thanks for being with us. all of you out there, merry christmas. merry christmas to everybody out there watching and, of course, happy hanukkah as well and happy holy season to everyone. "the ed show" starts right now. >> good evening, americans, welcome to "the ed show" live from minneapolis. president obama says alo had a to a completely dysfunctional congress and john boehner is fighting for his political life. well if, you're a democrat, it's beginning to look a lot like christmas. this is "the ed show." >> this is good news just in time for the holidays. >> tax relief is on the way for millions of americans while john boehner is licking his wounds. >> what are you doing for the holidays? >> senator bernie sanders from vermont and the dccc chair will join us on the latest victory for the democrats and the american people. plus, msnbc karen finney is here

to discuss the tea party mutiny. ron paul's newsletter scandal is exploding. rick perry is getting creepier in his ads and a gay robot invades a bachmann campaign spot. we'll try to make sense of it all. and rex, the liberal watchdog, is now a rising media star. we'll have an update on where he's spending christmas. good to have with you us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. the payroll tax fight was not just a victory for the democrats and president obama and 160 million americans. it may have started a civil war within the republican party. establishment republicans are blaming the tea party for being unreasonable. the tea party says that gop leaders simply are not doing their job. and polls show democrats are

benefiting big time politically. president obama used the leverage to push for a full year extension of the tax cut. >> when congress returns, i urge them to keep moving forward without drama and without delay and reach an agreement that extends this tax cut as well as unemployment insurance through autumn of 2012. last week i said that this should be a formality, and that's still the case. so let's make sure that we extend this tax break and unemployment insurance for a full year for our families but also for our economy. it's the right thing to do because more money spent by more americans means more businesses, hiring more workers. >> the victory in the payroll tax dispute also allowed the president to continue his message of fighting for the american working class. it's about your lives, your

families. you didn't send us to this town to play partisan games and to see who up is and down. you sent us here to serve and make your lives a little bit better, to do what's right. and fortunately that's how this week ended. >> all of this was so unnecessary. this fight came down to the wire because the tea party is just flat out subborn and bent. their members wanted to pay for the extension by cutting programs that democrats are going to protect, at least that's what they're saying. they didn't get their way. so now they're whining about it. freshman tea party republican allen west went on fox news and didn't have much confidence in his party's leadership. >> give me an opportunity to be in leadership. we didn't fall down until the mission is complete. maybe that's what the american people need to understand. it's time we take a chance with the young leaders that we sent to washington, d.c., and move away from this establishment rhetoric and this game that they

play in washington, d.c. this is not a 24-hour have some e-mail discussions back and forth within the freshmen class. and we're let down, upset. but that does not mean we'll continue to fight against the business as usual beltway two step. >> hold it right there. how many times have i told you it's about them and not the people? in the same interview, fox news cited a congressional member who john boehner's speakership was in president. he may have a mutiny on his hands. on the other side of the aisle, the democrats appear to be unified. i spoke with senator charles shumer in new york last night on this program and he explained the reversal of the fortune for the democrats. >> since september we've done a lot better. why? well, we have focused on the economy, jobs, and income inequality. we came out united, finally, for the tax on incomes over $1

million. we came out for a jobs program and we said, look, even if it doesn't pass, we're going to put it on the floor of the senate over and over and over again. >> the blueprint he outlined is paying off for americans. president obama and the republicans in congress definitely aren't going to get together on everything. but a recent poll shows that americans in this country have more confidence in the president than in republicans by a margin of 19%. if you think about what we went through a year ago this is a big difference from the 2010 midterms. the payroll tax fight is just the latest political event showing one party working, i think, on solutions and caring about the american people in american workers. and another party that is all about power and getting rid of the president and making sure accident get re-elected. now in the interview that we just played here a clip a moment ago, what did you hear allen west talk about? he talked about him. talked about his leadership. talked about what he wanted, talked about their little group.

they want to take this country in a very radical direction. and i think what the democrats have learned here throughout this entire tax fight over the last several weeks and this two-month extension is don't cave in. there's a lot of polls out there that showed the democrats have the american people with them. they can't forget that. get some swagger. fine, hover r however you want to do it. but there is going to be another fight in the next two months. and as the democrats held the line this time, they're going to have to hold the line again and protect the big three. what i think is going to get cut probably big time is agriculture. there's a lot of haircuts that can be given on the prairie as far as that is concerned. but here's what the tea party is going to do. they're going to get a heck of a lot more belligerent. they're going to get more determined and focus big time on spending. they don't care what they cut. they want obama out and they do not want to raise taxes. and the president has as much said there won't be a revenue

component. let's see where it all breaks down. but right now, to focus even though it's the holiday season on this mutiny that's taking place within the republican party, i find very interesting. will they go more radical? or will they being more reasoned? get your cell phone os out. will the payroll tax fight cost the gop the house and senate in 2012? put on your prognostication hat and give us an answer tonight. our blog is there for you. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. now communication is going to be a big thing for the republicans. so let's turn to karen finney tonight. and former dnc communications director. karen, it would seem to me that republicans got to get behind closed doors here and figure out how they're going to talk to the american people and deal with the tea party at the same time. where is this all going in the next couple months?

>> i think what's interesting is if you take a step back, i mean the republicans are also really losing their argument as to why they are competent and capable of leading this country. this is not the first time they brought us to the brink. this is now the second time the government has almost shut down under their leadership. we almost defaulted. so time and again they've gotten themselves to the brink. they can't seem to get themselves together. john boehner seems frankly politically impetent. you'll see his leadership challenged coming in the new year. but that's not going to solve the problem. one of the key things for democrats is to keep the pressure on on this argument, frankly, that the republicans are just in competent in their ability to lead. and when push comes to shove, they're about as you've been talking so much, protecting the millionaires and billionaires and not the interests of middle class americans. >> do you think speaker baner is worried about his position as speaker of the house? and who do you think would lead the charge against boehner at

this point? >> i think if boehner isn't afraid for his job right now, then he is living in a fantasy land. i think it's pretty clear that eric cantor has been nipping at his heels ever since the turnover happened in 2010. i think we'll see some kind of challenge either coming from kantor or some part from that freshman tea party base, if you will. a lot of people have talked about the fact that these guys, i know you have, too, don't seem to understand the difference between campaigning and governing. it's one thing to campaign and say hey, we're going to go and we're going to make change. but it's another thing when you get here to washington and you say okay, we've got to do the people's business and 90% of americans want us to do one thing and yet they keep trying to do something else. >> here's more from president obama today on the situation. here it is. >> i do want to be clear though. we have a lot more work to do. this continues to be a make or break moment for the middle class in this country. and we're going to have to roll up our sleeves together,

democrats and republicans, to make sure that the economy is growing and to make sure that more jobs are created. >> so where does the president go from here in the next 60 days? i mean after the new year, he's going to the opportunity to make the pitch to the american people about how important this is in the state of the union address. but the fact is that the democrats are going to have to hold the line on the big three and they're going to have to try to get revenue. how is that going to work? >> that's exactly right, ed. part of what democrats need to do is they need to stay unified. i mean one of the reasons that this worked was because you had democrats and lock step from congress to the white house pushing on the same message. i think the white house very effectively when you had people talking about what that $40 a month meant for them or a paycheck meant for them really putting it in concrete terms. so staying the course in terms of staying unified is going to be critical. the other thing that i think is important, though, is to remind

people that it wasn't just that all the sudden the republicans had a change of heart and said hey two months isn't enough. now we want a year extension. no, they wanted those writers. they had other objectives and agendas going into this thing that had nothing to do with the middle class and creating jobs. we've got to keep that message being pushed out as well. >> karen finney, democratic strategist, msnbc political analyst, good to have you with us. thanks so much. joining me now is congressman steve israel of new york. he is the chairman of the dccc. happy holidays, congressman. i know you're feeling good about the way this thing turned out in the last 48 hours. but moving forward, and i guess as snapshot in time here, are we ending 2011 with the rejection of tea party politics? what do you think? >> well, i think we are ending 2011 with a deep sense of buyer's remorse setting in

across the country. it's not just this fight for the middle class that democrats have led, this is cumulative. it started out in march, ed, when the tea party republicans in congress wanted to close down the government over a woman's right to go to planned parenthood for health care. then there was the budget that emptied medicare as we know it. then there was a debt ceiling vote in august and failure of the super committee in november and now. this at every step of the way, the tea party republicans have chosen the wrong priorities which is why most of america right now is re-evaluating who they voted for in the past. i believe this house is absolutely in play. >> well, congressman, it's very clear that the american people as far as the polls are concerned are with the democrats on this issue. the next big hurdle is revenue. harry reid said this last night. he says, "i've talked to senate republicans, plural, who think there should be a fair tax on rich people." so the question, is will the democrats take up the

millionaire surtax to get the one-year extension passed? is that the avenue you're going? >> absolutely, yes. clear and unequivocal. there is a big difference here. it's the house republicans and the tea party of who are asking the middle class to pay for middle class tax cut. it's house democrats who say we want a one-year extension of the middle class tax cut but we don't want the middle class to pay for it. we don't want to take it out of medicare or increase medicare premiums. we want people who are earning over $1 million a year to pay a slight surcharge on dollars over $1 million, not onned 1dz million but the excess over $1 million. every election is about who you're for. that's why i feel very confident going into this election. people realize who we are for and who these tea party republicans are for. >> well, people are recognizing that confidence especially "the wall street journal." the conservative editorial page, they've been pretty aggressive in recent days. after the republicans, they said republicans in congress might end up re-electing the president

before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest. you may have the upper hand right now. what's it going do to keep it? >> well, we're going to keep fighting for the middle class. this is how screwed up it has become. the tea party republicans came to congress promising that they were going to be for more defense spending and lower taxes. they are now in a position where they have endorsed $500 billion in cuts to the defense budget because of their failure with the super committee and they opposed a md will class tax cut. this is like a bizarre political episode of star trek. we're in their universe. >> but "the wall street journal" is saying that ball is in your court to win it all in 2012. keep the senate, win the house back and re-elect president obama. and the republicans are handing it to you. do you feel that way tonight? do you feel the mojo going into 2012? >> we feel very strong. we have a realistic view of what we need to do to win back the house.

but i'm not going to wait for the republicans to hand us anything. we will win by advocating policies and priorities that resonate with the middle class. we'll win by contrasting our priorities with their priorities. every time we've been given an opportunity to do that, the american people side with us which is why this majority for democrats is in play. >> congressman steve israel, great to have you with us tonight. have a great weekend, a great holiday. we'll see you next week. >> happy holidays. >> you better. remember to answer tonight's question there and share your thoughts on twitter. we want to know what you think all the time. senator bernie sanders will join me next to discuss whether the president can keep pressure on the republicans to pass the middle class agenda. and vice president joe biden rips into mitt romney in iowa. romney responds by completely ignoring the facts. john nickels and joe madison weigh in. we're right back. ♪ and just let me be [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ your ticket home

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tlnchts is breaking news out of south carolina to nonighttonigh. the department of justice rejected a new voter id law. minorities would be significantly burdened by the law. it would have required voters to show photo identification to cast their vote. the department of justice said the data provided by the state showed that minorities were nearly 20% more likely to lack a division of motor vehicle issued id and be disenfranchised. the same assault on democracy is going on in dozens of states across the country. and as i've said before, it seems like the republicans are spending as much money trying to stop people from getting out to the polls as they are spending money trying to turn them out. make no mistake, the justice department is standing up for democracy on this one. this is a big move tonight by eric holder. we talked a lot about voter suppression in recent days on this program. this is the first big move by the attorney general. and so tonight, we're reporting that the justice department has rejected the new voter id law in

the state of south carolina. coming up, i'm going to talk to vermont senator bernie sanders about this, about the justice department's decision and the payroll tax cut extension. stay tuned. ♪ ramón, you're the whole enchilada, so tell me, is something in my life missing? yes. chunks of you are missing. it's not good. it was that bargain-brand cooking spray. it left the best part of me in the pan. ah! whereas i was cooked with new-and-improved pam. it's 70% better. see the difference in the muffins? this is hard for me to watch. sí, sí, sí.

everything is falling apart! no, francisco. you are falling apart. aah! new pam helps you pull it off. even better. guaranteed. breaking news tonight, the united states justice department rejects a new voter id law in south carolina saying it's harmful to minority voters. republican-controlled states are working overtime to change election laws around the country. many of these states are key battleground places in the 2012 election. attorney general eric holder said earlier this month that the

department would investigate these new laws to make sure that they are not violating the rights of voters. it s. today's decision just the tip of the iceberg? a lot of the laws are passed in five of the 12 battleground states. to night i'm joined by vermont independent senator bernie sanders. senator, good to have you with us tonight. this is the first big move by the justice department since a number of states have passed some laws which many people are interpreting to be voter suppression. will the voter id laws and other states be overturned? is this a tip of the iceberg? how do you view this tonight, senator? >> well, i think what the attorney general did in south carolina is important. it is a first step. he has got to go further. the president has got to start speaking out on this issue. you know, if anybody is involved in voter fraud, ed, that's a serious problem. the good news is that we don't have much voter fraud in america. what many of these right-wing governors are doing is really

clear. they're trying to disenfranchise low income people, senior citizens, making it harder for them to cast a ballot. and to me, that is not only an outrage, it's something they should be profoundly ashamed of s we all win elections and sometimes we lose elections. but if you don't have the guts to let people participate fully in the democratic process, you should get another line of work. i will also add that many of the same republicans think citizens united is a great idea. corporations are people. but it you're a low income person in south carolina, i guess you can't participate in the political process. >> senator, i have to ask you, what kind of progress is being made on your amendment in dealing with citizens united? >> we're going to begin working in burlington, vermont. a resolution was passed asking congress to go forward for a constitutional amendment on

overturning citizens united. i think you're going to see that grassroots effort all over the country, ed. >> i hope so. let's talk now about the payroll tax cut. i know you're not a big fan of it. of course, the unemployment benefit extensions. president obama set the agenda for this fight in september. way back when. here it is. >> i know some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live. now it is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle class taxes which is why you should pass this bill right away. >> senator, are you happy the way this played out? what can we expect in the next -- in the coming months. >> well, clearly, in the middle of the term, the middle class does need tax relief. i support that. it should be funded progressi progressively by asking the wealthiest people in this country to pay more in taxes. as you know, i have a problem with cutting the payroll tax substantially. that is money directed into the social security and trust fund and i wore gentlemen very much about the future of social

security. having said that, ed, it appears that the republicans finally are now on the defensive. the democrats have got to raise the ante. they have to go back and i intend to play an active role in that and say jobs is what we have got to talk about. millions of jobs. we have to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. we have to transform our energy system. we have to rethink our disastrous trade policy. what we have to do is tell the american people, we are on the side of working families who are desperately hurting right now in this recession almost 25 million unemployed or underemployed. we're going to take on the big money interests and the corporate interests for much more concerned about their profits than the well-being of our country. >> finally, senator, i have to ask you, the democrats have had a hard time in the last three years drawing a line in the sand. what lessons were learned through all of this?

has the mentality of the caucus changed somewhat that now the game has changed and time to be aggressive? i said all along if the democrats stand with workers at the democrats stand with middle class families, you can't lose. you get that power back. >> let's hope -- let's hope that momentum has shifted. in the last three or four negotiations, republicans have won. this time the democrats have won. and the democrats do need to draw a line in the sand. that line is we are not going to cut social security, medicare, and medicaid. wefr going wealthiest to pay their fair share of taxes. if republicans say no, let the american people make their decision about whether or not they want to support republicans. >> senator sanders, you are a tireless worker. i hope you have a good holiday weekend. and appreciate all you have done this year fighting for the working families of this

country. you're one of my favorites, no question about it. i admire you. you speak up, you tell it like it s i appreciate working with you. i appreciate you being on the program tonight. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> waging war on christmas. and i'll put a local coal in the stocking next y is rick perry doing this in his latest tv ad? we have reporters here to explain. [ female announcer ] wish you had that list huh?

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fox and friends normally loves christmas. think usually defend the holiday to the point of insanity. but today things changed. the kids on the couch, they spent a lot of time this morning excluding christmas. they used christmas lights to bash the epa. >> next year it could cost you a lot more to plug in the lights. >> it sounds like the epa is cracking down on coal. clark griz wald is crying. >> it really hurts communities and people that you're so concerned about. remember how hard you worked to get them another $1,000? you're taking it away christmas time if you want your blow up santa. and who doesn't? >> better enjoy your blow up santa this year. apparently it's going to cost you $1,000 in 2012. but steve douchy and his buddies were just getting warmed up. turns out there is a more serious threat at christmas time

than the epa. >> tis the season to be jolly. be careful. you could get sued. >> you don't want grandma getting run over by reindeer or this great snow plow which is safe unless you put your hands in it. a dozen deaths a year. more deaths zbl -- >> from a christmas tree? >> get the proper insurance in place. let's move to the egg nog. be careful of social host liability. you have to be careful. make sure you have the right insurance. let's have the right insurance. and let's act like the great americans that we are. >> fox news! merry christmas! >> yeah, you better watch out and see what the righties put in the egg nog. you'll be lucky to make it through the holiday season without dying, killing someone on getting sued. just make sure you have insurance for a group of people who spent the last month hollering about the war on christmas. they're nonstop negativity about this holiday is unseasonal

psycho talk. the republican ghosts of christmas past are haunting the voters in iowa. vice president joe biden is setting them straight. john nichols of the nation will respond next. and later, we've got a rex story to tell you. rex rescue. the buying will story coming up. this guy is so cute even the right-wingers loved him. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some people just know how to build things well. give you and your loved ones an expertly engineered mercedes-benz... ho ho ho! ...at the winter event going on now. but hurry -- the offer ends january 3rd.

good to have you back with us. thank you for watching. this holiday season, you have to admit there's no question that republicans are the scrooges of the holiday season. i mean from washington to iowa, the message has been very clear. the gop is looking out for the wealthiest americans. vice president joe biden lays out the stark contrast between the obama administration and republicans in an op-ed appearing in the des moines register. he targeted mitt romney's writing. romney appears satisfied to settle for an economy in which

fewer people succeed while the majority of americans are left to electrode batter or fall behind. his proposal would actually double down on the policies that caused the greatest economic clamcy continues the great depression and accelerated a decades-long assault on the middle class." mitt romney responded to day at an event in new hampshire. >> you wonder what fantasy land he lives in. he needs to get out and meet with people. he seems to think he and the president made things better. they haven't made things better. this president and his policies have made it harder on the american people and middle class. and i don't think they get it. i don't think they understand from fantasy land what's happening in real america. >> mitt romney is the one living in a fantasy land. we have seen for the record 21 straight months of private sector job growth. mr. romney is that a good thing or bad thing? this week we found out the unemployment rate fell in 43

states in the month of november. 45 states in this country have lower jobless rates than they did a year ago. i say president obama's policies are working pretty good. but the republicans will keep accusing president obama of hurtsing the economy. they have to keep the negative narrative going through 2012. they know it's the only shot they have at a victory is to go on its stump like romney did there and say things that simply aren't true. and they never give facts. i mean if romney were to get in front of a crowd and say we didn't have private sector job growth for 21 months, okay. that's not the truth. we have had private sector job growth for 21 consecutive months. on the heels of the worst economic situation any president has had to inherit. i'm joined tonight by john nichols, washington correspondent of the nation magazine and joe madison, sirius-xm radio host. they're both experts at

identifying the scrooges in the right-wing. gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. >> good evening. >> merry christmas. >> john, you wrote a piece recently comparing newt gingrich and mitt romney to scrooge. what was the reasoning here? >> well, ed, when you start out by suggesting that you fire school janitors and replace them with children, you're getting pretty close to a dekenzian model. there i haven't read all of dickens character recently, as for romney, the tragedy of romney is that while he doesn't go to those stark places that newt reaches, if you look at what romney's been saying in this last week, it's just this dark kind of crude image of this country. and to attack joe biden for, you know, pointing out that there

has been economic growth, why you would want to be the guy that mitt romney is at christmas, the guy who tells that you, you know, things are going bad. things are awful and you probably shouldn't get the kids presents? >> you know, when you look at the tax plan joe madison that mitt romney put throughout and overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest americans. the other candidates put up the same kind of a plan. are they hoping that nobody's going to notice this stuff? what do you make of it. >> not only are they hoping they're not going to notice, but they're hoping that individuals like john, yourself and i and others who have a voice and a microphone or a camera won't be able to figure it out. you know, i think we need to give the american people a great deal of credit. i'm glad president obama didn't gloat today. he put it right where it needed to be. 160 million people understood it because we broke it down. we broke it down to a simple,

simple message. and that's what we have to keep on doing. let me flip the script. do you remember how they used to say if the wealthy really was concerned they could write a check to the u.s. government and bring down the deficit? well, everybody who doesn't want that 1,000 or $1500 a month, these tea party folks, here's what can you do in january. write a check. write a check. do what you ask the rich to do. write a check and send it and pay down the deficit. see how many checks the government gets from these folks. speaking of writing checks and paying down debt, i see that mitt romney says he won't release his tax records. what about that? >> that's a very big deal. obama released their tax records. they always comb through and try to make a big hit on it. the problem with romney in refusing to release the tax

records is we already know that he is still taking a great deal of money that he gained real gri the relationship with bain capital, the robert baron korngs that he was involved in. and that's a significant thing. because here you have a company that an operation that was all about going into corporations, ripping them apart, taking the profitable parts and shutting down factories, shipping jobs overseas. what you look at mitt romney's tax returns, you see the connections. that's a big reason why he doesn't want to release them. >> and joe madison, ron paul is under fire for a mailer he supposedly sent out in 1993 advertising his newsletter. in the mailer, he notes his newsletter have laid bare the coming race war in our big cities and warned of a federal homosexual cover-up on aids.

i mean that and then, of course, some other questionable stuff dealing with race, where is this going to take his campaign? is this going to affect him at all, joe? >> it has to affect them, absolutely. not only is he not ready for the 21st century, republican party, he's not ready for the 21st century america. we have been so far from that. but really what i think irritates most people is that he says i didn't know about it. it had my name on it. but i really didn't know about it. i didn't write it. but he doesn't identify who wrote it. look, anything ed shultz has his name on, the nation magazine has their name on, i have my name on. we better know about it. and we better be able to explain it. and in terms of mitt romney's tax returns, again, yeah, he's going to have to release them and the american people want to see this. but, you know, they're exposing

themselves. and that's why i think come february we're going to -- the american people are going to have a different attitude than they have had leading up to this fight. >> well, identifying the scrooges of the republican party, a very easy assignment for all of us. john nichols, joe madison. great to have you with us. have a great weekend. i appreciate your time tonight. michelle bachmann is con fronted by a gay robot in iowa. what does this mean? our reporters will help us figure that out. [ 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!

up next, michelle bachmann gets heckled by a gay robot. we'll react to that and take apart rick perry's ad. there was quite a response to my friend rex the beagle on last night's program. we'll give you an update on where he's going. where he's going. don't ♪ but you tonight

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welcome back to "the ed show." many of her views seem to come out of space so what little surprise at a campaign stop michelle bachmann got a visit from a robot. take a look. >> do you support the gay rights? michelle bachmann, i will not rest until you support equal rights for human and robot gay people. not only are you a homophone, you are a homophone. >> get out of here! get out of here! >> i was programmed to do this. i can not help myself. i am gay. >> thanks.

>> if you go back in there, you'll be facing some charges, okay? >> mission accomplished. >> let's turn to mike papantonio and liz winstead, co-creator of the daily show. liz is performing her year in review show here in minneapolis for tickets you want to go to broub paper tickets.com. mike, i got to say that the extreme views of the righties bring out extreme protest. do we more robots on the campaign trail? >> it wouldn't surprise me if that was her husband dressed up to bring excitement to the campaign. it shows distinction between the republicans and democrats. yesterday we saw a president.

we saw a president that could speak in complete sentences. he had intelligent analysis, motivational and inspirational. contrast with what we see coming from the republican party. it looks like sceneses out of south park when you really compare what the two sides are doing here. every time we see the republicans, every day we wait for that kim kardashian disaster moment coming from the republican side. you know what? we're never disappointed. we're never disappointed. >> i want to know how long it took them to figure out that that freak dressed up as a gay row bat was in their midst? because there are so many nut bag that's attend a michelle bachmann function that that guy probably blended in for a good 20 minutes before they even noticed. >> well, liz, what percentage of republican primary voters do you think are robo phones? >> i don't know. i have a feeling there are a few, you know, gay robophobes

that walk among michelle bachmann and that marco sure seems fun. >> the latest rick perry ad doesn't feature rick perry. that is until the end. take a look at this. >> i'm anita perry. when rick served duty as a captain in the air force, he returned home to farm with his dad and asked me to marry him. we grew up in small towns, raced with christian values, val yuz we still believe in. we know that washington, d.c. could use some of that. i'm rick perry and i real yea prove this message. >> he really approved it, mike. does that make a difference. >> when he popped into that ad, i thought i was watching a trailer for the hobbit. it was like he just pouncing behind. it's like -- look at them. hi. hi. here i am. hi. >> we're seeing these 30 second sound bites. this is what so bizarre. we're seeing 30 second sound

bites where the candidates are telling white house is the holiest and who's been married the long environment, who has the most children and who is the least goofy. that is what the discussion has come down to. it is i'm less goofy than you are. unfortunately, that's what you're left w the real story here, ed, is karl rove and fox news has got to be scrambling around to figure out how they're going to reverse this disaster they brought on america. they brought the robot. they brought perry. they brought these clowns, the philandering fraud, the uppity wall street millionaire, the dim it with parry who should have been named giggals as a child. they created this mess. now they can scramble all they want because they're not going to be able to correct this thing that they've made that is now the new tea party republican party. >> liz. >>? >> it's like whoever was left at willow brook is out and out running for president under the gop ticket. it is completely absurd at this

point. but what were you going to say, ed? i interrupted. >> who wins iowa, do you think? of all the crazies, who wins iowa, liz? >> usually, you know, because iowa has been so helpful to the republicans in the past with, you know, huckabee and pat buchanan. so my guess is that rick santorum will take this win and just ride it all the way home to his amazingly christian marriage. >> what do you think, mike? >> it's going to be a guy like perry or santorum. the rest of the kun stri worried about the economy and wall street and stealing money from us and the deficit, they're worried about family values. santorum is playing into that. per ji pla perry is playing into that. iowa is always wrong so who they come up with doesn't mean much anyway. >> great to you have with us tonight. have a great weekend. >> thank you. merry christmas. >> you, too, liz.

coming up, rex the rescued beagle. he was a holiday hit last night.

97% of you said question and 3% of you saying no. coming up, i'll give you an update on last night's special guest, rex the rescued beagle. . where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression,

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last night we introduced you to rex. rex a rescued beeg frl a shelter no new york. joined me on the program last night to explainhe dog beau. beau was featured on the white house christmas card and went christmas shopping with the president. harmless stuff if you ask me. but that didn't stop the republicans from just hammering the president for taking his dog shopping for the holidays. well, rex the good liberal walk dog, he didn't like that too much. now we just played sound bites of republicans there. he doesn't like them. look at that. settle down. no. no. i know. we have to work with them, rex. you can't work them over all the time. all right. i feel the same way sometimes. democratic dogs, don't you think they deserve loof? they have feelings too.

have a heart for beau and my friend rex. it's the holiday season. >> i thought rex was pretty doggone execute and so did many of our viewers of the program. doug stover of media matters e-mailed us this picture of his dog watching rex last night. he says, looks like ed gained another viewer. the blogs, they took it pretty nice, too. here's a headline. even glenn beck's website covered it. and fox nation is now aware there is a liberal watchdog out there. look out. although i'm not sure where they got the idea that rex hates republicans, he just lets you beware, okay? he's just a little suspicious of the righties, that's all. well, we are happy to report that the good folks who have been caring for rex at the shawn casey animal rescue in new york got more than 100 phone calls from viewers wanting to adopt this beautiful pup.

now they tell us that rex should be in a loving home just in time for christmas. now this holiday season, if your dog is anything like our dog buck, a black lab at home, he's always roaming through the kitchen, he might be sniffing around looking for some extra treats this holiday season. here's a clip of a dog sit h. sitting next to his master just hoping for something yummy in the holiday season. instead, this is what he gets. >> food. you know, i just couldn't stop thinking about it. so, yeah. so you know i went to the fridge and i opened up the meat drawer. you know what the meat drawer is, right? what was in there? i'll tell what you was in there. you know that bacon. that's like maple. the maple kind, yeah. yeah. i took that out. and i thought i know who would like that. me. so i ate it. >> my advice,