>> oh, and there's also this classic episode. >> let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. >> see what i mean? what does a republican say about this nonstop entertainment? >> are you kidding me? >> no, i'm not, mr. speaker. it's riveting drama. we'll be keeping an eye on it all year long. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. meet the gop's new plan. same as the old plan. cripple obamacare. let's play "hardball." ♪

goovrng. i'm michael smerconish in for chris matthews. tonight retreat or reload? that's a question now facing the gop. yesterday greg sergeant posed an interesting question in "the washington post." he wondered whether it would be possible to envision a future where republicans and democrats would get into real negotiation over the future of the affordable care act in which case each side will get one thing for the other. in other words, negotiating benefits from the other side. maybe republicans get the sale of insurance across state lines and democrats get a medicaid expansion. don't hold your breath. today republicans in the form of eric cantor tipped their hands with regard of how the health care battle will be fought in 2014. it seems like a repeat of 2013 rather than a negotiation. the gop spent the bulk of last year trying to repeal the entirety of the president's health care law. when that didn't work, they tried to defund it in mid-september. when that didn't work, they tried to delay it. on september 30th on the eve of

government shutdown, they tried to delay just the individual mandate which failed. by mid-october, it was clear it was a disaster for the party. so they tried to repeal the law's medical device tax which also failed. by november they had abandoned outright attempts to kill the law instead trying to ease restrictions on so-called junk insurance plans as a way to disrupt the law. and that didn't work. so today party leadership outlined a new strategy for 2014. according to a party memo from house majority leader eric cantor, the plan is to introduce legislation to, quote, strengthen security requirements of the website including a law to require the government to publicly expose every time it's compromised. cms put out a response to cantor telling him if you're looking for smoem, keep looking. quote, today there have been no

successful security tacks on hairk.gov and no person or group has maliciously accessed personally identifiable information from the site. meanwhile, there are signs the battle will soon shift to the local level including ad blitzes and legal challenges. which begs the question is the republican party signaling a retreat or just a different kind of assault when it comes to health care? the most important issue of 2014. joy reid is an msnbc contributor and john feehery is a republican strategist. you know, joy, i run through the litany of what the gop attempted to do in 2013 and i say this failed and that failed and this failed. but with regard to 2014 at the ballot box, maybe that's not a bad strategy. >> well, you know, when you show all that litany of things that republicans did last year it was sort of like a sign wave. when the republicans were on stronger ground was really before the law was actually passed. in 2010 when they were arguing a very simple message. do not let this law happen.

obamacare is bad. right? after the law passed they had another very simple message. repeal, repeal, repeal. now what you're seeing is eric cantor and others sending a complicated message. we're going to get these security breaches and will find them when we get them. now things that are more complex, it makes it difficult to use as a political message. what republicans are counting on is being able to maintain, not dislike for the affordable care act, but rage and anger. that's what you had in 2010 against the law. can crow maintain that for the full year when people have the lived experience of having insurance or not being affected by the affordable care act? i don't think so. >> i hear what you're saying. i'm thinking, john feehery, what's the real objective? to maintain control of the house? to win re-election in 2014? or to do something about health care in this koun industry? in other words, why does greg sergeant have a bad idea? why not negotiate for selling insurance across state lines in

return for an expansion of medicaid. >> i think that would require both the president and the congressional republicans to come to an agreement which has been pretty hard to do, michael. i think right now as you pointed out, the republicans have tried many ways to try to fix this law or get rid of it or defund it or delay it or do all kinds of things and have reached no common ground with this president on any of those things. i think that what eric cantor and other republicans are going to do is keep pointing out some of the concerns about this law. privacy's a big concern. especially post-target. the target fiasco. people are worried about what's happening with their privacy on a wide variety of things. but they're worried about their health care costs going up, their inability to find a doctor. a lot of these things are going to keep popping up. this goes back also to the president's credibility. when the president said if you want your health care, you can keep it, that proved to be

false. this is also about the president and i think that is what the election is going to be about. >> this is day three for me being insured through insurance that i procured for healthcare.gov. i'm worried about my privacy. i had to hand over a number of personal details about my wife and me as well as our children. is eric cantor onto something when he proposes this today? >> i mean, i would say -- you know, sure, everybody is concerned about privacy. but first of all, since they don't have violations of anyone's privacy it seems a little desperate. i think what you just heard more importantly from john feehery was an answer to your question. is this about the election or health care reform? it's about the election. it's about not agreeing on one thing. that the affordable care act is the law. if republicans agreed on that, then maybe they'd have an interest in fixing the law. >> to your point about the location, americans for prosperity, political arm of the koch brothers, is going local

now. they're launching a multi-million dollar ad in north carolina, louisiana, and new hampshire. and the goal is to continue to exploit the president's misstep when he said that if americans like their insurance plans they could keep them. here are a couple of excerpts. >> those individuals who like the coverage they already have will be able to keep their current plan. this is a very accurate description of this bill. >> but now louisianians are finding out that they lied. >> i was shocked when i got the notice that my health care policy was canceled. kay hagen told us if you like your insurance plans and your doctors, you could keep them. >> it's the lie of the year. >> you can keep your insurance if you like it. >> and senator shaheen kept telling it. truth is thousands of americans already had their insurance canceled. >> doesn't that run contrary to

a sort of bedrock republican principle which is individualism, take care of yourself, don't show up at the e.r. and become a burden to society? >> well, i think it also says that there's an issue for conservative democrats and democrats in difficult elections. are they going to keep with the president and keep defending obamacare or are they going to run against obamacare and trying to distance themselves from the president? i think the strategic choice, difficult choice for a lot of these democrats in difficult states. red states especially. and i tell you as you see democrats starting to run away from the president, it puts him in a much more difficult spot and weakens his hand. i think that's what you're going to see as this election year rolls around. >> but joy reid, what they're saying in those spots is we're fighting for your right to not have catastrophic coverage. to have a bare minimum, something that doesn't comply with federal law. and if you show up in the e.r., you become that burden to

society that the affordable care act was designed in part to take care of. >> and it'll take about 20 minutes for a decent reporter in one of those states to find out if "a," those people saying they lost insurance is a real person or "b," if they found another policy. i'm not in politics anymore, but all mary landrieu has to do is say in my state x-hundred thousand people have health insurance. i voted to make sure they were covered. so democrats can all repeat and rinse and repeat that ad. so barack obama is not on the ballot in 2014. they can keep saying obama, obama, obama, but all the democrats have to do is find people who have insurance and put them on tv. >> john feehery, here's another strategy that's at work by members of your party. republicans at the national level have largely failed in crippling the health care laws we've described. resistance from state leaders -- have refused the law's expansion of medicaid.

and now 11 states attorneys general are accusing the president of breaking the law. they claim the administration acted illegally when it made changes to the law without congressional action. something the administration says is well within its legal right. these ags come from conservative states. all be three hail from states that have tried to cripple the law by rejecting its expansion of medicaid, a part of the law that would have extended health insurance to millions of low income americans at basically no cost to the states. long-term do you think that's a successful strategy? or will the people say why hasn't this been expanded in the area? >> it's a good question. i'm not sure how it plays out long-term. the big question i think for a lot of republican legislators, yeah, we get the short-term but long-term are we going to have a lot more that we're going to have to pay for? and we've seen with a lot of

these more medicaid patients going into emergency rooms almost immediately when they're getting signed up. so you're going to have an increasing burden on the system. i think the bigger problem here for democrats is they've got to decide are they going to run with the president and try to as joy points out try to defend this program like she advises mary landrieu to do or are they going to run against its and run into enemy lines? it's a tough decision. >> but, michael, going into e.r.s where the medicaid reimburses the hospital rather than them going bankrupt. they're still going to the e. r, just aren't getting reimbursed. >> thank you as always. coming up, weeds, smoke signals, rocky mountain high. the jokes over colorado legalizing marijuana are easy. but there are legitimate questions. is this is a smart thing to do? does it promote the behavior society should discourage?

is it no better or worse than drinking? we're going to debate that. plus american children continue to fall farther and farther behind other countries in science and math. 33% of americans don't believe in evolution including 48% of republicans. much of the world shakes its head over that one. and guess which big city mayor just filed for re-election calling himself the best mayor this city has ever had. that would be rob ford of toronto. one of many politicians who might want to rethink running for office in 2014. and let me finish tonight with the selective reading of "the new york times" report on what really happened in benghazi. this is "hardball," the place for politics. ♪ we're gonna be late. ♪ ♪ ♪

oh are we early? [ male announcer ] commute your way with the bold, all-new nissan rogue. ♪ what countries do americans like and which ones do they dislike? a new pew poll as the answer. japan with 70% viewing japan favorably. number two the country we fought

a revolution to break away from, great britain. number one, canada with 81% having a favorable opinion. probably good because we share a border. in third place for lease liked in russia. just barely edging out russia is china. now the world's second biggest economy. topping the list americans like the least, saudi arabia with 57% unfavorable. probably has to do with because 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were from saudi arabia. we'll be right back. or on the , we help you hire right the first time. with honest reviews on over 720 local services. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job, and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today.

marijuana does not have to be a burden on our community. it doesn't have to be a burden on our criminal justice systems. and it does not have to be a burden on our economies. in fact, the sale of legal marijuana can be a boom. in colorado we expect almost $400 million in sales next year. and across the nation, the

marijuana industries will create $2.34 billion of economic activity. >> welcome back to "hardball." the great mile high experiment is underway. yesterday colorado officially became the first state allowing legal recreational sales of marijuana. for the 24 pot shops across the state, that meant huge lines and even bigger sales. all told the industry estimates it raked in over $1 million in just 24 hours. and as you heard in that clip, some in the industry are predictipredict ing windfalls in the billions of dollars. it's a remarkable turnaround from the days of reefer madness while over the top reflected a broader american attitude demonizing pot use. that attitude has all but been snuffed out. in 1969 only 12% of americans proposed legalizing marijuana. but 2000, 31%.

today, 58%. it's remarkable when you decide the political makeup of the country. and even the slow moving senate not exactly renowned as a body that's in tune with the times held its first-ever hearing on the issue of marijuana legalization last september. but while there's growing momentum for legalization, what's happening in colorado is still an experiment. and experiments can go wrong. sometimes quickly, sometimes badly. so the question now is where does the movement go from here? and will the politics of pot light up the electorate in 2014 and beyond? ed rendell was the governor of pennsylvania and is an msnbc political analyst. josh greene is a columnist with bloomberg business week and a former coloradan. he attended the pot growing school in california as part of a series that he wrote for the atlantic. hey, governor, let me start with you. i can't wait to see what happens among the republican field headed toward 2016. because on one hand you could make a state's rights argument. possession is still against the

law federally. isn't it a state right kind of notion to yield to a state like colorado. but isn't that at odds with the law and order tenants of the gop? how do you see the leaders handling this issue? >> i think if they're smart they'll take a position where they're for medical marijuana as exception. ten states have passed laws allowing marijuana for medical uses. and they'll say we'll wait and see how the colorado and washington experiments go. we'll see what happens to revenue. we'll see what happens to young people. are more young people using marijuana before their adulthood? that's obviously a bad result. are there more people driving under the influence of marijuana? that's obviously a bad result. so i think they'll be cautious and say let's take a look at colorado and washington. you know, michael, we always use the term the states and

laboratories for federal government. let's see how those experiments go before making judgment. i think it's on safe ground to be for medical marijuana exemption. >> josh, let me ask you. pot has a higher acceptance level than gay marriage. and yet the politicians don't seem ahead of the curve, not embracing that social change the way that they did same-sex marriages or unions. what accounts for that? >> i think it's a little bit harder for a politician to defend. in the case of same-sex marriage, you have a clear disparity between heterosexual couples who enjoy the right to marry who homosexual couples who historically have not. and that obviously isn't fair and there's no reason for it. in the case of pot, you don't have one subset of americans who get to smoke pot and it's regarded as a good thing and then another group that doesn't. and i think politicians who are naturally risk averse want to steer away from that kind of issue. and that's why i think this has been driven really by the grassroots and by state ballot

initiatives rather than taking the lead either president obama or the democrats or the democratic governor of colorado john hickenlooper who also wasn't in favor of this initially. >> governor rendell, maybe those figures are deceiving. and maybe you need to sort out where does the passion lie. maybe the country by a majority is supportive of legalization of marijuana, but maybe those opposed are more passionate and are coming out to the ballot box against it. >> well, that's an interesting point. and that's always the gun argument. gun control polls terrifically well, but to people who are for gun control vote on that single issue, no. the people who are gun rights voters vote on that issue, yes. it's interesting in pennsylvania, as you know, there's six democrats running for the right to oppose governor corbett. one of them john hanger has endorsed legalization of marijuana. let's see how he does particularly among young voters. i think this may have a lot of young voters in favor of it.

it'll be interesting to see how he does. >> colorado may be the first state to make recreational pot legal, but it won't be the last. washington state is planning to open up its own recreational pot industry this year. supporters of legalization say they have enough signatures to put legalization on the ballot this year in alaska. by 2016 they're making a push in oregon, arizona, california, maine, massachusetts, mondtana, and nevada. then delaware, hawaii, new hampshire, rhode island, and vermont. josh green, this has a feeling of inevidentability to it, does it not? >> it has a feeling of partial inevidentability. these are being driven by ballot initiatives in democratic blue states and libertarian red states like arizona and alaska fingss going to be a long, long time before you see marijuana

legalized in alabama and mississippi and other states in the bible belt. but this has momentum of its own. while we don't have a lot of national politicians coming out and championing this, i think what you'll see less and less of are politicians coming out and trying to make a name for themselves stopping this. i think this is going to happen largely outside the realm of the senate and the white house. >> governor, you cut your teeth as a prosecutor. what concerns do you have in how this could take a turn for the worse? >> it could create a black market. because young people still cannot buy pot legally. it could create a black market there. it could lead to more usage among young people. here's $10, buy pot for me and my buddies. it could lead to more usage. it could lead to more driving under the influence of

marijuana. so there are a lot of potential pitfalls down the road. but which is more damaging to the health of an individual, smoking pot or gets? >> or drinking alcohol. i have a hard time telling someone i'm going to have a martini tonight but they can't have a joint. thanks to you both. up next, why alan west says hillary clinton isn't the democrats' best chance for 2016. if you want to follow me on twitter, all you need to do is learn to spell smerconish. this is "hardball," the place for politics. nut street the modest first floor bedroom in tallinn, estonia and the southbound bus barreling down i-95. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713.

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let's not get crazy here. >> time for the sideshow. that was bill de blasio outside his home in brooklyn this morning. they said today's snowstorm would be his first big challenge in office. but it's his son who's getting all the tough questions. 16-year-old dante de blasio was inundated with facebook posts last night all from his fellow classmates who wanted to know if school would be canceled. "the new york times" obtained one of those exchanges. while it seems the first son of new york had little inside information, he was willing to lobby his father for a day off. quote, everyone is asking me

this, he said. old man winter will decide, but i'm trying to convince my dad. the typo there should be a too, of course. she responded with a photo of a snow shovel saying that's what dante will be doing if he does not go to school tomorrow. dante picked up where his dad left off later in the morning. up next, florida congressman and tea party darling alan west sees a new threat to the white house in 2016. in an interview on boston herald's radio show trending now, west said that he's more concerned about a potential elizabeth warren candidacy than he is about another bid from hillary clinton. but listen to his explanation. quote, elisabeth warren is their darling. that's who they want. and they have to run another woman because they need the marketing gimmick of the first something. we had the first black president. now we need the first woman

president. a gimmick, he says. finally, chris christie amplified speculation he may run for president in 2016 after sending christmas cards to several republican officials in iowa over the holiday. buzzfeed reported that at least five people in the first caucus state received the cards including some who have never met the governor. one state representative seemed to reasonably suspect that he meant to say more than seasons greetings. quote, governor christie sent me a christmas card. i mean, it's only three years until the iowa caucus. that's called thinking ahead. actually, the caucus is two years away, but christie's latest flirtation will iowa may overshadow a campaign to be continued. up next, why more and more republicans are rejecting science. even evolution. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

i'm milissa rehberger. here's what's happening. the impact to have the storm that slammed the northeast is still being felt in the form of sub-freezing temperatures. it's also been a headache for travelers. thousands of flights have been canceled. the passengers rescued by helicopter from their iced in ship in antarctica are moving again toward home. their new vessel had been put on standby in case others needed help home. and flu season is in full swing with reports of the virus in 25 states. back the "hardball." ♪ welcome back to "hardball." here's an interesting number from a recent pew research study. fewer than half of registered republicans say they accept the concept of evolution. is that evidence that republicans are an anti-science party or does that have more to do with religious faith?

the new study finds that the gap between republicans and democrats on the question of evolution has widened since 2009. there's widespread consensus among scientists that evolution is a fact of nature. democrats and independents both overwhelmingly say they believe in it. 67% of democrats now say evolution is real. that's up three points from 2009. and yet only 43% of republicans agree. an 11-point decline from four years ago. so what's going on? why are republicaning devolving on the issue of evolution? sam stein is political editor of "the huffington post." pogan dibley is a republican strategist. in the general population, the percentage of people who believe in evolution has remained consistent over the last four years. about 60%. but among republicans, the numbers have dropped 11 points to 43% in their same period. and why is that? well, the easiest explanation might be that the republican base has grown smaller and more right wing.

but pew found party i.d. remained pretty consistent between 2009 and 2013. furthermore, according to pew, quote, differences in the racial and ethnic competition of democrats and republicans or differences in their levels of religious commitment do not wholly explain beliefs about evolution. they remain even when taking these other characteristics into account. hogan, how do you explain what's gone on with response to the numbers i just showed? >> that's a great question. quite frankly, i'm not real sure. i do know that religion and science can coexist. it's no surprise to anyone out there that this country is a christian nation founded on the christian moral principles. we've been a leader in scientific study for our entire existence. >> right. but this seems to run contrary to being a leader in scientific

existence. because look at the numbers among our kids. and we'll get to this soon in terms of how we're trailing behind so many countries in math and science. sam stein, i think it has to do with the whittling of the party. people like me who have left the republican party because of the right wing shift of the gop. and those who have been left behind with no disrespect to mr. gibley are more dedicated to their bibles and religion. >> i think the number of people who identify themselves as republicans can stay consistent while the composition of the republican party itself can change. and what you've seen in the past couple years is more moderate minded republicans, environmentalist republicans have drifted away from the party. and are defining what the party believes in. i went and researched this topic beforehand. i was struck by the fact that for awhile now, the leading republican presidential nominees have said they have doubts with

evolution. it started back with reagan. and it continued to george w. bush. even john mccain had to clarify when he said he did believe in evolution. that he thought the hand of god had created the grand canyon. there's always been this tension between people who want to be out in revolution -- >> to your point, anti-science rhetoric has become a mainstay of conservative politicians. and suspicion of evolution is practically seen as a litmus test for some. watch this. >> do you remember that -- >> watch this. here we go. >> go ahead. >> there is a controversy among scientists about whether evolution is real or not. and evolution is a fact. there are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding nobel prizes who believe in intelligent design. >> i hear your mom was asking about evolution. and you know, it's a theory that is out there. it's got some gaps in it, but in texas we teach both creationism and evolution in our schools.

>> ask him why he doesn't believe in science? >> you're smart enough to figure out which one is right. >> and all this stuff i was taught about evolution, big bang theory, and all that is lies straight from the pit of hell. i believe the earth was created in six days as we know them. that's what the bible says. >> by the way, congressman paul brown whom you heard him calling evolution a lie from the pit of hell is a doctor. jon huntsman was so annoyed by the rhetoric he was hearing from people in his party when he ran for president in 2011 he tweeted, to be clear i believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. call me crazy. and then one of his opponents rick santorum responded by saying i believe in genesis. god created the heavens and earth. if governor huntsman wants to

believe that he is the descendent of a monkey, then he has the right to believe that. ask it good or bad news the data we've been discussing. that fewer and fewer republicans are believers in evolution? >> look, this isn't news. right? i mean, the jewish people, the christian people, muslims. they all believe in a creator god. 80% of the country, 86% of the country believe there is a god. so i don't understand the hay you're trying to make over this whole deal. look. these two things can coexist. but scientists forever told us the world was flat. they told us forever the earth was the center of the universe. they were wrong on that. this is a theory. and that is fine. they have the right to believe that theory. if these statements were absolutely true, the whole point of science is to challenge each other's theories. if it was true, there'd be no more science. >> i think the word theory gets abused in a conversation like this. you can use the word theory.

theory still necessitates that something be tested. theory still says scientists believe in it. we can't come up with an idea and say that's a theory. sam, respond to this. >> i would argue science has matured since the earth was considered flat. but the bigger picture here is we aren't valuing science as much from the political side here. funds have dropped in the past couple years as the stimulus money has run out and sequestration kicked in. and there was a research report that came out two days ago that shows that even private industries funding scientific biomedical research and development are in fewer percentage ranks than they were in the pass. this is an important statistic. 9% in terms of private and public funds, we had a 9% decrease between 2007 and 2012. in that same time period, china had a 313% increase.

so we are losing our position as a global leader of scientific research. i think that does duck tail into some of the poll numbers. >> that's what i was referring to earlier when it makes me wonder about our competitiveness moving forward. despite the partisan divide, it is still shocking to many scientists how many americans say they don't believe in evolution and other scientific theories. a art kaplan tied that news to the news american students were slipping further and further behind their peers when it comes to test scores. his conclusion for why students are falling behind. quote, children are not going to flourish at science in a society that treats science either as something you can believe in selectively, something that is simply one point of view or something about which anyone can have a credible opinion no matter how ill-qualified, dumb, or misinformed. mr. gidley, take that on. because i know you disagree with that. >> that's ridiculous. i don't understand where this comes from.

we're talking about science as though it can't coexist with religion or belief or faith in a creator god. that's absolutely ri kick louse. this country was founded on those principles. yet we've led the world in innovation in planes and cars and computers and health advances. my gosh. we've had the longest life span in the history of the world in the united states of america and that includes starting from the 1600s until today because of the medical advances we make in science. and we are a christian nation. so the two can clearly coexist. >> let me just add to hogan. >> go ahead. >> to hogan's point, one of the personification of coexistence is the head of the institution of health. he makes that same exact point. which is these things don't have to necessarily be at odds. however, he also make this point that if silence is to succeed in america, we do need to devote more public resources to it and need to emphasize it in our

education systems. i think it's inarguable from a statistical standpoint that we are letting ourselves fall behind in those respects. >> that's a policy debate. >> it is. it's a good policy debate. >> it's also a debate that will never end, right? because neither side gives in a debate like this. thank you, both. thank you sam stein and hogan gidley. up next, why toronto's rob ford is running for re-election. he thinks he's the best mayor the city has ever had. this is "hardball," the place for politics. well ladies, now there's big news

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the new year is a time for reflection and projection. so marist have polled americans to see which phrases they would least like to hear in 2014. coming in at number five at 4%, sequestration. an excellent word to avoid. number four, fiscal cliff clocking in at 10%. in third place with 11%, gridlock. you see a pattern developing here? the first runner up at 30% was shutdown which could happen again if there's gridlock on the debt ceiling. the number one word or phrase americans do not want to hear in 2014, obamacare at 41%. we'll be right back. ♪

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have you smoked crack cocaine? >> exactly. yes, i have smoked crack cocaine. >> when, sir? >> do i? am i an addict? no. >> we're back. that was toronto's infamous mayor rob ford admitting to use of crack cocaine last fall. yesterday ford tweeted out a picture of himself filling out paperwork to file for re-election in 2014. 2014 is turning out to be a banner year for candidates. steve stockman opted not to run for re-election and instead to challenge texas senior senator john cornyn in the gop primary. you might remember stockman openly questioned president obama's birth certificate. he once said quote, one of the things i always questioned was the documentation of the president, whether that was fraudulent. today hfs reported by the

washington blade that clay aiken is considering a run against congresswoman renee elmers. aiken also talked to the campaign committee and has met with figures in raleigh, north carolina, about a bid. nia-malika henderson works for the post. angie giles is a commentator. let's see what ford had to say to reporters yesterday. let's listen. >> i've been the best mayor this city's ever had. >> he may have a point. the last poll taken on his job approval was 42%. which was one point higher than president obama's. nia-malika, does his buffoonery actually help him? is there a constituency out there, not that i expect you to be confluent in toronto politics, that holds a sign saying hell yes when he does

something stupid? >> that says all publicity is good publicity. even if he's getting out there dancing like a fool in church or wherever he was doing that at somefool. at some point openly got through him. in some ways, i am glad that he's running. enjoy bable to watch. here he gripes about a washington gridlock here. and the other thing is what does do other than run for mayor. for his perspective, a job. >> nancy, maybe toronto voters feel the same way that any area does and frankly, that i do. this guy is good copy and for them, he's good intentertainmen. >> it's got the clips to get it

started. i was thinking if the toronto voerts really like them, i guess they deserve kind of what they get. i agree with nia. this guy is kind of bred to just be sad to say this, a politician slash celebrity. it's more about -- how could he say he's the best mayor ever? >> i mentioned the texas race. doesn't cease to surprise that you get these conservative candidates coming out and saying to another conservative, well, you're in the conservative enough. i don't know what the outcome is there, although the polls are lopsided. it can't be good for the gop. >> it's the same thing there. someone who's challenging from the right, but steve stockman, he's massively in debt. got about $7 million in the

bank. he's trying to get that tea party, voter rs essentially saying, conservative enough for us. doesn't have much of a chance -- paying him much mind, so this just looks like a vanity run. doesn't seem to have a real shot of doing much of anything unless he's trying to other route, too, which is becoming somewhat of a celebrity politician himself. >> clay aiken is seeking to become a celebrity politics. >> it's so bizarre on so many different levels. coming in second on "american idol" because people vote for you, that's not same as winning a candidacy for political office. and then i thought wow, in north carolina, it's easier to call up and vote for clay aiken than it is for african-americans to go

to the polls and vote. i don't know if this guy has ever been on a committee, a task force and when you think of it, congress has done such a bad job that if you get selected, all you have to do is say no. >> he's got good pipes, but it used to be you had to pay your dues. before thinking you were going to run for congress, you would serve on the local town council. >> he becomes a big superstar, he was a special ed teacher before that. got a great set of pipes. i think some people are thinking that maybe he's just floating in some section, but i do think there's also this case of being a politician and running for office, here's a guy who came in second on "american idol." he's a big superstar. but it's hard to run for office and it is a clear.

>> tleads to other thipgs. >> he will not be the first or last celebrity to make that transition. thank you. up next, what we learned and didn't learn from that "new york times" report on benghazi. you're watching "hardball." the place for politics. [ male ] this is the story of the dusty basement at 1406 35th street the old dining table at 25th and hoffman. ...and the little room above the strip mall off roble avenue. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪

the political world is still buzzing about david kirk

patrick's story "the new york times" titled a deadly mix in benghazi and here's a key power rift. he wrote movants of investigation was on interviews by libyans who had direct knowledge to have attack there and its context turned up no evidence that al-qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault. the attack was led instead by fighters who had benefitted directly from nato's extensive air power and lodgistics support during the uprising. and contrary to claims by some members of congress, it was fueled in large part by anger at an american made -- now, sadly and predictably, the story was -- with two parties leading in to objectives. democrats point to the confirmation of the moving and republicans say while the times over look connections to al-qaeda and assert its real purpose was to inoculate hillary clinton despite the fact that it

doesn't appear next to -- cries whitewash through the piece and that's because at its core, the story of vulnerable and unprotected situation in which our ambassador and three others lost their lives. while he spent the 11th anniversary of 9/11 in the benghazi compound for quote, security reasons sh the times reported that quote, there was even less security at the compound than usual and when the attack came, it was by just a few dozen fighters who were easily able to break through the gates. a total of just eight armed guards that night. five americans and three libyans. benghazi was both a miscalculation and gross security failure. too bad legitimate questions about why a senior u.s. diplomat in one of the hottest trouble spots on the globe was left

defenseless. we owe the ambassador more than that and our eye mustn't be distracted. that's "hardball" for nouchlt thank you so much for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. good evening from new york. lawmakers tonight are planning their return to washington, d.c. amidst the blizzard that has covered much of the country. congress is back in session on monday and when they return, there is one item of business at the top of the priority list. a three-month extension to federal emergency long-term unemployment benefits. unconscious bly, republicans blocked democrats attempts to extend federal emergency unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed in the budget deal hammered out before christmas break. as a result,