lot the last century. you hand that very well, we just threw that on your lap. thank you for joining us. louis back tomorrow. among his guests, congressm des. please join melissa francis and me every day at 4:00. kennedy: the republicans have a list of goals for 2018. but will they be able to rein in spending? 18 states raise the minimum wage for 2018. republicans are scurrying to solidify their agenda as they launch head long into this early year with tax cuts putting wind in their sales. they are eager for more victories. but their schizophrenic wish

list and a massive spending push could undo the goodwill from the tax cuts. paul ryan wants to pretend he cares about the debt and deficit and he's gum flapping about the entitlement cuts that are needed to keep economy afloat. mitch mcconnell is pushing for a trillion dollar infrastructure package. bridges are great. but when you can't pay for them one ends up sleeping under them. i understand the allure of infrastructure spending. it's like taking nancy pelosi to an all you can drink chardonnay trough. democrats can't say no to a blank check. the democrats see this as a fiscal bathhouse where they get to massage their corporate

cronies. so what will both parties do when they run like cowards from real spending cuts to cool the inefficient programs like medicare but embrace infrastructure spending like they just won the lottery. happy new year, glad you are here. i'm kennedy. congress has to pass another spending bill by january 19 to keep the government running, but lawmakers are eyeing an infrastructure deal with immigration reform and obamacare repeal and so much more. what should they tackle first? let me bring in the blaze tv host lawrence jones. happy new year. let's talk about this.

mitch mcconnell wants the start with infrastructure spending. i think it's a bad idea. where should they start in. >> they should start with a balanced budget amendment. there is no excuse why they can't get that done. i understand washington has a problem with spending. i know there is a lot of things to tackle. but at the end of the day a lot of that money will be left with my generation. would i like to see the republicans have a backbone and, you know, hold on to what they told the american people, they were going to get spending under control. kennedy: you have republican statists like susan collins who make that impossible in the senate. everyone is saddling up to that same trough it's a recipe for disaster. when we increase spending at the same time we are cutting taxes, you are right, you are not on

putting the economy in immediate peril, but saddling generations with this long-term debt. >> that's exactly right. i think you brilliantly laid it out in your monologue. that's my problem with infrastructure. i believe we need to repair our roads. that's something the government should do. but at the end of the day if we can't pay for it, that's a problem for me. what we have known the government to do. a lot of their buddies get the deal. it takes them a long time to gets things done. the unions seem to have more control than anybody. it scares me when i hear republicans and the president saying let's work with democrats to get this done. it seems like a never ending credit card that will be left for my generation to pay for it. kennedy: i think immigration is a much better place to have a

bipartisan deal. i think you will find pragmatic common ground between the two parties. at least the rational members of the parties. some people say $200 million will come from the federal government and the rest will dproment private sector. when the government builds something it costs twice as much as it does in the private sector. >> they don't know how to do business. in the private sector there will be competition for those bids. they will find a way of doing it cheaply and still make a profit of their own. they will handle the day-to-day operations. we'll know a begin date and end date. that's not the typical way government operates. that's why i think the private

sector would be better suited for this task. kennedy: have a wonderful start to your new year. can't wait to see you back in new york. the trump agenda is sure to face opposition from democrats on the hill. but an independent senator from vermont promised to be a thorn in the president's side in the new year. bernie sanders stayed up past his bedtime saying here is a new years resolution i hope you will share with me. we'll intensify the struggle against trumpism, we'll increase efforts to spread the progressive vision in every corner of the land. how much of a problem will bernie be for president trump? let me bring in republican

strategist, and jehmu greene. >> i saw three penguins walk inside. pageons were flying. let's talk about bernie sanders. everyone's favorite socialist. i think this trolling rhetoric is setting himself up for 2020. what do you think? >> i think there are plenty of democrats who hope bernie sanders exits sage left. but the centrists in the party cubs we will have to come together to do what we need to do in 2018.

it's time for the next generation and next gender of leadership. we are seeing a surge of new candidates, especially women who saw donald trump get elected and thought i can do that. kennedy: the bar is so low, even an idiot like me can get elected. >> god love him for pushing progressive and socialist causes. bernie sanders would say after seeing "titanic" and say we should go on a cruise. the country isn't as far left as the party has gotten. the party has gotten hijacked. kennedy: i fee jehmu's frustrat.

>> you can't win running on the idea trump is bad. the issues matter. the economy, isis, things like that. kennedy: i want to bring noelle in. >> bernie sanders is playing to his base just like trump plays to his base. this could be kind of a test to see how many people will be rallying behind that base. it's uncertain where the millenials are going. kennedy: they love bernie sanders. he's not a member of the democratic party. and he's against government surveillance. he's an interesting mission and he's elder than dirt. >> the stage is set for twitter

again. twitter will be full fledge going. this is how people will tart getting their message out. kennedy: if bernie sanders had not been railroaded by the dnc, and been able to run a legitimate campaign on level ground with hillary clinton and got the nomination would he have beat donald trump? kennedy: would bernie sanders have beat donald trump? >> no. i do not believe senator sanders would have beaten donald trump. especially since this was the first time he was participating in a democratic primary. you have to put a d by your name to expect hard-core democrats to come out and support you. hillary clinton also made history. and i have no interest -- i have

no interest in 2018 to tint rewriting of history. kennedy: your party has to figure it out and move forward. so far they haven't done that. >> folks on the left need more centrist democrats. >> they couldn't even figure it out after they lost the election. you ran for dnc chair and they had to elect two. they had a chair and co-chair. they couldn't get it together to elect one. >> i believe -- if we are talking about -- >> on this panel we are talking about the ins and outs of the dnc, then the democrats are losing. kennedy: i would love to talk

about economic populism. we are talking about the minutia and strategy. we find it endlessly fascinating. meanwhile the president is showing no signs of tweeting less in the new year. he sent out a series of tweets. it's one of his frequent targets that is causing a stir. former fbi director james comey tweeted let's hope 2018 brings more ethical leadership, focused on the truth and lasting values. copy tweeted out, let justice roll down like the waters. the doj inspector general is

investigating the fbi's probe of fbi. should the former lawman take a step back? >> i read the tweet. is there a twitter button that is who asked you. calling for more ethical leadership in washington after finding out what we have about this probe. trump could never damage the credibility of the doj the way they have damaged it themselves. if harvey weinstein tweeted we need to treat women better in hollywood. kennedy: you despised him. if he was fbi director in the hillary clinton administration. >> never use the word despise as

it relates to comeyer mueller or the justice department or fbi. the reason i was shake my head. i hope in 2018 we stop responding to every single tweet of the president. kennedy: i'm calling him out as a hypocrite. he's talk about unethical leadership and he's unethical. >> what is wrong with any american citizen saying we need ethical leadership in d.c. kennedy: it's hypocrisy. that's the job of this american is to call out the absurdity and hypocrisy of both sides. >> it's an ongoing investigation and it's getting ready to kick into high gear. being jim comey, i don't think i would tweet anything. i think i would say off social media. i would not be doing anything. it increases trump tweets him

back. kennedy: neither of them should be even ganging. >> you would think a guy who spent a month investigating anthony weiner would know something about twitter retweets. >> can we agree ethical leadership is something we need more of in d.c.? kennedy: i don't want al franken to lecture me on how not to grope people. violence continues on the streets of iran where demonstrators are protesting the oppressive regime.

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kennedy: the anti-government protests in iran are causing the president to go on twitter. in true trump fashion web also accused the pakistani government of take our money and quote

playing us for fools. he already has a handful with north korea. can he afford to pick more fights? joining mow is bryan suits. so let's contrast these two administrations and their response to protests in iran. what do you see? >> it's funny because the administration just released a statement contrasting specifically the doubling down of the members of obama from the 2009 protests in iran. and the trump administration specifically said our policy is a 180 from the previous administration. what i infer is they will probably begin incue baiting a

nation's revolution. i think they are behind the 8-ball. i think this an organic thing. the watershed moment you should be looking for is when security forces stop battling the crowds. and this apparently happened yesterday. when you see military units, not revolutionary guard. but military units turning on the government or at least not motion down the crowd. kennedy: this is a different climate than it was in 2009 with it was middle class employed people raising voices against the regime. now you have workers frustrated and near 30% unemployment and rising inflation. they can't afford to buy basic goods. you have to think that the military is part of that group of people who fist frustrated with the government. >> there is the draftees in the army and air force and navy,

then there is the revolutionary guard. the rank and file regular army and the people of iran, organically are rising up. this is different from 2009. because this is almost instantaneously across the country. there were very few protests in the far east in 2009. now you have police who are siding with the demonstrators. you have police walking away from vans full of detainees. they are letting them be liberated by crowds. religious schools are being burned. it might be whatever we do is just an effect. i'm not expecting democracy to show up. but this might be over. kennedy: who is more in jeopardy here, rouhani or theocracy? >> rouhani.

the joke played on the american media. just because a man is called president doesn't mean's in power. just like ahmadinejad. >> i tolla khomeini runs the -- the. >> ayatollah * khomeini runs the country. it has done nothing but enhance corruption. bryan suits, thank you so much. coming up, democrats optimistic about taking control of congress. howard kurtz joins me next.

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34 senate seats up for grabs. 26 of which are held by the dems. the republicans have 239 seats. they need to hold 218 to remain in the majority.

former hillary clinton campaign manager has advice for democratic hopefuls, forget about russia. is mook right? should democrats give up on the russia probe? joining me now, howard kurtz. host of "mediabuzz." how big of a shift in strategy is this when you have got a talking point generator like robbie mook saying we should forget about the investigation. >> it would be a shift in strategy if they were willing to take advice from hillary clinton's campaign manager. they somehow are still believing if they can just keep attacking the president that gets them off the hook for offering their own

agenda. kennedy: is there any sign that strategy is working or making purchase with voters? >> i don't think there is much. these investigations have seemingly gone on forever. a lot of people are seemingly tuning out. we are seeing some charges brought by robert mueller. but we are not seeing the there there. i think by the time november of 2018 rolls around, the economy and healthcare and immigration will be much more salient issues than this endless morass of the russian investigation. kennedy: you have people in the party saying just that. if they want to make it big kinds of gains the opposition party normally makes. they have to have more of a message. if the economy keeps going in that direction, who is look speaking for? >> i think he's speaking for the

hillary clinton types. the somewhat more moderate. not the bernie sanders wing, for example. and i think it makes sense. but if you look at what hillary did in 2016, she ran upon donald trump is a scary guy who is going to ruin america. it was very hard to put on a bumper sticker what her mess damage was. democrats don't have a compelling economic message. i think it will fall flat. you can't just be against somebody, even if that somebody is toxic to your base. kennedy: they have to do a better job of saying president obama created this environment, that's why you have got this up stieblg for the economy, or say we like winning even more than the republicans and here is how we are going to make your life bert. but saying republicans are bad

just for the sake of republicans when the employment outlook is bert. >> they don't necessarily need to pile on in a major way. what they have to show is if in there are were running the house. here are the things they would push that connect to voters' lives. they have got to win those voters back if they want to pick up some of those seats in the not so bluff states. kennedy: we'll see where this thing goes. the investigation and the politics that follow. howard, thank you so much. actress deb contract messing is taking a stands about sitting. and she has the nerve to do it while attending a home game for my bestlofd new york rangers. she took to instagram to show a

picture of her 14-year-old son sitting during a game with the washington capitals. the now deleted post says her son asked to protest and she was moved to tears with pride. but she ended her caption with black lives matter. to fans asked her if herston was old enough to fully understand what he was protesting? should rangers fans start chanting messings sucks. joining me, jimmy failla and gentlemen muff green. here is a privileged child who has groin in a bubble i'm guessing mass no idea what he's talking about. >> i think he may because of how she ended her tweet. i know that this protest has been completely perverted by the

president and perverted by the right. but does this young child understand he was initially protesting colin kaepernick because of systemic oppression within the criminal justice system. criminal justice reform is a solution. better training of our law enforcement is a solution. kennedy: meet with law enforcement and try to come up with policies. >> i think that will be a part of the actual by product. -- by-product of these protests. >> if you are going to protest at a hockey game. protest the beer prices.

but i want to say this to debra messing. ken center try skating backwards. >> what's funny about this particular issue. is will and grace is note as being the whitest sitcom ever. if you imbd this you will be 200 cast members down before you found a black person. she is not out there fighting for the improvement in black lives. kennedy: if she had flown over to tehran to engage in some of those meaningful protests because she is so brave. >> i don't blame the 14-year-old boy for being childish. i blame debra messing to not use this as a teachable moment for her son. kennedy: it's a token gesture

that accomplishes nothing from an insincere person. >> she did this with megyn kelly, too. >> i agree with the incredible irjames walden who says he loves his country so much it's for that reason he insists on cite sizes it perpetually. that's how every young fern -- kennedy: they come off as patriotic. i love the country so as much we are going to pay some of our bills. coming up. liberals rejoice as 18 states across america raise the minimum wage. john stossel explains next. your insurance company won't

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kennedy: 18 states across the country saw some level of a min number wage increase yesterday. some have automatic measures to track inflation. washington state has the highest minimum wage in the country. $11.50 despite the recent study

showing the average low-wage worker lost $120 a month due to the minimum wage increase. are the hikes hurting the people they are supposed to be helping? let's talk with john stossel and find out all about this. the legislators believe the federal government has to come in and build a ceiling. they are building a ceiling as well because that's all anyone will ever make. no one will get a wage increase once everyone is making the same thing. who is pushing for this effort? bernie sanders? john: bernie sanders says it will save billions of dollars but it's naive. the problem is for every person that gets a raise, more people will be hurt in some way.

it's just harder to see that damage. people who never get hired. the businesses that automate instead of hiring people. that's true of farm subsidies. the family leave requirement. you can see the person who gets helped. but you can't see the women of pregnancy possible age. you see all the laws i have to understand. i will just hire men. i want to hire the disabled. but if i hire this person, i can never fire him. kennedy: the cost of compliance has become so prohibitive. john: which is why the market is moving because donald trump said we can't take it all away, but we are going to stop adding to it. kennedy: so far he has been

scaling back two regulations for every one passed. he basically said you hurt poor people, the people who have the hardest time entering the job market. they are the ones hurt most of. now liberal economists are looking at this law data, including the employment policies. they looked at a california study that shows by 2022 there will be a 400,000 net loss in that state. john: they are across knowledging it. if you can't live on $7 but 10 is okay. why not $20? you can't mandate this stuff. also what people don't get, how many people do you think get the minimum wage now? what do you think it is? 5%. so most of workers are paid more than the minimum wage because

the employers sees they have to do it for competition reasons. kennedy: people who get into the market for the first time make the minimum wage and they will be reliant on food stamps and other government programs because they can't get work to begin with when you have the fight for $15. which ising a started by the s.e.i.u. >> a kid can go to an employer and say i am willing to work now, give me a try. that would be legal and that would be good. kennedy: just because it's legal doesn't mean it's good. but in this case there is too much government. it hurts people it's meant to help. in has to be some sanity in place. with people like bernie sanders gearing up for another presidential run.

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kennedy: a cnn reporter is being criticized for lighting up marijuana during the new year's eve covering. but it came in handy because it made their conspiracy theories about the president seem more believable. it was better than the kook on fox news who dressed up like kathy griffin. whoever that chick was had serious issues. we begin in the great state of california. marijuana was only legal for one day and it's already seeing effects. this guy was trying to do a back flip. and he pulled it off. almost doesn't count except for

horse shoes. fortunately his friend were there to laugh at him and mick his medicinal marijuana with his recreational marijuana. we can all agree it's about type we had something to slow down traffic in los angeles. up until now people were whizzing down the 405. topic number two. let's head down to the glorious jersey shore if for no other reason to to raise tour collective self-esteem. the locals decided to go for a swim as temperatures plunged below zero. these people are being accused of showing horrible judgment. but what do you expect from a

town that based its entire economy on elvis and escorts. it's way safer than walking the atlantic city boardwalk. the atlanta city boardwalk is where seal team six goes get scared. it's not true, they end up there the same way everyone's does, through a series of poor choices. the national championship game with third-ranged georgia take on fourth ranked alabama. it's even bigger news for the nerds who sell them their term papers. odds makers expect the crimson tide to roll over the bulldogs. they will try to win their first championship in 38 years. the last time georgia won a

title roy moore's girlfriends' parents weren't even born yet. georgia will be huge favorites because the game is being played in atlanta's mercedes-benz stadium which is just 70 miles from their campus. with traffic problems, some fans have already left for the game. next time they should tailgate after they get there. topic number four. a lot of people experience tattoo regrets the day after new year's eve. no one was madder than rumor willis after they won dancing with the stars. i'm exaggerating. like the producers do when they refer to the cast as stars.

but rumor has it that. she walks down to the tattoo parlor and made his image disappear. oh, gosh, i have got to hide. mayfield is a heisman trophy winning quarterback who lost yesterday. a playoff is something you go to after your team wins a bunch of games. ask your parents. topic number five. jack in the box is trying to take advantage of california's new liberal pot laws by selling value meals.

apparently they had no idea everybody who eats at jack in the box is already stoned. this would be like if dungeons and dragons started marketing to virgins. each married munchy meal sold for $4.20. it comes in curly freeze, church ohs, crispy chicken strips, and if you finish it they will throw in a free t-shirt to wear in the pool. it's called merry jane. it was founded by snoop dogg after he got a hot stock tip from his palomar thank stuart. who needs bitcoin when you have got hit coin.

sales began yesterday and they are expected to spike thursday when 80% of americans quit their new year's diet. i will tell you what i'm motivated about in the "nightcap." they came out of nowhere, sir! how many of 'em? we don't know. dozens. all right! let's teach these freaks some manners! good luck out there, captain! thanks! but i don't need luck, i have skills... i don't have my keys. (on intercom) all hands. we are looking for the captain's keys again. they are on a silver carabiner. oh, this is bad. as long as people misplace their keys, you can count on geico saving folks money. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. when a achoo!alls... ...answer it. with zicam cold remedy. it shortens colds, so you get better, faster.

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kennedy: do you know what today is? for many people it's the first date new year they are not hung over. that's why january 2 was chosen by congress as motivation and inspiration day. are you a slob who can't seem to shove anything in your pie hole but grease and garbage? on this day you are supposed to call that person and thank them for being parole model. resolutions are dumb because all they do is set you up for failure. instead of having some big plan like lose weight. is it suppose to magic all fall out of your briefcase on your way to the buffet. have an actual goal like i'm

going to walk a 5k race, then a 10k. then you can grow a beard and run across the country like forrest gump. but 80% are broken within six weeks. any time you fall off your greasy wagon you can go ahead and get back on it with the next meal you eat. i don't ware what anyone says. i believe in you. i know you are smarter than make some dumb list to move your body, eat something healthy and stop torturing yourself so you can have an actual happy new year. you can follow me on instagram and twitter. and email me at kennedyfbn@foxbusiness.com.

happy new year. so glad to be back in the solid. glad you are riding with me. good night. c) (announcer) the following is a paid advertisement for time life presents the '60s. ♪ ♪ come on, people now ♪ smile on your brother ♪ everybody get together ♪ try to love one another right now ♪ (announcer) the '60s was an era marked by an explosion of a counter culture that shaped an entire generation. ♪ i wanna take you higher (energetic music) ♪ i want to take you higher ♪ it's the time of the season for loving ♪ ♪ to everything, turn, turn, turn ♪