Congressman on the Boehner plan: "This vote is a referendum on Obama and Beohner."

Congressman Gregg Harper is up on Capitol Hill in the thick of the debt-ceiling drama. He brings us the latest news on the issue and explains why he's voting for the Boehner bill.


Congressman Gregg Harper, bring us up-to-date on the debt-ceiling!

Matt, it's like a nip and tuck football game trying to keep up with everything here on the ground.

The cuts (in the Boehner bill) were supposed to be $1.2 trillion and instead cut $851 billion.

As of last night, it became apparent that we don't have the necessary 216 votes.

We've got a conference meeting at 10 o'clock and we'll see what happens there.

There's so much to talk about here. We've got a conservative civil war here, with good conservatives on both sides. What's going on?

I may agree with you that it may not even come up for a vote on the Senate side.

Cut, Cap, and Balance that passed last week - the Senate did nothing.

This is day 821 since the Senate passed a budget.

We're doing the things that you have to do to govern.

I think right now we have three choices. We can do nothing, knowing that they're not going to bring up Cut, Cap, and Balance regardless.

We can vote against this bill, which is what Obama wants.

Or we can vote for it, which is obviously what the Republican leadership wants.

Why is President Obama pulling out every political stop, everything you can do...or now, yesterday Christmas...That the Republicans might bring this up before the end of the year, it will hurt Christmas.

I'm as upset about some of their things as I've ever been. This is something that should not be happening.

Why can't the Republicans say, Look we've voted for a great bill, now it's the President's turn?

It's one bill and a lengthy process of battles.

Does it move the ball forward, yes.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not.

This is the first time there's ever been a debt-ceiling vote that included spending cuts.

This plan has no new taxes in it.

I don't think that you can say the Republicans have blinked.

The adult thing right now would not be to sit back.

In the event that this goes over to the Senate, and let's say it's amended in the Senate, it will be voted against.

Whatever the House passes, the Senate will amend and send back. How does the Boehner bill help? At the end of the day, we'll still be in a stare-down.

Then you have to ask, what happens in the meantime.

Here's one thing that we do know. The August 2nd date is the targeted date where we bump up against the debt-ceiling.

Here's what's going to happen if we don't have a deal. This is why we've tried; they've blocked in every way.

This is what's very dangerous. Right now we have pay $259 billion a year in debt service.

S&P says they need cuts of $4 trillion....Boehner said in May that the cuts would be trillions, not billions. Why not cut more?

We're in this mess not because of a lack of revenue. Look where we are on Obama's spending.

How uncomfortable is it to have good friend and stellar conservatives on both sides?

I would say this, that the ones that are voting no, probably numbers about 25 people. So the yes's are just short of the 216.

But you've gotta get 216, because there's not one Democrat who will vote for the plan.

This vote is a referendum on Obama and Beohner.

"I'm just disgusted with those on both sides of the aisle, honestly."

Matt Barber is Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel and also serves as Associate Dean with Liberty University School of Law. On today's Brain Trust segment, Barber talked about the debt ceiling.


Is John Boehner's bill going to pass the house?

If it does pass, it will be by a razor thin margin.

The obstructionists in the senate are saying it will be dead on arrival anyway.

This bill that Boehner is pushing here is woefully insufficient.

You keep hearing president Obama, Harry Reid, and other saying that we need a balanced approach.

You don't have a balanced approach when you're in a nosedive. You have to yank back as hard as you can.

I'm just disgusted with those on both sides of the aisle, honestly.

Why are so many conservatives supporting the plan?

I think they're looking at this in terms of political considerations.

But this plan just doesn't do enough.

I guess it's a tourniquet to stop the immediate bleeding here. But something big needs to be done.

I think there are political calculations at play here.

Republicans, particularly establishment Republicans, are scared to death that they are going to get strapped with the blame.

There are a lot of scare tactics going on here as well.

This plan, apparently, even if it gets through the Republican house, it's sounding like Obama and liberals in the senate are going to make sure it doesn't see the light of day.

What happens after the Senate punts Boehner's plan?

If Democrats in the Senate kill this plan, then there's no one to blame but them for the debt ceiling not being raised.

This plan only carries us down the road about six months. I think there may be a little bit of bluffing on the part of Harry Reid and President Obama.

Erick Erickson said that Reid will take Boehner's plan and amend it, adding tax increases to the bill, then send it back to the House. What do you think about that scenario?

That may be what Harry Reid plans to do.

I think Boehner has been clear that absolutely, unequivocally there will be no tax increases included.

People are also forgetting the fact that just because the debt ceiling is raised, does not mean our credit rating will necessarily be downgraded.

I expected that our top-notch credit rating might be downgraded no matter what we do.

I'm not sure what we can get out of this in terms of a lower credit rating no matter what we do.

Rick Perry is polling well. Give us your perspective.

I've got a few concerns about what Rick Perry said the other day about gay marriage.

I'm hoping he'll still be joining the big prayer rally in Houston.

It remains to be seen. I think he's got a pretty solid record.

Brain Trust - Ken Klukowski

Ken Klukowski, Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council, was featured on The Matt Friedeman Show's Brain Trust segment addressing the debt-talks.

It seems that a lot of things are out the door. There seems to be some major disconnection here. The president wants a balanced approach, but neither Reid nor Boehner has the same approach.

Harry Reid came up with what it supposedly, at least, a bipartisan senate version.

What the president is calling for, evidently, yes, (Reid's) approach is not balanced.

The president said that anything that does not involve tax hikes is not a balanced approach.

This is about the jobs. It's not about one president's lonely concept of what makes for a lonely society.

Do we face disaster on August 2nd, if the debt ceiling isn't raised?

If nothing happened...between now and then. That would risk an immediate downgrading of US debt.

Trillions of which is held by US citizens in their retirement accounts and trillions of which is held overseas.

If nothing were done, and that debt were downgraded, that could have some very serious consequences.

We bring in over $2.4 trillion every year.

The reality is, even if all that big stuff wasn't signed by that time...we pay all our debt obligations first. Then we pay our social security and troops.

The only things that would be on the cutting block would be the EPA and President Obama's alphabet soup of agencies.

At the end of the day, it's President Obama's decision, isn't it?

That is not his call to determine where money can go.

It would be an act of imperial overreach for the president to say, "If there's not enough money here, I'm going to play a game of musical chair and decide whose chairs are going to disappear from the dance floor."

If the legislature writes that legislation, would they send a message to the world that we're taking care of our debt?

The bill is already written.

It's a scare tactic to say that if we don't raise the debt ceiling, there will be terribly consequences.

Right now we're borrowing 42 cents on every dollar.

If you were to give advice  to the conservatives right now, would you say you need to fight for Cut, Cap, or should they compromise?

Hold the line in such a way to make sure our debt does not default.

Make sure the debt is taken care of, then come back to the table in a calm way.

If we just raise the debt and nothing else changes, this country is going to have a downgrade anyway.

Raising the debt ceiling without raising taxes? Republicans will have to "pull a Houdini"

Jay Nordlinger, a Senior Editor at National Review, was our "brain" today on the Matt Friedeman Show. On the agenda: marriage in New York, Congressman Wu, and, of course, the debt ceiling.

Four rallies across New York City trying to get marriage on the ballot. Any chance of that happening?

Sure, sure there's a chance.

Probably some people think it's a done deal. That there's no hope in New York. Now go on to other states.

I know they do it out of conviction. So they're going to give it their best effort.

I think a lot of the activists do what they do, because they think they must. Come what may.

What do we learn from David Wu type episodes?

Sometimes they go quickly - these congressmen and senators - and sometimes they linger.

I'm glad this particular congressman was found out.

A reader contacted me over the weekend, and asked what is the meaning of "unwanted sexual encounter." 

If it's rape, call it rape!

What is going to happen with the debt-ceiling?

I reach for the oldest cliche in the book. I think of the game of chicken.

It seems to me that this is what the Republicans and Democrats are doing right now.

I don't want to bear the bad news, but the Democrats have the advantage.

I think so far Obama has done a better PR job.

I think Republicans, if they can, should not acquiesce in this. That they should do something short-term.

Here comes another cliche, the voters are going to have to sort this out.

The decision they make...will determine how this looming armageddon goes.

Republicans are really up against it, aren't they?

My feeling is that the 2012 election will focus the mind.

It's a fool that says 2012 has nothing to do with this.

I couldn't agree more.

Do you suspect Republicans can get out of this without tax increases?

I think they'll have to pull a Houdini if they want to.

Is August 2nd a real date?

I think it's a semi-real date.

There ought to be a deadline. As the saying goes, the markets ought to be reassured.

I think Americans around the world...look a little bit silly.

People are right to sound the alarm. Republicans ought to play the cards they have, but darn it, they don't have the best cards.

It's really a black and white issue. There's not a lot of gray here. Republicans are dug in on one position. Democrats are dug in on the other.

This class warfare stuff is working.

We look so silly, I think.

Jay Nordlinger, thanks for coming on.

I'm sorry to be so depressing.

I think I can say this on this network. The government is on His shoulders.

Brain Trust - Brian Darling

Brian Darling, Senior Fellow for Government Studies at the Heritage Foundation, talks about the balanced budget amendment.

The Republicans want Cut, Cap, and Balance. What are the chances that we should could get this?

Those are three conditions that conservatives have put out there before they raise the debt ceiling.

Some people have said that Aug. 2nd date is false. Is there basis for that?

It's a real date in the sense that there are obligations that have to be met on August 3rd.

Clearly there's going to be a deficit in that there will be more obligations than money in the coffers.

There's a dispute as to where you have to draw the line.

The president has said that Social Security checks may not go out if there's not a deal. Would he really do that?

That's the bottom line.

I think the problem is they haven't been in the situation before.

I don't think anyone actually believes that some resolution won't happen.

I know that some Republicans are very concerned about this plan by Senate Republicans.

Some conservatives have said balanced budget amendment is a bad idea.

There have been massive improvements from the Contract for America version.

Do you have any predictions?

I think a lot of panicking.

I think you're just going to see ideas coming out of left field, right field.

We're at least, at a minimum, going to see the House and Senate debating balancing our budget.

How significant is our AAA status?

They're not saying they're going to downgrade the United States.

I don't think the world and the bondholders are going to worry about it.

Everything should work out. People should take a deep breath.

I would expect the stock market to take wild swings next week.

People shouldn't overreact and think that our economy is going to have a downturn.

Congressman Gregg Harper on the debt ceiling

Congressman Gregg Harper (R, MS) came on the Matt Friedeman Show today to discuss the debt ceiling.


I know you have the office across from Eric Cantor. Just symbolically, can you go across the hall and say, "Way to go Cantor!"?

Hey, let me tell you, Cantor has done a great job.

Yesterday the president walked out of the meeting.

What's Cantor doing that's so frustrating the president?

This is not really great, heavy rocket science. The fact is that you have to cut spending and get people back to work.

Unfortunately, they're determined to raise taxes, try to water down what's getting done.

The president is telling us to eat our peas and quit doing political posturing. But that's what the president is doing right now.

Would you guys vote with Cantor and Boehner if they compromised and raised taxes?

First of all, Cantor and Boehner would never do that, but I'll entertain your hypothetical.

No, our side of the aisle would never vote to raise taxes.

What is president Obama saying when he says "Don't call my bluff."?

It sounds like he's bluffing to me.

When he comes out the other day when he says, "Don't make me not send out your social security checks."

They're trying to take advantage of it in every way.

You'll get asked all the time, "What's going to be in this agreement?" There's no agreement right now.

It's been suggested that Congress pass a bill only enough to pay debt service. Is that a legitimate idea?

We've had discussions about what to do on that regard. We've had discussions about what to do with available funds.

Look, you and I, if we were sitting down would say, "There's not enough money."

Galllup said today only 22% of Americans want their member of Congress to vote to raise the debt ceiling. Do the Republicans know this?

Yeah, I think that everybody knows on our side that this is something not everyone wants to have to go through, but look, we've got to do something.

We want to move towards a Balanced Budget constitution amendment. You'll see a vote on that by the end of next week.

McConnell seems to think that this is going nowhere, so he suggested that Obama could raise  the debt ceiling. What do you think?

I think there's something distasteful about this.

I get where McConnell's coming from.

Under his leadership over the last 21/2 years, we've increased the debt trillions of dollars.

We have found out that a lot of those stimulus funds, guess what, they're being used to pay unemployment benefits.

What they've done is they've run the spending through the roof. And now it's our  fault. And we're supposed to eat our peas and raise taxes.

What's your prediction?

Prediction at this point is I believe there will be a deal to look at. Whether there's enough votes, I don't know.

We have to move towards a balanced budget.

Warren Smith: Minnesota could affect the debt-ceiling talks

Warren Smith, Associate Editor of World Magazine and member of the Matt Friedeman Show Brain Trust, on the debt ceiling, Obama, and Bachmann.
 

The debt ceiling talks going on right now. The big question: Will the GOP hold firm on taxes?

Yogi bear once said that predictions are dangerous, especially predictions about the future. So I want to be careful.

Something really interesting is going on in Minnesota right now, which will tell us what could go on at the federal level.

In other words, if they can look at a state like Minnesota, and see that the Democrats are getting blamed for the shutdown, I think the Republicans will hold firm.

The Teaparty folks are wanting to stand firm no matter what.

Boehner has to be wondering if his guys are going to follow if he ups taxes.

I think tax cuts are the neutron bomb for Republicans.

I don't think there's any way to get enough Republicans to go along with a tax increase.

There is actually common ground between Republicans and Democrats.

I think it's possible that they may come up with some sort of deal.

The president said that unemployment going up to 9.2% proved the stimulus. Explain that...

When the government dumped all that money into the economy, it provided an artificial bump.

He's trying to hide the facts that the benefits of the stimulus were artificial and temporary. But they created mostly government jobs in Washington DC.

Can Barack Obama be elected with 8.5%, 9.0% unemployment?

Don't underestimate the guy.

This is a guy who as a first term senator got himself elected president of the United States.

He's going to raise a billion dollars for his reelection campaign. It's going to be the most expensive campaign in the world.

They start off with a structural advantage of anywhere from 15-20%.

I wouldn't count him out, even though the economic indicators seem to show he's in trouble.

One poll has Bachmann up in Iowa. Does she stand a chance?

Michele Bachmann is an attractive candidate on so many levels..And she can raise money. She's kind of a fundraising machine.

The problem with Michele Bachmann is you can't just raise millions, you have to raise hundreds of millions.

Michele Bachmann, even though I like her enormously, has some major structural problems against her.

"You can mark my words, inflation is coming."

Craig Smith's new book "The Inflation Deception" examines a future of through-the-roof inflation. Smith came on the Matt Friedeman Show today to talk about the theme of his book.

Why this book now?

You know Matt I wrote a book last year called "Crashing the Dollar".

That movement has really caused a monetary problem called inflation.

Price inflation is quite a bit different than monetary inflation.

What does it mean for my pocket book? What does it mean for my family?

You're going to see higher oil prices, higher food prices. 

Will it be a modest 3-5% like we've had over the past 30 years?

We will see rates of 3-7 percent over the next year, then starting in 2013 we could see rates up to 50%.

All we've done is pump up Wall Street...but we're not enriching the average man.

That market is doing okay, but it's not doing well enough to take care of the average man.

That almost seems like it's planned?

It does. And I'm not a conspiracy theorist.

Inflation will reward people who are deeply in debt, but hurt people who aren't.

We were built on a society that believe we were exceptional as Americans.

If we prepared for the uncertainty of retirement, we'd do rather well for ourselves.

It's created something that our founding fathers never envisioned for this nation.

It's time that we had a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

I'm convinced Matt, if the American people are given the facts, they will make the right decisions.

What are three political ways to reign in inflation?

We believe the most important way is to vote.

Vote in people who are in favor of balanced budgets.

Also, we need to pass a balanced budget amendment.

To enact a more simple tax system, a more fair tax system.

Look, if you're voting in America you should have some skin in the game.

We cannot have 50% of the American people not paying taxes.

If someone wants to guard their own pocketbook, what should they do?

They have to be diversified.

They need to have some gold in their portfolio.

You can mark my words, inflation is coming.

Turning back same-sex marriage in New York

The Heritage Foundation's Jennifer Marshall on New York's legalization of same-sex marriage and what it means for the rest of us.


Is same-sex marriage inevitable?

Absolutely not.

Certainly the media would like to portray the New York vote...as the watershed across America.

The institution of marriage precedes the state. We recognize it through our laws.

Politically speaking we see that the momentum is by now means with the advocates of redefining marriage.

It's interesting to watch the political maneuvering....they avoid putting this to the popular vote.

Were the NY lawmakers just scared to let the people decide?

The National Organization for Marriage is going to invest in an effort to bring this up as a referendum in New York.

It's possible that a future legislature in New York could change the law?

This is by no means permanent. A new legislature with new members after the election...there will be a different face to this legislature in the future.

So it could be done by a legislature. It could be done by a referendum process in New York.

Which states are thinking about legalizing same-sex marriage next?

We need to keep our eye on Maryland first of all.

After New York there will certainly be an effort in Maryland.

New Hampshire...Iowa...West Virginia, Indiana - these are the ones to watch.

Who is winning the debate?

This is why I'm so glad we're talking about this as we're going into the Independence day weekend.

If we don't understand that the family forms around marriage - the marriage of one man and one woman....we are missing a big part of what marriage is.

That is the baseline of the important work that needs to be done.

The founders understood that the family and religious freedom is very important to society.

Four out of ten children today are born out of wedlock.

We see that a child born outside of marriage is six more times likely to experience poverty.

If we want to restore the outlook and optimism for this nation, we need to focus on the meaning of marriage and restoring its strength.

Why aren't there more presidential candidates talking about the importance of marriage?

There's so much focus on the economics of this nation.

That's a moral problem; we should be talking about it that way.

One of the things we should understand is that we're not going to solve those economic problems, until we fix our families.

We will not have a citizenry of that kind of economic dynamism if we're not prepared to fix it in our homes.