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tv   Martin Bashir  MSNBC  January 2, 2013 1:00pm-2:00pm PST

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if you lose once more, that could be it for your career. and even if you do win, you're feeling the unexpired portion of kerry's term. which means you'll have to rerun when it could be up. patrick isn't running so the seat will be open. while bay state voters almost never vote for republicans for federal office, the governorship is different. brown's personal popularity would give him a lot more mileage in a race for governor than in another senate contest. i have no idea where his head is, but the smart play for brown is to say no this year and wait for 2014. and if he does do that, here's something else to look for. the democrats would need an opponent for brown. right now the most popular democrat in the mix is martha coakley. okay. that does it for "the cycle." martin, it's all yours. thank you. it's wednesday, january 2nd.
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and speaker john boehner can't please anyone. ♪ >> happy new year, everybody. >> aloha, mr. president. >> the fiscal cliff vote wasn't the only drama in the house of representatives. >> the house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow for morning hour debate. >> mr. speaker. >> we will promise that this vote was coming up. >> it's the most disgraceful action i've seen in this house in the 20 years i've been here. >> nine weeks after sandy, not one penny has been appropriated. >> we turned our back on them. >> the only thing our republican colleagues did this week is serve up false hope to the people devastated by the storm. >> they have no problem finding new york when it comes to raising money. >> the relief will come early next year but will come at the $27 billion level. >> anyone from new york or new
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jersey who contributes one penny to congressional republicans after this should have their head examined. ♪ a very happy new year to you and your family. 2013 begins as washington barely avoids crashing off the fiscal cliff. in a rare late night vote, they managed to pass a compromised bill on new year's day. republicans were forced to frown and bear it affirming the first tax increase in two decades. starting with earnings over $400,000. all that remains is for the president to sign the bill into law. so we begin the year with a harmonious congressional kumbaya, right? >> the conduct of the republican leadership was disgrateful, indefensible, and immoral. we cannot believe that this cruel knife in the back was delivered to our region.
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>> oh, dear. that was republican congressman peter king of new york. and the cruel knife to which he's referring, that could be a failure to vote on a relief package for superstorm sandy. the vote was abruptly pulled back by speaker boehner last night delaying the bill until the 113th congress which convenes tomorrow. gop leadership apparently determined the house shouldn't even try for $60.4 billion in new spending on a night it added $4 trillion to the deficit. and congressman king is not the only one outraged that politics took precedence over people. >> republicans in congress brought this house to a new low last night. >> we're all hit hard enough with the recession. on top of that now we have to deal with the anxiety and the failure of congress to act. >> talk to the people. look into their eyes. understand their needs.
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come walk with me, mr. speaker. >> this is time to stop debating and take the gloves off. jersey style. >> and speaking of jersey style, governor chris christie came out swinging this afternoon. >> shame on you. shame on congress. on a political chess board of internal palace intrigue politics, our people were played last night as a pawn. and that's why people hate washington, d.c. that's why they hate this politics. last night it was my party responsible. >> under fire, speaker boehner met with lawmakers from new york and new jersey just last hour relaying to them that he'll hold a vote friday for part of the sandy supplement. mike viqueira joins us live from washington. mike, no sooner did the president plead for less drama than speaker boehner managed to anger chris christie, andrew cuomo, the entire northeast
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constituency and then some. now i guess he's had a change of heart. is that right? >> he drew a lot of bipartisan fire. and peter king after firing some broad sides at speaker boehner and who on the floor suggest that republicans stop donating money to the republican party until this thing gets straightened out as a means of retribution, peter king emerged from that meeting with other tri-state area lawmakers and says what's done a done. my anger this morning was a lifetime ago. apparently the speaker patched things up to a sufficient agree with peter king. i don't know about the democrats from that area. with his offer now to put a bill on the floor for $9 billion. a down payment sof $9 billion, the most urgent need is flood insurance for those folks on the coast of new jersey, new york, and connecticut. put that on the floor on friday. just a day after the new congress begins. and pledges to do the $51
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billion on january 15th. here's the problem all along. the speaker did not want to put this bill on the floor in a day of turmoil and chaos. yesterday on new year's day in the halls of congress and the bowels of the basement of the capitol building, lawmakers hurrying back and forth huddling again and again and again trying to work out a way to get past the fiscal cliff. the base of his party was very upset with what was going down. you saw the vote yet on the fiscal cliff. a lopsided margin for democrats voting in favor. a lopsided margin, a little bit less so, for republicans voting against. he didn't want to put it on the floor in that atmosphere. and one problem with the temporary solution to do part of it on friday, the senate's going to have to act all over again. >> exactly. >> the slate is wiped clean until the clock starts again. >> mike, i have to put this to you. what does the politics of washington have to do with hundreds of thousands of people whose homes have been devastated, whose businesses have been devastated through no
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fault of their own. what is speaker boehner thinking when he decides to put the political warfare that he's engaging in washington ahead of the needs of the ordinary citizens of this country? >> well, those on the coasts of new jersey and new york and connecticut are going to find this a bitter irony. but some in the gop say the supplemental bill is $60 million. i got to add quickly here that that is the usually course of events in washington for these emergency supplementals. they do add to the debt. and yet they've been voting on time and time again. there are also things in this bill that don't have anything to do with recovery from sandy. and that's another thing that a lot of folks have objected to. nonetheless, it did pass the senate. one of the last things the senate did before leaving down and dealing with the fiscal cliff. obviously didn't make it to the floor of the house of representatives. after the president, chris christie and those irate lawmakers from new york, new
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jersey, and connecticut really tried to corner the speaker last night. literally. got very angry. it's going to happen friday. >> thanks, mike. i'd like to bring in now congressman joe crowley of new york with us from capitol hill. congressman, we got word the last few minutes that mr. boehner will call a vote on the first $9 billion in sandy aid this friday. are you satisfied with that response? >> i certainly am not. first of all, martin, it's great to be on your show again. happy new year to you and your listeners. >> to you and your family, sir. >> but i've been told over the last few weeks that it's going to happen. i was told we'd have a vote on this yesterday on the larger package. i would then told we'd have one on today. then at the last minute the rug was pulled out from underneath us. and i really say underneath the victims of storm sandy. so forgive me if i seem a little bit skeptical here. i don't -- i cannot take a gift
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horse in the mouth. i have to see it. and quite frankly, martin, this is only part of it. you know, the $9 billion is only part of the overall package. it really leaves me begging the question whether we'll ever get anything beyond that done. i'd like to believe the speaker. >> and mr. crowley, you know for a fact your colleague darrell issa said he would vote for maybe $27 billion but not the $60 billion. so there's no confidence you could have this will come through. so there's $9 billion in flood defenses being tabled on friday, but beyond that, can citizens in new jersey and new york have any confidence that they're going to get any of this money that's needed? >> well, listening to darrell issa is just incredulous. there have been disasters in the west coast. in texas and louisiana, the gulf coast, in the carolinas, in kansas. i have never asked whether or not it's paid for. i've never asked whether or not
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do they have any connection to new york at all? you know, these aren't questions i ask. i ask what can we do, how fast can we do it? let me say to you, ten days after katrina, this congress appropriated $64 billion to the people in the gulf states. we didn't bat an eye. >> yeah. >> we take the first $9 billion on friday it will be 68 days after sandy hit. >> it's unconscionable, sir. and 72,000 homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed in new jersey. 305,000 homes, 265,000 businesses damaged or destroyed in new york. and speaker boehner seems to think nothing of playing politics with storm victims and their very lives. >> i was told they had no stomach to take this bill up before the end of the year. and my response is will they have the stomach to see the suffering taking place in the
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rockaways, in blorooklyn, new jersey, and connecticut. could they stomach seeing small businesses that are closed and probably won't open again. we just came through the busiest cycle. the christmas holiday season. that's when they make just about all their money for the year to survive -- to go into the next year. so really what this is is a failure of the republican congress to have a heart. they did not have a heart for the american people, the victims in this. >> isn't congressman peter king absolutely right when he says there's a double standard that republicans have when it comes to new york. they'll fly in here for as many fund raisers they can host, but as soon as the region desperately requires assistance, republicans are out of laguardia quicker than saying speaker boehner. >> i could not believe the degree that peter had gone to
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blast the house leadership. we were all betrayed. the members of congress were betrayed. they were told this bill would be on the floor. the people of new york, new jersey, connecticut and the quad-state region were betrayed. and the american people were traded. out of many one. this is not about us singularly. it's not just about new york. we don't ask questions when it happens elsewhere. >> absolutely. new yorkers gave republicans more money than any other state in 2012. >> don't remind me. >> more than $15 million. do you think that congressman king's threat of halting donations was what actually made the speaker act for this vote to be tabled on friday? was it really as crude as that? >> i don't think it was insignificant. and i don't want to say that that it's everything, but it's certainly not insignificant.
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it ought not be about campaign funds and about the politics of the republican caucus. it ought to be about the lives of americans. i think that's what peter is focused on. the people in long beach and long island. michael grimm in staten island. these are real people's lives and their stories. people have lost lives, have lost their homes. think of the mass transit. the hit impact it took on new york city's mass transit on subway and bus and rail. it's enormous. it's going to take a great deal of time for us to come back. but i'll tell you this. new yorkers -- we're pulling ourselves back up without waiting for the federal government. it would be nice to know that when we need the help, the federal government is there to help them and congress is there to help. regardless where they are. >> wouldn't it just. thank you for being so straight up and defending your. constituents.
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>> thank you. next, to boehner and cantor, calls for a new speaker to the house. stay with us. >> i appreciate your saying i'm a transformative figure. i try to transform my own figure. ♪ aspirin, really? i haven't thought about aspirin for years. aspirin wouldn't really help my headache, i don't think. aspirin is just old school. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. what's different? it has micro-particles. enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.
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the new year hasn't got off to the best of starts for house speaker john boehner. republicans around the nation are up in arms about the deal with the fiscal cliff. and in an unmistaken vote of no confidence in the speaker's leadership, a vast majority of republicans in the house said no to the agreement on raising taxes for the wealthy. >> i think the president did a great job of getting the speaker to undo everything that he
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promised he would do, the speaker would do on -- after the 2010 elections. >> and things could get even worse for speaker boehner tomorrow when they elect new leaders for the new congress. if just 17 republicans defect from the speaker's side, then his future as speaker could be in the balance. joining us now is ron meyer, spokesperson for majority action and richard wolffe nbc political analyst and executive editor of msnbc.com. ron, we noticed eric cantor voted against the speaker's deal with the president. are there republicans who want to see him oust mr. boehner from the speaker's chair as well? >> well, martin, i always like to save some breaking news for you when i come on. >> i'm grateful to you for that. >> i have huge breaking news tonight. there are serious rumors that at the conference tonight at 5:00 john boehner will announce that he's resigning as speaker of the house. there are multiple senior
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sources that i have talked to tonight that have said that this is going to happen. >> ron, i wouldn't wish to question your sanity, but i find that very hard to believe. >> i know. listen, i find it hard to believe. i was put at a one in four chance today we'd be able to kick him out today. there are a serious group of members thinking about it. >> do they have someone as an alternative in mind. >> eric cantor is probably the one. >> is this a coup? >> i don't have any evidence. >> you have to put evidence forward. you put forth a rumor. sub shans -- substantiate it. >> -- the first business of order tomorrow. and why it should be -- by the way, it should be a $9 billion bill. i don't know if you saw this,
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but only $9 billion of the senate bill is going to be spent next year. one out of every $20 of that bill was spent on pork. how immoral is it to stuff a bill like that for pork. >> you're becoming slightly overexcited. let's stay on one issue for a moment. i put to richard wolffe the possibility that speaker boehner is going to resign. >> i would be astonished. for all sorts of reasons. first off, there has been no serious challenger. it's important if you're going to fire someone or have someone step down, that someone else wants the job. and nobody else wants this job. this isn't just about john boehner. it's about the caucus itself. admittedly boehner has not done a very good job of that. when you hear republicans say he hasn't delivered what he promised, there's the part where he hasn't delivered but there's the fact he made promises he could not deliver in all seriousness. he hasn't had unity in his leadership team. i know there are competing theories, maybe there's some
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makavellian strategy this is one big group. i don't believe that either. but you've got to have someone to replace him. >> were you not listening that this is probably led by eric cantor? if you've ever met him, he wants nothing more than to become the speaker of the house. i think that's what the move is going to be tonight. at least there's a possibility it can happen. or tonight the reason boehner decided not to drop the sandy bill altogether, why he decided to do the vote on friday is those members are joining with the coup and he was in serious jeopardy. it's one of those two things. but like i said, serious people are telling me there's a chance he's going to resign tonight. >> richard, we mentioned the discontent among conservatives. let's hear from one of them right now. this will be interesting. >> there are a lot of conservatives in the caucus who -- republican caucus in the house who hate the bill and for good reason. i mean, this is a complete surrender on everything.
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>> the republicans can have a problem, but isn't the problem not john boehner. it's the party. how do you lead any of these individuals anywhere? >> well, they haven't -- in spite of charles' intellect. they haven't surrendered on everything. they got 98% of the bush tax cuts. so they used to be the party for tax cuts but in is the last couple years just what we're seeing in the last republican primary is the idea of a progressive taxation system where rich people pay a higher percentage of their wealth, that is actually being undermined. in the primary system they were from a flat tax. to go from a party where pretty much every candidate said we want a flat tax to where things have become more progressive. that is a change. it's not what republicans stood for even four years ago. under president bush this was the center piece of his taxation
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policy. now it's surrender. that's how far this party has traveled. >> indeed. ron meyer and richard wolffe, thank you for breaking the news. we've run out of time but will follow up tomorrow. coming up, where are the apologies from those who claim the secretary of state was faking her own illness? stay with us. >> you're a roman catholic as am i. we're now calling this the immaculate concussion. ♪ [ female announcer ] over every holiday season
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clot that was discovered in mrs. clinton's head after she sustained a concussion next month. we'll bring you more details when they become available. stay with us. the day's top lines are coming up. ♪ snot [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of thes stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack.
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i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy... instead i got heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. kills heartburn fast. yeehaw! from a bipartisan vote in the senate to bygone sanity in the house. today in the top lines, another 48 hours. >> if there's even one second left before you have to do what you're supposed to do, they will use that last second. >> you shouldn't predict how the senate's going to vote. surely shouldn't predict how the house is going to vote. >> speaker boehner and i tried to negotiate a larger bill. there wasn't time. >> messy nature of the process has made business more uncertain and consumers less confident. >> i thought we were in a deficit crisis. what does this do about that? >> want to have a spending fight, not going to have to wait
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long. >> save your powder for the debt ceiling fight. we're spending our way into oblivion. >> i will not have another debate over this congress whether or not they should pay the bills they've already racked up. >> the bill as amended is passed. >> 89-8. that is absolutely historic. >> new year's eve produced by a bunch of sleep deprived doctrinenaraians. >> it reminds me of the jokes where someone stopped hitting you in the head with a hammer and you're supposed to say thank you. we created this monster. >> the yeas are 267. the nays are 167. >> so we have this totally dysfunctional senate. therefore a dysfunctional congress. >> it's not a violation. >> technically these are still
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tax cuts? >> correct. >> a hopefully the new year will focus on less drama, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much. >> let's get right to our panel here with me are krystal ball one of the hosts of msnbc's "the cycle" and jimmy williams an msnbc contributor. krystal, the fiscal cliff fight may be over but we heard many of them looking forward to a debt ceiling fight where medicare and taxes will be fought over. do these people not learn anything from 2011 when the credit worthiness of this nation was downgraded and markets crashed because of what they were doing? >> well, apparently not. and i'm glad you frame it that way. i feel like a lot of the discussion has just assumed that it's appropriate to use the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip. i mean, you are threatening default. you are threatening a worldwide global economic calamity. and republicans now just as a
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matter of business think this is okay to do and that there's not going to be any pushback. i think that they fundamentally miscalculate there. because not only are you doing something hugely unpopular by holding the country hostage over the debt ceiling, but in order to cut social security and medicare benefits? >> oh, yes. >> i think that is hugely unpopular. they're not going to be let off the hook by spelling out exactly what they want to cut and how. i don't see it going down well for them in the end. >> you don't? jimmy? >> this is a charade. it was a charade. you had a whole slew of republicans who said we must have deficit reduction. and then they said we don't want that kind of deficit reduction after they voted for it. and now where's the deficit reduction? i don't understand. maybe i'm just dumb. that might be it. but i don't think that's the case. i'm not the smartest guy, but
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i'm not dumb. and what i can tell you is that a whole slew of republicans in the house and in the senate just voted for the largest tax cut in american history, and it is. $4 trillion. i got it. fine. and not a single penny of deficit reduction. and they think they're going to get a better deal in two months? i think that's the dummies. maybe it's the republican members of congress are the real dummies out there. >> maria, you're laughing in agreement. does that suggest you agree? >> i think what jimmy is saying is right. they're dividing themselves. so you have the wall street gop-ers jumping up and down because of the tax cut. but at the same time when it comes to the debt ceiling reduction, then they're -- that's where they're afraid. unlike the fiscal cliff we basically put on ourselves, the debt ceiling's actual problem is if we don't pay the debt then you're creating global calamity. that's something wall street will not allow. you're going to see increased
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friction. and we have to stop pretending the debt ceiling is something we can play with. this is money we borrowed and it's up to us to repay it back. the american people have to pay our bills, we have to as well. the government. >> they already passed the spending. they also said this is how much we're going to spend. >> but jimmy, do you worry that the president having made very forceful affirmation that he would not allow the debt ceiling to be held hostage, do you believe he'll hold the line on that? >> no. >> you don't? >> no. and the reason is he really did use a hell of a lot of his mandate to get this done and sent in his vice president to go in to seal the bargain. >> you think we'll be back in a catastrophic position again in two months? >> there is absolutely no doubt in my mind the republicans will take us literally to the brink again and the president will have to include more tax cuts and entitlement reforms we have been discussing now for months and will include deficit
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reduction. this will happen. and there will be far more executive branch blood on the floor in two months than there was this time. guaranteed. >> i disagree with that in two respects. first of all, i think the republicans ultimately the debacle of 2011 did not end well for them. politically it was bad for them in the end. and they're not in the same height of the tea party fervor they were in then. they just looked at the fiscal cliff and had the choice of passing the amended version of the bill which would have scuttled the whole thing or pass it without a majority of the republican caucus. they decided to do that because they were afraid of the fiscal cliff. the fiscal cliff is a lot less scary than the debt ceiling. so i don't think the republicans are quite as crazy as they were back in 2011. and i think the president has decided he has stated unequivocally he will not hold back on this. >> i want to turn to hillary clinton and the people who have been making claims and accusations that she was faking
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illness in order to avoid testifying about benghazi. here's a sample. take a listen. >> i'm not a doctor, but it seems as though that the secretary of state has come down with a state of benghazi flu. >> and this is a diplomatic illness to beat the band. >> you had a good line. hillary has severe benghazi allergy. >> i've been doing a lot of work on that, investigating. she is the first reporter of the case and it's a severe one. >> let's see the medical report on that. >> we now know doctors discovered a blood clot. an apology is expected. do you think one will be forthcoming? >> i think the republican leadership should apologize. will it be forthcoming? i doubt it. but what i -- >> if anything they're showing
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she's a strong woman. that more importantly she does not beat confrontation. i doubt there will be an apology. >> this is what john bolton said after the news came out. >> do you believe now the explanation she's being treated for a blood clot at a new york city hospital? or do you continue to believe there's an effort here to prevent her from having to testify fully about what she knows about benghazi? >> i didn't think that was the effort to begin with. i think that they're trying to walk a fine line that does not effect the potential presidential candidacy we expect. >> now she thought is she's risking her health for 2016. this is video of bill clinton and the secretary of state there. they were moving to another department, to another area. so that's fresh video. but jimmy, they can't accept -- they can't say that they were o wrong? >> if there's one person in america that the republicans are
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unilaterally scared of, it is in fact the secretary of state hillary clinton. the former first lady of the united states. the former senate from new york. and they have a big problem on their hands. if they thought that bill clinton was a master politician, they have yet to meet his wife. and if they're going to meet her in 2016 in a presidential election and this is going to come up, the overwhelming sentiment around the country especially amongst female voters. there's a gender gap in the republican party already. if that's the case, they're going to have every woman practically in this country on her side. they need to apologize, get it behind them quickly and do it now. if they don't, the voters will have a very long memory on this sort of thing. it was very much beneath them. >> it was. it would be nice for mr. bolton to also lie for weapon of mass destruction. >> that's another segment of that one. >> thank you so much. stay with us.
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total effects cc cream c for color. c for correction. [ female announcer ] fight 7 signs of aging flawlessly. cc what's possible. the children of newtown, connecticut, will be back in class thursday for the first time since 20 young pupils and six teachers were shot and killed last month. today students and parents attended an open house at a nearby facility which has been renamed sandy hook elementary school. complete with decorations and well wishes from around the world. meanwhile as the president spoke about the fiscal cliff negotiation last night, he also made reference to other items on his agenda. >> fixes our immigration system, protecting our planet from the harmful effects of climate change, boosting domestic energy production, protecting our kids from the horrors of gun violence. it's not just possible to do these things, it's an obligation to ourselves and to future
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generations. >> protecting our kids from gun violence. an absolutely critical issue in the light of what happened last month. joining us now is julian epstein a democratic strategist and dana milbank a columnist for "the washington post." the president says addressing gun violence will be a priority. but given what you and i have just witnessed in the congress and a new debt ceiling fight to come in about two months, can we really be optimistic about anything being done to address the issue of gun violence in this country? >> martin, i was up on capitol hill today to watch them wind things down. forget about the fiscal cliff which you point out all they did was punt it for 60 days. >> exactly. >> they can't even agree on -- in the house on enacting the hurricane sandy relief bill which everybody agrees needs to be done. so for us to predict this new incoming congress is going to do anything is fool hearty.
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ics last month if the president doesn't act now and take advantage of that moment when the public's attention is focused on gun control, you wind up -- it winds up getting lost and swallowed. i fear that's what's happening here. it's important for you to keep this up on your show and elsewhere. they're just overloaded with things right now in the congress. and it's so hard to see it getting through that house when of course the leadership doesn't want it to get through the house in the first place. >> indeed. julian, we now know how william spengler who murdered two firefighters last week was able to get his bushmaster semiautomatic despite being a convicted felon. this woman bought the gun on behalf of the shooter at a gun shop. julian, if you went into a cornershop and a child openly gave you instructions to buy a certain brand of cigarettes, it's likely that the shopkeeper would refuse. yet in the space of two weeks, one person steals his mother's
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guns, another buys a bushmaster illegally. isn't this why these weapons of warfare need to be banned because if they are available, people will find a way of getting them. >> yeah. it's why these weapons of warfare need to be banned and why we need to do a lot more if we want to have any hope of trying to protection our children and others from the epidemic of gun violence. you have the problem of unlicensed places as gun shows responsible for 80% of all guns that are used in gun crimes. you have the problem of lost guns that are never reported. then you have the problem as you pointed out of straw purchases which happens quite a bit. and the nra has opposed any efforts to crack down on straw purchasers and to do anything on the enforcement side. for instance, the background check is inadequate and has holes in it. the n raz has opposed
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microstamping of bullets that are important for case where is you have straw purchases. the nra has opposed the atf from doing more than one visit to a gun shop in any given year which is an invitation to unscrupulous gun dealers. there are so many places in which our gun laws invite criminals and terrorists. the availability of the 50 caliber rifle that anybody involved in law enforcement or counterterrorism says is a menace and invitation to terrorists in our society. the fact the nra opposes any kind of regulations or laws dealing with weapons like that shows you what the nra wants is a system that will invite criminals, terrorists, and others to reap the kind of gun violence that we're seeing. since newtown occurred, there's been 396 gun homicides. 26 children have been killed since newtown. where is the media focus on that? >> to that point without
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diminishing the tragedy at newtown, consider the tally on new year's eve and new year's day. two people died in a shooting after a fight in sacramento. a man was shot and killed outside los angeles. a woman lied in critical condition after being struck in the head after celebratory gunfire. three shot and killed in philadelphia. and then you add to that some 500 homicides in chicago alone last year. 87% of them gun related. how many more lives have to be lost before congress takes serious and extensive action in terms of gun violence? >> well, martin, it seems that the whole notion of death and violence is decoupled from gun laws. it is -- >> congratulations to the nra for that. well done. that's a brilliant maneuver. >> exactly right. i mean, americans to some extent accept a certain amount of gun violence. that's just part of the culture here. now, a lot of people thought
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that when you see a crisis, a tragedy of this proportion, large numbers of children being slaughtered, that would elevate it to another level. well, it did elevate it to another level for a couple weeks. yet it fades away again. it used to be congress would only act in times of crisis. now it seems even a time of crisis isn't necessarily enough. and that's with gun control and fiscal action and just about everything else. we've just become absolutely paralyzed in the ability to make even the most common sense change. >> 200 a week, martin. start putting the faces of the victims up on the screen. start putting the pictures of the crime scenes on the screen here. >> we will. gentlemen, thank you so much. >> thanks, martin. and a note before we go to break. a guest earlier on this broadcast ron meyer jr. who openly supports firing the speaker shared a rumor that he would resign his position this evening. anyone watching saw our skepticism and in the past few moments a statement from the speaker's office disputing mr.
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meyer. we shall see. for now stay with us as we head to hawaii to check on the president. yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues... with three strains of good bacteria. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'.
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and we'll be right back. i'm herh my inner cowboy... instead i got heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. kills heartburn fast. yeehaw!
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help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. it's time now to clear the air. and what's the difference between the portrayal of women in the musical "les miserables" and commentators. not very much. the movie which became the second biggest christmas opener in history last week is based
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upon the novel by victor hugo which tells the story of a 19th century french rebellion and focuses on the struggle and redemption of a former convict. while it devilves in the louvre of female characters, this does not. instead the role of women is to sacrifice themselves for the men. as one princeton professor wrote in a review of the latest blockbuster, given the publicity surrounding anne hathaway's 25-pound weight loss and buzz hair cut, you'd think she's the star. spoiler alert. she sings one big song and a dead by the film's 43rd minute. which brings us to the callous comments about secretary of state hillary clinton. as you know, mrs. clinton fainted as a result of dehydration following a bout of flu. she hit her head, suffered a concussion which resulted in a
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brain scan that revealed she has a blood clot just beneath her right here. but of course these facts mean nothing to those who cannot stomach the fact that this woman has been an outstanding secretary of state. and so they've accused her of contracting a fictional ability. >> i'm not a doctor but it seems as though the secretary of state has come down with benghazi flu. >> you had a good line. hillary has benghazi allergy. >> i've been doing a lot of work on that. she is the first reported case and it's a very severe one. >> very severe. let's see the medical report on that. >> well, the medical report is now available and in another act of unnecessary disclosure of personal details, even the doctors