Radio America Online News Bureau

Less than 24 hours after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the Senate health care bill would include a public option that states could take or leave, it appears the plan is already dead in the water.  Maine Republican Olympia Snowe says she opposes the plan and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman says he would vote with Republicans to filibuster the plan.  Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is not surprised.  Why did he know the Reid plan was doomed from the start?  What kind of plan will Democrats be forced to accept?  Is a public option any better with states being allowed to opt-out or the option is triggered?  We ask Sen. Hatch, a member of both Senate committees that drafted health care legislation.

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On Tuesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held hearings on the ‘cap and trade’ legislation unveiled a few weeks ago by Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. John Kerry.  What is the fate of this legislation based on comments from the senators on the committee?  Why will this not be a replay of the rigid party-line approach to health care?  What is the real economic toll on taxpayers?  We ask Pete Sepp, vice president for communications at the National Taxpayers Union.

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Three years ago, Nancy Pelosi promised the most open and honest Congress in American history if Democrats regained the majority.  Now Republicans are asking Democrats to make good on the vow of transparency.  Why do they believe Pelosi and her leadership have failed to let the public really see what is happening in Congress?  What specific steps are GOP members demanding of the Democrats?  Will anything be changing soon?  We ask Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent, who is sponsoring a resolution to televise all proceedings in the powerful House Rules Committee.

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Last week, we saw the latest video of ACORN officials willing to assist criminal activity – this time in Philadelphia.  So how did James O’Keefe III and Hannah Giles decide to pose as a pimp and prostitute in all of these ACORN offices?  Were they surprised at how willing ACORN was to assist prostitution and the use of underage girls in prostitution?  What does the video from Philadelphia show?  Does it back up ACORN’s claims that the pair was ushered out swiftly and a police report needed to be filed?  What is ACORN now trying to do to O’Keefe?  And have we seen the last of these videos or are there more to come?  We ask the ‘pimp’ himself, James O’Keefe III.

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Next week, voters in Maine will decide whether to overturn the legalization of gay marriage.  State lawmakers and Gov. John Baldacci approved the law earlier this year.  What are the polls showing?  How accurate are the polls in these sorts of elections?  How nasty has the campaign been?  And what is the latest in the effort to give Washington, DC, residents the right to vote on marriage in the nation’s capital?  We ask Brian Brown, executive director at the National Organization for Marriage.

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That’s the assessment of retired U.S. Army Gen. Paul Vallely.  Why does he say that?  How is Obama failing our troops and our nation at a critical time?  Who else deserves blame for the challenges in Afghanistan?  Is Obama’s indecision showing up in major attacks in Iraq?  How should Obama define victory?  And what message does his hesitancy send to our forces throughout the chain of command?

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As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushes a health bill that allows states to opt out of the public option, would any state really be able to opt out?  Why would that not be a realistic option?  What should we make of the changes to the employer mandate?  And is it true that most uninsured people still wouldn’t have coverage if the Baucus bill were to be passed?  We ask Phil Kerpen of Patients First, a project of Americans for Prosperity.

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As we approach 30 years since Ronald Reagan’s historic landslide win over Jimmy Carter, we examine how Reagan got the job done.  How did he overcome losing the first GOP caucus and having to fire his campaign manager on the day of the first primary?  What was really behind the idea of adding Gerald Ford to the ticket to create a co-presidency?  Why was Reagan in trouble even though the issues were all in his favor?  And what lessons can today’s Republicans in the wilderness learn from the 1980 campaign?  We ask Reagan aide and author Craig Shirley.

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Abortions are cheaper than pre-natal care and childbirth.  And with everyone looking to trim the costs of health care, why could expectant mothers be faced with the dilemma of having an abortion she doesn’t want and undergoing care she can’t afford?  How would government bureaucrats get involved with something like this?  Is this just a scare tactic of the right?  What have we seen in this debate already that suggests we could be headed down this road?  We ask Wendy Wright, president at Concerned Women for America.

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Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns says we’ve seen the true colors of Democrats on health reform.  Thursday night, all 40 Republicans and 13 Democrats teamed up to block a Democratic bill that would pile $247 billion on the national debt over 10 years – but not technically count towards the cost of health reform.  He also says President Obama is making a decision on Afghanistan by not reaching any conclusions – that help is not on the way for our troops right now.

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