before we go we want to put up the website rosie mentioned. unitedforport re unitedfor unitedforpuertarico.com. >> loved the rosie perez interview. good to have her on. nice work. if it's wednesday, more victories means for problems for the gop. >> tonight, the senate victory that's more, roy moore, than the gop establishment bargained for. >> well, we have a man who's going to be a great senator. >> we'll talk to the democratic challenger hoping to defeat roy in december. plus full-court press on athletes and activist. kareem abdul-jabbar joins the conversation on president trump, social justice and the take a knee protests. and the tax man. >> there's never been tax cuts

like what we're talking about. >> we'll talk to republican congressman kevin brady. the man in charge of getting the tax bill cut passed in the house. this is "mtp daily," and it starts right now. good evening. i'm chuck todd here in washington and welcome to "mtp daily." we begin the night with a purge of the gop establishment. a crisis of confidence in mitch mcconnell, a weakened president who's now scrubbing his twitter feed and the political earthquake in alabama underneath it all. if you're not familiar with this guy, pull up a chair. because after knocking off the president, mcconnell's preferred knt in the alabama runoff by nearly ten points, roy moore with a phrase christian conservative doesn't even begin to describe him, could very well be your next u.s. senator. if you don't understand just how freaked out some folks in the gop in the white house are about what that means, then you don't

know roy moore. first off, he doesn't appear to believe in the constitution as it's written. >> our rights don't come from government or from a bill of rights. they come from almighty god. >> now, that's just a taste of what are very fundamentalist views that have gotten him removed twice at alabama chief justice. once for refuse toll follow a court order to remove this 350-pound monuments of the ten commandments he had installed in the state courthouse and once for ordering state judges to ignore the united states supreme court's ruling that same-sex marriages are constitutional. take a look at what he has said about the issue of same-sex rights. >> do you think homosexuality should be illegal? >> it was in many of the states across this union. >> homosexual conduct should be illegal? >> yes. >> did you know that bestiality, the relationship between man and beast is prohibited in every

state. do you know that? >> did i ask you about having sex with a cow or a horse ask. >> you didn't. but it's the same thing. >> that's just one of his beliefs and suggested in this speech earlier in the yeyear -- 9/11 was punishment for not following god's word. he wrote in this op-ed in 2006 that congressman keith elson was unfit for office because he's muslim. his foundation shared this video on facebook asking, "so is obama a muslim?" spoiler alert, answer at the end was, "yes." you want to see moore's view on the second amendment, here you go. >> i believe in the second amendment. [ cheers ] >> president trump could not stop roy moore, despite campaigning against him. despite perhaps even belittling him by calling him ray moore malt poor times in an interview and despite his warning voting for him could put a ruby red

seat in jeopardy in december. and whether his endorsement even matters and werther he could sway his own base. does his support inoculate anybody from the insurgency? you have to think it was on his mind. the president deleted three tweets endorsing the losing candidate. arguably, nobody would have noticed he was doing this if he didn't delete it, but, whatever. then added one, endorsing the winning candidate. then reminded reporters today, mcconnell dragged down his candidate, not trump. >> roy ran a really great race, and -- i know what they did with mitch and they used it very much in the campaign. i will say they used him in the race, and i was very honored by the way i was treated in the race, but they used him in the race, john, they used him in the race, and, you know -- but, one of those things. >> mitch mcconnell now looks even more unpopular with republicans if that was

possible. senate gridlock is fueling a rise of anti-republicans like moore and the pro-establishment republicans like bob koescorker. moore in. tuesday, says a lot about the direction of the gop now. for all of the gop divisions all the in-fighting and drama, what are the democrats doing? they've yet to put a significant election victory on the board in the era of trump. can they pull off an upset against moore? i'm joined now by doug jones. he is the democratic nominee for the u.s. senate who's now the man running against roy moore in alabama. mr. jones, welcome. you're a former u.s. attorney. but other than that i think a lot of people don't know about you outside of alabama. so we get a chance to get to know you. let me ask you this -- why do you believe you're qualified to be in the u.s. senate? >> well, first of all, chuck, thanks for having me on today. it's been a big victory for us over the course of the last few moss and we're looking forward

to this vigorous debate. you know, look, i've had a history of working with people, whether as the u.s. attorney, who worked to put together a task force to invest gate the eric rudolph case for the clinic boning in berm hamm, going back to 1963, church bombing case and prosecuting old klansmen. i have a quality of passion for fairness and we'll talk about issues important to everybody across the state. people in the state of alabama have seen me over the years and i think they wrap i've done as a u.s. attorney, in my professional career and that's what people are looking for. they're looking for a change. >> how is it -- this is alabama. we know the democratic party hasn't had a lot of success in state-wide races, in quite some time. why do you believe they should overlook your party, because the average alabama voter will sit there and say, you know, the democratic party that i see, whether it's nancy pelosi,

hillary clinton, barack obama, that's not the democratic party that they've wanted to vote for. why are you different? >> well, because i think people are looking beyond that right now. first of all, i don't think they're seeing a lot with the republican party. i think they're seeing partisan rancor affecting everyone, republican or democrat. the folks here are looking for leadership and want somebody to reach across the aisle and talk to people. you don't see that out of washington from either republicans or democrats. people in alabama want to have dialogues and be able to talk about those issues. that's what we've been talking absence i first announced my candidacy. that's what we're going to continue to talk about, and i think that's what people are most interested in. i think -- chuck, the health care debate, i think has really gotten people focused on issues rather than partisanship. they've been looking beyond the party because they don't understand what's going on and have been looking at the issues for themselves. >> go through some issues both have been coming up in the u.s. senate now and issues you may be

facing if you're elected. start with health care. senator bernie sanders came out with a single payer medicare for all proposal, looking for cosigners. about 15 democrats in the senate caucus did that. would you have been one of those 15? would you have signed on that? >> no, i don't think -- i'm not there on universal health care like that, or medicare for all. i do the favor of pop lick options for health care but need to look at those numbers. that's going to be an expensive proposition, but one of a number of issues that need to be on the table. you know, the issues of medicaid and medicare i think are important. i want -- folks need to remember my opponent in this race has advocated getting the federal government out of health care altogether. which means doing away with medicaid, which means doing away with medicare. i want to make sure we slhore u our health care system and will look at all the options but am 23409 the not there on universal health care tht and joe donnelly traveled with the president,

keeping an open mind on the president's tax cut proposal. where are you on what you've seen from the president and is he somebody that you can work with or do you agree with other members of the democratic party that, believe he's not fit for office? >> well, no. i'm the kind of person that can work with anybody. i think that that's going to be the hallmark of what i bring to this table as opposed to someone else who has his own personal agenda no matter what that might be. i can work with the president. i can work with any member of congress or the senate to try to do what's best i believe is for the best of alabama. we have issues we have to address in this state. and if the president of the united states is addressing them, then i'm going to be right there, but if he's not, i'm going to be opposing -- >> what about taxes? >> sorry. >> do you think we need a tax cut? who needs a tax cut? >> i don't think the wealthy need a tax cut. i think we are in a position right now where we need to look at some tax issues. i haven't stided all the programs that came out just

today. this is going to be an issue, taxes like everything else is a wroshg in progress. i do want to make sure the working class, the middle class are taken care of. i don't necessarily believe that's going to be a tax cut for the wealthy. i think people in the state understand trickle-down tax cuts don't work. >> doesn't sign like you could grab on to this proposal as the president laid it out today? >> again, devil's in the details on that. after all we've gone through in the last 48 hours i want to look over the details of that and the main thing make sure it represents the people of this state not just the wealthy. >> getting tripped up in cultural issues. one is guns, one is abortion. abortions, what are the limitations you believe should be in the law when it come to abortion? >> i am a firm believer a woman should choose what happens to her own body. i'll stand for that and continue

to make sure that happens. make sure as we go forward people have access to contraception, access to the abortion that they might need, if that's what they choose to do. i think that that's going to be an issue we can work with and talk to people about from both sides of the aisle. >> but you wouldn't legislate -- you wouldn't be in favor of legislation that said ban abortion after 20 weeks or something like that? >> i'm not in favor of anything that is going to infringe on a woman's right and her freedom to choose. that's just the position that i've had for many years. it's a position i continue to have. when those people -- i want to make sure people understand once a baby is born, i'm going to be there for that child. that's where i become a right to lifer. >> and finally, let me ask you quickly about guns. do you believe there is any limitation with the second amendment? for instance, do you think an assaults weapons ban is something you would support and that it would still comport to the second amendment? >> well, look. we've got limitations on the

second amendment now. limitations on all constitutional amendsment in one form or another. i want to enforce the laws we have now. the biggest issue i think facing the second amendment now is we need to make sure we shore up the national crime information system. the n.i.c.s. at the same time cut down oun error so law-abiding citizens can get this. i'm a second amendment guy, love to hunt. i have a gun case full of guns and i also want to make sure we're smart and solid on those issues. >> would you have voted to confirm jeff sessions at attorney general? >> i doubt i would have voted to confirm jeff sessions. i've known jeff a long time. what i've seen what i feared, is exactly what i've seen. that he's trying to roll back civil rights, access to the ballot box. those are issues especially important to me. so end of the day, i do not believe i would have voted to confirm him. >> doug jones, leave it there and hope to catch up with you

more on the campaign trail. a fairly long time before general election there. a couple months. i have a feeling we'll be watching quite a bincht yes. thanks for having me, chuck. >> you got it. appreciate you coming on the show. >> yes, sir. we have more to come on, at some point we hope to see him. bring in tonight's panel. former chair michael steele, cnbc editor at large and latinos and maria theresa combar, before we get to doug jones specifically, i think stu rothenberg summed it up best. moore in, corker out. republican party of 2017. what do you make of all this? >> makes tax reform harder and it makes republican politics in general harder. just got off the phone with a republican pollster before coming on here. there's nobody in the republican party who would welcome a trade of moore for corker. bob corker is somebody who likes to govern. who is a serious person about solving problems.

roy moore, you know, you've said he's a conservative christian. that term doesn't do him justice. he's a conservative christian extremist talking about making homosexual conduct inlegal, talking about sharia law existing in the united states when, in fact, it does not. those are all things that are going to be repellent to young people. that have the potential to embarrass the republican party and the fact he was able to beat mitch mcconnell's candidate, the u.s. chamber of commerce's candidate, donald trump's candidate, even though donald trump equick ekwiv katd, means we have a party needed to pat this tax bill. >> and roy moore, nobody would have said he is the candidate, you would say, perfect candidate to have in a special election. doug jones feels it's meets's definition who democrats would look for. got to get a candidate that fits the state. i don't know if he fits the state but closest, maybe, they

could find. >> he is. sounded like a guy who could pull some republicans. >> you could tell. trying to straddle the -- like, i'm a center-left guy. didn't say it like that but trying to. >> and with a case full of guns and that's a good start a. good start in alabama. >> then making the abortion argument the way he did. looked at theresa, not bad. i could see the politics of that working for him, in a sense. the democrats, though have to get their act together as well. they can't sleep through this opportunity. they have to get as much energy as they've put into other special elections this past year, they need to look at this one on a very unique and special way, because there is a body of republican voices out there who are not going to be onboard with mr. moore, and i think that's something that they're probably, if they're smart, will take a look a. maria, i assume if you're the democrats, you campaign because you just want to shine the spotlight on roy moore even if you lose to him.

you just want the spot looiligh him. >> that's something you can roll out. strange was not mitch mcconnell's first choice. asked to identify a republican woman. >> it wasn't wrong. strange was not the guy -- >> right. because he was reading tea leaves and understood to actively activate a base uncomfortable with trump would be to get more women voters. the ones that disproportion neal came out for the election in alabama. this time, almost voter fatigue. 14% of that base in the republican party come out. that's 4% less than we saw in the special election in august. so if anything i think mitch mcconnell is on to the right sentiment actually expand the republican party, but are the people on the ground paying attention? >> troubles mcconnell. is he or isn't he? >> i would say, no. i'm not sure any republican leader of this senate caucus could do better than mitch mcconnell's done. i think the problems that he's dealing with are systemic to the

republican party, not to the senate majority's leader's office. remember, john boehner was forced out of his job as house speaker for some of the very same issues mr. mcconnell is struggling with. >> roy moore, create more retirements? >> create more retirements and a lot of frustration for the senate leadership. i said earlier to folks, everybody looking at the house. crazyland over there. wait until the senate, because he's going to bring that element in to this conversation in the senate and they're not used to this and never been there before. >> long for the days when they thought rand paul was the outsider, or ted cruz. mainstream confessional. a fun show coming up. ahead, president trump says the nfl has to change as players and coaches unite in protest against his inflammatory comments and nba hall of famer karim abdul-jabbar joins us. stay tuned.

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welcome back. the policy priority from the white house today is taxes. at least it's supposed to be, but on his way to a tax event before he even got on the plane, in this case the chopper, president trump held a sort of impromptu press conference with the pool making news on several things having nothing to do with taxes. first, health care. >> i think they're there now, john. be honest. look at the statement put out by alaska. right? you saw that, by lisa. look at the other couple of statements. you know, we're only one off. maybe two. >> also, secretary tom price's use of private checks. >> i was looking into it, and i will look into it, and i will tell you personally, i'm not happy about it. i am not happy about it. i'm going to look at it. iable not happy about it. >> and in puerto rico, president trump asked why the government

has not suspended the jones act, which would lift a restriction on shipping goods to the island to speed up the rebuilding process. >> we're thinking about that but have a lot of shippers and a lot of people and a lot of people that work in shipping and don't want the jones act lifted, and we have a lot of ships out there right now. >> the president went out to the nfl, something he's been doing a lot lately. that, plus a conversation with kareem abdul-jabbar, after the break. i count on my dell small business advisor for tech advice. with one phone call, i get products that suit my needs

and i get back to business. ♪ it's ok that everybody ignores me when i drive. it's fine, 'cause i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident-free. and i don't share it with mom. right, mom? right. safe driving bonus checks, only from allstate. switching to allstate is worth it. the nfl is in a very bad box. you cannot have people disrespecting our national anthem, our flag, our country, and that's what they're doing. and in my opinion, the nfl has to change, or you know what's going to happen? their sbis goibusiness is goingo hell. >> welcome back. president trump today, five days after his original remarks an the nfl and the athletes' protest. not giving up, neither is the sports world.

kareem abdul-jabbar, nba's all-time scoring leader, applauding american athletes for using their collective voices and plam forms to protest saying, i've never been prouder to be a part of the athletic community than i was this weekend as players and owners in football, basketball and baseball displayed public unity in rezivs to the racist anti-veteran and anti-american statements by president donald trump. well, kareem abdul-jabbar joins kn me now. welcome back. good to see you. >> good to be back, chuck. how are you? >> i'm okay. let me start with -- how you think the nfl handled things? you know, yesterday i spoke with howard bryant, journalist with espn, and he stopped short of full praise with the owners but did acknowledge that the owners seemed to get something in this. now, whether it's realizing they need to have a better relationship with players, maybe don't necessarily support what players are doing, but they found themselves caught in the middle here, and they chose the side of the players.

what do you make of that? >> i think that the owners looked at the issues, and decided that the players had a legitimate reason to demonstrate. and they supported them on that and i'm very happy to see how things have come around with regard to that situation, because the players don't want to come off as being bad guys, but there are issues out there that bother them, and taking this route to let the world and america know what the issues are and why they bother the various people, it's, i think, a great thing. this is what america is about. we discuss things and then we decide to try solve the problems. and that's what we have to do. >> now, you and i are having a conversation about the appropriateness of this. we've had a lot of conversations over the last five days about the president's decision to weigh in on all of this.

but what we haven't had a lot of conversations about is the initial reason why colin kaepernick took a knee. do you fear -- >> colin kaepernick -- >> do you fear, though, that the president's -- now that the president inserted himself, that for many of these athletes it's about, wait a minute. the president can't do -- so, that the protest gets morphed into more about him rather than about the issue that colin kaepernick and many others wanted to bring more attention to, which is the relationship between the african-american community and law enforcement? >> i think -- what has happened here is that people are -- they don't like the message. so they're trying to find fault with the messenger, but what colin was talking about is something that concerns black americans every day. and you have protests and demonstrations across the country when people end up dead for no good reason, and colin kaepernick was using his platform to call attention to that, and people don't want to

deal with that subject, seems like they just want to find fault with colin. i think that's -- very unfortunate. >> in the mid-90s, spr"sports illustrated" reported that you actually tried to get involved during a situation in the nba. mahmoud abdul rauf was doing a protest during the national anthem. sitting in silent prayer. and back in '96 the report said you did reach out to him to try to tell him to reconsider that kind of protest. not the issue he was protesting, but reconsider his stance on when to do that protest. explain that rationale and what did you say to him? >> well, i think the issue is this, chuck. some of these things that black americans see make them very emotional. it's horrible to see young men being killed for no good reason, and they get emotional and they get angry, and they k convey

their anger as opposed to conveying their concern that these things are happening. so if we can get these young men to understand that, yes, they have a right to be angry, but when they talk about the issue, they have to convey their concern and legitimate issues that are part of all of these happenings. it's not good that young people are being killed like this by police officers who are poorly trained or reacting to something that isn't there. so often the response is, well, i thought he was going for a gun, and there usually is not a gun. >> mahmoud abdul rwas driven ou of the nba. couldn't get a job. colin kaepernick can't get a job in the nfl. how do you change that? how do you deal with that? do you think the owners are basically afraid to sign colin

kaepernick? and seemed like in the '90s, nba owners were afraid to sign abdul -- >> i think they definitely have a labor issue. if they're being blackballed, they have to bring it up with the players association and go about it that way, and use the means they have to -- to get a fair hearing. that's all anybody wants is a fair hearing. >> what is it about this generation of athletes that it feels as if, you know, it's interesting -- it feels as if your generation, and i put you, muhammad ali, jim brown, the stars of the '60s and '70s, you spoke out, and you may have been punished financially for speaking out. all three in various ways. as far as by ownership and stuff, but you spoke out. then there was a generation that maybe saw the reaction to you guys speaking out and chose not to. and now we have this new

generation going, you know what? no. it's time to speak out. like a lebron james. why do you feel as if that evolution is taking place? why now? what is it about today that you feel like today's athlete has more confidence than ever to speak out? >> well, i think that today's athlete has to speak out with regard to the things that they see occurring around them. there were a couple of football players for the cleveland browns that really reacted strongly to tamir rice's execution. lebron james has spoken out about different issues with regard to what's happening with young black people being killed, and various political issues. so, you know, you don't have the convenience of being able to -- an activist when things are easy. things can be very tough, and

you still have to make a choice as to whether or not you want to speak truth to power or be silent, and i'm really happy that these young men today, they see what's going on and they are speaking the truth and bringing up these issues in a way that people can understand them, and hopefully we can have good dialogue we need to have in order to change things. >> what would be your advice this sunday to nfl players? >> there's such a variety of -- of demonstration out there. i think that in each case, there are legitimate issues and sometimes there aren't, and it's going to take a lot of discussion to sort out, sort all of this out, but the fact that these young men are demanding some -- some type of accounting, i think it's remarkable, and

it's being done in a non-viol t non-violent, easy to understand way. and i think that that eventually will get through to the people that need to understand these things. >> all right. kareem abdul-jabbar. leaving it there. by the way, though, i should let people know in addition to your column today which i recommend people read. great thoughtful and interesting read, you're the aung e of "my cropped homes and the aco acropolis." >> and maybe the next book comes out. thanks for coming on. appreciate it. thanks for sharing your views. >> nice talking to you chucks. take care. still ahead, the white house and republicans pivot after another faileded health care

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with humira, remission is possible. welcome back. the republican party seems as if it's as divided as ever, today they're hoping at least one issue can bring them together. tax cuts. they've been talking about plan for months, arguably years but today, something to look at. >> our framework will make the tax code simple, fair and easy

to understand, finally. >> it's about getting america going again and growing again. >> simplifying the tax code so that you can file your taxes on a form the size of a postcard. >> here what is in the plan. reduce the number of individual tax br brackets from serve ton three. increase the child tax credit, eliminate deduction for state and local taxes and eliminates the estate tax and reduces the corporate tax freight 35% to 20% and cap the small business rate at 25%. might satisfy a number of republican lawmakers, but the public is another question entirely. our latest poll, how to fund the government and keep the economy healthy, 16% decreased. 55% increase. and feeling pressure to get something done on taxes, though, is powerful. >> it's the difference between

succeed be as a party and failing. it's the difference between having the majority in 2018 or losing it. it's the difference between one term and two. >> thank you, sir. >> other than that, no big deal. >> thank you, senator. >> joining me now is republican congressman kevin brady of texas. chairman of the house ways and means committee. he is the man essentially charged with at least writing the house version of this tax plan. mr. brady, welcome to the show, sir. >> thanks, chuck. >> let me start with the, to get you to respond to lindsey graham, essentially said, if you can't do this, meaning the entire republican party, leadership team, you think it's going to be a massive political problem. is that the best case, to keep the party together on this issue? politically, you have to do something? >> well, look, i don't know what the context of senator graham -- here's what i know.

eight out of ten americans believe tax reform will help them. most of them want their lawmaker to work with president trump to make this happen, and i'll tell you that at home, i don't care if you're a democrat or republican, there's too many young people coming out of school that can't find a good paying job, and we're all seeing our u.s. jobs move overseas. this is really about bigger paycheckses, more jobs and a fair tax system. >> look, i'm hesitant to get into debating the details of this, frankly, i've been around this block. so have you. it's going to change probably more than we realize. maybe more than you realize, but let me ask about the process of this. the u.s. senate has decided to do this via reconciliation, and in non-washington speak that means just having 50 votes rather than 60. but the political message that sends is, democrats, if you want to participate, fine, but we don't need you. when you start off by telling democrats we don't need you, don't you already limit yourselves in trying to put

together a bill that can pass? >> so, chuck, let me respectfully but strongly disagree here. all reconciliation says no one party can obstruct this process. in fact, not only does it not preclude democrats from working with us on this issue, it really says any democrat who's serious about lowering taxes simplifying the code, bringing our jobs back, we are serious about working with you, and they can make a huge difference. i'll tell you, listening to our democrats in the house, we have a number of centrist democrats. sort of jfk-style democrats, who see the same problems we do. we're listening very carefully to them and we're hopeful we can put their ideas in this plan. >> all right. in a 30-second ad it seems as if you've got a tough part of this plan to sell and it's the following -- the top tax bracket you're trying to lower to 35%. lowest tax bracket raising to

12%. i know that -- how do you tell the average american who just sees that, huh. lowering income looks like raising their -- just saying. looks like a tax hike for lower income americans and tax break for upper americans. >> i put joe biden, john kerry, they voted with ronald reagan to do this. they took the 11% bracket, made it zero. we take the 10% bracket, make it zero and lowered rates above it so every american is, at every income level, especially the poor and middle class, keeps more of what they earn. when do you that, our economy grows. it's fair. it's flat, and tell you this, too, i'd put that postcard system up we're proposing, americans are sick of the special interests provisions, the special loopholes. they want a fair, flatter tax system. >> who's going to pay the most taxes? >> in what way? >> well, i asked you.

who's tax bill's going to be higher at this point? by, per capita of their income? >> yes, i'm hopeful we're able to lower the tax rates on every american, regardless of what state they're in or income level. we want people to keep more of what they earn. >> let me ask you this, though. the deficit. you guys campaigned on the debt and deficit big time in the 2010, 2012 -- how much will the -- will this be deficit neutral? how will you pay for these tax cuts. >> chuck, great question. we want tax reform to help us move towards the balanced budget, not away from it. it takes two important things. one, we will get economic growth. under president kennedy we saw it and under president reagan and democrats who joined him. that will be part of it, but here's the other part. the balance within the budget we have to jettison a bunch of

special provisions, lobbyist loopholes all of those special things to low are the rates for everybody. it will be a combination of growth and clearing out the complexity of the code. >> all right. i mean, you say that as you know there's a reason it hasn't been done since '86, because every single one of you has a constituency in your district or in your state that is going to want one of their tax breaks protected. how are you going to overcome that? >> no question. >> isn't this going to make health care seem easy? >> yes. so i don't know about the relativity of it. here what i know as president reagan said the biggest opponent it the status quo. you do have people in washington who will kill all of tax reform to keep their special division. there is one group, one special interest that will make this succeed like they did with president reagan and democrats, the american people. they're sick of what washington is giving them and the tax code. they want something fair and flatter for their kids and we're give to give them a once in a lifetime opportunity to join

with us in this regard. >> congressman, setting a high bar. we're all going to be looking at the loopholes now. what stays what goes. >> yes, sir. >> is that a fair bar to hold you to? >> absolutely. look, we want a simple postcard-style system and businesses to compete and win anywhere in the world, especially here at home, let's get after it. >> loopholes are everything. i'm with you on that. congressman brady, we'll be watching. big job ahead of you. >> thank you, sir. the investigation that could shake ufr the world of college sports. "mtp daily" will be right back. this is me

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welcome back. tonight i'm obsessed with the idea, sometimes too much of a good thing. this case, money and college sports. you might have heard four ncaa coaches charged in a complex bribery scheme. bigger than the four coaches. accusations, took bribes to steer athletes to colleges sponsored by adidas. got them to sign with certain

managers after their college careers and that the managers would make money if and when the athlete turned pro. today the headline fallout legendary rick pitino out as a result of this scandal. louisville, not their first scandal. a reason why he's out so fast. here's the thing. just as there is too much money in politics that krups, there's too much in college sports. can't keep it out or legislate against it. found it out in politics. fine. can't keep it out, let it in. time to do above the table, something that too often is done below the table. pay college athletes. otherwise, as one of the managers kauts up in the scandal said, you can make millions off of one kid. think about that. millions off one kid. does it really make sense to open the door for corrupt bribery schemes basketball allowed to ham winding up sending people to prison and do nothing for the athletes involved? better to compensate the athletes above board, prevent the middleman from making

millions off this kid, who long ago gave up on the idea that olympics were for amateur athletes. do the same for the multibillion dollar industry that is college sports. this scandal may accelerate that. we'll be right back.

time for" the lid." why am i a skeptic that we'll see anything beyond a marginal tax cut? >> because you're smart. how do they do this? >> look, i think they're going to have some of the same problem that they had on health care. on health care, they described their tax cut, excuse me, their proposal as something that wasn't when you looked at the details. we're going to cover everybody, make it cheaper, better, you look at what happened. they cut the amount of money. fewer people would have coverage. some would pay less and others would pay more. on tax reform, they're now

emphasizing, this is about the middle class. and it is possible their plan in the long run would help the middle class. if you look at where the tax cuts go right now, no state tax, top rate comes down. it is a hard sell. every distribution analysis we've seen from the trump tax plans show most benefits, or disproportionate benefits go to the top. they'll have to answer this. >> i thought he set a high bar. we'll get rid of these special interest groups. by the way, everybody will pay less. >> i thought what was most interesting was he kept evoking ronald reagan. that's where the republicans want to be. that's not where they are today. if you thought health care was tough, you've seen nothing. title, donald trump is going

around saying to the democrats, if you don't support me, i'll going to get into your race and make sure you have a hard re-elect. the democrats aren't paying attention to that. they have to figure out how to bridge and work the administration and might be on this issue. >> i'll with you. i think they want to try to be here. i think they want to try to be here. >> and the way they'll get on that yellow brick road is by raising the rates for the upper income levels which is what the president wants. particularly if the rates at the bottom will go up. they'll have to make the case. you can't go out to the country and say i'll sorry, middle america, your tax rate has just gone up and the top 1% has gone down. so that will be the sweet spot for both the democrats and the president. now the question is, can they get the republican leadership on board? >> explain to me, when the

number comes out and the deficit number is ginormous. and i don't know a scenario where it won't be that. how do they defend that? >> some of it will be masked with the dynamic scoring they use. and they say they'll be more aggressive than earlier iterations. cutting it from 90%. that worked. >> and this is to your point of your discussion, as maria indicated. ronald reagan had a rate cut from 70 down to 50. when they did tax reform, they cut it further. but they raised taxes on business. so it is not easy tooted all of these at the same time. and paul ryan said i don't care about the distribution tables. that's what democrats care about. not me. i want to grow the economy. that will be a difficult position to drive through congress. >> especially trying to do this

reconciliation, it almost begs the democrats to say, you do this on your own. then they're held hostage by rand paul or susan collins again. >> that's exactly what schumer and pelosi want. >> democrats have had literally nothing to do with this plan so far. >> i'm told it's time. thank you.

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that's all we have for tonight. we'll be back with more mtp daily. you're kind enough to hold me over because 60 minutes wasn't enough. >> i hope you're not totally out of time. will you give me three minutes? >> please. >> my big question, we saw trump and bannon go down there. we're all looking nationally at that impact. would all of this have gone down in your view the same way without the outside intervention? >> i think roy moore, look, there was a unique situation. i think we forget there are some local dynamics that we're missing. first of all, roy moore has constituency. he has a bigger following than some in washington realize. and you can't underestimate the impact of the scandal with the former governor on, bentley, and