Radio America Online News Bureau

Reports from Nevada indicate several voters in Clark County went to early voting sites intending to vote for Sharron Angle but were surprised to see the electronic voting machines already had Harry Reid’s name checked.  In North Carolina, a voter trying to vote for a straight Republican ticket watched the machine log his votes as a straight Democratic ticket.  Even a poll worker had to try several times to record the man’s vote.  So is this a sign of election chicanery already rearing its head?  Or are we saddled with cheap, unreliable voting machines in many areas?  We ask John Fund, Wall Street Journal columnist and author of “Stealing Elections”.

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Which states are the most inviting and hospitable to businesses and which states have the most oppressive tax burdens?  Are states generally raising or lowering taxes in this recession?  And why is it much better for states to have consistently low tax rates than to sporadically offer specific tax credits and incentives to businesses?  We ask Dr. Kail Padgitt, author of The Tax Foundation’s annual State Business Tax Climate Index.

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For the first time in 28 years, Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank is facing a competitive Republican challenger.  So why is Sean Bielat taking on this uphill climb?  How has he made the race competitive?  How is Frank’s handling of the Wall Street mess and the mortgage crisis impacting this race?  How much of an issue is Frank’s abrasive personality?  We discuss it all with Republican Congressional candidate Sean Bielat.

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New reports detail how Afghanistan is getting bags of cash worth millions of dollars from the Iranian government.  President Karzai says there is no need for alarm, but what is Iran trying to achieve and how much is it undermining U.S. efforts in Afghanistan?  Given Iran’s boldness, what strategy would actually be effective at keeping it in check?  We ask former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Jed Babbin.  We also get Babbin’s opinion on the latest Wikileaks massive release of Iraq war documents.

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In 2008 Democrat Gerry Connolly won an open House seat in Virginia over Republican Keith Fimian.  Fimian is running for the seat again this year, in a campaign that many observers see as a toss-up.  So why is Fimian back for a second campaign?  What does he say Connolly has ‘no idea how to create a job’?  What is Fimian’s plan to foster job growth?  How does he respond to Connolly’s ad campaign describing himself as a fiscal moderate?  And why is Fimian very confident of victory next week?  We have a wide-ranging conversation with Keith Fimian, the Republican nominee in Virginia’s 11th Congressional district.

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Voters in Portland, Maine, and San Francisco, California, will vote on ballot initiatives that would allow non-citizens to vote on local issues.  Supporters say all parents should have a voice in school board elections and other matters of immediate importance to them.  But critics say the right to vote is one of the great incentives to become a citizen and lowering the standard cheapens citizenship and paves the way for millions of illegals influencing the political process.  So which side is right?  We ask Bob Dane of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

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Last week, a federal judge in Florida allowed a challenge to the new health care laws to proceed to trial.  The case was brought by the attorneys general of 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).  So why is the NFIB getting involved?  What concerns is it already hearing from many businesses about the cost of health care in the future?  And how will the new mandates impact the pace of hiring at small businesses whenever job creation picks up again?  We ask Karen Harned, executive director of the NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center.

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In most election years, Republicans have little hop of winning in Massachusetts.  But this is not most election years.  A number of races are competitive, including in the third Congressional district where incumbent Democrat Jim McGovern faces GOP challenger Marty Lamb.  Which way is the momentum headed in this race?  What are the differences between McGovern and Lamb when it comes to the economy?  And is Lamb too conservative for the district?  We ask Republican Congressional candidate Marty Lamb.

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The Capitol Steps are feeling nostalgic this week – thinking all the way back to this time in 2009, when America was transfixed by ‘balloon boy’ and a major development in the fight over health care legislation.  Our guest is Steps star Elaina Newport.

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President Obama and other Democrats contend the stimulus package is responsible for creating or saving more than three million jobs and prevented a second Great Depression.  But what do the facts show?  How have the job numbers changed in the nation’s biggest cities in the past couple of years?  What’s the only sector of the economy that is seeing job growth?  Did the stimulus save us from a much bigger economic collapse?  And how will all of this impact the midterm elections?  We ask Texas Rep. Kevin Brady.

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