iphone. with everything. but it is, that expectation has to be managed right. there would be glitches. with this launch everyone expected it would be perfect from day one. except like people in the technology industry. none of us are surprised by this -- except at the magnitude of how big the problems are. >> you get tonight's last word. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> chris hayes is up next. carnival cruz. let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm chris matthews in philadelphia. let me start tonight with this. i will always tell people that you only get one reputation in life. someone should have told the republicans that. today their name is mud. actually, it's worse. it's ted cruz. today and in the future cruz will be remembered as the one who ignited the fire of government shutdown and general political mayhem. he'll go down in history as the mrs. o'leary's cow of the 2012

disaster. the one guilty of kicking over the ladder that caused all the damage that single footedly turned the grand old party into the burn down the house party, leveling it down to the lowest level of public approval in its history. just got that figure today. ed rendell is the former governor of pennsylvania and nbc political analyst. jonathan capehart writes for the "washington post" and is a msnbc analyst as well. there is a new poll shows how lousily they are viewed. the new poll, there is little in the findings in this poll for the gop to feel good about. you think? just 32% of the public, less than a third, has a favorable view of the republican party. that's an all-time low in that poll. 53% say republicans in congress were chiefly responsible for the shutdown. governor, thank you for joining us tonight from here in philadelphia you're in a different location, thank you for letting me be here.

my question, yourn, we've had a lot of hell in the country over the years. we've had watergate, vietnam, iraq war. what do you think it was that registered with the middle of most voters except for the hard 30% on the hard right, what said to people the republicans are wrong? >> well, because they were very destructive. and i think people down deep want government to work. and they saw an attempt to destroy the fabric of the government to do things that had no connection. had the republicans made the stand based on debt about raising the debt limit, that would have been more understandable to the public. but they didn't like this political blackmail, political extortion. they thought it was just systemic of the breakdown in washington. and they focus blame on the republicans. i think it was the destructive nature of what they tried to do. >> jonathan, it seems to me that's a great question. and the person of this political thuggery i call it because it really is extortion and we're going to bring down the government if you don't do

things our way and we're going to kill your baby obama care unless you give us the government, basically. my question is to ted cruz. his personality, the way he speaks on television. i think it's pretty frightening to people because it has that evangelical edge of fire and brimstone, i'll bring down this temple if i have to, but i'm getting my way. your thoughts. >> yeah, well, i mean, he's able to do this for two reasons. one, he's got though moxie to go out there and throw bombs, throw grenades that get people like us talking about him. and in talking about things that his supporters and the republican party base care about and want to hear more about. but also stomping all over leaders within the party and within the conference remember when senate minority leader mitch mcconnell was announcing the deal that would reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling, at the same time ted cruz was talking to reporters about what went wrong. and the other thing about ted

cruz and why i think and you've been saying this for awhile now that ted cruz is the leader of the republican party. it's because the real leaders of the party haven't seen fit to smack him down, make him understand he's a first term senator and there are ways of doing things within senate and congress, ways of governing, of legislating that he needs to learn. no one's willing to do it. people are afraid of him. until someone stands up to him of any stature, he'll keep going. >> i have a theory about this, governor. going back the last time a political party showed its face so dramatically that the public said we'd rather have what we have now rather than that, usually when you pick somebody out of power, you'll say we'll try somebody else. but in this case somebody else, the republican right wing, has said here's what we look like. it does remind me of the old sort of lou schwartz commercial about barry goldwater. my hunch is for the first time since '64, a political party out of power has showed its face and the people have pulled back.

and said not that. >> there's no question you're right. the only question is will this feeling that the nation has because they've showed their true colors, will this feeling persist until a year from now when we're about 2014 elections nap is a lot of time, a year in politics eons of time. >> last night cruz continued to mock the party. let's watch him in action. here's cruz. >> some of our friends in the media say there are a few people in washington saying some mean things. who cares? because at the end of the day i don't work for the party bosses in washington. >> first of all, there are elected leaders of the house and

senate are elected. we have a democracy. and how do you play victim when you're the one trying to bring down the u.s. government? most demagogues use righteous indignation. i'll give the list but it'll get me in trouble. they're always the same. they're all coming to beat us up, the whole world is coming to beat us up. they all play that game whether it's huey long. have you noticed the call for sympathy from his troops? your thoughts. >> his troops are folks who feel very, very aggrieved about what's happening to the country, where they think the country is going, and how the country is escaping them. >> what is their grievance? >> honestly i can't tell you what problems they have in terms of people trying to -- the president pushing to get access

to health care for millions of americans who don't have it. >> oh, that's not it. come on, you're being very clinical here. you think his beef with obama is health care? you think that's really it? >> no, no, no. senator cruz's beef is not with the president solely on health care. it's a whole lot of things that when you ask folks in the far right specifics, they can't really get into specifics. they just don't like this president. and they don't like what they represent and they don't like the direction they think he's pushing the country in. and they think it's the wrong direction. and ted cruz taps into that anger. you know, that anger is wasted energy if the folks they send to congress don't do anything with it. if they continue on these misguided strategies that lead to nowhere except for filling the campaign of the demagogues. >> anyway, you're a gentleman too often sometimes, jonathan. here's what former vice president dick cheney has hitched to the right wing clown

car. we know why he's doing it. he's got a daughter running as a tea partier. but he said it wasn't the tea partiers who are extremists. it's the president. here's dick cheney. >>. >> the frustration out there is very, very high. so when i see people talking about the tea party, i don't think the tea party as extremists the way some of the folks in washington say. the extremist in washington is barack obama. he's the guy that wants to fundamentally transform our health care system. he's the guy who's done enormous damage to america in the world. i believe it's the president of the united states. >> okay. governor, he had the advantage there of sticking it into a political opponent and looking out for his daughter. that's a nice position to be in, but i don't believe a word he says. he's the most hawkish type.

he's a big government guy. he's establishment. he's been in leadership his whole life. now he's portraying himself as some saudi buster from wyoming with a pitch fork. i think it's to get his daughter elected to the senate. i don't want to listen to this nonsense. your thoughts. >> the problem is even when they make their arguments they lie. they say he's an extremist on health care. they want to take over government-run health care. this is anything but government-run health care. we keep the insurance companies, the basic system of health care, you keep your own doctor. if there was a government takeover, we would have done single payer. and the president rejected single payer. he rejected the public option as an alternative. so the president was conservative in his approach to health care reform. they're lying to people when they try to say this is a government takeover. it's anything but a government takeover. >> do you think that the heritage town days who came up

with the idea of the individual mandate, do you think they have an operator's manual to lend the president to show how they do this. they helped with the concept. if they believed in the concept, of course we know they're political. >> right. >> governor? >> oh. >> oh, i'm sorry jonathan. >> i was going to say you hit the head on the nail, chris. this is a conservative idea. it leads to a whole bunch of other things that republicans and conservatives used to believe in, but don't believe in anymore simply because president obama either adopted them, put his arms around them, or asked him i like that idea come work with me and they refused to do it. >> what's the latest heritage foundation health care plan? i'm being sarcastic. there ain't one, is there? they don't have anything. the new usa today/princeton research poll asked what the reaction would be if most of the members of congress were replaced. half said it would change

congress for the better. governor, do you believe people when it comes to next year will do what they want to do. throw the people out. i don't know how you do it in our gerrymandered districts. when you vote just to get even with the current guy. probably not. maybe the burbs will switch. where will they switch? >> that's the question. the argument we now make, the democrats, is you may like your congress, he may be moderate but as long as he's there the tea party is going to be able to extort the government because the republicans will control and they won't bring progressive bills to the floor. even if you like your congressman, you've got to vote them out of office. that's a very good argument. >> jon than, your thoughts. can moderate democrats replace moderate republicans so they can get more votes for pelosi and fewer for boehner? >> i think the governor raises a good point and a good strategy. it's just a matter of whether you can get enough democrats out

there to vote out the moderates and bring in the democrats. this is going to be actually a very big test for the democratic party. it's the first -- it'll be the first election that the president is not on the ballot. and midterm elections as we know, fewer voters come out to vote. fewer democrats come out to vote. the electorate is older and whiter. but if democrats want anything to get done in congress, want the president's agenda to move forward, they're going to have to come out in the numbers they did in 2012 to send a clear message that they like the direction the country is going in. they want the president to succeed and to push forward on their agenda. and they want congress to work again. >> that is one person who can drive that out and that is barack obama. >> you got it. also the other campaigner in chief, your friend, bill clinton. he can do it too. he's the best there is. thank you ed rendell and jonathan capehart. coming up, the republican alternative universe.

you don't know what color the sky is here. the shutdown was good politics and default would have been better and the whole train wreck was a huge success. wait until how you hear these people are talking. also, the haters of president obama are making up stories about affordable care act. what happened when someone checked with people who said their lives were ruined by obama care and we find out they weren't telling the whole story. the rocky rollout didn't escape jon stewart in the daily show. and let me finish with my hopes of the party this december. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

thanks to the shutdown we're getting september's unemployment report a couple weeks late. the economy created 148,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked down again to 7.2%. a new low. those don't reflect the numbers of the shutdown and the brinksmanship of republicans

over default. we'll have to find out what that effect was in next month's report. r matching creme right where you need it. then rinse. in ten minutes zap those grays and get on with your day. nice 'n easy root touch-up. in ten minutes zap those grays and get on with your day. you know, from our 4,000 television commercials. yep, there i am with flo. hoo-hoo! watch it! [chuckles] anyhoo, 3 million people switched to me last year, saving an average of $475. [sigh] it feels good to help people save... with great discounts like safe driver, multicar, and multipolicy. so call me today. you'll be glad you did. cannonbox! [splash!]

we'll be right back. welcome back to "hardball." many conservatives are trying to rewrite the last few weeks, but there are a couple of inconvenient truths. i.e., facts, that keep getting in the way. americans disapproved of their tactics, blamed them for the mess we got in and don'tant to see it happen again. yet ignoring every poll in the past week, some on the wild right argued the shutdown was, in fact, a huge success. he was ann coulter yesterday on fox. >> this is why i think the shutdown was so magnificent, run beautifully. i'm so proud of these republicans. and that is because they have branded the republican party as the anti-obama care party. they accomplished a lot. they showed -- and it was brilliant how they played it. funding 80% of the government starting with defund all the

government except obama care then fund all of government but obama care. i think republicans played this beautifully but there was no point to carrying it on any longer. the lesson that needs to be learned is we need to re-elect republicans. >> some day somebody is going to do a psychological study of why that act works. she's not alone. matt kibbe tweeted this week, quote, the government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis were brilliant republican strategy. and last week, the other person michele bachmann answered the question whether the shutdown was worth it by saying quote, absolutely. i think it's worth it. it's been worth it because what we did was we fought the right fight. the shutdown has caused the republican favorability to drop to an all-time low. eight of ten americans disapprove of the shutdown and blame the republicans for it. joan walsh and ron reagan. both of you, take your turns.

first of all, explain the phenomenon of ann coulter. my theory is she's able to say anything that comes to mind and she's brilliant at the provocation she starts because nobody can fire her. which is great for her. but this notion that somehow this has been a swell, exciting period of their lives. that this has worked out for them. it's amazing how they can ape reality. go ahead, your thoughts, joan. >> because, you know, she's playing to the most paranoid extremist fringe of the party. and she's telling them what they want to hear. that's been her act all along. i know people who like her and say she doesn't mean it. that makes it worse to me, if that's the case. i think she means it. but this is how she gets rich. >> that's an interesting question. i have a theory that the dorky guys on wall street walk down the street carrying one of her books like they have a machine gun.

it makes them kind of dangerous. >> and ann coulter is on their side in attacking those awful godless liberals. we're the problem. it's really quite cynical and corrupt. and beyond ann coulter, i think it's also just this strategy of never it'll the truth, always lie, and always say that you're winning. and always convince the media and to some extent it doesn't quite work, but to some extent sometimes it carries the day that they never have to admit that they've completely bollocks everything. >> do you think she'll put o'the code that this is all nonsense. >> maybe on her death bed with lee atwater. i think a lot of people will tell the truth like he did at the very end. >> maybe. let's not say bad of the dead. anyway -- >> hey, we're all going there. i'm not wishing it on her, dear. >> slow down on the commentary on the dead and being dead. i don't want to be there.

ron, what do you think of this alternative universe. what color is the sky in your world when i hear people talking like michele bachmann saying what a beautiful week we had. look at the polls. your party's back to pre-lincoln numbers. >> it's true. i suppose this was a good strategy if your aim was to have your party be about as popular as hepatitis b. i mean, that's where they are at this point. but it has been part of the mythology of the far right forever, really. they really aren't a minority. that they really are the majority of the country. and somehow if they lose elections and even though they take the house of representatives, they did some with a million fewer votes than democratic candidates. but despite all that, despite all those inconvenient facts that you allude to, somehow they are the majority of the country. somehow they really are winning. and if everything was really

fair to their mind, they would win all the elections. it's nonsense, of course, that these people are magical thinkers. they believe all sorts of things that aren't true. >> what about where you give black americans 3/5 of a vote, then you do the mathematics. i haven't done it lately to see what that would mean. it might mean a right wing -- tend to be democrats. maybe only give them 3/5 of a vote. maybe that explains it. >> one of the best things that could happen is that the republican party indeed split into at least two groups. one, the tea party, then the old republican white shoe country club bankers and insurance company kind of corporate type republicans. let them do their thing. let the tea party do their thing, but in an isolated fashion. then we'll see how many americans really believe in death panels and birtherisms and all the rest of that nonsense. it may be as much as 25%. at least they'd have their own

party and they'd be isolated. that would be a better thing for everybody. >> yeah. well, let me go back to this. the polls do show the republican party's in trouble because of tactics championed by ted cruz like the shutdown. cruz throws out his own idea of who's responsible for the republican death march. let's listen in the leader here. >> the single most damaging thing that has happened to republicans for 2014 is all of the senate republicans coming out attacking the house republicans, attacking those pushing the effort to defund obama care, and lining themselves up opposite the american people. >> wow. former congressman tom delay told a right wing radio show if only republicans had held out longer, they would have won this fight. instead he said they lost because president obama stood firm and they didn't. >> he they would firm and he wins. that ought to be the lesson here that people understand. if the republicans had -- who knows what would have happened. i think the republicans would have won.

what i was noticing sitting out here in reality land was that it was starting to have an effect. the poll numbers for obama as well as the democrats were going down. people were starting to understand that obama and the democrats wouldn't negotiate. >> you know, it's funny. -- it's not funny. it's ludicrous. but does he expect people already forgot the day after the republicans threw in the towel the government was about to default. it wasn't like they had a lot of wiggle room. >> no. >> he says if they'd only held out. does he think -- maybe he's forgotten a week ago. how can history be so distant when it's just a week ago. if they'd gone another day, we don't know what would have happened to the world economics and where the united states would be. i think boehner at the last second got a vote out of his majority and the democratic majority. and if he hadn't done it then, i don't know what would have happened. now here the guy comes out of

retirement saying all you had to do was keep it up. off the cliff. >> he's delusional. >> bubbles within bubbles within bubbles. the political bubble, the social bubble, then finally down to the fact that they're really the religious right. that bubble that they live in. but they don't see the world the way we do. they don't look at the facts the way we do. they only listen to their own friends. they only listen to their own media, tweet with their own twitter friends or whatever. and they think -- some of them do -- they think that their universe is the universe. when, of course, sadly for them it's not. >> anyway, i hope tom delay runs for congress again and come back in and you'll get a daily newspaper subscription out of it and be able to keep up. thank you joan walsh and ron reagan. up next, what happened when the daily show decided to figure out what's wrong with healthcare.gov. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

they're saying that if you are in need of health care you have two choices. wait for the site fixed or enroll in medical school, graduate, and take care of yourself. probably faster that way. >> we've had some of the best talent join the team. we're well into a tech surge to fix the problem. >> a surge? your website is so [ bleep ] we have to use the same strategy we used to salvage the iraq war? >> time now for the sideshow. that was jimmy kimmel and jon stewart last night on the rocky rollout of healthcare.gov. but the daily show went further and sent john oliver to take a closer look at the website's glitches. unfortunately for oliver, he got

trapped inside. here's what happened next. >> listen, have you tried just hitting escape? >> thank you, that was the first thing i tried. that was the first thing. >> all right. >> my best hope is that they're going to begin to fix in some way -- oh, no. jon, i've got to get out of here. >> is that what i think it is? >> how old is this software, jon? >> wow! that was unbelievable! well, the website is very busy, so i can't get you help right now. >> please. he's coming back, jon. >> no, no! >> next up, here's some new evidence that the tea party wing of the gop is alienating moderates in its own party. carlo key was a republican judge from san antonio, texas, but today announced that he'll seek re-election as a democrat. and judging by his video, it's pretty here he blames fellow texan ted cruz for taking the gop in the wrong direction. >> i believe that justice demands fairness.

it requires careful and intelligence probing of evidence. and above all else, justice can only be served without prejudice towards race, color, creed, or whom we choose to love. that is why i can no longer be a member of the republican party. for too long the republican party has been at war with itself. rational republican beliefs have given way to ideological character assassinations. pragmatism and -- make no mistake. i have not left the republican party. it left me. >> finally, conan o'brien is a cable news viewer because last night he put together this tribute video which includes my colleagues and a catchy theme song. >> with the latest government crisis, all the pundits on cable news channels have had so much to work with, so much to talk about. but remember they don't just do a lot of talking on cable news.

they also do a lot of listening. so here, ladies and gentlemen, is our tribute to those unsung heroes, the listeners on cable news. ♪ ♪ ♪ up next, the haters are so bent on destroying the affordable care act that they're now making up stories about it. when we return, someone who actually spoke with people who said obama care was ruining their lives even though the truth was very different. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

i'm milissa rehberger. the irs is delaying the start of next year's tax season by two welcome back to "hardball." the problems with the health care rollout have been well documented. but president obama's signature achievement has been under assault from the right wing since legislation was first drafted in 2009. even though it was passed by both houses of congress, upheld by the supreme court, and debated in the 2012 election, again the law remains a target

of republicans who show they have no bigger priority than to bring down the law and the president with it. to this end, the right has manufactured myths and misinformation about the law. they include so-called victims of a law that hasn't taken effect yet. with me now is eric stern who investigated suspect -- actually horror stories told my couples on tv. let's watch the first. >> we just got our letter from our insurance carry that our policy is going to be terminated and we're going to be transitioned to an aca policy because it has to include essential health care benefits. we don't even have insurance for our daughter who has a pre-existing condition. so we're looking at probably $20,000 in premiums next year. >> eric, as paul harvey would say, let's hear the rest of this story. what's the truth there? >> well, the truth is that they are paying a lot for insurance.

but they hadn't checked the exchange and in fairness the exchange was down, but, you know, the kaiser family foundation has had the exchange prices available on the internet for two or three minutes. why they didn't talk about that, i don't know. but there was ample opportunity for her to check the exchange. in fact, she would have done well. she would have paid about half of what she's paying now. >> so what's the problem? whose problem was it? fox tv's presentation of it? the person's failure to present their entire personal story? or what? >> remember, these are six people who are big fox news fans. it's how they got on the show to begin with. they are conservatives. they were asked during that segment if any of them voted for obama and all of them shook their heads. and so basically whose fault is it? sean hannity's for presenting them as evidence of an obama care problem. there is no doubt there -- >> why -- wait. they're not -- but they're not robots. why did they participate? you mean political animosity

toward the president? is that what we're watching here? >> perhaps. one of the couples i talked to said they don't like this obama care. they're not going to go on the exchange because they don't like obama, they don't like obama care. they're not going anywhere near the exchange. so not exactly open minded. so basically, you know, it's just kind of a setup. it was hannity creating his own little village. >> well, i'm not sure it's all his fault. here's someone else who says they've been a victim of the affordable care act. you tell me about this case. >> we received a letter from our insurance company stating that we would no longer be able to have our existing health plan despite the president's promise that we would be able to keep that existing plan. as a business we are jumping through more hoops, more regulation, more paperwork. and we've also cut back on

hiring full-time employees because of the health care cost even though we'd love to do that. >> what's the truth and untruths there, eric? >> that woman's husband -- was that mrs. cox? i think her husband, i spoke to him briefly -- right. and after she spoke, he talked about how he has to cut back on his workforce and he can't hire full-time workers. he has to keep them all at part-time because he can't afford it because of obama care. i called and said i just watched you on fox news. i have a few questions. one of the questions i asked him is how many employees do you have? he said four. obama care doesn't apply to small businesses with -- the employer mandate does not apply to small businesses with under 50 employees. so that speaks for itself. >> well, what'd he mean? he can't hire 47 more employees? is that what it means? it's ludicrous. he was willing to jump from four to 47 more which would have made it 51. i'm serious here.

you're laughing, but this is serious business. it may be sarcastic to you, but these people are either misleading fox -- it looks to me like they have not told even sean their right story. why are they saying this stuff? >> it's possible they didn't tell sean the right story. or it's possible sean has never heard of the socratic method. i heard hannity talk about his upcoming segment and i decided to watch because i've been listening and hearing for a year now people like ted cruz saying obama care is destroying america. he never gives an example. so i saw this as a real opportunity to -- >> i agree with you. i like what you're doing here. here's another case you point out of people here who say the affordable care act is causing their financial pain. let's listen to this couple. >> our new policy, anything similar with rise between 50% to 72% and will have things in it

like we have no choice. like we'll have to have maternity benefits. we're not planning on having any more kids. and going to have to have pediatric eye care and things like that. our kids are all away from home. >> so it's not a plan that you need. >> eric, your thoughts. what do you know from following up with that case? >> that was robby and tina robeson. nice folks. they pay $850 a month, $875 a month. they got a letter like many americans saying that their plan was being altered to become aca compliant and there might be a rate change. and their belief is that the rates will increase and that therefore, that represents something that -- an untruth that obama told when he said that americans will be able to keep their health plans. now, tina and robby said they

have no interest in looking at the exchange because they are philosophically opposed to obama care. you know, a bronze plan on the exchange in their zip code costs -- it would be a significant savings to them. as would other plans. and there are plans on the exchange where they might not save that much. but there is at least the opportunity for them to go on and shop. and they didn't even want to do it. so what they were -- they were using the letter they got as evidence of sort of an obama care failure. and that's it. >> okay. thank you so much for this. i love this reporting. thank you eric stern. checking up on what other people are saying. coming up, patrick kennedy on mental health and stopping gun violence on people who shouldn't have guns because they have mental problems. we'll be right back after this.

two weeks to go in the marquee matchup of this year's elections. the race for governor of virginia. this weekend hillary clinton campaigned alongside terry mcauliffe. it was her first campaign event in nearly five years. and bill clinton will spend three days on the stump for his old friend starting this sunday. meanwhile, michael bloomberg is pouring more than a million dollars into the race on mcauliffe's behalf. the richmond times dispatch that usually endorses republicans chose not to endorse anyone for governor rather than back ken cuccinelli. bad news for the republicans. we'll be right back. igle for medice?

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to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. it's not just the person that's killed like my uncles. it's the whole family. so my father survived, but i can tell you he had post-traumatic stress. and that community came to me. he suffered tremendously. all of my cousins who grew up without a father were also victims. that's what we lose sight of. it's not just the kids killed up in newtown or in colorado. it's all their families. >> we're back. 50 years ago this month, president john f. kennedy signed a community mental health act which laid the ground work for today's mental health policies.

now former rhode island congressman patrick kennedy is following in his uncle's footsteps to advance the cause president kennedy started way back in '63. the mental health issue has taken on a critical urgency in light of recent mass shootings. the parents of jared loughner told deputies he did not get a mental health evaluation even after officials admitted it. loughner killed six people at an event for gabrielle giffords who was the primary target of the attack but survived. after his arrest, two medical evaluations diagnosed him as paranoid schizophrenic. at the university of colorado. prior to the movie theater massacre. but he was never placed in institutional care. adam lanza was to formed of mental illness on his part. adam lanza was dyinged with --

before aaron alexis killed 12 people in a navy yard shooting recently. he complained of insomnia and said he suffering from -- i'm honored personally to be the emcee at their first event at the presidential kennedy library up in boston. one thing that has united this country and a concern you've been involved with for some time is mental health. now even the far right who are very concerned about gun rights are saying wait a minute let's look at mental health. your thoughts about that strange connection now between the right and your position dealing with mental health finally. >> i don't think it's strange, chris, obviously they're more interested in their nra report cards than they are about whether we actually solve the

problem. solving the problem is twofold. we need to address the access to guns in our society. but we also need to improve the system of care for brain illnesses. so by the way, i suffer from brain illnesses. i have mental health problems, if you will. that's filled with connotations and i want to say it because the only way we're going to change attitudes is for those of us who are in recovery to talk about the fact that we all have a brain and we always will face situations where our brain, like any other organ in our body will not work optimally, so we need a health care system, chris, that reimburses for the kinds of checkups from the neck up, just like we get checkups for your blood pressure, cholesterol, just like all the other health issues, we need a system that pays for this mental health.

because what happened in all those cases you identified in the top of your introduction is that we knew they were suffering, but we did nothing about it because mental health in our country is treated differently than if those people would suffering from a heart attack or a stroke, we would have rushed to take care of them. because their health issues are in their brain, we looked at it as a mental issue, rather than a health issue. >> the guy or woman you see on the corner who's schizoid and the person who's got an addiction problem. because every family, i tell you, i don't know which one doesn't, has someone in the family with an addiction problem. but i have never heard it categorized as a mental illness problem. >> we all have a brain in common, so whether you an intellectual disability, or an addiction problem or a mental

ill -- john kennedy talked about this and he didn't segregate people with intellectual disabilities from those with with serious mental illness. they both share common celts of needs. so, chris, what we need to do now that we have health care reform is articulate what is useful to someone not only with a mental illness, bipolar, schizophrenia, but also someone with an addiction, or any kind of addiction, substance abuse disorder and someone who might have an intellectual disability, we all need to be connected with community, we all need to be connected with friends and family. our veterans are the most dramatic example of what we're not doing right. so here they come home, we call their wounds invisible wounds. there's nothing invisible about their traumatic brain injury and

the stress that they experience which literally changes the neurophysiology in their brain. yet our country stills calls these invisible wounds. then we don't give them a purple heart. then we tell them, because most of them are not, frankly in the va, they're in the private insurance market, and we tell them, go fight for your care. if they had been suffering from agent orange or cancer, we know how to deal with medical issues, but we don't know how to look at the brain as a medical issue and that's what we need to change. >> thank you for your passion and thank you for telling us what's going on. i'll see you tomorrow night patrick kenny. i think you've got a new ally, eric cantor, because when they had the shutdown at the nih, he started making some noise. to finally admit that the fact that the nih does some good work. when we return, let me finish with my host with some serious talks about this budget thing. i think they can get something

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i was reading last night about the day to day negotiations here in this city in 1787 that led to the adoption of the u.s. constitution. think about the struggles then over the role of the federal

government. about the challenges these folks faced in forging this country of ours in the first place. they will need to fight for what they need, yield on what they can, build from both a consensus on the road ahead. if there's one thing we can do as citizens, it's to find areas in which to compromise. we don't need anymore fiscal train wrecks. as i said i'll be at the national constitution center. it's my love letter if you will to american politics and what free people, especially true believers in conviction achieve. all in with chris hayes starts right now.