the vote breakdown itself told the story. the democratic caucus held together with zero of its senators voting against it while a majority of republicans, including most of the leadership took the easier no vote. still, 12 republicans did vote yes, more support than was expected prior to the vote. hours ago one of the architects of the deal senator patty murray acknowledged that though the legislation is small in scope, it may represent a step toward fiscal sanity in the nation's capital. >> this deal is a compromise. it doesn't tackle every one of the challenges we face as a nation, but that was never our goal. this bipartisan bill takes the first steps towards rebuilding our broken budget process and hopefully towards rebuilding our broken congress. >> but one woman's inch toward reason is another man's charge to the apocalypse. after the vote republicans took to the floor to blast the deal.

>> it raises revenue from hardworking americans to pay for this new spending and promising to cut some spending in the future. we've seen how that story ends before. we've already read that what book. >> the two-year budget cease-fire is part of the larger battle to flair up in the next year. unemployment assistance expiring for 1.3 million americans, a farm bill yet to be passed. perhaps most ominously another debt limit on the verge of expiration. on that front the white house made clear yesterday that the administration's no bargaining position has not changed and that they expect, which is to say desperately hope that republicans have learned their lesson. >> we do not expect republicans to walk that pathogen precisely because it proved to be so disastrous for them politically and more importantly for the economy and middle class when they went down that path in

october. >> but what reason might dictate and what republicans actually do may be separate things. "wall street journal" reports republicans girding for the next debt ceiling fight. we're not opposed to raising the debt ceiling but we just feel you should get good behavior in return for it said the communications director on the club for growth, for heritage action, republicans shouldn't be taking anything off the table right now in terms of what they might pursue in tandem with raising the debt limit. joining me executive director of msnbc.com richard wolfe, host of msnbc's "the lart word" the inimitable lawrence o'donnell. contributor to "the daily beast" patricia murphy and former press secretary for obama campaign and co-founder of the insight agency. i know you love parliamentary procedure. >> i do.

>> the halls of congress. >> if this was a treaty it would have passed. lets get into this. >> parliamentary and insider information we bring you on this show. >> it kind of is a treaty. >> it kind of is. >> lawrence, we're going to go through this again in march, it sounds like. whether or not the negotiations are as bloody and painful as the last set of negotiations remains to be seen but doesn't sound like, quote, any lessons have been learned. >> i think they have. if you look at the way this thing glided through, what did ted cruz say about this? i pay attention to the news. i have no idea. i didn't hear him say a word. he must have said nothing. >> he did some saber-rattling. >> nothing. the truth is of the 33 votes again it, there is a good 25 or more who are very, very glad it

passed. probably they all are on even keel, smooth things out for a while. this notion because someone -- i hate that this happened -- groud the adjective grand to the budget it's so unfortunate they didn't do the big terrible bargain. this grand thing, it's poisonous infiltration to promote the notion something grand was ever possible. >> nomenclature is everything. >> it is. >> ted cruz tweeted out a monty python clip where people were screaming run away, run away,

which is the attitude he took to the budget. he didn't put up as much of a fight as before preknows how to fight like a crazy man. >> he knows how to provide comic relief as does monty python. the best argument i've heard for them supporting a budget deal, no matter how small, they can now go back to focusing on obama care because that is the one thing in the world they can agree upon. do you think their zeal to repeal obama care, their mistrust, distrust, distaste for this piece of legislation outweighs the blood lust from distracting the white house when it comes to the debt ceiling? >> i think this bill for republicans was just a suicide prevention measure. they said, what can we do to not kill ourselves the way we tried so hard last week. we proved we won't jump off a

bridge but can we prove we won't shoot in the head. he got it through the house, the senate. >> he whipped votes in the senate. >> mitch mcconnell can't do anything. he's up for election, has a primary. that's what a lot of guys who voted no. mike enzi, bless his heart, he can't vote for this thing and we all know it. if you've been paralyzed you have to learn how to walk again, and i think that's what this was, getting up on stilts and edging forward and saying, yes, we can move forward even a little bit. i think that's a hugely important step for this congress. we're going to be right back here january 15th when there's an ominous bill, every lobbyist in washington is going to want to jam something ochbnto. it's going to be so long you can't read it. they are going to be very upset about that bill. we've only proven congress can stand up and maybe wiggle its toes. can it walk forward? we don't know.

i think it is an important moment. >> some part of me doesn't under -- republican party basically has taken a standing position of disgruntled, annoyed or outraged on anything. if you look at this bill, it is not that bad for republicans. they did not like defense cuts. this alleviates some of them. there is no long-term unemployment assist inside in there. that's something that's been tabled for the new year. yet you have mike enzi out there. they can't accept they have won the broader argument about spending. i will bring to everyone's attention this quote in mother jones. the war over austerity is over. kevin drum writes, the ultimate result is a budget below even the pipe dream paul ryan budget of 2011. two years ago ryan's budget was basically at the outer limit of mainstream conservative wish lists. today it looks tame. republicans have massively changed spending conversation since 2010. austerity has won. what do you make of that. >> well, i think the most

important moment during this debate was when john boehner stood up to the right wing groups that have really put the republican party on that suicide mission and said he's not going to take it anymore. that could create a path forward for some of the president's bigger priorities like immigration reform. i actually think the attention you mentioned on the botched obama care rollout created a distraction from the budget process and allowed senator murray and congressman ryan to work together while republicans were out there hitting obama care. that might be how this plays out on the debt ceiling. by focusing on obama care it allows budget process to move forward. at the end of the day we're talking about $20 billion, not $4 trillion in deficit reduction which is what the president put on the table combined with a path to create jobs and economic security for the middle class. >> you have heritage action in the club for growth of the "wall street journal" saying, we would

like some good behavior to be rewarded if we do what is fiscally sane and raise the debt limit. i don't get the sense boehner cowed them in any way. i don't know if you agree, richard. >> they give something and feel like they have to hedge. the closer we get to primary season and midterm elections themselves, the more insistent they will feel, pressure to come back to the fold, to make sure they can face off that primary challenge. they have taken a small measure now. they have to prove they are super conservative and hate everything the president does. that's where the debt ceiling fight will come in again. remember, they will fold. they will fall on each of these things because the politics is so bad. they see benefit of taking it to the brink and a few weeks beyond the brink. that's what's so damaging. >> suicide. >> suicide or circular firing squad. if you can do both, that's what they will do. >> lawrence, the democrats have learned a thing or two in this

process. they may not have gotten long-term unemployment assistance into this budget deal but chris van hollen it was revealed in the "washington post" that when congress returns they are not going to pass a farm bill unless there is better funding for food stamps than what republicans have proposed and also long-term unemployment assistance. i feel like that is negotiating in a tougher position -- from a tougher position that democrats have done previously. >> that's definitely where they should begin. it has been striking to me how willing republicans have been willing -- how long they have been willing to go without a farm bill. i worry about how much you can leverage on a bill both parties have been willing to just let sit there. they normally both bring tremendous pressure to passing that. >> heritage action scored against the farm bill and so did club for growth. this is way too much spending. even $40 billion in cuts aren't enough. >> s.n.a.p.

>> absolutely. huge conservative pressure not to pass the farm bill. >> don't pass any bill because it will be scored by heritage action. >> it will be. but how much is the chamber of commerce going to finally get involved, how much the business that want a farm bill, want immigration reform that usually the republican party listen to. how much are they going to play in the primaries? all the incentives are outside of congress. help me get re-elected and i'll help you do something. >> it's like blood sport five, sugar industry versus heritage action, two groups enter, one group leaves. we have to take a break. when we come back, a federal judge opens the door for national security apparatus by questioning the consolidate of the nsa phone data collection. we will discuss that ruling and the snowden effect when "guardian" spencer ackerman joins us. first lawrence o'donnell explains challenges faced by millions of children in africa and how a campaign to overcome

them to the power of school desks. that is next on "now." a can of del monte green beans? ♪ ♪ 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™. the same essential nutrients as fresh. 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.

has some very special power. ♪ [ toys chattering ] it's filled with new duracell quantum batteries. [ toy meows ] [ dog whines ] [ toy meows ] these red batteries are so powerful... that this year they'll power all the hasbro toys donated to toys for tots. want to help power some smiles? duracell. trusted everywhere. i have a big meeting when we land,

but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is.

if you're a girl born here families have to pay for secondary education, $177 a year. in a country where more than 40% of families live on less than $1 a day, high school isn't in the realm of possibility for most students. if a child is lucky enough to continue his or her education, more often than not it's a boy who continues.

that is where the kind fund is stepping in. it's a program started by msnbc's own lawrence o'donnell in partnership with unicef to provide school desks for students and malawi and now provide more girls a chance to go to school. i don't think america understands fully you actually have a heart of gold. this is an incredible program. >> it's hidden 11 months of year. >> it is out and on parade now. why and how did you decide to expand funding to girls education. >> dana howard, who is the executive producer. >> of this show. >> has been crucial to this from the start. she helped me arrange the first trip to malawi on this. once we got it up and running unicef started talking about the problem of girls education and dana studied it and helped us decide that, yeah, we really should move into this territory. i was a little reluctant because

desks, this very simple procedure we're doing. it's worked fabulously well. the more you get into the difficulty of girls education, which every teacher talks about, every teacher talks about the difficulty of retaining girls in the classroom. the families, especially when they have to pay tuition have to make the decision who gets to go. they will almost always choose the boy. almost always. the president of malawi is a woman, the first in history. so we're kind of using her example as an inspiration for what we need to do in getting more girls to stay in school. that's the mission, to stay in school. this is throughout africa and malawi, it's a perfect representation of the challenge. >> you talked to development experts around the globe, the importance of women getting education, girls and women getting an education and

economic impacts are clear. to go back to the desks for a minute, you've gone to the country put pell times over the course of this program. how did you first choose the school desk. what has been the impact you've seen. >> when dana helped me arrange that first trip, by the time i was going to malawi, i thought, okay, what i'm really going to do is go over there and be able to come back and tell you why these schools don't have desks and will never have desks. because when i left here, i had no idea where to find a desk in malawi, how. i was wandering around finding nothing at all, nothing that looked like an acceptable chair for a school. with the help of unicef, we found this guy in capital city who had one, exactly one example of a school desk made because he was hoping someone would want to come along and do this. i said to him, can you make 30

of those. this was a wednesday afternoon. can you make 30 of those by friday. i have to leave thursday and i'd like to fill one classroom by thursday. i said, how will you do that? he said i will walk out on the street the carpenters, welders, everyone standing out there. they have no work. they have trained carpenters. >> in malawi. >> he brought them in, worked 24-hour shifts. brought in dozens and dozens of guys to do this. that was the first miracle. that guy who was able to do that now has moved to a much -- a very big factory that he's had built in the outskirts of the capital city. there are three other factories going in malawi. it's first of all a jobs program. the first thing the money does is provide jobs to workers in malawi who then can afford to send their kids to school. they know they can afford to feed their kids. so it starts there. there's just a wonderful virtuous cycle of the way this

money flows in malawi. >> the need for the defbs is not abated, four of five students without desks, you have raised $6.2 million for this initiative. that is about $65 bucks for a desk and bench for a few students. i know richard wolfe, executive director is promoting this, we're promoting it online. incredible. >> i know i saw rob reiner in the greenroom. i saw him coming on the show. he has $6.2 million in his pocket. i'm going to ask him for matching funds before he leaves the building today. we may double this within the hour. >> i think we might. we look forward to reporting back to our audience about rob reiner's donation. >> no one knows more about childhood development than rob reiner. he's done very important things. >> a great program. everyone should support it. we'll have a link on our sight. visit msnbc. to contribute to kind go to the

last word desks.msnbc.com or call last word unicef and catch lawrence weeknights on "the last word." >> on the show he doesn't look as bombed as in that photo. >> he looks more handsome show. >> bombed in the photograph. >> moving on after the break, leaker, trader, whistleblower, whatever name you choose to call him, the new court ruling shows edward snowden is at the very least influential. we'll discuss it with "the guardian's" ackerman. [ female announcer ] arms were made for hugging.

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 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.

yep. got all the cozies. [ grandma ] with new fedex one rate, i could fill a box and ship it for one flat rate. so i knit until it was full. you'd be crazy not to. is that nana? [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. the latest chapter in the snowden saga and it's a big one. since went public, a federal

judge ruled some of the nsa's activities certainly violate the constitution, almost orwellian in scope. u.s. district judge leon stayed his opinion in order to give u.s. government time to appeal. without question it was a rebuke to the administration and vindication for snowden and his supporters. if a judge ruled nsa activities are unconstitutional, they argue, snowden should be afforded whistleblower status. among revelations, snowden used to wear a parody, note this one with the eagle on its head clutching cables. around the organization top secret hawaii facility while extracting 1.7 million classified documents from the world's premier security agency. an unnamed source described snowden as a genius among geniuses while nsa itself said he managed to gain entrance to

the organization while ironically stealing answers to the test. snowden's introduction introduction to the world revealed in a hong kong hotel room has stirred both sympathy and outrage. >> shortly after the invasion of iraq i believe in the nobility of our intentions. over time, over the length of my career, as i watched the news and was increasingly exposed to true information that had not been propagandaized, we were involved in misleading. >> prior compelled to respond amid months of leaks in the scope of surveillance, made a case in a lengthy "60 minutes" profile, one absent of dissenting voices. in what and to be a trial balloon, the head of the nsa

snowden task force floated the possibility of amnesty for snowden while nsa head keith alexander said it was not an option supported by most of the agency. >> this is analogous to a hodge taker taking 50 people hodge, shooting ten and saying if you give me full leniency i'll let the other 40 go. what do you do? >> it's a dilemma. >> it is. >> in the meantime snowden's detractors continue to protest against him. yesterday. >> my view is that snowden committed treason. he ought to be convicted of that, and then he ought to swing from a tall oak tree. >> while snowden continues to stand trial in the court of public opinion, whether he will ever return to the u.s. to face actual trial is anyone's guess. for advocates and detractors alike, this is a blessing in disguise. this weekend "new york times" revealed officials may never know the extent of snowden's

leaks. joining us now u.s. national security editor for "the guardian" spencer ackerman. tell us, if you will, what you think the ruling means in the broader picture in and around the nsa. >> it's absolutely a devastating thing for the nsa. the nsa has argued for the last six months that every court that has looked at it, every judge that examined it's bulk collection programs has found them to be completely in compliance with the law and with the constitution. that talking point is now out the window with judge leon's ruling. >> i want to get your thoughts here and as someone who worked with the obama campaign and knows members of the white house. >> the u.s. government almost sure to appeal this. aclu has pending in federal court. i'm not going to scramble fighter jets to get a 29-year-old hacker. a lot of people thought that was

overly dismissive. they have tried to systemize the data in the new year. how progressively do you think the president will pursue these type of leaks and try and curb the breadth of the nsa's data collection, how big a priority? >> if you go back to 2009, the president gave a speech in which he talked about tradeoff debate, privacy and security. he gave that speech at the national archives. this has obviously accelerated the debate. reforms in congress, presidential advisory committee, recommendations have begun to leak out. so ultimately, i do think there will be reforms. but here is how i think the administration views this. you talked about the fighter jets moment. there were 1.7 million classed documents taken by edward

snowden and may or may not have been shared with the chinese and with the russians. no matter what you think of snowden himself, here is the question. if somebody who is about my age, the right person to make the call about opening up that classified information, opening up these discussions, he's -- >> i guess the question is whether or not he's a whistleblower is really fraught one, richard. certainly this ruling does much to support the idea that what the government has been doing is wrong. whether or not snowden is the right person to do it, is that the determining factor. well, your thoughts. >> this is a bush appointee, this judge who said this is almost certainly unconstitutional. by the way, didn't just take out the idea that the program had, you know, some judicial integrity to it, he said that the nsa's assertion that this

had somehow filed plots was basically not believable. totally devastating position from any judge, and it won't be the only one in all likelihood, we can get into snowden's character, i think you've got multiple flaws here. you've got frankly deceitful people on all sides of this thing. that's pretty much irrelevant given the scale and scope of what snowden has revealed. so his motive may be impure, his character may be questionable. his thirst for publicity and his choice of refuge are all questionable, but it's irrelevant. it's unconstitutional. it affects every one of us. it's not up to us to decide the debate. we should be thankful two u.s. senators said we need to have this debate but will restrict it by qualification as to what they could discuss. those restrictions have gone away. this is a debate we surely need to have. >> spencer, you wrote, this is an important point, very few

people think nsa is staffed by moustache twirling villans who view the law to overcome. malice isn't the issue, overbroad tools are. do you think we're going to ameliorate the system? >> it's very difficult to say. leon's argument is probably going to compel more reforms than otherwise would be in play. the white house review group doesn't appear to get to the heart of bulk collection but incredibly strong push in congress that's going to continue into the new year to force that change legislatively. the big question for obama, does he gets on board wit. one thing to say with the national archives we should debate the boundaries between liberty and security. in fact, obama was doing that, nsa was doing that unilaterally in secret. what point does obama decide, have this debate open and weigh in on it, rather than be compelled on it. >> the congressional piece is

interesting because it has -- it had the most bipartisan -- the recent legislation that went through congress relating to the nsa and surveillance powers was supported with an interesting, broad bipartisan coalition that will make it harder to ignore -- for the white house to ignore. and the fact these hearings are taking place in daylight. not just secret fisa court, there's a counter-argument being made will probably resonate with the white house and put them in a position where they are going to make some very serious decisions. >> i think congress's motivation here, it's clear they did not know everything nsa was doing. the most alarming piece that's clear, the president did not know everything the nsa was doing. again, snowden a terrible messenger for this. i'm very uncomfortable knowing what i know and even knowing what i don't know about what snowden has leaked. it's scary to think about who has the information and the damage it's going to do. to me that's a very difficult

piece of this puzzle. >> ben, in terms of the president, sort of who he is, he's a constitutional law professor. i'm sure none of these decisions were made lightly. i'm sure he's at his best, these are tough choices. he brings transparency to the issue. given how his hands are tied legislatively in terms of passing any laws in the second term, it seems like this is one area where he can really dig in and sort of substantively try and change things in a way that comports with who he is morally with a man. >> he wants to ensure a national security apparatus consistent with our values. there will be an odd coalition in congress that comes together to support some level of reform. i anticipate he will embrace that level of reform. on its face looks like collecting all of america's

phone records loose overly broad. can we have a decision when you detain the next tsarnaev, can you figure out if they have had communication overseas, will there be another attack. we've got to get this right. >> another debate over what we're collecting and whom. >> thank you as always for your time. coming up, six months after doma, positive new signs in the country in the fight for marriage equality. despite progress in the u.s., the push for tolerance wanes overseas. we'll discuss when actor, director and the man behind the fight prop 8, the will this endary rob reiner joins us on "now." [ woman 1 ] why do i cook? to share with family. [ woman 2 ] to carry on traditions. [ woman 3 ] to come together even when we're apart. [ male announcer ] in stuffing, mashed potatoes,

gravy and more, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ [ male aavo: thesales event that's handy"sis back. drive which means it's never been easier to get a new passat, awarded j.d. power's most appealing midsize car, two years in a row. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on any new 2014 volkswagen. hurry, this offer ends january 2nd. for details, visit vwdealer.com today

before using her new bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard better balance rewards credit card, which fits nicely with everything else in life she has to balance. that's the benefit of responsibility. apply online or visit a bank of america near you.

director, actor, and the man who helped lead the charge against prop 8. rob reiner joins us to discuss the fight quality and his new role in the film "the wolf of wall street." that's coming up next. [ sniffling ] the sniffling guy on the bus. and, of course, the snow angels with your little angels. that's why puffs plus lotion is soft. puffs plus are dermatologist tested to be gentle. they help soothe irritated skin by locking in moisture better. so you can always put your best face forward. a face in need deserves puffs indeed.

[ sniffles ] i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope. they don't have a decongestant. really? [ male announcer ] really. alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a fast-acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. [ inhales deeply ] alka seltzer plus.

oh. what a relief it is. [ male announcer ] can't find theraflu, try alka seltzer plus for fast liquid cold and flu relief. sixteen states have legalized same-sex marriage. a majority of marriage believes same-sex marriage should be legal across the country. now six months after the supreme court struck down the defense of marriage act. whop by one federal agencies are finally acknowledging marriage equality. if the doma ruling was the wedding celebration, the honeymoon is greater tax equality. yesterday the social security administration announced it started paying out benefits to surviving spouses of same-sex marriages. both the treasury department and irs also announced new tax equality measures for married same-sex couples. but american progress on equality has eluded much of the

rest of the world. last wednesday in india, supreme court reinstated a ban on gay sex sparking thousands of protesters in deli and mumbai. thursday australia's top court rejected a law allowing gay marriage. of course in russia, the host of the 2014 olympics, targeting and abuse of homosexuals is among the worst in the world. before the anti-gay proposition passed, there were gay sports contests in russia, small festivals and forums, signs of vitality. now homophobic groups feel free to harass gays and lesbians. homophobic wolf posted pictures of gay and lesbian men and women online to better be pursued on streets. some found placards on the building saying a gay person lives within. humiliation has become the stuff of every day life. top leaders from france and germany announced they will be

boycotting the olympics. even though the games are less than two months away, the white house has yet to announce an official delegation. when asked about it yesterday press secretary jay carney made no news. >> when we have a delegation to announce we'll announce it no new information. >> joining me director and actor rob reiner, one of the stars of the new film, "the wolf of wall street" and a great champion for marriage equality. rob a pleasure to have you on the show. >> thanks for having me. >> i want to ask you, we talked a couple months ago how you would work on the issue of prop 8. when you look at russia and countries around the world where there is so much hatred directed towards the gay community, how best do you think the global community should respond? >> well, we're doing it in fits and starts. we're now hitting critical mass in america. just a few years ago when prop 8

passed and disallowed gays and lesbians to get married, my friend chad griffin, president of the hrc, we sat together with my wife michelle and said what can we do. at the time we didn't know. we came up with the idea of a federal strategy. gay rights groups were very much against us because they felt we were ahead of the curve and we should not be pursuing this, but we filed anyway. we filed a case that went to the supreme court. we won and were able to strike down prop 8. as that has happened, you've seen now over 29 federal lawsuits have been filed in america. there is a critical mass that's being hit. so you have to put yourself out there. eventually the right thing happens. it's like any kind of civil rights movement, the people at the forefront are going to take the hits.

but ultimately the right thing prevails. i would suggest you just keep pushing forward. it's going to take a lot of courage from people in australia, russia, india. they are going to meet with tremendous resistance, we see it happening here in america. we will have marriage equality in america. once it happens in america that will start moving the ball down the field around the world. it's going to take some time but it will happen. >> i'd love to get your thoughts. harvey says we should boycott olympic because of what russia is doing to its gay community. at the same time there's image from the 1968 olympics where there is john carlos and tomorrow smith doing the black power salute. there it was. an image no one will ever forget. also jesse owens at the olympics in 1936 engaging and going to

the community and waving the rainbow flag would seem to be another way of responding. which do you think is more effective? which do you think is a better response? >> the olympics is the one time out of the diplomatic process that countries around the world regardless of their leadership and viewpoints get together. i'd rather use that as an opportunity to make a statement rather than reject the the process itself. gay rights doing this made it a major issue going into the olympics. you hear about it in the news. if the administration participated in that effort in a symbolic way it would go a long way advancing gay rights in russia and around the world. >> what's shocking david recommehas a great piece on the new yorker blog, the ways in which the members of the homosexual community are targeted, it is reminiscent of nazi germany,

signs above doorways, humiliation. we need to be discussing targeting and human rights abuses taking place rather than, i think on ben's side here, in terms of shutting the door to engagement and coverage. >> russia doesn't need german example, they have more than enough of their own. sports boycott don't work. we just had mandela die, there was a boycott pushed by rnc. if people push olympics to drive home the message to russians, they should take it. >> rob, when we're talking about the shifting culture in the united states, it's important to know we're not done. >> no, we're not done. >> in certain pockets of the conservative world, michigan republican leader last week said gay people want free medical because they are dying younger of aids, younger and earlier than most americans, that's why

they are in support of aca. bigoted narratives. the narrative still needs to be shaped. >> it does. american foundation for equal rights, which is the foundation we formed to fight for marriage equality, we have a lawsuit now in virginia in the fourth circuit, same two lawyers. it's making its way. we've filed briefs, oral arguments will come up soon. it will make its way to the supreme court. when it does, it will hopefully, we think it will, and the reason why we're involved in this case, it will beg the fundamental constitutional question of same-sex marriage. if that happens we may be in front of where brown versus board of education was, everyone has a right to education and people dragging their feet and

fights still. at least federal government will say gay and lesbians have a right to be married. >> a cascade effect if you will. it's worth noting edie windsor was one of the possible kind people of the year. that tells you how far we've come in the gay rights movement. after the break, sex, drugs, penny spot. we'll talk with rob reiner, american greed, life of excess and his new film "the wolf of wall street." that's next. a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪

[ ding! ] losing your chex mix too easily? time to deploy the boring-potato chip decoy bag. then no one will want to steal the deliciousness. [ male announcer ] with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting.

exotic animals in the boardroom, hookers in the basement, cocaine on every table and an endless scheme of stock trading scams. welcome to wall street in the 1990s. the latest martin scorsese film "the wolf of wall street" new york stockbroker who got filthy rich and built an empire of excess by using everyone around

him. >> $430,000 in one month, jordy. huh? >> they are business expenses. >> jordy, look what you've got here. $26,000 for one dinner. >> no, this can be explained. dad, we had clients, pfizer clients. champagne. >> tell them about the sides. >> sides? sides? $26,000 worth of sides. what are these sides, cure cancer. >> the sides didn't cure cancer. they are beer. that's why they were expensive. >> the sides cure cancer. >> that's why they were expenses. >> we talk about excesses of wall street. this capture that in the hill arty and depravity. >> it's basically a wonderful morality tale that points a

finger at what happens when you leave financial markets unchecked. jordan bellford is the epitome of that. he's taking excess to excess. >> did you spend time on wall street to prepare for this, to get acclimated? >> i didn't spend time on wall street but i did get to meet jordan bellford. he's a fascinating character, very charismatic. you'll see at the end of the movie -- it starts at the beginning, says sell me this pen. he believes you can sell anybody anything if you're persuasive enough. he basically took every single opportunity and every loophole he could find to make an enormous amount of money. it's a great statement on what happened in the '80s and how the economy collapsed when you deregulate things. >> part of it is his incredible story after dropping out of dental school he sold frozen lobsters and steaks door to door. purchased his own helicopter only later to crash it.

it's a rags to riches story. this guy came up. once he got there or the way he got there was on the backs of others and through sheer, the enormity of the greed was breathtaking. >> he paid a price. the character i play, i play jordaned father, mad max, who gets crazy and all this stuff. at first my character was kind of proud of him because he was making money. he was interesting successful. then he realizes what this guy is doing, and he realizes as i say in the movie, it's obscene. jordy, you made all the money in the world, now you need to make everybody else's money? it's like a father watch his son run into the street with the on coming track and you know he's going to get hit and either hit hard. he does get hit and he goes to jail. >> it is a timely film tore this season in particular. >> but it's funny.

it's funny. >> we can see from that clip. rob, it is always a pleasure to see you. i'm so excited to see this movie with popcorn. >> you're going to have fun. >> i love your movies. it opens christmas day. rob reiner, thanks for your time. >> thanks for having me. >> thanks to panelists. that's all for now. i'll see you back another day. "andrea mitchell reports" is coming up next. [ female announcer ] from your first breath, to your first roll, pampers swaddlers was there. and now swaddlers are available through size 5,

for many more firsts to come. ♪ pampers.

i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! right now on "andrea mitchell reports," making a list, checking it twice. the senate has the votes to pass the budget after test votes on the compromise deal. chairman ryan and i got together and we started talking. we decided instead of trying to solve everything at once, the most important thing we could do for the families we represented was to end the uncertainty and