Brain Trust - Dr. James Jay Carafano

Dr. James Carafano is one of the nation's leading experts in defense and homeland security. He is the director of Heritage Foundation's Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies. He came on The Matt Friedeman Show as the Brain Trust of the day. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Did we handle the Libya situation right?

Certainly we didn't do it right, and whether it comes out right or not remains to be seen.

I think right now the most troubling concern would be a sustained guerrilla movement that would continue to harass the government.

This is far from over.

Where will this situation go from here?

I think we could go in any one of a number of directions.

You've got disparate people in the government who want different things.

They're really more concerned with their interests than they are with the interests of the Libyan people.

Now we're going to find out where they really stand.

I have just as many question marks today as I did on day one.

What is the Obama Administration's plan for continuing to handle this?

They've been very close-lipped in terms of sharing information with the Congress.

This is very ironic, since all they said about being the most transparent administration.

With 9/11 coming up, how more secure are we than we were 10 years ago?

We're very secure right now. At least forty terrorist plots have been exposed.

The real question is how secure are we as we're going forward.

Heritage just last week put out two reports, A Counterterrorism Strategy for the "Next Wave" and Homeland Security 4.0.

I think if we go where Obama wants to go, we could actually be moving backwards.

Brain Trust - Kathryn Jean Lopez

Kathryn Jean Lopez is the editor-at-large for National Review Online, where she has written and edited for over a decade. She is a frequent speaker on topics such as faith and human life, the dignity of human life, and feminism. She joined The Matt Friedeman Show today for the Brain Trust feature. Below are the highlights of her interview.

What are we learning from the Republican lineup right now?

I don't think we learn all that much until the next debate, because right now all we're looking at the frontrunners.

Some people would debate what that really means, and if you can really talk about frontrunners this early.

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney squaring off in a debate is going to be the first real test.

This lineup will be the first one that will really gives us a sense of what's going on.

At this point, Rick Perry is still getting a feel for what's going on.

Will Rick Perry suffer for some of his impulsive remarks?

I would contend that early on, you can get some of the kinks out.

People can be forgiven for things that happen early on in the race.

I think he sort of benefits from the fact that most of the country isn't really paying attention.

I do think, frankly, that he needs to preserve a little of his real-ness.The Tea Party section of the electorate is looking for authenticity.

I think that was Tim Pawlenty's biggest problem.

Rick Perry should preserve who he is.

What do you think about Joe Biden's refusal to condemn China's one-child policy?

It's one thing to go over there and not say something morally courageous.

But he went over there and gave this muddled endorsement of the one-child policy.

It was a shameful moment for him.

He talks about being a Catholic so often, that was kind of a humiliating moment for me as a Catholic.

How about Bloomberg's omission of the clergy and First Responders?

The First Responder thing I don't understand at all.

With the clergy, he's trying to avoid inviting the Muslim clergy.

He's trying to avoid a headache.It's a very unfortunate thing.

Brain Trust - Matt Barber

Matt Barber serves as the Director of Cultural Affairs with the Liberty Counsel and is the Associate Dean of Liberty University School of Law. Below are the CliffsNotes of his segment.

Talk to us about this Orlando teacher situation

Jerry Buell, who has been a long-time teacher in Florida, was suspended because he posted on his personal Facebook page his opposition to same-sex marriage. He used some strong language, and was very clear in his opinion, and so the school suspended him.

That's a big no-no. We have a little thing here in the US called the First Amendment. This is one of the grossest violations that I've seen.

How have morals become so unpopular?

The agents of tolerance and diversity define tolerance and diversity.

Tolerance for Christianity and Judeo-Christian values is cast by the wayside.

 Tolerance for moral relativism. Tolerance for perversion. Anything that flies in the face of what God's will is for us human beings, that's what they want to tolerate.

Tell us about the approval ratings recently.

We had a little earthquake here in Virginia, and my understanding was that it was Barack Obama's plummeting approval points that caused it.

As Obama heads the wrong direction in, Rick Perry seems to be going up.

The way that the Obama administration has Perry in the cross hairs, it seems that they are worried about the potential run against him.

Is Perry more than the "flavor of the month"?

That remains to be seen. We are a long way out. There are ebbs and flows and peaks and valleys.

You may recall in '07 McCain was down in the low 'teens in his poll numbers. He kinda shot out of nowhere in the last little bit.

Perry may be the flavor of the month. It remains to be seen whether he will be a staying factor. But he's certainly further out in front of the pack than anyone else.

The Tea Party is receiving a lot of vilification regarding racial issues. What are your thoughts?

I think the Left's favorite thing to use is the race card. Every once in a while, when it backfires on them, they'll let it gather dust for a while and then pull it back out.

When they start accusing the Tea Party, and start calling them racist, America does a double take.

When your argument has no merit, that's when you have to use the ad hominem attack.

Brain Trust - Kevin McCullough

 Kevin McCullough is the nationally syndicated host of "The Kevin McCullough Show" & "Baldwin/McCullough Radio". His newest book, "No He Can't", is available here.

What did we learn from the Iowa Straw Poll?

I think one thing we learned is that the Republican voters are looking for people who really embrace some libertarian, small government, socially conservative viewpoints.

I think that you're going to see a big three-way contest with Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina between Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, and Michelle Bachmann.

What do you think about Pawlenty dropping out of the race?

I think Pawlenty did the right thing.

It's very hard to dig into a credit card to pay for a campaign when you're running that campaign on trying to balance the national economy.

I think he'll be a very good ally to whoever gets the Republican nomination.

Is there going to be anything in Rick Perry's background that could sink his campaign ship?

I don't know his background all that well.

I suspect, of course, that people will come forward with crazy stories about all kinds of stuff.

What really matters isn't who he used to be, it's about who he is now.

One thing Gov. Perry has going for him is that he recognizes that the job issue really is the biggest problem.

Obama's approval rating is at 39 right now. Will it go up or down?

I think it could fluctuate either way, depending on what happens.

This bus tour that he's on is costing millions of dollars that taxpayers are paying.

Fixing the recession and creating jobs has not been a priority for this current administration.

What are your thoughts on Bachmann getting all the religious questions?

I have a lot of respect for Byron York. I think he's one of the best minds in conservative writing.

But I thought that his question to Michelle Bachmann was one of the lowest points I've ever seen in a presidential debate.

It don't think it was right that it was asked to her at all.

To single her out in that way was really beneath what Fox News and Byron have always been about.

Brain Trust: Janice Shaw Crouse

Janice Shaw Crouse, columnist, senior fellow for the Beverly LaHaye Institute, and former Bush speechwriter, shares her perspective on various national and international issues.


Will the recent attack in Afghanistan that resulted in 30 American deaths affect popular support for the war in Afghanistan?

I don't think so.

It breaks my heart every time I see the pictures of those guys.

There has been widespread rioting all across England. Do you see something like that happening in America if the economy continues to spiral downward?

I really do.

It's quite scary, I think, because we have a whole generation of young people....born out of wedlock.

Those children have very predictable risks. One of those risks is deep-seated anger.

I think there's a whole cadre of young men in particular...that are very scary to the population in general.

I pray that doesn't happen, but I think it's a very real possibility.

That kind of thing is not unheard of here. We've had riots in Philadelphia recently.

We certainly had our share of it here, and I fear for the future if we don't clean up our act here.

On Saturday, Rick Perry will likely be announcing, at least unofficially, his candidacy for the presidency on Saturday. How will this affect the race?

Well, I think it changes it very dramatically.

Here's a man who's said publicly that he felt called to preach.

I think that Christians across the country will feel a real sense of pride and a real sense of relief and sighing when they see a man like that throw his hat into the ring.

He may not be the person, but he certainly embodies the characteristics of the men who've led this country with a strong leadership core.

I think he stands in that tradition, and I think most people would be very happy to throw his hat in the ring.

That even on Saturday at Reliant stadium. Does that help Perry or hurt him, with with establishment Republicans?

They are laughing at him and making fun, and outraged at the same time.

They don't understand the power of prayer...they don't understand that this is a strong part of our nation's history.

I think they are the ones who are out of step.

The Ames straw poll will be held Saturday as well. Who's going to win, and will it matter?

It won't matter at all.

I think Michele Bachmann has a good chance. After the Newsweek cover that made her look crazy, I think there will be a backlash against that.

Gallup pegs Obama's approval rating at 40%. Can the president win in 2012, if that rating doesn't improve?

Definitely not.

However, he's capable of pulling some pretty underhanded things.

And he has the Chicago mafia behind, so you can never say never.

He stubbed his toe pretty stupendously over the last couple of things.

He can't blame anybody but himself.

People in his own party are comparing him to Jimmy Carter at this point.

It will take some pretty miraculous things to turn it around.

When people in your own party start saying "we need someone to run against this guy," you have problems.

He's losing support among liberals, too.

Now suddenly no one's cheering.

It's amazing to me to see how quickly he has fallen. And how quickly he has lost the support of the Left.

Drilling for oil will create jobs and lower gas prices

Rob Bluey, director of the Center for Media and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation, talks gas prices and jobs.


You say that we have someone to blame for these high gas prices!

It doesn't have to be this way, Matt.

Two things that stand out: President Obama received a lot of plaudits for tapping the strategic oil reserve...the gas prices are even higher now.

The second thing...is the lack of oil production coming out of the Gulf of Mexico.

That's significant, because if they're not exploring and looking for oil now, it has an impact 7-10 years down the road.

Besides lower gas prices, how will more oil drilling help?

The oil and gas industries are ready to produce these jobs.

If the interior department would simply approve these permits, I think that you would see a massive increase of jobs in this industry.

These are jobs all across the country.

A number of things that the president could do right away.

It's been over a year since they plugged the hole in the Gulf of Mexico where the oil was leaking.

Is there anyway to get the president to turn around in regards to oil production?

Obama put people in place that are carrying out an agenda that advances the environmental left's agenda.

I'm all about developing renewable, alternative sources of energy. But let's not shut down the industry that's producing the jobs.

The less drilling that's taking the place, it means the smaller amount of money coming to the government.

This isn't just a presidential administration that's trying to guide us into an environmental age....we're paying the price!

There's a significant number of people out there looking for work.

The last thing they need to be doing is $3.70 or more for gas.

Alaska - so many untapped resources there.

Let's talk about that jobs report. What does this tell us?

June was a very dismal report.

The 117,000 that were created in July is better.

Please remember that this is below the number of jobs that need to be created to keep up with population growth.

Definitely a better report than less month, but still not at the rate we need to be to produce jobs in this country.

Put aside the oil thing. What else could you do to produce jobs?

I'm a firm believer that we're stuck in a regulatory recession.

The pace that this administration is creating new regulation is putting so many costs on employers that they don't have incentive to create jobs.

Take a serious look on the regulations that are out there.

Frankly, there's a lot of uncertainty.

This president came in saying he wanted to be a transformational president. Has he been that?

Transformational in the way he's transforming Washington into a big government approach to every problem.

Definitely transformative in having a big government philosophy to America.

Interview with Phil Bryant

Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant talked about being a Christian in politics.


First off, we had an election on Tuesday. It's amazing to me how many Christians don't vote. How important is it for the salt and light of the world to vote?

It's critical, Matt.

The forces of darkness are constantly working in this field.

I just cannot imagine that there are not enough good Christians in New York to speak to their legislature if they had done so with unity.

We have a wonderful initiative and referendum on abortion...we call it the Personhood initiative.

If we cannot get Christians to vote, we may lose this initiative.

A lot of people tell you to shut up about abortion. Consistently you're taking these social conservative views that make no sense.

I have to. I've made some arrangements and agreements.

One of my promises to the Lord when I got in the political arena was that I would stop abortion in Mississippi.

And I think this is a great way to do it.

Just like Governor Perry...I talked to Governor Perry the other day. He's another who will stand up.

I think we have to step out. Now the pioneers catch the arrows.

The secular world, the liberals are going to fire at you with everything they've got.

We're going to keep pushing for everything I believe in.

We interviewed Governor Perry yesterday. He is calling for the Response in prayer. Would there be things like that you would do?

Oh absolutely.

You have to carry your faith into the public arena. And people will shriek about that.

We were able to opt out of the Obama healthcare bill, that portion that would have funded federal-funded abortions in Mississippi.

We appointed a Senate chaplain, the first time that anybody can ever remember.

Those are the things that you do, that you step forward and in faith say I'm going to make this decision.

I'm so encouraged that I talked to Governor Perry yesterday, and he's got God in his heart.

We really believe in the power of prayer, that's why we're asking this to happen.

The Air Force has just suspended a course that has been taught for 20 years about the Just War theory. What's your response?

It's just heartbreaking.

I hear people a lot of times say don't fight, don't angry...that's the only way we're going to win.

There will be casualties. There will be some of us who don't make it all the way.

Rick Perry has been very successful in creating jobs. What are they doing, and what do other states need to do?

One of the things they did was pass a law that says the English rule or loser pays.

Texas said no more of that. If you sue me for a frivolous lawsuit, the guy that loses has to pay everyone's legal fees.

Forty-seven percent of all jobs in America are created in Texas.

I think you're going to see Mississippi and Texas perhaps as a mirror image.

Brain Trust - Gregg Harper

Congressman Gregg Harper came on the Matt Friedeman Show today to talk about the debt-ceiling and other congressional issues.


Have things settled down a bit up there?

I don't know if things are ever going to settle down. It's one of those things, no one's every happy.

The Cut, Cap, and Balance bill we had two weeks ago was the preferred bill.

This is something that nobody's going to claim  we scored a touchdown here, but I think we did pick up a solid first down.

The thing that is good in this is that it's going to require everyone to vote on a balanced budget amendment before the end of this year.

You're not going to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment.  But will it put the heat on those who vote against it?

I think it's going to have that effect whether it's planned or not.

The frustration is that we control one-half of one-third of the government.

We've outflanked them. We're going to need reinforcements.

When do we come to the time when we can do some of these things that are necessary? Does there ever come a time when we stand our ground until we gut what we want?

I think there are certainly times when that's going to be the case.

I considered what I believed to be very good economists and others...If we had defaulted, maybe ultimately we would have gotten more than we got here.

Right now we're paying interest on the publicly held debt about $259 million a year...that number may become $350-400 million a year.

That was to me a very concerning factor there.

Matt, I've got to tell you the mentality out there is frustrating.

As a society we've got an entitlement society in many ways.

We've really gotten way off base over the years.

Are we over-selling this debt-ceiling deal?

I don't know anybody who's doing a victory lap over this thing.

If you've got an aircraft carrier going at full speed, you can't stop it on a dime and turn it around.

Whether you want to call it spending cuts or rate cuts, it's a step in the right direction.

That's going to take a little time.

If you cut spending and get people back to work, that gap is going to close.

Does there ever come a time when we just take a stand, regardless of political consequences?

We don't have enough money to pay what we're obligated to pay.

It's frustrating.

People say we've gotta get along, but this is a war, and we've gotta stay in the fight as you talk about so brilliantly.

You realize that is we didn't have a Republican-controlled congress, there would have been no cuts.

When the Super-Committee comes to a impasse, what's going to happen? Because Defense will be cut.

It troubles a lot of us that there are going to be cuts in Defense.

Here's the thing. If they can't come to an agreement...there would be across the board cuts in just about everything you can imagine, except for Social Security.

There are a lot of programs that are their pet projects that are duplicate projects.

The state of California got a billion dollars of that (stimulus) money to pay unemployment benefits.

The president's birthday today. What would you get him for his birthday?

I would probably give him some treasury bonds.

David Wu has resigned of a sex scandal. How big of a problem is that?

I'd just as soon talk about anything else or get a root canal.

There is no joy whether it's a Democrat or Republican.

You've got to hug your wife and kids and stay close to Jesus.

Without teapartiers "we would have had a routine...raise in the debt ceiling."

Ramesh Ponnuru is a senior editor for National Review. As the Matt Friedeman Show's Brain Trust interview today, Ponnuru talked first of all about the proposed debt-ceiling deal, then about the race for president.


Tell me what you're thinking about the debt-ceiling deal.

Well, I have a lot of sympathy for Speaker Boehner given all the pressures that are on him right now.

But I am concerned with all of the possible cuts to defense.

We're talking about $500 billion in cuts to National Defense if the super committee doesn't reach an agreement.

When you consider that this is the first constitutional responsibility of the federal government, I don't think this is how you oughtta been running this.

Are the teaparties winners or losers here?

If not for the teapartiers, we would have had a routine, business as usual raise in the debt ceiling.

Again, I think most teapartiers are people who are strong on defense, so they've gotta be worried. This isn't a total victory.

Ramesh, if you're a liberal today is president Obama a friend or do you feel like you've been thrown under the bus?

Well, it seems like many liberals are quite upset with the president.

Congressional liberal leaders are seeming pretty upset right now. They think he's prioritized his reelection.

Do independents like this?

I think in general there's a public sentiment that likes to see Republicans and Democrats working together.

I think it does help (Obama)on the margin. I don't think it's going to matter if the economy is as bad as it is right now.

It will help him a little bit.

You just wrote something about the presidential sweepstakes. Is Romney the inevitable nominee or can he be knocked off?

I don't think he's inevitable.

I think over the past few months he's established himself as the clear frontrunner.

It's not because of anything he's done, there's just no other strong candidate right now.

He hasn't solved his healthcare problem, for example, and I think that's a serious problem he has.

Could Rick Perry be that guy to challenge Romney?

He's got the conservative, teaparty credibility.

He's also the successful governor of a large state.

He's getting in late, so you've got to wonder about his ability to compete in a place like New Hampshire.

I think of Fred Thompson in 2008...now this is a little bit different...but I wouldn't underestimate the lack of organization.

Palin said Perry hasn't been vetted enough. Is that a problem?

I kinda think if there was any big hidden scandal, it would have been uncovered by now.

How big of a frontrunner is Barack Obama so far?

You know, I don't think the numbers are particularly discouraging for conservatives.

The way I look at his numbers right now is it strikes me very much as Bush going into 2004. The numbers do not say he's a definite lock for reelection and they don't say he's a definite loser.

A lot depends on the state of the economy in 2012.

It's getting late in the day for President Obama to blame the economy on President Bush.

It's not so much that people don't think Bush is to blame, but they want Obama to do something about it.