but when he throws bob dole in there, i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle on that hilltop in italy when he was so gravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country? bob dole is such a man of honor and integrity and principle. i hope that ted cruz will apologize to bob dole because that's -- that has crossed a line that to me is -- leaves the realm of the politics and discourse that we should have in america. >> senator, did you call ted cruz after he gave his speech yesterday? >> i talked to him on the floor. i talked to him on the floor and said exactly what i'm telling you i said. if you want to -- you know, say things that are critical of me and mitt romney, that's fine. my beloved bob dole, as you know, is not in the best of tof health and doesn't need that. >> we were playing video of ted cruz and he was speaking like this, i thought if bob dole could have used that arm, his whole life would have been a lot different. so thank you for making that point and being with us today. it meant a lot. >> thank you. >> and one month after hosting

romney are fair game, but told cruz not to go after dole. >> i hope that ted cruz will apologize to bob dole. >> reporter: but senator cruz did not apologize. today his office released a statement saying cruz greatly respects the heroic military service of senators dole and john mccain, suggesting anything otherwise is just an unnecessary distraction. but added that cruz will not back down on matters of conservative principle. even if others may disagree. fuelling a battle that cuts across generations in a party struggling to find its future voice. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. >>> and about that contentious house hearing we aired two nights ago here involving two members of congress who got pretty heated. there has now been an apology, you will recall the chairman of the oversight committee, republican darrell issa of california, cut off the microphone, refused to let his colleague, maryland democrat elijah cummings ask questions after an irs official invoked her fifth amendment rights. turns out issa called cummings last night and apologized. he told a newspaper that he should hav

bossie don't you agree with john mccain that ted should apologize to bob dole? >> no, not at all. >> you don't agree with -- you did not stand by principle. >> i didn't hear in that clip senator cruz say anything about bob dole or john mccain a's service. i heard him talk about political campaigns, the presidential campaigns. i think he was right. the reason that guys, that those men lost is they tried to be too much in the middle. that is where they lost the base and that's where they lost the election. >> music to my ears. because elections are won in the middle. mr. bossie is conceding the center to my party and i hope it's hillary clinton, get ready for another four years of democrats in the white house. >> in 2012 we saw a number of republicans stand on principle in the united states senate races, folks like todd aiken and we saw how that works, so this is great news. >> those are different. >> i think it's very different. and if you look at governors races there are a number of people hike scott walker who have stood on principle, won decisively in blue st

when he throws bob dole in there, i wonder if he thinks bob dole stood for principle on that hill top in italy when he was gravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country. bob dole is such a man of honor, sbeg rety and principle. i hope ted cruz will apologize to bob dole. that is crossed a line that, to me, is -- leaves the realm of politics and discourse that we should have in america. >> of course ted cruz crossed that line a long time ago followed by bob dole who told nbc news that cruz, senator cruz should check my voting record before making comments. my record is that of a traditional republican conservati conservative. >> that's the problem. by the way, bob dole was shot, you know, fighting in the toughest part of the war in the western part of the war up there in italy, in the end of it, near the end. he's going back to pick up a guy that was wounded. that's how he got shot. the idea of taking him down, he's old, he's not in great shape. this can't be beaten. i have never seen a guy take a cheaper shot. >> this is the disrespectful thing. >> who does

bob dole worked hand in glove with ronald reagan.ll these people will claim they are ready republicans. they forget ronald reagan gave amnesty to 3 million americans? do they forget he raised taxes, that he made an agreement with chip o'neil on social security? ronald reagan said 11th commandment is you don't speak ill of your fellow republicans? i don't think, he would recognize the party, but i don't think he would be in lockstep with what is being advocated here. if you're not with me 100% of the time, then you are against me. he says some is with me 80% of the time, i am with it. neil: they are barometer for the time being. three antiestablishment for one of the better term republicans. what do you make of that? >> it is a very active segment of our party, we should be an inclusive party. i will point out nobody has ever on the straw poll winning the nominee of the party. but there is a legitimate place. have to have a more respectful dialogue. i understand their frustration. neil: i think we are going to crush them everywhere, d

i hope that ted cruz will apologize to bob dole. >> bob dole responded himself saying, quote, senator to check the record before passing judgment. do you think cruz crossed a line here, matt? >> actually, you know, i think if senator cruz wants to say that bob dole or john mccain are unprincipled, that's fine. people say that every day. words are cheap now in washington. i wouldn't hire him as a political analyst because his read of the electorate seems bizarre to me. all the republicans he's talking about lost independence they need to win clearly, historically for their party to win. they didn't fail to turn out republicans, they failed to capture the broad center of the electorate. so, i just think his theory of what's happened in the republican party is kind of weird. >> yeah. the theory that these people just aren't conservative enough. the only thing wrong with them. but i thought john mccain, it was an example of washington's fal false, when none was intended in that way. but john mccain did it once removed. he was really speaking about hills and being a prisoner of war against

but when he throws bob dole in there, i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle on that hilltop in italy when he was so gravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country. bob dole is such a man of honor and integrity and principle. i hope that ted cruz will apologize to bob dole because that's -- that has cross adeline that to me is -- leaves the realm of politics and discourse that we should have in america. >> of course, ted cruz crossed that line a long time ago, followed by bob coal himself who told nbc news, quote, that senator cruz should check my voting record before making comments. i was one of president reagan's strongest supporters and my record is that of a traditional conservative. well, that's the problem. a criminal conservative republican. by the way, bob dole was fighting up there near in the western part of the war up there in italy, right near the end. and he is going back to pick up guy who is wounded. that's how he got shot. so the idea of taking this guy down, he is old now, handy is not in great shape. and for the cheap shot

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. >> loves bob dole. what do you think about the big players about mccain who is rising as one of the big stories of cpac. you have written about who the big guns are. who are the names you see emerging? >> we'll hear rick santorum, he's going to talk about blue collar workers and how the party can reach out to working class blue collar voters. that's something when he was auk sesful as a presidential candidate he talked about. that's going to be a big theme for him. he and mike huckabee are both underrated players in this process. as same with rick perry. all three of them get less talk than ted cruz and marco rubio but they could be big players and we'll get a good reception there. >> going back to sam in the trenches, donald trump had a ton to say about a ton of people yesterday. >> we're getting into jimmy carter territory. i never thought i would see anything like that again. i lived through that time and it was not a good time. and we're pretty close. i think maybe by next month we will have surpass

but when he throws bob dole in there, i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle on that hilltop in italy when he was so gravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country. >> and former senator dole himself said, quote, cruz should check my voting record before making comments. i was one of president reagan's strongest supporters, and my record is that of a traditional republican conservative. today republicans aren't like the republicans we've seen in the past. their gender is more extreme and more intolerant. it's hurting both their own party and the country. joining me now is former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and susan milligan. thanks to both of you for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> our pleasure, rev. >> governor rendell, let me start with you. does ted cruz really think he would have any more success than mitt romney? >> yeah, i think they actually believe the rhetoric. and they believe it because they talk to each other. they don't get out and talk to ordinary americans all over the country. they just talk at tea party rallies

bob dole is an older man now. he has fought for his country.gan's top lieutenant during the reagan years. as i said, if mr. cruz and others want to beat up on me and romney that's fine but can't we honor bob dole without dragging him into this tea party versus nontea party? it's totally inappropriate and i don't think that bob dole deserves it. he deserves our honor and respect now. >> little bit of a look at the new generation of politicians seem to put more of a premium on being ugly than respectful. is that fair? >> it's a fair criticism if you say something about bob dole to make a point at a conservative gathering. he doesn't need to do it. and bob dole was so wonderful to me, i can't tell you how i idolize him. so i and others take exception to using him as an applause line. >> understood and the respect is certainly due bob dole and you. senator thank you for being on the show. appreciate it. >> senator mccain in the studio. coming up next on "new day" graphic testimony in the oscar pistorius trial. we'll tell you what was so gruesome th

but when he throws bob dole in there, i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle on thatill top in italy when he was so gravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country. bob dole is such a man of honor and integrity and principle. i hope that ted cruz will apologize to bob dole. >> and i know i think bob dole put out a statement yesterday. the bob dole war story from wwii is truly heroic, not just what he suffered on the battlefield but this incredible recovery, three and a half year recovery from that. that being said, i wonder if rand paul -- excuse me, if ted cruz saying that to that crowd and then provoking john mccain like that, if ted cruz isn't sitting there, there this is exactly what he wanted in response to that. >> i think part of what we saw at cpac was clear differences between cruz and paul and clearly they're trying to define each other separately. the difference between cruz and paul on the hill is that while republicans might think that paul's ideas are kind of out there, he doesn't antagonize them in the way that ted cruz does. he

>> boy, he really stepped into it and i don't think he meant to with bob dole when he said bob dole didn'tn anything basically, and then john mccain said, you know, what deble id h believe of in italy. i know he didn't mean anything like that but you have to be careful when you're poking and prodding at people and you're the only self-righteous guy in the gang. he imagined to hit 2 out of 3 war heroes. >> did you read his staff's response to that? >> no, i didn't. >> basically, it was this is such a peripheral issue that we shouldn't even be dealing with it. >> no. >> his statement on bob dole was regarded by a member of his staff as a peripheral issue or some such word we shouldn't be -- >> that is something you clean up and move on. >> he has to clean it up. >> he has to and i don't know that anybody knows he meant that. listen. i write basically the same thing in my book that you win when you elect conservatives ideologically. ford and dole and mccain and he does need to clean it up. >> don't act like -- >> i have a question. the word conservative can mean being things and has many defi

when he throws bob dole in there, i wonder if he think that is bob dole stood for principle on that hill top in hitly when he was gravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country. >> senator dole responded saying cruz should check my voting record. i was one of president reagans strongest supporters and my record is that of a conservative republican. does it feel like the young guns, the new breed of republicans don't respect the traditions of old school traditionalism. that was a tough shot, don't you think? >> it was a tough shot. look, what i'm interested in here, the convention goers are focused on 2014. the speakers are testing the waters for 2016. what is vital to look at her is what's the reality behind the rhetoric. when chris christie says it's about winning elections, that's fine. does that mean he's going to jedson the social issues? the same for cruz when he makes comments about bob dole and john mccain. does that mean he's never going to bend on anything, anywhere. that's what they are putting out so when they begin to lay the groundwork and come to m

what i will say, if somebody criticizes bob dole. neil: i am a great admirer of you for all you have been through, so when i hear anyone, it could just be a person on the street questioning your principal, with all that you have been through, i think i would pass on the principle guy like you. you know what i am saying? >> his behalf he says that is not what he meant. i accept that. for me to get into a fight with him is not the way i think the best way to handle it. neil: they are all bonded in this respect. >> the constituency is much more eccentric in the state of texas or even arizona. for south carolina. if we're going to have a majority, we have to have a big ten. some of said they would rather be in a minority and fewer than have the bigger 10. neil: guys like chris christie are falling like a rock. >> i think he is still viable. a successful republican and democratic state. i think he got beat for a whole lot of reasons, but he was still the nominee of our party. the consensus of the majority of republicans. and so again if s

people love that bob dole line in particular. >> the people at the cpac may have loved that bob dole line but outside cpac today that provoked a response from senator john mccain, obviously who was close to bob todole, called on d cruz to publicly apologize to bob dole. he's a warrior. telling him he lacked principle. that's interesting, the response that generated from the crowd because that brings me to something else i want to ask you about. the basic dilemma the tea party movement faces and anyone faces in politics between purity and ele electability. the idea of christie being, win, baby, like the old al davis message. forget christie, forget 2016. you're looking at 2014, we have all of these, you know, republican primary challengers still to come on the docket. sounds like talking to the republican base, the conservative base at cpac, they're not thinking any more pragmatically about these primaries this year than they were about 2012, 2010 when people like sharron angle are winning primaries. >> key thing to note. matthew bevin, he was here walking around the panel but he wasn'

. >> and don't forget bob dole. >> right. bob dole. and also in the magazine profile of the president, one of his inner circle raises the question of hillary clinton's health. so this is coming from the democratic side of the ledger. >> i disagree, howie, i think you made a rookie mistake and as you get older with more experience you're not going to make that mistake again. >> all right. well, i'll try to bring a young person's dedication and intensity to the game here. >> and that may not be you. >> thanks for join pointing that out. you mentioned hillary clinton's health. we have no reason to believe at this point that she's having any health problems. she obviously had that concussion more than a year ago. so i see this banner headlines on drugs. is she sick? and it links to a story in the daily caller website that says whispers persist, hillary won't run, health may be worse than disclosed. the sorry site's rumors, national inquirer her's piece saying she had brain cancer. >> i think anybody who doesn't like hillary is going to use

look, ted cruz laid it out yesterday where he said, you know -- like we talked about, you remember bob dole as president, john mccain as president, mitt romney as president, right? well, people like ted cruz, like paul ryan are making the message, we don't need more moderates, we need more conservatives, and paul ryan saying we need to win people over to the ideas. rick perry in that camp. chris christie a little on the other side, saying i don't care how we brand ourselves, let's just win, baby. >> that's the big message. >> right. >>

he wasn't making a comment about bob dole as a person. he said anything about dole as a manl, he praised him. >> elise. >> i think his tone was snide. i think that's why ted cruz has so few friends in the republican party on capitol hill. they don't agree with the way he doesn't genuflect to party leaders including the presidential candidate from the past. they ought to be respected and to throw out that comment and have that tone of voice that suggests that he doesn't ultimately respect them is not okay. >> his overall message, i think, sinks in at cpac because they eat that up, because they look at the results of the last election. >> this is a debate the party has been having for years. i agree with steve. i don't think cruz meant it as a personal attack. there's been a long term argument over whether they're nominating true conservatives, they're not generating thurm in the base, and cruz was making that point. >> the latest fox poll lists republicans as they stand now, and obviously, we're a long way from 2016, but take a look at it.

it began sunday with rand paul attacking ted cruz for tearing into john mccain, mitt romney, and bob dole, three recent presidential nominees of the republican party. here is rand paul. >> everybody has their own style. my style is that i stand for things that i think people don't question whether i stand for principle. but i don't spend a lot of time trying to drag people down. i've been very complimentary of mitt romney. i met him. i think he is a great guy. can we do things different to get the party bigger? there is always ways we can get bigger, particular when we don't win. but i don't spend any time trying to criticize others in the party. i realize the party has to be bigger, not smaller. >> well, then it was cruz's turn -- an hour after rand paul's comments, cruz attacked paul for being soft on foreign policy. here is cruz. and notice how he compares himself to, of course, ronald reagan. >> i don't agree with him on foreign policy. i think u.s. leadership is critical in the world. i agree with him that we should be very reluctant to deploy military force abroad. but i think there

senator john mccain, former attorney general richard thornburg, senator bob dole as we saw. >> right there are a number of people that are on the moderate side of the republican party that have supported the treaty. but the basic question is do we want to make our policy decisions from this country using international law or american law. the congressman has properly described his view as setting an as operational standard. what we don't need is more aspiration. we need more implementation. and the disabled community has some legitimate complaints about the way families are being treated right now under our own policy. rather than wasting time on this as operational document as they see it, we should really be dealing with trying to implement good policy to help disabled people overcome the barriers that still exist. >> and very quickly, the congressman's point about the united nations, i'm sorry, but the supreme court has said that this kind of language would not supersede american law. >> well, i found briefs in the supreme court on this very issue. and i have a degree in internati

. >> i wonder if he thinks bob dole stood for principle on that hill top in italy when he was gravely left part of his body there fighting for our country. >> reporter: dole chided cruz and defended his voting record arguing it is that of a traditional conservative. cruz released a statement saying he respects the senators but adding he won't back down on matters of conservative principle even if others disagree. the event goes tonight with 26 candidates this year. last year, rand paul won. it doesn't mean everything but it can be a good indicator of strong grass roots support. we will monitor all f it from here, florida city. this is where the president will be vacationing with his family through sunday. back to you. >> thank you. appreciate that. joining me now with more, ed o'keefe and defense reporter, and wanda summers. >> this is serving red meat at cpac. isn't there a better way to do it without insulting the old guard? >> there is. this is an issue you are going to see this mccain/cruz continue. this is indicative to me of the tensions of the republican party. john mccain may

integration ban, and an incredible number of meetings with stakeholders by members of this committee on bob dole sides of the aisle. it's taken an enormous amount of work, but this draft has earned the support of cable, broadcast, and satellite competitors. i especially want to thank vice chairman bob latta and my democratic colleague from texas, gene green, on their thoughtful bipartisan work on the integration ban repeal. it's important to note that this provision still requires cable companies to support cart d's, it just gets an outdated expense niff energy consuming division of little or no value of f.c.c.'s books. the draft legislation responds to the concerns of members of both sides of the aisle regarding the joint service agreements and sweet sweep provision that is seem to put the thumb on the scale. i have listened to those concerns and proposed eliminating sweeps week prohibition which keeps cable operators and not other paid tv providers from dropping grast signals during sweeps week. further, the draft contains provision that would limit joint retransmission consent negotiation by

with ted cruz pushing his way through the right wing crowd, calling people like bob dole and john mccain names all the way, anything to get to the hard right frontier where to lead the country he intends to plant his flag. dana milbank is a columnist for "the washington post." and jonathan capehart is an opinion writer, also with "the washington post" and an msnbc contributor. gentlemen, this was something. this week went really far right. >> it's always a bit of a circus at cpac when they come to town. and of course everybody is under pressure on the right to provide all the red meat. but this did go further. this is the time when you had ted cruz not just speaking to cpac, but speaking to the uninvited. >> further right. >> people who were too far right to be invited this. you had the spectacle of cpac not inviting the leading republican in the land, the speaker of the house, not eligible there. you had republican candidates in turn snubbing cpac -- >> is this the republican party of 2014? people working here, i've been talking with people today, they say you could argue this is the re

. >> i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle when he was so gravely wounded fightingor our country. >> i know when america wants to follow an angry mob. >> will we be bold and proclaim our message with passion or will we be sunshine patriots retreating under adverse fire? good. >> people want to be inspired. >> you are the path to the future. you represent the renewed hope that america can be great again. >> talk of rebellion, of god, of guns, of liberty, of benghazi, of midwifery. of the ancient palestinians. welcome, america, to day two of cpac 2014. it is the election of the old, the new and rick perry's glasses. first on the roster was governor oops who brought a texas-sized rah-rah to national harbor, maryland. >> it is time for a little rebellion. >> it is time for washington to focus on the few things the constitution establishes as the federal government's role. defend our country. provide a cogent foreign policy. what the heck, deliver the mail, preferably on time and on saturdays. get out of the health care business. get out of the education business. stop h

and if you look at the history of the republican party, when we're not running bob dole for president again and again and again and again, we actually do something. we win. and we win based on values and issues. i don't think it's idealogically right or left -- >> drawing -- [inaudible] >> it's an alternative. >> drawing lines in the sand to let people know where you stand, and, you know, in terms of the government shutdown, i just, i'll recall for people in 1987 the democrats had a, quote-unquote, clean water bill which was just filled with pork but, you know, it was an environmental bill. president reagan made up his mind to veto the bill. he went to house republicans, he was being castigated on the house floor, he announced this. he was being castigated as being pro-pollution, and, you know, he wanted dirty air and water and all this sort of thing. he calls in the house leadership, republican leadership, mind you, and he says i want to veto this bill, you know? and he goes through his reasons. and they said, oh, mr. president, don't do that because the votes aren't there to sustain

. >> and bob dole. >> also, interestingly in the proceed vile of the vice president one of his inner circle raised the question of hillary clinton's health. this is coming from the democratic side of the ledger. >> i disagree. you made a rookie mistake and you get older you will have to learn from experience and not make that mistake. >> i will try to bring a young person's dedication. >> and that may not be you. >> you mentioned hillary clinton's health. we have if reason to believe that she is having any health problems, she obviously had the concussion a year ago. i see a banner headlines, is she sick linking to a story that says whispers persist she will not run, health could be worse than disclosed citing rulers and supermarket inquiries. >> anyone who doesn't like hillary clinton will do whatever they can to make their case. this is a case in point. >> some on the right have been convincing themselves that hillary clinton is there for a run. >> if you don't know anything about whether she is ill or has health issues you do not report it but the hillary clinton camp has been cag

it was bob dole's turn. it was john mccain's turn. it was mitt romney's turn. clear heir apparent in the wings. hillary clinton is running tantamount. >> john, when you take a look at how crazy this thing has gotten over the years, it is just the chance to pontificate in front of the wacky right. what is the headline going to be this year? will there actually be a lead candidate coming from the cpac? >> it depends how they keep the libertarian college kids out so rand paul can win the poll. this is like vietnam because bush, cheney and romney are not there. these guys are all running for higher public speaking fees in 2016. that is all that is. we can acknowledge that. we can mock these guys all day. the democrats don't have an equivalent event to this. they are getting organized for 2014 right now. this is not about 2016. this is about this november and the democratic party needs to catch up on the organization. >> john and holland, great to have you with us tonight. coming up, state senator nina turner of ohio. i sat down with the senator to find out where sh

if you look at the history of the republican party, we were not running bob dole for president again and again. we actually do something. we win. we win based on values and issues. i don't think it is ideologically right or left. it is an alternative. >> drawn a line in the sand to let people know where you stand. in terms of the government shutdown -- i would recall for people in 1987, the democrats in the house and senate passed the quote unquote "clean water bill," which was filled with pork. president reagan made up his mind to veto the bill. he went to house republicans. he was being castigated on the pro -- oor as being a he wanted dirty air and water and all this sort of thing. he calls in the house republican leadership and says i want to veto this bill. he goes through his reasons. they said, don't do that. the bones are there -- the votes aren't there to sustain it. he says i understand i will lose because of the democrats, but i want your support. he got support from only 26 republicans in the house to sustain his veto. thatnt back to the mansion night and wrote in his dia

. >> i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle when he was so gravely wounded fighting i know when america wants to follow an angry mob.

. >> i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle on that hilltop in italy, when he was soravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country. >> reporter: dole also chided cruz and argued his own record, "is that of a political conservative." cruz said he won't back down on matters of conservative principle, even if others may disagree. the event culminates in the straw poll tonight. a whopping 26 candidates this year. and while it doesn't mean everything, it can be a good indicator of strong grassroots support. erica. >> we know it will get plenty of attention. kristen, thanks. >>> even in the worst of situations, some people are able to find it in their hearts to forgive, while others can't understand how or why. archbishop desmond tutu of south africa knows a lot about the subject, says there's a lot of power in forgiveness. he discussed it with nbc's ann curry. >> reporter: in south africa, archbishop desmond tutu is talking about forgiveness in one of cape town's poorest neighborhoods. >> i'm sad more than angry. >> reporter: blacks here were force

certainly bob dole when he was senate majority leader in the reagan years cut a lot of deals.ews who's on this network can speak to that. his former boss, tip o'neill, cut a lot of deals. what people liked about ronald regan was he unified people, brought people together as opposed to us versus them rhetoric which you've heard nonstop at cpac. >> i agree with everything that's been said here. let me add a couple of things to think about. one is that if you are ted cruz, what you want to do is smoke out everybody. this is a tactical thing. cpac -- we know who wins cpac. somebody who is not going to get the nomination, that's what's happened the past couple of years, but if the competition for the base is where they are here now is going to be a competition to the right, you're ted cruz, you make everybody else go as far right as you can. when they stop two inches short, you've won. it's a saying, politics is, the bolshevik. your enemy. infantile left wing disorder. somebody who's two steps to the left of you is the enemy. the other thing i'd add to that as well is cpac essentia

since he mentioned bob dole, mccain, romney, those mnominees they have insisted they didn't lose becausee don't like republican principles but it's because the principles weren't stood by and arctticulatearticu. it's not we're too conservative but not conservative enough about explaining our conservative values. the question is he may win the cpac straw poll at the end of the event, that's a different thing than winning the nomination from the republican party and far different than being elected president of the united states. >> mark, in a new "washington post" poll, 30% of those republicans would not vote for chris christie. >> his base and way to win a presidential election was never through the conservative field. his appeal was always this crossover appeal that he did well with independents and democrats. one of the things that's so hurtful for him on this bridgegate scandal and as well as allegations from the mayor of hoboken, is that that really has hurt that crossover appeal. when chris christie is speaking at cpac and saying all we need to do is win, every poll that you see on

a great guy, bob dole, leaned so far right in '96 against bill clinton, he was out there selling the fact that he was a supply-sider, which he never was. mitt romney killed himself by going so far right. mccain humiliated himself to a slightly lesser extent by leaning over to the far right to get the nomination. and that guy cruz comes along and said all these guys are somehow, they were heretics or something. no, they weren't. they bowed to the right wing line. and i believe that's why they got in trouble in the general. i don't know where his history comes from. they weren't moderates. >> i think there is no question about that. if mitt romney had run as the governor of massachusetts, having done what he did, having gotten democrats to go along with a lot of his programs, i think he would be president of the united states today. he lost because he sold out in the primaries to win the primaries. he might have won them anyway. but he sold out by moving so far to the right that it was impossible to move back to get enough americans to put him over the top. >> you know, i thought that

. >> i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle on that hilltop in italy when he was soravely wounded. >> reporter: but upsetting well-established republicans is precisely how cruz quickly became one of the right ea's biggest, most controversial stars. he's unfazed by the return fire he's taking from those who say he's hurting the party with the no compromise politics. the wall street journal said you are a minority maker. and i took heat for saying you at the tuesday lunch, he's going to need a food taster. >>> you have become a folk hero in texas. we went back. i had multiple gatherings, and people came up and actually asked if they could serve as the food taster. >> reporter: if republicans win back the senate, he vows to push harder. you had a very big applause line out here, you said we will repeal -- >> every single word of obamacare. >> reporter: we can acknowledge that's not going to happen while barack obama is president, right? >> i'll give you one scenario where it could, if there's one things that unifies politicians of both parties, it's preserving their own

republicans called it a mockery and a sham and newt gingrich said medicare should wither on the vine and bob dole was bragging that he voted against it. so put it into that context. what you see is this is another great step forward for the american people and the numbers are proving it. >> georg . >> senator, taking back. you focused on something the mainstream media has not focused on. medicare part d. that was under the bush administration. president bush extended the deadline. scratch your memory. where were the republicans? were they complaining about a change in the deadline? were they talking about what the law was and what had to be done? >> they were for it. we all were for it because they supported their president, and we supported president bush, who was our president at the time. but because it's president obama, if he says "a", they say "b." they can never be on the same page. it is sad. not even on foreign policy, which used to stop at the water's edge. here's the deal -- they're going to vote for probably the 55th time to take away the benefits of millions and millions of americans

attacked probably one of the heroes of the republican party, hero of conservativism, former senator bob dole know, i think cpac is catnip for conservatives, the shock troops, the young, outraged, you know, group of organizers that i do believe will have an outsider's role this time around in the 2016 primary contest. ? and i didn't get this feeling of outrage so much as excitement about rand paul. he tapped into the phone thing like, you know, none of their dang business who i'm calling and what time and for how long. but i think that he's a surprising guy and that that's appealing to young voters, that he's not just, you know, here i am, here's the republican check, check, check because sometimes he's over here as he was with, for instance, one of the things we -- with felons and after they've served their time and restored their voting rights, which is not exactly a republican talking point. >> i think being a little bit out of the norm is an okay thing these days especially when it comes to, you know, the fact that the republican party doesn't have a clear front-runner for 2016. i mean, a

rebecca patterson, bob dole. rebecca, this is a big number today, industrial production up .6%. manufacturing, .8%. maybe as the winter weather clears, the economy's stronger. not saying crimea and the ukraine don't matter, but it seemed like this mattered more today. >> i think today was definitely one of relief, relief that the crimea situation didn't get worse than it did, relief that the u.s. economic data while it wasn't great, it was good enough. and i think some relief, too, on china. we got that news this weekend about them widening their currency band and also bringing forward fiscal stimulus. if you get the second biggest economy in the world, china, stabilizing growth sentiment, the u.s. stabilizing growth sentiment, a lot of investors took a deep breath. >> one other piece and i'll get off of this and go to broader subjects. inside this production report, business equipment production was up 1.3%. three months now, it's up 5.1%. that's anything to that effect capex investment, which has been terrible, which is one of the reasons jobs have been terrible. is it possibl

john glenn, bob dole, ted kennedy, and gary hart are just a few of the familiar names fighting it out to rundown.msnbc .com to cast your votes, and tweet us your picks. we'll unveil all the winners of the round 64 next week. we'll be back after a quick break. a low sex drive, a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer, worsening prostate symptoms, decreased sperm count, ankle, feet or body swelling, enlarged or pain

. >> senator, do you think it was over the line for ted cruz to go after a war hero like bob dole and generally speaking what do you think of ted cruz's practice of confronting, sometimes putting senate republicans, his colleagues, in tough situations? >> you know, i guess i would just say that everybody has their own style. my style is that i stand for things and i don't think people question whether i stand for principle, but i don't spend a lot of time trying to drag people down. i've been very complimentary of mitt romney. i've met him and think he's a great guy. can we get the party bigger? there's always way to get the party bigger particularly when we don't win. i realize the party has to be bigger, not smaller. >> finally, i want to talk to you about 2016, i guess to a certain degree we have been throughout this interview. a columnist for the "washington post" this week rated you as the front-runner for the republican nomination in 2016, and in a poll of republicans you and jeb bush are out front when voters are asked who they would like to see run for president, and as well w

insulting john mccain and bob dole along the way as the people who lost the presidency. implying if they had real principles, perhaps they might have won. marco rubio talking about a more muscular foreign policy as dana was talking about. chris christie talking about winning, which is what he says the party needs to do in checking every box he needed to check. paul ryan talking about what a great family fight they're having and how healthy it is for the republican party. they're all over the place right now. it is healthy. they should be. at some point, they're going to have to figure out where they are, but it's going to be a long campaign and it's already started. >> and this is the symptom of being out of the white house for so many years. i mean, for at least -- for five years and losing two presidential races. this always happens to a party. they try to find their way. i mean, this happened with -- when bill clinton finally got the nomination. it took a long time. you know, you were there, you covered it for democrats to realize that he was the kind of politician th