away, my friend. >> you know what would be awkward, you know? >> what? >> if we stayed on camera for a while without talking. >> do you have time? time right now? >> take it away. please take us out of here. take us out. >> no, let's do it. >> next time, we'll do it next time. >> everyone, good afternoon and a happy new year to you, and an awkward new year to those who are interested in one. i'm ari melber, there is a storm brewing. racing for a blizzard. >> the first major storm of 2014. >> buckle your seat belts. >> happy new year, everybody. >> it's officially an election year. >> this storm is the first real test for new york's newest mayor. >> fairer, more just, more progressive place. >> very fluffy snow, almost like styrofoam. >> hillary clinton's last tweet of 2013 called on congress to

restore jobless benefits. >> does it make sense to borrow from china to give it to the unemployed in america? >> 2014 needs to be your -- >> this is a time for people to step up and do the right thing. >> happy new year. yes, january has just began and the first blizzard of 2014 bearing down on the northeast as you look here live at braintree, massachusetts, south of boston. we have estimates of up to 100 million people could be impacted with snarled traffic and delayed flights. and we will have more on that winter storm coming up. but we do begin today with a political triumph that will profoundly change the lives of over 6 million americans starting today. and millions more over the coming year. after yesterday's holiday, today is the first working day of the affordable care act. and from politicos to

humanitarians, many are keeping score. on new year's day, the obama administration announced that 3.9 million more people can get public health care through the aca. that's from expansions to medicaid or the children's health care coverage programs. another 2.1 million have enrolled in private health plans. and that includes using the federal website to get coverage. then there's a surge of young people, more than 3 million, in fact, who now have expanded coverage through their parents' plans. according to the number crunchers at the nonpartisan congressional budget office, those 2 million still need to grow by another 5 million people by march 31st in order to control costs in the long run. and to that end, organizing for action has kicked off a new year's day appeal to encourage more enrollments with testimonials touting new coverage options and popular provisions that are already in effect. >> i'm so incredibly grateful for the affordable care act because now not only do i have health care coverage, but i also have peace of mind knowing i can

never be denied coverage based on my pre-existing condition. and that's an amazing feeling. >> however, the great feeling according to many of all these people getting covered is met by an economic policy challenge for this law. by any measure, it is a humanitarian success providing health care to so many who had none. but whether it builds an economically sustainable insurance model is an open question. we're going to have much more on all of that and the politics in just a few moments. but first, we're going to go to the white house and the white house adviser for health care reform and policy. >> happy new year. let me start with that point. if you'll join me in the premise that it is a good thing, as the white house has said, that so many millions more people are getting health care, right? and that's a humanitarian success. what do you say, though, to the concern, the real concern not just from republican critics but a lot of policy experts that if

you don't grow that specifically in the private market piece, then you don't control costs over the long run and this may not be a sustainable model. >> well, that's always been our focus, ari. from day one, it's to get as many people signed up for health care as we can in this country. we've never been as focused on a specific number as we are to get as many americans who want health insurance into the exchanges, into the program, and make sure it's a blend of americans. and we're going to continue to do that. we have a very good number that we're very happy about right now. more than 2 million people have enrolled in the exchanges. and that's terrific. especially since we got off to such a slow start. we had a bad october, we had a great december. >> yeah. i think the numbers -- i think the numbers in december clearly reflect that. do you think, though, white house and cbo sources have maybe overplayed that number to get up to 7 million? >> the congressional budget office put that out as an estimate. that was their estimate that

became an accepted estimate among lots of people. our focus has always been get as many people as we can into the program. and that's our test of success. can we get as many americans the right mix of americans into this to have a viable program? and i'd say our only test isn't just this issue. are we bringing health care costs down in health care? and so far, that's a success over the last three years. there's a debate of how much credit the affordable care gets for that. but it's indisputable the increase of health care costs have slowed. >> there's no question when you look at the rate of increase, it's slowed in a significant way for the most significant levels in decades. and you're right, people talk about how much of the aca give credit, but that's usually about some credit or all the credit not no credit. i know you've always been asking folks to call in on that 1-800 number with questions or success stories. are you aware of any kind of calls you've been getting? >> we're treating every day as a

worst-case day. we treated yesterday as a worst-case day and we had a good day. the number is 1-800-318-2596. if someone's having a problem of any kind, they should work with their insurer first. if they can't resolve it, they should call the toll free number. it's open 24 hours a day. there hasn't been waiting from the operators to resolve your problem. and so far, we had a very good day yesterday. we had a very good day today. we'll prepare for the worst tomorrow, but hope tomorrow will also be a good day. >> all right. anyway you're working hard on this, and thank you for spending time with us today. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. thanks for bringing me on. >> you bet. and now we're going to our panel in new york and in washington. perry bacon, a reporter writing about this issue a lot on health care. i want to start with you on that

conversation i had with phil. i'm very clear. here's my opinion. i think it's good when more people get covered. and i think this number is 2 million or 6 million or 9 million right when you add in the 20 somethings. that's great. but there is a real cost problem which phil was referring to on the 2 million piece. which is whether or not you get enough people in the private marketplace. number one, what did you think of his answer and where we go from here? >> well, i think his answer was intentionally open ended. because at the end of the day, no one can say whether they're going to get to that 7 million number by march, right? we don't know if that's going to happen. it's important to have a conversation about cost containment. i think it's a little bit prematu premature to assume on the second day we're already going to have net out financially, the way we anticipated we would. the reality is, this is a very long-term program, and its legacy is kind of a wait and see. we're not going to know until five years out what this looks like. >> and perry, what did you think, as well?

you were writing just today about the fact that the 6 million number is significant, right? and the white house doesn't even sell it that much. >> oh, his answer was they don't actually know where the numbers are. his answer was vague for one reason. one of the big things you talk about in terms of the financing is it's key for the number of people between 18 and 35 in terms of age to be insured. that helps balance out the pool. that also makes sure that next year the prices for premiums for people were not higher because the pool was full of like elderly and sicker people. and the white house does not know that data in terms of the numbers. their original estimate was 2.7 million. the 7 million in private insurance would be between 18 and 35 in terms of age. they have not released that data yet of what the age mix is. i've heard the age is not quite near that ratio, which is about 40% right now. can they get that ratio closer to more young and healthy people and fewer people in the pool who are sicker and tend to be older?

>> yeah. i think if you're watching at home and saying this is a lot of numbers, that's a problem that the republicans are actually going to share. in the sense that the more this becomes a policy conversation about servicing, the health care industry and the american public, right? the harder it gets for republicans to stand on the sidelines with the repeal message. to that point, perry, today you had eric cantor vowing more votes concerning the security of healthcare.gov. but not as much about repeal. do you read anything into that? >> i do. i mean, two things, the first thing is the republicans are not going to leave this issue alone. they are going to continue to look for ways. security's a little bit of an issue. they're going to look for ways to criticize the law. at the same time, i think the repeal movement is pretty much dead now. the government shutdown was bad for the republicans and looked bad. and i think you'll see focuses on attacking parts of the law while republicans maybe wait until, in terms of repeal, i

think they've moved on. maybe chris christie if he's elected might repeal the law. i think these next two years, the repeal movement is going to go down a little bit. >> i don't know if we're going to get a breaking news banner for that. that sounds like a prediction to me. we're going to have to test whether that's right. there's a lot of people, as you know, who don't think it's dead. but they do have to perry's substantive point, they do have a problem of sticking to criticism. if you look at the ten-year projections which are hugely significant. we have a graph that shows some of the projected changes in improving insurance over a decade, reducing the uninsured population by 25 million people potentially over the next decade. >> which is a great thing to be for. i think one of the problems is the republicans are going to run into is they are not for anything. they haven't put any policy forward that says this is going to be better than obamacare. this is something we should do to amend it to make it work

more, have more people enrolled. and i think, you know, they're going to run into the problem they can't just be anti and against something without putting forward anything as a proposal. and that's where they are right now. >> and that's why holding votes on the website. i don't know. to be very cliche, it feels very 2013. and i'm pretty sure we're moving into 2014 and beyond website problems. thank you, both. and coming up, we're going to talk about the congressional hustle. we'll talk about the top priorities for lawmakers in 2014, including, potentially, that unemployment insurance. plus, we will have, of course, an update on this winter storm already slamming the northeast. take a look at that live picture again from massachusetts, birthplace of two american presidents and a snowy place today. stay with us. hey linda! what are you guys doing? having some fiber! with new phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious!

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i believe that work should begin and that's restoring the temporary insurance that helps folks make ends meet when they are looking for a job. >> there you have it, a plan to take a stand. harry reid is planning a vote on monday for a three-month restoration of extended unemployment benefits which, of course, expired december 28th. and that affected more than a million people. the benefits in 2008 extend normal unemployment insurance for up to 99 weeks for the long-term unemployed. people who are looking actively but cannot find jobs. that senate bill at about $6.5 billion. it may sound like a lot of money, but probably isn't for a

budget that spends more than $3 trillion annually and previously the same cbo estimated that extending benefits throughout the whole year would add about 200,000 jobs. of course, he was realestic. he said, i don't predict anything in the house. and he added, it was a black hole of legislation. let's see if we can get insights from someone who works there. thank you for joining us. >> good to be with you, ari. >> i'm sure harry reid meant no offense to you or your colleagues, but you saw the numbers in john boehner's house, not a lot of bills get passed. record-breaking lows last year. what will happen? >> well, i think the real critical factor in the house, ari, is going to be whether or not we come up with a way to come up with that $6 billion. whether it's through eliminating tax loopholes or finding revenue somewhere else.

i think if we're able to do that, we'll get plenty of republican votes for a bill. i don't think speaker boehner will have any problem bringing it to the floor. >> you're talking about offsets, something the republicans have gotten really good at getting everyone to constantly feel they need an offset for relatively small numbers. what about going after carried interest, which is what makes hedge fund managers pay so much less in taxes than the secretaries? >> yeah, well, i think you'd find massive support among democrats and virtually no support among republicans. even eliminating the oil subsidy, that's $4 billion a year and that's something the oil companies say they don't need or want. there are plenty of opportunities to come up with that money. but i think that'll be the critical factor as to whether we take action quickly in the house. if not, it's going to be a real fight. and as you mentioned, historically, we've never asked for unemployment insurance benefits to be paid for. that's basically been something that both sides have said we

ought to do it. >> it goes to what a lot of us believe is sort of a breakdown of the budget process which i think both parties have contributed to. but i also think the numbers have shown that republican leadership in the house has contributed a lot more. i do want to play you something from a colleague of yours right in your home state, the junior senator who said basically there are some problems with extending these benefits. take a listen. >> 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. >> how did that play in kentucky? >> well, it's not playing very well with the 18,000 kentucky residents who will lose their benefits over the coming months if we don't make a change. you know, senator paul whom i

like personally, we actually are good friends, but he's the only one saying that. i mean he is such an outlier on this opinion, it's frightening. so to play what he said and focus on it, i think it is really kind of exaggerating that argument. very few people believe that. we know the average person receiving unemployment insurance in the country now has been out of work like 37 weeks, something like that. and most states don't provide benefits past 26, so this is something that has kept people out of poverty while they transition back to work. so, you know, rand paul's really out on a limb by himself on this one. and i don't think the people of kentucky are paying much attention to what he -- the way he characterizes it. >> that's interesting. and well, look, we'll take the free advice from you. you're saying we should play fewer clips of rand paul, we'll think about it. >> well, no, but again, when he's the only one out there

saying it, that's an indication of how far out of line he is. >> right. and he fashions himself a leader and i think he has some interesting ideas on libertarian conservatism, but this isn't one that's caught on anywhere that i've seen. and interesting to get your take, not much in the home state either. thank you very much. >> okay. good to be with you, ari, happy new year. >> absolutely. happy new year. and coming up, we have the day's top lines and, yes, get your popcorn ready. it is the first major snowstorm of 2014 slamming into the northeast. we'll have a live report with everything you need to know coming up next. [ sneezes, coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is.

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a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make the most of every moment. ask your dermatologist about humira, today. clearer skin is possible. i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is. welcome back. heavy snow and high winds, i'm no meteorologist, but i know that's not good unless you love the snow. it is all adding up to blizzard-like conditions that are already slamming parts of the northeast and piling on more snow overnight and into the morning. and if your job has a good snow

day policy, tomorrow could be the perfect time for some soup, hot chocolate and a few hours of msnbc. now, here on the radar, you can see from boston to new york city, the snow is beginning to fall and we're going to break down the weather in a moment. but before we do and turn to the simulation map, we're going to get a raw and live look at the state of weather outside new york city. how you doing there? i see you got the hat. >> reporter: i added the hat. you mentioned a raw look, that's how my face is feeling about now. we've felt the temperatures plummet, and we're going to feel it plummet even more. it's going to be freezing cold in the morning with about 10 inches of fresh snow. great news if you're a skier, bad news if you're a commuter. so the new york department of sanitation is already sending out about 300 salt spreaders, about 1,000 snowplows on standby. we've seen residents today going to the stores, they're snapping up their snow shovels, food,

water, really preparing to hunker down and wait out this storm, hopefully watching a couple hours of your show as you said. officials, meanwhile, saying if you don't have to go out on the roads, don't, stay inside, if you do have to, make sure you are prepared, take a flashlight, extra warm clothes, food and water just in case, and worst-case scenario you are stuck stranded in your vehicle for several hours or overnight. >> yeah, and sarah, just briefly, for most people, when do you think they're going to start seeing the snowfall? >> they say about early evening, about 6:00. and it's going to continue throughout the night into the early morning hours before we really see a break in those snow flurries. >> all right. thank you. stay warm and stay safe out there. and we're also going to break down some of these numbers and check in with the radar map. how much snow, whether vivian brown has some answers. major winter storm in the making, we've been following all of the ingredients and they are

coming together, low pressure moving up the northeast coast, pulling in moisture from the atlantic. the cold air in place and the two combined will spell widespread heavy snow across the northeast. now, this is tonight's overall forecast. and we're looking at anywhere from d.c., philadelphia, new york and boston. we think it will continue through the overnight hours tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon. in fact, tomorrow afternoon, highs will not get out of the teens even in boston and in new york city. now, how much snow are we expecting from this next major winter storm. 3 to 5 inches in the d.c. area, 5 to 8 inches, we're thinking, around philadelphia, new york city. but boston up to 12 and 18 inches, and all areas west of boston could pick up heavier amounts, as well. so we're watching this whole area over the next 48 hours with significant widespread heavy snow. back to you, ari. >> thank you, vivian, 18 inches,

that's no joke. and from a busy newsroom, we're going to keep an eye on all of it. we have a key to the city, gothham's got a new mayor and he's going to close the gap between the haves and have nots, but first, let's see how he handles the snowstorm bearing down on new york city. there's a new form of innovation taking shape.

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the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ we are called to put an end to economic and social inequalities that threaten to unravel the city we love. >> and the new year also marks a new era for new york city. and according to some progressives, aggressive liberalism for the democratic party because of bill de blasio, a brooklyn politician sworn in yesterday by bill clinton as the new mayor of new york city. de blasio managed to do

something that has eluded new york democrats like bill thompson, mark greene, he won the mayorship on a democratic line ending the giuliani/bloomberg era. the theme of the day was economic populism subpoeand agge politics. >> we have to have a city of shared opportunities, shared prosperity, shared responsibilities. we are inner dependent. look around. we can't get away from each other. >> this is new york. we will no longer stay silent to this classism. no more brown stones and brown skin playing tug of war. >> let the plantation called new york city be the city of god, a city set upon the hill, a light shining in darkness. >> and big cities are, of course, a key laboratory of big policy ideas. many liberals think de blasio -- to explore whether new york can

be a liberal trend setter again, we're joined by atlantic reporter molly ball and mark greene who ran against bloomberg in 2001 losing by less than .5 percentage point. thank you both for being here. >> thank you. >> we were just talking about this. you're the only person in the world who has run against de blasio and bloomberg. i want to take a listen to something that president clinton said. he was one of the first people to get around to saying something nice about mayor bloomberg at yesterday's inauguration. take a listen. >> i also want to thank mayor bloomberg. who has committed so much of his life to this city. he leaves the city stronger and healthier. >> it depends on how you define both of those words, health and strength and whether you're talking about the corridors of

manhattan that are safe and that have a lot of great business and a lot of stuff to do for people who live here and for tourists, or whether you're talking about other parts of new york that you and bill de blasio have highlighted throughout your careers. places where under this mayor, homelessness is up, where crime and policing has taken on a big toll against largely innocent african-americans. give us, first, your take of this mayor's legacy, mr. bloomberg, and what that means for the next mayor. >> he's a unique figure. we haven't seen his life for the last century, we won't for the next. maybe laguardia was a better politician, but he wasn't wealthy. so mike bloomberg has been a modern -- he got there, bought it fair and square, i choked. his money got him into office and sustained a lot of what he wanted to do. but he's kind of a billionaire

do-gooder. he really meant and did well. transportation policies and bike lanes, anti-tobacco for kids, a green agenda by 2030. this is all to the good. but when a billionaire comes to a conclusion irrespective of the fact digs in his heels on stop and frisk, it's not pretty. and other cities don't have a stop and frisk. had crime rates coming down as much as new york, but instead of adjusting his language, mike bloomberg quietly reduced stop and frisk, but it didn't stop bill de blasio, a brilliant politician. he didn't get there on height alone, although it helped. by running on and against stop and frisk, which gave him a pathway with his modern family to victory. >> yeah. well, and look, when you look at stop and frisk and look at this new commissioner bratton who was a commissioner once before and was an analyst for nbc at one point. this was someone when you ran

you signaled you would be happy with as commissioner. and yet, one of the big concerns here is whether you get the cover and leadership to stop profiling, as you mentioned. so many young black men in this city. >> i know bill bratton very well. and he got to his status because of quality. look how he succeeded in boston, new york city, l.a. the pc. and he learned there's one mayor, he knows his name and it's de blasio and he ran on and is adamant to make sure that crime stays low or goes lower, without offending communities of color who are needed to keep crime down by cooperating with the police. so bill bratton increased stop and frisk in l.a., but it's a different city. they had gangs -- >> very different. >> but here, i don't think this is going to be an issue. bratton does give mayor de blasio cover because the conservative cliche is liberals

are indifferent on crime. yeah, like i want my granddaughter being threatened. but nonetheless, it's a political liability. >> i think the national version of that is when president obama comes in and says he's against the iraq war and keeps on a republican defense secretary and brought the troops out and had that cover. we see that dynamic a lot. although, molly, that's something that sometimes frustrates liberals that they need conservatives to be their hand maiden or permission slip to do what they got elected to do anyway. i think you and others might argue that might provide a template for the nation. >> well, i think a lot of progressives across the country are hoping that it will set an example for the nation. first, he has to do it successfully, right? first he has to actually prove his claim that, number one, he can implement policies that will attack these sources of inequality. and that he can make these changes to policing while keeping the city safe. if his opponent turns out to have been correct and the end of these policies means an upsurge in crime, that will be a hard thing for him to defend.

he has to prove these policies work. and then, because it's new york, and because everybody's watching him and progressives are putting so much on him, it's really going to make an impression on the rest of the country when and if these policies succeed. it'll be an example that a lot of aggressive politicians can point to and say these are things we can expand elsewhere. it's a laboratory. >> really quickly on governor cuomo here, he's a player in democratic politics, he may or may not be interested in 2016, he's the democrat who can stand in the way of a lot of the agenda, taxes aren't going to change without him and a lot of people don't trust governor cuomo. >> how am i supposed to answer? he was a great son of and politician in his own right. and historically, governors and mayors have not gotten along. but, you have to have respect here, de blasio was a young aide

to hud secretary andrew cuomo. i'm guessing in his head, you relate to people how you first met them. you were a great intern at the nation, what have you been doing ever since, ari? he has to realize that bill de blasio is sort of a liberal icon now because there aren't that many mayors in the city. >> can cuomo afford to reject the kind of priorities this mayor has? >> yes, when he runs in 2014, which is a two-foot putt. but to go on, city and state races and nationally is very elizabeth warren, very populist, socially liberal. socially liberal, gay marriage, for example, but he's economically very centrist against -- >> centrist. we're out of time, i would say he's wall street. >> i agree. implying that you raise taxes 1% on the wealthy, they're going to go to brazil or connecticut, they will not. >> no, they won't.

and this is a city of builders, and people want to be here. they're not going to run away over what some estimates say is under $4 a day. we are out of time. thank you for your time. i'm sorry i didn't get you in more. that's one of the hard parts about hosting. i'll get you in next time. mark greene, thank you. mayor de blasio will get his first test, the big winter storm. and coming up, we shift the focus from the secretary of state in the middle east to the security of the olympics to of course benghazi but with a twist. you get one more look at the skies of manhattan. old man winter does have something up his sleeve. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order.

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[ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. across the country has brought me to the lovely city of boston. cheers. and seeing as it's such a historic city, i'm sure they'll appreciate that geico's been saving people money for over 75 years. oh... dear, i've dropped my tea into the boston harbor. huhh... i guess this party's over. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. white house is wasting no time in pushing the international agenda here in 2014. working on continuing mideast peace talks, secretary of state john kerry made his tenth trip

in the region in hopes of some kind of outline for a peace plan. during a news conference with netanyahu, secretary kerry addressed concerns about whether the two parties ever will be able to agree on the specifics of a plan. >> we are now five full months into this negotiation. we have always known that achieving peace is a long and complicated process. it's a tough road. but this is not mission impossible. >> joining us now is steve clemens editor at large for the atlantic, msnbc contributor. welcome, steve. >> thank you. >> i want to ask you, is there anything different about this white house push for peace? >> absolutely. john kerry's made ten trips as you said, and he's put forward a framework proposal to mahmoud abbas in palestine. we need to understand the outline of eventually. but this is what the obama administration should've and probably could've done in

january of 2009 when the president came in. john kerry is a remarkable secretary of state because he's not having envoys and others do this work. he's putting himself and his credibility on the line in a very direct way in this. and he's basically outlining for the israelis and palestinians what he thinks, what the u.s. government thinks could be the outlines of a deal. and this just hasn't happened in many years. it's a remarkable step forward, at least in terms of what we're doing. we'll have to see how the israelis and palestinians react. but i find it very, very impressive. >> yeah, no, i think that's an important point. and there was a heavy use of star undersecretaries. we know in afghanistan and elsewhere. and secretary kerry, who i wo worked for, he doesn't shy away from complexity. he may get into the details on this kind of issue. i also want to turn to the "new york times" exhaustive report on benghazi. the times were out, months of

investigation by the times centered on extensive interviews with lyibyans turned up no evidence that terrorists had any role in the assault. steve, this is major. and i get some people are tired in general of benghazi. we heard about it in 2012 on the campaign, all through last year. this is a new year and time to move on. but you can't move on wlout closure of the facts. i have to tell you, do you think this exhaustive report ends benghazi conspiracy theorys for the -- at least the reality-based community? >> i think they'll continue for a while, just like, you know, despite definitive proof birther controversies still move on about president obama's birthplace. i think it's ridiculous. i think david kirkpatrick has done an extraordinary job digging into what unfolded in bengha benghazi. which was a planned attack from a home grown terror group that

had a lot of grievances and agendas inside libya as well as the innocence video. i think kirkpatrick told it the way it is and i think lot of people don't want to see the truth or reality. kirkpatrick laid it out well. i was in tripoli when gadhafi released a great number of prisoners whom he'd been arresting to try to satisfy the united states. he was trying to normalize with the united states. i spoke to a number of those communities who hated us, hated gadhafi, to anyone who held up gadhafi at that time. the notion we were looking at al qaeda affiliates and not looking inside at potential organized groups inside libya was a mistake. and i think from our analysts and senator mccain and graham who obsessed primarily about that issue. >> i know you made an important

point before on multiple venues including here on msnbc. where this comes down to. it was a tragedy and a tragedy we should care about deeply. the fact that so many people wanted to make it in search of a political scandal, i think has actually turned out to be the biggest scandal on that issue. and i hope the times report does something to help people get focused on the fact. thanks for your time today. >> my pleasure, ari. >> coming up, we are going to talk about speaker boehner and some of his new year's resolutions if he has any. and it's going to be a special snowstorm edition of today's top lines. [ coughs, sneezes ] i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is. [ male announcer ] even more impressive than the research this man has at his disposal

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to do her homework. now, more than one million americans have been connected at home. it makes it so much better to do homework, when you're at home. welcome to what's next. comcastnbcuniversal. and from shutting down to owning up, here are today's top lin lines strategy. >> it's 2014, the year of obamacare. >> had a couple of months to think about this whole

government shutdown strategy. >> the day before the government reopened, one of the people at one of these groups stood up and said, well, we never thought it would work. >> are you prepared to say it was a mistake? >> it was absolutely a mistake for president obama and harry reid to force a government shutdown. >> are you kidding me? >> even though john boehner said this was a republican shutdown? >> oh -- >> look, i can't help with other people say. >> the speaker of the house really teed off on some of these outside groups. >> you mean the groups that came out and proposed before i ever saw it? >> i think john -- he was frustrated these groups came out in opposition to our budget agreement. >> they're using our members and they're using the american people for their own goals. >> i think these are very important elements of our conservative family. >> this is ridiculous. >> i would prefer to keep those conversations within the family.

i think he was basically voicing his frustration. >> i didn't know this was an opinion show here. >> are you going to keep pushing those groups to say, no, you've got to compromise more, we've got to work with our colleagues. >> we sometimes have difference of opinions on tactics. >> you've heard that before? >> we all believe the same thing with respect to our ultimate goal. >> let's get to our panel. joining us is susan del persio. dana, let me get your response to a little something. this is an article we saw. john boehner had the best year in washington. that's the headline in the "national journal," arguing that actually by the end of the year he did stand up, finally, to many of those groups and he's in a much stronger position. what do you think? >> well, saying you had the best year in washington last year is like saying you're the most virtuous person in the bordello.

it is true he came out of the year in a lot better position than he went into the year. i think i quarrel to the extent that it was some grand plan. basically, he followed the conservative rank and file over the cliff and cleaned himself up and came back. and having seen the consequences of going over the cliff, they're more willing to follow. i think that will last for, you know, a week or two until he crosses them again and they'll be back at it. >> yeah. i think that's right. and i think for folks who say, oh, we had to stay over the cliff for longer and better things would've happened, i don't know they're that persuadable. susan, take a look at this number as we think about resolutions for speaker boehner. 14%, the average approval rating for congress in all of 2013. that is the lowest annual average in the history of the gallup poll. people saying they don't like lawyers or congress. actually, no, this is worse than ever. and you were telling me about a

primary related resolution you think might help. >> yeah, i think we're going to see -- well, i hope we see john boehner make a resolution that he will get involved in primaries, especially when you see a lot of these right to right primaries and that he will call out republicans if they go too far on the right and that he will get involved in these and say i stand for responsible members of congress. >> you know, i think that's interesting, dana. what do you make of that? we know in washington -- when i worked on the hill about a decade ago, but you did not interfere in these primaries. and incumbents always supported incumbents. indeed, i remember when barbara boxer was at a conference net roots nation and was sort of confused why people wanted her to help join the challenge to joe liberman whom many people thought disqualified himself as a democrat and who later did go on to endorse mccain among other things. so, dana, there's nothing inherently wrong with primaries. it seems we've had a shift in washington that's one-sided

where the insurgent right wingers are doing the primaries but boehner doesn't have, necessarily, a selective position other than incumbency. >> right. and i think the party leadership in washington is going to have to push back more in these primaries. because that's really where the problem is that's existing in washington. and i don't think it's an exaggeration to say that. i think there's a small group of people, it's a problem to some extent on the democratic side, as well. but it's really a problem on the republican side, very small group of people, tea party folks dominating these republican primaries where very few people vote. that's what's causing the recalcitrants in washington. people are afraid of crossing that small group of people. you're seeing some action now in the senate a little more of the national republican senatorial committee getting, rallying behind the incumbents, business groups doing some of that, as well. >> yeah, you're seeing that. the business groups and they have a view whether you agree with it or not, they have a

substantive view. i think the problem for speaker boehner, while he does have to deal with the whole caucus, people don't know what his substantive view is. any other resolutions for him? >> well, i think, maybe part of the resolution for me, too, we have to give up on this big grand bargain of getting any type of legislation done. and that he should try and go after immigration reform but do it in a fashion that we get something done. >> yeah. and we are as we've been reporting, hiring one of mccain's immigration advisers among other things, thank you very much. and we -- >> thanks, ari. >> absolutely. we'll be right back. i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. hmm? [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. thanks for the tip. [ male announcer ] no problem. oh...and hair products. aisle 9.

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we have been covering the massive snowstorm chugging across the northeast. so, we want to give you a live shot of honolulu. that's where we've seen president obama throughout the week. and quite seriously for those in the storm's path, be safe, hunker down and get ready because coming up right now,

"the ed show" with ed schultz. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show" live from the north country. detroit lakes, minnesota, where it was 24 below this morning. let's get to work. >> we should have a very happy new year. >> indeed. >> income inequality is one of the biggest issues out there in america. >> there's 61 american billionaires who aren't even qualified to make the forbes 400. >> yeah, i do all right for myself. >> the numbers are staggering. you can be worth $30 billionnd