. >> the political price of making government too small it can join you in a medical exam room. [ music playing ] at this the start of the very last weekend of the year, we're ready for the figure out what 2014 has in store. wendy davis' 11-hour philly bust their summer. her attempt to stop passes of the strongest abortion in the country created a new star in the democratic party. wendy davis, is she the start of

something bigger in the year ahead in the battle of health care. also the million americans counting on federal jobless aid will see that emergency help end today because congress couldn't come to an agreement to extend it in time. what's next when it comes to helping america's long term unemployed? some democratic governors have joined president obama in issuing pardons to non-violent inmates stuck in prison due to harsh mandatory minimum truck sentencing guidelines. more democrats joining them. we'll be examineing whether the notion of democrats soft on crime is out of date we all know how the biggest politicians of the year are faring at the close of 2014. can we predict the next calendar year? we will at least give that a shot in a little bit. but first, it may feel like it sprouted up just yesterday. but 2014 will actually mark the fifth anniversary of the tea party movement. you can think back to when it first started making noise back to those frenzied health care

town hall meetingt in the summer of 2009, you probably remember how conventional wisdom had it that the pea party was basically a libertarian movement. >> that the "t" in fae party was an acronym for taxed enough already. they were willing to slash government to get it off their backs to get it as far away from their lives as possible. they're conservative, all right. it was anti-government conservatism not social conservatism. that was the conventional wisdom of five years ago. >> that this was a new strain of conservatism, a step away from same-sex marriage and abortion and the politics of the moral majority days. but that's not exactly how things have played out. the tea party movement powered the anti-obama wave that swept americans to power on capitol hill in state house across the country in 2010. one of the most they row victories ever recorded by the conservative move him and by the republican party. in the wake of that wave, those new tea party infused leaders use their power to prove that

they weren't at all passed culture war politics. since that 2010 election, new laws restricting women's reproductive rights about that enacted in half of the states. more than 90 laws alone passed in 2011. another 40-plus laws passed in 2012. these laws imposed waiting periods and mandatory counseling. they cut off access to insurance. they target aid borgs providers with medically unnecessary restriction and republicans did pay a political price for this. at least in parts of the country. now, it was a pronounced gender gap, after all. 12 points that helped carry president obama passed mitt romney into a second term in 2012. it was also if 2012 they were what is supposed to be a sure thing, a republican takeover of the u.s. senate, in part because the gop nominated candidates like todd aiken in missouri, richard murdock in indiana, we saw them swallowed up by their comments and what constitutes a quote legitimate raid, god's

intention for rape victim itself. last month, in fact in fact they handed over to a conservatism social platform. of course information some parts of the country, gop's post-2010 push on reproductive issues hasn't kept republicans yet from containing control of the house in red states across the country. it was in the gop house in red state america that republicans carried on in 2013 as if the warnings of the 2012 election didn't apply to them. in march, arkansas legislator directed challenged roe v. wade after overriding the democratic veto. that was followed by a six-week abortion ban in north dakota, based on a fetal heartbeat can be detected sometime before a woman knows she is pregnant. well before the 24 hour weeks guaranteed by roe v. wade.

those laws are not yet being enforced. traffic, a federal judge called the north dakota law clearly invalid and unconstitutional. north dakota also passed a new law for doctors providing abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, a law designed to smut thaun that state another sole abortion provider. similar restrictions were announced in north carolina at the very last minute into of all things a bill on motorcycle safety. to require abortion clinics to have transfer agreements with local hospitals. they also meet the same standards a ambulatory surgical centers. activists held a vigil and the state's governor who had campaigned in 2012 on a promise not to sign any abortion restrictions offered those protesters cookies as a good will gesture and signed the bill. also this year, ohio governor

john casic signed a state budget including a slew of measures to require women seeking abortions first undergo ultrasound. restrictions that have closed many clinics in the state. as governors do, casich had a signing ceremony for his budget and ducked out immediately afterwards without answering questions from the quarters. wisconsin scott walker used the biggest news dump day of the year. that was the friday after the 4th of july this past summer. he used that to stage a camera-free signing ceremony for a bill mandating ultrasounds for women seeking abortions. in south dakota the state actually imposed a mandatory three-day waiting period on abortions for no medical reason other than to make women think over their decisions. not only do they have to wait three days. they have to wait three business days. you are not counting business days or holidays in that three-day count. who could dpoerth what happened in texas where legislation came up this summer to ban abortion after 20 weeks that forced the closure of the majority of the

state's abortion clinics. texas democrats not an uphill battle, including a marathon 11-hour filibuster from state senator wendy davis that electrified the state house and pro choice active 50, catapulted davis to national stardom. this filibuster was ultimately in vain. the supreme court turned a calgary away last month in a 5-4 ruling. given some of these new law, a lot of these new laws. maybe all of these new laws. >> that is not the only case moving towards the supreme court on abortion to talk about where this is all going, i want to bring in kelly baden, a policy advocacy adviser for the center for reproductive rights, a fascial reporter with msnbc and jackie kucinich, politics reporter with the washington post. thank you for joining us. i know it's new year's weekend, everyone has a million things to do. >> the only thing i want to do. >> that's what every guest says. but let's try to put some

context first into what happened in 2013 because it seems like, kelly, that the new laws and the new restrictions that passed in state this year are sort of proceeding on two tracks. on one track you have issues of timing. whether it's a 12-week ban, whether it's a six-week ban, a 20-week ban. >> that seems to be potentially testing the supreme courts here the 24-week roe v. wade standard. on the other track, you have these more sort of per nishs restrictions -- pernicious restrictions. can you talk through a little bit about where we are in 2013, the new restrictions added this year. >> sure. where we are really is at a place where we've seen only very clear trends. as you mentioned, since 2011, really, is when it first started. 2013 just continued those trends. and you really have been concerted coordinated effort by anti-choice activists and politicians around the country to kind of throw a lot of things

against the wall and see what sticks. try different things in different states and see where they can have success in the courts and legislatetures. so we have a host of new restrictions in 2013 to kind of add to the rosttary we have been seeing since 2011 resulting in clinics being closed. women not being able to access the care that they need. people thinking aintorgs illegal in our state. we've learned recently in north dakota the abortion levels are down at the lone abortion provider. i don't think that's because unintended pregnancy rates are down and the clinic has said, it seems to be because people in the state fear this on the news and they see it on the papers. they think abortion is illegal in their state. so it really does result in women not being able to access the care they need. >> can you pick up that. so functional i mean in terms really of access to abortion is the law thanks, to roe v. wade decision of 1973, functionally, though, when you look at the restrictions now in place, where

is there access where isn't there access in the country? >> some of them you mentioned the six-week ban, the 12-ban. in roe v. wade, it was entrenched in roe v. casey, what is actually really impacting people's lives as you mentioned are the privileges that shut down clinic, ultrasound laws that make it more expensive and women take more time off from work. i would say overall even the laws that don't get enforce reasonable doubt a part of a campaign of abortion. the effect is the same if people think this is a shameful thing t. insurance bans if they think this is not normal medical care. practically speaking admitting privileges, politically are harder to rally around. they sound kind of reason annual. although, we did see push back this year d. rest of it is sort of a long like a who-year public

reels campaign that says abortion is shameful and you don't have a right to act says it. >> so, jackie, where is this political push coming from? obviously, it's coming from conservatives in the republican party. we know. that you can look at the result, though, of the gender gap which has sort of been persistent. really if you go back to 1981. robert reagan became the nominee. pro-life became the plank of the republican party. they took the era out. there has been a gender gap to varying degrees since then. it seems to have exploded in a major story in 2012. we saw it in virginia. so given that it's hurting the republican party at least in some key ways, where is the push coming from in the republican parity? why is this an urgency in the last few years? >> i this i the bottom line is local elections matter. you seen state legislatures trending the last ten years, 12 years, it's an abortion rights group. but you've seen that trend persist. since 2010, we've seen more and

more restrictions. i think it's 92 that were enabled -- enacted if 2012. i think again the local elections matter. we tend to look at the national race more as the governor races. if you don't like these policies or if you like them, you need to go -- >> did we misunderstand? did the media the political class misunderstand who the tea party is what the tea party is? a lot of this seems to be there was this tea party backlash the tea party committee forms. there is a backlash to election obama. they fuel this republican rise if 20106789 a lot of people say ah this is a libertarian movement, this is no tax. this is health care. this has been a hostage point of emphasis, reproduction issue. >> i think the tea party has many factions now. as you have gotten more and more people elected that affiliate themselves with the tea party, will you have different branchs of that tea party. we have seen that in congress

and we are seeing it no you in the states. >> it's also interesting when you run on an anti-government platform and get elected, you realize governing is a hard work and a lot to do. so i think a lot of folks who got elected in 2010, realize i have to do something to keep my job in the state house. one of the easiest things to do is throw red meat to your base which is abortion rights and health care issues. >> there is a difference in doing it in a state i would guess like north dakota where they favor the anti-abortion side. we have seeing stuff like michigan and ohio. so i want to look ahead to 2014 this is a story that will proceed on a legal track in terms of the supreme court. s a i want to talk about the politics of 20p 14. where is there going to be blowback in 2014 as we were talking about that when we come back. wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair .

>> if you are elected governor, what further restrictions on apportion would you agree to sign, start with you mr. mccormick. >> none. >> all right. >> you can't really ask for more on that one. >> that was pat mcclury the republican nominee last year now the republican governor of north carolina. you can't get more clear cut. as governor pat mcclearry did sign. he will not be up for re-election in 2016. there has been a wave of legislation in north carolina i think raises questions about a potential blow back there. another state. i know you were worried about this is michigan. michigan is one of these states where in the backlash of 2010 mid-term wave, republicans were able to get control of the state legislature and a republican

elected governor. and they have now passed in the last few weeks before christmas passed a law that a women needs a second ryder to cover abortion. it could not be covered by her insurance. it's a little politicked how this got through. can you tell how it got through. what it does. is this something? a blue state that will cause a backlash? >> states like michigan, ohio and pennsylvania have had strong anti-abortion movements, they have a strong catholic population. in michigan the entire legislature is a republican super majority t. republican governor has vetoed this insurance bill the year before. i think the question going forward is even if republicans in the state house think this is extreme. in fwent 2014, there will be moderates that will stand up and say enough is enough. >> it's clear the republican governor being against this,

michigan has this sort of weird provision. >> they have a process where a citizen's petition can then force the legislature to vote on it. it can pass without the governor's signature. it's a back door mech name. again, i would say this is relatively a consensus issue for wub republicans. ultimately, the question is, how far is too far? that was really the conversation out of michigan. it was the conversation in virginia. terry mcauliffe helped win the election based in part of ken cuccinelli being such a stalwart of anti-legislation. you had voters rejecting the ban. i think the question going forward is some may say we may be somewhat uncomfortable with abortion. we do not want this political time spent on restricting it. >> it's trying to pin down public opinion is so difficult. you asked the question shouldn't

roe roe v. wade be overturned. this one jumped out at me. i was look at gallop asked with respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro choice or pro-life? in 2013, it jumps to 48-45 pro-life. to get other surveys this summer on the idea of a 20-week ban in texas is working its way through asking voters nationally, would you rather have restrictions at 20 weeks or 24 hour weeks? women were saying 20 weeks, then 24 hour weeks. it seems to really bin i pin down where public opinion falls. this can be very difficult. >> that may be what the anti-abortion movement is capitalizeing on, wow, there is a little opening here, there, that seems to be the strategy. >> it does. i think aintorgs a personal issue. so the longer you are able talk to somebody, which is not really the way many polls can happen the longer you will have a conversation the more nuance and support there is for making sure

that women can mactheir own health care decisions without political interference. so they kind of, are you pro choice, pro-life, polling question doesn't lend itself to a real conversation around reproductive rights in this country. it's a little more complicated than that for people. >> when you see that change, what do you talk u chalk it up to, the anti-abortion side is doing a really good job of selling a label, when you see a shift like that? >> absolutely. we have been on the defensive since row. v. wade, so there has been this host of restrictions in different decades that have taken different flavors layout the years. we are on the defensive. it has been reflective in stigma and people's opinions of how they think they feel about abortion. be you the good news i think this year is that despite all of the restriction, there was this huge updick that you showed. in energy and activism and social media and online and offline grass roots support of people really sick of politicians playing these games in health care and you know just last month it resulted in the

introduction in congress of a pro choice bill the women's health protection act. it really is seeking to be a femural response to a host of state restrictions gone out of control. >> jackie, a lot of these laws passed in cities just seem designed to trigger a court fight that's going to get the supreme court. we talk about this state is trying this. this state is trying that. are we eventually getting to a point where the supreme court is able to decide these are the standards for the country? >> they never showed a willingness, they have seen public pressure. we will see how that build, but lately it doesn't seem like the supreme court is interested in relitigateing this. >> thank you, kelly bing, switching gear, what millions of americans haven't been looking forward to this week. is congress going to do anything about it? that's next.

>> many people keep an advent calendar. i like the ones with candy behind, many people spend the bulk of this month, december, waiting a little more in the christmas morning. more than a million people in this country have spent december counting off the days with a glowing sense of dread. it's not the 25th that they have been anticipating. it's today when the clock run itself out for jobless benefits for america's long term unemployed. december 28th has been looming on the calendar sometime now. the past two times the legislation has been extended it passed with little debate and controversy. not this year. it's not as if many people have been vocal. they have been few and far between. sam stein and the huffington post this week characterized it the quiet death of unemployment

insurance. they were hoping to pass an axe e extension to the budget deal. that didn't happen. not much else has happened since. right now there are 2.9 people looking for work thar every job that becomes available in this country. it doesn't seem like taking away unemployment benefits by itself will fix that long-term unemployment defined for people out of work 27 weeks or longer. long-term unemployment is at its highest level. in other recent recession, 1981, early '90s the dot-com bubble popping. after each recession unemployment was much lower at this point. five years out, they helped long-term unemployed ended. the odds of being able to find a job go down the longer a person is out of work. it's a problem facing all kind of workers in this current commitment it's a myth that older workers are being affected or discriminary fated against. so what happens next? more than two weeks ago.

senate majority harry reid said there wouldn't be unemployment benefits until the conservative year. both chambers are insisting any proposal paid for with offsets from the budget. democrat jack reed and republican dean held rer the chief sponsors of the bill in the senate that would extend jobless benefits for three months. rhode island and nevada is at 9%, the highest in the country. their legislation does not have those offsets conservatives are calling for. i want to bring in david freelander, the senior correspondent with the "daily beast." jackie kucinich is still here. from sanford, florida, msnbc contributor jared bernstein, senior fellow for budget policy priority, one-time economic adviser to the vice president. welcome jared down there and everybody here. susie, if you can give us the bottom line on the capitol hill congressional politics of where

it stands? harry reed in the senate set a vote on january 6th of some kind of extension. does it have any chance of clearing this republican-controlled house? >> so the extension as you mentioned would not be offset by any other proms that republicans have been asking for. it would be three months. the idea is the folks supporting this extension want to buy themselves more time for a year-long extension. >> that this will be give them more time to work something out. they said even democrats are willing to look for pay fors to offset the costs overall for the year it would be $25 billion. so the three month extension would be $6 billion t. question is, is this something that congress can swallow right now? as you mentioned, there is a budget deal. although both the house and the senate easily passed this first budget framework for overall spending. you need to pass a second budget

january 13th. there are multiple deadlines coming up. the question is, are these combievend. is this one big negotiation or a separate fight democrats have to push for on their own with the help of a couple republicans when the new year comes around? >> we get into that situation, there is so much pressure on republicans and john boehner has to put something on the floor his republican colleagues don't want? i have already seen the ads. call your republican congressman, that sort of thing. >> look, there is a congress that doesn't get anything done until the deadline is right in front of it. who knows what will happen? the american people are putting pressure on congress, whether it's enough will remain to be seen. it energizes people that aren't experiencing this kind of economy. >> jared, thanks for joining us down there in florida. some of the stats i see have jumped out at meant this. 37% currently unemployed for six

months or longer, these are numbers we haven't seen since the great depression. i think when somebody has been out of work for 27 weeks or longer, the odds of them finding a job in the next month are 12%. those odds continue to go down for every month they are out of work this crisis of long-term unemployment, we are talking about it relative to other recoveries in the past. what is going on here? why do we have such a crisis with long-term unemployment? >> well, that has a lot to do with just the underlying weak nature of creations throughout this recovery. it's absolutely the case that the pace of job creation has picked up. but let's not forget. we still have an unemployment rate that's highly elevated at 7%. if you actually count it more accurately by putting in lots of the underemployed people. you'd get to a rate that's considerably higher than that. something close to 12 or 13%.

there is something like 20 million people out there unor under employed. your point is well taken about the long-term unemployed and engs extension, former extensions of emergency ui. congress has never allowed the program to expire when we've had this many long-term unemployed. in fact, it's precisely because of times like this that you need the emergency extension and the implications of a an exploration are very dark on the microlevel, as you imagine, people need the money, given the absence of employment opportunities for them. but also at the macrolevel. this actually hurts an economy that's trying to kind of achieve the velocity that's alluded us thus far. >> i want to find out how widespread it is. this is a republican rand paul who is making the case against more unemployment benefit, giving the case against the extension. this is rand palm.

>> do you support extending unemployment benefits or would you let 1.3 million americans lose those benefits before the end of the year? >> i do support unemployment benefits for the 26 weeks that they're paid for. if you extend it beyond that, you do a disservice to these workers. there was a study that came out a few months ago, it said, if you have a worker unemployed for four weeks on unemployment insurance and one on 99 weeks, which would you hire? every employer, nearly 100% said they will always hoo irthe person out of work four weeks. when you allow people to be on uninsurance for 99 weeks, are you causing them to be a part of this perpetual unemployed group in our economy. while it seems good, it does a disservice to the people are you trying to help. >> susan. what do you want to say? >> the first thing that jumps out to me about that comment he made a couple weeks ago. no one is asking for 99 weeks of

unemployment insurance. in fact, as congress has continued to scale them back repeatedly to shorter numbers of weeks, to less generous benefits. we are talking between 14 and 47 weeks in addition to the 26 weeks that states are getting. when the federal emergency unemployment kicks in. so i mean to frame it in that way is misleading. congress has taken the steps to scale back the program. the argument jared brought out is basically having this tale of two recoveries, you are having, it is becoming far far short term unemployed, if are you out of works work, whereas for the long term unemployed, they are not benefiting from this you know economic revitalization we are experiencing now. this is a part of the reason why this die nam sick so difficult, as you seen unemployment rate drop. these folks out of work so long aren't getting the help. >> clearly, that view we heard from rand paul, how widespread is that among republicans? the idea that you are doing a

disservice to the unemployed by extending their benefits. >> i think if you are a republican in state stheets is very red that, will be your view. if are you a republican, it will come from republicans in more purple states. someone like charles gibson in new york who is looking at people unemployed who wrote a letter to john boehner asking him to put this on the floor. people in juj, republicans in new jersey. that's where the pressure will come from, especially in 2014. >> this is something you may want to get to, look at who these 1.3 million americans are, where exactly do they live? we will pick that up when we come back.

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percentage of its overall population than any other state in the country. if you broaden out that map and look at things in the dakotas look great. it's a really light shading here because north dakota has added more jobs than people since the recession began. you can thank their natural gas and oil boom. in every states, though, it has been more people than jobs. you might think things are best in the state of north carolina. no shading at all on that map. >> that is misleading. this sumter state legislature there decided to stop accepting federal unemployment benefits altogether. benefits there ran out. just not today. there are still limited state benefits for the unemployed north carolina. there have been no federal benefits for people in that state for months now. we cover state and local policy governor beat blog he helped put together that map. he joins us this morning, roj, i guess i'd start with the states, new jersey jumps out as the one that will be the hardest hit.

what is it that you can tell us about new jersey that makes it so susceptible today, what are the other states that will be hardest hit and why? >> that's a good question. new jersey is a high state with unemployment. some of the other states, california is home to most. new york is next. nevada is up there. florida is up there. a lot of the states that will be most agent. ed are states affected by the housing bust, so. >> and this is something as the year goes on, there will be several waves of this, we were talking 1.3 million now as people hit the 26-week mark, there will be more. are there other states as the year goes on, will this map look different? >> yeah, pretty much every state. be i the end of the first half of the year, it's going to be another i think 1.8 million. by the end of the year totally, it will be several million more, in fact. >> susie. >> yeah. this sort of points out to the fact that this is happening and is having outside influence on

certain states, it's affecting the politics of this you mentioned rhode island and nevada. nevada is the place you actually have two republicans who very prom lently said they are going to back this extension. senator dean heller is joining together with jack read from rhode island. jack dean is a nevada republican for this three-month extension. i actually talked to a staff for congressman joe hack a house republican who says he has always been supportive of these benefits. they are willing to talk about the papers that the urgency of this is really important. you can sort of see this in the local media coverage. they have been booming in local papers and regional papers. this isn't just a washington paper that passed. they are banking on being able to sell this and pressure republicans into supporting it. >> jared, when we talk about the 1.3 million, we talk about millions more affected by this.

can you give us sort of a profile? we say it's new jersey, california. these states will be highest hit. who are these people? dwlas a profile of people affected? . >> i am glad we are making this point. the 1.3 are people who would lose benefits today based on this expectation. it's a rolling problem. by the end of the year, if benefits are not extended, we're talking about 4. million cumulatively across the country. so let's not get too hung up on just today's number. because it's a bigger problem than that. the interesting thing about the profile is that there really is no singular profile. if you start to look at the anecdotal stories, you get a sense of the broader data. we are talking about skilled workers. workers who are older and younger as well. we are talking immigrants, native workers. it's a broad difficulty in that regard. and in a sense that's been the

nature of this recovery. other than the shale point you made earlier. there are some pockets. generally, it's been, you know, small c catholic in the sense that lots of different people from lots of different walks of life have been hurt. it's not just been low skilled workers. college workers. workers in i.t., which is usually a field of lots and labor and demandch those workers too have been experiencing spells of unemployment and many of them depend on these benefits while the job market still recovers. >> roj, i want to ask you, one more question about the map there. we are talking federal benefits expiring here. the unemployed are at the generosity of whatever state they live in. what states do you have a sense what states that are left? we can see north carolina the least states. what states are the most generous i guess is an awful question to ask. what is the best state to be unemployed now with federal aid

expireing? >> most of the states will reverse down to 26 n. some states, it's as much as they're losing as much as 11 months of benefits in no state in about three months work. so pretty much all it's going to be a hard gut. >> i want to thank the washington post for joining the discussion. we will pick it right back up right after this. you may be mug through allergies. try zyrtec-d®.

. >> for decades congress has voted to offer relief no job seekers. including when the unemployment rate was lower than it is today. now that economic lifeline is in jeopardy. all because republicans in this congress, which is on track to be the most unproductive in history and so far refused to extend it. so this holiday season, let's give our fellow americans who are desperately looking for work the help they need to keep on looking. >> president obama earlier this month, urging congress to act on unemployment benefits. we will see what happens in january. david, we played earlier the

clip from rand paul saying extending this is bad for the unemployed. it will make them complacent or something. besides that and this bake haul for offsets, saying, we will fund it. it needs to be offset by something. is there a republican case against doing this. do we have a specific sense of what they want these offsets to be or is this just the case of hey, you know the president and democrats are calling for this we're the opposition, we will fight them on this? >> it seems to me this hits a nerve on republican circles, we heard a lot from the 2012 president rnl campaign. the federal government is creating a featherbed to you know help people from wound to tomb kind of thing. i think it was what rand palm was getting at. the economic case is sort of silly, if we extend benefits, people won't look for work, when, in fact, it's on benefits they are able to look for work. somehow this touches a nerve that i think democrats haven't quite figured a way around that. >> jared, it's like, let's say,

who know what is will happen? let's say an agreement on an extension is reached. the long-term unemployed get an additional few months, few weeks, whatever happens to be of aid. all we are doing is taking people who have been out of a job market for a ridiculously long amount of time already. we are giving them a little former salary. we are keeping them afloat a few months. it seems to me, all sorts of issues are raised for the tr economy, when they have been out this long to begin with. just extending the benefits for them. that's not going to solve the problem. >> yeah, i mean, rand paul actually said one thing that was correct in that clip you playeds is that it is tougher for long term unemployed people to get employers to consider them for jobs. an employer faced with someone unemployed for a couple of months, versus someone for a year. all else equal. we will tend to go with the person with shorter term unemployment. i this i the key point david

just made is rand paul says it allows them to stay out of the jobs market. no. that's just upsidedown. the problem here is the absence of enough employment opportunities for these folks. at the level of the broader economy, remember, we talked about this as being a $25 billion program over the year. i mean, that's essentially the amount you are pulling out of the 2014 economy by allowing these benefits to expire. economists have consistently estimated the fiscal drag this causes on the economy to be something between 2 and .4 of gdp. maybe fewer jobs. guess what? unemployed people spend their checks. and that creates more economic activity. again, bad micro and bad macro. >> that will have to be the last word on this for now. i want to thank you our contributors and economists for taking the time in joining us this, mo. we are live and here this

holiday weekend and all new totally unpredictable action packed prediction of "up against the clock" is on the way. it's hard to believe we only started it back in september. so we're going to take a trip down memory lane when we come back. in keeping with the spirit of "up against the clock," it will be quick, fast moving, fun. our year end highlight reel. that's next. [ woman 1 ] why do i cook? to share with family. hi, i'm terry and i have diabetic nerve pain.

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but yet you have the pain like thousands of needles sticking in your foot. it was progressively getting worse, and at that point i knew i had to do something. once i started taking the lyrica the pain started subsiding. [ male announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain.

. >> we still got a full hour of news and discussion ahead. first, back in september. we had our inaugural edition of "up against the clock." since then, we have crowned 15 champions and produced some of the heart stopping white knuckle drama in the history of abbreviated morning news and/or current events game shows. we are not slowing down. we got an all new addition in our next hour. furs, we thought we'd pause and relive the high stakes tensions

and the unscripted joy and the all too human agony we brought to you this year on "up against the clock." . >> thank you to those of you joining us at home. you can forget high noon is three hours from now because the gunfight at this ok chorale is about to begin. as always, studio audience, i implore you, please, no outbursts. >> there is a problem, because i didn't get the questions ahead of time. >> a new poll shows the majority of voters disapproving of this freshman tea party's job performance in thinks solidly republican state. lawrence. >> mike lee, utah. >> mike lee. >> i did that show. prep pays off. >> former new york governor mario cuomo finally watched what movie this week? >> with the "goodfather." >> a little quicker there. >> this is an instant bonus question. according to city officials in boston, this red sox slugger came in 3rd place out of

write-in votes? >> i have absolutely no idea. >> incorrect. tom at 100, martin at negative 100. >> i got a 200 point question. >> he is contesting the score. judges, is he right or wrong? >> martin you have been elevated to zero. you go to the ph.d. level. i'm reshuffling the cards, bear with me. i am now ready for the 300 point round, which congressman on thursday delivered a book to every office entitled" impeachable offense the case for removeing barak obama from office?" did i get that? >> you didn't read it. >> on thursday, it was the nomination of the woman to the d.c. circuit court of appeals. >> patricia mills. >> that ends the round. this will be a close one. >> oh! >> what i have in my hand the instant bonus question that can win you $50 in perogies or

polish eating field. we said this was a secret strategy session between ted cruz and other republicans. >> tortilla coast. >> correct. for the first time ever, we have a grand prize jackpot winner. congratulations, that means you have won the $50 gift certificate to little poland. you will not leave us empty handed. we have for you the home ecombination of "up against the clock." for family and kids of all ages, thank you all for splai playing today. we will see you for another edition of "up against the clock. after this, the real show begins again. [ sneezes, coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. .

.

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out a total of 46 state legislatures controlled by a single party as the highest number since the second world war. red states, those legislatures have restricted access to abortion and contraception. in blue states, they've expanded it. in blue states, they've tightened them. most red states prefuse to expand medicaid a key lynchpin of the affordable care act. they added millions of americans to their medicaid roles. more than ever it seems the extent to which federal rights and laws apply to you depends largely on where you live, which state you live in red and blue, a dope divide that runs through america. it's very real. there can also miss some of the richness and complexity of american politics. the motivations of individual politician, the intricacies.

2013 drawing to a close, governors are making use of executive powers over a few select prisoners this week california's democratic governor pardoned 127 people. most non-violent drug offenders. at the same time, though, all the way across the country in another deeply blue basdion. andrew cuomo made headlines for pardoning no one, no one this year, no one ever sense he took afc three years ago. he has not commuted a single sentence. sometimes you get a democratic president a progressive who seems less progressive when it seems to using his less progressive power. in 2009 and 2012, president obama par donned more turkeys than people. he commuted sentences at any rate in repeat ristory, george w. bush and ronald reagan. even though he's used his power sparingly, obama used it

strategically last week when he commuted the sentences of eight people convicted of non-violent crack offenses. he passed legislation in 2010 to get rid of crack cocaine, it was 100 times that of powder cocaine. people are serving disproportionate pressen sentence, in a do you have on crime politics, it's in steep decline, they sent prison populations through the roof. a crime wave and politics dissipated. there are still democrats that seem scarred bety past. by the betting their party took for a generation for being seen as as soft on crime. another consequence of that tough on crime american politics has been that souring rate of incarceration that comes with a steep price tack some republicans are starting to balk at. this week, rand paul took to twitter for his airing of the

grievance, taking a festive tradition in the tv show "seinfeld," started off with good natured ribbing. rand paul was joking the twitter sensation cory booker doesn't retweet him enough. booker challenged paul to another festivous tradition. 'en the joking exchange turned serious, with paul suggesting they work together in reforming minimum mandatory sentences sentence the ''80s. their jokes led to a bipartisan holiday consensus. here is to 2014, we take on the failed war on drugs, cory booker tweeted. rand paul isn't the only republican to pursue criminal justice reform. south carolina and texas have reform state sentencing guidelines to reduce prison populations there. earlier this year, republican john cornyn introduced a bill modelled on texas reforms. utah republican mike lee teamed up with dick durbin to reduce

mandatory minimums. the obamaed a penstration showed reform this year. attorney general eric holder announced a new directive aimed as reducing sentences for non-violent crimes. >> it is clear as we come together today tattoo many americans go to too many prisons for far too long and for no truly good law enforcement reason. it's clear [ applause ] >>. >> it's clear that at a very bake level the 20th century criminal justice solutions are not adequate to overcome our 21st century challenges. and again, it is well past time to implement common sense changes that will foster safer communities from coast-to-coast. >> the question is are democrats ready to finally cast off once and for all any worry of being soft on crime, especially in an election year. are there more serious criminal

justice overall. i want to bring them back with us. the managing editor who is reporting a prompt investigation into the case. the sentence is commuted by president obama last week. the congressman, a democrat from new york city. daphne, maybe we can add a little context to these eight pardons obama issued last week. all aghave been serving for 15 years plus a. lot of this has to do with reforms that have been made in the last few years that had they been in place when these people were originally sentenced would have never had them in jail. can you tell the story that you wrote this week? >> sure, you are right. these are people that everyone agrees are serving sentences no one thinks they should be serving anymore. clarence, this was a tragedy from the beginning. this was a american involved in a drug conspiracy at the early '90s the height of the drug war.

he wasn't the buyer, the seller the user the supplier the dealer. he was maybe the lowest guy on the chain. he got a triple life sentence. he was a college student. a star linebacker at southern university. he went to prison. as soon as that sentence came down, it outraged people on the left and the right even when it happened and he became a great candidate for presidential mercy tore a compute commutation. from great lawyers who worked pro bono in this case, worked for free. it moved alloening the chain an even problem by the time it got to him in office, oalmost a decade after he applied that, whus was very interested in commuting his sentence. one person stood in his way, the pardon attorney. ron rodgers, he is still there today. this is an executive power. this is the president's only unfettered power to issue

pardons and commutations. ron rodgers is a pretty strong guy. he misled the white house. he didn't tell them that clarence aaron had the support of the sentencing judge and the u.s. attorney who was a bush appointee at the time and clarnts aaron's case was denied >> we're talking about to be clear, part of the story is the power to be sentenced has been taken away from judges with this era of tough on crime politics in the ''80s and early '90s and congress and state legislatures passed all these laws that basically say, hey, if you are found guilty of this crime, this is the sentence they will serve no matter what the judge says. >> there was an important point the president made after he signed the commutations and issues a separate statement saying even the judges complained for years, they were forced to hand down sentences they didn't believe in. they truly believed were unjust and that was the case for clarence aaron also. i wrote this story talking about

how this pardon attorney had blocked clarence aaron's quest for clemen sichlt a few review was ordered be i the obama administration and an inspector general's report looked into the case and confimpld the finding, clarence aaron had his sentence commuted by president obama, which was great. >> congressman the thing that jumped out to me most about the politics this week is when these eight pardons, these commutation were announced, there was not an outcry from republicans on capitol hill. they were given a chance by news reporters who reported to have a comment. they declined to comment. i'm thinking back to 15, 20, 25 years ago t. republican playbook in politics would ever, ever, ever miss a chance to say the democratic pardons, he commuted a sentence, he said maybe we were a little too harsh in this case. it seems as we are saying democrats may be shaking off that old fear, republicans may be shaking off that playbook a little bit.

>> they said one of the opportunities for bipartisan progress is in the area of criminal justice reform. if you were to flash back 20 years ago, it would be hard to imagine that, in fact, was the case. if we have seen in states all across the opportunity, particularly red states, texas, georgia, south carolina, is pretty significant criminal justice reform in rolling back the tough on crime legislation the mandatory minimum that have resulted in mass incarceration in these states as they have all across the country. this has been led, in fact, in some instances by republican conservative members of these legislative bodies. out of recognition, perhaps, that the toll and the cost on the economy and the budget is too severe and that the actual benefits of this mass encars racing don't justify the level of cost that has been imposed on society in terms of lost productivity and human capital. interestingly enough as well. in the congress and the

intensely mart sand house of representatives on a judiciary committee, with i is a source of constant conflict, whether that's on gun rights or reproductive rights, or immigration rights, i'm a part of a bipartisan task force on over criminalization, five republican, five democrats, that was put together this year to tackle the issue of overcriminalization, mass incarceration, out of control sentencing that has occurred at the federal level and so i'm very hopeful that in this climate, we'll actually be able to get something done and president obama with these commutations i think has set the stage for congressional action next year. >> there are a couple areas that you see congressional action next year. durbin and mike lee, pike slee a tea party type from you that you have put together what they call the fair sentencing act. i think they take close to 10,000, 8,000 to 10,000 people in federal prison right now who

are similar to people that president obama pardoned this week. if all of the new guidelines the laws are if place now had been in place at the time they wouldn't have gotten the sentence. basically, we create an opportunity to make the changes retroactive. you see dick durbin and mike lee teaming up on this, if rand palm introduced the safety valve act of 20 lean. >> senator pat lick leahy. >> it's really amazing. we spent so much time on red and blue divide. we are seeing that break down is the republican motivation burly one of cost? all of this incarceration is a drag, whether texas or south carolina, we've locked all those people up. >> $6.5 billion that the bureau of prisons got last year. it is costing a lot of money but it's a bright spot of bipartisanship we are seeing in congress right now.

it creates optimism for next year. >> collectively, we got it wrong four years ago? >> i don't know, i think to your point, anybody that lived through the 1988 presidential campaign could never know this moment. i don't know if we run out of prison beds. computing the eight sentences president obama did or jerry brown's 120 or whatever it is and said they served tear time. we aren't seeing federal law changing i think quite yet. >> that's the question. we will get into more in the next segment. we have a couple things on the agenda for 2014. at least the seeds. let talk about whether that will actually happen in 2014. get ready for this. cleans better in one wash than that other free detergent. wait what happened? where did those stains come from? .

>> we are back talk about where

criminal issues are headed in 2014, dave said anybody that lives through the willie horton campaign and michael dukakis the triumph of tough on crime politics from the republican party. congressman, i wonder, when we look at what's happening at the federal level now. we look at jerry brown in california with 127 pardons. pat quinn governor of illinois, hundreds. he's had a ton of pardons. you look at andrew cuomo, a guy that refuses to pardon anybody, do you see, does he represent a certain type of democrat still haunted by that tough on crime? i keep saying tough on politics here. tough on crime era? >> it's not clear to me why the governor has been economical in terms of his issuance of pardons and commutations. his father wasn't particularly judicious either as it relates to the pardon power. i think the broader point which

is an important one, the war on drugs widely acknowledged as a failure right now violated a basic tenant of american justice is that the punishment should fit the crime. with these mandatory minimum, particularly with crack cocaine offenses that clearly was not the case, as evidenced by president obama, six individuals, non-violent drug offenders serving life sentences are clearly that violates bake american values in terms of justice and the fairness of the criminal justice system. now what congress did a few years ago with the fair sentencing act was dramatically reduce the disparity between crack cocaine sentencing and powder cocaine. it was around 100-1 and reduced it to 20-1. >> that does not justify under any conception of fairness as it relates to the actual crime. i think hang has more work to

do. the president suggested in his commutation statements. i am hopeful we will tackle it next year. >> the other issue you had eric holder that issued the guidlines, it told the prosecutors for low level cases in the indictments not to list quantities. if you list the quantities, it triggers these harsh mandatory minimum sentences that are a product of the anti-drug act of 1986, tough on crime era. those are guidelines issued by one attorney general. i guess the question, are those guidelines only as good as, they last as long as the obama administration lasts. >> i think that's right. when i was first looking into pardons, one of the things i wandered, bus they were fewer and fewer. are we a country no longer interested in forgiveness, is mercy something we do not care about anymore? when i look around states and i see where governors wanted to pardon. where prosecutors were not interested in seeking this, judges were complaining about mandatory minimums. i really kind of got the sense

that actually there is a lot that can be changed quite quickly. there really is consensus here. i think you are right about the 1988 campaign that you would never know we ended up here. but i do think very much that like while they may have acted some people in their desire to pardon some president, some governor, i think there is a wide belief that everything that took place is for the longer working. >> i think part of the story is we put this up before, it's still, i can't get overlooking at it. the difference between the political climate of 1984, we have this poll here, asking voters what is the top issue of the country? crime? crime rates were early 1990s, take the same poll 19 years later in 2013, what's the top issue? 2%, 1% saying drugs. if you look at if homicide rate compare it over the last 60 years. it peaked at over 10.2 for

$100,000 in 1980. its all the way down to 4.8 right now. still us you take it. you remove the urgency of the issue and depoliticize it that way. >> i suppose, many crime rates go up slightly. i wonder what the politics will be on this. just to come back here, it seems like no one is really pure on this. cuomo ran for governor if 2002, essentially arc youing that the rockefeller drug laws have lost their relevant in new york. jerry braun, i don't think anyone is pure. everyone seems worried about water going to happen few commute the wrong person or something like. i should point out, too, one of the things governor cuomo has done as relates to criminal justice performance. he's led the charge to decriminalize marijuana. arrests of marijuana are the number one arrests leading to

low income individuals of color. i believe it was if 2012. he publicly championed that issue as well as police commissioner ray kelly, mayor bloomberg to support a legislative change. the republicans in the new york state senate are still fighting it. the governor did step out and demonstrate leadership. decline. has significantly changed. >> that's another foot in all this, too. in new york, you have in colorado last year marijuana, in washington, the obama administration saying we will not be using our justice department to go after these states as they implement legal marijuana. that's another topic. i want to thank msnbc.com and congressman jeffreys. don't go far, you are coming back if a few minutes as a contestant on "up against the clock." our third active member, still ahead outlook political prediction force the year ahead. . it cleans, fights stains and brightens your clothes. so all that other stuff people use in the wash

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>> everyone begins the year with

high hopes, usually with some resolutions of what they will do to improve themselves or try to do to improve themselves with the world around them. president obama began a year in his second term which seemed like a very tall order these days, asking for a compromise with republicans. >> we cannot mistake absolutism for principal or institute spectacle for politics or treat name calling as reasoned debate. >> of course, these didn't exactly turn out as president obama hopes the year bringing with it a government shutdown driven by republicans on capitol hill. speaker of the house john boehner calls a reverse caucus, shut down strategy. the members say the speaker still hasn't gotten quite over. >> the day before the government reopened, one of the people at one of these groups stood up and said, well, we really never thought it would work. are you kidding me? >> working in john boehner's

favor, he began here not knowing if he'd survive an attempt to strip him of his speakership. he did survive only to lead the most unproductive year in congress ever. next year isn't exactly promising to get off to a fresh start. all of this of course as an elaborate attempt to answer what 2014 will bring for ourselves? it is always, always so much easier to ask about others. >> i have to push for the answer about whether or not you might run. >> i haven't made up my mind. i really have not. i will look at carefully what i think i can do and make that decision you know sometimes i sometime next year. >> here to help us assess where the year in politics will end up at the end of year 2014 we welcome craig melvin. we are back with david freelander of the "daily beast." and jackie kucinich with the washington post. i am thinking to think back to

my own track record on these things. it's pretty atrocious. the end of december one year i will sit there, if you would have asked me the end of september some predictions for the year 2014, i would say, you know, they will get immigration done this year. also again immigration, a couple years ago i think hardball said who will be the republicans at the end of 2010? who will be the republican front runner, i think mike huckabee. i was having an atrocious record with these things. with that in mind, i can keep going, basically, if i say something, bet the opposite, you will be a rich person. let's think of some of the names in politics. we will go around and see if you top what i do here. tell us, it's december 31st, 2014, craig. what is it we're, what will the year have brought for hillary clinton? >> i don't think anyone believed hillary clinton when she was talking to barbara walters

there. she tried to sell it. i think this time next year she is out pedaling the yet to be named book of hers. she is still coiling. doing what she did there. side stepping the question and, you know, i think at this point not to go out on a limb here, i think she probably runs for president. i also think, though, that by the end of the year, vice president joe biden who still really wants to run for president for the 17th time. i think he probably says something about hillary clinton for which he has to apologize. he probably won't call it clean. he will say something, ah, it's not really what i meant a. >> if you can broaden that. >> i think it goes somewhere in eastern i, what central iowa. places that didn't do too well in 2007, maybe a pizza ranch. >> she will probably spend time in greenville, south carolina. >> she does border towns, like a one stop shop.

snow one will see it. the idea of joe biden having to apologize to somebody. >> that will probably happen. >> but you have your own john boehner prediction for 2014. what will we be saying about him in 2014? >> i think we saw a glimpse at the time of the shutdown respect i am thinking since there is no accountability. no one got in trouble for false prediction here. maybe this year will be the year john boehner has a network 13 e thrown at him. he says he is mad and can't take it anymore with a tea party caucus that made his caucus essentially ungovernable. >> i am wait figure he opens up the window or decides, that's it. it's if end of the term, i'm out of here. >> you might as well bring things to the floor. >> or i'm retiring. >> if the republicans win the senate, i think he sticks around. i think he wants to be a part of that sweeping things lou the congress even if the president. >> even if obama vetoes --

>> that clip we all can't get enough of we saw there, john boehner happen in politics a long time. that was not an exthemporaneous explosion. that was i think a calculated move by a seasoned politician to let folks know, yeah, this is the opening ceremony of what will be a battle of war for the gop. i think that that was obviously have joined his line in the sand. we will see a lot more of that next year. >> that's the question to watch with john boehner is listen after the 2014 election, does he make a decision, stick around or go? david, the same question will apply to nancy pelosi. >> look, it can be accurate. i look to the polls it gets further and further away from retaining the gavel. so i see the sort of ghost of john murtha rising up and democrats knocking pelosi aside. she goes to rome, goes to work for pope frances. >> oh.

wow. >> keep the curae. >> wow, okay. >> just out of curiosity, if democrats take back the house, who is the speaker? >> the extending lawyer is right next in line? it can be the tea party of their own type of thing, dennis kucinich comes back from the dead. >> when we talk about 2014. >> i think we are talking about paul ryan. i think we are talking how paul ryan has gone more to become the chairman of ways and means than the next presidential candidate for republicans. i think you will see him raising lots of money for republicans next year in the house. nos necessarily doing the circuit. i think he wants to be ways and means chairman. >> i was saying you think back of the failed vice presidential candidates. wow, i didn't mean to take a shot here t. paul ryan vice president wanttial campaign i have to remind myself it didn't

happen. msnbc thanks, you for joining us. the rest of you, don't go anywhere. another fast paced all exciting new edition of "up against the clock." celebrity contestants and all coming up next. >> this is scary. .

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. >> we serve many purposes on this show. one of them, of course, is party safety tips. so new year's eve just around the corner, we thought we'd share this cautionary tale of what irresponsible party can waleed to, courtesy of a three decades old game show clip. >> before you can play the cards, you must win as to-up question, g 2 t 2 will come out with the questions. ah, look at that with the ice pack. [ applause ] >>. >> i told you. i told you that would happen to y you. >> i took him to a party last night and you really disgraced

yourself. >> ah, jim perry on card sharks. he was hosting the sale of the century, when they get around to hosting a game show hall of 235i8, he will be a first ballot choice. here "up against the clock," our weekly game show, we would never dress up our prop the gold cup. maybe just this once. anyway, the cup will be here in a minute. all the other prizes will be there. three new contestants t. final "up against the clock" of 2013. we are going out with a bang right after this. [ male announcer ] let's say you had an accident. and let's say you bought cut-rate insurance and you weren't covered. oh, and your car is a time machine. [ beeping ] ♪ would you go back to when you got that less-than-amazing policy and go with esurance instead? well, they do have tools like coverage counselor®

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>> live from rockefeller center usa it's time for"up against the clock." our first contestant the pride of crown heights brooklyn, he lives a few subway stops away, representing new york's historic 8th district, please welcome congressman jeffrey. originally from south carolina,

he keeps us informed. he makes it look so easy, ask him about his impending fatherhood, say hello to msnbc's own craig melvin and from beautiful baltimore, maryland, from the home of indoor soccer sensation the baltimore blast, say hello to david sfreed lander. and now, the host of "up against the clock," steve kornacki. >> oh, thank you bill wolf. thank you studio audience. thank you for tuning in at home. here we are the end of 2013, our final game of this calendar year. our most exciting slate, congressman jeffreys. you are the third to take a spot on contestants row t. first two didn't win. we will see if you can break the "up against the clock member of congress jynx. we welcome our latest celebrity guest.

david, good luck to all three of you. you know the rules. we have three rounds of play. 100 seconds, each question will get harder as we go along. a warning, you will be penalized for wrong answers. also, there are instant bonuses scattered about in each round. it's a no risk chance to double your winnings if you get the toss-up question right. studio audience as always, i beg you to please be on your best behavior. these contestants require total concentration, contestants, are you ready to play? >> no. >> sounds like a yes to me. hands on buzzers, please. we will put 100 seconds on the clock. when we do the 100 point round will begin with this. reversing course late yesterday t.a & e network said it will no longer do ""duck dynasty." ". >> phil robertson. >> the robertson family. we will accept that. 100 point question, imagine to supporters this week this former

congressman said he had no immediate plans but hoped to quote keep the band together." >> anthony weiner. >> correct. 100 tossup question. on thursday, new jersey senator robert menendez proposed to consumers. >> target. >> direct. >> craig an instant bonus question only for you for 100 additional points, what nba team plays in an arena partially financed and by the target corporation. >> timber kofls. >> that is correct. 100 additional points for craig. back with this tossup question on one of the slowest political news days of the year, christmas eve, this 19-year-old entertainer made headlines when he claimed -- >> justin bieber. >> he was retiring. 100 points for david. it was announced this week at the annual krid iron dinner, a walk event where journalists and politicians get together for

drinks and jokes. >> senator ted cruz. >> will feature which senator? correct. toss-up question, this rising new york star in national politics announced this week he and his wife are getting a divorce is there eliot spitzer. >> that's correct. >> 100 point question. invitations are sent out for a white house party. >> for michelle obama. >> correct. brings us to the end of the 100 point round. the score congressman jeffreys 200. craig melvin 200. david freedlander 400 a. fast paced first round. we'll see if we can keep that play going. 100 seconds, they are harder. we begin with this, demonstrating against his embrace of hydraulic fracking. protesters dressed as elves stormed the lawn of this illinois governor on monday.

david. >> pat quinn. >> correct. 200 point question, when the census borough releases the forecast this monday, new york, currently the third most popular state. >> florida. >> it is expected to be passed by florida. correct. 200 point toss jaupup. this controversial conservative congressman announced on twitter that he ate reindeer as part of his christmas dinner. >> steve king. >> steve king of iowa. correct. this rapper posted a video on thursday of himself fist pumping -- >> snoop. >> snoop with secretary of state john kerry at the white house. 200 points for craig. correct. >> the creator and designer of this firearm which has killed more people than. >> culture -- >> i'll complete the question, of this firearm that killed more people. >> ak-47. >> correct for 200 points.

craig, this is an instant bo fuss question. name that creator and designer of the ak-47. >> what did you say? >> i'm not helping. >> karishnekov. >> you see what i did there? >> it was close. >> no penalty there. 200 point tossup. first lady michelle obama joined, craig. >> that was stupid. >> she turns 50. >> incorrect. she joined norad in their effort to track santa's sleigh. what does norad stand for? >> the north. >> you can't answer it now you ring and were wrong. if the congressman or david we'll call time t. correct answer is the north american aerospace defense command andy of the 200-point round. a little bit of a madness at the end there. congressman jeffreys leads with 600 points, craig with 400.

david with 400. now we move to the round where champions are made. ph.d. level. our hardest questions. 100 seconds on the clock. let's crown a champion. we start with this. edward snowden who made news this week with his christmas message to the world said he may consider moving to this snern south american. >> brazil. >> correct. >> 300 points. speaking on cspan on sunday, louisiana senator david have iter said he thought it was quote pretty obvious this fellow republican would run. >> ted cruz. >> incorrect. >> bobby jindal. >> correct. in his annual 2014 forecast carl roefb predicted this week republicans will contain control of the house, the senate may or may not remain with the democrats in that this afc power house will win the super bowl.

>> not the giants. >> time. he predicted the seattle sea hawks would win the super bowl. the much maligned bowl championship series is coming to an end next week when they debut next year. >> condoleeza rice. >> correct. instant bonus, craig. after leaving the bush white house, rice returned to this school in college football power house where she previously served as provost. >> stanford. >> correct. 300 more points for craig. 24 seconds left in the round. larry preszler, defeated for re-election in 1996, announced this week he is running again this time as an independent in what state? >> time. it's south dakota. 300 point question, queen elizabeth ii granted a rare mercy pardon to a hero that broke german code and was

chemically catrated because he was what? >> i don't want to lose points. >> david. >> gay? >> gay is correct for 300 points. >> that ends the round and the game. david freedlander with 1,000 points. the game came down to that question. a dramatic victory, david. congratulations. >> huge! >> bill wolf will tell you what you have won. >> thank you. congressman. >> as our champion, will you have your name printed in exquisite sharpee on the coveted gold cup. you get to take the trophy home with you and show it off for the federally, friends and school children for actually one week. will you receive an appearance this week on msnbc's "the cycle" airing weekdays. you will get to play in our bonus round for today's grand prize of $50 gift certificate to rut's hut in clifton, new jersey, serving up the best

franks in the greater meadowland area. back to you, steve. >> all right. >> that hot dog prize looks good every business. for that jack pot prize, this is your jackpot bonus question. making his first 'appearance on "saturday night live" this past weekend, new york mayor michael bloomberg narrowly missed becoming the first new york mayor not to appear on the show since whom? >> david dinkins. >> i'm sorry. the correct answer is abraham bean. you do not win the bonus. you do win the game. that was the closest, most suspenseful we've had yet. the curse of the active member of congress lives but you nearly ended it. very impressive play by all of you. david, as our champion, we'll be seeing you in our tournament of champions. and you won't be leaving us

empty handled. we have the home edition of "up against the clock." although congressman, there may be some rules accepting gifts from us. we can talk about that later. it may be you are little secret. what did we know now we don't didn't know last week? answers coming up. an ] too weak. wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com.

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we are still recovering from the closest ever "up against the clock." a very dramatic ending. it is time to find out what our guests and former contestants know now that they didn't know when the week began. trevor. >> one thing i did find out this week is i am much like i found out when i took the s.a.t. i'm not nearly as smart as i thought i was. >> you did well. >> no, and i want to apologize. i'm kidding. i learned this week not to end on a sour note, but my grandmother died last week. her funeral was on sunday and i

learned a great deal about her. she died at 76. she never made more than $25,000 a year. she was a custodian and she was the kind of woman that every holiday, every sunday, her wisdom, something that my family, you know, we just couldn't get enough of. she left this world too soon but it was great over the past week, week and a half hearing all of the stories about my grandma. i learned a lot about her. >> definitely a terrible thing but getting a chance to spend that with your family and reminisce is the best part of that. congressman. >> a las vegas cabdriver selflessly returned $300,000 that was found in his cab. that was contained in a bag of cash and it justry confirms sort of the power of, you know, human decency and compassion, and the fact he's been rewarded with an outpouring of support not just by his company but by americans, you know, all across the country has been a wonderful thing. and reconfirmation during this

holiday season of the spirit of america. >> definitely did the right thing. i wonder what i would have done in that situation. >> i wish i had something quite as meaningful. i learned i think this week how little there is to learn. this is a week in which almost no news happened, a week off from the daily churn. you realize how much you miss the daily churn opening up an empty newspaper and empty twitter feed. >> you mastered the churn. >> can i say we learn the same lesson trying to come up with 30 game show questions in the slowest news week of the year. always something. someone's always going to eat reindeer and tweet about it. we've got that. thanks to our guests today. msnbc's craig melvin, congressman hakeem jeffreys and david freedman, thanks for getting up. thanks for joining us today. join us tomorrow, sunday morning at 8:00, when we discuss gay marriage arriving in red state america. is this another domino in what has been a watershed year? you won't want to miss "up" tomorrow. stick up, because up next is melissa harris-perry on today's

mhp. how 2013 proved an e essential year in the ongoing struggle for civil rights. could the supreme court weigh in and decide if every american will be treated equally under the law? and reefer gladness set to begin in colorado. stick around for melissa. see you tomorrow at 8:00. thanks for getting "up." i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn.

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this morning, my question -- who wants to go to colorado and get high for the new year? plus, the year is over and eric poulder is still standing. and nbc news white house correspondent kristen will kerr is coming to "nerdland." but first, how 2013 reminds us of the enduring truth. the struggle continues. good morning. i'm melissa harris-perry happen i don't have to