day we were rallying not going down. i always like to say there is a bull market somewhere. i promise to try to find it just for you here on "mad money." see you tomorrow. hey, larry, what's coming up? >> from congress and the campaign trail, why aren't people talking about fixing our bankrupt government? good evening, everyone, i'm larry kudlow. this is ""the kudlow report." "sizzle story number one. our leaders are not facing up to the biggest issues of our time. the near-bankruptcy of the government. there is a lack of deep cuts in spending, in deficits, in debt. we don't have much economic growth. we're really not in great shape. and no one seems to want to talk about it. not congress, not the white house, not on the campaign trail. but i'm going to talk about it tonight. i want some oh urgency. and sizzle number two, 24 hours to go until florida. it looks like a mitt romney landslide. so my question is, what happens after florida? and we're going to talk to presidential candidate ron paul this evening. that's right.

the ron paul dollar backed by gold. now more than ever, that's what we need. ron paul is my special live guest this evening. first up, a good comeback as stocks clawed back from an early 131-point drop to end just 6 points lower on the day. the european union continues to wrestle over the greek bail just. we have mike holland. david goldman is former head of fixed income research at bank of america, now president of macro strategy.com and andy bush, bimo capital markets contributed to cnbc money in motion. andy bush, i begin with you. will we straighten out greece? will the europeans straighten out greece, will they get their bond deal, will they get their bailout and with can he move on in life for heavens sakes, it's such a bloody bore. >> it is. i'll tell you, larry, what the ecb did in december, flooded the market with money that took away a lot of the liquidity risk. so greece, while it's important, and yes, could end up being a

calamity, is not nearly the calamity it was back at the beginning of december. and that's a good thing for the markets. >> and andy, are they going to get the bond deal done, the 50% haircut plus interest rate reduction? does that get done, so we can clear that not sum and jet sum and debris and just get it out of the way? >> yeah, i think it does. and it all came down to the coupon. i think they'll get it at about 3.5 on the coupon and new bonds that will take their debt to gdp and hopefully maintain it at 120% by 2020. that releases the next tranche of 130 billion euros of money so greece can make that payment march 20th. >> they're going down to 120% get to gdp. the united states is going up to 120% debt to gdp. what's wrong with that story? david goldman, welcome back. banks sold off today i guess on greek jitters. i don't know, they sold off. i want to ask you, there is a story running in the "new york times." banks have about an $80 billion exposure to you'europe.

should people be worried about that? in fact, should people be worried about europe at all? >> no, i think the markets round-trip, larry, tells us yet again that the knee-jerk response to the problems in europe is always exaggerated. personally, i'm pessimistic about greece, the massive austerity will probably lead most of the productive elite to emgrate. so i think that crisis will play itself out again and again. but no one is going to care, because europe is a tiny fraction of the world economy. the u.s. banking system is migrating back very slowly to profitability, and the key indicator to watch is the growth of commercial and industrial loans, which are up $100 billion in the last six months. one of the fastest rates of growth in history. so i think all of the other problems are going to pale, as banks gradually get back to health. that's, of course, dependent on getting the supply side growth policies we need, which will create demand for credit and accelerate that process. >> which so far we're not getting, but hope springs

eternal on the campaign trail. mike, dave goldman makes an interesting point. cni loan demand rising, i think up 10% year on year. the fed reported its credit standards, they're no tighter. so loans are being made, i guess. michael, is the u.s. economy doing better? can you say that unequivocally? >> you can say it unequivocally, larry, you would be right, but it's getting better slowly. the politicians have been in the way of it. interesting, be andy's comment earlier, the ecb took the place of the federal reserve in europe. and what they did there is what we did here. the banks are doing better, the companies are doing a little bit better. we're all doing a little bit better. the funding that they did, the qe, the quantitative easing in europe is helping everybody over there. so that's been taken off the table as a source of concern and uncertainty to a great extent for spain and italy. portugal and greece are a different story. if you listen to jamie dimon at jpmorgan, greece and portugal

aren't going to be taking down the u.s. with the european banks. you put that together, get a little bit of growth as you're talking about, and then you have this ridiculously cheap stock market in the u.s. and other markets around the world. that's why you've got the selloff today that didn't become a selloff. >> andy bush, what about the feds' zero interest rate policy in all of this? is that going to damage the dollar? some people are saying since the fed made its announcement, the dollar rally ended. and if the dollar declines, that means capital and liquidity is going to flow out of the u.s. and the u.s. stock market. i am troubled by this dollar story, andy bush. should i be? >> yeah, absolutely. you know, when the fed made that announcement the of their language out to 2014, and bernanke's comment he would engage in qe-3, that's really when we saw big acceleration of the dollar selloff. after the european situation had been stabilized, the euro started to come back. basically, my thesis for the year is the mayans have it wrong, the world is not going to come to an end and policymakers will step in and continue to

act. and the fed and the ecb are doing that. >> where is the ron paul gold-backed dollar now that we need it? mr. paul, dr. paul is coming on the show a little bit later on. i want a ron paul dollar. i don't want zero interest rates for the rest of my lifetime, andy bush. >> yeah, we're just not going to see it, larry. the feds made it very clear this is part of their policy. they're happy to see the dollar decline, and it puts, you know, maybe some upward pressure on inflation, which they want. so you're just not going to see any kind of strong dollar policy from here, larry, unless you know, we saw something really negative out of europe. and it's not a dollar positive then. >> dave goldman, is mike holland right that the u.s. economy is really getting better? because 1.7% growth for 2011, that ain't much. 2.8% in the fourth quarter, but it was the worst 2.8% i've ever seen. today's numbers on spending and income were sort of signalling the first quarter is going to be lower than the fourth quarter. i mean, dave goldman, where are we? and the american economy growing enough to buy shares? >> larry, yes, you should boy

shares. the good news is that non -- japan, asia, china and india are driving the world economy. very strong increase in their imports. the germans are saying we don't need greece and italy, because we've got china and india. and they're right. the bad news is it's not jap japan-asia that's driving the economy, not the united states. and until we move these terrible obstacles to entrepreneurship, we'll go along at a 2 to 3% rate as far as the eye can see, which is why we need supply-side policies. >> michael holland, does mitt romney's victory in florida figure into this discussion? is he the one to get rid of these obstacles? is he the one to grow the economy? what's your take on this? >> how about a single word? yes. i think the market will be around the world happy if mitt romney is able to practice what he preaches, and i think what he's preaching is what the world wants to hear. and we are looking at a situation where the -- we could

have a watershed party period coming up next november. >> you think he's the guy for entitlement reform, you think he's the guy to slash spending, you think he's the guy for pro growth tax reform. i fear that there is a quietness about all of this, not only on the campaign trail, but in washington, as well. it's one of the themes of tonight's show. you really believe in the romney factor. >> we have a shot. i it actually thought the person to do it, hold your breath here, was barack obama. i thought we would have a nixon in china moment. i thought we would have nixon going to china and he would absolutely do it and he didn't do it. he had his opportunity to do it. i think romney if he gets in may have a house and a senate also on his side. if that happens, we have a shot. now, with the caveat, they're all politicians. >> all right. they're all politicians. mike holland, thank you very much. david goldman and andy bush. we appreciate the updates. next up on kudlow, jimly rodgers won't buy the facebook ipo. why not?

he's going to tell us next. and folks, please don't forget, even though there ain't much around, free market capitalism is still the best path to prosperity. do you hear that washington, do you hear that campaign trail? free market capitalism. i'm kudlow. we'll be right back. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. borrowed technology from ferrari to develop its suspension system? or what if we told you that ferrari borrowed technology

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the biggest story on cnbc.com today was from our good friend jimmy rogers. he's not going to buy facebook. well, why not? let's ask him. joining us now from singapore, jimmy rogers, chairman of rodgers holding. jimmy, great to see you, my old friend. a little birdie said you're not buying facebook. why not? >> well, it's amazing that i was the number-one story. i'm not buying because it's a very expensive stock, larry. that's not the way i invest. i know it's going to come out maybe 25 times -- 15 times next year's sales. sales, larry. usually when you buy stocks that are very expensive, you don't make money. at least i don't. >> well, i don't understand. so let me ask you this. what are you buying. and i'm going to be specific. are you buying the feds' zero interest rate policy? are you buying mitt romney for president? are you buying the u.s. economy? are you buying u.s. stocks? >> larry, first of all, as far as the u.s. economy, there is an

election in november, as you probably know. and every time there's an election, the government spends as much money as it can to get votes. and the central bank prints as much money. so this year, the economy is going to look better than it does normally. because they're pumping all this money out to fool everybody. you should be worrying about 2013, 2014. now, they tried it in 2008, it didn't work in 2008. but i suspect it will make things look okay for a while. as far as the zero interest rate policy, larry, it's a disaster for most people in the world. you're destroying the whole class of people in america who save and invest, and if you destroy your savings class, you really build up huge problems for the future. >> jimmy, is the zero interest rate policy, which has gone on way too long, way too long, as you suggest, is that going to damage the dollar? and is that dollar damage going to hurt the stock market? >> well, i own the u.s. dollar. eventually, yes, larry, it's going destroy the u.s. dollar.

the moment -- unfortunately, there are lots of other complications in the world. so many people will race to the dollar as a safe haven. it's not a safe hach. >> i just said, longer-term, it's going to be a disaster. at the moment, i own it, because people don't know what else to do. but larry, longer-term, we are the largest creditor or sorry, largest debtor nation in the history of the world. and the debts are skyrocketing. and i don't see anybody that's likely to win the presidency that's going to do anything about it, conceivably ron paul would do something about it, if he can win. but the other guys, i mean, you ask about romney. romney is like obama. what's the difference in obama and romney? except obama is from chicago and romney is from boston. >> well, i can report to you that ron paul is coming on the show later on so we'll have a chance to talk to him. jimmy, what else is going on out your way? how does china look? >> well, china is maybe starting to loosen up again. they tried to cool things off for two-and-a-half years,

somewhat successfully. they have gotten inflation down. they have broken their real estate bubble. i am not buying any china yet. but it looks like it might be about time to buy again, to my surprise. i was hoping for another collapse in the stock market before i buy. it may not happen. i may have to start buying sooner. >> besides china, what are you buying? >> well, i'm not buying anything right now, larry. i'm mainly looking out the window. i bought a little gold when it went down not long ago. i bought a little silver when it went down not long ago. but mainly i'm just looking out the window now and watching to see how things -- the stock market ran up a lot in january. and the commodities markets, as you know. so i'm just sitting here watching. you don't have to do something every day. on cnbc you have to do something every day. but i can just look out the windows lots of times. >> all right. i've got to talk about something every day, so i figured i would check in and see what you were doing. the last one. are you buying any u.s. stocks at all? are you buying any u.s. shares? >> no, no, no, no.

especially. i'm short technology stocks in the u.s. i'm not buying anything in the u.s. i do think that this year is going to be better in the economy and the stock market. partly because they're printing a lot of money. that will help some parts of the economy and help commodities. but larry, you also have to remember this leads to huge inflation down the road. and remember, just last week, mr. bernanke came out and changed the way they report inflation. i don't know how many times the government has done this in the last decade or two. but they're always changing it to make it look better. they're lying to us again, larry. >> i've got to jump, jimmy rogers. thank you for your update, my friend. please be well. next up on "kudlow," why isn't anyone facing up to the issues of our time. the near-bankruptcy of our u.s. government. spending, deficits, debt, the lack of economic growth. no one is talking about it. not congress, not the white house, not on the campaign trail. i want to talk about it. we've already started. much more to come.

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>> all right. you saw it right there on the screen. 25 minutes, and 8 seconds worth of deficit discussion. now look on the wall. we put his speech through a word cloud. the bigger the word, the more he used it. can you find deficit? there it is, really small, up on top. virtually not there. so we're joined now by members from both houses of congress to comment. congressman herman from california, welcome back and senator tom coburn, republican from oklahoma. mr. herman, i know you often feel i don't give you enough time. soy want to begin with you tonight, sir. and ask you. this country is in trouble. we've got to slash spending, go to deficits. we've got to grow the economy. why isn't the president -- why isn't the whole congress -- republicans aren't clean on this, doing more, talking more, coming up with more plans on the main issue of our time, near-bankruptcy of the u.s.?

>> well, i think the congress, the people of this country are dedicated to trying to create jobs in the economy, boost the economy. the problem is there is no general agreement as to what should be done. you're talking about the deficit, and yet you're not talking about revenue. we need revenue along with dealing with entitlements and spending. i think the president gave an excellent state of the union address, and he may not have mentioned the word deficit until the 25th minute, but he was talking about the economy for virtually the entire speech. >> well, senator coburn, i don't think much of the economy either. i don't think the country does. but look, this is going to be the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits. our debt is now larger than our gross domestic product, and that's only going to continue. we are fast becoming an entitlement nation from a recent article investors business daily. half the households in this country now get direct federal benefits. isn't there any urgency? am i the only guy out there who says you guys have got to do

something? >> well i think it's you and me, larry. i think nobody is talking about the real problems in front of our country. the congress passed the budget control act, which didn't cut spending, it just slowed the rate of growth. what we need is absolute cuts in spending, and we need to reform the tax code so that we get a pro growth tax system in this country that will actually create jobs. the other thing that i would add, the president touched on it, but not in a meaningful way. we import over $300 billion worth of energy a year into this country. we have the resources in this country, along with creating 2 million jobs, where we could be totally independent of any imported oil or gas coming into this country. that's how we need to renew america. and that's how you'll create jobs. we have the xcel key stone pipeline. 20,000 jobs initially. we have 146,000 miles of pipeline already across the country. the fact that it's being delayed has no connection with reality or common sense or the

scientific facts. it has everything to do with politics. so you can't say you're for natural gas and energy improvements at the same time blocking a pipeline that actually would markedly increase oil production in oklahoma and texas just by relieving the pressure on curbing. >> i agree with that. let me go back to brad sherman. where is the urgency to get some derivative of simpson/bowles. something like 4 or 5 or $6 trillion worth of spending cuts which will take down the baselines for debt and deficits. and i want to add simpson/bowles and paul ryan. bold action, we need, brad. the whole country is waiting for it. and so far, washington is asleep. it's a sleep at the wheel. >> we -- the way we tax multicorporations, we let a company design a television set in japan, make it in taiwan,

sell it in the united states for a huge profit, and then the company says we made all the profit on that transaction in the cayman islands. i think we need bold action to recognize at least $1 trillion in revenue over the next ten years by having a different system for determining the taxation of multinational corporations. >> but brad sherman, i'll get you $1 trillion by getting rid of tax expenditures, you'll all of the loop poles and special expansions and carve-outs. the president didn't spend any time talking about tax reform. he didn't spend any time talking about entitlement reform. he didn't spend any time talking about simpson/bowles. that's what's got me up in arms, brad. >> well, he did talk about a warren buffett tax, and he is not going to negotiate with himself. that is to say, democrats want to see entitlement reform, spending cuts and revenue increases as part of one package. of the position of so many republicans is democrats, you take the republican position.

you cut spending, you cut entitlements and then do it again and then do it again and then we'll continue not to talk about revenue. to demand that the president make concessions to the republican side when they've made no concessions on revenue i think is -- i think is absurd. >> but senator coburn, what mr. sherman said, with all due respect, sounds like an excuse. it sounds like a debating point. we're not talking about anything, senator cohen. that's what troubles me. nothing seems to be on the table. >> that's poppycock. i put $900 billion worth of tax revenue enhancements on the table in a back in black. i put entitle reform. i put out a study that showed $300 billion worth of duplication and waste and fraud in the federal government. not one of those things have been acted on by the majority leader, nor any of the committees in the senate. it's all talk. it's all a blame game. america can no longer wait for the politicians to quit blaming

each other. what they need is action. we have put forth those proposals, and we embrace them. and that's revenue enhancements by eliminating the significant subsidies that go to the very wealthy in this country. marked increase in those revenues. changing the tax code and lowering the rates. and eliminating those. enhancing revenue and markedly working to save medicare and save social security. >> we need a huge package, mr. coburn, dr. coburn. we need a huge package. >> i put it out there with a $9 trillion plan. >> and i just don't see -- maybe you should go down -- the president ask a friend of yours. i think he gave you a shoutout in the state of the union. go there and say here's what we need to do, sir. the public is clamoring for it. and there is a demoralization going on right now around the country. people are giving up hope. we're just wafting along on the road to bankruptcy. senator coburn, i'll give you a

shot and then brad herman a shot. >> i think you change who is in washington. you eliminate career politicians. and you bring regular old common folk americans to washington, we'll solve this problem very quickly. >> we're flat out of time. gentlemen, thank you. senator tom coburn of oklahoma, senator sherman of california. thank you very much. coming up, 24 hours before the polls close in florida, the latest surveys show mitt romney has got a commanding lead for a landslide. so florida seems to be wrapped up. but what happens after florida? former republican chairman michael steele says there is no unified gop message. of he may be right. mr. steel, and our distinguished political panel coming up next. distinguished political panel coming up next.

welcome back to the kudlow report, i'm larry kudlow. amidst all of the personal name-calling, i want to return to the theme of tonight's show. where is the discussion, spending, deficits, debt, the near-bankruptcy of the u.s. government? i think the lack of this discussion is demoralized the tea party, a lot of voters and me. now, the question is, what is inside the message?

let's get right away to cnbc contributor robert cost at that, the national review. how big is a surprise in the last, 48, 72 hours? >> it's going to be a big blowup for mitt romney. you know why, romney is dominating the airwaves. looks like it's going to pay off. >> so who gets the credit? is it governor romney or his debate coach? >> i think it goes back to $6 million in the final week on television ads. he is a more disciplined kaebt but in florida, you have to have it on the airwaves. he's got it. good debate but it comes down to money here in florida. >> bob costa, we will see you tomorrow evening for much more. sorry for the truncated version tonight. i want to get right to my a-plus political panel. republican strategist vin weber. dave goodfriend former clinton white house official. and jim pesakukas.

here is my beef. we have an issue in the campaign, believe it or not, a balanced budget deficit. the economy and jobs were second. i'm going to finish -- not knowing where either newt or mitt or any candidates stand on the balanced budget. on what they would cut, how to get the debt down, how to deal with deficits. to me, all of this name-calling, jimmy, was a wasted opportunity. >> well, we do know mitt romney, one thing he doesn't want, he doesn't want -- >> that was close as we got. >> beyond that, it's sketchy. listen, what was the best speech that we have heard over the last couple weeks? mitch daniels, because he pounded home that anti debt message. i think people just don't want to hear that debt is a bad thing. they want specifics of what you cut and how fast you cut it. . that's a key point.

mitch daniels got the job done. all right. vin weber. you're in the middle of the romney campaign. where would he cut? how big would he cut? we had tom coburn on before. he's got like a $9 trillion plan. i've not heard that yet from mitt romney. >> we haven't got $9 trillion, but the most detailed plan of anybody running for president. you see the 59-point economic program. people are making fun of him because it's too detailed, larry. >> why doesn't he ever talk about it? i know he has a plan. but in these debates, he never talked about it. now, maybe it's because the questions weren't -- >> you got to go with the questioners -- he's talked a lot about his economic program and also laid the ground work for future discussions when he talks about, as you talked about your previous second, bowles/simpson as the potential framework. i think romney has laid the path forward for both reinvigorating the economy, reducing debt you're talking about, and reforming our tax code. >> in other words, talking about reforming the tax code, nurg has a 15% flat tax.

mitt romney sort of has a tax reform, hasn't developed yet. he told me in an interview last week. but there is a difference between a flat tax which romney criticized and a sort of bowles/simpson, which has not yet materialized. do you think they got that out? where was that debate? where was that -- instead of yelling about freddie mac and mixed marriages and all the rest, where was the tax debate? where was the spending debate? that's my beef about this whole florida story. >> i think what you're witnessing is nothing less than the internal civil war in the republican party, for the soul of the party. i'm a democrat looking for who am i going to be debating, you know, on one of these shows. >> whether or not it be a consultant or historian in freddie mac? or party on issues? i'm looking for issues. >> on the issues, the republican party is now having a debate over whether we take the tea party approach, which is what gingrich has inherited, or the romney moderate approach, a new england moderate republican, of which there are very few today,

where is the soul of the republican party? you are witnessing a debate in the republican party. where do they stand? >> we're debating who can beat obama. the difference between these candidates is about like that. what we're really debating is who can defeat barack obama in the fall. >> did i miss that debate? that debate on spending and tea parties -- the tea party one slashed spending, slashed deficits and slashed debt. where was that debate? >> the reason the debate is like that, they're talking about things like everyone has cut the corporate tax rate, everyone gets free points saying i'm for the ryan plan but the ryan plan doesn't cut much in the first ten years. if you're talking about what you would cut now in the next five years, is there a very little -- you're absolutely right. thampl >> that's the point i'm trying to make. let me go back. okay. when hillary ran against obama, was the issues debate any deeper? was it more detailed? i can't remember, it's so long ago. >> i'll tell you something. there, my friend, you really had two people who had essentially

adopted the same economic outlook, very little difference between them. but here is the distinguishing factor. right now in florida, you are seeing character assassination. >> right. >> i don't remember that in the democratic primary. and this is toothpaste you cannot put back in the tube. this is something you can't sweep under the rug. it's very dangerous for the republican party. listen, people barely remember obama getting bin laden. they're not going to remember this nine months later. things move too fast, too many cycles. >> that's the thing, then. i know that mitt romney has it in his bones. i know that newt gingrich has it in his bones. but i didn't hear it. and i think we're going to leave florida, yes, mitt is going to have apparently a landslide victory. but we're going to leave florida without knowing what the debate is about. and i want to say this. the tea party constituency, which swept the gop in 2010, is demoralized, because they're not hearing music to their ears. which is slam down on spending and deficits and debt. it didn't happen. it hasn't happened yet in this

campaign. >> i don't agree with you that it's not happening anymore than it didn't happen in 2010. you know, we have people talking about spending in 2010. we did not elect people in congress committed to the kind of detailed program on entitlement reform you're talking about. we had people elected, committed to doing something about spending. and we're going to have a president elected committed to doing something about spending and it's going to be detailed well before the election. you just want it all resolved before the primary. >> i just want to see an agenda. you've got to run an agenda. here's another one. the big difference between newt gingrich and mitt romney about money, about the dollar. newt is talking about a gold-backed dollar. mitt disagrees. do you think that these satisfactorily resolve those issues. do you think voters heard those issues resolved? there are big gaps between those. >> newt has adopted the tea party, ron paul, sort of -- to dramatically reform oh. mitt romney has basically

adopted -- make he with like to replace ben bernanke. what is the role of the monetary policy, what is the role of the federal reserve? that's the open question, extremely important to the tea party. >> great debates during the debate. in all seriousness, a freddie mac consultant. i understand that. i want a good debate in the debate. >> can i throw something in here? 83% of americans, according to a cbs poll agree -- >> with me. they always agree with me. >> the president's ideas in state of the union would help jobs. 83%. across the board. you want to talk about the debate between mitt romney and newt gingrich. take a look in front of your nose. >> 43% approval rating. >> 83% of people polled think it would help the economy. . we should put that cloud thing back on. i can't even see the word deficit. need a set of reading glasses. nice try. good to see you. david goodfriend, jimmy, thank you. now, let's bring in michael

steele, former republican national committee chair, joining us live from miami, florida. what is the republican message? i'm trying to figure this out. >> i am too. and i think so are a lot of republicans. i think we wasted an enormous opportunity coming off the wins of 2010. certainly with new boots on the ground for congress, i think it has been very frustrating, which is why you see the kind of development in this primary that has baffled the establishment types and have the media questioning what's going on. the base is trying to sort this out. i think your previous discussion touched on a number of reasons why they're trying to sort this out. >> michael, let me ask you something. obviously, newt gingrich is going to continue to run, no matter what happens in the vote tomorrow night. that's fine. that's his right. i wish him all the best in the world. he's saying he, newt, can take all of the nonromney voters and convert them to a gingrich majority. now, from the nbc merit poll, they took santorum out. ron paul is not going to drop

out. but the poll took santorum out. what happened in mitt goes from 42 to 49. and newt goes from 27 to 33. actually, mitt takes up a point. but my point is, there is no massive nonromney majority to be had here. what's newt talking about? >> well, but that's -- that poll is done from florida. that's not looking necessarily at the southern states are going to be coming online in a couple months. and certainly the primaries and caucuses that will take place in february. i think what newt is talking about, and it's something that i know santorum is talking about, as well, is coming out of florida, how do we begin to cobble together the pieces to really make the mark down the stretch to get to the nomination. i think this thing goes a lot further than people want it to go. certainly past march, maybe into april. but certainly as gingrich has said, he's going all the way to the convention. and there is a good reason for that. i think people need to be clear. the delegates tomorrow will not be winner take all.

this is, by the rules that we passed last year, a proportional apportionment of delegates, because florida jumped the line. they went before april 1st. so a lot of dynamics here that newt has taken into calculation that others are going to gloss over that will have a big impact down the stretch. >> i hear you. i think i agree with your generic thought, but i think the santorum vote breaks both ways. i know it's the florida poll, but i think it's going to break both ways. last one. if it comes down to it, if your judgment, as a former chairman of the republican national committee, can mitt romney unite the republican party whenever, in the spring or the summer? can he do it? >> that -- to be very honest, that remains to be seen. he has been running since 2008 and has yet to close the deal. the clock is ticking and coming close to its last tock, if you will. so he's got to close this deal fast. otherwise, it's going to be a very, very tough summer and a very difficult fall. >> on "good morning america," gma this morning, newt gingrich

said if mitt is nominated, that newt will endorse him and vote for him. promising? >> promising. but, again, the nice thing to say on "good morning america." the reality of it is, mitt romney has to stop the negativity against newt, stop the negativity against the other candidates and run a positive why i should support him kind of campaign as opposed to what we have seen so far. >> michael steele, you're great. thank you ever so much for helping us. programming note, folks. tune in tomorrow night. we have live coverage of the florida primary here on "the kudlow report" and i'll be joined by key florida republican senator marco rubio and scott and many others. first, we're monitoring a developing story coming from capitol hill. the senate votes on stopping senators and congressmen from insider trading. so will it pass the republican house? why not?

it's all hung up. it's not because of politics. that stock market story developing. next on "kudlow." in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams.

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i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodthinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk of stroke with pradaxa. a developing story coming

out of capitol hill. the senate moving along on a bill to restrict congressional members from insider trading. but it might not pass the house. and not because of partisan politics. so cnbc's eamon javers joins us now. >> it was a big victory for supporters of the stock act. 93-2 on the procedural vote. the senate passing the bill. they will vote on final passage as early as tomorrow in the senate on that bill that would block members of congress from participating in insider trader based on what they know out of their duties on capitol hill. now, one of the key actors in this was senator scott brown. he took to the floor just before the vote to make the case for the bill. >> i believe that we must level the playing field and show the american people that the united states congress does not consider itself to be above the laws, that we expect everyone

else across the country to obey. >> larry, as you suggested, the trick is going to be in the house of representatives. they're on a different timetable, and just a few minutes ago, leader eric cantor's office put out a statement praising the senate for their actions, saying they're going to move along their own version of this bill. their version is different, includes some provisions that would prevent members of congress from povertying off real estate details and other things. supporters of the house bill say it's going to be difficult, reconciling the bills will be difficult because there are a lot of members behind the scenes that are uncomfortable with this, don't like the way this is going. but they feel like they have to vote for it because it's very, very popular among their constituents, larry. >> all right. many thanks to eamon javers. up next on "kudlow," the ron paul dollar backed by gold. we need it now more than ever. standing by live, congressman ron paul himself to talk to me about the ron paul dollar. there you see is a picture of

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with the u.s. government teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, is a ron paul dollar backed by gold needed now more than ever? joining us exclusively is texas republican congressman and presidential candidate ron paul. congressman paul, thank you, sir. you know, this thing occurred to me with the craziness the

federal reserve announced just last week, we're going to have three more years of zero interest rates, on top of the three years we've already had. and i say to myself, that is going to destroy the dollar, and then i say to myself, we need a ron paul dollar. first of all, can you describe a ron paul dollar? >> well, the dollar would be convertible into gold at a fixed rate, which would prevent the monetization of date, which limits the size and scope of government. once we eliminate any link to gold, all you have to do is go back and look at any chart since that time, growth of government and growth of debt and the mess we have had. it's because of the currency. so, no, it has to be linked. it was linked -- that's what was the -- the founders wanted. that's what's in the constitution. and this whole idea the federal reserve can create money out of thin air and destroy the savings of people -- people, why should they save money? it just distorts the entire market. it's price fixing at its worst.

they price fix every transaction, because the money is one half of every transaction. and then they wonder why it doesn't work. they got away with it for a long time, because we were so wealthy. but now we've consumed our wealth, chased our jobs overseas, and we're deeply in debt. it doesn't work anymore. and they won't bunddge. and nobody in washington wants to cut spending. if you had had a gold standard, you couldn't spend. you could cut spending if people would quit. but they're not going to. i don't know of any candidate that's will to go cut any spending in real terms. >> i don't disagree with you on that last statement. let me go back to that. what you're saying is, a ron paul dollar, which would be a gold-backed dollar, would not only discipline the federal reserve's money printing, but it would also discipline the way ward ways of the u.s. government spending. now, how might that work? because that is the key. >> well, and this to me is one of the most important things. if you like small government. now, if you like big government,

if you think we can run, you know, the empire as well as the welfare state, no, you don't want a gold dollar. and that's why they got rid of the gold dollar. but if you can't print the money, then you have to tax the people or you have to borrow in the marketplace. and what would happen is that the government spend too much money, interest rates would rise, and it would all be the congress's fault. interest rates would go 5, 10, 15, 20%, and they wouldn't have a federal reserve to say, oh, interest rates are too high, we're going to lower them artificially and send all these confused singles to the marketplace and say oh, there is a lot of savings out there, let's continue the boom. so, no, the market would -- the market would stop. also, the balance of payments would be solved. if gold left the country, you know, once the gold left the country, then there would have to be -- you would have to quit spending money. you're running out of money. you would have to lower your prices, be for competitive and get the gold to come back. so the distortion on international markets, as well as the excessive spending here at home would all be solved with a gold standard. >> i'm just asking you these

questions, because i don't think you get enough time in these debates to really walk through the significance of the ron paul gold-backed dollar. that's why i think it's important for you to articulate this stuff. so if you're saying, congressman, rates would shoot up and that would damage the economy right away, and we wouldn't live on borrowed time, we wouldn't be able to have the fed manipulate interest rates, and we would therefore pay the piper right away. in other words, the discipline would be fantastic. is that fair? >> yeah. that is true. the correction would come more quickly and it would be deeper. but it would help some people if we did this and quit spending, taxes would go down. my goal would be to get taxes very, very low. so that's not a punishment. so the correction would come, but you would have to change the spending habits. and who else would benefit? the people that -- the bernankes and the greenspans never cared about. and that's the savers. people are supposed to save and be responsible. but there is no incentive to, so

savers might, instead of making 1 or 2% to take care of themselves, they might make 6 or 8 or 10%. being able to take care of themselves and pay their bills. and live a better lifestyle. but no, what we do is we drive the interest rates down. but there are some people benefitting. the people who get the money practically for free are able to turn that around and put it -- deposit at the federal reserve and make a point or two. and they thrive over there. and yet the people are injured under this system. >> have you ever talked to bernanke or any of the federal reserve governors about the ron paul gold-backed dollar? >> well, i try to get it going. and you remember the one conversation i had with bernanke i try to get started. i said gold money, and he said absolutely not. it's not money. and the last -- greenspan would talk to me a little bit, because he knew that i knew that at one time he was a gold standard person so he was at least polite and had a conversation. but the last one that had a serious conversation with me on

monetary policy was paul volcker. and we didn't agree, but he seemed to be more interested in the ideas and would invite me over for breakfast and have a -- have a real discussion. >> he was the last -- he was the last of the gold guys. volcker really was the last of the gold guys, at least in terms of the treasury and the central bank. congressman paul, you're going to continue your campaign, i gather. and is i want to ask you, do you still want to give the speech at the national convention? do you still want to stand up and give a ron paul speech at the republican national convention in tampa? >> well, that's not my goal in life. my goal in life right now, and political life, is to get more delegates and get a maximum amount of delegates. but to think that my whole target -- what do i have to do to give a speech, believe me, that's not really high on the agenda. >> you would do it. you would do it, if asked, would you not? >> well, it depends on what the circumstances are. you know, they have a lot of rules and regulations on what you can say and what you have to

do. they're not going to give you a prime-time spot if you want to talk about the gold standard and bringing troops home. you know. it's not -- they're not going to welcome me there. let's see what happens. >> i've got to leave it there. thank you, sir. congressman ron paul. ron paul gold-backed dollar. tomorrow night, marco rubio, rick scott, among many others. we'll see you then. so, how was school today ? i have to be a tree in the school play. good. you like trees. well, i like climbing them, but i've never been one. good point. ( captain ) this is your captain speaking. annie gets to be the princess. oh... but she has to kiss a boy. and he's dressed up like a big green frog ! ewww. ( announcer ) fly without putting your life on pause.

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