administration tricked the u.s. into the iraq war. very exciting for all of us here. thank you the success is really exciting. it means there will be more of where that came from incoming months and years it is really great. also, an announcement partly because of that success. msnbc has descided that we will reair it on friday march 15th at 9:00 p.m. if you missed it and you think someone ought to see it. friday march 15th. so, there is that. and there is this other thing. um, this is my book. "drift" it came out last year. it did five weeks at number one on the "new york times" best

seller list. but now it is coming out in paperback form. it comes out a week from tuesday on march 5th. it means you have a chance to see me in person if you want to. i'm doing a little book tour. if you go to maddowblog.comwe have posted the links to the stops. i'm doing stops in us ton and houston and then to california and atlanta and miami and western massachusetts and chicago and philly and dc. i promise i will not bug you about this over and over again at least not that much. i thought you might want to know about how to get tickets. that is very embarrassing. now it is time for lawrence oh

don nol and the last word. >> how out of touch are the republicans? a new poll actually shows that the majority of republican voters support the president. >> i know what you are but what am i? >> congress has not been able to compromise. >> congress has to act. >> this was the president's idea. >> i know you are but what am i? >> the fwam game of chicken. >> over the $85 billion see quester. >> this was the president's idea. where is this plan? >> the blame, they say lies with the president. >> ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. >> he has the upper hand on public opinion. >> 49% would flame congressional republicans. >> we have a strong leader.

>> we have a problem on the right. >> karl rove offers plans to the republicans. >> the idea of karl rove creating a super pact is a super idea. zoo in ter. >> in terms of what he said. >> we spend $5.9 million in indiana for richard murdoch. >> come on. >> we have a problem on the right. >> mr. rove. >> i'm trying to understand the republican brain. >> he has angered and annoyed tea party activists. >> you know i have thick skin and i'm not going to worry about it. >> with just eight days to go with our most recent manufactured crisis, america is waking up to local news reports about what the sequester mean to

them. >> your family will feel in march unless lawmakers can come to an agreement. >> the notices went out in the mail on wednesday. >> trying to save workers at robins air force base from furloughs. >> some fbi agents tsa security workers would be laid off. >> that would mean furloughs for up to 13,000 workers. >> to know that they would be uncertain to where their job would be is scary. >> everybody understands that $16 trillion of national debt is something that we have to be concerned about. but to do so across the board with basically a meat axe is

going to send this country into a recession that we haven't seen. >> a radio interview the president said this. >> whether or not we can move republicans at this point to do the right thing is what we are still trying to gauge. >> my sense is that their basic view is that nothing is important enough to raise taxes on wealthy individuals or corporations. and they would refer to see these kinds of cuts that can slow down a recovery over closing tax loop holes. a new u ssa today poll shows th the president's position is supported by 76% of the people. they favor deficit reduction of tax revenue and increases and

spending cuts alone. the republican position. among independent voters 76% favor the tax revenue and spending cuts only 18% favor just the cuts. among republican voters, 56% favor reducing the deficit through both spending cuts and the tax revenue increases the president is talking about. only 42% of republican voters support the deficit through spending cuts alone. more people will blame the republicans in congress. 31% say it will be president obama's fault. 49% say it will be the republican leader's fault. conservatives are trying to do what john boehner is trying to do find a way out.

>> karl rove writes my own recommendation should pass a continuing resolution for the balance at the fiscal year dictated at the sequester granting the branch the fle flexibility to more important ones and al exwagner i think that sort of kind of brilliant. because that would make every cut an obama cut. >> this has become the blame game. the only sort of position the republicans have right now is it was bam's idea so he needs to solve it. no matter that they passed the package. >> we should forget that. >> honestly lawrence i can't believe they are still doubling down on this tax piece.

they are still obsessed. it looked at income disparity in this country. the top 0.1% of this country made an average of $20 million and you are still trying to sell to the american public that what the wealthy need is protection on income. it is crazy. >> and the wall street journal, the national review suggested that this approach of leaving it to the president to decide what the cuts would be within this model which sounds like we don't want to leave it to the president. well, maybe you do. because then every single report will be today president decided to layoff this many air traffic controllers. that will be in the national report. but in the local districts, where people are being laid off,

where bases are being closed. where weapons are being manufactured.are going to share blame for that. to make the president own all of these cuts. i'm sure republicans arener nus about allowing compete discretion over where she's funds fall. >> you looked at those polls. the country believes he wants to come to the table over make a deal. it has a ratio over revenue versus cuts. he has been launching the great reasonableness tour saying that over and over and over again. the american public believes th that it is our way or the highway. >> it is hard out there for

republicans. especially if that is oren hatch who has a record of being one of the republicans frequently and now is torn by the tea party in this state. i'm going to read to you about sequestration hatch said to the salt lake tribune if congress can't cut spending. we have to face the music now or it must be tougher later. hatch said it would lead to a economic disaster in utah as two thirds of civilians would be furloughed. he said it would be devastating to our nation's readiness. >> i'm for sequestration. you can't have it both ways and then pretend that nobody read the paragraph.

>> it is awful and it is the president's fault. but they want to say we are fighting for the cuts and it doesn't go far enough. and they are putting it all together and it makes absolutely no sense. it is highlighted by the fact that their position is so popular that they can't have a message that matches up with a general election audience and their spending base. he is talking about provisions in the tax code that both parties have agreed that they don't really need. we don't have to do that. to the extent that we do it now. that can be reduced. it is not tax rate increases. it is playing with the reduction and where that money goes again i point to you that one in three

american families is living at or near poverty. you see the discrepancies that you can't put them on the same graph. he can't get a tax cut passed on the 0.03% of this population? >> they have become prisoners of their rhetoric. it is the years of anti-tax rhetoric. the years of we are the party of budget cuts. and there have been clear about what they are against. they are against raising revenue in any respect. but they haven't been clear about what they are for and now they are trapped in this place where they have taken so many options off the table. they will not support increased spending. they have no where else to go.

>> we are all equal in guess in this. the government has never been here before. so i haven't found anyone who can tell me what is going to happen. i don't know any veteran who has any suggestions about here is how you fix this. which is thrilling and terrifying at the same time. >> i go back to the fact that ran paul gave the rebuttal to the rebuttal. because the party is broken, and because there is no rutter, who knows how they can negotiate. >> oren hatch could do the i'm for sequestration or the bit about this is really bad about civilians working at the air

force base. >> maybe a sock puppet that looks like that. >> having to do that himself looks pretty tough. >> thank you very much for joining me tonight. >> coming up, the reality of the see quester. how bad will it be next friday when it kicks in with cut backs and air traffic control. you will have trouble getting to your planes and the planes will have trouble getting off the ground. we have ap an award. tweet me your guesses which senator or member of the house emplors the most in competent staff on capitol hill? the answer is coming up.

many republicans thought of him as the party's brain. now there is an open revolt in the party led by newt gingrich and the battle for the hearts and minds of the republican party. okay well the minds anyway is coming up next. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ]

[ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. they said this is not going to be one of those. >> maybe not. when you are sitting there with 4.4 votes cast and the difference is 49.19 to 49.17. if it is going to happen. let the votes begin to show it. >> since that uncomfortable

moment on election night karl rove has been fighting to save his political life for the first time in a dozen years his critics smell blood and one of his most outspoken critics is newt bring rish. >> the idea he has to go out and pick is a terrible idea. we don't want to become a party in which a handful of bosses gather of money in order to destroy the ones that they don't like and that is what we are talking about. >> let's listen to rove defending what he is up to last night. >> we listen to our donors. what is why we are getting involved with the conservative victory project. they said why did we come up

short in these races that we should have won. we deserve to be involved. if you take the at sued that nobody ought to be involved in primaries? mine. if you take the at sued that some ought to be involved and not other groups there is a hip ocsy there. >> no one else in the republican world could have done that but he did that based on a reputation that seems to no longer exist. >> they are taking aim. some people who are tea party groups that don't like him. they fund raise and that is sort of a different issue. you have donors who are upset. some people say their

fundraisers are frustrated and say there is a lot of concern and they would like a better answer. we should asterisk that his complaining is kept alive by donations to his superpack. but he is no longer ruling with an eye wrong fist. he has had people who have no longer liked him in the party. he explains why he thinks the rove plan isn't so great. he said while he would like to argue that the plan would protect those who failed that isn't the bigger story. republicans lost one of the senate races -- so in seven of the nine losing races. the rove model has no candidate

based explanation. everyone is focusing on the candidates. but he seems to have a point there doesn't he? >> it wasn't because insurgents were propelled to the nomination. it was because the platform was wrong. he said it is not about fac tictick tactics, it is about platforms. even he who has been very caustic towards gay rights. he said republicans need to understand that gay marriage is going to be a reality. it is because the party platform is so tilted. it is not because the tea party is producing nominees for their

states. he understands that they are clean. >> i don't pick a single candidate. i'm not in charge of any candidate anywhere and his campaign. i don't choose the add people and i have got nothing to do. and never have had anything to do with one election in this country. zero nada. >> in your reporting on vove's problems. you were talking to the donors. do they mention hey, we have problems outside of the control of the campaign. >> there is a general concern so there has been a bit of a split. one of the republican's biggest donors paul singer has been a

supporter of the gay marriage donor. it has been about the platform. it has been about the issues that these candidates are running on and where the party should go. part of the problem you are seeing right now. nobody in the party can agree on what went wrong and they are blaming somebody else. >> i have a suggestion for the republican party. drop the anti-abortion test. throw that out of the platform and become even go so far as to become the pro-choice anti-tax party and i believe they are on their way to 60% of the vote. >> i do think you are getting at a bigger problem so. they are not absent, but growing smaller as a group of influence,

they still have a lot of influence and so does the anti-immigration reform part of the party. they weighed down on the party. they were forced to take a stan stance. i think they will have a real problem going forward. maggie hagerman and tim stein. thank you for joining me tonight. >> coming up. it is marco rubio versus ran paul and later, the first place you will probably feel the pain of the see quester is at the airport. if you are flying home next friday as i will be you might not get there. if you are picking someone up at the airport you may have to wait an extra five or six hours. planes, trains and automobiles are in tonight's reality of the

see quester. that is coming up. odors anywhere. like this overflowing trashcan. to test it, we brought in the scott family. so what do you smell? beach house and you're looking out over the ocean. some place like, uh, hawaii in like a flower field. take your blindfolds off. aw man! [ screams ] [ laughs ] that smells good. i wouldn't even just put it in the trash, i'd put it in every room. stick it to eliminate odors anywhere. new febreze stick & refresh. breathe happy. ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling? ask your doctor about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours.

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and then writes an angry letter to the defense department about it signed by the officeholder that makes that staff so far this year the stupidest congressional staff of

the year. that is coming up. the answer. tweet your guesses. let me know who you think about it. hi, i'm grant weber and i sell subarus to dogs. i know having kids is no easy picnic. i mean, sure they're cute and cuddly and

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erks in the spotlight tonight who will be the republican savior of the month. today the most popular person in the republican party is actually chris christie. he enjoys a 74% approval rating in this state. that is a record in new jersey for that poll. the american conservative union announced today that marco rubio and ran paul each received a 100% on their score card for 2012 while paul ryan for the score union. the new kid on the block plays straight man in this interview by the christian broadcast network. >> well the republicans are shopping around to mind somebody that be their standard bearer.

they seem like the hispanics, a man named ted cruz from texas became one of the few called a potential al rock star. >> i think president obama is the most radical that we have seen. but i think an awful lot of republicans failed to stand up and contributed to get us in this mess. >> why not? performance art choice. i think the internet would like that. the footage looked like a dorm room video vibe. so pat robertson has a new crush

here. >> ted cruise has clearly made a lot of noise and has been very aggressive. he had to be aggressive with john mccain against chuck haegle. he can never be president because he was born in canada. and there is no other job that he really wants. >> did marco rubio lose his status because he has thirsty? >> i think it will be a contest because who can say the most negative thing about obama, we'll see a number of people y trying out for the role. >> let's take a look at this.

>> so in the two years i've been in office the only budget i have had control over we will be returning $1.1 million. >> and ari there was a point where he holds up a stunt check. all they are doing is use a budget alotment. it stays there. you don't transfer it back. he is not the first one to use the money. a great member of the house they do this. they make a full press conference but they put out a statement saying, when i worked there we would leave some money. >> we never did. used every dollar we were given to represent the state of new

york. this is a personal sacrifice on his part. it is not. he didn't say he is giving up his government health care. a lot of what local offices do they have case workers. getting government benefits. to help the people in this district i was saying he was exporting this. >> let's look at this. you want to end all foreign aid as well is that right? >> end all foreign aid to israel as well is that right? >> yes. >> that about wraps up this political future. no question and here they are

going after chuck haegle for something he didn't really say and then appall uologized for s and then puts it together like that. and the whole case against haegle is his embrace of israel. and you get to be ron paul and say you would cut every single penny of said of all kind to the state of israel. >> the criticism works if he were up to be secretary of defense of israel. it doesn't make a lot of sense. >> by the way, he would be good. >> it doesn't make as much sense for our country. but his first priority would be the united states military. but he has not been suffu sxsuf the double talk of that.

your call famously inter gated him in truth in reality in the civil rights act. it is a good federal encroachment against racism. he said that he did stand by that. and he had to walk it back. that is a dance that the washington republicans have learned. let's look at how difficult it is for crazy republican types to hang onto their love for anyone of these guys and this cups courtesy of bill o'reilly's interview with glen beck. >> i support it. >> how about marco rubio? >> i haven't made my mind up on him yet. >> how about christie the jerry

guy? >> i feel about ran paul the way i used to feel about chris christie. i ignored a few things that bothered me. >> but now i don't like him. >> yes, well, you know, they don't know, they haven't fallen in love. they are still dating. think about p the last several weeks. these guys have been trying out for who can say the most outrageous thing. saying to secretary clinton i'm going to fire you. when you get them together on the stage get your popcorn. >> thank you both for joining me tonight. coming up. a funny thing happened to me today trying to get through a

congressman's office and they didn't take our calls or answer our questions. so we will tell you what they did that was so stupid coming up in the rewrite. [ rosa ] i'm rosa and i quit smoking with chantix. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix.

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but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. skroo. >> if you guessed mitch mcconnel has the most stupidest staff in congress you win. that is next. its three cleaning zones with dynamic power bristles reach between teeth with more brush movements to remove up to 100% more plaque than a regular manual brush. and even 76% more plaque than sonicare flexcare in hard to reach areas. oral-b deep sweep 5000 power brush. life opens up when you do. ♪ [ male announcer ] every car we build must make adrenaline pump and pulses quicken. ♪ to help you not just to stay alive...

but feel alive. the new c-class is no exception. it's a mercedes-benz through and through. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. irk >> and the rewrite tonight the contest in the congress staff's

stupidest staff. the stunningly stupid staff of mitch mcconnel. here is a letter that his staff wrote to the assistant secretary of military affairs. i would appreciate your review and response i have enclosed a copy for your information please direct any in inquiries sincerely mitch mcconnell. i'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt this is the kind of letter that the staff write s all the time and he nevr sees. all indications are that the letter was written by a young

staffer. the name and initials are those of a staffer who dprgraduated f college just last year. i have never known someone that junior on staff to write such a letter from some senior staff. it is asking if guantanamo bay detainees are getting veteran's benefits but the enhanced benefits of the post 9/#11 gi bill. mitch mcconnell's staff is wondering if the obama administration is giving benefits to the people that blew up america. the question did not originate

in his office. the question came from a person who wrote to mitch mcconnell. below is the opening portion of that article. in a controversial move praised by the community of promotion of human rights the department of defense has started allowing guantanamo boy detainees to obtain benefits. >> i couldn't find the information except for the article on duffleblog. now we have two very bad options and we do have to guess. so either no one on the staff went to the duffle blog website and actually read the article which would be grotesque

congressional staff malpractice or the mcconnell staff did read the article on duffle blog and believed it and that would mean that senator mcconnell employs staff who read this paragraph and believed it. dod spokesman said it was a matter of fairness. it has been doing everything it can to prevent torture by allowing it to use it. we hope to crush their souls. hell, the va does that on a daily basis. the staff person had to believe that the department spokesperson said that they crush the souls

of bureaucracy. but they can never say that publicly. and the staff would have to believe that the head of the department of affairs plans to award the tan beret of the army rangers to all gitmo detainees. if he are going to represent the army in the classroom i want them to look sharp doing it. and if the staff read the article on the duffle blog which by now is a humor website for veterans if the staff read that article they would have read this quote from a gitmo prisoner. this is [ bleep ] cried prisoner sa 212. i filled out all of the forms

and i was enrolled in school and they said it was fine if i didn't pay up front. now i have been dropped from all of my classes and the school hasn't been payed. i would rather be sprayed with a firehose than wait for the va to paid. that article provoked mitch mcconnell's staff to send a letter to the department of defense asking if the story is true. thanks to "wired" magazine for uncover i uncovering the situation. when we asked the staff today to confirm who wrote the letter and did senator mcconnell know that it existed before it was sent and has any one been fired for

being so incompetent for writing such a letter the cow weathering in fear offered no answers to the questions. which offers the blame to possibly all of them. th about how stupid you have to be. think about the american government is going to actually provide veteran's benefits for gitmo prisoners. you have to think that the american people government is a hopefully hopelessly stupid. some of whom work in his washington office. can you write that letter without hating the federal government? can y can you suspect what that letter

suggests without hating the federal government? i would hate them without knowing that they were detained at guantanamo bay. hatred of the government. this is the part that isn't funny. the tea party hates the government. his survival in office now depends on how much he hates the federal government. 20 years ago he was a reasonable republican senator but times have changed and so has his staff. the staff used to take seriously their oath of office which is the same oath that senator s take. it is the same oath that the president takes but it is a

little longer. i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. 20 years ago someone on mif tch mcconnell's staff would be fired. no senator would have continued to waste tax payor dollars on the salary capable of being duped this way. but now there is no much thing as a firing offense for his sta staff. so as he tcontinues to push for cuts in medicare and education spending and all sorts of valuable things in our society. the last place that he will look to save the taxpayors money is his own stunningly in competent

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air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks which means more delays at airports across the country. >> when you have to go out here at reagan airport and wait in lines to get through security you are going to be pissed and so is everyone else. when that happens we are going to come back to congress. and we are going to put the partisanship is side and fix this problem. >> boy can i relate. millions of americans fly on a typical friday which next week will be the first day of s

sequestration cuts hitting american airports. i will be one of those lucky travelers. extra long delays on run ways with air traffic controllers being laid off. $6 billion in cuts are facing the faa. it was a big worry at today's house policy committee meeting. >> huge lines at security. this affects every american. people traveling with their families as well as people traveling on business. the secretary testified that reduces funding would make a four to five hour wait at the international airport's common place and the security screening wait time another hour added.

>> she is former chairwoman of the national safety board. let's address issues of air traffic safety. >> you know lawrence. i have a lot of confidence that the faa will keep the system safe. they too will have to take cuts just like everyone else. you are going to see investigation slow down. that is not a good thing. we are trying to get to the root cause of problems when they occur. it is going to be a slow system if it goes ib. >> every morning show and today show next week is going to start doing this