senator begich what do you have to say to these snow machine truthers. >> begich spokesman max croes says there was no pretending, beg i told "politico" erode for a long time that day and got frost bite on his ears. (laughter) >> jon: frost bite on your ear, well done, jack london. day five, my rights here hurts. (laughter) perhaps next time i'll have my chief of staff bring the hat with the flaps. (laughter) tell my snow machine i miss her. >> stephen: kentucky and alaska are fighting over, i don't even know what louisiana mary landrieu is doing close the four point gap between her and the gop's bill cassidy. >> senator mary landrieu joined the party outside of tiger stadium before the lsu game on saturday taking a break from shaking hands and polite conversation to help a coed with a keg stand. >> jon: whoz wants to do lines off my ass! come on, everybody, let's party! (applause) the survival of o billionacare hangs in the balance. if aliens came down to earth and watched our political ads they would think the senate was an adult summer camp competition or some six year pass to dav

the victim's attorney took it out there before begich took it down much later. attempting to correct the ad. they pointed out in that letter that to be clear it was your ad that was the one they were unhappy with. they had put the community on edge, and away. into the race that we had not seen before. jessica taylor, her work is available online. here is how sullivan responded to it. [video clip] >> millions of dollars are flooding into alaska pet -- alaska, paid for by special interests. pretty soon you will want to do this to your television. i've proposed a plan to stop the mudslinging from outsiders to keep the selection focus on the issues. unfortunately, mark begich said no. i am dan sullivan and i approved this message. he should tell his friends to stay out of alaska. it points out the fact that in these closely watched races where just a few thousand votes can make the difference, one misstep or another could determine the direction of the campaign. guest: republicans are trying to demonize mark begich as being too close to the president. but if you can

senator begich has a history of winning tough elections in a red state. in pulling the ad his campaign stayed on the offensive saying they will continue to call on former attorney general sullivan to be honest with alaskans and discuss his failed record. others call it a rare begich blunder. >> when you're the democrat trying to swing against a republican wave, or at least an anti-obama tide you don't have a lot of room for error. >> reporter: real clear politics has this race a tossup with sullivan has a nearest two-point lead in the latest rasmussen poll, a survey taken before the ad flap and the begich damage control. bret? >> thank you, and now to louisiana and the continuing troubles of senator mary landrieu already considered one of the most vulnerable democrats. senior national correspondent john roberts tells us about the confusion over where landrieu lives versus where she calls home. >> reporter: with the tide of anti-washington sentiment sweeping the nation, democratic senator mary landrieu is scrambling to defend herself against charges she's

but begich's campaign initially defended their ad and refused to pull it.sterday, under mounting pressure, they canceled all future airings. some are calling eight willie horton moment, referring to the burb-dukakis race in 1988. others show begich is worried about holding on to his seat and willing to take big risks. it's a seat republicans need, jon if they want to take back the senate. jon: dan springer reporting. thank you. >> here are brand new stories we're working on to bring you in the next hour of "happening now." a massive utility is has a massive penalty over the deadly gas explosion in the bay area that killed eight people. (vo) ours is a world of passengers. the red-eyes. (daughter) i'm really tired. (vo) the transfers. well, that's kid number three. (vo) the co-pilots. all sitting... ...trusting... ...waiting... ...for a safe arrival. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. designed to help the driver in you... ...care for the passenger in them. the subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru. having a perfectly nice day, when out of no

democrat incumbent mark begich is seen as having an uphill battle.t's why kansas could be key to democrats if they can't hold on to alaska. then there's the south. arkansas, louisiana and georgia which are all red states and all tough prospects for democrats in any election. however, you got democratic incumbents that might survive in arkansas or louisiana particularly arkansas with seminar mark pryor and democrats might pull off an upset win in georgia with the michelle nun. joining me nate kohn covers lakes polling and dem graphs in the upshot. nate, here's what's interesting to me. all the models seem to be converging towards a prediction of essentially something looking more and more like a 50/50 fight, tight, tight race for democrats to keep the senate. is that your accepts? >> i think that's right because the democrats appear to still have a tenuous advantage in the four states you mentioned, north carolina, michigan, colorado and iowa. and then they really do still seem to have many options to get that 50th seat. it's a tenuous route but the r

you're polling for landrieu, udall, and begich. how confident are you for the incumbents holding on in those states? >> i think they're going to hold on to them. >> all six of them? >> yes. they're going to be tough, close races. we have deep roots in the states, lackluster republican opponents, and the republican brand is in tatters in those states and across the country. the democrats with the deep routes, done a lot for their states -- >> the real clear republican averages, they're leading in those states, in some, the democratic incumbent is leading, but by a narrow margin. bill, your read? >> i don't want to be a democrat in the south in 2014. i think senator landrieu is --n. >> in louisiana. i think she's an impressive political figure, but in louisiana, arkansas, georgia, north carolina, the president's job approval is literally in the low 20% among white voters. i work in alaska, mark. it's its own world. it operates very differently than the rest of the country, and colorado is the perennial up for grabs seat. but i believ

begich made an over the board attack alleging the attorney general had let violent criminals up earlyurned out3 were let out early before sullivan ever made attorney general and the families of the victims in the crime begich talked about asked for his television ad to be withdrawn mistake. >>> arkansas tom cotton up on the incumbent, mark pryor, by about 3 percentage points, 2 percentage points. the old adage is if the challenger is leading in the >> right. he's led. there have been 10 polls since the ends of april and pryor has been in the lead in one and cotton led in 9. this race looks like it's solidifying. >> i think arkansas will go gop. this looks the most significant. i bet carville an expensive dinner. in louisiana billing cassidy leads 77% toj mary landrieu's 4 and%r9.Ñ landrieu has residency problems and tied to obama. louisiana looks like it will be a gop state, right? >> yeah. it will take until december 6th. >> we don't want to get involved with that. it looks like andrew can't beat him. >> this weekend she made, in my opinion a mistake, she showed up at a tailgate part

in alaska where mark begich was fighting off dan sullivan, sullivan attacks begich professional snowmichaeler. >> i know something about a snow machine. that's why i had a good laugh when i saw mark begich acting like he could ride one. >> he votes with obama, and his d.c. friends, not alaska. >> i think it's the only time you'll see a guy wear a baseball cap backwards. >>> mitch mcconnell holding back allison grimes. grimes' latest ad features her grandmother's talking about her grandfather's costly illness. >> no more vacations. no retirement. just existing. >> senator mcconnell voted over and over so raise senior's medicare costs. i'll never do that. >> the ad was a little grim and that does not work. the most traditional is direct and scary. michelle nunn and businessman david purdue who is trying to get voters focused on immigration. >> michelle nunn's own plan as she funded organizations linked to terrorists. she's for amnesty while terrorism experts say our border break crown could provide an entry for groups like isis. >> she's for terrorists. as you know for a negative ad to

jon: those two democrats, mark begich, and senator udall in colorado, both of them, in a fair amount of trouble upcoming midterms. >> tough races. jon: let's ask about the midterms. the president's new, sort of get tough on isis policy, is that going to help democrats come november? >> it may stablize the president's ratings but again, i don't think it will necessarily help individual democrats because even, we've, we'll have too many instances where these democrats will be either on the sidelines or do what begich and udall did and oppose the president. but here is the other issue, and i hate to bring back the whiteboard one last time. jon: oh, go ahead. >> remember this. what is the number one issue in the election? it is economy and jobs, way above there. national security will play a role, larger than was anticipated to play five or six months ago. but the economy and jobs are still be number one issue. by 49-40 rating, the republicans are seen better on this issue. the republicans have got it coming and going, on number one issue they have a significant margin over the democrats

resh senator dan sullivan is up three on mark begich. also incumbent democrat mark pryor is down 2.3, to republican tom cotton. colorado incumbent, mark udall is leading over gop nominee corrie gardner. and l. louisiana, marry landrieu -- incouple been democrat kay hay gang is downing about a point. again essentially tied to republican tom tillis. a major up stack kl of many of these democrats, chief national correspondent jim engel looks at how that comes into play. >> reporter: you told them that they could keep it. system democrats are trying to detract from their votes for obama care by characterizes the president's missteps, by promising people can keep their plans and doctors no matter what? >> mary landrieu offered lengthation requiring people be able to keep their plans and doctors, harry reid has yet to schedule a volt on it. kay haygan -- >> soon as this came to my attention last fall, aimmediateaimmediate impedely -- >> reporter: she voted against a 2010 republican effort to limit such cancellations which the who is threatened

he was campaigning for congressman begich, and their plane went down. and after these many, many decades the plane has never been recovered. i also had the good fortune of serving with his mom in the united states house of representatives. she was a sweet, sweet, very accomplished woman; became ambassador to the vatican. and then of course his sister cokie roberts is a famous journalist here. so without belaboring the point, mr. president, i extend my sympathy to the entire family and want them to know that our country and washington is a much better place because of tommy boggs passing through here. mr. president following my remarks and those of the republican leader, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 p.m. this afternoon with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. at 5:30 there will be three roll call votes, cloture on s. 2199, the paycheck fairness act. cloture on the baran and burns nomination to be members of the nuclear regulatory commission. and the filing deadline for first-degree amendments to the pa

a mistake by someone months before sullivan was attorney general and this blew up in the face of begichd my suspicious is we are likely to see polling data indicating a more pro sullivan tilt. >> i will put up a surprising state: north carolina was considered a very likely pick up for the republicans in red north carolina but the democratic incumbent sent hagan is up against the statehouse speaker tillis and hagan was in the to be in trouble is hanging in there. >> this, i am ready to start saying this trend continues she will be re-elected. the interesting thing about the races with the incumbents, we know they are in trouble if you are under 50 and an incumbent including alaska and louisiana and the other incumbents, they are in the low 40's or slightly above. that is a very bad sign for those incumbent. you have to start giving a push to the republicans. in this case in north carolina it seems to be moving the other way. >> as we said the republicans need a net pickup of six seats and part of the problem is they have a few of their own seats that are potentially in of the have a few

just before labor day, begich ran an ad accusing sullivan of being responsible for the early releasef prisoners, including a prisoner who went on to do a brutal murder. it turned out, however, that the prisoners were released by a clerical error by somebody months before sullivan even became attorney general, and this sort of blew up in begich's face, and my suspicion is we're likely to see some polling data indicating this race has taken an even more pro-sullivan tilt here. >> now i want to put up a surprising state and that is north carolina. this was generally considered to be a very likely pickup for the republicans in red north carolina. but the democratic incumbent senator kay hagan is up against the state's house speaker, and joe, hagan who was thought to be in trouble is hanging in there. >> this one i think we can put -- i'm ready to start saying if this trend continues she's going to be re-elected. the interesting thing about these races, with all these incumbents, is when you look -- we know they're in trouble if you're under 50 and you're an incumbent. you look at alaska,

the victim's attorney took it out there before begich took it down much later.ttempting to correct the ad. they pointed out in that letter that to be clear it was your ad that was the one they were unhappy with. they had put the community on edge, and away. into the race that we had not seen before. jessica taylor, her work is available online. here is how sullivan responded to it. [video clip] >> millions of dollars are flooding into alaska pet -- alaska, paid for by special interests. pretty soon you will want to do this to your television. i've proposed a plan to stop the mudslinging from outsiders to keep the selection focus on the issues. unfortunately, mark begich said no. i am dan sullivan and i approved this message. he should tell his friends to stay out of alaska. it points out the fact that in these closely watched races where just a few thousand votes can make the difference, one misstep or another could determine the direction of the campaign. guest: republicans are trying to demonize mark begich as being too close to the president. but if you can c

guest: this was an incident where mark begich was running against and sullivan. mention the campaign. they actually murdered a couple and their granddaughter. you had a police detective standing outside pointing to this, insinuating that this was somehow the fault of dan indicating that infamous willie horton ad. there was an immediate outcry from the victim's family, saying that they didn't want this out there. sullivan released a response that named the alleged murderers names. they pulled down the response. seen as awe had pretty well oiled campaign therefore mark begich, this was a significant misstep that they have continued to have to explain. why was this an issue? when you went back to the facts of this, this was a clerical error that was done even before sullivan took office. them rating this as a pants on fire ad. host: meaning ally. -- meaning ally. -- meaning a lie. guest: yes. this was very much out there in the news. the victim's attorney took it out there before begich took it down much later. attempting to correct the ad. they pointed out in that

. >> i will say alaska is the best shot despite problems with begich has had.he reason is having travelled the country a lot, in the south barack obama's very name the poison. the only one of the four that escapes that basic cultural fact at least to some extent is alaska. that may have nothing to do with it. for that reason i would say begich has the best bet. >> we'll talk about the south on another show. that's a problem. there are four blue states. this is like general grant winning the war in a civil war. state where is democrats are in close contests. recent polling shows colorado's mark udall's lead is within the margin of error. jo any ernst's ad about castrating hogs helped catapult her into a dead heat. she's probably carrying the men despite that. in michigan, democrats are fighting to hold onto senator levin's seat. he said he won't seek election again. and in a recent poll in manchester, senator jeanne shaheen's lead over scott brown went from 12 points to two in less than a month. let's talk about the new hampshire thing. if you turn on our networ

you have alaska, you have a five-point lead or a little bit less for the incumbent, mark begich.ampshire, jeanne shaheen over mark brown. that's not definitive. primary november 9th. a lot of people putting him on the comparison. colorado, as a.b. mentioned, udall ahead barely. that could turn on hispanic vote. really the only state in this list that could. arkansas, cotton up a little less than two. and louisiana, you see cassidy up one over incumbent mary landrieu. okay, steve? >> i wouldn't be surprised at some of -- if some of the private polling republicans have is more favorable to republicans. depends how you screen. but having said that, look, i think there's no question that -- what the president did he did because of politics. and when he stands up in front of the country and says, have no doubt i will act soon, every time he says, "have no doubt," i'm inclined to have quite a few doubts. >> have doubt? >> have a dputs, right. in -- doubts, right. in effect he said he was going to act soon and politics weren't going to be at play. we now know he's probably not going act

dollars and weapons the rebels of today who may not be the rebels of tomorrow. >> joining begich and bucking the administration and party leadership are joe manchin, and chris murphy, two democratic snores outspoken in opposition to arming the rebels. jonah, i have to say it is fascinating to see republicans, democrats coming together uniting against what the president is doing and republicans and democrats coming together in support. the fault lines are very fascinating. >> the fault line runs between both parties. you have a hawkish wing of the republican party these days and you have a hawkish wing of the democratic party. i don't know why democrats wouldn't have trouble with the president's plan. i don't know why republican was have trouble with the president's plan is not great. the president's idea of good strategy on foreign policy last five years that is anything that competentes people to stop bothering him about foreign policy. this strikes me very politically driven, a political response to a national security problem. so i'm in favor of much bigger and more robust debate

incumbent democratic senator mark begich trailing former donor dan sullivan by less than two points.that's a close one. >> yeah, 1.3%. remember this, real clear politics average and the rest of these averages are lagging indicators. this race took a dramatic shift three weeks ago this coming thursday. just before labor day, begich ran an ad accusing sullivan for being responsible for the early release of prisoners, including a prisoner who went on to do a brutal murder. turned out, however, the prisoners were released by a clerical error by somebody months9rx -- recent polling dat indicated this has taken more pro sullivan on the weeks ahead. >> i want to put up a surprising stat. north carolina, generally considered to be a very likely pick up for the republicans in red north carolina but the democratic incumbent senator, kay hagan, is up against the state's house speaker. hagan, who was thought to be in trouble, is hanging in there. >> no, this one, i think, we can put -- i'm ready to start saying if this trend continues, she's going to be re-elected. the interesting thing about th

mark beg dlix wins the fights for alaska. >> begich is another democrat in a deep red state trying to run from the president. a new hayes research poll shows 41-36. at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies, which is why we are supplying natural gas, to generate cleaner electricity, that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and why with our partner in brazil, we are producing a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane to fuel cars. let's broaden the world's energy mix, let's go. >>> some are linking the islamic extremist group isis to the contend shus immigration issue which has been a hot potato facing the lawmakers. >> we have found copies, or people along the border where the trails of these people come across, have found muslim clothing. they have found koran books laying on the side of the road, or the side of the trail. so we know that there are muslim that's have come across and being smuggled in the united states. >> you think that they're already here in the u.s.? do you think they would use the southern border to cross? >> sure. potentially. but no

in alaska where mark begich is trying to fight off dan sulliv sullivan. sullivan's latest slot task begich has a snowmobiler. >> i know something about a sn snowmobile. that's why i laughed when he pretended to ride one. >> he votes with with obama and his d.c. friends. not alaska. >> snow machine. >> and kentucky where incumbent mitch mcconnell is trying to hold off allison grimes. there is mcconnell in the purple tie. grimes latest ad against him features grimes' grandmother talking about the grandfather's costly illness. >> no vacations. no retirement. just existing. >> this is why we have to strengthen medicare. >> it's grim but thoughtful, and that does not always work. the more traditional attack ad is direct and scary. take georgia's senate race between michelle nunn and david purdue, who is fussing on immigration. >> michelle nunn's only plans as she funded organizations linked to terrorists. she's for amnesty while terrorism experts say our border break down could bring in groups likecy citizen like isis. >> the problem with that scary add is it'

democrats hope it will help begich. there is indication that marijuana initiatives bring out younger voters. florida has a ballot initiative to make it the 24 state to make marijuana legal for medicinal purposes. in colorado where voters legalized cannabis two years ago there is referendum, a hot button issue. a pro-life constitutional amendment to define a fetus as person. personhood is the amendment. mark udall opposes measure but wanted it on the ballot to energy pro-choice voters against cory gardner who doesn't support the measure but in the past supported some personhood measures. measures in washington state how to hunt for bear. in mississippi there will be a constitutional amendment even making hunting and fishing a constitutional right. 125 to 130 of these in 41 states, eric. eric: well, they can figure out anything and leave it up to the politicians to get votes out. >> who would not think fishing should be a constitutional right? how could anybody argue with that? eric: it is. depends if you throw them back.

mark beg dlix wins the fights for alaska. >> begich is another democrat in a deep red state trying to run from the president. a new hayes research poll shows 41-36. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7 it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. it makes me happy to i like feeling smart. internet essentials from comcast has brought low-cost internet access to over 1.4 million low-income people at home. internet essentials helped me progress in my schoolwork. it helped my grades move higher. today it's the largest broadband adoption program in america. it helped me a lot. comcast nbcuniversal. helping to bridge the digital divide. >>> some are linking the islamic extremist group isis to the contend shus immigration issue which has been a hot potato facing the lawmakers. >> we have found copies, or people along the border where the trails of these people come across, have found muslim clothing. they have found kora

that's kind of what has hung the begich campaign up here a little bit.usly an ad they put up at labor day, it was something they knew they had. it was something the sullivan campaign knew was coming. they had an immediate rebuttal for it. there were some democrats in washington thought this could be the silver bullet for beg gish, it would ultimately take sullivan down. then an attorney wrote to the begich campaign saying, quote, your campaign is playing poor politics at the ex-tense of my clients and frankly has done only what is in the best interest of mark beg gish rather than protecting the victims of the most serious crime in alaska history. it's pretty tough. begich's campaign tried to finesse this in the beginning when initially on saturday they asked for this ad to be taken down. ultimately they removed all sign of the ad. you can't find it on the internet. they removed the research that backed up the ad. they clearly had to take maya culpa on this. it's being viewed as a campaign that has otherwise been sure footed. >> i think you have to apolog

the victim's attorney took it out there before begich took it down much later.empting to correct the ad. they pointed out in that letter that to be clear it was your ad that was the one they were unhappy with. they had put the community on edge, and away. into the race that we had not seen before. jessica taylor, her work is available online. here is how sullivan responded to it. [video clip] >> millions of dollars are flooding into alaska pet -- alaska, paid for by special interests. pretty soon you will want to do this to your television. i've proposed a plan to stop the mudslinging from outsiders to keep the selection focus on the issues. unfortunately, mark begich said no. i am dan sullivan and i approved this message. he should tell his friends to stay out of alaska. it points out the fact that in these closely watched races where just a few thousand votes can make the difference, one misstep or another could determine the direction of the campaign. guest: republicans are trying to demonize mark begich as being too close to the president. but if you can cho

the group has made a multimillion ad buy for senator mark begich who is in hot water after a recent attack ad against republican dan sullivan backfired. and then there's kentucky where senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is hoping for a change in title to majority leader? but he'll have to get past a strong challenge to his own re-election first. here's cnn chief congressional correspondent dana bash. >> reporter: this year's marquee political race is a study in contrasts. a 35-year-old democrat, a washington novice, running to be kentucky's first fee nail senator. >> mitch mcconnell's washington, well, it's not working for kentucky. >> reporter: the 72-year-old top senate republican in the fight of his life to win and take over the senate. >> there is nobody barack obama wants to beat worse than mitch mcconnell. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell is the ultimate political tactician and old school "bring home the bacon" senator but he's not a farm and fuzzy campaigner at all. allison grimes is a natural at pressing the flesh with voters. but in interviews she's often stilted. it's a chance to

the people who come out to support him again, they are being very cautious in this, you have mark begich who said he did not agree what the president was doing, he wasn't going to give him a blank check. the president wants this backing, both because he wants a little bit of cover for this decision and he also knows that it does look better if congress gets behind him. but if a year from now, things are tough, you can get that the democrats are going to split off and you will probably see an emergence of an anti-warome oute the president or someone like hillary clinton, who might be running to succeed him in office and that could be a big split in the democratic party. >> and this goes to the heart of the president's -- the problem with his strategy, which is a strategy that is asking americans to sustain a war over many years is going to run into political opposition, that's exactly what we learned with president bush and the iraq and afghanistan war, this is why this has to be a short, sharp and successful war. >> i think the president has, under the constitution, the authority to do t

mark begich from alaska, "i oppose the president's plan to arm rebels." jeanne shaheen says "a speech is not a strategy. i intend to question administration officials on their plans to implement this." the one is mark udahl of colorado, "the president specifically said this is not a ground war" the president said. mark udahl said i'll not give this president or any other president a blank check to engage in war in iraq. >> we know y it's these polls that show the president's approval rating sew low in the 30s and 40s, 30s in some of the states, 40s nationwide and that's why they want to create this distance. in shaheen's case you have somebody like scott brown who is running on this issue, in a more hawkish way than she is. he shoo wants to be in an oversight position over this president. in udall you had from hum trying to get distance also on immigration reform and the executive action president obama did not take over the last weeks. this is democrats trying to get some distance from this president. they think he's a drag on them. >> you can tell with

people like mark begich or mary landrieu or kay hagan, they're already set.t's going to be close in a lot of these states already. they're states that won in 2012. how much does that really shift? >> there was an article today, this was in politico, the spokesman for the nrsc, brad daze bring. he said the president and senate democrats are playing a cynical game, hoping americans paying attention now won't be after the election and it will backfire. joe, to pick up on what christina is saying, this confuses me about the politics. if this is a political decision, you're telegraphing we're still going to do this, the thing the republicans have been scoring points with their base all summer, they can still score points. >> brad day spring knows cynical. john boehner tweets or says in a statement he's so concerned about the poor hispanics that he doesn't care enough about -- >> this is designed with republican cynicism in mind. >> absolutely. it seems badly designed. maybe we're in a level of 11th dimensional chess where i'm too stupid to see why this is smart. i

begich who defeated ted stephens trailed sullivan by two percentage points in the latest poll.sas, freshman congressman tom cotton and challenging. cotton represents the fourth district and often a swing section of the state. lous lose democrat senator mary landru. the challenger is a congressman for the louisiana sixth congressional district. it requires all parties to appear on the november 4th ballot and if they don't get the top. they go to a run off election. many are predicting that will be the case. and north carolina incumdent kay haggan and republican tom hillis face off. haggan running for a senate term backed the democratic agenda in a state where president obama has a 51 percent disapproval rating. tillis is seeing a surge in the polls. and montana, south dakota and iowa and virginia and west virginia. >> can the gop take control of the senate? i spoke to james carvel earlier. james one thing about you. you are a straight shooting giechlt will the d the senate this year? >> most of the prognosticators and some say not so fast. i wouldn't if the republicans don't win

senator begich. >> thank you, mr. chairman, thank you for holding this hearing, secretary mcdonald, thank you very much for our meetings and conversations we have had, provide g being here also. let me just say a couple of things, first, i'm very glad that the piece of legislation passed as it did a month or so ago, but the reality s i guess for senator moran in alaska u we have been doing this, we drag the obama administration along, but they now understand and we have been doing it for three years, we deliver health care from 30 different tribes around the state through our indian health services program which is administered by alaska tribes, delivering health care to veterans native and not native, no matter where they live. it doesn't matter if you're living up in nome, or you're living all the way down the ket ketchican. it wasn't easy, there was a little bit of back and forth between the va and the health and human services department to get them to understand that this is about delivering care with the same ta

mark begich breaking with the president by saying he's still worried the arms could wind up in the hands of terrorists. while senator udall declared he should get authorization there congress. call it the isis effect on the midterm elections. in the new fox poll, an equal number now say terrorism is as big a factor on their vote as the economy. 41% say both issues are extremely important in their decision. four years ago, 57% said the economy would be extremely important while 41% said terrorism. beyond the backlash at home, the president also has on deal with struggles lining up allies an abroad. >> what we're doing now would actually become a model for cooperation. >> reporter: the foreign minister from great britain suggested america's staunchist ally was not on board. >> britain will not be taking part in any air strikes in syria. i can be very clear about that. >> reporter: i've gone inside the white house press room because they have shut down the lawn. one person appre-behi preprehea. i've heard various officers saying something about a stuffed animal. there might have been confus

what harry reid is doing is making folks like mark begich and kay hagan and mark pryor and mary landrieund defend why is it there's always secrets up there? >> in fairness -- >> let me show a few more of the secrets, i know people -- i'm intrigued by this. here is another thing that's in all of these pages. senators are allowed to use charter planes or boats if it would be advantageous to the senate. i'm not exactly sure what that means but maybe julie and david can help me out here. "usa today" has reported that senators took nearly $1 million worth of charter flights last year, at taxpayer expense. now, we hear how much air force one costs, so, 1 million may not be that much money, unfortunately, when it comes to charter flights. but julie, again, what does it mean, if it's advantageous to the senate? >> i guess if you're flying somewhere to really remote part of your state that is not accessible by commercial flights, i guess. i do have to take issue with something david said. i don't remember leader lott or leader dole or any of these republican leaders exactly putting this out there

that's why i had a good laugh when i saw mark begich pretending to ride one. >> real-life snowball fightn alaska. and a hit on the senator today, starring her grandmother, telling the story of her grandfather's stroke. in georgia as well, a fight has broken out. after former president george h.w. bush endorsed purdue monday. his son who chairs the bush family's points of light foundation that michelle nun used to lead slammed purdue for runni running ads. on wednesday, purdue doubled down, going up with a new ad. why do republicans care so much? what's the matter with texas? because greg ormans, independent candidacy there, could throw a wrench in. while deciding the name has to remain on the ballot. so why does it matter? here's why. in a new fox poll, when taylor is is included, republican senator roberts narrowly has a win. if you take taylor out of the mix, roberts loses to orman. joining me now, dnc communications director mo leethy and rnc communications director shawn spicer. thanks for being with us. do the democrats back independent greg orman? >> look, it's really a fascinating

senator mark begich is facing a tough re-election bid in alaska. >> he is at it again. >> reporter: his constituents worry about the cost and fear the u.s. will slip into another long war. >> they're concerned that we would once again get engaged in a quagmire there and pick up the tab for who knows what over the long term. >> reporter: the challenge for the white house is getting enough jittery democrats on board without scaring off republicans. for "this week," jeff zeleny, abc news, capitol hill. >>> let's take on all of this now with white house chief of staff denis mcdonough. mr. mcdonough, let me start right away and ask if we've identified the executioner in those videos. >> i don't have any particular news or analysis on that for you, martha, but obviously we're doing everything we can to find that out and everything we can to continue to keep the heat on isil. >> do you think this will mean that the british will now join in air strikes with the u.s.? does it strengthen the coalition? >> we obviously underscore to stand side -- shoulder to shoulder with our ally and our close fr

. >> i'm marc begich. >> i'm alison grimes. >> a parade of democrats are following this practice. >> obama. >> the administration's policies are simply wrong. >> i'll make sure president obama gets the message: >> when the president has shown up in these states, democrats are studly -- suddenly finding themselves busy and making it clear obama does not want to see them. >> the white house when they look down the front lawn, the last person they want to see coming is me. >> okay, mark ewe dsh udaall. they talked about all the things he differed from president bush he lost. blanch lincoln took all the differences she had with president obama. she lost. it's a strategy that never works. >> it's not just in red states that voted for romney. colorado, obama won that twice and mark udall is trying to distance himself, obama, 36% approval. >> this is the depressing part, right. we had americans that said we want a congress that compromises, we want people to get things done, guess who they vote out, the people who are the compromisers. those people, if they lose, there's nobody for republic

senator begich. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for holding this hearing. secretary mcdonald, thank you very much for our meetings and conversations we've had and for the ig being here also. let me say a couple things. first, i'm very glad that the piece of legislation passed as it did a month or so ago, but the reality is, as we know, and i guess for senator moran, in alaska we've been doing this for three-plus years. we dragged the obama administration along, but they now understand and we've been doing it for three years. we deliver health care from 30 different tribes around the state through our indian health services program which is administered by alaska tribes delivering health care to veterans, native and nonnative, no matter where they live. doesn't matter if you're living up in nome or you're living all the way down to ketchikan. we can deliver care if the veterans so chooses with the existing rules. and it wasn't easy. there is a little bit of back and forth between the va and the health and human services department to get them to understand t