standard. this is a cheap shot by republicans, keith. the fact of the matter is that i understand that the president is going to spend 18 hours in total. it's not a pleasure trip. you can get work done on air force one. >> mitt it romney made the political career after turning around the 2010 olympics in salt lake city. the winter games. are the republicans worried this might be a success story. taking her turf or romney's turf away from them. >> they have more things to worry about. the just say no party with regard to health care and the environment. they are seeing their polls dropping. and the major spokespeople are people that glenn beck and rush limbaugh and sarah palin, they're in trouble. not just the olympics. >> and it's a pan approximately of things. but the olympic one i like best of all. they hold that one up as well. author of supercapitalism as we

said. out in paperback now. thanks for your time tonight. >> thanks, keith. >> the 2,344th day. i'm keith olbermann, good night and good luck. now with the special guest, the man who told it like it was. alan grayson, here is rachael maddow. good evening, rachael. >> good evening, keith. great to have you back. >> thank you, kindly. >> thank you for staying with us with the next hour. the most talked about man in washington today. congressman alan grayson is our guest next hour. as is reporter sam stein. as is the head of the organization that files a prostitution complaint against louisiana senator david vitter today. a big show is coming up this hour. we begin because the republicans are saying they're shocked. shocked, by what freshman congressman alan grayson of florida said about them in the floor of the house last night. >> it's -- it's my duty and pride tonight to be able to

announce what the republicans plan to do for health care in america. it's this -- very simply, it's a very simple plan. here it is. the republicans' health care plan for america -- don't get sick. that's right. don't get sick. if you have insurance, don't get sick. if you don't have insurance, don't get sick. if you're sick, don't get sick. just don't get sick. that's what republicans have in mind for you, america. that's the republicans' health care plan. but i think that the republicans understand that that plan isn't always going to work. it's not a foolproof plan. so the republicans have a backup plan in case you do get sick. if you get sick in america, this is what the republicans want you to do. if you get sick, america -- the republican health care plan is this -- die quickly. that's right. the republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick. now, the democrats have a

different plans. the democrats say if you have health insurance, we're going to make it better. if you don't have health insurance, we're going to provide it to you. if you can't afford health insurance, we're going to help you afford health insurance. you want the democrat plan or the republican plan. the republican plan, don't get sick. if you do get sick, die quickly. >> republican demands for an apology for congressman grayson commenced immediately. they were led by tom price of georgia who drafted a resolution condemning congressman grayson's speech. and he condemned the speech itself on the house floor this afternoon. >> and i have a privileged resolution that i'm not going to introduce today that calls on the house to recognize that that kind of behavior is disapproved of by the house of representatives. but then in an effort to try to give the representative from california, from florida, mr.

grayson, an opportunity to recognize that his comments were in fact a breach of decor rum, we respectfully request that he apologize to our leader. >> no word on whether congressman price got an apology from the colleagues who were talking the whole time he was talking while sitting right behind him. but here's what congressman grayson did with the chance that was offered him. >> several republicans asked me to apologize. well, i would like to apologize. i would like to apologize to the dead -- and here's why -- according to this study, health insurance and mothertalty and u.s. adults which was published two weeks ago, 44,789 americans die every year because they have no health insurance. i apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in america. >> holocaust? always a bad choice of words unless you're talking about the actual holocaust, at least in my opinion. and that was clearly not an

apology. now, were congressman grayson's comments over the top? absolutely. were they fair and accurate? absolutely not. they were hyper bolick, overthe top charge. grayson admitted that when he said his remarks were meant to be tongue in chief. were they a breach of decor rum in the house of representatives? you bet they were. a breach of decor rum in the united states house of representatives for the time being, anyway, is something like screaming at the president in the middle of an address to joint session of congress. to make the break in decor rum to a floor speech? to say it's going to impose the death of americans. that's not a breach of decor rum. that's an average tuesday in the house of representatives. you don't have to agree with congressman grayson or the exact words he used last night or with the signs he used to illustrate his point. in order to agree that what he said on the house floor was no

departure from what his colleagues on the republican side of the aisle have been doing and saying all year long. that sound extreme? you not believe me? listen. >> last week, democrats released a health care bill which essentially said toe american seniors, "drop dead". >> going to save money by rationing care, getting in long line. people die when they're in line. >> one in five people have to die because they went to socialized medicine. >> this program of government option is being touted as being the panacea, the savior of allowing people to have quality health care at an affordable price is going to kill people. >> the republicans have a better solution that won't put the government in charge of people's health care. and it's pro-life because it will not put seniors in the position of being put to death

by their government. >> a lot of people are going to die. >> i would hate to think that among five women, one of them is going to die because we go to socialized care. >> but the president's advisor, dr. emmanuel says medical care should be reserved for the nondisabled. so watch out if you're disabled. >> let's talk about political rhetoric that's worth apologizing for. could congressman grayson's allegation yesterday that the republican health plan is for sick people to die quickly. could that speech reasonably would have been part of that inflammatory montage of comments on the floor of the house we just played? it could be part of that. the departure from the civility that you'd hope to see in the political debate in congress. absolutely. republicans calling for an apology from congressman grayson while they think stuff like this is fine? >> last week, democrats released a health care bill which essentially said to america

seniors, drop dead. >> you could talk me in to the idea that die quickly is a mean thing to say in congress. but you couldn't talk me in to that "drop dead" is considered to be okay. joining us is alan grayson of florida. thank you for coming on the show tonight to talk about this. >> my pleasure. >> you're the most talked about man in washington today. take this chance of talking to clear some of this up. did you mean it literally when you said the republican plan is for sick people to die quickly. >> tongue in cheek, but the republicans had no plan. i'd love to see the choice between two and three and five and seven plants in america is one that republicans won't offer one. they're not helping americans to avoid outrageous premiums. no coverage when they need it. and not helping with the 47 million that have no coverage at all. they got nothing. >> when you said they wouldn't apologize to republicans.

you said you would apologize to 145,000 people who die every year. i want to ask about your choice of words. i criticized it. apoll jazzed to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end the holocaust in america. were you making a third reich reference? >> how disappointed i am they can't get work to congress. we're talking about 44,000 people dying every year in america for lack of health insurance. what are we in congress for if we're not in congress to solve that kind of problem. we have to stop the bickering and we have to move ahead. >> policy issues, privacy issues on one hand is how we got in to this. everybody tried to make you the issue rather than make you the health care issue today. i have to ask you, do you regret using the holocaust.

>> i don't see it that way. we've put health care back on the calendar. we're going to get it moving. it's stalled. nothing's happening. and meanwhile, 4,000 americans die every month. over 100 of them died every single day when we were debating it and debating it. we have to do this. we have to solve that problem and all of the other problems. that's what we're here for. >> i have to ask you a third time. i'm sorry. i didn't mean to do this. do you regret using the word, holocaust, or do you think it's appropriate? >> rachael, it may not have been the best choice of words. but i will say this, my words don't matter. that's not what's important here. what's important is we do what we do. we solve the problems. that's what i came here to do. i've been here for nine months now. and i see the republicans have nothing -- they simply stick their heels in dig their heels in. they won't let everything get time and time again. they block everything. that's not what america sent

congress to do. >> what do you think the best way is for democrats in congress to fight republicans? >> you took a pugnacious rhetorical stand against them. you've been outspoken and blunt. you think the democratic party should be approaching the republicans with a strategy. >> they woont to see a democratic party with guts. they want to see us use the powers they gave to us last november in the election. they want to see us solve the problems. not just democrats. not just democrats that feel that way. people want congress to act, not drag their feet, not be stopped by the republicans, not be stongerred by the natteringing napalms of negativism, they want us to solve our problems or work on them. that's why it's so frustrating to see a lack of progress when we have 122 more americans dying

every day. >> is there a cost in the likelihood of getting something past health care in terms of the overall effectiveness of the congress to see the inflammatory rhetoric we've seen on both sides of health care. it's clear they're asking you to apologize because of their own history of rhetoric on health care and other issues. do you think in general it should be dialed back? >> listen, rachael, we're dealing with people who are utterly unscrupulous. these are foot dragging, knuckle-drags, neanderthals who know nothing but no. one way or the other, we have to overcome it for the sake of the nation. >> congressman grayson, let me ask you about one last substantive issue. we talked about you on this show in the last week and your efforts to get the defund acorn act to apply to all contractors who filed for contract work and the acorn act accuses that group of doing. how has that effort going?

how has it been receive? >> i think it's going well. we're going to have decision points coming up in the efforts of the house and the senate. the house has passed the beil that defunds contractors who commit fraud against the government. i'm happy to be a part of that. we need to protect that. we need to make sure the final bill reaches that way to change america. >> congressman grayson, democrat of florida. >> my pleasure. >> really brought it here. >> transfat or actually good for you. they're good for clearing up any gung you might have in your arteries. prevents cancer. drunk driving can be thought of as freedom. the same guy has run real ad campaigns, well-funded ones for all those positions. you'll never guess what that same guy is trying to sell you now. introducing olay professional pro-x wrinkle protocol. as effective as the leading prescription wrinkle brand.

challenge pro-x yourself, we guarantee the results. crunch time, wheat thins. you and your tasty whole grain. this can only end one way. (crunch) wheat thins. toasted. whole grain. crunch. have at it. boy: is that your new car? uh...yeah. boy: cool. thanks. i knew i wanted the new subaru legacy. i went back and forth on the hood scoop. but i'm glad i went for it. the all-new subaru legacy. feel the love.

here you go. whoa! that's some serious insurance. ding-ding-ding! ding! ding! fun fact -- progressive is the number-one truck insurer. yeah, great service at the right price. and nowadays, my business depends on it. do you have anything like that for my car? yes! our car insurance comes with 24/7 claim service, and you can save hundreds. so, what you haulin'? oh, eight-year-olds to soccer practice. nine! oh, precious cargo. protecting what matters most to you.

today, the conservative and republican war on acorn? crashed headlong in to your back fat. your pot belly, diabetes, bad teeth. today the conservative pr machine that's helped to lead the war to destroy the community group, acorn, got outed. they got outed as a pay us to say anything corporate farce that would not only sell you the idea of this community organizing group for poor people being the death of the republic, they'd also sell you anything.

anything they were paid to sell you. if you don't believe me, again, watch this -- >> you see the one responsible for you gaining the weight? >> which one has the same amount of calories? >> they're processed by the by too. >> i see that corn fructose on the news. >> you mean it was him. >> you're free to go? >> yeah, a sugar is a sugar. find out more at sweet scam.com. >> sweet scam.com. here to tell you to drink all of the high fructose corn syrup you want to. feed it to the baby. that is running nationwide. there's conveniently a doctor on our payroll. dr. nancy snyderman who fact checks this stuff on her noontime tv show. >> high fructose corn syrup is made from corn. here's the problem -- it's married with fat and put in with

a lot of the processed foods you like. it's a real cause for obesity in this country. total spin. just not true. >> just not true. >> the new campaign there, the national tv ad airing. spared with the ginormous print ad. anyone who sees any of these ads and goes over to sweet scam.com and find more. bent on convincing you that sugar, lots of sugar that you can find all at once in high fructose corn syrup is great for you. if you get your captain crunch in the morning, pour some strawberry milk over that or mountain dew. wash it down with a hawaiian punch, a cookie or seven, enjoy your day. sugar is great to you. sweetscam..com is brought to you by the center of consumer freedom. the center of consumer freedom is headed by rick berman, the dc

public relations guy who runs the operations as nonprofits so they don't have to disclose the names of the companies that fund them. he's not here just to convince you to stop worrying about sugar, they're linked to the other sites like transfat fats.com under a picture of a delicious-looking cheese burger and meat balls you can learn how transfats.com they're good for you. quote, they contain a program called congress lateds acid, cl, which demonstrates fighting cancer, enhancing immunity, and decreasing artery-clogging plaque. eat more cheese burgers. he's also behind fishscam.com where you can learn how the fish aren't harmful at all. the home page just flat out

says, women should eat more fish. coming down to picking a favorite, i find it hard to choose. rick berman's pita kills animals.com, all about how the animal pro radical group is secretly full of animal killers. and his sunlight scam.com. if you've been prey to the myth that tanning could lead to the health problems like skin cancer, sunlight scam.com wants you to rest assured that according to them, tanning beds fight heart disease and breast cancer and stroke and osteoporosis. sunlight scam.com has its own tv ads as well. >> go get it -- your body will thank you. brought to you by the indoor tanning association. >> the totally unbiassed indoor tanning association. and, of course, rick berman. berman has an organization called the american beverage

institute which claims to have fight against drunk driving as it argues against dui check points and campaigns to relax laws around the country. mr. berman's beverage institute attacks mothers against drunk driving. they ear against mothers against drunk driving which is a group made up of fathers and mothers and family members and friends of drunk driving victims. attacking acorn is working out well for the republicans. they can take down an organization that registers a lot of democratic-leaning voters. it's great for business interests that don't like what acorn does. fighting for a higher minimum wage. and that side is being wage bid the trustworthy pr man that brought you the news that high fructose corn syrup and tanning are all good for you. drunk driving -- drunk driving is freedom.

mr. berman doesn't disclose his donors. but he's scheduled to be a guest on this show next week. right here in person. i think you will not want to miss that conversation. [ female announcer ] want color that shines all year long? spend 10 minutes a month with natural instincts. it's the healthier way to blend away gray. how? it's antioxidant rich and ammonia-free. in fact the more often you use it, the healthier your hair looks. natural instincts, it's all good. so, at national, i go right past the counter... and you get to choose any car in the aisle. choose any car? you cannot be serious!

okay. seriously, you choose. go national. go like a pro.

speaking of today's news theme -- the goose and the gander. the pot calling the kettle black. being able to dish it out and not being able to take it. any other cliches you might favor of people trying to get away themselves for stuff they condemn others for, the groups

citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington file add complaint. it's against republican senator david vitter. david vitter is most famous as the familiar values conservative senator who admitted to being a cli yent of the dc madam prostitution ring. the bar association points out patronizing prostitutes a crime in louisiana. senator vitter admitted to that crime. and committing that crime, p especially one that reflects on the trustworthiness or fitness of a lawyer is in the definition of misconduct for a louisiana lawyer. he's been able to get away with admitting to being a client of the prostitution ring without facing charges or any consequences to his career as a lawyer. he's not only been able to get away with it thus far, he's running for re-election in

louisiana right now. he's had the chutzpah to put pictures of his family back in to his campaign materials for this election cycle. so as to demonstrate, presumably, to louisiana voters his personal family values. because he's running for re-election, this is an uncomfortable time to see his name in the paper next to words like prostitute, madam. in terms of the timing, senator vitter might not be facing this hassle if he had not been recredibilitily standing in his glass brothel throwing stones at the community group, acorn. when conservative activists invented a fake prostitution ring and went from acorn office to acorn office trying to get employees to say something about the prostitution ring that would play well on fox news, senator vitter took the lead in condemning the tapes. he called for congressional

hearings and a criminal investigation. the recent reports of video footage of acorn workers on how to instructions on carrying out crimes wants an immediate ricoh investigation in to acorn. not an investigation in to me! senator vitter's democratic opponent for the senate is charl charlie. he responded to the complaint against vitter by saying, quote, what david vitter confessed to wasn't just a serious sin, it was likely a crime. and so far, vitter hasn't been charged with anything. he's got his law license. a u.s. senator. a man's sin is his own. and with this complaint, vitter might have to answer for his actions. i will tell you this, i can not sit idly by and let this man represent louisiana in the u.s. senate. joining me is melanie sloan, the executive director of "crew." ms. sloan, thank you for your time tonight. >> nice to be here. >> am i right that the timing is not because there's new

information about senator vitter and prostitutions, but it's because he's saying things about other people and prostitutes now? >> the hypocrisy is astonishing and can't be stomached. and it's the height of irony for mr. hitter to be the one of all of the senators in the united states senate to decide he should be the guy to take on the issue of acorn and prostitution given his back ground. like we'll forget about it and go away. if he can go out against acorn for its role in a fake prostitution ring, i think his role with a real prostitution ring, at least one, there may be two others, that warrants investigation as well. >> your organization filed a complaint with the senate ethics committee about this prostitution admission a year or two ago. did the ethics committee sit on that and never do anything about it? or did they actively dismiss that complaint >> they actively dismissed that complaint because they said he wasn't a senator at the time.

he'd engaged in that conduct. he was a member of the house of representatives, though, they thought they couldn't do anything because of that. the house, they didn't have jurisdiction because he was no longer a house member. >> very convenient. >> what is your expectation of how the louisiana bar will respond to this new complaint? >> it's hard to know. the bar ethics are pretty clear. committing a crime is professional misconduct. mr. vitter committed a crime. he was on the prosecution's witness list in the trial of the dc madam after his phone number was found on his call lils. so we know that he was involve in that prostitution ring. and there were allegations that he was involved in a brothel called the canal street brothel in new orleans. a woman named wendy cortez said he was a frequent client of hers. that suggests there may be as many as three. if there are three, there may well be three others. that's a crime. soliciting prosecution is not just a serious sin but an actual

crime. it's appalling that mr. vitter was committing crimes and much less than the u.s. senator who was sworn to uphold the institution committing crimes. bad as that is, he wants to go against those not guilty of prostitution and get a criminal investigation. he seems fair to demand that mr. vitter be held to account to account for his crime. >> senator vitter responded to the complaint to the louisiana bar saying that your organization, crew, is biassed. you're pro-democrat and pro-acorn. i have to get your response to that. >> sure. i think mr. vitter may have forgotten that crew has gone after a couple of other politicians. democratic former representative william jefferson. we put out our most corrupt list, something we do every year. this year, eight democrats on the list and seven republicans. we're a nonpartisan organization. one of the things we hate the most is hypocrisy.

david vitter tops the list. >> we have done the number of reports on the attacks on this organization, acorn, in the last week. we've done every night for the last four or five nights, we think. the reason we've done that is it seems to me for all of acorn's faults they're being attacked for hip cat call reasons. they're being attacked for things that their accusers are getting away with. there are a lot of things that acorn has done that doesn't deserve defending. that is indefensible. do you agree with my prels on looking at the attacks for acorn that their critics are inexcu inexcusable. >> well, when david vitter is accusing groups like crew playing politics, that's what they're doing with this acorn situation. they've hated acorn for a long time. they've gone after it for a long time. now they have something to go after again. we had president clinton, we had an impeachment resolution long before there was monica lewinsky. something they've been looking to do. this is a great excuse to go

after acorn. and crew is in no way to defend acorn. the conduct here is indefensible. so is senator vitters. we like to point out you talked about berman earlier. crew has long been trying to expose richard berman. we have a website called bermanexposed.org. all of the different groups he's an executive director and all of the expertise he has from areas from health to consumer safety to drunk driving to unions. now things like acorn. >> he's agreed to come on this show next week. and i hope that he will still agree to come on the show next week even though we've been talking about him a lot. maybe we can get you on the show that hour so we can have a kumbaya moment. >> you know -- maybe a moment, but kumbaya isn't the word to describe it. >> fair enough. melanie sloan, executive director of crew, citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington. thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks. senate finance committee members voted against the public

option twice. then voted for abstinence only funding in the health care bill. they both still have ds after their names. we'll have more on that in a few minutes. later, when i got to work, i asked kent jones to please spend the day looking in to who is ghost writing sarah palin's book. will has a special report on that subject. the answers will surprise you. that is coming up. but first, one more thing. about senator "serious sin" david vitter and all but ironic campaign for election on the basis of his family values and how much he's against prostitution. the governor of the state of louisiana is bobby jindal. as the governor of louisiana, he's the most powerful voice. the head of the republican party and probably the only politician in the state of louisiana at all worth carrying actual weight. bobby jindal is not endorsing senator vitter's re-election

campaign. he's not supporting anyone else at this point. but as noted, when asked about senator vitter running for re-election, the governor, quote, pointedly declined to offer his endorsement. it's possible that the governor jindal isn't ready to offer the endorsement because he hasn't seen the family values beauty shots on the campaign website. the sea salts of the world vary in color, taste, and intensity. now campbell's has found one that tops them all. it's naturally flavorful.

adding it helps us use less salt than before in campbell's tomato soup. that famous, familiar flavor, as delicious as ever. now with less salt. thanks to a very special sea salt. ♪ so many, many reasons ♪ it's so m'm! m'm! good! ♪ [ female announcer ] trying to be smart with the family budget? here goes the good old steam. [ pfffft! ] whooa!!!! [ female announcer ] let bounty help... because it cleans the mess with less than the bargain brands. it's thick and absorbent. and really durable. in lab tests bounty absorbs twice as much as the bargain brand. [ steam hisses ] why use more when you can use less? bring it. with bounty. the thick quicker picker-upper. and try bounty napkins. now with new prints.

a typhoon, an earthquake, and a tsunami cause bid another earthquake have wreaked havoc in southeast asia and in the south pacificic. the typhoon battered its way through the philippines, cambodia, and vietnam killing 300 people over the last few days, forcing millions from their homes. the vast majority of the victims were in the philippines. the typhoon has weakened. it's on its way west to last, t laos but it's not over yet to. the southeast after that disaster, two earthquakes separated by one day and 6,000 miles have left hundreds dead, many more missing, and thousands of buildings destroyed.

earlier today, it's a magnitude 7.6 earthquake which hit 30 miles off of the coast of indonesia, taking at least 200 lives. many more people are missing, trapped under homes, office buildings, hotels, and hospitals. just yesterday, it was an 8.0 earthquake hit 120 miles off of the coast of samoa. it's 4 -- it set loose four 15 and 20-foot-high tsunami waves. they hit the shores of america samoa minutes after the earthquake struck. that gave americans little time to make it to high ground. a radio person named joey cummings taped the tsunami wave that flooded the harbor. he described the experience of what he saw to britain's channel 4. >> the worst earthquake i ever experienced and roughly 15 minutes later, the water started

surging. at first, three or four feet in the parking lot just off of the window of the studio. that would be it. it would be the loss of cars. but no real significant catastrop catastrophe. but after the water stayed for several minutes, another fantastic surge that could completely dwarfed the first surge came up and the water rose to 15 feet. at this point, trees, boats, cars, trucks, were all floating past my second story window in a torrential river of mud. this lasted for several minutes until the river reversed as the flood waters receded back to the ocean. there was a second, a third surge like every 15 to 20 minutes after that. but they were much less severe than the first. it completely wiped out everything that wasn't made of brick. homes, businesses, everything that was caught in the path of

this surge and in the harbor area was completely flattened. >> at least 119 deaths have been attributed to the tsunami so far. the red cross is on the ground helping victims of the typhoons and the earthquake and the tsunami. if you want to help, donate money at www.redcross..com. we posted a link to the donation page on our website which is rachael.msnbc.com. we will be right back. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then...well... i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq®. (announcer) pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood,

behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois. taking pristiq with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor about all your medications, including those for migraine, to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. pristiq may cause or worsen high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or glaucoma. tell your doctor if you have heart disease... or before you reduce or stop taking pristiq. side effects may include nausea, dizziness and sweating. (woman) for me, pristiq is a key in helping to treat my depression. (announcer) ask your doctor about pristiq. owwww.... (announcer) not just sinus headache... but pressure... and congestion. (announcer) you need a sinus medicine ooohhh... that rescues you from all three symptoms introducing new sudafed pe® triple action™. for more complete relief from the sinus triple threat.

get more complete relief. with new sudafed pe® triple action™. also find sudafed® behind the counter. one takes threads of good news where one finds them unless during wartimes. the commander of the multi-force in iraq is giving an assessment to the house armed services committee. ray ordenero made this surprising announcement. >> we have 141,000 troops and 11 brigade troops operating in iraq today. we'll be down to 120,000 troops

in iraq. >> 4,000 troops leaving iraq by the end of october. that was not expected. he told the committee the u.s. is on track to meet the current timetable for drawing down and withdrawing u.s. troops from iraq. he said he might, quote, accelerate the drawdown by early next year if the iraqis have successful elections in january and if tensions broadly speaking are reduced. general odernero cautioned lawmakers to have a patience and not to expect a complete withdraw before the deadline. progress is progress. the military families are left to wonder if the troops do come home or if they get moved to america's other war in afghanistan, the war that's about to start the ninth year.

today is day six of the senate finance committee's mountain moving toil. to consider 500 minutes of health reform bill, the finance committee considered an orrin hatch amendment that was meant to doubly triply restrict abortion coverage in the bill. olympia snowe joined the opposition to defeat senator hatch's amendment. it will require women to buy extra insurances for abortion services. you know how everyone plans really long time in advance to have lots of abortions? senator stabenow put it distinctly.

>> with respect to my friends, as a woman i find it offensive. >> ten in favor, 13 opposed. the one voting with senator hatch on the side of conspiratorial fear that mandates will legalize abortion somehow? doubly triply clarify it will not cover illegal democrats -- because you lie! you know. democrats defeated that amendment as well. >> rather dreadful amendment. i say that for the following reasons -- we already have requirements for people undocumented immigrants, especially, taking advantage of medicaid and chip. >> it was a relatively strong day for the democratic majority today as opposed to yesterday which was kind of abysmal. conservative democrats on the committee yesterday not only voted against the public option for health reform, but they vote

in favor of providing federal money for abstinence-only education. known as the best teen pregnancy and std delivery system politicians have devised. some schools in texas announced plans to end their abstinence only education curriculum. why? it doesn't work. texas ranks third for the highest teen birthrate in the country. a teenager in texas gets pregnant every ten minutes. coincidental coincidentally, the texans released the country in the amount of the education. blanch lincoln of arkansas and mr. conrad of north dakota who voted for $50 million of abstinence only funding which president obama removed from his budget proposal earlier this year. senators lincoln and conrad were not alone. ben nelson of nebraska, the most conservative of the conserve-a-dems said he's

opposed to using budget reconciliation roles. a 50 plus 1 majority to pass health reform. sam stein of the huffington post reported that ben nelson supported the use of reconciliation to pass not one but two of president bush's tax cut packages. he told the crowd this week that any health care bill would not just need a simple majority of 51 votes or even a supermajority filibuster proof 60 votes but should have a superduper majority of 65 votes in the senate in order for him to consider it legitimate. greg sergeant points out that senate nelson's most acclaimed accomplishment for which he pat himself on the back most readily is the stimulus bill. quote, his efforts help target the bill on job creation and tax relief to turn the nation's troubled economy around. the bill that nelson was so proud of passed the senate

60-36. didn't get that 65-vote threshold. senator nelson won his first senate term with 51% of the vote. the second, 64% of the vote. fortunately for senator nelson and the stimulus bill on which he brags, his new supercalifragilistic majority standard have not been adopted retroactively. those stands. joining us now, sam stein. good to see you, thanks for being does he have any explanation for why he was for budget reconciliation ral for the tax cuts but not for the democrats' general? >> not surprisingly, his office has yet to return my request for an explanation. like you mention in the 2001 and 2003, the senators supported using reconciliation to pass the tax cuts. in 2003, he ended up being the 50 thz vote on that critical piece of legislation which allowed vice president cheney to fast tie breaking vote.

in both those cases, he cited the impact it would have on the budget which is the traditional use for reconciliation. in this kargs health care doesn't have much to impact. i'm not sure if that holes much aware. but they haven't provided an explanation. as is the 65 thresh hole. >> senator nelson has fick 65-vote threshold. we've heard from other republican senators and even now, saying things like health reform needs 80 votes. health reform needs 75 votes. is it the same strategy? to raise the hurdle so high that there is no chance any bill could ever get there? >> oh, yeah. to suggest that the republicans are interested in passing comprehensive reform is to be delusional with one's self. let me point out that representative grayson's lamb is more toward the democrats for trying to negotiate with republicans on health care reform. for him and others in the community, the time for negotiation has long since

passed. his frustration is that we still go to the table, barack obama, leadership in congress, expecting a vote here and there. in all actuality, the only votes democrats are holding out for is olympia snowe. i talk to some people hootsz she will be on board in the end. but it needs to start. i talk to tom harkin today. the man that everyone at least vote for cloture. i think that's the end game right now. >> that seem to be shaping up to be the important procedural thing. the important procedural factor which will make a decision. make the difference in tefrl whether or not we get health reform or not. we were on should th show with charlie schumer and then with hour dean. both i guess imparting the political importance of democrats being health to a standard in which they vote to vote. they vote that there can't be a filibuster. they don't side with the republican saying there has to be a 60-vote majority. how widely is that accept among power brokers in congress? >> well, to tie to the beginning

of our conversation, did i a report on how this was the new strategy for the democrats in the wake of the special massachusetts senate seat. i noted a couple months ago, ben nelson that he would support -- sorry, he would support cloture to end the republican filibuster. a few hours after my report went up, senator ben nelson's office call me to correct the record. he is not committed to supporting cloture. he is keeping open the idea of supporting the republican filibuster. so while there are people in the senate like tom harkin, like bernie sanders, like charlie sho schumer, to some extent, it is not a done deal. there are people in the party who are not willing to follow leadership on this hurdle. >> expect more pressure on that from outside groups, from activists. political reporter for the "huffington post" doing much to illuminate thing for us. >> thanks. i want to be on the rick berman

hour, okay? >> okay. coming up on "countdown," senator jay rock federal join keith with breaking news on his breakthrough. and next, kent jones will be here to tell us about sarah palin's ghost writer. the person who wrote sarah palin's book. apparently, sarah palin didn't go rogue all by herself. ♪ crunch. wheat thins. that's what's gonna happen here. because you're tasty... with toasty whole grains.

(crunch) wheat thins. toasted. whole grain. crunch. have at it.

finally, good news for people with type 2 diabetes or at risk for diabetes. introducing new nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1c was reduced .9%. choose from over 140 menu options, there is no counting carbs, calories or points. i lost 100 lbs. and lowered my blood sugar level.

nutrisystem d changed my life. mike is one of many who have lost weight and controlled their diabetes with new nutrisystem d. backed by 35 years of research and low glycemic index science nutrisystem d works. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today. sarah palin's upcoming book, going rogue, an american life, was co-written by a person name lynn vincent. who is that? today i asked kent jones to investigate. >> it turns out lynn vin send, this isn't her first book. she has written several other books and they're kind of scare yifrl.

>> so lynn vin send, for the past 11 years, she's been working for the christian magazine "world" and has co-authored six books. four of them memoirs with other people. according to her website, she turns life stories into page turning narrative that both compels and redeems, earning the praise of editors, readers, reviewers and now hollywood. wow. the self-regard is positively pallian. what others have benefit? sthe she was on never surgeon. with lieutenant jerry boykin. that's the same general boykin who that of george w. bush, he is in the white house because god put him there for such a time as this. and who that have one fighter in somalia -- >> i knew that my god was bigger than his. i knew that my god was a real god and his was an idol