Truth for America Panel Predicts that in 2011 Tea Party Movement will Expand Influence on Republican Policy Decisions

Neal Asbury opened the show by expressing profound disappointment that during the lame duck session Republicans failed to make the extension of the Bush tax cuts permanent. As this failure sends a message to small business and entrepreneurs that it’s still not time to invest. The upshot will be that unemployment will continue to hover near nine percent, and shadow unemployment will pass 23 percent. The administration must reduce taxes and stop spending money if unemployment is going to drop.

Closing out the year, this week’s Truth for America altered its format and called on a panel of experts to make predictions about what might happen in 2011. Asbury and cohost Rich Roffman were joined by returning guest Paul Anderson, Senior Fellow at United States Congress, Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a former Commissioner-Designated Chairman at the Federal Maritime Commission.

Anderson predicted that the Tea Party movement will continue to influence GOP policies and will move the Party to become more conservative. He also predicted that Sarah Palin will announce her candidacy for President.

“She may not get the votes she needs for the nomination, but she has energized the GOP and moved the Party back to its traditional conservative base. She also will encourage at least six more candidates to declare their desire to run. I think the ultimate GOP nominee will not be someone we are currently talking about,” predicted Anderson.

Both Anderson and Asbury would like to see New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announce his candidacy.

Rich Roffman agreed with Anderson that the Tea Party will expand its influence in 2011. “They woke America up in 2010 and this is a good thing for America,” said Roffman.

In a startling prediction, Roffman suggested that if President Obama’s ratings continue to slide, Hillary Clinton will resign as Secretary of State and run against Obama in 2012.

The biggest story in 2011, according to Roffman, will be the continued threat posed by North Korea and Iran. Like most people Roffman said that Iran as a nuclear nation is a forgone conclusion.

Anderson predicted that ObamaCare will continue to be a controversial issue in 2011 and that despite its unpopularity the GOP must walk gingerly because if they act too quickly to gut the Obama healthcare plan they will get blamed for removing healthcare benefits for Americans. But he also predicted that if Obama tries to resurrect the so called “death panels,” it will greatly impact his future.

“The biggest mistake Obama made is that he used up his political capital trying to pass the healthcare bill when he should have been devoting his time to bringing down unemployment,” said Anderson.

Roffman is concerned that the EPA and the Democrats are talking about global warming and carbon emissions, which will distract the nation once again away from the unemployment issue.

Asbury thought it is ironic that the same people that embraced Obama are now the core of the Tea Party movement, who have become disenchanted with Obama’s policies.

“I’m afraid that 2011 will just be a continuation of 2010’s national pessimism about the economy and job creation. Uncertainty and fear will continue to impact employment because small businesses and entrepreneurs will not be willing to invest. This will be sad for America. I want to see the President stand up at the podium and tell the American people that tackling unemployment will be his sole priority and that he will discontinue any policies that could become job killers,” said Asbury.

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