rights or abortion or whatever. it's about all these things happening in the state right now. >> ari berman, glad you were there and very thankful you could come here and tell us about it. >> thanks for having me, lawrence. >> chris hayes is up next. bridget kelly threatened with contempt. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. this weekend i came across a scene of outright chris christie bullying. his victim? 2012 presidential candidate mitt romney. we catch the new jersey governor threatening romney that if he tried raising campaign cash in jersey, he could kiss his, chris christie's support goodbye. he was not to collect a nick federal the garden state fat cats until christie himself gave the okay. well, the moment that warning

was issued in the back room of the new jersey governor's mansion, it seared itself into mitt romney's head. it struck him, according to mark halperin and john heilemann as an outrageous strong arm move, like, quote, something out of "the sopranos." today the current presidential wanna-be is hitting christie with the same charge, of being a bull hi. quote, it's important that people think that their government not be used to bully them, rand paul said this weekend. nobody wants to think their government would shut down a bridge just because you're a democrat and i'm a republican. nobody wants a government that thinks if i win i'm going to punish you because you're in a different party. well, holding back final judgment, rand paul called the charge unsettling and serious about the bridge business. tonight we tighten in about chris christie's methods of operation, how he gets his way with other politicians, the press and the public. we look at how his image is causing other republicans across the country to run when they see him coming. not because they fear him, but

fear being seen with the man from new jersey. mark halperin is the co-author of "double down" that wrote the great passage i mention, and howard fineman, both political msnbc analysts. the new jersey super committee investigating the bridge scandal has just threatened bridget kelly with contempt if she does not comply with their request to turn over documents. the committee is also warning bill stepien, the campaign manager, that he too could be held in contempt if he does not honor their subpoena. both kelly and stepien claim their documents are protected by the fifth amount, an argument which the committee says is invalid. more than a dozen new subpoenas, including demands for records of the use of governor christie's state helicopter. i want to start with howard on the news item. this is how the process is going. they're squeezing these people. >> yeah, they're being squeezed from two directions here, chris. the legislative super committee wants the documents, wants them to testify before the legislature in trenton.

meanwhile, paul fishman for the state of new jersey, the federal attorney is looking at all aspects of the christie administration, including the actions of kelly and stepien. >> you're a lawyer. which side would you go? >> i would talk to the feds. because that's where the serious time here, that's where the possibility of a rico, a conspiracy charge would be. that's the guy with the real legal muscle in the state of new jersey. ironically, the same job that chris christie used to have. but a very different kind of guy. >> mark, i want you to start right now on this piece of reporting that you guys did in your book. i was sorry to have just read that passage this weekend. i was looking for anything on christie. in your book "double down", the big best-seller about the 2012 election, when mitt romney meets with christie in 2011, seeking his endorsement, it gets to the core i think of how christie and his team do business. quote, this is in your book. during that meeting, christie also told romney something else. that until christie made up his mind, he wanted none of the candidates, including mitt, to raise money in new jersey. look, christie said, when i

decide to support someone, it will be more powerful if i bring everything along with me. just be patient. i'll be fine. but let's be clear. this is christie talking to romney. if you jump the gun and start raising money here, you can almost certainly kiss my support goodbye. romney left the meeting incredulous at christie's dictate and back room delivery. it was like something out of "the sopranos." are you kidding me, mitt romney thought? is he going to do that? your thoughts. give us any background you can on that reporting? because i think it's fascinating that you get called into a back room up at drumthwacket, the mansion up there and basically told buddy, don't good on my turf. even though you have been raising money here for years, you're not to raise a nickel until you talk to me. it had a quality to, a new jersey quality. >> not only had romney raised money in new jersey in his past campaign and had a lot of supporters there, but christie during the same period goes up to massachusetts and raises money for himself because what this illustrates to me more than

anything else is governor christie famously, consistently plays by his own rules. because he could get away with it. a combination of his toughness, his stature, his standing, and his political toughness allowed him to say that to romney. romney was incredulous. the thought that a governor would say that. i don't know of any other case of a governor telling a presidential candidate don't you dare raise a dollar in my state. but his campaign manager, romney's campaign manager said you know what? we're going to do it. we're going to take our time. this is an important endorsement. we'll raise money elsewhere. and with the exception of checks that came over and a few handful of people who romney was already working with, he did not try to raise money in new jersey. and adhered to what christie demand. >> while you're on the case here, how did this fit with the fact that the governor, romney, whatever you think of them out there watching right now, romney didn't want him on his ticket with him. how did this bullying tactic, he got into his face in the back room which you guys compared to a "the sopranos" scene, to the

information that said don't put this guy on our ticket. >> well, there are two things that i think are applicable here and there are some details we can get into if you like. one is the general issue of temperament. one of the things they gave romney when they gave him the vetting document, the printed dealers was a ddd of kind of the christie greeted hits of lashing out at people, including constituents, which gave romney and some of his adviser a lot of pause to say is this the temperament we want to add to the ticket. some other examples where christie played by his own rules. where his standards for himself were what they were and his standards for others were what they were. and that -- that tendency to do that is something -- there was no smoking gun that made romney say this one thing means i can't pick him. but he was worried that there was going to be something in christie's past because he played by his own rules that would explode. one example real quick, when he was a u.s. attorney and there was an investigation of several u.s. attorneys, he was the biggest spender. he stayed at fancy hotels when he traveled. he violated the department rules

about where he could stay and how much he could spend. played by his own rules, caused some controversy. romney was worried that that pattern could lead to something that would be a distraction if he were on the ticket. >> howard, same question to you because you studied this stuff there is a profile developing here. for months and years even, we thought he is a case and a smart aleck. that doesn't bother me. but is there something tougher and nastier behind that scene? we always get the best face of politician, believe it or not. >> mostly. >> but in this case big, the way, he doesn't show his sunny best even to the reporters. but your thoughts about how these things meld. >> one of the things is they get behind that happy face on the front. and now we have seen chris christie introduced to the country not in the way chris christie wanted to be introduced. and what you see is a guy who, as mark said, plays by his own rules, who is a bully, who has beyonce level travel needs, and who seems to either be oblivious to what is going on around him

or fudging the truth on what he knew and what he knew when about the bridge. and that's the thing. and you get the feeling of a guy who is the tribal leader and does it new jersey style. >> he is the chief shirks the chief. he runs that tribe. >> let's go to how he deals when people try to get information out of him. he doesn't just try to bully politicians, he bullies the press. you're trying to get information out of this guy, he comes at your face. here he is clearly trying to intimidate reporters. let's watch. >> governor, do you think this sort of confrontation tone you have taken -- >> you know, tom, you must be the thinnest skinned guy in america. >> on monday, are you going to be addressing the legislature? >> did i say on topic? are you stupid? on topic. on topic. next question. thank you all very much and i'm sorry for the idiot over there. [ inaudible ] >> i worked the cones, actually, matt.

unbeknownst to everybody, i was actually the guy out there. i was in overalls and a hat. but i actually was the guy working the cones out there. you really are not serious with that question. >> you know, mark, one thing have i learned, and i've seen teachers better not talk like that to students. especially they shouldn't talk like that to fellow professionals. you're a governor, reporters are professionals too. they have jobs, you have jobs. don't trash them for asking questions. that seems like it's part of his m.o. trash the report were a difficult question, don't answer. >> he wouldn't have gotten where he is in politics if that's all he did. he has enormous political gifts and strengths, according to with reporters. a lot of reporters like governor christie and have given him favorable coverage in part because he is so engaging. when there are tougher questions at times, he switches modes. i'm not saying this is an exact comparison. but governor bush of texas was like that as well. had a great relationship with his press corps most of the time. charmed them, gave them his

number, was very accessible to them. but when questions sometimes got heated he could be very tough and very rough with them as well. >> but he also knows how to stonewall, right, howard? >> having covered george w. bush closely and chris christie not so much, i wouldn't say they're the same kind of person at all. i think george w. always sort of did wit a wink and a nod when he was doing it there are no winks with this guy. >> he just mocks you? >> yeah. >> what i find interesting is chris christie was a famous leaker when he was u.s. attorney. i mean, he knows how to use the press in certain ways. >> ain't doing a good job now. >> but hen he was u.s. attorney because he wanted the publicity as u.s. attorney, he was the reporter's best friend because he was leaking all over the place about federal investigation. >> chris, part of why i think he is in such political crisis now is he is off his rhythm. he can't really do the tough guy mode anymore with reporters, but he also can't do the charm mode

very well either because that would seem off key as well. so he's got to sort of flat, calm demeanor now which is not his normal mode. >> what was that thing last week we broke at the end of the week where somehow after a week of hanging fire on it after having dumped all over david wildstein and his high school behavior uncoolness back then, we all thought was below the belt, magically at the end of the week we got the word from two people familiar with the situation that christie never saw the memo that went out. what do you think of that technique? true or not? >> it's hard for me to believe that he didn't see it. i got to say, it was so universally judged to be an amateurish boneheaded move, if he didn't see it, i'm stunned he hasn't fired the people who put it out without showing it to him. >> is he trying to make nice to wildstein? >> he was trying to distance himself from it. it's bad either way. if he saw it, it's bad.

if he didn't see it, it was bad. >> if he saw it, he is out to trash wildstein, his star witness there. >> not only did he not earn points for trashing wildstein. by what, talking about his high school social studies class, but christie hurt himself, whatever standing he had as this master of politics looked ridiculous after you saw that memo. that's why he said he never saw it. >> a lot of donors and republicans were really unsettled by that because it was so amateurish. >> well, one of the amateurish things he is doing is i don't know nothing sergeant schultz number of his or he claims he knows nothing about nothing about nothing. he doesn't know wild stone, doesn't know baroni or anything. he doesn't know the mayor of ft. lee. these are wild statements by him and he is apparently in a mode. mark halperin and howard fineman. we're going to talk to the man who is the woodward and bernstein of this bridgegate, the journalist who has been ahead on this story from the start. plus, before you start

dancing on chris christie's political grave, consider who now nay be the top republican political candidate. the man who calls bill clinton unsavory, a sexual predator. and hillary clinton for op research on the presumed 2006 presidential candidate herself. the most quotable moment, hillary calling monica lewinsky a narcissistic loony toon. my question, what do you expect her to call that person. the rough stuff for 2016 is coming at us. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ molly ] this is one way to keep your underwear clean. here's another. try charmin ultra strong. thanks mom! make me proud honey! [ female announcer ] charmin ultra strong has a duraclean texture and it's four times stronger than the leading bargain brand.

enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong. chris christie's rolling into chicago tomorrow for some fundraising for the republican governor's association. but all four republicans running for governor of illinois have no plans to be there with him. and that's the reception christie is getting from republican politicians across the country. he is radioactive. republicans don't want to be seen with him as long as the scandals back home in jersey are

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and save up to thirty percent. welcome back to "hardball." despite what some would have had you believe, the christie scandal is not a creation of democrats or the big national press eager to pop the christie balloon. the story has been doggedly pursued by reporters in his own backyard, and those reporters continue to take the lead on this unfolding story. here is how david carr of "the new york times" laid it out today. it started with the publisher of "the bergen record," a newspaper in northern new jersey that tipped off the newspaper's editor that getting on to the george washington bridge from ft. lee was taking hours. the editorialist passed it on. he began placing calls to local law enforcement. later a reporter at "the record" who covers the port dug in and tried to find out what was behind the lane closings. after a number of articles, on december 28th he wrote that e-mails show that officials at

the port authority, in spite of their earlier claims knew about the closing and the resulting mayhem, some of it potentially life threatening. on january 8th, he was the first with an article linking the closings directly to the staff of governor chris christie. boburg is still on the story. he joins us now. and david corn, msnbc political analyst. mr. boburg, thank you very much for joining us. what is your reaction to the news we broke tonight in the beginning of the program, the fact that bridget kelly has just been threatened with a subpoena -- i'm sorry, threatened with contempt. she has already been served a subpoena for all the e-mails and other evidence she apparently has that might be relevant here. and of course the threat, the same kind of tough action being taken against bill stepien, the former campaign manager. so this little circle. anything you can tell us about where this story is going right now? >> it's definitely going to the courts. the legislature, the legislative

body, the joint committee that issued these subpoenas and have moved to compel the production of documents from both bill stepien and bridget kelly be probably go to a judge, a superior court judge in new jersey and ask a judge to intervene and force the turnover of any relevant documents. so we could be seeing a process that plays out over months going forward. >> let me ask you about these personal relationships. the governor's defense, maybe it's consistent with his personality, i don't know, has been to say i'm not going to help you. i'm going to stonewall. i don't know nothing. his statements of denial of any real relationship with people like david wildstein, he has had two points. either i don't know the person or i'm dismayed by their behavior. it shocks me. it seems like he is so unaware of the people around him and unaware of the people around him even that he does know a little better of what they're up to. is this credible given what you know about his governorship?

>> well, what we do know is david wildstein was put at the port authority, the agency that controls the george washington bridge, and was considered the governor's eyes and ears. whether they had a personal relationship and how close that relationship was, i don't know. but i think that you heard from david wildstein a couple of weeks ago that he is accusing the governor, basically, of not being truthful about his relationship with wildstein. also not being truthful about his knowledge of the lane closures as they exist. now, wildstein is sort of in a corner right now as far as we know. it goes from wildstein to bridget anne kelly. those are two central figures, bridget anne kelly being the deputy chief of staff in governor christie's office. they have not spoken out now. so if there are inconsistencies, if the governor isn't being truthful, i have to believe at some point that will come to light. >> well, in an e-mail after the bridge lane closures, christie's of former campaign manager, bill

stepien called ft. lee mayor mike sokolich, quote, an idiot. back in january, he said he asked stepien to remove his name from nomination for state party chair because of his tone and behavior. let's ask the governor in action here. >> i was disturbed by the tone and behavior and attitude of callous indifference that was displayed in the e-mails by my former campaign manager bill stepien. and reading that, it made me lose my confidence in bill's judgment. >> that is so lawyered up. to me, the real question to a person or answer would be, okay, i see these people working together here. i'm the governor. i didn't know they had all worked together without me being involved. i see the whole loop here where stepien is obviously involved in this punishment of the mayor. he knows all that is going on. he is laughing about it. he is enjoying it. he is part of it.

it's not his attitude, it's fa that he is involved in what look likes a cabal, and the governor says it's just his attitude i don't like. wait a minute. whose government is this? >> chris, for governor christie to get mad with anyone because they referred to someone as an idiot already doesn't pass the laugh test. you just looked at the clips at the beginning. that was the way he talked about people. so why wouldn't he expect his aides to talk that way, and if they did, what's the big deal? we still have not just the legislative investigation that we talked about with citing kelly for contempt and other subpoenas, what we won't see much of is the criminal investigation where -- remember patrick fitzgerald investigating scooter libby. >> right. >> he gathered a loft information. it didn't come out in hearings. it didn't even leak. it wasn't produced until a trial there really are two tracks going there that really has people like kelly, stepien,

wildstein caught in the middle. and for chris christie to be dumping on these people, i'm telling you, he better be really confident they have nothing on him because all they have to trade is what they know about him. >> you know what strikes me as totally unfair, the governor's legal fees are apparently being picked up as official business. and the people that he has called liars and idiots and stupid like bridget kelly, she has to find a lawyer. she is just a public official, with four kids, an unmarried woman. i don't know if her partner is making any money besides the money she doesn't make she. she is out of work now. these people have to come up with their own legal fees with a very expensive, you know, pretty high flight case here. and where are they going to get the money? >> yeah, that's a huge question. we do know that several people have requested that the state pick up their legal bills. we don't know exactly who yet because the governor's office

hasn't said. but one of the undercurrents here is how does -- these are not cheap lawyers. these are high-powered attorneys that are circling everywhere you look in this case. very expensive. and for an individual to pick up -- >> why it is they don't get a free ride? >> the question really is what is the governor's attorney -- what was he hired to do? on paper it says an internal review of the office. presumably, to make the office more well run so that this doesn't happen again. yesterday we learned that the same attorney has asked dawn zimmer, the hoboken mayor, who has leveled some of the most explosive allegations against the governor, for her to turn over documents that she already provided to federal authorities. so the question remains, is this a defense attorney? is this someone who is doing an internal review, or is this someone who is digging into the background of the governor's critics to undermine their credibility? >> rough stuff.

>> it is beyond comprehension that you can have a representative chris christie who may be under investigation, even by a federal prosecutor, the guy who succeeded him, having that lawyer go to people involved in the case. >> give me your best stuff. >> this is called tampering. this is beyond "the sopranos." tony soprano would say this is wrong. >> thank you, shawn boburg and david corn. up next, a way to quadruple his odds at winning a house seat. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ sponge ] welcome back to "you make a choice."

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did you see the opening ceremonies today? oh, my gosh. no? what an elaborate pageant of flamboyant costumes and choreographed dance numbers, all aimed at one thing, no gays allowed. it's a tragedy that the world's

biggest sporting event is set in a place that is ravaged by graft and gangsterism. but enough about the super bowl being in new jersey this year. >> time now for the sideshow. politics is a zero sum game. but one republican candidate for congress thinks he has come up with a clever way to improve his odds of getting elected. adam levene is seeking the republican nomination in georgia, nothing odd about that except that he is also running in hawaii, michigan, and minnesota. campaigning in four separate states simultaneously may be an unconventional approach, but it's perfectly legal. each of the states only require the candidate to be a resident at the time of the general election, not the primary. so if he wins the nomination in one of the states, he'll have plenty of time to change his registration or actually his residency before november. however novel the strategy may be, it's unlikely to succeed since he'll be spreading his campaign finances so thinly. of course the fbc, he only

managed to raise $250 for the first one of the four campaigning in the last quarter. finally, dr. ben carson, fox news commentator and tea party darling is at it again, likening the progressive movement in this country to nazi germany. in a video that surfaced online today, carson is seen campaigning for monica webby, who is running in the republican primary from oregon. here he was this morning. >> there comes a time when people with values simply have to stand up. think about nazi germany. most of those people did not believe in what hitler was doing. but did they speak up? did they stand up for what they believed? they did not. and you saw what happened. and if you believe that the same thing can't happen again, you're very wrong. but we're not going to let it happen.

>> haven't we all learned by now not to go there? no nazi references. up next, the head of the rnc declares open season on the clintons as they dig back two decades for dirt on hillary. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

i'm milissa rehberger. here is what is happening. president obama welcomed french president francois holland to

we're back. republican chairman reince priebus, that's really his name, declared open season on hillary clinton earlier today on msnbc, responding to a question from andrea mitchell about whether bill clinton's impeachment matters. in the political fights of the 1990s should be fought again in 2016. here is what priebus said. >> is that a legitimate issue, rehashing the '90s if hillary clinton becomes a candidate for president? >> i think everything is on the table. i don't see how someone just gets a pass on anything, i mean, especially in today's politics. so i think we're going to have a truckload of opposition research on hillary clinton and some things may be old and some things might be new. hillary clinton provides a lot of opportunity for us. >> well, his comment are the

first clear indication that republicans intend to reach back two decades if necessary, in fact, they're going do this, to fight old wars that have long since been settled for most people in order to tear down hillary clinton. and priebus, the chair of the republican party also said today's report from the conservative washington free beacon on hillary's reaction to her husband's affair back with monica lewinsky and about how she once felt about singular payer health care will also be fair game. johanthan capehart and jay newton-small is the washington correspondent for "time" magazine. the past is prologue. this is what we're going to be doing. it's all going to be search going back 20 years. i don't know. i think they're trying to show what has got their dukes up on the right wing side more than going after hillary. they're trying to show who is going to be the toughest brawler out there. >> well, keep in mind they're not exactly going after her. when i say that, i'm thinking about senator paul, rand paul, and his bringing up, drudging up all of the -- >> calling bill clinton a

predator and all that. >> president clinton and the stuff in the washington free beacon, which jay has written about. these diaries from senator clinton's friend, if you're going to have to go back that far and dredge up things that she already has a history and a paper trail that can negate all of those things, you're kind of desperate. but then again, the republican party is desperate to kneecap hillary clinton before she even has a chance. >> i can see them going after secretary clinton on the issue that she once supported single pair, like ted kennedy supported and a lot of people supported. i'm beginning to think it makes sense. it's not out of the question to extend medicare through everybody. it's worked for older people. why not everybody. why are they going after that one? forget the sex stuff. why are they trying to nail hillary as a lefty on health care at this point when they already took their shots at her? >> because it so conveniently ties her to obama care, right? by is already unpopular. that was just the precursor and

she is even more to the left than obama care. if she becomes president, it's going to be even more obamacare, even worse than it was before. it ties together very neatly. >> let's go back to the sex stuff. if i were the other -- i can't imagine myself being in a situation. i've been lucky. but if hillary was upset about the whole of impeachment thing, the monica thing, why wouldn't she say something like the young woman is a narcissistic loony toon. that's the most normal thing you could call a person that is young who your husband is misbehaving. >> this is something you say in the heat of the moment. this isn't something she said five years or six years later. >> are you going to say something nicer? >> but i'm agreeing with you in it adds to the veracity of the power. i don't fault hillary clinton. >> your husband's age roughly, and some young person gets

involved somehow and this thing happens or it shouldn't happen. she says something like ditzy, that's normal. you're not going to say deliberate evil. no you're going to say ditzy or loony toon. >> she is talking to her best friend. these are conversations that she considers incredibly private. and it's kind of like all the tv shows we imagine her, we love the imagine her and think of all the tv shows we have done of her in the room, in private, really just railing on bill clinton. oh my god, what were you thinking? this is so terrible. and it's basically what she was saying. what were you thinking? this is really stupid and this girl is really dumb. >> in a world trying to find bad behavior in politics, that's extremely attractive. desperate to remind people of the past, priebus, the chair of the republican party said this is important work to do. let's watch. >> i think it's important. i mean, it illustrates that hillary clinton was for single payer for a long time.

hillary clinton will present many opposition, research opportunities for us to set the record straight on what she believes and what her history is on a lot of topics. >> do you like the way she did that, what her history is and what your beliefs are? you know, 20 some years ago. and they're saying that's where she is. she was for barry goldwater when she was in college. there, she is a right winger. we nailed her true thinking. she is just a mole now on the left. you can go crazy with this stuff. >> it's also sort of like if you didn't consider every option on the table when you're looking to overhaul health care reform and you didn't consider single payer, isn't that irresponsible? >> let me ask you this. you're being reasonable here. at some point i think you're doing primary and caucus politics, as far right, as rough as you can get on the clintons the better in that crowd. and the 20 to 30% elected that shows up in the caucuses, they're not worrying about sensitivity, gender issues. >> or any kind. >> they're just angry. and then you get in the middle and you meet a lot of women who may be republican who may vote

for hillary as a first. we can imagine that easily. there will be a lot of these people. and then you move over to the liberal side of things, and people are sensitive. they don't want gender issues raised per se in a political context. how much risk is this guy rand paul takes? how much is reince priebus taking as a risk? they are going to try to get the presidency in 2016. this isn't a game. november does count. so what you're saying, aren't they playing really risky politics here? >> absolutely. they start already with a deficit with women already if you look at polling numbers and republicans versus democrats. 2014, it's going to be all about women's issues as it with us in 2012. so you go into 2016 where really having to be sort of sensitive about women. and yet rand paul is totally not doing that. because he doesn't have to worry about it. >> here is the thing. it's all short-term political thinking. of course rand paul is going to go after hillary clinton and bill clinton. it's smart short-term because if you're running for president, you need to get the nomination. and you can't get the nomination if you don't rile up the far right.

>> she lives in washington and giving speeches. she has downtime. i'm sure she is watching television, programs like this other programs. what is this all teaching her? you first, what is to come? and the decision she has to make ultimately after all the presumptions and all the thinking, she still has to make that existential decision to jump off that cliff or not, to go for it. >> does she really want to relive all of the nastiness. all the horribleness. this is going to be three years -- >> is that part of the game they're playing? is it possibly part of the game? >> well, sure there is nothing new she has to learn. she knows what her weaknesses are. >> this is like running for mayor of new york. >> remember -- >> the weiner primary. the crazy primaries where all you're talk about is. >> sex. >> and crazy stuff. >> she has been on the national and international microscope for 20 years. i can't imagine there is something out there, any kind of scenario she hasn't already thought of, and now it will come down to whether she wants it here. >> it might drive her in.

>> go in fighting. >> who wants to be driven out with this stuff? anyway, thank you, jonathan capehart. >> thanks, chris. >> thank you, jay newton-small. am i being too nice? up next, it could be the man we mentioned, rand paul, the same guy who calls bill clinton unsavory and a sexual predator. that's coming up. rand paul playing for keeps here, i think, certainly being opportunistic, which is a big part of politics. this is "hardball," the place for politics. but there are some places even mr. clean doesn't want to lug a whole bunch of cleaning supplies. that's why he created the magic eraser extra power. just one eraser's versatile enough to clean all kinds of different surfaces and three times more grime per swipe. so instead of fussing with rags and buckets, you can get back to the great outdoors, which can be pretty great. that's why when it comes to clean, there's only one mr. [ bird screeches ] theit's been that way one since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction -

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u.s. senator pat roberts may represent kansas, but he doesn't seem to live there anymore. "the new york times" reported this weekend the three-term republican doesn't have his own home in his home state. the times reports the house he lists as his voting address belongs to two long-time supporters and donors. roberts is facing a primary challenge this year from a tea party activist who has been arguing that roberts has lost touch with his home state. and this news is not going to help the incumbent senator. we'll be right back.

welcome back to "hardball." senator rand paul has made one thing abundantly clear in the past week. he is unafraid to tang well the clintons, the family, the people. we have covered the comments of him about bill clinton here on the show.

he has called the former president, the former president of the united states a sexual predator numerous times. he refers to him as being unsavory. these are quite personal shots. and rand paul's criticism of hillary clinton's handling of benghazi is well-known. this weekend rand paul expanded his reach, hitting a wounded chris christie where it hurts. a local houston reporter asked paul, that's the senator for kentucky, about christie. and the presidential race in 2016. >> nobody wants to think their government would shut down a bridge or do something just because you're a democrat and i'm a republican. nobody wants a government that thinks that if i win, i'm going to punish you because you're in a different party. so it's unsettling. and it's a serious charge. i don't know if it's true, but it's unsettling and serious. >> i don't know if it's true. >> christie's troubles left a republican power vacuum at the top among 2016 contenders, and rand paul has clearly stepped up. what an opportunist. he could be a dream candidate

for tea partyists, or a nightmare if hillary clinton doesn't win. i think secretary clinton is running. michael steele is former chairman of the republican national committee and joy reid will soon be hosting her own show i would like to say at 2:00. she is going to bring in those numbers for everybody. what an afternoon it's going to be. >> that's right. >> just teasing. it's the quality that matters, not the quantity. tell somebody that. let's go with michael steele. michael, i have to talk to you about this rand paul. do you know this guy? >> i know him. >> what is rand paul like? he is like a guy at a weigh-in at a heavyweight championship. he is already trash talking the other guy. i'm going to take don bill clinton. >> he is throwing down markers, and i don't blame him. this has been a definitional period for rand paul, going back to standing in the well of the senate with his filibuster, and then going immediately to howard university and engaging the black community. >> you say -- what do you mean? >> he is putting down the place markers saying i intend to engage in this presidential campaign should i decide to do

one in a different way. i'm going to approach and go to places that i'm not expected to go. i'm going to take on the big targets that no one else is taking on, chris christie. and i'm not going to see ground just because the media and the establishment of the like a particular person. >> why would your party like to hear a voice like that? is what an opportunist. he could be a dream candidate for democrats if he gets that far, 40 states perhaps or a nightmare if hillary clinton doesn't run and paul beats a week opponent. i think that's unlikely. i think secretary clinton is running. michael steele, former chairman of the republican national committee and msnbc political analyst.

>> he's throwing down markers. i don't blame him. this has been a definitional period for rand paul going back to standing in the well of the

cain. he's on both sides. >> let me try something with you first, joy. let's put all ideology aside, let's put all values aside. let's just think about strange guts. this guy seems to be fearless to me. i know he had a pullback on the civil rights bill. we all went through that with him because he was a complete ideologue and didn't want to defend what was -- nobody wants to hear that. there's no reason to pose civil rights these days. nobody is going to listen to it. generally he's stuck to his guns. a guy a robert de niro should play in the movies like in "mean streets" who wants to get into fights and figures that how he's going to get there. >> he doesn't want to get into fights, he's willing to take on the fights no one else is will to take on. he is not a patsy for the gop.

>> there are reasons people don't take shots at bill clinton. he's a former president. there are reasons why people don't take shots at hillary clinton. she's female and you don't get quite that nasty with her. >> not just he's the former president, bill clinton has his own baggage. as much as a lot of dems don't want to talk about it, there are democrats out there who are also -- >> nobody else is taking personal shots at the clintons. they are personal. sexual predator. >> well, i thought mccaskill referred to -- she's flip-flopped -- >> why is he the only one out there getting personal with the clintons in a way most people would say below the belt? you call somebody a sexual predator, do you have a conversation with the guy about issues then? >> exactly. >> it's hard to go on, say, we have a lot of things in common, though. >> especially when it leaves him open to charges of hypocrisy. i actually think, chris, this is classic karl rovian politics. he's trying to take off the field any strength that democrats -- >> wait a minute, i heard you say opens him up to possible charges of --

>> hypocrisy. he was herman cain's biggest defender. being accused of sexual harassment contemporaneous to the same 1990s period -- >> i'm talking to a human archive. how did you remember that? how did you remember he defended herman cain? >> he was telling the "national review" that, you know, "politico" shouldn't have written a story about it because now men are afraid to make jokes in the workplace. there's plenty of google-worthy hypocrisy charges out there waiting for him should he become the nominee. i do think he is doing something politically smart which is saying best asset for the democrats is bill clinton, i'm going to take him apart and make him difficult to use. the war on women is a great issue for democrats, i'm going to destroy it. i think he is trying to do a scorched earth sort of rovian path to the nomination. i think it's effective, by the way, as far as the nomination is concerned. >> what strikes me is the opportunism. not only motive, passion, but spontaneity. can you jump at an opportunity? i think he's trying to fill the gap in the next couple weeks that christie's left. i think he's at the top of the

list. >> when he and christie budded heads earlier, he stood his ground. he has carved out this space early on. as i said, he's put down the markers. >> one last question. you know this stuff. any chance romney is going to creep back in this thing next year? >> no. >> okay. >> i don't think so. >> i didn't want attitude, joy. i just wanted some scoop here. >> paul, that's all i'm saying. >> i think he might. i think he might. i'm saying it. anyway, thank you. once you run for president, you don't stop. good luck, joy. 2:00. we'll be right back after this.

let me finish tonight with this. it's february of the year before the year before the presidential election year. and guess what? guess what's happening? things are getting very rough and if you haven't noticed already, very early. rand paul's leading the way which tells me that he's got a shrewd sense of the times. people are angry out there. people on the right are angrier. people on the far right, the kind who show up at caucuses are the angriest of all. they're not looking for a candidate to shoot spit balls. they want to see someone go out there and kneecap the other side. don't believe me? i recommend you watch rand paul's climb between now and the next poll that comes out. he's what you need to be in politics in this 24/7 media washer dryer, someone who has the guts to make some noise. somebody who's willing to take down republicans along the way to get in shape to take on the likely democratic candidate in

2016. i expect this fight for 2016 is going to be rough. i can see already it's going to go the full 15 rounds. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. breaking news from new jersey tonight. >> the committee met in executive session and discussed the issuance of additional subpoenas in accordance with the process we went through last time. once the subpoenas are served, we'll let you know who the subjects were of the subpoenas. again, we don't want them to find out on the 6:00 news but when they receive the subpoenas. >> that was john wisniewski this evening acknowledging his committee investigating the bridge scandal issued new subpoenas. nbc news "the "star-ledger"