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good afternoon, i'm karen finney. it's monday, december 30th, the eve of new year's eve. and you know what they say. out with the old and in with the new. ♪ 2014 needs to be a year of action. >> if you're on "time" magazine's list of the runner-ups to pope as person of the year. >> a very strange thing. >> we have work to do to create more jobs. it's all politics all of the time. and i'm trying to do my best not to pay attention to the politics. >> they pushed us into this fight to defund obamacare and shut down the government. >> it was absolutely a mistake for president obama to force a government shutdown. >> wasn't can the strategy i had in mind. >> this is a time for people to step up and do the right thing. >> are you kidding me? >> we've got to build on the progress we have painstakingly made. >> you said repeatedly it was al qaeda. >> i've tried to understand some

of the statements coming out of the united states congress. >> september 11th was not an accident. these are terrorist groups, self effacing, self claimed as al qaeda linked. >> and raises serious questions that contradict dialogue. >> 2014 needs to be a year of action. so it's one day until we pop the champagne and looks like if you had to choose one party to attend tomorrow night, it would be the democratic party. mainly because of the two parties the democrats may have the most to celebrate right now. for starters, those healthcare.gov woes we were told would destroy obama's second term quickly becoming a distant memory. or as they say this time of year, auld lang syne. the latest numbers are impressive. almost 1 million have enrolled via the federal exchange this month, bringing the total enrolled oh via federal and state exchanges to over 2 million. even republicans are sounding a bit sheepish about any further battles to defund the nation's health care law. >> will obamacare survive,

whether you like it or not? >> obamacare is a reality. >> so let's see. it took two elections, a supreme court decision and dozens of repeal votes. but yes, the reality of the health care law is finally beginning to sink in for republicans. but it's not just the health care where democrats are seeing an advantage heading into 2014. a "new york times" investigation, which we'll talk about later in the program, has blown the biggest hole to date in republicans' favorite conspiracy, none other than benghazi. and then there are issues like the failure to raise the minimum wage and renew extended unemployment benefits, both of which are issues that benefit democrats, and may be front and center in the months leading up to the 2014 congressional elections. sure, president obama has taken his knocks this year, but so has congress, where polls have the president running about 30 points ahead in popularity. and even republican senator john mccain tells the associated press today, quote, we all were with the american people after a while. to count a man out in his administration would be a huge mistake. and if anyone knows about

wearing thin with the american people, it's republicans. >> i think it was absolutely a mistake for president obama and harry reid to force a government shutdown. >> you know even john boehner has said this was a republican shutdown. >> look, why help what other people say. and john, i understand that in the media, every day the media reported. >> but come on. >> let's get right to our panel. jonathan capehart is a political writer for the "washington post" and msnbc contributor and josh barrow for the business insider. thanks to you both for being here. >> thanks, karen. >> so jonathan, okay, so 2013 was supposed to be the year of reince priebus and american rebranding. so maybe in 2014? >> i don't think so. look, the gop autopsy, accurate -- i mean, as i wrote gop autopsies are done on ted things, and the republican party is doing everything it can to remain dead. that autopsy said the republican

party needed to reach out to women, young people. african-americans. latinos. needed to pay attention to immigration. lgbt rights. and on all of those things, the republican party has proactively done things to turn off all of those constituencies and to do the opposite of what they need to do on those issues that i enumerated before. >> you know, josh, the one thing i think republicans believe they can run on is obamacare. the affordable care act. i think they still think that that's going to be in an area of vulnerability for candidates. if you look at a place like kentucky where it's been going quite well, given the fact that the website itself is doing better, increasingly better, it seems like that might not be a good bet for them. >> i think it's still a good bet. not as good as it looked like it would be six months ago. but certainly the best thing republicans have going for them politically right now. the poll numbers on obamacare are bad. it's worth keeping in mind, during the shutdown, the republicans lost tremendous

ground in the congressional generic ballot, which is when you ask people who you vote for for congress. they regained all that in the ensuing months. so i think it's still been a politically problematic rollout for the president and we'll see how people react to obamacare as it turns from a discussion about how difficult it is to sign up for plans to what plans are actually like. and i think you're going to see a mixed record on that. one thing, for example, a lot of these plans that are offered through the exchanges in obamacare, part of the way they held down the price is they have fairly restrictive networks of what doctors and hospitals you can go to. >> a lot of plans do. >> but these more so than is typical. so i think some people are going to look at these plans and say i can go to a doctor and that's good. and if they were uninsured before, happy about that. but some people at other insurance before will say i can't go to the doctor i used to go to. so i think it still remains to be seen what the politics will be. i think republicans are trying not to create any new distractions so they can keep the focus on obamacare. >> and you know, jonathan, to that point, i mean, i actually think that we're going to see the website continue to improve. and i think josh is right. as long as people are feeling

like they're able to access health care, i actually think that becomes less of a weak spot for democrats. one of the areas, though, we know the president is going to really kind of lay a stake in the ground for the 2014 elections is talking about economic inequality. we know it's going to be a theme in this state of the union. we know democrats are trying to, you know, bring a fight on the minimum wage and unemployment benefits coming in january. so where is the gop answer to those issues? >> you know, i'm looking forward to their answer to that, as i am looking forward to their alternative to the affordable care act. i don't think they have one. and for the president to focus on income inequality, especially in this new year, and especially starting it off with the state of the union address next year, you've got two issues that are going to play well into this, and you mentioned them. the unemployment insurance that expired. i think it was on saturday for 1.3 million people.

and then you have minimum wage. >> minimum wage. >> right. the new minimum wage where some states have increased the minimum wage. but still, with so many people out of work, and those who are in work still struggling, barely to make ends meet. those two issues will dovetail nicely into a larger discussion about income inequality, which is something that, you know, lots of americans care about and want to see something done. >> you know, josh, the -- in terms of the minimum wage, there is actually reports of a real strategy on the democratic side, both at the federal level to try to push legislation and then at the local level to do ballot initiatives. all going into 2014, all with the hope of increasing turnout. but also using the issue, you know, to really drive this contrast between the republicans and democrats. do you think that's a good bet for them? >> i think it's a good strategy. and i think it's -- the democrats want two things here. they want it as a political issue and then they want actual victories on raising the minimum wage. and i think they'll get the issue at the federal level and i

think they'll have some actual policy victories at the state and local level. but i think when you talk about, you know, voters getting energized about income inequality, i think really what that is for the electorate is they're energized about the fact they're not seeing economic progress, even if we're coming out of a recovery. and i think the minimum wage and unemployment insurance, while there are issues where the democratic position is popular, there are also issues where a lot of middle class voters are not directly personally impacted. some are. but i think a lot of people view, for example, the minimum wage is an issue for the poor and not middle class. so i think the president would be politically wise to ware this with other initiatives that would have impacts up into the middle of the economic spectrum, a broader agenda at increased income equality. >> i'm going to push back. a lot of people know someone who would be very much impacted by an increase in the minimum wage. and for a lot of families, they are barely hanging on to being in the middle class, because maybe one person has got a minimum wage job, maybe the oh other person is working and has full salary job. so i would suggest -- i think it

actually will have some resonance with people. jonathan, i'm going to let you quickly get the last word. >> the last wore is that there are a lot of people -- the economy imploded in 2008 and a lot of people who were in the middle class were shunted one class lower, probably into minimum wage jobs. and so this is something that i think will have much broader appeal. >> let's hope so. josh barrow and john capehart, thank you. >> thank you. come up, the benghazi conspiracy undermined. i guess we can all be thankful you were not president at the time, mr. senator. >> i think that ultimately, with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. and i really mean that. had i been president at the time and i found that you did not read the cables from benghazi, you did not read the cables from besser stevens, i would have relieved you of your post. ♪ [ julie ] i've got to credit my mom.

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an extensive "new york times" investigation into the events surrounding the attacks in benghazi last year has punched the biggest hole to date in the gop's preferred version of that deadly day. while the conspiracyists were never quite clear exactly what happened, the gop has always stuck to one set of talking points about the attacks that killed ambassador christopher stevens and three other americans. first, that it was conducted by al qaeda. and then that the obama white house tried to cover up that fact ahead of the election. and third, that there was no connection to an american-made video that had sparked riots earlier that day in egypt. but now, as the author of that "new york times" investigation explained sunday, we know that's absolutely not the case. >> there's just no chance that

this was an al qaeda attack. if, by al qaeda, you mean the organization founded by osama bin laden. >> in his article, kirk patrick writes, quote, the attack was led instead by fighters who had benefited directly from nato's extensive a power and logistic support. and contrary to claims by some members of congress, it was fueled in large part by anger at an american-made video denigrating islam. so that's it, right? not that the administration is totally exonerated in how it initially reported the attack but that's the end of the great benghazi conspiracy, right? oh, no. because republicans not only are adamant that their original hypothesis was correct. some believe a clinton cannedacy lies at the heart of the so-called conspiracy. joining us now, elliot engel of new york, the ranking member of the house intelligence committee. thanks for joining me, congressman. >> thanks for having me. >> i want to start with -- just

to get your take on this "new york times" piece and this analysis. >> well, i think the piece was accurate. several months ago, many of us got a classified briefing. which i think this piece clearly is in line with. unfortunately, look, what happened in benghazi was a terrible tragedy and we have to make sure we know what mistakes were made so this tragedy can never happen again. unfortunately, some of my republican colleagues seem to be hell bent on using this tragedy to kind of further their own political ends. they were wrong then and i think as the "new york times" article pointed out they are wrong now. >> one of the things that struck me, it's very complicated and that was what the administration was trying to -- saying look, we're giving the best information we have at the time. obviously it sounds -- as you read the piece, it's very clear the alliances are very unclear and who is connected to whom. it also seems that the concept of al qaeda has really become politicized in the way the

republicans use it. kirkpatrick was very specific to say al qaeda connected to bin laden. but you hear the term kind of thrown around a bit and this piece makes it clear, there are many, many more groups that we should be thinking about and being concerned about. >> well, clearly, there was terrorism involved. it was a terrorist attack. but it wasn't al qaeda. it was a confluence of different things that happened. there were some islamists there, militants. there were some thugs. there were some looters. it was everything that came together. the video, the -- defaming islam, what was a factor. there were lots of different factors that came together. again, for me, we have to make sure that in congress we know what happened. so that this never happens again. and one of the things that we did on the foreign affairs committee was to pass an embassy security bill to try to sort of put our money where our mouth is. because a lot of my colleagues who complain on the other side of the aisle voted against -- >> that's right -- >> -- funding embassy security

adequately. so you really can't have it both ways. >> let me ask a question about one of your colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and that is chairman darrell issa who earlier this year in an interview really was very adamant that the -- you know, there was no connection to the video and really asserted the administration was lying. then yesterday -- about the events. and then yesterday he kind of doubled down a little bit on his assertions that it was al qaeda and there was no connection to the video, despite the fact that, again, the report in the "new york times" makes it pretty clear. were you surprised by chairman issa's responses yesterday? >> i wasn't surprised, because i've heard him before. they were inaccurate then, they're inaccurate now. i mean, you can take the events and the tragedy and try to sort of twist it into anything you want it to twist into. but the fact of the matter is, i think the "new york times" article, based on the intelligence reports that i've seen, is right on the money. >> you know, as a member of congress, i have to imagine you were frustrated by just the

sheer waste of time. you had members of the administration coming up to the hill for briefings, you had issa and others holding hearings. when it sounds like you were getting a lot of the information that you needed. there was the report that came out of the state department. i mean, do you feel like -- this was -- time was wasted based on the politics of this? >> well, i don't know if it was wasted. i'll tell you something. look, there was a terrible tragedy. and there were mistakes that were made. i don't want to exonerate the state department or intelligence. there were mistakes made. but we shouldn't take those mistakes and try to run with them politically, try to use them politically. that's my objection. i want to know what happened. so time wasn't wasted learning about mistakes that were made. and believe me, if mistakes were made, then we need to correct them. >> right. >> but time was wasted in terms of turning everything into a political fight. >> right. >> four americans were killed, including our very able ambassador. this was a terrible tragedy. and we should be worrying that this would not happen anymore, rather than playing gotcha politics. >> you know, and on that point

of gotcha politics, we also heard a number of folks over the weekend sort of making the assertion that this "new york times" article was somehow cover for hillary clinton if she should decide to run in 2016. you've had reince priebus, chairman of the rnc, making it clear, they're going to use the issue against her. and, again, my read of the article says what she had been saying all along is pretty consistent with what the findings have been. >> look, she was a very excellent secretary of state, and i think nobody would dispute that. and as a result of benghazi, there were recommendations. there was a commission. and they had recommendations. she adopted every single one of them, and then added on to it. so she wants to get to the bottom of this. we want to get to the bottom of this. and to kind of imply that somehow this is political as a result, the only politics, in my opinion, is republicans playing politics, trying to see if they can soften her up, because they think she may run for president. i'm not interested in playing

politics or softening anyone up. i want the truth. so again, so it never happens again and it's disgraceful to play politics. and again, i think the "new york times" story was right on the money and it was a confluence of things that came together, a terrible thing and terrible miscalculations. and, again, i'm not making excuses for anybody, because if things were wrong, heads should roll and things should be corrected. but it's a terrible tragedy to take this tragedy and try to sort of politicize it. that's making a tragedy on top of a tragedy. >> it really is. and they certainly tried to do that, both attacking secretary clinton, the president. now nsa adviser susan rice. it was pretty disgraceful. >> you know, the president -- we finally, after all these years, killed osama bin laden. and the republicans made a big deal about it, initially, we're going to get him and kill him. didn't get him and kill him under the bush years, did it under this administration and now they sort of want to push it away and say, well, you know,

the president only wants to cover this up because he said, and rightfully so, that al qaeda was on the run once we killed osama bin laden. >> right. >> so it's there for the american people to see. and i think intelligent people can come to intelligent conclusions. >> let's hope so. congressman engel, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. coming up, a string of terror attacks have russia on edge in the run up to the winter olympics. we'll have the latest details, straight ahead.

"stubborn love" by the lumineers did you get my email? i did. so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. a wave of terror sweeping russia has put that country on edge as it prepares for the winter olympics just over a month away. there have been three attacks in the last four days. the first on friday, a car bomb killed three people in one small russia city. 170 miles east of sochi. the site of the games.

on sunday, a female suicide bomber killed 17 people, when she struck a train station in the city of volograd, a city of 1 million people, just 400 miles away from sochi. and just this morning, another attack in the same city. this time on a crowded rush hour trolly. in total, 34 people are dead. nbc's jim maceda reports, authorities suspect the attacks are part of a wider goal to disrupt the winter games. >> reporter: investigators in volograd are working under the assumption, very strong suspicion, that the latest attacks are the work of islamist insurgents from that very restive part of russia called the north caucuses. we understand the police have found some links between the two most recent bombings. that the same group or cell carried out both the train and trolly bus bombings that the explosives used and the components, as well. like the shrapnel, for instance, used to maximize carnage were

also similar in those two cases. investigators are also linking the bombings to a public appeal that was made several months ago by the checha warlord doak u am amaroffto disrupt the upcoming sochi winter olympics. >> i want to turn to ann garren of the "washington post" and foreign affairs columnist for reuters. this has really been a challenge for putin in particular. he has been feeling his oats over the last year, i would say. but this is big moment. >> you're right to say over the last year. 2013 was in a way putin's year, he backed assad in syria and basically succeeded in the yu crane, set up to western europe and backed the government there. trying to move in around the middle east everywhere. so this is a huge challenge for him and huge embarrassment. russia, they're not reading people their rights and gentle about investigating possible

bombings. if putin can't stop these bombings, given the strength of the police state there, it's a very bad sign as we approach the games. >> right. and ann, that's obviously a place where we have the most concern, and that is the games. and there have been some concerns that there is so much security around sochi that perhaps that's part of why there has been less security in other parts of the country. >> yeah. the sochi games are putin's pet project. he chose to have them in a restive area of the country. sort of as a -- in part as an act of defiance and to show he had his thumb down on the insurgency across the caucuses. that thumb is probably down pretty well on sochi, but the threat is beginning to spread to other nearby areas. volograd is the largest and probably the most historically significant city within easy striking distance for those

insurgents. and as you see there, going after relatively soft targets. no one has taken responsibility for this string of bombings, but they're widely ascribed to the same islam insurgents who have vowed to disrupt the games. and going after a trolly, a bus, a rail station, is a way to do a lot of damage and sow a lot of terror without really running into a lot of security. >> and you know, david, to the point that ann was just making, i mean, the russians in their statement tried to make this part of a broader terror, you know, sort of an international global struggle against terrorists, if you will, which i thought was interesting. given that they -- don't generally try to bring the rest of the world in on their troubles. it seems this time they're trying to make it -- this is all of our problem, basically. >> to me, it's a really interesting question. because the russians do have a different approach to terror. they flatten gross knee and chechnya, do nottel tolerate dissent.

that's why the stakes for these games are important. he's popular in some parts of the world. arguing that western democracy is failing. >> right. >> our oh problems in washington. so this is a really interesting moment to see, can he provide security, and does the putin style of authoritarian rule gain credibility or not in the next six weeks. >> and you know, ann, final question to you. the white house has actually offered support in security preparations. i guess the sense they have made it clear they're willing to be helpful in terms of counterterrorism around the sochi olympics, not necessarily wanting to get involved in counter frichl in other part of the country. but it's unclear at this point whether or not the russians have accepted the assistance from the americans. >> no. it's not clear whether they have accepted this new offer, which was sort of made in -- slightly an odd back hand way today. there is a long history of u.s./russian counterterrorism cooperation in the caucuses and elsewhere. the u.s. has not tried to get down and dirty in the caucuses, but has gone along with a lot of

russian activity there and some would argue look the other way at some of the heavy-handed operations there. in part because the counter terror cooperation in other areas was very strong. this looked to me like a -- an offer by the white house to say hey, look, we have worked together in the past. we can work together in the future. other areas of our bilateral relationship may not be going so well right now. but we have a strong history of counterterrorism cooperation working together. >> well, we will be watching all of this very closely. thanks to ann garrin and david rode. coming up up, how do we vote to the dope americans are about to start smoking. yes, i did just say that. we'll run through some of the new state laws that will ring in 2014. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

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i think we both are clean freaks. i used to scrub the floor on my knees. [ daughter ] i've mastered the art of foot cleaning. oh, boy. oh, boy. oh, boy. [ carmel ] that drives me nuts. it gives me anxiety just thinking about how crazy they get. [ doorbell rings ] [ daughter ] oh, wow. [ carmel ] swiffer wetjet. you guys should try this. it's so easy. oh, my. [ gasps ] i just washed this floor. if i didn't see it i wouldn't believe it. [ carmel ] it did my heart good to see you cleaning. [ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. [ daughter ] oh, yeah. while the gop-controlled

house of representatives has been the least productive in history, state legislatures have been very productive, passing nearly 40,000 new measures, according to the national conference of state legislatures, many of which will go into effect later this week. one of my favorites, oregon will restrict smoking in a car where children are present. other examples include laws allowing the legal purchase of marijuana, requiring websites to tell users how their information is being used, and the out lawing the possession of shark fins. but also serious laws concerning issues like voting rights, minimum wage and anti choice measures. and while some of these laws protect privacy or take big steps forward, many represent huge steps backward. here to break it all down with me, i'm joined by msnbc contributor and columnist for thegrio.com, goldie taylor, and reid wilson of the "washington post." thanks to you both. >> thank you. goldie, i want to start with you. minimum wage will be increased in about 13 states, which is going to impact about 1.4 million people.

are we creating a country, though, where the working class experience is a much different place -- much different, depending upon where you live? >> well, i think that's absolutely the case. in some cases, states are becoming laboratories, to see what works and what doesn't. but it does concern me in those states where republicans have been able to gerrymander themselves into power and take over state houses, they have sort of pushed this agenda of an us versus them. and so the minimum wage or living wage will never really be on the table in states like that. and so you're going to find people maybe looking for a meaningful job in a meaningful wage in other states. and those states, maybe, just maybe, may lose their work force as a consequence. and so i think you may see a bit of shifting in population based on how some of these laws play themselves out. i do think that this is about gerrymandering at the end of the day. and people being able to take control of state houses and controlling the local lay of the land, at least lengthively. >> you know, reid, another wear where we have seen state laws is the issue of gun control and the

"new york times" says there are 100 new laws but the majority loosen gun restrictions. what do you make of that? >> i think one of the most overlooked political stories of 2013 is the revitalization of the gun rights lobby. for a long time, the groups like the nra, second amendment foundation, other groups like that, didn't really get involved in politics. largely because there was nobody pushing back against them. in the last year, as president obama and a number of state legislators have tried to pass new gunnel control measures, we have seen sort of the awakening of a lot of these gun rights groups. they have gone after state legislators in places like colorado, and they intend to go after a number of state legislators around the country, places like california and some other states that passed gun control legislation earlier this year. so i think we have seen sort of the awakening of the beast. remember, there were those two recall elections in colorado earlier this year. there is serious blowback against democratic legislators that have passed some of these gun control measures. >> you know, i want to follow up with you, goldie, on that point.

it does trike strike we. we have a number of organizations like the brady group, like mayors against legal guns, trying to be a counterweight and i'm wondering if you think in 2014, the opposite will also potentially go into effect in terms of people trying to use gun safety as a way to get people out to vote. >> you know, i wrote about this on thegrio.com today, where i called it my year of hopeless thinking. these state legislators did stoke the fears of their constituencies to loosen access to, you know, military assault style weapons to handguns to ammunition, to, you know, just sort of allow people to buy many more weapons than they normally would have been able to acquire. and so i think there's a real problem with that. and whether or not you'll see any pushback from the left, any meaningful pushback from the left to move on their statehouses or in this congress really remains to be seen. but i really think that we are, as a nation, as i said today, focused on the wrong end of the issue. we're focused on military assault style weapons, and that

ought to be the case. but we've got to focus on those guns already legally available of the those cheap, illegal handguns so pervasive in our cities today. and there is not a single law at the federal level or in any statehouse in this country, meant to attack that, and that's what's killing our children. >> you know, reid, a number of measures are also going to go into effect affecting voting. in florida, limiting early voting, arkansas new voter i.d. laws. one bright spot in colorado students can preregister at age 16. think we'll see other measures like that where it will make it easier for people to vote rather than harder? >> i think so. i think the voting battle, whether it's a -- the sort of i'm from the right legislation like we have seen in north carolina and florida or from the left, legislation like we have seen in colorado and oregon, are going to come up a lot more in several other states. one issue that you're definitely going to see coming up next year, the oregon state legislature is going to take up another version of a bill that they voted on, and it failed by

just one vote in last session that would automatically register everybody. >> right. >> that is, you don't have to go to the polling place, you don't have to fill out one of the forms. once you turn 18, once you get your driver's license, or any state license, you'll be automatically registered to vote. it's called universal registration. so, you know, in blue states, they're going to one direction of voting laws. red states, going completely the other direction. you know, as we talk about things like gun control and voting rights and minimum wage laws, you're seeing blue states are doing one thing, red states doing another thing. and we're becoming two countries. john edwards was right. two americas. >> we've got a number of other measures coming up. unfortunately, we are running out of time so we won't get to talk about marijuana being -- becoming legalized in a number of places. you know, the rocky mountain high as it were. but goldie taylor -- >> it's a sticky issue. >> it is. thank you for joining us. i want you to stick around. because we've got our top lines year in review coming up. but first, we'll head to the

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with six days to go to the end of his hawaiian vacation, president obama has a little bit of good news to ring in the new year. new numbers from hhs reveal a surge of 975,000 new enrollments on healthcare.gov in december. pushing the total number of enrollments since october 1st to about 1.1 million. now you add that to the latest reported numbers for state exchanges and medicaid and championship chip, it brings the total to 2.2 million and a report in the "new york times" that undermine the attack lines we have heard throughout 2013. john yang joins me from honolulu. john, we'll get to health care

in a moment. i wanted to start with russia. the president has been updated continuously on the situation in russia. what can you tell us from there? >> reporter: well, the nse officials we have been talking with, karen, are pointing out there are a number of cooperations and efforts, joint efforts, with the russians on counterterrorism. those efforts got stepped up after the boston marathon bombing. of course, the two alleged perpetrators in that attack coming from chechnya. but at the same time, the statements say they would welcome a closer counterterrorism effort with russia as the olympics approach that seems to suggest that not all the cooperation, not all the assistance the united states has been offering, has been accepted. >> right. to the health care numbers. while impressive, not ideally where the administration had hoped they would be at this point. so what is the sentiment coming out of the white house? it seems to be a little muted at this point. >> reporter: well, i think that there is a little muted. but at the same time, they're

happy to be talking about more people enrolling, and the -- sort of the rate of enrollments accelerating, rather than talking about a website that's not working. so they're happy with that sort of shift. >> sure. >> reporter: they are eager to talk about -- that people actually will be getting coverage, starting january 1st. and i think you're seeing that changing the nature, changing the politics of it. of republicans acknowledging this is now nothing they can simply repeal. they've got people who will be covered. any changes will have to take into account that people are getting coverage. >> all right. nbc's john yang, enjoy the beach. thank you so much. >> reporter: thanks. coming up, ourtop top lines of 2014. >> the vans and butts, candy and nuts, every day be christmas. ♪ i started a week ago going pro with crest pro-health.

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from the thirsts of marco rubio to the influence of ted cruz. here are 2013's top lines. are you kidding me? >> the person who had the worst year in washington is obama. >> you know that sheldon aid ellison spent 100 million dollars of his own last year on negative ads. you've got to really dislike me to spend that money. >> did you know going in you were going to win? >> i for sure did. >> i think we were convinced we would win. >> are you kidding me? >> i know i've let a lot of people down but i've learned tough lessons. >> where do you get the morality to judge me. >> i do not use crack cocaine, nor am i an addict of crack cocaine. >> have you purchased illegal drugs in the last two years? >> yes, i have. >> are you kidding me? >> false choices like the one

the president laid out tonight. >> mike lee, i am your father. >> i do not like them, sam, i am. i do not like green eggs and ham. >> i'm trying to do my best not to pay attention to the politics. to focus on -- >> let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. of let's not do that. >> get healthcare.gov up and running is not rocket scientists. >> we've got to be the party for the 100%, that's number one. >> for everyone who is a valedictorian, there is another hundred out there, they weigh 130 pounds and the cavs catches the size of cantaloupe. >> we're trying to give and cooperate. >> we have never tried to tie things to the president, to the cabinet officers. my gut tells me, too many people knew this wrongdoing was going on. >> the notion that he's in

charge of, quote, government oversight might now be the biggest joke in all of washington. >> 2014 needs to be a year of action. that's going to be where i focus all of my efforts in the year ahead. all right. let's get right to our panel and welcome back goldie taylor, reid wilson and jonathan capehart. thanks, you guys, for joining me. there's so many choice moments, i almost don't know where to start. jonathan, i guess one question i have for you, what was up with the mayors this year? we had, you know, the crack mayor, then we had the mayor who thought it was okay to grope and harass his staff members, thinking nobody would notice. what was going on? >> you know, i don't know. and rob ford -- endlessly entertains, but keep something in mind. filner in san diego, he's gone. rob ford is still the mayor. in title only. but he's still the mayor. and, you know, you showed the wannabe mayor, anthony weiner, who didn't -- who didn't quite make it. but yeah, it was -- it was the year of weird mayors and weird

candidates. >> well, i think we're going to have goldie, more weird candidates coming up in this next year in 2014. but i'm wondering if there is a particular moment that may have -- from this past year, that may have stood out for you. >> i don't know. i think the admission of ford using crack cocaine, and u know, having some participation in a crack house probably really did it for me. but, you know, then there was probably the moment when anthony weiner was standing before the camera saying you should forget about my past and look at my future. and in his future he's still texting and sexting women. so i think there were quite a few moments for me. in terms of these mayors, i'm glad to have a mayor likeca seen reid here in atlanta, and i'm going to keep an eye on him to make sure none of this goes down in our city hall. >> i think that is a wise thing. and the other mayor, cory booker, became senator. >> right. >> kind of -- what is it with men and texting.

it seems john boehner may have found some spine, there is some hope for him. is it going to matter? it strikes me that the cuckoo caucus isn't listening to him anyway. they're listen to go ted cruz. >> i was completely bearish. when i look back on everyone's predictions, i was predicting immigration would never go anywhere. this is a function of both sides. 2013 was the year in which both parties proved to us they don't really want to run washington. you had the republicans actively trying to lose everything by shutting down the government. and then you had democrats turning back around and squandering that political goodwill by screwing up the rollup of healthcare.gov. so here we had a year in which nobody wanted to win. they just wanted the other guys to win the election. now let's see in 2014 if anybody actually really does want to win the mid terms. >> actually, jonathan, it struck me everybody is trying to get out of the way of the other guy imploding. what they perceived as an implosion. >> and then they all jumped back

and imploded themselves. >> right. exactly. jonathan, did you want to weigh in? >> no. look, the democrats and the president in particular really just screwed up. the unveiling of healthcare.gov. and i think also made a mistake of not reminding people that the -- be all and end all of the affordable care act is not just healthcare.gov. healthcare.gov is a website, which is part of this massive undertaking of, you know, getting health care to millions of americans. and also, as republicans thrilled at the notion of the president and democrats going down with the obamacare ship, folks not focusing on the fact that they had, meaning republicans, had no alternative to offer. >> right. >> so for me, it was just like stressful to watch. but hilarious, because i thought, you know what, republicans, maybe you should get what you ask for. >> you know, guys, i have to

tell you, if it wasn't such a comedic reality television show to watch what was going on in congress, if it wasn't so sad, it really would be something that i would tune in and watch on a regular basis. goldie taylor, reid wilson and jonathan capehart, thank you so much. and happy new year to you guys. >> happy new year. >> thanks. >> happy new year, karen. >> we'll be right back. ♪ and ah, so you can see like right here i can just... you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app.

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thanks so much for watching. coming up right now, "the ed show" with ed schultz.

♪ meet you downstairs in the bar and your rolled up sleeves and your t-shirt ♪ ♪ you say why did you do with him today ♪ good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show," live from the north country in troix detroit lakes, minnesota. we've above the doughnut. it's 1 degree. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. as someone who spent many years in the private sector -- >> republicans want to privatize yet mother great american institution. >> you know how republicans always say that private sector does everything better? >> the private sector -- >> we should say replace the post office with fedex and u.p.s.? >> darrell issa's house oversight committee took a whack at workers again. >> the need to oversize the post office. >> two of the