breaksor things like tuition. all with deadlines before the new year. wrs we know congress moved a glacial pace unless it is at the peripis of disaster. what do you think they doll to tackle this and tackle this in an expedition manner. >> i think there is a good bet they do it by friday. because everyone wants it go home by friday. so i think the spending bill will include everything. payroll tax, unem ploployment t. the question is, will they agree to do that without the pipe bill. it isn't doing anything in the senate. they will have it pay for the payroll tax credit in some way. i don't know about unemployment insurance, whether that gets under. but i think will be a meeting of the minds whereby friday they say, we have 7% approval rating, everybody hates us. let's just get out of town and we can go and obama will go to

hawaii and we can get on with our lives. >> i want to interrupt for one second and bring with luke russer. luke, you have all of the answers. this seems to be a fluid situation with all this unfinished business. i wonder if you can give us the latest. the house is supposed to be voting today on a bill to tackle payroll cuts and unemployment insurance. >> let's do a play by play. it is supposed to be up for vote on the house floor today by 4:30. normally this would be a slam dunk guarantee. however we see there is a a block of conservative members that have leadership offers that anything they view as not completely conservative. there is opposition to the payroll tax cut and the tax benefits. they are looking at promoting

pro jobs agenda under order for this to pass. if this passes later this afternoon for most in the leadership believe, in fact, john boehner and kevin mccarthy all but guaranteed it today. it will good to senate. it is believed harry reid won't allow it to be voted on on the floor. all that being said,er with looking at negotiations between harry reid and john boehner like we have seen all along in this congressional session. and i heard ben say, i think by possibly friday, the house is expected to stay in this weekend if they don't get their work done. you have the thing we like it call here, the dracula effect, meaning once it gets late into the week and the sun starts rising on the weekend, they start changing their mind. >> oh, the dracula effect. >> yes. but from right now on tuesday on the noon hour, there is a long way to go for these things to be extended. >> luke, i want to talk about keystone. this is obviously a very hot button issue.

we know that president came out, i guess last week, days and weeks began melding into one. he said very firmly he would reject any package that came across his desk to extend the payroll tax cut that had keystone in it. that seemed to be a dog whistle for conservatives on the hill to come together and it sound like when john boehner said okay, let's put keystone in this. >> right. and there is a famous quote from last week. jim jordon, very conservative head of the house, the reason i like this new bill is because the president will hate it more than anything else. meaning that that's -- a real attempt to try and win him over. keystone is a very interesting issue. it had bipartisan support in the past. it squarely puts the president at odds with to parts of his base. they are very much important to win states like colorado, nevada, new mexico. then have you a lot of union support for it in places like ohio and pennsylvania and going down south.

so it is spsomething that, it i difficult for the president. harry reid said this morning on the is senate floor that this is ideological candy, to try and get members to come on board. from talking to aides, it will most likely work. they'll get democrats on board on this bill because of keystone. the fear from democrats i have spoken to is that if for some reason this boat with go on the house floor, if that -- sorry, the senate floor. if that happens and you have democrats voting against it, it writes a perfect 2012 commercial saying, so and so moderate democrat voted against adding 20,000 american jobs. that's the big fear on it. it is a smart negotiating ak tick by the gop. >> it is smart. i think there is some implication for the president if moderate democrats go against the white house and vote with republicans on this. is there not? the other thing i want to mention is from what i have heard and of course you are the

sage of capitol hill, but there a provision in the house bill that would sort of give president obama an out. you know, they are asking that he move forward with permits on keystone within 60 days, unless it is deemed not in the national interest. >> correct. >> even if this does get to his desk, there may be a door in the floor, as it were. >> there is an out but we are talking about 2012 campaign commercials. you talk about one that can be written right there. obama going into a very contentious election. president obama not allowing for the 500,000 american jobs. >> but i appreciate luke's blow by blow. but you know, we are living in this moment of perpetual campaign. the cycle is way too long. so everything he just spoke about had to do with the campaign as it could be run against moderate democrats. we have a national emergency in this country. your channel just showed one out of 45 kids are living homeless in this country. 25 to 26 million are underemployed, seeking jobs,

ineequality is deepening. and what is going on in congress? there is roadblock under congress, not gridlock. and arguing that republicans compromised even a quarter way, led to, i think what republicans long-term mission is, wh which is to undermine government and get congress to -- >> that's not fair. >> and they are lower than the banksters at the moment, which is not a lot. but adding on this keystone, is as luke said. maybe not as sharp as mint or owe connolly said, their first priority wasn't governing. it was to take down the obama administration. i have my problems with the obama administration pip think he lost the opportunity to be bolder at the outset. >> you are absolutely right that partisanship and gridlock is at an all-time high. no question about it. >> not gridlock, roadblock. >> it's the same thing. >> no, it's not. >> you say tomato, i say tomato.

same thing. >> there a false equivalent. >> we are looking at the sausage that's being made -- >> i don't even think there's that much sausage being made. >> it's not pretty. but there are fundamental differences between conservatives and progress ifs. there's nothing wrong with that. the issue is whether or not conservatives and progress ifs can come together in the best interest of country to move forward. now, let's go down memory lane and let's talk about what president obama said would he do three years ago. change the tone of washington. bring republicans and democrats together. he was the one that was going to fix this. and look the a the mess. i'm not saying that it is all president obama's fall. >> you are saying that, which very deck louse. no one person -- no one president -- >> you just said republicans are the problem. >> i turn to megan mccain who knows more about it than i do. >> we have ideological differences. but i think what she is trying

to say is that congress's approval rating is at 7%. we are 13 days from christmas. and she's right, they are roadblocking. they are studying for a test, coming to the final exam. this is why americans are watching on the news and then feel disenfranchised. this is everyone's problem and i hate making it partisan. >> i think they flipped the script in the sense that they now have a vehicle in the house that would extend unemployment insurance, it adds in things that democrats don't want. the ketone pipeline, other deductions in federal pay. but they can vote for something and say, we voted to extend this. we aren't the scrooges. we say yes, they are saying no. >> they are cutting weeks of benefits. >> you're absolutely right. >> no good deed goes unpunished. luke russert, thank you for joining us. the sanl of capitol hill. coming up wrs the gop front-runner. but first, we talk about the political infighting at nrc and the mood in congress. that's next on "now". when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief?

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congressman darrell issa made few friends inside the obama administration. fis his focus, the fast and furious administration. joining us now, congressman darrell issa of california. welcome, congressman. >> thanks for having me on. obviously, my job is not to make friends. it is on behalf of the american people to do oversight and hopefully our committee is doing that and doing it vigorously. >> congressman, there are a number of things i want to talk to you about. but let's start with the fast and furious. attorney general eric holder said the program was deeply

flawed and that incorrect information was forwarded to congress. but he did say he did not think this was a concerted effort to deceive congress. i wonder, do you believe the attorney general and what yeses do you still have regarding the program? >> well, we are pleased that the attorney general came before the committee, corrected a very flawed answer that congress got all the way back in february. having said that, in reading through and going through the facts, there were in fact eight different parts of justice, 54 different individuals who contributed to those wrong answers. many of them, obviously, knew that what they were delivering in information was untrue. that concerns us. it should concern the attorney general. we need to get to the bottom of it. we need to make sure congress never gets an absolutely dead wrong answer, especially when brian terry and others' lives have been put at risk.

in brian's he was killed because of a flawed program. >> you said people should resign over this controversy. is one of those people eric holder, the attorney general? >> not at all. i haven't said that. i haven't called for any resignations. i have said there needs to be a thorough house cleaning. i called on the attorney general to name the names. there are people that he knows of that aren't doing their job or seeing what was there and making the wrong decision. he has chosen in that testimony to say he is going to wait for the ig, wait for a lot of things. i happen to disagree with that. we will go forward with the rest of their investigation. i met with his key staff today to try to outline how we can get this wrapped up in a timely fashion. but that happens. the attorney general has a right to do whatever the president wants him to do relative to this investigation. we have an obligation to get to the truth. i think we will both do that. >> congressman, i was concerned -- or confused over

the term, if not resignations, what does house cleaning entail? >> well, i think the attorney general should be able to find more than a few individuals to fire. i certainly think that, although, u.s. attorney burke resigned, that he is the only person who is actually paid for wrongdoing in this. our way of doing business on the committee is we do a thorough investigation. we release, in writing, our pans in a timely fashion. we will do that in the case of fast and furious. but a good manager who has access to the facts that we are in the pros receives discovery should be able to find some people who shouldn't keep the jobs they have. i think the american people get it, that's it's been a long time after brian terry was gunned down. a long time after 2,000 weapons went to the drug cartels and only one person is left as a result of that. and that was the u.s. attorney at the heart of it. we think that was the right thing to do but there's more to be done.

>> congressman issa wsh some people don't see you as a watch dog but rather a lap dog for the 1%. you worked mercilessly -- >> you must be -- it must be you that sees that. >> no, there are millions of people in the country who see you using your power, not to really eversee the corruption and abuse, but rather to grill people like elizabeth warren standing with the middle class. you stand with the 1% in many of your oversight activity. whether clamping down on the financial crisis inquiry commission or in trying to -- >> is there a question there? >> yeah. if you are using your oversight powers on behalf of the 1%, or do you see yourself as someone who is trying to actually clean out government for the people's good? because your recent into the regulatory commission is essentially targeting a regulator trying to make that agency work and be be a captive

of the 1% powers which have captured too much of our government and made people government is rigged against them. >> have you your right it your opinion. i'll pull some questions out of your opinion there. first of all, tomorrow, two commissioners, one appointed by obama, two reappointed by president obama, saying jasco is destroying there independent opinion and are responsible to keep the power plant stave, including my districts p. we made no predecisions. but four commissioners out of five bipartisan group sending a letter to the president saying 4ir chairman it dictating and wrong-minded and how that individual conducts the commission's business, that's serious. and we are looking at it. we are looking at it in the way we should, i think on a bipartisan basis.

americanjobcreators.com, which i set up, is telling us what it takes to get the 99% having a better life and working. some of the job creators are in the 99%. some perhaps in the 1%. but we are open to everybody. bewant to get america working again. we think our committee has a legitimate oversight responsibility and we take it seriously. >> congressman- >> no question, we have a long history in a committee for looking what failed in government. but government will tell what you is succeeding. our job is to look behind the curtain like the wizard of oz. >> congressman, there is alex wagner again. >> yes, alex. >> we know congress has its hands tied up for end of the year business and republicans on the hill seem to be very adamant that payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance be paid for. at the same time, have you a field of republican contenders running for the presidency o who have released their own tax plans.

i think we have a chart of them, that will give a huge tax breaks to the top 1%. i think newt gingrich has one that will give the average millionaire a tax break of $650,000 in 2015. yet there's no dialogue about sort of where that money comes from. i wonder what you make of the current field, vis-a-vis, struggles going on in the hill right now. >> i will try to be succinct in my answer. first of all, these tax proposals coming out of candidate for president, in most places where they want to lower the top rate, the scoring is based on what you would lower. it doesn't talk about filling or eliminating the loop holes pb w be if you eliminate loop holes and make taxes flatter, but absolutely without the kind of escapes that have fwon on, certainly hedge funds, being able to use their carried interest to consider something a long-term capitol gain, is a loophole that needs to be filled. there is plenty of that. p in fact we might get the top

1% getting more taxes a at letter rate and more fairly if we eliminate loop holes. i think that's what most of them are saying. more importantly wbt pay for on these bills, we need to make sure that in fact we understand that government cannot simply collect less an be able to spend more. that has to change. that's what we are hoping to do in this bill. >> congressman darrell issa, thank you for your time. we look forward to having you on this show again. >>fully time. >> coming up, what do cracker barrel and whole foods have to do with the election? but after the break, will it be june before the republicanes have a candidate? that's next on "now." amy burnett opened children's dance classes and expansion in mind. she rented space, added adult classes, performance summer camp

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now with alex wagner, we have news from the ntsb, recommending that all portable

electronic devices, cell phones, blackberries, mobile phones be banned for drivers nationwide, except for those supporting the driver's task, which is to say, gps. >> i'm not surprise pepd study after study after study shows when you are driving and you have the pda in your lap and you are trying to do two things at once, that's a bad thing. almost tandem of driving under the influence. you are driving under the influence, the influence of technology. people are foolish enough to go behind a wheel, and drive and put their lives at stake and other people's' lives at stake. >> i have a 20-year-old daughter. there is a generation that has grown up with these devices like it is second nature. but i'm struck in several state legislatures, there has been subject to ban. but it hasn't gone through. where are the lobbyists --

>> we talk about the nanny state. i was watching a woman with a phone, gps and i thought, we need 20 get away from her. but is this kin to cutting back on salt, et cetera. >> in these instans, people don't know you can't -- if i could finish. >> sure. >> you cannot text and drive. you can't use your ipad and drive. i have tried to text and drive and it is deadly thing to do, especially among the young drivers. they need laws in place to say, you can't do this. if do you it, you get a ticket and go to jail. >> i have gone to driving school several times and almost had my license taken away. they show that it is literally the same effect of drinking and driving. >> speaking of questionable decisions, lowes home

improvement store is standing by its decision to pull ads from tlc reality show, all-american muslim, bowing from pressure to outside groups. lowes said we have a strong commitment to diversity. if we made anyone question that commit many, we apologize. >> this is the most heart breaking story, i think i have read in a long time. the show is about anti-discrimination for muslims living in america. muslims living in michigan and what they do on a daily basis. lowes is rescinding advertising, doing the same thing that muslims have to deal with on a daily basis. >> meagan is right. but it is part of the larger culture. when you think of the bigotry and tolerance in the american culture. here you have the commerciallization of that. by the way, the country goes around the world lecturing other countries about pluralism and democracy and we have this, in my opinion, down right bigotry. >> muslims need to fix their

homes just like anybody else. >> this is the most weak-kneed things that an american company has done to fellow americans. these muslim-americans are just that, americans. >> we will have more on how divided the states are after this break. that's next on "now." ♪ imagine me and you, i do ♪ i think about you day and night ♪

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mitt romney seems to be giving up the crown of front-runner. a new ad saying that -- a new ad saying that primary could go until june. an new ad, but a strategist and general chatter, and that he just might lose. let's listen to him earlier today. >> i'm not in trouble p.m. i'm in a great spot. i can become the nominee or someone else can and can i go back it my family. >> you're okay with losing?

>> of course i want it win. i've fought hard to win. but i have a life too. >> correct, that is an interview with politico's mike allen. but it is interesting, mitt romney saying, a, giving it up and that newt gingrich is the front-runner. and saying, i don't need this as badly as you think that i do. >> i think it might be freeing of him to step out of the front-runner role a little while and run this quote unquote insurgency against newt. these campaigns all have ebbs and flows. you don't always want to be the front-runner the whole time. >> if i could, bud, which i think mitt would have been wise it do -- >> a budweiser? >> bud light, 10,000 being one quarter of an iowa family. i wager that ron paul might pull it out in iowa. he has the best field ground

team. he is running some really tough ads exposing newt as hypocrite. mitt romney going against each other. perry, will good after romney, gingrich, fe gets some good money. paul has young people and i pet would he bring in some new people into his office. >> no disrespect to your opinion, but ron paul is like this phantom urban legend. like ron paul is finally going to pull it out and win, but he never does. >> barack obama said in 2007 within it's okay being barack obama. if i lose to hillary clinton, i will go back it a wonderful life. i think it is something very liberating when a candidate speaks his mind and says, win or lose, i'm go tock okay. wh what is also very interesting, is that barack obama became the nominee june 7, 2008. this was a very, very tough thing. ronald regan became the

republican front-runner in july. >> alex raised a question earlier about how long this goes. it could go to june. but one point of further history, i think one thing to remember is the silent candidate in all of this, which is the money. in 1976, ford and carter spent a total of $66 million. and we are going it see $3 billion minimum on tv advertising in 2012. >> if we talk about it, romney has a formidable one, but newt gingrich, we don't know his figures but -- >> even if gingrich wins in iowa, which he will probably do. romney winning massachusetts, then south carolina, florida, gingrich could win that too. but it is not over yet. >> absolutely. >> there is a new article out that compares romney to hillary clinton. that shows the battle he has ahead of himself.

then having to pivot off of that, the unfairness in that is that newt gingrich ain't barack obama in terms of ground game. >> romney should have an easier time of evercoming newt gingrich and than hillary had -- >> you're exactly right. it is an interesting analogy. which obviously could get you to the finish line. let's be honest about it -- >> to even say that president obama and newt gingrich are anywhere in -- the ultimate washington insider, 1.6 from freddie mac, give mae break here. anyone painting newt gingrich out as some kind of messiah is smoking something. i went out this weekend and had someone yell at me on the street, what is going on with republicans and newt gingrich? i have no idea. >> you're absolutely right. >> he is used goods. >> by wait, to sigh sai that the difference between obama and gingrich is a difference in ground game, newt gingrich said -- >> excuse me, exude me --

>> firing young people -- >> newt gingrich said, that obama's secular socialist machine posees a threater threat to this nation than the nazi or soviet red armies. that is disqualifier to be president of the united states. >> having worked on campaigns across the country, what i'm trying to say is when you look at the intensity of the voter of a newt gingrich and intensity of the voter of barack obama 2008, there is a lot of similarities there. i'm not saying gingrich and obama are the same philosophically. what i am saying -- >> that's an important point, to say that the supporters that they have and we talked about ron paul before. and you talk about people who will come out in iowa on that cold presumably snowy night and stand by their man and ron paul -- >> we just need to be reminded of how corrupt this man is. >> this is not his strong suit. >> can we go back to one second

to the romney comment where he said, i will be fine, i have a life to go back to. >> do people actually believe that? it this is a key point if he can sell that sida, if he is something other than a politician trying to be president his whole life. i don't know about his personal life, that's why he has his wife out campaigning for him. i don't think anybody likes the guy very much or believes that beyond -- >> i like him. >> okay, like limb a little. >> good point. >> if you don't believe he has a life outside of politics. >> you take a look at polling data, when you ask the verbatims, people say he is smart, clearly intelligent, very, very handsome. >> but i'm not sure he is actually a human being. when we come back, well talk more about how the supreme court will impact the presidential election and later what grits and arugula mean to the electorates. [ male announcer ] an lg smart tv, lg optimus cell phone and...an apology card.

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as if there weren't enough controversy heading into 2012, the supreme court is scheduled to drop three of its most provocative decisions in decades. right in the heart of the presidential campaign season. the latest is a review of the most controversial portions of arizona's anti-immigration law struck down by a letter court. the law makes failing to carry immigration pap ears state crime. it also makes a illegal for immigrants work or try it find work. and the law requires police to determine immigration status of those they arrest or stop. it lets them arrest anyone without a warrant if there is probable cause a person has done something that with make them deportable. immigration is obviously something we have been talking about nationally for a little while now and certainly vis-a-vis the 2012 race. let's talk the 2012 race first. we were in a heated debate about who was up and who was down, especially in the republican field. we have seen a a lot of deviefs

rhetoric come out of the gop race. i wonder to what degree you think the supreme court decision will affect, you know, the positions and the status of each of those republican front runners. and then i also want to throw this in there, i'm talking too much. which is that we have, you know, new statistic that the wall street journal has a story that illegal immigration at the lowest rate it's been at in 40 years. the number of borders arrests has dropped plor than 50% since 2008 pch yet our rhetoric is as inflamed as it has ever been. >> right on the eve of both of the presidential conventions in tam with a and north carolina, there sno question, alex, to your point, that this is totally infuse need the general election and probably mobilize both sides of the basis. it is an emotional issue on the same exact thing with the dem krts. >> here, newt gingrich differs slightly as does perry from

others in the republican field. the hard line republican position on immigration is political suicide. >> right. >> in the long-term. >> for the long-term. >> not that long. 2050 is not that far out. >> in the primary electorate, we have seen that you have to have a hard line stance. it hurt him less because of his defense on the dream act. but mitt romney still hit him relentlessly, and will continue to for favoring amnesty. the in the general electorate, people. realize numbers are going down. there is not this massive over the border here -- >> we are talking about july here. presumably we will have a candidate now trying to piff yot to the center, after calling them illegal and turning magnets off. this is a reminder of how -- >> this is quite literally in my backyard. i kbru up in phoenix, arizona.

kidnapping rate is number one of phoenix, arizona than any other place in the country. the drug cartel, the epidemic of drug problems going on, on the borders, i don't know where they got the statistics of the lowering the numbers, but the price of a bag of cocaine is the same now -- >> there are drug wars. >> failed drug policy, not the immigration issue. i respect that you live there but these statistics -- >> it is difficult for me -- >> biggest drop in 40 years. one has it ask something about our political system. why is there such fear mongering. because s it a new kind of -- it is a way into tapping fears, particularly among the tea party of a group -- >> of another -- >> i think we have to be fair. i think people wait into n line and america is still a shining beacon on the top of the hill and we have to be fair about letting people into this country. that being said, i literally go home and there is damage done.

people pay coyotes to let them over the border. pregnant women are dying in the desert. imgrant are hurt as well. >> but to everyone's point, what i call is the soft bigotry that we don't like to talk about. as a brown person, i'm not an immigrant. but as a brown person wib hear this all the time. my goodness, i have to call india to get my electric bill fixed. my goodness, a person coming into my home that does not look like me, taking my husband's job and thus in the process, i don't know if this person speaks english or not. >> i'm not saying it like that. mexican culture is absolutely vital to arizona culture. >> but i'm saying something -- >> something broader about the mood in this country. >> that's exactly what i'm saying. >> there are shifts in the economy. >> that's right. >> and these issues play -- >> it is a code language that america doesn't look the way it used to. >> and what's interesting here, is that one of the reasons

immigration, illegal immigration is down is because there are no jobs for them. >> the implications are broad and we have much more to talk about and we will in our next block. when we tackle why what you eat may say so much about how you vote. that will be coming up next on "now." [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth!

what is driving your vote in your preference on policy or not dinner. a new article talks about a split with two american food chains. cracker barrel and whole foods. in 2008, president obama won 81% with whole foods but 36% with cracker barrel. it really looks like, as time is going on, we are getting more and more divided. i think it is worth mentioning in 1992 support from bill

clinton wasn't nearly as clear-cut. gore took 58% of whole food, and 26% of cracker barrel. >> well, bill clinton grew up in arkansas, a cracker barrel kind of world. people who go to whole foods, like myself and like probably everybody here, i also like to go to cracker barrel. what he will do is peel off some of that support. he won't get 50% but he needs 40, 45% of it. that's why he is talking about the payroll tax. >> but that group of people is getting smaller and smaller. >> the smaller the cracker barrel group? >> both whole foods and crackle barrel. >> is this an idea of the -- i don't -- i'm nothing. >> i disagree with meghan.

i don't think the biggest issue is culture wars. i think it is the economy. i this this story is cute. but i also think michelle obama will be an important weapon in the election. one of the great issue says not about where you shop but where you can't shop in communities in this country where the public health issues of obesity and diabetes have become food epidemic because you have grocery deserts. . >> that's a bit simplistic. let's talk about whole foods, they are in urban areas. cracker bare sell more in rural areas. ie, a regan democrat, someone that goes to cracker barrel -- >> but obama's comments about about goes and guns, that

offended me. >> this ararugula democrat, policy, the noogsal journal rates congress on its voting record. in 1992 if you took the most conservative voting republican and democrats, there is between them. >> part of it is that everybody gets their media from their own polarized position. you know, even on twitter, i find that when you're looking at followers, you get either a huge group of conservatives or liberals. there's not a great conversation going on between the two sides. >> i don't think it is as polarized -- i think the media does a disservice. you can't align people on a spectrum. people have different views on different issues. but i do think that the tea party has moved the republican

party into an extremist. an conserve tist. >> alex, you ask et about the -- what about dianne feinstein or go down the list or olympia snow. there are plenty of moderates. >> but you're a moderate, i am a moderate -- >> you don't get on television as much as extreme left and extreme right. >> that is true. >> we should show what we literally agree on. >> you are instantly a wal-mart shopper or target shopper. you are either left or right or red or blue. >> taking marching orders -- we look at the payroll tax. they can't get anything -- >> getting marching orders from the money that is the poison in our system. i don't mean to be reductionist but you have seven lobbyists for every member of the congress. that the overlay for all of the reasons we haven't gotten the legislation -- >> maybe i'm too much of an

idealist, but i firmly believe that congress is an honorable progression. there are hundreds of people still very, very much dedicated to jobs. when you look at the senate, take at house out, that's more margin yalized. the legislation is still passing in a bipartisan legislation. with all due respect to the networks, is this bitter back and forth but you daent hear about the -- hold on, the bipartisan judges that you pass. you don't here about the epa -- >> or the fact that -- >> and ron paul worked together to do a defensive budget cut. >> there is an opposition in the senate that is blocking legislation. >> roadblock. >> can we good back it cultural ideas. i'm a moderate republican and

impainted as a rhino. i'm not pure enough or accepted enough to be a republican. have you to be ex treemt one way or the other to be expected by media figures -- >> i'll be the defender of the media here. you also have redistricting, which is a create id system where -- you are just running over republicans or democrats it win your seat in congress. >> and the independent publication. also independent redistri trikting. you have the money pumped in. and the redistricting. and i think there gr people in congress. >> katrina, this bears listening. while you fist pump over there, i will say the house raises moderate democrats spend more than double what liberal democrats in the house progressive caucus spent. that would point to the notion that it harder to be a centrist these days than a moderate. we talk about the olympia snows,

the susan collins, but in many ways this they are endangered speeties. >> it is the can balancism going on. >> you see the classic example is this debate over the consumer protection bureau and senate. which is intended to protect consumers from predatory bank practices. widespread support. it is blocked by minority. you have moderate democrats like licka snow, who would want to support it, aeb has supported it in the past, but they are afraid of challenges and primaries and they can't you a port it. you have this thing that congress created. now a minority said we will be put someone in front of it that can run it. >> it'll be interesting to see how the landscape changes in 2012. thanks again to the panel. that does it for us. see you back here at noon eastern tomorrow. well have special coverage of

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[ female announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astra zeneca may be able to help. right now on andrea mitchell reports. three weeks and counting down to iowa. how do candidates stack up? well hear from potential voters directly. your exclusive first look at today's nbc news wall street journal poll. change of heart. has newt gone nice? appearances could be deceiving. and speaking of tactics, is romney low-balling or just acknowledging the reality. >> is newt gingrich the front run fler this race? >> he is right now. >> why is that? >> got me. i've watched over the last year and have you seen people go from very low numbers to high numbers and back down. >> why are people fascinated with him? >> they were