Episode 75 – Fair Tax to the Rescue

A liberal supports the idea of a Fair Tax, Obama supports the idea of oil drilling off the east coast and in Alaska, and a Republican may actually support Cap & Trade legislation. It’s a week where politics gets twisted around — where cat people and dog people may actually get together!  A significant portion of the show is spent discussing an idea proposed by a caller who supports the “Fair Tax.” Our resident experts take on the tax system, but explain why politics, money and power stand in the way of any meaningful reform. They also talk about the politics of President Obama’s proposal to open up oil drilling in waters off the East Coast and in Alaska. Jeff, upset by this announcement, foreshadows potential trouble with those in the Progressive movement who already lost out on the public option in health care reform and may now lose out when it comes to meaningful environmental legislation. Will the Progressives stay home in  November, or will the chance to have any kind of environmental legislation bring them out to vote in the fall?  Glenn explains why the drilling is a good idea and may actually engender true bipartisan support — the key being South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham. They close the show by highlighting a few key Senate races — in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Arizona. They both break with the conventional wisdom and explain why Sarah Palin’s presence at John McCain’s rally was a complete disaster.

PoliTalk: Best Friends. Vast Political Experience. Refreshing political discussion…without the fighting…and with a few laughs. Hosted by Glenn Gaudet and Jeff Kimball.

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast on  iTunes and Zune

Check out and join the following:

Our Facebook Page
Our Twitter Page

Specific links used in this show:

http://www.fairtax.org

Episode 31 – GM Driven to the Brink

What we have in GM and its bailout is a failure of imagination, a failure to communicate and a failure of execution. At PoliTalk, we keep our egos in check, but we take pride in bringing our substantial experience in politics and business to bear in communicating what’s really going on in Washington, and what it means for us. To this end, kudos to Glenn for predicting exactly what happened this weekend with GM months ago. In this episode, Glenn continues to call for GM to go into bankruptcy. Jeff and Glenn also speak passionately about the double standard being applied, where auto execs get fired and workers are asked to renegotiate their contracts, but financial services execs keep their jobs, and their bonuses, and we’re told their employees get to keep their bonuses because they were under contract. They also explain why Alberto Gonzolez won’t be traveling to Spain anytime soon, and why Sarah Palin may not be including John McCain on her Christmas Card list. Get the real scoop here on PoliTalk: the place where political insiders come to get the outside the beltway view on how their politics and policy gets traction, and where those on the outside come to get a real inside view on politics and policy in Washington. Always informative, entertaining and authentic, it’s  PoliTalk, featuring Glenn Gaudet and Jeff Kimball — two seasoned political and business pros.

Listen to the current installment of PoliTalk and get yourself informed, inspired, entertained and ready for the day… spread the word… tell two friends, and so on and so on…

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from Podcast.com and iTunes.

John McCain on David Letterman

John McCain talks about the “bleeping” campaign.

And the Winner is…

On this Election 08 eve, Glenn and Jeff offer their predictions, and their own insights into how to look at results election night. John McCain’s first positive TV ad features…Barack Obama? Are you kidding? Did you wonder who would be on the final Meet the Press before the election? Maybe Sarah Palin or Joe Biden? Did you miss it? Glenn and Jeff gleefully re-enact their own Shakespearean drama: Fred Thompson meets Tom Brokaw.  Note to Central Casting: send a bottle of No-Doze to the fellas at PoliTalk. Oh, and they have an interesting little discussion about re-writing a provision in the Constitution of the United States. And Glenn passionately weighs in and boldly declares that he’s going to vote for… It’s all right here in Episode12 of PoliTalk.

Listen to the current installment of PoliTalk and get yourself informed, inspired, entertained and ready for the day… spread the word… tell two friends, and so on and so on…

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from Podcast.com and iTunes.

McCain Shows up on Letterman

The long awaited appearance of Senator John McCain on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Episode 9: Is the Religious Right for McCain?

With McCain’s campaign suffering from political schizophrenia, Jeff and Glenn channel Freud and put the situation on the couch, dissecting  the “right” side of the brain, a tenuous and incomplete alliance with the conservative religious evangelicals vs. the left side of the campaign’s brain, the more socially libertarian and fiscally conservative. In breaking down the campaign, Jeff and Glenn review the following:

• How does McCain build a winning coalition in under 30 days that’s true to whatever basic values he has?
• What would a 4 or 8 point swing in the polls mean to McCain’s chances?
• How right is the right, and can they win even in losing? (think of all the fundraising and organizing they can do off a Democratic sweep)
• How do fractures in the campaign effect the way McCain will handle the next debate? Will he “rip him a new ____hole,” as he reportedly told campaign workers according to today’s New York Times. Or will he offer serious economic policy prescriptions, as suggested by Republican Senator Lindsay Graham?

And finally, the most important question of all… Why aren’t Jeff and Glenn hosting a morning talk show yet?  Today’s broadcast of Morning  Joe on MSNBC practically brought the co-hosts to blows — it was more uncomfortable than watching a McCain-Obama debate. Talk about cranky.  Tell us how you think we can make this happen — we’re asking for your help in promoting our show to your friends and family — and give us some ideas for the show’s name…something other than Glenn and Jeff  in the morning…

This is your wake up call, America. A new day is dawning and it’s time to get moving.

Listen to the current installment of PoliTalk and get yourself informed, inspired, entertained and ready for the day… spread the word… tell two friends, and so on and so on…

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from Podcast.com and iTunes.

McCain Blames Democrats For Bailout… or Not

Senator McCain, did the Straight Talk Express get a flat tire?

Here is an ad that you put out this week on the Bailout:

Then, here is what you said to ABC this week:

Which is it? Are you placing blame or not? –Glenn

Couric Interviews McCain and Palin

It just keeps getting worse. Last night, McCain is brought in to help “clarify” what Palin has said about US unilateral incursions into Pakistan. It is hard to watch this and not think that McCain felt he needed to sweep in and solve this PR problem. Unfortunately, his temper shines through. The reality is that if Palin cannot conduct an interview without having McCain come in to moderate the interview, she should not be there in the first place. — Glenn

House Republicans: Heroes or Villains?

The fact of the matter is we don’t know. The US House of Representatives killed the Bailout Bill before it left the House. The markets, to say the least, were not happy and expressed it by losing over a trillion dollars in market value today with the DJIA dropping over 777 points today.

It is hard to tell whether they are right or not. The market clearly thinks they are wrong. However, I still keep thinking about the fact that I pay my mortgage on time and live by my own financial decisions. That said, the idea of my tax dollars going to buy bad debt from companies that made bad decisions, just doesn’t sit well with me. It is incredibly hard to wade through all the various speculation of what awaits us in the next days, weeks and months.

However, as I said before, it is odd that the solution to a problem that was 20 years in the making has a solution that was developed in just days. Part of the other problem I have is with George Bush. He is like the “Boy Who Cried Wolf”. He just has no credibility left. So when he says we need it, one can only look to other sources for confirmation. So then we turn to the Democratic Leadership. I am sorry Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, but you just don’t sound convincing as to why we need to push $700 billion worth of additional debt onto the taxpayers. This was not helped by Barney Frank today playing the political blame card. Let’s face it, between the Democratic Leadership and the Administration, the Bill was not sold to the House Republicans or the the American people.

Now we get to our Presidential Candidates… Barack Obama makes daily calls with the Demoratic Leadership and the Administration. John McCain (allegedly) suspends his campaign on Thursday (which does not seem so suspended) to immediately got to Washington to provide “leadership”. Both candidates show up on Friday for what seems to be a photo op and a post meeting press opportunities. Neither one of them talk with any more confidence or details than anyone else in Congress or the Administration.

So that leads us with the House Republicans. They seem to be the true “Mavericks” of this drama. They kill the Bill and now the Congress goes on “Holiday”.

Maybe, we will find that The House Republicans have it right by forcing the Administration to use their existing laws and regulations to resolve this problem… maybe not. Either way, history will be written over the next days, weeks and months.

I suspect that whatever happens, a lot of people will find themselves without any more political capital and hopefully without their political jobs! — Glenn

Episode 7: Please Pass the $700 Billion

If only it were just Grey Poupon, but no, the US Government wants to spend $700 billion to prop up the economy. In this episode, you’ll (finally) get a plain English description of the enormously confusing, and enormously important, proposed bailout package. And in their review of the debate they explain why John McCain won’t be invited to play in Barack Obama’s sandbox anymore. We end on our take on the latest adventure in the world of Sarah Palin. The latest episode of Politalk is up! Give it a listen — you won’t be disappointed.

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from Podcast.com and iTunes.

Last Shot Questions – at the end of every episode, we end with a couple of questions for our listeners to ponder and give us their thoughts. This week:

Jeff asks – “Do you think there is a free market for healthcare?”

Glenn asks – “Do you think we will have any money left over to do anything after this bailout bill?”

Please add your answers and comments on the show below.

If you want to send us a private email, send it to politalk@turnitonprod.com.