in the senate. [laughter] when the bush burned in the sinai desert, a voice did not speak that there shall be filibuster rule in the senate. it is not a part of the constitution. it did not exist at the time the constitution was adopted. it was prohibited in english parliamentary practice since 1604. it was prohibited by the rules of the second continental congress, and guess what? it was prohibited under the first rules of the united states senate, adopted in april of 178 1789, a senate which had many framers of the constitution as senators. and simultaneously, the house did the same thing. they both adopted the previous question motion from english parliamentary practice as a part of their rules which allow the majority at any time to call the question and end debate in in the senate and in the house. where we are today is a historical accident which i will trace for you. first, let's talk about the problem. the first billy busters did not -- filibusters did not occur until 1841, 50 years after th

miss the senate where if the senate did not like that role, a desolate the senate could do. it could buy a simple majority vote. amended the rose and come up with a new role of procedure. where has been a stand is the senate cannot heal itself. nobody else had the senate, not a house of representatives whose bills were voted on. and the presidents of the day onlay agency that can step in as the federal courts. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. we will quickly move into the discussion portion of the program. >> thank you for coming out today. [applause] i just want to make three mets a brief comments. and i will turn it over to you if you have any questions. i think am at's presentation raises their questions and it is important to keep a separate. is the filibuster a good idea? to me the answer is obviously, it is all a terrible idea. i have yet to meet anybody who defense the filibuster. the senate that changes itself. i think we think it somebody independent, but i think it is clear it is a dumb idea. is it an unconstitutional in the sense as citizens, senators,

the senate. when the bush burned in the desert, a voice did not speak to that there shall be a filibuster rule and the senate. it is not a part of the constitution. it did not exist at the time the constitution was adopted. it was prohibited in english parliamentary practice since 16 04. it was prohibited by rolls of the second continental congress. guess what -- it was prohibited under the first roles of the united states senate, adopted in april of 79, a senate which had many framers -- 1789, a senate which had many framers of the constitution as members. the house did the same thing. they both adopted the previous motion from english parliamentary practice as a role, which allowed the majority at any time to call the question and end debate in this senate and house. where we are today is a historical anomaly the i will trace for you. let's talk about the problem. the first filibusters' did not occur until 1841, 15 years after the constitution was adopted -- 50 years after the constitution was

you talk about post-elect and senate. the senator said the senate is broken. will anything be different during the lame duck session or in january of 2013? >> it depends on the election outcome. it is hard to see an area where barack obama wins reelection and the democrats hold the senate, and they do not get their way on taxes. they will have more leverage they will have more leverage coming out of the

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties f the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to calendar 476, which is s. 3547. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3457, a bill to require the secretary of veterans affairs to establish a veterans job corps an for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: the next half-hour will be for debate on the coburn amendment to the agoa-burma sanctions bill. following that, the time will be equally divided between the two leaders or her two designees. at 11:00 a.m., there will be two votes, the first vote will be a cloture vote on the cybersecurity bill. the second will be on the agoa bill. additional votes are possible today. we will notify senators when and if they are scheduled. mr. president, we are goin

the senate bill, the bipartisan senate bill, the leahy-crapo bill, isn't it true that the excuse that he is giving is the fact that there's a technical problem, which he calls a blue slip, in the senate bill, and isn't it true that my friend today is going to ask unanimous consent to correct that problem so that we can send this inclusive bill over to speaker boehner; is that correct? mrs. murray: well, the senator from california is correct. it seems to me such a simple procedure to do, which we have done many times here in the united states senate, to just by unanimous consent send the speaker back a bill so he can't put a piece of blue paper in front of us and say, that stands between women and the protections that we are trying to pass for them today. mrs. boxer: so finally, i would say this. i would hope that when my friend makes her unanimous consent request to take the very same text of the violence against women act that passed this body with well over 60 votes and put it into a bill that would now overcome the technical problem and enable us to send to the house, it is my str

and the senate. and it clearly demonstrates that we have a strategy, we have a comprehensive energy plan to move our country and that it's ready to go. if you look at the situation right now, there are hundreds of billions of dollars of private investment, of capital that would be invested in energy projects in this country but they're being held up. they're being held on the sidelines, these projects, because of inability to be permitted or because of burdensome regulation. we need to create the kind of approach, the kind of business climate, the kind of energy policy that will unleash that private investment. and that's exactly what this legislation does. first, it reduces the regulatory burden, reduces the regulatory burden so these stalled energy products -- and, again, hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment, not government spending, in private investment that would move forward with energy projects that would not only develop more energy, more cost-effectively, more dependablely b

of the senate, the president of the senate, the president pro tempore of the senate, the majority and minorities leaders be authorized to make appointments to commissions, committees, boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conferences authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two houses or by order of the senate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the senate's recess, committees be authorized to report legislative and executive matters on tuesday, august 28 from 12:00 noon until 2:00 p.m. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that from thursday, august 2, through monday, september 10, the majority leader and senators webb, reed of rhode island, conrad and cardin be authorized to sign dual enrolled bills or resolutions. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent -- mr. president, we have just a -- one -- few more things to do. i want to just take a minute and express my appreciation -- and i speak for all senators -- that ashley mezek, who si

of legislation and sent it over to the senate what's happened over the senate is that the democrats are just saying no when they're sitting on everything that the republicans sent over they sent bill after bill they've sent budgets over they've sent reform proposals over and harry reid or the democrats in the senate just wind up sitting on them spending more time saying that the republicans are the party of no which just doesn't jive with the actual volume of legislation that's come out of the two different chambers over in the senate one of the primary responsibilities for either house of congress is to pass a budget the house has passed budgets each of the last couple of years the democrats who control the senate haven't passed a budget in over a thousand days filling their core responsibility and people are becoming frustrated i mean this is has a this congress as one of the lowest approval ratings i think ever. interesting fact here one hundred fifty one laws have been enacted by the hundred twelve kong. arrests. but within that a lot of this is just kind of like lightweight leg

nighters the kids say, the goldwash campaign. a great senator and washington's next great senator. when you bring it full circle, if he had done none of that when you look at his achievement, singular achievement on the 9/11 commission by trent lott in the service to america that alone would have been worth a major boat. did he strive for consensus rather than this view we have painted of this partisan, working with interest democrats, drove consensus, for fact-finding that i would assert makes america safer today because of it but enough of that. what was yours? >> for almost ten years after i left the senate in 2001 i would be asked by well-meaning acquaintances when i was going to write my memoirs and i always have off that question. the true answer was never. not under any circumstances am i going to put myself in that kind of discipline. then along comes john hughes to do it for me. and do it with a greater degree of quality and thoroughness than i could have accomplished on my own. i can count the number of hours that he interviewed me directly but that was only the tip of th

the senate right now is broken. it does not run like the senate i came to in 2002. they do very little oversight. things come to the floor out of senator reid's office. they have said this is it. you cannot offer amendments. the only choice we have is to block legislation in order to protect the right of our constituents to have us offer amendments and shape the legislation. the senate has been broken over the last few years. mitch mcconnell will return as to what i would call the regular order. committees will do what they're supposed to do. committees will do oversight and investigation to make sure taxpayers are getting their money's worth. legislation will come to the floor. we will have the opportunity for people to offer amendments and shape the legislation and for the senate to work its will. that is where the senate need to go to regain its reputation as the world's greatest deliberative body. we are not that now. >> jennifer duffy. >> you talked about two races. in new mexico and hawaii, you have strong women. how do you overcome the fact that obama will ca

the senate. when the bush burned in the desert, a voice did not speak to that there shall be a filibuster rule and the senate. it is not a part of the constitution. it did not exist at the time the constitution was adopted. it was prohibited in english parliamentary practice since 16 04. it was prohibited by rolls of the second continental congress. guess what -- it was prohibited under the first roles of the united states senate, adopted in april of 79, a senate which had many framers -- 1789, a senate which had many framers of the constitution as members. the house did the same thing. they both adopted the previous motion from english parliamentary practice as a role, which allowed the majority at any time to call the question and end debate in this senate and house. where we are today is a historical anomaly the i will trace for you. let's talk about the problem. the first filibusters' did not occur until 1841, 15 years after the constitution was adopted -- 50 years after the constitution was

from the senate. this is chris shea, a republican congressman for more than 20 years. he's a very known quantity in the state, probably, honestly in my assessment the only republican who would have a prayer of getting that senate seat for the republicans, if they do have a prayer of it. and in this new poll, results out today from ppp, look at this, look at the margin. he's losing the republican primary by 48 points. that's the margin by which he is behind. he's behind a professional wrestling mogul named linda mcmahon. behind her by 48 points. it is hard to be the chris shays guy in this year's republican party. it's not like chris shays is a liberal. ne of these guys is a liberal. they're all conservative in fact by any reasonable measure, but they're not conservative enough because there is room at all to their right. they're all subject in one way or another now to the perfection process, the ongoing purge that is still gripping republican party politics. so far it has killed or cut short the care

the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i'm going to take a unanimous consent request dealing with the same subject, but before i do that, i'm kind of astounded that it took 100 days for the majority to decide the bill that they wanted to send to the house would be blue slipped because they kept saying so long well, it really wasn't summing to blue slip. obviously the constitution gives the house of representatives the power to make that decision and they made the decision that the fee that's in this bill would keep it from being seangtd by the -- being accepted by the house of representatives. now, they obviously overcome that problem but they haven't overcome some other problems that are with the legislation and my reason for objecting tore people on my side that -- for people on my side that voted against this bill because of some unconstitutional provisions that are in it and -- and issues that don't have to be brought up to guarantee that there's adequate legislation for violence -- fighting violence against

the favored senate candidate in missouri may have doomed his party's shot at taking back the senate with those comments been so-called legitimate rape and pregnancy. is there enough time to find someone new? what he consider stepping aside, the national impact may be felt in the presidential race, as well. plus, congressional shenanigans in israel. an incident that involved republican lawmakers drinking and even some public nudity. it happened just two weeks after congress's debt ceiling debacle which led to the downgrade of america's credit rating. good morning from washington. it's monday august 20th, 2012. i'm chuck todd. right to my first reads. let's start with the presidential race. in just over hour, mitt romney and paul ryan will team up again for a ton hall in new hampshire campaign is touting today's event at and anslum college as romney's 100th town hall meeting. on the agenda, they want to take on the medicare issue, explaining their plan on medicare to new hampshire where about 14% of residents are 65 or older. on saturday at a retirement community in florida, ryan introduce

the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed s.con.res. 66, for conditional adjournment and adjournment of the house of representatives in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, five-minute voting will continue. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from oregon, mr. walden, to suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 27. the clerk: house calendar number 143, house concurrent resolution 127, concurrent resolution expressing the sense of congress regarding actions to preserve and advance a multistakeholder governor's -- governance model under which the internet has thrived. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of

that's how it happened in the senate today. you saw the reaction from the democrats in the senate. on the house side, republicans picked that same occasion, that same day in congress today. what do you think? jobs, jobs, jobs? no, of course not. they're voting on yet another new federal anti-abortion bill today because there isn't anything else to work on. house republicans voted on a new abortion ban, specifically for washington, d.c. a new ban that breaks new grounds even for these republicans by making sure that rape victims and incest victims are not excepted from the new ban. if a rapist impregnates you in the district of colombia, the republicans could insure even you are forced by the government to complete the pregnancy that is the rul of a rape and give birth to the rapist's child against your will. if the pregnancy falls within new narrowly defined parameters. parameters defined by house republicans. 222 cosponsors for the republicans, let's specifically punish the rape victims and incest victims new d.c. abortion bill. 222. because of the way the republicans brought up t

are already planning how they can silence the voice of the minority in the senate should they sweep the elections in november and this plan was laid out this week in the pages of the financial times newspaper and guess who spilled the beans none other than one of the most powerful voices in the republican party multimillionaire k. street lobbyist grover norquist as the financial times writes grover norquist the anti-tax crusader who wields considerable influence among conservative lawmakers said republicans could use an arcane congressional mechanism to push through ninety eight percent of their agenda if mitt romney wins the white house including a controversial overhaul of medicare. so what is this arcane congressional mechanism that norquist speaks so it's called budget reconciliation and it means that anything pertaining to the federal budget spending and taxes can be passed with a simple majority in the senate just fifty one votes instead of the supermajority sixty votes there republicans of force in the senate for the last three and a half years there was of republicans can ro

majority whip senator dick durbin of illinois and other senators challenged the assertions by senator mccain. this is 50 minutes. thout objection. mr. mccain: madam president, before i go to the issue that we wanted to discuss, i just want to point out that in this debate that has become so impassioned and the issue obviously is one of cybersecurity is one of transcendent importance, and i want to again reiterate my respect, appreciation and affection for both senator lieberman and senator collins, but i also point out to my colleagues that the people who are directly affected by this, and that's the business community of the united states of america, is unalterably opposed to the legislation in its present form. they are the ones who will be affected most dramatically by cybersecurity legislation. the united states chamber of commerce has a strong letter, a strong letter, the united states chamber of commerce which represents three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region, supports the legislation that we have proposed. now, i would final just like to say

the senate committee already approving this and the senate expected to take it up and passed the legislation. and in most of the house. if it passes the house, it will head to the voters in november. if lawmakers hope to have the special session wrapped up by. tuesday by brianne carter, abc 7 news. >> the senate also could vote today on the bill addressing pit bull attacks and who is at fault. the senate committee approved a bill making dog owners liable for all dog bites. this is after maryland court of appeals ruling that declared pit bulls a dangerous breed and made landlords and other property owners liable for dog attacks. >> president obama gets off the campaign trail after swinging through colorado. he will welcome muslims to the white house tonight to celebrate the holy month of ramadan. there will be an evening dinner. >> republican presidential candidate mitt romney is preparing to launch a battleground state bus tour beginning tomorrow in virginia. he is scheduled to appear in your folks in the morning, then to shop at the hearse pavilion in manassas in the afternoon. -- in norfol

the first one, senator reid stands by his comments. governor romney's continued refusal to release his tax returns raises questions about what he is hiding and whether he paid any taxes at all. governor romney can end this by releasing tax returns. as you were coming on air, anderson, got a follow-up like the statement which also stands by what they call his credible source that romney has not paid taxes for ten years, and says romney playing many tricks at his disposal for avoiding taxes. not backing down at all. covering harry reid a lot of years. there are times he says things off the cuff that make aides wince, like smelly tourists in the capitol. this is not that. he is doing it for purpose for political reasons, he wants romney taxes talked about on programs like yours, wants it to be headlines in newspapers and wants mitt romney to respond on this issue which they think is a negative for romney opposed fo issues romney wants to talk about. >> went back and forth with paul begala, it isn't fair to compare what reid is saying to b

votes instead of the supermajority sixty votes the republicans have forced in the senate for the last three and a half years now the words of republicans can roll up their entire agenda in the form of a budget and the democratic minority won't be able to stop it that's exactly why paul ryan and the republicans didn't introduce their plans to end medicare as we know it turning it into a voucher program and leaving seniors at the mercy of the for profit health insurance program as an individual piece of legislation they instead included it as part of their budget because as long as any medicare is included in a budget bill and not as a standalone piece of legislation that it only requires fifty one votes to pass the senate got it. so what other sort of stuff can be included in a budget bill that can slip by the senate without democrats having a say for want to complete repeal of obamacare giving the private health insurance industry the power once again to die all americans including children health insurance coverage for preexisting conditions through reconciliation this arcane process

quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business for up to 20 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you. i rise to discuss the troubling state of our financial system in the unfinished business of wall street reform. i'm here to talk about specifically about too big to fail banks. decades of reregulation, louisianay fair regulations -- laissez faire helped them grow from 18% of gross domestic product only 25 years ago to 68% to 2009. so 18% in the 1990's to 68% in 2009. we know what happened next. during the financial crisis these megabanks collected $1.2 trillion -- just to understand that figure, if we can, $1.2 trillion is 1,200 billion dollars. and a billion dollars is a thousand million dollars. to think these six megabanks collected $1.2 trillion in federal taxpayer funded support from the treasury, from the fdic, from the

the aforementioned harry reid who is a senate minority leader and the senior senator nomnevada put out a statement today welcoming mr. romney to his home state by calling him, quote, the most secretive presidential candidate since richard nixon. forget about president. he couldn't get confirmed as a cabinet secretary. every nominee overseen by the senate finance committee has to release more tax returns than romney is willing to release. mitt romney and harry reid are trading blows right now as if they're running against each other, which no matter what you're fighting about is never a good place to be for a presidential nominee. they call it punching down. no insult is intended to mr. reid by saying that, but romney is running for president, not senator. for him to be in a fight with a senator, anyway. the strange attack that harry reid launched on mitt romney this week has essentially become the fulcrum of all political activity in the president race now, even though it is punching down for romney to respond to it. that's where the race is right now. it started ought strangely on tue

the senate was there to represent the state. yes. the states need their own chamber of congress where they won't be bullied by the people who live in them. i mean the people are the problem. why do you think florida is so screwed up. it's full of floridians. (laughter) we need-- we need to put the choice of senators in the capable hands of our state lawmakers. i mean we know what close attention we all pay when we elect those guys. i do very thorough research in order to make sure i'm choosing the one with the funniest sounding name. you don't want to be stuck with a thistlebottom when there is a doneworth on the ballot. that is just throwing away your vote. the point is these candidates are being refreshingly honest when they say that voters cannot be trusted to choose their senator. and if we elect them we'll prove them right. we'll be right back. (cheers and applause) #l#l,x-x [ male announcer ] it's a golden opportunity to experience the ultimate expression of power... control. [ engine revs ] during the golden opportunity sales

harry reid in the senate. dozens of the mails because reed never said, you want to filibuster? here is c-span and public broadcasting system, why don't you filibuster and let the american people know the origins of the worker and consumer protection, against clean-air and clean water. he won't do anything about a bloated military budget and you won't push for tax reform for the big corporations that pay zero income tax, less than any ordinary cabdriver pays. there is really no explanation except that they have safe seats, a very conflict avers president, and they have got no pressure from the grassroots. they are a bit frightened by the occupied movement and it sort of fizzled. the loss of their concerns. tavis: let me ask you a philosophical question. you were talking about a lack of courage, conviction, commitment, and in some concerns, a lack of character. whenever someone thinks of ralph nader, in my own sense, all the wonderful actor boots, the seat belt safety law, and the wonderful consumer advocate pro

>> well, look, it is a close battle for the senate. no one with any sense is going to predict it in early august. you have so many close races. there are six seven really close races and a couple of others that could easily become close. so i'm not ready to say that. let's say the republicans win the senate with you know, 51 to 49 or 52 to 48 what is that caucus going to look like? you're going to have ten solid tea party members. i'm counting mourdock who will probably win in indiana. cruz ted cruz is guaranteed to win in texas. unless you're about wisconsin. let's wait on that. you know tommy thompson, former governor of wisconsin. >> jennifer: i do. >> if there were a one-on-one race in that republican primary in wisconsin i think thompson would lose but he's lucky in that he has two conservative challengers, mark neumann but also a businessman eric huvde. you look around the country, i think it will be about ten tea party members. that mines that -- that means that if mitch mcconnell is the majority leader, 20% of his caucus will b

moderate democrats in the senate. the only thing i hated more, much more, was the utter powerlessness of being in the minority party in the senate when the democrats got wiped out in the congressional elections of 1994. claire mccaskill is, in what is now considered the moderate wing of the democratic party. she was criticized in june for her announcement that she would not be attending the democratic convention this year. she said then that she never goes to the convention in the middle of her own campaigns. she didn't go to the convention in 2004 when she was running for governor in missouri, but some democrats still criticized her for distancing herself from president obama by not attending his re-election convention, and despite her insistence that she was not trying to distance herself from the president, i think there's not much room for doubt that that is one of the reasons she won't be attending the convention. and i'm sure that is as obvious to president obama as it is to me, but he wouldn't dream of criticiz

. >> so now this is on the floor of the senate, he is now saying the word is out. well, the word is out because senator harry reid put it out. what he hasn't put out is anything that anyone can check. not the name of a source, not anything. here is what republican senator john mccain told me about this earlier today. >> harry reid on the floor of the senate reiterated this idea today that mitt romney hasn't paid taxes ten years. he says and i quote on the floor of the senate, the word's out he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years, let him prove he has paid taxes because he hasn't. he's offered absolutely no proof at all about this. does it surprise -- what do you make of this, is this just politics? is this acceptable? >> first of all, i've known senator reid for many years. occasionally he displays somer some erratic behavior. to accuse someone of doing something without a shred of proof that the allegation has any substance is really something i frankly don't understand. i think politics are tough and i enjoy the give and take, but i think harry might have gone ov

that was in the 2006 reelection for the senate. at the end of 2005 i remember i sat down with the consultant i had and we went over some polling numbers and he said this is going to be hard for you. it was all about the iraq war injure. i believed that american security interests were on the line there and i felt if we withdrew in defeat it would have a terrible consequence not only on iraq but american credibility throughout the world so i stuck with it. i remember them saying to me the numbers show this is going be a tough primary campaign you should think about running as an independent and i remember saying i'm a democrat and if the democrats don't want to nominate me that is their choice. i will stay and fight for what i think is right within the democratic party. sure, a lot of old friends went the other way, it hurt. but on the other hand probably the most thrilling satisfying day of my political career was election day in 2006 when the independents, republicans and a few democrats reelected me as senator from connecticut. >

republicans take control of the senate. if he stays in, i think it will have a serious impact on the senate race, not so much the presidential. >> sean: guys, thanks for being with us. >> good-bye, stuart. he was mean to me earlier like greg. >> sean: that's all the time we have left. greta is next. we'll see you tomorrow night. >> greta: tonight governor sarah palin is here. do republicans wish they had listened to governor palin? why is that? there's a wild and giant controversy brewing, and republicans from coast-to-coast are steaming about it. governor sarah palin will be here to tell you about it. plus, dismissive and arrogant. that's what one former navy seal is calling president obama. these veterans are serious, they're furious, and now fighting back after president obama says he's not taking their criticism too seriously. you're going to meet the former navy seal in just one moment. and one of the country's most famous democrats laughing, that democrats will blame bush forever. you'll hear and see the video for you

for being the first name on the senate roll call. mr. akaka. chuck's conversation with the hawaii democrat is next. >>> you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. [ kimi ] atti and i had always called oregon home. until i got a job in the big apple. becoming a fulltime indoor cat wasn't easy for atti. but he had purina cat chow indoor. he absolutely loved it. and i knew he was getting everything he needed to stay healthy indoors. and after a couple of weeks, i knew we were finally home! [ female announcer ] purina cat chow indoor. and for a delicious way to help maintain a healthy weight, try new purina cat chow healthy weight. >>> a first glimpse at congressman jesse jackson jr. since he began a lengthy medical leave for bipolar disorder in june. that's former congressman patrick kennedy of rhode island who visited his former colleague at the mayo clinic in minnesota yesterday saying that jackson was "really emotional." jackson also expressed worries about his political future and the pressure he's felt through the resign or

that leads to winning the senate. that leads to reversing a lot of the things that obama and biden have done to put our children and grandchildren in the chains of dependency, to shackle our kids and grandkids in the debt that they have continued to perpetuate, greta. >> greta: have you made a call to sarah steeleman, or do you spend to, or do you have any advice for her tonight? >> no, because here's the deal. i also know my mission that i'm on is to help and not to hurt. maybe todd akin needs to learn a little lesson from me. you need to know when to step back and wait to be invited to important and not invite yourself to the party. what he's doing right now, greta, bless his heart, he's inviting himself back into this general election that's coming up, and he's going to get defeated. that's unfortunate. that is why we have to think pragmatically about this, and we have to think, well, what's another option? is a third-party another option? if it is, let's go. the status quo has got to go. let's do what we can to ge

i know -- [laughter] i know from covering the senate in the past some of the really splendid senators in recent history in both parties who left the senate because they hated the money chase. and this is back in '92 and '94 and '96. and it's been a long time. that created a lot of openings where house members moved up to the senate and brought the different culture of the house, much more adversarial culture, less collegiality, less spirit of compromise, if you will. but how has this money chase hurt compromise? >> so the more -- yeah. the more, the more time spent campaigning, the more money counts in politics. and it's, oh, i remember hubert humphrey said it's demeaning, degrading and disgusting, right? that was a long time ago, and it hasn't got cannen better. it's gotten worse, and it's gotten worse because if it's 24/7 and every day of the week is election day, you can use money to buy media time. and the supreme court hasn't helped on this a hot. on this a lot. the root of the problem is actually not money. the root of the problem is the permanent campaign which money facilitate

senate seats at the same time. give me the answer #chuck todd. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. >>> on our radar this morning, the president's deferred action starts today. but first just moments ago, a pennsylvania judge refused to grant an injunction that would stop a new voter id law from taking effect. democrats say the law will make it harder for the elderly, minorities and those just old enough to vote. today marks the start of president obama's new immigration initiative known as deferred action. it allows young undocumented immigrants to apply for a temporary work permit. a million young people could potentially come out of the shadows. >>> i got to share this one with you because its just adds to the cynicism of all things washington. california democrat dennis cardoza has resigned from the

the next senator from minnesota. do you think there's a place in the senate for a comedian? [laughter] >> well they have a hundred now. i am not an al franken fan. he is a comedian who never made anybody laugh. he is a writer who never wrote anything worth reading. just went around talking about how he is going to be elected to the senator from minnesota and he got that handed to him. i don't see him doing anything useful. minnesota to me -- absolutely the most stimulating place in america. >> could you not hear that? >> i said minnesota means progressive sir, the farm labor coalition. it is a serious state. i know it is on the verge of socialism. i am so terrified. >> there is a question right here. with the blue shirt. >> the finding your hard to miss norman mailer? >> i was very fond of norman mailer. i can't say i was fond of his writings. i was published in 46 that he was published in 48. we are close contemporaries. there's a nice picture if you like pictures, norman mailer and me in vanity fair. but good journ

i was toying with the fact senator bending not to running. if he doesn't die might but seeing that reilly said there were enough people out there like myself. watch the news gets unhappy and curse and go about my daily business. everybody was doing that and the debt was exploding. so why started to think about it. >> host: this is about the 2010 campaign and the misrepresentations of who you are. what are those? >> 41 they say it is not a movement but rich people funding the tea party. i never met anybody rich from new york. it was so decentralized it was city by city. sometimes there are two in one town. it really was up bottom-up movement chastising both parties. and president bush said to save the free-market i had to give up on capitalism, that disturb us we needed something different. >> host: in addition to quote being called a constitutional conservative i have been called a goldwater conservative. it is accurate and an honor. >> i reread the conscience of the conservative that was first published in shepherds fill kentucky. i have alw

most of the republican senators oppose the legislation in its present form. most republican senators, all republican senators understand the gravity of the situation and the necessity of acting. >> my friend from arizona, i hope we get this done this week. it is a lot to do but i believe that the threat is imminent and i believe it is continuous and if we don't find a way through our political differences, shame on us. i believe senator collins from your side of the aisle is proud of the fact serve as a bipartisan effort and she has worked on so many issues. >> please go ahead. >> clearly bipartisan. senators lieberman and collins. to raise the question of dodd-frank and appropriate government oversight and regulation i would suggest you reflect on three things, lybor, peregrin investment and chase loss of $6 billion. to say we shouldn't have government oversight of our financial institutions that drag this into this recession we're still trying to recover from, i see it differently. but there's a continuing need for government oversight of these financial in

. >> and now on the floor of the senate he says the word is out, and the word is out because senator reid put it out. not anything that anybody can check, such as the name of the source, but this is what john mccain told us today. harry reid said on the floor of the senate reiterated this idea that mitt romney has not paid taxes for ten years and i quote on the word on the floor that he has not paid taxes and let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he has not, and he has offered no proof at all about this. does it surprise you, and what do you make of in? is this politics? is this acceptable? >> first of all, i have known senator reid for many years and occasionally he displays some rather erratic behavior, but to accuse somebody of doing something without a shred of proof that the allegation has any substance is really something that i frankly don't understand. i think that politics are tough, and i enjoy the give and take, but i think that harry might have gone over the line here. >> that was senator mccain earlier and we also spoke about syria, a syria, and we will play more