video. or a sense for you with the palm of your. comb . well i'm john berman in washington d.c. and here's what's coming up tonight on the big picture germany has announced it's going green pledging to explore all renewable energy resources over the next decade or so with american take the hint we continue our dependency on nuclear power after voting to cut funds for the environmental protection agency one congressman is calling for action from the very same organization he has that wow the republican hypocrite on capitol hill and there's a lot of voters or more some republicans in light of paul ryan's medicare bill the

government shutdown and the battle of will on state budgets so with the g.o.p. voters still cast the same ballots today. germany is dropping nuclear power chancellor angela merkel announced plans yesterday to close down every single nuclear power plant in that country by two thousand and twenty two seventeen reactors in all germany is the fourth largest economy in the world and the largest economy in europe and generates about a quarter of its electricity from nuclear power just like we do in the united states but already germany has shut down seven reactors in the wake of the focused human disaster and is now committed to doubling its renewable energy output by two thousand and twenty. who also currently germany employs nearly four hundred

thousand people in the renewable energy field germany will join italy is the first two nations in the g eight that have officially gets nuclear power so it's and also announced plans to completely car about nuclear from its energy portfolio with their last reactor slated to close in two thousand and thirty four so here in the united states two we still have no plans to drop it we're power and switch to renewables and haven't really had an a long term energy plan since reagan so is what we're seeing in germany and switzerland an example of what government is capable of what it's not completely captured by special interests here to talk more about the issues jack spencer research fellow nuclear energy policy at the heritage foundation jack welcome great to be here great to have us we had to have you with us first of all your response to this screaming headline financial times which is the business newspaper of the world or germany to close nuclear plants and i think it's really unfortunate for germany i mean it's a tremendous waste of resources quite frankly those are good nuclear power plants

providing a lot of power but if that's what the germans want to do then that's what the germans how do you know mr miller with their million rooftops program i am putting solar panels on a million rooftops and that's fine what are what my generate right now they're generating enough power to equal eight nukes and they generated ten good gigawatts of electricity so with our certainly good for them if they want to invest in expensive solar power they were welcome to do they actually didn't cost them anything although there because they haven't really didn't cost government but it will cost someone has to pay for solar panels they don't drop from the sky but either way i forgot to tell you how it worked apparently the listener got nuclear quickly just as i don't play get the it's not just about stated that what i would i would just what i would do what i would state quickly is that i think the market should make these determinations if consumers and energy producers want to go with solar then they should be free to do so if nuclear is the better a way if you are going to make a determination you don't have one single company that's willing to fight. it's

nuclear power plant but as states the obama administration offered eighteen billion dollars in subsidies were backstop you and ten billion of that still some of those i don't nobody will go near it oppose ok and price anderson yet we would have nuclear power the mistakes of a person you know we were subsidizing nuclear power we're right now to the tune of the seven cents a kilowatt hour or so which is about the retail cost of electricity and we are subsidizing a lot of stuff i would simply suggest that there are a lot of systemic problems we need to get nuclear waste fixed in this country the government should be in charge that if you produce the waste you should be responsible for managing it the regulatory dollars you want you want the nuclear industry to actually take care of its own extra halle's that's going to ensure that right now you've got costs ability to forty cents we don't let our feelings but i would such as well that i would suggest when the government intervenes it creates a lot of inefficiencies and the nuclear industry the reason there's a declared power in the united states is because the government promoted it in the end and the nuclear industry from a commercial standpoint hasn't gone through the process that i think at the end would yield to an extraordinarily efficient industry and if it doesn't then i wouldn't suggest we build nuclear power plants just for the prestige or whatever to

build them and i believe that nuclear power when subjected to the marketplace and there are examples of government stepping away when nuclear and when that happens nuclear does become very official water nuclear power plants in general those that are the hundred states that every single plan the united states is there's i'm sure the price anderson are not without subsidy what they will exist if the government didn't say we will be the insurer of last resort because no insurance company will insure and there are plenty of other that's true that if you truly feel every god has them he has looked at there you have to look at you have to look at the history of why we have price anderson i think that we need to move away from that model i think that we need to move away from government subsidized insurance whether it's for nuclear power you know it should flood insurance or whatever the cases but not the money just came out and said that with one hundred five years solar cars going to be cheaper than. them by i mean a sign me up but i mean a solar panel that's the cheapest way to produce energy i don't know that that's the case but if it is the market should make these determinations and we don't need reverse audited i don't you know i don't. say what you're advocating nuclear you

know mohamed. his original plan and we now know from the various interrogations and whatnot that his original plan was not to hit the world trade center and to the indian point nuclear plant a lot and a lot fewer people probably would have died had he done well had he done that he would have had he hit the pool where the waste is next year instead of the plant itself it would have it would have basically sterilized one hundred square mile one hundred mile radius area which i don't recall any other city i don't know and the only reason he didn't do it is because at the last minute he assumed well they've got to have missiles protecting our state which we don't have or still don't have and we should and i would suggest so all those nuclear waste i mean you know it's from him of you know and in some cases three times as much nuclear waste and how these reactors as as in the field that that's true the government shouldn't be in charge of nuclear waste in this country if you look at our nuclear industry industry is in charge of as a typo that's a private company i'm not talking if you don't talk about japan energy we can do that going to talk nuclear broadly i would say that nuclear energy can be done very affordably we see that there are the costs are very low because the operation costs

are extraordinarily lou for nuclear power the capital costs are high upfront capital costs are high forty years demand on the earth and and they can last a hundred years and the operating costs are very low we see that nuclear power is very safe in the cities and we've not had any money that's been certified for forty years there's a lot of support of what he hears and so as an initial design we don't have any sing any nuclear power plants and this is that we're certified for one hundred years for design then we have nuclear power plants that were originally certified for forty years that's and then they've got life extensions for another twenty years and then and then they're going to remodel vermont yankee they're all alike freaked about well and the people from vermont have access to very clean very affordable energy because of that but if the people of vermont like the people of germany want to get rid of that valuable resource then you know maybe they can have they're having that debate right now i'm saying that the potential of nuclear energy is significant let's let the market make those determinations the role of government should be to create an environment where the true market value of all energy sources can compete. and i believe that you think all the extra maladies the

deaths from your rainy a mining billions that poison other dozens i don't know about raining i don't know about the deaths from commercial uranium mining there you have to tell me about that i've actually have good. was the information that i just got a thirty second note because because no one wanted to bags from uranium mine a million residents. increase killings in the new little you're already using get cancer it's not your oxygen uranium in drinking water increase in the kenyan longing where you know cancers are on spanish uranium mines. the united states everything here is the united states except it's a rainy mining i think which you know except. the thanks for being thank you very much it's always nice to have a life with you to be appreciated. and your report comes a coming out of japan shows the existence of cherry noble like dead zones areas that will be uninhabitable for centuries after the meltdown so i'll samples twelve miles away from the plant are showing off the charts radiation contamination one japanese official even admitted the elevated levels are on par with the aftermath

of a nuclear bomb test that spews plutonium also reports show the dangerous levels of radiation spread as far as two hundred thirty miles away from the fukushima plant as radiation continues to soar a new leaks are found in the crippled hopes to shut down fukushima within six to nine months or demean it unless we kick out the nuclear lobbyists and change course like the germans and swiss are doing in the italians and what's happening in fukushima could be just one earthquake or a tornado or terrorist attack away from happening we're accident for that from happening here. in our republican hypocrisy news congressman lou barletta of pennsylvania has found two routes of attack on the government or specifically against the e.p.a. the environmental protection agency three months ago barletta joint every single house republican vote to slash the e.p.a.'s funding to regulate greenhouse gases

but now after trying to defund the e.p.a. to tear apart to stop it congressman barletta is outraged that the e.p.a. isn't doing enough to protect their constituents in his district. for more on this i'm joined by marie done reporter and blogger at think progress dot org we welcome thanks for having me nice to nice to see you here the the first of all why is barletta so upset with the e.p.a. after you go to defund it it's it seems like it doesn't make it right well republican of ocracy is nothing new but this example is really so brazen it's almost impressive so as you said three months ago where a lot of voted with the rest of the g.o.p. house to e.p.a. funding they said the e.p.a. regulations for burdensome on business that the e.p.a. was overreaching how garrett try to regulate greenhouse emissions how dare it right and supreme court say that it could. if republicans don't like that idea way and you know so after attacking the e.p.a. for doing too much now barletta is furious that they're not doing more in his

district he says you know this whole story revolves around a resident saying that he got cancer from a tunnel near a superfund site and so now there are concerns about a potential cancer cluster he investigated and said you know they address concerns of residents that they were going to do further testing. you know our letter went further proof that this was unacceptable sent a letter to e.p.a. administrator lisa jackson you know saying that he was going to make sure it did its job and this was just on except she sent it back with a copy of his footsteps right but she should have been i think she probably rose about the fray but you know so is this really an example of republicans doing what they're doing for their campaign donors and then getting caught in the cross-fire of you know their elected officials and their constituents come to them and try to hold them accountable and we're seeing them all over the place doing the stance you know the paul ryan thing to you know you're going in you know with medicare oh no i didn't know that yes i don't know i didn't maybe i will i don't

know even simple one is getting into you know i think i'd be in favor of that but maybe i wouldn't go back to battle plan but i don't know what it is. is this really just about the campaign cash right i mean you especially when it comes to the e.p.a. the republicans have made it so you could see such a bogeyman you know they might have a representative compared to they could stop but when push comes to shove you know everyone like the e.p.a. does all of the gestapo if you run the largest independent coal or all company in the united states like the koch brothers we had our little way also your it's an ideological crusade that they're running under the guise of being pro business and trying to save taxpayers' money but you know i fellow republican christie todd whitman who ran the e.p.a. under bush you know wrote this op ed where she called the republicans out for the short sighted destructive thinking that they're trying to do by a policy yeah. the how many how many deaths you think it's going to take i mean the e.p.a. was founded back in the nixon administration and and it was because you know the

coyote river caught on fire people were dying from asthma it was starting to get really well documented cancer all these kind of things and so they said it was clinton's country and in fact china is now talking of this in china they're they're they're the big story in the in the financial times today but maybe history but in any case. here's the here's the e.p.a. and it's actually saving lives in america and i don't understand how you can campaign against that against against saving lives that richard nixon started right well you know it's worth mentioning that it flies in the face of public opinion you know and our lot is our own district one poll found that seventy percent of voters disapprove of his vote to copy e.p.a. and that included a majority of republicans so you know what percentage of the voters in the district know that he put together the pro i have that's an important question but you know when they were asked why they you know approved of his voting preferred the p.a. from lebanon carbon dioxide lucia from the opening and outs of arsenic in mercury you know overwhelmingly people are in favor of these sorts of things that i think

credibly entitle position to hold it's if you think that our lead is going to face a passionate backlash or or is the bet that the republicans are making you know years an eternity in politics voters' attention spans are short we have nationally t.v. and that most people don't even pay attention to what politicians are doing until three weeks before the election and berlet is just figures he can get enough money from the koch brothers to write enough ads to you know what bush will be right because that's exactly what apple is you know they're hoping that they can continue with this you know anti regulation broderick that they can now continue denying science and then me when it comes to actually doing things their particular constituents want they hope that people have short memories and then just do the things they like anyway it's amazing three thanks so much for being with us i appreciate it as to which are. the republican war on the e.p.a. boils down to just one thing in my mind higher profits for oil executives in fact let me expand on this a little bit the original e.p.a. power you know came from congress richard nixon came up with the idea but then you

know last year in the year before this came before the supreme court and the conservative majority on the court so the e.p.a. should have the right to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollute. we know other words it is because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and it produces global warming it's not something that we inhale it causes answers in the market it's a pollutant in that it is damaging the world so you have the supreme court ruling on those really on the legality of this law and and you have the functional reality of it and new information came out just today about global warming is from the international energy agency that last year we will we released into the atmosphere thirty point six gigatons thirty point six billion tons of carbon dioxide more than ever before and now scientists are saying you know that two degrees celsius that we

said would be a disaster we're now worried that you know there's no way to stop that and we're going to try and hold the whole the dike at four degrees celsius and and it which is why in chicago they're planting trees because they're going to have the climate of baton rouge you know well. none of this takes into consideration the extra analogies associated with with basically pollution the stuff that the e.p.a. deals with whether it's c o two or whether it's other things for example cancers asthma global warming oil spills all these things have costs associated with them but the carbon industry doesn't pay any of those costs you and i pay those costs when we are our kids get asthma or cancer or he or any any of these conditions from breathing these things or when the people in joplin missouri or other places where these wild storms that can clearly have some association with are being five percent or more secure in the in the atmosphere when there was twenty years ago with global warming and these happen we end up paying for it not the oil companies that's something that we need to change we need to jump these extra analogies into

their lap and if we're going to go after people individually or holding c.e.o.'s accountable let's start with b.p. and massey. there. time for our daily poll your chance to tell us what you think here's today's question germany is dropping nuclear power will the usa follow their lead and drive nuclear power as well and choices are yes germany generates about a quarter of its electricity from nuclear power just like we do in the united states we can do what they do or you know the nuclear lobby is will succeed in paving the way for more nuclear energy by going to target dot com let us know what you think the poll the open till tomorrow morning. after the break if the two thousand and twelve elections were to happen today the republicans maintain the upper hand the answer may surprise you.

let's not forget that we had an apartheid regime right. i think it may be the one well. we have the government says they can feel safe getting ready because of the freedom .

you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then something else she hears sees some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm sorry welcome to the big picture.

there is a new republican hostage scenario unfolding the victims this time are those who suffered through the joplin missouri tornado tragedy last week and are in desperate need of government help residents of joplin are resorting to using elephants to help clean up take a look. republicans have agreed to send some aid money their way but only if democrats agree to go along with cuts elsewhere house majority leader eric cantor explained in their mans on c.b.s. is based the nation over the weekend. because families don't have unlimited money and really neither does the federal government there's no question there is a federal role here to play congress will find the money and will be off and until the president comes forward. this is coming off from the same party that threaten to raise taxes on all americans if millionaires and billionaires didn't get their tax cuts too this is the same party that nearly shut down the government over

funding for planned parenthood and it's also the party that it's threatening to force the u.s. government into default if democrats don't agree to trillions of dollars in cuts in social safety nets and paul ryan's budget plan the privatizers medicare reminds me of an old national lampoon magazine cover from january seventy three that featured a dog with a gun to it said the red you know by this magazine will kill his dog today republicans have recast that iconic place in the dog with gramma or a tornado victim in joplin depending on what week it is so how can this clearly radical and heartless agenda the republicans are pursuing be good for america or even good politically for that matter here to offer his take on the issues as conservative commentator t.j. mccormick t.j. welcome. thanks thanks tom nice to be back and to see if thank you as far as you can remember has our government ever been stingy with money when it comes to helping american victims of natural disasters or is eric cantor the first. got no no i'm actually i kind of i kind of reject the the premise here in the sense that i

believe that it's actually democrats who are holding all this up all they need to do is prioritize prioritize those people who need help in joplin another a tornado affected areas congress has to appropriate money you know it's in the cost of democrats and sadly in the house of representatives is run by the republicans right now and that's what has to originate and eric cantor said we're not going to give any money to the people of joplin unless the democrats will agree to to cut something let's cut some money from grandma let's get some you know if you know cutting from billionaires and you can't do that no raising taxes on billionaires can't do that but you've got to cut something from grandma or from the environment or something. right why why why is it that the democrats why is that the left that we see always seeks to punish why do we have to punish and take away from people's hard earned money in order to isolate it's a very cutting character of the republican who is saying that's not democrats. exactly exactly exactly my point and that's what i'm saying is that what he wanted

wanted to grammar the environment. i mean you know i'd like to maybe punish n.p.r. once and for all i'd like to ones i'd like to maybe take some money away from him from artists that dead to try to live off the government teat you know how about cutting some of his this silly arts funding and like i mentioned the aforementioned n.p.r. which is a leftist organising so you know if so you're you're you're agreeing with and proving the thesis of naomi klein's book the shock doctrine about disaster capitalism but that what you do is you get your agenda ready but the things that you want to cut it would be politically unpopular you force them through in the face of disasters. actually i think i think what this exposes is i'm not familiar with that book i mean if that's what i'm doing then i you know that's what i'm doing i think she can really help you if i can help your cause well you know the thing is here is i believe i believe this thing is being politicized if i can't believe that the democrats not willing to relive you know again i think they were

never asked only on the house of representatives they don't have the power to know great money to give the jobs bill. well then well then then what then what is then what is what is that this going to have the power is held by john boehner eric cantor and eric cantor is that we will not appropriate money for the people in joplin who right now are you know those people like dying in hospitals because we're not going to give these people a penny until the democrats decide you know they're going to go along with us on the money to grandma has anybody been a virus that he wanted to n.p.r. you know you could yes exactly and you know what the thing is tom is that we have to remember here that what we need to absolutely help our brothers and sisters in peril is that what we have to remember is the overlord fact here is that the country is hurting financially i recently have had to make changes in my life i've had to prioritize and i'm going to take money away from certain things i've got to make cuts my wife and i our daughter have had to make cuts in certain aspects of our daily lives in order to say pay for our exorbitant health care for example so you're saying we have to you're saying that because ronald reagan tripled our

national debt and spent more money than ever in debt that every president from george washington jimmy carter combined right reagan ran up three trillion dollars for the deficit bush added another two and a half trillion to that and then the new bush added another spider six trillion of that because all these republicans ran a piece massive deficit course bill clinton actually balanced the budget. there for and we've got to take money away from grandma and from the environment to pay back the money that bush and reagan borrowed to try and make the economy look good. my head is exploding here as it was this latest bush what about this latest bush that we have in the letter asserting our slide for knowers he's our latest bush this guy this guy is is just continuing the bush doctrine this guy just got us into a third war for crying out loud and he is gone and spend more money by one man in the history of the rule disguised as take on the deficit us not seconds to truth but look honestly tom i think to get back to the whole point here i believe it is

absolutely the fiscally responsible thing and i bet you dollars to. don't it's that people in joplin missouri would be the first ones to say we absolutely want to see this done we don't want to take money if it's if it's not done the right way because that is the of that is the bunch that's the questioners that fly over country the much disparaged bunch by by obama and the left and the interesting too by the way you know it's out and i'm watching this very curiously because there is something that sort of missing from this picture which is why the democrats are not jumping all over this is not exactly a colorful bunch if you get my drift there is not too many people of color in this so the democrats are looking to find their way to get it to politicize are you suggesting the democrats only support communities when they're when they're when they're largely african-american or something is that you try to make a point to. new orleans i don't know what's the. yeah yeah that's actually what i'm saying and i'm saying that the others that are racist attitude there isn't

that sexy racist that the democrats can throw i think you're going to start see respirations the edge on it right now i as i said the democrats are saying is that go ahead sorry but i was you say that because i just that there's no way god if you do your show ok here's your work as don't have the power to appropriate the body this is in the hands of john boehner and eric cantor so why don't they just say doing the i don't think they're doing the right thing they're doing the right thing we have to have to have to start somewhere and unfortunately we are not in a blank check mode and you know it's just it's it's not and you know what and they're doing the right thing because as we are we're having this conversation the congress just voted down a raising of the debt ceiling very very quickly i should why is it thing that republicans are in the blank check mode when there's a republican in the white house and some as a democrat comes into the white house those are screaming about the debt that they ran up. you know what i agree with you on that one that's on that is one of the

biggest disappointment disappointments of the w. bush in my own reagan service estimate and reagan absolutely i think you know there are a big disappointments that's not with that was the change we voted for then and we certainly don't like it now so i am in agreement with you on that them ok well you should take it up with jude when scheme is the strategy is to wait it out reagan you know bankrupt the government and then the government and then the democrats will have to stop giving out money again santa clause and you know t.j. thanks for being with us tonight it's always good to see it thank you and truth is in less than five months republicans are on our nation frankly have worn out their welcome with the american electorate paul ryan's plans privatized medicare were soundly rejected by voters last week in the special election in new york's twenty sixth district where a democrat won the seat for just the fourth time since eighteen and if the seven elsewhere a whole bunch of republican governors are facing a much different electoral landscape after a half year union busting and screwing over working families this wave of voters

remorse is displayed loud and clear in a new series of polls but public policy polling that asks voters in a number of states who they'd vote for if the two thousand and ten elections were held against a day looking governor john case in ohio won by two points in two thousand and ten but would lose by twenty five points today florida republican governor rick scott won by just one point twenty ten but would lose by nineteen points today michigan governor rick scott want to handily by eighteen points in two thousand and ten but the voters would kick him out and his emergency financial planner cronies out of office today by two points and wisconsin the same goes with the same voters gave scott walker a six point victory in two thousand and ten would have hand him a seven point loss today i will republicans governor terry branstad won by ten points in two thousand and ten but would lose by two points the day and finally in georgia governor nathan deal would see is ten point win in two thousand and ten morphed into a one point loss today.