tv Andrea Mitchell Reports MSNBC December 16, 2013 10:00am-10:55am PST
10:00 am
right now on "andrea mitchell reports," done deal. after the budget compromise sailed through the house tomorrow it faces an increasingly combative senate, so will it pass. >> i think it's a pretty safe bet it's going to pass. i think mitch mcconnell, the republican leadership knows they can't let it go down. >> it's not a done deal. it's going to be very colostomy. i think there's going to be a cloture vote and going to be closed. >> family feud after speaker boehner lashed out at tea party conservatives and outside groups. paul ryan tried to kiss and make up. >> i think john got his irish up. he was frustrated groups came out against the budget agreement before we reached a budget agreement. i was frustrated, too. these are important elements of our conservative family. i would prefer to keep those
10:01 am
conversations within the family. >> warning signs. how long was 18-year-old carl pearson planning friday's shooting rampage at his colorado high school. we'll have a live report from the school where pearson's classmates were supposed to be taking finals this week but now been tested by this tragedy. >> i did try to help him and didn't get to him. other people tried to help him and didn't get to him. there were so many people in my school supportive of him but no one was able to get to him. at the end of the day, that is what happened. >> getting personal. how much do women lawmakers have to reveal about themselves to block new restricks on coverage for abortions. i'll have minority leader gretchen whit mer why it was worth it. >> i think you need to see the face of the women you are impacting by this vote today. i think you need to think of the girls we're raising and what kind of a state we want to be
10:02 am
where you would put your approval on something this extreme. and good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington where there is cautious optimism the bipartisan budget deal reached by paul ryan and patty murray and passed by the house of representatives will clear the senate, but we're hearing mixed messages from members about how close this could be. virginia senator mark warner. >> it was barely two months ago in the middle of a government shutdown where we almost defaulted on our debt, it looked like there was no ability to have any bipartisanship. i think we ought to first of all
10:03 am
give paul ryan and patty murray a number of kudos. this deal is not as big or as grand as i would have liked. but by having actually a budget for two years to not have the worst of sequestration. it's a step forward. the overwhelming vote in the house surprised me, a large majority in the house. in the senate, will it be close? probably a little bit close are than a lot of us liked but it will get through. this will be a good step forward what will be the next step ultimately have to go to include tax reform and entitlement reform. >> what do you say to fellow democrats that are very concerned that unemployment compensation was included, the extension. >> i understand the fact there's a lot of folks coming in the year that are going to lose long-term unemployment benefits. i think we're going to have to find a way on other legislation to deal with that. i think on the other hand you
10:04 am
have republicans who were very concerned about raising the so-called budget authority caps that were part of this deal. so the fact was this budget compromise is a compromise. neither side got everything they wanted. for those of us who were actually advocates of a bigger deal, we didn't get what we wanted as well, which was the bigger debate about entitlement reform and tax reform to generate more revenues. >> you have, in fact, been part of a group, a larger group that for quite sometime was trying to replicate some of the proposals similar to simpson-bowles. >> right. >> is that just dead? is that not going to happen? >> andrea, i think each round we go through with these small deals, we take more and more of the so-called low hanging fruit away. i think it shows if the next deal, the next time we face a crisis, my hope, and a lot of us talking on the subject behind the scenes, we've gotten rid of all the other items, we have to get to entitlement reform, we have to get to tax reform. i actually believe putting that
10:05 am
larger deal in place would do more for economic growth and job creation than any single action congress is debating right now. >> what about immigration reform? what about the farm bill? does the changes at the white house, john podesta coming in, new leadership at the legislative affairs office, some would say not enough change, some say too much, will that help? what is the rest of the agenda going to look like for this white house. >> i think it's going to help. i think the white house recognizes they need a fresh start. this has been on any historic basis not a productive year for either side. getting some fresh folks into the white house who have got long-term relationships on the hill i think makes sense. and when you talk about both immigration and the farm bill, both legislation that has passed the senate in a bipartisan way with big numbers, the problem has been getting that same kind of reaction in the house. i think seeing the kind of
10:06 am
overwhelming numbers not only on the budget bill the defense bill the house passed bodes well with a fresh start new year immigration and farm bill could actually get done. >> senator mark warner, thanks to you. than for joining us. happy holiday, christmas, happy new year. >> thanks. >> msnbc's chris cillizza and amy walter national editor of the "politico" report. welcome, both. chris, you gave your worst week to president obama with a very unflattering graphic i point out, the artwork. i know you're not responsible for the artwork. why that and what do you think going forward? >> it was actually worst year in washington. >> a week seemed like a year, didn't it? >> yeah. a week that seemed like a year. look, i think president obama and his advisers, you heard senator warner address this a little bit. i think 2013 was seen as a year in which he had the momentum
10:07 am
doing the second term legacy building that he, himself, acknowledges gets more difficult the further on you go in your second term. it's not all-pro's fault. we know that republicans have opposed virtually everything he's done, this last effort notwithstanding, basically the only element of bipartisan compromise this year. ultimately in healthcare.gov, if you like your insurance you can keep it are indicative of this, this is a year president obama and his advisers will look back on say it was a little bit of a lost year. a year they hoped to rack up accomplishments for a variety of reasons, many within his control, some not within his control. they didn't and now we move onto a midterm election year which i think is going to make it more difficult to get done what he needs to get done. executive orders are a whole other ball game. >> going outside the beltway, amy, you've just come back from a stint in chicago teaching and
10:08 am
talking to people and absorbing the midwest. look at the des moines register poll. lets look at 2016 matchups, hillary clinton way out front, joe biden not that far behind. has he name recognition, chits from people, sitting vice president with pluses and minuses. if for some reason hillary were not running biden is quite viable in primary terms. >> look, i'm not always a big fan of looking at polls this far out 2016, we know in iowa the person front-runner even in december of the caucus doesn't always win. it's the most unpredictable state in the world. it is good to be vice president of the united states. you have incredible amount of goodwill with your base. >> you have a blue and white airplane. >> that helps you get places. still making phone calls to
10:09 am
people in places like iowa, state legislators involved in the process. on the republican side it wasn't that surprising to me that the guy who was the vice presidential nominee last time is the person leading this time around. the fact of the matter there aren't a lot of people, even in a place like iowa, who are playing that much attention to 2016. they are looking at, hey, who is this person i've heard of before. i know this person. they are going to be shopping and poking at the produce for the next couple of years. right now i think it just shows pure name id. >> talking about shopping or squeezing the lemons or cantaloupes or whatever one does when you're going through the produce, on the republican side you've got paul ryan who just did the budget deal who is leading the pack. mike huckabee talking about getting back into it. rick santorum popular in iowa, we saw what happened last time. rick perry. most interesting chris christie at 51% positive but 30%
10:10 am
negatives in iowa. what is it about new jersey that doesn't play in iowa. chris? >> just very quickly, andrea, amy couldn't be more right. this poll should be called, whose name do you know. that's essentially what we're getting at here. you've hit on it with chris christie. i think it's going to be very difficult with what we know about the iowa republican caucus elector, social conservatives, a lot of tea party folks, those are not chris christie constituency. with numbers like those, 30% of self-identified republicans at this appoint say they have an unfavorable view of him. amy is right. he could go in there, sort of blanket the state. i will tell you those first impressions are difficult to change, particularly when you're as well-known in the state and nationally as chris christie. i wonder if those people don't look at those numbers and start thinking of a john mccain-like
10:11 am
path to the nomination that doesn't include iowa caucuses. i'm not sure with that built-in level of favorability he looks like a strong candidate there. >> just to clean up something that overhangs from last week, what about the whole controversy denied by christie about his aldly punishing a democratic mayor and closing the bridge, gw bridge, amy? >> this is the double edged sword of being in the new york media market, if you were in california and closed the bay bridge i don't know if you'd hear that much about it. the fact that it's in the backyard of every major media organization means it's going to be covered like a local story. the guy that happens to be the local candidate is chris christie. that's going to dog him for a little bit now. i don't know that it becomes a big story politically. i don't think this is what we're going to be talking about in
10:12 am
2016. chris's point is correct, his personality, temperament is going to be a constant issue going forward. >> it's what has propelled him to lead the conversation. he's so personable, so impactful, whether he's on a talk show, snl, whatever, on "nightly news" with brian williams but that's also the downside in a place like iowa if people perceive him as not being nice enough. >> andrea, i would say as a connecticut kid born and raised who married a woman whose family lives in texas, what people think in connecticut from texas and what people think of texas from connecticut are two different things. new jersey represents certain things. chris christie is sort of new jersey through and through. it's helped him in new jersey. i don't know if it's the right fit for the kind of candidate we've seen iowa republicans go for in the recent past.
10:13 am
>> i have to vote for new jersey because just my producers are from new jersey. >> right. if not you're not going to get over the bridge. >> i have to cross the bridge. >> that's right. >> amy, thank you. chris cillizza. >> thank you. >> on a serious note, after more than a week of mourning his death and celebrating his life south africa laid to rest its greatest son nelson mandela. buried in his childhood home qunu after a private ceremony with 4500 guests. the eulogy touched on his legacy but also remembered madiba for his love of children and mischievous sense of humor, reconciliation day, holiday commemorating virtues mandela preached after his release from prison in 1990. the president was on hand in pretoria to unveil the 30 foot bronze statue depicting mandela with his armed outstretched
10:14 am
symbolizing unity. david rivera. rivera, david. [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. the physical damage was pretty bad. the emotional toll was even worse. our daughter had nightmares. what that robber really took from us was our peace of mind. with adt, we got it back. [ male announcer ] every 14.4 seconds,
10:15 am
a burglary takes place in the united states. so rely on the fast alarm response of adt. a single adt system can help protect you from burglary, fire, and high levels of carbon monoxide. when an alarm is received, adt calls the local authorities for help. and you can get this monitored protection, plus great local service, starting at just over $1 a day. and only adt offers a theft protection guarantee. take it from me. the time to think about a security system isn't after something bad happens -- it's before. [ male announcer ] call now and get adt installed for just $49. you could save a lot more than money. hurry, and take advantage of these savings. adt. always there. wout of landfills each year? plastic waste to cover mt. rainier by using one less trash bag each month, we can. and glad forceflex bags stretch until they're full.* so you can take them out less often.
10:17 am
disturbing new details emerging about the high school student who terrorized his community. yet another incident in the state with 18-year-old carl pearson. he entered arapahoe high school on friday looking for revenge. in only 80 seconds he shot a 17-year-old girl point blank in the head and killed himself. the question is were there warning signs that could have prevented this tragedy. ron mat filed this report. >> reporter: could a carl pearson have been plotting an attack for weeks, months, years. one of his friends joe redman who tried helping him deal with frustration over being kicked
10:18 am
off the debate team said there were signs he was in more pain than you could imagine. >> the carl i knew was a good person. obviously the carl that came in was not. >> i'm carl pearson, freshman in littleton. >> he had strong ideas on politics, guns. in retrospect, he thinks he may have overlooked obvious and more ominous signs that ended with friday's tragedy in which pearson died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. >> carl had been reading anarchist cookbook for a year an giving it to people, which is basically a recipe to make bombs. >> joining me is ron mott. you've spent days trying to get arms around it and all those that saw problems after he was suspended. nobody took it seriously. wasn't there, in fact, a death threat? >> a lot of kids we talked to
10:19 am
said this was not this kid's character. a lot of kids say things and they dismissed it as a joke. he had a tough semester. one of the captains on the speech and debate team, speech and debate was important to particle pikarl pierson. he was suspended from school for what was taken as a threat. no one thought he would go this far. joe redman said he talked with karl monday about coming back to the team. police say by that point he had already bought the shotgun. he had his mind going about wanting to exact revenge. he never reached him and unfortunately shot claire davis who police say was just in the wrong place when he encountered her. she's clinging to live at this
10:20 am
hour, andrea. >> what about colorado, there's aurora, sheriffs around the state refusing to enforce new gun provisions. >> obviously a debate in colorado, a debate all over the country. i spoke with the governor john hickenlooper and i said what is going on in the denver metro with some of these spree killing we're seeing. he said there's no rational reason why it's happening but he's sick of it and they want to find a gap between strong second amendment activists, we're in the west, a lot of guns out this way but a lot seeing communities safer. they don't want schools turning into what we saw friday. they want safe havens for kids to learn and have a bright future that everybody thought karl pierson had until friday. they have got to find a way to come together. everybody has to put aside harsh
10:21 am
rhetoric and come together for everyone's best interest. easier said than done. he wants to work on it in colorado where it is a tough issue around the country politically, andrea. >> apparently the gun was purchased, ammo purchased legally and he's 18 years old. the first responders did what they had to do quick enough to prevent further injury or death. >> right. exactly. the governor said that was key to keeping this from being another columbine where you had a dozen, thirteen people killed. there's a school resource officer, deputy at the school when the alarms went offer. he had to run from the lunch room to the library. took a while to get there. this was all over in about 80 seconds. you think about it, a minute ant twenty seconds. a lot of terrible things went on
10:22 am
at school. they were able to get an officer to engage karl pierson before he was able to get a lot of students in a corner or trap them somehow. unfortunately he shot claire davis and took his own life. this could have been a lot worse, andrea new york city question. >> ron mott, thank you so much for the update from colorado. and an important note and constant reminder of the sacrifice of our nation's military. marine lance corporal rodriguez killed in action last week while conducting operations in afghanistan. the combat engineer was only 19 years old. last spring he graduated from high school in the small coastal town of fair haven, massachusetts. he was engaged to be married. his sister lauren told the boston herald, rodriguez was, quote, born to be a marine. he was my little brother and my family's hero. 2,153 service members have now been killed in afghanistan since operation enduring freedom began in march 2003. america's longest war. my customers can shop around-- see who does good work and compare costs.
10:23 am
it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions. i don't like guesses with my business, and definitely not with our health. innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. life's an adventure and it always has been. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis.
10:24 am
side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial.
10:25 am
♪ through 12 ice storms brewing ♪ ♪ 10 straight days raining ♪ 9 hailstorms pounding ♪ 5 mysteriously heavy holiday fruitcakes ♪ ♪ 4 actual tree houses ♪ 3 blackouts ♪ 2 weird to mention ♪ and a roaming horde of carolers ♪ ♪ with my exact same route [ female announcer ] no one delivers the holidays like the u.s. postal service. priority mail flat rate is more reliable than ever. and with improved tracking up to 11 scans you can even watch us get it there. and look for our limited edition holiday stamps.
10:26 am
michigan's legislature a controversial, requiring women to buy additional coverage if they want abortion coverage. once pregnant, women would no longer have the option to buy the coverage. the law passed despite several women lawmakers trying in vein to explain facts of life to colleagues including those speaking out democratic state senator gretchen whitmer. >> i'm about to tell you something i've not shared with many people in my life. but over 20 years ago, i was a victim of rape. and thank god it didn't result in a pregnancy, because i can't imagine going through what i went through and then having to consider what to do about an unwanted pregnancy from an attacker. and as a mother will two girls,
10:27 am
the thought that they would ever go through something like i did keeps me up at night. i thought this was all behind me. you know who tough i can be. the thought and the memory of that still haunts me. if this were law then, and i had become pregnant, i would not be able to have coverage because of this. how extreme -- how extreme does this measure need to be? >> the bill passed the michigan senate 27-11 nonetheless. it's set to take effect early next year. joining me is senate democratic leader for state of michigan senator gingrichen whitmer. thank you, senator. >> thank you. >> thank you for being willing to talk about something that is so painful. what made you want to go public with your own personal story? >> well, i didn't know i was
10:28 am
going to do it. i really didn't. until i had gone up to the microphone. it was something i had been mulling over. but it became very clear to me that my republican colleagues weren't listening to any women. they didn't have any testimony on the bills. they didn't listen to medical providers. i was trying to encourage one of my colleagues to share his story about a dnc his wife needed with the baby developing in utero s was -- wasn't developing and needed to be aborted. i thought if i'm encouraging him to share his story, i should. >> how disappointed are you being that personal, that public didn't change the minds of the men voting on this? >> i serve in a state senate there's only four women out of 38 senators. >> four women.
10:29 am
have other women run for office, or is it they don't get slated for office. we talk a lot about u.s. senate and 20 women there as though that's critical mass. four women out of 38. >> right. you know, when i came into the senate we celebrated a historical high of 12. in every election that number has gone down. i don't know what the cause is for that but i do know it is having palpable impact. just last session republican colleagues took away women's microphones on the floor of the house when they had the audacity to say the word vagina. eve came and we performed vagina monologues. this is a huge vote for women when our voices aren't heard in a debate much less deciding making. >> lets talk about the bill itself, because one of the aspects of the bill means you
10:30 am
have to buy a separate rider for future abortion coverage without knowingure pregnant, then after your pregnant you can't retroactively buy it. i guess it's a pre-existing condition. i don't understand. >> it's completely illogical. this is right to life moving extreme ideological agenda. what this states is you need to preplan an unplanned pregnancy. rape insurance, incest. so extreme it applies to planned pregnancies that have a physical malformation of the fetus and necessitate a medically necessary dnc. those are situations where people want to have children and are grieving their loss. now to say your insurance won't cover your hospital stay or the procedure is illogical. if you're pregnant before you
10:31 am
need this rider, you're out of luck. right to life says you shouldn't have this right. >> did governor rick snyder vetoed a similar bill last year but this bill passed without the governor's signature. it for some reason does not require him to sign off on it. >> it's a weird loophole in michigan law. right to life legislation, they have run this twice before. they decided to use this weird loophole in michigan law if you collect 4% of the signatures in the state of michigan, you can side step the governor and have both chambers of the legislature use a simple majority to pass it and it becomes the law of the state. the people never get a vote. it applies to 100% of the women and girls in our state but only 4% of the people ask for this. >> senator whitmer, thanks for going public. thanks for sharing. it's a national issue as well as
10:32 am
an issue for michiganders. thank you for bringing it up. >> thank you, andrea. >> 45 years in the making, returning to mekong river. his first trip since secretary of state to the country he won three purple hearts as commander of a patrol boat. it was a big issue in the 2004 race for the white house. a surprisingly undiplomatic comment to the prime minister, he noted he and the prime minister were on opposite sides of that battle in the mekong delta. >> 45 years ago i was there and -- turn to roc® retinol correxion®. one week, fine lines appear to fade. one month, deep wrinkles look smoother. after one year, skin looks ageless.
10:33 am
10:35 am
♪ ♪ if i was a flower growing wild and free ♪ ♪ all i'd want is you to be my sweet honeybee ♪ ♪ and if was a tree growing tall and green ♪ ♪ all i'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves ♪ grown in america. picked & packed at the peak of ripeness. the same essential nutrients as fresh. del monte. bursting with life™.
10:36 am
we've been talking a lot about secret budget talks, talks on cloture, how did they produce a compromise and avoid a shut down for two years? could there be a new spirit of cooperation of lets look behind the curtain of secret talks with a key player in the negotiations. congresswoman, very good to see you. thanks for joining us today. >> always a pleasure to be with you and thank you. >> well, lets talk about what happened behind the scenes. you were quoted as commenting very favorably on paul ryan, the key republican negotiator. how did that all come together with patty murray and paul ryan? >> first of all, i've always worked across the aisle and paul ryan and i are friends. he's always called him mom and i've called him sonny boy who is wrong. i'm glad we're able to work together. it's not a great deal, it's a good deal. what's most important about it for me is it's increasing
10:37 am
investments in the national institutes of health, for breast cancer, all canses, alzheimer's, autism research. it will make a very important investment in early education, and of course transportation. these issues are important to both republicans and democrats, and i hope we can continue moving forward in a bipartisan way. now it's time for the appropriations committee to write the bill. chairman rogers and i also work very well together. so i'm optimistic that it can be a step in the right direction, although i was furious when we left town that we didn't include unemployment insurance in this bill. >> i was going to ask you about that. as of friday long-term uninsurance will expire in a matter of days. those are the people most impacted by continuing slow growth in the economy. >> december 28th is the
10:38 am
deadline. can you imagine christmas time you're going to tell people, sorry, you can't get your unemployment, most of whom have been looking for work and rejected. although the economy is improving somewhat, it's still not where it is and we are losing jobs. it is so critical for women who are raising families. men who can't take care of their families. i do hope as soon as we get back in january we can pass unemployment insurance. >> congresswoman, you were quoted in gayle collins wonderful "new york times" piece about the republicans trying to change the way they talk about women to try to avoid alienating women in the upcoming elections. what is your take on that, how republicans are trying to change their language when it comes to women? >> look, changing the language isn't solving the problem. the reason they have such trouble with the language is the action, is the legislation, the
10:39 am
anti-choice legislation, anti-pay equity legislation. women are pretty smart. you can't nice talk them without producing real changes. maybe they will wake up. maybe if they don't really have a conviction, maybe at least they will try to reach out to the women and not put such really ann choice riders on every piece of legislation and do something about pay equity where women in the same job are not paid the same as men. not so much the language but what they believe and what they do. >> and perhaps stop passing things like the michigan law i was just talking to state senator gretchen whitmer about, which prevents health care for medically indicated abortions or in the case of rape and incest. quick question about politics. i think you represent westchester, upper westchester county, chappaqua, one of your
10:40 am
constituents might run for president. what is your take, the latest on hillary clinton purchase i'm glad to see hillary feeling better. she's a talented, committed woman who will make an extraordinary president. i will support her right now, and i do hope she has the opportunity to be the first woman president in the nation. >> any doubt that she's planning a race? >> it looks to me as if she's heading in that direction but i haven't seen or heard a definite yes right now. i just know there are a lot of people in this country who are counting on hillary clinton to be the first woman president, and i know she will do an extraordinary job because of her commitment to all the issues we're talking about, whether it's investment in health, whether it is pay equity, whether it is investing in infrastructure, putting people back to work, strengthening the economy, moving us forward. i am very optimistic, cautiously
10:41 am
optimistic that she will run, and i know she will become the president if she does so. >> thank you very much. i'm going to put you in the yes hillary column. >> for sure yes hillary. i've always been there, and it will be my pleasure to support her and work hard for her to make sure she gets elected. but she has to make that very personal decision. it's a difficult job. i can't imagine going through it, traveling around the country, reaching out to people. there's so much support that i do hope she considers and makes that decision. >> we'll have to leave it there for now. thank you very much, congresswoman. >> thank you. >> nearly a week after president obama's handshake with cuba's raul castro raised eyebrows in some quarters we're seeing the first new photo of his brother fidel castro since earlier this
10:42 am
year. cuban government website published the photo taken last week, the 87-year-old fidel photo with a visiting spanish journalist. hoo-hoo hoo. sir... i'll get it together i promise... heeheehee. jimmy: ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? ronny:i'd say happier than the pillsbury doughboy on his way to a baking convention. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. hands for holding. feet, kicking. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill for adults with moderate to severe ra
10:43 am
for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start taking xeljanz if you have any kind of infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests, including certain liver tests, before you start and while you are taking xeljanz. tell your doctor if you have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, and if you are pregnant, or plan to be. taken twice daily, xeljanz can reduce the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe ra, even without methotrexate. ask if xeljanz is right for you.
10:44 am
10:45 am
alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is. picking up on a theme, though she hasn't made an announcement, polls show hillary clinton is the leading democratic candidate for the party in 2016. at such an early stage is being the front-runner an advantage. instrumental in building the identity of the democratic party or rebuilding in the '90s under president bill clinton when he was first a candidate. he's founder of democratic leadership council, has written a new book "new democrats an return to power." good to see you. we were reminiscing about 1991 and '92 campaign and that whole stretch to the white house for bill clinton as a new democrat,
10:46 am
what was then termed a new democrat. what does a new democrat mean to you now in the current context? >> i think new democrat still believes in the same principles bill clinton did, grounded in opportunity for all, asking people to give something back, responsibility, working together as a community but new challenges. you're going to have to have new ideas to meet those challenges. >> challenges on the other side, the way the republican party divided tea party conservatives, mainstream republicans or challenges of this stagnated economy and the growing income gap? >> both parties will always have political problems. republicans have more severe political problems now because they basically have chosen not to be a very inclusive, tolerant party and that gives democrats a terrific demographic advantages. those could be short-lived. to me the challenge is growing
10:47 am
the economy, creating jobs, creating more wealth in the country so you can deal with inequality. but also the challenge that is very clear because of obama care, that is to take what i think is a good program, obama care, but you've got to implement it. you've got to make government work. for democrats that is critically important. when people lose faith in government, as they did in the 1980s, democrats suffer badly. >> in fact going forward president obama with this reboot bringing in john podesta, someone you know well from the clinton white house, what can he do in the second term, what's left of the second term, in terms of immigration reform, in terms of other priorities, how does he balance the progressive left and the center of the democratic party and build coalitions going forward? >> i think he's got to be very clear. he's got to make his purpose to grow that economy, get the economy growing. hopefully we had a little first
10:48 am
step with this budget agreement. it wasn't much of an agreement. people got together. he's got to make obama care work. then you go to the next step. i think you ought to push hard on immigration reform. republicans need immigration reform whether they realize it or not. >> what can john podesta do as one person going on, relieving chief of staff of some of the burdens of trying to do everything. >> of course, john podesta is a very experienced public servant. he's been through very tough times in the white house. so he can give that sort of steadiness, the experience. but it's also important to listen to him. one of the raps against this president has been a very tight circle. if john podesta going in is an indication of widening that circle, i think that would be good for the president. >> thanks for joining us. the book is "the new democrats and return to power."
10:49 am
on people's christmas and holiday reading list. >> i hope so. >> thank you for being with us. good to see you again. and we have a sad note, passing of two of the brightest stars from film and theater, joan fontaine and peter o'toole, called one of his generation's most charismatic actor. he deed at 81. he received eight academy award no, ma'am nations but remarkably never won best actor. final in 2003 he was awarded achievement for his body of work. according to hollywood lore when he took on the role of lawrence of arabia, filmmakers had to create a new color just to capture those remarkable blue eyes. actress joan fontaine died at 86. she's best known for roles in two alfred hitchcock classics, 1949 "rebecca" and 1940 film "suspicion." her rivalry with de havilland
10:50 am
filled gossip columns. she said she was surprised and saddened by her sister's death. in 1941 she went head award. fontaine won that in "suspicion." >> still think my way is best. >> i'll be late. anyway, if my father saw me in late he might have a stroke. s". s". what if my abdominal pain and cramps end our night before it even starts? what if i eat the wrong thing? what if? what if i suddenly have to go? what if? but what if the most important question is the one you're not asking? what if the underlying cause of your symptoms is damaging inflammation? for help getting the answers you need, talk to your doctor and visit crohnsandcolitisadvocates.com to connect with a patient advocate from abbvie for one-to-one support and education.
10:51 am
10:53 am
which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours. chris, there is still time, still time before tomorrow's drawing, mega lottery, mega millions, now up to $586 million. >> oh, my -- andrea, look, i have been informed that the district of columbia may be selling tickets to said lottery. i may step out after we do this
10:54 am
wonderful television segment. $586 million, that would go over nicely as a christmas gift for my wife. >> if i can't get out of the office, would you mind picking me up one? >> no problem. i will buy your whole new jersey based staff tickets as well. $586 million. you figure by the time it's held it will be over 600, well over, i would guess. >> and what's the deal in terms of -- if nobody wins tomorrow night's drawing, then it keeps going and going. >> grows, looking at 750, 8 dare i say, one billion. >> where does the money go? >> to my pocket. the answer is to education, not the winnings but to education which is helpful. i think a good thing to remember at this time of year.
10:55 am
>> okay. lots of luck to you and to me. >> thank you. >> that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow on the show, michael leonard helped open gitmo and now believes it should be shut down. follow the show online and on twitter at mitchell reports and tamron hall has a look at what's next on
223 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC WestUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=1235813719)