Stephen Moore, Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board Senior Economics Writer (Twitter: @WSJ)
Topic: Congress’ legislative agenda before the 2012 elections. Mr. Moore will discuss what Congress must act on before the elections, and the ramifications of waiting until after the November elections to deal with extension of the Bush tax cuts and the effects of sequestration -- as mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act -- especially on the defense budget.
Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Oversight & Gov’t Reform Committee Member (@GerryConnolly)
Topic: Rep. Connolly is one of 19 Democrats who went across the aisle and voted to extend the Bush-era tax cuts at all income levels. Connolly will discuss his vote and his opinions on tax reform and economic stimulus. Connolly is from a consistently wealthy and federally employed district, and could be heavily affected by sequestration and defense cuts. We will discuss 2012 voting in a swing state, and his position on the failing U.S. Postal Service.
Andy Kroll, Mother Jones, Staff Reporter (@AndrewKroll)
Topic: As part of our Spotlight on Magazine series, Andy Kroll, staff reporter at Mother Jones Magazine, joins us on Wednesday, August 8th to discuss his story about campaign fundraising and the history of campaign finance laws, including how the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling “freeing corporations and unions to spend unlimited outside money on elections” has fundamentally changed the nature of political campaigns.