Carolina Journal Radio No. 722: Congress wrestles with Obamacare replacement

Efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare took a recent step forward with a proposal from U.S. House Republicans. But the GOP plan has generated mixed reviews, with some conservatives labeling the proposal “Obamacare Lite.” Katherine Restrepo, the John Locke Foundation’s director of health care policy, analyzes the proposal and offers her own ideas about the best way to approach health care reform. The N.C. Constitution is generating plenty of headlines these days, with near-constant skirmishes pitting a new Democratic governor and the Republican-led General Assembly. John Dinan, professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, discusses the disputes. Dinan explains how the state constitution and the government’s third branch, the judiciary, will help resolve the political conflicts. North Carolina’s junior U.S. senator has concerns about the process the military uses to replace outdated weapons. During a recent confirmation hearing, Thom Tillis used the example of one Air Force firearm to explain why he believes the U.S. Department of Defense needs to reform its weapon replacement process. A November 2016 attack at Ohio State University, which hospitalized 11 people, has promoted a renewed interest among N.C. lawmakers in college campus safety issues. A legislative oversight group listened recently to a presentation from Brent Herron, the UNC system’s associate vice president of campus safety and emergency operations. You’ll hear highlights from Herron’s remarks, along with lawmakers’ reactions. It’s entirely possible for a North Carolinian to be charged, prosecuted, and convicted of a crime, even if he had no reason to believe his conduct was wrong. That’s a problem. It gets to the erosion of a core legal principle known as “mens rea,” the idea that a crime involves both a wrongful act and a “vicious will” or “culpable mind.” Jon Guze, the John Locke Foundation’s director of legal studies, explains why North Carolina ought to take steps to restore the “mens rea” principle in the state criminal code.