this sunday a new political landscape. republicans suffer a one-two punch. first democrats sweep elections across the country including two governor's races. >> was it a referendum on donald trump? >> i do believe so. >> and fuelling democratic hopes for winning back congress next year. >> our republican friends better look out. those bombshell claims about alabama's republican senate candidate roy moore. >> shocking allegations of sexual misconduct against senate republican roy moore. unnerving republicans in washington.

>> if true, i don't believe there's a place for him here. >> elections roy moore and the growing awareness of sexual harassment in politics. my guest this morning republican senator pat toomey, amy klobuchar and white house house legislative affairs director mark short. plus president trump sides with vladimir putin over his own intelligence agencies on charges of russian hacking and then says he is with our agencies. >> i believe that president putin really feels and he feels strongly that he did not meddle in our elections. what he believes is what he believes. >> what does the president believe? joining me for insight and analysis are charlie cook, editor and publisher of the cook political report. nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. "washington post" columnist david ignatius and msnbc political analyst elise jordan. welcome to sunday.

it's "meet the press." from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. good sunday morning. one week ago today the momentum seemed to be with the republicans in virginia and democrats were getting worried that they were facing yet another post trump election day disappointment. by friday they were not only declared favorites, but they saw a plausible path in the sna. -- in the senate. tuesday democratic candidates won governorships and swept races in a clear at least suburban repudiation of president trump. these victories gave democrats real hope that 2018 could see a wave election that gives them control of the house and then the roy moore story. on thursday "the washington post" reported that alabama's republican senate candidate molested a 14-year-old girl and made sexual advances on three other teenagers when he was in his 30s. staggered republicans were left wondering could the republican

win and threaten the majority. would republicans be better off without moore in the senate. should they support a write-in candidate? can they force moore from the race? amid all of that republican hand wringing moore has shown no sign that he would be willing to get out. >> these attacks involve a minor and they are completely false and untrue. >> reporter: republicans are scrambling to distance themselves from alabama senate candidate roy moore who denies ever meeting then-14-year-old lee corfman and says her allegations are completely false. >> we do not intend to let the democrats or the establishment republicans or anybody else behind this story stop this campaign. >> reporter: in a radio interview with sean hannity moore did not rule out the possibility that he dated other teenagers when he was in his 30s. >> i don't remember ever dating any girl without the permission of her mother. >> do you remember dating girls that young at that time? >> not generally no.

>> reporter: senate republicans have rushed to denounce moore. >> if that's true i don't believe there would be a place for him in the u.s. senate. >> if these allegations are true, roy moore should step aside. >> reporter: a growing list of republicans have pulled their endorsements or called on moore to drop out of the race all together. on friday the senate republican's campaign arm with -- withdrew from the joint fund-raising agreement with moore's campaign. the president's former campaign cochair in the state is calling the allegations gutter politics. >> if these ladies feel like they're telling the truth and they need to take a lie detector test. >> reporter: though while overseas president trump was noncommittal to reporters saying i'd have to look at it and see other trump allies like former chief strategist steve bannon are defending moore. >> until i see additional evidence on judge moore i'm standing with him. >> reporter: the bombshell

report comes after a difficult week for the republican party. democrats won races in new jersey and virginia and flipped at least 15 seats in virginia's house of delegates where big gains the last couple of times served as bellweathers for the following year's congressional elections. >> in 2005, i was head of the dscc. you could smell a wave coming. the results last night smell exactly the same way. our republican friends better look out. >> reporter: this week three more house republicans announced they will retire joining a series of house moderates already leaving. after suburban voters around the country rejected republicans, rattling other party members who fear they could be next. >> was it a referendum on donald trump? >> i do believe so. >> joining me is republican senator pat toomey of pennsylvania. welcome back to "meet the press." >> good morning, chuck, thanks for having me.

>> happy to have you here. let me start with the roy moore situation. is it worse if roy moore loses or wins for senate republicans? >> i don't know, chuck. i don't know how this is going to turn out. this is a terrible situation. nearly 40 year old allegation. we'll probably never know for sure exactly what happened. from my point of view i have to say i think the accusations have more credibility than the denial. i think it is best if roy would just step aside. >> it doesn't appear right now he is going to step aside. i guess the question is, what does the party do? do you run a write-in or do you try to ensure that he doesn't win? >> you know, i think a write-in is something we should certainly explore. i think luther strange would be a strong candidate for a write-in. a write-in is very difficult

let's face it. there is no easy solution to this. i think we should consider a write-in. >> if he does win, should the united states senate seat roy moore? >> we'll have to wrestle with that if and when the time comes. a lot has to happen before that, chuck. >> you are not ruling out the idea that you wouldn't want to have him seated as a senator. >> i suspect we will learn more between now and then. chuck. i'm not going to project what we should be doing under that hypothetical. >> let me ask you this bigger picture here. why do you think it seems to be people are picking up political ideology or political preference over what is clearly morally repugnant? >> i'm not sure who you are referring to. i think republicans have addressed this in a thoughtful and responsible way. we have a 40-year-old allegation that is unprovable probably. despite that many of us are suggesting that the preponderance of the evidence

seems to support the accuser and therefore many of us -- i'll speak for myself, are pre pair -- prepared for roy to step aside. i think that is a responsible way to approach this. >> you said 40-year-old accusation twice. why does that matter? >> it matters because it just raises the question about the credibility. i have said i don't find the denial terribly credible but when someone waits 40 years before they make an accusation that raises a question itself. it is probably not knowable but there seems to be enough there that it's very disturbing. >> let me move on quickly to something that the president said overseas having to do with vladimir putin. he seemed to take the word of vladimir putin a former kgb agent, over the intelligent agencies. and he said this. he said he didn't meddle. he said he didn't meddle. you can only ask him so many times. but i asked him again. he said absolutely did not meddle in our election. why do you think the president

wants to take vladimir putin's words over the words of former cia directors just because they happened to work for a democrat? >> chuck, i don't spend a lot of time trying to evaluate and analyze why the president comes to the conclusions he comes to. in my view i think it is clear that president putin orchestrated an effort to meddle. and disrupt our elections. i think he has a variety of reasons for doing it. i don't think there is anything at all that we can trust that comes out of putin's mouth. i think he is a dangerous man and a thug. i think that is the view of many of my colleagues. >> has he been punished enough? the president has implied that essentially we have to stop sort of confronting putin on this. do you think he has been punished enough or russian government punished enough by the united states? >> my answer is no. i think you have seen that the senate has responded, for

instance, our insistence on tougher sanctions against russia and a review mechanism attached to make it a little more difficult for this president or any other president to lift those sanctions. i think we have to raise the cost to putin for the outrageous behavior he has committed. >> let me turn to the tax bill. i want to address the issue of the debt first because this has been an issue of concern of yours throughout your tenure in the united states senate. let me play some of the things you have said about the national debt before. >> we have $16 trillion in debt. this is totally unsustainable. we have to get this under control. >> we are on an unsustainable fiscal path. >> i don't think we can kick this can down the road any further. >> quite a few analysis of this tax plan indicate that it is going to be a budget buster. you have already voted to expand -- you're willing to expand the debt by $1.5 trillion over ten

years. i know you believe in some form of dynamic scoring. i get that. why do you have some tolerance of expanding the debt now versus over the last seven years? >> so let me be very clear, chuck. if we pass this tax reform package in something like the current form we will reduce the size of the deficits and have smaller debt than we otherwise would. this bill contemplates -- compared to the current path that we're on, $1 trillion in forgone revenue without taking into account the greater economic growth, larger economy and therefore more revenue to thefederal government. the tax foundation has done its analysis and they have come to this conclusion that it will generate more revenue than the path we are on now therefore a smaller deficit. here is another way to think about it. we have a box that we have created. there is a limit to how much forgone revenue on this restrictive static scoring we can produce.

it will only take 0.4 of 1% of extra economic growth to entirely fill in the hole and reduce the size of the deficit. >> if you believe cutting taxes somehow will increase revenue to the treasury then why not cut it more? what is the line? >> because chuck -- first of all, that's a complete mischaracterization. it is the most profound tax reform in over 30 years. we are going to take the u.s. business tax code from one of the worst in the world from the point of view of a potential investor to one of the best in the world. we do not get our share based on the size of our economy. we don't get our share of foreign direct investment partly because we uniquely punish investors in ways that no one else does. we are going to create tremendous incentives to invest in the u.s. both domestically and from overseas. that is going to generate more economic growth. if all we were doing was changing rates that would be a different matter. this is a profound change.

it's going to be really pro growth. >> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell admitted he misspoke when he said that not everybody is going to get a tax cut. what do you tell in the suburbs of philadelphia, a lot of upper middle class folks may not see a tax cut because of the way some of the deductions go away. what do you tell those folks who think, wait a minute, i'm not going to get a tax cut, even though i have been voting republican and been promised that i'd get this tax cut? >> the vast majority of people are going to get a tax cut. and any time you really reform the tax code there will be some outliers that may not get a tax cut. in this reform any such are likely to be pretty high income folks who also tend to have significant investment portfolios. take a look at where the stock market is in part because of the anticipation of this tax reform. those folks are benefitting in many ways. most will get a tax cut.

but there might be a few outliers. they will benefit in a lot of ways from a stronger economy. >> all right, senator pat toomey, i have to leave it there. thank you for coming on and sharing your views. joining me now is white house director of legislative affairs mark short. welcome back to "meet the press." >> thanks for having me back again and congrats on your hurricanes last night. >> thanks, i admit i'm still on a high from that. let me kickly start with the roy moore situation here. you said you were waiting to see what mr. moore had to say when you were asked about this. you have heard roy moore's denials. has he comforted you or made you more skeptical of the situation? >> let me say, i have a 9-year-old daughter. as you know. i think the notion of innocent defenseless children being molested is one of the most painful thoughts a parent can have. i think there is a special place in hell for nose who actually perpetrate those crimes.

i think he has to do more explaining here. i think we have to be careful, as well. roy moore is somebody who graduated from west point and served our country in vietnam and elected multiple times statewide in alabama. the people in alabama know roy moore better than we do here in d.c. we have to be cautious of -- as senator toomey said allegations that are 40 years old, that arise a month before an election day. >> scott jannings, a former bush official said, look. he said, look, it strikes me that the people of alabama would listen to the president. basically says it will take presidential intervention to get even mr. moore to step aside or get the write-in candidacy on board. is the president prepared to insert himself? >> he did insert himself. he supported luther strange in the primary against roy moore. people are forgetting that. this president has been engaged there. >> would he get reengaged there? >> it has been a very important trip. when he returns i think we will

have that conversation. i think people here in this town have an inflated view of what our views are and it is important for the people of alabama to be allowed the chance to discern the truth and make the right decision. >> so if alabama certifies that they're okay with roy moore but this allegation in your mind he hasn't answered enough questions and they still send them, isn't it fair of senator republicans -- you heard senator toomey was not ready to say whether he would be comfortable having him seated. >> if more evidence comes out that can prove that he did this then sure. by all means he should be disqualified. that's a huge if. i think we have to allow more facts come out. >> what are the more facts? >> he said he plans to come forward with more evidence to support his innocence. >> and if that evidence doesn't work what does that mean? are you going to step in? is this senate seat that important?

>> no senate seat more important than the notion of child pedophilia. but having said that he has not been proven guilty we have to afford him the chance to defend himself. >> is there any way the president then just keeps -- you are saying the president is not going to get involved? the luther strange -- >> i would say the president did get involved in the primary. he supported somebody other than roy moore. i think the president has been on an incredibly important foreign trip and when he returns we will have a chance to discuss this. let me move on. speaking of the foreign trip and on the issue of russia, on one hand the president seemed to indicate in the back and forth with reporters on air force one that he kind of believed vladimir putin's denial in front of tv cameras he said no no no. he's with the agencies. he's not questioning the agencies. what does the president believe? does he believe in the intelligence with assessment that russia interfered in the 2016 election? >> the president concurred with the january 2017 assessment he was provided by the intelligence committee. let's be careful and straight

about what it is the president believes right now. he believes after a year of investigations of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars there is zero evidence of any ballot being impacted by russia interference. the president is trying to recognize the gravest threat that america faces is north korea developing nuclear weapons. nuclear weapons in north korea is a greater threat than russia buying facebook ads. >> you think russia's interference in our democracy, using american freedom -- using the freedom we have in america, freedom of expression essentially weaponizing that freedom against the united states that that wasn't a great threat? >> i said the president has signed the sanctions against russia. he has supported them and they're being impacted right now. the president does not overlook that. he signed the proclamation that said meddling. not denying that or saying it is not important. we are saying if we can get russia to partner with us to help stop north korea from providing nuclear weapons that

we can partner with russia to provide peace in syria right now, those are positive developments. and this investigation has gone without one bit of evidence showing one ballot was income. -- was impacted and it's time to partner with people to help protect our international interests. >> the president thinks russia has been punished enough? >> i think the president is more interested in how to partner with them. to help prevent north korea from developing a nuclear weapons. >> mitch mcconnell said on hugh hewitt said it might be a good idea if social media companies worked with the united states to retaliate against russia. would the president support something like that? >> i think that is probably a question for the cia director. >> so the idea of punishing russia further is still on the table as far as the president is concerned? >> yeah. >> let's talk about the tax plan and the impact of tuesday's elections. are you at all concerned that you are going to start having a lot of republican lawmakers basically -- you have been in politics for a long time -- worried about their own hides in

2018 making it harder for you to get stuff done? >> i don't think we're worried about politicians worrying about their hides. they're constantly worried about their own hides. that's the reality of this town. if we look back on the elections, let's look back as well over the last year and recognize five republican house seats in some -- they were very enthused about the prospects in georgia. republicans held all five of those seats. so the reality is we view basically the playing field is similar to what it was a year ago. and the president and we believe we have to deliver on tax relief we have promised. what we have seen is the lowest unemployment rate in 17 years. we have seen $5 trillion in asset value added to the markets. the economy is beginning to turn. >> why do you think the president doesn't get political benefit from voters for this economy right now? >> i think that is a question directed back at you. i think in many cases the media is not looking to cover what the economic benefits have been in the economy. too often we are covering

stories such as russia buying facebook ads. >> you keep saying russia buying facebook ads. you dismissed this. you think it was that minuscule of an interference, the facebook situation, going through social media, oh, it's just a small -- >> where has the coverage been? has the media been covering the fact that we have the lowest unemployment -- >> we have an entire channel that does that. it's called cnbc. >> i watched cnbc. sometimes they have us on. i think generally you look at the predominance in media coverage. >> let me ask you about the tax bill. you had a meeting with senate democrats. and the president apparently said well, look, it's the senate bill is where it is at. he didn't call it mean as what happened with health care. some house republicans heard the president all of a sudden say the senate bill matters more here, don't worry, guys, don't worry about what you're seeing in the house.

that suddenly that's a signal that maybe they shouldn't assume that the house bill is going to be anywhere near what the final bill is. >> i was in that meeting and listened to the call. i didn't hear it the same way. i think the president is acknowledging provisions that democratic senators were asking about. they're addressed better for them in the senate bill. that's not him saying i choose the senate bill over the house bill. we are very excited about the house bill and the path it has been on. chairman brady has done a great job. we looked at a vote in the house and hope to deliver a tax bill. we hope to deliver it to the people at end of the year. >> there is no preference here? >> i think what we have are two different bills with a lot of things we like. they will be reconciled in conference. we are very excited we will be delivering tax relief to the vast majority of americans. >> thanks for coming on. >> thanks for having me. when we come back wave elections swept democrats into power in 2006 and 2008. republican waves in 2010 and 2014 gave the gop more control. could we be looking at more whip lash and another wave next year? stay with us.

stay with me, mr. parker. when a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. stay with me, mr. parker. the at&t network is helping first responders connect with medical teams in near real time... stay with me, mr. parker. ...saving time when it matters most. stay with me, mrs. parker. that's the power of and. people are fighting type 2 diabetes... with fitness... food... and the pill that starts with f. farxiga, along with diet and exercise, helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. lowering a1c by up to 1.2 points. do not take if allergic to farxiga. if you experience symptoms of a serious allergic reaction

such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking and seek medical help right away. do not take farxiga if you have severe kidney problems, are on dialysis, or have bladder cancer. tell your doctor right away if you have blood or red color in your urine or pain while you urinate. farxiga can cause serious side effects including dehydration, genital yeast infections in women and men, serious urinary tract infections, low blood sugar, and kidney problems. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have signs of ketoacidosis which is serious and may lead to death. ask your doctor about the pill that starts with f and visit farxiga.com for savings. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

anyone who calls it a hobby doesn't understand. we know that a person's passion is what drives them. [ clapping ] and that's why every memorial we create is a true reflection of the individual. only a dignity memorial professional can celebrate a life like no other. find out how at sanfranciscodignity.com. welcome back. panel is here.

charlie cook, nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker and "washington post columnist" david ignatius. author of the new novel "the quantum spy." you don't need to write novels, the reality is a great story we're living. >> no novel is possibly as crazy at what we are living through. >> roy moore, i have to elise, i have to ask you here, what's the party -- i mean, pat toomey wouldn't answer the question. what's worse if roy moore wins or loses the gop? >> i think absolutely it is worse for roy moore wins for the gop. it was so uncomfortable for senator toomey to try to defend these charges of pedophilia against roy moore. he was forced to say the allegations were -- >> in fairness, molestation isn't pedophilia.

molestation -- we looked up this legal definition to be careful. it's molestation. when it is preteen it is pedophilia. when we're having to debate this -- >> having to defend someone accused of it and who they are corroborated eyewitnesss. backing up the case? it's a tough position to be in. >> charlie cook, is mitch mcconnell the way he's been just clearly orchestrated the minute within an hour this came out, many of the mcconnell allies said he's got to go. sounds like mitch mcconnell has decided it is worse if roy moore wins. >> i think mitch mcconnell thinks -- this is just so horrible that it's not under his control. so he's got to live with whatever happens. i think if the voters of alabama if they choose to vote for roy moore i think the senate is obliged to seat him. >> pat toomey didn't look like he was ready to say that. >> well, you and i have devoted

our adult lives to studying elections and canada and voter behavior. you get good at doing it. i would argue that the rules have changed in the last 25 years. 1992 bill clinton before the new hampshire primary hit with gennifer flowers telephone recordings, the vietnam draft story. old days he would have dropped out. if he didn't he would have lost. he toughed it out and survived all the way up through last year. and billy bush tapes/"access hollywood." normally they'd drop out. donald trump stayed in and won. so i don't know what's going to happen here. i really don't. you can't predict anymore. >> we talked to some voters. here is an array of folks that are inclined to support republicans in alabama. here's what they said to us. >> when i look at the other side it's like one was going over the cliff and the other -- it was a rocky road.

>> i feel like it's suspicious before a major election. >> they're condemning him so quickly. >> you have been talking to bannon's allies and he is still sticking by roy moore. i thought it was interesting he did say until he learned. unless more information comes out. even he is qualifying it. >> absolutely. i think this is a real test of bannon's war against the establishment. a lot of republicans are privately saying, hey, look, this is steve bannon not adequately putting candidates he is putting on the front lines. they are digging in. you heard mark short say there might be more coming out. i am told they are likely going to try to pin this in some way, shape or form on the republican establishment as a hit job. is that going to work though? that's the big question. spoke to a lot of republicans over the weekend who said the interview that moore did with sean hannity was game over because he didn't deny dating underaged women -- girls. >> he said not without their mother's permission.

i think it made folks squeamish there. david, yet more tumult for the republicans at a time they're trying to govern. >> they keep whiffing the ball. there is distraction after distraction. i was so struck looking at the brief interviews of voters in alabama. there is this thing that psychologists tell us about called confirmation bias where you are taking the information that confirms what you already believe and just reject anything that doesn't. and i felt we were watching that people said the charges the democrats did this and that. what you heard from mark short and from pat toomey is the seriousness of the charge seen from a different vantage outside that confirmation bias world. i thought when short said there is a special place in hell reserved for people who do things like what's generally described, wow. that is heavy language. if he gets elected by alabama voters, how do you live with that kind of definition?

>> i will stay with you here because it seems when you say this confirmation bias i was thinking of the other story which is the president and putin and the russia investigation and how he keeps essentially dishing up confirmation bias for the supporters. >> i will use another term. intelligence professionals talk about deniable covert action. and what deniable covert action means is if you are asked about it you say it didn't happen. russia conducted the covert action against the united states. the evidence is clear, the intelligence agencies have said so. and the former kgb officer is president of russia and he's asked about it, and he denies it. of course he does. that's what you do. putin is the last person you ask did you do it or not under the rules of this game. it's sort of astonishing that the president doesn't see that in this world denials mean absolutely nothing. >> well, anyway, i'm going to

pause it here. i want to pick up this conversation and do a little elections, too, that are outside the state of alabama. i promise. when we come back are we experiencing a defining moment about sexual harassment? up next, amy klobuchar on harassment in congress and what she's doing to stop it. whether it's connecting one of the world's most innovative campuses. or bringing wifi to 65,000 fans. businesses count on communication, and communication counts on centurylink.

welcome back. the stories about roy moore, the former supreme court justice and comedian louis c.k. are just the latest in a parade of allegations of sexual harassment and worse. while much attention has been focussed on charges against journalists and hollywood we are learning each day of claims against politicians at the state and local level, as well. look at these examples. california more than 150 women launched a campaign called we said enough detailing dehumanizing behavior against men in power. in florida that state's budget chairman accused by six women of inappropriate touching. in illinois hundreds of women charged there's a pervasive predatory culture in the state capitol. minnesota, a state representative said a toxic work environment protects lawmakers and not victims. in massachusetts, there's been

claims of a climate of harassment and those are just a few of the 14 different state and local governments where this issue of harassment has alleged to have occurred. the u.s. senate on thursday unanimously passed a bill instituting mandatory sexual harassment training for senators and aides. and senator amy klobuchar is the leader sponsor of the bill. welcome to "meet the press." >> great to be on. >> let me start with your bill. it obviously addressed the issue of sexual harassment training. i know this is, quote, step one here. it did not cover on how victims should report potential abuse. what is next on that front? >> well, this was just the first step. i would point out it was bipartisan. senator chuck grassley led it with me. we thought it was really important that the senate be a model for the rest of the country. and this is not just about senators. this is about everyone having a

safe work place from shift worker to the nurse at the hospital to the teacher at the school. so what is next in the senate is looking at those reporting requirements and if we should make changes there. we have a working group with senator shelly capito and roy blunt and senator cortez mass sew working with the committee members and will look at that and see if that needs to be changed. >> let me ask you about specifics. when victims report harassment in congress they have to report the incident within 180 days. the victim has to go through counseling. the victim not the accuser. the victim has to go through counseling. 30 days. then there is 30 days of mediation after the victim wants to continue. dispute resolution only made public if the case is ruled in the victim's favor. when settlements occur it is done in secret out of a private account of the u.s. treasury. are any of these ideas that you think end up staying in place once you review these measures?

>> i can't predict that right now but we clearly need a new process. the thing was set up years ago and the times have changed. you wonder why we don't have more women in power. we look at processes like that and what's been going on all over the country. you know, there's 21 women in the senate, chuck. we should have a lot more. i have a dream that maybe one day we will have more women in the senate than victims of harvey weinstein's harassment. that could happen. when you look at how few women we have running big businesses or movie studios a lot of this has to do with the fact that they have been pushed back. i don't think this is about toppling men. or about lewd stories which we need out there so people understand what's going on. we need work environments where women are judged on their merits so they can rise up and be in charge. that just hasn't been happening in a lot of work places. >> do you think the u.s. congress is a safe work place

for women? >> i think there are always people that are misbehaving. have i seen that myself, no. but it doesn't mean it doesn't go on. having rules in place and having harassment training and a process that works where people feel free to come forward and report things. we know statistics of very small percentage of women sometimes can be men actually come forward and report. we have to change that. >> you said you had faith in the people of alabama that they would end up voting against roy moore and he wouldn't be a united states senator. if the state of alabama does vote for roy moore in the united states senate do you believe the senate has a duty to seat him? >> we may not have much choice on that but we have choice on something else. that is that you can expel a senator once they are in with two-thirds of the vote after the ethics committee does an

investigation. there is a step between here, chuck. that is that there is an alternative candidate in doug jones, former u.s. attorney, great prosecutor, someone running on trust with the voters and also health care in alabama and the real issues that will effect the people of that state. so the polls are tightening there and while it is incredibly important to go after these past allegations i want people to remember that there is another alternative here to roy moore who is removed from the alabama supreme court because he wasn't following the law. >> you are in favor of starting the expulsion process potentially if he is elected? >> that's one way we can do it, but the other way is for the people of alabama to look at the two candidates. i have faith that they are going to look at what happened in the allegations and the fact that there are 30 witnesses and make a decision. >> roy moore has been attacking accusers and the media for reporting the story. it sounds a lot like what

happened in the '90s with bill clinton and his accusers. let me ask you this considering the political moment we are in, what responsibility do democrats have in this culture of victim shaming that became pretty prevalent in the '90s and frankly now all the way to today? >> i think we have a major responsibility. we have seen that this happens on both sides when you look at these reports across the country of people who are in power. we have a responsibility to make sure there is a process in place in work places where people can come forward, where fairness rules and where you don't have people that are making decisions about if people are promoted not based on merit but whether they put out or not. basically, that's what has happened to some women in our society and it is time to talk about it and stop blaming them and start looking at who is doing this. >> what do you say to voters who say all of these people that were upset about donald trump weren't upset about bill clinton?

do you think one of the reasons why donald trump got a pass from voters is because of what happened in the '90s to bill clinton? >> i think there are a lot of things that went into that election. what is most important to me right now is donald trump is our president and it is important that we change policies in place that help people in this country everything from the tax reform bill that has serious problems for the middle class that we change the way the rhetoric is going in our country so that we treat each other more civilly and handle things in a more professional manner and that we also do things for people. what worries me about what is going on right now we can talk about the election all we want but it's the policies that are being proposed right now. and the people of virginia on monday as you pointed out earlier in the show, they said no. we don't want this rhetoric. we want to have health care for the people of our state and we want to elect people that have a positive message moving forward.

>> all right, senator klobuchar, that's all the time i have there. i appreciate you coming on and sharing your views. we'll see you again. >> great to be on. when we come back democrats won sweeping victories in virginia on tuesday. why do some republicans say we are not worried? be right back. ke) at farmers, n almost everything so we know how to cover almost anything. even a swing set standoff. and we covered it, july first, twenty-fifteen. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪

...you might be missing to stasomething... ♪ ...your eyes. that's why there's ocuvite. it helps replenish nutrients your eyes can lose as you age. nourish your eyes to help keep them healthy. ocuvite. be good to your eyes. at ally, we offer low rates on home loans. but if that's not enough, we offer our price match guarantee too. and if that's not enough... we should move. our home team will help you every step of the way. still not enough? it's smaller than i'd like. we'll help you finance your dream home.

it's perfect. oh, was this built on an ancient burial ground? okay... then we'll have her cleanse you house of evil spirits. we'll do anything, (spiritual chatter) seriously anything to help you get your home. ally. do it right.

we are back. "data download" time. tuesday's election was either a really big deal or didn't matter at all. let's start with developing republican talking points coming mostly from trump supporters, white house folks about why virginia may simply be unique. number one, they argue it's a blue state and getting more blue. their evidence, hillary clinton won last november and has gone blue in the last three presidential elections. second, these republicans say a gillespie win would have broken with history. in fact, which ever party wins the white house one year, the opposite party wins the following year. that was true in nine straight elections from '76-'77 until 2012-2013. then it broke. republicans argue that gillespie was an imperfect messenger in the trump era. he took on some of trump's rhetoric, but not all of it. so why are democrats celebrating? first, it's the margin they argue.

northam won in a state trending blue by nine points. it's the largest margin for a democrat in a governor's race since 1985 in virginia. second they argue wasn't just limited to the top of the ballot. down the ballot they flipped at least 15 seats in the virginia house of delegates with some races still undecided. 2009 was the last time we saw a statewide wave like this in virginia. that seemed to foreshadow the 2010 gop wave in the house. perhaps most important it's the demographic splits in tuesday's result which could hold big warning signs for republicans. northam held huge margins in key segments of the electorate. which could be key voters in the future. what do i mean? he won by 40 points among 18 to 29 year olds, 21 points among college-educated voters and 29 points around washington, d.c. it's that suburban tsunami that should concern republicans in congress.

in fact, a demographic analysis of house republicans finds that 54 members represent what could be considered suburban districts. places that look an awful lot like the washington, d.c. suburbs. guess what? 16 of those 54 seats are districts that actually voted for hillary clinton over donald trump and only takes a net loss of 24 seats to hand a house majority to the democrats. the 2018 mid terms are still a year away. results from virginia show republicans do have a few very real reasons to be concerned. when we come back end game and why that democratic argument for a big 2018 looks a whole lot stronger than the gop one. we'll be right back. coming up, end game brought to you by boeing. continuing your mission to connect, protect, explore and inspire. you switched to the capital one quicksilver card. and how do you feel? [sighs] like a burden's been lifted. those other cards made you sign up for bonus cash back.

then they change categories on you every few months. then you had to keep signing up! you...deserve...better. now get out there and keep earning that 1.5% cash back on every purchase everywhere. thanks, doc. i'm not a doctor. what? [whispers] time to go. what's in your wallet? ray's always been different. last year, he said he was going to dig a hole to china. at&t is working with farmers to improve irrigation techniques.

remote moisture sensors use a reliable network to tell them when and where to water. so that farmers like ray can compete in big ways. china. oh ... he got there. that's the power of and.

end game, brought to you by "end game" brought to you by boeing. back now with end game. the democratic wave from last week ushered in a historic level of diversity. danica rome virginia's first transgender lawmaker. andrea jenkins is the nuvfirst openly transgender woman of color elected. wilmon collins a liberian refugee.

jenny durkin is the first openly lesbian mayor. these are just a handful of historic victories on tuesday. charlie cook, we are throwing around the word wave a lot. this is an off year wave. when you get waves you get a different portrait of elected officials. >> we are a year out but this is what waves look like at the front end. to me the amazing thing is the last six mid term elections we have had four where the house or senate or both have flipped and the other two were after 1998 was impeachment and 2002 after 9/11. these have gotten more explosive. people voting in a more parliamentary way. there is a volatility that didn't exist in the old days. >> what is the white house reaction? >> their spin is virginia, new jersey, these are states that were trending blue. new jersey is typically blue. bottom line, though, if you talk to republicans about what really makes them nervous, it's that the obama coalition seems to be energized. you had particularly in virginia

young people turning out, women outpacing what hillary clinton got in her election as well as college educated voters. i think that is where the real concern sets in. that is why democrats are celebrating. >> enthusiasm, enthusiasm. >> look at the divide within republican voters right now. you have republican voters who really love donald trump and then you have republican voters who hate hillary clinton. she is no longer in the equation. it goes that republicans can talk about hillary clinton but it matters increasingly less especially when donald trump is really inspiring voters to turn out and vote. >> david, can we be experiencing an issue? the debate about ed gilespie, was he trump enough? trumpism? threading the needle? could it be the same thing that everybody tried to do with obama in the mid term years where it only works when obama was on the ballot.

does it only work when trump is on the ballot? >> i think that is one of the questions that virginia raises. is the gop going to become the party of donald trump? if you are not embracing that are you just losing the energy? looking at the numbers the turnout among women, among younger voters i wonder if donald trump is not a leading indicator telling us what future is but a lagging indicator telling us what the past is. >> the unifying forces for republicans has been hatred towards clinton or obama. so now that you don't have a clinton, now that you have obama, what is the glue holding together because one part is trump and one part is non-trump. i think that is a real challenge for republicans. >> i think republicans are still trying to figure out what to do in 2018. i asked a number of them this week do you run with trump or away from him. they all answered we just haven't figured that out yet. bottom line, though, we have to have strong messages for the voters in our districts. >> does it matter where you live?

>> i think you have to be concerned if you are the gop about white educated voters. you look at how they contributed to ed gilespie's loss in virginia and then looking at the alabama race and the senate race you look at birmingham and the educated voters in birmingham. if it's this close and roy moore has never been a strong general election candidate in alabama i would be really concerned. >> i have david ignateous here. you want to know about things having to do with national security any, particularly the middle east. what is happening here? has the united states not taken sides here in a proxy war to the point where are we helping with this purge that is taking place in saudi arabia and lebanon? what's happening? >> we have a young 32-year-old crown prince in saudi arabia, conservative, slow moving government, he just has blown that up.

he has arrested hundreds of people and brought them in on corruption charges. he has helped pressure the prime minister of lebanon to resign as part of his campaign against iran. i wrote a year and a half ago about him. this young man could either jump start saudi arabia or drive it off a cliff. the biggest thing he has behind him is this president loves him. this president sees him as a donald trump of the middle east. >> there is a proxy war going on in yemen between iran and saudi arabia. how concerned are you that that proxy war becomes forget yemen they just do it themselves? >> the direct war between saudi arabia and iran is unlikely. i think the fear that the analysts i have talked to have had is that saudi arabia's actions especially in lebanon will push the israelis into a new conflict with hezbollah. >> i have to leave it there. nothing like cutting off that

debate. it will take thousands of years to figure that out. before we go an important note tomorrow night we are holding our first annual "meet the press" film festival here in washington, d.c. 16 films on 7 topics from heroin epidemic. tickets are still on sale but almost sold out. there is a digital showcase online and on demand that will begin tomorrow. that's all we have for today. thank you for watching. if it's monday, it's our film festival. if it's saturday it is now hurricanes football. and we will be back next week because if it is sunday it's "meet the press." every day, on every street, in every town, across america. small businesses show their love to you. with some friendly advice, a genuine smile and a warm welcome they make your town... well, your town.

that's why american express is proud to be the founding partner of small business saturday. a day where you get to return that love, because shopping small makes a big difference. so, on november 25th get up, get out, and shop small. the unpredictability of a flaree may weigh on your mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. that's how i thought it had to be. but then i talked to my doctor about humira, and learned humira can help get and keep uc under control... when certain medications haven't worked well enough. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers,

including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. raise your expectations and ask your gastroenterologist if humira may be right for you. with humira, control is possible. welcome! hhi!s it going? okay, so you've got two friends here. yes. this is the j.d. power award for dependability. now i want you to give it to the friend that you think is most dependable. ohhhh. ughh. wow. that's just not fair. does she have to?

she doesn't have to! oh, i don't? no, but it's a tough choice, isn't it? yes. well luckily, chevy makes it a little easier. cause it's the only brand to earn j.d. power dependability awards for cars, trucks and suvs - two years in a row. that's amazing. chevy's a name you can trust! . tonight president trump sticks up for president putin. establishment republicans abandon roy moore and lawmakers try to stand up to sexual abuse in congress. this is kasied.c. welcome to kasie d.c. i'm kasie hunt. we are here from 7 to 9:00 p.m. with the very latest reporting from washington. republicans have a