that's all for this edition of "dateline." tight race with just 30 days to go. and later my interview with christine blasey ford's attorneys after their client was shoved into the spotlight. what's next for her? first, the week begins with brett kavanaugh taking his seat

on the supreme court. last night president trump was triumphant in kansas under the banner promises made, promises kept. republican leadership spent the weekend celebrating. john cornyn posting this photo. not beers for brett but bubbly for brett. still from certainty he'd be confirmed to near certainty he could not be. it exposed one of the nastiest, bare knuckle confirmations in history. it's anyone's guess how long it take for the wounds to heal. dr. christine blasey ford wrote an anonymous letter to democratic lawmakers. she was pushed into the spotlight for the world to decide whether she was credible or not. to the surprise of many, the president held off on targeting her. until this week. >> i had one beer. well, you think it was -- nope. it was one beer. >> oh, good. >> how did you get home? i don't remember. how did you get there?

i don't remember. where is the place? i don't remember. how many years ago was it? i don't know. i don't know. >> democrats have been openly wondering whether this will turn into midterm momentum. but that is cold comfort after losing the swing seat on the supreme court. and it has some rethinking their calculus altogether. "the washington post" reports, democratic strategists tracking polls in republican-leaning states where democratic senators are running for re-election. said they were surprised by the galvanizing impact that trump's offensive had on his base. brian fallon who ran a group opposing kavanaugh said support for the judge increased in these states after trump changed his tactics. fallon said he'd begun re-evaluate the dominant analyses of the 2016 election which held that trump was elected despite evidence of sexual misconduct against him not because the controversy motivated his voters to the polls. i feel there was a primal scream-type reaction from the republicans overly white, overly

male base. it leaves open the question of whether any lessons have been learned from the 2016 election. particularly for democrats. let me bring in my panel here on set in d.c. "washington post" congressional correspondent paul kane, "washington post" white house reporter, ashley parker, former special assistant to the president and former press secretary to the vice president, mike lauder and political correspondent and author of "the red and the blue," steve kornacki. thank you all for being here tonight. paul kane, i want to start with you because you and i have been running around the halls. i'm not exactly sure how to characterize it.

we've spent a lot of time on marble floors in the capitol over the past 20 days. from kind of a history making 30,000-foot perspective, what do you think happened over the course of this week that's going to matter most in the long term? and is the damage that's been done to the institution of the senate irreparable? >> i think the biggest long-term shift is on the court itself. this is a seat that for 47 years beforehand had been held by louis powell who was himself a cent rift swing vote and then bjork got defeated and that led to kennedy replacing powell who spent 30 years as a cent rift centrist vote. he has the possibility shifting the court to the right for years to come. in terms of the senate, lindsey graham summed it up best. if this isn't bottom, god help us. i think we're going to find out. >> cheerful. steve kornacki, let me go to you on this question that we sort of were talking about at the end of

that script there. this idea that for democrats, they may have learned the opposite lesson. we all assumed the president overcame the obstacles of having had all of these misconduct allegations and brian fallon was essentially arguing, well, actually perhaps those attacks motivated his base to get out there. is that what you see across the map? >> there's an interesting parallel, i think, between how the politics of the kavanaugh nomination may be turned around in a way that allowed republicans to get this nomination through. and what we saw time and time again in the 2016 campaign, i think most notably with that "access hollywood" tape around this time in 2016 but so many other trump controversies where in the moment where the

controversy would come to light, when the "access hollywood" tape came to light, when the allegation against kavanaugh came to light this time, when christine blasey ford initially gave that testimony in front of the committee. in those comments, politically, it looked like the nomination was finished. politically in '16, it looked like donald trump was finished. but what would then happen was, over the next couple of days -- hours, days, weeks even, the republican side, the right side of the divide in this country would start to see the issue in different terms. and they would start to see it more in terms of who their enemies were, how their enemies were treating them, how their enemies were treating this story. this was the media, the democrats. this was popular culture ganging up on, in this case, brett kavanaugh. looking -- turning over every stone trying to get every piece of information out there, even including the michael avenatti stuff. it ends up having this rallying effect where there's a rallying behind trump in '16, behind kavanaugh. this time it had a lot to do with who their enemies were. and just the idea of being a bullwark against those enemies. we had a survey monkey poll in the field as the "access hollywood" tape came out in 2016. it was in for four days and you watched trump's numbers collapse in the first two days. the second dave that poll he was losing to hillary clinton by 16 points that day, second day after the tape broke.

by the forth day, back to base line. >> and ashley parker, two years ago tomorrow, it came out. >> wow. >> right? you have been doing some reporting on how the white house thought through all of this because initially the reaction to the president mocking dr. ford was incredibly negative from the senators whose votes at the end of the day were the ones that mattered. have they come to see what he did as something that contributed to getting kavanaugh confirmed? >> they almost instantaneously thought what he did was a net positive. to be clear it wasn't a strategic decision. they department sort of order him up to go off script. this was described to me as a president as he often does, having a visceral sense of the moment and seizing what he saw as an opportunity.

he knew there would be blowback but it's worth mentioning that that trio, two of whom voted for him, one who did not. none of them allowed the president's mocking of dr. ford to impact their decision. they came out, condemned it, they were unhappy about it but it did not affect how they voted on kavanaugh on the court. and what was interesting was the white house said that the president in doing that, and again, the white house would say that the president did not mock her quite reasonable people can disagree. but they argue that basically the president changed the momentum. he brought it away from a conversation and scrutiny of kavanaugh's debauchery and youth drinking. he pointed out gaps in her memory and gave a green light and permission for republican senators on capitol hill, for

these outside groups, for people to take a much more aggressive approach. and they absolutely believe that that was one of the key moments that helped shift the momentum. >> interesting. i want to talk about the broader impact here. grover norquist told "the washington post," we've been winning little victories with regulation. this is the big win. we are cutting down the forest, not the trees. you agree? >> i would agree. it's one of the longstanding goals of republicans, conservatives was to stop the judicial activism of a liberal court. and so having a right/center majority that will look at the laws the way they were written and the constitution the way it was written is something that's been long sought after and going all the way become through reagan, they could not get it done. so we've finally seen 30-plus, 40 years of work on this as a success. >> so there's been speculation, maggie haberman tweeted this earlier today about whether or not this potentially opens the door for republicans to break with the president and hear me out on this because they've

actually gotten done what they needed him to do. they passed tax cuts and cemented a conservative major ut on the court. the argument would go they don't necessarily need him anymore. do you think that's fair or off base? >> i think it's off base. but republicans are going to say we're not done yet. i mean there are at least a couple more seats that may be coming up in what i would say the next six years, just given the age of the various justices. there are also still a lot of regulations that need to be rolled back. there are still more things they need to do to reorganize government. and the president wants to keep

this economy going. so i think there will be a lot of reason to keep with this progress. and i think it's also very strong message for the midterms and heading into 2020. >> speaking of what people might do in 2020 or if there were additional -- mitch mcconnell was pressed on whether they'd appoint a trump nominee to the court if a vacancy should become available in 2020 which is a presidential election year. it harkens back to 2016 when mcconnell led republicans in blocking president obama's nomination of merrick garland saying the president shouldn't be able to choose a justice during an election year. >> the answer is we'll see whether there's a vacancy in 2020. >> but you're not ruling out the possibility since you're the republican majority leader and there's a republican president that you would go for and push

the nomination of a trump nominee in the election year? >> what i'm telling you is the history is you have to go back to 1880 to find the last time a senate controlled a party different from the president filled a vacancy on the supreme court that was created in the middle of a presidential election year. that's been the history. >> meanwhile, president trump seems to believe republicans will have multiple opportunities to appoint other justices, possibly many more. >> you're going to have other supreme court justices, places to be filled. it could be three. it could even be four. it could be a lot. >> paul kane, so to parse mcconnell's words, and i sort of had missed how carefully he was parsing this, but he's saying, he's leaving the door open to -- >> absolutely. >> because he's saying, the last time that this happened in 1880 was actually when there was a split between control of the congress and control of the white house which obviously we don't have or won't have, we don't think we'll have in 2020. >> we called it the biden rule two years ago with merrick garland being nominated and joe biden's floor speech in 1992 said about who was in the senate majority and who was in the

white house. biden was saying the final months before a presidential election you should not have a supreme court clash and mcconnell said that over and over again. that was when he expected hillary clinton to win. now it's, oh, gosh, well, we might have a president who is in a -- the party is this, that. he's adding on addendum to his rule as he sees fit and thinks it will help him. >> what's your view of mcconnell's level of devotion to the senate versus his devotion to politics? democrats have really turned him into the villain in this whole affair. how much of that is justified? >> there's both. he is a senate institutionalist but wants to win more than anything else. his autobiography was called the long game for a reason. it's all about trying to set up long game victories. and in -- when it comes to judicial confirmations, supreme court especially, and winning elections, he has now two cycles in a row. 2016 and '18. thinks those two things are coming together for him and he's going to do that. he's going to choose that over senate comedy every time. >> steve kornacki, how do you think this plays out over the course of the next 30 days before the elections? is your sense that this may be something where republicans sit back, are satisfied and say we don't need to show up or does this enthusiasm bump we're seeing keep going? >> i've never known gratitude to

be a motivating and energizing force in politics which it seems to be what republicans are counting on right here. i think it's almost unquestionable when you look at the polling out there. when you start to look at some of the fund-raising. the grassroots fund-raising numbers we've seen. there's been what republicans have been searching for the entire trump presidency is some kind of equalizing boost in energy on their side to match what they're seeing on the democratic side. and the last ten days, two weeks, they have finally found

it. but, yes, the election is a month away. if you just think back one month earlier, one month ago today, what were the big, defining stories in politics. it was the aftermath of john mccain's funeral and donald trump's handling of that. it was paul manafort. it was michael cohen. >> it feels like years ago. >> so you know, are we still going to be talking about this in a month? >> it's a great question. when we continue, we'll have much more on exactly this. how the kavanaugh vote shuffles the deck on the midterms. steve kornacki is going to fire up his big board. and kasie dc back after this. >> chaos over kavanaugh's confirmation. >> christine ford tells "the washington post" that she is the author of that confidential letter. >> accusing supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault. >> i think this woman, whoever she is, is mixed up. >> the judge says this is a completely false allegation. >> very hard for me to imagine that anything happened. >> republican senator jeff flake told multiple outlets he's not comfortable moving forward with the vote until he hears more from kavanaugh's accuser. >> she should testify under oath and do it on capitol hill. >> senate republicans have a message for dr. christine blasey ford. testify monday or they'll move on with the vote. >> new yorker has published a piece claiming now sexual misconduct allegations against him during his college days at

yale. >> a third woman accusing brett kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. >> do you have 50 votes? >> i believe he'll be confirmed. >> dr. ford has arrived on capitol hill. >> with what degree of certainty do you believe brett kavanaugh assaulted you? >> 100%. >> do you think the american people are going to believe dr. ford? >> what happened to her, i don't know. why don't you believe him? what is it about him you don't want to believe? >> this whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit. >> the most unethical sham since i've been in politics. >> we drank beer. i liked beer. still like beer. >> i think it would be proper to delay the floor vote. >> there is a sense among some republican leaders that a delay of kavanaugh's vote is essentially a death sentence. >> how did you get home? i don't remember. how did you get there? i don't remember. how many years ago was it? i don't know. three of the four key senators voting to end debate and proceed

to a final vote. >> i could not conclude that he is the right person for the court. >> i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. >> the nomination of brett m. kavanaugh of maryland to be an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states is confirmed. >> senator, do you think there's still a place in the democratic party for you after this? >> he's just an extraordinary person. a great, great talent. and i think he's going to make us all very proud. one of the sharpest displays of divisiveness was the show of

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one of the sharpest displays of divisiveness was the show of activism. large crowds of americans opposing kavanaugh's appointment took to the steps of the supreme court and came inside the chamber in the senate. with scores of them getting arrested. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell called the opposition a, quote, great political gift for republicans ahead of next month's midterm elections. adding that the opposition is charging up the republican base. >> well, the people that were attacking our members at their homes and in the halls, it was really quite a display of aggressiveness. far beyond what i would consider peaceful protesting.

they were trying to intimidate members of the senate. not only in our home states but also up here actually in the capitol. and at our homes here in washington. i'm really proud of my members for not buckling under those mob-like tactics. >> the president is hitting the trail for a spring of rallies. he's going to be in council bluffs, iowa, then erie, p.a., and then on to ohio and kentucky. let's bring back in steve kornacki now at the big board. how does this shake out? >> you're talking about that bounce in energy republicans have seen. just to show you what those numbers look like. over the summer, a poll over the summer there was a ten-point advantage in enthusiasm for democrats. you can see it right there. their new poll just a couple days ago, look where it is now. that ten-point gap down to two points.

that's the surge in republican enthusiasm. the kavanaugh nomination fight seems to have produced. look, though, what this is doing potentially in the senate battleground. the senate battleground tends to be in trump states. trump friendly states. north dakota, trump won by 36 points in 2016. and now heidi heitkamp, this down 12 points. heitkamp voting against this nomination. is that going to, in north dakota, complicate her re-election further. heitkamp clearly the most vulnerable democrat. flip side of that, west virginia. trump won the state by 42

points. manchin from a few days ago. manchin has been running strongly in his re-election. the only democrat to vote for this nomination. is that going to solidify his hold on that trump state? then take a look at tennessee. this is where it seems we may be seeing significant movement. a new poll out this morning showing the republican marsha blackburn leading phil bredesen by eight points. a poll put blackburn ahead by five. that's a change from what we've been seeing. a lot of other polls have shown bredesen very popular within the state. have shown him leading. keep an eye on that. texas. ted cruz up six. we continue to see cruz leading this race. not overwhelming. but leading. and then nevada, this is the one sort of exception in the rule. in dean heller, the only republican incumbent who is running for re-election in a state that trump lost in 2016. nevada went for hillary clinton

by a couple points. here's heller trailing rosen. of course, heller voted for this nomination. is that going to complicate his politics? very quickly if you put those battleground states, we think this is the senate battle ground. say west virginia. say manchin hangs on there. take a look at nevada. jackie rosen were to win there. take a look at arizona. the polling has been strong for them there. there's a couple of bright spots for them. if you see in these new polls, if cruz hangs on in texas if heitkamp can't pull off a comeback, if tennessee starts to shift from the democrats, that's all republicans would need. that would be 50 with mike pence breaking any tie. that would preserve the republican majority in the senate, even if democrats swept those remaining states. uphill climb for democrats. that news out of tennessee and north dakota particularly concerning for them, kasie. >> steve, thanks. paul, what's your take on what he just walked through there? where are republicans' heads? >> i just love how he works the board. >> it's amazing. we love him. >> what you're seeing is two divergent maps. there's a map in the house of representatives where all the key races are in suburban battlegrounds where white suburban women are breaking against the president and really were energized by her testimony. christine blasey ford's testimony. but in the senate, these are rural states. they're older states and whiter states where democrats are trying to defend. and you could have for the first

time in something like 45 years, an election in which one party wins more house seats and the other party wins more senate seats. it usually never works that way. the momentum always goes in one direction, but this year, right now, it's going in the opposite these tough votes that red state democrats had to take. i guess senator manchin is the one exception but they sort of say it only helps the map. i think what you're seeing is, first of all, the president you went through the schedule. he actually -- he's mixed. i was going to say he loves to travel but that's not quite true. he loves the comforts of home but he loves being on the campaign trail at these huge rallies, feeding off the energy. getting the feedback from the crowd. knowing which way to move.

so i think you'll see that ramping up, up until the election. you'll see four, five, six make america great rallies every single week. he's going to be going into these senate states where he is a huge draw. the part that's a little trickier is getting him into these senate states. as paul was saying, keeping him away from some of these house seats where suburban women may not love him standing there mocking a victim of sexual assault. >> yeah. >> so i want to talk for a second particularly about heidi heitkamp. >> i'm heidi heitkamp and i thought you should hear exactly why i voted against judge kavanaugh. first off, honestly, i don't think he told the truth. and even if he did, he showed himself to be too biased. i voted for neil gorsuch, so i know there aother conservative judges who can fill this job without tearing our country apart. i approve this message because i believe a senator has to put politics aside and do what's right for our country. >> so, paul, she's still fighting. is this a tragedy that can work? >> it's -- she's trying to be authentic if nothing else. it's just her, straight to camera.

no bells, no whistles, no big letters. explosions. it's just her trying to explain. it's tough, though. it's tough. she's in a state that went to trump by 36 points, i think. and she's in a hole right now. she really needs the conversation to just go back to pre-existing conditions and health care and anything but this vote. >> anything, anything, anything but. all right. just ahead, my conversation with the attorneys for dr. christine blasey ford. i talked to them about whether their client would still come forward given everything that's happened. "kasie dc" back after this. ppend "kasie dc" back after this today is the day you're going to get motivated...

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the most compelling stories. text "listen5" to 500500 to start your free trial today. while we know what is next for justice kavanaugh, what's next for dr. christine blasey ford remains to be seen. early are this week, i spoke with her attorneys, lisa katz and deborah banks. i just want to start by asking, how is dr. ford doing after all of this? >> i think she's doing pretty well, all considered.

she feels good about the fact she came forward and was able to share her experience with the committee and give them more information in order to make their decision. >> does she have any regrets about coming forward? her life has changed forever. >> i really don't think she has regrets. i think this has been an extremely difficult process for her. but she felt strongly that she needed to bring this information to the committee, and she did that. and then she took the courageous step of testifying in front of

the american people. i don't think she has any regrets because she feels it was the right thing to do, and it was important. >> this has been terrifying. her family has been through a lot. they are not living at home. it's going to be quite some time before they're able to live at home. the threats have been unending. it's deplorable. it's been very frightening. and she's also received extraordinary letters of support and encouragement. but these threats are extremely distressing. >> did she watch judge kavanaugh's testimony? >> she did not. >> has she seen any of it in the wake of it? >> of course. >> so she is still convinced this is absolutely what happened to her and that it was this man? >> she's not convinced. she knows it, as she testified. she knew him. he knew her. and she knows exactly who sexually assaulted her on that day. >> she has never wavered and never questioned her testimony on that point.

>> republicans have put the two of you in the spotlight, calling you democratic operatives in some cases. did you ever coordinate with democrats on the committee through this process? >> we did not. >> no. >> there was no communication whatsoever? >> well, there was communication in the sense that when she hired us, she had already been in touch with senator feinstein, and we were in touch with the committee to say she wants you to honor her request for confidentiality. we were in touch with that office. but there was no coordination. there was no effort to leak this letter and have this unfold as it did. that's an absolute falsehood that the republicans are perpetuating. it is untrue. >> what would the witnesses that you wanted to speak to the fbi have been able to say that senators have not been able to hear? >> we keep hearing that there were no corroborating witnesses but there are who haven't been interviewed or talked to. and those witnesses can say several years ago, well before judge kavanaugh was ever considered for the supreme court, she told me that he sexually assaulted her. and this is years ago. those people were not interviewed by the fbi. those people were not called before the committee. so those are the kinds of witnesses, that's the kind of evidence that isn't before the senators. >> have you seen any of the results of the investigation yourself? >> no. but we know what's not in the investigation, and that's what's crucial. >> i'm wondering what dr. blasey ford views as her place in history in the wake of all of this. >> i don't know that she herself is thinking about it in those terms.

i think she's looking to get back to her life. but i think what others looking at this can see is that her efforts, her courageous actions have spoken to hundreds of thousands of women across this country. women and men. people who have found their voice and are able to speak up as victims of sexual assault. >> did dr. blasey ford see president trump mocking her on the campaign trail? >> yes. >> what was her reaction? >> i think she was as horrified as the rest of us were. it's terrible. it's disrespectful. it's horrible. >> did she -- was she emotional about it? was it distressing? >> she was upset by it, yes, as any woman would be who is the victim of sexual assault, who is mocked and belittled by anyone, never mind the president of the united states. >> as this whole saga is coming to a close, what does dr. blasey ford hope the country takes away from what she did? >> that people have a civic duty to come forward. that even if you are terrified, people should be courageous. >> what do you both think is different about how this process has played out with dr. blasey ford compared to what happened in 1991 with anita hill? >> with anita hill, there was a full fbi investigation before there was ever a hearing. that did not occur here. this process was far worse. >> we thought it was bad back in 1991, and it's even worse today. the political climate and how women are treated. >> my thanks to the attorneys for sitting down with me this week.

mark, i've got to say, i'm not convinced that republicans haven't done irreparable damage to their party with women voters. >> i think they showed dr. ford a lot of courtesy when they brought her in. they worked dill gently to bring her in on her terms. made a lot of different offers to bring her in and let her testify. at the end of the day, her story could still not be backed up. the witnesses that she named that were supposedly at this alleged party that -- where this incident took place, none of them could actually testify that that happened or they knew about it. so i hope that america and everyone will allow dr. ford to return to the life that she wants to have in the future. we heard her story. and they -- and the senate voted. they voted on what they thought there was zero corroborating evidence for these accusations. and i hope that what we have --

what we do is we also allow the fact that justice kavanaugh now is also has to live with this. and he's going to have to move on and how he conducts himself. as clarence thomas has done for the last, you know, since the allegations were made against him in the early '90s. he's considered by many to be a highly respected jurist and legal scholar. i hope justice kavanaugh will be given the same opportunity. >> the president did mock dr. blasey ford, although your point is taken that the senate tried to treat her with courtesy. we'll talk about a process in dire need of repair. and don't miss our "kasie dc" podcast. you can hear the highlights. you can find it on any app you use to get your podcast. these are people i'm not >> the president did mock dr. blasey ford, although your point is taken that the senate tried to treat her with courtesy. we'll talk about a process in dire need of repair. and don't miss our "kasie dc" podcast. you can hear the highlights. you can find it on any app you use to get your podcast.

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these are people i'm not going to name names, but i'm not sure they have a soul. i don't think their mother breastfed them. i think they went right to raw meat. they think he's a smoked turkey. it's time for the senators to be senators, for women to women up and men to man up. if you think this is a search for the truth, you probably ought to put down the bong. >> that was the always quotable senator john kennedy venting some of his frustrations this week. meanwhile, some senators have sought to restore the brand of the u.s. senate to crying tribalism and accusing both sides of exposing a moment for political gain. they sought to relieve some of the cynicism that's affected their hallowed halls. >> we all know the president cannot lead us through this time.

we know that he's dispositionally unable to restrain his impulse to divide us. his mockery of dr. ford last night in mississippi was wrong, but it doesn't really surprise anyone. it's who he is. similarly it was wrong last week when he said the attack on dr. ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local law enforcement authorities, unquote. it was wrong when people insinuate that a woman bears blame for her sexual assault because she was drunk. this reinforces the stereotypes that have caused millions of women to bury their experiences of abuse and assault for decades. this kind of repugnant nonsense

creates excuses for abusers. just because a woman drinks or even if she drinks too much does not make her body or her sexuality any less her own. and i don't want anyone telling those poisonous lies to my daughters. i also have a son, and in the event that god forbid he's ever accused of a crime, i hope he's presumed innocent and permitted to exercise his right to defend himself. >> so that was ben sasse who is one of the younger members of the republican conference in the senate. and ashley, one of the things i picked up on as i was covering this, there was a difference. they all voted the same way at the end of the day but there was to a certain extent, i had a couple private conversations that revealed a level of discomfort among the younger generation of republican senators, ben sasse, jeff flake, tim scott, perhaps even marco rubio that they felt more uncomfortable with this debate than some of the older members. the old bulls, if you will. >> i think that's probably right. the thing you said about they all voted the same way is probably still the most important thing right now but it's interesting when we look at those hallway quotes you have, senator grassley saying the

reason there's no republican women on the committee is because women don't like to work hard. so sort of the more problematic quotes that are going to send moderates, women fleeing from the republican party, you are right. you're not hearing them from that younger generation of people. but the senator hatches, senator grassleys. how much do voters care about the rhetoric and how much do they care about the actual vote at the end of the day? >> i'm interested to see in the long term how this debate has affected the party. i wonder if that's not an early indicator. >> i think you're right. there's a generational difference. but is there a place for those people in the senate republican conference? jeff flake is already retiring. he'll be gone next year. ben sasse told me and he's told many others he's not sure if he's going to run for re-election in 2020. he doesn't ever really seem happy in the senate. so they have to figure that part out of how to recruit newer, younger people and how to retain them and get them elected.

>> marc, is there any constituency in the republican party anymore for civility because it seems like they all want donald trump's brand of in your face politics. >> i mean, i would say the same place on the democratic side where you have -- >> i want to focus on the republicans here. these people do not -- to paul the point have a constituency in their party anymore. >> there's a lot of civility we see. we have to remember and senator mcconnell said while all of this debate was going on and all the media attention rightfully so was on this attention they in a large bipartisan fashion passed one of the largest opioid bills. 90% of what the senate and the house does is very procedural, very formatic and very -- >> spending money is easy. >> but it's the handful of things that go along partisan lines where they get all the attention and rightfully so. so i think civility is still there. i think we do have members who are -- have generational challenges as probably many of douse in our own families when we have some of our older relatives that say things that, not really supposed to say it that way anymore. >> they're not in the senate. he's not a u.s. senator.

>> i also worry on the other side, as we talk about how it impacts women. when you look at the video of people clawing at the brass doors of the supreme court, screaming expletives inches away from police officers' faces and shrieking and being led out of the senate or storming the capitol, that is not necessarily a protest that's going to attract moderate, mainstream -- >> that is what mcconnell is arguing is going to help them in the midterms. marc lotter, ashley parker, paul kane, thank you for a great discussion. in our next hour, a first look at ally vitali with her interview with donald trump jr. on the campaign trail. a closer look at america's deep divide. how and when did we become red >> i also worry on the other side, as we talk about how it impacts women. when you look at the video of people clawing at the brass doors of the supreme court, screaming expletives inches away from police officers' faces and shrieking and being led out of the senate or storming the capitol, that is not necessarily a protest that's going to attract moderate, mainstream -- >> that is what mcconnell is arguing is going to help them in the midterms. marc lotter, ashley parker, paul

kane, thank you for a great discussion. in our next hour, a first look at ally vitali with her interview with donald trump jr. on the campaign trail. a closer look at america's deep divide. how and when did we become red or blue? we're going to talk about steve kornacki's brand-new book, up next. i'm lucky to get through a shift without a disaster. my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. so, i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean.

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yes, we're still here. and it's still too close to call. >> just before 8:00 p.m. in the east, a projection that portends trouble for the texas governor. al gore appears to have won florida. >> nbc news projects that he wins the 25 electoral votes in the state of florida. >> the news comes during a bush family dinner. started they quickly return to the governor's mansion. the nominee works the phones saying the projection is premature. >> i think america ought to wait before they count all the votes. >> that was the nbc nightly news digesting election night in 2000 after the poll his closed in florida. in his new book, "red america and blue america as we now know

them were born on november 7, 2000". these divisions were created in the decade that preceded them. steve is back with us to talk more about this book. first of all, thank you for sending me an early copy with the handwritten notes and the photos inside. that was lovely of you. >> they didn't have photos in the advanced copy so you put photo copies in. >> i appreciate it. one of the things that's interesting to me and at the outset of the book, i'm a child of the '90s, everything was great. you point out the economy was humming right along. we were not at war. it was a peaceful time and yet our politics took a turn for the worse. what do you -- in the three minutes that we have, what are the most important things that people should look for in this book that apply to what we're seeing today? >> i think everything that we talk about in some ways take for granted in our politics when we say it's broken now, take a look at the supreme court nomination politics.

you look at the battle over the filibuster five years ago was thrown out on most of these judicial nominations, then the republicans threw it on the supreme court. all of these sort of norms, all of these traditions, all of these customs in politics that used to sort of breed some level of bipartisan cooperation just one by one they're big discarded, being tossed aside for the purposes of political and partisan warfare. i think you do have to look back to the 1990s to see the creation of that. the key thing that happened in the 1990s and it's expressed in the perfect dilection, but all of the major divisions in this country, geographic division, that's what red and blue mean to me. the terms red and blue, it feels like we've had them forever.

it was election 2000 when people started to look at the map and saw those divides in that form, that red and blue that those terms were created. if you said the term red america five years earlier nobody would have known what you were talking about. it was newt gingrich leading the republicans against bill clinton. >> can i ask you clinton quickly? that was one thing that i was reminded of. brett kavanaugh, now justice kavanaugh, he was an operative. he worked for ken starr and he

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this morning, brett kavanagh is officially a justice on the supreme court after a bitter confirmation battle, he was sworn in this weekend. now the question is how will this fight play out in november? plus, a veteran saudi journalist and "washington post" columnist vanishes after entering the saudi consulate in istanbul. turkish officials say he was murdered, but saudi officials call that baseless. and 20 people are dead after a limousine crashed in upstate new york, killing everyone on board as well as two bystanders. ♪