harry reid will definitely give them. it doesn't mean it will pass. >> larry, it's a long time to november 2014. >> i'll grant you that. this thing completely change. the republicans went from deep, deep yogurt. now i don't know that they're ahead. i'm not sure. >> the republican party has record lows. >> what is happening is both parties are digging the ditch deeper for themselves. jimmy kemp, what should the gop,

i think you heard harry reid say that. look, you don't have to like the laws but you have to acknowledge them. so i think he had reached the breaking point and we saw the vote today. remarkable day. >> joining us now is chuck todd in the briefing room. we can see you, chuck, in the wide shot as we wait for the president to come in. what is the president likely to say because this does mean that if the democrats are going to lose in the midterms, pay back is going to be very sweet for mitch mcconnell. majority will rule. >> i mean, that's clearly the threat that the republicans are throwing out there today. let's take a step back here. i think this is the culmination of the power of special interest groups. it used to be a no vote was enough. and then when it became where -- and both parties have been doing this over the years, the willingness to use the filibuster to stop nominations that you didn't like, to have the ideological fights, be it on the left or the right, so then if you weren't supporting the filibuster but yo

harry reid's getting ready to meet with reporters. history made in washington, d.c. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain, you feel...congested. beat down. crushed. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief. so you feel free. powerful sinus relief. sudafed. open up. >>> senate majority leader harry reid speaking to reporter disease fending his decision to use the so-called nuclear option to change the rules of the games on obama administration nominees. let's listen in. >> this is not a time for celebration. it's a time for being very serious. for too long washington has been in gridlock, gridlock, gridlock. the american people are sick of this. we're sick of it. is it any wonder how people look at congress? so as i said a little while ago, enough is enough. and, new york i'm not here talking about how clean we are and how dirty they are or vice versa, when it comes to what's gone on in the senate floor, there's a lot of blame to go around. but the obstruction we've seen from republicans

and i understand where harry reid is coming from on this. harry reid denounced the nuclear option as if it would end-all life in the union verse and now saying it is his only choice. it runs both sides very deep. >> this is a rule been in place since the 1700s. thank you for the context. >> here is the senate minority mitch mcconnell that is talking about this. >> obviously that was a commitment not kept. we thought he said if you like the senate rules, you can keep them. but in fact we ended up having a discussion with another threat of the so- called nuclear option and then you have sewn what they did today. talk about a manufactured crisis we confirmed 215 judges and defooted two. and the problem is was with regard to the dc circuit was related to the size of the court and docket. we took the same view, senate democrats took during the bush administration that there was no rational for extending and increasing the membership of the dc circuit. exactly the same rational and signed by shumer and kennedy and others saying there was no need f

the senate majority leader, harry reid, was talking about it. they talked a while ago, cut some deals. mccain did some good work there, but they kept coming at obama, saying, you don't count as president. you can't pick your cabinet. we're going to vote against everything. leading the charge, of course, has been ted cruz. who votes against everything. if caroline kennedy's nomination had come to the floor, i would have pet on cruz to vote against that. total negativity, and now the democrats have taken the attack against it. >> that's the interesting thing about this. when we first started hearing rumblings of the nuclear option and the nominees to the circuit court being denied the up or down vote the democrats wanted, we said this is a scene in the play we have seen before. harry reid will make the threats, it will come down to the wire, and there will be a deal struck. they'll want to step forward to preserve this tradition in the senate. the amazing thing here to me is two things. one, republicans put president obama, harry reid, and the dem

capitol hill, senator majority leader harry reid may resort to extreme measures to keep republicans from blocking presidential nominees. this is the so-called nuclear option, the big question right now is how close is he to using it? our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is following all of this and joins us live. >> reporter: hey there, john. it's all but certain he is going to try to change the rules at some point today. i'm cautious because i've seen this movement before and covered the senate long enough to know things can change at the last minute. the plan appears to be according to multiple democratic sources harry reid is going to launch the nuclear option, what that means in layman's terms is that it could be even more partisan on capitol hill if you can imagine that, than it is now. the reason that the democratic leader is going to seek to change the rules is because they're very frustrated with the fact that republicans have been holding up the president's nominees. let's just take a step back and talk about what we're discussing. look at the screen there, the

senate majority leader harry reid has his hand on the button. frustrated after five years of unprecedented republican obstruction, aided specifically by historic manipulation of the filibuster, senate democrats are set to use the so-called nuclear option today and may forever change the way business is done in the united states congress. this was senator reid just hours ago? >> the american people believe congress is broken. the american people believe the senate is broken. i believe the american people are right. during this congress, the 113th congress, the united states wasted an unprecedented amount of time on procedural hurdles and partisan obstruction. time to change the senate before this institution becomes obsolete. >> in a receipt or cal twist worthy of cirque du soleil he managed to link to failures of obama care saying washington is broken and democrats are trying to distract from obama kamplt the showdown come as senate republicans mostly flbd three of president obama's nominees. not because of their views or qualifications but in a

this is not a way to govern, there's glowing momentum for harry reid to act. even vice president joe biden said it's worth considering the nuclear option. and today, both barbara boxer and dianne fienstein join a growing number of senate democrats in support of the nuclear option. harry reid today said once again he is actively weighing the nuclear option. >> one of the leading advocates of filibuster reform. your mission if you choose to accept it, to convince me that this is not groundhog day. we played some tape of, says this has spent the majority leader's patient and we're going to -- >> we have had a lot of sentiment in the senate that we should try to restore the social contract. but unfortunately, each time we think we have that understanding, it's deeply abused and certainly in january of this year, mitch mcconnell promised and i quote, a return to the norms and traditions of the senate nominations. >> why would anyone think he was telling the truth? everyone who saw that who's been following this, knows that's the thing he says before swiftly embarki

senator harry reid is not doing those things. basically digging his heels, making sure that obamacare becomes the permanent law of the land. again, we're understanding the exact -- the harmful consequences of majority rule until the senate and obamacare is exhibit a from that standpoint. >> ifill: sounds like a cooling saucer might be in order at this point. senator ron johnson, republican, senator jeff mercury, democrat, thank you both for joining us. >> great to have you. >> take care now. >> woodruff: tensions escalated today between the united states and afghanistan, one day after both sides announced they had reached an historic agreement paving the way for the u.s. to leave forces in that country beyond 2014. >> ( translated ): my trust with america is not good. >> woodruff: afghan president hamid karzai opened a meeting of tribal elders in kabul with a blunt assessment of his often testy relations with the u.s. still, he urged the loya jirga to endorse a new security agreement, allowing thousands of american troops to stay

i've given harry reid a hard time over the years. but he's not necessarily securely had the votes until now. you've had democrats like dianne feinstein or max baucus or barbara boxer say they were worried about this step, they wanted to protect the rules and the way things worked. even they have been driven over the edge by that litany of obstruction that you opened this segment with. really, when you -- you know, chuck grassley and mitch mcconnell they went too far by saying that simply appointing judges to the d.c. circuit was court packing, they forced the hands of the democrats. they cannot be reasoned with or compromised with. this is obstruction and democrats went along with harry reid and said we'll do it. >> as i said, dinah washington, what a difference a day makes. this is going to be remembered. for the president's enemies, attacking the president's agenda, his character and legitima legitimacy, they do all the time. this is the senate's top roochlt here's mitch mcconnell speaking in the senate earlier today. >> here's the

then harry reid will call for a senate vote to change the rules. what you're going to see then is a senate vote, which only requires a simple majority, 51 votes, to change the rules to prevent republicans from filibustering this and other judges and other nominees. >> all right. it could be high drama and it could unfold within the next few minutes. dana bash, ana navarro, ron brownstein, thank you for being with us. what you wear to bed is your business. so, if you're sleeping in your contact lenses, ask about the air optix® contacts so breathable they're approved for up to 30 nights of continuous wear. serious eye problems may occur. ask your doctor and visit airoptix.com for safety information and a free one-month trial. [ male announcer ] this december, experience the gift of unsurpassed craftsmanship at the lexus december to remember sales event. some of the best offers of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection. [ female announcer ] feed a man a cookie and he eats a cookie. ♪ feed him a fresh baked cookie and he eats a much, much bette

that is why harry reid -- one of the main reasons he is able to do this now. he didn't have the votes necessarily before, even 51. enough people in his caucus oppose it. now it looks like he does. >> it is not often, dana, that i watch your beat and i follow the people you follow every day and i'm reminded of like classic lyrics of famous songs like wasted days and wasted nights. when i heard harry reid on the floor this morning referring to exactly those kinds of things and why that has inspired what he wants to do today, i want to replay that so that everybody else who might have missed it this morning could hear what the senate majority leader actually said on the floor. have a listen. >> congress should be passing legislation that strengthens our economy, protects american families. instead, we're burning wasted hours, wasted days with filibusters. instead i could say we're burning wasted days and wasted weeks between filibusters. >> like i said, reminded me of the old song. i want to bring in cnn's legal analyst paul callan. you tend to know the legalitie

harry reid may be taking drastic measures today. this is the nuclear option to keep janet yellen nomination and othek. all of this going down right now. as we go to break i want to monitor the world currencies and how they are faring against the u.s. dollars. the most free research reports, customizable charts, powerful screening tools, and guaranteed 1-second trades. and at the center of it all is a surprisingly low price -- just $7.95. in fact, fidelity gives you lower trade commissions than schwab, td ameritrade, and etrade. i'm monica santiago of fidelity investments, and low fees and commissions are another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. >> 25 minutes past the hour. hi, everybody, this is your fox news minute. the child to men accused of killing a british soldier begins today. back in may and officer was run over and stabbed repeatedly as he walked back to his barracks in southern london. the two denied killing him. 747 jumbo jet hauling parts for the dreamliner

listen to harry reid, this sound bite from harry reid back in 2005. >> for 200 years, we've had the right to extend a debate. it's no the some procedural gimmick. it's within the vision of the founding fathers of a country. they did it, we didn't do it. they established a government so that no one person and no single party could have total control. >> what a difference a few years makes. >> i fear that harry reid used to believe in the rule of law and now apparently the rule of men including one man himself. >> can this be stopped? >> the republicans could delay senate business a lot, but ultimately the american people are going to decide this. some voters do pay attention to who sits on courts. if the republicans take the senate in november, obviously the tables will be turned. >> that's the part -- the problem for the democrats who didn't support harry reid on this. and a few of them didn't vote because they said the shoe may be on the other foot and we're not going to like what the republicans are going to do once we've taken away the rights of minority. >> it shows how many fewer mod

harry reid sees as the nuclear option. the "a-team" takes it up here next. ♪ this is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one. it's not the "fumbling around with rotating categories" card. it's not the etting blindsided by limits" card. it's the no-game-playing, no-earning-limit-having, deep-bomb-throwing, give-me-the-ball-and-i'll-take- it-to-the-house, cash back card. this is the quicksilver cash card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. so let me ask you... at's in your wallet? lou: 85-year-old american veteran of the korean war has been detained in north korea for more than 3 weeks according to his family, they are trying to get him home to palo alto, california before thanksgiving. he was on a 9-day trip, when he was pulled off the aircraft when he was abouto leave north korea. two by lots who were flying a cargo plane are in difficulty after they landed at a wrong airport in kansas, about 8 miles north of their intended destination. >> no word on who is

not thinks, i do harry reid has the courage to do that. if he did, he would have done it when he first went into office. he is up for a midterm election. and the republicans have totally abused the process. nothing is being done in the senate. this rule has been around for a long time. but the democrats have never abused it to this point or they never used it hardly at all. republicans in the right wings and the tea party that have totally brought down the government, have not get -- have got nothing done in the congress, and if harry reid was a true leader of the american people in which they voted for obama, they voted for the democrats in the senate, he would have done this two years ago. he was just using this as a fear tactic. he does not host: have the courage to do it. host:-- he does not have the courage to do it. host: thank you. a few more headlines this morning -- host: more headlines -- host: one more headline -- host: we will be talking about the affordable health care act later in the show. minutethis is a 50- meeting in the

harry reid was able to get the majority. tending to distract from the presidented health care law, this is unprecedented. mitch mcconnell earlier saying they will be sorry they did this. hint hint, someday when we get power again. moving forward, alex, new rule of the united states senate in terms of how the president can move his judicial nominees forward. >> luke russert, thank you as always for the updates, my friend. >> sam, the idea that hint hint republicans may get power again. i think we can fold these two conversations together. we're talking about poverty and hunger. lately in the past week paul ryan emerged as the good shepherd that's going to lead the republican party out of this mrore morass. is what paul ryan proposing substantive. a blog, page and page of paul ryan's plan trying to figure out whatted dude -- dude -- is saying he would do to lower poverty, here is what you're left with, vouchers, tax credits, volunteerism. it's true, what we're talking about before. going around having one-on-one meeting. what

i notice harry reid. harry reid is an institution guy. he loves the senate. he's not happy about doing this. he is doing it, because i've -- you know, he's so frustrated, nothing is happening. the truth of the matter is our country is hurting today. people are outraged that even on a simple thing, i don't know that john has particular options to these three nominations to this court. that's just one small part of the problem. virtually sever initiative that comes up -- look, a few weeks ago we were dealing with our republican friends in the house who shut it down, because they had the bright idea that they wanted to end the funding of obama care. they went too far. you're seeing the same practice taking place in the senate. what reid has done is respond to that, trying to bring back a level of functionality in the senate. >> senator, if you would respond to this, we're working on the defense authorization bill right now. >> right. >> that's always been an opened-amendment process, but instead leader reid has a closed process. we can't even offer an amendment.

harry reid sees as the nuclear option. the "a-team" takes it up here next. ♪ bny mellon combines investment management & investment servicing, giving us unique insights which help us attract the industry's brightest minds who create powerful strategies for a country's investments which are used to build new schools to build more bright minds. invested in the world. bny mellon. ♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track. the power tools iroduce themselves. all the bits and bulbs keep themselves stocked. and the doors even handle the checkt so we can work on that thing that's stuck in the thing. [ female announcer ] today, cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everyone goes home happy. [ female announcer ] today, cisco is connecting the internet of everything. my dna...s me. it helps make me who i am every piece is important... it's like a self-portrait this part.. makes my eyes blue... so that's why the sun makes me sneeze... i migh

that was the moment when harry reid moved to the nuclear option. >> mr. president. >> majority leader. >> i raise a point of order the vote on cloture, for all nominations for supreme court of the united states is by majority vote. >> harry read asked for a vote of the senate to overrule the presiding officer's ruling something senators could ask for at any time but almost never do. take is a simple majority to override the presiding officer. 52 senators voted to overrule the off officer. it is harry reid's intention to use the vote as a precedent on presidential nominations except for nominations to the supreme court. which will still be subject to a 60 vote requirement to break a film buster. the democrats did not take this step lightly. they have been considering for years. after it was first threatened by republicans when they were the senate majority. harry reid blamed republicans. >> there has been unbelievable unprecedented obstruction for the first time in the history of our republic. republicans have used the filibuster. >> of the 168 fill buster

harry reid conspired to get it done. i think next year in 2015 when republicans are in the majority in the senate it becomes a different landscape and you're going to they are whining and gnashing of teeth from the left. >> michael steele, how hilarious was it to watch harry reid on the senate floor say the senate is not working, as if harry reid has nothing to do with being the greatest glorified pocket veto in the history of the u.s. senate. he has killed every single republican piece of legislation, every amendment that barack obama didn't want democrats to vote on, not a single appropriation bill has passed through the senate, he hasn't even got them out of committee to be voted on the floor, but not a single appropriation bill has passed out of the senate and it wasn't until about six months ago that the guy passed his first budget in four years and harry reid is saying the senate is not working. well thank you, harry, whose fault is that? >> exactly. i think, joe, to your point and again taking exception to jeremy

that's not what harry reid will do. he will do what is best to prevent seven losses to love him in the minority. >> none of this has anything to do with americans keeping the coverage they like because the president said he will veto this. it is it an exercise in futility except it gets every law maker on the record. >> the president said a lot of stuff. he did say if you like it you can cope it and that was not true. and he said he wouldn't make changes to this. and delaying the imposition of the new insurance regulation would be harmful. he did that yesterday. you don't know what things will be like until you get there. it is one thing to say veto and he could veto this if it gets through the senate. what comes through a senate would be a version of the landriue bill and include a delay of the.and individual man date we call it. >> the upton bill would undermine the financial structure of obama care by simply taking people away from the federal exchanges. the lanrieu bill would not do that would it? >> the president a

at harry reid's press conference announcing the end of the filibuster, they misspelled filibuster with two "ls." ( laughter ) that says philly-busters, which i assume are cops who arrest female horses. ( laughter ) and i don't even believe the democrats are really against the filibuster. because their poster clearly says they're again-sts this spem. but they niewkd it. they went ahead and niewkd it. what's going to happen in washington now? something? we were this close to achieving a zen-like state of perfect government nothingness. not since buddha have so many fat, bald men worked so hard to do so little. ( laughter ) ( applause ) and folks i have to tell you it's not just the senate. i am sad to report america is losing the battle against gay marriage. the district of columbia and 16 states have legalized man-on mantwoimony including just last week hawaii. it's aloa traditional values, and aloha, gay marriage. ( laughter ) ( applause ) i wish i could assailant opposite. just last night, the government of illinois signed same-sex marriage legislation into law. you know who's happy a

harry reid has guts. he's basically saying it's better to get something done rather than pretend to be majority leader. he wants to be the leader. >> i agree. they also voted today -- >> unlike boehner. >> yeah. i think they voted today to let barack obama. president finally five years after he was elected. he's been elected twice. and he's been treated like no other president and he's been ham strung like no other president. so i've given harry reid a hard time over the years. but i have to say he has not necessarily securely had the votes until now. and you've had democrats like diane feinstein or baucus or boxer say they were worried about this step. they wanted to protect the rules and the way things worked. but even they have been driven over the edge by that litany of obstruction that you opened this segment with. i mean, really -- chuck grassley and mitch mcconnell, they went too far. by saying that simply appointing judges to the d.c. circuit was, quote, court packing. they forced the hand of the

harry reid talking about a fundamental change to the filibuster. let's listen. >> counter number 243 as 1356. the bill to amendment the workforce act of 1998 and other purposes. >> following my remarks the senate rell summe consideration of the national authorization act for first-degree amendment to the bill as 1:00 p.m. today. mr. president, i am told that s-1752 is due for a second reading. >> the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. >> 1752, a bill to reform procedures for determinations to proceed to trial by court-martial for certain offenses under the uniform code of military justice and further purposes. >> aisha, let me bring you into this, because we know he's talking about the defense authorization bill and the sexual assault amendment that kristin gillibrand is pushing that is part of this bill. let me get your take on what you expect to happen here today? >> i've talked about this before, i really expect the democrats to stand firm in blocking this crazy attempt by republicans to continue to thwart the progress of

>> well, that is a question i asked harry reid, the democratic leader, who also has one of those old clips not even that long ago, even when he was the leader saying he would never do this. >> i told you we could do it the whole show. >> we could. his answer was that things have changed and that really is the reason why jeff just said there are a lot of senate veterans who are very much opposed to this and he's surprised. i have been, too, just to see the change in the last week. people like dianne feinstein and patrick leahy who were adamantly opposed to taking away the minority's rights who knew, they have been in the other role. they changed because they said enough is enough. that is why you saw the change. look, democrats who are now in the majority have said we get it, we are going to be in the minority one day, we are going to be in the position where we are going to want to filibuster and we won't be able to do it. but they are arguing that they have no choice. obstructionism is so bad that it can't get any worse than it is now. >> jeff, just do a fact check for us. how much

the president welcoming this news, almost relishing this fight, as was harry reid, the democratic leader in changing the rule they have talked about changing now for several months. i will let libby casey who has been up on the hill following this give you the details. but basically where you stand -- that classic phrase none truer what we are talking about today. what is senate has done is changed the rules the threshold that 60 vote threshold, of course there are 100 senators in the united states senate. for judicial nominees and cabinets with the exclusion of supreme court nominees. that will stilt require 60. that still remains in place. of course president obama -- you heard him site many of the statistics how this practice of filibustering and blocking his nominees has accelerated over his time. he named chuck hagel as the poster child, really, for cabinet nominees being blocked after all the first defense secretary to be filibusters and after all he was a republican. it bears in mind, -- at various times depending on if you are the minority side or the majority side, mitch mcconne

ahead of the vote, majority leader, harry reid, expressed frustration over republicans using filibusters to block president obama's nominees. >> these nominees deserve at least an up or down vote, yes or no. but republican filibusters deny them a fair vote, any vote, and deny the president his team. gridlock has consequences. it's not only bad for president obama, bad for this body, the united states senate, it's bad for our country. >> minority leader, mitch mcconnell, says democrats are creating a crisis to distract attention from obama care. >> millions of americans are hurting because of a law washington democrats forced upon them. what do they do about it? they cook up some fake fight over judges, a fake fight over judges. that aren't even needed.

i spent an hour in harry reid's office. i reached until my arm aches okay. >> reporter: they are saying. >> they're governed by the newer members of the democratic senators who have never been in a minority who are primarily driving this issue and they succeeded and they will pay a very, very heavy price for it. >> reporter: is this an election year issue, do you think? >> no. i don't think americans understand that very well. but what it will do, it will affect our ability to do business here in the senate. and we will not let it distract from the failure of obama care. >> reporter: senator, some people say that -- >> all right. senator john mccain there. dana bash standing by. very heavy price will be paid. outline for us what that price might be. >> reporter: well, before i tell you that, the nuclear option was just detonated on the senate floor, as we were playing that tape from senator mccain they finalized the vote. it's backwards, counter intuitive the vote 48-52. what that effectively did was say the ruling of the c

i spent an hour in harry reid's office. i've reached until my arm aches. >> let's bring in our panel. margaret carlson, michael warren and michael len. let's get a quick reaction about today's news. bad decision by harry reid, understandable? what do you think? >> harry reid's thinking was that whatever republicans are going to do now cannot be worse than what they have been doing. e republican view is one thing is a certainty. everyone here will agree republicans one day will be in the majority. in the meantime, they are talking about the slippery slope, saying that now democrats might apply this to legislation. the house is saying if any legislation comes over that was passed with the simple majority it will be automatically dead on arrival. >> republicans seem very frustrated but they had the exact opposite position eight years ago when they were in the majority. >> that's right. you can always go back and forth, showing what they said back then and what they say now. >> how do they defend it? >> i don't think they are g

harry reid was against it before he was for it. president obama was against it before he was for it. in the end, what's happening is what happened in the country at large. i was looking at the data, 80 senators from 25 years ago were from swing states. the problem in washington, d.c., you can't have the same rules today as you did before. you can't have the same rules in chess as you have in mixed martial arts. that's the situation we're in. >> it's reflecting the situation that we in the country. bill kristol, i wonder if it's going to intensify the polarization we have already seen and essentially start to move us toward parliamentary government. when a party is in charge, they're going to get their way. >> i think so. i think we're being too nice here. harry reid agreed with mitch mcconnell that this would not happen in this session. so, he's simply breaking his word because republicans were not confirming every judge as quickly as the administration liked. and were holding up some branch appointees. >> a lot of them. >> 168 fil

president obama and harry reid's handpicked chairman of the nuclear simply stopped. congressman simp ka said it's pure politics. >> president obama got elected. he cut a deal with senator reid to just pull funding even though the law of the law said yucca mountain. >> reporter: senator reid's staff told us that the senator was not interested in any interview. three years ago he told cnn that yucca mountain was basically a dead issue to his. states with nuclear waste could keep it right where it is. >>. >> if you can't find a desert and a mountain in illinois that meets the qualifications for the safety for it to be stored a million years, i don't think we would have a business beef.

. >> sounz like harry reid is trying to change the subject. if i were taking all the incoming fire he is taking over obama care i would try to change the subject too. >> that incoming fire of course continued to be volleyed nonstop from republican quarters not only senator reid and the president but at every democratic member of congress up for re-election next year courtesy of one rnc chair reince priebus. >> we'll make 2014 about obama air can yes we will tatoo obama care on each of their foreheads. that will be what 2014 is all about. >> it is actually the patient protection and affordable care act so please make sure you use a small enough font. let's get to our panel. hasn't the republican opposition to these judicial appointments been the final giveaway? that this was never about the substance of the person, never about the substance of a personality, it was just opposition for opposition's sake? >> oh, sure. look. the republicans have been fair here like ted cruz is a model of self-restraint in revenue. all they've done at every step of

i'll tell you what about conniving harry reid. he had these votes ahead of time. he knew he could be able to get this through and nothing surprises me at this point. >> do you think this is in part a distraction? >> sure. >> from obama care? that they would go this far? we're not going to be distracted. we're getting right back into obama care. >> the house of representatives -- this is about administrative agencies like the epa with liberal federal judges in the d.c. circuit to say it's all constitutional. this is all about those three judges and they want the epa to take control of the congress, the irs. they want atf. it's going to be regulation not legislation. he knows -- >> i'm going to give you a very different point of view which you can read about in my column at forbes.com today. have you noticed in april when this issue came up what happened? mcconnell got together with reid. >> they worked it out. >> they worked it out. didn't you find the republicans incredibly quiet this time? you want to know why? because like you just said the republicans believe t

senate majority leader harry reid has invoked the so-called nuclear option. that vote wrapped up moments ago. it makes the ability to filibuster by the minority party a lot more difficult. it curbs the republican's ability to block president obama's nominees to various federal posts. we understand that this ruling does not affect the ability to filibuster supreme court nominees, but other appeals court and federal judicial court nominees can go through on a simple majority votes. republicans are howling but they're in the minority right now, if that changes, democrats may rue this day, but they have voted to invoke "the nuclear option" and change the filibuster rules in the u.s. senate. patti ann: right now, the faa releasing an alarming new report saying pilots basic flying skills are getting rusty because they rely too much on autopilot. they're linking the problem to the incidents like the asiana crash in san francisco in july and other recent incidents. doug mckelway is live in washington with this story. hi, doug. >> reporter: hi, mattie ann. the faa adm

just a few years ago, even democratic leader harry reid said he wouldn't do it, saying it would be -- >> a black chapter in the history of the senate. >> reporter: so what about now? why isn't this a black chapter in the history of the senate? >> things have changed dramatically since 2005. dramatically. for the last four and a half years, they have done everything they can to deny the fact that obama was elected and then re-elected. >> reporter: translation? gop obstruction is unprecedented. to back that up, democrats point to statistics from the nonpartisan congressional research service. in the history of the country, there have been 168 filibusters of presidential nominees. about half, 82, happened during the obama administration. >> in summary, this is a power grab. >> reporter: angry republicans don't necessarily dispute democrats' statistics about nominees they have blocked. instead, they point to how many judges they have confirmed. 215, and rejected five. when it comes to the fight that democrats called the last straw over vacancies in the d.c. circuit court of appeals, the r

thank you to both of you for joining me. >> thank you. >> thank you, karen. >> i loved seeing harry reid get throughout and say enough is enough. you wrote a bit about this, ryan, sort of the going nuclear. tell us a little about your reporting. >> well, we have been hammering this since i guess about 2009 or so. you know, democrats, you know, were using 60 votes as the reason that they couldn't do "x," "y" and "z" and natural for people to push on why do you need 60 votes in harry reid was the fiercest defender for years and even as recently as 2012 he worked against efforts to, you know, to reform the filibuster. and beat back, you know, but he just got fed up and i think partly to do with the calendar because republicans have decided that they have a decent chance of taking back the senate. therefore, they're not going to approve anybody until 2014 and taking the senate then nobody until 2016 and that's intolerable. >> we have a graphic i want to show i don't terms of the number of clo cloture votes and 50% of all under president obama. i mean, that is pretty astounding. you know, cla

i mean, the idea that he is lambasting harry reid for poisoning the well is laughable. i'm glad you played the series of clips from him saying the most outrageous, the most divisive things said about the senate, aid about democrats in the senate, said about republicans in the senate. one thing we have to remember

what's your insight into what harry reid is going to do? >> harry reid is barack obama's best friend in the senate, he's what stands between obama and the democratic caucus that is sometimes uncomfortable. especially with 2014 being a big election year. i think gives him room to operate but certainly the support of the president for now talking about a process, processes move slowly talking about possibly doing sanctions later on. he's helping barack obama right now. >> well, he's their best friend and you're our best friend, buddy. >> my pleasure, take care. >> it's not all gloom and doom in washington at the capitol. the christmas tree arrived this morning, stands 88 feet tall and traveled from washington state. the tree will be decorated with 5,000 ornaments hand made by children across the country. the official lighting is set for next tuesday night. a hol diday classic, i'm going put on a little johnny cash. ♪ i'll be home for christmas ♪ ♪ by the end of december, we'll be delivering ♪ ♪ through 12 blizzards blowing ♪ 8 fro

harry reid has been talking about doing this for much of this year. i truly believe that it was not until this week that he had the votes to do it. you had a lot of reluctant senate democrats who didn't want to change the rules. who remembered coming to this agreement in 2005 and wanted to stick with it. but over time, they became really convinced that this is a republican party that's lawless, that's not playing. by any rules known to man. >> and do you think it was the judicial appointments that broke the camel's back, not even the chuck hagel nomination, but it was actually not a personality or a policy, it was simply the

reid was doing this, because they wanted to change the subject from obama care, the affordable care act, to implementation of that, to

. >> the country will rao the day that harry reid changed the rules. >> you'll be sorry. >> it was a brazen, partisan abuse of power. >> total statused authori authoritariani authoritarianism. >> we are approaching a slippery slope that will destroy the very unique aspect of this institution. >> joining me tonight, larry cohen, president of the communication workers of america, who was a tireless worker with people around the country, trying to convince the senate, this was the right thing to do. mr. cohen, you heard that montage of sound bites. what's your response to that? >> not true. not true at all. this is the worst obstruction any president has faced. either with executive branch or judicial nominations. and it's about time that the majority spoke up as the majority and did what article 2, section 2, clause 2 says. advice and consent by a majority. not a super majority. they did it. we applaud them. go leader reid. >> since 1900, 168 presidential nominees have been filibustered. 82 of them have happened under president obama's administration in the last five years. why can't t

harry reid will definitely give them. it doesn't mean it will pass. >> larry, it's a long time to november 2014. >> i'll grant you that. this thing completely change. the republicans went from deep, deep yogurt. now i don't know that they're ahead. i'm not sure. >> the republican party has record lows. >> what is happening is both parties are digging the ditch deeper for themselves. jimmy kemp, what should the gop, real quick, what should their message be? >> the message has to be about growth, and that individuals pursue their separate interests. that's what our country is based on. free market principles. and the republican party is the party that best represents those, but it has to have the pro-growth positive message. >> does it have it? >> we need more happy people. i think there are a lot of great leaders out there. paul ryan, who you interviewed tuesday night at our dinner is one of the great one ones. and we need more of them. >> i got to jam. thank you very much. appreciate. quick note, one of the "kudlow report