that's the biden rule.the only rule we follow. ( applause ) and just, by the way, since when do republicans have any respect for what joe biden says? >> i think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way. >> democrats aren't asked to answer every time joe biden says something embarrassing. >> the latest gaffe of the gift that keeps on giving, who is, by the the way, a heartbeat away from the presidency. >> the next time you're at a party, walk up to someone, just say, "environment joe biden," and close your mouth. they will crack up laughing. >> trevor: yeah, that's true, if you say "joe biden" at a party, people crack up laughing. just like if you say "ted cruz" at a party, people leave. ( cheers and applause ) "time to go, people. ted cruz, ted cruz. time to go, people. ted cruz. put the drink down. ted cruz, come on, guys, get out of here. ted cruz, ted cruz, people." we should all start doing that at parties from now on. "ted cruz, everybody, t

we put -- biden world. we put the 53 and 11 and republican presidents last year in office, republican-controlled senate allows only five. com, on. let's be fair. the fact is they are has never, we have never blocked in a presidential election year a supreme court nominee because it was a presidential election year. in fact, i think we created the judiciary committee in 1816, always about presidential nominees to go forth. and i tell you this because the constitution requires the president to make a nomination but it's very clear. and then it says that we show advice and consent. we are saying no, we won't even advice, we won't even consent, we would even have a hearing. mr. president, i've taken the oath of office here seven times. it is a moving, scrolling moment. i'm sure that distinguished presiding officer when he was sworn in knows it is a solemn moment. you promise to uphold the constitution, so help me god. the constitution says the president shall nominate. it says we shall advise and consent. i too

so now you hear this talk about the biden rule. frankly ridiculous. there is no biden rule. it doesn't exist. there is only one rule i ever followed. -- followed in the judiciary committee. that was the constitution's clear rule of advice and consent. article 2 of the constitution clearly states whenever there is a vacancy in one of the courts created by the constitution itself, the supreme court of the united states, the president shall -- not may, the president shall appoint someone to fill the vacancy with the advice and consent of the united states senate. and advice and consent includes consulting and voting. nobody is suggesting individual senators have to vote yes on any particular presidential nominee. voting no is always an option and it is their option. but saying nothing, seeing nothing, reading nothing, hearing nothing and deciding in advance simply to turn your back before the president even names a nominee is not an option the onstitution leaves open. it's a plain abdication of the senate's solemn constitutional duty. it's an abdication, quite frankly, that has

there is no biden rule.kay, well, there is one biden rule, and that is, if you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat. -(laughter) -that's the biden rule. -(applause) -that's the only rule we follow. and-and just... by the way, since when do republicans have any respect for what joe biden says? i think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way. democrats aren't asked to answer every time joe biden says something embarrassing. the latest, uh, gaffe of the gift that keeps on giving, uh, who is, by the the way, a heartbeat away from the presidency. the next time you're at a party, walk up to someone, just say, "vice president joe biden" and close your mouth. they will crack up laughing. yeah, that's true. if you say "joe biden" at a party, people crack up laughing. uh, just like if you say "ted cruz" at a party, people leave. time to go, people. it's ted cruz, it's ted cruz. time to go, people. ted cruz. put the drink down. ted cru

president, of the biden rule. yesterday the chairman of the judiciary committee and i personally reiterated to president obama that we will observe the biden rule. the american people deserve to be heard on this matter. that's the fairest and most reasonable approach today. voters have already begun to choose the next president who in turn will nominate the next supreme court justice. it's an important decision. justice scalia himself reminded us that setting aside one's personal views is one of the primary qualifications for a judge. his aim was to follow the constitution wherever it took him, even if he disagreed politically with the outcome. we saw that when he sided with the constitutional right of protesters to burn the american flag. if you're going to be a good and faithful judge, he said, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you're not always going to like the conclusions you reach. i think americans agree that judges should be fair, impartial arbiters who apply the law and the constitution equally

senator biden, chairman biden, when he spoke, does anyone here know, well, it would be the chairman,o you know when he spoke? somebody designed to gain the system. we are talking here about confirming someone to replace a justice who has died. think about how different that is everybody. when chuck schumer says an extra nurse situation, he is talking about someone dying. scientists tell us they're to math month left. and justice scalia minded not agree with him. i thought he was a very witty, funny guy. that is a high compliment coming from me. i value that highly. no one dies to gain the system. what biden was talking about is a justice, as soon as the supreme court session ends with an resigning in order to gain the system. as far as senator obama going to filibuster, that is the 60 vote threshold. >> you can listen to it as i go. it is, justice thomas was confirmed 52 to 42. a little bit irritating. i think the chair for his indulgence in all my colleagues. >> i seem to be the last person sitting or standing. ask permission to include my remarks in the record. >> without objection

to follow that suggestion of then senator biden. we will have a debate, a national debate between the democrat nominee in the republican nominee. about what kind of justice the american people want on the supreme court. that is what they deserved in my view that the people decide. there was a more basic debate because of my town meetings somebody will come in very outraged by the senator with juries of impeachment's so instead of interpreting the law why you put up with that? so we can have the debate on what is the constitutional role of the court? with those justices to feel their feelings should put into the decision that he wants somebody that expresses sympathy and understanding of people's problems. to the branch of government to let their personal feelings involved whatsoever. their job is to look at the losses in to make the impartial judgment. and even to the republican appointed to the supreme court when issuing a decision with the affordable care act did not fit into what congress could do. to regulating interstate commer

chairman biden was very clear. whatever you do, all the spin in the world is not going to change that fact. now, we have talked a lot about the biden rules, but we have not talked about why he felt so strongly that conducting hearings in these circumstances would be bad for the nominee, but the process, and bad for the senate. it was because under these circumstances, the process would not be about constitutional interpretation and the proper rule of the court -- role of the court. it would be a hyper political slugfest as chairman biden said. "where the nation to be treated to a consideration of constitutional -- all it will get in such circumstance is partisan bickering and political posturing from both parties from both ends of pennsylvania avenue." chairman biden was making the point that all of us know to be true, but only some of us are willing to admit. considering his supreme court nomination in the middle of a presidential campaign would be all politics and no constitution. if there is any doubt that this

and vice president biden met with netanyahu to discuss it. in israel this week. i know that next week, the defense minister of israel is going to be in washington meeting with his defense counterpart, secretary of defense ashton carter and hopefully they will solidify some sort of agreement because israel does have some very serious threats, significant threats in the region, is threatened by a civil war that's raging in syria right next door, we have i.s.i.s. right around the corner from israel, there are significant missile threats coming from israel's north, hezbollah in the north, iran in the east, iran has been testing long range ballistic missile range 2,000 kilometers that can reach israel. these are very serious threats and i think the relationship between united states and israel will certainly withstand latest flare-up over netanyahu's cancelled visit. >> guy zif, good to have you with us. thank you. >>> the prison program, and five years after the melt downtowns of the fukushima nuclear plan, the communities that remain abandoned and the signs of hope

chairman joe biden. consider that last part. senator biden said that the cost to the nation would be too great, no matter who the president nominates. president obama and his allies may now try to pretend this disagreement is about a person. but as i just noted, his own vice president made it clear it's not. the biden rule reminds us that the decision the senate announced weeks ago remains about a principle and not a person. about a principle, and not a person. it seems clear that president obama made this nomination not, not with the intent of seeing the nominee confirmed, but in order to politicize it for purposes of the election. which is the type of thing then-senate judiciary committee chairman biden was concerned about. the exact thing chairman biden was concerned about. the biden rule underlines that what the president has done with this nomination would be unfair to any nominee and more importantly the rule warrants of the great cost the president's action could carry for our nation. americans are certain to hear a lot o

there is no biden role. thank you.ost: if the senate declines to take up garland's nomination, this is from the washington post, before president obama leaves office, the next president will have the option of resurrecting the nomination or choosing someone else to fill the vacancy on the supreme court . either way, the process would begin a new with the next congress. this process is only good until the end of this congress. said the senate should hold hearings on obama's nominee to replace the late justice antonio scalia while 32% said it should not hold hearings and leave it to the next president according to the washington post-abc news poll released last week. administration officials are hopeful that the gop senators who are most vulnerable this november they lobby their leaders for a vote. if these gop senators up for reelection want to be more conciliatory they could say they regard judge garland as a suitable choice for a democratic president, and would be happy to vote for him in a lame-duck session if mrs. c

it's worse than that. >> you know, here is joe biden giving a speech. >> why is it that joe biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? >> it's almost word for word what british labor party leader neil kennekut said. >> a way of life, the first kennecut in a thousand generations to be able to get to university. >> here's a clip of kinnik and a clip of biden saying the same thing. >> was it because they were weak. those people who could work eight hours underground and then play football. >> my ancestors who worked in the coal mines in northeast pennsylvania came up after 12 hours and play football for four hours? >> biden is stealing kinnick's words without attributing it. i wrote my story and there were more and more examples of plagiarism, reporters were digging into his past. it was a sign of death by 1,000 cuts. >> i've concluded that i will stop being a candidate for president of the united states. >> but who was behind the leaked tape? >> michael dukakis is assessing the damage to his campaign following the disclosure that two of his top aides sabotaged the cam

it's worse than that. >> you know here is joe biden giving a speech. >> why is it that joe biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? >> it's almost word for word what british labor party leader neil kennekut said. a way of life, the first kennecut in a thousand generations to be able to get to university. >> here's a clip of kinnik and a clip of biden saying the same thing. >> was it because they were weak. those people who worked eight hours underground. >> my ancestors who worked in the coal mines in northeast pennsylvania came up after 12 hours and play football for four hours? >> biden is stealing kinnick's words without attributing it. >> i wrote my story and there were more and more examples of plagiarism, reporters were digging into his past. it was a sign of death by 1,000 cuts. >> i've concluded that i will stop being a candidate for president of the united states. >> but who was behind the leaked tape? >> michael dukakis is assessing the damage to his campaign following the disclosure that two of his top aides sabotaged the campaign of rival joseph biden. >>

in 1992 then senator joe biden unwittingly created the so-called biden rule. >> the senate judiciary committee should seriously consider not scheduling hearings on the confirmation hearing until after the political campaign season is over. >> the biden rule reminds us that the decision that the senate announced weeks ago remains about a principle and not a person. >> reporter: but today the vice-president pushed back, tweeting, as chairman of the committee, i made sure every scotus nominee got a hearing, committee vote and floor vote. even those i opposed. something that may not be said for this president's latest nominee. >> it certainly is possible that republicans would choose and follow through on this unprecedented approach, but it's also possible that republicans will change course. they have in the past. >> reporter: and as customary, bret, the white house did reach out to members of the senate judiciary committee and so far they've had a fair amount of success i should say. mr. reed, grassley, leahy and mcconnell all contact and say they will meet with garland except mcconnel

you heard them constantly saying over and over the biden rule.put it back on the administration and say you created this, we're not doing something new, and we're going to follow this particular standard. >> yeah, you called it a gentlemen's agreement. gentlemen no more between the white house and congress. it hasn't been for a very long time. let's move forward now looking ahead after a big night last night, a very billing night for donald trump and hillary clinton. huge races with huge implications. let's talk about that now. barry, big night for team trump, big night for your guy looking in the immediate future, if i could -- >> can't we just relish the moment? >> no, it's all about looking ahead, forward motion here. this is a debate scheduled monday. this morning donald trump said he didn't know about the debate, and he's not going to that debate. really? >> he's speaking to apac on monday night, and you can only choose to be in one place. i don't know why they chose monday night for the debate. you know, bad scheduling. >> do you think it's

it's also been said that the biden rules somehow don't apply when chairman biden took to the floor in2, but consider that for a minute. chairman biden spoke on that -- and of course that's the day that justices often announce their retirement. it's true there was no vacancy at that time. public, -- and put the all nine justices and the president of the united states on notice. if any justices -- if any justice was considering retirement, they should know that the senate should not consider any replacement based on past practices. now, based on what we heard over the past few days we would think that to express their disagreement with chairman bide engine 1992, but for some reason that did not happen. not a single democrat went to the floor that day or in the weeks -- days and weeks that follow to say you had that history wrong. not one, not one democrat had that -- land the may be very good reason for it, but i think we should press ahead with a -- not a single democrat went to the floor and said no, mr. chairman, i disagree. and we have not -- so much then for fairness between then a

i talked to joe biden today. one of you asked me, what about biden? there's no biden law. something they made up. joe biden during his entire tenure as chairman of the judiciary committee, processed all supreme court nominations, and to his credit, even though the committee did not approve nominations, he would bring them to the floor anyway. >> senator, following up on the question, the nomination -- [inaudible] -- are you worried about -- [inaudible] press conference like you've did today? >> i'm so grateful to the president for getting this out before the break. i think that's very, very important he did that. and you'll be surprised how hard we're going to work to make sure this is still on the front pages of all the papers and the top news stories on the electronic media. ... now is it because they are afraid of the base that they do this or have to do it now and answer more to the coke brothers and others like them? that is kind of a weak excuse not to do it now. >> [inaudible] confirmation if and when to change the balance of the court if you go from this pic to a m

when senator grassley refers to the biden rules, what he's referring to is a speech that joe biden gave, but there was a hypothetical. there was a thought that perhaps harry blackman would retire that year and there could be a vacancy in an election year. that didn't end up happening but joe biden addressed the possibility and he made a very unequivocal statement which was, you know, i as chairman of the judiciary committee do not believe that president george h.w. bush should in this election year make a nomination and if he does i am -- i believe he said we should seriously consider were his words that the committee should not hold hearings on that nominee. so, obviously, that's republicans today see it as a perfectly amalagous situation and quote the words back to anybody that suggest they owe president obama's nominee consideration. and the democrats have in turn said, well, you know, that was a hypothetical. we're talking about an actual vacancy and this is not a planned vacancy or a justice engaging in a political maneuver. this is somebody who died in office. this is an unexpecte

biden: ifmr.iden: ronald reagan were alive today seeking the nomination, he could no more get the nomination of the republican party than i could get the nomination. i am not joking. fernando: that was vice president joseph biden speaking at an event in dubai about the presidential race. as biden, and even some republicans, have pointed out, there's a lot of talk about divisions erupting within the grand old party. i asked renowned scholar and head of the annenberg public policy center kathleen hall jamieson if the divisions will stand. dr. jamieson: the current systems has made it difficult for a new party to emerge. essentially, the democrats and republicans have institutionalized the parties in ways that mean you do not get much media access if you're not one of those parties, and you have ballot access threshold. for example, who gets into a primary debate -- republicans in a republican debate, democrats in a democratic debate. it means that a person who does not fit will come into the environ

the exact thing chairman biden was concerned about. rule understands that what the president has done with this nomination would be unfair to any nominee and more importantly the rule warrants of the great cost the president's action could carrie for our nation. americans are certain to hear a lot of rhetoric from the other side in the coming days. but here are the facts they should keep in mind. the current democratic leader said the senate is not a rubber stamp and he noted that the constitution does not require the senate to give presidential nominees a vote. that's the current democratic leader. the incoming democratic leader did not even wait until the final year of george w. bush's term to essentially tell the senate not, he said, not to consider any supreme court nominee the president sent. the biden rule support what is the senate is doing today. underlining that what we're talking about is a principle and not a person. so here's our view. instead of spending more time debating an issue where we can't agree let's get working to

biden took to the floor and 92. but consider that for a minute. chairman biden spoke on the floor that day before the end of the court's term and of course that is the day when justice is often announced their retirement. it is true that there was no vacancy at that time. the chairman of the senate judiciary committee went to the floor of the senate and put the public, all nine justices on the president of the united states on notice if any justices -- if any justice was considering retirement, they should know that the senate was not going to consider any replacement consistent with past practices. you would think that those who were expressing outrage today would have rushed to the floor to discuss their disagreement with chairman biden and 92. for some reason that didn't happen. not a single democrat went to the floor that day or the days and weeks that followed to stand up in may know, mr. chairman, you have the history wrong. not one democrat went to the floor, stood up and said no, mr. chairman. there may be t

there is no biden rule. doesn't exist.nly one rule i ever followed on the judiciary committee, that was the constitution's clear rule of advice and consent. i was responsible for eight justices and nine total nominees of supreme court. more than, i hate to say this, anyone alive. every nominee was greeted which committee members every nominee got a committee hearing. every nominee got out of the committee even if they didn't have sufficient votes. and every nominee, including justice kennedy in an election year, got an up and down vote. >> joe biden's speech comes as a new quinnipiac poll shows 62% of americans say the senate should consider merrick garland's nomination to the supreme court. break it down by parties. 62% of republicans say that the senate should not consider any presidential nominees until 2017. joining us, ari melber, chris kang. i want to play something else that joe biden said that you ari, identified as maybe the most important sentence of the day. let's listen to this. >> my consistent advice to presi

vice president biden as chairman biden put through in an election year a republican nominee to the supreme court and got a majority -- got a unanimous vote of democrats and republicans in this body. those are the facts. then president bush's -- the fact that we use a different standard it appears, in president bush's final two years, democrats controlled the senate. i was chairman. we confirmed 68 of his nominees. republicans in president obama's final years in office has allowed only 16. these are facts. this isn't rhetoric. these are facts. we allowed 68 no a republican president -- for a republican president, 16 for a democratic president. this enthey're going to blame -- then they're going to blame the state of the judiciary on president obama? then they talk about vice president biden when he was chairman and what he might have said during president h. w. bush's last year in office. you know what vice president biden did? they try to imply that he blocked judges. he put through 11 republican nominees for the circuit court, 53 republican nominees for the district court, 11 for the circ

joe biden gave a beautiful speech today and he was saying you no he what the biden rule is, the bidencharge every nominee got a hearing. eight court nominees got hearings. every nominee got an up or down vote. that is what has happened since 1916 when we started having hearings. so this is a complete break from precedent, one that was recognized by all people, jerry mur rain from kansas the republican senator, but he said i've got do my job and there should be a hearing. that's what he said. so i think you're starting to see republicans coming out and realizing we now have three calling for a hearing, over ten agreeing to meet with him, that this is wrong. >> it is what you're saying is true, it is a complete break from history, but what i'm asking here is every step along the way that's gotten us to this moment, a lot of these steps featured breaks from history. we mentioned the filibuster in 2006 when democrats and including then senator barack obama tried to stop there being a vote a supreme court justice. not because they didn't think he was qualified, but because they didn't agre

chairman joe biden. consider that last part. senator biden said that the cost of the nation would be too great no matter who the president nominates. president obama and his allies may now try to pretend this disagreement is about a person. but as i just noted, his own vice president made it clear it's not. the biden rule reminds us that the decision the senate announced weeks ago remains about a principle and not a person. about a principle and not a person. it seems clear that president obama made this nomination not, not with the intent of seeing the nominee confirmed, but in order to politicize it for purposes of the election. which is the type of thing then senate judiciary committee chairman biden was concerned about. the exact thing chairman biden was concerned about. the biden rule underlines what the president has done with this nomination would be unfair to any nominee and more importantly, the rule warns of the great cost the president's action could carry for our nation. americans are certain to hear a lot of rhetori

biden: because here is what we know. our servicemen and women are among the most highly skilled workers in this country. discipline, work ethic, it is in their blood, it is who they are. educationns of higher half in making some big strides in helping veterans succeed on campus. 850 governors in city and county officials are working to end veteran homelessness in their communities. and many have already done it. michelle and i intend to continue pushing forward on this work for our remaining time in the white house and beyond. and we hope that all of you here today will join us to show the members of our military and veteran families that we stand by all of those who are willing to do so much to sacrifice everything for the good of our great nation. thank you again for having me here today. have a wonderful women's history month. ourbless our troops, veterans, and their families. thank you. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable cathy mcmorris rodgers. ms. mcmorris rodgers: good afternoon. it is an honor to join

it's worse than that. >> you know, here is joe biden giving a speech. >> why is it joe biden is the firsthis family ever to go to a university? >> it's an almost word for word what british labor party leader said. >> the first in 1,000 generations to be able to get the university. >> a clip of biden saying the same thing. >> they were weak and work eight hours and play football. >> my ancestors are working l coal mine and coal up and play football for four hours. >> >> i wrote my story and there were more and more of plagiarism, reporters digging into his past and sign of death by 1,000 cuts. >> i concluded that i will stop being a candidate for the united states. >> but who was behind the leaked tape? >> michael is assessing the damage to his campaign following the disclosure that two of his top aids sabotaged the campaign of rival joseph biden. >> i went to john's office and he said dukakis would fire him. i knocked on the door and he said this was crazy. what they did wasn't so wrong. you're losing the heart and soul of your campaign. he said it heard the arguments. >> i spoke to joe b

president there is no biden rule. the biden rule, we continue doing what we as eyes done here in the senate and what is that? we approve in any presidential election year, we have never not , that's a double negative, in a presidential election year we always take care of the nomination. we have never in this country not done that until now. the other thing mr. president is we keep talking about a lot of lyrical things but we have an obligation based on the constitution of the united states to do something about these nominations ever get from the president. we have a constitutional duty to do our jobs and that duty is to give advice and consent to the president when he sent the nomination of peer which we will have in a matter of a week or so and we do it quickly. we don't spend months and months doing this mr. president. this has never ever been done before and for my friends at that the republican leader talked about statements i made and the senior senator from new york made of course we made statements. it didn't

one of you asked me what about joe biden and? it's something they made up. joe biden his entire tenure in the judiciary committee he processed all supreme court nominations and to his credit, even though the committee did not approve the nominations he would bring them to the floor anyway >> [inaudible] i am so grateful to the president for getting this out. it's very important that he did that and you'll be surprised how hard we are going to work to make sure this is still in the front pages of all the papers and top news stories on the electronic media. speak to >> we have some of the republican senators saying maybe it can do something. i am saying what's this about? do it now. is it because they are afraid of the base if they do this then they will have to answer more to others like that? that is kind of a weak excuse not to do it now. >> if he says he doesn't want to change the balance on the court for a more liberal faith she might nominate a more liberal justice -- as i read the statement he said he would consider it during the lame duck do it now. wh

over the countries nuclear program, including miniature warheads. >>> vice president joe biden is insrael this morning for talks with israeli and palestinian leaders, but his trip has been marred by violence. as israeli police shot dead two palestinian drivers after the men opened fire on a bus in east jerusalem, speaking this morning alongside the prime, biden said the violence must end. >> this cannot become an accepted modus operandi. this cannot be viewed by civilized leaders as an appropriate way in which to behave, even if it appears to enure to the benefit of one side or the other. >>> there was violence in the west bank as well where a palestinian was shot dead after attempting to stab an israeli soldier. al jazeera has more from jerusalem. >> two palestinian men were shot near a checkpoint that went up on tuesday. that was after reports that at least one of them had tried to attack a member of the israeli border police. we're now hearing that one of those palestinians has died of his wounds and he's been named locally as a 16-year-old, a teenager from the occupied west bank.

we'll also hear from vice president joe biden. this is a half-hour. [applause] vice president biden: good morning, everyone. this is one of our favorite events. and it's an honor to be with so many faith leaders and lay faithful this one last time for easter in the white house -- with us, anyway. audience: noooo -- vice president biden: well, i'll tell you what, it's been a great honor. [laughter] it's been a great honor. he's not bad to work for either, you know what i mean? [laughter] you know, my wife, jill, whenever she wants to make sure i get the message that she wants to deliver to me that morning, literally, she tapes it on the mirror while i'm shaving. [laughter] you think i'm joking -- i'm not joking. and about a year and a half ago -- a little longer, actually, almost two years ago -- she taped a quote on my mirror at home in wilmington which is still there, and it's a quote from kierkegaard. he said, "faith sees best in the dark." faith sees best in the dark. and all of you know better than anyone that faith is a gift from god. because fai

let's member where joe biden was in 1992. he had just presided over the confirmation of clarence thomas, which was not a very great moment in his own record as a senator. he managed to disappoint both sides. felt as thomas was -- republicans vote counts thomas wasn't treated fairly -- clarence thomas was not treated fairly. confirmation of an extreme it conservative justice to succeed one of the most liberal justices in history, thurgood marshall. joe biden may have been under special pressure 1992 to say that he was not going to let that kind of debacle occur again on his watch. i don't know if he was speaking more broadly for the democratic caucus. let's remember where he specifically was at that point. we can see there is a movie that much on hbo. we will see how great can near put trays -- people see how ear joe biden. host: thank you for being here. i appreciate it. today when continues former president bill clinton speaks at a campaign rally in tucson, arizona. also scheduled to appear at the event, former arizona repre

biden was chairman of the judiciary committee. it held confirmation hearings and just waged vicious campaigns of character assassination against robert bork and -- merrick garland by all accounts is a decent man. he doesn't deserve that treatment any more than bork and thomas did. >> and well qualified, for doubt about it, but if there were hearings, there could be a vicious fight -- it would be outside groups to come in and do the skirty work? >> the alternative would be the republicans surrending saying you can change the balance of theanytime you want, but we can't? >> the politics of this people say republicans will pay a price for this opposition. do you agree? >> i completely disagree with that idea. i think james is right. if they were toy simply go ahead and say to the democrats, you want to change the comp position of the court, 5-4, that's the way it falls, the republican party would implode. i mean, this is such a voting issue for republicans. to the politics, i don't think it's a big voting issue for most democrats. it

host: not vice president biden? sen.hy: all know, he works -- oh, no, he works with members of congress, too, but members of congress are less politicized. we spent more time in washington, and these two spent a lot of time -- it is nothing against -- joe biden is one of my closest friends and i do not hesitate to call and if i have a question, or vice versa. [laughter] mr. bresnahan: quickly, a now for us -- cuba. the president is going to cuba. for years you pushed to open the relationship with cuba. you have to feel good about this, and talk about the historic nature of obama's visit. sen. leahy: i am very happy with this. i started years ago -- our dinners we had with fidel castro. we actually been to the baseball game with him that afternoon, and i have pushed and pushed. i helped get elian gonzalez back to his father. i am respected for that in cuba. we met a number of times with raul castro, and i have urged president obama right from the beginning, make this change. i know presidents have always had this memo --

a biden rule endorsed by harry reid. the biden rule was he said no confirmations during a political season. when are we not in a political season? it's just not an election year. by what principle do we decide when a president's ability to nominate people becomes progressively obtained? after the midterm elections of the second term of a president? when is it? i don't understand. >> we asked you for questions for the panel. and following up on the point that george made, we got this from rob danger. he tweeted this. will senate majority leader fold like he usually does? kristen, at a time, want to pick up on this question of trying to keep faith with the base, at a time when grassroots support for the republican leadership here in washington is at all time low, when can you just see this in this election, how little they trust that the dc. establishment is going to stand up for them, is this an infective wayinfect ive effective way for him to mobilize the base? can he keep the soldiers in line? >> remember that mitch mcc

vice president joe biden ai arriving in israel. earlier, he was in did you buy offering his views on the republican presidential campaign as well. >> i don't think you'll find anyone to challenge what i'm about to say. >> if ronald reagan were alive today he could no more get the nomination republican party than i could get the nomination. i'm not joking. what you see is this movement to the extreme republican party. >> here is the founder of the democratic network and larry o'conner hosting morning on the mall. he's editor at large for independent journal. it's great to see you back. let me start with you. i find it fascinating joe biden was only talking about the extremes on the republican side of things this time around when you and bernie sanders who some would say being a socialist is quiet extreme on the left. >> i do think that the point biden was making and there was a little bit more after than what we just saw that. he was closely identified as a child of reagan. the second thing is the republican party has moved from whe