ben nelson's seat. in 2012, the republicans need to pick up just four senate seats to win back control of the senate if they can hold on to all ten of their incumbent republican senate seats. the democrats now have eight difficult seats to defend. including nebraska. the republicans only need to win half of those seats. mitch mcconnell's road to majority leader just got a little bit easier today, and the prospects of president obama being able to govern in a second term got a little bit harder today. joining me now richard wolffe, author of revival, the struggle for survival inside the obama white house and msnbc analyst karen finney, former dnc communications director. karen, speak to this question of the complexity of the politics of governing versus the politics of campaigning. in campaigning, you can just leave the opponent dead by the side of the road, but the complexity in the politics of governing is the person who is in your way today may be your ally tomorrow, which is something that harry reid

rush limbaugh of all people shared with the country how the people of nebraska feel about ben nelson's betrayal of his own party and his own state. nebraska senator ben ben nelson and his wife were leaving dinner at a new pizza joint near their home in omaha one night last week when when a customer there began complaining about nelson's decisive role in the vote on the senate health care bill other customers started booing a woman yelled get the hell out of here the nelsons in their dining companions then beat a hasty retreat it was but despite truman's take on this democrats are worried by nelson's retirement there are twenty three democrats in the senate fighting for reelection next year and only ten republicans up for reelection and republicans only need a net four seats to take control of the upper chamber and with nelson retiring democrats are already figuring that the lose that seat in the brassica to a republican after all nelson is the only democrat currently elected to the state office statewide in the entire state so here's what democrats need to realize nelson's retiring isn

insurance companies to compete at lower rates that's exactly what my family needs now i hear that ben nelson the southerner that i voted for was leading the charge to delay health reform this summer. that's exactly what they want the health insurance companies that have given summer to nelson over two million dollars know that if they can stall reform they can kill it i have to ask senator whose side are you on if you're on my side stay at work my family can't wait for reform so whether it's the tea party or the occupy wall street movement common ground can be found when it comes to throwing bankers in jail ending crony capitalism reigning in wall street and bringing our jobs back home heck even the most ferocious tea partiers don't want their social security medicare taken away from so democrats take advantage of this opportunity and nominate a true progressive someone who is able to belong only say that the problem is not big government but big corporations controlling government then he or she can win not just in massachusetts but also nebraska and back even texas as more and more america

nebraska democratic senator ben nelson will not seek re-election in 2012.dered a top republican target heading into 2012. a tough break for democrats in a very tough state for them to hold in 2012. to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it

simply put, it's time to move on. >> chris, ben nelson steps away, the seventh democrat in the senateng he will not come back after this term. what does it mean? >> well, it's tough being a moderate democrat right now. bill nelson must be feeling it, claire mccaskill. and in the west coast, as well, but it's very tough out there where you have to win with a hybrid electorate. of you got to bring people over from the other side. and he was appealing to republicans. but his voting record on the democratic side was in the 80s. that's pretty democrat. but that makes it troublesome among the caucus voters. blew me away. sounds like the british labor party. but bill nelson, tester, tester's in good shape. i think they're going to hold the senate if they can win with massachusetts. >> right. >> if warren who i really like because i think she's not the martha coakley, they don't have the elite problem with her. she's a regular democrat, if she can keep running in that middle and not forego the kennedy tradition up there like coakley did, i think she can win. and that's a big upset to knock of

. >> conservative democratic ben nelson of nebraska is stepping down. i'll tell you why this could be a win for the middle class. >>> i can't go back in time. now all i can do is move forward. >> were you on track, governor? >> yes and no. >> the effort to recall scott walker is going strong. but the governor is worried that mickey mouse is signing the recall petitions. wisconsin state senator is here to tell us why walker is in fantasyland. >>> good to have you with us tonight, folks. let's start with iowa where all the political action is taking place. and basically iowa is up in the air. the first caucus in the 2012 presidential race happen one week from tonight. and the republican party still has no clear direction. the latest average of multiple polls in iowa show ron paul with a lead. the real story is mitt romney mounting a comeback in iowa while newt gingrich has really taken a tumble. romney's plan to focus on new hampshire has been put aside. romney is spending more time and money in the state of iowa. the romney campaign thinks the nomination

gwen: moderate word, ben nelson who has a reputation of being a blue dog democrat, are moderates more under fire than they have ever been and do they have less reason to say because they have less say in a polarized congress? >> it didn't faze a former congressman who lost in 2010. he was seen as a typical moderator. he's talked about this. the problem when you're a moderate lawmaker, you don't actually get to spend much time electing. you tend to represent states and districts that are so competitive you're constantly under fire both from often your base of your own party and from the opposing party. so the amount of time it spends fund-raising, campaigning, can be exhausting. ben nelson, he probably would have faced a tough road to re-election but he certainly had taken the steps. spent a million dollars trying to improve his image. running polling. he hired staff. running the kind of campaign he would have to run, sometimes legislators don't have the appetite for it. >> or the energy. and a lot of time get up in years and don't want to go through it all again. and nelson is a good

. >>> nebraska senator ben nelson says that he will retire at the end of his current term.he 70-year-old democrat was facing a tough republican challenge. the gop needs to gain only four senate seats to take control of both chambers of congress. >>> the death toll in afghanistan climes. preserve its members died tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded in an eastern province. no other details have been released so far. -- nato said that some service members died on tuesday. >>> the pentagon says having a parade for iraq veterans while still have troops in afghanistan would send the wrong message. >>> it is 43 degrees, 6:06. >> daring daytime burglaries' caught on tape. how you can help police stop a crime spree in prince george's county. >> no redskins headed to honolulu. which star did not make the cut. >> it is windy and >>> i am executive director of food and friends here with our dedicated staff of volunteers preparing nutritious meals for 2800 clients battling by challenging illnesses. happy holidays from our kitchen to yours. >> good morning, washington. >>> we say good

we'll have the latest from iowa. >>> back in washington, ben nelson of nebraska announces he will notk re-election, almost assuring his seat will go to a republican. >>> and a surreal scene in the streets of pyongyang, north carolina, or was it a sound stage in burbank? where thousands gather for some choreographed mourning of the late kim jong-il. the question is, what happens in

senator ben nelson of nebraska, the two-term democrat will not seek reelection.top republican target after the health care fight. joined by nbc news director mark murray. first of all, let's start with what it means for democrats in the senate. >> just on paper, it will be harder for democrats to hold on to. it will be a tough and tough poll numbers that they were contending with. it becomes an easier pick up opportunity for them and of course a democrat can get a slam dunk recruit and person whose name is mention side former nebraska senator bob kerry. he would fit the bill and it could be a competitive race. you have battle royals that would occur in missouri. you end up having clair mchask il in a fight for her life. this all depends on control of the senate. republicans need to pick it up and if president obama does not win in 2012, they need to win if he does. this is all about looking down the list and seeing who will end up controlling the senate in 2012. if republicans have an easy slam dunk opportunity in nebraska. it makes it easier for them to focus on

now through january 3rd. >>> democratic senator ben nelson's decision to retire is giving republicansand giving democrats new reason to worry they won't be able to hold onto their senate majority in 2012. let's bring back our panel. okay, john. republicans rightly are touting this as nebraska. this was going to be a hard seat to hold. >> the biggest impact is 2013 is hairy reid no longer has to deal with ben nelson frankly. there was very little chance he was going to win this, especially after his bad handling of the cornhusker kickback and the health care debate. instead of owning it -- >> that's what we're supposed to do. >> he sort of backed away from it and then he voted against the bill. republicans automatic knew they had him on the ropes then. i don't think anything changes. >> privately republicans i talk to largely agree with you. ann, the name that comes up, i feel like it's a name that comes up every time, i compared it to charlie brown trying to kick the football and lucy always pulls it away, stormer senator bob kerrey. someone who has spent basically the last decade in

plus ben nelson's retirement in nebraska is a hard blow to the democrats' chance of holding the u.s.senate. we'll go over the map and crunch the numbers and also the latest republican play for religious conservatives and whether that will affect the women's vote come november. and let me finish tonight with a democratic guide to the way republicans pick their presidential candidates. it's different. we begin with the latest in iowa, and the new numbers that show more reason for gingrich to worry and an explanation for why the old newt is showing up these past few days. as i said, boy, is this guy angry. jonathan martin is politico's ç senior political report. we begin with the new "time"/cnn poll numbers out just a short time ago. in iowa newt gingrich has fallen dramatically out of first place. he's now in fourth with just 14% of the vote. what a fall. romney and paul each have jumped up five points to lead the pack, and look at rick santorum. he's tripled his support from just earlier in december. he's now running third. and in new hampshire romney has had a commanding lead with 4

democratic senator ben nelson of nebraska has announced he will not run again in 2012 and is retiringer just two terms. that leaves the door open for a possible republican takeover of the senate. nelson release a statement asking his replace ndp to look for common ground with both parties. president obama recognized him for that thanking him for working with democrats and republicans on many issues. >>> new this morning, north creigh's state funeral, the next leader of north korea leading a procession. kim jong un was shown walking beside his father's coffin. tens of thousands of mourners stood in the snow and onlys are bowed their heads as they passed by. >>> hosni mubarak back in a cairo courtroom this morning. his trial resuming after a three-month break. the former dictator facing charges related to the deaths of 840 protesters in the crackdown against a popular uprising earlier this year. he could get the death penalty if convicted. >>> some other top stories, two garage fires in urbana monday night appear to be linked and the work of an arsonist. one happened on singleton terrac

look at senator ben nelson getting money to cover medicare expenses covered. this president wouldn't do that. >> rich, what do you think? >> i hope he wouldn't do that. but the proof is in the pudding and we need a balanced budget amendment and get the percentage of federal pending down below 20 percent and clinton and george bush in the first term. >> victoria, what we have to do to aim for the kind of government before president obama which was big as it was. line item veto, fundmental question. why is the national budget going to piddly projects. they are locall initiatives that should be getting local funding. >> she got the first and last word. >> and one of the oldest airlines thanking big labor for going bankism -- bankrupt. >> states are hiking the minimum wage. but eliminating the men mum wage maximize pay? since i was a kid. [ man #2 ] i always wondered how did an airplane get in the air. at ge aviation, we build jet engines. we lift people up off the ground to thousand feet. thesengines are built by hand with very precise assembly techniques. [ man

democratic senator ben nelson. he has been in the headlines a lot the last couple of years.y people think he is the deciding vote on health care in the senate. what does it do for the republicans? opening there or bob kerrey moment? >> bob kerrey may or may not get in i don't know. it makes it essentially a republic seat to lose at this point. this is good news for the republicans in that sense. it also demonstrates that barack obama and obama care have defeated more democrats than ronald reagan ever did. we saw the republicans take back the house in 2010 because of obama care. now we are seeing nelson who is supposed to be a secure, safe democrat basically bow out because he couldn't defend the cornhusker kick back. >> i don't think he is that safe. >> because of the cornhusker kick back. >> this is the death of the moderates. you just see these people, you know, one by one leaving congress. and, you know, so the issue that they chose was the cornhusker kick back in health care. at the end of the day we are not going to see senators or members of congress from extremely red

ben nelson of nebraska says he will retire and then seek a third term.t to have a tough challenge. at this point, nebraska appears to be an easy target. >> officials want to organize a parade to honor americans who fought in that spirit is celebrated place after the first gulf war. officials say having a parade of we still have troops in harm's way in afghanistan would send the wrong message. not everyone agrees. from >> away until after all the ones are over. it is time for the party. i think you should do what you need. >> washington, d.c. also hosted it. they say the district would be honored to host a parade for iraq war veterans but is waiting for a formal request. we have dropped a few degrees. >> coming up, if there is no holiday cheer for too long running -- two long-running retailers. >> first up, i'm just a bit of residuesi left behind by some mop. why you... nobody's taken a shine to me in a long time. phooey. i don't need anybody...but you! ♪ i believe in miracles ♪ [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. used mops can push muddy water arou

nebraska senator ben nelson says he will not seek a third term. democrats had urged nelson to run again. the gop now needs just four seats to win the majority. >>> new this morning, north korea's state funeral for kim jong il. tens of thousands of mourners paying their final respects to kim who died of a heart attack on december 17th. crying people lined the snowy streets of the capital as the hearse made its way on the final farewell. >>> coming up next, mom ising news for the families of three court contractors held in iraq. >>> a christmas day tragedy. three young sisters and their grandparents killed in a house fire. investigators say they have dairmd cause. we'll talk about it on the other side of the break.   -- investigate ors say they have determined a -- investigators say they have determined a cause. we'll talk about it on the other side of the break. over 200,000 people are hospitalized every year with flu complications. lysol disinfectant spray is approved to kill over 50 germs on surfaces. this includes cold and flu

>>reporter: democratic aides say nebraska senator ben them son -- ben nelson will decline to run. this makes it more difficult for democrats to hold on. nelson is the only congressional democrat left representing nebraska, the other u.s. senator and all three congressman are republicans. as the more conservative democrats in the senate, republicans and democrats courted the nebraska for key legislative votes and the last hold out on the health care vote in 2009, securing what was known as the corn husker kickback, special insert for nebraska requiring the federal government cover the laws' medicaid expansion, but that was later removed. republicans accused the democrats of buying the vote, and others are reminding voters of it. from that deal, republicans say they felt they had enough momentum to defeat nelson in twelve -- in 2012 and now political analysts considered nebraska a toss up in 1212 and the senate is very much in play in 2012 with democrats controlling the senate with 53 seats and republicans have 47. democrats must defend 23 seats in november and republicans only have

paul blumenthal reported $1.5 million was already spent on ben nelson's re-election campaign before hen't going to run again. what a waste of money. a lot of people could use that $1.5 million. me, too. >> sam stein was taking donations -- >> imagine you spending $1.5 million and saying i'm going to move on. >> you bring up an interesting point and ben nelson's personal net worth is estimated to be about $7 million. roll call ranks him as the 38th richest. when we talk about who is serving and who is attracted to public service. there's been so much vilification -- rick perry is talking about a part-time congress and the idea of nobly serving your country for the right reasons, this is increasingly a career you go to after you have made your money elsewhere, is it not? whether you're an oil magnate or a real estate mack gnat magnated of a bow, right? >> you're looking at a number of teem who got wealthy after they went into public office. rick perry is among them. >> newt gingrich. >> mitt romney would be an exception. so i don't know that you can say that we're seeing a trend one( wha

>> well, chris, probably the best news for democrats is that this ben nelson news really doesn't changengs at all. nelson was already going to face an uphill climb for re-election given the poll numbers that he had had, and you look at everything that's out there right now and if president obama ends up winning re-election and if elizabeth warren out in massachusetts can beat republican senator scott brown, democrats have a very realistic chance of holding onto the senate probably in a 50/50 tie with vice president joe biden in 2013 breaking that tiebreaker. of course, a lot of things have to go their way, but democrats, if they can win in massachusetts, in president obama holds on to win, they can still lose four senate contests, including in nebraska and north dakota and perhaps in two other states and still hold on to control the senate. >> i love -- don't you love just playing these numbers? looking at all the different permutations. >> it's you a some. awesome. >> we've only just begun with the senate. >> thanks, chris. >> the u.s. government sanctions against iran could cause mass

the democrats' hopes for maintaining senate majority took a blow yesterday when nebraska senator ben nelson announced he's decided not to run for re-election in 2012. he made the announcement in a youtube video. he explained he wants to spend more time with his family. he faced a tough re-election battle against a large group of republican challengers. >>> a funeral procession for kim jong-il has begun in pyongyang. tens of thousands of north koreans lined snow-covered streets today as the late leader's son and successor kim jong-un led the hearse that carried his father's body. >> with outside monitors now in syria, demonstrators made sure their voices would be heard. amateur video shows tens of thousands taking to the streets reportedly calling for the execution of president al assad. also pleading with monitors for help. and they have released 750 detain detainees. >>> the high stakes battle of western powers, iran threatened to cut off oil exports from middle east if the west imposes sanctions on oil shipments. a top official threatened to close the strait of hormuz if the west continue

back in washington, in a major blow to democrats hopes to retain their majority in the senate, ben nelson announced he will not seek re-election. he made the announcement in a youtube video titled what's next. >> i also feel it's time for me to step away from elective office, spend more time with my family, and look for new ways to serve our state and nation. therefore i'm announcing today that i will not seek re-election. simply put, it's time to move on. >>> time to move on. some insiders in washington say he saw the path and it didn't look good to re-election. democrats rallied around the two-term senator contributing more than $1.5 million to nelson's $3 million war chest, but nelson's support of president obama's health care legislation may have been the final straw for nebraska voters. an op-ed in the "wall street journal" writes in part mr. nelson ultimately provided the 6 60th and final vote to pass obama care at 1:00 a.m. two miss mass eves ago. he then disavowed his own kickbacks and voted against the final version of the legislation in march of 2010 that only needed a simple ma