anyway, amanda terkel, cheryl contee and benjy sarlin.re from our panel on this show's website. here it is, listen closely. msnbc.com/thomas-roberts. it's slash then dash, very important. >>> a north carolina republican out of a job this morning after controversial -- it was a controversial comedy central interview, those comments about the state's new voter i.d. law sparking a whole lot of outrage. but is this bigger than just one person's point of view, or does he reveal the real motive behind the laws? we'll dig into that coming up. >>> also, ted cruz is back in iowa. hoping that the same attitude that fueled his popularity surge in texas will translate in the buckeye state. but are iowa voters ready for a serving of lone star tea? >>> lois hollingsworth and courtney own stores on main street in east greenwich, rhode island. they and other small business owners in town ar transacting customers for small business saturday, with special offers, extended hours and live product demos. for more on getting customers to shop small, watch "you

amanda terkel, senior political reporter and politics managing editor for the huffington post and manu raju. manu, we'll start with you. where are we right now? friday we were talking about that glimmer of hope. that is glimmer gone? >> no, it's not gone, but today is absolutely critical. mcconnell and reid, who are right now central in these talks, they are still discussing the spending levels and the length of the debt ceiling. those are the two major sticking points right now. democrats want to extend the debt ceiling as long as possible but there's talk of possibly being open to extending it into the spring, march/april time frame and democrats do not want to lock in lower spending levels after the across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration take effect. republicans want those spending cuts locked in, the sequestration cuts. it's a difference of tens of billions of dollars in spending. how they reconcile that over the next day will be absolutely critical to determining whether the government reopens or whether we can avert default as early as thursday. >> you know, amanda

i want to bring in matt welch and amanda terkel. good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> i don't know if you saw this new poll out this morning. 72% of americans disapprove of the government shutdown. i don't know what else 72% of americans agree on. is that, matt, what is spurring john boehner to try to do something to get out of this mess? >> i would hope so, yeah. the other thing that 72% of americans agree on is that they don't like to hike the debt ceiling without conditions to cut spending, which means that the republicans had a great hand to play, which they immediately squandered. >> so they muddied it or squandered it? >> they have muddied it for sure and i fear they squandered it. remember back in january, there were three deadlines back then too in march. sequester, continuing resolution and debt ceiling. john boehner separated them out, delayed the debt ceiling thing and put democrats on the defensive. it was a great strategy then. but then republicans refused to negotiate after they passed their budget in the

we are also joined by amanda terkel, senior political reporter and politics managing editor at the huffington post. >> we welcome you both to dedemocracy now! what has this shut down meant? >> well, it's meant a lot of pain for a lot of americans. infants who have lost support for nutrition, tcharne have been thrown out of head start, safety measures not taken because weather buoys are no longer manned. the list can go on. and the effects accumulate each day. it's hurt the economy every day and those effects are felt each day. it's been a totally contrived and unnecessary crisis which has had real-world and horrible effects that are growing every day. >> amanda, can you give us some of the examples? >> sure. i think it's been frustrating far lot of people that many americans have been feeling the effects of the shut down while members of congress who caused the shutdown aren't feeling the same effects. only essential personnel are supposed to be kept but there's at least is 10 senators and dozens of house members who haven't furloughed a single member of their staff and some like senator come

thank you, igor volsky and amanda terkel. >>> next, president clinton in virginia this week as democrats rally to keep the kooch in check. that's coming zble ining up. >> those of you who love virginia and want it to come together and move forward have got to care as much about this election as you did the election in 2012. that is what is at issue here. avo: the volkswagen "sign then drive" sales event is back. which means it's never been easier to get a new passat, awarded j.d. power's most appealing midsize car, two years in a row. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on any new 2014 volkswagen. hurry, this offer ends october 31st. for details, visit vwdealer.com today. you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter. and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. i asked my husband to pay our bill, and he forgot. you have the it card and it's you