we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business. president obama returns to washington and to a series of options for confronting the chaos in iraq. moments ago secretary of state john kerry put drone strikes and cooperation with iran on the table. also this morning, the rise of the oligarchs. money can't buy you victory but it can buy pretty much everything else. we'll go inside the world of the wealthiest donors. >> plus it rolls into missouri

today. once the most reliable swing state in the country, now the gateway to the west is caught between the north and the south. good morning from washington. it's monday, june 16th, 2014. we've got breaking news right at this hour. we have just learned that isis has captured the most senior-ranking iraqi military official in talifar. we'll get a lot more on this in a few minutes on the ground but let's get to my first reads of the morning. the battle for baghdad may be on the horizon as some of these al qaeda-inspired militants seized another town in iraq. volunteers from the south are lining up to fight back. overnight militants with isis captured talifar, a northern city of about 200,000 people. of course as i just told you, we just learned that the top military official in the city has been captured, along with at least 40 others. it's the latest in a campaign across northern and western iraq that has brought the militants to the doorstep of baghdad.

right now the iraqi army is reportedly holding militants at bay in the city of samarra about an hour from the capital. inside baghdad thousands of shiite volunteers are now heeding the call from the government and local clerics, offering to take up arms against these sunni sympathizers, isis. at the same time, we have new evidence of just what kind of enemy that these folks are going to be facing. over the weekend, militants posted these graphic photos. they claim to show iraqi soldiers being loaded into trucks and executed. nbc has not independently confirmed the photos, but an iraqi military spokesperson tells the a.p., they believe they are genuine. militants claim as much as 1700 people have been killed but the state department has not confirmed that number. all of this is putting increasing pressure on the administration to act. the question is how. in a yahoo! news interview this morning, secretary of state john kerry said president obama is reviewing a range of options that include possible drone-based air strikes.

>> they're not the whole answer but they may well be one of the options to stem the tide and stop the movement of people who are moving around in open convoys and trucks and terrorizing people. when you have people murdering, assassinating in these mass massacres, you have to stop that. >> it's part of that effort multiple publications are reporting that the u.s. is using unmanned surveillance aircraft to collect intelligence in iraq. as you know there isn't a lot of credibility or reliability that the u.s. puts into intelligence that comes from maliki's government. democratic senator joe manchin said the gathering of intelligence is a critical piece of any u.s. effort. >> the air strikes, drones, whatever it takes but i want to make sure our intel is accurate before we start doing this. i'm hopeful they're getting accurate intel on this. if not, it's all for naught.

at the same time the u.s. is bracing for conflict inside baghdad itself. the defense department confirmed troops have been sent to protect u.s. diplomatic facilities in baghdad and some personnel have already been evacuated. in addition, the uss george h.w. bush has now arrived in the persian gulf and the pentagon confirms that secretary of defense chuck hagel ordered the uss mesa verde into the arabian gulf. the ship was completed its transit and is basically there. the u.s. is trying to get its regional partners involved. on sunday secretary of state john kerry called his counter parts from jordan, qatar and the aue asking for their help in keeping iraq from splitting apart and fighting these terrorists. mike rogers says that they could play a critical role. >> you can't fire missiles and then turn around and come home. it has to be a coordinated effort. that's why you have to have the arab league with you. they have the capability and

special forces and other things to impact certain parts of the battlefield. we should use that, we should help them doing that. >> getting the arab league involved is what got the u.s. off the sidelines with libya. there's also the real possibility that iran may be partners in this fight. this morning secretary kerry said the u.s. is open to discussing the conflict with iranian leaders. a top official tells nbc those discussions could happen on the sidelines of this week's nuclear talks which are ongoing in vienna. cooperation would benefit iran as far as diplomatic relations as well as it's own security. isis has been one of the biggest threats to iran over the last ten years. we've noticed a new talking point emerging. those hesitant to get too deeply involved in iraq are more likely to portray it as a sectarian fight. those calling for a more aggressive response, particularly those on the right, call it a fight against al qaeda. check out the differences. >> if you're up against an al qaeda affiliate, if you're up

against those who will -- and you're a secular force, those who will commit suicide in frontal attacks, you need air support. >> this is more than just an obscure shia/sunni conflict, this is al qaeda. al qaeda is not on the road to defeat. al qaeda is on the march. >> obscure. that's right, paul wolfowitz used the phrase an obscure shia/sunni issue there. we're not sure that that's an obscure issue. anyway, let's go on the ground. richard engel is now in baghdad and nbc's ayman mohyeldin is in northern iraq. richard, let me start with you. you're in baghdad. do you sense that this is a city that's preparing for a battle? >> reporter: yes, i do actually. i am right now in the square, which is where that famous statue of saddam hussein was pulled down as u.s. troops, marines came in, and eventually

toppled saddam hussein. right now mostly the streets are empty, not a lot of people. people are afraid, they're staying inside their homes. prices are going up because some of the roads leading into the capital have been shut off because of the fighting. food prices are up 50% in some cases. fuel prices are also up. we've seen the iraqi army deployed, not just in their bases but putting their armored vehicles, their .50 caliber machine guns in front of the gates of their position. heavy military presence at the airport. we've been driving around baghdad for the last 45 minutes or so. i've perhaps never seen the city this empty as it is right now. there's not fighting in the city. it doesn't feel imminently threatened. so far the -- after not fighting for about a week when we just saw the iraqi army collapsing, the soldiers stripping off their uniforms. now the government has launched

a counteroffensive. it is using air strikes and it is also very significantly called up and enlisted the shiite volunteers. the shiite religious community, which in this country is critically important. and the clerics who are based in the holy shiite city have issued a religious edict to fight to the death and authorized people to carry weapons, saying that if they die to defend the city, they will be secured a place in heaven. so now we've got two groups that are preparing to resist isis, the militant group, should it come here, both the government and the shiite population. >> richard, are you convinced, though, that isis will make a move toward baghdad or do they realize that that might be biting off too much, that they're better off sort of keeping their gains as is? could we see more of a

stalemate? >> i think we could see a stalemate. i think before they try to do any kind of assault on the city, which i think probably would be unsuccessful at this stage, if they had initial momentum in the first few days, now the government has woken up. i think if they tried to assault the city, they might fail. but they might try to soften the city. car bombs, attacks, little shoot and run attacks, assassinations, the kind of violence we saw in the worst days of the war in 2006 and 2007. that seems likely more than a large like some sort of golden horde coming in and taking over baghdad. >> as it is with any dispute in the middle east, hundreds of years of history always matters here. richard engel in baghdad. richard, thanks very much. let me go to ayman who is in northern iraq.

ayman, you've watched this movement, you've seen what's going on. what's the latest on the ground there? >> reporter: well, the situation from a humanitarian point of view continues to cause major concerns for international organizations as they try and alleviate some of this pressure that is building up with hundreds of thousands of iraqis leaving the northwest part of the country. in addition to that, we are getting some news about the offensive by isis groups and affiliated groups that have pushed northwards of mosul. they have now taken the city of talafar but capturing the most senior military official. as we've seen in the past several days according to the images posted on these al qaeda-related websites, some of those officers and some of those military personnel are being executed in mass graves. we haven't confirmed that independently, but that is causing enough fear here ground for people to believe they are true and it is certainly stoking the flames of sectarianism even more. a lot of the people we've been speaking to on the ground, some of those that have left mosul,

are directing most of their anger toward the prime minister of the country for failing to address a lot of the sectarian issues over the course of the last several years. they said he single handedly backed by iran have led this country to these types of divisions. >> so what you're sensing from people as angry as they are at isis, they're angry at maliki. why are they going? >> many have come here to the region that spans the northeast north of the country. it's sealed up like a drum for the most part. it's very separate than the rest of the country. they have been turning back some of the people but are allowing women and children and those with medical conditions. a lot of them are staying with relatives. some of them are actually staying in refugee tents set up by international organizations like the u.n. and others. but it's still certainly a major cause of concern for the officials and across the country to see these large-scale displacement of population centers across the northwest part of the country.

>> all right, ayman mohyeldin in erbil, richard engle in baghdad. we've got our team on the ground all over the country. joining me now former u.s. ambassador to iraq, cris hill. ambassador, good morning to you. where do you expect the president to start thinking today? here's what seems to be on the ground. there doesn't seem to be much movement on maliki ready to make the political decisions that the u.s. wants him to make. and if he doesn't, will the president really not act? >> well, i think the president is right to link this to some political moves, but i'd be careful about this notion that maliki is the only one that failed to make political moves. the sunnis have not picked up offers from maliki to have jobs because the job they really wanting is maliki's job. it takes two to reconcile so i'd

be careful with the notion this is all in maliki's lap. the second pointing is maliki is getting external help from the iranians who are not making any political demands on maliki. one has to remember with iran you have a bad iran and a worse iran. what they have got there is a worse iran in the form of the head of the republican guard formation. so i think it's very important that the u.s. be able to play a role here. so i would hope that the president does move ahead on some of these military measures. i for one believe it's highly necessary to really set back this isis crowd who, by the way, are not particularly interested in sunni outreach from maliki. >> yeah, that seems -- they seem especially brutal, considering what we've seen already in some of these pictures. but let's go to the iran portion of this a minute. we're in the middle of negotiations about their nuclear technology. frankly it looks like that

they're not going to get anywhere, they're going to extend the temporary agreement probably another six months at some point. obviously these things aren't supposed to be linked but they're going to be linked. how do you do it without -- i mean is it so necessary to get iran involved in maliki and to sort of pull him back that the u.s. does a little give on the nuclear talks? >> i think secretary kerry was right to say that we need to be in contact with the iranians. but i wouldn't be trading off the nuclear talks for, you know, cooperation on the ground in iraq. i think they're two separate, albeit related, issues. so i think it's important that we continue on that nuclear track. and i think we've always had this kind of two-track approach. remember we had two sets of negotiations in gentlemen new year's eve avmt one dedicated to the nuclear issue and one dedicated to the proposition that iran needs to stop funding

terrorist groups in parts of the middle east, and so i think on that latter point, which i think is in some respects as tough as the nuclear point, because you get this kind of republican guard, this sort of mulatocracy very engaged on iran's role in the middle east. it's really what spooks some of our allies, saudi arabia and the gulf states, when they say iran really connected into the internal situation in iraq. so much to worry about. but i think we need to be active there, very active diplomatically. as i said, i think we need to be prepared to be active militarily. >> as with any debate on iraq, you get a lot of revisionism and everybody wants to almost relitigate old battles, whether we should have been there in the first place or not. but i do want you to come down on one issue, which is this idea are we dealing -- this is a sunni/shia issue or is isis an al qaeda-inspired group? because i've noticed that if

you're -- the more intervention you want, i've noticed from lawmakers, the more likely they emphasize the al qaeda portion. i heard paul wolfowitz call it this is not an obscure sunni/shia issue and i thought "obscure" was an odd word to use. >> yes, it is. i think the answer to most multiple choice questions in the middle east is all of the above. clearly there is a sunni/shia problem regionwide. it really is pronounced in syria. it's had a spillover into a very -- into a very difficult situation in iraq. so clearly there's a sunni/shia issue going on. but there's also, i think, an al qaeda issue. and it's understandable why u.s. politicians, especially those who want to get more involved, why they market that. now, i'm not sure that isis has the kind of global reach that osama bin laden did. but certainly these are people who are not interested in compromise with anyone. but the first people they hate

are the shia, and then we come a close second. >> ambassador chris hill, thank you very much. appreciate your insight. republicans jockeying hard ahead of a key vote to replace eric cantor. plus mitt romney back in the spotlight. that's all next. here's a look at today's politics planner. i'll be back in three minutes. [ male announcer ] it's one of the most amazing things we build and it doesn't even fly. we build it in classrooms and exhibit halls, mentoring tomorrow's innovators. we build it raising roofs, preserving habitats and serving america's veterans. every day, thousands of boeing volunteers help make their communities the best they can be. building something better for all of us. ♪

how can a tablet replace your laptop? start with the best writing experience. make it incredibly thin. add an adjustable kickstand, a keyboard, a usb port, and the freedom of touch. and, of course, make it run microsoft office, with the power and speed to do real work. introducing surface pro 3. the tablet that can replace your laptop. i got more advice than i knew what to do with. what i needed was information i could trust

on how to take care of me and my baby. luckily, unitedhealthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidance-before and after the baby is born. simple is good right now. (anncr vo) innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. it can help your business save money. that's health in numbers. false. the truth is when you compare our fastest internet to the fastest dsl from the phone company, comcast business gives you more for your money. why pay more for less? call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business.

well, the house isn't back in session until tomorrow, but you can bet nearly every member of the republican conference is getting calls from colleagues ahead of this week's critical vote that will reshape the leadership in the wake of the eric cantor defeat. one thing that didn't change over the weekend, kevin mccarthy's front runner place in the race to replace cantor.

right now his stiffest competition is coming from idaho conservative, raul labrador. it's still a tough three-way race for the number three spot. the place to remace mccarthy intensified. steve scalise got a boost from kathy chair kathy mcmorris rogers. as far as eric cantor, he says he's not sure what exactly propelled david brat to victory. >> you know, i really don't think that there is any one reason for the outcome of the election. there's just a lot of things that go through voters' minds when they go to the voting booth. >> sure there are. across the country, conservative candidates are hoping to build off david brat's momentum. chris mcdaniel may benefit the

most from renewed tea party enthusiasm. from the polls we've seen, thad cochran is acting like the runoff. then you've got a kansas conservative, milton wolf. he didn't waste any time to take a chance to take a swipe at senator pat roberts and that residency issue he's been dealing with. saying eric cantor isn't the only incumbent from virginia who's going to lose his primary this year. on august 5th, it's pat roberts turn as well. and then joe carr. laura ingram was a huge supporter for brat. maybe that helps carr. joining me now, susan paige and the washington post chief correspondent dan balz. this shakeout and watching the house leadership not respond to it has been to me the most surprising thing. it's almost as if boehner wants to lock down some power and the establishment wants to lock in their power rather than try to

create a -- use this as a moment of outrage. >> an olive branch? >> yeah. >> but chuck, these are very personal fights, these leadership battles. we embue a lot of ideological aspects to them, but this is an inside game played by inside players. >> and it does seem as though scalise is using this, hey, there were no red state republicans in the leadership and pete roskum is another blue state republican. maybe, you know, so hey you ought to get behind me and maybe that does work for a number three position. >> and it's a red state party. but as dan was saying, it's not as though we have two wings fighting over the vietnam war or the civil rights act. this is mostly a fight over personalities and kind of the tone about -- >> how aggressive are you going to be, right. >> there's no side saying we really need to move forward on

immigration reform. it's not that kind of fight. i'd say one other thing to remember and that is secret ballot, which is, as we know, people sometimes say they're going to vote one way and vote another. >> the quicker this election is held, the more likely conservatives will end up being outmaneuvered here. >> which is one reason it's probably happening so quickly. >> why they expedited this. >> the other key thing is we're not electing a speaker here. i mean the speaker is still the dominant leader in the house. and the fact that it coalesced around kevin mccarthy as quickly as it did means that we're focusing more than we probably should on this whip race. >> because it's the only place where conservatives have a shot at getting into the leadership. >> tom delay was a pretty effective whip, but in most cases, the whip isn't the dominant character in the leadership. >> that's for sure. i want to move here to mitt romney because he seems to have positioned himself as the chairman of the republican party. we were just -- you know, you think, well, maybe he wants to leave the door open for 2016 but i actually thought he shut the

door on 2016 pretty effectively with david gregory yesterday. take a listen. >> i'm not running for president. i've said that so many times. as you know, we just had this conference here in park city, utah. i brought a number of of the 2016 contenders here to meet with my fund-raisers. had i been running, i wouldn't be doing that. look, i want to find the best candidate for us to take our message to the american people. >> that's the only way he didn't sound like a candidate, though, with david. he's already changed his stump speech to attack hillary more than he attacks obama, which is what a 2016er would do. >> i think he's definitely interested in running in 2016. i think he would like to run. i think he would like to be the candidate again. what have we found with people who run for president and lose. it's not like they say oh, that was fun. i won't do that again. >> they never get over it. >> he could look at this and say barack obama is having a really terrible term. what if i were in charge, maybe things would be better. that's big fuel for a political

defy. >> well, john kerry circa '05-06 had that same feel. he was talking out more and wanted to do an i told you so tour and that's what it feels like mitt romney is doing. >> does anybody think ann romney would go through this a third time? no chance of that. i think susan is right in this sense that he hasn't gotten over the loss. the country is in a different place than it was even in 2012. the obama fatigue has begun to set in. he can see that. he sees an opening for himself. and at this point there is no dominant figure on the 2016 list. >> everybody seems flawed again, right? jeb on immigration, christie has his own problems. >> so it gives him greater stature and people look to him and want to hear his views on things that perhaps a year and a half ago they didn't. >> just one thing on ann romney. ann romney did a video show we did and i asked her if he might run again thinking she might say absolutely not, and she did not rule it out. so don't be so sure.

i'm not saying she's itching for another run, but don't assume ann romney is the force that keeps mitt romney from running again. >> very quickly on hillary clinton and this book. all of a sudden, you know how you watch conventional wisdom in this town and all of a sudden the weekend chatter was, well, it was a disaster. the rollout didn't work. it hasn't gone well. what have you learned from the rollout? >> two things. one is that she's still rusty as a person in these interviews. she has something of a thin skin. the other is that there is a big audience out there for hillary clinton. if you see the people lined up to get these books, there are a lot of people who want to hear from her. there's potential energy, particularly from a lot of women behind a hillary clinton candidacy. we have this by fifurcated worl >> enthusiasm is real. >> the worst news for hillary clinton was not the rollout, which had some problems, it's what's happening in iraq. she'll have to be answering that and that is going to be a tough one. >> especially since she used this book to say, okay, i was

wrong. susan page, dan balz, thank you very much. time for the first number in today's data bank. it is 42. that's the number of people who selected bill clinton as the most admired people in the past 25 years. clinton was far ahead of the rest of the pack. we asked for the last four. president obama ranked second with 18% while president george w. bush and his father were close behind with 17 and 16% respectively. but look at that, bill clinton that high compared to the last three and we just basically just made the hillary clinton point again. up next, the end of an era. an infamous landmark in d.c. will no longer be. first, today it's trivia question. who's the last republican to win the white house without winning missouri? the first person to tweet the correct answer will get the on-air shoutout. the answer and more is coming up on tdr.

my motheit's delicious. toffee in the world. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. ♪ ess with s to map their manufacturings at process with sticky notes and string, yeah, they were a little bit skeptical. what they do actually is rocket science. high tech components for aircraft and fighter jets. we're just their bankers, right? but financing from ge capital also comes with expertise from across ge. in this case, our top lean process engineers. so they showed us who does what, when, and where.

then we hit them with the important question: why? why put the tools over there? do you really need those five steps? what if you can do it in two? whoo, that's an interesting question. ideas for improvement started pouring out. with a little help from us, they actually doubled their output speed. a hundred percent bump in efficiency. if you just need a loan, just call a bank. but at ge capital, we're builders. and what we know... can help you grow. here at fidelity, we give you the most free research reports, customizable charts, powerful screening tools, and guaranteed 1-second trades. and at the center of it all is a surprisingly low price -- just $7.95. in fact, fidelity gives you lower trade commissions than schwab, td ameritrade, and e-trade. i'm monica santiago of fidelity investments, and low fees and commissions are another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. call or click to open your fidelity account today.

well, this is going to be a busy week when it comes to the supreme court. believe it or not, we still have 17 cases that are left to be decided by the supreme court. rights of corporations, speech rights, of abortion protesters, privacy rights of people under arrest are among the significant issues that are so far unresolved. the biggest one politically will be the hobby lobby decision having to do with contraception and what's allowed and what can be opted out with and all of that and hobby lobby is the one that many activists in d.c. are gearing up for. i can tell you press releasewise, probably no other case that's left to be decided has more per capita press releases than anything having to do with the hobby lobby case. time for the next number in today's data bank. 5-0 of that was the vote by the arlington county board to demolish the infamous parking garage where reporter bob woodward secretly met with deep

throat during the watergate scandal. a new residential to your will be built on the site. demolition is expected to start january, 2017, but there will be an historical marker that will remain on location. and speaking of following the money, we've got a revealing look at the elite ultra rich donors dominating the political landscape. america's political oligarchs. plus the tdr 50 train rolls into the show-me state. all that begins right after the break. first you get hit by psor. and now you get hit again. this time by joint pain. it's a double whammy. it could psoriatic arthritis a chronic inflammatory disease that attacks your joints on the inside and your skin on the outside. if you've been hit by... find out more about psoriatic arthritis. take the symptom quiz at doublewhammy.com and talk to your doctor. when laquinta.com sends him a ready for you alert the second his room is ready,

ya know what salesman alan ames becomes? i think the numbers speak for themselves. i'm sold! a "selling machine!" ready for you alert, only at lq.com. take them on the way you always have. live healthy and take one a day men's 50+. a complete multivitamin with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. age? who cares.

k today.

that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. at humana, we believe if healthcare changes, if it becomes simpler... if frustration and paperwork decrease... if grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home... the gap begins to close. so let's simplify things. let's close the gap between people and care. ♪ a developing situation here in the nation's capital. a u.s. secret service official tells nbc news that out of an abundance of caution that some employees at the new eisenhower executive office building adjacent to the white house have been directed to evacuate after a canine alert on a vehicle. that's simply all it was. we'll bring you more updates as we get them. as you know the president is still waking up in palm springs.

he flies back to d.c. later this afternoon. all right, it's tdr 50 time and this week we're going to the gateway to the west. some folks call it missouri. a few call it missouri, either way it's the state in our tdr 50 spotlight. for 100 years missouri was america's most reliable swing state but that hasn't been the case over a decade. from 1904 to 2004 the state correctly backed the electoral college winner 25 out of 26 times. by the late '90s, its swing state status started to fade. for a state that was always caught between the midwest and the south, it started to trend more towards being a southern state, at least as far as its conservative ideology. 2000 was the first year that we saw that. missouri split from the popular vote, that was the first, and stuck with the republican candidate in the three subsequent presidential elections. 2008 barack obama became the first democrat in history to win the presidency without carrying missouri. so what happened?

when we talk about statewide political shifts, we usually talk about the changes in demographics. in missouri, it's the changes that have not happened that have made the difference. for example, the number of whites compared to nonwhites nationwide has gone from a 3-1 ratio to 2-1 but it's remained relatively static in missouri. while the rest of the country has trended toward urbanization, the big cities in missouri haven't seen as big of an influx. in 1990 missouri had three cities that numbered over 125,000. the same number there are today. while kansas city, st. louis and springfield have become more democratic, their populations make up less of the state's overall population than they used to. the three big cities in missouri made up 19% of the state's population in 1990, but just 16% in 2013. in some states when big cities go to the democrats, it's enough to deliver the entire state. that's not the case in missouri anymore. in 2012 obama won just three counties, jackson, home to kansas city, boone, home to

columbia, and st. louis county and the city of st. louis. in fact the map kind of looks like the nation, doesn't it, as a whole? blue to the east and west with one dot in the middle. you know, kind of seems like america. joining me now, political reporter for "the kansas city star" dan helling. dan, that's what's amazing about missouri is there are many of my colleagues who still think of missouri as a swing state. the fact of the matter, it's not anymore. it's pretty solidly red, is it not? >> well, it is at least on the presidential level, chuck. we haven't really been competitive, as you pointed out, since 2000. in fact in 2004 john kerry came out here and had a three-day event, traveled by train from st. louis to kansas city. about 48 hours later abandoned missouri when he realized the democrat just doesn't have a chance here. that's what happened in 2004. now statewide democrats still have a chance here, chuck, because of the urban nature of

kansas city and st. louis, as you point out. claire mccaskill a democrat, jay nixon, the governor, a democrat. but it has to be a specific kind of democrat. it has to be what we used to call a law and order democrat, a conservative social democrat. claire is like that, jay is like that. that's how you succeed as a democrat statewide in missouri. >> and you can't have any association with st. louis. is that still a -- sort of a mark on you as a democrat? the more st. louis you're associated with, the less shot you have statewide, that it's better to be kansas city, if anything else, like claire? >> but even kansas city is not really a guarantor of anything, because like a lot of states, chuck, missouri is split between urban and rural more than it is republican and democrat. and so if you're going to succeed like claire mccaskill, you have to make an appeal to rural and largely suburban voters as well. that's what she was successful at. that's what democrats have to do to win in this state. >> all right.

missouri obviously it's known because it was a compromise state. it is a border state. for me most of my -- half of my lifetime i thought of it as a midwestern state and now i feel like it's appropriate that it join the s.e.c. in football, the university of missouri, because it does feel like it's more of a southern state today than it ever was. >> without question. a good comparison is georgia, maybe, virginia, arkansas. mike huckabee was very popular here. one of the things you have to remember about the republican party in missouri, chuck, is that the tea party is less of an influence than the christian right, the evangelical movement, particularly along the southern border in arkansas, the boot heel. republicans really rely on evangelical and christian rights support. in that it resembles states like mississippi, louisiana, georgia. it is really turned to the south as opposed to say, iowa, minnesota or even wisconsin to a degree. and if the trend continues, as most of us expect that it will,

missouri will be firmly in the grip of the southern republican party for many, many years to come. >> and basically you outlined in one way how claire mccaskill and jay nixon have succeeded, but isn't it realistically they only won because their republican candidates were unpopular? >> yes, largely. as you know in all politics, you've got to have somebody who teat somebody and that was clearly the case in 2012, for example, when claire mccaskill ran against todd akin. i told people before todd akin is just like mike huckabee without the sense of humor. that's how powerful -- >> charisma. >> right, the christian right is in the gop. but you can't win statewide just with that. you have to make a broader appeal. todd akin, of course, famously failed at that. but again, it's an uphill battle for every democrat statewide. republicans have an advantage. we should point out to your viewers, of course, that like a lot of southern states, the legislature is controlled by republicans.

they're going to put a pretty strong slate together in 2016 for the governorship. so republicans are clearly ascending in the state. >> all right, dave helling, a great way to kick off our missouri week. by the end we'll be calling it missoura. anyway, dave, great starter for us. thanks very much. >> you bet. politics, the new playground for america's super rich. author ken vogel has a great new book out, a must read, frankly, if you care about american politics. it reveals some of the stories behind the country's biggest political donors. first, our tdr 50 soup of the day. over at st. louis' daily bread bakery and cafe they're serving up potato bacon. good grief. that's a meal, not a soup. we'll be right back. she's still the one for you.

and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain,

as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use means keeping seven billion ctransactions flowing.g, and when weather hits, it's data mayhem. but airlines running hp end-to-end solutions are always calm during a storm. so if your business deals with the unexpected, hp big data and cloud solutions make sure you always know what's coming - and are ready for it. make it matter. what's your favorite kind of

cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... oh yeah, and frosted! what's your most favorite of all? hmm...the kind i have with you. me too. [ male announcer ] it's one of the most amazing things we build and it doesn't even fly. we build it in classrooms and exhibit halls, mentoring tomorrow's innovators. we build it raising roofs, preserving habitats and serving america's veterans. every day, thousands of boeing volunteers help make their communities the best they can be. building something better for all of us. ♪ the rise of the political oligarchs. it's a story we've been following here on "the daily

rundown." how big money is turning political candidates into powerful entities who can buck the bosses of the two-party system without much backlash. eight million small donors gave a total of $500 million to presidential candidates in 2012. it only took 4600 big donors to match that amount. eight million, 4600. in other words, in a race where both sides try to court the middle class, the top 0.04% of donors gave as much money as the bottom 68%. joining me is a reporter who's enjoying rare access to the billionaire donors, politico's ken vogel, author of a very important book that's out, "big money money." i love you did everything you could to sort of sex up campaign money because, frankly, it's at the root cause of our problems today in many ways. so i admire the pimp thing in there. >> thank mark lebovich for the

long subtitle. >> they essentially decided to cut out the middleman. who was the pioneer in this? >> i think you have to look towards karl rove. for years there had been wealthy donors getting involved in politics in different ways but karl rove is the one that foresaw even before the citizens united supreme court decision in 2010 that really opened the flood gates, karl rove saw the potential for just a handful of these super wealthy donors to become a true force in politics. and while some of the donors have stepped out on their own and become kind of rogue agents, it's really the operatives who can channel just a handful of big donors who become the most powerful. >> i was just going to say, where's the chicken and egg here? is it big donors interested in influencing the political process, or is it political consultants who have trolled for a sugar daddy? >> i think it's both of those. what we're seeing more and more, especially after 2012 where of

course rove and some of the operatives around the koch brothers were so successful in raising huge sums of money and didn't get the result. obama was re-elected. the senate remained the same after a billion dollars of spending so some of the donors started to question it and say maybe these consultants are taking us for a ride. so you see increasingly the donors kind of seizing control of the process. you see these small groups of donors like the democracy alliance on the left, and on the ride you see folks like the koch brothers and paul singer who are forming their own sort of roving tribes of big donors. >> what's fascinated me, democracy alliance was first with this but afp is that they have decided to build their own infrastructures. forget just ignoring the consultant class, they're building -- the best voter file belongs to the koch brothers. the second belonged to democracy alliance. neither one belong to the dnc and rnc. >> that's right. and these factions of big donors are increasingly controlling not

just the money but the infrastructure as you mentioned and that makes them in some tha i.t. where you see it the most when the parties are out of power or surfing for whoever is next. the republicans have fallen prey, in some ways the factions of big donors. you see the struggle for the republican party. democrats have sat back smugly and thought we have avoided that. come 2016 all it will take is one group of donors to throw the best-laid plans. >> right. it doesn't take much. rick santorum and gingrich were the sugar daddies able to bail them out. do any of the donors, particularly on the left that claim to not like citizens united and that stuff. is it real when they say i wish we weren't doing this. i had tom here. i didn't want to to do it this way. it's no choice.

>> whether it's real or not. it almost doesn't make a difference. particularly the ones because there are some wealthy donors on the left who are giving money and top issue is getting money out of politics. and they say obama said in 2012, i can't unit latly disarm. i have to play within the system. if you are playing within the system because you like the system it almost doesn't matter. you're playing within the system and the big money becomes -- >> look at barack obama. this is a guy that basically he rewrote the rules of financing campaigns became the first billion-dollar candidate and he did it within the system, but he also didn't do it within the system. he bucked it like, you know, made it easier for republicans to say, well, the guy is not going to abide by limit. we have to beat him another way. >> what is interesting about obama. he has a core part of the political identity going back to the '90s the idea he was a crusader against big money and politics. of course, he shattered the

system in 2008, but he still could argue, you know, i had created this parallel system of public financing where it empowered the small donors. by 2012, we had the intervening supreme court case. but throw it out the window and embracing courting the big don ares no in a way that was indistinguish. he lost the moral eye ground. >> ken vogel. an important story transforming american politics. in a way that folks don't appreciate. it may not be sexy but read the book! it's got a -- >> trivia time. dwight eisenhower. congratulations to today's winner. we'll be right back. so when we asked the guys at composites horizons to map their manufacturing process with sticky notes and string, yeah, they were a little bit skeptical. what they do actually is rocket science.

high tech components for aircraft and fighter jets. we're just their bankers, right? but financing from ge capital also comes with expertise from across ge. in this case, our top lean process engineers. so they showed us who does what, when, and where. then we hit them with the important question: why? why put the tools over there? do you really need those five steps? what if you can do it in two? whoo, that's an interesting question. ideas for improvement started pouring out. with a little help from us, they actually doubled their output speed. a hundred percent bump in efficiency. if you just need a loan, just call a bank. but at ge capital, we're builders. and what we know... can help you grow.

how can a tablet replace your laptop? start with the best writing experience. make it incredibly thin. add an adjustable kickstand, a keyboard, a usb port, and the freedom of touch. and, of course, make it run microsoft office, with the power and speed to do real work. introducing surface pro 3. the tablet that can replace your laptop. some who duck the question

they say when they're asked about climate change they say, hey, look, i'm not a scientist. [ applause ] i'm -- i'm not a scientist either. but we have got some good ones at nasa. >> time now for today's take away. in his commencement address he gave on saturday, president obama once again, brought up the topic of climate change. it's been the focus of five major addresses since the beginning of may. he knows he might not make much progress on the policy standpoint. the president has thrown up the hands on topics like gun control. he wants to be out front on the issue of climate change. here is where we stand on the issue. most scientists say there is evidence. climate change consistently ranked near the bottom on what should washington be focussed on. wall street poll 27% said addressing climate change should be an absolute priority.

41% say it could be delayed. and 29% say it shouldn't be pursued at all. this has been the trouble for political letters. trying to push the issue. you have to get it out front. you may need an actual crisis. that's it. we "the daily run down" is next. we're turning up the highway department on the monday across the country. temperatures are getting very warm if not hot. the 90-degree temperatures arrive on the eastern sea board this week for a miniheat wave. we have to watch the chance of strong dangerous thunderstorms from minneapolis to ames, iowa. have a great day. prep for his presentation. and when steve is perfectly prepped, ya know what he brings?

and that's how you'll increase market share. any questions? can i get an "a", steve? yes! three a's! amazing sales! he brings his a-game! la quinta inns and suites is ready for you, so you'll be ready for business. the ready for you alert, only at laquinta.com! la quinta!

just take a closer look. it works how you want to work. with a fidelity investment professional... or managing your investments on your own. helping you find new ways to plan for retirement. and save on taxes where you can. so you can invest in the life that you want today. tap into the full power of your fidelity greenline. call or come in today for a free one-on-one review.

good monday morning. we are live on a busy monday morning. let's get into the breaking developments in iraq. we learned that islamic militants captured the most senior ranking iraqi military official in tal for a. as well as other dozens of military police and personnel. cities in iraq continue to fall. tal affair is the latest to fall to the latest islam state of iraq and syria. they have taken the l