>> mike have a kara is on the lawn of the white house. we see it coming to conclusion this morning, explain how things are spinning the last 24 hours to get where we are now. >> all is well that ends well. it was such an anti-climax on the hull. they did it with unanimous consent. it is two senators showed up at 9:30, harry reid with john warner from virginia in the chair. took 90 seconds to do it. no one stood up and objected. same deal in the house, just took a little longer after the pledge of allegiance and the morning prayer and it was all over there as well. so i think we can expect the president to leave shortly for the delayed hawaiian vacation. the house and senate scattered to the winds as well, not to return until later around mid january. if you look at this, thomas, look at the tumultuous events of the last 24 hours but of the

last week, last saturday, mitch mcconnell and harry reid came together, only 6% saw it as defeat for the president because he gave ground on the pipeline. they succeeded inserting that language and the president forced to accept it after he said explicitly that he rejected it. sunday, john boehner pulls the plug on meet the press, the whole thing blows up, says it can't make it through the house. then after mitch mcconnell publicly called for the house to pass it, it was -- the dam broke, members said they were in favor of the senate bill, just a two month extension. we have to remember, thomas, as much as we enjoyed the last two weeks, we do it again in two months. >> and a programming note, during now with alex wagner at 12:15, president obama is expected to speak. want to pass that to everybody. you bring up the keystone pipeline, language in the bill

that passed, it means it has to be discussed, pushed a little further along. it doesn't mean it is a done deal on that issue, correct? >> it forces the president's hand, forces the state department in charge of making a decision to make a recommendation one way or the other within two months, then forces the president to make a call. so it does force his hand in many ways. what the administration has said is that because there's an extended environmental review under way, remember that was a decision a couple months ago from the state department, what this means in telescoping or come pacting or collapsing the time frame, won't be enough time to do the review, and the president in all likelihood would have to reject it, although everything is open to negotiation as we've seen in the last week, thomas. >> mike have a kara at the white house. the president is expected to speak at 12:15 this afternoon. after the speeches going to deliver, he is going to leave to meet up with the family for the hawaiian christmas vacation. so we have some perspective on

fallout from the payroll compromise. we will speak to men from the empire state, democratic congressional chairman steve israel and republican congressman michael grim joining the conversation. congressman, start with you first. who is the real winner. if you take the politics out, it is the american people that's the winner? >> there are 160 million winners, not the democrats who pushed for this compromise, not the republicans who ultimately agreed to the compromise, it is 160 million middle class americans who will have more money in their pockets. they are the winners. i do a predawn commuter office hour for long island railroad commuters. i was at the dr park railroad station yesterday as the sun came up. there was a steady stream of people that said i don't understand this. if this is a war within the republican party, why is it going to cost me money. those people are the winners,

and i'm glad we finally had some common sense and compromise. american people want two things from congress, middle class tax relief and congress that can compromise. i am glad we ended up at that place. >> congressman, with this being said, it was a public fight, one where the president didn't bend when it came to the extension. do you think this will make house republicans think twice before taking the next major legislation down to the wire? and what does that mean for the tea party specifically? >> well, thomas, i really hope so. look, this is not going to be the defining moment in determining whether democrats win the majority, but a defining moment, and it is not just this fight over middle class tax cuts, it is the aggregate, the tea party extremism willing to bring down the government in march over a woman's right to go to planned parenthood for healthcare, then the paul ryan budget that would eliminate medicare as we know it, then the debt ceiling vote in august, the

super committee in november, now this. there's a deep sense of buyer's remorse, setting in with suburban, independent, moderate voters. they may have voted for a tea party candidate, but don't like the congressional extremism they got. and that i think very much puts the house in play in the aggregate. >> congressman, does this embolden democrats in the house that look beaten and battered after this year? >> well, i don't look at -- any time it comes to sticking up for the middle class, defending the middle class, we are bold. we have been fighting this battle consistently against some extremism. we have, you know, some people say we don't want you to compromise. you know, i agree with harry reid. we need to compromise when it comes to protecting economic interests of the middle class. i'm not interested in common ground, i am interested in higher ground. the higher ground was making sure in this holiday season, middle class had extra money to spend on gifts.

you can be bold but you can also seek some compromise, as long as you are defending your principles. that's what we have been doing, that's what we will continue to do. >> congressman israel, nice to see you. thanks for your time. i appreciate it. >> thank you, happy holidays. >> thank you. to you as well. we turn to the other side of this debate, republican representative from new york michael grim. nice to have you here. we spoke tuesday. >> good morning. how are you? >> good to see you. you are here now that the work is done in washington, d.c. what's your reaction to getting it done. i know it is not what the right wanted to see, but politically the move needed to be made. >> obviously it is not what we wanted. we don't think it is good policy. it is a little odd to hear my colleague talk about sticking up for the middle class. be honest what we're discussing. we were discussing two months for the middle class versus a year for the middle class. >> but what was in, when you came to agreement in the house for a year for the middle class, and when we talked about the payroll tax cut for a year, what else was jammed in there that

the democrats couldn't get on board with. >> let me ask a question. what has changed. >> in the two months? you have keystone. >> isn't keystone still in there? >> it is still in there. >> what's changed from the one year to the two year. >> you tell me. >> that's my point. very little has changed. >> what specifically. if it had changed, could have gone through. >> that's not true. what happened was a political play. the president said let's do a year, his exact words, correct me if i'm wrong, inexcusable not to do it for a year. what changed in the president's mind. he said do it for a year, that's god policy. everyone said doing tax policy two months at a time is not sound policy. so we listened and said you're right, let's try to do it for a year. what has changed since then, just the time is the only change in the deal. so the american people lose on that because in two months we're back. that's not certainty for the

markets or for employers or for the doctors and patients that wanted two years for the doc fix. this has been going on the last six times they did a short term extension for doctors, doctors are saying it is terrible policy for the united states. we try to do good policy. we got beat up for it. no good deed in washington goes unpunished. >> what happens now. this is as you pointed out tuesday you didn't want it to be a bandaid, this is referred to as a bandaid. what happens when two months expires? >> here is the only light at the end of the tunnel. they're going to start negotiating now instead of waiting until the end of those two months until february. they're going to start now for the rest of the ten month extension. that's one good thing. other thing i want to say, listen, i want to work across the aisle. i want to see things get done but things are polarized, no question about it. left and right are polarized. >> aren't they polarized within their own caucus.

a tea partier said the house caved yet again to the president and senate democrats, the republican majority wouldn't exist if not for the freshman class of 2010. we were sent here with a clear set of instructions from the american people to put an end to business as usual in washington. yet here we are being asked to sign off on yet another gimmick. how do you address the right where people come out calling for up or down vote, sean duffy, calling for it to be done, and the other side coming out with a response like this. how are people supposed to take in the frustration of what's happening within the right itself, not just left and right. >> i don't think it is just the right, it is all the freshmen on both sides of the aisle. 87 new members. it is frustration. what you're seeing with the american people feeling is what i feel and other new members are feeling. the system is so broken. we are so used to short term fixes, budgetary gimmicks.

that's what congress has done for decades. now we're coming in and saying listen, if we're going to do it, let's use sound policy and do it right. and that didn't happen. we are frustrated we didn't do it for a year and two years for the doc fix because everyone we spoke to, democrats and republicans alike said we need something certain, some certainty in the market, do it long term. we wanted to bring forth good policy. so yeah, they're frustrated. it isn't a tea party issue. it is played up for the media, but not a tea party issue. >> how is it not a tea party issue? people from the right release these statements, how is it not a right centric issue. >> because it is more than the right frustrated with the process, it is not just the tea party. everyone in my conference was saying listen, i spoke to my doctors in direct. they do not want another short term doc fix. we have to give them some certainty. i think everyone is frustrated. but the process in washington is difficult. for me personally, i was just a

little disappointed the president didn't stand by us when he is the one that asked us for the year. that's where i was disappointed. >> now you have time to rest, relax for the holidays. >> i won't be resting, i will be out with constituents to make sure they have everything they need for the holidays. i will spend time with my mom and sister and enjoy christmas. >> merry christmas to you. >> same to you and your family. we will talk more about the central players in this compromise with the panel assembled this morning. this morning, editor for the daily voice, the communications director for american crossroads and former press secretary for national republican congressional committee. guys, good to have you here. joe, i start with you. the republicans and speaker boehner, he is looking at the losing end of this battle right now. do you think the reality check of losing on one of the standoffs could help him convince his conference to get in line next time there's a bipartisan deal reached? joe, can you hear me?

>> sorry, yes. one of the things that happened here is that speaker boehner may have had a political loss, but certainly had a policy victory. what mike said about keystone pipeline being included in that legislation is very, very crucial because just a week ago, the president wanted a clean extension of the payroll tax and he didn't want that keystone thing. he punted it until next year. for him to have to make this decision in the next two months is really a huge concession for him that he didn't want to make. regardless of the fact it is a two year extension of the one year payroll tax. >> i'm sorry, i am so on the christmas list, i have to get out of my own head. this is truly a win for president obama. but there are a lot of big issues on the horizon in 2012. how important for democrats and the white house to stay grounded and build off the game plan that seems to be working right now? >> i think it is very important. it has been a rough year for

congress and for president obama, rough year for the american people and american economy. the debt deal in august got the country off track and helped push down ratings for congress and the president. i think things are starting to come back up. people are starting to compromise more. i have to disagree with what congressman grimm said, talking about the system is broken and people are upset. the reason they are upset is because of congressman grimm. republicans in congress have done everything to create gridlock. that's been the objective the past two years and that's what caused this problem we're in now. that's the reason we don't have payroll tax cut extension until the last minute and it only lasts for two months. you can't complain about something, say it is a horrible policy, and turn around and say we want it to be longer than what the president is offering. i think there's been a great deal of inconsistency from the gop. >> john as we know from vice president biden that has an

op-ed pooes in the des moines register, first two words are mitt romney. i want to read it. romney appears satisfied to settle for an economy in which fewer people succeed while the majority of americans are left to tread water or fall behind. the president and i firmly believe like my father that every man and woman is entitled to basic dignity. how does romney, john, fight that message on the campaign trail and drive a different message to those people? >> first thing i would do is talk about how the labor force under barack obama has shrunk by 300,000 people. these are people that are actually out of the work force because they stopped looking for work. remember the financial times last week or a couple weeks ago said the real unemployment rate was 11%, not 8.6%, but 11%, because a lot of folks that have given up looking for work aren't even included in those surveys nowadays. i think the consumer sentiment at record lows, lowest it has been since the carter administration, i think we're seeing a repeated malaise of the

late 1970s, i think there's a lot there for romney who is a businessman, created jobs and companies, there's a huge trajectory for him to talk jobs. you have a white house that doesn't want to talk about jobs and the economy if they don't have to. >> keith, go ahead quickly. we have to bolt. >> i want to point out quickly we were losing 700,000 jobs a month when president obama took office. we added 2.9 million jobs for the past 21 months. it is not great but progress is made and will continue to be made if we have compromise. >> it is at least traction. thank you so much. happy holidays to you both. anti-gingrich political groups say he has too much baggage. coming up, i get a chance to speak with his daughter jackie, what she thinks of that, if she thinks it could cost her dad the gop nomination. later, heck letters promise to keep pressure on the candidates in iowa. what does it mean for the traditionally open process in iowa. more on that on msnbc, the place for politics. ♪ you, you ain't alone

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called the massachusetts governor the best choice for the nomination. romney spoke about the endorsement in personal terms. >> i must admit, this is much more important to me personally than even politically. he is a real hero to me and my family, and i appreciate his support. >> bush 41 backed mitt romney in the 2008 bid for the gop nomination as well. with less than two weeks to go to the first presidential test, recent polls show mitt romney and newt gingrich evened out a bit. but the former speaker is using the campaign surge and support

of his closest allies to show voters he is the best candidate to take on the president next year. jackie gingrich curbman joins me, author of the essential american, 25 documents that every american should own. nice to have you with me this morning. >> thank you so much for having me on. >> i want to start with politics. what's happening on the trail as we speak. what's the message you give to voters comparing your father to mitt romney? >> well, the message is dad's done it before, he can do it again. not only did he lead the 1994 contract with america to become speaker, but under his leadership, he balanced the budget, performed welfare, cut taxes, cut spending. i was listening to the segment talking about job creation. when he was speaker, 11 million jobs were added. we would be thrilled to have that kind of performance today. >> strong finish in iowa crucial to your father's campaign, the

evangelical vote is large. your father recently pledged and affirmed to eye wans for christian leaders in government to uphold personal fidelity to my spouse. do you think his two divorces and affairs could be a detriment when it comes to the caucus and getting the support he needs there? >> i think dad has done a great job. i don't know if you saw the debate in des moines recently, he was asked that similar question and he was very honest, very open, talked about when you run for the presidency, the american people have the right to ask questions, they have the right to understand what's happened. he has been very open about having made mistakes, having asked for god's forgiveness, having reconciled himself, and to really focusing on moving forward. i think that really resonates with people. we all have a little baggage if not a lot. the difference is he is running for president, but he has been very open, very forthcoming, and he understands it is the

american people's decision to render judgment on who would be the best leader. >> american people love a good come back story for sure. your father's half sister is part of the lgbt community and activist. do you think it is a mistake not to support a more open minded opinion for the rights of gay americans in this country? >> yeah, i think dad has been clear on where he stands. like many families, we have different opinions and we're very close and we see candy quite a bit, but he is clear on where he stands in terms of the definition of marriage, and that's where he is going for. but i think what resonates with people is he is a leader that tells the truth, that speaks his mind, and that can clearly communicate and have governed the country before as speaker. if you look at all of the candidates currently in the race, including president obama, he is the only person under national leadership has balanced the budget, cut spending, has cut taxes, and has reformed a major entitlement program. if you look at all of the

candidates, including the current president, he is the only one that has done that type of job. >> jackie, i want to talk about support for romney, specifically with chris christie. listen to this discussion about the vice presidency. >> i think it is presumptuous to do that, martha. running for president, that's my decision and mary pat's decision alone. we decide that. vice president is the decision of one person, whoever the nominee to the party is. i think it is awful to say i won't do something when it hasn't been offered. fact is, if governor romney comes to me and wants to talk to me about that, we'll have a full, complete conversation and then mary pat and i will make a decision about what we want to do with our future. >> jackie, do you think keeping the door open to running with romney hurts your father and the money romney is raising from in manhattan recently could be another tough obstacle as well? >> i think the answer was a good answer. you don't cross the bridge no matter who the nominee is until that is decided and that's a call to service for your

country, because it is more than about just serving that nominee, it is about serving the country. it was a heart felt answer. it was more in the line of service to the country than anything else. in terms of the money race, a lot of what you see are people used to having a lot of influence, a lot of money being raised currently, and the reality is in the end the american people get to decide. we're having a great response in terms of fund-raising as well. we have a great response in terms of volunteers. every day we have more and more people want to come help, come on board. and in the end, the question to the republican voters is who do you think could best defeat president barack obama. that's the end goal. dad is clear that his view, and i agree, a positive campaign about solutions is the best way to go forward because every time there's a negative attack ad, it helps president obama, and in the end, if you think about, the voters think about who should be on stage against president obama in the debate, the answer that i would have is newt gingrich, my

dad. >> do you think if your dad was to face off against obama, positivity would be the name of the game and he wouldn't go negative. >> dad is clear, and you saw it with ronald reagan. people want a solution, optimistic vision of the country. we believe in america. i believe in america incredibly. we believe every american should have opportunity, we should all work hard, do well. if we work hard, do well, we can work together to do incredible things. dad did that when he was speaker with president bill clinton, and i think the american people were going to hear and respond to that positive message. >> jackie, thanks for your time. positive, genuine answers. i appreciate your time. >> thank you, thomas. in one hour, president obama is expected to come to the white house briefing room to talk about passage of the payroll tax cut bill. see his comments live on msnbc,

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with days to go until the iowa caucus, protesters are following the candidates wherever they go. that was newt gingrich as he was forced to pause during a speech at the iowa capitol. the demonstrators with ties to occupy movements say they will keep going up until the vote january 3rd. joining us this morning, iowa secretary of state, matt schultz. good to have you back on again. i want to get right to it. there is concern the protesters are going to disrupt the caucus process. matt strawn telling the des moines register the more agitate ors disrupt, the more it takes away from the iowa caucus experience. doesn't give other eye wans the chance to ask questions.

is there plan to watch the protesters more strictly, curb the demonstrations at all? >> we are all for freedom of speech, but when you use it to infringe on others, you cross the line. republican party of iowa is working with local law enforcement agencies and they have a plan to put in place and working with county chairs to make sure if there are problems, there's a hot line you can call and there will be immediate response to be able to make sure that things are done orderly. >> matt, the candidates' wives are getting more actively involved in iowa. romney is front and center in a new ad about her husband's cashing. callista gingrich stepping up appearances in iowa as well. how important are the wives including the all important conservative iowan. knew t do you think it is helping or hurting? >> i hate to speculate it. i will say this.

whenever you have family involved, it shows that there's a commitment. it helps humanize the candidate. i think it is a good move with speaker gingrich specifically. i don't know whether it is positive or negative. i haven't heard anybody say anything specifically to that. but generally speaking, i would say whenever someone's family gets involved, it is a helpful thing. it shows commitment, and it humanizes the candidate. >> matt schultz, thanks. have a merry christmas. >> merry christmas, thomas. thank you. passed without objection, payroll tax cut bill now headed for president obama's desk. he will hear from the president himself in the next hour or we're going to hear from him. that's a shot of the white house. we're going to show you the briefing room where the president is speaking about passage of the bill. i think we're going to show you that. if not -- there it is. we will carry the comments live at 12:15 p.m. eastern when it happens here on msnbc. all right.

joining me now for some perspective on what the payroll tax cut deal means for both sides of the aisle, msnbc politics nation host, founder, president of the national action network, reverend al sharpton. always nice to have you with me. >> glad to be here. >> some insiders say this is the death for speaker boehner. do you think that's -- >> i don't think it is the death. he certainly is on life support, if not politically dead, on political life support. i have never seen such a hasty retreat by a speaker and a party caucus in memory. the thing yesterday morning, you had speaker boehner saying we're going to fight to the end. then he comes back in the early evening, late afternoon, and does 180 degree turn. i think the perception of him is

gone in terms of real leadership and stability with the american public, and probably he lost a lot of credibility on the hill. >> you make a great point about the visual, in the morning with everyone behind him as opposed to the afternoon where he says we need to get this done and i'm telling everybody to get in line. so if boehner lost his caucus, what does it mean for the gop, loss of his ability to effectively get them in line, what does it mean for the gop caucus? >> i think it puts the caucus in disarray. the question now becomes as we only have a two month extension, i think it is a solid win for the president, but we're going to go through this debate again in a month and a half, in the middle of republican primaries. so you have the problem and the real potential of the hard right tea partiers really taking even

harder line and moderates not finding mid ground in their caucus. everyone in the middle of the primaries really praying for what they feel the voters want, so you could end up with an even more divisive and more provocative fight in two months. now, the good news is that people will be getting their tax extension cut extended and the uninsured will still be getting paid throughout, but it is far from over. >> provocative the keyword. 2011 has been a provocative year to watch tonight. the first annual revvie awards. >> tonight, 6:00 eastern on politics nation, with al sharpton, giving the revvie awards for the good and bad this year in terms of personalities, political personalities, movements. i have an all-star panel, michael steele, former republican chair, maria cumar,

and the high priest test of high noon politics, alex wagner. all sitting around, and after their input, i will announce the award winners. >> y'all are getting dressed up for this. >> formal and sold out. >> this is an event to be seen. don't miss it tonight at 6:00 p.m. >> black tie only. >> black tie only. you have to dress up at home, everybody. reverend al sharpton. great to see you. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you, too. tune into politics nation. revvie awards, our graphic. back with more after this. th pl? when you pour chunky beef with country vegetables soup over it... you can do dinner. four minutes, around four bucks. campbell's chunky. it's amazing what soup can do.

selling fishcakes from the back of his truck, and in 1942, of course, they were sent away. after the war, as a japanese coming back from camp, he started a little store on main street in seattle. of course they needed some money, and bank of america was the only bank who would talk to my father. and we've stayed with bank of america. we have four stores now, three in the pacific northwest and one in oregon. my parents would not believe how popular it is now.

welcome back. it is the season for spending. have the holidays been a christmas gift or grinch for the economy this year? to weigh in on that, we are joined by cnbc steve lease man. bring us up to speed where we are. >> thomas, sorry to report, we

have a christmas time contradiction. retailers tell us that traffic has been good, that even spending has been good and it has been up. you heard reports about the robust black friday we had. unfortunately, this spending is not being picked up in the government numbers. earlier this month we had a retail sales report for november that was lackluster, then this morning we get the november overall consumer spending number, and it was up less than expectations, .01%. we are left with a puzzle as to whether government data is not picking up spending. overall, i think we're headed for a modest gain in spending this year. most of the surveys done, including by ourselves, put them in the 3 to 5% range, a decent christmas from a holiday spending standpoint. maybe the data will work out in the new year. >> you bring up black friday, the small business saturday, highly promoted cyber monday? >> speaking of the last one, we

understand internet spending online has been robust. our all america economics survey found for the first time spending online was number two position. edged out department stores for the first time in six years we have been doing the survey. we get data day to day that show many billion dollar days in post black friday time online. the other stuff i really don't know, thomas. i think a lot of it may be more hype. >> steve liesman, good to see you. >> happy holidays. here are other stories topping the news. john edwards wants husband upcoming criminal trial delayed because of unspecified health condition. former presidential hopeful is supposed to stand trial a month from now for using campaign cash to hide his pregnant mistress. his legal team asked for delay once before so they could prepare a case and edwards could go to his daughter's wedding. thousands are filling the streets of tahrir square to announce military violence

there, especially that against women. angry protesters want the regime, angry with the regime says it needs to be ousted after a crackdown killing 17 people earlier this week. some of the most stark images are those of soldiers dragging women through the streets, stomping them and beating them with clubs. a ceremony in damascus where 40 people died in suicide bombings. state tv reports security and intelligence buildings were target of the explosions. the terror strike the first in damascus since the beginning of the march uprising. so new numbers are out today about u.s. voting trends. a usa today analysis shows 2.5 million voters left both, both the democratic and republican parties since the 2008 elections, while independents, they're on the rise. what does this exodus mean for the electorate and the candidates? joining me now, msnbc, tulane

university professor of political science and nation columnist, melissa harris. nice to see you. we talk about the numbers. when we see these numbers, democrats dominate when talking about the playing field, with more than 42 million voters, but they also lost 1.7 million since 2008. what does that tell you, this puts them in limbo. >> there's two really important things to remember here. one, in most states your ability to vote in a primary is based on being registered in a party, come general election time, for the most part, they have to make a choice between one and the other. in the primary, they were less in the parties registered as democrats and republicans will be quite different and likely more extreme than those independents saying i am just done with this partisanship and going to the land of

independents, then they can't choose who the nominee will be. >> kugt off your nose to spite your face in certain respects if you are interested in specific party politics. >> absolutely. one of the things we learned about independents over the years is at least until the 1980s or early 1990s, they weren't swing voters, they were nonvoters. people that felt disgusted by the parties and the way the parties behaved tended to not show up. wasn't that they sometimes gave votes to democrats or republicans. >> does negativity play into this? >> has a huge impact. there has been terrific research by some political science colleagues that says negative campaigning shrinks and polarizes the electorate. more opt out and those that stay in are those willing to cling to either party in the context of negativity, they tend to be more extreme voters. >> so can it change in a trickle down kind of way, change the way things are done, especially when

it comes to negative campaigning? >> it can, as long as negative campaigning is not effect i have. look, candidates and parties do what wins them elections. as soon as they don't win an election with a strategy, they stop doing it. >> they say what wins an election and might do something else. melissa harris-perry, thank you very much. your daughter is great. got to meet her back there. coming up, a new ruling in south carolina, weeks before the critical primary in that key swing state. and later from the repeal of don't ask, don't tell to a record setting number of same sex marriages in one day. it is the big markers for lgbt issues this year. going to have that in the flip side. that and more. you are watching msnbc. quiet co. yes. but lately we've been using k-y® intense™. it stimulates arousal so the big moment is... (announcer) k-y® brand intense™ - intensifies female satisfaction.

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welcome back, everybody. south carolina's primary is weeks away. there is increased focus on who can vote come january 21st on

whether new laws keep people from the ballot box. joining us, adam beam, reporter for the newspaper, the state. good to have you on this morning. this week, a judge blocked portions of a new immigration law that would have called for state and local police to check for immigration documents at the polls. the judge's ruling, the constitution in immigration and nationality act have placed a policy making role regarding immigration in the hands of the national government. is the judge saying the state was exceeding its reach? >> that's exactly what the judge was saying. there were 20 sections to the law, most of them closely mirrored existing federal legislation. the idea was to give local police officers the ability to enforce that what up until now had been the jurisdiction of the federal government, but there were several sections of that law, about three or four sections that went above and beyond what the federal government has passed, and the judge said can't do that.

>> so when we look in south carolina's dmv, it is a warning that more than 200,000 people could be impacted by new laws, mandates that photo id at the polls, it has to be shown there. election officials have bad information on these particular voters. is there anything done to reach these potential primary voters ahead of january 21st? >> well, for the beginning, the state election commission said there's about 240,000 voters, registered voters in south carolina that don't have the necessary voter or identification to vote. but a report from department of motor vehicles said some of those numbers could be flawed. as much as 200,000 either live in other states or their id and names and information on ids don't match or they're dead. that kind of calls into question just how many people will be effected, but i know there has been lots of media coverage here. i am not sure if the election

commission has personally sent out letters trying to let people know, but it should be an issue coming up. >> adam beam, thanks for joining me this morning. i appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up, an end of the year flip side that shows yes, it does get better. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. it's like having portable navigation. a bluetooth connection. a stolen vehicle locator. roadside assistance. and something that could help save your life - automatic help in a crash. it's the technology of five devices in one hard-working mirror.

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2011 was a banner year for lbgt rights. we look back at the top ten greatest moments. on december 6th the obama administration issued a memo directing u.s. agencies overseas to assist lbgt people and refugees facing human rights violations. july 16th. over 300 american troops and vets became the first to openly participate in a gay pride

celebration by marching in san diego's gay pride parade. the u.n. council passed a declaration condemning discrimination of the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. april 29th, the u.s. department of labor banned this. on february 1st, the u.s. department of state began recognizing nontraditional families by issuing passport applications asking for mother or parent one and father or parent two instead of just father or mother. february 23rd, the justice department says it will no longer constitution ali defend the defensive marriage act in court. then in the fall, september 20th, the great moment thanks to president obama's signature the year before the military policy of don't ask, don't tell tape to an end. on june 24th, following a 26-36 vote new york became the most populated state to say yes to same-sex marriage. a month later, record setting

659 same-sex marriages were performed in new york city in one day. and finally, for the whole year, political support for gay marriage was at its all-time highest. up across the boards on all major pels. yes, virginia, it definitely gets better. that's going to do it for me today. thanks so much for joining me. have a wonderful holiday weekend. i'll going to see you back here next year though. i'm taking time off to be with my family next week. i'll be back here with you on new year's day. for all of us on msnbc, thanks for supporting us through 2011. we really appreciate your time. follow me on twitter at thomas a. roberts. now alex wagner is coming up next. she's going have live coverage of president obama's remarks on the passage of the tax bill. that's right here on msnbc. i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens.

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the great payroll tax debacle is over. kind of. it's friday, december 23rd. this is "now." joining me today republican strategist phil muser, aleash that menendez, patricia murphy the editor and founder of citizen jane politics and writer for the daily beast and from politico, ben white. guy, thanks for nine joining me. this week nancy pell lowe's si accused the tea party. after boehner agreed to vote on the payroll tax cut deal a statement from tea party backed freshman read the house has caved yet again to the president and senate democrats. here's the question. we talk a lot about john boehner crying and not crying. should he be crying now? how bad is this for the republican party? >> i think it's very bad. i thin