Dateline Washington
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Capitol Steps Scandal Special
Scandals are dominating the headlines in Washington and in the music of the Capitol Steps. This week, a double feature from Washington's premiere musical satirists. They target the IRS targeting of conservative groups in "When IRS Guys are Smiling" and the Benghazi scandal in "Lie,Lie,Lie." Our guest is Steps star and co-founder Elaina Newport.
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DOJ Demands Gay Advocacy
The Justice Department continues its promotion of the homosexual agenda and now commands managers to publicly affirm that agenda because "silence will be interpreted as disapproval." A DOJ employee forwarded written and electronic communication from the department that spell out the pro-homosexual expectations of all employees. "The brochure is a list, a series of dos and don'ts for managers in dealing with homosexuals and cross-dressing employees," said Matt Barber, vice president for...
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'New and Troubling'
Famed constitutional attorney Floyd Abrams is deeply troubled by the Justice Department's controversial seizure of Associated Press phone records and the targeting of a Fox News reporter as a criminal and he says the White House reaction to the stories is woefully insufficient. In his lengthy career of trying first amendment cases, Abrams defended the publishers of the Pentagon Papers, Al Franken against the Fox News Channel and tobacco companies against the Food and Drug Administration. The...
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IRS Trampled Over Rights
Washington Rep. Dave Reichert says outgoing IRS Commissioner Steven Miller failed to honor his oath before the House Ways & Means Committee last week and that the congressional investigation into the government targeting and harassing conservative organizations is just getting started. Reichert was one of several committee members who grilled Miller on Friday and came away frustrated by Miller 19s chronic memory lapses. In one exchange, Miller could remember who he spoke with about where...
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'More and More and More'
The IRS scandal validates the worst fears of law-abiding Americans, could trigger criminal charges and was likely known about in the White House for an extended time, according to South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice, a former tax attorney and certified public accountant. The White House has slowly admitted some there knew about the investigation but flatly denies any involvement in the decision to harass Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations that also led to targeting of donors and...
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The Untold Military Sex Scandal
A recent military report on sexual assault in the military shocked many in Washington and around the nation, but a leading expert on military personnel says the prevalence of men assaulting other men is one of the major headlines in this study. The extended analysis of the report first appeared in Monday's edition of the The Washington Times. The Defense Department survey of sexual assault in the military during Fiscal 2012 estimated 26,000 assaults took place in the Armed Forces. Nearly...
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'Solution in Search of A Problem'
The Interior Department is proposing new federal rules for hydraulic fracturing that the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee says is unnecessary and will only limit energy production and economic growth. Hydraulic fracturing, known more commonly as fracking, is an increasingly effective method by which oil and gas are extracted from rock formations. Estimates suggest the energy production potential in fracking is massive and states like North Dakota and Pennsylvania have...
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Richmond Tea Party vs. IRS
The IRS and the entire Obama administration are under scrutiny after revelations last week that hundreds of conservative organizations suffered undue harassment and intrusion by the IRS after applying for tax-exempt status. Groups with "tea party" or "patriot" were made especially uncomfortable. Larry Nordvig is executive director of the Richmond Tea Party and explains how he first suspected the IRS was going far beyond its normal duties in delaying and demanding information from the group....
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'An Unconscionable Bridge Too Far'
Just days after the IRS admitted making life miserable for conservative organizations applying for tax-exempt status, Georgia Rep. Tom Price says the agency cannot be trusted to enforce the Obama health care laws and is pushing legislation to strip the IRS of any new powers connected to the law. The "Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013" would bar the IRS from "implementing or enforcing" any components of the health care laws. "We always opposed utilizing the IRS in this fashion....
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Criminalizing IRS Harassment
Ohio Rep. Michael Turner says the IRS hassling and prying into hundreds of conservative organizations applying for tax-exempt status is outrageous but may have actually been legal, so he is introducing legislation to criminalize such activity. "Unfortunately, it currently isn't a crime if a political appointee or a faceless bureaucrat gets up as a supervisor and walks over and instructs a bunch of employees to begin targeting the American public. That's wrong. It should be a crime," said...
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Failed Venture After Failed Venture
Lower taxes, less spending and fewer federal and state regulations are the key to creating more jobs in Virginia and strengthening the ones already there, according to Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor in this year's campaign. Cuccinelli also slammed likely Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe for talking a lot about jobs but actually being a consistent failure in creating them. His economic plan is pretty straightforward. Cuccinelli...
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'Bigger than Benghazi'
The families of three fallen Navy SEAL Team VI members say President Obama and Vice President Biden are culpable for the deaths of their sons for publicly identifying the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden and pursuing policies that coddle Muslims and put our own troops at a tactical disadvantage. SEAL Team VI carried out the daring raid in Pakistan in early May 2011. Three months later, three members of the unit were among 38 killed in a Chinook helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Twenty-five of...
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Don't Cry, I'm in Argentina
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford scored an unlikely political comeback this week, as he rebounded from a major sex scandal to win an open Congressional seat in South Carolina. The Capitol Steps observe his victory with the parody they recorded in the wake of his scandal, "Don't Cry, I'm in Argentina."
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'The Dam Has Burst Here'
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says the courage of three Benghazi whistleblowers may well trigger more critical revelations about what happened before, during and after the terrorist attack. He also says Democrats are unified at the moment in defending President Obama and former Secretary of State Clinton but are getting increasingly worried. At the end of a week focused on Benghazi, including dramatic testimony Wednesday on Capitol Hill, new revelations are calling...
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Hope, Frustration in Cancer Fight
Rapid progress continues on oral chemotherapy treatments that are far more effective and far less toxic than conventional alternatives, but the inability of Medicare and insurance companies to offer comparable coverage is draining the resources of many patients and leaving others unable to pursue treatment. The mapping of the human genome has allowed doctors to determine which parts of cells are compromised by cancer and responsible for spreading it. As a result, oral chemotherapy allows for...
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The Persecution of Greg Hicks
The chief witness in Wednesday's congressional hearings into the Benghazi terrorist attack was threatened and ostracized by the State Department for protesting the White House narrative on the deadly strike and largely ignored and disrespected by Democrats in the hearing, according to his attorney. Former Deputy Chief of Mission Greg Hicks told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that the attack on the consulate in Benghazi was a terrorist attack and had nothing to do with a...
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The Biggest Scandal
Revelations in Wednesday's Congressional hearings on the Benghazi terrorist attacks prove it is a massive scandal that will carry significant consequences for those involved in the cover-up, according to retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney. McInerney served at the highest levels in the Air Force, including time as assistant vice chief of staff and vice commander-in-chief of U.S. Air Forces Europe. He believes the Obama administration deliberately misled the American people on the...
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The Price of Amnesty
The cost to the U.S. taxpayers of legalizing at least 11 million illegal immigrants would be $6.3 trillion, according to a detailed new study from the Heritage Foundation. Entitled "The Fiscal Cost of Unlawful Immigrants and Amnesty to the U.S. Taxpayer", the study examines current statistics on illegal immigrant families and determines their lack of education combined with the resources they are likely to consume over their lifetimes would total approximately $9.4 trillion. Heritage...
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Expanding Online Privacy
The U.S. Senate is moving towards greater electronic privacy protection in an effort to update a decades-old law and draw clearer boundaries for the federal government in the ongoing tension between national security and personal freedom. Utah Sen. Mike Lee is teaming up with Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy to sponsor amendments to the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Lee says the need for updated laws is obvious given the technological...
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Pentagon Statement Not Good Enough
Pentagon officials recently met with an activist committed to removing Christianity from the U.S. military, a move that some fear could lead to court martials for service members who share their Christian faith. The firestorm erupted last month, when Pentagon officials held a meeting on religion in the military and invited Michael "Mikey" Weinstein to the discussion. Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. He has called the practice of Christians in the service...
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Kim and Kim
So far, the only American to meet young North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un is eccentric ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman. However, with North Korea threatening to attack its neighbors and the United States, the Capitol Steps take a closer look inside the world's most repressive nation. Our guest is Capitol Steps impressionist Mark Eaton.
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History vs. Gang of Eight
Utah Sen. Mike Lee says the bipartisan Gang of Eight is in danger of making the same mistakes of past immigration reform efforts by trying to do everything at once and putting illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship before we ever know if border security efforts are successful. Lee is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has waded through much of the 844-page bill. He says the biggest problem with the bill is that is doesn't approach the key issues one at a time, which he...
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'It's About Control'
A simple Twitter message triggered an avalanche of criticism for Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III on Tuesday, a reaction that black conservative author Deneen Borelli says is typical of liberals and demands more bold speech from those who dare to step away from the acceptable lines of liberal thought. The tempest began on Tuesday, when Griffin tweeted, "In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness." Subsequent messages from Griffin...
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Army's PC Disgrace Gets Worse
The U.S. Army has further punished a highly respected and decorated officer in the wake of Muslim groups complaining about the approved course he taught on radical Islam at National Defense University. In October, we reported that Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley was fired from his position at the school for the way he conducted a class on how to respond to a variety of scenarios instigated by radical Muslims. A visitor to the class found the discussions offensive to Muslims, informed some 57 Islamic...
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Obama's Red Line Blunder
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says President Obama was wrong to ever publicly draw a red line on involvement in the Syrian civil war and U.S. credibility will be damaged as a result. Obama stated months ago that the U.S. would not be getting directly involved in the conflict but that would change if the Assad regime resorted to using chemical weapons against the rebels. Intelligence from multiple nations, including the U.S. and Israel, recently concluded that Sarin...
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'Gosnell Is Not Alone'
A Pennsylvania jury will soon render a verdict on whether abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell murdered four babies who survived abortions as well as a woman who was one of his patients, but a new series of videos from Live Action suggest that Gosnell's actions are not out of the mainstream. Live Action President Lila Rose says her group has already released two videos showing abortion providers in New York City Washington, D.C. explaining how they would do nothing to help a baby who survived an...
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A Pattern of Incompetence
Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert is blasting the Obama administration for the timing of the charges against surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzokar Tsarnaev. He's also exasperated by what he considers Obama's tendency to downplay the threat posed by radical Islam and the relentless push for immigration legislation despite some issues that arose in the wake of the bombings. Gohmert is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and is vice chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and...
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Texas-Sized Life Fight
Pro-life activists are slamming a plan advancing through the Texas legislature that they say would allow doctors to give "Do Not Resuscitate" orders regardless of the wishes expressed by patients or their families. The legislation, known as Texas S.B. 303, is sponsored by State Senator Bob Duell, vice chair of the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. Duell is a Republican and the GOP holds the majority in the chamber. The bill has already been approved by the committee. "This...
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Baucus to Blame for 'Train Wreck'
Less than a week after declaring the health care law he largely wrote a "train wreck", Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus says he will not seek a seventh term in 2014. The news comes as a surprise to many, given that Baucus was actively fundraising until very recently. However, Baucus has dipped significantly in popularity, due in part to his prominent role in authoring and helping to pass the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. "He really does live with this around his neck,"...
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Miranda, Immigration & Boston
Surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev was formally charged with two crimes in connection with last week's terrorist attacks that left three people dead and more than 180 injured. If convicted, Tsarnaev could face the death penalty. According to the Justice Department, Tsarnaev was arraigned in his hospital room on one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an...
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Inside the Senate Gun Fight
Gun control opponents won a major victory this week when the Manchin-Toomey bill to expand background checks failed to advance, but a leading lobbyist says the behind-the-scenes wrangling was far more dramatic than the final vote suggested. The final vote was 54-46 in favor of Manchin-Toomey, but 60 votes were needed to advance the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid changed his vote at the last moment in a parliamentary move that gives him the right to bring the bill up for...
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Amnesty Disaster
The U.S. Senate Gang of Eight unveiled its immigration reform legislation, promising stronger border security, much-need reforms on visas and legal immigration practices and a path to citizenship. But Iowa Rep. Steve King says the only thing guaranteed in this bill is a reward for those who came here illegally. "The big comprehensive amnesty plan is a disaster and a big mistake," said King. "What are we trying to fix here and why? We have an executive branch problem, not a legislative branch...
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Torture, Guns and A Governor?
Former Arkansas Rep. Asa Hutchinson is throwing his hat into the ring for next year's open gubernatorial race, but only after finishing up his role in leading an investigation into detainee treatment and crafting policies designed to boost school security. Hutchinson was tapped by the Constitution Project to lead what he calls a non-partisan probe into how detainees were treated at various known and classified sites. He was also the point man for the National Rifle Association in it's recent...
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The Iron Lady's Legacy
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was laid to rest Wednesday, and the "Iron Lady" is being remembered as a steadfast and principled leader. Thatcher died April 8, following a stroke. She was 87. Thatcher served as prime minister from 1979-1990. Several key figures from previous U.S. administrations attended Thatcher's funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, including Reagan administration attorney general and counselor to the president Edwin Meese III. Ronald Reagan and...
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Bad Samaritans
The American Civil Liberties Union launched a war on God almost a century ago and sudden advancement of secularism it spawned now threatens to stifle public expressions of faith and ultimately quash the constitutional freedoms upon which our nation was founded. That's the premise of "Bad Samaritans: The ACLU's Relentless Campaign to Erase Faith from the Public Square", the latest work from best-selling author Dr. Jerome Corsi. Corsi says the book comes at a critical time when secularism is...
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When IRS Guys Are Smilin'
The Capitol Steps offer a double feature as they dread the arrival of the federal income tax deadline and welcome Francis as the new pope. Our guest is Capitol Steps Co-Founder and star Elaina Newport.
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Senate Immigration Rush
The much-awaited Senate immigration reform bill is expected to be introduced next week and a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee says Democratic leaders are preparing to get it passed as quickly as possible. According to Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy scheduled only one hearing on the plan before Democrats on the panel presumably send the package to the Senate floor for consideration. He says the fast-track approach is eerily reminiscent of the...
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Compromise Gun Bill Doesn't Exist
The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to proceed on bipartisan legislation to expand background checks on gun purchases, but Utah Sen. Mike Lee says lawmakers basically agreed to take up a bill that hasn't been written and obviously hasn't been read. Most Democrats and 16 Republicans combined to vote 68-31 to proceed with debate on the gun bill. Sixty were needed. Senator Lee was joined by Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky in unsuccessfully pursuing a filibuster of the bill until...
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Landrieu's Liberal Legacy
Louisiana Rep Bill Cassidy is launching a 2014 campaign against Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, saying the three-term lawmaker is a reliable vote for the Obama agenda and provided critical votes that led to record deficits and Obamacare. Cassidy is a longtime physician, known for teaching medical students at LSU and establishing public-private partnerships to inoculate tens of thousands of poor children and co-founded a venture to make sure the working uninsured receive free medical an dental...
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Breaching A Fundamental Value
There has been no acceptable explanation for not rescuing Americans under siege in Benghazi and nothing less than a special House committee investigation will satisfy the retired U.S. Army general who played a key role in organizing a letter signed by more than 700 special operations veterans in demanding the formation of the special committee. Retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin served in the Army's special forces and in the Army Rangers. He is now executive vice president at the Family Research...
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Demanding the Truth on Benghazi
More than 700 special operations veterans are demanding that the House of Representatives convene a special committee to uncover the answers to lingering questions about the Benghazi terrorist attacks almost seven months after the violence killed a U.S. ambassador and three others, including two Navy SEALs. Special Operations Speaks sent a letter to House leaders after previous inquiries revealed virtually no new information. "I don't anything significant has been learned except that what is...
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'That's A Huge Red Flag'
The March jobs report came in well below expectations and the top House Republican responsible for poring over the numbers each month says this is all to be expected thanks to the encroachment of Obamacare and the Obama administration's relentless push for new taxes. On Friday, the Labor Department reported the overall unemployment rate dropped from 7.7 percent to 7.6 percent. However, just 88,000 jobs were added in March, well short of the 190,000 expected by economic experts. The drop in...
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Frederick Douglass Republicans
Democrats are overwhelmingly winning minority voters and a prominent black conservative says they will keep winning until conservatives learn how to win the propaganda war and champion the story of slave-turned-abolitionist Frederick Douglass as an outreach to black voters and every voter. K. Carl Smith is a rising star among black conservatives. He recently addressed the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference and is author of "Frederick Douglass Republicans: The Movement to Re-Ignite...
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Debate Triggers Border Rush
Illegal border crossings are dramatically on the rise since the latest Congressional push began towards comprehensive immigration reform. In reporting first published by Townhall.com's Katie Pavlich, border patrol agents in the Tucson/Nogales sector claim illegals are coming here in much higher numbers in just the past few months. "We've seen the number of illegal aliens double, maybe even triple since amnesty talk started happening," an unnamed border agent said to Townhall. The data from...
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DHS Clueless on Border Security
The push for comprehensive immigration reform is gathering steam on Capitol Hill and both parties say that ensuring secure borders is an integral part of reform. However, the Obama administration is now admitting that it has no system for measuring the effectiveness of border security. Shortly after taking office, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the old "operational control" method of evaluating border security was "archaic" and that DHS was developing a much more...
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Gun Grabbers Galore
Prospects look fairly bleak for sweeping gun control legislation in Congress but action at the United Nations and in several states may end up having the same effect. On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Supporters, including the Obama administration, contend this is designed to crack down on illicit arms trafficking, but critics say it's really an effort to stamp out gun rights in the U.S. and beyond. "It's far beyond...
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Battling Obama's Bureaucracy
President Obama is nominating more radical personnel for his second term than he did four years ago and some of the most aggressive parts of his agenda center on energy and environmental policy, according to a top Senate Republican. Louisiana Sen. David Vitter is the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. He is vowing tough scrutiny of two top Obama nominees and says the Obama energy policy still suggests the president is fine with Americans paying much more for...
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The Republican Recovery Plan
Republican National Committee Co-Chair Sharon Day says many changes need to happen for Republicans to start winning more elections, including a GOP embrace of comprehensive immigration reform and putting an end to "aggressively negative" rhetoric on the issue of marriage. Earlier in March, the RNC issued a very detailed report into why the 2012 elections went poorly for the party and how efforts can be improved in future campaigns. Suggestions ranged from fewer debates in the GOP primaries...
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Sizing Up the Supremes on Marriage
The Supreme Court wrapped up two days of arguments on the definition of marriage on Wednesday, with a leading advocate of traditional marriage expecting rulings that will be narrow in scope but may well favor same-sex marriage. The justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday about the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot initiative passed by voters that enshrined traditional marriage in the state constitution. On Wednesday, the court considered the Defense of Marriage...
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South Carolina Showdown
Spending restraint and trust in leadership are the hallmarks of the Curtis Bostic's campaign to defeat former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and win a seat in the House of Representatives. Sanford is the former two-term governor of South Carolina, whose bright political career seemed to derail when he vanished from the state for several days and then returned and admitted to being in Argentina with his mistress. However, Sanford re-entered the political fray after a chain reaction of...
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It's All About Spending
Georgia Rep. Paul Broun says getting America's reckless spending under control is the dominant theme of his campaign and he believes that goal and his record in Congress will help him win the nomination and the general election despite very little enthusiasm for his bid in the national party. Broun announced his candidacy just weeks after two-term GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss announced he would not seek a third term. Broun says one issue is driving his pursuit of a seat in the U.S. Senate....
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One Visit, Two Agendas
President Obama went to great lengths to convince Americans and Israelis that we stand should-to-shoulder with Israel but the private talks were just another round of demands for Israeli concessions, according to former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. "This is a trip that's very rare in the sense that the public opportunities that the president has are about as divorced from the real substance of the private conversations as you can imagine, 1d said Bolton. 1cPublicly,...
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Somebody to Blame
It's been three weeks since the sequestration cuts went into effect, and both parties continue to blame each other for not coming up with alternative plans and for imposing draconian program cuts. In response, the Capitol Steps bring three key lawmakers together to find out what's really happening.
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Saddam's WMD on Display in Syria?
Retired U.S. Army Maj. General Paul Vallely says he has confirmation that Syrian forces have used chemical weapons against rebel forces and civilians and those weapons are likely stockpiles received from Iraq prior to the U.S.-led invasion ten years ago. Vallely has met twice in the region with military commanders for the Free Syrian Army, which he describes as the largest and much more moderate faction among the rebels, which also include elements of Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. He...
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'It's Up to the American People'
In the wake of President Obama's re-election and other Democratic successes in 2012, more and more Republicans in elected office and party leadership are concluding that embracing comprehensive immigration reform is vital to winning elections and attracting a higher percentage of the nation's fastest-growing demographic. Conservative senators Marco Rubio and Jeff Flake joined the so-called Gang of Eight pushing the latest Senate version of reform. Rising GOP star Sen. Rand Paul has embraced...
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'It's A Trap'
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he would not include an assault weapons ban in the gun legislation he plans to introduce on the Senate floor, but gun rights advocates say this is not a surrender but rather Reid's way of making a ban easier to pass. "It's a trap. It's a non-event. What's going to happen is they're going to take another bill, and that could be the veterans' gun ban and then bring that to the floor, 1d said Mike Hammond, chief counsel at Gun Owners of America, a...
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Feds Target FedEx
FedEx and UPS are in the Justice Department cross hairs for not flagging shipments of illegally-prescribed drugs the companies say they had no way of knowing were in their possession. Criminal charges could be coming against the carriers, even though the government has not alleged any deliberate wrongdoing by the companies. FedEx spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald says his company has a 40-year history of actively assisting the government crack down on any criminal conduct, but he says this probe...
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Obama Meets the Republicans
President Obama met with House and Senate Republicans this week to discuss the economy and other priorities, but the cordial meetings revealed the two sides don't even agree on the definition of reform much less how to achieve it. Illinois Rep. Peter Roskam is the chief deputy whip for the House GOP. He says Republicans and President Obama have very different ideas of what tax reform should look like and even why it should be done. "The president has chosen to redefine tax reform....
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'A Solution in Search of A Problem'
President Obama says the long hours that some voters spent waiting to cast ballots in November require changes in the system, but a former Justice Department elections expert says the facts show there really isn't a problem. J. Christian Adams worked in the Justice Department's civil rights division and has been a vocal critic of what he sees as imbalanced enforcement of voting rights laws by the Obama administration. Adams is now an editor at Pajamas Media and author of "Injustice: Exposing...
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'They're Just Going to Walk'
The House Republican budget plan assumes the repeal of Obamacare, and while the political votes may be hard to find, a leading health care scholar says the flaws of the system could lead to its implosion in the near term. Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen Institute and one of the leading policy-based critics of the Obama health law. She says House Republicans are right to keep pushing for the repeal of Obamacare because of the myriad ways it afflicts our nation's fiscal health....
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GOP's Balanced Budget Path
House Republicans unveiled their budget plan Tuesday, calling for a balanced budget within ten years and relying on major tax reform and a full repeal of the Obama health laws to do it. "The economy is going to grow faster than federal spending and it will get us to a balanced budget," said South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice, a member of the House Budget Committee and chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access. The first key to the House GOP plan...
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Ney Aims at Boehner, DC Culture
Former Ohio Rep. Bob Ney admits he broke the law and deserved to be sent to prison, but he says the corrupt political system he succumbed to desperately needs changing and House Speaker John Boehner is part of the problem. Ney resigned from Congress in 2006 and pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges in connection to the scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He subsequently spent 30 months behind bars and is now the author of "Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men on...
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Rebutting Rand Paul
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul made headlines this week, as his nearly 13-hour filibuster shed light on the question of whether a president can target An American on American soil with a drone strike if they don't pose an imminent security risk. The filibuster triggered a response from Attorney General Eric Holder, who stated the government does not have that power under the Constitution, but an accomplished prosecutor of terrorists disagrees. Andrew C. McCarthy led the government's prosecution of...
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Perverse Terrorist Incentives
On Friday, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and former spokesman plead not guilty in federal court Friday to charges that he conspired to kill Americans. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was arraigned with little prior public notice after being apprehended days ago in Jordan. However, the leader of the U.S.prosecution team against the 1993 World Trade Center bombers says the Obama administration wasted a golden opportunity to glean critical intelligence and damaged the credibility of U.S. military...
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Obama's 'Make America Hurt' Plan
President Obama vowed that allowing sequestration cuts to proceed would be painful, but decisions like cancelling White House tours and a revealing email are coming across as cynically political moves rather than painful but regrettable decisions. The Obama administration indefinitely cancelled public White House tours earlier this week. The Secret Service estimates that such cuts would save about $74,000 per week. School groups are disappointed to hear their Spring Break trips to the White...
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Obamacare vs. Conscience
More than a year after the Obama administration announced a contraception mandate was part of the new health laws, the effort to restore conscience rights for employers and medical professionals is moving forward in the House of Representatives. The biggest concern for some employers in the new mandate is that they are compelled to cover all approved contraception efforts, including the use of abortifacient drugs that terminate a pregnancy after conception. Health care professionals are also...
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U.S. Sabotaging Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just two weeks left to forge a new coalition government, but the Obama administration is working feverishly to prevent him from succeeding and force him from office, according to Middle East expert Dr. Michael Evans. Evans is the author of numerous books about the various crises in the Middle East, including "Atomic Iran: Countdown to Armageddon". He says it's very clear why Netanyahu hasn't put a new government together. "The biggest stumbling...
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A Page Out of Castro's Playbook
The Obama White House firmly denies any involvement in the release of hundreds of detained illegal immigrants, but Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar says that's preposterous and that the move was done to inflict punishment for Obama not getting his way on sequestration. According to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, the decision to release several hundred allegedly low-risk illegals was made entirely by officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was done because of looming budget...
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'An Assault on the Military'
President Obama and most Democrats want to replace looming sequestration cuts with a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts, while most Republicans don't like the parameters of the cuts but think they should proceed anyway. South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson is a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees and doesn't like either approach. He says the cuts set to take effect on Friday will be too damaging to national security and need to be assigned elsewhere. "This is...
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Marriage, the GOP & the Court
Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on two cases related to the definition of marriage, as the justices consider California's state constitutional amendment that upholds traditional marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act. In preparation for oral arguments, a letter signed by some 80 famous-to-obscure Republican figures is urging the court to embrace same-sex marriage in both cases. Recent reports also suggest the Obama administration will throw its legal weight in the...
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Responsibility, Not Restrictions
Gun control advocates are pushing new legislation to limit the types of weapons that can be purchased and the amount of rounds in a magazine, but a top gun safety instructor says he can easily envision why someone would need those laws to remain as they are. Rob Pincus is the owner of the I.C.E Training Company, where has trained countless people in the responsible use of firearms and even creates videos that explain how best to respond to crises like a school shooting. Pincus also has...
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Beating Obamacare
The new health care laws are already causing problems for millions of Americans but there are steps you can take to protect your health care quality from getting even worse, according to prominent Obamacare critic Betsy McCaughey. She also scolded several Republican governors for agreeing to expand Medicaid in exchange for promises that the federal government will pick up the entire cost of expansion at first and 90 percent of it in perpetuity. McCaughey served as lieutenant governor in New...
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'A Match Made in Hell'
Earlier this month, North Korea conducted what appears to be its largest and most sophisticated nuclear test to date, but what may also be emerging from the story is the extent that Iran and North Korea are colluding in their efforts to grow their nuclear programs. One of the most telling indicators of this collaboration may be the reported presence of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mahabadi at the North Korean test. Mahabadi is the chief Iranian nuclear scientist and rarely travels outside of Iran....
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'Grease' on Greece
As the politicians in Washington dread the onset of sequestration and blame each other for the spending cuts soon to take effect, the ones accepting of the cuts point out that we don't want to become like Greece. So how did Greece become the poster child for reckless spending and hopeless debt? The Capitol Steps explain it all through the music of 'Grease'. Our guest is Steps Co-Founder Elaina Newport.
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Obama 'Lost Contact with Reality'
Republicans should let the sequester proceed if President Obama won't let the defense cuts be eased and Obama is simply out of touch with reality on fiscal matters, according to former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint. DeMint resigned his seat in January as he prepares to become the new president of the Heritage Foundation. In a wide-ranging interview, DeMint addressed looming debates on guns and immigration but he's also passionate about how the current sequestration fight plays out. DeMint...
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'This is A Gut Check'
President Obama and Congressional Republicans are blaming one another for the $85 billion in sequester-mandated spending cuts set to take effect March 1, but South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney says the cuts should take effect and the huge fight over them will tell us whether lawmakers and the president are serious about real deficit reduction. This countdown to cuts in defense and domestic programs are the result of the super committee failing in the wake of the 2011 Budget Control Act that...
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The Last Line of Defense
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli led the fight against the Obama health laws in federal court and he says he is bringing the same fidelity to the Constitution in his bid to become the next governor of the commonwealth. Cuccinelli is also author of the new book "The Last Line of Defense: The New Fight for American Liberty. He says a presidential administration striving for more power is typical in both parties, but he believes the Obama team has a special thirst for control. "What...
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The Depth of our Debt
The official national debt is currently racing toward $17 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office is projecting another $10 trillion over the next decade, but monetary and currency expert Andrew Gause says the real amount of red ink will probably be much worse. Gause is the author of "The Secret World of Money" and "Uncle Sam Cooks the Books". He says the Congressional Budget Office is often conservative in its debt projections and that could a whole lot more than $10 trillion over the...
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Mom's Abortion Death Reignites Debate
Pro-life activists are pointing to the death of Jennifer Morbelli as a clear example of how abortions can harm mothers as well as kill unborn children. They also accuse the mainstream media of burying the story because it doesn't fit into their pro-choice worldviews. Morbelli was a 29-year-old New York woman expecting her first child. After learning her unborn daughter would suffer from seizures based on a test conducted when she was 31 weeks pregnant, Morbelli sought a late-term abortion...
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'Guns Make Women Safer'
President Obama made another impassioned plea this week for more restrictive gun laws to get a vote on Capitol Hill, but the woman who stood out at a recent Senate hearing in opposition to the legislation says it's still the wrong way to go. Gayle Trotter is a senior fellow at the Independent Women's Forum. She received a great deal of media buzz for her confrontation with Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and has plenty more to say as the debate continues to play out in...
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'Abracadabra Budgeting'
President Obama claimed significant progress in deficit reduction, called for additional tax hikes and pushed dozens of new programs that he says won't add a dime to the debt. However, Club for Growth founder and Wall Street Journal economist Stephen Moore says the facts show Obama is not at all serious about reducing our deficits and is engaging in budgetary sleight of hand when it comes to his agenda. In his speech, Obama said he and members of Congress have already agreed to $2.5 trillion...
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Automatic Voter Registration?
Several Democratic lawmakers in Washington are pushing legislation that would automatically register people to vote once they reach the age of 18, a move that critics say greatly heightens the risk of fraud and gives the government the power to make a decision that should be left up to each citizen. According to the bill backed by the likes of Georgia Rep. John Lewis, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, all citizens would automatically be registered to vote...
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'The Church Isn't Going to Change'
The impending resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is prompting cultural liberals to demand the Roman Catholic Church embrace more progressive doctrine on key issues like marriage and abortion, but one of America's leading Catholic voices says that won't happen. "This prejudiced idea that the newest ideas are always the best is a falsehood," said Father Robert Sirico, president of the Michigan-based Acton Institute. "I don't think it much effects the way the College of Cardinals thinks about...
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The Budget Amendment Returns
Utah Sen. Mike Lee is leading the charge for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, saying the move is necessary because Washington politicians refuse to embrace fiscal discipline. "There are some who say we don't need for Congress to propose an amendment to the Constitution. We just need Congress to do its job and balance its budget. I understand that argument. It has a certain appeal to it, and yet experience has taught us that Congress doesn't consider that part of its...
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Nugent Comes to WND
On Thursday, the weekly column "The Ted Offensive" by rock music legend Ted Nugent debuted on WND.com. In connection with the launch, Nugent explained what readers can expect in his column and the events in his life that formed his political philosophy. Politically speaking, Nugent is best known for his ardent defense of the Second Amendment, but he says the column will venture into many different areas. "It's a target-rich environment for people who still have an alarm clock and get up...
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Nugent Fires Back
Rock music legend Ted Nugent is one of the strongest voices in defense of the Second Amendment and as the latest debate over proposed gun control legislation plays out, Nugent is making his voice heard loud and clear. Earlier in the week, Nugent engaged in a feisty debate with CNN host and gun control advocate Piers Morgan. Despite the push for more restrictions on gun rights in Washington and in states around the country, Nugent fired back with a vigorous defense of what he says is the...
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The Long Road to Less Government
President Obama's policy of targeting enemies, including Americans, for death through drone strikes is the latest and most alarming example of the endless expansion of government power, according to Judge Andrew Napolitano. Napolitano is the senior judicial analyst for the Fox News Channel and is the author most recently of "Theodore and Woodrow" and "The Freedom Answer Book". He says the growth in government power is nothing new and the erosion of individual freedoms is always pitched in...
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Keeping the Fed Focused
The Federal Reserve should be focused on maintaining sound monetary policy and not get distracted by trying to bring down stubbornly high unemployment rates, according to Indiana Rep. Marlin Stutzman. Stutzman is a member of the House Budget Committee and is sponsor of the FFOCUS (Focusing the Fed on the Currency of the United States) Act. Achieving and continuing strong monetary policy has been the task of the Federal Reserve from its inception, but in the late 1970s President Carter and...
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Legitimizing Iranian Nukes
The Obama administration says it is prepared to engage in direct talks with the Iranian government over nuclear weapons but former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says the move is naive and will only give credibility and legitimacy to the world's leading sponsor of terrorism. "I'm very worried with the new Secretary of State John Kerry, with a potential new Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel that these new kids on the block are going to say, 'We can do better than everybody's...
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States Strike Back on Guns
While President Obama and some of his allies on Capitol Hill prepare for a major push on gun control legislation, state lawmakers are preparing to resist new federal restrictions. Texas officials and sheriffs around the nation have announced they don't intend to enforce any new gun laws and now there is a push in Wyoming specifically designed to protect gun owners in that state against any crackdowns on semi-automatic firearms or efforts to limit magazine capacity. Wyoming State Rep. Kendell...
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Out of Excuses on Keystone
Environmental concerns about the Keystone XL pipeline have been addressed and supporters say President Obama is officially out of excuses for delaying a project that would create tens of thousands of jobs. Keystone would connect the Canadian oil sands to the U.S. gulf coast and purportedly spark job creation in every state along the way. In the minds of Keystone supporters, the last hurdle was cleared when Nebraska Gov. David Heineman approved a new route for the pipeline through his state...
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'He Doesn't Know Our History'
President Obama and a bipartisan group of senators are pushing comprehensive immigration reform based on more secure borders and a pathway to citizenship for illegals, but Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert says history clearly reveals which part would happen and which part would not. "The trouble is the president thinks that perhaps since he doesn't remember history or whoever puts his words in his teleprompter doesn't recall even recent history," said Gohmert, a former Texas judge and current member...
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Gender-Norming the Military
Supporters of women serving on the front lines of combat are cheering the Obama administration's policy change on the subject, but critics say the move hurts readiness in multiple ways and is simply a nod to the progressive cultural agenda. Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis says he's not at all surprised by the decision. He says it was obvious this move was coming after a decision from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in 2012 that opened up 14,000 additional military positions to women...
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Marching for Life
Tuesday marked 40 years since the Supreme Court legalized abortion through the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions. On Friday, hundreds of thousands of pro-life activists descended upon Washington to announce they are still working to overturn the decisions and spread the message that all human life is to be cherished and defended. Fr. Frank Pavone is president at Priests for Life and an active leader in the pro-life movement and at the March for Life. He says the massive crowd on a...
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Ebony and Ovaries
Hillary Clinton will soon step down as Secretary of State. But as she contemplates a 2016 campaign or just retirement, the Capitol Steps reflect on President Obama's decision to nominate Clinton to his cabinet after a bitter 2008 campaign. Our guest is Steps co-founder Elaina Newport.
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Time to REIN in Government Regulations?
Congress would have to approve the implementation of any major new regulations coming from the executive branch, according to new legislation introduced by Indiana Rep. Todd Young. A 1cmajor regulation 1d is one that is expected to impose an economic cost on the economy of $100 million or more. Young says it 19s time for the legislative branch, the one tasked with control of the federal purse strings, to have greater oversight of major moves by the executive branch. And that what the...
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Setting the Debt Ceiling Stage
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a clean, short-term extension of the debt ceiling, a move designed to force responsible action by Democrats and set the table for real spending cuts and reforms in a few months. Some conservative critics aren't so sure, suggesting this tactic gives President Obama what he wants for three months but doesn't give the GOP any additional leverage when the debate resumes. Iowa Rep. Steve King has been frustrated by the last-minute debt deals over...
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The Real Story of Mary Doe
Forty years ago Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion through two landmark decisions, but the "plaintiff" in one of the cases says she is pro-life, never agreed to be involved in the case and was the victim of "lies,fraud and deceit" to promote a political agenda. A Texas case known as Roe v. Wade became the more famous of the rulings, but equally important was a Georgia case known as Doe v. Bolton. The woman known as "Mary Doe" in the latter case was later identified as Sandra...
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Family Reflections on Dr. King
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a towering figure in the civil rights movement and the fight for racial equality, but he was also a big kid at heart who would be both impressed and sad at where this nation is nearly 45 years after his death. Monday is the federal holiday honoring Dr. King, who would now be 84 years old if he were alive today. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. In connection with her uncle's birthday, Dr. Angela Farris Watkins is releasing a new book of...
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Oprah-Bama
As President Obama is inaugurated for a second term, the Capitol Steps are looking back on his historic 2008 win and inauguration. They take special interest in Oprah Winfrey's role in promoting Obama and whether she should have taken a leading role in the administration in their fun parody, "Oprah-Bama". Our guest is Steps impressionist Mark Eaton.
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Death of the Nude Scanners
Privacy groups are cheering the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for announcing it will not renew its contract with the maker of the controversial body image scanners that allowed security personnel to see nude images of air travelers. The TSA says the decision resulted from Rapiscan, which makes the scanners, being unable to develop software to alter graphic images of passengers into generic-looking figures. These were also the machines using so-called backscatter technology...
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Why Radicals Love the Blind Sheikh
An ugly and confusing terrorist attack at an Algerian gas facility is getting even more troubling as the Islamic radicals now demand the release of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and another prominent terrorist in exchange for the remaining American hostages. Abdel Rahman is the blind sheikh now serving a life sentence for masterminding the 1993 attack against the World Trade Center. Terrorists are also demanding the release of Aafia Saddiqui, who is imprisoned on her conviction for attempted...
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How We Got the Mess in Mali
Events in the African nation of Mali are very rarely on the front burner for most Americans or even the American government, but the rise of several Islamic groups there and a related crisis in neighboring Algeria now have our attention. The most alarming events played out this week in Algeria as terrorists seized over 40 hostages, with anywhere from three to seven of them being American. A subsequent rescue attempt by Algerian troops resulted in multiple deaths and the fate of the Americans...
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Just Look at the Numbers
President Obama wants a clean hike in the debt ceiling and insists he is doing substantial work to reduce our debt and deficits. But both of those ideas are pure fantasy according to one of the top Republicans on the House Budget Committee. Georgia Rep. Tom Price is vice-chairman of the House Budget Committee and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He says while Obama is correct that a debt ceiling hike is in response to existing expenses, but there's no reason our massive...
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Obama's 'Extreme Proposals'
President Obama outlined several major legislative initiatives that he claims will reduce gun-related violence, but officials at Gun Owners of America say the proposals will assault Americans' right to keep and bear arms and do nothing to prevent senseless killings. The Obama legislative agenda includes several controversial items, starting with universal background checks to make sure guns are not purchased by felons or "someone legally prohibited from buying" a firearm. Mike Hammond is...
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Audit and End the Fed
Ron Paul may have retired from Congress but his dream for the Federal Reserve to be audited and ultimately abolished is alive and well. Georgia Rep. Paul Broun was a staunch ally of Rep. Paul's legislation to audit the Fed and is now the lead sponsor of a bill identical to the one that easily passed the House in the 112th Congress. "I'm an original intent constitutionalist, as was Ron Paul while he was here" said Broun. "We should audit the Fed. Hopefully we get rid of the Fed, and I...
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The Folly of the Coin
Over the weekend, Treasury Department officials announced the Obama administration would not pursue the minting of a trillion dollar platinum coin as a way of reducing our debt or deficits. But many on the political left are still pushing the idea as legitimate and urging the president to reconsider his position. Most Republicans were watching this movement with a combination of amusement and bewilderment, but the traction behind the coin idea is now leading to legislative efforts to prevent...
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Hole in the Center of the Ozone
It was a busy week for former Vice President Al Gore. First, he sold Current TV to Al Jazeera. Now the Capitol Steps recruit Gore to respond to a new report suggesting 2012 is the hottest on record for North America.
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Giglio Ouster 'Obviously Bigotry'
Prominent evangelical Christians are alleging liberal bigotry is to blame for pastor Louie Giglio being forced to back out from delivering the benediction at President Obama upcoming inauguration. The Presidential Inauguration Committee announced Giglio as part of the ceremony on Tuesday. Within hours, pro-homosexual marriage sites had uncovered a sermon Giglio delivered in the 1990s on the topic of homosexuality. "If you look at the counsel of the word of God, Old Testament, New Testament,...
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Assad's Desperation
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used some chemical weapons against his own people and will likely use more as his grip on power becomes increasingly tenuous. That's the assessment of retired U.S. Army Maj. General Paul Vallely, who also warned of a growing humanitarian crisis among the rebels and explained why he doesn't fear radicals rising to power if Assad falls. Vallely says Assad is using the threat of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction as a last resort, but he...
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The View from Jerusalem
Chuck Hagel 19s comments that appear critical of Israel and lenient towards Iran are causing a firestorm as the U.S. Senate prepares to consider his nomination to be defense secretary. But Israelis themselves are apparently unconcerned. 1cMost Israelis do not know the man and do not even know his name, 1d said retired Israeli Gen. Elihu Ben-Onn. 1dHe 19s not very famous. He 19s not very well-known in Israeli public opinion. We hear from sources in America in Washington that in the past Sen....
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'The Status Quo is Not Acceptable'
The fiscal cliff and an an awkward vote for Speaker of the House combined for a rocky start to 2013 for House Republicans, but Georgia freshman Rep. Doug Collins says what will define the GOP in the days to come is firm resolve to address spending, debt and entitlements in a meaningful way. Collins is a former pastor and military chaplain who represents a newly created district in the Peach State. He says a lot of Republicans weren't happy with the final fiscal cliff deal but the real...
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Debt, Defense & an 'Idiot'
Republicans are ready to shut down the government to force real spending cuts, Harry Reid is an 'idiot' and Chuck Hagel should be rejected by the U.S. Senate as our next defense secretary, according to Louisiana Sen. David Vitter. The second-term GOP senator says many in his party reluctantly went along with the final fiscal cliff agreement but Vitter insists there is a clear line in the sand. "I wasn't the overall bill I would have drafted if I were king for the day because it didn't...
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'They're Doing It All Backwards'
President Obama nominated former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense on Monday, igniting a fierce Senate debate over Hagel's positions on Israel and Iran and whether he's the right choice for the job. Retired U.S. Army Maj. General Paul Vallely is not impressed with the choice. Even before positions on key issues are considered, Vallely says Hagel is lacking in two key areas. "He doesn't have that much corporate experience or running money, so I don't think he's...
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'I've Taken Stands on Both Sides'
President Obama nominated Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Assuming Kerry is confirmed, the new position will give him the highest profile since his unsuccessful 2004 presidential campaign. As a result, the Capitol Steps reflect back to that campaign and their parody highlighting the senator's most famous gaffe. Our guest is Capitol Steps Kerry impressionist Mark Eaton.
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Obama's Gun Ban Fallback Plan?
President Obama, Congressional Democrats and even some Republicans plan to push new gun control legislation in the 113th Congress, but defenders of the Second Amendment fear Obama is poised to enact the restrictions through the executive branch if Congress is not cooperative. John M. Snyder heads the gunrightspolicies.org blog and has worked for organizations from the National Rifle Association to the Second Amendment Foundation to the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms....
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He's Not A Serious President
As the 113th U.S. Congress convenes, House Republicans are a bit fractured but are ready to fight hard in vital debates ranging from the debt ceiling to job creation. Texas Rep. Kevin Brady is the top House Republican on the Joint Economic Committee and is also a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He says the recent fights over the fiscal cliff legislation splintered the GOP, but no one should anticipate anything shocking in today's election for Speaker of the House. "We're having...
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Dissecting the Fiscal Cliff 'Fix'
Congress passed legislation to avert the "fiscal cliff" just hours into the new year, but whether the bill is better than no bill at all remains a subject of fierce debate. National Taxpayers Union Executive Vice President Peter Sepp is not impressed with the final product or how Congress went about it's work. "Congress still had time to pass a better bill than this. They will say that this was the best deal that was politically possible. I think that had they gotten to this work sooner,...
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2012 Passings - Part 2
Greg Corombos remembers more of the prominent names who passed away in 2012. From Dick Clark to Andy Griffith to Whitney Houston, Corombos reflects on the incredible performers we lost in film, television, music and beyond.
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2012 Passings - Part 1
Greg Corombos reflects upon the prominent figures who passed away in 2012 - from the first man on the moon to a conservative firebrand to a pair of college football coaching legends. In this segment, Corombos remembers those we lost in the arenas politics, media, business and sports.
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'You Need to Get in the Ring'
Plenty of people have experience in politics, but few in politics have much experience in the business world. That's why entrepreneur Pete Snyder is running to be the next lieutenant governor in Virginia. Virginia's statewide offices are on the ballot every four years in odd numbered years and all three of Virginia's statewide offices are up for grans next year. Snyder has long been active in Republican politics but never sought office himself. Instead, he spent the past 13 years starting...
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Muzzle Joe
Vice President Joe Biden has provided a wealth of material to comedians, so the Capitol Steps use a bunch of Biden missteps as the focus of their new Christmas parody "Muzzle Joe". Our guest is Capitol Steps star and co-founder Elaina Newport.
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'We're Trapped'
House Republicans spent Thursday moving toward passage of what being called Plan B. That's the compromise plan offered by House Speaker John Boehner that would raise taxes only on Americans earning more than one million dollars per year. Even after House passage, the plan faces a very uncertain future since Senate Democrats refuse to consider it and President Obama has said he would veto it if the plan ever reached his desk. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul sees Republicans effectively trapped in...
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'I Think You Go Over the Cliff'
Recent reports suggest a deal between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to avert the fiscal cliff may be possible in the coming days. But if a deal happens, it may well be a result of the Republicans giving the most ground. Boehner has already offered to raise taxes on those earning more than a million dollars per year, but the Obama administration says that's not enough. Obama is reportedly offering to raise the ceiling a bit higher on those protected from a tax increase. In...
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Exploiting a Tragedy?
In the wake of the horrific killings in Newtown, Connecticut, many lawmakers have called for new gun restrictions to be enacted - from a renewal of the assault weapons ban to mandatory limits on the size of ammunition clips to new laws prohibiting the mentally ill from owning firearms. Erich Pratt is communications director at Gun Owners of America. He tells us why more restrictions will likely lead to more of these tragedies rather than less. He details why arming teachers and...
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Capitol Steps Holiday Favorites
The Capitol Steps continue their pattern of combining our favorite Christmas melodies with the political and cultural events of our day. Today their holiday parodies include "The 12 Days of Twitter" and "Temperatures We Have Heard Are High" featuring former Vice President Al Gore.
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Morsi, Egypt and Sharia
Massive protests filled the streets of Cairo in recent weeks following the announcement from new Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi that he was greatly expanding his powers and that they would not be subject to judicial review. Many of the same demonstrators who demanded more freedom and the resignation of Hosni Mubarak almost two years ago angrily rejected Morsi's power grab. Eventually, Morsi relented and declared he would not pursue the expanded powers. But before anyone expects a tidal...
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Assad's Last Days
Two lingering headaches in America's foreign policy took on new dimensions this week as North Korea fired a missile over Japan and launched a satellite and the U.S. formally recognized the Syrian opposition in its battle against President Bashar al-Assad. Retired U.S. Army Major General Paul Vallely was deputy commanding general for the Pacific and also returned from consultations with military officials from the Syrian opposition. He says Assad's days are numbered. "Assad will fall. The...
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The Obamacare Resistance Movement
2012 was a very bad year for opponents of the Obama health laws as they suffered an agonizing loss at the Supreme Court and blew an opportunity to change course on Election Day. Nonetheless, efforts to stop or at least slow the implementation of key provisions continues. State leaders, religious officials, national Republicans and even some national Democrats could play critical roles in this effort. Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen Institute, one of the leading health policy...
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A Supreme Test for Marriage
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments next year on two critical cases related to the definition of marriage. One case stems from California, where a federal court struck down a 2008 state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Also under consideration by the justices will be the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage in the traditional manner for the purpose of government...
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'That's Not Leadership'
America will fall off the proverbial fiscal cliff in less than four weeks unless Congressional Republicans and President Obama find common ground. But Georgia Rep. and House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Tom Price says President Obama's unwillingness to have serious negotiations is undermining the process and is a disservice to the American people. He says all the attention is focused on tax rates for the rich but he says the avalanche will involve much more than that. "Look this is...
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Twinkies and Political Correctness
The Capitol Steps have fun with multiple stories this week. First, in "Twinkie, Twinkie," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pours out his heart over Hostess closing operations. In the holiday parody, "Have Yourself a HanakwanzaChristmas," the Steps lampoon the politically correct effort to remove all distinction from any holidays at this time of year in the fear of offending someone. Our guest is Capitol Steps star and co-founder Elaina Newport.
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'We're Clearly Being Punished'
House Speaker John Boehner is working feverishly to find common ground with the Obama administration to avert to coming fiscal cliff, but the Speaker and his lieutenants may have an even bigger problem now that four conservative lawmakers have been stripped of key committee positions for not being loyal enough to the GOP leadership. The decisions came from a Republican steering committee tasked with making committee assignments. The panel stripped Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp and Michigan Rep....
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More Guns Means Less Crime
NBC sportscaster Bob Costas is trying to clarify comments he made during Sunday night's broadcast that America's gun culture is partly to blame for the murder-suicide perpetrated Saturday morning by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. Costas now says he's not in favor of repealing the second amendment or denying people the right to own firearms for the purpose of protection or hunting. However, he claims there's no need for anyone to have a virtual arsenal of weapons or to have any...
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Dead Men Flying
The U.S. military is not only the world's most powerful fighting force but it's also responsible for some of the most significant humanitarian service in the past two generations. That role largely found its genesis in Operation Dust Off, a concerted military venture in Vietnam to rescue troops and civilians in harm's way. Retired U.S. Army Gen. Patrick Brady is Medal of Honor recipient and was a critical figure in the humanitarian success of the war. He tells the story of the humanitarian...
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Time for Answers on Benghazi
With almost three months elapsed since the September terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Special Operations Speaks is tired of the delay in answers from the Obama administration and is demanding action. "We view the events in Libya as sort of a jigsaw puzzle that's been dumped out of the box on to the table, and there's a heck of a lot of pieces that need to be put together to reveal the big picture," said retired U.S. Air Force Col. Dick Brauer, co-founder of Special...
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Citizen Rights & U.S. Sovereignty
Utah Sen. Mike Lee is taking a leading role on two critical issues before the lame duck Congress, as he successfully passed an amendment he says will protect the legal rights of Americans. Lee is also spearheading opposition to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which he says erodes American sovereignty and diminishes the rights of parents. On Thursday, Lee teamed with California Democrat Dianne Feinstein to amend the new version of the National Defense...
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Filibusters and Fiscal Cliffs
Lawmakers have exactly one month to avert the onslaught of tax hikes and spending sequestration known as the "fiscal cliff". Thus far, Democrats claim anything that doesn't include a tax increase on the wealthy is a non-starter and Republicans assert that they will reject any plan that raises anyone's marginal tax rates. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he is fed up with Republicans killing Democratic legislation through the filibuster. As a result, Reid is vowing to change...
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The Blame Game
There's just one month remaining before American heads over the "fiscal cliff" - unless Congress and President Obama can agree on a way to avoid it. Thus far, both parties have spent most of their time accusing the other of not being willing to compromise. In that spirit, the Capitol Steps take us inside the Congressional impasse with their parody, "We Need Someone to Blame." Our guest is Steps Co-Founder Elaina Newport.
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What Media Miss in the Mideast
Headlines have been flying out the Middle East in recent weeks - from the Israel-Hamas fighting and cease-fire to Mohammed Morsi's attempted power grab in Egypt to special elections being called in Israel to the Palestinians trying to move towards statehood through a key vote at the United Nations. But much of what we're hearing on these stories barely scratches the surface and almost always misses the heart of the story, according to Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Evans Institute for Middle...
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The Road Ahead on Obamacare
Barring legal or legislative interference, the Obama health care laws are scheduled to be fully implemented by 2014. In the past few weeks, we've seen a growing number of states refuse to set up health insurance exchanges and some are balking at an expanded state role for Medicaid as well. But while states avoid getting entangled in the bureaucracy, does that mean much for individual Americans? Former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey is author of "Decoding the Obama Health Law." She says...
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Obamacare and the Supremes
Opponents of the Obama health laws believed hopes of the Supreme Court striking down the key provisions of the plan were dashed when the individual mandate was upheld in June. But on Monday, the justices ordered the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a suit filed by Liberty University that alleges the individual and employer mandates are unconstitutional because they infringe on the free exercise of religion. That argument was not part of the arguments in the cases decided in...
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Flat Taxes & Failed Leadership
With the nation just five weeks away from plunging off the so-called "fiscal cliff", Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert says the lines currently drawn in this debate are badly focused - largely due to poor or non-existent. Since Election Day, President Obama has continued to insist that more revenue needs to be generated through income tax hikes on households earning more than $250,000 per year. Republicans, led by House Speaker John Boehner, have said they will not support marginal tax hikes on any...
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Changing the Benghazi Intel
Last week, former CIA Director David Petraeus told Congress he knew immediately that the attack on our consulate in Benghazi was an orchestrated act of terrorism and it was described as such in CIA talking points. On Tuesday, new reports suggest that the decision to remove references to Al Qaeda and terrorism from those talking points was made by the office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and agreed to by the CIA and FBI. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John...
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Israel's Lousy Options
Israel appears to be rejecting the latest efforts by Hamas and Egypt to impose a cease-fire after several days of intense fighting. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says Israel has no appealing options right now but may be choosing the least objectionable course for the moment. He says a cease-fire now solves almost nothing. "If Israel actually does stop it's response before it eliminates those missiles and arrives at some kind of mechanism to keep replacements from...
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Digging for the Truth on Benghazi
Lawmakers have just scratched the surface in their investigation of the terrorist attacks on our consulate in Benghazi, but Congress has made progress on getting to the bottom of the biggest mysteries - why the State Department denied requests for more security at the consulate and what information the White House initially received from intelligence sources. California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is chairman of its Oversight and...
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UN, Obama Target Gun Rights
The day after President Obama was re-elected, his administration acted to jumpstart a United Nations treaty that critics say takes direct aim at second amendment freedoms here in the U.S. Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly is pushing House legislation to demand the president reject any efforts at the United Nations or anywhere else to infringe on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. The House doesn't have any real jurisdiction on the issue as the Senate gives the final word on treaties,...
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Rolling Kidney Stones
Even after 50 years of performing, the Rolling Stones are still not done. They are heading out on another new tour. The Capitol Steps believe this longevity is impressive but that it also requires some Stones classics to be slightly rewritten. Our guest is Steps Co-Founder Elaina Newport.
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Sen. Paul and the Fiscal Cliff
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul says tax hikes will stifle growth but tax and entitlement reforms and major spending cuts could go a long way to putting our fiscal house back in order. Sen. Paul says both parties need to give up some "sacred cows" to make progress on reform. In the short term, however, he fears the Republicans will give in on raising taxes on wealthy Americans and small businesses to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. "The disconcerting thing is you're now hearing Republicans who are...
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'Declaration of War'
Hamas rockets aimed at Tel Aviv is tantamount to a declaration of war from the terrorist group and Israel will do whatever is necessary to protect its people and remove the threat, according to retired Israeli Brigadier General Elihu Ben-Onn. On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Forces targeted and killed Ahmed Jabari, the militant leader of Hamas. In response, Hamas is launching even more rockets - this time into the suburbs of Tel Aviv. "Absolutely this is a declaration of war by those bloody...
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Escape from North Korea
North Korea routinely ranks at the top of lists of the world's nations in terms of most repression, least open to the rest of the world and greatest persecutor of Christians. Any disobedience to the communist regime is dealt with very harshly, yet the dire conditions motivate many there to attempt an escape. Former Wall Street Journal Deputy Editorial Page Editor Melanie Kirkpatrick has studied the stories of those with the courage to lave for a better life. Her new book on the subject is...
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Petraeus 'Sold Out' at CIA
David Petraeus may have resigned last week as a result of personal failings, but his biggest mistakes were to back up a false Obama administration narrative on Benghazi and place himself in a position to be compromised. That's the conclusion of Wayne Simmons, who spent 27 years as part of an Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Group for the CIA. He is also the author of the new political thriller, "The Natanz Directive". "He sold out," said Simmons of the decision by Petraeus to publicly...
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Super PACs
Tuesday's elections not only decided critical races around the country, but it also means the blizzard of political ads mercifully came to a stop. The Capitol Steps reflect upon the media onslaught in Super PACs. Our guest is Steps star Elaina Newport.
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'Beginning of the Death of America'
Tuesday's elections resulted in the re-election of President Obama, but they also brought the enshrinement of gay marriage in three states and the defeat of a traditional marriage amendment in a fourth. Voters in Maryland, Maine and Washington gave thumbs up to legalizing same-sex marriage and the people of Minnesota rejected a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have defined marriage in the Gopher State only as the union of one man and one woman. The results end a string...
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Run on Principles, Fire Boehner
Mitt Romney should have embraced the Republican platform and the current Republican in leaders in Congress should step down from leadership as a result of their "massive failure", according to legendary conservative activist Richard Viguerie. Viguerie has been a fixture in the conservative movement for over 50 years, pioneered direct mail political advertising and is chairman of conservativehq.com. After great initial concern about Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee, Viguerie says the...
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Ready to Fight and Deal
Americans voted to re-elect President Obama and keep Republicans in control of the House of Representatives. With a myriad of tax cuts ready to expire and the "fiscal cliff" looming less than eight weeks away, both Obama and House Republicans are vowing cooperation but neither side seems ready to budge on the issue of tax hikes for wealthier Americans. "We have to remember this is not about competition. This is about conviction," said Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the Republican Study...
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Allen Sprints to the Finish
With just hours left to vote in the battleground state of Virginia, former Senator George Allen is campaigning to the last moment in his effort to defeat former Gov. Tim Kaine and win back the seat he lost in 2006. Allen is urging all Virginians to head to the polls but suggests that common sense should convince people to pick him to serve in Washington. "I feel that anybody who pays taxes, works for a living or lost a job, anybody who drives a car or uses electricity or anybody who...
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Who's Counting?
Polls were only open for a couple of hours when the first allegations of voter suppression and intimidation came in from Philadelphia. Whether or not those irregularities have an impact on today's elections is yet to be seen, but election experts already see many avenues for cheating in our current system. John Fund writes for National Review Online and is author of the new book, "Who's Counting?: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk." He says America's system is an...
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A Record of Destruction
President Obama's re-election campaign theme is "Forward" but Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe says Obama has purposefully spent the past four years destroying every institution that makes America great and making life miserable for American businesses of all kinds. Inhofe says people from his state constantly tell him they feel targeted by government regulations, and he used energy as a prime example. "They have this war on fossil fuels," said Inhofe. "He's doing everything to kill domestic...
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Life In the Democratic Crosshairs
Democrats lost 63 seats in the House of Representatives and they are fiercely targeting GOP members in key swing districts. Michigan Rep. Dan Benishek won in 2010 after Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak retired rather than face the voters after providing the final boost for the Obama health care package. Benishek claimed the seat with a double-digit win over longtime Democratic state lawmaker Gary McDowell. But McDowell is back and he's got several well-funded special interests helping him out....
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Mitt's Rap
Mitt Romney has a reputation for being a bit square, so the Capitol Steps try to show the more casual side of the GOP nominee. Our guest is Steps Co-Founder Elaina Newport.
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'Grasping at Anything'
Political figures from former Vice President Al Gore to Rep. Henry Waxman claim global warming is responsible for Hurricane Sandy and the havoc she wrought on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says his late endorsement of President Obama is largely because he believes Obama will do more to combat global warming and help avert storms like the one that just pounded his city. But while blaming man's impact on his environment may be the politically trendy...
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Col. Perkins Shoots Back
Two-term Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly is under heavy fire for allegedly suggesting that time spent serving in local government better qualifies a person to serve in Congress than years of military service. The controversy stems from comments Connolly made at the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, where he touted his time serving in local government in Fairfax County, Virginia. "He's reacting to a comment that I made that you can't run for federal office on you local political record no matter...
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'This Election is About the Future'
The first female fighter pilot in combat is now immersed in a new battle - trying to win a tight Congressional race for the seat formerly held by Gabrielle Giffords. Martha McSally is a military pioneer. In addition to becoming the first female fighter pilot to see combat, she was also the first woman to command a fighter squadron. In addition, she also fought - and won - a battle against the Pentagon after the government initially ordered female service members to wear traditional Muslim...
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Santorum Sees GOP Surge
Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum believes Mitt Romney has the momentum heading into next week's elections and he's also defending embattled GOP Senate hopefuls Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin as they take heat for comments on rape and abortion. Santorum says there's no doubt Romney has the momentum in the race for the White House. "If I was playing poker and I had two hands to choose from, I think I'd take Gov. Romney's hand right now," said Santorum. "Key states that...
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Senate Duel in the Desert
Arizona is one of more than a dozen states where razor-close Senate races will determine the majority in the the next Congress. Six-term Rep. Jeff Flake is the Republican nominee against Democrat Richard Carmona in the contest to replace retiring GOP Sen. Jon Kyl. Flake says his record on spending, jobs and border security make him the better choice and he adds that Carmona's dishonesty is on full display in this contest. When it comes to the economy, Flake says he is the pro-growth...
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Don't Do What Europe Did
The CEO of a major European bank says swelling the ranks of people dependent upon government may help to win elections but it sets nations on an irreversible decline into socialism. Lars Christiansen is CEO at Denmark-based Saxo bank, which has a strong presence in many areas of Europe. He says the hallmarks of socialism are evident throughout Europe and increasingly in the U.S.. "European socialism is a system whereby there's very generous entitlements, lot of social transfer payments (and)...
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Return to Spenders
Both the Obama and Romney campaigns are trying to convince voters they are the best choice and the other candidate is a risk people can't take. Obama likes to paint Romney as looking out for the wealthy, while Romney says another four years under Obama would look as bad as the past four years. In response to all this, the Capitol Steps bring back their 2009 favorite "Return to Spenders".
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The Case for Another GOP House
Republicans are trying to win back the White House and Senate this year but they are also making the case that voters should return them to the majority in the House of Representatives. Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress and the White House in 2009 and 2010. Voters did not give them strong reviews, greatly shrinking the Democratic edge in the Senate and handing the GOP a majority in the House with an historic 63-seat gain. Now the GOP is in the position of arguing for change...
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PC Military Ruins Stellar Career
Military brass already under fire for embracing for embracing President Obama's repeal of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' and lashing out at an anti-Islamic filmmaker is now facing more heat for targeting a highly decorated officer for teaching an approved class on radical Islam. Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley is a 1994 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and has received commendations for exemplary service over nearly 20 years of service. However, Dooley's career is now in shambles because he was fired...
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'This Is Such A Failure'
Mitt Romney came across as a credible commander-in-chief but missed some chances to effectively criticize President Obama's foreign policy record, according to South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson. A member of both the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, Wilson was stunned that Romney didn't shine the spotlight on the September terrorist attack at our consulate in Benghazi and the evolving response by the Obama administration. "I believe it was (a missed opportunity)," said...
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'Their Careers Are on the Line'
Chaplains are being forced to put aside their religious beliefs to perform same-sex ceremonies on military bases and Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe says that needs to stop. Inhofe is the second highest ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and admits some chaplains have opted out but only with the understanding that their refusal to follow orders will mean the end of their careers. The senator considers the Navy the most hostile to the religious freedom of the chaplains....
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'If I Tax A Rich Man'
President Obama made it clear once again in Tuesday's debate that his top economic goal if re-elected would be to raise taxes on wealthy Americans. The Capitol Steps combine the president and musical theater to explain where that extra money would go.
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D'Souza's Downfall
World magazine is standing by its story that renowned Christian author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza shared a hotel room at an evangelical conference with a woman other than his wife. Earlier this week, the magazine reported that D'Souza attended and addressed a Christian apologetics conference in South Carolina in late September. He arrived with a woman named Denise Joseph, and D'Souza informed several people that the two were engaged. That raised eyebrows for some at the conference since...
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Debate Fact vs. Fiction
Texas is not considered a battleground state, but the Lone Star State is at the epicenter of two critical issues - energy and immigration - that were highlighted in this week's presidential debate. The fireworks started early over the issue of high gas prices, which neither candidate actually addressed. Instead, President Obama contended that he had drastically increased domestic production of energy and Mitt Romney claimed exploration had actually been reduced over the past four years....
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Time to Help Todd Akin
Republicans across the board shunned Rep. Todd Akin for his rape comments back in August, but South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is now working feverishly to help his friend win the U.S. Senate seat in Missouri against embattled Democrat Claire McCaskill. "He took a big hit when he got his foot in his mouth," said DeMint. "He has asked forgiveness. He's got a good voting record and we are doing everything we can to still win that seat. For me, it's a choice between Todd Akin and Harry Reid."...
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Defense Cuts Better Than No Cuts
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan voted against the 2011 debt ceiling deal that ultimately led to big mandatory spending cuts for the military, but he says the huge resulting cuts in defense spending ought to go forward. "The only thing worse than defense cuts are no cuts at all," he said. "I thought this was a bad deal that was put together. I opposed it, fought it every step of the way. The super committee, which was supposed to solve things to come up with actual cuts. It completely failed like many...
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Minnesota's Marriage Fight
Traditional marriage is undefeated at the ballot box in the U.S. but the issue is before the voters in four more states next month. Three states will be deciding whether to legalize same sex marriage, while Minnesota residents will be asked to approve a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as only the union of one man and one woman. Right now, polls show support for the amendment just barely outpacing opposition. Minnesota for Marriage Communications Director Chuck Darrell says...
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Par for the Course
Louisiana Sen. David Vitter is unloading on the Obama administration for once again trying to limit domestic energy production. The latest episode in this debate centers around the 23.5 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The energy industry and political leaders in both parties worked to open as much of the reserve as possible to exploration but the Department of the Interior agreed to allow exploration on just 11.5 million acres. "Unfortunately, this is very much par...
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Biden's Bad Form
Polls showed America split on who won the vice presidential debate, but Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot agrees with much of the country that Vice President Joe Biden conducted himself beneath the dignity of his office for his frequent smirks, grins, laughs and interruptions. "It was juvenile, really," said Chabot. "In fact less than that because I would expect most young people and teenagers would act more responsible and be more respectful than he act last night. It was very, I think, off-putting...
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Just Can't Hide that Biden Guy
The 2012 vice presidential debate is in the books and the Capitol Steps are still trying to figure out what we saw from Joe Biden Thursday night. Fortunately for the Steps, they've had a few years to evaluate the many stumbles and bizarre behavior of the man next in line for the presidency. Here's their ode the the VP, "Just Can't Hide that Biden Guy".
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'Paul Can Handle It'
Thursday night is the only vice presidential debate of the 2012 presidential campaign, and the newest face in the race will be ready. That's the assessment from Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry about his House colleague, close friend and 1998 freshman classmate Paul Ryan. Terry says he is looking forward to this debate because he's well aware of Ryan's command of the most important issue of the day. "Paul really knows his stuff," said Terry. "He is an expert at budgets and numbers and tax policy....
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Affirmative Action & The Supremes
The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in the latest battle over racial preferences in the college admissions process. The case at hand centers on Abigail Fisher, who was denied admission to the University of Texas but claims her grades and extra-curricular activities were far superior to those of students chosen ahead of her. Why? Fisher says it's because she is white and was a victim of the university's preference toward minority students. School leaders do not deny using race as a...
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Double Voting? No Problem!
New Project Veritas videos show Obama campaign volunteers ready to assist in voter fraud by helping people cast ballots in multiple states. The bulk of the new video centers on the Organizing for America (OFA) office in Houston, as an undercover videographer tells regional field director Stephanie Caballero that wants to vote in both Texas and Florida. She claims she's all set to vote in Texas and is registered to vote in Florida but isn't sure how to get a Florida ballot. After some initial...
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'Absolute Political Correctness'
California's new law banning any counseling that discourages acting on same-sex attractions is now facing an intense legal fight in federal court. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the ban last week, saying the idea of counseling people away from their homosexual inclinations ought to be relegated to the "dust bin of quackery". But Liberty Counsel Chairman Mathew Staver is gearing up for the impending legal battle. He says a Democratic state lawmaker proposed the bill after watching an MTV...
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I Just Don't Know What We're Doing
Scores of U.S. troops have been killed by supposed allies within the Afghan military and police forces. These green-on-blue murders prompted the Pentagon to suspend joint patrols. Retired U.S. Marine Bing West has been embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan on many occasions and just returned from going on a series of patrols. He says there really isn't more that can be done to screen the Afghans going on these patrols so our current strategy seems pretty pointless. "I just don't know what...
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'A Sacred Trust'
Two months ago, Missouri Rep. Todd Akin was riding high. He had just won a very competitive U.S. Senate primary and was comfortably ahead of embattled Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. About two weeks later, all of that changed when Akin took heavy fire for saying that women's bodies have a natural mechanism for preventing pregnancy in the case of "legitimate rape". That triggered a swing in the polls and prompted scores of Republicans to call for his withdrawal from the race. Ultimately,...
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The REAL First Debate
The political world is abuzz in the wake of Wednesday's first presidential debate, but most Americans are not aware of the first encounter between the two candidates a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, the Capitol Steps were there.
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The Obamacare Fight Continues
The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the individual mandate within the Obama health care laws seemed to be the last word in a fierce legal fight. Think again. On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the Justice Department to respond to a suit filed by Liberty Counsel on behalf of Liberty University. The school contends both the individual and employer mandates are unconstitutional on the grounds that they infringe upon the freedom of religious expression. The case was filed in March of 2010...
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Why Romney Won the Debate
Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert says Mitt Romney won the debate because he had command of the facts and President Obama simply cannot defend his record. "In fairness to the president, it's easier to debate if you have got a strong record behind you and he just didn't have a whole to defend," said Gohmert. The congressman also said Romney proved he understood the energy industry by pointing out the plans Obama claims will clamp down on Big Oil will actually do very little to hurt the biggest firms...
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Momentum Changer
Mitt Romney dominated the first presidential debate and the change in momentum could be a huge boost to Republican congressional candidates, according to the man tasked with preserving and increasing the GOP majority in the House of Representatives. Texas Rep. Pete Sessions is chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. He says Mitt Romney delivered a message in the debate that Americans have been waiting to hear. "We finally had someone stand up and say 'Mr. President,...
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Mugged
Syndicated columnist Ann Coulter says Democrats are guilty of waging racial demagoguery for nearly 50 years and have devastated the black community in the process. In her new book, "Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama," Coulter accuses Democrats of leading the fight for segregation and Jim Crow laws and then suddenly jumping in front of the civil rights parade when their previous approach was no longer politically beneficial. She says the shift led to many destructive...
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A Criminal Lack of Transparency
In 2008, President Obama excoriated the Bush administration for its lack of transparency, and he vowed to lead the most open administration in U.S. history. Not only has that not materialized, but the Obama White House is among the most secretive in history and routinely breaks federal laws to keep damaging information from coming to light. Christopher Horner is a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute specializing in energy and environmental issues, although he studies other...
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A 'Bump in the Road' to What?
Arabs for Israel Founder Nonie Darwish says President Obama's Middle East policy is a failure and it's been proven by the events of the past three weeks. Darwish says it's unthinkable that our consulate in Benghazi did not have enough security and that the Obama administration took 10 days to admit Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others were killed in a terrorist attack. Obama called the murders a 'bump in the road' and Darwish wants to know, "A road to what?" She slams what she considers...
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Truth is #1 Enemy of Islam
Islamic countries indoctrinate children with hatred towards Israel and teach them Israel has no historic claim to the land or the city of Jerusalem. That's the basis for endless rage in the Arab Street against the Israelis, according to Nonie Darwish, founder of Arabs for Israel. Darwish shares her story of being born into a Muslim family in Egypt and being raised to hate Israel. She explains how coming to America and converting to Christianity opened her eyes to the truth about the Middle...
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Time for a Democratic Exodus
Democrats have been moving further and further away from the Judeo-Christian values that built our nation, and formally embracing gay marriage should be the step that triggers a mass exodus from the Democratic Party. That's the argument from Bishop E.W. Jackson, a longtime minister and a former candidate for U.S. Senate in Virginia. Jackson was raised as a Democrat but left the party over cultural issues in 1980. At the time he considered it a personal decision and did not feel compelled to...
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'Greece'
The turmoil over rampant debt in Greece and other nearly insolvent European nations is sparking new riots and tension over efforts to rein in excessive spending. Here in the U.S., the Republican ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is warning that without greater fiscal discipline, our country is headed towards a Greek-like crisis. Always wanting to help, the Capitol Steps use the music of the hit musical "Grease" to educate us on the debt mess in Greece.
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Pennsylvania Suddenly in Play
For most of 2012, the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race was considered a yawner. Incumbent Democrat Bob Casey held a strong lead for months and was up by 20 points just a month ago. But four new polls are showing a much different story, as Republican challenger Tom Smith has now closed to as few as three points behind Casey. A businessman for 44 years, Smith says his biggest challenge was building name recognition and informing voters of the real Casey legacy. Smith refers to Casey as "Senator...
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'A Free People's Suicide'
Americans fought to win our freedom from Great Britain. We fought to preserve it in our Constitution. But now we're in danger of failing to sustain it as our nation drifts further away from what made us great. That's the thesis of the new book "A Free People's Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future" by renowned spiritual and cultural author Os Guinness. Guinness contends America's greatness is underpinned by the three-legged stool of virtue, faith and freedom and all of those...
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Where's Our Free Speech?
President Obama addressed the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Obama paid tribute to murdered U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and continued to hail the Arab Spring, despite many of those same countries now aflame in deadly rioting. Two comments are drawing more attention than any others, however. After days of edging away from blaming most of the recent Mideast chaos on an obscure internet video critical to Mohammed, Obama again spent considerable...
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