billion of earmarks. many they themselves had requested. does that ring your hypocrisy meter? and the irony is, guess who has earmarks in there? the minority leader who just voted on a moratorium for earmarks ten minutes ago. >> and whatever happened to the senate tradition of not gloating after defeating the democrats, did the newest republican senator mark kirk spike the ball? >> as the most jup your member for those who are r. not understanding what just happened, did we just win? it seems that change has come to the senate tonight. with the death of this $1.1 trillion plan. >> this may be a moment in the recent history of the united states senate because for the first time since i've been here we stood up and said, enough. stop. >> the clock is now running. s.t.a.r.t., the dream act, don't ask, don't tell, what will survive the senate's saturday

session. with us this hour senators joe lieberman and gene sheehan. and health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius right here on the legal and budget challenges to health reform. out on bail but not without words. >> this has been a very successful smear campaign so far, but i think it stays numbered and people are starting to wonder, is what is claimed really true and, if it is true, where is the evidence? and the capitol hill christmas colbert style. >> some people out there hate this holiday. like senate majority leader harry reid, aka the albino ray sin w raison who stole christmas. the tax cut is law. the drama on capitol hill is by

no means over. the focus is turning back to the senate where lawmakers are debating s.t.a.r.t. today and will be coming in for a rare saturday session to take up don't ask, don't tell and dream act. democrats are scrambling after republicans outplayed them on the omnibus spending bill. news correspondent and nbc's capitol hill correspondent luke russert is joining her. we've got both sides of the hill covered. kelly, first to you. what happened last night with the omnibus spending bill? >> harry reid thought he had agreements privately with enough republicans to pass the 1$1.1 trillion bill which would fund the agencies of government through the whole fiscal year. it was a very biggs project. something they worked on for other than a year and also inclusive for 6400 earmarks and many defend them as important. so he thought he had the votes. well, mitch mcconnell had been working his side very hard and it turns out they didn't have the necessary votes. and harry reid had to abandon

that bill and agree to work with republicans today on a short-term funding fix which will keep all the lights on and the power bill paid for the government for a period of months. and that's what they're going to do instead. many republicans who had been particularly vocal about opposition a victory. of course, there are democrats are not the right thing to do right now as well. it was a showdown that kind of really late into the evening last night and it was a big disappointment for harry reid. >> it's rare when the leader gets outplayed, completely outfoxed. on the other 150iside, we had t midnight vote from the tax deal. what's the fallout? >> very much late into the night because it was delayed under a procedural problem. liberal house democrat on how the bill was actually brought to the floor underneath the house bills. interesting yesterday, though, was speaker pelosi taking to the house floor and actively

rebuking president obama on a certain amendment. the estate tax language specifically. nancy pelosi said the president had paid a king's ransom in a deal with republicans to put this forward, saying that all this debt is going to be the backs of our children and grandchildren. and money funded from the chinese government. really first, you're seeing for the first time speaker pelosi actively going against president obama on the house floor. not something you see very often. that being said, you talk to a lot of progressive house liberal democrats, they are upset about this deal. they feel they put themselves in a very bad place negotiating forward with republicans. they said the president caved way too easily and going forward he will be put in difficult positions like the debt ceiling coming up in march or may. another interesting thing we took away from this in what we will go forward with with house liberals and what not, this is an effective whipping job by the white house and the house representatives not like we've ever seen before. the other major pieces of legislation that came through the house that was really up to nancy pelosi to whip it. she did it to a agree in the

house but it was president obama calling house members and trying to get them to vote against this estate tax language they preferred in order for the bill to go forward and not rejected by the senate again. amazing whipping job in the white house, by the housing representatives not ever seen before. andrea? >> kelly, finally, in the senate tomorrow, saturday session. they obviously are to do something to keep the government open. it will be a short-term bill, spending bill to cover a couple of months. the dream act, s.t.a.r.t., and don't ask, don't tell, of those three, what do you think? >> don't ask, don't tell has the best act of being repealed. those fight for it think they have enough votes because they have commitments from republicans to support the end of the ban on gays serving openly in the military. a big bonus to their side is there is a stand alone piece of legislation. it's not tied to spending for the military or other pentagon programs. it's just on that narrow issue. and it appears they have enough votes to move that forward. and that will be a very

significant day. they're going to be members of the military who have been expelled because of that rule, who will be watching in the senate gallery until the vote is taken as a kind of quiet protest in the room, so try to watch this thing happen. but when we do our own count of votes and talking to officials here, it appears there is enough to get that through. >> that would be a very -- really enormous breakthrough for everyone who has been support that all this time. thank you very much. and of course, it would be their last chance before the republicans take over. thanks to kelly and luke. congressman brad sherman, one of the 139 democrats who voted for the tax cut, he says reluctantly, he joins me now from capitol hill in between votes. thanks for squeezing us in. i know it's a busy day up there. why did you end up voting for the tax cut as strongly as you felt against it? >> well, the republicans took the middle class hostage, they took mamerica hostage, they too our economy hostage. the president agreed to pay the rans

ransom. and the choice before us was either let the president pay the ransom this month or block him and then next month he would agree to pay an even somewhat higher ransom because house democrats did not have a seat at the table when this deal was put together in december. but if we block the deal in december, some january house republicans would have been given a seat at the table. the starting point would have been this deal. and i'm sure they would have squeezed just a little bit more out of the president. when the president puts us in that kind of position, we either pay the ransom now or we will let him pay more later. >> there's a lot of tension now between the white house and house democrats. how is this going to play out in coming weeks and months? >> well, it will be interesting to see.

obviously there are some who work for the president who are saying every time you can get house democrats angry with you, it makes you look like you're a moderate. and i'm all for compromise and moderation. but you've got to look at the content. and from a political standpoint, it's just put out the headline, obama comp proo miromises with republicans. the content of that compromise matters. in this case, if we did not act, then in january the clinton estate tax bill would be in effect and if we had waited for that to happen, we would have had all the bargaining leverage needed to get a much better deal. and that's why i wish the president hadn't made the deal that he did. >> this is what the speaker-elect house speaker elect john boehner had to say this morning about what happened last night. >> the speaker took a hard line

against the bill? i don't think so. the speaker took a hard line against the bill, there wouldn't have been 138 or more democrats who voted for the bill. all you have to do is look at the vote last night. it was a strong bipartisan vote in favor of the bill. why? because you saw polling all week that indicated that the american people were in favor of stopping all of the tax acts. >> is he right? is that basically what happened, that democrats did cave in eventually because they looked at the poll. every single poll says 59, 60, 65% support in various polls. 59% in our support in our poll showing support for the tax cut. >> well, first, i'm not sure that people support this package. what they support is the concept of a compromise. and the polling question is, do you agree with the compromise that president obama reached with the republicans? well, a lot of people have a lot of faith in the president and

would say yes, if he reached the compromise it might be the right thing. when people gradually learn what was in this, they may object. but i don't think my colleagues were looking at the polls. they were looking at the political reality. and the political reality is this. come january boehner could have pass it not only this deal but a worse deal through the house of representatives. the senate would have voted for it if it was a little worse. i don't know if they would have roeted for it if it was a lot worse. and the president would sign a deal that was a little worse than the one that he signed today. so it was clear than the ransom payment could not be blocked in january and the ransom would be higher in january. so so many of my colleagues agreed, allow the ransom payment to be made in december rather than letting it grow. >> thanks so much. happy holidays to you. i know it's a long way between now and christmas with all you've got to do up there. and the wild card for the

senate now is the s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms treaty. democrats claim republicans are talking about offering amendments in an effort to stall the process. republicans insist the treaty is unwise. new hampshire democratic senator gene sheehen is here and joins me now from the russell senate office building. senator, what is your best guess right now? are you going to get through the treaty and get to a vote before you all probably leave on saturday night? >> i believe we are going to get to the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. i think we're going to get to it because it is in the best interest of natural security here in the united states. it has the support of the entire military, foreign policy, and national security establishment, both democrat and republican. those people who have tried to put up roadblocks and say we don't have time to get to this are ignoring the fact that when the senate did the first s.t.a.r.t. treat si clears ago

it was much more complicated and yet it only took five days on the floor of the senate. we're already on the third day on the floor talking about this treaty. it's a simpler treaty, the wording hasn't changed since april when it was signed. so i believe the opponents are not going to prevent the majority from getting this done. >> the republicans say several pages of amendments. are they going to be able to amend this? if they amend it it will have to be potentially renoeg yated and reapproved in a republican senate. >> that's right. >> with fewer republicans, i should say, in the senate come january. >> right. the amendn'ts are nothing more than an effort to kill the treaty. that's what this delay on the debate has been about. that's what the amendments are about. this is an effort by those who oppose this treaty, to kill it, i think there is going to be enough of a bipartisan majority to pass it.

and i hope so, because the history in the senate has been that foreign policy is bipartisan that partisan difference is stop at the water's edge. that's the way we ought to be acting on this treaty. so i'm hopeful that those people who may be opposing it for political and partisan reasons are going to recognize how irresponsible that is and put aside those objections. >> before i let you go, let me ask you about don't ask, don't tell, because there is new life to that. two more republicans signed on yesterday. >> that's right. >> and it is going to be on the floor, we're told, as a stand alone bill. that overcomes the republican objections to it being part of the defense appropriations bill. do you think it really has a shot, this would probably be its last shot at repeal for several years, given what the house is going to look like come january. >> that's right. i do think it has a great chance of being passed. as you point out, we've heard a number of republicans say they are going to support it now that

tax cuts -- the tax cut legislation has been done and it's not part of the defense bill. and it's the right thing to do. you know, we've heard both secretary gates and admiral mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs, saying this is important, that it's in the best interest of our military. >> what about the dream act, that, of course, involves a lot of men and women in the military who would have a faster path to citizenship. they are already serving, putting their lives on the line for the united states. and if they get a certain number of years in college, as well as serve in the military, they could be fast tracked. most political experts up there don't think it's got much of a chance tomorrow. >> well, i think if you count the votes it's not clear where the outcome is going to be on the dream act. but again, like don't ask, don't tell, this is the right thing for us to do. we should not discriminate against people who want to serve

this country and who came in the dream -- in the case of the dream act, who came here as children through no fault of their own. they should be given opportunity. that's what this country is all about. that's what we were born on as a nation. and so, if we don't get it passed this time, it's something we're going to keep working on because we got to address this issue in the country. >> jeanne shaheen, thank you. coming up, julian assange gives new meaning to the serm term house arrest. the spending bill that got hijacked in the senate. send me your thoughts on twitter at mitchell reports. this is andrea mitchell reports only on msnbc. my doctor said most calcium supplements...

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during my time in solitary confinement in the basement of a victorian prison, we continued to release media partners continued to write stories, the important revelations from this material continued to come out. approximately 2,000 cables into 250,000. >> he has only just begun. wikileaks founder julian assange appearing on "today" show vowing to continue publishing secret documents. pete, there he is on an estate in suffolk. some kind of house arrest. what do we expect the justice department to do? they talked about using the espionage act and the conspiracy theory with the private first class. but it does seem like a bit of a stretch. >> it does. i think here's the issue for the justice department.

they can probably easily charge him under the espionage act. holding on to him violates the law. how do you draw a principle difference between what wikileaks as done and what mainstream news organizations like the "new york times," the guardian and perhaps msnbc news has done in further publicizing them because they retained them, too. can they draw a distinction, can they say that wick i can loki they say that wick i can loklead as a middle man, operating in a different way than news organizations. of course, the government's case would be much easier that f. they could show that somehow wikileaks and private manning were in a hocahoots, they didn' merely receive them but they egged him on or encouraged him or had some role. than there could be a conspiracy count. >> there's been suggestion they had some evidence of that, some communication, e-mail, traffic between bradley manning and

wikileaks, someone in the organization, if not assange. >> well, this is, you know, a lot of government's case on a lot of what we know about it comes from this hacker with whom manning had been conversing. he will be key to the government's case. he is the person who seems to know the most about the interaction between private manning and wikileaks based on what private manning has told him in their extensive e-mail chat. that will be an important bit of evidence, too. but the main thing i think for the government is, you know, if they do this, this will be the first time the federal government has ever used the espionage charge on someone outside the government who made documents public. i think the government very strongly wants to send a message this is frowned upon because they don't want to encourage other people to do it or make them seem like they can go it with impunity but secondly because this is the first time. the government can't afford to swing and miss here. they have to have a case that's rock solid. that's going to be a tough one to come up with. >> does it become tougher when you've got the vice president of the united states saying to me

that he doesn't think there's been substantive damage? >> well, you know, there are opinions all over the map on that. even secretary gates said on this most recent one he didn't think there was. on the other hand, some government officials said in the earlier one there was. and in the letters to him from harold coe, the state department legal adviser, they said you need to knock this off. this is damaging. that's to try to establish this intent, there's an intent requirement in the statute that says you do this with the intent or in the belief that it will harm the united states. that's enough burden for the government to meet. >> seems like a pretty high legal test. pete williams. and a merry christmas and happy new year to you, my friend. >> and to you. >> thank you. and the battle over pork and religious wars on the senate floocoming up next. >> like senate majority senator harry wreath, aka the albino raisin who stole business. >> without disrespecting one of

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senate majority leader harry reid hopes to hand down a short-term deal by tend of the today. the emergency spending bill is needed after republicans forced reid to abandon a trillion dollar spending bill that both parties loaded up with pork for their states. jean cummings is politico's managing editor. this is a term that you never expect and that's why we love in senate in the mid of the night. the republicans stopping the democrats from passing the mammoth spending bill even though the republicans contributed almost as much pork as the democrats had. >> yeah. it really became messy. and harry reid apparently

thought it might because he went out -- went to the trouble of making sure he had nine republicans who had told him, we'll stay with you, we'll stand by you, to get this thing passed. ten the heat grew. and those nine walked away and harry reid was left to start all over again. >> let's go right to a couple of full-screen graphics we have here showing the comparison between the democratic earmarks and the republican earmarks. if you look at the -- i think we have the republicans up first, mitch mcconnell, john conner, lamar alexander, john thune, the last john thune being someone who has even talked about for 2012 is a republican and the democrats you've got harry reid, patty murray, chuck schumer, dick durbin, everybody does it. so what's the sort of high and mighty posture by the republicans last night? >> well, the heat is coming from

the newly emboldened conservative base in the republican party and the tea partiers and others had railed against earmarks. it really became awkward when you see senator connen come out and attack the bill and then get challenged because he has his own earmarks in it. it just became untenable. they couldn't vote against it. and still have any credibility. and so they just had to tank the bill all together. and this is just a touch of flavor of the kind of fights, many fights that we're going to be in for next year. i can almost see why the republicans would have preferred to have a long-term omnibus spending bill that would get them into next year before these kinds of clashes would begin happening. because now in all likelihood they could start almost as soon as the next congress begins. >> that is exactly what we're going to see in the next congress. elections have consequences and these is the result of exactly what we saw happen in november.

thanks so much, jeanne cummings. coming up next, one last chance for don't ask, don't tell. plus, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius,s that senate greninch stolen her business? and the obama spreading a little holiday joy. >> with a little driver widely and quick, i knew in a moment it must be st. nick, also known, aka, santa claus. ah, it's stinging a little bit more than usual! yeah, you'll get used to it. the longer you keep your high mileage car, the more it pays you back. get castrol gtx high mileage. it helps engines last longer by fighting the main causes of engine failure. i think a dime went up my nose. yeah, it happens. don't change your car. change your oil to castrol gtx high mileage. its more than just oil. it's liquid engineering.

chairman of the airlines right now -- the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen is in afghanistan today and saying the enemy is losing the war but he concedes the taliban continues to have a sanctuary in pakistan. sill, he tried to sound optimistic about pakistan's resolve to go after the bad guys. >> i would -- i would say that -- that i certainly think

it is very possible that the pakistan military can achieve that -- achieve the goal, as well, which shuts down those safe havens. nasa is testing the space shuttle discovery's fuel tank today. the shut is grounded until at least february because of cracks that appeared in the tank during last month's launch attempt. the cracks have been fixed, but engineers still don't know why they occurred in the first place. and there is a new atm at an upscale mall in coboca raton, florida, that dispenses gold. 24 karat bars and coins. the company by hind the machine touts it as a hassle freeway to buy gold and increasingly popular hedge against inflation. the white house hopes that today marks a turning point for president obama in a few hours he will signing the $858 billion tax cut deal. arguably the biggest bipartisan achievement of his presidency. savannah guthrie is nbc news

white house correspondent and joining me from a beautiful white house today. savannah, is this the biggest achievement because there's some blowback, he's opened up a real crack in his relationship with liberals in the house? >> reporter: let's put it this way. as some of the cracks are now readily apparent for anybody to see, but i think that some of these tensions between house democrats in particular on the most progressive wing of the democratic party and the president frankly were there for some time. and the tax debate kind of brought it all to the sure taze. that being the case, here at the white house, they're thrilled about this tax deal. they don't like the part about having to break a key campaign promise about letting the bush tax breaks for the wealthiest expire. on the other hand, they feel they've gotten a lot more out of this bill than anyone would have sus spepected it. i had a senior aide tell me if you told me this six weeks ago, that we were going to get the payroll tax cut, stimulus for the economy, i wouldn't have

believed you. we will see something we haven't seen too much of around here, and that is the republicans and the democratic members of congress coming here and standing with the president as he signs this bill. we've already reported that senator mitch mcconnell will be here for the signing. we don't have the full manifest of everybody that's coming. not exactly lying down with the lamb but certainly a bipartisan deal which we have not seen in some time. >> that's the christmas spirit before they continue slugging it out on the senate floor. savannah guthrie, thank you so much. and join issavannah and chuck td weekday mornings for "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. democrats were out maneuvered clearly in the senate last night. that means there will not an omnibus spending bill and republicans are making sure any short-term fix to keep the government open will not include president obama's landmark health reform bill. they've been trying to kill in the courts and through the purse strings.

the health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius joins me now. what is the fallout of this? how do you get it funded if they're trying to block you in the senate? >> well, i think, andrea, the initial affordable care act passed with some resources included in the bill. and we are going to continue to implement the law. there is an ongoing discussion. i mean, frankly congress hasn't funded any of government. and we are waiting to see what our budget overall is going to be, other agencies are waiting. and i think the debate is on in the senate whether or not they will, you know, take the house past continuing resolution, whether they will do a short shorter-term continuing resolution. there's no question that the omnibus bill was a bit toppled by the earmarks, most of which were designed for republican senators, including the senate

minority leader who had a couple of key earmarks for kentucky. so the debate in the senate has been interesting to watch, certainly. but it's hardly about health reform. it's really been about the earmarks and how large a funding stream they want to have. p i'm hoping that the same logic that republicans used to pass the tax bill, that business needed some certainty, they will apply to the government. i think we need some certainty in terms of, you know, carrying out key services for the american public over the next year. so i'm hope that they come to the table and pass a real year-long budget and let us and our employees know what the direction is. >> until they do, there's going to be a short-term continuing resolution just to keep the government going at current levels. and what we're told is that the republicans are looking for ways to try to block health care money from that. i wanted to ask you about the legal challenges to health care. we saw what happened with the virginia court, a florida judge is talking about trying to fast

track a decision on challenges from 20 other states. do you think that health reform can survive these legal battles? will it be stretched out for a longer period before it gets eventually to the supreme court? >> as you know, andrea, we now have three federal judges who have issued decisions on the merits. two have found affordable care act constitutional and one recently in virginia has ruled that a provision of the act, not the entire act which he was asked to do, but one provision of the act he found to be unconstitutional. so this debate is under way. about 12 cases have been dismissed. i think we're likely to see an ongoing dialogue in the court at the same time that we continue to i mplement this law. i'm confident this stands on solid constitutional grounds. i talked a lot to our legal team.

but i think as the debate in the courts continue we will certainly continue to make sure americans have access to the important consumer protections, that the insurance industry begins to live by the new rules, which is going to require 80 cents of every dollar to go to health claims instead of overhead costs, that people medicare benefits will now be able to take advantage of the beginning of the closing of the doughnut hole. some preventive health without copays. so those people will continue to be implemented across the country. >> senator from new york is hoping for a christmas miracle for the 9/11 first responders health care bill. i'm not sure that's going to happen. how do you justify not putting up money for the men and women, the firefighters, the police who responded in that hideous emergency and have suffered the health consequences?

>> i don't justify putting up the money. >> i know you don't. i'm wondering how this can happen. >> i think, frankly, it's shocking that, again, republicans have blocked these heroes who came from really all over the country, a lion's share of them came out of new york and new jersey but really there were first responder there's from across the country. and if there's ever been a need, you know, an active war that was responded to in a very courageous way and a need to make sure that we don't revictimized folks who were willing to provide life-saving support, it's now. so i'm hoping that they would step up and do the right thing. we have been very supportive of this measure moving forward. we've worked on -- with the 9/11 responders, hhs has taken the lead in providing health care, providing the screening, making sure that we reach out to families, but we need the resources to continue that

commitment. >> i know the administration has been a prime mover behind this, madam secretary. i should have said how does one justify. >> it's pretty tough to figure out. >> thank you very much. thanks for joining us today, from health and human services. >> sure. and to talk about all this political analyst and "newsweek's" jonathan alder joining us and of course, the author of "the promise." jonathan, looking toward a saturday session, don't ask, don't tell with its first real shot. perhaps the last shot for repeal in the senate tomorrow. the dream act, the s.t.a.r.t. treaty, i don't know if the 9/11 first responders act is going to be in there. this is a big tall order for the senate tomorrow. >> it is, if it all goes right, it could be a pretty big and impressive end to 2010 for the obama administration. things look like they may be on track for repealing don't ask, don't tell, which would solve, you know, be a solving balm on a

lot of unhappiness in the liberal base. the s.t.a.r.t. treaty has the support of former secretary of state. you know when they are playing the christmas card, so to speak, andrea, that the republicans are out of arguments when they're saying that, you know, the reason not to do it because it interrupts with christmas. as far as the dream act, i think that's a longer shot, but if there's enough mobilization you could even possibly see action on that. the one that is just completely puzzling to me is this 9/11 responders bill. you may have seen jon stewart had a terrific show on this last night where you had these first responders who have cancer and they're saying on this show, why are we not getting some help? you know if the shoe were on the other foot and if were democrats, not republicans who were blocking a bill, the republicans would be saying they are spitting on patriots,

on 9/11 responders, they're spitting on them. but democrats don't play as rough so you don't see the democrats right now saying the republican obstruction in the senate are spitting on patriots. so if -- i think if this notched-up to the next level of public consciousness, you may even have an outside chance for what the senator called a christmas miracle and this bill going through. >> and all of this was backed up because the tax cut didn't get to the floor until after the election. >> right. >> the back story there? >> well, the back story there is that a lot of democrats didn't want it to come to the floor before the election. and i do need to kind of make a correction of a story i didn't get completely right last week when we were talking about this. i said that senator russ feingold didn't go to the white

house before the election. s that not true. he did not do any such thing. but he was, according to my reporting, among those democrats, the vast majority of democrats, who did not want this taken up before the election. now, senator feingold says that he actually did want it taken up before the election and that my source on this is not accurate. so there's a little bit of a he said/she said between a senior person in the u.s. senate, anonymous source, and senator feingold. he says that he was against delaying this until after the election. another source says in a meeting he joined his colleagues in favoring a delay in the vote. historians are going to have to sort this out now that the bill has passed. it's up to history. >> okay. we will leave it there. thank you very much, jonathan. >> thanks. >> great to see you. up next, senator joe lieberman, does he have the votes yet for don't ask, don't tell? this is "andrea mitchell

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the senate is now expected to vote tomorrow to repeal don't ask, don't tell, at least to have a vote on it. will it actually pass? it's passed the house in response to republican objections in the senate it has been stripped out of a larger defense appropriations bill. senator joe lieberman is senior member of the arms committee. senator lieberman, great to see you. what are the chances tomorrow? >> right now i would say the chances are really good. the moment for this has come. i mean, last week they thought the cause was lost, but we came up with the idea of a stand alone bill. our colleagues in the house adopted it, and we've got four republicans out publicly for a repeal of don't ask, don't tell. i think we're going to get one or two or three other republicans tomorrow. you never know until the roll is called and the votes are cast. i think we're on the verge of a historic breakthrough which will not only be very good for our already great military but will be the right thing to do.

>> what are you going to say the your friend john mccain, is there any chance you can persuade him? >> i doubt it. i think john is unpersuadable on this one. i'm just going to tell him that, you know, he fought the good fight for something he was against, and we got more than enough votes to pass this, including a number of his republican colleagues. so let's get it done and move on to the next matter. >> now, how did the democrats get steamrollered last night by republicans on the omnibus spending bill when, by all accounts, republicans had as many earmarks or just as many earmarks as democrats? >> there was a certain lag time here between when this bill was originally put together, which was before election day in november, and today which is obviously after election day. and you know, that changed perspecti perspective, both republicans and i will say some democrats, because obviously if every

democrat was prepared to vote for the omnibus appropriations bill with the so-called earmarks, it only would have required a couple of republicans. and there seemed to be at least a couple who were prepared to vote for it. so i think a lot of people up have gotten the message from election day, which is to act responsibly and, you know, cut back on spending. >> now, speaking of lessons and messages from election day, there are reports that patty murray is going to be in the head of the patty murray will be the head of the campaign committee, wants to have a meeting with you. what can she offer you? what do you think you'll be saying to her? you're in a pretty good position now if republicans want you on their team and democrats want you to keep caucusing with them. >> well, look, i appreciate it. i'm not sure how much it reflects all around, but i appreciate all the kind words that have been said up here from

my colleagues on the republican and the democratic side. i have important decisions to make. they're important ones for me and my family. the first one is, do i want to run again every time you come to it, you have decide to do it for six more years. and how do i want to run? >> would you consider becoming a republican and you could chair a committee? they have a lot o offer now. >> all options are open, andrea. i got reelected as an independent. i like being an independent. so i would say right now if i run again it's more likely that i'll run as an independent. we have a lot of talking and thinking to do with family and friends over the break. i hope to announce early some time next year. >> well, come do it right here.

>> okay. >> take care. >> what political story will be making headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next. and a poignant television moment. larry king signed off his nightly talk show after 25 years for the last time. >> i don't know what to say, except to you, my audience. thank you. and instead of good-bye, how about so long. for strong bones, i take calcium. but my doctor told me that most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. citracal. [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday.

so what political stairs will be making headlines in the next 24 hours chris cillizza joins us. we don't usually have 24-hour look ahead for the senate. but this time we do. >> first of all, happy friday. it's not that happy friday if you're in congress, though.

andr andrea, because you will be working again this weekend. this is the final push of the lame duck. keep an eye on one story line. liberals not happy. particularly with the tax cut compromise that has now passed. do they get don't ask, don't tell? this has already gone through the house. that is if it can get 60 votes. it can end debate, get it to the floor ft it will be a major victory for liberals, and i would expect the white house to tout it as such. the white house needs to make up ground with the liberals who are disaffected after the tax cut vote. this may be the way to do it. >> there's a lot of ground to be made up. so we'll be watching all weekend. chris cillizza, thanks. we'll read your blogs. that does it for us for this edition of this week of "andrea mitchell reports." next week richard trunka, head of the aflco. he's meeting with the president today. we'll get his reaction on the that.

richard lui is up next with "news nation." [ laughs ] that's so dumb. [ laughter ] nice. [ male announcer ] don't be left behind. get it first with at&t. the nation's fastest mobile broadband network. period. rethink possible. 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!

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