and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live tonight from miami. tonight's lead? the gop in crisis. republican ryan is at a record low. but here comes their big solution. are you ready? more of the same. more blocking, more stalling, more getting nothing done. but the answer is staring them right in the face. chris christie is the republican everyone is talking about. his approval rating is certain. over 70% approval. even after publically embracing president obama. wow, he actually lived to tell about it. the cover of "time" magazine simply calls him the boss. >> and, today, he made it clear what works.

>> we're getting things done and we're compromise where we need to. it's not a dirty word. >> compromise is not a dirty word. pretty simple, right? but speaker boehner and republicans in congress just don't get it. boehner is vowing to stop direct talks with president obama in the future. and let me introduce you to this fella that he's got with him now. he's tom cotton. a newbie congressman from arkansas. today, he unvailed his big, new ideas. >> i think that the congress, as a whole, may be able to say no to barack obama a little bit more. >> genius. say hello to the president. what could possibly go wrong? good plan, mr. colt ton. . >> i don't think what washington needs is more compromise. i think what washington needs is more common sense and more

principle. >> yeah, sure. why compromise? washington is working so well without it. let's just keep doing what we're doing. i mean, why on earth would a republican want to compromise you? what good can compromise do for a politician. now, let's be clear. chris christie is a conservative republican. i disagree with them on issue after issue. but on some things, he's showing a willingness to compromise and from the public's reaction, you can tell that's what citizens want. and we also just had a little thing called an election. remember that? you know, when just over a month ago, the country rejected republican ideology. but the gop hasn't learned a thing. they're threatening a government shultdown. voting against disaster relief,

pushing radical anti-abortion measures. they might actually be funny if they weren't so contemptible. with me now, bob schram, a democratic strategist and columnist for "the daily beast" and abbyhuffington. can the gop learn the chris christie lesson? or are they drinksiing too much from the tea party? >> he's conceivably a very strong candidate for them in 20167. but increasingly, i think he can't be nominated. it's not just that he embraced or worked with the hurricane, it's not just that he called john boehner to account for denying hurricane relief. it's that he uses that word compromise. he believes in governing. and he'd have to run in a party whose primary voters think the first qualification to the

presidency is that you hate the dwovt. so i think he's a lock for reelection, i think he's a way forward and i think he will have a very hard time getting a nomination. >> well, to your point, he's being attacked from the right. the former iowa executive director says christie has damaged his appeal to the people who determined who the republican nominee will be. the wall street journal editorial says he's becoming the next charlie crisp. and one prominent national republican complained to new jersey.com. this is the second time christie has bucked the party. so he's getting hit in the party while the poll numbers are sorry for him because he's showing an ability to at least compromise on some things. >> yeah, look, he's got real problems looking forward to 2016. you remember when we watched those debates last year and they

asked people, would you compromi compromise? would a dollar of increased taxes for spending cuts and everybody refused to do so? that's exactly the kind of question chris christie would answer and in the wrong way. and, by the way, he accepts civil unions. that will kill you in this shrunken, extreme electorate. >> now, abbey, your father, john huntsman, he was recently talking about the state of his party. and it wasn't part of it. let me quote what he says. he says it's really tough to define republicanism today because we don't have a leader and we don't have a platform. the party right now is a holding company that's devoid of a soul. akd it will be filld up with ideas over time and leaders will take their proper place. devoid of a soul? that's pretty strong stuff from

a republican. i do think chris christy and even my dad should be the face of that. they're reformers. in the sweet spot of their leadership is authenticity. they live in reality. they live in the real world. they realize and understand, you know, they can embrace things like civil unions and even gay marriage, heaven forbid, without sacrificing their core conservative principles. that's exactly what the republican party needs. i think it's too soon to say whether or not someone like chris christie is elect nl. >> wait a minute, abbey. how can they embrace civil unions and gay marriage and win republican primaries in the tea party when you have people like rush limb baa comparing same-sex marriage with pedophilia? listen to this.

>> there is a moou. movement onto normalize pedophilia. your reaction to that is probably much the same as your reaction to gay marriage. what has happened to gay marriage? it's become normal. there's a movement to normalize pedophelia. and, when republican senator ron john son was asked about the comments from limb baa and given an opportunity to denounce them or clarify them, let me show you what he did. >> senator rush limb baa and pedophelia? not going to happen. >> not going to happen. >> look, you know what -- how do you deal with this party when we see what senators are refusing to even deal with it. >> i've been a life-long

republican. but i am nothing like rush limb baa. there's many that are just aching for somebody like a christie or my dad. a poll came out that said only 8% call themselves a tea party member. i mean, this idea around hate can only last so long. we saw this after the vietnam war with people being very anti-vietnam war. it can only last so long. republicans can realize that they're going to have to embrace this idea of civil unions and gay marriage, this is the world we now live in. they can put that aside. >> they have a long list. we can keep going. >> but i do want to say, chris christie and people like my dad, it gives people hope. hope that hopefully, they can be successful. >> bob, what does this do for the president, the president

starting his new term would be republicans would disarray republicans that moderate democrats could be in a really awkward position? does it give him the opportunity to do things or does it put weights on his legs in terms of him really trying to run and dash and get things done for the country. >> i think we better forget the permanent campaign. we're entering a kind of permanent political warfare and maybe a permanent paralysis. all you have to do is look that jack lou gets nominated and five minutes later, jeff is out there saying he can't be secretary of the treasury. he's a liar. that's the kind of politics we have now. it is, by the way, and i'll say this about abbey's father, the exact kind of politics john huntsman was running against and calling the republican party to a higher standard.

that's, by the way, the obama -- >> but abbey, as we lost you -- abbey, let me ask you, as he was saying about your father and others, how will they have to survive? what will they have to do to get around this -- the fact that the tea party is at least there two more years in some numbers in the republican caucus? >> i think we're already seeing the tea party diminishing, which, i think, in a way, it's a good sign for the party. and you mentioned in the beginning of this segment, chris christie has a 73% reapproval rating. that just goes to show, and my dad won, as governor, with nearly 80% of the vote. it goes to show that you're not just governor of republicans. you're governing independence, democrats, yes, even liberal democrats.

you can show that they're there representing the people. and the important part about this is people like chris christie and my dad are not in these big lobbying groups. lead with authenticity. unfortunately, we're not there today. but i do hope that we get there. >> quickly, let me ask you, you're one of the best political strategyists in modern times. what would you advise the president to do? >> i think he's got to push forward. he can't give in on things like the debt ceiling. he's got to put immigration out there. he's got to put gun control out there. but what's going to happen is that a lot of this could conceivably get blocked in the house. and i say to abby, they might have to go through two or three

more cycles before they come to their senses. >> i don't disagree with that, unfore chew gnatly. >> abby huntsman and bob schrum, thank you both. >> thank you both. >> coming up, can joe biden take down the nra? big news today on how the american people feel about the nra. it's starting to feel different this time. and paul ryan gets back to that budget on the hill. by signing onto a radical antiabortion person hood bill. he's right back to the extreme. the reporter who broke the story joins us. and the birther king is back in the news. but this time, role is reversed. why is he releasing his birth certificate. you're watching po ining "polit nation" only on the place for politics, msnbc. blaeng blank.

have you joined the "politics nation" confers on facebook yet? we hope you will. today, our fans were reacting to the new polls showing the nra's popularity has dropped off. carol says it's about time they were taken down a few notches. julian said the nra does not truly represent gun owners. a lot of his members support common sense solutions. coming up, we'll talk about whether the white house can convince nra to support some of those comments and solutions. but, first, we want to hear what you think. please head over to facebook and search "politics nation."

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can the nra be defeated? that's the question everyone is asking. today in a meeting with gun control advocates, the vice president said everything is on the table. >> the president is going to act. there are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. we haven't decided what that is yet. but we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and all of the rest of the cabinet members, as well as legislative action. >> the president is going to act.

tomorrow is the big show down. the president meets with the nra and this time, things seem different. gabby giffords has balanced a group. even pro-gun right democrat senator harry reid is in a "different place on gun control." today, new york governor andrew quo moe called on his state to approve the toughest gun laws in the nation in a bold statement. and here is governor christie. >> would you support a federal ban on assault weapons? >> depends on what they do. >> why not just say yes or no? >> because it's not that easy. i know in a short interview, you'd like for me to give you quick answers. but these are complicated answers. and i'm willing to have that conversation. that's a lot more than a lot of other people are willing to say. >> this is different. and what's more? a brand new poll shows that there is a 10 point net decline

in the nra's favorability. since the disastrous press conference where their solution to call for more guns. now is the time for movement. we've seen too many tragedies. with momentum on our side, it's time to act. >> joining me now is david price, vice chair for prevention task force. and dr. james peterson, professor at lehigh university and contributor. thank you both for coming on the show. >> thanks, rev. >> thank you, good evening. >> congressman, let me start with you. will we be able to get something meaningful accomplished on guns this time around? >> i believe the atmosphere has changed. the environment u i think there's a good chance that we can push a positive agenda forward. if this doesn't do it, if this newtown tragedy doesn't do it,

i'm not sure what will. we just need to search our hearts and our souls and ask if there's not more we can do to prevent this sort of thing. and i think most mirns sense that. most americans are willing to think about some new ways of approaching this. of course, we need some political leadership and some leaders to encourage us to come together on this. >> congressman, you're from north carolina and polling says that the public is understanding it is moving toward more of a sensible gun control kind of country. but what about your colleagues in the congress? are you hearing or sensing any movement there? one of their colleagues was shot and we didn't see any movement

there. why should we feel something would be different this time? >> well, i have to say that congress is more polarized and more stuck on talking points than i've ever seen in my time there. but i do believe if you just stop and think about this,,there's widespread acceptance. there has been for years for the idea of background checks, the idea of keeping guns out of the wrong hands. and if the proposition is that that's just not working, it needs to be made effective and better data bases of criminals and the history of violence, that we need to cover gun shows and other places this has not been applied, surely, that's not a devicive proposition. or it shouldn't be. if we could just think very carefully about what it is that we're looking at here and avoid the rhetoric, avoid the talking points, i believe there's a point to come together. it is going to require the nra

and other organizations to become part of the solution, not to just dig in with resis tense and it's also going to require some measure of bipartisan come nation, which has become harder in the house, but i think not impossible. now, professor, let me ask you, professor peterson. the nra spends huge amounts of money on elections and lobbying. for example, in a 2012 election cycle, the nra spent 24 million dlarsz. by come parson, the brady campaign spent 5 e 000 dlarsz. the nra spent $4.4 million on lobbying in the first half, compared to the brady campaign, 60,000. so is part of the political fear that they will put a lot of money behind candidates against you and that if we see people stand up boldly, like i said, governor quo moe, in my home state, i come in and he stood up today.

do they run the risk of people trying to put that kind of money against them in terms of supporting candidates? or at least county candidates that will oppose them. >> well, rev, they do -- they are going to be confronted with those fears about being out flanked by nra support conte contenders. i would challenge all of our elected officials to rise to the occasion to try to overcome those spheres because the states are a lot higher. one thing that people don't understand about the nra is that the nra lobbies both republicans and democrats. the nra is very, very effective in local elections, and municipal elections and statewide elections and they do it on both sides of the aisle. so this is a political process challenge, not just a party challenge or a partisan challenge. so what i would challenge e lekted officials to do is to rise to the occasion. you might be afraid of being out flanked by an nra supported

contender, but the issues are just too overwhelming. to be honest, they're really too simple. we're not talking about taking away everyone's guns. 06 sli, the congressman from north carolina where a lot of people hunt and people want to be able to defend themselves. he understands those things. but at the end of the day, what we need are universal background checks. we need row bost assault weapons ban. and then we also have to pay some attention to other things with the ways in which we can wrestle with the proliferation of guns that are already here. but the first step are these things that people have been talking about a lot here, which is the universal background checks. >> yeah, and this is what you've been saying, congressman. if we get reasonable things that don't threaten people's second amendment rights that you think there's a movement. but when you get extremists, for

example, the drudge report showed pictures of hitler and stalin next to a link saying the white house may consider executive action on gun control. hitler and stalin. when you see this kind of extremism thrown into the mix, it only poisons an atmosphere for progress here. >> absolutely. and the nra engages in some fear mongering and seeing every measure as a slippery slope or confiscating gun. it's absolutely not true. and they know it's not true. i believe that reasonable measures can be agreed upon by reasonable people. we're not talking about the ability to own guns for self protection or for sporting purposes. but we are talking about keeping those guns out of the wrong hands. keeping them away from dangerous people.

>> they really have no purpose except to mow people down. the hunters that i know are -- they scoff at that, that anyone needs that kind of weapon. so i do believe there's the potential to come together here. but there's going to need to be some real soul searching about that rhetoric that's been used to raise money and raise fear. it's not a slippery slope. it's a matter of coming together to solve a very real national challenge. >> dr. peterson, the president says it's going to take a movement from the bottom to the top. are you sensing that movement? >> i am sensing that movement. move on dot org. you mentioned gabby giffords is now in play and will be very, very effective at raising funds. we are going the need some executive action here. i hope people can understand why

that's important because we want a more kovrp rehencive, common sense gun safety. and an executive action that pushes federal policy towards universal background checks, i think would be a great compliment to whatever comes out of efforts with the congress. we need all hands on deck for this issue. again, we talk about these mass shootings and these spree shootings, but we're faced with these challenges in inner city america every day. although it is not as sensational, it is continuous and it is as painful as these other suburban communities for us to live in inner city america. >> chicago, the best example of that. let's thank both congressman david price and dr. james peterson. we thank both of you for your time this evening. coming um, paul ryan says the deficit is our number one problem. so why is he backing one of the most extreme anti-choice bills we've ever seen in congress.

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citracal slow release. republicans just don't get it. their war on women backfired in a huge way last year. but they're already back at it in 2013. and congressman paul ryan is leading the way. today, he signed on as a co-sponsor to the most extreme law, the anti-choice movement can come up with. it's a personhood bill that would give legal and constitutional rights to a single-celled human embryo. the law would make all abortions illegal, even in cases of rape, incest or to save the health or life of the mother. it could out law some forms of birth control and even ban

in vitro fertilization. but pushing these extreme views on women is nothing new for ryan. >> well, look, i'm proud of my pro-life record. it's something i'm proud of. >> of course, paul ryan is not alone. the rest of this new republican congress is starting the new year right where they left off in the old one. last week, republicans introduced two separate bills to defund planned parenthood and republicans refused to renew the violence against women act. this is incredible. republicans have either forgotten about todd aiken, richard murdoch and the war on caterpillars or they don't care. either way, the war on women is back, in congress and in states all over the country. joining me now is joy reed,

managing editor and an msnbc contributor. and laura bassett, a journalist for "the huffington post." thank you both for your time tonight. >> good to be here. >> joy, let me start with you. why are so many republicans determined to do all of this after losing women by 11 points on election day? >> well, reverend, i think you have to remember with paul ryan, you made the exact point which is ryan has always had these extreme views on abortion. when he joined the ticket with mitt romney, he had to stop some of them. ryan is still a potential presidential candidate in 2016. i know that seems a long way off, but he's facing a potential primary, having voted for the fiscal cliff deal which could call his conservative into question. so it is in his interest in terms of primary politics in this republican party, to go as

far to the right as he can on social issues. >> when you have something like this, laura, paul ryan, who played the role he did in 2013 and come back with something this extreme, does this signal that there's no lesson at all that the republicans, at least the leadership learned as a result of last year's election and some major defeats in some of the key states? >> honestly, i think what's going on is that the republicans that are still carrying out these battles against women's reproductive rights are republicans who feel generally secure in their districts. i don't think that paul ryan is worried that if he were to run again for reelection he would win and i think the same women who introduced the antiparenthood legislation last week are pretty secure in their districts. i think the republicans that are still carrying out this war on women, so to speak, are more worried about the republican primaries than they are the general election. >> now, joy, let me introduce

you to the todd aiken of 2013. congressman todd cotton. he's a new republican from arkansas. and let me show you what he said yesterday about women in the military. >> could impair the mission's essential task for those units, joy? >> yeah, women are already flying in helicopters and doing lots of functions in the military. this is why i'm always sort of amused when they talk about the republican party reinventing itself and the gop party talking 2.50. the reality is the republican party is quickly retrieving into a very small party, a very

regional party and a party that has very hard core far right reviews, whether it's on women or abortion or gay marriage, just on everything. it is a very right wing, hard right party. so we shouldn't be surprised when somebody, even with the earnest face of a paul ryan or somebody like representative cotton says what they do because this is what the republican party is mostly becoming. >> well, when you look at the landscape, laura, this year alone, they've got their ducks lined up in a row. 19 states have both a republican state legislature with an anti-choice golf nor. and they feel they can do anything they want when you look like the anti-choice proposals already in 2013. mississippi and virginia. strict new regulations are going to shut down abortion clinics. texas, arizona and wisconsin, legislators are pushing 20-week fetal pain abortion bans.

and in wisconsin, taking a cue from virginia, they're going to introduce a forced ultrasound bill. they're moving forward, laura. >> absolutely. they're moving forward everywhere. you can go on and on. the heartbeat bill in ohio, some of these bills are getting more extreme. someone in michigan introduced a bill that was giving tax credit to fetuses. i think they're not slowing down at all, but it's really interesting that these anti-choice majorities were reelected, considering in some of these states, for instance, ohio, there was an exit poll that show that the majority of ohioans are pretty pro-choice. and they managed to reelect this in both chambers. it seems to me that it has to do with the way the districts were drawn up. >> when you look at the texas governor's rick perry's pledge just lags month, it showed where the gop's priorities lie. watch this. >> and now to be clear, my goal and the goal of many of those joining me here today is to make

abortion at any stage a thing of the past. >> so, i mean, when we look at these kinds of straight out commitments, there's no e kwif case. it's almost like the voter's determination in key races last year doesn't matter to those that feel that their base is going to come. >> exactly. i think within the republican world, it doesn't really matter what was said in election of 2012. the point is absolutely right. gerrymandering means that they can essentially exert minority rule it doesn't matter what the majority of voters want. we have to take these folks at their word. it is their true belief that they should bring about the end of abortion and make it illegal in the united states. i that'll do whatever it takes and they aren't concerned about polls. they aren't concerned about what we think. they aren't concerned about any

other than their prime direct e directive. and they're going to do it by any means necessary. >> laura, beyond the politics, what about the fact that you're really impacting people and help of women in a negative way. in texas, i mean, the kind of headlines you'll see when you take away major resources for women's health thousands of doctors have defunded planned parenthood. people need to understand they're not just taking away women's abortion rights, they're taking away cancer screenings and contraceptive services from low income women. at what point do we understand what we're doing to people beyond the politics? >> i think that's exactly the question we should be asking. texas is a really sad situation right now. all of these women have been forced to find new doctors. we're talking about low income

women that used to fund planned parenthood. it was the biggest provider in the program. and texas has provided a list of al tesh terntive doctors for them to go to, but, often, they don't provide the services, the list that they provide. so these are sort of up a creek without a paddle. it's just really unfortunate. >> terrible. >> joy reid, laura bas set, thank you both for your time. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> still ahead, the big daddy of the birther movement is releasing his birth certificate. but i don't think that's good enough. show us the long form, donald. plu plus, a republican is finally shamed into doing the right thing on sandy relief. well, that's one. but we have a few dozen more to go. stay with us. ♪

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a big change today from an extreme gop lawmaker who's being forced to eat some humble pie.

after voting against sandy aid last week, mississippi republican steven palozzo decided to head nort and see the hurricane damage for himself. and surprise, surprise. he's seeing the light. palazzo now says "now is the time for the federal government to provide immediate relief to those affected by the storm. i'm fully committed to providing the relief they so desperately need." wow. a big change of heart there from congressman palazzo. i wonder what changed his mind? >> sandy is and was above politics. in every other element except for what happened in the congress a week ago. there are people suffering in new jersey. there are people suffering in new york. and they need to take care of it. >> republicans face a big test next tuesday with votes on the next round of sandy relief. they can either give it to -- give in to the right wing or do

what is right for the american people. joining me now is clarence page from the daily review. what do you make of congressman palazzo's big reversal on sandy relief? >> as you might say, reverend, he saw the light when he saw the blight. after he got up there to new york and new jersey and really saw how awful the devastation is. and it is awful. you know, when you compare it to katrina, katrina was a dramatic tragedy we saw up in new york and new jersey. the population is so concentrated. you have some $80 billion according to official estimates of damage. apparently, the tv footage hadn't been good enough for him. but this came after he took a lot of heat for his vote last week. >> yeah, i don't like to, as a

minister, question anyone's aversion, but he was attacked pretty bad. so i don't know if it's all what he saw as the blight. he might have saw a few headlines. but let me ask, when you look at some of the republicans, in the house, they're still saying things, like, well, for example, you have tom mcclintock said much of this money cannot be classified as urgent and should be taken out of the bill. it has nothing to do with disaster relief. another republican, paul ryan is guilty of relief. in '08, he voted for additional disaster response funding in flood-ravaged midwest on june 19th, 2008. so a lot of this, you're seeing people that voted for relief when it was their constituents

but seemed to not care particularly when it's northeastern blue states. >> and ryan was one of 12 republicans that voted for katrina relief and against sandy relief. 67 republicans all together who voted against sandy relief. it's sort of a reflex that palazzo was caught in, also. they are always looking for some ways to cut spending, even when we're talking about something like major emergencies, which the public turns to the government for health in those kinds of circumstances and in the past, we've been putting bipartisan and kind of all-american on a big disaster like this. but, now, this polarized politics are, once again, stepping in. like i say, next week will be a big test. >> but, again, if we're talking about hypocrisy, the list goes on, sam. people that have voted for

relief in the past but are voting against it now. but i think it also comes down to what do we think the country stands for when we're looking at people who have had their whole bill, earnings wiped out with a natural disaster? i mean, do we want to be the kind of country that turns our back on our citizens? i think that's really what's at stake here. >> it really is. the mantra of the republican members of congress is going after waste, fraud and abuse. that's not what the issue is here. they had earlier from the congressman last week are talking about spending in the sandy relief bill that doesn't go to hurricane sandy. that was stripped out friday before the vote was taken. this was for reimbursing the

national federal relief program which everybody who is a flood victim benefits from. unless they've got their own flood insurance, which very few people have. they wanted to raise that debt ceiling because, after sandy, as after katrina, the flood relief program was in deficit. this is not something that involves fraud, waste or abuse. >> clarence thank you for being here tonight. >> always a pleasure. >> we'll be right back. stay with us. the truth about mascara is... it clumps.

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plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your legal needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along, answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected. finally, tonight, remember when donald trump became the birther king? he went all in on the crazy and got all kinds of attention for it. but since the president won, we haven't heard much. this was the last prank.

>> all he has to do to get $5 million for a charity or charities of his choice is get his colleges to immediately give his applications and records and, also, to release his passport records. but now the rolls are reversed. he's getting his own offer. this one coming from bill mahr. >> the clor of his hair and the color of an orange orange tang are the only two in color. but unless he comes up with proof, i'm willing to offer $5 million to don trump.