the "daily rundown" interview with mitch mcconnell. we'll ask him about his dispute with john boehner and after a year in an iranian prison, sharh shourd is released. good morning. it's tuesday, september 14th, 2010. 49 days until the midterm elections. i'm savannah guthrie. >> i'm chuck todd. we'll start in tehran with the developing story. sarah shourd was released from iranian custody. not quite free filling out paperwork. andrea mitchell broke the story and she has the latest on the ground in tehran. andrea, take it away. >> reporter: well, chuck and savannah, this is obviously emotional. it's an up and down crazy kind of story. sarah shourd has been released. the iranian government announced that now. we don't know first of all whether bail is being paid. there are a lot of reports that bail is being paid and there are reports that we cannot confirm that some gulf nations may be involved. some u.s. allies who have very close relationships here. we don't know if money is being transferred but it is not u.s. government money and the

however, mitch mcconnell has very recently had to say, i will support the nominee. he has had to say, whoever this nominee is, he's going to get behind, because they could see this coming in the last 24 hours, and so it hasn't taken them completely by surprise. but they are going to have to find a place for her in their national plans. >> and what happens if she says, look, i did this on my own without you guys, screw off, i'm going to do this myself? >> very unlikely she will do that. you see the tea party candidates trying, some with more success than others, to find their way to a middle. once they get that republican nomination. you saw sharron angle trying to literally run away from her previous positions when they were put in front of her by reporters. and so i would expect that with this candidacy, you're going to see a similar move in delaware to try to find something closer to the middle in delaware, to try to just pooh-pooh the negative talk about her. her previous campaign manager has come out and that she just used the campaign money to pay her own rent.

but we're still in this wrestling match where john boehner and mitch mcconnell about the last 2% to 3% where on average where you make $100,000 for people making $1 million or more. >> president obama heads to philly today to deliver the second back-to-school speech. last year, the speech got some national attention. according to the text released by the white house last night, the president will tell students your future is in your hands, your life is what you make of it. and nothing, absolutely nothing is beyond your reach. last year, obama gave a similar televised pep talk at wakefield high school in arlington. but as you remember, that speech sparked controversy beforehand as critics suggested it could inject ideology into the classroom. they said he was spreading propaganda to children. >>> new surveillance video out of california shows the deadly pipeline explosion in san bruno that killed four and left four others missing. meanwhile, pacific gas and electric company -- the owner of that pipeline is setting aside $100 million for victims of last week's disaster. the company says

now, on the issue of who mitch mcconnell is surrounded with, he's going to back mitch mcconnell. the issue is lamar alexander more than mcconnell. alexander has been make a lot of conservatives in the senate and staffers bristle with some of his pleas for finding commonalty with the other side. so jon kyl might be an acceptable alternative. i doubt you'll see someone like demint stand up for the leadership post. i don't think he could win. but i think he can make a legitimate argument that the rest of the senate will have to listen to, lest he run someone against them that conservatives deserve a seat at the table. >> he had a great record in the primary season. john cornyn, who runs the committee that's supposed to get republicans lee, elected, did not. i want people to listen. >> my record will be determined after november 2nd, and how many pickups we'll have. i'm not making predictions today. we do have about a dozen seats in play, and i think november the 2nd will be -- that's when my report card will get graded. >> he's a tad defensive there. what's the -- his mood and the b

mitch mcconnell has had his head buried in a gopher hole for a year and a half. he's coming out -- he'll probably get a wreath for that, but he didn't want these candidates, did he? >> no, i mean, he we wanted candidates that were part of the mainstream, sort of get along, get along. i think the guy on election day, regardless of the way it turns out, who should have a real fear about some of these guys coming to the senate. these guys are not going there in order to get along and go along. these grice not going there in order to get along and go along and they are not going to -- if you you think they have disagreements with the democrats, they are going to show real disagreements with the senate, future senate minority -- majority leader if he wins. >> are these voter and i think voters great and i think democracy has been spectacular for this country for 200-plus years and always amazed me how people are really smart, are they electing people that bark at the moon? really to come back to washington and go oooo, bark at the moon and make weird noises a the thei

. >> that was, of course, mitch mcconnell earlier today on msnbc. what is it going to be all or nothing or something in between? which side has more to gain and more to lose before the midterm? >> let's bring in democratic strategist jennifer palmieri and republican strategist. doesn't everybody want a tax cut? you don't want to answer this question. >> no, i do. the polling is interesting on this in that a majority of people don't support extending the bush tax cuts. >> themselves they do. no, they don't. >> 52% of americans say no. i think it is because they think the tax cuts all go to rich people. when you say should you extend them for rich people or extend for only the middle class they pick only the middle class. what is great about what john boehner has done is he has clarified the difference -- >> by saying he would sign that bill. let me try something by you. if nothing happens, we all know everybody's taxes go up in january. who wins then? if everybody walks to the voting booth and nothing has been done and everybody's taxes go up in janu

and when you've got mitch mcconnell coming out and saying you know what? 98% of the american people, their tax relief has to wait until we do something for the top 2%, even though it puts it on our national credit card, and we all are going to be paying years and years for those tax cuts for the very wealthy, that's an issue that clearly defines the candidates and the parties. >> congressman, wouldn't calling these tax cuts what they actually are, the obama middle class tax cuts and then forcing republicans to go out there and vote against them in a month before the election, or even in the senate filibuster against them, would that not be manna from political heaven for the democrats, especially the way the midterms are shaping up 49 days out? >> look, i do think it's worth a fight. i do think it's worth a vote. as to whether we start in the house or the senate, that's obviously something that we have to figure out. but there is no doubt about it. with mitch mcconnell saying he intends to block middle class tax relief, i think we should put them to the te

mitch mcconnell has had his head buried in a hole for the past year and a half. he's coming out -- he'll probably get a wreath for that, but he didn't want these candidates, did he? >> no, he we wanted candidates that were going to be get along get along. i think the guy on election day, regardless of the way it turns out, who should have a real fear about some of these guys coming to the senate. these guys are not going there in order to get along and go along. you think they have democrats with the democrats, they're going to show real disagreements with the future senate majority leader if he wins. >> voters are great and democracy has been similpectacu are they electing people who bark at the moon and make weird noses at their other members? don't get a house in washington. maybe stay in a hotel, but really keep away from the people because they're evil and dirty? do they want them to join the senate? >> they like term limits. rand paul today said something important. he said he was going to help filibuster any budget that wasn't balanced. we have joe miller

first mitch mcconnell. nice to see you. >> good to be back. >> greta: i want to talk about the bush tax, first the numbers last night or the results in delaware. i suppose that you were surprised. a lot of people were surprised. >> it was a bit of a surprise. it looked like it was closing in the end. we are happy primary season is over and we going to support the republican nominee in the country, including delaware. >> greta: can she win? >> absolutely will be a good year for republicans. >> greta: it seemed the beginning of the last two years democrats were surprised by the tea party movement and they got yelled at, at the town hall meetings and it looked like they were tone-deaf. now it seems republicans are getting a rude awakening. you've had alaska, utah, delaware, the governor -- republican nomination in new york. are republicans waking up -- are politicians waking up that americans might be agitated? >> it important to remember when the real election is. it is november 2nd. all of this energy that y

however, mitch mcconnell has very recently had to say, i will support the nominee. he has had to say, whoever this nominee is, he's going to get behind, because they could see this coming in the last 24 hours, and so it hasn't taken them completely by surprise. but they are going to have to find a place for her in their national plans. >> and what happens if she says, look, i did this on my own without you guys, screw off, i'm

. >> we're still in this wrestling match with john bainer and mitch mcconnell, about the last two to three percent where on average we'd be giving them $100,000 for people making a million dollars or more. >> the two to three percent mentioned by the president are people making more than $250,000 per year. >> that's why i'm introducing legislation today that ensures that no one in this country will pay higher income taxes next year than they are right now. >> reporter: republicans and a growing number of moderate democrats would like to see the bush tax cuts due to expire at the end of this year extended for at least another year for everybody, arguing the recovery is too fragile to increase taxes on anybody. independent senator joe lieberman of connecticut makers this argument. >> i want them to have the confidence that we're not going to raise their taxes so they go out and spend all of that money and what happens when they spend? jobs are created. that's what we need. >> reporter: fox news has obtained a draft of a letter from some rank and file moderate house democrats to their l

also a live interview with mitch mcconnell as well. we've all heard about the crucial role independent voters will play in this election. how will it effect the independent lawmaker like senator joe lieberman. we are going to ask him live about that as well. jon. jon: over to capitol hill where a big battle is underway now over the soon to expire bush tax cuts, a battle that could pit two key republicans against one another. james rosen is keeping an eye on that live. james. >> reporter: jon and jenna good afternoon. republican lawmakers say their party is unified, they want to see the bush tax cuts extended to all tax pwr-bgts including the upper ones, democrats say extending the tax cuts to top easterners will effective lee sock our national deficit with an additional $700 billion. this debates unfold as we expect to see senate action on a separate bill that would give approximately $30 billion to encourage lending to small businesses by community banks. the remarks on the senate floor yesterday by the two party leaders made clear th

the problem for the class coming in for the republicans is for mitch mcconnell who you just talked to is his ability to herd them will be like herding quail. they'll think i'm not going to be part of this and i'm not going to listen to the voleader but i'll listen to the what the voters want to do. >> in today's newspaper, there is a quote by a senior republican, you know, consultant that after the elections it's going to be basically all-out war, a struggle for the heart and the soul of the republican party. you're shaking your head. >> they've been writing this story for eight months about what a problem the tea party is for the republican party. you know what the problem is -- >> tom ross told us they lost because of that and might lose. >> on balance across the country the tea party is an enormous help for the republicans. at the beginning the question was will they play nicely with others own obey the rules of politics? who is not playing nicely. mr. crist discovers that he's an independent and changes all his views overnight. mrs. murkowski loses a primary and suddenly discovers

here cups mitt romney in front of the parade, rnc chairman michael steele and mitch mcconnell is in love now and john cornyn never misses an opportunity to jump in front of the camera and say, yeah, i have with her all along. here comes sarah palin and every conservative talk show host in america wrapping their arms around o'donnell. i guarantee you jim demint is drunk with power tonight, high-fiving republicans behind closed doors. what we are seeing is a masterful rebranding of the republican party. they don't care how crazy their candidates are. o'donnell, sharron angle, rand paul, they don't care. see, the key is they just have to have an r behind their name on the ballot. that's what it's all about. there's no way republicans and right-leaning independents are absolutely going to flock to the democrats because they think the tea party is too crazy to be on the ballot. that's why tim kaine needs to quit psycho analyzing the republican party and focus on our team. let me focus on this for a moment. it's the old football coach. his buddy's across the field and after the game, the coach

and mitch mcconnell does on the record. did you hear an what he did? host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? is a bird in the hand worth 2 in the bush? appraiser: well you rarely see them in this good of shape. appraiser: for example the fingers are perfect. appraiser: the bird is in mint condition. appraiser: and i would say if this were to go to auction today, appraiser: conservatively it would be worth 2 in the bush. woman: really? appraiser: it's just beautiful, thank you so much for bringing it in. woman: unbelievable anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. . >> greta: now you, yes you are going on the road with marco rubio. the republican is locked in a battle for the u.s. senate seat in florida. earlier today hit the road in his campaign van as he traveled to events in florida. delaware, a stunner, most people were stunned to discover that christine o'donnell won that primary. were you surprised? >> i have not, because of our race is so complicated, i haven't followed it. >> greta: not at all? >>

you can see president obama trying to drive a wedge between john boehner and mitch mcconnell. john boehner said republicans are unified saying they don't want any expiration of the bush tax cuts. that is somewhat contrary to what boehner said on sunday, where he said if all he could get was the middle class tax cuts he would support that. one republican said he wperson boehner was saying boehner was there for the middle class. that being said, any movement on this issue will start in the united states senate where there are not 60 votes right now for president obama's middle class tax plan. there are only maybe in the number of around 52. folks i've spoken to in the united states senate said between six and eight democrats have reservations about this. so you could be looking at a compromise in the future. it might not get done before the november midterms, it could happen in a lame duck session. listen to what chris van holland had to say, a man in charge of the congressional house races. he said this this weekend -- if republicans were to come back and say hey, let's just do

and the fact of the matter is it's a moot point because we have heard from mitch mcconnell very clearly that the only thing that they would accept is permanent tax breaks for the very wealthy, which adds $700 billion to the deficit. so, it's really irrelevant what other proposals may be out there given the fact that the republicans have said through mitch mcconnell as early as a few hours ago that they would never accept anything other than a permanent tax cut for the wealthy. look, the president laid out a clear plan. it makes sense to pursue his plan. he has said if we want to deal with small businesses -- as you know only 2% of small businesses would be effected by keeping -- by reducing the bush rates at the top. and the president put forward a plan that would give 100% of small businesses tax relief by allowing them to write off their investments. that's the way to go. that's what i support. let me be very clear. >> okay. i understand. you said that would obviously be something we would have to think about if they said one year for the top 2% and permanent for the middle class. it'

senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is standing firm, he says that democrats want higher taxes to extend government control over america's lives, this comes in response to president obama's plan to stay tough on those tax cuts for the higher end, those deemed to be, quote, the rich, although though not everybody in that bracket feels that way. bill: mcconnell says he's ready to fight the white house to make sure that no one, that no american, pays higher taxes: >> we can't allow this administration to demand that small business owners in this country pay for its own fiscal recklessness and that's why i'm introducing legislation today that ensures that no one in this country will pay higher income taxes next year than they are right now. we can't let the people who have been hit the hardest by this recession and who need to create the jobs that will get us out of it foot the bill for the democrats' two-year adventure in expanded government. bill: there was a growing number of democrats especially on the senate side against the idea of raises taxes on anyone during the recession, an

we heard mitch mcconnell and republicans in the house. >> i think so. his office very shortly after those comments he made yesterday was sending out things that were sort of clarifications and were trying to explain that, no, he is still in favor of continuing the tax cuts for everyone. i think basically he just said something that perhaps he didn't intend to say. >> ifill: the white house seized on it very quickly. how did that roll up? how did that happen and why? >> you know, for them this was a golden opportunity because they had been arguing that the tax cuts should be allowed to expire for the wealthy. they're trying very much to create a populist contrast to the republicans. john boehner saying something that sounded like, well, maybe they're right or maybe if forced i could go along with what they're suggesting that was something we were very eager to pounce on to make their point. >> ifill: everyone is talking at cross purposes. what is the true state of the tax-cut debate? >> the fact is that the positions have hardened. both sides came out fi

the problem for the class coming in for the republicans is for mitch mcconnell, who you just talked to, is his ability to herd them will be like herding quail. because these folks are coming to washington saying, i i'm not going to be part of this. i'm not going to listen to the leaders. i'm going to what the voters >> i wanted to ask because in today's newspaper, there is a quote by a senior republican, now,nsulhaaf the elections, it's going to be basically all-out war, a struggle for the heart and the soul of the re your >> they've been writing this story for eight months about what a problem the y is for the repblicty. you know what the problem is -- >> well, tom ross basically told us that they lost because of that >> on balance across the trty norm at the beginning of the year, the question was will the tea party play nicely with others and obey the rules of politics? who is not playing nicely? mr. crist discovers that he's an independent and changes all his views overnight. mrs. murkowski loses a primary and suddenly discovers she has a property right in her senate seat, and she'

we have david axelrod of the white house who will join us, and we have senator mitch mcconnell, and he will join us and we will talk about all of the divisions or unity between the tea party and the rest of the republican party and what it means for the midterm elections and for the democrats as they try to put their strategy fourth. we also have acknowledgment of what is happening in new york at the u.n. general assembly and a discussion of the money all development goals, all about the promises the world made to eradicate extreme poverty, to bring gender parity, bring universal education and other issues. we will be speaking with the king of jordan who is very involved in this and has an extremely articulate and passionate view on not just that but also the middle east peace process, on the way the islamic debate is happening and the u.s. that will be very compelling and interesting, too. >> awesome, thank you for the preview. >>> watch abc's "this week" sunday morning at 10:00, right here on abc 7. >>> coming up -- >> just had a wedding two weeks before. >> 7 on your side with an al

the tax cuts to the wealthiest americans. >> jimmy: listen to my man, brizzle. [ laughter ] ♪ mitch mcconnell has a massive tax package ♪ ♪ and he's swinging that massive package in president obama's face ♪ [ cheers ] ♪ it's all right it's all right it's all right ♪ ♪ voodoo economics is coming back ♪ ♪ christine o'donnell used to practice witchcraft ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> already fighting to keep the house and senate, democrats don't want to be seen as raising taxes on anyone, especially small businesses, in the midst of the longest recession since the second world war. >> jimmy: take it from me and my boy, bri willie. [ light laughter ] don't pick on someone's business just because it's small. a lot of people have small businesses. just ask brian williams. [ silence ] >> it's not the size of your business that counts, it's what you do with your business. [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: that's very true. ♪ my business is penetrating markets worldwide ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> if the tax cuts expire, investors could get nervous. >> jimmy: we want fewer taxes a

what is remarkable over the last year-and-a-half is how much mitch mcconnell, minority leader has held that caucus together all the way from olympia snowe to jim demint in opposing obama care, opposing the stimulus. he's wrong in saying that this is ideologically, heredical or unreliable republican senatorial caucus. if they really are serious about stopping obama, the way to do it is get the majority. otherwise, we're going to have another two years of what we had in the last year-and-a-half. democrats inty tuting major -- democrats instituting major structural and some of it change they cannot in the end be reversed. >> chris: do you agree with that, fred? >> i agree that electing conservatives is the thumb two priority. the number one priority is defeating democrats. you want to feel to nominate a candidate with the best chance of doing that. if that is a moderate, okay. conservative, okay? william buckley had a line about electing as a conservative, he wanted to elect the most conservative candidate he could, who could still win. that might eliminate some conservatives. defeating d

now when you have the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell yesterday not giving any cover saying, look, we don't want to do the middle class tax cuts as boehner suggested and the president suggested, as well, we want all the tax cuts extended, including those for the rich. this was a division that the president was only too happy to exploit. >> we could get that done this week. but we're still in this wrestling match with john boehner and mitch mcconnell about the last 2% to 3% where on average we'd be giving them $100,000 for people making $1 million or more. >> so the white house basically feels like they finally after months of having the president's plans out there and getting hit by everybody, they now have a foil. somebody they can, you know, lay out their alternative in the case of john boehner and say, look, this is what the president wants, and this is what the republicans want. we should point out, though, as brianna knows full well, not all the democrats are on the same page. some of them are pressing speaker pelosi to put -- extend all the tax cuts, including the tax c

one of those was senator majority mitch mcconnell. he also is a republican. he has more leverage. more republicans in the senate than there are in the house where boehner's sitting. mcconnell issued this saying no can do. i'm going to fight the president tooth and nail. >> we can't let the people who have been hit the hardest by this recession and who need to create the jobs that will get us out of it foot the bill for the democrats' two-year adventure in expanded government. we can't law america's job cr creators to pay for out of control spending than we can allow paying for wall street. wall street should pay pore its own excesses. so should administration and democratic leaders in washington. >> he was making it clear yesterday that the republicans would block income tax hikes on any americans and essentially just daring democrats in the white house. we'll just double dog dare you. you just go ahead and try to raise taxes on some americans. we won't let you. >> but it's not just mcconnell. senator webb indicated he's not allowing those to expire. you have to wonder who else is

which was interesting because before that moment rand paul and mitch mcconnell had been distinctly separate entities. before you knew it, mcconnell was doing fund-raisers for rand paul. and that's the change. >> you do strike a note of sympathy in here when you say at times their desire to withdraw from the brutality complex global economic system that is an irrevokable fact of our modern life and get back to a simpler world that no longer exists is so intense it breaks your heart. >> it's similar when you see protests on the left, protests against the brutally complex global economic system. >> that's the key appeal of the tea party, it provides simple solutions for incredibly complex problems. you know, it -- the solution to everything in the tea party ideology is market good, government bad. that's the thing that everybody can understand. and that's what the appeal is for these people. it's just not that simple. the world has gotten too big, there's no way to waive that magic wand. and that's part of where the frustration comes from. >> matt taibbi, thanks for your time tonight. >> thank

mitch mcconnell does not believe in a serious investigation of bp. is he in the tank? i can't think of another reason why he doesn't want a serious investigation of an environmental catastrophe. >> i can't think of another reason, either. i believe in accountability. >> is he in the tank with the oil industry? >> well, it seems like he is. i'll tell you what. it seems like he's fighting, trying to push this past the elections and not allow bob graham and his committee, which has to report in july, not allowing them to have subpoena power. they ought to have subpoena power so they can make sure it doesn't happen again. >> that's one good reason for you to get elected right there. thank you, jack conway, who goes after the bad guys and knows the power of a subpoena. an putting people under the box and under oath so they can't squirm away from it again. i'm serious. >> well, thank you very much. >> the one and only p.j. o'roarke, his new book is call -- and i totally don't agree with it, "don't vote." we're from belfast, only on msnbc. >>> charlie crist may be fading a bi

i didn't see mitch mcconnell in there, the republican leader, and the reason you didn't see mitch mcconnell is he had the pants scared off him by rand paul who won the nomination in kentucky for the senate against mcconnell, himself. so the people who in an earlier time, a generation, would step forward to try to be the adults in the republican party, are too scared to do so in many cases. >> and getting even more here for a second there used to be something else at work in the parties and among the voters and seems utterly absent in this cycle and that would be the word "shame." here in new york mr. paladino's campaign is actually portraying this criminal, scandalous past of its top personnel as a badge of honor and at the risk of sounding like a republican of old, where is the outrage? >> well, i got to say, keith, new york is new york. so it's a little bit of a special case. he's up against andrew cuomo who is a tough customer himself. there's a little bit of street bravado going on both sides. more generally, a lot of republican voters, a lot of conservatives are in the mood to say, we

i look forward to seeing mitch mcconnell trying to work things out with joe miller. >> it will be tough for mitch mcconnell. >> i can't wait. >> we're talking about big tent, kid, if we're talking about big tent, we do have a big tent and there are some strange people in it, no doubt about it. but when you're building a big coalition, a lot of folks come in who are different and a lot come out of the democratic party, they're independents. but that's the nature of a coalition thing like nixon and agnew and reagan put together. there's a lot of strange folks there, but you got to welcome them all, not just the moderates and the establishment liberals but the good old working class folks as well. >> you may have answered my question then, pat. does this mean that the gop will end up or be forced to embrace the tea party principles? because if they don't, don't they risk challenge from within? >> no, here's the thing. republican party's got its ideas and the tea party's got its ideas. frankly, what you come down to when you get together is you got to work out inside your own coalition wher

republicans and democrats have staked out by listening to mitch mcconnell. >> they should definitely get an extension of the tax cuts that were instituted in 2001 and 2003. we could get that done this week. but we're still in this wrestling match with john boehner and mitch mcconnell about the last 2% to 3% where on average we'd be giving them $100,000 for people making $1 million or more. >> and there you hear the president trying to frame the debate exactly what's going on within the republican party trying to suggest that there is a wedge between boehner and mcconnell. there is not much of a way between what john boehner was doing was not allowing democrats to being for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. we are mostly going to see up here on capitol hill, richard, the senate will take the lead on this. a lot of vulnerable house democrats, folks that come from rural districts that don't like taxes and folks that come from wealthy districts that don't like taxes would not want nancy pelosi to walk the plank on a passable tax vote. they want that to come out of the senat

. >> you're going to have the grass-roots right that fuel the tea party will not tolerate mitch mcconnell cutting deals. and those guys, ifnybody is caught cutting a deal, then you're going to see people in the rank and file saying they got to go and there is a real fine line. one of them may not last a year. chris: these guys seem like stiff republicans compared to the tea party. when we return, predictions from my top reporters. think about the internet. growing, evolving, literally transforming our lives. now imagine the possibilities ofhat tomorrow could bring. at at&t, we support a core set of standards that will guide the internet into the future... to protect users, and rewa innovators, for years to come. we support a fair and open internet - affordable and accessible to everyone. transparent neorks, managed in ways that are clear to a users. we support the fcc's plan to bring high-speed internet to everyone in america by 2020. and we are committed to keeping the internet working, as the economic engine that's creating jobs now. working together, investing, keepg information and id

. >> ron paul, the tea party guy from kentucky is going to end up being mitch mcconnell's big ally in the senate. if paul wins he's going to be the ambassador to the tea party senators. >> this wave election that we're going to have. this wave is going to wash out a lot of women members of congress. chris: why is that? liberal democrats? >> not just liberal but most of the women in congress are democrats. this will be the first downward trend in more than a generation. chris: they'll also win big jobs. >> they may. >> members of the black congressional congress are already angry about the congressional caucus that nancy pelosi set up. they may find favor in john boehner so he could move to get rid of that independentth eics office. chris: so a bipartisan fear of investigation. that is really heartwarming. >> the unseen factor in the wave election if it happens, will be money. the outside groups, which no one can keep track of, will out-raise the democrats by 100%. chris: how about the cooperate thing? >> that's part of it. chris: when we come back, if republicans take the congress, sh

that has angered mitch mcconnell, the republican majority leader, as well as what you just saw there, susan collins of maine as well as olympia snowe, another moderate democrats hoped would jump on here to repeal don't ask, don't tell. because of the parliamentary procedures and debate about them, the don't ask, don't tell measure is not allowed to go forward, doesn't mean it's completely done by any means, though. >> what about bringing it up again in a lame duck session? is that the last hope for people really trying to get this done now, this year, despite reservations reservations? >> reporter: that's certainly a possibility. there's one thing we've heard from a democrat, specifically jim webb of virginia, which is the military is conducting its own internal study of what the effects of don't ask, don't tell will have on soldiers in the field as well as the different branches of service within the barracks and whatnot. a lot of republicans want to see the findings and results of that study. after that study is then confirmed and the results are presented, then make up an opinion a

senate minority leader mitch mcconnell says they're still looking for the shovel-ready jobs they were promised more than a year ago. all this as democrats are under attack headed into november's elections. republicans picked their first target, an indiana democrat. >> and now joe donnelly wants us to believe he's independent? >> analysts say ads and promises will only go so far. this election voters are only looking at one thing -- results. >> the economy simply is not going to improve before the election. there's nothing that barack obama can do about that. >> in fact, these infrastructure projects that the president is proposing, those jobs won't be generated until next year. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you. >>> well, general david petraeus is condemning one florida church's plans to mark the anniversary of 9/11 by burning copies of the koran. in today's "wall street journal," the top u.s. commander of the war in afghanistan warns the lives of u.s. troops could be endangered if the dove world outreach center goes through with its planned protest against

or mitch mcconnell. that is how it would shake out. we have had these problems over the years where high-profile exhibits cannot -- cannot -- came up with any number of barriers between the funding and the practitioners. you will have greater government control over content. the issue that i wanted to address, sandy, you talked about being connected to the diversity. ron, you talked about the current toxic atmosphere. you'll mentioned -- several of you have mentioned that quality journalism is happening in this country. there is no question about that. the global post and in international areas, there is quality journalism. the question to me is not whether there can be quality journalism, but how as the news media becomes increasingly atomized around the country, how can anyone get a comprehensive view of the world? it used to be that we could pick up the chronicle and hope to find at least as close to a comprehensive review as possible. no longer. they will have a couple of stories per day plus a lot of opinion pieces and a map telli

. >> you're going to have the grass-roots right that fuel the tea party will not tolerate mitch mcconnell cutting deals. and those guys, if anybody is caught cutting a deal, then you're going to see people in the rank and file saying they got to go and there is a real fine line. one of them may not last a year. chris: these guys seem like stiff republicans compared to the tea party. when we return, predictions from my top reporters. [ male announcer ] it's ram truck season. and the 60-day handshake lives on, that five-finger bond that communicates trust, honor, follow-through, and follow-up. it's a promise that says go ahead and buy a ram 1500 or a heavy duty without a payment fo60 days. and if it doesn't do everything you ask it to do... bring it back. ram. es tax on everything you buy? that's in andy harris' unfair tax plan. 23% sales tax. a 23% sales tax will cut my business in half. would be devastating. andy harris' 23% sales tax absolutely makes no sense. 23% sales tax would really make things unaffordable. that's too high for the average american out here. i don't know how we would

it gave the white house and opening to split john banner from mitch mcconnell and the other republicans. they just a check -- they just attacked him again. >> that was churlish. he ran away from his own comments so fast. he caved in. you ask what kind of metal is in the minority leader's backbone of the cannot stand up? >> congress should do what ados -- does best, nothing. if congress does nothing, those tax cuts go away. we need the revenue. it is not great timing but if you return rates to where they were in the 1990's, the economy was doing well, the government desperately needs that revenue. i think gridlock is a good thing that i do you think that will happen? >> you can argue about the $250,000 and above but there seems to be an overwhelming consensus that people under that amount want to retain their bush tax cuts. >> i think there'll be no action until after the elections in a lame duck session. i think you will have an expansion of all the tax cuts. peter orszag was obama's own budget director and he wrote a piece in which he argued that you either keep the mall or let them al

so should john thune, mitch mcconnell and john cornyn be thrown out of office? because on those major issues you're so upset about, they voted the exact same way as these candidates that got thrown out by the republican party? >> well, i didn't campaign against lisa or bob bennett. this was a decision -- >> but you supported bob bennett's -- one of the people who challenged him? >> with well, once bob was out, yeah, i was supportive of mike lee, because he's a great candidate. but these are appropriators, bob bennett, lisa murkowski. they believe their job is to take home the bacon. it's a big part of the culture here in washington. and frankly, i've been around long enough to know that people are tired. even in alaska, candy, in alaska the voters there threw out someone who was bringing home the bacon. joe miller, running against earmarks, because i think we're hearing all over american, it's -- i don't one for my state if it's going to bankrupt my country. >> but we're talking really, 1, 2% of a budget here, when you're talking about the earmarks. that doesn't