The Factor Rundown
Want KILLING REAGAN Free?
Comments
|
Four weeks away from the Iowa vote
Guests: Monica Crowley & Alan Colmes
"The Iowa Caucus is less than four weeks away, so let's assess where we are. A new poll shows that 60% of likely caucus-goers could still be persuaded to change their minds. The respondents also picked Mitt Romney as 'most presidential' and 'most electable,' Ron Paul as 'most negative,' and Newt Gingrich as the candidate 'best able to bring about real change.' The bottom line is that the Iowa vote is still up in the air, and that is a good thing as Republican candidates are going to have to get very specific to win votes in Iowa. This time around problem-solving, not ideology, should be in the forefront. If the Republican Party wants to challenge the President, it must do two things: Clearly define how Mr. Obama has failed in his economic vision, and put forth a clear agenda of solving complicated problems like the national debt and immigration. Talking Points is looking forward to a spirited four weeks in Iowa and then the vote in New Hampshire. 2012 will be the most important election in our lifetimes."
|
|
|
Is Nancy Pelosi threatening Newt Gingrich?
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she'll reveal dirt about Newt Gingrich if he becomes the GOP nominee. Fox News analysts Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes assessed Pelosi's not-so-subtle threat. "What is she, Paulie Walnuts?" Crowley joked. "Would she like to take out Newt Gingrich? Of course, she hated his guts and a lot of people really loathed Gingrich when he was Speaker, including a lot of Republicans. She's trying to resurrect the wars of the 1990's when Gingrich was a lightning rod of controversy." Colmes defended Pelosi and her tactics. "She's doing what anybody would do in that political situation and she's talking about publicly-available information. Gingrich was convicted by a bipartisan ethics committee of lying to Congress." The Factor argued that Nancy Pelosi's threat is unseemly: "Very rarely do you get people at this level threatening each other. She is saying she knows stuff that is not in the public domain and at some time down the road she'll tell it."
|
|
|
Will Newt Gingrich's intelligence actually hurt him?
Guest: Marc Lamont Hill
The Factor was joined by Professor Marc Lamont Hill, who has argued that Newt Gingrich's intellectual firepower could be a disadvantage. "He's a very smart guy," Hill said, "but Republicans don't pick the smart guy. Every time someone comes along and conjugates a verb properly or makes a literary reference, Republicans dismiss him. They don't like people who perform intellectuality in public spaces - whenever somebody actually attempts to make a nuanced argument, they say he's not good enough." The Factor challenged Hill to square his hypothesis with Newt Gingrich's surge among GOP voters. "He's ahead in the polls," Hill replied, "because Republicans are deeply frustrated with Mitt Romney, Herman Cain flamed out, and Rick Perry can't debate. Newt Gingrich is the best option they have."
|
|
|
NFL star mocked for his Christian beliefs
Guests: Len Berman & Kelly Saindon
Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, a devout Christian, has been criticized for his open displays of faith. The Factor welcomed one of those critics, attorney Kelly Saindon. "Excessive celebration is not allowed," Saindon said, "and I don't think he should be wasting people's time advancing his beliefs. He should be focusing on football, which is what he's paid to do. If he was praising Allah, a lot of people would be outraged." Sports reporter Len Berman pointed out that many other athletes put on far less tasteful displays after a big play. "I'm not a fan of religion in sports, but I don't have a big problem with this. What's wrong with a guy putting a knee down? I think he's genuine and God bless him." The Factor also defended Tim Tebow and his on-field prayers: "His philosophy is to give praise to God for everything that goes well in his life and I don't know why anyone would be upset by that."
|
|
|
The medical marijuana ruse
Guest: John Stossel
Fox Business anchor John Stossel opined on the millions of dollars being made by folks operating "medical marijuana" clinics in California. "In many cases it's a ruse," Stossel conceded. "Many people go to the doctor to get medical marijuana to get high. But so what? The real ruse is your stupid drug war and presidents who once smoked marijuana and are now locking up other people for doing it. Almost every candidate for office has smoked marijuana, but now we lock up other people?" The Factor told Stossel that marijuana too often leads to serious substance abuse: "There is a big government study that says marijuana is a gateway drug for kids into hard drugs. Once a child smokes marijuana or gets drunk on alcohol, their childhood is over."
|
|
|
'Fast & Furious' latest
Guest: Megyn Kelly
More than 50 Republicans in Congress have called for the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder for his role in the botched gun-running sting "Fast and Furious." Fox News anchor and attorney Megyn Kelly entered the No Spin Zone with the latest on the scandal. "Last Friday the Justice Department did what's called a 'document dump,'" she reported. "There were almost 2,000 documents related to this scandal showing back-and-forth involving a lot of super-high-level Department of Justice officials and ATF officials in Arizona. Back in February the Justice Department wrote a letter to Senator Charles Grassley saying they never let guns walk, but that was completely false. Now they've had to withdraw that letter." Kelly added that "no one has been fired, not one person has actually been held accountable for this."
|
|
|
The slow death of the US Postal Service
Guest: Charles Krauthammer
The United States Postal Service has been hemorrhaging billions of dollars and could actually go bankrupt. The Factor asked FNC analyst Charles Krauthammer whether the service should be shuttered. "The post office should vanish," Dr. K declared, "because they're obsolete. They're now talking about cutting out overnight first-class mail and if they can't deliver overnight mail, who the hell needs them? We once had a Pony Express but the railroad took its place. Email is the new railroad and we ought to privatize the delivery of mail. If you hand this over to FedEx or UPS, I assure you they'll be able to run an efficient mail service." The Factor complained that, contrary to Bill Clinton's famous assertion, the era of big government endures: "The trend with the election of Barack Obama is to expand the government and to have the government come into other industries like health care. Why do so many Americans want the government to run things when it can't run them? They just can't do it!"
|
|
|
Viewers sound off
Joe Fratolill, Cofresi, Dominican Republic: "Bill, your talking points expressed anger that the government wastes so much tax money. But why are you surprised? Only private enterprise watches expenses because of the profit motive."
Jerry Treber, Fort Worth, TX: "Most Americans don't object to being taxed, they object to the government not respecting the labor that generates tax money. Waste our tax money, waste our labor."
Lawrence Gray, Kings Park, NY: "I spent 25 years working in the Medicaid Fraud Unit. About 20% of New York's 53 billion dollar budget is wasted. The politicians don't care."
|
|
|
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Tuesday's Patriot: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who blasted the Washington Post columnists who implied that his ample girth disqualifies him from the presidency.
|
|
|
|
|
|
