talk about minimum wage, we should have more people on who live paycheck to paycheck. >> she's inspired an idea, and we'll bring on a segment with hearing about those real life stories. >> totally agree with gene. when we have a discussion on this set about pot and candy, joe will turn to me even if i'm not on set. >> right. your wife is a smart woman, looked to the princeton mom. married the guy she met in college. >> we all married the guys we met in college. if it's way too early, what time is it? it's time for "morning joe." now, time to go over to chuck todd for "the daily rundown." have a great day, everybody. after getting sunk in florida, democrats say their problem wasn't president obama or health care, but just that they didn't get their voters to vote. well, why is that? and if health care signups break bad, then there isn't much out there to inspire democrats for november.

are they running on empty? also, this morning one year on the job. find out what americans think about pope francis, particularly catholics, in his one year at the vatican, and what our poll also shows about religious ties overall in america. it's the rise of secular america. plus, the tdr 50 rolls on. the colorado focus dives into the gun debate that has pushed some of that state's leaders out of their jobs already and is radically reshaping the way many western democrats could be talking about guns in this election season. good morning from washington, it's thursday, march 13th, 2014. this is "the daily rundown." we have the latest on the missing malaysian plane mystery later this hour. fascinating new reports about how long that plane was in the air. we'll begin with the latest live from the scene of that deadly explosion yesterday in new york city. here's what it looks like this morning as the search for victims continues at this hour. unfortunately, another body was recovered just moments ago. firefighters are still working

to put out the last hot spots in the smoldering rubble. but there are dead bodies being found now. the mayor is expected to visit the scene and meet with first responders. officials now believe it was a gas explosion that levelled these two buildings and it sparked a furious five-alarm fire that burned for hours. at least seven people are confirmed dead. more than 70 injured and several people are still unaccounted for. katie is live on the scene in harlem. katie, what more do we know and how is this search -- i assume it's still search and rescue at this point, but it seems like all of the latest findings have been grim news. >> reporter: it is still search and rescue, but the hope is certainly diminishing. there's been a fire within that rubble burning for the majority of the day yesterday. they only put it out late last night. search and recovery teams were able to get into the rubble to look for potential survivors, but all they found so far is bodies.

they found the last one about a couple of hours ago. they pulled -- we don't know if it's a woman or man, so seven total. right now, they do believe it was a gas leak that caused this. the explosion was so strong, it shook the earth for blocks away. it shattered windows. and as you said, seven dead, more than 70 injured, and many more that are still unaccounted for. now, fire teams and investigators are in that rubble trying to pinpoint exactly what went wrong. 15 minutes before the explosion, which happened at 9:30 this morning -- yesterday morning, 15 minutes before that, con ed got a call saying they smelled -- some people were smelling gas. by the time con ed got here, the explosion had already happened. now, there's a lot of questions on whether -- whether people were smelling gas as far back as the day before, or even a month. a lot of questions surrounding whether or not the response time could have been sooner. chuck? >> all right. katy tur on the scene for us. i'm sure you'll have more as the day moves on. turning now to another deadly developing story, this one is out of texas this

morning. at least two people were killed overnight when a suspected drunk driver plowed into a crowd of people waiting for a concert at the south by southwest festival in austin. more than 20 people were injured, five critically, and we learned the driver in that wreck will be charged with two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault. police say the driver was pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving, but then he took off, he led police on a chase, and then after crashing through a barricade and slamming into a group of people, the suspect got out of the car and ran. police were able to catch up with him. he's now in custody. the area's closed at this hour, and austin police are expected to hold a news conference later this morning. and when they do, we will likely bring you everything we can with that. now, let me turn to my "first reads" of the political morning. now, just 19 days to sign up for health care, and the president and his surrogates are making a

push to get folks to sign up, focusing especially on young adult, latinos, and african-americans. open enrollment for 2015 closes on march 31st. according to health care enrollment numbers released this week, the administration still has a long way to go to meet their targets by that march 31st deadline. since october, 4.2 million people have signed up for insurance plans through the new health care exchanges, well shy of the original gold of 7 million and the cbo's revised target of 6 million. 2.6 million have enrolled in the federal marketplace. 1.6 million of those signed up through state-run exchanges. white house officials predict a surge in signups before the six-month enrollment period ends. so far, that hasn't happened. in february, just about 940,000 people signed up. that was down from 1.1 million in january and 1.8 million in december, well short of the various projections that were out there. the administration, though, argues that february was a short month, fewer days for people to apply and their per-day average

was on target. on wednesday, the consulting firm abelire health projected 1.2 million will sign up for health care this month, and if that's the case, it will bring the total to 5.4 million enro e enrolles. the success of exchanges in 2014 will depend less on the size of the market and more on the risk profile of enrollees. well, that's potentially a problem, as well, because the makeup of the folks signing up is a concern. last fall, the administration projected that young people, the crucial 18-to-34-year-old invincibles, the insurers need to subsidize the older, sicker enrollees they have brought in, would make up 40% of the pool in these exchanges. but so far, they've made up 27% of enrollees and 25% overall. then, there's the number hhs has not provided, the number of

those who have signed up for health care previously uninsured. hhs secretary kathleen sebelius is pointing to the latest gallup that showed the first of uninsured americans dropped to 15.9%. it's not every day an obama person cites gallup. yesterday, sebelius was quizzed by republicans and said the administration would not push the october 31st deadline or the penalty if folks don't sign up. >> are you going to delay the mandate that individuals have to buy government-approved health care or pay a tax? >> no, sir. >> are you going to delay the open enrollment beyond march 31st. >> no, sir. >> is it correct you don't have the authority to extend that deadline? >> there is no delay beyond march 31st. >> so no extension of the enr l enrollment period, but quietly the administration has already

issued a rule providing a hardship exemption for those with cancelled plans who prove they cannot find affordable coverage. it's pretty easy to avoid the penalty. what does success look like now for the administration on march 31st on that front, sebelius would not commit to a number. >> can i get to you answer that question on what is now success? because i only have three minutes. >> well, success looks like millions of people with affordable health coverage, which we will have by the end of march. >> so you are changing your standard of 7 million by the end of march 31st? >> i said successful, millions of people having health care -- >> you said 7 million. >> if you want to know how important the success of the president's signature legislative achievement, you only have to look at his schedule. in the last two weeks, he sat down with galifianakis, hoping zingers would produce signups among young people. he mentioned exchanges at a town

hall aimed at latinos. >> for less than it costs for your cell phone bill or cable bill, you may have the security, the peace of mind of getting health insurance. and part of the reason that it's so important for us to reach out to the latino community is the latino community is the most likely to be uninsured. >> you've had first lady michelle obama, visiting a miami health center to push access to insurance. chief of staff dennis mcdonagh has been pitching signups to "gq" and said he's been doing sports radio, and sebelius went from that hearing to a gathering of women bloggers, telling them young people don't necessarily trust public officials and the news media. they're not getting info from talking heads. kids do trust their parents about things, and that is one of them. and parents trust other parents. the obama administration sales team has their work cut out for them. just 35% told us they believe the health care law is a good idea. 49% called it a bad idea. still, democrats believe the politics of health care is more

nuanced with the public, and can be more of a jump-ball because of this number. when it framed as a choice between fixing the health care law and repealing it, 48% of those we surveyed say they're more likely to vote for a democrat who supports fixing and keeping the health care law, compared with 47% who are more likely to back a republican who favors repealing it. leaving the law unchanged is not popular. but repealing it isn't popular either. and the affirmative lesson democrats took from alex sink's narrow defeat in florida is mend it, don't end it is more popular than repeal, and the party can neutralize health care as an issue by suggesting fixes. but there's a big but here. republicans are doing their best to make sure that strategy is not successful. >> we just had an election in florida last night. the democratic opponent was talking a lot about ways to fix the affordable care act. has there been any legislation send from the administration up to congress in regard to the

fixes? >> i have not sent legislation to congress, no, sir. >> the answer is zero. i wanted to see where were you coming at. >> yesterday on the show, the two parties told us what they learned on florida about using health care as a wedge issue. the dccc thinks sink neutralized the line of attack. >> she handled it very effectively. look, again, you start in a district with a 13-point lead in turnout for republicans. you have $5 million spent against you, trashing the affordable care act, and come within two points? in other competitive district, far more competitive than this one, the messages will work. >> underneath everything lies obamacare, and the problems with obamacare -- if i'm a democrat in one of the targeted races, i think i'm panicked this morning. >> the bottom line. they're both right. for republicans, health care does two things. it gives them something to run on, and it fires up their base voters. democrats, though, are not wrong about the mend it, don't end it issue. it can be an effective way to at least neutralize it.

but the problem they have, it's hard to imagine democrats will flood to the polls in november screaming, we want to fix and keep the health care law. the real problem for democrats in florida 13 wasn't losing swing voters on health care. the real problem was not turning out their own voters. we know what galvanizes republicans. it's repealing the health care law. it's opposing president obama. it's cutting the federal government. it's getting government out of folks' lives. what inspires democrats for this election cycle? it's something the party hasn't figured out that they need something to run on, and health care isn't it. let's go "deep dive" into health care. since health care went online october 1st, or the exchanges, the administration has made a series of delays and changes to the requirements of the law. some of them policy fixes, others appear to be driven by politics. in october, the administration announced an adjustment to the individual mandate deadline, saying consumers needed to sign up by march 31st instead of february 15th. that was more of an administrative change.

november 14th, a policy was rolled out for plans to reinstate plans that didn't meet the mandates. on december 19th, the administration announced people whose policies had been cancelled could buy catastrophic coverage, and provided a hardship exemption from the health care mandate for those with cancelled plans. on february 10, hhs delays the requirement that businesses with between 50 and 99 employees provide health coverage another year. on march 5th, cms extends the renewal period for two more years for insurers whose plans are not compliant. and then quietly extended the hardship exemption from the invisible mandate to two years. joining me is jonathan cohn who has examined this law as well as anybody in the country. jonathan, good morning to you, sir. >> thanks for having me on the show. >> all right. let's talk first about the enrollment issue. we've got about two and a half

weeks left. they seem like they have a lot of work -- a lot of work cut out for them, particularly on the makeup of the enrollees. are they going to make it? >> well, you know, there's a lot of talk about the makeup of the enrollers. and as you said, it's important. if you want an insurance program to work, you need young and healthy people to paying into the pool, so there's enough money for the people who are older and sicker when they go to the hospital to pay their claims. where i think the perceptions are wrong is you hear a lot about this 40% figure. we need 40% of young people to sign up for the system to work. that's not quite right. in an ideal world, that's how it would work. the question really is what did the insurance companies expect? you know, they priced their insurance based on expectations of how many young people would come. they didn't necessarily think 40% were going to come. so as long as you get enough young people to keep the program stable -- >> so what was -- what was their expectation? >> well, we don't know. that's the thing. now we get into sort of -- you

have to ask the insurance companies. you know, there've been a lot of interviews with insurance companies' ceos, and you get the mixed reaction. some say, the people signing up, they're not as young as we would have liked, not as healthy. some say, actually, the turnout looks pretty good. it's about the mix of what we expected. in general, though, i think when you talk to the insurance industry, they will tell you almost unanimously, this is going to work. it's stable enough, we're getting enough people. this thing is going to work, just give it a little time. >> now, let me ask you about the mandate. very quietly, they've made it -- is anybody going to pay the penalty this year or next year? it certainly doesn't appear -- they've made it pretty easy to get out of the penalty. all huh to do, right, is fill out a form that says i couldn't find a policy that i could afford, you don't have to prove that that's the case. you just have to sign your name to it, right? >> yeah, they have made it very easy to get out of the penalty. and i can't say i'm totally surprised by that. you know, when massachusetts did its version of reform --

remember, massachusetts tried a version of this -- they also delayed the mandate a little bit. the law had this hardship exemption written into it. i put this into the category of trying to figure out to adjust this law as we go, to make it work. i mean, you mentioned a bunch of other delays before. in general, when you run a big program like this, it's going to be complicated, the transition will be complicated. you tinker with it as you go. no, i don't think a lot of people will pay the mandate up front. but it does increase over time, and i do think over a year, over two years it will tighten, and then you'll see it have more bite. >> so the mandate will have more bite. all right. i would like to go deeper with you, but unfortunately, i'm running up against what they call in the tv business a hard break. so, mr. cohn, i urge viewers to follow you on twitter, read your reporting. it's the most nuanced mix of policy and politics that you'll find on the health care law out there. thank you, sir. coming up, so many story lines in the new nbc poll. the tea party temperature is not

cooling down. positive marks for the pope. and some burn from the spotlight for some 2016ers. that's ahead. we're keeping an eye on search efforts in harlem, what's going on down in austin, as well, as you see right now the mayor will talk to reporters later this morning. we'll be right back. just like yo anytime, day or night. there is only one way to celebrate this unique similarity. witness the cheesesteak shuffle. ♪ cheesesteak, cheesesteak ♪ ♪ it's the cheesesteak shuffle! huh! ♪ ♪ every day, all day, cheesesteak, cheesesteak! ♪ ♪ every night, all night cheesesteak, cheesesteak! ♪ ♪ 9 a.m. cheesesteak! ♪ 2 p.m. cheesesteak! ♪ 4 a.m. cheesesteak! ♪ any time (ruh!) >>geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

ukraine's prime minister is meeting with the vice president at the white house right now. and after that, he will head to new york where he will speak before the united nations security council. the prime minister will be pleading for help in fending off russia's bid to retake the crimean peninsula and undermine ukraine's new government. all of this follows the meeting with president obama on wednesday. and the two tried to show some solidarity in the face of russia's aggression. >> we will continue to say to

the russian government that if it continues on the path that it is on, then not only us but the international community, the european union, and others will be forced to apply a cost to russia's violations of international law. >> my country feels that the united states stands by the ukrainian people. mr. president, it's all about the freedom. we fight for our freedom. we fight for our independence. we fight for our sovereignty. and we will never surrender. >> meanwhile, congress is moving slowly towards legislation that would help ukraine and punish russia. the senate is poised to vote on a bill that offers $1 billion in loans as well as blocks assets and revokes visas for those responsible for human right abuses in ukraine. both won't happen until they return from recess march 24th, and there's an internal spat over the imf that will make the

house and senate conference on this very difficult. meanwhile, today, russian officials said if the u.s. goes ahead with sanctions, then moscow is going to oppose -- impose their own. now, at the same time, a group of eight senators, led by john mccain and dick durbin, will head to ukraine today. and then secretary of state will meet his russian counterpart, foreign minister lavrov, in london tomorrow in a last-ditch attempt to see if there's anything to stop this faux referenda about to hit on sunday. let's move to malaysia. conflicts reports about the fate of the jetliner on day six of the search. this morning, local officials are dismissing a "wall street journal" report that said u.s. investigators believe the plane may have remained in the air for hours, four hours exact, after losing contact with the ground. military authorities previously indicated the plane may have gone off course and turned west shortly after dropping off commercial radar. because of that, the international search effort has continued to expand and it now

covers 35,000 square miles in and around the indian ocean and the gulf of thailand. of course, chinese sat images picked up possible debris from the plane's last confirmed position, but planes sent to the area turned up nothing. this "wall street journal" report clearly is driving the day on this story and this idea that essentially it may have been a ghost plane for four hours, a la the payne stewart incident, and it may mean looking for it somewhere over the indian ocean or somewhere closer to the border of pakistan. a quick look at the first number in today's databank and big news for american workers. 3.1 million. that's how many salaried workers could become eligible for overtime pay if the labor department changes the rules the president is thinking about tinkering with. today, president obama is asking the labor department to review the regulations that label people as managers or professionals, that could qualify them for hourly overtime.

if they're taken out of that category. the u.s. commerce said it could force employers from having to cut jobs and will undermine what the president wants to have happen, which is raise some of the salaries for some of the folks. here's today's tdr 50 trivia question. why did colorado governor john hickenlooper once pretend to be a u.s. senator? if you know, tweet us.

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has begun. choose your adventure, and take command of the road. ♪ with the highly capable gx, lx and rx. dare to be spontaneous, during the command performance sales event. ♪ get great offers on your favorite lexus models, now through march 31st. this is the pursuit of perfection. as catholics mark the first year since the election of pope francis, new poll numbers show religion is less important to a growing number of americans. the latest nbc/"wall street journal" poll shows religion is very important to 41% of americans, but 21% said religion is not that important to their lives. one in five americans. that number is up five points

since the last time we asked the question in august of '99. it's up even more when you compare to august '94. the fact is, religion has become less of a priority overall for americans. meanwhile, the popularity of pope francis has attracted, in his first year as the head of the catholic church, is remarkable. he was voted "time" person of the year months after he was elected. jorge became the pope of many firsts a year ago today. he's the first non-european pope in the modern era, the first from south america and the first jesuit. he immediately broke with tradition asking the crowd in st. peter's square to pray for him instead of blessing for them. he insisted on paying his own hotel bill before moving into the vatican. pope francis carries a simple briefcase and wears simple shoes. before easter last year, pope francis made news after washing

the feet of young prisoners. the pope made world headlines when he gave a press conference on his plane. when asked about the church's attitude on same-sex attraction, he said in italian, who am i to judge? pope francis spends more time outside the pope mobile than in. in our poll, 60% of catholics say pope francis has renewed and strengthened their faith and commitment to the church, perhaps the most important thing to see in our poll if you're the catholic church. and approval ratings are unmatched among americans. the only politician, by the way, who gets close to the pope is bill clinton, and his negatives are more than twice that of pope francis' as you might imagine. here's a live look at the vatican. we'll be going there in a few minutes as the pope celebrates his first year. the holy see announced it's publishing an e-magazine, but the real measure of success is this, is he bringing

nonpracticing catholics back to the church? i'm joined by bill, who spent an hour talking one on one with pope francis earlier this month, and he's sitting at my desk now. >> good morning, chuck. >> let me start with the basic question, and that's what i wanted to get at in our poll, is the most important then for the church at this point is, are they bringing nonpracticing catholics back to the flock? >> i think pope francis has got everyone's attention. >> right. >> that's a good thing. he has put a compelling human face on the truths that the church has taught for centuries. he has made it clear that happiness, mercy, joyfulness and discipleship are very much part of christian life. and i think people are giving -- giving faith a second look here. >> it's been interesting about watching -- it feels as if, and you've been writing about this and talking about this, and a lot of people are reading into pope francis what they want to

read in, as if they're applying their own politics to him. it does feel he wants to emphasize what brings catholics together and not deal with the things that may divide the church. >> i think that that -- >> is that fair? >> yeah, i think that's fair. the pope understands that every time the church has to say "no" to something, it says no on the basis of a higher and more compelling yes. i think the pope feels the yes hasn't been heard. the yes to the dignity of the human person hasn't been heard when the church says these kinds of behaviors don't make for human happiness. i think the other thing that's interesting about this man is that he's got the attention of the nonbelieving world. >> particularly here. >> yeah. >> you do see it in the news media and all this stuff there is -- again, people are cherry picking what they like to hear. that's what's interesting. they're trying to find ways that they agree with the pope and ignoring some things they may

not like. >> but why would they do that unless there's this perhaps inarticulate sense, even in the secular world, which, as you say, is growing in america, and inarticulate intuition that the world needs a pastor. the world needs the compassion of a pastor. the world needs the challenge of a pastor. in a world in which if it itches, scratch it, becomes the only moral norm. and we need something more than that. >> it seems that -- i guess the cultural challenge for him is going to be, and you deal with it whether it's dealing with divorce in the catholic church, dealing with the role of women in the catholic church. never mind the issue of gay marriage, and that seems to be -- let me start with women. where is he on this? do you think that this will be the papacy that empowers women in the catholic church in a way

we've not seen before? >> in the pope's reform of the curia, i think you'll see a lot of different characters involved in the central governance of the church. laypeople, men and women. the pope has said that the question of ordination is a settled question, it's not on the table. but there are all sorts of talents that laypeople bring to the church, women and men, and he'll deploy those. i think the pope is also like john paul ii determined that we not identify priesthood being a bishop with power. these are offices of service -- >> right. >> -- and to suggest that people have no authority, power in the church, if they're not ordained, is a bit -- >> does he feel he has to modernize the perception of the church to make it feel relevant in the 21st century? >> he has created an earthquake in the vatican that's gotten very little attention, by taking

finance, administration, and personnel policy away from the old bureaucracy, creating a new office to deal with this, and putting one of the toughest, shrewdest churchmen in the world, the australian cardinal george pell, in charge of that. that will shake things up big time. >> all right. well, george, i'll leave it there. we'll see a lot of you over the next month. the president's going to be having his first one on one meeting with the pope when he goes to the vatican, plus holy week coming up. always good to see you. >> thank you, chuck. a look now at the next number in the databank. the number is $1 billion cash. ready for this? that's how much a small technology company called global dij at that time is offering to buy the biggest gun manufacturer in america. freedom group makes remington and bush master brands. bloomberg reports the bid is unsolicited and freedom group call it is a publicity stunt. we'll see. not every day you get a billion dollars for your company.

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talk to a pnc investments financial advisor today. ♪ now for today's "deep dive." health care may be a key motivator in midterm races this fall, but out west, guns could be one of the biggest issues, particularly in a place like colorado. while democrats tend to embrace gun control these days nationally, that wasn't always the case. it was a state-by-state deal, especially out west. there was a time when colorado democrats had to embrace the gun rights in order to get elected. back when colorado senator gary hart was running for the democratic presidential nomination in 1984, he said pointblank he was opposed to federal gun control laws, period. 1983, when the brady bill went up for a vote in congress, both senators opposed it, including then-democratic candidate campbell. when salazar ran ten years

later, his website read, quote, i believe the individual right to use firearms for protection, hunting, and in recreation should be protected. as recently as 2012, after the shooting in aurora, john hickenlooper seemed to acknowledge the political reality in his state when he pushed back that gun reform would have prevented the situation in that movie theater. >> if he could have gotten access to the guns, what kind of bomb would he have manufactured? we're in a time of information age where there's access to all kinds of information. he was diabolical. you know, i'm not sure -- it's a human issue in some ways. >> but after the newtown shooting in connecticut, hickenlooper moved away from gun rights and embraced some gun reform, pushing through new legislation, including magazine limits and background checks. he joined me on the show in april of last year, and i asked him what changed his mind. >> as i talked to people around the state, i also heard that democrats, republicans, independents, when you talked about universal background checks, almost everyone supported it.

>> well, plenty of people, though, opposed the new gun measures, and boy, did they take their anger out on the state legislature. two democratic state senators were ousted, and a third resigned her seat rather than face the recall. with democrats out in colorado holding a single-seat majority and the governor himself up for re-election, republicans are hoping they can gain enough control of the statehouse to repeal the new gun laws altogether. joining me is one of the two lawmakers recalled last year, former colorado state senate president john morris. mr. morris, good morning to you, sir. >> good morning. >> so do you believe that the gun issue is something that is once again so divisive in colorado that it's a political problem for the democrats? >> no. i believe that it is divisive in some way, and that there certainly is an extremist fringe that believes criminals ought to have guns at the same rate as the rest of us.

but i don't think they're actually going to be able to make any inroads in this upcoming election. i mean, this year, they introduced bills in the legislature to undo everything that we did last year, and they failed right down the line, and there wasn't even much public support for what they were trying to do. i mean, it turns out what we did was modest and common sense and is working to save lives. and so, you know, it's actually going to be a benefit to us, and not a detriment. >> you know, it's interesting, and i'm going to put up a quinnipiac poll in colorado show shows votering s on the gun law. you bring up the slaw laws you did pass, the magazine, the background check. when you test them, they get bipartisan support. they get 70%, 80% approval. but it does seem as if the passion is on one side, that there really isn't a passionate voter out there in colorado, there isn't that person that goes to the polls solely to vote

for somebody that's in favor of more background checks. but you get on the other side, and, of course, as you yourself faced, you can motivate somebody to go to the polls on one issue when it comes to getting rid of a law. >> and i think that's absolutely right, but i think that we are at the beginning of the movement, if you will. i mean, i think the same thing was true for drunk driving, you know, 25 years ago. and now, look where it is. and i think that the nra and the gun lobbyists are facing the same kind of intensity this time with moms demanding action and those kinds of issues where it's, like, wait, this doesn't make sense. i mean, people are suggesting that their second amendment right has been violated when, in fact, it has not. there's not a soul in this state that owned a gun last march that had that gun taken away from them. there were no guns taken away from anybody. but at the same time, we have kept guns out of the hands of

over 100 people at this point from the laws we passed last year, and, of course, we already had background checks in colorado at gun shows. there are many states across the country that don't. so right now, you already had to get a background check if you went to a gun store. you already had to do it if you went to a gun show. what we did was, say, if you come to the trunk of my car, you have to get a background check before you buy the gun out of the trunk of my car. as i said, we've had 100 people from doing that, and we know it takes one. we've already saved lives and we'll continue to. >> would you say november in many ways is a referendum on these laws? if hickenlooper loses, if republicans gain, they repeal the law. >> see, and i don't think any of that really ends up happening. even if you were to say that hickenlooper were to lose, which i just firmly don't believe will come anywhere close to happening, but keep in mind there's the house, the senate, and the governorship.

and we actually have a weak form system of government in colorado where you have to pay close attention to what happens in the house and the senate, and so really the republicans would have to take all three in order to repeal those laws, and i don't think you'll find anybody here in colorado that's arguing they're going to take -- i don't think -- i would argue they're not going to take any of the three, much less all three. >> all right. former colorado state senate president john morse, on the front lines of this big debate when these recalls happened. mr. morse, thanks for your time. >> you're welcome. thank you for having me. >> all right. before we go, the next "databank" headline could cut prison sentences. here's the number. 70%. that's how many nonviolent drug traffickers could have their sentences reduced by almost a year if the u.s. sentencing commission agrees with these new proposals. attorney general eric holder is asking the commission today to reduce federal prison time for drug offenders who commit nonviolent crimes. folks, this is a fascinating

movement that's taking place and one that has bipartisan support. something you rarely see in anything these days. today's "tdr 50," colorado soup of the day comes from the academy falcon club at the u.s. air force academy in colorado springs. what are they serving up to those fine young men and women? they're serving up chicken and rice. we'll be right back. iwe don't back down. we only know one direction: up so we're up early. up late. thinking up game-changing ideas,

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now, for more of my "first read." here's the good news for republicans. in florida this week, we saw the gop base is fired up. this is why david jolly was able to pull off a victory. here's the bad news, though, for some republicans. that enthusiasm is coming from tea party supporters. 76% of tea party republicans have high interest in the upcoming midterm elections. that compares with just 36% of republicans who don't identify with the tea party. by the way, 50/50 split inside

the republican party, by the way. the numbers among the non-tea party republicans look like numbers among the independents, and independents don't vote in primaries. the intensity of interest among tea partiers could spell trouble for the senate republicans facing those tea party primary challenges. lindsey graham, pat roberts, mitch mcconnell, in particular, they're facing tea partiers, more fired up than the establishment republicans. we tested two dozen qualities to measure what would make voters more or less likely to support a candidate. we looked at it among the republican splits here. and the spread between tea party and non-tea partiers is striking. tea party voters want a fire-breathing critic of the obama administration. this means graham's challengers will use any efforts he's made at compromise with the white house -- say immigration -- against him. that means senator mcconnell's efforts to hammer a deal with biden on the fiscal cliff won't play well with these folks. and when senator cochran followed up the state of the union address by saying i am hopeful president obama and

congress can find a way to control spending and foster job creation, that's not language the tea party voters want to hear. of course, health care repeal is driving the tea party voters to the polls. look at this number. 85%, tea partiers believe the u.s. supporters to the polls. for this group, the hawks are out. lindsey graham, watch out. non-tea party republicans are allowing a bigger social tent, tea party republicans have a purity test. mcconned's embrace of rand paul makes sense when you see it like this. while just 11% of tea party republicans say being a tea party supporter is an important quality. and here's a warning shot to the grahams cochrans and mcconnells in the senate, tea party voters are looking for a candidate that has never held elected office. check out the fireable offenses. when the chamber of commerce runs an ad saying he's, quote leading the fight to fix this

oba obamacare mess, clearly they're pitching to the november voters. they see support for fixing the law as a fireable eaves. this one should worry lindsey gram who spent much of the last year pushling immigration reform. supporting a pathway to citizen ship that's a fireable offense. bottom line, texas senator john cornyn may have survived the tea party challenge, but only got 59%. they are more fired up about these midterms than the non-tea party republicans. hello, primaries. trivia time. colorado governor john hickenlooper once played a sonar in the movie casino jack. the movie was direct you hadly hickenlooper's cousin. there you go. congratulations to today's winner. send your trivia suggestions to daily rundown.

we'll be right back with my 2016 takeaway. ♪ [ cellphones beeping ] ♪ [ cellphone rings ] hello? [ male announcer ] over 12,000 financial advisors. good, good. good. over $700 billion dollars in assets under care. let me just put this away. [ male announcer ] how did edward jones get so big? could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. ok, last quarter... [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ makeis really what makes it slike two deals in one.he $1,000 fuel reward card salesperson #2: actually, getting a great car with 42 highway miles per gallon makes it like two deals in one. salesperson #1: point is there's never been a better time to buy a jetta tdi clean diesel. avo: during the first ever volkswagen tdi clean diesel event get a great deal on a jetta tdi. it gets 42 highway miles per gallon. and get a $1,000 fuel reward card. it's like two deals in one. volkswagen has the most tdi clean diesel models of any brand. hurry in and get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months on tdi models.

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well, hello, this is takeaway time. cresse christie and hillary clinton, let's start with mr. christie. the scandals are hittic the administration, and now he's in position position where his numbers are upsidedown with his own parties. this is among republicans. net negative among republicans, a change just from january, as you can see. it gets worse for him. if you look at where things have gotten for him. monday conservative. now that i have broken away from him.

they had barely stuck by him 31-30. now they're upsidedown. the news may have slowed to a trickle, but the political problems and political slide has not. hillary clinton took a hit in our poll, too. she went from in september of last year, still having that statesman-like appeal. 51/31. now looking more like a politics, so where does he shoes among some of her support? she went from a ten-point here positive to now a net neck tiff. look at this, and overall, by the way, a lot of democrats slid big time. as you can see hillary clinton being viewed more as a politici politician, being viewed more partisanwise, so you're seeing this groups giving her good poll

numbers in many ways to try to punish president obama. that's it for this edition. up next chris jansing with a deeper look of the appeal of pope francis on this one-year anniversary. i'm bill karins, apologies to everyone in the graek lakes and northeast. what a brutal morning. the afternoon will start feeling better with the sunshine, but the cold wince are behind the winter storm. the rest of the country looks beautiful, from kansas to florida all the what to the west coast. co: i've always found you don't know you need a hotel room until you're sure you do. bartender: thanks, captain obvious. co: which is what makes using the hotels.com mobile app so useful. i can book a nearby hotel room from wherever i am.

or, i could not book a hotel room and put my cellphone back into my pocket as if nothing happened. hotels.com. i don't need it right now. ♪ see what's new at projectluna.com

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hey you know what? i'll drive! and i have no feet... i really didn't think this through. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling) seven deaths now confirmed after that gas explosion collapsed two buildings here in new york city. that on top of dozens injured, and today the ongoing search for people who are still missile. president obama making a big announcement this afternoon that could mean more money in the pockets of millions of americans. another way he's focused on helping the middle class. and the pope at one. he's changing the conversation in washington and the world about caring for the poor, reinvigorating catholics, making the papacy cool. is this a modern miracle? before we go to washington, we have to get you caught up on what's happening with that