It's tax day- what's next for the Tea Party? President Obama's plan for the future of NASA. And we broadcast AirTalk's immigration reform Town Hall from The Crawford Family Forum.
Tax Day & Tea Party 2.0
It’s tax day and Tea Party activists are ready to rally. They’ll be hitting more than 800 events planned across the country, to protest excessive taxes, wasteful spending and big government. But even as the passionate conservatives gather on street corners and at statehouses, Tea Party leaders say they’re moving on to a new phase: grassroots political organizing. They’re raising money, getting organized and setting their sights on getting candidates who share their beliefs in strict fiscal conservatism and limited government elected. How do they plan to do that? And how much influence do they have?
Guests:
Megan Barth, Orange County Tea Party organizer and volunteer, VP of business development for redcounty.com a political blog.
Dawn Wildman, San Diego Tea Party organizer, she’s also on the national board of the Tea Party Patriots
Mark Williams, Chairman, Tea Party Express
Jill Price, Organizer, East Contra Costa Tea Party (covering Discovery Bay, Brentwood, Byron, Knightsen, Oakley, Dethel Island, Antioch, Pittsburgh)
Ron Elving, Senior Washington Editor for NPR
NASA's future: how will it function under Obama's plan?
No more Ares program. And no more moon program, at least for now. Launching astronauts into orbit will go to the private sector. So where will NASA go next? The President will be spelling out some details later today. Larry gets the scoop on what he’s expected to say—and what it’ll mean for the space program.
Guests:
Scott “Doc” Horowitz, President and CEO of Doc’s Aerospace, former Astronaut and former NASA associate administrator of exploration
Louis D. Friedman, Founder and Executive Director of The Planetary Society
Reforming immigration, transforming California?
As soon as healthcare reform was signed into law, Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) proposed a legislative outline for immigration reform. Soon after that, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he was moving full steam ahead with a strategy to pass comprehensive immigration reform this summer. But Reid said Tuesday that immigration reform was too volatile to take up in an election year and that reform would have to wait. Adding to the debate, lawmakers in Arizona upped the immigration ante this week by passing the nation’s strictest enforcement measure yet. What’s the best approach to immigration reform and how would the proposals on the table impact our region?
Panelists:
Antonio Gonzalez, President, William C. Velásquez Institute (the policy arm of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project)
Ira Mehlman, Media Director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
Dipankar Purkayastha, Professor of Economics in the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton. His research and teaching specializations are International Economics and Economic Development of Poor Countries.
AirTalk Overtime Q&A: Reforming immigration, transforming California?
Audience members at AirTalk's Town Hall on comprehensive immigration reform asked additional questions of the panelists, including, what approach would Ira Mehlman take to fixing the United States' illegal labor problem?
Panelists:
Antonio Gonzalez, President, William C. Velásquez Institute (the policy arm of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project)
Ira Mehlman, Media Director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
Dipankar Purkayastha, Professor of Economics in the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton. His research and teaching specializations are International Economics and Economic Development of Poor Countries.