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we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. thanks so much for watching. have a great weekend, but don't move. chris matthews is next. splitsville on the right. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. i watched the conservatives at their convention today and was impressed by the strong response to mitt romney. they seem stuck on him. as we used to say, stuck on mitty, they like him, still like him enough to give him a good welcome today. this guy who lost an election he and many others thought they had made. so what this tells me is they really haven't adjusted to the verdict of the american people. they're still back there with santorum and trump and those

others on the crazy wagon of right wing talk that basically turned off the country last year. i'm talking specifically about the horror show known as the republican primary season. it was a winter of discontent toll lowed by a spring of crazy and a sumer of, is that all there is? here we have in march of 2013 and the talk of hillary on the democratic side and talk of no one really on the republican side. are they really ready to run rubio really? are they thinking about risking it all with jindal? do you think? can jeb run if he can't bring his own brother, and who on earth thinks he can to the republican convention to nominate him? he can't show up with his brother. the problem explains the warm response to mitt romney today. having looked at and seen the alternatives, they may be thinking, whoa, that grass there don't look all that green, does it? i'm joined by david corn with "mother jones" and of course the ""washington post's" great eugene robinson. you're a great washington observer.

i'm looking at this today and expecti expecting romney to get blah, blah, blah. first of all, know shows up for trump. nobody. the house is empty. it was so great. it was empty. empty chairs. he was tweeting -- we're going to get to that later -- tweeting how it's going to be a big crowd. brought him in for one reason, box office. mitt came out, his face kept showing, all right, i lost, all right, i lost, already, i lost. and it went on for about ten minutes. all right, i lost. but they liked him. >> they liked him. yeah. finally he's kind of grown on the party. they never liked him before. they never liked him before, but, you know, he fought the good fight. they can say he fought the good fight. >> did he? >> did the best he could. >> did he? >> did the best he could do. >> he fought their fight. >> he did the best he could. he lost. give him a hand of applause. i don't think this means he's back as a major force in the party. >> in other words, he lost to the highest unemployment rate of anybody in presidential history.

>> well, maybe he didn't do that -- >> what does it tell you when they're willing to quasi celebrate mitt romney and still not have bob mcdonnell or chris christie there? >> i know. let's take a look at the split. the sharp divisions in the republican party were easy to see today at cpac. senators rand paul and marco rubio mentioned as 2016 contenders put out different versions of visions for the gop's way forward. one say the party right now is a relic. the other says it has to stick to the basics. very different messages. let's watch them. >> the gop of old has grown stale and moss covered. i don't think we need to name any names. >> we don't need a new idea. there is an idea. the idea is called america. and it still works. >> what in the world does this first guy talk -- first, he's out there, rand paul, like he's elected for a couple months and comes out there and immediately slams, guess who?

who's he trashing? >> take your pick, mitch mcconnell, mitt romney. >> john mccain. >> john mccain is who he's -- >> look at the division here. >> wait a minute. get to this point. let's let him have his point. here's the guy, new voice of the republican party, he and the guy from texas, ted cruz, trashing all the people that have been there before him. >> right. he's out there saying we need new ideas. what is the new idea? it's livety. marco rubio says we have good ideas. what's the good idea? america. this is the big debate in the party. liberty versus america. >> don't the democrats have america, too? >> where are they going with this? >> they have liberty. >> is it liberty or is it america? i'm so confused. >> there is a split. rand paul says we need more ideas and need to be more libertarian and less interventionist. okay, just his basic themes. marco rubio says we don't need to change anything except the candidates. we need to have candidatesticul been saying all along. that's going two o be the fight

the party. >> when you get your butt kicked in an election you really thought -- ann romney is probably an okay person. she thought she was going to win. they really thought, i didn't know who was going to win. i didn't know who was going to win. it was that close. the democrats had a better ground game, obviously. a better social network event. it was close enough to grab. like a football. the sever is that close. it's in his hands or right there. he should have caught it. it's not the quarterback's fault if that case. here's the question. if they blew it, is their tendency it go hard right with this guy, rand paul, go to paleoconservati paleoconservatism, no more wars. >> that has never won. even when they've gone conservative, when they went to ronald reagan after ford lost, he was not a libertarian. he was sort of a movement, traditional movement conservative who had been less conservative as a governor no california. >> that's true. >> and had a lot of crossover appeal just in terms of his

nature. so going to the straight tea party libertarian and risking this tremendous work, we haven't seen the neoconservative, the revenge of the neoconservative empire yet. >> i think they're going to come back and reclaim the party as the hawk party. let me ask you about this choice now. do they say more romney with a different face, raubio, or say, wait a minute, that me, too, thing isn't working? >> i'm a believer in inertia. i think they believe in the same basic ideas. >> pretending to be right wingers but not willing to believe it themselves. >> not willing to go all the way. >> let's talk about something you've written about, we had the great thing we taped last night about the iraq war and in your book "huberis." look at this clip. show them how things have changed. look at this clip from the presidential debate back in 2008 where ron paul, that's the father, long a lone voice of opposing intervention in iraq,

tangles with presidential candidate rudy giuliani and basically shouts him out of the room. let's watch how things have changed here. >> there's a strong tradition of being anti-war in the republican party. it is the constitutional position. it is the advice of the founders to follow a noninterventionist foreign policy. >> congressman, you don't think that changed with the 9/11 attacks, sir? >> what changed? >> the noninterventionist policies. >> no. nonintervention was a major contributing factor. have you ever read about the reasons they attacked us? they attacked us because we've been over there. >> are you suggesting we invited the 9/11 attack, sir? >> i'm suggesting that we listen to the people who attacked us and the reason they did it. they have already now since that time have killed 3 rk,400 of ou men. i don't think it was necessary. >> comment on that? >> that's really an extraordinary statement. that's an extraordinary statement. as someone who lived through the attack of september 11th, that

we invited the attack because we were attacking iraq. i don't think i've ever heard that before, and i've heard some pretty absurd explanations for september 11th. >> there's a lot of applause. shouldn't have cut that off. tremendous applause for rudy giuliani. he thumped them. we remember that. fast forward to 2013. contrast that to the response to his son, rand paul's, 13-hour filibuster that protests the u.s. drone program. rand paul got backup from gop rising stars like rubio and ted cruz and was a hero on the right. there's no sound. we're just watching. is the party now open? does it find acceptable isolationist? >> this is what's really fascinating. for decades there was a fight within the republican party between realists and neoconservatives. first group was, like, brent

scocroff. modest intervention, versus the messianic view of promoting democracy. neoconservatives triumphed. there always was a small, emphasize the word small, part of the party, paleoconservatives. >> pat buchanan. >> like pat buchanan. they never even were in the debate. they were so far out of the mainstream of their own party. now with rand paul, we see them kind of rising and the debates between them and the neocons -- >> what's changed in the atmosphere? >> the realists are gone. >> gene, what's changed in the atmosphere? >> a decade of war. a decade of war at enormous costs in blood and treasure. >> and barack obama, being in charge of the national security state now. that's another thing. >> that's another change. that gives them the political opening. i think that's an interesting fight within the party, because i think the balance has changed, has shifted on the question of intervention. >> you said in your notes -- >> not all the way.

>> not all the way. do you think they're going to return to being a hawkish party? i think if obama doesn't attack iran, for example, they'll go ferociously -- >> the gop is squarely in the neoconservative camp with maybe a toe in the realist camp. they'll find out a way to drown out rand paul at least in the conversation in washington in halls of power. >> let's take a look at mitch mcconnell here today. he also spoke at cpac this morning and poked fun at the age of the democrats. this is an ageist comment, i would say. he's saying, we're the young party, mitch mcconnell. we're the young party. let's take on these golden agers here. let's listen to him. >> don't tell me democrats are the party of the future when their presidential ticket for 2016 is shaping up to look like a rerun of the "golden girls." we have rand paul, we've got marco rubio, paul ryan and a slew of smart, young, and energetic governors ready to take america into the future. and the other guys, they got

hillary and joe biden. >> okay. let me get to the politics of this. you're good at this, gene. you've been an editor. he's thinking about tomorrow morning. he knew he just stepped on it. he made what could be a sexist, and certainly was an ageist comment. you're referring to hillary. who's younger than him, by the way, by five years. >> absolutely. >> being one of the "golden girls" which is a popular show. his shot was negative. he covered his butt by throwing biden under the bus. >> what else could he do at that point? >> he heard those footsteps coming his direction. >> he realized he had said something he shouldn't have said. certainly said it in a way -- >> one of the great catchers, the gotcha journalists going to do with the guy? i heard it's already online. people commenting about this. it's not a big attraction, but -- >> there's so much coming out of cpac. you know, donald trump going nutso and other things. i think it will get lost in the

wash. it's interesting, though, how positive he is about rand paul now. because, of course, rand paul beat the guy in kentucky, the republican who mitch mcconnell had supported, and now with mitch mcconnell up for re-election, he's all for rand paul. >> that's regrouping. let me ask this. i'm going to watch over the weekend and see how this goes. by the way, my old boss, tip o'neill, loved the "golden girls." a very popular girl. anyway, that was on nbc, too. thank you. there's more cpac to come over the weekend. coming up, moitt romney spoe at cpac but not being slammed by jim demint and rick perry for not being conservative enough. what is the gop's hard lesson? go hard right or stick to romneyism? republican senator rob portman used to support the defense of marriage act and used to oppose gay marriage until his son told him he was gay. this is fascinating, until a

personal issue came on, a family issue came on, he didn't have that issue. he's had a change of hearts. one, that all politics is local, of course, and, two, as more people come out in terms of orientation, more americans will be accepting as same-sex marriage. plus we know the gop wants president obama to fail, will do anything to make sure he fails. that and no new taxes all they can agree on. why hasn't president obama offered republicans a deal from his point of view? his version of a grand bargain to force the republic chance to say no and walk away from the table? he hasn't done that yet. by the way, donald trump tweeted yesterday, really big crowd expected tomorrow at cpac for his speech. here's the really big crowd that showed up to see trumpy. an overflow audience. filled with empty chairs. a talking car. but i'll tell you what impresses me. a talking train.

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president obama announced the official delegation to the vatican for tuesday's inauguration mass for pope francis. the first latino pope in church history. vice president joe biden will be joined by new mexico governor susanna martinez who made history as the first latina governor. also, nancy pelosi and dr. jack degioia of georgetown university, the oldest jesuit college. house speaker john boehner is sending his own delegation. because of the sequester they'll be flying commercial. we'll be right back. omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro.

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of course i left the race disappointed that i didn't win, but i also left honored and humbled to have represented the values we believe in and to speak for so many good and decent people. we've lost races before in the past, but those setbacks prepared us for larger victories.

it's up to us to make sure that we learn from our mistakes and my mistakes and that we take advantage of that learning to make sure that we take back the nation, take back the white house, get the senate and put in place conservative principles. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was, of course, mitt romney, this afternoon addressing the crowd at cpac. he received i believe, a warm response, watching on tv, from the conservative activists out there. was it a last good-bye from a party that has moved on already? in his remarks romney offered little of new advice, beyond a general warning not to be pessimistic about conservatism. he's still optimistic about america. does anyone care anymore that romney has to say, what he has to say? joe conason of the "national memo." let me start with you, joe. is it an old jimmy durant good-bye in the old days, was

this a good-bye, or was this is you're still with us, buddy, we like you, you lost a close one, we might look at you again someday? what was it? >> i think it was good-bye, chris. i don't think they want him back. he doesn't really fit well with any of the clashing wings of the party and he lost rather badly. i think he proved he was an incompetent candidate, ultimately. i'm not sure they want him back. i think they like his money. i think they -- and i think there is probably some affection for him just as there was for losers like john kerry and al gore after they lost elections. you know, john kerry would get cheered when he would show up among democrats after losing in 2004. more so than before. same thing with al gore. so i think it's that kind of thing. >> where are the cheers for al gore, by the way? i missed that scene. he disappeared. >> when he finally showed up to come out against the iraq war, he was very much cheered.

>> i think it was the message. anyway, what do you think, lauren? you were out there today? >> i was in the room. >> what do you think? >> it was his swan song. there's no question about that. he did do very interesting things. he alluded to dads who don't know what weekends are and single moms who work two jobs. these are the people that he basically ignored during the presidential run-up, and maybe, maybe he is moving more moderate. could that be a signal that the republican party will go that way? >> he also talked about the guy that discovered oil in north dako dakota. not something most people can identify with. >> right, but he -- so did donald trump earlier. >> trump was absurd. trump comes in there, nobody's there in the morning, of course, to see him. and he says the problem romney had, no one else would have thought of this, he didn't brag enough about being rich. >> yeah. >> how can he make a message? flaunt it. he started off by saying, hey, i made $8 billion, why doesn't this guy brag about it more? that was his political advice.

donald trump. >> if you take political advice from donald trump, you're going to be in worse shape than when you started out. i mean, there's no question about that. but, look, i don't think -- i don't think romney showed any move toward moderation in his remarks today. i listened to the whole thing, and, you know, it was the same old romney. it was the, you know, the usual sonorous cliches about america. i mean, one of the things that was striking about his remarks was that he, again, was sort of extolling america's military adventures abroad. the week of the anniversary of the iraq, you know, huge mistake, for him to do that shows just how little he learned in this campaign. >> let's take a look here. while romney received the warm beco welcome, his reception from other speakers at the audience has been frostier. rick perry blamed the republican party's loss last year on the party's failure to nominate a true conservative.

let's take a listen. >> the popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideals as evidenced by the last two presidential elections. that's what they think. that's what they say. that might be true if republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012. might be true. >> so there, he trashes mccain and romney. anyway, that message was echoed by jim demint yesterday. let's listen to him. >> in 2012, with the presidential election on the line, national republican leadership rejected the lessons of 2010 and went back to the old way of campaigning. they didn't even try to inspire america with bold, positive vision. >> lauren ashburn, there you have two conservatives, true conservatives, trashing the last two republican candidates by name, basically. mccain's no good.

romney's no good. >> well -- >> well, what's the point? >> what's the point? >> do you move further right next time? do you get somebody who has got better papers, who's more hard right? >> as you said earlier, this is the civil war. this is a battle between the far right and the moderate. and are we going to see which side is going to win? now, also, romney -- >> who's the moderate in this discussion, by the way? >> romney also did talk about how he is going -- really wants to see this party evolve and come close together. >> romney's putting his money behind christie, lauren. that tells you a lot. >> he did mention christie. he said him by name. >> what do you think of that, joe, the fact they basically bounced the guy before he got in the door? they wouldn't let him in the door. then romney did have the cajonnys to bring up, you know, among the governors, the 30 governors he's bragging on, he said christie is one of the winners out there. >> christie is too moderate for the republican party now. you know, he nominated a muslim

as a judge. i means he's not harshly anti-fwranti anti-gay. he's warm and fuzzy compared to the run of the mill cpac attendees. he can't cut it there. >> let me try something by you both. i don't even know your politics. i think i know joe's. it's a little left of me. just a notch. let's take a look at this. i want to ask this. is it the big problem, authenticity? it's a problem in both parties if you have it. i don't think romney is what he says he is. i think romney is a practical business guy primarily interested many making money and perhaps occasionally teaching others how to do it. a flophilosophy based on his ow practical experience of making lots of money and wants to keep the american system much like it was when he made all this money. it's pretty simple. i think when he starts talking all these philosophical beliefs and all this stuff, arcana, they go come on, i don't believe it. i want to give you something from the last romney appearance. here's romney's previous appearances at cpac, showcased

awkward moments. his problem with the conservative base last year was on full display last year when his ad lib comment came out of his mouth. >> i fought against deep odds in a deep blue state, but i was a severely conservative republican governor. >> those words do not strike me as authentic. severely conservative. what is that? painfully? >> what does that mean? >> disgustingly? what does it mean? >> these guys -- >> is he authentic? >> he does what he has to do to win. >> yes. >> so do other people. >> you don't think obama's authentic? >> i think -- >> i think obama wins with what he is. your thoughts, joe. i think it's aauthenticity. i think romney up there, you put him on a sodium pedestal and say, i like being rich, like the family i'm in, i like being a

mormon. i don't like talking about all this stuffs. it's boring to me. >> the best moment romney when whatever was authentic about him did come out. his love of his family. his faith. you know, his reverence for his dad, whose every precept. he loved his father. those things made him seem authentic. you're right, when he talked about ideology, his issue, concerns, that all came up as a bit phony because he flip-flopped so many times on so many issues. the conservatives weren't buying it, either. >> joe, it was too little, too late when he finally did come out and talk about his family. >> so you agree with that. >> it was -- i do agree with you there. it was completely too late. if we had seen that personal side of him a lot earlier, we'd be talking to president romney. >> people running if office represent them who don't believe what they're saying. that's a big problem. you have to have an authentic person out there of the party

position who comes from the philosophical base or it's never going to work. the american people get a lot of exposure to the candidates. they watch them week after week after week. >> they didn't want him in their living room. >> obama may not be the greatest president in history. going to see. yet to prove his second term yet. i'm not completely convinced we're going in the right direction right now. i'm waiting for obama to come in with the log bam. thank you, laura ashburn and joe. we don't have you on enough. >> i'm here. >> well said. lauren, you're always great. up next, this year's must-have souvenirs for the right-winger in your family. this is "hardball." the place for politics. twins. i didn't see them coming.

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election of pope francis 1 i i inspired david letterman. >> number ten, laviticus and shirley. number seven, abstinence in the city. number five, i dream of service. number three, two and a half wise men. number two, the big bang theory is a lie. and number one, biblical television show, bleep my god says. >> wow. i like the big bang theory is a lie. no doubt thanks to georgia congressman brown who said evolution and the big bang theory are lies from the pit of hell. that's what he said. now to the sights of cpac. as we've been discussing, there are many fashions of the republican party on the scene of cpac and some of the kiosks in the hallway tell the tale. catch these. a poster for the obama awareness campaign exposes radical agenda

on your campus. a spread of pro-gun memorabilia. if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. this bizarre, i plead the second. well. then this nonhomage, wtf, how karl rove and the establishment lost again. and the scene from donald trump's speech this morning. let's just say, it wasn't standing room only. how about seating room plenty? here's a question. if it's a bad sign if you spend your cpac speech, is it, trying to point out what's craziest? enter wayne lapierre, ceo of the nra. >> if you're not free to protect yourself when government puts its thumb on the freedom. they can call me crazy or anything else they want. and they say we're crazy? that's crazy. crazy. crazy. it's as if sanity, itself, has

been sequestered in washington. >> crazy. that's the word he likes. that's what we're hearing. see what i mean? finally this week in conspiracy theories, is ben affleck a secret undercover government operative as in the present day version of character he played in movie "argo" that came out this year? the iranian government is not pleased with affleck's oscar winning movie which tells of the escape of six americans during the iranian hostage crisis. this week an iranian news agency gave an american conspiracy theorist a chance to discredit the movevy. quote, if the makers of "argo" are deposed under oath, they may be forced to reveal their film like the fictitious film within the film is a covert operation disguised as a movie. i have a theory, too. "argo" was a successful effort to make a popular movie. and that's reality. up next, republican senator rob portman now says he's for same-sex marriage. what about the rest of his party? this is a big development from this country. what we're going to talk about

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i'm jackie deangelis with cnbc market wrap. modest pullback for the dow, off 25 points. the s&p fell 2. the nasdaq lost 9. one factor in today's declines, consumer sentiment fell more than expected in early march to its lowest level since december of 2011. and consumer pricines rose by t most in four years due to a surge in gas prices. prices were up .2%. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball."

welcome back to "hardball." all politics is local, and it doesn't get more local than your own family. that's especially the case when it comes to gay rights. harvey milke said 3 1/2 decades ago, once americans realized gay people exist in every family and every community, then the myths, lies and innuendo about homosexuality will be destroyed. today we saw a dramatic example of that. republican senator rob portman of ohio had been a reliable opponent of gay marriage until now. today he announced a major reversal. his reason was understandable and very personal. >> i've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, i think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married and to have the joy and the stability of marriage that i've had for over 26 years. i want all three of my kids to have to including our son who is gay. >> well, senator portman is apparently the only republican senator right now in the united states senate to openly support gay equality, marriage equality. the official position of his

party as defined in the party platform is support for constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman. the american public moved into a major way toward support, in a major way for gay marriage. jonathan capehart is an opinion writer for the "washington post" and msnbc contributor. michael crowley, deputy washington bureau chief for "time." let me ask you about this. my view, so you hear it upfront, i understand family first as a rule of our family. family first in terms of maybe even your politics. here, here a guy who discovers a couple years ago apparently that his son comes out and tells him that he's gay, begins to realize that there's some political implications to this. that he ought to be consistent if you love your kid and offer him the equality of american citizenship as you see it now. >> uh-huh. you know, the interesting thing about this is that, you know, senator portman's son, will, came out to him and his wife two years ago. this gives you a sense of how

long senator portman's personal journey has been. it's not that his son came out to him and automatically he changed his mind and changed hi views. senator portman did what millions of other americans, certainly people around the world do, every day, every year, when a family member comes out to them. they take a step back. they reflect. especially if they're not comfortable with it at first. they take a step back. they reflect on it. they think about it. they talk to friends. they talk to clergy. depending on how long it takes them to make that personal journey, they express their personal support and confidence in their loved one. it could be a day, it could be a month, it could be two years. it could be never. >> yeah. so what do you feel about that? >> you know, i personally think, and i would never begrudge anyone's own personal journey on the question of marriage equality, but also on homosexuality. look, i'm an openly gay person,

but it's not like, you know, i didn't have to do self-reflection and come to self-acceptance then be able to tell friends and family who i am. and that same process goes for people who have family members who are gay who are trying to understand and come to terms with, you know, this gay family member because they love that family member. and, you know, i just want to point out there, you know, sean bugg, the founder and editor of "metro weekly," a gay magazine, sent out an interesting tweet. he said, two years after knowing his son is gay, portman supports gay marriage. 25 years after i came out, my father doesn't. some perspective. i think a lot of people need to have that perspective. >> you're so good on this. thank you. let me go to michael crowley. i keep thinking about the cultural differences in the country. if you come from the rural south or any sort of rural or conservative area, let's face it, gay people have a story, i've known it since i came to washington. gay people naturally come to

cities where it's more open, where there's more openness to their orientation. other gay people. there's a very unequal distribution the way people have to live in this country. if you come from a tough, cranktcrank ky, conservative neighborhood, you get out of there go to atlanta, washington, miami, new york. therefore, you have different attitudes in big cities. i wonder if parents areless likely to come forth and say, my son's gay, living in new york or san francisco, therefore i'm for gay marriage. rather than saying, my son is gone now. is it different where you live? >> self-segregation where people who want to be out to go metropolitan areas and so, therefore, do attitudes change in a less rapid pace in, for instance, rural areas where they may not feel as comfortable? that's actually a really interesting question i've not seen people examine. but, you knows, regardless, i would say, for one thing, and i was reminded by this listening to jonathan talk about people whose parents still kind of

won't acknowledge it. let's give credit to rob portman's son here who did a really brave thing. he was at yale university. relative to the rest of america, that's not a terribly difficult place to come out. however, he is the son of a prominent republican politician and that is an extremely difficult thing to do. but the other point i'd make, chris, here, and this may relate back to your original point about different areas of the country. there's majority support seems maybe sort of just barely in the polling in this country for gay marriage and particularly people under 30, overwhelming support. within the republican party, you're looking at 25%, 30% support and strong opposition still over 50%. so this is one of the many issues in this country right now where there's a real cultural gap. >> there sure is. >> red america/blue america. >> the aisle makes a big difference between democrats, republicans on the issue of gay rights and marriage. senator portman told cnn today he was able to square his conservative beliefs with his newfound support for marriage equality. this is fascinating. let's listen to this part.

>> this is where i am for reasons that are consistent with my political philosophy, including family values, including being a conservative who believes that family is a building block of society. >> jonathan, look here at the platform of the republican party. the most recent one. it says about the issue of gay marriage, quote, the platform, we reaffirm our support for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. we applaud the citizens of the majority of states which have enshrined ma ed in their constis the traditional concept of marriage and we support the campaigns under way in other states to do so. this isn't a creaky old platform. this is what republicans believe. how do you make this -- how does it work when in each republican family, not every family, i don't buy that. harvey milk is not every family. to be familiar, nephews, cousins, people, your next door neighbor's kids, people who go to church with these kids.

it is in our world. how do they square that with the rights of all? >> you know, i don't know how the folks who did that platform square that with the rights for all. senator portman did an op-ped for the "columbus dispatch" where he talked about his son coming out to him. he rooted his change of heart not only in his love for his son but also in his own conservative principles. you know, talking about individual liberty and how marriage is, you know, a building block for stable communities, stable families, and that's what he wants for his own child. i mean, think about this. people are slamming senator portman because he didn't do this sooner and how could he be considered a leader? you're a leader when you take a position like this as publicly as he has in a party that has that platform that you just read. senator portman is going to have to run for re-election either in

'14,'16. will there be a challenge from the right on this issue? >> you're a generous guy. by the way, i completely buy the feeling you have about better now than never. and always better than you're opening up to more opportunity in this country. by the way, in the end, i've noticed this about american history, michael, too, the fighters for more individual liberty and more inclusion always eventually win. they all eventually win. whether women's rights, gay rights. they eventually win the fight. it just takes so darn long. thank you, jonathan capehart. thank you, michael crowley. up next, why hasn't president obama offered republic chance a deal he would like? a grand bargain. just lay it out on the table and force them to say no to it. what's with the tactics here? i'm trying to figure it out. this sunday i'll be on "meet the press" with david gregory. great to be on there. that's sunday on nbc. check your local listings. i'm the world's worst cleaning lady. i'm here in your home, having a pretty spectacular tuesday. ♪ but i don't notice the loose rug at the top of your stairs.

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behold...the islands of the bahamas. . it would have been nice to see his budget on february 4th when it was due. it would have been nice to see it on march the 4th and it would have only been a month late. he wants to see what our budget looks like and what senate democrats produce. i think that budget's been sitting down there ready to go. >> well, that doesn't make any sense. right now house speaker john boehner basically saying that president obama's bluffing on a budget that whatever he means doesn't make sense, waiting to see what senate democrats and house republicans hammer out. obama has spent the last week wining and dining folks in congress but i'm not so sure this is going to lead to a grand bargain. why hasn't the president put his deal on the table?

that's my question. with me is "new york times" steve israel. you're a great politician. i want to you slice through the contradiction of what the house speaker said. i understand why that would be a strategy, holding back, but then he says he's already got his budget written. what does that mean? that makes no sense. >> people listen to that and they are sick and tired of listening to the speaker blaming the president for not producing a budget. they just want us to get it done. they want us to get it done. republicans say they want entitlement reform, so-called entitlement reform. the president put on the table and democrats supported $716 billion in savings, innovations, and efficiencies to medicare. what did john boehner in the republican congress do? theyville lee fied us for it.

and traveling to their caucus, talking about big and bold and specific ideas, what do they get in return,ville if i indication. chris, bottom line is they want a solution-based budget with three approaches, a balanced approach, fair middle class, number three, the right priorities. the way you get all three is with one thing and that is compromise. we're still waiting for house republicans to compromise. >> you ran the campaign for the democrats to win. you did a good job. >> thank you. >> would a democrat, man or woman, wherever they live, would they prefer a grand bargain, savings but cuts in the spending on medicare or medicaid, in exchange for some kind of deal that brings in more revenues? would they rather have that or the sequester? would they want their name on the bill that cuts the savings for medicare? >> it depends on how you are cutting medicare.

if you're asking seniors to now take a voucher that is not going to cover their costs, of course not. if you're asking the special interests to give up a little bit, of course, the answer is yes. democrats want a solution. we want to go home and say that we have solved this problem but it's got to be solved in a fair way. >> that would include cuts in medicare of any kind. >> look, i'll give you an example. we have already, as i said before, we've already reduced the cost of medicare $716 billion for which the republicans can't -- >> tell me about the cuts. what are you cutting? >> on the provider side we made some tough choices on the provider side with respect to medicare but we don't believe if you're a senior, shu should be ask to sacrifice the most. >> do you see republicans willing to raise revenues and accept blame for some of these medicare cuts. why would any republican member want to be known as the guy or woman who raised taxes by any means and also cut medicare?

why would they want to join you on a deal like that that would screw them twice? >> the american people want solutions and are tired of the chronic chaos and mismanagement. we have asked the republicans, we'll continue to negotiate with you, we want to compromise. is there one special interest corporate tax loophole you can put on the table? and the answer has been no. >> i don't think there will be a deal. thank you, congressman. i don't think there's going to be a deal. we'll be back after this. [ crisp crunches ] whoo-hoo-hoo! guess it was. [ male announcer ] pringles, bursting with more flavor. guess it was. if youthen this willbrids arbe a nice surprise. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max come. c-max go. c-max give a ride to everyone it knows. c max has more passenger volume than competitor prius v and we haven't even mentioned...

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