is how did somebody else do, not how you did. and that's the score i'm keeping. am i going to be able to look back and say are more people working? are their bank accounts better? are more kids going to college? is housing improved? is the financial system more stable? are younger kids getting a better education? do we have a greater energy independence? is the environmental cleaner? have we done something about climate change? have we, you know, dealt with an ongoing terrorist threat and helped to bring about stability around the world? you know, and those things every single day i've got an opportunity to make a difference on those fronts. >> you're not satisfied where you're at now. >> absolutely not. i wouldn't be satisfied as long as i'm meeting somebody who

accident have a job and wants one. i'm not going to be satisfied as long as there's a kid who writes me a letter who says i've got $60,000 worth of debt and i don't know how to pay it back. and the american people aren't satisfied. i want to do everything i can to deliver for them. >> how about democrats? >> listen. as i think some of you saw when i was out on the campaign trail, i love campaigning. i love talking to ordinary people. i love listening to their stories. i love shaking hands and getting hugs and just seeing the process of democracy and citizenship manifest itself during an election. but i'm also a practical guy, and ultimately every candidate out there had to make their own decisions about what they

thought would be most helpful for them, and, you know, i wanted to make sure that i'm respectful of their particular region, their particular state or congressional district, and if it was more helpful for them to be behind the scenes, i'm happy to do it. i don't have -- i'll let other people analyze that. but what i will emphasize is that one of the nice things about being in the sixth year of your presidency is you've seen a lot of ups and downs, and you've gotten more than your fair share of attention. you know, i've had the limelight and there have been times where the request for my appearances were endless. there have been times where politically we were down. and it all kind of evens out, which is why what's most

important, i think, is keeping your eye on the ball, and that is actually getting something done. scott horsily, last question. >> thank you, mr. president. you mentioned that where your policies actually were on the ballot they often did better than members of your party? >> yeah. >> does that signal some shortcoming on your part or on the party's part in framing this election and communicating to the american people what it is that democrats stand for? >> you know, i do think that, you know, one area where i know we're constantly experimenting and trying to do better is just making sure the people know exactly what it is we're trying to accomplish and what we have accomplished in clear ways that people can -- that understand how it affects them.

you know, i think the minimum wage, i talked a lot about it on the campaign trail, but, you know, i'm not sure it penetrated well enough to make a difference. part of what i also think we've got to look at is that two-thirds of people who are eligible to vote and just didn't vote. you know, one of the things that i'm very proud of in 2008 and 2012 when i ran for office was we got people involved who hadn't been involved before. we got folks to vote who hadn't voted for, particularly young people. and that was part of the promise and the excitement was if you get involved, if you participate, if you embrace that sense of citizenship, then

things change, and not just in abstract ways. they change in concrete ways. somebody gets a job who didn't have it before. somebody gets health care who didn't have it before or a student is able to go to college who couldn't afford it before. and sustaining that, especially in midterm elections is proving difficult. sustaining that sense of if you get involved, you know, then -- and if you vote, then there's going to be big change out there. and partly, i think, when they look to washington and they say nothing's working and it's not making a difference and there's just a constant slew of bad news coming over the tv screen, then you can understand how folks would get discouraged. but it's my job to figure this out as best i can, and if the

way we are talking about issues isn't working, then i'm going to try some different things. if the ways that we're approaching the republicans in congress isn't working, you know, i'm going to try different things, whether it's having to drink with mitch mcconnell or letting john boehner beat me again at golf, you nknow, or weekly press conferences, i don't know if that would be effective. but, you know, whatever i think might make a difference in this, i'm going to be trying out up until my last day in office. but i'll close with what i said in my opening statement. i am really optimistic about america. i know that runs counter to the

current mood, but when you look at the facts, our economy is stronger than just about anybody's, our energy production is better than just about anybody's, we've slashed our deficit by more than half, more people have health insurance, businesses have the strongest balance sheets that they've had in decades, our young people are just incredibly talented and gifted, and more of them are graduating from high school and more of them are going on to college, and more women are getting degrees and entering into the work force. part of the reason i love campaigning is you travel around the country. folks are just good. they're smart and they're hard-working, and they're not always paying a lot of attention to washington. and in some cases they've given up on washington.

but their impulses are not sharply partisan and their impulses are not ideological. they're really practical, good, generous people. so -- can we continue to be the magnet for the brightest and be best around the world? we have the best. our armed forces, i had a chance to call some of them. our health service that is operating in liberia, and the amount of hope and professionalism that they've brought has galvanized the entire country and they've built a platform effectively for other countries to start coming in, and we're seeing real progress in fighting a disease in a country that just a month or a month and a half ago was desperate and had no hope. so all that makes me optimistic.

and my job over the next couple of years is to do some practical concrete things as much as possible with congress. it's not possible without congress on my own. to show people why we're confident and to give people a sense of progress and a sense of hope. that doesn't mean there aren't going to be ongoing neighing problems that are stubborn and can't be solved overnight and probably the biggest one is despite economic growth, wages and income still have not gone up, and that's a long-term trend we've seen for ten, 20rks 30 years and it makes people worry about not just their own situation but whether their kids are going to be doing better than they did, which is the essence of the american dream. tlirng are some concrete things we can do to make sure that wages and incomes do go up. minimum wage in those five states was a good start. but i think, you know, more than

anything, what i want to communicate over these next two years is the promise and possibility of america. this is just an extraordinary country, and our democracy is messy and we're diverse and we're big and there are times where you're a politician and you're disappointed with election results. but maybe i'm just getting older. i don't know. it doesn't make me mopey. it energizes me because it means that this democracy is working and people in america were restless and impatient and we want to get things done and even when things are going good, we want to do better, and that's why this is the greatest country on earth. that's why i'm so privileged to have the chance to be president for the next couple of years. all right? thank you, everybody. >> that was president obama

making his first public remarks since republicans seized full control of the u.s. congress. his remarks come just hours after soon-to-be presumed senate majority winner mitch mcconnell said he would try to work with the president on trade agreements. joining me now is the host of msnbc's "hard bawl yts patricia murphy and former deputy white house press secretary bill burton and former rnc chair michael steele. chris, if you wanted contrition this afternoon from the president, you certainly did not get it in that press conference. >> no. we have to go three everything. he talked about everything that has to get done, ebola, the isis and the budget and everything with regard to tax reform and infrastructure and minimum wage. but then there were the ships passing in the night. i tell you, the president either didn't like what the results of the campaign last night were,

the election, he didn't think that was a true american constituency. he kept saying the two-thirds that didn't vote. he didn't agree with the people who voted last night. here's where there's going to be a problem. he's set the end of the year as the deadline before he deals with his version of the polling. we had a law back in the '80s that was never enforced. people come into the country illegally and say make me legal. there's rightis to immigrants. here's what he says. he says, i'm going to fix the problem. he's not going to do anything to stop immigration or hiring of illegal immigrants. he's going to deal with it by saying i'm going to give them green cards. he's not going to solve the problem. he's contributing to the problem.

there are the his spannic people and their leaders who say our problem is not illegal immigration. our problem is the people who came here illegally are not being treated right and we want them getting a path to citizenship. we have two ships passing in the night. he's not going to recognize what happened last night. so we have a real struggle coming here, a collision coming. mitch mcconnell speaking for those who don't like illegal immigration. so does boehner. the president speaks with passion for those who come here illegally and feel like americans and want to be recognized. what bothered me about him tonight. he talked about common ground. damnit there's little on common ground. you give me something with corporate tax reform and i'll get rid of some of the

loopholes. he never mentioned trading and compromi compromising. he always talks about common ground. damnit, there's no common ground. you want to take care of people who have been here illegally for 20, 30 years. here's what i want. no more illegal hiring. he doesn't want that. he's acting like there's no other world out there and that's going to be a collision at the toechbld year like you've never seen. i do believe it will be waving a red flag in front of the bull. >> clearly compromise is the story. >> he doesn't say compromise. he says common ground. >> from the republican side there was clearly a memo that went out with the exception of reince priebus, we're not going to bask in this and rub mud in the democrats' faces. i wonder from chris's point. the president sounds like he's

ready to make an executive action on immigration reform. in what way does that scuttle any cooperation? >> it kills it. it kills it. >> the fact that he's mentioning it today in the press conference -- >> i guess it's his warning shots to the republicans. after last night with advi, as it, it's probably the best we've heard on this subject of immigration which actively reflects how he's handled a number of other things. if that is his first move, it will absolutely poison any conversation he will have with the republicans. republicans recognize they geesht to find a sweet spot on immigration because they're going into a 2016 campaign. they're starting to hear rumblings and pressures from those who want to be the nominee. you all got to clean this up. okay. you all got to clean this up. >> is that what they say? >> it's more like, gentlemen, i

think we need to do something about this. >> you've got a bill with 12 republicans. >> that's the president's starting spot and that's what he should have led with in this conversation. mr. boehner, mr. mcconnell, we have something on the table. let's start with this. >> he did, in his defense, repeatedly say, just pass that bill and i -- >> no. >> he won't admit to two items in the bill. he never mentions the teeth in the bill which the republicans need to take home to the people. they've got to go home and say we're really going to stop -- >> give them something. give them something. >> in part if he's not talking about it, he has some ground to make up with hispanics in the country. there were, as they see it, promises broken. this administration has led in terms of level historic deportation. >> how does he pass that deal? >> i'm saying at this particular time when there's a real

question about it over the bass for the president to come out and highlight -- >> all we need is more politics. >> that's what this is. it is politics. and, chris, i feel like i'm living in a different world than the one that you're living in. because to listen to you talk about this bill and the president's not selling it and blah, blah, blah, the problem is the bill has been passed by the united states senate and they will not move on it in the house, period. that's it. that's why. >> what's the answer? >> the answer is the tea party is holding the house hostage. >> what's the claim of the 30 or 40 members of the tea party in congress? >> first of all, there's more like 100 in the united states congress. and second what they've tried to do is stop the president from having any major accomplishment. this is not about the policy. it's about the politics. the reason they don't move forward is not because of passion or teeth, they don't want president obama to get a major accomplishment. >> let me -- >> politics is new in this

country. i just had to make the point. >> that's right. it is different. when the president talks about what the american people want, the american people do want immigration reform. >> what do you mean by immigration reform? what do you mean by it? >> i mean -- >> a path to citizenship? >> a path to citizenship. >> what don't they like about it now? what's bothering them about it? >> i know what you're trying to draw out of me in the conversation? the truth? >> the americans want a path to citizenship. >> check the polling. the public doesn't like illegal immigration. >> chris, let me interrupt you for a second. patricia, in terms of the house which has been sitting on the senate bill, there's been a lot of talk about whether the fact that john boehner now has more soldiers on the field in the

house, we'll do anything, give him more running room to make compromise. it sounds like the new population of the house, more republicans are going to be more conservative than the older population what is your assessment? >> he'll have a more conservative caucus. mitch mcconnell will have am more conservative caucus. i want to go back to something chris said. the problem with the way the president is handling this and the way he's approached republicans and always has, there's a difference between what they're there for and how they're agreeing. that's his form of negotiation. instead of doing something you don't want to do in order to get somebody else to do something they don't want to do but to come to some sort some of a compromise. mitch mcconnell is actually a deal maker and john boehner is actually a deal maker. they're two men who are old school washington. they want to leave the table

with something in hand. i think boehner has been strengthened in the last couple of years. he's been able to turn to the outside groups and says, you know what? i don't care what you think anymore. i think he has a stronger negotiation. the ball is in the president's court. if this is the salvo and here it is, where do grow from there? >> it's hard to imagine. >> by the way, the republicans want this off their back. they don't want this thing in 2016. they're losing the battle. it's like the old deal between tip and reagan on social security. the democrats wanted to get more benefits, they wanted more taxes. they want the whole deal. reagan wanted the monkey off their back. this common ground is stupid talk. the fact that he's getting advice from american people who are saying he's already right is the problem. he's got too many fans around him saying all you need to do is

keep doing what you're doing. what i need to hear is, you're right. i was wrong last night. >> that's an important piece of what happened. >> they didn't show up. >> the president definitely reiterated several times in the press conference two-thirds of the country did not vote. which is saying that wasn't my america who didn't vote. we'll unpack that. >> why don't we elect the voters and have them pick for us. that would be a great system. >> stay with me. the host of "hardball" the hardest working man in political coverage, always an honor. you can catch "hardball" right here on msnbc. after the break, can anybody put ted cruz in the corner? one believes he can. this bodes well for something actually getting done. i'll tell you what that thing was coming up ahead on "now."

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i am the guy who's elected by everybody. moments ago president obama got into exactly what went on last night. >> the american people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn't work well and that it is not attentive to their needs, and as president they rightly hold me accountable to do more to make it work properly. i'm the guy who's elected by everybody. >> indeed the throw your hands up postmortem is a time honored presidential tradition. >> i'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like i did last night. >> if you look at it race by race, it was close. the cumulative effect, however, was not too close. it was a thumping. >> i think they still just don't like it when they watch what we do up here. >> however, however, however it's been phrased, election day 2014 was a route.

republicans won nearly every contested seat in the u.s. senate picking up arkansas, colorado, iowa, montana, kansas, and north carolina. in the house they gain 14d seats. even more shocking the governors races. they held on in florida and maine and won in deep blue massachusetts and illinois and maichblt the chief officer also offered up what the next two years might look like. >> i have confidence that if we continue to focus on the american people and not on, you know, our own ambitions or image or, you know, various concerns like that, that, you know, at the end of the day when i look back, i'm going to be able to look back and say the american people are better off than

before i was president. >> so will the new party in pow graesh the president's outstretched hand? maybe. mitch mcconnell offered his own olive branch of at least what appeared to be an olive branch. >> when the american people choose the government, i don't think it means they don't want us to do anything. i think it means they want us to look for areas of agreement. i think we have an obligation to change the behavior of the senate and to begin to function again. that doesn't guarantee that the president's going to agree with everything we do. >> perhaps there is one thing on which the pair can agree. >> you know, actually i would enjoy having some kentucky bourbon with mitch mcconnell. >> but would mitch mcconnell enjoy drinking kentucky bourbon with you. joining us now is howard fineman.

howard, let me start first with -- there's many dimensions to what happened last night. >> many, many. >> one of the things we were discussing just contentiously a moment ago is the president's lack of contrition here. the notion of saying i was the guy elected by everyone. two-thirds of the country didn't show up to vote. senate democrats seem to have a different assessment of that. they're angry. harry reid's staff is quoted in the "washington post" saying we were never going to get on the same page at the white house, we were beating our heads against the wall. i don't think the political white house was truly up to speed and up to par to truly get done what was needed to get done rchl you surprised by that? >> no, i'm not surprised in the least. the party that gets shellacked starts pointing fingers at people within their own ranks and that's exactly what's happening. it's also true that the president's team and harry reid's team have rarely ever been on the same page from the beginning and that adds

dimension in itself. there was a time when harry reid thought the president wasn't negotiating hard enough, wasn't carrying the ball strong enough, wasn't staking out positions that would help the people in the senate. and flip side in the election harry reid basically ran a campaign designed to make the president irrelevant that really didn't do enough to focus on what the democratic party's achievements were. instead he kind of went into a boxer's crouch and stayed there the entire time, which infuriated the white house. and they're at each other's throats and that's not surprising and they're going to continue. >> the other thing the president talked about is how much he loved the american people and how great he thought they were. it's very clear that it's stated the reaction of the voters themselves, not the congress or the political chattering glass. i guess i wonder in terms of 2016, there's a lot that will be expected of the leader of the democratic party who sits in 1600 pennsylvania avenue in

terms of setting the table for the democratic party. how much of a priority do you think that is for this president in particular? >> i think the president understands that a lot of his legacy will lean on the fact that if there's a democrat who comes after him, a lot of it will be protected. if there's a republican, a lot will be dismantled. i think about the power plant rules which the president would try to take apart. but i don't think the president is focused who the next president is going to be. like he said, he's still got 25% left. >> shouldn't he be -- based on what you said, shouldn't he be more focused on who the 2016 nominee should be if that person stands the chance of unwinding everything he's done as president? >> i think that's part of it but i think the ultimate thrust of what he's up to is going to be doing his job, making sure we're attending to the ebola crisis, taking care of our national security threats abroad. that's going to be what he's focused on. when you listen to him today, i

know people felt like he wasn't contrite or whatever. what he was was very focused on the issues at hand and making sure that people do a little better, be it on education, health care, any of those things. that's what he's focused on. >> what did you think, michael steele, on the general posture of the press conference? >> he wanted to be anyplace else. he did not want to do the press conference at all. you could see it at certain times. one of my favorite moments was when he was asked about not having met with mitch mcconnell but twice over six years. before he gave the answer, you heard the sigh that sort of summed up the campaign and his not wanting to be there. that's the problem. i appreciate what bill just said about all the president focused on and concentrated on but it landed on ho how he's talking. the relationship between the president and the democratic leadership, the president and

his opposition. he has none. and last night was the culmination of six years of not having that relationship snooki just -- >> let me ask patricia. from the view of congress, there have been some unsparing editorials and is says and analyses about the president. this one, president may end his term of office as the most isolated president since richard nixon. that seems a little harsh, patricia. i wonder what you think or a lot harsh. i wonder what you think is the relationship between him and democratic my north leadership on capitol hill at this point. >> there is not one. there is not a relationship. that's why you have these problems. i cannot overstate the irony that all of these democrats have lost their jobs for the policy of a president who never even talks to him very much. some of them have never spoken to the president. you heard complaints large and small. i wanted to go to the white house picnic and didn't get invited. i wanted to bring ply daughter.

the white house said no. and the large bill, they knew it was going to be toxic and they rammed it through anyway. they wanted to get their win. they believed in it, that's fine, but they didn't pay attention the politics of it. 30 who voted are gone now. thing about that. it's not because they wanted to leave. >> howard, for the first time i can remember, the president acknowledged how contentious it was to pass the affordable care act in that press conference and sort of spoke to the issue that it was done in way that would have stoked tensions and, you know, created, i think frustration on both sides of the aisle. >> look. as somebody who loved politics, the interplay of politics, the game of politics, the tors straighting of politics would in a way be rubbing their hands at this point. they would be saying let's see what mitch anded ei can do here >> absolutely. >> instead he said i'm go doing go over here and work on these things.

>> he said i'm not mopey. >> it's no different than saying i'm not a crook. >> is it really fair? i don't think of him as particularly mopey person but that line for sure is going to live on as one of the -- it's not the thumping or the shellacking. that is his version. i'm not mopey. >> it was 30 minutes of pure mope. >> as bill can tell you as a spin guy, you never apologize for something you haven't been accused of. >> that is true, although -- we have to take a break. there's obviously much more to unpack. coming up whether you're a democrat or republican, laust night was a good night for women. i'll tell you why. coming up next.

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representation because there are now a total of 100 women in congress marking the first time the number of women on capitol hill has been in the triple digits, and for a country that ranks among the worst in the developed world, that's a wonderful thing. utah electi elected the first b female. iowa and scott brown gained the dubious distinction of becoming the first man in u.s. history to loose two senate races to women. you're welcome, scott. granted there is still much progress to be made and candidates who ran big on reproductive rights including wendy davis and mark udall in colorado, they faced major defeats last night. but there is reason for optimism and perhaps just maybe a new coalition for space. coming up, mitch money connell's bold prediction and

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now that he has won the majority, some big questions loom for mitch mcconnell. what might be his approach to governing in the last two years and how much might that approach be foiled by members of his own party who preferred a crash and burn. last night ted cruz would not admit to mitch mcconnell being the majority winner and he also had an idea how the gop should spend the next two years. >> now is the time to go after and do everything humanly pos to

repeal obamacare. now is the time to stand up to the president and say no more amnesty. the era of obama lawlessness is over. >> on both of those fronts, mcconnell had some news for cruz. >> clearly there will be no government shutdowns and national debt. i'll make a prediction for you. i'll be the majority leader. boom, drop the mike. that was just -- what of ted cruz, michael steele? i mean we all -- he makes everybody's life miserable but he seems particularly intent on making mitch mcconnell and the resur subsequent establishment moderate wing of the gop's life miserable. >> i don't know if it's making it miserable. i think he wants to pull them into his way of governing. >> which is what? does he have a style of govern

answ ance? >> as we've seen over the last year, he has a lot of relationship with the house members and has considerable influence over those house members as well. boehner before he has a vote needs to check to make sure there hasn't been a separate meeting by some members of the caucus with cruz. that's kind of the old reality. the question that needs to be answered by boehner and mcconnell together is that going to be part of the new reality. do they appropriately put ted cruz in check? he's a u.s. senator, so he's one of 100. he's got free range, but as you heard from mcconnell this afternoon, you know, a week from today, i'm going to be the majority leader, and he's old school and he's going to bring some old school approaches to dealing with the likes of cruz. >> bill, you know in the world of outside campaign finance and spending groups, the republicans were really active in making sure the candidates that ran this cycle, the way that they

spoke about the issues, i mean the establishment was asserting control in way that they have not in previous election cycles and i think to put it, you know, co-loek weeially, feeling themselves now. >> i think to put it in two ways, i think in picking the candidates that they got in each one of these states. for example in north carolina, democrats dmoidet want to run against thom tillis. >> or chris mcdaniel, thad cochran. he was put in place by them. >> secondly, ted cruz is barely going to pay attention to what's happening in the senate, but to attack it, in 2016, running against anybody in washington is a good political strategy. >> knowing mcconnell, having covered him back in louisville when i was a reporter there, and watching him operate, what he's going to do, i think, is he's going to have a meeting with ted cruz. i don't know if they'll be drinkingky bdrink

ing kentucky bourbon at that one or not. he'll say i'm going to give you something to chew on, ted. if you want to investigate everything, do a bunch of investigations, give me an area and some lanes you'll stay in and i'll let you go do your thing, but if you try to mess up everything else that i want to do to make history, because that's what mcconnell's thinking now and get a republican in the white house, then i'm going to dedicate my time as the majority leader in screwing you over. and don't forget, there are other people running for senate, key among them rand paul, with who mcconnell has sort of an operating agreement. they're not buddies either but he can use rand paul against ted cruz if he chooses to do so. >> but think about how dangerous ted cruz is really to the entire republican brand. if you listen to just the tone of that sound bite that we just heard, there's no compromise, there's no discussion of conciliation that.

is just angry red meat hard core -- >> i think there were actually lightning bolts that shot out of his eyes at the end. >> exactly. that's one piece of the play. the other piece is during the general election, he was the largest donor, gave $250,000 to all of his colleagues who he has been offending for so long. now he's giving them money. he went campaigning for patrick roberts. >> the irony is mcconnell spent all these decades slowly like the turtdle slowly getting to run the institution of the senate, but the institution of the senate has now changed. it's run from the outside as much as the inside, which is the point you're making. outside spending and freelancers like ted cruz. >> that is the huge question. with were talking about this during the break. one of the most despicable

pieces from the national review today, michael steele, written by the editors of the national review, quote, the governing trap is the name of it. it's up to the republicans to prove they can governor. this makes no sense as a political strategy. it's stunning to me that the governing trap which is also known as governing is seen as a losing political strategy. mine are these people not elected but to govern? >> that's exactly what they're elected for and i'm surprised they would take that approach because, in fact, that 's what this election was about. you saw in the exit poll from the voters that they were looking for our leaders, and i assume that included the republican leadership in the house and the senate to govern. and now that they've ginch the congress to both the republicans and senate in the house, the expectation is you're going to do that. if in the next two years are sitting back -- is just sitting

back and throwing bombs and acting like you smell better than everybody else in the room, they're going to have a real problem. and you fwhoe's going to put a stop to it? those individuals who are going to be running for president because at the end of the day -- >> that's why mitch mcconnell at the point of his maximum initial authority here said no government shutdown, no debt ceiling crap and that was aimed specifically at ted cruz. >> to your point, howard, he always said, oh, you can bet on an irs hearing. here ted cruz is a small lukewarm baby pool who will let you flap around as long as you don't pee in it. >> the benghazi stuff is for the reason that hillary clinton is there. >> mitch mcconnell became the majority leader because of this exact thing, governance. >> now he's got to actually do

it. >> right. >> let me just say in closing rush limbaugh agrees with the national review and said republicans were not elected to govern. the republican party was e lectd to stop us before we go over the cliff. chool. my family's all military. you don't know what to expect. then suddenly you're there... in another world. i did my job. you do your best. i remember the faces... how everything mattered... so much more. my buddies... my country... everything... and everyone i loved... back home. ♪ [ male announcer ] for all who've served and all who serve, we can never thank them enough. ♪

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sam brownback was able to hold his seat against senator davis and it extended to blue states with republicans declaring victory in maryland and in the liberal bastion of massachusetts and in the president's home state of illinois. that's what happens when you edit a teleprompter on the fly which is something i shouldn't do with very little sleep under my belt. if there's action happening in america, it's happening at the state level and there was a sense of confidence shared by some progressives like, okay, it's going to be real bad across washington but across the states maybe it won't be so bad but it turns out it was even worse. >> in term os testify governance races heading into 2016 is the republicans picking up seats in states that are either toss-up states or are hard-lined democratic states, illinois being an example, massachusetts

being another, although massachusetts has the habit of electing republican governors periodically. and maryland, which is close to where i live, people thought it was going to be close state. maybe michael didn't. that's his home state. >> former lieutenant governor. >> that he would lose by over 100,000 votes. he didn't just lose. he got whacked. in presidential elections as bill well knows, if you have a democratic governor in place when you're running in a general election, that can be very helpful to you as a candidate and democrats have to worry about it. hillary's home state in a way, illinois, is now in republican hands. >> florida 2,0000, that's goingo matter. >> go ahead. >> maryland was a good example

of what the election was about except for maybe a lot of us sitting here talking. it was the kitchen table, econom economics. in m. it was the growing tax increases in the last six, seven years. it was about the loss of jobs, loss of businesses. it was an economic argument. larry hogan made the argument concisely. did not get sidetracked by the gun argument from brown or the war on women argument by brown. that's what he concentrated on. they never told him why he should be governor after eight years and all of that and that is the difference. >> what is endlessly frustrated, i think, you look at some of these states, red states in particular, bill, it's been expand and now tens of thousands have access to basic health care they never would have and they remain strongly opposed to the democratic party despite the fact that the democratic party

has given them a very important service. >> that's the real policy implication of this election. you're right. i do thing this came down to policies and democrats' inability to really articulate a vision that was appealing to this electorate. but when you look at this state like florida, the fact that they kept rick scott as opposed to charlie crist means not that medicate is going to be expanded there. it's for the 1.3 million living in florida. >> huge, huge, huge. the other thing we're seeing, patricia, is the consolidation of one-party power. again, it seems to be an issue, right? the gop now holds total control, which means they have the governorship and a majority in the state legislature in 24 states. the democrats are likely to hold total control in only six states. that again has profound implications for national policy as it is executed at the state level and for state initiatives. >> it does and it also has profound implications for the nature of these states going into 2020 the next time that they redraw those lines.

we're talking about states that the pendulum has swung and when you can draw your own lines, you keep the pendulum over on your side for as long as you possibly want it. they're going to be able to hole onto control of those states really for as long as you want it and you have to think, well, if a state overreaches and the party overreaches, they'll be turned out by the people voting. then you look to kansas. i talked to republicans who were just disgusted with sam brown beck. there's no explanation for his victory except the democratic brand has gotten so destroyed that anybody who is a democrat is having a really hard time getting elected. >> but still, i mean, michael steele, there was a 20 -- the kansas revenue drt reports in the month of october, which just ended, revenue in the state of kansas had fallen $23 million below estimates. that's just in the month of october. moody's, standard & poor's has downgraded it.

the conservative experiment has failed spectacularly, and yet -- >> he got re-elected. >> sam brownback is re-elected. >> i think it's boiled down to what they just said, who they like. and right now, those democrats are the symbol of obama. they don't like the president. tlefr, i don't like this candidate who represents the president, case over. >> or i like the candidate but i can't assistant the party. >> that's the issue for democrats, the platform ma thanks people understand and believe in notion that the government can actually help them. >> with the president being so unpop larks in the state senate race, his popularity was 35%. they needed to find a way to say yes but here's some good things that happened in the last few years and here's our vision and they didn't do it. as a result, billion, nearly billions of dollars in negative advertising was launched against the president and you do see the results. >> we do see the results. a brutal postmortem this

afternoon. but good autopsy managers. thank you to bill burton, michael steele, and patricia murphy, and, of course, howard fineman. that's all for now. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. eastern. "the ed show" is coming up next. good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" like from detroit lakes, minnesota. we've got to a lot do. let's get to work. >> the republicans had a good night. >> here comes america. >> this was a great day for the country. >> but back to the future -- >> senator mcconnell decided to have his press conference before president obama's. >> the president's always been cordial. our top political priority tonight, president obama, a political concern. he's always been cordial. >> we're going to make them squeal. >> it might be a little like the carpenters song "we've only jt