Minnesota 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis-Podcast 647

Minnesota 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis joins Bob Davis during the Pan-O-Prog (Panorama Of Progress) parade in Lakeville Minnesota.

High Stakes

Coming back from the recess, republican majorities in the House and Senate have a lot on their plate. Stakes are high. The Senate has to take up the question of ObamaCare. The House prepares to move onto Tax Reform and a big bombshell when it comes to the budget. For the first time in a long time the house will tackle so called mandatory spending.

No Town Hall Meetings So Far

There’s pressure on Freshman Congressman Lewis because he’s been meeting with constituents and detectors one on one rather than hold so called Town Hall meetings. Lewis addresses this criticism during Minnesota 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis-Podcast 647. Still, Lewis points to legislative progress in key areas of this podcast and says he still supports the president’s agenda, with qualifications.

Not A Debate

Subscribers sometimes wonder why I do not debate sitting legislators and executives when I interview them. Every now and then our conversations get heated, but I don’t feel it is the role of the podcaster or interviewer to ‘debate’. We ask the questions, you draw your own conclusions.

Fasten Your Seat Belts For This Parade

Minnesota 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis-Podcast 647 is a slice of life, interviewing the congressman on a gorgeous summer evening in Mobile Podcast Command as we roll through the parade. We talk about his concerns and challenges as a first term congressman. Two talk radio guys can cover a lot of ground, so fasten your seat belts for this parade.

Devil’s In The Details

New Congressmen are inundated with detail when it comes to legislation pending, and bills they’ve voted on. Especially interesting and relevant to me is the higher level of detail in Congressman Lewis’ answers versus Jason Lewis the candidate.

2018 Depends On This Congress Acting

One point the congressman makes is very important. He feels strongly for republicans, of which he is one, that this congress has to act. Lewis is looking to actions candidates in the 2018 cycle can point to as essential to a successful ‘re-elect’. We’ll see. Thanks again to the congressman and the people of Lakeville, Minnesota

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing of Saint Paul and X Government Cars

Minnesota 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis-Podcast 647

 

Podcast 611-Define Political Progress

When it comes to politics these days noise is the norm. The latest outrage drowns out talk about political progress. Voters in 2016 made their choices for a reason. Not too early to ask whether the politicians are making progress toward addressing those reasons. We talk about it in Podcast 611-Define Political Progress.

ObamaCare Repeal

Number one issue on the campaign trail. Bogged down in congress already. Republicans wanted a full repeal of the ACA. New GOP plan isn’t a full repeal. President Trump has already endorsed it. What happened to promises of a full repeal?

Economy

Somewhere around 96 million people are out of the workforce. Need to create 375,000 new jobs a month for several months to get those people back in the work force. For years we were less than impressed with a quarter of a million jobs each month. Economic growth has been promised. In Podcast 611-Define Political Progress.

Cutting Federal Budget

Smaller government? Proposed budget cuts are accompanied with proposals to shift money to defense. Does this reduce the size of government? A hiring freeze can be considered progress. Corporate tax reductions can be progress. However making up corporate tax reductions with higher taxes somewhere else doesn’t cut the budget.

Foreign Policy and Military Spending

Resurgent Russia. Rising China. Political changes in Turkey. Expanding NATO. Cyber Threats. US troops in Iraq and Syria. ISIS. Terror. Climate Change. How will reducing foreign aid and increasing military spending address these concerns? What should the foreign policy of the US be? It’s all in Podcast 611-Define Political Progress.

Too Early?

First benchmark on progress made by a majority republican government in the United States. Did you vote for republicans? Are they doing what you wanted them to do?

Sponsored by X Government Cars and Ryan Plumbing of Saint Paul.

 

Podcast 584-Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show-58

Podcast 584-Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show-58. With the Electoral Vote, Donald J. Trump is the official President Elect of the United States. He’ll be sworn in as the 45th President on Friday, January 20th, 2017. As terrible coverage of the election, post election and the events leading up to the inauguration continues, time to shift the conversation toward the challenges ahead. Podcast 584-Bob Davis Podcasts Radio Show-58 my coverage of these challenges.

Last summer I predicted the final outcome of the 2016 election would center on the Great Lakes region of the United States. Ohio, Pennsyvania, Wisconsin, Michigan. The former industrial heartland has been plagued by bad economic and policy initiatives, excessive taxation, corruption and incompetent local governments. It’s not surprising people in these regions would have reached a point where they have had enough.

The new narrative is Donald Trump heralds a new kind of politics in America. Depending on the source, either a darker, jingoistic throwback to the 1950’s, a new kind of Populist-Conservative politics, or a new Centrism. Every politician wants to be thought of as a rail splitter, born in a log cabin. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump come from upper middle class backgrounds. Park Ridge, Illinois and the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, in New York City are hardly breeding grounds for American Populists.

While the tone of the executive branch might change under Trump the fact is moderate, establishment Republicans and moderate Democrats are still in control of the United States Government. How do we expect this group of out-of-touch politicians to address the challenges we face?

Since 2008 the US has had stimulus, banking legislation, the adoption of The Affordable Health Care Act and a change in Foreign Policy. The result is nominal economic growth, with 63 percent of the eligible workforce sidelined. A foreign policy that was supposed to herald a new era of peace and cooperation, didn’t. Despite major changes in technology, trade and comparative advantage the new story line is Manufacturing’s Greatest Days lie ahead. Is this true? Another initiative of the new administration is to force spending of a trillion dollars on ‘infrastructure’. Will this work? Is this a conservative economic policy approach? With only 8 percent of the work force is employed in manufacturing and construction and most of the rest of us are employed in value added services, one wonders.

Whatever the new president wants to do, it will be processed through the US Congress, State Legislatures and the Courts. With plenty of Democrats in congress and state legislatures ready to put up a good fight, we’ll see how much the GOP and Trump can get done. We’ll also see if the policy they end up with will work to address major challenges of the future.

Massive changes are taking place in our society and the world as the Fourth Industrial Revolution takes hold. While it’s good for Trump supporters and Republicans to celebrate, and for Democrats to prepare their opposition, the question is whether any of the leaders in Washington really understand what is needed for the people of the United States to grow our economy, move forward and prevail in the new world. Sponsored by Brush Studio and X Government Cars.