of 80@@@@@@@@ i see it that he received almost $300,000 from the pharmaceutical companies. we will get a response. guest: the obvious answer here it is the expense. such a great health care plan that congress has, even some in the military might be very happy with their plans. it is just extremely expensive. to provide that for every single american a think would be beyond the means of what this current

government can do. guest: the book i mentioned with dean and myself, we say that the conservatives lose their principles on the free market when it comes to help her. progressive say to put a public auction on the table and let people choose. choose which option as in the federal plan, that the blood. there is a dichotomy between poll numbers -- 72% believe in a public auction, compared with what goes on in the senate which is a little debating society of its own. often one gets lost in the senate and try to buy votes and win people over is that they lose sight of what is going on out in america. one never hears to make sure that the senate debating society

does not lose sight of the fact that there is this public sentiment. host: faiz shakir is the editor in chief of the in progress. what is the affiliation of it? guest: we are affiliated with a liberal think tank that is about 200 employees. we advocate for many progressive reforms. think progress is the official blog. we have been in existence for about four years. we are rapid response blog that puts out all kinds of stories over the course of the day rebutting conservative myths, putting out progressive stances on things. host: real clear politics came to light in 2000. what is it doing now in terms of the coverage of the administration and congress? guest: one of our most popular things is to track all polls for presidential and congressional approval. we average the numbers of although in a mix of one clear

number that people can look at. host: when you hear faiz shakir say about the poll of members on healthcare and it does not resonate in the senate, the fund that in other cases also? -- do find that in other cases also? guest: a suddenly find that republicans will find one poll that matches their rhetoric and use that one even at three others say something else -- that is the great thing about us, is that we average those and get one crude number. host: are there too many out there? guest: yes, there were quite a few in 2008. if you want to the page for the obama/mccain horse race you to about 15. host: you had an article back in april at about the 100-day mark for the prison. it said that gop transitions to super-minority, what does that

mean? guest: if al franken becomes the next leader, and means they would have 60 seats in the senate which is how much you need to pass legislation you want. and also it means that they have a huge majority in the house. to me that is a super-minority. host: can either view here at 8:00 a.m. on the east coast give us an update on al franken? guest: it is said that he may be seated if the court battle drags on forever. hopefully he is open to pressure from minnesota. they are largely winning for the court to have its final say. host: about another half hour concerning the present, the white house, congress. good morning, california. caller: it seems to me that

advocates of global warming think the debate is over. it really is not. the case for global warming is not based on science. instead it is the statistical correlation in computer models that global warming is human- caused. the alternative as a clinician is that temperatures in the planet are caused by solar activity. you have a correlation of warming on other planets, principally a mars, that correlates with the temperature changes on earth. i'm wondering if the progressive gentleman can provide me with the press was the argument that rebuts this, or perhaps just point me to upset. guest: i would tell you about the most renowned body of international experts on the issue of global warming that has

come to determination that the signs is in and we need to take immediate action to address a. it is not this inter- governmental body alone, but nasa, and a whole body of u.s. experts who have all determined that this is real, happening, and you need to take action to confront the fact dead man is causing further emissions that degrade our environment and potentially will cause huge ramifications for our weather patterns and all the kinds of resources we pay into try to avert them as in hurricane katrina, though fires and the west, and so on. these issues must be confronted and they happen more and more. host: next, on the democrats' line. . .

they don't talk about the structure of it and have some cross will be eliminated. we really need a health care program. my son had open heart surgery when he was a baby, and we were on cobra, but even on cobra paying $366 a month in the 1980's, that on the cover my

son, we still ended up paying $10,000. host: how to fix that? guest: you have heard president obama talk about that. to keep people out of an emergency rooms. i think that is part of what happened with tobacco regulation bill. guest: there needs to be a lot of personal responsibility in health care. if you are not doing your part to ensure that you are watching your weight and taking measures to make sure that your health is good, the costs will be borne by all of us. people need to take a certain

responsibility. another thing is that it is important that we have care, you see it through out people who need the care the most, and you see they have been neglected by the system. we have to insure that visiting physicians don't get to a point where it comes so devastating that they take on huge costs and require such care. host: right of you -- both of you right youwrite, there is an article this morning that says that the journalism rules in terms of the coverage of iran, they say the use of unverified video and other sources during the coverage of the street

demonstrations in tirana, tiranatehantehran, how does that you as reporters? guest: the huffington post has been covering this and doing an excellent job. a lot of that is using a twitter feet, something we did not have a few years ago. there is a lot of reliance on people from the inside. host: the white house came into a lot of criticism at the news conference last week. guest: he is to be my deputy.

journalism is shifting and we have new players on the system. we have a huge audience. we have a seat at the table in terms of demanding information from the administration. many in the society of journalism who feel like the tables should be small enough for company only, are feeling as if the rules of the game are changing. host: some of that bank was on display at the news conference after the president's news conference. >> i have a procedural question about yesterday. what led to your decision to ask the president a question, what

kind of a message do you think that sends to the american people about the kind of free flow and you're questioning at a presidential news conference? >> it did nothing more than two _ that free flow. -- underscore that free flow. you and virtually every one of your outlets has done the same thing. in this country, we enjoy the freedom of the press. in iran, your colleagues have been dismissed. they have been kicked out. some of them have been rounded up. there are journalists that can speak for the iranian people, but the president was -- take a

question from an iranian. >> could you accomplish that without you guys putting someone through here? >> the answer to that would have been no. them is this going to become a regular feature of the president's news conferences? bring people in here that you select to ask questions? >> let's be clear here. there was no guarantee that a question -- a question are would be picked. there was no idea of what the exact question would be. i will let you down easily. the number of questions you all asked.

iran dominate the news conference, not surprisingly. i think it was important and the president thought it was important to take a question important to take a question using the very same method that i do not -- i will not make apologies for that. host: the questioner referred to him as a designated hitter. guest: yes, they called him the night before and said, we might be interested in a question from an iranian. he got a great question directly from an iranian. he sent an e-mail out and sought questions from people directly from iran. the problem was that is that americans come to watch a press conference and expect a spontaneous exchanges between reporters and the white house.

the white house pre-arranged this thing. that is why many journalists were upset with this. even though it was well- intentioned on both sides, i think it is not exactly the right venue for that. >> we always see the president reading off names of people he seemingly preselected. guest: yes, and the ap knows it will get the first question that almost every press conference. the white house and the ap often know what that question will be. host: how do they know this? guest: because what is going on in the news that particular day. iran on that given day was a top agenda item. the one thing that is getting lost here is that nico asked a difficult question. he did not give a response as to whether -- under what conditions

he would accept a ahmadinejad. he was able to ask the question that the regular press was and a position to ask because of the type of work that he has been doing. it was not as soft-ball question. host: will we see more of this? guest: i don't think so. host: our republican from michigan is next kerik calle. caller: this says -- congress has done nothing -- the passing of the bill the ramification on corporations. all on something that is not

proven yet. it is like the old fable, you tell a lie enough times and it becomes true. we are ready to hand over responsibility of our health care to the government. host: your thoughts? guest: the president said he is expecting unemployment race to -- and employment rates to rise to 11%. if you look at the polls, the public policy agenda of the president is to confront the problems that we face. the stimulus w about asserting a government role and addressing these problems. the private part has failed. host: florida on the independent

line. caller: thank you for having me on. my main question and concern about is merrick -- america itself is that right now, americans say they want to go energy-efficient and green, why do we just don't improve or invest in more solar power, wind, and that will create more jobs. the bill that will pass will limit more jobs. even like myself, it may end up putting me out of work. i work at a health-care group. even with the medical bill that they are passing, i don't foresee myself with the job in the next two years, because it may put my doctors out of business. host: economic concerns on this

energy bill? guest: yes. the main argument from republicans is we are shipping jobs overseas to china and india. i think the democrats would counter that argument by saying that will be creating some in the new jobs and the transition this to happen. it might as well happen now. host: 8 your rights when it comes to the passing of a bill, the issue of lobbying comes up. americans can see that lobbying is making it -- playing a major role in critic -- in stopping this legislation. is the rule of law being changed? guest: it has continued to grow and become a major problem. the lobbyists are trying to influence both democrats and

republicans. they have been trying to persuade members of the republican and democratic parties to a boat -- oppose obama's agenda. this is true also on tap and trade. a lot of the energy and coal lobbyists as well as others are fighting vigorously to oppose measures pushed by of them -- democrats. that is the main obstacle. host: st. louis on our democrats line. caller: that argument is the most painful thing i've ever heard. he is a journalist and he as a journalist question. i want to go back to the emissions question.

with global warming, we know republicans don't even believe in the science. my question is, what is it they believe happens to the missions? does it just go into the air and disappear? i would like to hear from the conservative on the panel to answer that please. host: i don't know if you want to between the two of you. guest: i'm not sure they know where the emissions go. they say they want to push for a clean and healthy environment. i think the main thing they were arguing against was first of all, the cost. all these intricate details that many of the of members of congress did not even read, and the fact that a number of these jobs that people are in will be

-- companies will move to china and india for cheaper labor. the emission standards are not as high there. host: another capitol hill store happening in detroit. the wife of john conyers pled guilty to bribery in detroit on friday. are there any political ramifications for the john conyers? guest: it is probably too soon to assess. a large part of it will depend on how closely involved in these efforts john converse -- john conyers was paired we don't know the answer to that yet. host: what stories are you reading about this week? guest: she has her own political career. possibility that those were intermingled, we don't know that yet.

he is in a pretty safe district for himself. host: you posted a story about immigration, saying it is time for the heavy lifting to begin. how realistic is it? guest: it is probably at the height of the greatest possibility of getting reform done. a lot of republicans agree, and learned a lesson about opposing immigration last time. politically, it costs them a great deal. this is not a community they can ostracize. immigration reform needs to be accomplished, you cannot continue to allow 12 million undocumented workers

underground without forcing them to become a legal immigrants without some fashion or another. it will be important to have this immigration community who can serve in many of the roles that we will need, some of the low income rose that the economy will need to move on and get stronger. host: pennsylvania on our republican line. caller: you opened the show with --. i think they should abolish it. it simply does not work. the gay community itself does not do itself justice when giving cause for getting equal ross -- rights.

the gay community, especially during world war ii tens of thousands were used for target practice, medical experiments, and the rest were basically gas. it was illegal for two people of the same sex to be basically dancing together, walking together down the street holding hands, going into the aids crisis, their mates didn't even have the ability to be involved in their mates medical care. guest: the roll call this morning and, by gay-rights activists have protested the president failure to act on don't ask, don't tell. guest: the poll numbers are on a very different side than where the administration and congress

are. the poll numbers on this issue, peeper are supporting it out -- supporting of it, particularly when they see it in their daily lives. it should not apply in the military. the one thing that seems to be a hurdle is the administration and congress don't want to engage on social and cultural issues. it is a miscalculation to suggest that we should not report on this, the security arguments are there. people are already way ahead of this. host: sugar land, texas, on the democrats' line. caller: in the last two years it was brought out that the oil

companies -- the republicans said we need to sell these refineries. congress had the fought -- five top oil companies come in, and they said they did not want to build any new refineries. but in india they are building some type of super refinery that will provide gas to lots of different countries. name me some of your people know about that. but remember, on the prescription drug benefit, congress was forbidden to try to get the best price for medicare. thank you. host: drilling for more domestic energy production, is this part of the energy package and was produced? guest: no. not that i know of. certainly, they do want to produce more energy within our

borders, but i don't think drilling for more oil is the key component in that energy legislation. host: on another political store, gov. mark sanford last week in the revelation of his affair with a woman from argentina. south carolina's governor's wife@@@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence that they need to be electing more women. what are some of the political fallout from this for the republicans and for politicians in general? guest: well, it is hard to get

beyond the hypocrisy. the governor was reeling against governor clinton in the late 1990's and is now having those same types of issues. one of the things that bothers me that is often lost is the fact it gov. sanford was somebody not doing a particularly good jobs for his constituents. south carolina's record unemployment numbers are in now. he was at the forefront of rejecting stimulus funds of the obama administration had been pushing. the and women rate amongst minority populations in south carolina -- the unemployment rate amongst minority populations in south carolina is extremely high. what we saw from gov. sanford, both on the affair issue and on the stimulus issue, is that he was politically grandstanded. he was simply taking positions that reflected a moral code that he wanted to use to sell as political gamesmanship. it is not something he actually believed. that is the problem