saw the campaign. they have now seen a year in office. they are in for whatever their particular long haul is, and that's never four years for very white house staffers. whatever their long haul is, they are in it for the long haul. >> they could be rationalizing they would be replaced by someone worse. >> and they are going to get tax reform. >> thanks to my pam. that does it for our hour. i'm nicole wall as, mtp daily starts receipt now. hi chuck. >> hi nicole, how are you doing? >> i'm good. how are you doing. >> rested and raleigh-durhaming to to go. happy to be back. we're going. let's roll. if it's tuesday we have got a shut down showdown and a little show boating to go with it. tonight a december to remember, how the leadership vacuum in washington is sucking the year out of the year end agenda. >> chuck schumer and nancy pelosi did not show up for our meeting today. i'm not really that surprised. >> we'll talk to two senators

from both sides of the aisle. >> plus more than words. >> and the republican establish -- >> what roy moore's defiant return to the campaign trail means for the december election showdown. finally the evolution of the new norm in a year of president trump. this is "mtp daily", and it starts right now. ♪ good evening i'm chuck todd here in washington. welcome to" mtp daily" i'm glad to be back. welcome to the downward spiral you might call political leadership. our political leaders have to come to the table to avoid a government shutdown next week. they are trying to duct tape a tax cut plan, the list goes on and on on this december to do list. forget them coming to the table because they won't even sit together at the same table.

and sadly their bases are probably relieved they don't have to. think about that for a second. this afternoon, president trump blasted democrats after chuck schumer and nancy pelosi decided to boycott a meeting with him and republican leadership at the white house. he left empty chairs to highlight their absence. he insists they would be calling anyway because north korea just test fired another missile. >> chuck schumer and nancy pelosi did not show up for our meeting today. i'm not really that surprised. we have a lot of differences. they are weak on crime. weak on illegal immigration, they have been weak on military in terms of spending. they want tax increases. so they decided not to show up. they have been all talk, and they have been no action. and now it's even worse. now it's not even talk. they should be calling immediately and say we want to see you but probably they won't because nothing to them is important other than raising taxes. that's the only thing they like doing is raising taxes. >> you might not be surprised

the president said that if the government shuts down next week he's not going to blame himself or his party. >> if that happens i would absolutely blame the democrats. fit happens it's going to be over illegals pouring into the country, crime pouring into the country, no border wall, which everybody wants. i got elected partially because of a border wall. >> schumer and pelosi skipped this meeting which was supposed to help avoid a government shutdown because the president tweeted today that he couldn't make a deal with quote chuck and nancy as he likes to call them echl said they were weak on immigration, crime and taxes. so democrats said fine, we're out. >> with his tweet this morning, president trump made sure that today's meeting is nothing but a photo op, mr. president it's time to stop tweeting and start leading. if the president isn't interested in addressing the difficult year agenda and wants to make the government shut down, we'll work with those republicans who are interested in funding the government as we

did in april when the president wasn't involved and we got it done. >> mitch mcconnell and paul ryan said if democrats were serious about reaching an agreement they would have shown up at the white house this afternoon. >> i never refused to go to a meeting that president obama called, a bipartisan meeting. it never occurred to me that i could just say to president obama i'm not showing up. that strikes me as a lack of seriousness about the matter before us. which is the funding of the federal government of the united states for the rest of this fiscal year. >> by the way a lot of obama alumni sent around a click on social media noting that mitch mcconnell did skip an invited dinner with the president and instead went to a federalist society dinner. there is that. look, we could seat sit here and

talk about who is to blame for the meeting drama. the democrats for using an excuse not to show up and the president for giving them one. the democrats have leverage right now. they are the ones that got mr. trump to have the year end skinning fight. they are the only ones working to keep it open. the question for them is simple what are they going do with a you will that leverage and how are they planning on exerting it. i'm joined by michael bennet who is i believe a member of the membership and importantly celebrating a birthday today. happy birthday, sir. >> appreciate it. i'm happy to be celebrating with you, i don't know how i'm going to explain that to my children and my family. another day in paradise, chuck. another-year-older, another day in paradise. >> let me ask you this. i'm sure you are a believer that

two wrongs don't make a right. president trump had a ridiculous tweet. but chuck schumer and nancy pelosi decided to use it as an excuse not to show up to the meeting. is that the right call? >> i think the american people are tired of all of it. what i particularly am tired of is the fact that we have been running this government for the entire nine years i have been here on what are called a continuing resolution. >> have you ever passed a budget? have you been in the senate when there is a budget? >> no. i have not in been in the senate when there was a bumming. when money was appropriated -- that's nine years, chuck. and my estimate is that 75% of the senate was not here when the government did its job the way it was supposed to do. this is not mysterious. so anybody who has been on a school board or on a city council or been a mayor or a govern or know how to do this. this place has been getting away with murder for the last nine years. it has to end. >> i understand that. but i guess -- i get this. but was it the right call not to

show up to the meeting? look it all became a silly theatrical thing anyway at white house. so i understand the dynamics on both sides here politically. but why give up the higher ground? >> you understand that both sides were trying to do what they thought they needed to do to create political leverage for a negotiation. >> right. >> the issue now is let's have the negotiation. and let's for example, put at the heart of that discussion what we are going to do for the d.r.e.a.m.ers in a the president said he doesn't want to deport to a country that they have never been or done he no. it would seem to me that is a piece of business we should get down sooneran rather than laider because it's affecting real families and real lives. and then let's not just figure out how to keep the government open, let's set a budget priority that's consistent with what people in colorado. not consistent with what some democrat or republican wanted ten years ago here.

the game we are in. >> i -- >> sorry. >> finish that thought. >> i was just saying the game we are in now is keeping the land on in the land of flickering lights. that's what we're doing. >> i'm curious -- i understand all of this, but what's reality? what is going to happen in the next four weeks? are we going to have -- what is your red lines on this? if daca is not a part of this end of the year government spending bill, do you not support it? where are we on that? >> i look at that a different way. i don't think anybody should go home until daca is dealt with and until the government is funded. i have a bill actually, you might be interested in this, with my colleague cory godner a republican from colorado that we've had now months that would say the next time the government shuts down the senate has to report to the floor 8:30 the next morning and if you don't show up the sergeant at arms can arrest you and bring to the floor because all we've done here is shut the government down and then everybody goes home and it doesn't solve the problem.

instead of talking about shutdowns, instead of creating false clips. instead of appealing to the worst aspects of everybody's nature around here, we know how that movie ends. what we should be doing is figuring out out to restore confidence in the institutions of ours not for the sake of the institutions but because that's how we have all sort of agreed that we are going to proceed in this exercise of self government that we've had since the founders created it. >> is there -- on substance, was there a reason, does the president need to be in these negotiation on the shutdown or is senator schumer right, this is a deal that has to be struck more with ryan and mcconnell? >> yeah. i don't think -- you see -- you remember that old fiscal cliff deal which i was one of eight folks to vote against because i thought it was terrible. that deal was negotiated two end the president and the speaker, president obama then. and the speaker, they decided they couldn't get along. then joe biden and mitch

mcconnell negotiated the deal. i think the actors can change. the important thing is the people in the room have to be people who can consummate a transaction, get to the a result. you know, this whole place was set up to resolve our disputes. and these days we are using it only to have disputes. and that's why the american people are really tired of it. and by the way, something we haven't even talked about is the tax bill that's on the floor this week which we are going to have to deal with before we get to any of this other stuff. >> i was going to say, is the government -- how do you believe the democrats should use their leverage on the government shutdown to fight on the tax bill? what's your pripg on that? >> well, i'm not sure -- i don't think we need -- i think that the leverage on the shutdown should be used in the context of the budget. i think on the tax bill what we have to do is make sure the people understand how unconscionable this bill is. the idea. let me just give you one example. this bill that's on the floor gives $34 billion to 500,000 of

the richest people in america. $34 billion. it gives, in 2019, which is the best year from the republican's argument -- it gives the 90 million people that make $50,000 and less $140 each. that's $7.50 a paycheck for a bill that they are saying is a middle class bill. not only is it not a middle class bill. they are using it to give tax cuts to people at the very pop top and borrowing the money from the american people and their children to pay for that. i think we as democrats need to make sure that the american people understand what's in this bill. we cannot let them get away with rushing it through the way they are trying to do it. and i think in the end we may be able to prevail. >> how would you prevail? it look like they have the votes. do you hope there is one or two republicans that side with you guys to stop the plan. >> i think there are one or two republicans that have a conscience on the question of this giveaway to the wealthiest

folks in america and who are actually going to be consistent on the fiscal stuff that they have complained about for years and years and years. >> let me ask you a big picture question, though, because the president said it a number of times, democrats want higher taxes. do you believe our taxes are high enough? or do you think taxes should be lower? >> here's what i think? i think that as a country we are collecting about 18% of our gdp in revenue. that's what we are collecting. we are spending 21% of our gdp in revenue, which -- that creates our deficit. and we are hollowing out discretionary domestic spending. in fact ear spending 35% less today than we were before. so i believe we should bring those lines together somehow, and we need to do it in a bipartisan way. because one party is not going to get it their way. what their plan will do is dramatically increase the deficit and create more measure on medicare, medicaid, social

security and discretionary spending. i will be open to a conversation on the corporate side. we have the highest published rate in the world. we should bring it down, not as hutch much as in their bill. i think we should increase the child tax credit which will bin fit working families in this country. that would be a balanced proposal. >> senator bennett, appreciate you coming on. nothing like celebrating your birthday than right here on cable television. >> this is the highlight of my day. thanks chuck. >> i'm going to take that as a compliment. this afternoon we heard from republican leaders in the senate after they met with president trump. their message on the tax bill, it's complicated. >> for the first time in 31 years to really get a tax bill that could help turn this country even further ahead, i wish we could get rid of the partisan politics, i wish we could get our -- both republicans and democrats

together. this is a time when we ought to. >> it's a challenging exercise. i this of sitting there with a rubic's cube trying to get to 50. and we do have a few members who have concerns. and we are trying to address them. and we know we are not going to be able to go forward until we get 50 people satisfied and that's what we're working on. look, big complicated bills like this are challenging, you all have watched us wrestle with this sort thing in the past. it's always difficult. >> joined now by republican senator john kennedy of louisiana. senator kennedy welcome back to the show, sir. >> thanks chuck. good to see you. >> good see you. let me start with you telling us we're hearing some chatter about what happened at the meeting with the president. i want you to confirm some stuff if you can. >> okay. >> the big thing happened to do i think with the alexander murray bill. there seems to be some question that the president was now willing to support it if -- if

the repeal of the mandate does go through in the tax bill. can you tell us that that part of that conversation, whether that happened or not in that meeting? >> yes. i asked the first question of the meeting. i told the president i supported the elimination of the mandate. i told him that i thought it was wrong to fine people, punish people for not buying health insurance they can't ard to. he agreed with me, of course. and at that point i said, now, mr. president, will you support the bill by senator alexander to try to address in a stopgap way the problems with the affordable care act? and i heard him say yes. now, he didn't use the word yes. he gave a little bit longer explanation, but i took yes away. >> so you think -- now, sequencing of it, does that mean -- and i know -- look, you guys trying to get to 50 is no easy task as senator mcconnell laid out there earlier. >> right.

>> but does alexander murray have to pass first before you can get for instance senator murkowski's vote on the tax bill? >> we didn't talk about that. susan, senator collins, followed up, and i think the president -- i think he's agreed to do that. frankly, the -- let me give you context, chuck. what's going on is everybody is trying to make the bill better. people aren't looking for a reason to vote no. they are trying to make the bill better. now the only suggestion i have heard that gives me heart burn, there are some folks who are concerned about the deficit. so am i, by the way. but they want to talk about automatic tax increases in the event that this bill doesn't work. now i'm not going to support automatic tax increases on the american people. i'd rather drink weed killer than support automatic tax increases on the american people. >> there's a way -- senator, there was a way -- there was a way to avoid this sort of

deficit duct taping that you are having to do here, i don't know what else to call it because it does feel like duct taping. you have got to play within the rules of the ten-year window because you are using reconciliation. you realize if you didn't use reconciliation, you could have -- and you guys have tried to do this in a bipartisan way from the beginning you might not be in some of these fiscal traps. >> if we didn't use reconciliation -- let's get on the land here. this bill would not have passed. we wouldn't get a single democratic vote. if we get the 50, one or two may pile on. i finds it ironic that all of a sudden our democratic friends have been born again, they have seen the light about deficits. let's wait and see how long that lasts after this is all over. >> the left says the same thing about conservatives when they are in the minority, which is -- look, you know this senator. >> absolutely. >> a lot of you guys on capitol

hill are deficit hawks when the other party has the presidency. >> and let me hit that head on. okay? nobody is a bigger deficit talk hawk than i am. since we have been talking the federal government has borrowed $3 million to run this ace place. we bora $1 million a minute. if i thought for a second this bill was going to add for the deficit i wouldn't vote for it. i don't believe it will. what the democrats want you to believe and some of the people on the far left is that tax policy is totally divorced from economic growth. and that's non-sense. >> all right. you and i had a great discussion about this the last time you were on. >> i remember. >> since you and i talked about this issue of economic growth and dynamic scoring there was a survey of business leaders asking them what are they going to do with their corporate tax cut. >> right. >> what are they going to do the money? >> right capital investment was four on the priority list.

65% of them said they were going to pay down their own debt. stock buy backs was the number two priority. mergers and acquisitions was number three. the idea of hiring and expansion was mentioned by only 37%. the problem is business leaders d gary cohn had a business meeting and he was shocked more hands asking go up when he asked ceos are you going to use this money to do more hiring increase wages? and the answer was no. without it how do you get the economic expansion that you want? >> number one, chuck, i haven't seen that study, i didn't do the survey and i don't know who they talked to. economic surveys are a dime a dozen around here. you can fine any economist to say anything you want to around here. but i would encourage you to look at a report done by barrow and red lick out of harvard university. they published it in 2010 and looked at the american economy from 1912 to 2006. it's pretty objective. they said for every 1% reduction

in the marginal tax rate you are going to get about a .5% economic output. >> until when -- when is that bottom? what was their estimate? >> this study was done for the economy from 1912 to 2006. and they are from harvard. for all i know they were a bunch of leaning liberals. probably were from harvard. now you can find any study you want. to here's what i believe, a rising tide lifts all ships. and when you tax something you get less of it. and if we let people keep more of the money they earn, i think they can spend it better than government can. if i'm wrong i'll come back on your show and admit it. but if i'm right, i want you to come back and let me come back and take a victory lap. >> senator kennedy it's always a pleasure having you on. i appreciate how you share your views with us. it's very helpful. >> thanks chuck. still ahead we'll lift the curtain on today's political theater over the showdown. that's next. facing 20 billion security events every day.

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the missile launches today, does it change anything about your basic approach to dealing with them. >> nothing changed. nothing changed. i have a very serious approach and nothing changed. >> that's president trump late today reacting to north korea's latest ballistic missile test. this afternoon's launch was north korea's first missile launch since september. and the 189 time that pyongyang has test fired a rocket since president trump took office. this launch wasn't entirely unexpected. japan reportedly detected radio signals suggesting north korea had a launch in the works, and south korea's spy agency said last week north korea was likely preparing a new round of missile test this is year. this was an intercontinental ballistic missile. and splashed down in the exclusive economic zone of japan. the missile did not pose a

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paneltime. matthew continenty. is a heel kip you are -- is a heel, you are mr. congress. the fact that we have you here for a couple of minutes probably has your editors a he little nervous. what happened today. is the government really close to shutting down or not, or was this theater. >> one of two important things that happened today. government is closer to shutting down. >> it is? >> this is a meeting the republican leaders have been trying to get for a while. they have been trying to get the four leaders in the room with president trump to hammer out top line spending levels on defense and non-defense. that did not happen. the president seems to be drawing a line against

immigration in the bill. and d.r.e.a.m.ers. based on the theatrics we saw from the president's tweet to the democrats pulling out of the meeting it's not looking good. >> matthew, and ruth, i'm curious, i got the sense that both trump and chumer and pelosi they were all looking for a way out of this meeting. i hate to be that cynical. are either of you that cynical. >> i don't know what sparked this president's tweet this morning. if i were pelosi and schumer, remember in september that was a deal the democrats spun as victory for them. i'm not sure if it was a victory or not. they thought it was. they are more likely to get a victory negotiating with president trump than they are with mcconnell and ryan. >> the last time their all in the room together it didn't go so well for the republicans. >> i was thinking today, mcconnell and ryan are secretly relieved. they are probably going who knows what he might have agreed to. >> it was not helpful and not a

good way to start a negotiation to announce on the president's part that you are not going to get a deal. why shoomer and pelosi were actually -- as we call them now chuck and nancy, leapt at it so quickly is mysterious. >> they think they have a ton of leverage. >> i have a theory. >> you made the point that when you hang up on somebody even if you are yelling at you, when you hang up you are the one that loses leverage. when you don't go to the meeting you lose leverage. you watch that space. you want to be playing their hand as opposed to the republicans hand in the shutdown. >> you say you have a theory. >> democrats are comfortable putting a hard line in the sand because the republicans run the congress and the white house. there has never been a government shutdown when one party controls. all the shutdowns has been under a divided government.

democrats know they won't be blamed and their base has been clamoring for a fix for the d.r.e.a.m.ers for a very long time. it is a powerful issue with the left. i think they feel comfortable with that. >> it is a unlikely in my view for the democrats to shut down the government. they are the party of government. >> right. >> if they do shut it down by not passing the spending bill -- >> what is shutting it down. >> they will be blamed for it. >> are you serious. >> they are the minority party, they get the blame for this one. >> if they choose to shut down the government of the united states over an immigration issue, they are choosing not to vote on the spending bill. >> the republicans can pass the spending bill if they choose too. >> democrats unlikely to shut down their government. two, if the shutdown is because of the refuse al of the republicans to include daca in the spending measure, it is no longer a spending issue, it is an immigration issue. trump has more leverage in

containing his party videosa vee the democrats even though the public would like daca to be approved. >> even though the public wants daca to be approved. >> daca is popular. when you turn it into a border immigration issue it is different. >> they could shut the doft down if they filibuster it. republicans usually need democratic support to get any funding bill through. there are conservatives in the house and some in the senate who make lofty demands that can't be met. this is where republicans are in a tricky situation. >> nancy pelosi tweet, @donald trump now knows his verbal abuse won'ting tolerated, his tweet suggests he is more into stunts than real negotiations. >> i'm sure that was really hard for her to do.

>> is that a satisfactory explanation? you seem as if you believe they made a mistake here. >> i don't know that they made a mistake. but i think turning up is probably a better deal for some of the reasons that matthew argued. i think in the end the notion that democrats are going to be the ones blamed for a shutdown here is kind of donald trump fantasy, that you are buying into a little bit. but i do think that if you were trying make sure you are not going to be blamed for a shutdown you want to be sort of playing the theater instead of sitting in the audience. >> another reason why i feel like democrats have more leverage here is this issue, matthew, custom is the number 51 versus the number 52. right? they know through the end of this calendar year they have 52 senators. if all things go wrong for them in alabama december 12th. >> they may be down to 51. >> three week window. reasonablistic, doug jones victory, he wouldn't be sworn in

until after the first of the year. let's say democrats say we are going to support a three month spending bill. that's terrible for the republicans. then they may be dealing with one less vote in the senate and have to do this in an election year. >> i think that scenario is plausible. i'm not saying this is a win/win for republicans either. what i'm saying that if their government shuts down because of the democrats taking a stand on daca. which seems to be where things seem to be headed if you read the public pronouncements of the democratic leadership, then they willan blamed for the shutdown. if they are blamed because of the politics, the immigration issues is more combustible and uncontrollable than the democrats i believe believe. >> this issue for -- democrats, they have to draw a line in the san on daca tonight can they for their own base? i think matthew is right to outline, this is an interesting box that is not clear-cut. >> they have made this promise to their base.

it is a popular issue with the progressive base. we have seen nancy pelosi getting heckled at home regarding immigration. >> they can't walk away. can't say we tried. >> they need to hold the line on this, they feel they need to hold the line. and president trump came out and endorsed a daca cod fix fix at least for a while. ease not so enthusiastic anymore. >> because he got blowback from his base. >> exactly. >> remember, the democrats got blowback for agreeing to only a temporary fix or agreeing to put this off until now. >> right. >> earlier. you know, it had to be you couldn't agree to three months without getting daca signed sealed and delivered. i think the notion of turning this into a immigrants pouring across the borders that's a hard sale to me when we are talking about daca and we are talking about what are essentially american kids going to school. >> well, i think it is, what you

are seeing will be a fight to define -- >> which is easier for trump to do in the age of social media and on line. >> that's what this will turn into, a fight to define this narrative. you are stick around, we are going to talk ticks bill. still ahead we are heading down to alabama for the latest in the special election. and the competition is agreeing by the day. we have a new candidate. keep it here.

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coming up, new developments, and perhaps preparing for some breaking news from capitol hill. multiple sources tell nbc there are ongoing conversations among democrats about whether congressman john conyers should remain in the house at all after a third woman has come forward say she was sexually harassed while working with him. we have not verified all of those allegations and conyers denies any wrongdoing. more on that ahead. but don't be surprised if a resignation is coming on the. we have the market wrap. stocks on wall street surging with the dow, s&p, and nasdaq all hitting record highs as the gop's tax bill progresses towards a senate vote. the dow soaring 255 points. the s&p gaining 25. the nasdaq adding 33 points. testimony from jerome powell before a senate committee gave stocks a boost. powell is nominated to replace

janet yellen as fed chair. bank stocks also climbing leading to sharp market gains with jp morgan raising 3.5%. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide.

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our clients needed more. call us, and let us put our 30 years of tax experience to work for you. welcome back. we're exactly two weeks from the alabama special senate election, and republican nominee roy moore is as defiant as ever at his first campaign appearance in 11 days. moore went on the attack dismissing allegations of unwanted advances from more than nine women as quote dirty politics. it's a theme that's echoed in his latest campaign add. >> but four weeks before the election, false allegation, a scheme by liberally leads and republican establishment to protect their big government trough. >> a massive two party conspiracy on that one apparently. one big problem for moore, though, when it comes to tv ads like that, his democratic challenger, doug jones is

outspending him by nearly ten to one margin on the air waves. ten to one. jones is running a traditional campaign with rally moments ago at a hospital in alabama. but it's not just moore versus jones anymore. meet retired marine colonel lee busby. he is launching a long shot write-in campaign. speaking of write ins here's what richard shelby told nbc news about his vote which he has already cast. >> i voted. i didn't vote for judge moore, but i voted for a distinguished republican. >> you won't tell us what it is? >> i will some day. it will be somebody we would be proud to have. >> assuming he wrote in nick saban or gus mall zan, if you have to know who those folks are you don't live in the state of alabama. joining us from birmingham, alabama is vaugh hillyard. i feel like we have a lot to catch up on. help me out with where do things stand today?

is the moore campaign now operating moore moore as a real campaign or are they sort of holed up in this bizarre -- i don't know what -- you would call it a rose garden strategy if it were a president but sort of hiding from everybody. >> reporter: he actually showed up on the campaign trail for the first time last night, chuck n. a town of about 2,300 people in the northeastern part of the state after 11 days of essentially having no campaign appearances. he's not on the campaign trail today. i talked with an official who said he will be visiting a church tomorrow night down in theodore a town of 6,100 people. on theirs night he will be in another town church, which is 1,900. if you are following the pattern he is targeting republicans and the base. if he is able to pull in and keep these poem on board essentially this campaign feels like they are able the pull it off on december 12th. >> the campaign made an

announcement that they are getting outside help from a super pac but it seems to be less than meets the eye. walk me through what happened today. >> reporter: exact three. so this morning, woke up to a press release from the moore campaign touting a new enforcement from a super pac called indiana first. you look up the address it's based out of washington, indiana and it's operated by a 24-year-old. that 24-year-old, caleb shoemaker is quoted in press release by the moore campaign. and to give you a little background on what caleb shoemaker is, back in 2014 he appeared on an on line radio program in which he said i am a white nationalist. he was the chairman of the national youth movement which was the wing of the american freedom party which is a longtime white nationalist organization. i just talked with caleb on the phone and he said he is no longer a white nationalist. he said that is not him. but at the same time the moore

campaign reached out to him they don't have any comment at this time. it seems to lack much coherence. there is not a big ministerial front. there is not much this campaign is touting. he's not talking to the press. he's not debating. it's just a campaign that is being run essentially by six people at this point. it is a small operation. you have been around enough senate campaigns know that. >> and the super pac has no money to it it seems like. it's not a real thing. >> that's the other part. it was formed a month ago. he said they are fund-raising but there are no reports in with the fdc at this time. essentially without calling it a sham at this time there is nothing to suggest that it is anything. calebwood standing outside in the state of indiana when i talked to him on the phone. >> at least it is in the state of indiana. up next, sometimes big things come on small headlines.

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alright, i brought in high protein to help get us moving. ...and help you feel more strength and energy in just two weeks! i'll take that. -yeeeeeah! ensure high protein. with 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. ensure. always be you. welcome back. tonight i'm obsessed with a few small things that caught my eye this morning and how they show signs of our bigger problem. buried within one of my favorite morning newsletters, not named first read is the "washington post" daily 202. under their usual header of got smart fast was a list of these headlines. in order, hawaii is bringing back a warning signal amid fears of a north korea strike. item two.

another high-profile statement. his so-called redesign chief is quitting after three months on the job. next headline, the white house is reportedly weighing a personal mobile phone ban for staff. another sign perhaps of leak paranoia infesting the west wing. financially, pentagon is struggling to provided accurate numbers for deployed u.s. troops around the world. folks, those headlines are collected simply to get his readers up to date for the day. he wasn't listing them to make larger point. i am. apologies to you. but together the other headlines, they highlight the disruption we are dealing with in our government and our daily political lives. all of this happened since the president's inauguration. increased fear of north korea. infighting. dysfunction in the military. we have had tests that have gone wrong, seems like regular exercises we have problems with.

i will be the first to admit we got a lot of predictions wrong in 2016. one thing we knew was this presidency would be quite the disruption to the system. turns out it has. this is another reminder that we are so beyond what we used to call normal we don't even have a word to describe where we are now. for now, we'll simply be right back.

time now for the lid. the panel is back. we just got the news about john conye conyers. you just wonder, on the one hand you say, well, this is fairly fast for washington that finally democrats are admitting, conyers can't stay. he will have to resign. 38 have to figure out how to get him to resign but it does feel slow in this atmosphere. >> we're in the middle of a

revolution within a revolution. it is a revolution in our response and responsiveness to sexual harassment. and it is in the middle of our revolution of social media, tweeter, twitter verse. so when you put the two of them together, that's how you get speeded up results. >> there is to doubt, i can go off on the social media part but it does seems that his days are numbered. >> that's how it appears. and not surprising in this environment. >> there are multiple accusers. >> because there was a settle pt paid and because the actions as alleged seem more egregious. more workplace specific. that's not to say that in this environment, anybody should bet on senator franken. >> whoa! congressman clyburn said he has

heard of a fifth allegation against conyers. and clyburn was one of the people saying, hey, not until we know more. and it is apparently our breaking news. the cbc chair will be putting on a statement later. i think we know where this is headed. so let me move to franken. does he survive this? the minneapolis paper today had a rough editorial. that's an editorial page that has a lot of local influence. pretty degree in the local community. basically saying we're going to call on you to resign if you don't fix this fast. >> i think it will be tough for him. it depends on what happens in the ethics committee investigation. the fact he's owned up to it and taken responsibility and apologized is a different tack than john conyers is that some others. and i think it will matter if there are more accusers that come forward. the drip, drip is dangerous. it is never just one. >> taxes. during our break you said you heard something john kennedy

said that could be bad news for the tax bill. at least in trying to get 50 republican votes. what did you hear? >> that's right. in your interview with senator the kennedy, he made reference to a proposal by republicans to basically create automatic tax increases if the bill fails on gentle rate enough revenue to cover the deficit. that's a proposal being floated primarily by bob co-workerker w retiring next year. there's wider support for such a measure among fumblrepublicans, could tangle up the bill. you have only two votes to lose. corker and then one other. >> i didn't know ron johnson would kill the bill and he proved he wouldn't kill it in committee. moved along. corker is a real wild card here. flake is a real wild card here.

mccain, obviously. and let's not underestimate james langford. and you never know where ben sass may go. do you believe it? >> if you look, it depends on whether you believe they're serious about the deficit. when senator kennedy says, if i thought this bill would increase the deficit in any way whatsoever, i would not support it. well, one might say, so if you're so confident, then you shouldn't be troubled by this trigger mechanism at all. and you should also read all essentially the totality of economic analysis. which shows that he tax cuts do not pay for themselves. this tax cut isn't going to pay for itself. so no. >> very quickly. >> corker told you, i think last month, that he won't vote for this if it adds a penny to the deficit. it adds 140 trillion pennies.

president trump i think gave this a bit of a boost. he came to the hill. he was a little like santa on christmas. you get your trigger provision if you're obamacare stability. now they have to find a way to make the numbers work. >> it is either duck tape or frankenstein. >> is duck tape a bad word? >> if you're using duct tape, you'll have a problem. another day of work. why do you do it? it's not just a pay check,

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in case you missed it, senator bernie sanders was up for a grammy today. it includes neil degrass, bruce springsteen and carrie fisher. if he does win, it was when super delegates kept him from getting nominated. do you have your grammy yet? >> i have one question. if bernie sanders does win this grammy, will kanye west let him finish? >> oh, wow! look at that. you are throwing in more pop culture references than i get. i think i know what you're talking about but i will only vaguely wear of it. >> as they say, if you don't know, now