in 2011, he suggested himself that the cia was in fecting people. would it be strange they invented technology to spread cancer and we won't know about it for 50 years? and last week before announcing his death, the vice president leveled the same account. there's no doubt he became under attack from the enemy. we have the intuition that commander chavez was poisoned by dark forces that wanted him out of the way. the u.s. government denies. an assertion that the united states was somehow involved in causing president chavez' illness is absurd. an oncologist told cnn that the notion that injection or poison

could have caused that cancer has absolutely no scientific substance. science cannot sustain this hypothesis. there's the old line that paranoids -- that the juchlt h government had a coup. a persistent state of fear tends to hurt political culture. same through for throughout the world and venezuela. that does it for us. see you tomorrow morning. in ten hours, i am back here at 30 rock, hopefully talking to all of you. so go to bed right now, wake up early. have a great show on tap tomorrow. now stick around, alex wagner brings you the last word. have a great night.

it is 10:00 p.m. do you know where your republicans are? >> the fight for the future of the republican party is in full swing. >> second day of cpac is under way. >> already seen donald trump. >> donald trump, he's nothing. >> mitch mcconnell. >> conservatives were never meant to be part of the cry baby caucus. >> the gop identity crisis on full display. >> case of the old versus the new. >> we don't need a new idea. there is an idea, it is called america. >> the gop of old is steal. >> i remain haunted by the experience of the 2012 campaign. >> i am tired of the hammering. >> how does the party move forward. >> as someone that lost the last election. >> start with mitt romney. improbable not in the best position to chart the course. >> cpac not strongly supportive of romney. >> i left the race disappointed i didn't win.

it is up to make sure we learn from mistakes, my mistake. >> if mitt made one mistake, he didn't talk enough about his success. >> guess what, i made a lot of money, i have been very successful. i am not going to apologize for that. >> how stupid is that? >> there's a certain schizophrenia in the party. >> we can't keep doing what we're doing. >> opinions are all over the map. >> i reject pessimism. >> the can yulturculture. >> what the hell are we thinking. >> the message is a muddled one. the fire is not there. >> 2016 is shaping up to look like a rerun of "the golden girls." >> i am stunned, stunned is the only way to describe how stunned i am. good evening. i am alex wagner, in for lawrence o'donnell. the biggest problem facing the

republican party was perfectly summed up by a musical choice used at cpac today after a lunchtime panel discussion, specifically the song some nights by fun. please ignore the shaky camera. ♪ ♪ what do i stand for? >> once again, the lyrics to that song, oh, lord, i'm still not sure what i stand for, what do i stand for? what do i stand for? most nights i don't know any more. today a long list of conservatives tried to answer that question for the party. the problem is they all had different answers. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell made a strong argument for the status quo. >> as conservatives, we should never be on defense about our principles or our priorities.

don't let anybody tell you that democrats have the upper hand on the issues. i don't care what the polls say. >> senator mcconnell also took a shot at the democrats' chances of keeping the white house in 2016. >> 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." >> sending out age discrimination in that punch line, in what universe is being like the golden girls a bad thing. the golden girls are fabulous now and always. >> is it possible to love two men at the same time. >> set the scene. have we been drinking? [ laughter ] >> mcconnell also did his best to stay on message during his speech. >> and in keeping with the theme of this year's cpac, they've all

asked us to point the way forward. that means there won't be a lot of looking back this year at cpac. >> in keeping with the theme of not looking back, later in the day, cpac featured last year's failed presidential candidates rick santorum and mitt romney. tomorrow, cpac presents 2008's failed presidential nominee, sarah palin. so what did last year's rejects have to say about the future? rick santorum believes america is on the verge of a french revolution. yes, really. >> the french revolution was based on equality and liberty. sounds like us. but the final word of the french revolution was fraternity, not paternity. they replaced a sovereign king with a sovereign mob. see in modern day europe it is a descendant of that bargain.

a godless -- [ applause ] -- a society that is godless, without faith, is president obama's new deal. give them more power. give them more authority, and they will take care of you. >> mitt romney made one good point in the middle of his very tedious speech. republicans should be listening to the republicans that democrats will actually vote for. >> we particularly need, by the way, to hear from the governors from the blue and purple states. those are the states we have to win to get back the senate and the white house. so people like bob mcdonald, scott walker, john kasich, suzanne a martinez, chris christie, brian sandoval, these are the people we need to listen to and make sure their message is heard across the country. >> the problem, the only one of the republicans that romney mentioned that was invited to cpac, scott walker.

in other words, no one at cpac can actually listen to chris christie or bob mcdonald because they aren't there. who is there? paranoid birther disguised as real estate mogul donald trump. >> if mitt made one mistake -- >> hold on, if? and to clarify, one mistake? >> i think if mitt made one mistake, and i like mitt romney a lot, if he made one mistake, he didn't talk enough about his success because honestly people really want success. they want a leader who's successful. >> trump went on to liken our entire country, all 50 united states to a country club. >> just recently i bought a country club, 800 acres in miami. i am going to fix it, make it incredible. i am going to make that place

incredible. that's what we have to do with this country. we have to fix it. we've got to make it incredible. >> there it is, republicans. just fix america. fix a nation of 314 million people, like you would fix a country club. make america incredible, like a country club. the analogy didn't stop there. earlier in his speech, trump said something reminiscent of country clubs, really old ones, possibly in the south, before the civil rights movement. trump suggested to the cpac crowd that our immigration policy should be much like the rules of a 1960s era no brown folks allowed country club, suggesting it is the european ones we really want in this country. >> when it comes to immigration, you know that the 11 million illegals, even if given the right to vote, you know, you're going to have to do what's right, but the fact is, 11

million people will be voting democratic. i say to myself why aren't we letting people in from europe? i have many friends, many, many friends, and nobody wants to talk to this, nobody wants to say it, but i have many friends from europe that want to come in, people i know. tremendous people. hard working people. how stupid is that? >> joining me now to talk about just how stupid all of this is, governor howard dean and msnbc political analyst steve schmidt. thanks for joining me, both gentlemen, many questions for you. steve, the first one to you, though. donald trump, in this time of wagon circling, at a time the republican party is looking to renewal and new ideas, why is he still at the speaker's podium? >> beats me. i don't have an answer for you other than to say that one of the things that hurt mitt romney in the eyes of a lot of moderate and swing voters was why was he

hanging around with donald trump during the campaign, and the fact that donald trump for a brief period of time was atop the polls, threatening to run for president, adding to the reality show specter that was much of our primary season. none of these things were good in the context of trying to win the general election, so most people in the country look at donald trump and see a clown, not a leader, and that's a problem for republicans. >> it certainly is. governor dean, i wonder as a former governor what you made of mitt romney's comments we should be looking to purple state governors and proceeded to list governors that were not invited to cpac. >> well, that's the problem. this is sort of the albatross around the republican party's neck is this convention, the cpac. brian sandoval is pro-choice, a pro-choice former federal judge who is hispanic and has a terrific record, not invited to cpac. chris christie, 75% approval

margin in a very blue state, not invited to cpac. why? because cpac doesn't believe what these people believe. they don't believe in diversity as you heard donald trump say, don't believe women ought to have the right to make up their own minds. this is on the extreme end of where most americans, including many republicans, are, and as long as this kind of talk is going on and this is what the face of the republican party is, i would be shocked if they won much in the way of elections the next few years. >> steve, i have to ask you this, sarah palin will be speaking tomorrow, but former reagan adviser ed rollins told politico her moment in the sun has gone. she's a personality in the same way the kardashian family is. you are obviously familiar with former governor palin. what do you make of that, that she is america's new kardashian. >> i don't know that she's a new kardashian. this is a person that had a lot of promise and a lot of

potential but did none of the things you need to do in terms of hard work, preparedness, to be a national political figure. i've watched it over the last couple years. i'm not surprised by it because of what i saw during the campaign. but it is sad to have watched because she's a person with formidable talents that's obscured by an inability to put down grievances, a propensity for sharp, nonsensical rhetoric and it is sad to have watched. >> on that note, seems to be a question of whether the gop can learn lessons, whether 2012 sort of registered. john boehner was on record in "the new york times" saying there were no policy lessons from 2012, there were candidates that sort of failed. i guess that theory of evolution was echoed by paul ryan today. i want to play sound regarding once again the fiscal ideas that he touted in 2012, rearing their

heads in 2013. let's take a listen. >> a balanced budget is a reasonable goal because it returns government to its proper limits and focus. when government overreaches, it doesn't just hurt our paychecks, it hurts our quality of life. we need to make room for community, for that vast middle ground between the government and the individual. >> you know, governor, the part of me that sticks out there is use of the word "community." i think that's been a priority that's lost specifically in the ryan budget insofar as it sort of tears asunder the social fabric. what do you think about him couching this in softer terms. >> i hate to say it, he has become an empty suit. this budget is a joke. for example, he says he would get rid of obama care, he would get rid of the benefits but kept the tax benefits to balance the

budget, which isn't balanced. gives tax cuts to people that make a million dollars a year, cuts medicaid benefits, privatizes medicare benefits. this is crazy. the problem with paul ryan is people don't believe him any more, simply don't believe him. he may be another sarah palin, his day has come and gone. it is hard to take him seriously if you're a policy person. you can't be a successful conservative or successful liberal, the numbers have to work, you have to be taken seriously, you have to be truthful. that budget was a propaganda document, not a serious budget. i was very surprised at that. >> steve, what did you make of that, insofar as the ryan budget, over 40% of savings are based on repealing the president's health care law which is law of the land, being enacted in over 25 states. is he a serious political figure, a serious policy figure in republican circles? >> he is a serious political figure and a serious policy figure in the republican party,

but the governor's criticism about the budget is spot on. its formulations are not based in reality. obama care has been validated by the court, it was validated in the last election, it is the law of the land. i think that it is important for republicans to communicate clearly to the country about the costs and future of the interest payments on out of control spending, that's an absolute threat to our future prosperity. we're going to have to deal with that as a country. when you put forward the plans and proposals, particularly when you're the minority party, particularly when you're out of power, it ought to be a document that's grounded in reality, in truth telling to the american people. >> reality and truth telling, endangered species in some circles. steve schmidt and howard dean, thank you both for joining me. >> you bet. republican senator rob portman surprised his party this morning with news that he now

supports same sex marriage. the reversal comes after his son came out to him. coming up, we look at his reasons for announcing it now, and whether or not it had impact in the selection of mitt romney's running mate. also, live by the sequester, die by the sequester. now that real cuts are taking shape across the country, republicans aren't happy, and guess who they're blaming. and the man that recorded the infamous 47% comment for mitt romney has given his final interview, and yours truly is asking the questions. come on, nowadays lots of people go by themselves. no they don't. hey son. have fun tonight. ♪ ♪ back against the wall ♪ ain't nothin to me ♪ ain't nothin to me [ crowd murmurs ] hey!

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never let it be said states aren't trying to compete, especially red states and when it comes to abortion rights. north dakota is about to ban abortion after six weeks, as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected. it would be a felony for a doctor to perform a nonemergency abortion after a heartbeat can be heard. this, of course, will mean transvaginal ultrasound will be making a come back, since that's the only way to hear the heartbeat at that early stage. up next, republicans like the sequester until the constituents started to complain. sam stein and ryan grim join me knicks. -- next. [ coughs ] [ angry gibberish ]

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. all of this, the idea was this country can't survive if this government gets even one percent smaller. now the lid is off because the sequester is in full force. and the cops are still showing up everywhere, and the firemen, and the kids are being vaccinated, but the white house tours were shut down. arbitrarily shut them down, totally unnecessary. a targeted elimination of something to cause pain, to cause suffering. >> i can report tonight that the number of people who have suffered over the loss of a white house tour is zero. some maybe have been disappointed, maybe very

disappoint disappointed. contrary to rush limbaugh and members of congress, not a single person suffered over it. here are actual examples of people that are suffering from the sequester. the 418 people at the army depot in pennsylvania who lost their jobs over the sequester. and the other 5100 people who are being furloughed. the lateral people in southwest georgia who received meals from local council on aging, which is having its budget cut, the director says i hate to say it, but we might have have to possibly ration things, like somebody coming three days a week to eat, and the others two. people living in a wildfire prone area in nevada anxious about forest service having 500 fewer firefighters and 50 fewer engines with crews as a result of sequestration. in an interview this week, president obama tried to explain to george stephanopoulos there are worse things than cancelling white house tours. >> you have been taking heat for

the cancellation of white house tours. secret service says it costs $74,000. was cancelling them necessary? >> i have to say this was not a decision that went up to the white house, but what the secret service explained to us was that they're going to have to furlough some folks. what furloughs mean is that people lose a day of work and a day of pay, and the question for them is how deeply do they have to furlough their staff and is it worth it to make sure we have white house tours, if you have families depending on a paycheck, for 5 or 10% reduction in pay. >> joining me to discuss the preoccupation with white house tours, the huffington post sam stein and ryan grim. you both have been in the white house. sam, i want to start with you. i have been in the white house, covered it for a little while.

it is not that crazily great. what is the republican obsession with the white house tours? >> i disagree, i think the white house is kind of cool. i can imagine it being very fun for someone to go there on vacation. >> does it tally on the level of eating a meal for the week? >> i am perplexed. there are so many examples of people whose lives are affected by sequestration, it is covered in abundance by local media. all it takes is a rudimentary search of whatever engine to find examples. and this is the point of sequestration, that the cuts are sort of indiscriminate and there's no rhyme or reason to it. the fact that tours are being cut is one thing. the fact that meals on wheels is cut, fact that kids are kept off head start, my favorite cut is that the audit agency is going to be cut by sequester or hurt. the audit agency saved the government $4.2 billion last year. so we are cutting agencies that

help us save money. the sequester is supposed to be onerous, and i think the white house tours is the least onerous thing happening here. >> but ryan, it would seem like a convenient way to put all of the blame on president obama and get very whipped up and outraged about what he has done when in reality the things we listed in the intro there are states, pennsylvania, georgia, nevada, all have at least one republican senator. why aren't the senators more concerned with their constituents and their well-being instead of white house tourists? >> probably because it hasn't started affecting them enough yet. apparently it is going to take a month or two of cuts, and maybe bad jobs numbers for them to realize that something bad is actually happening here. white house tours, they see it right away, jump on it, but somebody who can't get an extra meal at the shelter, you know, doesn't necessarily have the same visibility, but it also

goes to the heart of what the republicans want to do here. they want to cut spending, but they don't want there to be any visible pain. you want to cut the secret service. you want to cut $74,000 a week out of it. find somewhere else they can gut $74,000 that you're happy with. i guess you could find 74 agents and furlough each of them, but then you have to look around at what was the secret service doing that you now think is unnecessary? these are the very hard questions that the gop has to answer if they really want to start talking about cutting spending and capping it at these certain levels. what do you want to cut instead? >> sam, what's amazing to me is that this conversation about white house tours, in dig nation happens at the same time paul ryan is presenting his budget, which of course, you know, 66% of those spending cuts come from programs that help poor and low income americans. it is i think 135 million cut

from food stamps, turns medicaid into block grant program. that is draconian. if you talk about suffering, that's basically a piece of paper that's filled with all kinds of suffering. >> yeah. i mean paul krugman said in his op-ed that your seriousness is measured by the pain you want to inflict on the poor, at least in washington that is. if you look at it from a substantive angle, what we have here are fiscal hawks saying we have to go at the budget and deficits by going after discretionary spending which doesn't deal with long term issues in the country. so we're hurting ourselves or potentially hurting ourselves in the short term to make a point. if you look at ration, you look at health care costs and entitlement projections. we're discussing meals on wheels, head start, you know, air traffic controller towers. these are things we need! but they're bearing brunt of the budget cuts.

>> ryan, what's the long game here. we know the cuts are sort of phasing in. rand paul has been out there saying no harm, no foul, it is great, let's double down, even more cuts much does this posture ultimately hurt republicans in the long term when people in america and the world start understanding better what they mean on a practical level? >> yes. i think the error the republicans made was to focus on deficits. if they had instead focused on tax levels, said taxes are too high, that's what the republicans want, they want taxes to stay low. they don't actually care that much about spending. by highlighting deficits, what they did is they set themselves up for this push to raise taxes because it is not feasible to cut your way out of a deficit problem, if you really care about deficits, then you have to go after income. >> and the question, isn't the

question basically for the republicans what do you value more, is it meals on wheels program for a poor senior or better tax rates for a corporation. >> never should have set that up. they should have kept it on tax rates, but you know, instead they made it about deficits and made it about spending and that long term is not something they're going to be able to win. >> the starsky and hutch -- >> just a second. i see the library behind him, i assume he read all those books? >> thumbed through most of them. they're real books. >> here i am trying to give my funny good-bye line and you are complicating it. the starsky and hutch of the huffington post. i don't like it when you're in separate rooms. better when you're together. >> we don't either. >> keep them together. thank you for joining me on this friday of fridays. >> thanks, alex.

coming up, the 2012 mvp in his last interview, the man behind the 47% tape and his last message for mitt romney. and shifting sands in the republican party, a senator changes his mind about gay marriage because of his son and because of dick cheney. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman,

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coming up, what it takes for a republican senator to change his mind about marriage equality. and the nra's wayne la pierre's rant about background

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cheney. ohio republican senator rob portman asked to meet with dick cheney. in the meeting, cheney told portman follow your heart. last night, rob portman said this. >> you know, 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 have the joy and stability of marriage that i've had over 26 years. i want all three of my kids to have it, including our son who is gay. >> will portman told his father and mother he was gay two years ago when he was a freshman at yale university. this morning, he tweeted out especially proud of my dad today. portman is now the only senate republican to back same sex marriage. portman also broke with his own record. as a congressman, voted for defense of marriage act, voted for amendment banning gay and lesbian couples in washington, d.c. from adopting children and voted for constitutional ban on gay marriage.

house speaker john boehner's office released this statement. senator portman is a great friend and ally and the speaker respects his position but the speaker continues to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. house majority leader eric cantor says i think senator portman is entitled to his positions and we are a party of diversity and i think of respect. this was the reaction from a man in a hat at cpac. >> quit being so selfish as to think only about his son, go home and allow somebody in there that's in a traditional line of the godly principles that the constitution was founded on. >> joining me from cpac, anna maria. we had that choice nugget from the man in the hat. how are people in hats or not in hats taking the portman news? >> i think that actually it is important to remember most

people are not wearing hats and most people here are students and this is a young conservative convention, about half the people here are college students. i think for the most part people i talked to consider it a private matter, but they think it is okay for two gay people to get married. whether or not they're for gay equality may be another question. the general sense and to judge by the crowd that turned out for the one gay republican panel they had is that people are trending in that direction. i think rob portman went out in front of where he sort of could be reasonably as a parent to go ahead and say he wanted marriage equality. that's where the republican party -- i think that's where they're headed, if the young people are indication. >> ari, this would seem to be a no brainer, she points out it is a generational position and the history is moving one direction. rob portman said as much in an op-ed in the columbus dispatch. he makes the case for it being a conservative principle. listen to what he said. >> i think this is something

that we should allow people to do to get married and to have the joy and stability of marriage that i've had for over 26 years. i want all three of my kids to have it, including our son who is gay. this is where i am for reasons that are consistent with my political philosophy, including family values, including being a conservative who believes family is the building block of site. >> if this dovetails so closely with bedrock conservative principles, why is he only coming out now, and what does it mean to a larger degree for the republican party? >> you know, alex, i was worried you may spot a logical fallacy at the center and heart of him coming out being okay for people to come out. like many people, i have mixed emotions. it is good and sad. it is good to open this discourse, good for the republican party which i hope will come around to being more for equality. it is sad and the ultimate

identity politics if you can only see people's humanity because they're in your family or because they're like you, and that is especially riskable from the republican party that accuses people of focusing on identity or focusing on constituency based politics. their view is family is good, marriage is good, but only for certain people, people that are heterosexual. another thing i want to touch on, justice powell famously told his law clerk after he voted to uphold criminal ban on gay sex, he told the law clerk i've never met anyone that's gay. the law clerk famously later told the world he was gay but never discussed it with the supreme court justice he worked for. the change, the shift is that knowing people does move people. it is sad that's what it takes for so many. >> ana marie, short of implanting a gay son in every conservative household in america, there's still younger

members of the republican party and here i will speak directly about marco rubio who are defending or against marriage equality, and he said as much at cpac. how did the crowd respond to that. what was the discussion after his espousal of traditional marriage, not for gay couples. >> it is interesting. marco rubio had more to do with his star power in the establishment than for people agreeing with him. rand paul got a bigger ovation and more energy in the crowd. i went to a panel after that about next generation of the republican party and they talked about rand paul, not about marco rubio, and talked about room in the party to disagree. if you poll people here, you are going to get an opinion different from maybe the actual republican national convention. this is the next generation. i want to add i don't think it is necessarily sad this is what

it took portman to change his mind. i am a supporter of marriage equality, i'll take what i can get. glad he is on my side. >> a lot of people agree. quickly, ari, marco rubio may sacrifice basic civil rights, but at least he can quote jay z, does that make up for -- >> why are you asking me? >> trying to tee it up for you, brother. >> i think rubio tried hard to be cool and that's a problem because you never want to try too hard to be cool. >> don't i know about that. ana marie cox, ari melber, thanks. after the 47% comments, scott prouty does his last interview. hear him discuss obama care, mitt romney, and what happens to people with pre-existing conditions. color, and design. showing up where we least expect it

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for four decades, you've enjoyed the armed protection of capital police and secret service officers, all while trying to destroy the second amendment rights of the rest of us. so when it comes to that right, sir, you keep your advice, we'll keep our guns. [ cheers and applause ] >> that was a fiery wayne la pierre giving unsolicited advice to vice president joe biden at cpac today. 20 minutes, he railed against all things gun control. questioned whether the white house has lost their minds, ordered supporters to take a stand and plant their feet in the quote foundation of freedom. to the nay sayers, let them be dau damned. >> a check that will be far from universal will never make our

schools or our streets safer and will only serve as universal registration of lawful american gun owners. in the end, there are only two reasons for government to create that federal registry of gun owners, to tax them or to take them. [ applause ] >> a new marist finds him in the minority. 84% say they support background checks on private gun sales. 15% oppose them. among gun owners, 81% support background checks. tonight in colorado, home to the aurora and columbine shootings, lawmakers passed landmark legislation, mandating universal background checks for gun purchases. governor hickenlooper is expected to sign it into law. joining me now, dr. william beg, emergency room doctor that treated sandy hook victims. doctor, thank you for joining

us. >> alex, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here tonight. >> i wonder, there's been so much discussion about what should be done in the wake of the tragic shootings. in your expert opinion, do you think a universal background check could have helped prevent a massacre like the one at newtown? >> alex, the data is clear from our experience in australia and united kingdom, when you have universal background checks and ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, while not right away, over time it absolutely does make a difference. in the u.k. and in australia, since 1996, combined, they only had one mass murder. so it takes awhile, but absolutely makes a difference. mr. la pierre, he is a passionate speaker, eloquent, and represents the views of his constituents quite well. but mr. la pierre's vision of america is not america's vision of america. most americans by all the polls

out there want universal background checks. even most gun owners do. i think we need to forge ahead, respect the wishes of our constituents, and go ahead as colorado has done tonight and pass universal background checks. >> i would say that wayne la pierre's vision of america doesn't fit wayne la pierre's old vision of america, i would call everyone's attention to something he said in 1999 regarding universal background checks. >> i remember. >> we think it's reasonable to provide mandatory, instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. no loopholes anywhere for anyone. how do we begin to square that attitude with the one that was on display today at cpac? >> you know what, what i can worry about is the majority, and the majority have the viewpoint that we need to forge ahead with universal background checks. and i'm not sure what mr. la pierre's influences have been,

something clearly changed his mind. i don't know if it was the gun lobby or finances or other outside influences, but americans feel that this is good legislation and colorado has shown tonight, they've shown leadership. i can't comment why he changed, but i can comment that most americans and most gun owners advocate and want universal background checks. >> statistics on it nationally are overwhelming. >> yes, absolutely yes. >> no matter what happens in the senate, there seems to be real movement at the state level, colorado in particular. dr. william begg, thank you for joining me. >> thanks for the opportunity. up next, the last word from the most valuable player of the 2012 election. you name it...i've hooked it. but there's one... one that's always eluded me. thought i had it in the blizzard of '93. ha! never even came close. sometimes, i actually think it's mocking me. [ engine revs ]

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to say it has been a whirl wind week for 2012 mvp scott prouty, today he gave what he claims to be his last television interview, the man that gave us the 47% tape had one thing to say to mitt romney, it's not a game. the first question i have for you is you know, when you made this video, were you concerned about the subject of income and equality, where the republican party had been at, or was this more about the man, mitt romney, and what he had been saying. >> when i made the video, i had no preconceived notion of what would be said. when i heard it, then, you know, frankly the idea that he would go by the sweatshop in china, that's what angered me the most. >> talking about the moment when he says he has gone to visit a factory in china, speaks of deplorable working conditions.

and tries to spin it as look, the barbed wire fences to keep the workers in is because they want to be there, trying to keep people out that want a piece of that pie. >> it was absurd. that whole tape, there was individual parts that were -- one was worse than the next and the next and the next. it was a lot of different parts that were probably offensive to different people in all different ways. >> he managed to hit many different pieces of the electorate in that one speech. what i want to know, i think a lot has been done to vilify mitt romney for what was said. at the end of the day, there was a roomful of people eating stakes and drinking wine and agreeing with this. what was it like in that room? >> i was looking for other faces in the room that were kind of appalled and i just didn't see too many. maybe a couple people i worked with had the same gut reaction i did. as far as people that were there, i was expecting when he said some of the stuff, i couldn't believe he was saying it, so you know, i was scanning

the room, didn't see any reaction whatsoever. >> you were a bartender. >> yeah. >> working the room. we were told you didn't have health insurance, which is interesting given mitt romney shifting stance on health care. i want to play sound from an appearance on jay leno earlier talking about pre-existing conditions and access to health care. >> people with pre-existing conditions, as long as they have been insured before are going to be able to continue to have insurance. >> suppose they weren't. >> if they're 45 years old, show up and want insurance because i have heart disease, it is like hey, guys, we can't play the game like that. you have to get insurance when you're well. and then if you get ill, then you're going to be covered. >> guys, we can't play the game like that. if you have health insurance, you lose? what are you supposed to glean from that. was that something on your mind when you were in that position? >> i have a pre-existing condition. i was diagnosed with a genetic blood disease when i was 30 years old, the