Radio America Online News Bureau

On Friday, the Labor Department reported a disappointing addition of 39,000 jobs in November.  Worse, the national unemployment rate is now 9.8 percent.  So why were the numbers so much worse than expected?  What worries small business owners most?  Why is making the tax cuts permanent the best way to give business owners some certainty?  We discuss all of these key questions with Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, the top House Republican on the Joint Economic Committee.  Brady also offers his thoughts on the recommendations of the president’s bipartisan debt commission.

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This week, the Obama administration announced no new drilling permits would be issued until 2017 for the Gulf of Mexico and off the East Coast.  Has any good reason been given for this decision?  What will be the economic impact?  How much will this increase our reliance upon foreign energy?  And is there anything Congress or the states do to limit the scope of this ban?  We discuss all these questions with Louisiana Sen. David Vitter.

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Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty give credit to Republicans embracing the debt commission recommendations – even if some of the suggestions are downright awful.  They also dissect the dismal job numbers and Charlie Rangel’s stunning arrogance in the face of House censure.

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On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved the Democratic plan to permanently extend the Bush tax cuts – but only for the middle class.  So why do Republicans find this so ‘frustrating’?  Will there be a deal by the end of the lame duck session to allow at least a temporary extension of all income tax cuts?  Would the GOP be willing to give the Democrats what they want on unemployment benefits in exchange for an extension of all tax cuts?  What are small business owners saying about this debate?  Is there any effort to extend the elimination of the estate tax?  And what else would give business owners more certainty?  We discuss it all with Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, soon to be the chairman of the House Small Business Committee.

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Republicans insist that all of the Bush income tax cuts should be made permanent while Democrats say the wealthiest Americans should not get their tax cuts extended.  So which side will blink first?  Will Republicans succeed in blocking all other legislation besides tax cuts and spending reductions?  And how will the Wikileaks fiasco play out here in Washington and around the world?  We discuss all those questions with John Gizzi of Human Events.

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Greg Corombos and National Review’s Jim Geraghty discuss the strong crop of candidates running for chairman of the Republican party, the absurdity of Obama sending Attorney General Eric Holder to Zurich to lobby for America to host the World Cup and liberals going nuts over the Smithsonian agreeing to remove an extremely offensive depiction of Christ from the National Portrait Gallery.

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In a passionate floor speech, Michigan Rep. and House Homeland Security Committee Member Candice Miller demanded that Attorney General Eric Holder take the steps necessary to shut down the Wikileaks website.  Why does she believe this step is necessary?  How does she react to claims that the government may not have the authority to do it?  What is the Democratic-led Homeland Security doing about this and how will Republicans act differently when they take control of the committee next year?  And why is Miller critical of President Obama’s silence on this entire issue?  We discuss all these questions with Rep. Candice Miller.

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Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe tells us why Senate Republican leaders are right to vow a filibuster against any legislation that distracts lawmakers from the critical issues of taxes and spending.  How does he react to Democrats vowing to do everything possible to let tax rates rise for the wealthiest Americans?  What about the Democratic claim that renewed unemployment benefits create more jobs than tax cuts?  We also ask Inhofe to explain why he opposes an earmark ban favored by most of his GOP colleagues.

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Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and is passionately opposed to lifting the ban on gays serving in the military.  He is also staunchly against the proposed START agreement designed to limit the nuclear stockpiles in the U.S. and Russia.  So how does Inhofe counter the arguments made by those pushing to end ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”?  Why does he believe changing the policy would weaken our military?  And why does he believe START is fatally flawed and ought to be rejected by the Senate?  We ask Sen. Inhofe.

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Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso joins us to discuss what we can expect in the lame duck session of Congress.  Why did he vote for the earmark ban?  Will Republicans have to give ground on unemployment benefits in order to get all of the Bush tax cuts extended?  And how aggressive will Republicans be in trying to dismantle Obamacare in the new Congress?  We discuss it all with Sen. Barrasso.

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