i realize that mitch mcconnell is trying to sort of make himself over into a scrappy guy, but mitch mcconnell is mr. magru, in terms of how he's conducted himself as the highest profile guy in the senate. the idea that he's a scrapping knife fighting guy, he may be canny, but i don't think anyone is going to identify with him in a kind of populist way. >> he might be mr. mugu in washington, but he's mr. majestic here in kentucky. the opponents that have gone up against him in the past, they -- he buries them and then he comes back to make sure he stays buried. he plays tough, plays for keep, and he's been doing that his whole career. he's a guy who wins inside the margins and that's where he likes to play. >> i've got to ask you, sam, this week we uncovered some reporting that senator rand paul has been giving speeches that are ripped off from wikipedia. your paper editorialized on the issue today in a sort of withering way, got a comment from a senior adviser to senator paul this afternoon, dismissing the whole thing. do you get the sense that rather this is troubling the rand paul camp, or

but mitch mcconnell knows that was wrong. he took a stand against mitch mcconnell. (laughter) mitch mcconnell, wrong for kentucky. vote change. vote mitch mcconnell. (laughter) i'm mitch mcconnell and i approve this message. no i don't! (laughter) (cheers and applause) >> stephen: folks, with an ad like that one one of them can't lose. (laughter) nation, you watch the show, you know my middle name is "danger." but my first name is "we're all in" and my last name is "run for your lives." this is the threatdown. (cheers and applause) folks, traditional marriage is under attack and this time it's not just from the gays-- although i've got to say, they're not helping. look at neil patrick harris' family halloween photo. (audience reacts) "come to my house, i have fun-sized snickers." (laughter) no, the real threat to marriage is threat number three: divorce. didn't see that coming, did you? now, divorce has never been great for a marriage, but according to a new study, divorce is contagious. which i've suspected for a long time. that's why i always did "larry king live"

mcconnell has quietly led all of that now some of the things mitch mcconnell's filibuster has killed climate change legislation a public option in health reform a disclose act to force disclosure of new spending what in our elections the employee free choice act the dream act plus there's the multitude of presidential nominations that have been held up by mcconnell's minority in the senate just imagine where we'd be today had mcconnell not ruthlessly wielded the filibuster during the first two years of the obama administration and beyond he has been the single greatest obstructionist in the senate is the filibuster came as opposed to ted cruz mcconnell has developed this reputation as this rational guy who comes in at the last minute and cuts a deal with harry reid but really what good is that if this deal just kicks the can down the road like every budget deal every debt limit deal has so far perpetuating government by crisis ted cruz gets most of the attention as being a crazy obstructionist but ted cruz ted cruz hasn't actually done anything he didn't hold up anything in the senat

you had this guy in the kentucky primary, mitch mcconnell, running ads attacking mitch mcconnell. i think that mitch mcconnell and the national republican senatorial committee and other establishment folks have decided, we have to fight back. now you are seeing an effort that was reported on the other week where the national republican senatorial committee is actually blacklisting a republican consultant firm that is running ads attacking republicans, attacking establishment of publicans. i know this is like inside baseball. the c-span audience gets this stuff. is a really interesting story, but again, if they can get past this and put some points on the board and win some races, there could be healing over time. host: let's get our viewers involved. gerald in florida. caller: i was a democrat the first two times that obama was elected but i switched after the health care act. i recently got employed by a good company. the company took advantage of the exemption for employers. i felt that if they created the health-care law, employers would buy it but many employers nowadays are t

mitch mcconnell is the face of the republican party in the senate but new polls suggest that he faces a tough reelection battle so could mcconnell actually lose and if he does would that really change anything up on capitol hill we'll talk about that and more nights big picture politics panel. also siddons new film pandora's promise says that nuclear power is the solution to solving global warming but is this really true. and in a world created by the n.s.a. where we're all spying on each other everyone loses the latest story about a tech expert in india who became a target of british spies and how any one of us could be next later in the show. and let's start tonight by talking about senator mitch mcconnell he's the leader of the republican minority in the senate and anytime we're talking about republican filibusters in the senate we're talking about him mitch murch. ronnell has quietly led all of that now some of the things mitch mcconnell's filibuster has killed climate change legislation a public option in health reform a disclose act to force disclosure of new spending what in ou

that is the word from mitch mcconnell. we're waiting for the president to give his first public comment on the nuclear option now in place on the u.s. senate side. >> we want to bring in geraldo. >> it's a very big deal, you look back on the most dramatic moments in recent months. when you had ted cruise doing his sudo filibuster, and mr. smith comes to washington, all of the great moments there. so that's gone. but the sad thing is that by doing away with the super majority on these nom additions, you do away with any possibility of bilateral or bipartisan comedy there where people get together and they say okay, some republicans, some democrats, both vote to approve a particular nominee. now you'll never get that. >> to that point, the phrase nuclear option suggests war. >> you thought washington was broken before, wait until you see this now. >> you will have unilateral government. whatever chamber or party runs the chamber, that simple majority will be able to dictate what is happening. you cannot diminish the fact tha

. >> key the warning from a spokesman for minority leader, mitch mcconnell. i'm looking forward to president rubio stacking the courts. note, that was president rubio, not president paul. nor president cruz. nor president christie. interesting. let's get right to our handle. here in new york is msnbc political analyst, joan walsh, editor at large for asalon. and in washington, msnbc contributor, jonathan capehart, opinion writer for "the washington post." minority leader, mitch mcconnell, says this is nothing but a power grab to advance the president's regulatory agenda. he also said, this was an attempt to move attention away from the affordable care act. is it either of those? >> no, it's neither of those. that's preposterous. 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 rea

mitch mcconnell did give away some of the game today. he did say, ah ha this is about regulation and policy as if it is absurd for the president of the united states to get elected and have the nerve to try to implement the policies he prefers. how dare he? just to point out the absurdity of the republican position they have called it court packing for the president to want to fill the remaining three seats on the d.c. circuit. it is supposed to have 11 judges and has eight now. so to add the other three is called court packing. what we're really seeing is republicans are concerned because under duress they did approve one more judge for the d.c. circuit. that gives you four democratic appointees and four republican. it is now even steven. what they are really concerned about is if president obama gets even one more person on the court and he is not a right wing idealogue all of a sudden they actually might get their policies through. >> what about this notion that joy mentions which is the nullification of the 2012 election? every day?

what were you thinking, mitch mcconnell? the minute after they changed the rule today in the senate, one of those three nominees for that court in d.c. sailed right through. she got 55 votes and that's all it takes now. now she will be a judge, and so will the other two, and so will 93 more if the president wants it. the federal judiciary, if the president wants to, is going to get 90 new democratic appointed judges because mitch mcconnell didn't, apparently, think this through. yeah, the democrats did it, but it was always in their power to. why didn't mitch mcconnell think they would? this is a huge change in washington. and it does not apply just to judges. it also applies to executive branch nominations. so, yeah, the republicans picked this year to filibuster a nominee for secretary of defense for the first time in u.s. history, and they did it during a time of war. but they're not going to be able to do things like that anymore either. this is what the democrats circulated today via press release and on social media, t

. >> david corn take a look at this map from mitch mcconnell's office. it's being circulated among conservatives. it shows states where people are receiving cancellation notices. let's remember, republicans led the effort to deprive people insurance under the law. now, let's look at this map from the white house, it shows the republican-controlled states that rejected the law's expansion of medicate and would have cost these states nothing to implement and would have extended insurance to 5 million poor americans. 1.2 million people in texas alone could be covered right now yet they're not because of the ted cruz win of the republican party which is held bent on destroying the affordable care act in any way that it could. is that message getting through to the american people? is the president being successful in this regard explaining this? >> i don't think the white house still, after all this time, has fully figured out how to deal with this blanket opposition and obstructionism they get which is often fueled by statements not true and hyperbolic. rig

well, let me show you the picture that mitch mcconnell paints. he is in favor of corporations not paying their fair share. he's okay with one in four corporations in this country not paying any tax. he's in favor of allowing oil companies who are making record profits to get away with taxpayer it subsidies. so this still is a matter of priorities. is mitch mcconnell making the case to the people of kentucky that the people who have signed up with the preexisting conditions and over the 33,000 people who were going to get health care and more so of the 640,000 that don't have it, is he saying they don't deserve it, because they're not some kind of special american that doesn't qualify, the wealthy? their pushback, senator, i guess my question is, are they running out of material? . >> they are running out. and now it has become, they want -- i liked what was said this morning by senator warren. in our hearing with ms. tavenner. she said, really, what we're talking about is changing a value system. the old value system was what the republicans want

. >> 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.

senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is responding in. let's listen. >> the minority leader changes the rules for some judicial nominees, he's effectively changing them for all judicial nominees including the supreme court as senator grassley pointed out just yesterday. so, look, i realize this sort of wishful thinking might appeal to the uninitiated newcomers in the democratic congress who served exactly zero days in the minority, but the rest of you guys in the conference should know better. those of you who have been in the minority before should know better. let's remember how we got here. let's remember that it was senate democrats who pioneered, who literally pioneered the practice of filibustering circuit court nominees, and who have been its biggest proponents in the very recent past. after president bush was elected they even held a retreat in which they discussed the need to change the ground rules by which lifetime opponents are considered. the senior senator from new york put on a seminar, invited lawrence schrieb, and in the

we heart from mitch mcconnell, senate republican leader, as well. there's obviously a lot going on right now. enormous ramifications. brianna, the white house just announced, brianna keilar, senior white house correspondent, set up in the briefing room there, announced a few moments ago the president wanted to come in to where you are into the briefing room and react to what the senate has just decided. i assume it's fair to say he will applaud this decision by the democrats. >> reporter: wolf, that is certainly the expectation. we're expecting president obama will come here to the brady briefing room in just a few minutes to make his comments. earlier this week he said he was deeply disappointed that senate republicans have, in his words, once again, refused to do their job and give well-qualified nominees to the federal bench, yes or no votes they deserve. this is something he has been calling for for some time now and also something that has certainly been, i guess you could say, a sore for the obama administration for some time. the objections t

>> well, that was my first question as well, when mitch mcconnell unleashed this really withering attack last week on matt bevin, my first response was, wow, this will backfire. he will make matt bevin if bevin can't make himself a candidate. i think that while it looks like senator mcconnell is operating from a position of weakness, and i agree, those poll numbers are anemic at best, but he's sort of feels like he's got the moxie, he's got the blood and guts to really sort of take on the matt bevins of the world, the senate conservative fund. and he's the one, he thinks of himself as a knife fighter. and he thinks that he's the one who can give them the fight that they've been spoiling for.

minority leader, mitch mcconnell, says this is nothing but a power grab to advance the president's regulatory agenda. he also said, this was an attempt to move attention away from the affordable care act. is it either of those? >> no, it's neither of those. that's preposterous. 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

>> well, of course, mitch mcconnell has been out there ranting and raving, saying we need to tear out the system root and branch. that's his quote. from day one. he's still talking from the frank luntz republican memo of 2009, trying to scare people, but my good friend audrey and the governor, what audrey didn't say, phenomenal commitment to it, but also the outreach from our program has been phenomenal. i mean, people, going out, talking to community groups, talking out to at-risk populations, making people -- creating curiosity, if nothing else, having a booth at the state fair. i mean, all of these things generated interest. but politically, you know, mitch is going to wake up next spring or summer, and people are going to realize that mitch mcconnell has been deceiving them for the last four years, and he's going to pay a political price for this. >> ezra, the federalism, the kind of state-centric approach that's happening, at work in kentucky, was the original idea behind a lot of obama care. it hasn't worked out that way. i want you to explain what that vision looks like and whe

. >> i don't intend to run to the writer left of mitch mcconnell that server the top of mitch mcconnell. >> i have endorsed senator mcconnell because i think he has been a good conservative and he is the leader in opposing obamacare. >> a lot of your colleagues don't feel the same way. >> i mean, i think what has been unfair in their are some acting run in kentucky that say that senator mcconnell was for obamacare funding. it just absolutely untrue and not there. he has been a leader on the balanced budget and amendment and fiscal responsibility. neil: by the way, we invited senator mitch mcconnell to come on. we have not heard back as of yet. and it sounds like rand paul have decided that you're not his guide. and we have certain amounts of funding that might require him to make the decisions that are in his interests.. but i like rand paul, he's donea great job. and i've voted for him twice and i supported him. i think he's terrific. >> maybe it could be a metaphor for the republican party to battle for what its real soul is for. >> what we have to have is a battle for the heart and s

you have bevin and kentucky primary, mitch mcconnell running ads attacking mitch mcconnell. i think mcconnell and the national republican senatorial committee have decided we have to fight back. jonathan martin at "the new york times" reported on the other week where the national republican senatorial committee is blacklisting a republican consulting firm that is running ads attacking republicans. this is like inside baseball. they wouldn't have time on other cable news to get into the weeds like this. but it's a interesting story. if they can get past this, there could be a number of time. >> gerald, in ft. myers, georgia. republican caller. how. >> how are you today good morning. >> i was a democrat when the first two times obama was elected but i ended upturning republican because the new health care exchange and how it's impacted people my age, around the age of 23. i got employed by a big company. that company took advantage of the exemption for employers. i felt that if they included the health care law, they just got by it. a lot of employers now adays telling their e

. >> i don't intend to run to the writer left of mitch mcconnell that server the top of mitch mcconnell. with your help, we're going to do that. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ mle announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. ♪ [ 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 checkout 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. >> i have endorsed senator mcconnell because i think he has been a good conservative and he is the leader in opposing obamacare. >> a lot of your colleagues don't feel the same way. >> i mean, i think what has been unfair in their are some acting run in kentucky that say that senator mcconn

mitch mcconnell may talk about 2015, and it will be a different set of circumstances. he has a race in 2014 before getting to 2015. one of the things that the republicans have to do is get off this quickly and get back to obamacare, where they were getting traction and talk about the budget and how it's been ineffective. that's what the senate's job is to do. that. >> we are arguing that this was a plan between the senate democrats and the white house. we will stay on top of those stories in days to come. >> thank you for your type of. time to see what is trending on al jazeera's website. >> with the melting pot that the u.s. is, what we consider american food is changing. al jazeera america digital reporter tell us us how immigrants spiced up american pallets. we see it with the malaysian hot sauce that is popular in the u.s. bringing in there 60 million in sales. sulphur sells outsell burgers and pottaato chips. sales will go up 20% by 2017. experts say in the "50, spaghetti and meat balls was exotic. robert lang a professor of urban affairs says: >> now to your reac

the threat by mitch mcconnell hadintimidated. i was like afraid what happens when the other side has the power. i recently came around. like the final few senators to the realization that of course they have got to do this. because in fact, when the republicans have power, and the republican presidency, the, democrats in the senate would not be attempting to use the filibuster this way to that degree anyway. they don't need that protection in the minority. >> no, absolutely right. i think that the, the abuse went too far. i mean to reject, not one, not two, but three of the president's nominees including patricia miller who is incredibly respected across the board. that was a slap in the face. i also think, rejecting mel watt. really for the housing job, really infuriated democrats. you are right. if you go back in history. democrats have owe pose e oppos republican nominees. robert bourke and beat him on a majority vote. they haven't used the filibuster very much. the figures you cited. 168. in all of our history. almost half un

. >> i don't intend to run to the writer left of mitch mcconnell that server the top of mitch mcconnell. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. at bny mellon, our business introis investments.e rate. managing them, moving them, making them work. we oversee 20% of the world's financial assets. and that gives us scale and insight no one else has. investment management combined with investment servicing. bringing the power of investments to people's lives. invested in the world. bny mellon. i get out a lot... except when it's too cold. like the last three weekends. asthma doesn't affect my job... you missed the meeting again last week! it doesn't affect mfamily. your coughing woke me up again. i wish you'd take me to the park. i don't use

threat to change the rules, but each time, he and mitch mcconnell have come to a gentleman's agreement. in january 2011 -- >> today's bipartisan agreement is. >>> it is promptly broken by republicans and the obstruction continues. 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 t

. >> i don't intend to r the writer left of mitch mcconnell that server the top of mitch mcconnell. ♪ wow...look at you. i've always tried to give it my best shot. these days i'm living with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. at first, i took warfarin, but i wondered, "could i up my game?" my doctor told me about eliquis. and three important reasons to take eliquis instead. one, in alinical trial, eliquis was proven to reduce the risk of stroke better than warfarin. two, eliquis had less major bleeding than warfarin. and three... unlike warfarin, there's no routine blood testing. [ male announcer ] don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis ifyou have an artificial heart valve abnormal bleing. while taking eliquis, yomay bruise more easily and it m take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruis

led by the senate's top republican mitch mcconnell who opened fire on the ted cruz wing of the party in the wall street journal. in an interview with peggy noonan, mcconnell blasts the extremists in his party for both their views and tactics. he says, quote, the most important election tuesday wasn't the governor of new jersey and it wasn't the governor of virginia. it was the special election for congress in south alabama. where a candidate who said the shutdown was a great idea, the president was born in kenya, and that he opposed speaker boehner came in second. ron reagan is an msnbc political analyst, michael crowley is the deputy d.c. bureau chief at "time" magazine which features governor christie on its cover this week. michael, a naive question. why didn't rick perry reference chris christie? what's going on there? >> he doesn't like him. he doesn't like that brand of politics. he thinks he's a squishy moderate. as to a lot of conservative republicans. i think chris christie has a big problem with the base of his party. >> with regard to tuesday, ron, is it clear that as betw

. >> i don't intend to run to the writer left of mitch mcconnell that server the top of mitch mcconnell. ♪ [ male announcer ] they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease the 2014 e350 for $579 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions. i don't like guesses with my business, and definitely not with our health. innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. >> i have endorsed senator mcconnell because i think he has been a good conservative and he is the leader in opposing obamacare. >> a lot of your colleagues don't feel the same way. >> i mean, i think what has

. >> i don't intend to run to the writer left of mitch mcconnell that server the top of mitch mcconnell. with your help, we'r [ male announcer ] in your lifetime, you will lose three sets of keys, four cell phones, seven socks, and six weeks of sleep. but one thing you don't want to lose is any more teeth. if you wear a partial, you are almost twice as likely to lose your supporting teeth. poligrip and polident for partials seal and protect helps minimize stress, which may damage supporting teeth by stabilizing your partial. and clean and protect kills odor-causing bacteria. care for your partial. help protect your natural teeth. it's not the "limit the cash i earnvery month" card. it's not the "i only earn decent rewards at the gas station" card. it's the no-games, no-signing up, everyday-rewarding, kung-fu-fighting, silver-lightning-in-a-bottle, bringing-home-the-bacon cash back card. this is the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on eve purchase, everywhere, every single day. so ask yourself, what's in your wallet? losing thrusters. i need more power. give me

really, and you know, chuck grassley and mitch mcconnell went too far by saying simply apointing judges to the d.c. circuit was quote packing, they forced the hand 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. >> dinah washington's song, what a difference a day makes. for the president's enemies, their motives behind blocking appointments is to attack the president's agenda, of course his character, and legitimacy. they do it all the time with blocked appointments, in fact, it's a reason to attack the health care law. here's mitch mcconnell speaking in the senate earlier today. >> here's the problem with this latest distraction. it doesn't distract people from obama care. it reminds them of obama care. it reminds them of all the broken promises. it reminds them of the power grab. it reminds them of the way democrats set up one set of rules for themselves and another for everybody else. >> you know what, steve? i think he's making a kind of heroic effort to change the subject. you kn

i know short-term the big losers are mitch mcconnell and rand paul. and the other senators who actually use nominations as leverage to get something else they otherwise can't get. we have three district court vacancies in kentucky and one circuit court of appeals and 6th circuit vacant right now. the white house is just -- has been negotiating with mitch mcconnell. i'm the only democrat in the delegation. they don't even talk to me. they're talking to mitch. he's lost that leverage and that power. >> i want to thank joan walsh, john stanton, and anyone who knows me knows i love the 1970s. i also love jerry brown. today, as governor again of california, i believe jerry brown needs to be talked about very much in the present tense. there is a reason. i'll explain. i have low testosterone. there, i said it. see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive, but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androge

this is the senate's top roochlt here's mitch mcconnell speaking in the senate earlier today. >> here's the problem with this latest distraction. it doesn't distract people from obama care. it reminds them of obama care. it reminds them of all the broken promises. it reminds them of the power grab. it reminds them of the way democrats set up one set of rules for themselves and another for everybody else. >> you know what, steve, i think he's making a heroic effort to try to change the subject. it reminds me of the filibuster itself. they're breaking through the filibuster. people are thinking of all the things, the games played, there's ted cruz, you know why we had a government shutdown, it was so easy because cruz wouldn't let the budget committees meet. all the games played on the hill to stop the president from being president to claim he never really was president. look, he wasn't able to do this or that. i hope reid sticks to it. >> this is why a lot of republicans don't admit it. i think they're secretly relieved by this. the more and more absurd this got, when it got to the poin

mitch mcconnell, the republican leader of the senate, he says that we'll not do this again. we'll see. but i would be surprised if it happens again. >> republicans realize it feels good not to bang your head against the wall. gwen: mitch mcconnell called it a kick by a mule. >> a kentucky phrase. >> and 10 points in popularity and g.d.p. so very damaging to the g.o.p. brand. 17 years since they did it before. this one was such a tough lesson it may be another 17 years. >> why get in the way of your opponent when your opponent is busy shooting himself? at this point, republicans can look around and say obama is having so much trouble on his own with obamacare, with his health care program. that to have a government shutdown would only get in the way of a period that's not really good for him. >> that means they have to agree to funding the government then. so all these levels and things are still -- they've not made any progress as near as i can tell. and it's still going to come up to the very last minute which i guess would be january 14. because that deadline is january 16