President Obama Avoided Protesters Outside Town Hall, Says Protest Leader

President Obama went the "chicken way out" of a N.H. town hall meeting Tuesday by no listening to what protesters had to say, says Corey Lewandowski, N.H. Director of Americans for Prosperity and leader of a protest outside the Portsmouth town hall. (0:18)

Minority Leaders In House And Senate Fight Obama’s Health Care Agenda

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

The minority leaders in the Senate and the House of Representatives—Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and John Boehner (R-Ohio) respectively—sought to preemptively counter an address set to be delivered by President Obama on health care reform Wednesday evening.

During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Boehner warned that Obama will “repeat some of the myths that he’s been repeating over the last several months.” He said that Obama will claim that the reform proposal will reduce costs, keep the deficit from rising, and allow Americans to keep their current health care plan.

The House Majority Leader cited a report recently released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to combat these arguments. He said that the plan will spend 1.6 trillion dollars in costs, increase the deficit by $239 billion, and give employers the incentive to move millions of Americans from private to public coverage.

Senator McConnell criticized a meeting that occurred yesterday between President Obama and CBO Director Doug Elmendorf. He said that the CBO should remain free of political pressures, and likened the meeting to “the owner of the team asking the umpires to come up to the owner’s box.”

The Republican leaders rejected the idea that their opposition is inspired by political attacks on President Obama. “This is not about the President,” said McConnell. “This is about the issue, and taking the time to get it right. He said that the President criticizes “unnamed” opponents of health care reform, adding“I can’t find a single member who is not for trying to improve America’s health care system."

McConnell said that health care reform should take place on a “large bipartisan basis,” and mentioned some plans to cut costs, including preventing frivolous malpractice suits and encouraging Americans to lead healthier lives. He said that the high numbers of uninsured Americans could be reduced by equalizing tax treatment of individuals and corporations, since only companies receive deductibles by providing health insurance.

Boehner stated that the President should “scrap” the plan proffered by the House Democrats, and that negotiations should begin anew and include both parties.

Giuliani: Ideology Has Overrun Reality For Democrats

By Laura Woodhead - Talk Radio News Service

"Ideology has overrun reality" when it comes to the Democrats' agenda said former New York city Mayor Rudy Giuliani Wednesday. Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute's discussion on 'Keeping America Competitive, Prosperous, Entrepreneurial, and Enterprising: Why Capitalism Works,' Giuliani said that he was fearful that the Obama administration was producing bad solutions to the economic crisis; solutions which will send America deeper into recession.

"If you think the idea is that government is going to be able to run financial institutions, banks, automotive companies....the entire health care industry, or energy better than private enterprise has been able to do... go look at what government has run." Giuliani said. "The government ran [social security] as a political program rather than an economic program...the political choices overwhelmed the sensible economic choices that had to be made."

Guiliani said that it was important to allow the private sector to fix the economy rather than the government through legislation such as the stimulus.

"It would be a terrible mistake if we allow this to continue, what appears to be an inexorable answer that government can fix this problem. It would defy history, it would defy the facts" he said.

Giuliani stressed that the biggest battles would be over health care and energy, as they would be the hardest to undo.

"We cant undo institutions," Giuliani said. "This is scary stuff."

Giuliani said that he was disappointed that the President has not brought more transparency to Washington as he promised he would.

"The whole argument for this health care bill is an argument for no transparency" he said."If it's so good, if it has such great ideas, whats the rush? Why not let it be examined in the market of free ideas?"

"I am afraid that we are embracing social democracy" Giuliani added. "Everything that has been done so far has taken this recession and extended it."

Energy, Health Care Bills Will Kill Jobs, Hurt Economy Say House GOP'ers

By Laura Woodhead - Talk Radio News Service

The energy and health care proposals currently being debated in Congress will be disastrous for the economy, House Republicans said at a press conference Tuesday. Speaking following the weekly House Republican conference, Rep. Mike Pence (R - Ind.) said that the Democrats seem determined to try and pass their bills despite the negative impact they'll have on an already challenged economy. If it were to pass, the American Clean Energy Act and the Democrats' health care plan would be a "disaster for this economy and a disaster for working Americans" he said.

"House Republicans are determined to step forward and demand that this Congress focus on putting this country back on its feet," Pence added.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said that there is a strong bi-partisan coalition opposing the current health care proposals.

"Either this bill fails or it changes dramatically," Cantor said. "If the bill fails it will be because of disagreement among the Democrats as to the proper direction to head as far as health care reform is concerned."

"This administration, this President has no one else to blame," he added. "What they ought to be doing is coming to work with us in order to reflect a much more reasoned approach to try and accomplish health care for the American people."

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio.) said that the "President is going to begin his barnstorming" on bills that will kill jobs.

"The stimulus bill isnt working, they bring along this health care bill that will cost 5 million jobs, and they bring this cap and trade bill up last month that will cost us 2.5 million jobs each year for the next ten years. This is not what the American people want."

Boehner called on President Obama to abandon current health care proposals and negotiate with Republicans in order to achieve economically feasible health care reform.

"Mr President, it's time to scrap this bill. It's time to start working in a bi-partisan way," he said.

Experts Support Obama’s Response to Contested Iranian Election

By Mariko Lamb- Talk Radio News Service

Nick Burns, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, countered critics who have described Obama’s response to the allegedly fraudulent election in Iran as overly passive. Instead, Burns said that Obama was “sensible” and “handled it superbly.”

Mounting evidence has suggested that the results of the recent Presidential election in Iran, which resulted in the apparent re-election of former President Ahmadinejad, suffered from fraud. The newly surfaced evidence includes: millions of extra ballots that were printed but unaccounted for, a refusal to use mandated see-through ballot boxes, a refusal to monitor ballots, and voting stations running out of ballots early despite being given an overabundance of blank ballots.

“I don’t have any doubt that it was a stolen election,” said speaker Abbas Milani, Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University, in a discussion on the United States’ response to the Iranian elections Tuesday.

Karim Sadjadpour, former Chief Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the elections were fixed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini because “a Mousavi Presidency and an Obama Presidency at the same time would make it very clear to everyone that Ayatollah Khomeini is the impediment that is standing in the way of U.S.-Iran relations.”

Burns said, “[Obama] has been very thoughtful, measured--you’ve seen that his statements have become progressively stronger in line with events.” He continued to praise Obama for not “playing politics with the issue at home” and maintaining his focus on hopes of diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran instead of succumbing to domestic criticism.