attack. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris malthue said in new york. the democratic brackout that could change the course of this political war. nothing is more daring or more effective than the attack from a defensive position. that's how henry v won, how alexander defeated the persians. go for the defensive and make time go on the attack. today, the democratic leadership struck with all its pent-up fury. it broke through the lines and then strangled every effort to

move the country forward and tried to kill every nomination and initiative for rebuilding the economy, for fixing the immigration system, the same forces that have tried choking the president's health care law in its crib. as dinah washington once sang, what a difference a day makes. due to the action of the senate democrats today, there will no longer be a 60-vote requirement to get nominations, and with any luck, there will be action. steve kornacki is the host of up weekend mornings, and joan walsh is an editor at salon. the president's enemies have made history in the furauusty a frequenty of their attacks. in february, they challenged his right to defend the country by blocking chuck hagel to head the pentagon. it was the first ever filibuster of a pentagon chief. they stopped his nominee for the

consumer bureau for two years. that was confirmed in july. in october, they challenge his right to an economic agenda by blocking the nomination of mel watt. watt was the first sitting member of congress to be denied confirmation to any office since the civil war, and most recently, they challenged the president to appoint any judges. they shot down all three of the president's nominees to the d.c. court of appeals. the president and democrats are on the attack today. they invoked the nuclear option. but the bigger message behind the move is clear. democrats and this president have gone to war with their enemies finally. let's listen to the president. >> today's pattern of obstruction, it just isn't normal. it's not what our founders envisioned. a deliberate and determined effort to obstruct everything,

no matter what the merits, just to refight the results of an election is not normal. and for the sake of future generations, we can't let it become normal. this isn't obstruction on substance. on qualifications. it's just to gum up the works. >> that's what they have been doing. steve, run through the implications of this. i knew this might be coming. the senate majority leader, harry reid, was talking about it. they talked a while ago, cut some deals. mccain did some good work there, but they kept coming at obama, saying, you don't count as president. you can't pick your cabinet. we're going to vote against everything. leading the charge, of course, has been ted cruz. who votes against everything. if caroline kennedy's nomination had come to the floor, i would have pet on cruz to vote against that. total negativity, and now the democrats have taken the attack against it. >> that's the interesting thing

about this. when we first started hearing rumblings of the nuclear option and the nominees to the circuit court being denied the up or down vote the democrats wanted, we said this is a scene in the play we have seen before. harry reid will make the threats, it will come down to the wire, and there will be a deal struck. they'll want to step forward to preserve this tradition in the senate. the amazing thing here to me is two things. one, republicans put president obama, harry reid, and the democratic party in a position where if they did anything other than what they did today, they would have looked weak. republicans put them in a position where basically, republicans were saying we're not going to honor the power of the president to put his appointees through in the wake of an election he won. they put him in a position where they had to do that. you did not hear in the last few days as the moment drew closer, you did not hear what you have heard every time it happened in the past, that's the mccains and the grahams, the corkers, whoever, stepping forward and saying let's find a way out of

this. i think at a certain level, republican senators, not the republican base, but the republican senators are relieved this happened today. >> let me go to joan. broader political front here, i have been arguing for i don't know how many years, he needs a fail ngs, a number of soldiers ready to take on the enemy and charge. harry reid has guts because he's saying it's better to get something done than pretend to be senate majority leader. he's not interested in the form of being a senate leader. he want to be the leader. >> i agree. >> unlike boehner. >> they voted today to let barack obama be president, finally, five years after he was elected. he's been elected twice, and he's been treated like no other president and been hamstrung like no other president. i have given harry reid a hard time, but he has not necessarily securely had the votes until now. you had democrats like dianne

feinstein or max baucus or a liberal like barbara boxer say they were worried about this step. they're institutionalists, they wanted to protect the rules and the way things worked, but even they have been driven over the edge by the litany of obstruction that you opened the segment with. really, and you know, chuck grassley and mitch mcconnell went too far by saying simply apointing judges to the d.c. circuit was quote packing, they forced the hand of the democrats. they cannot be reasoned with or compromised with. this is obstruction, and democrats went along with harry reid and said we'll do it. >> dinah washington's song, what a difference a day makes. for the president's enemies, their motives behind blocking appointments is to attack the president's agenda, of course his character, and legitimacy. they do it all the time with blocked appointments, in fact, it's a reason to attack the health care law.

here's mitch mcconnell speaking in the senate earlier today. >> here's the problem with this latest distraction. it doesn't distract people from obama care. it reminds them of obama care. it reminds them of all the broken promises. it reminds them of the power grab. it reminds them of the way democrats set up one set of rules for themselves and another for everybody else. >> you know what, steve? i think he's making a kind of heroic effort to change the subject. you know what it reminds me of? the filibuster itself. they're breaking through the filibuster, and now they're thinking of all the games that have been played. there's ted cruz. remember why wi didn't have a budget? because cruz wouldn't let the budget committees meet. all these games they play on the hill to stop the president from being president, to get him off the record books so they can claim, look, he wasn't really

president. he was want able to do this, wasn't able to to that. i hope reid sticks to it. >> a lot of republicans will never admit it secretly, but i think they're secretly relieved by this. the more and more absurd it got. when the got to the point where the argument from grassley and mcconnell and other republicans wasn't that the nominees were unqualified, there's a specific problem with this specific nominee. the argument was the court itself is too big and therefore we're not going to confirm anyone to the senate. when it got to that point, republicans fount themselves trapped between the war their base wants. the war their base wants against any and every nominee obama sends up. and the fact they as senators who represent full states, not these republican-friendly districts in a lot of cases, but states where they have to answer to a more difficult general election electorate, having to defend the filibusters, or

risking talking about it. this rules change takes them off the hook, and as you see, it's going to let them spend the next year playing victim. >> thank you, steve. thank you, joan walsh. coming up, the smoking gun. we now have because of the good reporting by the "new york times" today, a republican playbook. it's an actual document on how to kill affordable care. it's a multi-part effort to collect stories from people who claim they have been hurt by the law and make it seem like it's happening to everyone when it's only happening to 0.6% of people. if you're willing to give money to fund voter suppression efforts, the gop is willing to keep your name secret. isn't this wild? you don't have to have a name even to give billions of dollars. but try to vote somewhere in texas. and case closed, an author makes the case that lee harvey

oswald and lee harvey oswald alone killed jack kennedy. ron burgundy had fun last night on conan, and toronto mayor rob ford's expense. >> my dear, dear, dear friend, mayor rob ford of toronto is running for re-election. and i hold him in the highest regard. he is the best. >> okay. >> i watched that last night. so good on conan. this is "hardball," the place for politics. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your face. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief. so you feel free. liberated. released. decongested. open for business. [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] powerful sinus relief from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. sudafed. open up.

welcome back. the republican party is now engaging in an organized relentless attack to destroy the affordable care act. now the "new york times" has obtained a smoking gun to the attack. an internal memo that maps it

all out. it highlights themes they'll use to urge republicans to collect stories about the impact of policy cancellations from the constituents. to paint a picture that it's hurting thousands of constituents. they'll also make sure congress focused on pretty much nothing other than health care. at least eight committees are launching investigations. and congressman darrell issa plans on holding hearings all around the country in the weeks ahead. nice way to celebrate christmas. anyway, it also lays out talking points. like premiums are increasing. millions of americans will lose the plan they have, and it's hurting job creation. how is that going? let's watch. >> every day, we hear heart-wrenching stories from americans. we're getting stories about their plans being canceled or the cost of their new plan is skyrocketing, or they can't keep their doctor. >> they're writing me about cancellation notices of plans

they wanted to keep, rising premiums so their deductibles, some of them are doubling. they're paying more for health care. >> moms and dads are worried they're going to lose their health care plan. >> the final wave of the principle failure is going to be the cost. the idea that this was going to lower costs, they say it's going to raise the cost. >> young adults are now witnessing the increase in health care costs and are wondering whether they're going to be able to afford even a basic policy. >> millions of americans have lost their health insurance because of obama care. and others are paying more for the insurance that they have. people are going to be losing their doctors, prices are going to sky rocket. >> anyway, first of all, wrong again, reince priebus. a new report from the counsel of economic advisers shows, quote, health care spending has grown by 1.3% since 2010, the year the health care law passed. that's the lowest on record. david axelrod, an mnsbc

contributor. how important is it to get ahold of the war plan? there, it's all laid out. no spontaneity to this. they're going to ignore the fact that the people have been, i would say, dismayed and angry they didn't get to keep the health care they wanted was six tenths of 1%. while the republicans are going to deny health care to 40 million people surviving in emergency rooms. that never gets mentioned, the real fight is over the 40 million, not over the .6 of 1%. >> not just the 40 million. since the law was signed, you have 3.1 million people under the age of 26 who have gotten insurance. 17 million kids with pre-existing conditions who can't be barred from their family's policy anymore.

this year, 8.5 million americans who got rebate checks because the insurance companies overspent on administrative costs and salary instead of health care, and everybody who has health care, 105 million americans, now don't face lifetime caps. if you get seriously ill, your insurance company can't throw you off insurance. i want to see the republican party write letters to all those people and tell them they're going to take that away from them, that they think it's a bad deal for them. >> congratulations for you for the role you played in getting health care passed. >> if you listen to the unrelentless messaging campaign, you would almost think americans are going to lose their health insurance. that's not the case. a new study out from families usa looked at all those in risk. their conclusion, only 0.6% of americans under the age of 65 will be at risk for losing their

current plan and will not be eligible for insurance that will make their plan more affordable. there will be friction, it's real. i have never denied it, but you're trying something new and pushing in something that's going to have a grand, historic impact, that wouldn't have been accomplished if the president hadn't gotten his 60 votes in the senate. >> right, and it wouldn't have been accomplished if the president hadn't tried it. when scott brown won his election, the story was, and even the president gave an interview where he said, maybe we should think about going incrementally, but they changed their mind and pushed full force to get it done. you know, chris, this plan, when i have here in my hand, it's a pr document. it has nothing in there. i think you talked about the fact -- no, it was david, who talked about all the things the affordable health care act is. a lot of people think it's just healthcare.gov. that's just not the case. what the republicans refuse to talk about, and what's not in

here at all is what happens if they do succeed in getting rid of the affordable care act or defunding it? what do they do about the kids on their parents' health insurance. what do they do about no lifetime caps? what do they do about the millions of americans who would suddenly find themselves without health insurance? yes, the 0.6% of the american people who find themselves getting cancellation notices and finding themselves in a fearful position, it's heart-wrenching. it's unfortunate, but we're talking about, as you said, about a greater good here. change is hard and people get hurt. i don't mean to sound callous, but there is a greater good here. >> let me ask david about the politics of this. what do you think, when you put your head into their heads and think about what their game is here, i know american politics is often negative. i'm not negative to believe you win by voting against something. i voted against the iraq war in

my thinking. how do you put a party together -- and basically, mcconnell is no fool. the minute they said they're not going to put up with filibusters, he said, they're trying to distract from health care. everything is health care. unless you're lindsay graham, then it goes back to benghazi. a totally negative approach. >> one of the most interesting things in the times report was the admission from the republicans they weren't going to advocate any new policies, they were just going to participate in oversight to try to scuttle health reform. this is one of the reasons why their numbers are historically low. congress's number and the republican party. because people recognize they're against everything and they stand for nothing. they have no health care plan. challenge them and ask how they're going to deal with the problems we have been talking about, and they have no answer. ultimately, they're going to pay a price in that. >> david axelrod, thank you for

coming on, and thank you, jonathan. up next, ron burgundy and toronto mayor rob ford. what a match. this is "hardball," the place for politics. i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners,

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it comes from washington. jim. >> republican trey radel of florida pleaded guilty to cocaine possession. >> the tea party's favorite of florida's district. >> he was caught in a coke bust. apparently, he forgot the part of the tea party story where you dump the product in the harbor before the cops show up. folks, personally, i hate to lose a congressman so fiscally conservative that i'm sure he snorted his blow through a one dollar bill. >> time for the side show.

that was steve colbert on trey radel, the first member of congress to plead charguilty to charges of coke potion while in charge. he's also known as a hip-hop conservative, a title he destrowed upon himself. he credited his love of hip-hop and gangster rap for his more rubellious side. take a look at this interview he gave last spring. >> is there a lyric or a song that explains how you feel about the situation in washington right now? >> the first one that i would have to refer to would be fight to power by public enemy. this is a song that came out, really, if you really get down to it, in many ways reflects the conservative message. i think at the end of the day, and this is where i take my love of hip-hop music, of where you can see there have been issued and problems with heavy-handed,

either law inforcement like the department of justice we have seen with the a.p., or heavy-handed government in itself. >> earlier today, radel checked into rehab. speaking of drug use, embattled toronto mayor rob ford got a tribute from ron burgundy. will ferrell went on conan and remains in character the whole interview. >> my dear, dear, dear friend rob ford of toronto is running for re-election. i hold him in the highest regard. he is the best. >> you have chosen to sing the campaign song for mayor rob ford? >> of course, who wouldn't? ♪ everybody is working for the weekend ♪ ♪ ♪ everybody wants a new romance ♪ ♪ everybody's going off the deep end ♪ >> don't do anything stupid,

rob! ♪ and everybody needs a second chance ♪ >> we'll have will ferrell himself on the show next month, december 18th. that's "hardball" for now. up next, "your business." got a? accessing brain information... yes, they have a lot to choose from. did you really just... and now you can get $100 off any tablet. thanks, wayne. save like never before on any tablet at verizon now. get $100 off any tablet. plus trade in your old tablet for up to $150 or more. that's powerful. verizon. can you move your beverage away from the keyboard? it's making me anxious. sure thing.

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