microphones in the room ov there to make his case. causing christmas chaos for the gop. president obama will give up his take on the issue today in the noon hour. what's happening at the white house on this issue? >> reporter: you're right, the president is going to speak on this issue. a late-scheduled event. and a couple of days ago, richard, the white house put out an e-mail saying let's go to twitter, the hash tag $40 a week. what it means to every individual to lose that every two weeks. they sort of prorated the $1,000 that the average american family, extra they would be paying in taxes if this payroll tax extension were not extended if the house, the senate, and the white house could not come to an agreement. now the point the white house has made all along is that the republicans and democrats in the senate did come to an disagreement, 89 senators voted in the rare saturday session to extend that payroll tax cut for another two months and by any

objective standard, you have to say that house republicans and the speaker were caught flat footed on this. the next day he appeared on "meet the press" said they were not going to go for it. that followed a contentious conference call among house republicans. they say the two-month extension is simply not long enough. everybody's vacations are on hold and more importantly, everybody's tax bills are on hold heading into the new year. and the president is going to press this advantage, this political advantage that they feel they have here at the white house. he's going to be appearing with some of the people that responded to those tweets, those $40 tweets here at the white house. he's going to be talking with them about some of the things that the $40 could buy with every two-week paycheck like gas, groceries, and medicine for the elderly, richard. >> one said they would have to give up their insulin, perhaps. a lot of heart felt tweets. mike viqueira. appreciate that right now. let's bring in washington post columnist e.j. dionne.

good morning to you all. exciting couple of days before the christmas holiday, or holidays for many at the moment. e.j., let's start with you. is there a way out for republicans here? that allows the tax cut to go forward without them looking like they're caving on this? fig leaf if you will? >> i think the answer is basically no. but i think they're going to have to look for a fig leaf anyway. what's really striking is that most of the time you talk about democrats in disarray, they're at each other's throats. in this case, the morning papers are full of quotations from republicans, some named like john mccain, some unnamed saying we can't understand what the house republicans are doing. this is a terrible idea. the "wall street journal" editorial page, which is about as loyal to conservative republicans as you can imagine. jo john kennedy once said that a republican being criticized by the "wall street journal" is like the pope being criticized

by the vatican newspaper. he was talking about nixon at the time. they went at the republicans. so they're in a terrible position right now. and for once the democrats seem to be holding firm knowing that they hold most of the cards here. >> well, steve, let's help them out with a solution perhaps here. e.j. listed some of the criticism from republicans. carl rove even saying yesterday on fox, one way out might be to let the president leave town and take a vote on it and let it pass saying that the democrats basically have abdicated their obligation to govern. what do you think? what are some of the solutions? >> that's a solution rooted in spin, and you're hearing a lot of spin from the house republicans, the spin they've settled on for the moment is we've passed the bill already. but nobody's buying it, and the real reason is nobody's buying it is it's the first time you've got senate republicans who basically all of whom went on the record saying they support this compromise openly taking shots at the house right now. so the house looks more marginal than ever. it looks like everybody in

washington has come to an agreement except the tea party controlled house republicans. these guys in the house calling the shots and taking down the image of the party. >> and speaker boehner -- go ahead, e.j. >> i think the solution such as it is for the president to come out and say if the house passes this, i'll sit down with them after the first of the year and we can start talking about how to extend it for the whole year. that wouldn't be a substantive concession because that's what the president has said already, but it might at least open a door for boehner to walk through and for him to say to his conference in private, we're getting killed here. boehner, after all, seems to have wanted to pass this two-month extension and was pressured into this new position by his most conservative members. so he'd like somebody to open a door for him, i think. >> and e.j., you wrote about that, as well. steve, we're waiting again for speaker boehner to come to microphones right now. are democrats saying, thank you, you have just reelected

president obama one year earlier? >> here the catch. this is a very good political moment for obama if you read it that way, but there's a practical implication here. if there's no compromise that's reached on this, if these payroll tax cuts aren't extended, there's a story on the page of the "new york times" that says that will probably cost 400,000 jobs, it will cost 1/2 point in time of growth next year, and when you start looking at the tenuous position obama's in relative to the economy for 2012, you throw that in, this could look like something that's long forgotten by november 2012 if you're talking about 400,000 jobs being cost. >> could be a defining moment. two minutes before we hear from speaker boehner. let's bring in a democrat from new jersey. e.j., stick with us if you could. what's your reaction to where we're at right now, congressman? what do you think speaker boehner's going to say? >> i don't know, mr. cantor, that was a freudian slip, i wasn't trying to be a wise guy. he has spoken this morning and we're waiting to hear from mr.

boehner. i can't imagine what's changed from yesterday to today. although he did speak with the president. i think the president has acted in good faith on this one. and certainly the senate has acted in good faith both democrats and republicans and mr. boehner needs to get into the holiday mood here. >> all right, congressman, we have to break in for just a second. we're listening to the speaker now. >> one big reason why we need to do a full year and that's jobs. i want to hear a bill like the president requested and like the house produced. provides on average about $1,000 for american workers as opposed to the senate bill which would provide a measly $166. as importantly, a one-year bill would provide certainty for employers as they begin to plan for next year. two-month extension only perpetuates the uncertainty that too many employers already have

in dealing with the economy and what's coming out of washington. listen, i used to run a small business. i can tell you that the language in the senate bill will hurt small businesses. the senate only goes for two months, but businesses send their taxes in write the check, i used to write the check to the i.r.s., but it's done on a quarterly basis. you're going to have a couple of months at this, another month at this, trying to figure out what your obligation is going to be difficult. and secondly, the paperwork requirements in the programming requirements contained in the senate bill will make it virtually impossible for those who provide payroll services to do the job that employers hire them to do. the fact is, we can do better. americans are still asking the question, where are the jobs. it's time for us to sit down and have a serious negotiation,

solve this problem so that american workers don't see their taxes go up in january. >> good morning. as the speaker said, it is our position that we want to make sure we provide some certainty to the working people of this country that their taxes are not going to go up for an entire year. unfortunately, that view although it is shared is not being implemented or proposed to be implemented by the senate proposal. and, you know, we're here and we want to solve the problem, and it, frankly, given where the parties are, there's not a big difference between our positions. it all comes back to the impact, the budgetary impact of the extension of the tax holiday. and so i saw the president out yesterday doing his christmas shopping, saw he brought his dog with him. we're here, he could bring his dog up here, we are pet friendly. and, you know, again, it will not take a long time. we could probably resolve the differences within an hour.

that's why we're here to say let's do this as the speaker said. let's avoid any more uncertainty. let's try to avoid another one of these difficult moments within 60 days. so we can get on about the business of putting in place factors for a better economy and job creation. >> good morning. employers are telling us that this convoluted mechanism the senate cooked up in a rush to get out of town -- >> we just saw speaker boehner and leader cantor there basically saying and hitting the same points as they did yesterday this hour. and congressman, one of the words you might have noticed that was used by speaker boehner as they continue to speak live here on the hill is he used the word quarterly. and that was something that was also brought up a little bit earlier today. what's your thought here? is that one of the possibilities that the republicans are floating right now? instead of a two month, maybe a

three-month deal might be a compromise, their fig leaf. >> mr. cantor should stick to his day job, he's not very good -- this is not a humorous situation. we're talking about, for instance, in the state of new jersey not 1,000, but almost $1,500, high-income state. so we're number one in the entire nation. what you're doing here is playing political games. and we don't like it and nobody likes it. and they're not winning. you see boehner doesn't have his heart into this thing. boehner's a pretty decent human being as i found it, he's a man of his word. i think he's off the charts. i think he doesn't know which direction to go on. it's obvious that he's not running the republican caucus. and i might add, they keep on forgetting one big thing, how do you pay for this? and the senate amendment to their bill which went over to the senate is very different. we're not just talking about two months versus 12 months, we're talking about how you pay for it. look, get off the dime, get it done. we don't have to bring everybody

back to washington. we can have a unanimous consent legislation, we can put our heads up high and say we did something for the american people. for mr. boehner to talk about jobs 12 months, no plans for job creation or instigating jobs to me is humorous, as well. >> yeah, the big debates on how to pay for this. i want to take one more swing, though, at this idea of quarterly consideration. dave kemp who just spoke right after leader cantor did said this a little earlier on cnbc squa squawk box. >> if they'd gone to three months, we might have made some sense of that. we're hearing from employers, we're hearing from employers that not matching up with the quarterly reporting that they're required to do by the government is going to cause them a tremendous burden -- >> e.j., what do you think? are they throwing up that balloon to see if that one might fly? >> i don't think that's a trial balloon. i could be wrong.

i think it's more an excuse for why they didn't pass it. they have tried to come up with an explanation for why they wouldn't just go along with the two-month extension and negotiate after the first of the year. and so what they've hit on is, well, gee, this is going to be really complicated for employers. it would seem to me that just continuing current law will allow payrolls to stay set up exactly where they are now. and i don't think the senate's going to come back just to do one month. but washington is one extra month. but washington's so crazy right now, who knows what's going to happen. >> who knows what can happen, e.j. word to you here, what can come out positively out of the gop out of all of this. what might it be? >> well, the silver lining is it somehow gets done. the payroll taxes get extended and you know, you move on to the next thing. the bottom line for republicans is we can talk about all the political damage that they're doing themselves right now and that they have done to themselves throughout 2011 because of the house republicans. that's all true, but the bottom

line when you look to 2012, that 8.6% unemployment probably isn't going to go lower. you know, we're still dealing with the president with approval ratings in the 40% range. it's basically a favorable election climate for republicans. so the sooner they can get it over with, you know, the more they move on to favorable -- >> there are serious economic issues to deal with, is what you're saying. thank you, appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> happy holidays. >> you bet. our facebook poll has exploded on this very issue. the question put out to you, who's to blame as the payroll tax cut expires, and more than 900 of you have told us what you think. 803 blame republicans, 17 blame democrats, 18 blame the president, and 63 blame all of the above. and you can still vote on this. check out our facebook page. now, just in a couple of minutes governor howard dean will join me live. i'll talk to him about the lack of enthusiasm among republican

voters in iowa days before the iowa caucus. why no passion for republicans. and why the political battle in washington continues, violent battles of a deadly nature erupted in baghdad this morning. approximately 14 coordinated attacks left at least 57 dead and nearly 200 injured. baghdad has not been this violent in months and the timing coincides with the u.s. military pullout. s. i do. but lately, we've been using k-y® intense™. it's this gel that stimulates arousal... she's a screamer. ...so that big moment feels like nothing i've ever felt before. pretty loud. and it's scientifically proven to... ♪ [ female announcer ] k-y® brand intense™. k-y's first and only arousal gel proven to intensify female satisfaction. so to save some money, i trained mathis team of guinea pigs to brrow this tiny boat. guinea pig: row...row. they generate electricity, which lets me surf the web all day.

guinea pig: row...row. took me 6 months to train each one, 8 months to get the guinea pig: row...row. little chubby one to yell row! guinea pig: row...row. that's kind of strange. guinea pig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: there's an easier way to save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. ♪ you, you ain't alone ♪ and just let me be [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ your ticket home ♪ [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store.

well, the president snuck out of the white house to do some shopping yesterday. he took first dog bo to a pet store to get a bone and a bag of treats. he bought itunes gift cards for sasha and malia for christmas, as well. actor matt damon campaigning for president obama last time around and now he's slamming the president in an interview saying

"you know a one-term president with some nerve who actually got stuff done would have been in the long run of the country, much better." mitt romney said the port, president obama's uncle who police arrested for drunk driving near boston is an illegal immigrant. >> do you think uncle omar should be deported from the united states? >> well, if the laws of the united states say he should be deported, i presume they do, then, of course, we should follow those laws and the answer is yes. >> rick perry's wife anita is the star of one of his new ads. >> it's an old-fashioned american story. i married my high school sweetheart, but first i had to wait as he volunteered for the air force and flew planes all over the world. we grew up in small towns raised with christian values, values we still believe in. and we know washington, d.c. could use some of that. >> and if you type

newtgingrich.com into your browser, what comes up is a string of articles attacking him. the group that bought that web address say they're willing to sell for $1 million, that's all. newt's real website is newt.org. and happy news for anthony weiner and his wife. sources telling nbc news that she gave birth to a baby boy. congratulations. . well, 12 days until the votes are cast in iowa. the latest poll showing only 28% of people are dead set on a candidate right now. howard dean ran for president in 2004, he ran the democratic national committee, and, of course, was governor of vermont. governor, always great to see you. >> thanks for having me on. >> governor, does the republican party, do they have an enthusiasm problem right now? >> their enthusiasm is based on hatred for the president. it's not based on liking one of their own candidates. and that's the problem.

that will take you a certain way among the party faithful. it doesn't take you far among independents. >> what do you think in the primary, will that hurt them because they don't have the enthusiasm getting the voters to the polls? >> well, you know, i think iowa -- my prediction right now is that paul and santorum are going to finish in the top three and gingrich and romney will struggle to do that because they're taking each other out. >> is it because of the ground game? >> that's going to be very -- >> yeah, the ground game paul's ground game and santorum has a ground game. either santorum or paul are going to win the nomination. probably romney will if gingrich doesn't win the iowa caucus, i think that's probably close to the end for him. >> okay. so i want to do a rapid fire with you on some of the candidates. what i'd like you to do is if you could give me a one-word reaction. your association with these different candidates. mitt romney. >> steady. >> newt gingrich?

>> flamboyant. >> ron paul? >> weird. >> rick perry? >> forgetful. >> michele bachmann? >> wacky. >> you've got a lot of great descriptions, governor. >> jon huntsman? >> steady and thoughtful. >> rick santorum? >> he'd be my favorite for the presidential nominee because then we'd actually have a choice between two great candidates. >> what about rick santorum? and president obama? >> let me see, thoughtful, smart. >> and a lot of descriptions there. great associations and understanding what you think about those candidates. many of those descriptors, though, are fairly crazy or as has been said zany. would you describe a majority of them not to be real substantial candidates then? >> i think there are only a handful. here's the deal, if you want to

run for president, eventually the voters have to see you as a president. one of my problems is that they didn't see me as a president, they saw me as an insurgent, that was great for a while. somebody's got to look like a president. and i think there are not very many people on the republican side right now who the american people will ultimately be able to see as a president of the united states. >> and you also were entrepreneurial, pushing social media and the internet at that time in amazing new ways. would you see rather president obama take on mitt romney? or newt gingrich? who do you think would be a better competitor in this situation? >> i don't play that game. i try not to play that game. i let the republicans nominate who they want and then we'll see who we get. i think mitt romney would be formidable. i think that's for sure. i think the toughest candidate against us is the one that has no chance to winning the nomination and that's jon huntsman. >> from your seat, you've been watching not only what's happening in 2012, but the payroll tax cut, the debate just now, the speaker come out again

and basically say the same thing he did yesterday. what do you think? who's going to win? >> well, i think republicans have already lost. people -- not going to believe all this stuff. these guys are trying to cut people's taxes who make $1 million a year and they're raising taxes on 160 million middle class people. they know the republicans don't care about the middle class, they already know that. this just reinforces all of the bad things they think about republicans. i think it's a disaster. i really do. i mean, you know, first of all, the president's popularity ratings are creeping up a little, which is good. but second of all, if this is a contest between who's worse for you, you're not going to vote for somebody raising your taxes, and that's what the republicans are doing for most middle class people and that makes people furious. the value of the occupy wall street people is not that they're terribly well organized, it's they've changed the debate. 99% against the 1%. and everybody knows who the republicans are for, and it ain't the 99%. they have made it so much worse

in the last three days. they look like idiots and i agree with one of the previous people on your show. i think boehner's a decent guy, the problem is, he cannot control these crack pots who got elected in 2010. and if the president wins, i believe we're going to pick up the house because they -- the american people are not going to stand for this kind of stuff. >> governor, always great to see you. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> back to speaker boehner taking the microphone again. >> -- extension of these policies. all we're fighting for is what everybody's agreed to, let's sit down and resolve the differences. >> you say you're doing this because the american people need certainty, but aren't you worried that you're creating more uncertainty here? >> we've got ten days to get our work done. we're here, we're ready to work, we need somebody to work with. >> your colleague senator corker says, are republicans getting killed now -- >> speaker boehner taking questions right now.

we want to dip in whenever we can. something happened on capitol hill now with nine days to go until that payroll tax cut. your taxes could go up. do you remember sarah palin? well, hbo released a trailer for a new movie about the 2008 election. and you've got to see julianne moore transformed here. >> we need to create a dynamic moment in this campaign. or we're dead. >> i will be honored to accept your nomination for vice president of the united states. >> an amazing likeness there, wouldn't you say? we're tweeting a link to the full ad if you want to see it. follow us on twitter. time for the your business entrepreneur of the week. former rockette amy burnett opened the dance studio in new york city with children dance classes. she monetized by adding space,

added adult classes and performances on the nutcracker. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. when you pour chunky beef with country vegetables soup over it... you can do dinner. four minutes, around four bucks. campbell's chunky. it's amazing what soup can do. see? he's taking his vitamins. new one a day vitacraves plus omega-3 dha is a complete multivitamin for adults. plus an excellent source of omega-3 dha in a great tasting gummy. one a day, gummies for grown-ups.

all right. a lot happening on capitol hill on this thursday. we were just watching the republicans wrapping up their discussion seconds ago. many questions from the press about what will be next.

speaker boehner closing those questions and answers saying they don't have anybody to talk to on the other side of the table. so we expect the democrats also to come to the microphones in response to this. and then at noon, we're also watching this for you on msnbc, the president to come to the microphones, as well, to discuss the payroll tax cut and what's going forward on that. we'll stay tuned for that on msnbc. also there's a lot of holiday hustle when it comes to shopping. a lot of you hitting the road this holiday season just for that and then for traveling too. aaa reporting over 83 million of you are planning to drive over christmas and new year's. that's up over 2% from last year. flying might be the way to go this year with airports expecting the smallest number of travelers in years with just over 43 million there. and to make flying a little bit easier for you, the traveling site orbitz recommends taking first flight out, bring

chocolate, ear plugs, not for yourself, all the folks that are sitting next to them, that's often me. >> and kids 12 and under do not need to take off their shoes going through security, that might save a couple of seconds. happy traveling. discover neosporin® lip health™. shown to restore visibly healthier lips in just 3 days. neosporin® lip health™. rethink your lip care. gives you a 50% annual bonus! so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating.

with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

let's do it, let's go to vegas. vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first? vegas! no, this is a test drive. vegas! [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta.

that's the power of german engineering. get zero first month's payment, zero down, zero security deposit and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com. and here's a look at some other stories people are talking about right now. u.s. officials say "miscommunications" between u.s. and pakistan military forces led to the strike that killed 24 pakistani soldiers last month. the u.s. forces mistakenly believed they were firing on enemy forces. the u.s. will offer condolence payments there to the families of the fallen pakistani troops. the military transferred eight soldiers to another base after they were charged in the death of army private daniel chen in afghanistan. officials say chen committed suicide after his comrades taunted and hazed him. walmart has pulled a batch of powdered infant formula after the death of a newborn missouri

boy after he drank it. enfamil newborn powder with zp1j7g. an infection may have been caused by the formula. it's still unclear if other retailers sold any from that batch. a high-speed chase in florida ended with that amazing dramatic crash that left five people injured. you'll watch this video over and over again, two suspected burglars in the white vehicle there you see flee from police at frightening speeds. they hop medians and drive on the wrong side of the road until that crash there. both suspects apprehended by police. luckily none of the victims wither seriously injured. a family received an amazing surprise during a hockey game. a wife and her daughters were called on the ice to see if they could put a puck past the goalie and win a prize. the goalie was the prize. their soldier dad home from

kosovo for christmas. the girls say this was the best christmas present they have ever had. they look a little surprised too. well, most republicans, in fact, over 240 house republicans in over 40 republican senators have signed a pledge not to raise taxes. so what if house republicans left the payroll tax cut expire? grover norquist is the president for americans for tax reform and the keeper of that pledge. grover, great to see you. >> good to be with you. >> grover, if the republicans let this payroll tax cut expire, are they breaking the pledge that they made? >> well, let's remember, the republicans in the house of representatives voted to extend the one-year tax holiday for another year. it's the senate run by democrats which has refused to extend it for a year. i know that obama's trying to argue that the guys who want to extend it for a year are the problem and the guys who don't want to extend it for a year are with him, but that doesn't make any sense. so they're going to have to try

again. this is the third time they've tried to take the one-year extension. at first they tried to sell an income tax increase attached to it. they finally gave up on that, then they didn't want to build the pipeline in nebraska, which would create jobs, so they're trying to play politics here, but but we do hope the president gets out of the way of the tax cut. and we have the house and senate get together and vote on a bill. >> grover, it's back and forth in the argument. and you've made the points too it's about how to pay for it. but if they do not let that taxpayer payroll tax go through, will you hold them accountable? say you've let taxes increase? or will you say no, that's okay. >> well, again, the republicans in the house have voted to extend it for a year. it's the senate which is refusing to come to conference. you can't pass a bill through the house and the senate until the guys in the senate get their act together and actually come to the table and negotiate the bill. so at the end of the day, there will be a one-year extension.

obama wants to raise taxes, the republicans want to reduce spending. the republicans are going to win this fight, obama's not going to get his tax increase, and we will get the one-year extension. it may happen this week, may happen in two months, but the effort to lie and say that the democrats in the senate who are not allowing the bill to move forward are somehow in favor of the bill, strikes me as odd. >> both sides agree sooner is better than later. grover, standby, i know you want to watch this with me. we have the democrats responding and making statements on this very issue. take a listen. >> unemployment benefits will expire over the next 60 days for 2.3 million americans. and 48 million americans, seniors on medicare, will have the security of having their doctors available put at risk. we ought not to be creating that kind of uncertainty and anxiety among the american people. the stakes are too high.

to be arguing about politics and process. the republicans' contention that the two-month compromise somehow unworkable is simply untrue. if it were, we wouldn't see a new and desperate republican proposal today to settle on a three-monex tension. speaker boehner says he and his members want a one-year extension. we want that too. now, he offered a bill he talked about and the house passed a bill. he talks about -- it had no mark-up in the ways and means committee and passed three days after it was introduced. in the middle of december. just days ago. but he expected, i suppose, the senate to take it whole, they didn't. what did the senate do? they did what americans are asking us to do. they came together, reasoned together, and voted together, 89

senators. came together and said we ought to pass a compromise to give us time to work out any differences that remain. every family in america understands that. take a breath, step back, let's see how we can get to where we want to be. that is a one-year extension and a two-year extension on the sgr. let's enact this bipartisan compromise, however, to eliminate uncertainty for american families and then get right to work on a one-year version. not wait until february. not walk away and hold off till the last minute. and let us not have a conference while we hold hostage 160 million americans with fear that their taxes will go up. on january 1st. let us not hold hostage 48

million seniors who will fear that their doctors will not be available to them. let us not hold hostage 2.3 million americans who don't have a job, are looking for a job, want to work, and have the fear that they won't have the resources to support themselves and help support their families. the american people are waiting. they're watching closely and intently. there was a cartoon in the washington post today which said that speaker boehner said, you know, we didn't -- you didn't get 12 presents under the tree, so i'm going to take away the two presents you got. mr. speaker, let's give them the two presents and work on getting the other ten presents. that's what they want us to do. that's what the senate did. that's what almost everybody in this country, including the "wall street journal" says we

ought to do, mr. speaker. now, perhaps rush limbaugh and grover norquist don't think that's what we ought to do, but americans think that's what we ought to do, and i am pleased now to yield to the ranking member of the budget committee who grapples with these issues every day, knows how difficult they are to resolve, and knows that sometimes you make an agreement on what you can agree on and then continue to work on that what you cannot. chris van hollen from maryland. >> thank you, mr. hoyer, and thank all of you for joining us today. like you, i listened to the speaker of the house who is just at this podium. and as i heard his remarks, it was very clear he's not listening to the american people. just like the house republicans did not listen to the american people when they threatened to have the united states default on its debts for the first time in its history. just like they have not listened to the american people when it

comes to taking up the jobs bill that the president sent to the congress many, many months ago and they've refused to act on it. that's not really surprising anymore. but you would have thought maybe, just maybe, they would listen to some of their senate republican colleagues. 80% of whom voted for a bipartisan compromise to make sure -- >> okay. steny hoyer, chris van hollen making comments. grover, i think that the minority whip was listening to our conversation, at least that's what it would appear. he incited your name. what's your response to him saying that you don't want a solution here? >> well, he also said that the republicans didn't want a solution to the budget fight last summer when, of course, the republicans said let's cut spending $2.5 trillion. it's true the republicans didn't want a $2 trillion tax increase which was the democrats' proposal. the democrats take the position if you're not for raising taxes, you're against everything.

we need to reduce spending, the democrats' solution of raising taxes to pay for ever bigger government is not the direction we want to go in. and mr. van hollen, the guy they brought out, he's not a budget expert, he's the guy in charge of running democratic campaigns, so they brought out their political guy, which lets you know they're not here talking about policy, they're here talking about politics. he runs the campaign committee for democratic congress. >> they're saying you are some have said the most powerful man in d.c. and you by not supporting a solution going forward are part of why this is not succeeding, why there is gridlock. given they may have brought out certain individuals to speak. how do you respond to that? that's what they're really hitting on here. >> look, they don't want to talk about the fact that they want to raise taxes to pay for bigger government and the republicans in congress and the senate are saying we're not going to raise taxes to pay for bigger government. this two-month wait is so they

can come back and get a tax increase. the republicans have put spending restraint in to pay for the fica tax holiday, not a permanent tax increase which is what reid and the president wanted. the democrats want a permanent tax increase to pay for a temporary tax cut. and the point of fact, we're going to cut spending, not raise taxes, that's what's before congress right now. and the republicans are sitting at a table waiting to negotiate, and we just got a speech about we ought to negotiate. get your butt over in the chair and do your job, mr. democrat. >> van hollen is also on the budget committee as you know, that's his current position. i want to play a clip actually of dcc chair steve israel on our show earlier this week. >> this is a moment of truth not only for the middle class but for grover norquist. grover norquist has been making people sign pledges, even if those pledges are fundamentally divergent with the interest of their constituents. now let's see what grover norquist does and says about a house republican tax increase of

$1,000 a year. >> what do you think here, grover? are republicans on the wrong side of the argument right now? the payroll tax cut? >> no, the republican position is that they've passed a one-year extension. the democrats don't want a one-year extension, they want a tax increase. so the argument that somehow the republican position is not the pro-taxpayer position is silly. what's insulting is he said i made somebody take pledges. we offer the pledge to all republicans and democrats who run for office. say if you would like to commit in writing that you're against tax increases for your voters, here is how you do it. and as a point of fact, almost all republicans make that commitment, run on it, and what bothers the democrats is they lose elections because they're the party of higher taxes and spending and they got wiped out in 2010 by a lot of people who said i'm coming to washington

not to raise taxes, but to pay for obama's ever growing government, i'm going to reduce government spending. that's the fight we're having. the republicans say let's cut the fica tax for a year, the democrats say no, no, no, no, we can't cut this wonderful spending -- >> it's on the other side of the ledger as you know so well. grover, i have to finish with this. i was looking at your naughty and nice list. you have lindsay lohan on it. can you explain why? >> because with all of her efforts, she's costing the american taxpayers a lot of money. every time she goes into court. you know how many people are on staff waiting around? >> well, she's made your list, everybody -- okay. there she is. we'll continue to watch that. grover, thank you so much for spending time with us. we'll continue to watch what's being said on capitol hill as the democrats responding to the republicans earlier this morning. again, grover norquist, thank you so much. we will be right back. ♪ but you tonight [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪

[ male announcer ] build your own unique memories with persona beads. now at zales, the diamond store. with persona beads. everyone believes in keeping their promises once a year. but we believe in helping people take steps to keep them every single day. that's why every day we help people across the country get into their first homes. prepare for a comfortable retirement and protect the people and things that matter most. at genworth we believe every day is the right day to take a step toward tomorrow. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool.

♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ when your chain of supply goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, that's logistics. ♪

i'd like a decaf 360 calories please. i'll have a triple iced 410 calories please. you know what... i'll have this instead. [ female announcer ] swap one thing a day for a yoplait light at around 100 calories. it will add up to amazing.

some breast cancer patients make the difficult choice to remove both of their breasts when just one is affected by cancer. but a new study suggests it may do more harm than good. the study indicate us it only produces a modest increase in life expectancy but greatly reduces quality of life. hi, everybody, good morning, i'm thomas roberts, and the next hour of msnbc, just nine days until americans face a tax hike, and house republicans under pressure to pass the payroll tax extension. is the power of twitter really able to influence how congress will act? and is the label worse congress ever a fair one? the left and right faceoff with that and more. and days after u.s. forces pull out of iraq, dozens are killed after a series of blasts

rock capital city. that and more next hour. ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ v.o.: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com when you pour chunky beef with country vegetables soup over it... you can do dinner. four minutes, around four bucks. campbell's chunky. it's amazing what soup can do. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner.

let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. yes. but lately we've been using k-y® intense™. it stimulates arousal so the big moment is... (announcer) k-y® brand intense™ -

well, the war of words is heating up between mitt romney and newt gingrich. listen to this right here. >> if you can't handle the heat in this little kitchen, the heat from obama's kitchen is going to be a heck of a lot hotter. >> if he wants to try out the kitchen, i'll debate him anywhere. >> joining me now from washington, d.c., good day to both of you. tony, let's start with you. is newt's fight here over nasty ads, we saw some of the back and forth, but he's always bringing up the issue of these nasty ads. he's going against them. is him doing that overtaking his need to stay on message? >> it seems that way. and it's really counterproductive. you either get out and define yourself or you're going to let the other candidate define you. it's a waste of time for gingrich. and i think it's hurting him in his ultimate goal in iowa. and romney is making strong gains.

>> kiki, newt's on a charm offensive saying he's not going to go negative. at the same time, romney is going on his own charm offensive with the media. he's been in mass media all along. who do you think is doing a better job of being charming? >> well, i think charming is probably missing across the board. but this is that mud wrestling that goes on right as you get into the final lane in the caucuses in the new hampshire primary. and the reality is neither one of them are secure in their position. neither one of them are seen as leaders of their party. if they were, by the way, they'd do something about what's going on with their congressional republicans, they'd pick up the phone and call speaker boehner and actually engage in what's going on with the tax hike that republicans are about po put on. what you see here is a lack of leadership from both of them. it's ironic given when you hear mitt romney say president obama needs to show leadership, but neither one of them are showing it nationally or on the ground in iowa or new hampshire. and that's why you see this

schoolyard boyhood squabbling going on. >> that's a typical campaign running -- >> tony, kiki, i apologize, the busy day on capitol hill has shortened our time. and that wraps up this hour of "jansing & company." arthritis p, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain... two pills can last all day. ♪ a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies,

celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex.

for a body in motion. 12 hour hold challenge. apply fixodent once, and it holds all day. ♪ take the fixodent 12 hour hold challenge. guaranteed, or your money back. ♪ it's like having portable navigation. a bluetooth connection. a stolen vehicle locator. roadside assistance.

and something that could help save your life - automatic help in a crash. it's the technology of five devices in one hard-working mirror. because life happens while you drive. this holiday, give someone you love an onstar fmv mirror for only 199. visit onstar.com for retailers. nine days until americans face a tax hike. and house republicans are under pressure from both sides of the aisle to pass a two-month payroll tax cut extension. >> are republicans getting killed right now in public opinion? there is no question. are we on a bad path as it relates to public policy? no question. next hour, president obama uses the power of twitter to drive his message home. who is going to be hard hit if their taxes go up? what do you have to say about