Radio America Online News Bureau

With three weeks remaining until the midterm elections, we examine one of the highest profile senate races in the country – Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer against Republican Carly Fiorina.  Why should Boxer be worried despite showing consistent but small leads in major polls?  What is the case for Fiorina?  Will the issue of outsourcing jobs haunt Fiorina?  And would she be a different kind of Republican than Arnold Schwarzenegger?  We ask California-based political consultant Reed Galen, who is working informally with the Fiorina campaign.

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How big of an issue will abortion be in the midterm elections?  It may be a very important factor in the fate of some self-proclaimed pro-life Democrats who also voted for the health care bill.  That’s because the new laws allow for taxpayer dollars to be used to pay for abortions.  So which Democrats are playing defense on the abortion issue?  How big of an impact will the abortion debate have in a year dominated by the economy?  And are the GOP candidates any better on the abortion issue?  We ask Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, which strives to elect pro-life lawmakers.

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Last year, Congress passed legislation mandating that states mail out military ballots to soldiers with plenty of time allowed to mail the ballots back to the U.S.  But several states have badly and deliberately missed the deadlines and the Justice Department seems to be doing nothing to correct the problem.  So why won’t the states obey the law and mail the ballots on time?  What explanation do the Feds have for failing to crack down on states that are breaking the law?  Is it too late to fix the problem this year?  We get analysis from J. Christian Adams, former Justice Department attorney and contributor to Pajamas Media.

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Louisiana Sen. David Vitter says he expects the formal moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to be lifted sooner than scheduled.  But he says a de facto moratorium will likely stay in place much longer as a result of oppressive regulations.  What does Vitter think of a new report alleging the Obama administration blocked public discussion of a worst-case scenario of this year’s oil spill crisis?  How is Vitter’s record different on this issue from the positions taken by his opponent?  How does he expect the lackluster jobs picture to impact the midterm elections?  And why should he be re-elected?  We discuss it all with Sen. David Vitter.

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Just days after McDonald’s suggested the new health care laws would force it to end coverage for hourly employees, the Obama administration has issued an exemption to the golden arches and dozens of other firms that were poised to eliminate health coverage over prohibitive costs.  Why were the exemptions granted?  What happens to small business owners who don’t have enough clout to earn a federal exemption?  And how significant is a federal judge’s decision upholding the Constitutionality of the individual mandate?  We ask Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute and find out why she likens the stream of revelations about the new plan to an ‘army of centipedes’.

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As America observes Columbus Day, what should America appreciate about the man whose exploration triggered the great European migration to the New World?  Why has Columbus been diminished in our culture over the past generation?  Why do most of the people who do speak out on Columbus seem to be obsessed with his perceived flaws in dealing with the indigenous people?  We ask Frank Donatelli, former deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee who also served as chairman of the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Commission from 1990-1992.

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With just over three weeks remaining until the midterm elections, University of Virginia political science Professor Larry Sabato says huge Republicans gains are already a certainty.  But how big will the gains be?  Will Republicans control the House, or the Senate or both?  How surprising is it for voters to reject a party so quickly after putting it into power?  And will a lackluster final jobs report before Election Day remove Democratic hopes of minimizing the losses?  We discuss it all with Dr. Larry Sabato.

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Texas Rep. Kevin Brady says the new jobs report is the latest evidence that the Obama economic agenda is not working.  So what would Republicans do if returned to the majority, and how quickly would we see significant economic growth if the GOP were able to pass its agenda?  And how does Brady respond to the Democratic contention that going back to Republican control would only bring back the policies that led to this crisis in the first place?  Listen here for a wide-ranging economic discussion with Rep. Kevin Brady.

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On Friday, the final jobs report before the midterm elections showed the national unemployment rate staying at 9.6 percent, 95,000 jobs being lost in September and 64,000 private sector jobs added to the rolls.  So is this proof of a failed Obama economic agenda, or do nine months of modest private sector job growth show the job market is slowly coming back?  What is the unemployment rate when factoring in workers who have quit looking for jobs or have settled for part-time positions?  We ask Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the Department of Labor and current director of the Center for Employment Policy at the Hudson Institute.

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On Friday, President Obama announced National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones is resigning in the coming days.  What kind of job has Jones done?  What can we expect from incoming adviser Tom Donilon?  Why should we be expecting Afghan efforts to reach a peace deal with elements of the Taliban?  And why should we be skeptical that such a thing would ever work?  We discuss all these questions with retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis, now a senior strategist with the Army.

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