as his loyalty to obama and his program. even the skeptic must see the best kind of american politics. once president himself, clinton knows the duty and power of politics. he knows that certain realities just need to be accepted if you're going to continue leading the country. he knows too that president obama must succeed for his party to succeed. he knows that even if hillary has foresworn any desire to pursue electoral office again. the best bet for her in 2016 is a good record for obama until then. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "countdown" with keith olbermann starts right now. which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? the great sellout nears. >> the motion is agreed to. >> today's first test vote in

the senate. >> i do think that this package required me to take some things i didn't like. it requires them to take some things they didn't like. that's part of the compromise. >> or -- >> do we really need to give tax breaks to the rich in order to drive up the national debt so that our kids and grandchildren will pay higher taxes in order to pay off that national debt caused by tax breaks for the rich? >> our special guest tonight, senator bernie sims. nine old men, the idea that nine old bankers control the derivatives market. a federal judge rules the mandated health kale mandated health kal health cares unconstitutional. and the judge's company was paid $9,000 this year by the virginia attorney general who filed the lawsuit. howard dean joins me.

the new chairman of the house financial services committee. in washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated. my view is that washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks. you know what this is to glenn beck? this is proof there's no climate exchange. and the catholic league attacks the young men's christian association for emphasizing frosty the snowman instead of santa at a christmas party. >> that's what they call a sanity clause. >> you can't fool me, there ain't no sanity clause. >> all the news and commentary now on "countdown." good evening from new york, this is monday december 13th, 694 days until the 2012 presidential election. and today the nontriumph of

bipartisanship joined the eternally phony deficit hawks. in our fifth story, they agreed to extend all the bush tax cuts including those for the richest of the rich for two years, at which point most will be in place for 12 years. the senate voting for cloture on the tax cut deal between the president and republican leaders. 83 yes votes, that procedural vote a clear forerunner for the actual bill. the middle class tax relief act co sponsored bihari reid and mitch mcconnell. after the vote, president obama said he shared some of the concerns of the bill's critics. >> but that's the nature of compromise. sacrificing something that each of us cares about to move forward on what matters to all of us. right now that's growing the economy and creating jobs. i urge the house of representatives to act quickly on this important matter.

>> the $858 billion tax package includes a 13 month extension of unemployment benefits as well as a truckload of so-called tax extenders and tax credit goodies. chuck grassley defending his pet subsidy by citing some of the other ones in the bill. >> well, let me tell you about some of the subsidies that are in this bill, because you might think that ethanol is the only one them. think about the independeian employment tax credit. the subsidy for railroad track maintenance credit. the subsidy for the seven-year recovery for motorsports ent entertainment complexes. >> in the meantime, chris van hollen says that the bill will not ultimately be held up. >> most of us understand we have to make some tough compromises. most of us agree with almost all of what the president negotiated. there is one thing that just was the choking point. and that deals with the estate

tax break. i am confident when we get to january, there will be no tax increases on the middle income americans and certainly also that portion in the president's deal with respect to the top rate earners. >> but let us not forget how this will be different two years fro now especially for republicans. austin gouhlsby. >> in 2012, that's not going to be the circumstance. i believe they will have to stand up and defend on their own merits that they think these high income tax cuts work. and they will not be able to do that, because they don't. >> so what about them not working now? >> and from the president, newfound confidence over what he will do. quoting, i can confidently say that, and i haven't made an announcement, if i ran for re-election, i could confidently say i would not extend the bush tax cuts for the well-to-do. in the meantime, the latest phony crop of so-called deficit

hawks endorsing or disenagain uously opposing this zeal. the freedom works supports the bill because it represents an opportunity avert the coming tax disaster. >> you know the disaster in which the taxes of millionaires and billionaires may be taxed. the tea party patriots cite hugh hewitt saying the bill spends billions of dollars the country doesn't have. they like the bush tax cuts but not the obama tax cuts and they hate unemployment insurance extension. by the way, the country did not vote against tax hikes for millionaires, so who did actually vote against this mess? john ensign, timco burn, senator voinovich. those who stood against the bill include mark udall, senator brown and senator bernie

sanders. in the greatest of ironies will after his 8.5 hour filibuster last friday join me for a 4 minute interview. >> thanks, keith. >> more or less every one of my viewers asked me to extend my thanks for what you did for this country on friday. the caveat to that is, why were you the only one speaking that way? >> well, i was joined by a couple of others very briefly, but i think we have a problem. and the problem is the democrats are going to have to show more courage. the president is going to have to show some courage in rallying the american people. and changing the narrative. it's not just that this is a bad bill in terms of what it does to the middle class and the benefits it provides to the very wealthy. we are developing a narrative right now which says that despite the fact that the democrats control the white house, the house of representatives and the senate, the democrats are on the defensive and the republicans

are on the offensive. and two years from now, after the debate begins and we talk about extending the tax breaks for the rich, even more when we talk about another payroll tax holiday, which means that billions more will not be coming in to social security, you're going to talk about more compromises which says hey, we didn't cut social security by 20%. we only cut it by 10%. aren't we doing well? i think we have to change that dynamic. >> right now, practically speaking with these tax cuts for the middle class connected at the hip to tax cuts for the wealthy. what other options are there right now? is there anyway to kill the tax cuts for the rich, without killing them for the middle class? >> at this particular moment? >> yes. >> well, unless the democrats and the house pull off some kind of miracle, i don't see that that is likely. and my fear is, just what you said earlier in the show, two years from now, i can't conceive

that these tax breaks will not be extended. and furthermore, as this deficit goes up, as the national debt goes up, trust me, republicans will come back and say, we want cuts in social security, medicare, medicaid, education, environmental protection. and we're going to consistently be on the defensive unless we take the case to the american people, we get them to stand up and put pressure on republicans rather than us always being on the receiving end of this. >> the next time unemployment insurance benefits come up for extension in 13 months, democrats will have to give up what, do you suppose? >> well, i'll tell you what? this concessions, keith, took place right now, with the democrats controlling three branchs. what do you think happens next time. the republicans apparently do not see the word concession within their lexicon. that's not what they do. i think unless the american people begin to stand up, and

really demand that the congress protect ordinary people rather than the very wealthy, we're going to continue to be on the defensive. >> why was there this rush, ultimately, to call all this that was done today -- not only a middle class protection bill, but a bipartisan effort? what was that all about? you know the political theater about it better than the rest of us. >> well, i think what the president is moving forward toward is more quote/unquote bipartisan activity. if you look at that deficit reduction commission, alan simpson -- that was -- there's a lot of bad stuff in there, and i am very nervous that unless we really get moving aggressively, raising the retirement age of social security, customering social security benefits, cutting back on education, et cetera, that is going to be the mantra for deficit reduction rather than progressive taxation, doing away with corporate tax loopholes, going

after excessive military spending. i'm afraid we're going to be on the defensive, and that is what concerns me about this bill. not only was it not a good bill, it sets the tone for more and more retreat in the coming two years. our job and the president's job go out to the american people, rally them, ask them, how many people want to see substantial cuts in social security? how many people want to see more tax breaks for the rich and cutbacks in education? that's the approach that we've got to take, i think. >> and unless that's done. everybody will see those things and then say, we don't want them, and it will be too late to do anything about it. senator bernie sanders of vermont, thanks for your time tonight. it was an extraordinary thing to watch on friday. thank you for upholding democracy. >> thank you, very much, keith. let's turn now to the washington editor of "the nation" and msnbc contributor, chris hayes. tax cuts now and forever, i guess is the mantra? >> yeah, that's what's so

interesting when you think about this as a bipartisan compromise, right? i mean, is -- tax cuts are the central core, he c existential e of the republican party. it's what they agree on all the time. if the founding document imposed republicanism. it's not surprising that republicans are getting behind a plan that involves a lot of tax cuts. that's exactly what they are -- that's exactly what they do. if you look at -- if you compare this, which people are calling stimulus 2.0 to the recovery act. that really was a consensus bipartisan type approach. it was half spending and half tax cuts. it got three total republican votes in both houses. that's the problem, the asymmetry there -- you can't find a bargaining partner on the other end for things like public

investment. you can only find a bargaining partner on their ideological terms, which is tax cut. >> the democrats are going along dressing this up as middle class tax relief. in order to buy the votes of people who don't realize what they're selling is worth much more than what they're going to get? >> no, i think the reason that democrats are going along with it in the senate and the house is because the white house has led them into this, and they don't quite have it in them to buck the white house. i mean, i think there's some of them who think it's a good deal stantively. the white house's thinking is, they want to get as much money flowing out into the economy apossible. this was the way they're able to do it, and if it has bad distributional effects. if it ends up being, essentially a boone, what, $115 billion to the wealthiest 2% over 2 years, you know, that's the price they're going to pay, in order to get all the other things they want. and two years from now, they'll refight this fight. it's hard to have a lot of confidence that they're going to

do that. >> and how does -- austin gouhlsby remark, the attitude that we'll get them in 2012 because the bush tax cuts don't work. they don't work now. how can you sell a battle plan that you've just abandoned. no, we're going to do it in two years. we're going to screw all of you now, but in two years, we're going to do it then. >> it's totally disingenuous on its face. on the merits, it's very hard to make an argument that they really helped job growth. in one situation, the economy does really well in the next two years and every republican will say, look, the recovery was caused by the extension of this tax cut regime, we have to keep them in place. okay, fine. let's say the economy doesn't do well, and recovery is anemic and unemployment is very high, the republicans are going to use the same argument, you can't raise taxes in the midst of a recession. either way, they're going to be arguing for more tax cuts.

if you can't make the argument now, it's unclear why you can make the argument in two years. >> parse this for me, this is the statement from the president. i can confidently say that i would not extend the bush tax cuts for the well to do beyond this two-year deal, i can confidently say that. your turn. >> well, look, this is exactly why i think the kind of hostage metaphor is useful, in so far as the problem with the hostage situation, the reason that you -- they don't negotiate with hostage takers as a rule, is because you need a credible denial threat. you don't want to incentivize future actions. if you give in once you incentivize future give-ins. what credible threat is there that he will now, having blinked here, that he will stare them down again. it's going to be the same ticking timebomb. that's what set this up to begin with, this completely preposterous policy ten years

ago. it would be very hard to raise them back -- to restore the rates after ten years, it's the same timebomb that's been put in place here. if you were unable to sort of stand your ground and let it blow up this time, then you have very little credibility going to the next negotiation. you could do it next time. >> during a presidential election campaign. >> yes, exactly. >> chris hayes, thanks. >> thanks, keith. the judge who just ruled against health care reform, owns part of a republican strategy firm that is against health care reform. this is now the banana republic states of america? we have cookies and raspberries. awesome. what's the first thing to do at a tea party? do the tea. okay. i can do that. put it in your cup. ladies first. thank you.

men with skirts second. introducing cisco umi, together we are the human network. cisco. love you guys. hi, may i help you?

my view is that incoming republican chairman of the house financial services committee, that washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks. which explains the revelation that nine guys corner the market

or that it's the year 1895. the virginia judge that rules against health care reform has a conflict of interest so big, it would get him laughed out of the room in the nation of barundi. the war on christmas turns into the war on santa claus. our correspondent tv's frank connett joins us from the battlefield. ready sensei. hey tough guy, that cold needs alka seltzer plus! it has the cold-fighting power of an effervescent packed in a liquid-gel for all over relief! hiyah! dude!

while congress and the white house ka lewd to ensure the rich will have to contribute less in taxes next year. wall street is working hard to

make sure the rich will have more money on which to not pay their taxes. the mysterious derivatives market of the nine ultrarich bankers that control the market behind closed doors. derivatives affect you about more than you know. heating companies can purchase derivatives on the future price of heating oil. that gives customers a chance to avoid massive spikes. but at what cost? nobody knows the cost. derivatives on commodities ranging from jet fuel to this year's harvest factoring into the cost of your food are bought and sold in secret. trillions of dollars worth. only the biggest wall street financial firms know how much you pay for them. why? because when two parties make these bets on weak prices. neither one knows how much the other is getting or paying. only the middleman, wall street knows that. which means no one knows how much wall street skims off the top for itself, which means no one knows how much this skimming

adds to the price you eventually pay to the bread made from that wheat they're betting on. the intercontinental exchange. the times revealed its nine members all of them from the world's biggest financial firms. blocking the creation of open clearinghouses and even the addition other banks who may add actual competition to this equation. chairman of the government commission that overseas derivatives, gary gentzler cancelled the vote on making derivative prices more transparent. he refused to recant his role in did he regulating the banks under clinton. gentzler lacked the votes from fellow commissioners. coming amid a flurry of headlines at least in the olfactory sense. peter orzak taking a senior position with citigroup. he's expected to make millions of dollars in the role after

funneling billions from taxpayers to keep this company afloat. citigroup. then there's massachusetts senator scott brown. he helped water down this summer's wall street reform bill from the banks to the taxpayers, keeping the door open for the banks to keep betting their own money. the boston globe revealing that in three week when his vote emerged as the pivotal swing vote for reform. he is heed money from execs. brown telling the globe, there is absolutely zero connection between policy and fund-raising. to insinuate otherwise is just plain wrong. with us tonight matt taibbi, the author of "griftopia" thanes for joining me. >> thanks for having me. >> can we put any more meat on

the bones of this story? >> this is straight up price fixing. it's kind of like bookies in las vegas. imagine if all the casinos in las vegas got together and conspired to make the football lines nonpublished so that when you went to go to bet on a game, nobody knew what the spread was on the game. that's exactly what we're dealing with with derivatives. nobody knows what the prices are of credit the fault is a swaps and interest rate swaps. when these clients go on the mark tote buy this stuff. one side is buying too high, the other side is buying too low and they take all the fat in between. >> most banking tricks are impen etable to the public this is even more impenetrable? >> derivatives are very comply indicated. even people that do this nor a live

living it's complicated. this was hotly debated all summer in congress and it got virtually no press because nobody understands it. it's sort of like the stock exchange. everybody knows what the price of ibm is, so when you go on the stock exchange to buy a share of ibm, it's clear. you're not getting shafted by anyone. but when you go to buy a credit default swap or interest rate swap, nobody knows. have you to go to one of these big banks. they tell you the price and you have to take their word for it. >> after you paid it. >> right. >> a game of chance, all the rules are made up as you go along, basically? >> right, right. >> mr. gentzler who chairs this commodities trading commission, why is he not doing in addition? >> gentzler is an alum of goldman sachs. when he was named the head of the commission, there was a lot of controversy about it, he's turned out to be one of the good guys on these issues. what everyone's saying now, is

that he no longer has the votes to dominate the commission. you need three votes on the commodity futures trading commission. there's been way roadblock in the last couple weeks, he's been unable to get some things past, and the rumor,he no longer has the wherewithal to dominate the committee -- the commission. >> the last point about scott brown's assertion that there's no connection to his work, having him give $143,000 on his vote. your thoughts. >> i was covering that whole business when the entire dodd-frank bill was being held up by scott brown this summer p.m. if this revelation is true that he was getting $140,000 at the time he was wiping out the $19 billion fee that was going to be assessed is on wall street to pay for the cost of this bill. that's a classic washington pay for play situation. and for him to deny that is comic. >> it's lovely to see an outsider coming in and learning the ways of washington. >> instantaneously, exactly.

if you liked that, wait until you hear the incoming chairman of the house financial services committee about washington and bank regulators, they're there to serve banks. . artment, as well as your boat, motorcycle, rv, and snowmobile, and even your retirement and your life. not many insurance companies can say that. but allstate can. now that you know the truth, know this: the more of your world you put in good hands, the more you can save. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. but now, to get it really cooking, you need a little website development. some transparent reporting, so you know it's working. online ads and 1-on-1 marketing consultation. yellowbook's got all that. yellowbook360 has a whole spectrum of tools. the perfect recipe for success.

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after 14 consecutive losses in court, the forces opposed to health care reform find a friendly judge. of course he's friendly. he was paid $9,000 last year. first the sanity break and the tweet of the day. how about jets strength coach

sal alosi for worst persons tonight. mr. alosi tripped miami quarterback, nolan carroll as he ran back a punt yesterday. alosi has apologized and has been suspended for the rest of the season. make him the worst person? he was the first guy on the jets to slow down a person on the opposing team in two weeks? let's play "oddball." we begin on the internet with, a friendly seasonal reminders about the dangers of snow. we see a man trying to avoid a roof collapse by knocking snow off his roof using a very advanced tool, a big long stick. he manages to break his own gutter. persistence is the key to success and keeps whacking away and boom goes the dynamite. probably not the avalanche he anticipated but at least the snow is off the roof. a similar method did not occur

when he attempted to clean out his chimney. to russia, the prime minister in chief climbed on stage and sang "blueberry hill." the performance did not end there. after a request for an encore, he julyped to the piano and played "from where the moreland begins." i am skeptical about the timing of the whole event since his cd drops this weekend online. we peak in at a rehearsal of a first baptist church. we see a camel, bringing one of the wise men down the aisle. the camel pauses for a second, attempts to kneel down. regains his footing. down goes joe. the camel has been cut from the show. the church followed the version

of the story with camels and not the version featuring the elephant. time marches on. the judge who ruled against health care reform worked for a firm that is against health care reform. where are we?

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finally, the right finds someone willing to take its side on health care reform. after two judges ruled to uphold it and 14 dismissed challenges to it. a district judge out of virginia rules part of the act unconstitutional. in our third story just happens to own part of a republican strategy firm that advocated against health care reform. the company which took $9,000 this year from one of its clients. the attorney general who filed the case on which this judge just ruled. henry e. hudson, a george w. bush appointee, ruling against the individual mandate. requiring citizens to buy health insurance or pay a fine exceeds the constitutional boundary of congressional power.

he continued, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance, or crafting a scheme of universal health care coverage it's about an individual's right to choose to participate. it's the first time a judge has ruled against the law since the president signed it in march. >> that's the nature of these things. you know, when social security was passed, there were all kinds of lawsuits, when the civil rights act was passed there were all kinds of lawsuits. >> while the gop is now calling for the supreme court to get involved as soon as possible. democratic chair of the house subcommittee noting, apparently republicans are now for judicial activism after they were against it. to that point, judge hudson's financial disclosure firm shows he owns a hefty chunk of a firm working against health care reform. the firm's head characterize hudson as a passionive investor who has owned stock for the past 13 years. judge hudson had no knowledge of

the firm's day to day operations. the website gawker reporting to the firm's clients are some of the bill's biggest critics, senator john mccain, senator bachman. and alaska's half term governor. another client, ken cuccinelli of virginia paid $9,000 for services rendered this year. he also happens to be the attorney general of virginia, that's the man who would file the lawsuit that judge hudson happened to rule in favor of today. time now to call in the former chairman of the dnc, now a cnbc contributor former governor of vermont, howard dean. good evening, sir. >> thank you, keith. >> one judge says part of this law is unconstitutional, what are the implications? >> well, first of all, i have to note that the attorney general sent out a fund-raiser about two hours after the decision.

>> of course. >> this is embarrassing for virginia. you know, you have a judge that's investing in an election thing, and the attorney general is clearly using this for fund-raising. it's kind of unfortunate for the state. so what does this mean? nothing. first of all, the judge -- the suspect judge is in the minority, there will be other suits and other decisions and it will wind its way to the appeals court, despite the fact that the republicans want to take it to the supreme court and all that stuff. secondly, it doesn't matter. because the truth is, you don't need the individual mandate to make this work. we've had universal health insurance for kids for almost 20 years in vermont. kids under 18. there's no individual mandate. 96% of them have health insurance, 1%'s not legible for the program, and 3% don't get it. even if we had a mandate, they wouldn't get it. about 96% of all the people in massachusetts under mitt romney's plan have insurance. they do have an individual

mandate. so 4% don't abide by did, the individual mandate, i get into arguments with people in the administration about this, you can make this program work with or without the individual mandate. now, you know, i understand the administration wants this to succeed, and wantses no part of it to be overturned. this is probably the weakest part of attacking health care, because it doesn't matter how the outcome is at the end of the day. >> without the mandate, without healthy people being forced to pay in, that this is going to be far more expensive in all the cost savings of health care reform goes out the window? >> that's complete nonsense. people who really like the individual mandate are the insurance companies, because it enforces them to get -- it enforces 30 million more people into their clutches. but the fact of the matter is,most americans are responsible. if you're -- and the most irresponsible group are the young folks who are under 26, and they're taken care of because they can now be on their parents' policy. you don't get a lot of people with kids, houses and mortgageses saying, we're not

going to buy health insurance. there are ways around the individual mandate, all you have to do is have a sign up period, if you don't sign up when you're supposed to, you don't get health insurance, and you're fully liable for all the costs. even young people who don't have other responsibilities, they're not going to want to have their car, their harley-davidson repossessed because they get into trouble because they didn't get health insurance. there's other ways of doing this without the mandate. you know, i think that the president -- the mandate is a little more perfect, but it's not absolutely necessary at all. and what we've done in vermont and what they've done in massachusetts is shown that. >> is there a chance that if this were to go all the way to the supreme court, and -- on a conservative 5-4 vote it was judge hudson's decision was upheld, this could knock down the entire reform bill because of serverability, this issue that most legislation includes sort of carveouts, if the courts throw this part of it out, the rest of the bill is still in tact, but apparently that's not the case with health care reform?

>> well, even the judge didn't rule that. at least not in the reports that i saw. he ruled it was, in fact, serverable. and it did not invalidate the whole health care thing. this court is incredibly activist, they've been known to make up the law before. i have not yet to find anywhere in the corporation where a corporation is a person. anything could happen in the supreme court whether it's constitutional or not. the fact is, even this judge with all these conflicts so forth and so on found it was serverable. >> to get back for a moment to this -- the appearance of this judge owning part of a consulting firm that lobbied against reform, and that consulting firm being -- having as a client the attorney general who was appearing in front of him. whether or not there is some legal explanation for why that shouldn't cause everybody involved in the process to go to prison for a few hours, how bad does that look? why is that not considered sort of a de facto -- an automatic, an immediate appearance of conflict of interest?

>> it's interesting, about two weeks ago, i, along with a number of democrats and republicans sat down to meet with the leadership of the chinese communist party. i towned it hard to lecture the chinese with the rule of law. it's not just this guy that has a piece of the action fighting the health care bill, and then decides against it from the bench. what about all the elected judges that are taking money from the chamber of commerce and then hearing their cases and finding in their favor? i mean, we have a lot of problems with the rule of law right here in america, and you just outlined one. >> yeah, we're doing a tremendous job of re-creating the year 1895 in this country. governor howard dean, always a pleasure, thanks for your time tonight. >> thanks, keith. washington is there to serve the banks. the republican philosophy is summarized by the new chairman of the house services committee. and there's a war on santa. see, he's armed. goal, replace him with frosty the snowman. a known communist. we'll have the report.

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once again the difference between global climate and the weather in the midwest is lost on the nation's foremost rocket scientist. the good news, we have exclusive video of an mri of his brain. first the war on christmas, now the war on santa. it's the catholic league against the ymca. young men's christian association. seriously.

the war on christmas turns into the war on santa. frank conniff has a live report from war torn santa's village. now time for the worst's persons in the world. lonesome roads beck sarcastically said -- proof that global warming is happening. this is what happens when you let stupid people out of their homes. weather is different than climate. the good news, we have obtained exclusive video of this mri of mr. beck's head, and, thus, what his brain looks like in action.

♪ >> a lot of empty space. and thoughts going through them. the runner up, george will. the washington post continues to slouch toward right wing nut job. he celebrated the tenth anniversary of bush versus gore by getting bush versus gore wrong. once gore summoned judicial intervention, was probably inevitable that the possession of the nation's highest office was going to be determined by the nation's court. great, but gore didn't sue first, bush sued first. mr. bush went to federal court to try to stop the manual recount in several florida counties. bush was first.

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the very first war on christmas was first waged by christians. before the american revolution, christmas was against the law in several colonies, because puritans considered christmas a day of alcoholic revelry. these days the war on christmas is fought by the christian right as a way to scare those sellers of stuff out of any multifaith suggestion that christmas is just another holiday. and, therefore, jesus christ is just another deetty and christianity just another religion. the war on christmas it's taken a strange and disturbing turn this year. william donohue and rupert

murdoch have trained their yuletide guns on someone who failed to worship santa claus. it all started at a branch of the ymca. some nonchristian young men were associated with the y and decided the party was not for them. frosty is not one of the disciples and not mentioned in the bible. they can't celebrate christmas, then they should check out. what a bunch of cowards? this in defense of santa claus, who is not one of the disciples and is not mentioned in the bible. santa claus descended from oden. that's right, bill donohue and

the new york post have turned their back on jesus and taken up arms in defense of a paying an symbol. and, of course, we all know who's behind paying an symbols. >> never thought of that, did you? for more on this stunning bet y betrayal in the war on christmas, we go to the front lines of the war on christmas and go to frank conniff, who moonlights over at sin in a mattic titanic dot com. are you keeping safe out there? >> i'm in fairly good shape with these guys. i did a tour here embedded with a division of the salvation army. then i went off the grid, deep into secular occupied territory in the galleria shopping mall. and i gotta tell you, i've seen some sights here that will traumatize me for the rest of my

life. we just lost too many good men in this fight, keith. the troops come from every background you can imagine. this rag tag fighting battalion in the war against christmas is an ethnically diverse mix of white male christians from the south, combined with white male christians from the northern part of the south. it's amazing that a diverse bunch of guys from different parts of the same mega church can get along. this is one army division where the don't ask don't tell policy is working just fine. no one in this battalion would ever think of revealing the dark secreted homo sellsexuality tha deep within their tortured souls. >> well said. >> thank you. >> this took a lot of the season war analysts, the arm chair

quarterbacks by surprise, correct? >> well, keith, frosty has opened up eye whole new front on the war on christmas. you might say a cold front. >> the people fighting back against this war on christmas feel there's a lot of sympathy in the liberal media toward frosty the snowman, because global warming has made its existence all the more precarious. they also consider the frosty the snowman song blass famous. he says, don't cry, i'll come back again one day. now you're the one being resurrected from the dead in three days? i don't think so. they feel his annual special is nothing more than a wartime propaganda for climate change. there's a feeling that there's also a war against -- don't forget traditional christmas songs like "silent night" "the first noel" and ymca by the village people. >> the ymca in the center of this extraordinary turnabout.

what about the right turning its back on jesus, and forming a new alliance with santa claus at its head? it's extraordinary. >> well, yes. i mean, santa claus must be defended at all costs. from a strategic point of view. because, after all, he died for our sins. of high cholesterol, but still the more we sin, the more he eats. liberals are attacking santa, because he makes over $250,000 a year and they resent that he's going to get his tax cuts extended. and as far as bill donohue is concerned, santa claus is just jesus after he's put on a few pounds. for years, santa's image has been associated with a very holy sacrament coca-cola. the body of santa is better because it's so often made from chocolate. bill donohue's defense of santa claus is not all that surprising. he's known for def