the whole thing but especially by our daughter caroline going the distance and finishing well up there in the pack. it was a great day for philly and the country. it was wow. that's "hardball." thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead is not change and you definitely can't believe in it. since the election, many republicans have insisted they've had a wake-up call. they're going to mend their ways. they're going to work as governor jindal says on not being the party of stupid. former governor says the party needs a proctology exam. and now in a sign of party unity, they're all tripping over themselves to reject mitt romney's gift comments. >> we're in a big hole. we're not getting out of it by comments like that. when you're in a hole, stop digging. he keeps digging. >> sounds like he'd be happy if

mr. romney stayed in that hole. but mr. goingrich one-upped him. >> i just think it's nuts. first of all, it's insulting. this would be like walmart having a bad week and going the customers have really been unruly. >> romney's comments are insulting. that from the man who coined the phrase "food stamp president." here's a little secret. a funny thing happened on the gop road to redemption. they're starting to show they're not really interested in change. take senator marco rubio, a republican front-runner for 2016. in an interview, he was asked how ould the earth is. rubio said, "i'm not a scientist, man. i can tell you what recorded history says. i can tell you what the bible says. but i think that's a dispute among theologians. whether the earth was created in seven days or seven actual eras,

i'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that one. it's one of the great mysteries." flirting with creationism. how's that for moderation? did i mention he's a member of the senate science committee? how about this from the newly elected north carolina governor? >> the obama machine, the ground machine, is absolutely incredible. i saw it in '08 when i lost in '08 running for governor. i was blind-sided by it. this time i wasn't blind-sided, but i still think they have a much better ground machine. >> republicans lost because of the obama machine. it was the machine that delivered 71% of the latino vote, not policy. and how about this gem from tea party senator elect ted cruz? >> the first debate between romney and obama, the one time we actually contested ideas,

presented two viewpoints and directions for the country. and then inevitably there are these mandarins in politics who give the voice, don't show any contrast, don't rock the boat. so by the third debate, i'm pretty certain mitt romney actually french kissed barack obama that night. >> maybe i saw a different debate. kissing aside, i think he's implying that romney was too moderate. that's the real punch line. these guys want you to believe they change, but that couldn't be further from the truth. joining me now is abby huntsman, host and producer of "huff post live" and toure, host of "the cycle" here on msnbc. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks. >> let me start with you. is the gop awakening a change in

name only? >> i think it's mostly a change in name only. we see some adults in the party, bobby jindal and scott walker trying to say we need to change. but then you see people like sean hannity saying i've evolved, right, and of course that talk media ball drives the media. i've evolved on immigration. no, that's not all you need to do, sean. you need to do much more than that. what the liberals and democrats have done over decades is show great respect to black and brown people. it's not a quick fix. let's just slap marco rubio on the front of the party. we put a brown face on those policies and let him say self-deportation? that will work? that's also not going to work. and this free stuff idea, which is exactly 47%, just said in a different way, it's been gop or conservative ideology for over ten years. you can look at "the wall street journal" talk about lucky duck i cans, ten years ago believing

about makers and takers, which, of course, relates to the southern strategy that we will protect you -- >> and that's over ten years old nap goat back to lee atwater. >> to the '60s. we'll protect you from these black and brown people who want to take away from you, you know, via welfare, redistribution. >> abby, you know the party better than toure. >> not today i don't. >> is this a change in name only or are you seeing a real shift in the party? >> let me first say that i think karl rove and romney need to ride out into the sunset together. i think they've both been blackmailed by the party, which is not a surprise. this is inevitable. we knew it would happen. romney is an easy target right now. it's a ship that sunk and romney was the captain. no one wants to be a part of that right now. you see a lot of these people speaking as far as they can from the romney, the whole message that lost. but what you have to question is the authenticity. i've been surprised at how quickly some of these folks have come out like jindal. but you can't just say we can't

be the stupid party anymore. the republican party needs to get back to results. i mean, you look throughout history. the republican party has always been -- not always but a lot of the time has been ahead of the times. the party we see has fallen back. you know, you look all the way back to lincoln. that was for individual freedoms. you look back to roosevelt. that was all about securing our national parks. to nixon, that ended the vietnam war. to reagan, that was in favor of am necessary si. you have to wonder would these individuals win today? i am confident that they would not. >> win? they wouldn't even be nominated. >> right. >> you mentioned jindal. let me show you what jindal says. >> i absolutely reject what he said. if we want people to like us, we have to like them first. you don't start to like people by insulting them, saying their votes were bought. that's why we need to elect mitt romney, repeal obama care, and end this culture of dependence. do we go the way of europe? our founding fathers were declaring our independence. i don't think they intended us to be this dependent upon -- >> so you've got him in june and

you have him now. much different kinds of rhetoric and words. and i go to what you said, that it's such a drastic change. now, you know, i'm a preacher, and i like people to be moved by a sermon, but, i mean, this is too immediate for people not to say, wait a minute. >> this is a little bit like romney that we're seeing. the last thing the party needs is another figure like that that's willing to jump around based on what they think is going to win. what they saw this last time, the platform did not win. he's trying to be anything but that. but, you know, i hope that people do see through this because ultimately that's not going to be access a successful campaign or message. >> toure, you had the republican strategist mike murphy offer some advice to the gop. look at this. >> very fashionable now to beat up romney. he made an unfortunate comment after the election, but the biggest problem he had was the republican primary. that's what's driving the republican brand right now to a disaster. and we've got to get kind of a

party view of america that's not out of rush limbaugh's dream journal. >> that seemed like a rational analysis. >> i agree. >> but rush limbaugh just unleashed on him today. listen to this. >> what folks did i or any of you have to do with the republican primary? all these consultants, do you realize they get rich no matter who wins or loses? little-known secret. they get rich no matter who wins or loses. but the republican primary, what was wrong with the republican -- as far as he's concerned, there were too many conservatives saying too many stupid things. >> rush is one of the drivers of the party ideology. >> doesn't rush get paid whether they win or lose, too? as a footnote here. >> hannity, coulter, these sort of people. as long as they have them driving the the party ideology, they're going to have problems. they're going to drive it in this extremist direction which

is where they are now, far outside of what most of america is thinking. it's interesting this new idea i keep hearing about the primary was the problem. and part of what they're saying is we spoke too articulately and too clearly about what we really believe. we need to have fewer debates, i.e., don't tell them what you really think, don't let john king and outsiders question us. we're just going to have rens priebus or somebody from fox question us so we don't let people know what we think. i don't think democrats and liberals are having a problem letting people know this is what we think about choice or these sort of things. tell them whatever we think. the republicans are, like, let's have four debates, not let them know what we think and move to the middle and pretend we're on the middle instead of on the extreme right. >> abby, one of the things that has really brought to me that this is not my being overly cynical, but that they're not really changing, was something you said. you revealed that your father's faced a backlash because of his

more centrist views. you told politico, "he was supposed to speak at a fund-raiser in florida and the rnc contacted him and said because you were speaking out for the need for a third voice you're no longer invited to represent us at a fund-raiser. so he's actually been disinvited to a lot of events." >> i kind of spilled the beans there. not sure i was supposed to let that out but i'm glad that i did because that was actually what happened. they looked at my dad as someone that was more harmful to the party than any good. now you look at it, the flip of the switch, we want to go back there now, he's where we were. but my dad has always been authentic. i think the biggest lesson you should learn from what we're seeing with romney is you have to stay true to who you are because the party is going to come and go. as long as you are who you are, i think they'll respect you. that's not what we're seeing with some of the people out there speaking today. >> but that's how you see how good people, moderate people, adults in the party are being pushed aside for the extremists. >> yep. >> right.

>> abby huntsman and toure, thanks for your time this evening. and be sure to catch toure on "the cycle" weekdays at 3:00 p.m. on msnbc. coming up, speaker boehner has a great new idea. a new way to make compromise in this tax fight. he's tapping paul ryan to take a big new role. it makes perfect sense. also, your john mccain hypocrisy alert is coming. he wants an apology from susan rice. is he kidding? we're still waiting on yours. plus, here comes their worst night mare. we'll tell you what senate republicans are secretly saying behind closed doors about elizabeth warren coming to washington. not exactly planning a welcome party. and how about this picture all over the internet? we'll explain what it's all about.

in a conference call, he won because he gave big gifts to target ed voters but some believe he won because of the big gift he got from republicans. [ male announcer ] what are happy kids made of? bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things. sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails. for a lunch like this, there's a hug and a kiss. because that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. five days later, i had a massive heart attack.

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have you joined the "politics nation" conversation on facebook yet? folks have buzzing over this photo of olympic gymnast michaela maroney making her famous not impressed face along with president obama. she explained how it happened this morning on the "today" show. >> he asked me to do it and we took a picture together. he's like i do this face at least once a day.

you always have to be not impressed with something. >> president obama says he makes that face once a day. jane knows why. she says, they're looking at congress. ericka says if you're tired of the gop, then put on your best "i'm not impressed face." and rd wrote, this is why he's the peoplepresident. he's one down to earth guy. we want to maer what you think, too. head to facebook and search "politics nation" and "like "us to keep the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. americans believe they should be in charge of their own future.

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what's the big plan to get something done? "the new york times" reports that speaker john boehner has tapped paul ryan to help strike a deal. to avoid big tax increases and spending cuts by the end of the year. paul ryan? to strike a deal? the same paul ryan who's been flexible time and time again? the same guy whose ideas were rejected by the american people on election night? who wanted to voucherize medicare and cut taxes for the rich? he's their guy to work out a deal on taxes? the truth is a lot of republicans don't want to deal. they want to see the error of their ways even when they're called out on. >> why wouldn't a middle-class voter look at that and say these guys, the gop, are all about protecting the rich? >> we're the party that wants

growth, pro-growth policies. let the democratic party be the party of government growing revenues. this country doesn't need two liberal or democratic parties. yes, we need to show our policies are appealing and work for the middle class, but we don't need to abandon our principles. this country doesn't need two democratic parties. >> don't be fooled. when a republican says pro growth, what he really means is trickle-down. it's never worked. but that doesn't stop republicans from pulling out their old playbook. here's what influential gop congressman tom price said about it. >> we need to look at increasing revenue through pro-growth policies as well as -- >> tax hikes, right? >> tax revenue, which means broadening the base, lowering the rates, closing the loopholes, limiting the deducti deductions, limiting the credits and making certain that we identify the appropriate spending reductions so that we have, indeed, a balanced approach. >> a balanced approach. by lowering tax rates and cutting spending.

how is that balanced? it's exactly the romney/ryan agenda that voters rejected on election night. but republicans still can't let it go. joining me now is jackie kucinich, politics reporter for u"usa today," and heather mcgee vice president of demoez policy center. thank you both for joining me. >> thank you. >> thank you, reverend. >> heather, let me start with you. is paul ryan's role in these talks that many republicans don't want to budge on raising tacks for the rich? >> it would be very difficult for them to go from an election in which they were voicing essentially unmitigated supply-side, trickle-down economics to suddenly two weeks later be able to say, oh, we believe that growth starts from the bottom up, starts from the middle up. it would be very difficult for them to do that. so, yeah, you're going to have a lot of conservatives in the

house wanting to hear paul ryan be the standard-bearer for the debt. the issue is that we are still facing crisis-level records of unemployment. if we are going to move through this fiscal obstacle course and get back focused on jobs, we're going to have to actually spend more to put people back to work, which is the best way to reduce the deficit. >> and this is exactly what ryan as the vice presidential nominee ran really opposing that kind of policy. >> exactly. >> but in fact in "the new york times" article we quoted today, ryan's role in the tax negotiations -- it says when mr. ryan returned to capitol hill last week he was met with a standing ovation from his republican colleagues, a bear hug from will pr boehner, and hope from conservatives that he would hold the line on taxes. so is this a signal that they're really talking compromise but they really don't want to compromise? >> i think the problem is that the republicans in the house have unfortunately gotten way to the right not just of democrats, not just of the center or of the

american people but even of their own base. if you look at the republican exit polls, actually the majority of people who voted for a member of congress on the republican ticket want taxes to be raised on the rich. >> that brings me to the politics of this, jackie. republicans are concerned or should be about midterm elections. if they don't have a policy or ideological switch based on their real feelings, is it possible to create a climate of compromise because they've got to face their electorate? >> well, i mean, i want to point out also paul ryan is not the only person apointed to help out on this. he appointed dave camp, the chairman of ways and means, as well as fred upton, the chairman of the energy and commerce committee. so it's not just paul ryan who was put in this special position. there's these three guys also acting or have advisory roles. but that aside, i mean, the electorate for midterm elections

are very different and tend to favor republicans especially because how the districts are carved up now. the electorate tends to be older. it tends to have less minorities. i don't know that this hinges on it, but i will say that when you look at polling right now, it does show that the burden is on republicans if there is a move over the fis kwcal cliff, rightw gallup and pew said republicans will be the ones taking the blame. >> nancy pelosi insists that raising tax rate for the rich is going to happen. let me show you this. >> we've seen talk about a possible compromise that would leave rates the same but cap deductions for high-income earners. is that something that's acceptable? >> no. >> not at all. no way. >> well, no. i mean, the president made it very clear in his campaign that there is not enough -- there are not enough -- what you just describe is a formula and a blueprint for hampering our future. >> heather, do you think the

republicans will back down on this kind of insistence by the president backed up by pelosi and the democrats? >> i think there's real reason for hope. i think that the president soundly won the election, that the democratic senate got more progressive with people like elizabeth warren with sharon brown beating back hundreds of millions of dollars in special-interest corporate money from likes like the chamber. so i think there is hope for there to have been a strong signal started frankly last year with occupy, where we had this frame of the 1% versus the 99%. the republicans put up their 1% candidate and it lost. so i think there's a real reason to think the voters -- >> especially when we caught the 1% talking about the 47%. but jackie, when you look at gallup and the question is raised who will seek bipartisan solution, president obama, 65%, democrats in congress, 57%, gop only 48%, and as you stated,

when you raise the question of should taxes be raised, even republican, 42% of them say yes. independents, 59%, democrats 77%. and the question is can they find common ground and find it where it does not politically damage them. today one talked about how prosperity and fairness can co-exist, but how do you in the partisan political caucuses sell that? >> i mean, i guess we're just going to have to wait and see. the expectations are very high on the president, as you saw in those polls, to facilitate getting something done. but, you know, right now there's a lot of talk of congeniality, but we'll see how that goes into policy as we go forward. and that's the real question here. staff -- congressional staff on the democrat and republican side are currently working on a framework for this and we'll have to wait and see what they

come up with after thanksgiving because i think we'll go right up to the line. >> yakkie kucinich, heather mcghee, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> thanks, reverend. john mccain is leading the charge against susan rice, but nobody's following him. even republicans are staying away from this one-man witch-hunt. and wait until you hear the gop's new plan to prevent another todd akin. jo aswy go to break, chris cristy's cameo on "saturday night live." >> anything while you're here you'd like to say to the people in new jersey? >> sure. i'd like to thank some people. thank the red cross and first responders. i'd also like to give a special thanks to my lovely wife, mary, who put up with a husband who has smelled like a wet fleece for the past three weeks. >> you have been wearing that fleece a lot. >> it's basically fused to my skin at this point. >> i've seen you wearing two. >> i wear them over the fleece. i'm going to die in this fleece.

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when the right wing can't find a scandal, they'll do the next best thing -- make one up. we saw wit the attacks on eric holder over fast and furious. we saw wit the nonstory of the energy company solyndra. and we're seeing it yet again with senator john mccain's

attack on u.n. ambassador susan rice. mccain is accusing rice of not kel telling the truth about the attacks on our consulate in libya. of course rice's statements matched up with the intelligence community's talking points at that time. but mccain doesn't care about that. he's promising to block her if she's nominated to be secretary of state. problem is his fellow senate republicans are refusing to follow his lead. they're refusing to make the same threat against the president's nominees. >> he needs to nominate who he thinks will best do the job, and i have no prejudgment of anyone who he would potentially nominate. >> i wouldn't want to prejudge it. i'd have to wait and see who they appoint. >> and mccain's buddy joe lieberman doesn't get what the big deal is, by the way. >> as i look at what we now know the intelligence community was saying that week and i look at

ambassador rice's statements on television, on the following sunday morning, i don't find anything inconsistent between those two. >> no scandal here. even mccain's right-hand man, senator lindsey graham, has backed away from ultimatums. >> can susan rice be confirmed as secretary of state if nominated by the president? >> i'm deferential to the president's picks. >> looks like mccain's all by himself on this. so you'd think he'd tone down the rhetoric on blocking her potential nomination. right? >> i think we'd give all nominees the benefit of the hearing process, et cetera. maybe she could start out by publicly coming back on this show and saying i was wrong. i gave the wrong information on your show some several weeks ago. that might be a beginning. >> susan rice. mccain wants susan rice to

apologize for saying what the intelligence community said. when will mccain ask condoleezza rice to apologize for her inaccurate claims about iraq's wmds? what about former president bush? or dick cheney? i'm not going to hold my breath. did mccain not think we would we wouldn't call him out for this double standard? nice try, but we got you. we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

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pregnancy. but they refused because the fe us the had a heartbeat. she was told this was a catholic country and three days later she died of a blood infection. it's a tragic story that raises a lot of questions here in the united states. right now, 46 states allow doctors to deny women abortion services. today, we're learning about ohio republicans reviving a heartbeat bill that would ban all abortions after six weeks. if passed, it would be the most restrictive ban on abortion in the nation. this all comes less than two weeks after the country soundly rejected the gop's war on women rights. did they learn anything? the answer is no. look at the rising stars in the party, bobby jindal, marco rubio, and paul ryan. the so-called new generation in

the gop. and all of these men want to take away women's right to choose. so the real question is could this irish tragedy become an american tragedy? the gop wants a more moderate path. i'm not buying it and you shouldn't either. catherine crier, journalist and former judge and erin carmon, reporter for salon.com. thank you both for being here tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you. >> catherine, let me start with you. they talk a big game but have they learned anything when it comes to women's rights? i'm talking about the gop. >> well, absolutely not. take mississippi who set aside this hold push for fetal personhood, but we still hear about pending legislation in various states. this heartbeat legislation is essentially a ban on abortion

because at six weeks many women don't even know they're pregnant. so you've taken away the option possibly before they even know they're pregnant. and the situation in ireland, here this woman is in for a miscarriage. the doctors know she is miscarrying. they know an infection is very likely. but until the heartbeat ceases they don't do anything and, in fact, it's three days later when they finally go in and operate. why? because there is a law that could result in their own prosecution. whether than delivering appropriate medical advice and taking appropriate medical action in her case, the law says you can only save the life not protect the health, and the doctors are afraid of getting prosecuted. that's the kind of circumstance we're getting into where it's well beyond just sort of pro-choice, pro-life position and it's really we are endangering the health and welfare and essentially allowing

legislation that is an effective ban on abortion. >> erin, you followed this story in dublin. what does it mean to america as we're hearing with the ohio republicans are pushing and we're hearing some of the rhetoric from the republicans, what does that dublin story say here? >> the tragedy is that, in fact, what happened with the story with savita is happening in the united states and other countries. if you have the misfortune to miscarry at a catholic hospital, you're subject to an administrative ethics committee that tries to say that they have to do everything as long as there is a fetal heartbeat except induce an abortion. >> that's now. >> that's now. >> in the united states. >> catholic hospitals have that directive. there have been studies that ask doctor what is do you do in that circumstance if a woman is starting to bleed to death. most of the time rather than wait for the administrative committee they transfer her somewhere else even if she's not in a stable condition. if you're unlucky enough to end

up at a catholic hospital, they're going to treat you like a vessel for a dying fetus. she asked for a termination. she knew the fetus wasn't viable. they didn't care about saving her life and they didn't care about her wishes and the wishes of her family. that's the natural direction of gop policy against abortion. >> but you have this new generation, catherine, that's being projected anyway. for example, bobby jindal, governor of louisiana, almost a certain candidate in 2016. he reprimanded todd aiken and richard mourdock about their language. but he has the same policy. let me show you what he said. >> they also don't need to be saying stupid things. we had candidates in indiana and missouri that said offensive things that not only hurt themselves and lost those two senate seats but also hurt the republican party. >> but, i mean, are we talking about people saying the same thing, just say it better?

are we talking about the policies here? >> well, it's definitely the policies. we're not talking about stupid things. we're talking about dangerous things. and like i said, this goes beyond do i believe in a woman's right to choose or do i -- am i completely pro-life, because you are literally allowing women to bleed to death when the doctors are saying we know the fetus is not viable but we cannot act whether for their own moral catholic reasons or because the law may well prosecute them. and if women don't understand this distinction, wherever you want to come down in second term, third term, is one thing. but we are literally going to allow women to die on a table when there is no alternative? the death of the fetus is an inevitability and yet her life is not worth defending? i find it extraordinary.

>> irinn, help me with this. politico reports the gop is planning to plant for todd aikens. after aiken and moudock both imploded. but jindal says it's about better coaching. let me read you this quote. "we need to do a good job of recruiting, our candidates need more training, keep their foots out of their mouth. there's a reason why politicians talk in sanitized sound bites. once you get out of that, you're opening yourself up to get attacked." is this all about coaching, just learning what to say in front of the cameras? >> that's a very honest quote. what i would say is it's not about window dressing, it's about policies that are humane and respect women's autonomy. what happened this year is for the first time after years of trying to trap pro-choice people by focusing on controversial later abortions, the republicans lost the messaging war because they took their anti-choice views down a logical conclusion.

once everybody found out what that actually means and the reality of women's lives, they didn't like it. they voted no. ohio went blue. so, again, they can maybe figure out a better way to package it, but i don't see anyone talking about fundamentally changing their draconian views. >> on the messaging, catherine, in light of all of what's gone on in 2012, all of the states, 14 states trap laws like virginia that are forcing abortion clinics to close, 17 states abortion bans to replace roe versus wade, ultrasound requirements introduced in 18 states, in all of this they went on this year, i mean, the messaging seems to me to be that they really don't get -- it's not just how you get the message, it's what the message is. >> it is the substance of the message. it's always been extraordinary to me the sort of cognitive dissidence that, you know, they are so anti- nanny state and yet the ultimate nanny state is

literally invading the body of women. and so many sort of younger women didn't live through the '70s, the roe v. wade eras, or -- and i was much too young to remember literally the coat hanger horrors. but this is generating a new era of knowledge on the part of women to understand, as you say, the repercussions when you take these policies to their logical extremes. >> irin carmon and catherine crier, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you, reverend. coming up -- look out, here comes elizabeth warren. we'll tell you why republicans in washington are reportedly going nuts about her arrival. and president obama's burma trip and a remarkable journey toward democracy. eat good fats. avoid bad. don't go over 2000... 1200 calories a day. carbs are bad. carbs are good. the story keeps changing.

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it's the biggest fought fight in washington you might not have heard about. republicans' worst nightmares are about to come true. here comes elizabeth warren, the newly elected senator from massachusetts, in teddy kennedy's old seat.

sthees creator of the consumer financial protection bureau, the original 99% candidate, the woman who battled wall street. and she's coming to washington vowing real change. big business lobbyists are flatout scared. they report the fight is eat heathing up over her possible nomination to the senate banking committee. aides to two senators on the senate banking committee say the industry has already moved to block warren from joining that committee, which is charged with drafting legislation regulating much of the financial industry. washington's lobbying corridor has been going nuts to keep her off the committee, another senate aide says. it's no wonder republicans are going nuts. they've never had to face a force like her in the senate. >> the system is rigged.

look around. oil companies guzzle down billions in profits. billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. and wall street ceos, the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs, still strut around congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them. does anyone here have a problem with that? well, i do, too. i do, too. >> republicans aren't strutting now. they're shaking in their boots. the big question is will democrats have her back. joining me now is andrew croel, the reporter from "mother jones," who's writing that fantastic piece about senator warren's fight against the big banks. thanks for being here tonight. >> great to be here.

>> kwhaels can ywhat else can y about how scared republicans are? >> elizabeth warren, as you said, she is the 99% candidate, she wants to crack down on banks that, you know, pedaled pred tear loans or that caused the 2008 financial crisis. she's argued for revisiting the glass/steagall act which walled off risky investment banks from the more traditional banks you and i use every day. she supports the volcker rule, which would crack down if not ban banks trading with their own money. she wants to make banks less risky. she wants to make banks incapable of toppling the economy like they did four years ago. and obviously the banks see that as a threat and their allies in congress, mostly republicans, see that as a threat also. >> now, what can you tell us that you're actually hearing? i know in your article you talk about senator richard shelby, the senior republican on that

panel. in other words, tell me what you're actually hearing from some of the senate aides and some of the people on the hill. >> the chatter that i hear on the hill as i reported in my piece is that major banks, the groups that lobby for them here in washington, are making phone calls to the senate banking committee, urging them to pressure the leadership and the democratic party to do what they can to try to deny elizabeth warren a seat on the very powerful banking committee. and there's a reason for that, and it's not surprising that the banks would do that, and it's not surprising that the banking committee would take their calls. you see, there is a revolving door between the senate banking committee and the biggest financial players, you know, in the united states. the staffers from the banking committee will go to, say, jpmorgan chase, the monster bank. staffers from jpmorgan chase or other banks will come onto the banking committee. there is a status quo there that elizabeth warren would upset if

she got on the banking committee. what i'm hearing from folks is nervousness on k street about elizabeth warren getting a seat on this incredibly influential committee and nervousness about her actually following through on promises like glass/steagall, the volcker rule, ensuring that the dodd frank financial law gets enforced. >> well, they really tried to not have to face this because if you look at what the financial industry did to help scott brown's campaign, the incumbent she beat, $5.5 million came from the financial industry. among the top tendo nors to scott brown's campaign, fidelity investments, goldman sachs, liberty mutual, price waterhouse coopers, jpmorgan chase, and bane capital. interesting. these are the top tendo nors to -- or contributors to her

opponent scott brown. so they really, really were digging in their pocket to try to prevent her election. >> yeah. the banks and insurance companies, all those folks that you mentioned, they understood what was at stake in the massachusetts senate race. now, the flip side is that elizabeth warren is one of the most popular progressive candidates among the grassroots, not just in massachusetts, not just in the eastern part of the country, but in the entire country as a whole. if she says she wants to be on the banking committee and that gets denied by the democratic leadership in the senate, they've got a political problem on their hands. you know, that will be a national issue because she commands that kind of support. she is a national figure. she's a progressive hero. that's not an understatement. so, you know, she has a huge base of support financially and just in spirit. and, you know, there's going to be a problem if she doesn't get what she wants with that banking committee. >> andy kroll, thanks for your time tonight.

>> thank you. ahead, president obama's extraordinary trip for an extraordinary leader. this is real hope and real change. next. i gave birth to my daughter on may 18th,

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i'm happy. i'm happy. happy. happy. happy. happy. (together) happy. i love logistics. today president obama became the first president to visit myanmar. for decades dictators ruled the country. now it's merging from the shadows, embracing reform, and president obama is praising the change. secretary of state hillary clinton and the president paid tribute to the country's most famous freedom fighter who, until recently, was a prisoner in her own home. school children waved american flags at the obama motorcade shouting "i love democracy!" it was an amazing scene in a country where just a few years ago saying something like that could get you thrown in jail. he also sat down with the

country's first civilian leader, a symbolic nod to the government's initial moves towards reform, and he spoke about the university where 1988 student activists first rose to fight for change. >> the flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished. they must be strengthened. they must become a shining north star for all this nation's people. and your success in that effort is important to the united states as well as to me. >> and he promised to continue to befriend the government's efforts at change. >> i said in my inauguration address, we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. and over the last year and a half, a dramatic transition has begun. as a tickshdictatorship of five decades has loosened its