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, a key member of the House Appropriations Committee.  Kingston also rails against the omnibus bill, calling it a pork-laden monstrosity.  He also explains how the Appropriations Committee will act differently when the GOP controls it next year.

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