and affordable with walk-in medical care, no appointments needed and most insurance accepted. minuteclinic. another innovation from cvs health. because health is everything. oil and water, the senate is voting right now on the keystone xl pipeline. ♪ >> as we come on the air, something six years in the making it happening. a final vote on the $8 billion keystone pipeline. the bill extends the existing line 1200 miles south to kerkt the canadian tar sands to refineries on the gulf coast. the bill is expected to pass the senate and then be sent back to the house where they'll have to approve those senate amendments. president obama vows to veto it and it's not likely the senate has the two-thirds majority they

need to override him. >> the president believes the best way for us to resolve the -- for us to determine whether or not building the keystone pipeline is in the national interest of the united states is to allow the well-established administrative process to be carried out. that will allow experts in the field of the environment and of energy policy to carefully examine the route of the pipeline, the potential impact it could have on communities along that route, and to determine whether or not it's in the national interest. based on that determination, the project will either go forward or not. >> referring to the final reviews of 14 agencies due next week on the environmental and economic impacts of the pipeline. the state department, which has a say over cross-border projects, will make its final recommendation to the president. critics say this is not a jobs bill because it will only support 35 permanent u.s. jobs. they also point out it's not an energy bill since it will move

canadian crude. but mitch mcconnell wants them to reconsider his veto threat because both sides of congress are working together on this. >> well this is a happy day on several counts. we just finished having our 38th roll call vote on an amendment in the senate which is more than twice as many as we had in all of 2014. >> it has been good for the process, and i think good for the spirit of cooperation as we move forward. >> what we've seen over the last several weeks is the senate i remember. the senate i was elected to. a senate where there was active debate, deliberations, amendments, and for some members, it's a new experience. i hope that in our role as the minority minority, we can work with you in a mutual respect to achieve debate on the floor if not significant legislation. >> this has been good for the senate, good for both parties,

good for america. we're getting back to normal. >> so are things really back to normal? we kick off our coverage with nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. we saw a marathon of votes wednesday as well as this morning on keystone amendments. where do things stand as of now? >> they're still voting on the last batch of amendments. then it will go to final passage. so the senate will get its say on whether the keystone xl pipeline goes forward. we know that it is a simple majority vote so the votes are there. it's simply a matter of waiting for it to unfold. then the question becomes, what will house speaker john boehner and his leadership team decide to do to match up the two different bills? what different but the overall theme is the republicans in congress are saying to the president, we want to see this plan go forward. we want to see the jobs that are related to it. construction jobs, more of those, fewer permanent jobs as you laid out, then there's this whole debate on is this the first showdown with the white house. it's certainly and important

priority for republican but there are democrats who came along too. is it a new normal? we'll have to see how it shakes out. but there are certainly senators who are enjoying the chance to put amendments on the floor, to talk about these issues and to try to work together. what it will all mean eventually, we'll have to see. but for right now, the senate is more active than it's been in quite a long time. >> nbc's kelly o'donnell, thank you as always. let's turn to jonathan allen, washington bureau chief for bloomberg news. always great to see you. it seems like this is going to pass both the house and the senate eventually. but do republicans secretly want the president to veto this? this then allows them to say, we're the ones passing things we're getting things done we're solving problems. the president's responsible for the gridlock here. >> yeah conflict equals campaign dollars. look i think republicans would prefer to get it done. i think they'd like the victory. i think they'd like to back the president down. they're not going to get it in terms of a veto overriding

majority in either the senate or the house. house republican sources tell me it's likely the house will just take up the senate-passed bill and send that to the president because they want this confrontation immediately. >> it sounds like the president's already made up his mind on this hasn't he? >> well, you know, he's been trying to not make it up for a long time. sounds like he's made it up. sounds like he's going to veto it. the republicans would like to say if the president's going to veto it this is something that republicans and some democrats did together and the president is standing by himself. he's isolated. might not be two-thirds of the senate, might not be two-thirds of the house, but it's a bipartisan majority he's standing in the way of. they're trying to isolate him more and more. we saw this recently with the 529 account changes he proposed to the tax system those college savings accounts. he proposed that he was going to stop letting those have the tax breaks. then boom, went right in reverse as the entire democratic party told him he was doing the wrong thing. >> we're going to talk about that more later in the show. we have some new polling on keystone xl pipeline.

nbc news "wall street journal" polling showing that a plurality do support building that pipeline. 41% support, 20% oppose. 37% don't know enough about it. but the thing that i always wonder with the keystone pipeline is how passionately does your average american actually feel about this pipeline? i can't imagine most people are thinking that whether or not we have the keystone xl pipeline is really going to be a make-or-break thing for them and their own household. >> about as much as they care about campaign finance laws. >> that's unfortunate. >> sure they're for them. maybe they're against them. but they don't really care. it's not the passion point. >> jonathan it's funny. when we talk about this issue, i kind of feel like it's still a year and a half ago and we're looking at gas well over $3 a gallon. people go we need gas, we need gas, we need gas. when does the economic reality on this trickle into washington that gas is down around $2 a gallon, about to push below 245? that's driven a lot about the fact that globally supply looks very strong and we're no longer

in a situation where we're desperate for new sources of crude oil. when does washington sort of -- when does this issue become de-emphasized because it's become de-emphasized in the economy? >> you know i'm a native washingtonian, but using reality and washington in the same sentence puts you in danger of getting crushed between two opposing words. it doesn't mat ere what gas prices are in terms of the political debate here. republicans say it's about jobs. environmentalists say it's about preserving the environment. of course, it's sort of a side issue. this is not something that's going to destroy the environment. it's not something that's going to employ a lot of people for a long time. >> while we've been talking to you, we also got our eye on the senate floor where barbara boxer was speaking. i want to play some more new sound from senator mcconnell on his view of this. take a listen. >> the debate over these american jobs has shown that

with bipartisan cooperation, it's possible to get washington functioning again. this debate is also proving that the new congress is ready to work and work hard for the middle class. even in the teeth of opposition from powerful special interests. snchs >> is that correct in your view? is this the triumph over special interests? >> not sure how senator mckonl mcconnell says that with a straight face. the senate floor is the playground of special interests. it's a triumph over some special interests and a triumph over other special interests. it's all special interests. >> yeah absolutely. jonathan allen. hey, the super bowl is on sunday. who you rooting for? >> seahawks. >> nice. >> ari will be happy. >> i'm against deflategate. >> can't wait. >> jonathan allen, good to see

you. thanks for being with us. >> take care. >> wooep continue to watch that vote and keep you up to date on how that goes down. up next, the other big political story today. democrats at a retreat in philly. they're tackling a problem they've not had in years, how to get things done as the minority. things might get a little awkward. and later, the hits the tds, the ads, and the snacks. we'll tell you how to keep track of everything super bowl sunday as "the cycle" rolls on. it's thursday, january 29th. startup-ny. it's working for new york state. already 55 companies are investing over $98 million dollars and creating over 2100 jobs. from long island to all across upstate new york, more businesses are coming to new york. they are paying no property taxes no corporate taxes no sales taxes. and with over 300 locations, and 3.7 million square feet available, there's a place that's right for your business. see if startup-ny can work for you. go to startup.ny.gov.

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there are two major international stories in the news cycle this thursday.

first, a tragic situation is unfolding in mexico city at this hour. a gas truck exploded right outside of a children's hospital. there's been confusion throughout the day about the number of fatalities, but we know there are at least two dead. this is not believed to be terror related. the city's mayor says the blast was caused by a leak in the hose carrying gas from the truck to the hospital. much of the building collapsed as firefighters worked to put out the flames. the lives of two people remain in the balance because of isis. a deadline set by militants has passed with still no word on the fate of a jordanian pilot or a japanese journalist being held by the group. the jordanian government was open to a prisoner swap but they demanded evidence the pilot was still alive. meanwhile a wife of one captive says both governments needs to understand the fates of those men lie in their hands. a tense situation we'll continue to follow. moving on to politics now. earlier this month it was house republicans. now it's the democrats' turn to escape washington for a

three-day retreat. there are a number of problems they can't escape. at the top of the list a republican majority of unprecedented size during barack obama's presidency. he'll be there to speak tonight. and one of the people waiting to hear from him is congressman peter welsh from vermont. peter, thank you for joining us. congressman, it's got to be a little bit awkward for the president showing up there right now after getting taken to task by both republicans and democrats over this college savings account issue. his proposal in the state of the reunion to reduce tax benefits from him that he withdrew a week later under pressure from democrats, including nancy pelosi. wasn't the president right about this issue? 70% of balances in these kind of accounts are held by families making $200,000 a year or more. isn't this the sort of tax break for the rich that ought to be on the table for democrats? >> well here's the deal. i mean i think the president does -- there's a narrative to the president's position. i think there's merit to leader

pelosi's position as well because of the symbolism of it. it shows how tough it is to deal with changes in the tax code. that benefit for college savings is really important, but, quote, higher income people you get into the debate about what's middle class. the bottom line that was dealt with quickly. what is unifying here is the president's state of the union address so focused on middle class economics. and the one challenge that we face getting this economy going is getting a pay boost for folks who haven't seen one in 10 or 15 years. so at this retreat where even though we're in significant minority numbers haven't been this slow since the '30s, there's a real upbeat feeling that we're on the right message and on the right focus. i think the president, his state of the union was really well received by democrats. >> you know congressman, i know these retreats is sort of like a working lunch. you guys are working, but you're more casual. the green zip-up fleece there. >> looks good on you. >> handsome look.

i don't know if that's a vermont thing, but we like it here in new york. what i want to ask you about on the budget here is it seems to me -- help us understand it from your insider position on the hill. it seems to me from here that the president tried to outline budgets to meet the republicans. he was roundly criticized by his own party before an election when he put up potential cuts to social security cost of living adjustments in a previous budget. and the republicans didn't meet him halfway. now we're seeing this new budget. he's got a new "huffington post" blog post describing it. another reporting it's pushing back on the sequester cuts. that's a much more robust blueprint for that middle class economics you just mentioned. when republicans complain that there isn't much in there for them, isn't the natural rebuttal, well of course because last time you didn't take what was offered. >> well that is the rebuttal. you know, the dynamic has changed. we're in the minority but that creates a challenge for the republicans. they have to decide whether they want to continue just doing

message bills, and that's the way they started out in the house. deporting children debating rape and incest having a controversial speaker election or do they want to pass real legislation which will mean they have to design it in a way that will get the president's signature. so there's some potential, actually, that the president by being tough and showing that he'll use the veto pen may get them to come his way a little bit. in fact, his numbers are going up. they have some thinking to do. >> yeah absolutely. congressman, we always love having you on the show because you're an optimist and like to find a way to move forward, but not everyone in your party is convinced that democrats are set up for success come 2016. washington post has a piece out today about this. one democrat said nancy pelosi needs to go to philadelphia this weekend and give democrats a clear path to picking up seats. if it's anything short of that she's failed for the weekend. another democrat was a little more direct saying, we've lost a couple elections in a row. if we were a private company and kept losing profits, the first thing they would do is look at the ceo.

clearly there's some anxiety within the party right now. >> well and rightly so. we are in a hole. i think two things. number one, the leadership has been re-elected and the democrats support our current leadership. but number two we have to think about how we're operating. i think we have to do two different things that seem like they're contradictions. number one, we have to work with republicans. we have to get things done. that's what people want. but number two, on tax and economic issues we have to focus on the middle class but put real proposals on the table. for example, infrastructure. if we don't back that up with a commitment to a gas tax or something that's real as far as paying for it, it's just words. so the challenge for us is not the message. we've got the right message on the middle class. but we need more than words. we need actions. that means we've got to be willing to take a little bit of political risk in order to get credibility with the american people. we've got a ways to go on that let me acknowledge that.

>> kongcongressman, a gas tax makes a lot of sense to me to fund infrastructure and it would be a decent time to do it. i don't hear a lot of democrats talking about that. is that something other democrats are interested in? >> well others are. but see, this is where i think the democrats have to look in the mirror. we know that this can create hundreds of thousands of jobs. we also know that people don't like the gas tax. even with the prices coming down it's a little boost for the incomes of every day people but we know potholes don't fix themselves. we also know if we come up with some fictional revenue source and claim infrastructure program, people don't believe us. i think it's much more important for us to restore our credibility by taking real actions, even with some political risk. i think the infrastructure is the way to go. if the speaker can come up with

some other revenue source i'm all for it. i think democrats should tell the speaker, you have a challenge over there, we get it. but you put a revenue proposal on the floor and you need our votes, we'll be there because we have to have an infrastructure program for this country and put people back to work. >> congressman peter welsh, thank you so much. those of you keeping track of who's running or not running for president may have noticed that's getting more and more complicated. luckily, tonight at 8:00 p.m. on msnbc, there's "all in's 2016 fantasy candidate draft." i'll join chris hayes has one of five political experts who gets to pick drafts for 2016 political candidates. i'm feeling very good about my bracket. you drop 40 grand on a new set of wheels, then... wham! a minivan t-bones you. guess what: your insurance company will only give you 37-thousand to replace it.

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break out the buffalo wings,

the beer and of course you cannot forget my favorite velveeta cheese. the super bowl is just three days away now. the defending champion seattle seahawks and the new england patriots survived media day and are now focusing on sunday's big matchup. today both teams hold practice out in arizona. they're gearing up for the 60 minutes that will decide who hosts lombardi trophy. ron mott is the site of super bowl xlix. i'm jealous you get to be there this weekend. what is the mood right now? >> i think you just told me what i'm having for lunch after this live shot. buffalo wings and velveeta cheese. after ten days we're finally around to talking about the game itself after talking about footballs. we're now just talking about football. and for the patriots fans who have not heard this news brace yourself. tom brady has a cold. so be watching out for that over the next three days. for this time of the season after a long grueling nfl season, both teams come into the super bowl relatively healthy, which means we hope to get a

really tight football game here on sunday. a couple of folks in the defensive secondary for the seahawks earl thomas and richard sherman, were banged up in the green bay game. they're expected to play. some of the fans starting to arrive. security will be super tight for people lucky enough to have tickets. one of the things we want to show you, this is a really cool stadium here. in the heat of arizona, they grow this field. they have it on a tray. it's outside, rolled outside in the arizona sun for all that light. then they water this field. it's probably the greenest patch of grass in the entire state. it takes 40 minutes to roll this field into the stadium. they'll have the roof open we think, on sunday for this football game. and we're expecting something better than we had last year, which was a blowout with the seahawks winning. >> ron, quick followup. you mention tom brady has the cold. we understand he's been wearing that beanie wherever he goes including in his damage-control press conferences. do you know how he got the cold? >> we do not know.

we'll have to check into that. he's got three days to try to get over that cold before he faces this very tough defense, one of the best defenses that he probably will have faced this season. that's what people are looking forward to primarily in this game that tom brady offense with rob gronkowski against that great defense of jaetseattle. we're hoping for something than the blowout we saw last year. >> great question ari, and great answer, ron mott. even more people will be watching sunday's big game because of deflategate. one of those first to report something was news day's bob glauber, who joins us from phoenix. what a cool thing to have on your bio. kudos to you for breaking this story. where does this investigation stand, and have both teams moved on? >> well, both teams have definitely moved on from it. i think the seahawks are really not paying attention to it because they don't want to. and the patriots are trying

their best to tune out the distraction. here's where it stands. nothing, zero will happen before the game. this investigation overseen by attorney ted wells will not conclude for several more weeks. we just don't know how that's going to conclude whether it results in sanctions against the patriots suspensions against bill belichick and/or tom brady. we don't know how that investigation is going to be. the one thing we've pretty much determined is obviously those footballs were flatter than regulation. we don't quite know -- we don't have that smoking gun, at least, about whether the patriots -- or smoking pin, to take the air out of the ball. that doesn't exist right now. that complicates things. >> in terms of impact on the super bowl game, i've heard two theoryies theories. one, this will be a major distraction for the patriots and make it difficult for them to prepare. other theory i've heard is they love this us against the world mentality and it's actually going to be a good thing for

them. twha do you think? >> i think it could very well be a good thing for them. i've been around this patriots team and this coach for a very long time. bill belichick is a master at motivating his team. i think they will take this as a us against the world, we're going to try to prove it we will win regardless of this issue. and i think they have got a very good chance of winning. i agree with that premise, that they will use this as a rallying cry, insulate themselves against it. it's us against the world. and i think they'll feed off of that and maybe even play better as a result of that mentality. >> thank you so much. and of course you can catch every second of the gail this sunday on nbc. but it won't just be the seahawks and the pats facing off. the two titans of social media, twitter and facebook will be vying for the millions logging in to talk touchdowns the halftime show and the ads. more than 50 million users facebooked about last year's super bowl during the super bowl. this year, facebook is looking to surpass that number and become the one-stop shop for

super bowl social media by combining your network, photos and videos from news outlets, and play-by-play updates. if you notice the football looks a little deflated or the last commercial missed the mark, you can easily share and see if others agree. joining us now is the head of global sports partnerships for facebook. this is a real thing now with the way i and everyone else watches the super bowl. one screen in your hand another in front of you. how is facebook changing the way its interface works to optimize for that two-screen experience? >> you're exactly right. there's -- facebook is the dominant social media audience for real-time sports events. it's the primary second screen that people use when they're watching live tv events. two-thirds of people when they're watching a live tv broadcast are using social media and 85% of those people are on facebook. what we're trying to do is bring the awesome social experience that you get when you're attending a game in this arena behind me to people that are sitting on the couch or watching with their friends.

just to give you a sense, there's 63,000 people that can fit in that building behind us but there's 650 million sports fans on facebook. and we think we can bring a really robust social conversation that's not just your friends and family but also celebrities and public figures from around the world in game highlights from the nfl, content from nbc, and allow people to actually participate in that conversation, even if they're sitting on the couch with that global super bowl audience. >> dan, you know people obviously are very interested in the game itself but the ads are an enormous part of the experience of the super bowl. i'm wondering, are you seeing how ad makers are responding to that? you spend $4.3 million to get your ad in the game but what you really want is for your ad to go viral on social media so you can get all sorts of extra free attention on top of that. how are you seeing that play out on facebook? >> yeah, as you know the ads are one of the things that many people look forward to the most about the super bowl. and in this trending super bowl experience that we're creating,

which you can find at facebook.com/superbowl, you'll not only see those in-game highlights and great content i talked about, but you'll see some of the great tv commercials. and just to give you context, we're seeing 3 billion video views a day right now on facebook. it's a great place for people to find and discover awesome video content. and we know there's going to be a lot of that during the super bowl. we're excited oobt edd edd about this experience. >> ari apparently ally need to make a commercial is a cute puppy and beautiful women. and good music. maybe eating a burger. >> dan's the expert. i heard there's 4 billion people on facebook who like puppies. >> that helps. >> that helps a lot. dan, i want to put up on the screen one of these so-called memes, a viral sensation, deflators going to deflate. we've seen this spread -- >> i saw you share that ari. >> we saw this spread on facebook and other social media platforms. talk to us about how that works and for folks at home who aren't big on facebook why do people do that? why are people sharing these

pictures with words on them? >> is that really your question? >> well i think you'd have to ask them. >> i'm asking you. >> look here's the thing. there's 1.39 billion people on facebook. it's the single largest collection of humanity anywhere in the world. it's bigger than china. so the things that happen in real life the conversations you and i might have at the water cooler or the interaction that we might have in a stadium behind us people are people. and they're going to have those same interactions on facebook. it's just that it's now amplified hundreds of thousands of times greater than it will be when something takes off within a small community. so when something is buzzing around the office and it's hot and everyone's talking about it at the office on facebook it's the same thing except it's around a billion people. and that's why people find facebook so compelling. that's why we think it's such a great experience for sports fans. because sports is really the ultimate social content. that's why we saw over 50 million people talking about the super bowl on facebook last

time. >> all right. well, have fun at the game and online, dan. we appreciate your time. of course, we and the nbc family have a social ask for you as well. send a tweet with #mysuperbowlpick and share your team so you can say #gopatriots or #goseahawks. sorry. >> pictures and fan gear are encouraged. feel free to post that on your facebook page. reminder super bowl xlix airs this sunday. coverage on nbc starts at noon with a 6:30 kickoff. we'll be right back.

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lot of pain for people in that country, even before his first cabinet meeting. he reinstated pensions and also increased the minimum wage. at the same time the new prime minister says that he will negotiate with creditors, and he's promised the country will not default and bring down the broader eeu. so what effect will this political shift in greece have on the rest of europe? george friedman says that the fragmentation of europe is growing, and that's not a good thing for us. he explores this and other concerns in his new book "flash points: the emerging crisis in europe." that's out this week. george thanks for being with us. so josh barrow actually sent me a very interesting stat earlier today that was calculated by financial times' martin wolf that greeks are consuming 40% less now than before the crisis. so there has been just massive austerity measures that have had a huge impact on the population there. to me, the question is what took so long to have this kind

of a backlash and put someone in place who is anti-austerity? >> first, to give another statistic, 25% of the greeks are unemployed. that's the unemployment level of the united states during the great depression. so this is extraordinary. what took so long is there was a fundamental belief that the european union would work this out. there was a faith in the eurocrats, in brussels in the reasonableness of the rest of europe and understanding the situation that was going on. that kept europe together for this long. but now not only in greece but in other countries, we see the rise of anti-european parties, including the u.k. there's a sense that not just the european union is failing but the eurocrats really don't care. so long as the banks are steady, 25% unemployment is just fine. 40% cuts in consumption is just fine. and that's what's really

changed. they've run out of patience. >> the eu was put in place to ease tensions. if anything, you can say it's gotten worse since then. we keep seeing this fragmentation. what is the worst-case scenario? could we see another war in europe? >> well wars have been present in europe for 2,000 years. the miracle is we haven't seen any in the last 18, but we have. we saw it in yugoslavia. we see it going on in the ukraine. the idea that europe got rid of war, yeah, within the eu. but we're also seeing a massive rise of nationalism. the germans are looking out for the germans. the greeks are the greeks. spaniards for spaniards. there's really no one speaking for the european union as such except for sopme bureaucrats. there's a recognition there's no shared fate. it's like california during the 2008 crisis wanted to make sure no money was spent on illinois. that's kind of unthinkable for us. but that's exactly what's happening there. what you really have is a coalition of enemies.

the french and the germans, the british and the french the hungarians and just about everybody. all of these people 20 30 40 50 years ago were enemies. they're put together for one goal, prosperity. and they're not going to get that. >> isn't the solution that's needed to this some sort of parable unwinding of the eu? it's remarkable to me the way people talk about the euro. it's been such a disaster and yet -- this is again going back to martin wolf this week saying creating the eurozone is the second worst monetary idea its members are likely ever to have. breaking it up is the worst. people talk about the idea of a eurozone breakup as so unthinkable that people are forced into this bad marriage. don't you at some point need to unwind that because it's going to be unworkable like this forever until you do? >> the euro question is really over. however you structure it, nobody's going to simply submit to the eurozone any longer. that's what the greeks are saying. the fundamental question what

europe really is the eu is a free trade zone. in that free trade zone germany, the fourth largest country in the world, exports 50% of its goods. one half of that to the rest of europe. it's like the united states exporting 50% of its gdp. half of it to canada and mexico. what would the condition of canada and mexico be? the argument that the greeks make and others is that the germans rigged the eu. they rigged the eu with the euro priced at the level they needed it to be. and by developing regulations in europe that make it impossible to be entrepreneurial. so there's no google rising. germans have their argument, which is that the others have been irresponsible. the rest of the europeans have their argument. and the problem here is not the euro. it is the idea that these countries don't control their borders. >> right. and i think that's a political fallout americans can relate to

just as they can relate to local control. we've had a rich and long debate about state rights and federalism. there's a version of that debate in the eu. for americans looking at this issue or reading your book why should they care about the decline of the eu? >> europe is the highest gdp in the world. it's the largest area of the world, larger than the united states, in terms of economic growth. whether it stays together whether it divides affects two things. american international economic relations and it also affects nato. because if europe fragments along these political lines, it's -- we barely have nato now. there's going to be very little left. and right now the united states -- >> when you say nato you mean standing up to putin, dealing with our enemies. >> i mean belonging to that making commitments to that, and standing up to putin. dealing with the ukrainian question. so what i was going to say was that general hodges the commander of u.s. forces in europe said he was going to be

placing tanks in the baltics, poland, and romania. he said it this weekend. who are our allies in europe? so when we talk about the alliance, what does that mean right now? who will join us? and so the question of the political future of europe affects us to the extent that we're going to be dealing with crises pretty much alone. and then there's the question of the economy. what happens to our banks if there's defaults in europe? >> all obviously very relevant to us. george friedman thank you for your time today. >> thank you. >> up next hillary might just be changing her 2016 strategy. apparently she is in no hurry. details next. umatologist about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira giving me new perspective. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms.

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the new energy superpower? it's red, white and blue. log on to learn more. the republican presidential race started earlier than ever before with that big rush to iowa this past weekend. candidates already forming pacs but it is not clear that longer campaigns are better at actually mobilizing voters or even helping people win their nomination. breaking news today, politico is reporting some advisers to hillary clinton are exploring whether she should run in the opposite direction, delaying the start of her campaign until as late as july. the theory a delay would give her more time to hone her policy platform without the national scrutiny of a presidential campaign. and data from the most recent midterms shows that early voting can definitely increase turnout. in fact, republicans did better than democrats in some states like colorado and nevada where

the parties split evenly among registered voters and the majority of votes were cast before election day. the jury is still out on the overall impact of these long campaigns and the link to overall voter turnout. david becker is director of election initiatives at the pugh charitable trust and tracks all this data. we've seen some of it from you before. thanks for being here. walk us through this basic point. a lot of voters feel like hey, these candidates start earlier and earlier. that's the campaigning. the voting recently has also been made available earlier. that seems to be a good thing. is there any link to how long the campaign itself is? >> well i don't know if there's a link specifically with how long the campaign is but one thing the parties agree on, they like early voting. the presidential commission, the bipartisan commission that issued its report a year ago today endorsed early voting. one of the reasons campaigns like it is every voter they turn out before election day is a voter they don't have to try to turn out on election day.

so exactly as you just mentioned, in states like colorado where every voter got a ballot in advance of the election, these tools were used by campaigns to try to turn out their base and turn out voters in their favor. in colorado, republicans turned out about 100,000 more voters prior to election day than democrats had in a state where 70% of the ballots were cast before election day. >> and david, how does this low voter turnout, and particularly in primary elections, how does that feed into the increasing polarization and partisan divide we see in our politics? >> it's unclear, but as we shrink the electorate smaller and smaller, it's really only the true believers in each party who are voting in these general elections and in some cases the primary elections as well. as you noted, 2014 in the general election it was under 36% of the eligible electorate that voted. that was lower than since we'd had in any federal general election since time when hitler controlled most of europe. >> wow. >> so we're talking about an

impact on turnout that's occurring, and it's remartialable that it's occurring now. never before have voters had more access to voters had more access to information, has it been easier to vote. campaigns compare the technology, though with good efforts as the obama campaign did in 2008 and 2012. and as the republicans did in 2010 and 2014. and if you impair the technology with the strong campaign apparatus, you may have the ability to boost the turnout overall. >> i want to stick up for the nonvoters. republicans live around republicans. democrats live around democrats. not many people live in swing districts. senate races are driven by the ideology of the state. we have a national house map, such that republicans are almost certain hold a majority, even if democrats want a majority. aren't people rationally looking at these and saying these

elections are not competitive? why should i waste my time? >> i think, i can certainly understand why voters would feel that way and feel as if they're disconnected from the politics at a national level. ask voters in maryland, for instance, about whether their vote counted. a republican governor was elected despite that they vastly outnumber them. look at how close the senate race was in places like virginia and north carolina. i think there's a real message there that will hopefully get through to voters. and even in the smaller elections, in fact, the smaller election the is the statewide elections can have a huge impact. they're being decided by by a handful of votes. they can feel that they're taking part. >> that would apply in primaries. >> absolutely. it's remarkable to think that the midterms is what one-third of registered voters turned out to vote. it's sad and embarrassing frankly.

i'm with josh here. what difference are they making? if i go vote today, am i going to have an impact on the election today? sometimes i feel that way. that has to do with the fact that we are divided. money in politics is a huge one. yo u look at young people. they want nothing to do with either party. what is the answer here? moving the forward to 2016 what will get people out to vote? what will encourage people to say i'm going to make that trek in h the bad weather. i'm going to vote because i'm going to make a difference. >> we know there is not one magic bullet here. ft there's a variety of factors that need to be a plied. they will tell you the number one, the greater the likelihood that person will turn out. they may be nagging them. but they're going to turn out anyway. so if we can give campaigns and other groups better tools in advance of the election. more accurate and complete voter list with better information about where people live so they can actually you know knock on

the right door. anyone who seeks to engage can do that that will make a difference. david becker great to have you here. up next the gop looks to write a new chapter in congress. abby thinks she's read this one before. to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure. from a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. and stay ready for everything that is still to come. eating pizza during the season. that means free pizza after the season. what a country! order now through super bowl sunday at papajohns.com and you'll get a free pizza starting monday. use promo code superbowl at checkout. better ingredients. better pizza. better football. papa john's. you total your brand new car. nobody's hurt,but there will still be pain.

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it's a new chapter for congress, and with that a fresh start for a group that not too long ago polled less popular than cockroaches, traffic jams and ari, nickelback. i don't know how low it can get. but now republicans are in full command, and their big message coming out of the midterms is they would get things done. that they would be the problem

solve solvers, able to govern when times are tough and more than a blank sheet of waiting to be filled. not sure that ever got filled. this is a new chapter. with any new chapter we should be llg to turj the page and see what comes next. what happens in the first chapter for house republicans? as we know you never get a second chance. here is the first big moves. move number one, immigration. no not the bill already passed with bipartisan support. but instead legislation that would deport thousands of kids brought illegally by their parents. this is something even a number of republicans oppose. and so that happened. and then there was this on 42nd anniversary of roe v. wade. they decided to roll out a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks throughout the country, plus added in a special measure to force women to file a police report in the cape of race or incest. thankfully female republicans said this probably doesn't look so good for a party trying to

reach out to woman. then they had to pull the bill from the floor realizing they didn't have enough votes for this to pass. i don't get it. why are republicans still talking about rape? we know how the story ends. it does not end well. it reminds me of the saying. insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and somehow expecting a different result. charlie dent is a moderate republican in the house. he made kit clear he is hals not so impressed we this first impression. we got in a big fight over deporting children. something a lot of us doesn't want to discuss. we are now talking about rape and incest and reportable rape and incest for minors. i can't wait for week four. week four is here. the headline out of the house is not about rape or deporting children. it's about speaker boehner inviting netanyahu out here to speak with congress.

diplomacy could not be more important. to para phrase the congressman, i cannot wait for week five. also what a week for republicans. right now you're playing right into the democrats' hands. this is exactly what they want so they can then say to voters see what happens when the republicans are in charge? nothing. a blank sheet of paper. instead of wasting time on bills that will never get passed why not spend this time pushing toward ideas to solve income and equality and stagnating wages for the middle class. if you actually want to own the issue like house leaders now sha they do now is the time to do that. but here's the good news. one of my guilty pleasures is watching the bachelor. if there's anything that i've learned from the show which is not a lot. if you don't get the first impression rose, as long as you're not booted out. you get another chance. that does it for this cycle. "now" with alex wagner starts right now.

from dipped toes to way up on the high dive. the waters of 2016 are ready for testing. it's thursday january 29th, and this is now. >> the presidential candidate will go forward with whatever agenda she has. or he. >> hillary clinton's unofficial campaign is on cruise control. >> she's considering delaying her campaign until july. >> what's the rush? >> she's announcing she is running against who? >> it would be good for the country. country. >> some would argue she needs the competition. mitt romney is down in mississippi. >> taking shots at hillary clinton. >> it's clear he wants to run. he's certainly not taking his foot off the presidential speculation gap. >> one thing he's trying to focus on is the authentic