say this is in the hands of the republicans to act. >> peter alexander, thanks so much. we, of course, awaiting a statement from the president. ed schultz picks up our coverage right now. thank you, martin. and martin, if you can, stay with us. i'd like to ask you, what do you think are some of the options that president obama is going to have right now. welcome to "the ed show" here on msnbc. we have been given the two-minute warning the president will be stepping forward here in a few moments in the briefing room to give a statement to the american people. all the legislative action that has taken place tonight, all day long. there is no question that president obama seems to be in a position of strength, as i can see it. harry reid has signalled that. former president bill clinton has signaled that yesterday. and with the legislative action today, you saw harry reid stand his ground. there will be no defunding of obamacare. there won't be any provisions to delay. and john boehner is clearly exhausting absolutely every

option he has to satisfy a split caucus in some regards, but a caucus that has voted 43, 42 times to defund obamacare. i think that this is a serious generational move for the republican party. and they're going to have to make a decision tonight as to whether they -- as to whether they want to continue to fund this government or not. let's go to -- martin, i want to ask you. the options of the president right now. if he ever had had an opportunity to be determined, this would be the moment. >> i think it is, ed. but i think also, it's worth remembering that this reform of health care is not just something that he saw as a policy and philosophically. it comes from his personal life. because of what happened within his own family. >> and here is the president. >> and the president, i believe. >> responsibilities of the constitution endows to congress,

two should be fairly simple. pass a budget, and pay america's bills. but if the united states congress does not fulfill its responsibility to pass a budget today, much of the united states government will be forced to shut down tomorrow. i want to be very clear about what that shutdown would mean. what will remain open and what will not. with regard to operations that will continue. if you're on social security, you will keep receiving your checks. if you're on medicare, your doctor will still see you. everyone's mail will still be delivered. and government operations related to national security or public safety will go on. our troops will continue to serve with skill, honor and courage. air traffic controllers, prison guards, border control will remain on their posts.

but their paychecks will be delayed until the government reopens. nasa will shut down almost entirely, but mission control will remain open to support the astronauts serving on the space station. i also want to be clear about what will change. office buildings would close. paychecks would be delayed. vital services that seniors and veterans, women and children, businesses and our economy depend it on would be hamstrung. business owners would see delays in raising capital, seeking infrastructure permits, or rebuilding after hurricane sandy. veterans who have sacrificed for their country will find their support centers unsatisfied. tourists will find every one of america's national parks and monuments from yosemite to the smithsonian to the statue of liberty immediately closed. and, of course, the communities and small business that is rely

on these national treasures for their livelihoods will be out of customers and out of luck. and in keeping with the broad ramifications of a shutdown, and i think it's important that everybody understand the federal government is america's largest employer. more than 2 million civilian workers and 1.4 million active duty military serve. in the event of a government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of these dedicated public servants who stay on the job will do so without pay. and several hundred thousand more will be immediately and indefinitely furloughed without pay. what, of course, will not be furloughed are the bills that they have to pay. their mortgages, their tuition payments, their car notes. these americans are our neighbors. their kids go to our schools. they worship where we do.

they serve their country with pride. they are the customers of every business in this country. and they would be hurt greatly. and as a consequence, all of us will be hurt greatly should congress choose to shut the people's government down. so a shutdown will have a very real economic impact on real people. right away. past shutdowns have disrupted the economy significantly. this one would too. it would throw a wrench into the gears of our economy at a time when those gears have gained some traction. five years ago right now, our economy was in meltdown. today our businesses have created 7.5 million new jobs over the past three-and-a-half years. the housing market is healing. and our deficits are falling fast. the idea of putting the american people's hard-earned progress at risk is the height of

irresponsibility. and it doesn't have to happen. let me repeat this. it does not have to happen. all of this is entirely preventible if the house chooses to do what the senate has already done. and that's the simple act of funding our government without making extraneous and controversial demands in the process. the same way other congresses have for more than 200 years. unfortunately, right now house republicans continue to tie funding of the government to ideological demands like limiting a woman's access to contraception or delaying the affordable care act. all to save face after making some impossible promises to the extreme right wing of their party. so let me be clear about this. an important part of the affordable care act takes effect tomorrow. no matter what congress decides

to do today. the affordable care act is moving forward. that funding is already in place. you can't shut it down. this is a law that passed both houses of congress, a law that bears my signature, a law that the supreme court upheld as constitutional. a law that voters chose not to repeal last november. a law that is already providing benefits to millions of americans in the form of young people staying on their parents' plan until they're 26. seniors getting cheaper prescription drugs. making sure that insurance companies aren't imposing lifetime limits when you already have health insurance. providing rebates for consumers when insurance companies are spending too much money on overhead instead of health care. those things are already happening. starting tomorrow, tens of millions of americans will be able to visit healthcare.gov to

shop for affordable health care coverage. so americans who have lived for years in some cases with the fear that one illness can send them into bankruptcy, americans who have been priced out of the market just because they have been sick once, they'll finally be able to afford coverage. quality coverage. many of them for the first time in their lives. some of them may be sick as we speak. and this is their best opportunity to get some security and some relief. tens of thousands of americans die every single year, because they don't have access to affordable health care. despite this, republicans have said that if we lock these americans out of affordable health care for one more year, if we sacrifice the health care of millions of americans, then they'll fund the government for a couple more months.

does anybody truly believe that we won't have this fight again in a couple more months? even at christmas? so here's the bottom line. i'm always willing to work with anyone. either party. to make sure the affordable care act works better. to make sure our government works better. i'm always willing to work with anyone to grow our economy faster. or to create new jobs faster. to get our fiscal house in order for the long run. i've demonstrated this time and time again. oftentimes to the consternation of my own party. but one faction of one party in one house of congress, in one branch of government, doesn't get to shut down the entire government just to refight the ruts of an election. keeping the people's government open is not a concession to me.

keeping vital services running and hundreds of thousands of americans on the job is not something you give to the other side. it's our basic responsibility. it's something that we're doing for our military. and our businesses. and our economy. and all the hard-working people out there. the -- person working for the agricultural department out in some rural community out there helping some farmers make sure that they're making some modest profit for all the hard work they're putting in. they're the person working for hud, who is helping somebody buy a house for the first time. there's somebody in a v.a. office counseling one of our vets who has ptsd. that's who we're here to serve. that's why we're supposed to be carrying out these

responsibilities. that's why we should be avoiding these kinds of constant brinksmanship. it's something that we do in the ordinary process of this extraordinary system of government that we have. you don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job. for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway. or just because there's a law there you don't like. the american people sent us here to govern. they sent us here to make sure that we're doing everything we can to make their lives a little bit better. to create new jobs, to restore economic security, to rebuild the prospects of upward mobility. that's what they expect. and they understand that there are differences between the parties. and we're going to be having some tough fights around those differences. and i respect the fact that the other party is not supposed to agree with me 100% of the time,

just like i don't agree with them. but they do also expect that you don't bring the entire government to a halt or the entire economy to a halt just because of those differences. that's what they deserve. they have worked too hard for too long to recover from previous crises, just to have folks here in washington manufacture yet another one. that they have to dig themselves out of. so congress needs to keep our government open. needs to pay our bills on time. and never, ever threaten the full faith and credit of the united states of america. and time is running out. my hope and expectation is that in the 11th hour we are once again, that congress will choose to do the right thing and the house of representatives in particular will choose the right thing. thank you very much. >> president obama speaking, live. in the briefing room at the

white house. it is the 11th hour. we are headed towards a shutdown. president obama standing his ground, quickly explaining to the american people exactly what the effect of a shutdown would be, how many people would be affected, how this country would be running at the time. and detailing basically the damage that would take place. for more on this, let me bring in jim clyburn, congressman from south carolina. congressman, good to have you with us tonight. i know that you have said on my radio show that you think that this is all about the president. and obstructing him and tarnishing this president and his legacy. i want your reaction to what the president just said and how he just took this first 12 minutes of this hour to explain what will happen if we have a shutdown. >> well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. you know, i think that the american people watching the president in this statement got a glimpse of exactly what's going on here.

we are in free-fall when it comes to doing the people's business. for some strange reason, the republicans seem hell bent on taking this country to the brink. and their president is laying out, once again, how unnecessary it is for us to be doing this. the president has accepted the number that the republicans put forth. it was not the number that we wanted. the democrats had a budget bill of 1058, and they didn't like that. they came with a number of 988. the president accepted that. the senate grood agreed to it. and we have said on the house side that we'll vote for that. that's a compromise. now, to say that that's not

enough, that the president must give up on his landmark program of health care doesn't make a whole lot of sense. and it ought not be in this debate. but the president ought to be negotiating on the full faith and credit of the united states of america does not make sense. we compromised over policies, over budgets, and that's what we have done. and we have agreed to that number. the american people know that we have done that. and i think that speaker boehner now has the ball in his court. and they need to sit down, send us a clean continuing resolution. we'll vote on that, and then we'll take the time during the six-week period to try to negotiate our differences oversee questions trags and whatever else may be out there

that the american people will have us talk about. >> congressman, the president for the first time, at least -- first time i've seen him, talk about fighting the results of an election. how much is this all about tarnishing the president's legacy, tarnishing his accomplishments? >> well, i think it's all about that. you know, these people -- >> so it's about obama. >> for years and years. and now they have decided this president is now a legitimate president. this president is not qualified to be president. and now they're trying to do everything they possibly can to say that this president is not capable of being president. so i think one of the reasons they are driving us to the brink so they can look back in years to come and say that the one time the country did not meet

its obligations under the full faith and credit of the country was when we had barack obama as president of the united states. i think that's what this issue is all about. and i really believe that they ought to stop playing politics. we played that last fall. we played that in 2008. and the president won the election in 2008. the president got re-elected in 2012. and now he is trying to govern and it's time for them to accept the results of those two elections and move forward on behalf of the american people. >> congressman, what do you think john boehner is going to do now? >> well, i think they are going to bring a bill to the floor tonight that i believe will be a six-week bill. but from what i am hearing, they once again are going to load it up with extraneous stuff that will be different from the

extraneous stuff they sent the last time. and -- >> sure. >> once again, i believe the senate is going to reject that. so if they bring that kind of a bill to the floor, the american people should know that they are really proposing to shut down the government. because the president just told him that he has accepted their number, but he is not going to accept all of this extra trainous stuff they have put on these continuing resolutions and that would be effectively shutting the government down. >> all right. congressman james clyburn, south carolina, great to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. now let me turn to nbc news capitol hill correspondent, kelly o'donnell. kelly, the president very determined, he is standing his ground. he's not going to make anymore changes. telling the house you've got to do what the senate has done, put it into historical perspective how many years that's the way it's worked. what's the latest now in this

shutdown. what can we expect the republicans to do? >> reporter: well, i think it will be an eventful night, ed. there will be votes expected, but it will not be in the form the president just said is so critical to prevent a government shutdown. what the house wants to do is to provide for keeping the government open, but with those conditions of delaying the individual mandate and then also a move that hasn't gotten as much attention, but is a critical part of the political messaging that's going on. and that would be to end the subsidies that the government would provide when members of congress and their staff and they extended it to the white house and the president. when they would be buying their own, as employees, health care that the government would no longer provide a subsidy to do that. the reason, they say, is that politically they want to argue that if the senate says no to that, that would be keeping the government open, but having this provision. then basically the political argument going forward from conservatives would be that senate democrats want to protect their own perks.

that's the atmosphere that we have here. that i today had a chance to talk to grover norquist, who is outside the capitol with some members of congress from the republican side who were talking about that piece of the legislation that's expected to be voted on tonight. and he said senate democrats are not thinking about what it's going to look like in the tv ads run against them when they are held to public account by the votes that they take. by turning done things he says reasonable people in the country want to see. by that they're saying why have members of congress and their staff get a benefit that the public doesn't get. so that's the kind of deep in the weeds negotiating and political rang willing that's going on here. but it's going to be a very late night. ed? >> okay. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, capitol hill correspondent, appreciate it. thank you so much. and one thing that i think is the backdrop of all this, the conservatives have tried to get in the minds of the american people and in some respects worked.

we are all confused about obamacare. that none of us understand any of it. oh, it's very easy to understand. and it's very easy to navigate through to get more understanding. this is the website, folks. healthcare.gov. if you go oh to this website, you will find out how easy it is to read, how easy it is to navigate. all the information, all the basic questions and all the direction you need to take to get involved to get health care. this is a great guide, if i may say, for any of you out there who feel so confused by all of these right wing commercials that are just permeating through your television screen, and also on the sound culture of the country with the right wing talkers of america. and oh, by the way, there's even a 1-800-number where you can actually call somebody and ask some questions. and that number would be 1-800-318-2596. that's 1-800-318-2596.

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dig its way out of a bush recession when newt gingrich shut down the government. on sunday, president clinton compared tonight's looming shutdown to the one he faced back in '95. >> keep in mind, there was two different things. number one is the economy was growing. and the deficit was going down. we didn't give away the store. they didn't ask us to give away the store. what they -- it was more like we got out here on this ledge, please give us some face-saving way to walk back. when we passed the budget

balance bill, there is no opportunity for that in this forum. we don't have enough time. they're mad because they don't want to negotiate. >> president clinton is exactly right. no matter what you hear from the right wing media, it's not up to president obama to negotiate anything. it's a law. everything is riding on this guy's shoulders. john boehner. it's down to one man. the man who has never stood up to the tea party in his own caucus. who has really -- has to do something that he's never really had the character to do before. and that's lead. he's in a leadership position, but he's one hell of a follower. joining me now for our rapid response panel, katrina vanden hoofl of the nation and clarence page. katrina, what do you make of the president's position? i thought he came out, gave the lay of the land, preparing the

country for a shutdown and explaining it doesn't have to happen. is this the reaction you expected from the president? >> i thought it was important, ed, he spoke about how this would have real impact on real people. i thought it was very interesting that he spoke of how the republicans are essentially trying to repeal the 2012 election by trying to repeal through sabotage his signature landmark piece of legislation. and i think in saying that he is ready to compromise, you expose, ed, what too much of the media still does, false equivalents. next time i hear this is gridlock or a partisan standoff, give me a break. this is about ferocious in fighting between the, quote, traditionalists, the extremists of the republican party through sabotage and ctantrum ready to take down the government and put people's lives in harm's way through their politics. so i think he spoke well. he spoke clearly. but the fight is on, and if history is -- journalism is the first draft of history, we need some real journalism to tell the real story in these next

important days. >> well, let's take a look back at what john boehner said about a government shutdown. back in april of 2011. here's what he said. >> republicans have no interest in shutting down the government. shutting down the government, i think, is irresponsible and i think it will end up costing the american taxpayers more money than we're already spending. >> clarence page of the "chicago tribune," put that in some type of order for us. that was boehner back then. where is he now? he's being held hostage by the tea partiers. how else do we read it, clarence? >> you can certainly see there in that contrast with his current position what katrina was talking about. wh the republicans right now are divided between what ronald reagan used to call the right and the far right. the far right is young folks like ted cruz and others who think that this time is different. but they can't -- no, different from 1995 shutdown.

or even the 2011 brinksmanship over the budget. but there is no difference here, really. we can see all along the republicans have been pushing hard for a shutdown, because they have no other political leverage to try to block obamacare. and everything indicates that they're taking -- they're the ones who have to take the blame for this. but they're trying to say that it's democrats who want a shutdown. which makes no sense at all. >> katrina, how damaging would it be to the progressive movement if the democrats were to move right now? >> well, i mean, i think what you need to do is a version of what bill clinton did in '95, which is fuse the battle with strong vision for what the democratic progressive party stands for. i mean, bill clinton had that m2-e2 medicare. he wasn't going to allow the party to savage medicare, education and the environment.

i think the democratic party needs to do more than just be more responsible stuard of dismantling government. it needs to step forward and say we are for jobs, for our justice, for homes. for housing. and i think to do that well -- so i think it's the fight is on. but one thing that is striking to me, i think underlying so much of this, ed, is not just a personal attack on the president, but a fear that obamacare, as its woven into the fabric of people's lives, as it improves the conditions of people's lives, will become so successful, and the republicans are fearful of any measure of a government program, like social security and medicare becoming -- becoming part of our country's landscape. >> totally agree. i mean, i think this is a tide that's coming in that's never going to go out. and it would be high tide for the democrats for a long time and smooth sailing. i think this is going to change a lot of people's lives. and the narrative, clarence, is out there that the president needs to negotiate.

what are your thoughts on that? where do we renegotiate laws? >> they have been negotiating. i mean, as katrina well remembers. barack obama from the time he became president was negotiating away from a single payer system, away from a public option toward what we have now. he's been negotiating all along, and he still said he's ready to negotiate again. it's obviously a nonnegotiable position to go and undo what congress has already voted in and what supreme court has approved, which is obamacare. but like i said before, the republicans have no leverage other than taking us all to the brink. and this didn't have to happen, remember. republicans could have participated in the debate over health care. they say they too want coverage for everybody. but they didn't do it. they didn't engage constructively and still don't have any kind of a viable alternative. except just to block what there is or delay it for a year. >> and i think it's important to remember, this is about people's

lives. of course, we look at the brinksmanship in washington. but remember, from meals on wheels to head start, you know, millions of people's lives are in the balance. and i think the republicans are so cruel to step back and ignore that. >> cruel is the right word. katrina vanden hufl, clarence page, great to have you on "the ed show." um up next, "ask ed live."

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picasso painted one of his master works at 56. doris taerbaum finished her first marathon at 50. not everyone peaks in their twenties. throughout their lives. passion keeps them realizing possibilities. an ally for real possibilities. aarp. find tools and support at aarp.org/possibilities. welcome back to "the ed show." we love this segment, love hearing from you viewers and your questions in our "ask ed live" segment tonight. our first question from james mills. with the tea party having so much power over the gop, are common sense republicans becoming extinction? if there are any common sense republicans out there, they've got their heads stuck in a hole

somewhere, and they certainly don't want to stick it out right now, because they would lose their job. they would be primaried. this is what happens when you mix hate with obstruction. we now, as i see it, are at a crisis democracy in this country. we are at a standstill. we have two parties, and we have one party within another party that will do anything they possibly can to destroy this president. to destroy him in the record books, to destroy him and stop this country any way they possibly can. it's a sad moment for america. but that's the way it is. they want to run the country their way. not our way. not by the voice of the people. our next question is from chaz hope. why is the gop hell bent on destroying our country? well, in their world, they think we're screwed up. in their world, picking on the poor and picking on people who are less fortunate, that's standard operating procedure.

the deregulation and all the benefits to the wealthiest americans, that's the country they want to have. and they will do anything they can to get it. let's more coming up on "the ed show." stay tuned. we're right back. the deregulation and all the

extinction i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way.

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time now for "the trenders." the social media station has decided and we are reporting. here are today's top trenders voted on by you. >> tide goes in, tide goes out. never miscommunication. >> the number three trender. billowing. >> all of the ideas come to me in the middle of the night. and one night i just woke up and went, killing jesus. >> what does that mean? >> i believe because i'm a catholic that comes from the holy spirit. >> i wish somebody would do something to block out the voices in my head for five minutes. >> o'reilly channels a higher

power for his new book. >> you believe the hole spirit directed you to write "killing jesus." >> yes, i believe that. i'm not the chosen one, i'm just one of many who have been given gifts. >> i don't understand what you're trying to get at. >> the number two trender. texas. >> this news is hard to keep under wraps. >> wendy davis has a big announcement. >> democrat wendy davis has decided to run for texas governor. >> she is a star, an instant folk hero. >> wendy, wendy, wendy! >> anybody who can stand on their feet for 13 hours wearing pink sneakers. >> we've been hearing that, yes. >> you can do it! >> in today's top trender, ballot battle. >> the integrity of our election progress is vital to our democracy. >> the photo i.d. law. >> photo i.d. is a part of our everyday life. >> an estimated 300,000 registered voters in north carolina do not have an accepted

form of government i.d. >> the justice department will file suit against the state of north carolina to challenge portions of that state's highly restrektive new voting law. >> the justice department tackles voting rights in the tar heel state. >> this new law would shrink rather than expand access to the franchise. >> there's a direct correlation between the voter suppression laws we see going on the books now and the attempt to tamp down on the african-american vote. >> these voting changes were adopted with both a purpose, the intent, and the effect of restricting the franchise and discriminating on the basis of race. >> my job is to protect the ballot box. >> this is an intentional step to break the system that was working. joining me now is eugene robinson, columnist for "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst. eugene, this is a step up for the obama administration. the justice department trying to go down and make a wrong a right in north carolina.

is this a big turn to the midterms? >> you know, i think this is a big deal. you will recall that the supreme court struck down part of the voting rights act, but most of it remains in effect, and attorney general holder is using other provisions to challenge a law that is clearly designed to limit voting by african-americans and latinos. voting by minorities. it's a suite of provisions, not just voter i.d. but occur tailing early voting, and ending same-day registration. other things that put together are clearly designed to keep so many black and brown folks from voting in north carolina. and it's just obvious, and it's being challenged on that basis. >> are there other states that we can expect this to happen as well? is because there have been numerous states out there that have had voting laws put in when

it comes to i.d.s, and when it comes to hours and eligibility and such stuff as that. i mean, is this going to be what the next year is going to be like? do you think that north carolina is going to be the only state that the justice department goes after? >> no, the justice department is already on the case, and in terms of texas and its voter restrictions. and attorney general holder has made clear that he would like civil rights to be his legacy. first black attorney general. first -- he believes that it is unconscionable for the first african-american attorney general to preside over at a time when states successfully roll back the expansion of the franchise and roll back the access to the -- to the ballot box that was hard won by african-americans during the civil rights movement. so i think absolutely you're going to see more of these kinds

of challenges, and the establishment of the principle that, yes, part of the voting rights act is out. congress probably won't fix it the way it ought to be fixed. but the rest of it is in force and he's going to use it. >> jeanne robinson, we've seen the news within the last hour. the president has come out and gave a statement on what is unfolding over on the legislative side. it looks like we're fed headed for a shutdown or maybe there is a miracle between now and midnight tonight. what do you see john boehner's options at this point, dealing with the tea partiers? are we headed for' shutdown? >> well, you know, if it wasn't for bad luck, john boehner would have no luck at all. in a sense, he got himself in this mess. by encouraging or allowing the extreme right-wingers to believe that they could get the impossible out of this deal. it was never in the cards that president obama was going to gut obamacare. it was never in the cards that democrats were going to allow it

to be defunded or allow it to be delayed. a one-year delay would never work, as -- would be taking effect or the mandate would be taking effect just in time for next year's election. it's just not going to work. it's not going to not -- not going to happen. and i think the president was very clear on that. i don't see the miracle, ed. i see the shutdown coming tonight, and it's going to have a real impact on real people. >> jim clyburn said earlier in this broadcast, it's all about tarnishing the president. do you agree with that? >> oh, i think that's a huge part of it, yes. i mean, you know, let's be honest. part of it is what i would consider crazy ideology. but a lot of it is tarnishing the president. can't get over the fact that he is president, and that he has these accomplishments. >> okay. eugene robinson, great to have you on "the ed show." thanks so much. coming up, failed presidential candidate, rick

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and in pretenors ricky goes to hollywood. the best supporting actor of the republican primary is taking on the movie business. in an interview, rick santorum said the new role as a christian film studio executive gave him insight into his failing party. he says it's all about telling a story. one of the reasons the gop has done so terrible is because we're not really good at telling stories. well, we beg to differ. get your popcorn ready. >> one of the things i will talk about that no president has talked about before is the dangerous of contraceptions. horribly created in the sense of rape but nevertheless a gift and in a broken way the gift of human life. and accept what god is giving to

you. there is no such thing as global warming. president obama once said he wants everybody in america to go to college. what a snob. i find it almost remarkable for a black man to say, no, we're going to decide who are people and who are not people. you are black by the color of your skin. you are not, you know, homosexual necessarily by obviously by the color of your skin. i don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. i don't use the term black very often. i use the term african-american. hope we had more time to spread me a few more places. >> see. the republicans are great at telling stories. the problem is, no one's falling for it. if rick santorum believes he's got the key to a republican blockbuster, he can keep on pretending. but they didn't fit. customer's not happy, i'm not happy. sales go down, i'm not happy. merch comes back, i'm not happy. use ups. they make returns easy.

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i respect the fact that the other party's not supposed to agree with me 100% of the time just like i don't agree with them. but they do also expect that we don't bring the entire government to a halt or the entire economy. >> and this is the story for the folks who take a shower after work, the folks that president obama has always stuck up for. that was the president within the last hour calling out republicans on their reckless threats to shut down the government for the firs time in

l 17 years. and right now there's no compromise on the horizon. it's tea party psychos on the house side making john boehner's life miserable and putting him in an untenable position. and then minions following because they don't want to be primaried. but i believe this has been their mission all along. they want to make this president look dysfunctional. this is what you get when you combine hate and obstruction and roll it into one. you have a government that has stalled. and now you've got americans who were going to be hurt. for more on this, let's bring in michael eric dyson and professor at georgetown university. dr. dyson good to have you with us. this has been a rough day at the office and it will be a tough one tomorrow. i don't think that there is any compromise in sight. and i think we need to talk about how long this shutdown could actually last. it looks to me like boehner is going to have no deal in sight. your thoughts on what's unfolded

this afternoon. >> i think there's no end in sight unfortunately. at times like this the president looks so reasonable. he looks like a man who's doing his job. in the support of the american people and supposedly the congress is charged with the same thing. he begins his statement, president obama, by speaking about what they're supposed to do. one of the things they're supposed to do is to pay the bil bills. we're not talking about what's coming down the line. we're talking about what we've already done. and this kind of opportunistic terrorism on the part of the right wing, i think, will backfire on them. i don't believe that president obama will look like the person at risk here because 10% -- i mean, american public believes that the congress is doing a job that's only worth a 10% approval rating. only 10% of americans believe they're doing a good job. ed, i just believe in my heart and given to all the indexes out here, the republicans are going to take heat for this.

and they didn't learn anything under president clinton and aren't learning under president obama. >> i want to play the statement from this afternoon. >> we're going to move here in the next several hours to take the senate bill, add to it a one-year delay of the individual mandate on the american people and get rid of the exemption for members of congress. it's for all americans. >> the house is going to take a position today reflecting one very fundamental principle that our country stands for. no special treatment for anyone. >> dr. dyson, it's very clear that they want to obstruct as much as they can to buy more time so they can win the blame game. they think that they can win over the opinion of the american people and end up blaming president obama. is it going to work? >> i don't think so. look, they are trying to buy time. they're trying to buy enough time to say, look. the people will be so upset at

both sides they won't make a -- but i just don't think it's going to work. president obama has taken the lead here by asserting what's going on. he's using his bully pulpit in a fine fashion, and he's got to make that statement. compromise comes when we're trying to hash out our differences. it does not come with negotiating with rhetorical terrorists which is what they're up to right now. as long as he holds to his guns and as long as he -- that president obama puts their interest above the interests of the far right wing. >> so if you can't make the american people think that this is not a legitimate president, is this how you legislatively treat him? >> yes, this is what they're trying to do. i don't think it will work. he has proved to get the better of them and i think he will this time as well. >> all right. michael eric dyson, good to have you with us tonight. that's "the ed show." "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now.