eric ericson, you are in touch with the conservative community.he ground swell for the trump candidacy? >> now that he its talking foreign policy, it might grow. i'm impressed. the conservatives are real befuddled. there are a lot that want to woo some into the race. you are going to see a lot of people line up behind him. sarah palin and mitt romney have it easy. they can raise money with the snap of a finger. they can sit it out. donald trump, we can put him in that policy too. >> the only foreign policy he knows is the miss universe pageant. thank god i wore my cowboy boots today. forget the idea of donald trump run running. he is not. the idea of him being in the white house, if you thought bill clinton had a good time, let donald trump going to the white house. >> eric, i want to get to the mike pence conversation in a minute. this is a very, very serious conversation. >> roland just mentioned michele bachmann. she is making some trips to the situation. she hasn't ruled it in or ruled it out. part is to get media attention. eric ericson, real

eric ericson with the conservative red state doum. gloria borger. david, i want to go to you first. the american people are watching something that is messy. if you are a conservative republican, you probably like much of what happened. if you are a democratic, you are waiting. and if you are in the middle, you are saying, why all the posturing first? >> well, i think the house beginning to unlock the stalemate that was there and allows the senate to act and the boehner bill will go down and the reid bill will fail. i think the making of a compromise are clearly there. can they find a compromise that will actually pass the house? they have one that the democrats like in the senate, pelosi can wound up a lot of democrats. and speaker boehner, will the compromise satisfy the republicans? it's not clear, given how far they push it to the right. it's not clear if they can do it. >> and gloria borger, any vote you come to the floor, twuyou w to keep a majority of your guys. and it does not guarantee passage of the balanced budget amendment before you inc

eric ericson and susan and john. congresswoman, to you first, is she running or is she just trying to help her image? >> well, who really knows what goes on in the mind of governor palin? if she did s not running, she's really putting together a brilliant strategy for reminding everyone of a very critical time that she is extremely relevant. you showed pictures of people standing out in the heat and that she's the one person that connects. i would say i don't think she's running but tomorrow she may prove me wrong. what she is doing is running to be one of the most influential republicans in these united states and what that means is whoever is the republican nominee or all of those people running for the nomination will be wanting her attention and her endorsement. >> so john, i'm surrounded by families here. some of them have been here for eight or nine hours. you know this state well. you advised rick santorum who is exploring a republican presidential candidacy and is most likely to run. what is the palin factor?

former congressman tom davis, former secretary of sta state, stan blackwell and austin, texas, eric ericson. i want to start with this right off the bat. we may drop in if we get a shot of christine o'donnell and get a listen to her. look at this right here, this is the cover of "time" magazine which i think covers pretty good the tensions going on. tea party time, how conservative rebels are rattling the republican establishment. tom davis what is there to be worried about? >> plenty. you have a political establishment in this country in both parties that hasn't delivered any good news to americans in ten years. they elected obama, firing them and turning on anybody who has been in authority and gummed up the works. >> she has come on the national scene from nowhere in part by copying a tea party message, having a tea party message on the one hand gets people excited, let's listen to her campaigning, talking about all the things wrong with washington. >> i'm optimistic that we can begin the effort to turn the tide in our country, and get our country back on track, but we can't do it by spe

eric ericson, the editor and chief of a conservative blog is joining us to talk about this. here in washington, roland martin. the language of this one is hard. it is something james did say. it is a comparison he made during the campaign when both hillary clinton and barack obama, then senator clinton and senator obama were candidates of president. does it make a difference, john -- roland, you go first. you are right here with me. does it make a difference. he is the president of the united states and she is the secretary of state. to say if hillary clinton gave up one of her and gave it to obama, he would have two. >> there is a difference. i believe you have to have respect for the office of president. i understand what james said. he explained us the context. so what he did was, he mixed a present-day discussion as relates to what the president should do with a joke that he told during the campaign. so, frankly, it is not like he was repeating -- it is not like he was telling a story from 2008 and linking the two. it is disrespectful to the president of the united state

ericson also a big supporter of marco rubio. the primary, marco rubio will be the big winner.he big question is who will win the democratic primary. jeff greene, a billionaire, kendrick meek, a congressman from in the miami area. this is the established democratic primary candidate. he has the support. barack obama, bill clinton recorded a turnout for him. jeff greene, has a personal fortune, he spent billions in the race. ma marco rubio voted today. mr. greene, let's hear from the candidates. >> for people happy with the direction washington is taking. you have the two candidates on the ballot. charlie crist. >> you can't trust charlie crist. he's a conservative. he abandoned his own party not to become an independent but because he couldn't win. i hung in against $26 million and against a guy that was on television. geico, more than burger kings and mcdonald's put together. >> retire them and give a chance to someone new, an outsider like me, i'm jeff grooereene the outr and will fight for the people of florida. >> governor crist wasn't there. he decided to run nonparty affi

eric ericson, he's not wrong, is he? >> i'm still hung up on jan brewer. cringe every time i see that poor woman. you can flub a debate and still win if your state is red or blue enough. it pains me to have to watch that clip. >> what do you think of the man up line. did it work for them? she was talking about social security. this is an absolutely critical issue. unfortunately i would say both president obama, the beltway democrats and republicans are making social security the target when, in fact, what is soaking up the most money that is not made up for in any other way and war. as for mcmillen. that would have never happened if the debates were held in other states the way they were held in new york. an open debate. it was like seven candidates all expressing their views. it got a tremendous amount of attention. and it shows the power of third parties. they can introduce important issues into races. he's talking about rent and foreclosure. these affect people across the country. >> what was your most memorable debate moment of the year? >> well, i lov

. >> we're back with james carville and eric ericson. was that a joke, james?is. >> the left are making fools of themselves. of course it's a joke. and she says enough stupid things and does enough stupid things, you know, if we start taking jokes out of context we'll end up with sanitized, boring -- mitt romney will run for everything in the whole world. oh, wow. look at this. there's michele making a fool of herself again. what is this? i called some friends who aren't inclined to agree with michele bachmann and they said the same -- the same feeling i had. we have to stop this. make fun of something like concord or lexington, but this woman was obviously joking. the crowd knew she was joking. you know, you get on the campaign trail and these people get tired. they'd like a laugh now and then. she's entitled to that. left wing barbs don't need to make things up. >> it's low hanging fruit. it's an anti-washington joke. >> it is a joke and there is a larger point here. i wish folks in the media will forget about the politicians talking religion. people in the m

with us tonight is our cnn contributors roland martin, eric ericson and here with me is cnn senior correspondent joe johns. joe, i'll go to you first. we have spent all day reporting this story. is this farmer legitimate? did this incident happen 24 years ago? talking to everybody, your first impression? >> my first impression is that phrase "context is everything" is really important. one of the contexts we haven't explored is the context in which the department of agriculture decided to get rid of this woman. when you look at agriculture, they have a history, they are notorious over decades for having discrimination lawsuits from women farmers, black farmers, hispanic farmers. it goes on and on. this is the context in which she makes these statements as a political appointee, and she serves at the pleasure of the president. >> we'll continue to look at that. that is how the agriculture department and white house reacted. roland, your first thought? >> it's sort of hard for brightbart to continue to deny photos, statements, placards, things along those lines as it relates to the tea party to co

andrew rucher, the founder of a blog about how technology is changing politics, cnn contributor erick ericson, editor-in-chief of a conservative blog redstate.com and here in the studio our own gloria borger and joe johns. first to you, erick. are you worried that by starting to name bush again democrats are finding a strategy that's going to work for them in november? >> no, i don't think so. i think a lot of polling is also showing that voters are kind of over blaming bush and hope that the democrats will kind of own some of this. you know, it's easy for polling to pick up that voters like barack obama's alternatives to george bush because george bush still gives people a visceral reaction, even a lot of conservatives, but at the same time they also see what the results are, and they don't like the results. >> gloria, i mean, bush's name -- >> right, and there's been a lot of internal polling. bush's name, not good. >> right. >> so if you poll people and you say what about -- would you elect this generic republican with these generic republican economic policies, they are like, sure, okay,

with us still is amy good man and erick ericson. jessica yellin. you've been aligned with this movement saying that it brings fresh air. when things are new, people are new to the process, mistakes are made. has he underestimated the cause? >> the word that kids are using today, they need to refudiate him apparently. it's a shame. i've said dumb things, everybody does. he's really gotten his back up and bunchered down. the tea party movement is not a bunch of racists. but what he did and what he said is that he doesn't get it is appalling to me. maybe it's because i'm from the south and he's from the north but you don't use language like that in the south. you shouldn't across the nation. it's offensive. and shame on the tea party express for not distancing themselves to them. because he's maligned an entire movement of goodwill people. >> amy, is this a fight, now an internal feud that liberals just look at with glee or is there some good of this, some conversation or dialogue? >> i don't think anyone looks at racist comments with glee. because wh

. >> eric ericson, you're plugged into the conservative community. rick santorum has had success in sign up prominent activists in the early stage. >> the outrage is that anyone is treating this candidacy for presidency viably. i knew what he meant in comparing slavery to the abortion issue of today. on that i completely agree with him. >> he is moving around, he has people watching him move around, he's had some controversial statements in the past. there's debate whether he should have used this language anyway. can he be a credible candidate for president? >> well, look, he is a strong social conservative who's a hero to the far right for that reason. will that translate to a general election win? probably not. this statement is actually, we understand what he was trying to say. you do get in a slippery slope when you start talking about abortion. the tread he was trying to make doesn't really work. good people can disagree on this issue. clearly rick santorum is running as a social conservative candidate for the president of the united states for

eric ericson, conservative editor of redstate.com, with me in washington and james carville, democratic strategist from new orleans tonight. i want to play a little bit more of what admiral mullen said today. i was struck here it is america's top military commander felt the need in the wake of this "rolling stone" article about general mcchrystal and what everybody views as cop temp shus disloyal conduct, admiral mullen making this point to the men and women in the united states who wear the uniform. >> we do not have that luxury those of us in the uniform, we do not have the right nor should we assume the prerogative to cast doubt upon the ability or mock the motives of our civilian leader, elected or appointed. we are and must remain a neutral instrument of the state, accountable to and respectful of those leaders. no matter which party holds sway or which person holds a given office. >> james, you wore the uniform. this is, goes back to george washington, the whole founding of the republic and that this admiral felt the need to lecture essentially the military, hey, listen, this is t

ericson?well, the glenn beck rally that was five times the stewart rally, and all of those supporters fired up -- >> erik. >> and the total meltdown on the other network on election night, and that was hysterical to watch. >> that other network. okay. gentlem gentlemen, thank you for coming in. merry christmas to you, and for anybody out there watching, you, too. >>> and a republican candidate who mounted a stunning comeback. in the new chapter, she wants to cast votes that make her tea party critics cringe. [ female announcer ] where are people with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis going? they're discovering simponi®, the first self-injectable r.a. medicine you take just once a month. taken with methotrexate, simponi® helps relieve the pain, stiffness and swelling of r.a. with one dose once a month. visit 4simponi.com to see if you qualify for a full year of cost support. simponi® can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious and sometimes fatal events can

. >> and yet eric ericson, there is on the right, some grumbling, you among those saying is we should have gotten a better deal. there are those that say, why can't you say yes? you're getting at least a down payment on what you want here, are you not? >> yeah, i think we are to a degree. i just think the possible outcomes of this joint committee far outweigh what could come out of it. very to say, if tea party activists had said yes earlier, they wouldn't have gotten what they got. the role of the tea party movement all along has been to push as hard as they could, to get asp as they think they can out of republicans, not out of democrats. i would say as well as -- a majority of the tea party caucus in the house voted for boehner's plan. we're not giving credit to americans in november of 2010 who sent them overwhelmingly to the house of representatives because they really thought washington spending had gotten out of control. >> david gergen, i believe you're still with us. one of the questions last week when the speak he was having trouble was his leadership is somehow undermind? i

let's talk with eric ericson and chip saltsman who managed mike huckabee's 2008 presidential campaignot of time on what governor perry has said this belief, that's his belief on evolution and creationism. he didn't take any reporters' a question questions today, but saying like that along a rope line, this is a campaign with jobs, taxes, the size of government. where are we going with that one? >> i find it fascinating, he's answered the questions on global warming and evolution and immediately pivoted back to jobs but now he's forced republican rivals to focus on global warming and evolution. not exactly selling points for them in the republican primary. he's pushing them to the left with the gop base, and meanwhile he goes back to talking about jobs. and i would just point out what a cowardly mom that was to put her kid up to ask him that question because she didn't want to ask the question. you can very clearly in the background hear her say asking him why he doesn't believe in science or something like that, people that know rick perry knows he believes in science, but good lord,

. >>> let's debate the perry factor with cnn contributor eric ericson and alex castellanos and david gergen. alex, i want to start with you in the room. if you get on global warming it's a huge issue and big issue with the republican base. but look at the gallup poll, do you think the increase in earth temperature is due to human activities, 52% say, yes, natural changes 43%. a majority of americans say humans is contributing to global warming. governor perry clearly questions and disputes that. if you look at it broken down by partisanship it gets fascinating. it isn't exaggerated, 22% of democrats say so, 43% of independents and 67% of republicans so what governor perry is saying has clear appeal to republicans but is he risking his potential support among independents and even conservative democrats by saying that. >> on all the issues you have to say what you believe. it's what he believes. it's only worse if you're inauthentic, but, yes, that's the concern about rick perry. one of them is that he appeals to the base but that in a general election he could become george mcgovern

our conservative contributor, eric ericson wrote this of governor perry's latest shaky debate performance. quote, rick perry stands on the precipice. he is about to fall off. a weekly standard editorial by the conservative bill crystal was equally harsh. no front-runner a presidential field has ever, we imagine, had as weak a showing as rick perry. it was close to a disqualifying two hours for him. it is, we remind you, only september 2011. still more than four months until the iowa caucuses but if governor perry is wounded tonight, how much so? eric is with us tonight from macon, georgia. long-time conservative activist al cardin is in atlanta and the veteran "washington post" political writer dan bowles is with me in studio. dan, we have covered a lot of these things. this is a case of fast gravity, i guess. rick perry went up very quick. has he really fallen that fast? >> well, there is certainly a lot of air that's come out of the balloon. we have not seen with him what happened with michele bachmann, who went very quickly up and very rapidly down. but he has certainly been damaged by

let's dig deeper on the christie side with our cnn contributors eric ericson and donna brazile and "the york times" national political correspondent jeff zeleny. jeff, to you first, it's a tough one to track. they're all being tight. they're saying the governor spoke to his wife over the weekend. i was told it will happen this week unless something crazy happens, and it could happen as early as wednesday. consistent with your reporting? >> we're hearing the same thing. i think time is actually running out for him. i mean, south carolina moved up the date of its primary because florida moved up the date of its primary. we're talking some 85 days away perhaps until the iowa caucuses. it's very hard to put this together. it's not any 85 days we're talking. debates between now and then. herman cain was right. there are some issues that if conservatives looked at him with a little sharper magnifying glass i think they wouldn't be necessarily as pleased in this. surely he has been taking the lesson from rick perry as well. tough to do this at this point. some republicans say, oh, it's the sam