Podcast 332 – Congressman Tom Emmer

Congressman Tom Emmer. Tom Emmer joins the Bob Davis Podcast to talk about his recent vote for the DHS funding bill, which has generated so much controversy with some constituents in Minnesota’s 6th District. Tom talks about the original budget bill known as ‘CROMNIBUS’, and the bill defunding DHS the House was asked to vote on recently. Also discussed is the need for an overall strategy to address presidential executive orders and memoranda, by President Obama. Problem is, since it is President Obama issuing the orders, he picks the time and ‘place’ of battle, forcing Congress to react, rather than act. Emmer also talks about the controversy on his vote for the Speaker, and disagreements with some leaders and members of the North Metro Tea Party recently. It was recently suggested that Minnesota’s 6th District is one of the most republican in the United States (Editor’s note: I made the suggestion.) In reality, while Minnesota’s 6th district is one of the most republican in Minnesota, with a +6 generic republican vote, there are districts in some states in the range of +20 for the generic republican vote. So no, Minnesota’s 6th district is not ‘like Texas’. Emmer says he understands people are angry and frustrated. Those who are angry and frustrated don’t want to talk about the complexities surrounding votes like the recent DHS vote, they’re just angry. The Congressman suggests conservatives need to lead with logic and not emotion on these issues, and the right needs a strategy for the next 18 or so months, and 2016. He says it will be different when the Senate has a 60+ majority of republicans, a wider republican majority in the House and a republican President. Tom says he has been talking with constituents pretty much non-stop since the vote. This podcast did not represent an opportunity to argue with Congressman Emmer, but an opportunity for him to respond, and to give listeners an idea what it might be like to have a conversation with the Congressman on the phone. Emmer and Davis also talk about the Authorization for Military Action the President is asking for, and whether he thinks arming the Ukraine is a good idea, given the fact that a group of Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate are asking the President to do so. Also discussed is trade policy, and the recent ‘Snowmageddon’ that has hit the Capitol. Sponsored by Baklund R&D. 

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Podcast 324

Winter and The Donner Party. Updates on the big stories for your weekend. Yeah, it’s cold people, but can we at least use the real temperature rather than wind chills? Was it really -41 in Bemidji, Minnesota the other day, or did just feel like -41? What does -41 feel like? Now of course comes the cavalcade of idiotic financial media stories about the ‘deep cold’ of 2015, and the ‘economic effects’ of people not being able to get to their jobs. In New England? Vermont? Massachusetts? Minnesota? These people, of course, have no experience with such economy killing cold, right? Another economic fairy tale that has died a horrible death is the idea that cheap gas ‘acts like a tax cut’. In reality it appears that the cheaper price of oil isn’t just due to increasing production, but to slackening demand, which ought to cause some concern. A new economic fairy tale is the idea that increasing minimum wages at Wal-Mart (announced as a Public Relations gimmick) will somehow create ‘wage inflation’ which will be good for the economy. Doesn’t seem to be any decrease of wages at federal agencies like the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS currently boasts over eighty thousand employees, and wants to add ten thousand more, ostensibly to do work related to Obama Care taxation enforcement, except only some 400 new employees will be doing that work. What will the others do? Order out for lunch. Buy new chairs. Go to expensive conferences during the winter in Las Vegas. Whatever. Everyone agrees that green and yellow smoke spewing smokestacks, and rivers that explode into flame are bad; We used to call things like that ‘pollution’. These days apparently there is so little pollution that amateur astronomers are complaining that there’s too much ‘light pollution’, they can’t see the little dipper, even with a telescope. Go ahead, tell me to turn off my front porch light. Demand the IDS turn out the lights at night. Hell, go ahead and turn out the street lights. Just don’t call it ‘Light Pollution’. Because when you do that, we call it ‘Mouth Pollution’ as in, SHUT IT! All the talk is that the new iWatch isn’t enough, Apple is going to build a car. The story has been all over the financial media that last few days. Finally someone has debunked it. Find out why in this podcast. So, it’s cold. We know it’s cold. Just imagine you are a pioneer taking the road less traveled in 1847. You come to a wonderful spot high in the Sierra Nevada’s. You say, “This is good. It’s late fall. It’s nice here. Let’s stay and rest up before we head down into the place that will someday be known as the Golden State”. 4 months later half your party is dead, you’re eating Dad for dinner and you realize … You’re the Donner Party! It’s one of the enduring stories of conquering the west, and it should make all of us happy we have hot coffee, steaks in the freezer and ‘Game of Thrones’ to watch. Sponsored by Baklund R&D. 

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