that does it for us. up next, "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. the dito head party. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, party boss. the battle over contraception. but rush limbaugh just tipped the scales with his big, bad words. he's made the issue birth control itself. not a religion freedom issue. it's about some strange attitude of his towards women, sex, or whatever. and the republicans refusal to fight him. president obama has weighted into this controversy. he called sandra fluke, the law student who was the target of rush's commentary, and she actually took the call in my

office as she was preparing to be interviewed today by andrea mitchell. she joins us tonight at the top of our show. plus you know things are going badly for the republican party when george will says it's time to think about winning congress than trying to win the white house. what's behind this forbidding sense that the republicans are blowing this election? and we have new poll numbers out tonight on the "hardball" score board from ohio, wisconsin, and washington state, which happens to hold its caucuses tomorrow. finally, let me finish with this ditto head party. we begin with sandra fluke and also with us joan walsh, who is an nbc political analyst. let me ask you in human interest. there's a lot of human interest in this. thank you for coming on.

i think the fact that you are sitting in my office, it's an honor for me. you took a call from president obama. tell me about the call. >> i appreciate you allowing me to common deer your office. president obama called to express concern, make sure that i was okay, given some of the colorful attacks that have been levelled at me and to also thank me for an expressed support thank me for helping amplify the voices of women. >> i want you to jump in on this. joan, you and i have similar views. i'm not sure on this one. rush limbaugh learned live that the president had called you. let's listen to what he had to say on air right after that. >> the president called her and asked if she was all right. she said she was, i hope. do we know what she said?

all she told that to andrea mitchell. i offered to pay for aspirins. i thought i had been quite compassionate here. you know, also, one thing obvious is that when the left wants to pretend they have no sense of humor, they are excellent at it. >> sense of humor. slut. later this show, rush limbaugh learned more about what the president said to you. he mocked it. let's listen to him mocking the president for showing compassion towards you. >> apparently, sandra fluke told obama when he asked her if she was okay, she said that obama told her that she should tell her parents they should be proud.

okay. i'm going to button my lip on that one. the president tells sandra fluke -- 30-year-old sandra fluke, parents should be proud. okay. >> joan, you and i are articulate on matters like politics. i think we're beyond the range of regular democrat versus republican. something strange in the water for rush limbaugh. it's a high level, basically attacking an individual for being part of this debate and then going after them and then making comments like i have never heard somebody make about another human being in the context of public debate. >> right. no. you said we're articulate. you're articulate, i'm speechless listening to that actually. i had only read the words, but hearing his voice it's ridiculous. of course, the president called

sandra. he's a father. and sandra, i know you're 30 years old and grown up and i respect you and admire you, so i'm not condescending, but there's a certain reaction you have as a parent of a daughter. you're like, excuse me, who could say something like that? and how do you get away with it and repeat it over and over? so you know, he's crossed a line. i do my best not to listen to him anymore. i honestly think sandra got under his skin. he sounds slightly frightened to me. he sounds bewildered in a special way. i think something different is going on here. i think we reached a tipping point where people are talking back to this kind of garbage. >> let me talk to you. i have daughter in her 20s. we have these conversations. we live in the real world. i'm happy about birth control as an institution and as an american. it's one of our rights.

it's a life reality. and for him to attack you on this because you think that should be part of health insurance, are you stunned or what? health insurance. we're talking an insurance issue here. >> it was pretty surprising. i appreciate your use of the word reality. we're talking about federal government policy. that has to be focused on reality and not ideology. this is a basic health care need that women have in order to prevent terrible medical consequences and unintended pregnancies. and that's reality. >> you don't have to make the case that i make, that's to reduce pregnancies. let me ask you about the republican party. i want to go to joan on this one. the republican party is not an evil party. it's not evil people. people may have views that i disagree with. sometimes it's dead wrong. dead wrong. but it has not spoken against this man, rush limbaugh. it has not spoken. the only words we have is this

peep from santorum about his words being absurd and basically for entertainment. they are falling back on a joke that he's an entertainer. norm normally, he's their leader. they are afraid. i hear from boehner, the so-c l so-called leader of the republicans. he used the word slut. what's the word he thought was appropriate? it's an inappropriate thought and an inappropriate attack on an individual who is a private citizen. what do you think about the republican party here? absolute i think it was

phil spoke up and said it wasn't the nicest thing to say. he had to kiss butt. these guys have been afraid to stand up to him for the longest time. and now they are not saying what needs to be said. this is my sojny. it's abusive. i hope they say more. i think they are going to have to. >> sandra, have you heard any republican leader of any sort say anything to you about them apologizing for this comment? >> no one has said anything to me directly. i understand that mr. boehner made some comments distancing himself. but it wasn't just one person who made these comments on the air waves. there are multiple commentators who made thesethesizations.

>> who? >> glen beck for one. i really just hope that we can take a stand and decide that this is the point when this is going to be unacceptable discourse in all sectors of our society. >> you're a law student. you talked to me about being a public interest lawyer. are you getting the anita hill treatment here? >> anita hill was a strong woman and i don't want to characterize that. >> but the attack you're getting. >> it's in the same spectrum and it's how women have been treated when someone wants to silence them. so it's certainly related. >> let's listen to more of rush limbaugh. he said those awful words yesterday. here he is today on why he's feel i feeling insulted. let's listen. >> somebody asked me, why are you so insulting? me?

can anybody understand that a whole lot of us are insulted by this? all of a sudden, we're told that people who want to have sex without consequence, sex with no responsibility, we have to pay for it. twoef pay for it. if we object, we're somehow knee yan dra thal. out of nowhere this comes up. that to me is insulting. >> have you got any idea what he's talking about? >> not most of the time. but it does seem like he's looking at the use of contraception to prevent pregnancy, but there's so many other medical reasons why women need it. and this policy affects those needs when they don't have access to it. >> this isn't about you. this is just a general commentary. joan, you and i can talk a little more freely than this younger person.

don't you find it ssomewhat of hoot that he thinks if you take one pill for each sexual event. you have to pay more for them if you have more sexual activity. he thinks it's viagra. he doesn't even know what he's talking about. >> you got me there. i hadn't thought about it. >> he was running for the bill as a young student might have. you must be having a lot of sex. what is he talking about? >> it's a great point. and also i'm sorry. sandra is a nice woman. the man has been married four times. he's not somebody to lecture anybody about their personal lives. and we're sbientitled to privac and contraception for sex. but many women are using this for other medical reasons and

not for sex. something like only 40% of women on the pill are on it exclusively for contraception. so you know, he knows nothing about the reality of women. >> that's not his interest area. he's talking about videotapes and how he wants to watch them. this gets more graphic and crazy talk. >> he sounded like a pervert. the stuff he said, he sounded like a pervert. >> thank you, my colleague, for sharing our views. >> good luck, sandra. you don't need luck. you're going to be a strong lawyer. if you get through this, you can get through tough law cases. move on to greatness. you're showing it already. thank you so much. >> joan, have a nice weekend. why do republicans think limiting birth control is a political winner? what are they thinking about? you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc.

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all the attention nationally on ohio, the big state that votes on tuesday. tomorrow there's a caucus in washington state way out west. we have new poll numbers from both states. let's go to the "hardball" score board. i love this. in washington state, it's mitt romney with a five-point lead over rick santorum. romney taking the state seriously. he campaigned there today. don't bet on the margin. now to ohio. the new poll shows santorum still holding a lead out there, but it's shrinking. santorum is at 35%. that's going to be a squeaker. although a lot of rural parts of ohio are religious and conservative. last week santorum's lead was seven many in that poll. we'll be right back. [ engine re] [ male announcer ] you know what that is? that's the sound of a mid-sized sedan that doesn't whine when you step on the gas. that's the most powerful v-6 engine in its class

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welcome back to "hardball." rush limbaugh's outrageous comments largely overshadowed

what otherwise would have been the headline yesterday. the senate voted to reject the effort to allow employers to deny coverage for contraceptives. republicans tried to frame if on religious freedom, but thanks to rush limbaugh, the debate has been sharply focused on the issues of contraception and women's rights generally. those are the issues that democrats think are big winners for them. is the gop hurting itself with this fight? and what besides firing up the base of the republican party getting out of this discussion of all things birth control. susan page is the washington bureau chief. and john heilemann is editor for "new york" magazine. susan first. we want to start with women on this always. although birth control is generally because of hetero sexual sex, they do care about

it. they are the ones that can get pregnant. let's start with the obvious. let me give you numbers. who supports the requirement that private insurance companies cover the cost of birth control? just two-thirds of the american people. an incredible overwhelming majority. 63% to 33%. who supports it generally? democrats. 83%. independents 62%. susan, this is not a winner statistically for republicans. >> it's not a winner for republicans. talking about respect for religion, religious freedom, that's an argument they can make. or talking about mandates by the obama health care plan that seem intrusive or extensive or too much. that's an argument they might be able to make. they were trying to make it it yesterday, but rush limbaugh has hijacked that argument and made it about contraception. >> he's not exactly speaking for the church.

>> it's hard to imagine republicans thinking this. even rick santorum, who is comfortable talking about these social issues, wanted not to talk about this. wanted to dismiss it and move on to other things. >> i think he made a comment. john, he's about the only one that's said anything today. he's using the lingo of he's an entertainer. don't take it seriously. they do retreat to that. but let's talk about the politics. these cultural issues, will they drive up the republican base in november? if romney is the nominee, this brings him to base. is there any logic to why they keep talking this stuff up? >> i think there's logic to it, although it's flawed logic. i have been convinced for the past two or three years that the republican base was going to turn out in november of 2012.

they have been motivated by hatred of president obama. i think that even though we have seen some poor turnout numbers, i think in the end, republicans are going to turn out. the white house are going to believe they are going to turn out strictly because they want to get obama out of office. susan makes the correct point, which is that republicans did think at the beginning they could win the argument on religious freedom grounds. they thought they could extend the argument to make it look like the president was being too intruce pif. the problem is that once you open the pan do ra's box, the republican right on the far cultural extreme is so loud that it overtakes the debate. you can't make those kind of fine distinctions. you end up talking about contraceptiv contraceptives, and that's a dead loser with women voters. >> let's talk about the front runner. here's the republican conone drum.

in an interview, mitt romney was asked about this blunt amendment. the amendment that says if you have a moral objection, you don't have to provide health insurance for birth control. he says let's stay out of this one. here he is. >> blunt-rubio is being debated later this week that deals with banning or allowing employers to ban providing female contraception. have you taken a position on it? he said he was for it. have you taken a position? >> i'm not for the bill, but the idea of presidential candidates getting into questions about contraception within a relationship between a man and woman, a husband and wife, i'm not going there. >> that's so romney. that's who he really is, i think. the guy who says you're crazy to get involve d in bedroom issues on contraception. a short time later after doing that interview, romney said the following. he misunderstood what he was asked.

let's listen to his correction a few hours later. >> i didn't understand his question. of course, i support the blunt amendment. i thought he was talking about some state law that prevented people from getting contraceptions. i thought it was some ohio legislation that employers were prevented from providing contraceptions. so i really misunderstood the question. >> it's his guy on capitol hill. he thought it was a state issue. that was like a top. spinning around so fast. you're the expert on this. is that the real romney and the second one is the political person or what? what are we talking about here? >> you got it right. you hit the nail on the head, chris. the first mitt romney is the real mitt romney. the second is the one trying to get himself out of trouble. the romney campaign understands they can read the polls as clearly as we can. president obama won in 2008 by 13 points with women.

now he's up ten points with women right now on issues of the economy over the course of the last two months alone. they are looking down the barrel of a huge problem if female voters get more alienated from the republican party. mitt romney does not want to be in that place. he's trying to get ahold of the poll and push this issue away from him because of what he believes and he sees the politics. the party keeps trying to pull him in. it's bad. >> the entertainment in this industry of politics and commentary is to catch people like romney. when you catch a guy from what he is to what he's supposed to be politically. >> it shows why conservatives don't trust him and have trouble warming to hymn. it also says why he would be the most formidable because they all believe he's the first one. the guy who doesn't think this is a role for the government to

get into the contraception debate, romney has done pretty well with women in the michigan primary. he split evenly. >> if your sparring partner were rick santorum among women -- >> you make a good point. >> women and obama. we have a new ap poll out here. obama's job approval is 53. but he beats romney 54-41. that's pretty good. >> you can't win a national election with that kind of gap among women. there are more women voters than men voters. you need to fix that. >> here's how the democrats are exploiting this. here's the latest democrat senate committee campaign ad. they are calling the republicans saying they are launching a war on women. >> it's an assault on women's health and freedom and republican candidates for the u.s. senate all across the country are pushing extreme

legislation that threatens health care for women. it's time to end the culture wars and get to work for the middle class. >> so we know where that's headed, right susan? democrats are going to dance on this one for awhile. >> with all those senators voting on it, television an issue that can work in a lot of those senate races. >> john heilemann, have a nice weeke weekend. good luck for next week. what a week to be able to be the man behind a great american movie. woody haroldson. >> ed harris. >> what a cast. you're big time. you're a movie maker now. up next, the new hbo movie "game change." she becomes her. she explains how she did it next in the sideshow. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. this is an rc robotic claw.

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back to "hardball." now for a hot sideshow. first up, crowd control. president obama traveled to new york city yesterday for a quartet of fundraising events. while the president's dress room was packed with supporters, it wasn't all smooth sailing. let's watch how the president reacted when interrupted while talking about his foreign policy achievements. >> we promoted human rights. we made it clear that america is a pacific power. we are leading by our moral example. that's what changes. none of this change -- nobody has announced a war, young lady. but we appreciate your sentiment.

you're jumping the gun a little bit there. >> well, let's hope so. he was responding to a woman yelling out "no war with iran." the question is how does that square with the president's own statement in this new article that he's not going to bluff when it comes to keeping nuclear weapons out of iran's hands. next up, becoming palin. we're a week away from the premier of "game change." an inside look at the presidential race of 2008. how did julianne moore tackle playing sarah palin. here she is on "the tonight show." >> i read her book. we found all of her media appearance. put it on my ipod. wiped everything off except for "ice, ice baby."

my 14-year-old son was really embarrassed by that. nothing worse. i put it on in the car. i would listen to it when i was running. i had it on constantly. >> talk about bringing a job home with you. that's how you do it. it over and over again. up next, republicans should think more about winning congress than winning the white house. what does that say about mitt romney and rick santorum having even a chance? that's ahead. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. i knew it'd be tough on our retirement savings, especially in this economy. but with three kids, being home more really helped. man: so we went to fidelity. we talked about where we were and what we could do.

we changed our plan and did something about our economy. now we know where to go for help if things change again. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get free one-on-one help from america's retirement leader.

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what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today. i'm nbc news meteorologist bill karins. tornado outbreak in southern indiana. these are pictures from henrysville, indiana, students were in a high school at the

time when the tornado went through. there are people missing in that town. a town of marysville, indiana, is simply wiped awe off the map with a pop late of 1,900 people. the severe weather threat continues. the concern now is further to the west in areas of western kentucky and also western portions of tennessee. nashville saw a strong storm go through. we'll have more updates here on msnbc. now back to "hardball" with chris matthews. welcome back to "hardball." you know things are looking bad when columnists like george will talk about the grim chances, if any, of winning the white house. republicans have to win in 2012. using words like awkward and dull to describe top candidates like romney. is it time for conservatives to forget the executive branch all

together in 2012? or is this a bleak week in the primary. david corn is an msnbc political analyst. maggie, this sense we're getting from george will, that things aren't looking hope fful at all that it the republicans have to circle their wagons and grab capitol hill and live with obama rather than beating him. what's that about? >> this is actually about a growing and private whisper among republicans who are getting concerned watching the poll numbers. they are seeing obama not doing great, but he's doing better with the exception of gas prices. some indicators are going in the president's favor. they are concerned about this nasty primary. there's concern as george will said that romney will not be able to get it it done. i personally think we're a long way away from a general election. i think things have a chance to reset, at least somewhat. but there is concern that

republicans ought to make the best with what they've got. try to take the senate and keep the house. these are going to become major private priorities. >> i think it's premature, but i think that column is written for the benefit of republican donors. because at this point in time, the media, operatives, they are not going to shift their focus from the presidential race to the congressional and senatorial races, but there are people out there with lots of money. maybe some whispered in his ear. the people now who are looking to invest in republican politics, may be the ones who say, listen, we have to set up super pacs and getting money to get the senate back and to protect the house. that's where this sort of talk might have a real world impact. >> let me give you a sober column. he's what he wrote today. the smoke clears and romney

remains slow, steady, unspectacular, the tortoise in the race. dull and methodical with an almost endearing stiffness. a weak front runner and an even weaker field. a weak front runner. hence the current republican gloom. the growing democratic cockiness, but the game is young. republicans should be far ahead. they have blown a significant lead, but the race is still 50/50. that's my religion right now. i believe this race could go either way depending on objective factors like the economy, like the jobless and growth rates. this president is not beloved by more than 50% of the country. he has to fight for every vote that gets him in there at this point. >> i think that's a pretty straight on religion. i think this president has a long road ahead of him. i think republicans right now are feeling gloomy about what they see as a wasted opportunity

of the last few months. i think this is something of a rallying cry. >> when what i think they are worried about is what's going to happen in the next month or two. romney has dug himself in a hole by his own party and no one sees him getting out of the tunnel yet. maybe super tuesday will give him the light at the end of the a long tunnel, but this could go on for weeks. he's missing the chance to make the race about barack obama. >> i want you to read something. nobody has read yet. it's coming out later. it's by a very important interview the president gave to jeff goldberg. the president chose to give this interview for a purpose. i think the israeli government recognizes that as president of the united states, i don't bluff. i also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are. but the iranian and israeli governments recognize when the

united states says it's unacceptable for iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say. maggie, this sounds like pretty close to an ultimatum. don't worry about israel. we have more plans. we have bunker busters. we can do this job later on. trust us. they are not getting that nuclear weapon. this is a hell of a statement by the president. >> this is meant to make the clearer statement that he's made so far on this issue. this is coming in advance to his meeting with the president of israel. but this was the strongest we have heard this president be on this topic. >> has he trapped himself in a position where if the israelis -- he may be saying i'm giving you the hot potato, but it is a hot potato. but you have to. we cannot have a nuclear weapon in the hands of ak ma din jad.

>> he praised his own sanctions and talked about getting them to work. he made an important point. which is if we go in there and take out their nuclear facilities, that doesn't stop iran from wanting and still pursuing weapons down the road. >> in fact, the people will say if we had a nuclear weapon, they wouldn't be able to do this to us. >> he thinks in long-terms for a lot of problems. we have to make sure to put pressure on the government so they eventually come to the same conclusion. but don't worry. i have your back. it's a complicated message. >> i'm bringing this not just because it's news, but it's political. this could change everything. if israel attacks and we have to back them, we will back them. hell or high water.

if we commit to doing what they would like to do what we feel could do better and do later, if that becomes a reality before the election, isn't that it the ultimate game changer? you can't accuse obama of being soft if he attacks iran with our u.s. fire power? >> it changes policy in a couple ways. it changes the shape of this election in a couple ways. republicans have been hitting this president repeatedlily. there's also going to be the issue of gas prices and how this relates to what's happening in the middle east. you're looking at a vastly different election. this was supposed to be about the economy. this has the potential to be very different. >> gas prices will go up if israel attacks iran and there's a wider war in the middle east. so it cuts both ways here. >> is this -- i'm using the word game changer. could this be the issue that throws everything else off the table because it's so powerful? >> if there's a wide war in the

middle east, yes. but as we have seen with egypt, the bin laden raid, and libya, the president can be strong. it doesn't always have a political impact one way or the other. >> let me tell you something i know that maybe you don't know. this american foreign policy is very bipartisan. from our sblejs to military operations, it's nonpartisan. we will do what's in the interest of this country, not politically. it's going to be a smart decision because it's going to be a bipartisan decision. leon panetta is not a partisan guy either. watch out. it could be scary and influential here at home. david corn, thank you. maggie, thank you as always. up next, congress is at an all-time low in approval. its own members can't take it. people are leaving that place. this is "hardball," only on

msnbc. i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade.

♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for excellent fruit and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion, also refreshing plus tea. could've had a v8. rick santorum may be a better candidate than mitt romney in the midwest states. we have some new numbers from wisconsin. let's go to the "hardball" score board. according to a new ppp poll, president obama leads mitt romney by a whopping 14 points in wisconsin. 53% to 39%. now look at what happens when santorum is the nominee. it's obama at 49% and santorum at 43%.

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remember when i used to be it? i was the man. you needed to track the gazelle down for dinner, you came to me. oh who's laughing now!? gazelle!! [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] personal, portable mio energy. shake things up. we're back. polls show nine out of ten americans disapprove the job of congress. now it seems its own members of congress are joining the ranks of those who don't like it. olympia snowe announced she won't run again. she described how bad things are on capitol hill. >> what has changed, regrettably, is the partisan atmosphere in washington. i do not see the polarization that now stands in the way of getting things done changing any time soon.

to the contrary, what i like to call the sensible center, has now virtually disappeared in washington. >> jennifer donnahue is a post contributor. she's a familiar face here. looking gloomy for this topic. and peter kiernan is the author of "becoming china's bitch." you write that compromise has become a dirty word. >> it has. i'm disappointed. i wasn't surprised that olympia left, but he's graced congress since 1978 with the kind of balance and fortitude necessary to make compromise happen. and we're going to miss her. and i think the challenge is going to be that i'm not sure this is an inside job anymore. it's got to be done on the hill

ever happened there like the most important thing they ever did was civil rights. dirksen got together with johnson and they did something magic. no more jim crow. no more discrimination. a magical thing they did together. it could only have been done together. don't people know you can't do it one party. even on health care it would have been so much better. your thoughts? >> i agree with you and i think what's interesting is that the public is at a total disconnect with where congress is right now. the parties have so much disproportionate power. i think because of current finance reform laws. campaign finance allows you to give $2500 to a candidate during the primary. $2500 to a candidate during the general election. but you can give as much money to each party as you want to. so the parties are controlling who gets chosen as primary candidates. they set the agenda. and they are way far to the left and right of where their constituents are. so we're seeing the parties

control the process. i think that's unprecedented. >> you know, there's two ways to be a congressman or a senator. i've thought about this a lot in my life. career decisions i've had to make. it seems to me you go out there and be yourself. vote the way you think is the right way for the country. take on your party leadership. don't listen to the whips. have a mixed voting record, 70-30, 60-40 or make life easy for yourself. go in the room, vote the way whips tell you. vote 100% ada or acu. have a lot of friends in the cloak room. be one of the boys, one of the girls and everything is fine. that's the tenancy they all follow. just take it. do what they tell you. >> my book is about fighting the path of least resistance. we have to fight that. we are literally frozen. and until we understand why we're frozen, we won't be able to thaw out. >> how is it killing us internationally? you talk about being china's bitch, to use your word. >> there's a cost to all this delay and procrastination. if we were asked to lead in uncertain times we'd make 30

challenges, a list and pick ten and folk aucus on those ten. hunger, homelessness, immigration, energy. we would force ourselves to do that. that's not what we're doing today. we're getting diverted by parlor tricks that have nothing to do with the challenges facing america. >> mitch mcconnell said his number one goal, jennifer is to destroy this administration. number one goal. i mean i will be partisan in this regard. i never heard anything so miserable as that. his purpose for his existence was to destroy this presidency. >> and the entire party has followed suit. i think it's to their peril because i think what's happening now is that we have a very bloody primary race going on on the republican side. and if i were to give an edge to anybody today, chris, i'd give it to obama. the reason he has no primary opponents tearing him down. and whoever comes out of this as the nominee on the republican side is going to be bloody and they're going to have to make obama bloody. so obama can go the high road,

campaign for a different kind of politics like he did in 2008 and that resonates with voters. i think that's a huge plus for the president. >> well, you know, the most popular politician in the world today? bill clinton. >> bill clinton. >> with all the problems with monica and that mess that was embarrassing to us all. he's the best because he cut compromises. >> he had a passion for the issues. he'd cut the wheat from the chaff and he could get a deal done. tip o'neil and ronald reagan. couldn't have been more different. look what those two gentlemen worked out. >> jennifer, back to you, this question. we are going to see a change in our lifetimes? or is this going to be left, right, get nothing done? >> i think we will because i think what we saw in 2010 was a lot of republicans basically choosing primary candidates that were further right from the electorate. we could see that correct itself. i think that was an overreach. i think leaders will be punished until they get the message. and i think we'll see flips in

congress. >> your point is, peter kiernan is our country is going to keep getting punished. your book is entitled "becoming china's b-i-t-c-h." >> hope you didn't hear that terrible word, jennifer. >> i didn't. let me finish with the republicans' assault on women and birth control and what it's going to mean from, well, coming november. why are they choosing this fight. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. especially in this economy. but with three kids, being home more really helped. man: so we went to fidelity. we talked about where we were and what we could do. we changed our plan and did something about our economy. now we know where to go for help if things change again. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get free one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie.

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let me finish tonight with this. there are certain issues that transcend the latest news. that get into you, into your being and stay there for a long, long time. this republican assault on women who use birth control is one such issue. come november, women are going to be walking into that voting booth, some of them still undecided, till they remember where the republican party stood on them. does he care about people like me? that old question. that's the one that will come tumbling back when it's time for the independent voter to make her choice. does this guy know what i'm facing in the world? is he ready to stand by me? think about how you're going to make that last-minute decision come november. if you are a woman and you have second thoughts, you'll be asking, i assume, which candidate gets it about your circumstances as either a single or married woman. and what you need to do to protect yourself. we know where obama stands. he's with you. he's proven that in the long often heated discussion about health insurance and its coverage of birth control. so what about romney or whoever gets the nomination?

okay. we know where santorum stands. he said it would be perfectly constitutional for a state to ban birth control outright. as for romney, when he got asked about the birth control issue this week, his first answer was smart. >> i'm not for the bill, but, look. the idea of presidential candidates getting into questions about contraception within a relationship between a man and a woman, a husband and wife, i'm not going there. >> then he went back to the party line and said he was with those who wanted to let employers drop coverage because they believed it was immoral to practice birth control. and what pray tell has he said about rush limbaugh who said he did what he did about that young woman who made the case for birth control coverage? after two days of this, he has yet to say anything. you know, we've been waiting for a long time, for months, for the leaders of the republican party to get involved in this presidential election. now at least we know who the top leader is. it's rush limbaugh. and it certainly isn't mitt