>> production assistance for "inside washington" was provided by allbritton communications and "politico," reporting on the legislative, executive, and political arena. >> production assistance for "inside washington" was provided by allbritton communications and "politico," reporting on the legislative, executive, and political arena. >> we have come to take our government back. >> i am not recommending it that every creature president take the shellacking like i did last night. >> this week on "inside washington," election 2010. would we go from here? >> our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny president obama second term.

>> what are voters telling us? is the president listening now? >> we were in such a hurry to get things done that we did not change how things got done. i think that frustrated people. what does the future hold for sarah palin, tea party kingmaker? >> it is a shake-up. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> the pendulum swings again. it swept republicans out of power in 2006 and 2008 and brings them back into power in the house of representatives and reduces the size of the democratic majority in the senate. what are voters trying to tell us? >> i want to talk substantively about how we can move the american people's agenda

forward. >> there seems to be at some dial on the part of the president and democratic leaders of the message sent by the american people. when you add up the most historic election in over 60 or 70 years, you would think that the other party would understand that the american people have repudiated the policies they put forward the last two years. >> at the american people repudiated the policies of the obama administration and the democrats in congress over the past seven w o years, charles? >> absolutely what happened to it is an idea-driven election, where the country said they did not want obamacare, they didn't want the stimulus, and they certainly didn't want cap-and- trade, which were the three major items. they spoke loudly on that. any a democrat and thinks it was not about ideas and policy and

hyper liberalism is whistling and the dark and will be defeated in 2000 for all. >> -- 2012. >> colby? >> a hallmark feature of our show is the quest for truth, and let me contribute to that. 62% of the people who voted cited the economy as the number- one concern, and the inability of congress to address that problem over the next couple of years. health care had a 47% of the people saying that reform should either be kept or extended, 49 said it ought to be repealed. you did not hear the judgment that we hear from other people. that spoke the truth. >> nina? >> i think it is complicated. there were lots of reasons there was a different electorate this time, partly because the the

enthusiasm gap. part of it is the reasons that charles mentioned. and there were real failures by the obama administration in doing the politics. i don't think it was just a question of messaging. it was a question of how they did politics for two years, in addition to some of the ideological differences. >> evan? >> obama just needed to communicate better -- i don't think that's as it. polls show that the country is still right of center, slightly, but it is right of center. the democrats have lost particularly working people who do not believe in government. >> mark, your take? >> democrats lost the middle of the country and the electorate and most importantly, white middle-class voters. for the press time in the middle of an economic catastrophe, they -- the first time in the middle

of an economic catastrophe, they voted republican. i think the republicans won because they were not democrats. there is no doubt as a republican idea that comes out of the select -- there is no galvanizing republican idea that comes out of this election. >> for the record, in addition to taking over the house and never win the majority in the senate, republicans -- narrowing the majority in the senate, republicans now control many state legislatures. >> the change in the state legislatures is historic. in the watergate year, the democratic sweep was 630 could there was a galvanizing idea in this election, and it was not republican, it was a democratic idea. expanded government, intrusion into everything, health care, energy, and the republicans did not have a great philosophical

answer. all they said was no, and all you had to say was no, and they were rewarded. >> 2/3 of democrats said that the government needs to do more. with the numbers like that, how do you reach consensus? >> like some others are saying, there is a philosophical divide to the republicans and democrats on to issues. i think what really hurts is not only unemployment numbers, but also the question of the deficit, the large numbers. they did not explain why the the buses were necessary given the circumstances. -- why the deficits were necessary given the circumstances. >> the democrats really do need to move center to win, but they also need to appease their base,

which wants them to move left. the republicans have an infusion of people who want to move hard right. at the same time, if they do that, they could lose the election. >> who did not show up for democrats, evan? >> young people, black people, people who got obama elected. >> twice as many voters were over the age of 65 in 2010 as there were under the age of 30. it had been the berbers and 2008, when there were more -- it had been the reverse in 2008, where there were more voters under 29. advertising campaign of the republican party to voters over the age of 65 was "democrats want to cut $5.2 billion out of medicare." pradesh and medicare, balance the budget -- pro-medicare,

balance the budget -- >> disgraceful demagoguery by the republicans on medicare. >> of course if republicans win is disgraceful. i know that is the axiom on at the show. a brilliant social scientist in "the new republic" did a brilliant analysis of the election, or he said there was a slight increase in the numbers of the aging, but even if you look out for that, you get a huge sweep. there was an 8% change in the ideology of independence. independence were moderates became 8% -- independences who were moderates became a 8% more conservative. democrats had a plus 17 of independents in 2006 and -16 -- >> you are right about the swing

of independents. but the republicans were chambliss, charles, about medicare -- shameless, charles, about medicare -- >> if you want to have an argument about shamelessness, we could spend half an hour on the democrats -- >> so you agree about medicare ri. >> jerry brown won in a difficult year for democrats because of the latino vote. it is increasingly important in this country, and the republicans have alienated by supporting the candidacy of tom tancredo in colorado. >> here comes marco rubio to change that. >> what unites house republicans is the agenda of the american people. if we are listening to the american people, i don't see any problems incorporating members of the tea party along with our party in the quest that is

really the same. they want to cut spending and focus on creating jobs in america. >> evan, can the tea party folks get house trained, so to speak? >> everybody has to get honest about this. yes, cut government spending, but where is entitlement spending? -- where is government spending? it is entitlements. >> ken john boehner keep these folks in line, mark? >> john boehner has the most difficult job in washington could have the voters on tuesday identified -- half the voters on tuesday identified more with the tea party that the republican party. they will come here seeking immediate gratification. the what to expand the statutory budget limit -- they will have to expand a separate budget limit in spring did that but there were coming to close the

government. -- they thought they were coming to close the government. >> one who was interviewed at npr said that we could have a continuing resolution and not close the government while we negotiate the interviewer said, "what about the debt limit?" "oh, i am never going to vote to increase the debt limit. never, never, never." >> two words, colby -- subpoena power. >> they are going to lay the case through subpoenas for the things they want to do, whether it is cleaning up parts of the health-care bill. $100 billion i guess will be their first shot up cutting.

they will get cuts in there. newt gingrich has said that we ought to do the first is the health care repeal bill -- that what we ought to do the first is the health care repeal bill, and do it up and down, and keep doing it and keep doing it. >> extending tax cuts for everybody, and reducing spending. how do you do that? >> i think the tax cuts will be extended for sure. i don't think there's any question about that. the spending issue will have to do with entitlements. i am not sure it will happen in the next two years. a presidential election is coming up. george bush gives the state of the union address in 2005 where he proposes a modest change in the structure to allow private accounts and he gets completely destroyed by nancy pelosi and the democrats. dead on arrival. it is a message -- don't try it, particularly with a presidential

election coming up. on the subpoena power, to double things happen on election -- two things happen, election night. there were a lot of shredders going, and chuck schumer removed his shoe lace adult. he is the biggest loser of the year. >> what about governing? >> forget it over the next two years there will not be any government. they might do something with education, possibly three. -- education, possibly. >> mitch mcconnell -- did somebody put truth serum in his glenelg? he said to major garrett and he said on television -- "only one

thing we're here for, to stop obama." one other point on the tax cuts. tax cuts do not pay for themselves. tax cuts do not pay for themselves. honest republicans and conservatives acknowledge this and is one testimony before congress -- acknowledged this in sworn testimony before congress. >> regardless of what mcconnell said, the president has invited congressional leaders to the white house. while they reach compromise on anything? -- will they reach compromise on anything? >> normally the opposition party does not have to do anything. they just have to say no. but they ran so hard on something more than saying now. cutting the budget, possibly repealing health care. or at least changing it.

i think they will have to do something. i'm not sure what obama is willing to do and what they are willing to do. >> on extending the bush tax cuts, they probably will do something there. people earning over $250,000 -- maybe it will be over $1 million. there will get some kind of agreement. i am not sure it is a good thing. >> what are two years -- >> it is a temporary extension -- >> peter orszag recommended a two-year extension for everybody, and then you reconsider. >> the lame duck session is when you get to the real -- >> that may be difficult a lame- duck. >> i am so tired of picking on millionaires. somebody has to stick up for them prep -- stick up for them. i did this time all of us -- i

think it is time all of us paid the republican party platform is a two-story economics. tax cuts as long as the i can see, and we are going to cut budget and balance the budget, but not do anything about medicare or social security. and oh, my goodness, we need more defense. >> political consultants and the rest of this panel will think i'm nuts, but the one thing obama can do is to say that the republicans are absolutely dreaming with all this talk of tax cuts and spending cuts but not entitlements. that is just fiction. let's be real americans and face up to reality and deal with the hard stuff. >> first of all, they will finesse this thing until they get the recommendation of the budget panel.

but he sits down in the white house with the republicans, all of whom want to see him defeated in two years. they are going to do nothing, i can guarantee you, that is going to be seen as an obama success over the next two years. what they probably will agree on is things that will be relatively inconsequential politically. they have no interest in doing anything that will make obama better situated in 2012. >> don't we pay these people to govern the country? >> they are mainly interested in politics this year, all of them. there are 25 democratic seats up in the senate, nine or 10 republican. those look like they can take the senate. >> we need to get stuff done. >> and it is only republicans who have ambitions of unseating

opposition. obama has no thoughts at all about retaking the house. >> what did i just say? >> it is not like in the newt gingrich days, where he made a huge mistake. he took the house and senate and he imagined he could govern and he would be prime minister. this is a presidential system. republicans have learned a lesson, that you cannot enact anything even if you have house and senate. they will be, the word is obstructionists in the water to boil, or principal wjla.co -- the word is "obstructionist" if you are liberal, or principal that you are conservative. -- principled if you are conservative. >> what do democrats do to adjust? >> no regrets. we have worked very hard in our

campaign to convey that to the american people. >> house speaker nancy pelosi to diane sawyer bridge a blue dog democrat -- net house speaker nancy pelosi to diane sawyer. a blue dog democrat -- "nancy pelosi should step down." >> eric sevareid --en run for high office to be something, the women run for office to do something. nancy pelosi has been a more effective the speaker than anybody in my lifetime. forget newt gingrich, nothing compared to her. this is a woman who rivals tip o'neill, sam rayburn, the great speakers of the house. she became the poster child to run against in 2010, and republicans ran very effectively against her.

it merits a study of why she became such a lightning rod. >> does she retire? >> i hope personally that she does retire, because her legacy as speaker will stand the test of time and to remain about would diminish that. >> steny hoyer would become minority leader? >> this dodges the question of what the democrats would do given the reality and they have. people like barney frank are now in the minority position. there is going to have to play not only defense, but actual offense. they cannot just sit back and find ways to stop republicans. the best case will be an offense, because it is clear what they want to do. mitch mcconnell said that the single most important thing is

to make sure president obama will be a one-time president we have a similar sentiments expressed on the other side of the capital. they have to be prepared to fight back. >> what about harry reid? >> he just squeaked by, and i still think he may have a challenge. i don't know if it is from truck schumer are not, but he still has a challenge. the house is not like the senate. the minority doesn't really have power. the only power the minority has in the house is to pound the table. republicans have always been good at, and democrats try to govern and not counted they better start pounding. >> no, no pre i don't think pounding the table is what americans want. they voted against nancy pelosi and obama because they felt that she is not like us. they feel li -- they don't feel like real people are governing the american people.

dick like it is e -- they feel like it is elites, people not like us. >> you have to find a way to communicate a message. in the house, you don't have power. >> the best illustration of a point evan is making is that every public governor of west virginia, joe manchin -- a very popular governor of west virginia, john manchin, is in the race of his life until he makes an advertisement where he shoots the cap-and-trade bill. it is not an abstract idea, it is a bill. it represented by coastal elites route luxuriate in the ecological mitosis passing a bill that would -- in the ecological righteousness by passing a bill that destroyed their state.

he got his seat by saying that he is against democrats and washington. >> cap-and-trade would've had an impact on west virginia. he would have done that regardless of who was city and washington, democrat or republican president. >> the rebels and in the country is with -- revolution in the country is with elites -- people in the middle of the country -- democrats got slaughtered in the midwest. >> in recessions, poor people used to turn to the democratic party. they went right this time. that is a big difference. >> this is our moment. this is our morning in america. we're going to stand up and we are going to speak out, and it may take some renegades going rogue to get us there.

>> ok, that is the sarah palin mama grizzly a victory lap. last weekend, mike allen and jim vandehei published a piece in "politico" but the next stop for the republican leaders is to stop sarah palin. she said that it was crap. is that what is going to happen, that they are trying to stop her? >> i don't know if they are going to try to stop her. i think the consensus among republicans and democrats is that she cannot win the presidency. she might win the nomination, but not the presidency. on election night, she was asked about delaware. she had endorsed christine o'donnell, as did jim demint, and she dismissed it by saying, "i did not expect her to win in the first place." in that case, why did she

endorsed her over mike castle, who would have won the seat? the duse's and is great for the party, but if she is going to run -- the enthusiasm is great for the party, but if she runs on her own, it would be a catastrophe and it would reelect obama. >> i would defend her and anybody endorsing a candidate not on pragmatic grounds that they are going to win but because they believe in the positions i don't believe in the opponent's positions. that is presumably why she endorsed christine o'donnell over mike castle. on sarah palin in 2012, one of the unspoken problems should as at -- she does have is quitting as governor midway through her first term. it is like ted kennedy's chappaquiddick. there is a higher threshold for that office. >> it is a really extraordinary

thing. the republicans have an incredible array of a very talented candidates, but they could divide the other boat and leave her as the person winning the early primaries. >> what about the scenario that "new york" magazine raised, that bloomberg runs as third-party, and sarah palin gets the republican nomination? >> i am sad and appalled by the way the conservative elites have a look to their nose at sarah palin. she has done a lot of the party. >> sometimes hourly cannot tell if you are serious. >> that will have to be the last word. see you next week. for a transcript of this broadcast, log on to insidewashington.tv.

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