only 19% trust john boehner. and in the wake of tonight's developments i would imagine those numbers would get a little worse for the speaker of the house. joining me tonight, former governor howard dean of vermont and cnbc political analyst. mr. dean, good to have you with us, governor. >> thanks, ed. >> give us in short order your commentary without question, what do you think has happened here this evening? >> well, the inside baseball of this is really a problem for the speaker. you can't -- this is something you can't do. you can't have your budget overridden, as governors know, and you can't have a major initiative like this go down when you think you have the votes and you don't. it would not entirely surprise me to see eric cantor or kevin mccarthy, who've been waiting in the wings, kind of gently stack the speaker in the back for a couple years, to make their move after the new session starts. the fiscal cliff, as you know, i believe the country would be better off if we went over the fiscal cliff. we wo

boehner. he should have been ashamed of himself. >> you said he is appealing to appeal to the right wing of his party and you have conservative groups slamming this plan "b." let me play some of the criticism he's getting from the right of the party. let's play it. >> the american people did not re-elect the conservative house of representatives to become tax collectors for barack obama's welfare state. >> we supported challengers who were opposed to t.a.r.p., who were opposed to the debt deal. 2011. and this is the sort of vote that we'll look at closely when we look at our options in 2014. >> so congressman pascrell, they oppose plan "b" differently than your opposition but you have two different sides of this coin and people are wondering where speaker boehner is at all on this when no one is happy and if he's appealing to the right, they're not pleased with him. >> well, mr. boehner has the hell of a nerve to say that mister -- the president of the united states barack obama can't stand up

john boehner.bably now has earned the titles of the worst speaker certainly in our lifetime if not the worst speaker ever in the history of the house of representatives. the guy is just a totals total loser. look. here is where things stand. right? it's not complicated. president obama, we've got this big debt crisis. president obama, two things -- number 1, months ago, he put out a detailed plan. it's in print, and it's online, of how to resolve this fiscal crisis. no. 2, the republicans said we are not going to deal with it. we will take seven weeks off. we will have an election and let the people decide. president obama went out in front of the american people. there was one issue, the central issue. it wasn't the war in iraq iran's nuclear possibility of iran getting nuclear weapons it wasn't peace in the middle east. it wasn't immigration reform. the number 1 was issue was president obama said very clear, we want the wealthiest two percents of americans to pay more in tax after having 12 years

john boehner canceled the vote. then he put out a statement saying it's now up to democrats to figure it out. and then the house went into recess and house republicans started going home for christmas. >> mr. chairman, you're close to the speaker. you serve with him on the education committee. does this feel like defeat tonight, when he could not cajole enough votes out of his caucus? >> well, yeah. that's exactly what it is. and he understood it, and he said have a merry christmas, we'll see you after christmas. >> we'll see you after christmas. yes, this was a defeat. this was not how it was supposed to go, but that is what happened in just the past hour. joining us is luke russert, nbc news congressional correspondent. luke, thanks for being here on short notice. appreciate your time. >> what a story, rachel. happy to be here. i've never seen anything like this in my 3 1/2 year on capitol hill. very rare moment. and talking to people whief been here for a while, this doesn't happen very much. >> what are your sou

i think that's what boehner is trying to do. bless him for it because it's not going to be easy but that's exactly what they have to do in order to figure out how do they become a political party, not a sunsetting party, but a political party that has force, not just within the walls of d.c. but outside as well. >> i'm reminded 69 words of george carlin who said it's called the american dream because you have to be asleep to believe it. joy, maria teresa, thank you. the guys who gave us the go go '90s call for even greater tax hikes than the president. shouldn't we listen to them? stay with us. >> please, do something frightening between now and the midterm elections because if you do not, the republicans will have to do something truly terrifying like addressing the needs of blacks, women, and hispanics. um... uh... um... hm... umm... uh... oh ! the windows phone 8x by htc on verizon. it features easy to navigate live tiles that are simple to customize. just pin what matters most right to your homescreen. exclusively with data

john boehner rejected that. john boehner said, no. we can't go along with that.ident comes up with a compromise. we didn't like the compromise. he did it last weekend. he said we will take that 250. we will give you a tax break on the first $400,000 of your income. and the payroll tax holiday which we were going to continue. no. we will get rid of that. that hurt the middle class. we will get rid of that. and guess what? we said we weren't going to touch social security. we will put social security on thetable. shouldn't have done it. he did. he puts that out there and boehner reject that, too. and he says, no, i am going to have my own plan. i am calling it plan b. i am going to raise taxes only on people who make over a million dollars. so give everybody a tax break on the first million dollar they own, which gets up to even like .5% of the american people not even the top 1%. john boehner takes plan b and by the way everybody said -- everybody said as recently as yesterday, this is a dead-end. this is not going anywhere. here is first, democratic leader nancy

john boehner cannot negotiate now. if he didn't have the votes for his plan "b" that set that income threshold at $1 million, there's no way in the world he gets anywhere close to the amount of votes he's going to need for the latest negotiating position for the president, which was up to $250,000 to $400,000 for married couples filing jointly. that's where we are right now. the threshold question all along is would john boehner put something on the floor of the house of representatives that required him to pass by majority democratic support and lose the majority of his party -- the republican party. i'm here to tell you, michael, that simply doesn't happen. >> is it good or bad news for the president, mike, in so far as the boehner defeat, the embarrassment last night really leaves the president without someone with whom he can negotiate? in other words, who does the president turn to now? >> reporter: and that is a great question. as a matter of fact, we are told that harry reid, the democratic leader of the senate,

those who don't like boehner, don't love boehner, they love paul ryan. he was whipping plan b.robably the most high-profile guy who could be a consensus candidate getz boehner. he's not running against barren. he's not even interesting. >> if the president get this through, and it i know it's a big if -- he has to know goes yags. >> you're always going to have to include john boehner. he's speaker of the house. i think you're making a fair point that the power of house republicans to drive the debate is being underquestioned right now. people are going to look to this experience as to how john bane err may or may not be able to drive this discussion. >> sam, on this kind of deal, there's always last-minute horse trading. things get thrown on the paper and the base finds out and gets upset. what gets him upset when he's trying to get it done by the end of the year. >> the likely thing that will get him peaked would be the tax rates. my guess is that in the process of trying to hammer out this deal it gets raised to somewhere around 400, maybe $500,000. i think they'll get angry

he just spoke with boehner. boehner has been brutally attacked for what happened last night by conservatives. look at this. washington post conservative columnist jennifer rubin called the fiasco a stunning miscalculation. boehner lost control of the caucus and with it, any juice he might have. i mean, the washington examiner says boehner is now useless. if i'm john boehner and they've already given me this humiliating defeat, what do i have to lose to come back and deal with a minority of the majority if, in fact, it will save the american people of this kind from going over the cliff and the repercussions that go with it. >> i do think he has kind of a moment of conscious over this holiday and a moment of decision. it's worth noting generjennifer rubin's piece for giving everything the sense that they can recover. she's a conservative. a lot of conservatives are saying that. if there's any hope that we get some kind of resolution or at least partial resolution to keep us from going over the cliff. i think it's

boehner has been embarrassed.t get the vote of his own caucus, of his own conference to pass a benign piece of legislation, a piece of legislation that protected everybody up to a million dollars. i don't know how you get more embarrassed than that. now, i hope that these guys can get together, these men and women can get together and do something before january 1st. but i'd check those airplane logs if i were you. if they're really serious, they're going to say you're going to get the final word. >> and i'm creating this dynamic of making it difficult. john boehner was not embarrassed. the house works its will. to try to put it ins terms of being embarrassed, misses the whole point. >> and i remember that well because i had a school feed trip to the national zoo that was canceled because the government shut down. so you've robbed your young kids of access. thanks so much for coming on the program. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> up next, capital cliffhanger. behind the scenes in the fiscal cliff negotiations

john boehner said okay.dent hears he is blowing it up because he doesn't have the votes. >> i know what he was goidoing. he wanted to go to the president and say look you're finally going to get your tax hikes on the wealthy a million dollars up. 98% still get their taxes lowered. i'm surprised he didn't count his votes before he did that. a man as experienced as he is. >> that is what is so shocking. >> if he was going to step out on the ledge you better have the votes. he walked out on the ledge, turned around, and nobody was with him. >> craig shirley had a very interesting quote in "the washington post" this morning. >> he's got this in "the washington post" saying if this was a parliamentary system tonight's dissent on plan b would be seen as a vote of no confidence in boehner. the national gop is now simply a collection of warring tribal factions. i'll add to that. a flue cnn opinion research poll has found the majority of americans believe the republican party is now too extreme. 53% including 22% of

john boehner had a plan. speaker boehner had a plan. that was on monday. everybody was talking about that plan. we were planning to vote on that today. he could not get the votes. in order to be an effective lead eyou have to have followers. the speaker doesn't have followers. so what we're doing today is wasting time pretending, making political points but not moving the ball forward to get a -- to a compromise that will be necessary if we're going to avoid the sequester that nobody wants, not go over the cliff and take very positive steps toward getting this country on a fiscally -- >> you are a big vote counter. does he have the votes now for what he has done with all the changes he's made? has that made -- given him now the votes, do you think? >> my presumption is that's why he's made the changes because the most radical members of his caucus would not go for anything less. and he's got all of his interest groups still demanding that they shouldn't even pass the million dollar plan so that unfortunately speaker boehner who i think wants to lead. i thi

reid says it's up to boehner, white house can't get boehner to talk to them. it's kind of a mess, senator schatz. and it is now part of your party. so what is the next move? there is late news tonight that president obama will convene a meeting of congressional leaders at the white house tomorrow afternoon to discuss the current impasse. and to give you a spirit of the compromise and sense of goodwill toward men in which republican house speaker john boehner is approaching this meeting here is a statement we were e-mailed by brendan bock. "tomorrow speaker boehner will attend a meeting where he will continue to stress that the house has already passed legislation to avert the entire fiscal cliff and now the senate must act." so that's helpful. senator schatz, i know you probably just checked into the marriott capitol hill or something, but i don't know, you got any ideas? joining us is someone who i hope will have ideas. democratic senator debbie stabenow. senator stabenow, thank you for being with us tonight. >> absolutely, ezra. and i wanted to thank you for

john boehner is not good at his job. we've ventured this as a hypothesis very early on in his speakership, i mean right from the beginning. it seemed like there might be something amiss, right? on the first day as speaker, he tried to have republicans pull off the stunt where they would read the whole constitution from the floor of the house. but even on day one, john boehner could not manage his own symbolic gesture. they skipped parts of the constitution. they skipped parts they did not like. and some parts they skipped because they were reading it out of a loose leaf binder and the pages stuck together. right then we should have known that was a bad sign. john boehner did not even succeed in getting all of his members sworn in when he took over as speaker. two new republican members of congress went to a reception and missed the swearing in. they apparently saw it happening on a tv screen that was playing at the reception, and they sort of tried to swear themselves in by raising their right hand to the television. but

boehner has been taking lots of heat with conservatives. speaker boehner needs to resign. needs new negotiator and a new plan. conn tweeted baner is useless. >> good to see both of you. mark, i'll start with you. how much trouble is john boehner in, do you think? >> it remains to be seen, richard. i wouldn't want to be in john boehner's shoes rooity now. the most likely path of averting the fiscal cliff before the new year would be getting what president obama laid out yesterday and that was extending the bush-era tax cuts of $250,000 or below as well as extending unemployment insurance and if it sails through the senate and gets to the house and john boehner allows that to get up to a vote it would most likely pass without a majority of house republicans and that could infuriate the republican caucus. the other option for house speaker john boehner would be to hold firm to hold their ground. however, that's actually the most likely outcome to going over the fiscal cliff and all polls, actually show that republicans would bear the brunt of the blame for that. so i wouldn't

could or could not do and the talks were focused between the president and speaker boehner. when he was unable to get enough votes for his idea to have the income tax threshold be at $1 mi million and when that did not work, he insisted that the senate begin to act. politically that is important, because they want to see how many democrats are on board and will all of them join in, and how many senate republicans and especially the more conservative members and members up for re-election in 2014 and how many of them would be prepared to go forward, and then that gives boehner more muscle to try to get enough of his republican members to goal along. in the house, they will need house democrats, and they will need republicans. so there is a mechanical part of this. there is a plit will cal arm wrestling part of this, and there is what will unfold over the next 24 hours in how can they reach a deal. sources in both parties are telling me that part of the sticking point right now is where to set the income threshold and what happens to estate taxes. speaker boehner is saying tha

john boehner is weakened. were to try to do something like that, that might be the thing that would be the coup de grace for john boehner. don't expect him to do that. there are very few options. the smat is leaving town in a matter of minutes. the house of representatives says they're going to return next thursday but it's unclear what, if anything, they can do, largely waiting for the senate to act. we may be headed over that cliff at least temporarily, michael. >> nbc's mike viqueira. thank you so much. >> reporter: okay. >> nbc will bring us that statement by the president in just a moment. stay with us. [ male announcer ] research suggests cell health plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. ♪ you're wonderful ♪ you have a heart of gold [ male announcer ] vera wang love. the new diamond bridal collection from vera wang. exclusively at zales. >>> than

boehner's going to make a pitch.r's going to make a pitch and mccarthy make a pitch and the fact they're are in there. >> paul ryan. >> the fact they're in there says they're in trouble. >> yes. the fact that they're there says they are in trouble, and speaking of somebody who was once a page way back when, you know, they will turn to paul ryan to look to him to give encouragement to the troops. the only one who can speak to the kind of crazy folks who right now are not with their speaker. >> a great point. go to paul ryan. i wonder if they're go to grover norquist and do it on a telephone loud speaker? grover backed it. >> to get the flavor about this. when you had boehner disciplining certain house members and taking them off committees. particularly the three who were conservatives, even though he replaced them with conservatives, that started a fund-raising opportunity for a lot of groups that felt he wasn't being conservative and felt part of the reason the election was lost was that those principles had not bee

hard to believe he has both tim geithner and john boehner.rom the looks of it, john boehner does seem to be flabbergasted. we'll get to that shortly. >> eric: that is on "fox news sunday." later today, exclusive interview with speaker boehner. sunday at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. right here on the fox news channel. >> jamie: well, there is a push by the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell as well to put medicare and social security on the table to try and the budget crisis we're talking about. mcconnell telling the "wall street journal" that those are the kind of things that would get republicans interested in new revenue. maybe bipartisan. john fund, a columnist for the "national review magazine." good morning. >> good morning. >> jamie: great to have you here this morning. >> thanks. >> jamie: we have less than a month left as we have been talking about went're now in december for the fiscal cliff. what truly is on the table where both democrats and republicans are concerned? do you see anything they agree on? >> we have four weeks to go

john boehner is not a leader. he's being led, and he may take all of us down with him. >> plan b. >> plan b. >> plan b. >> republicans have made every effort to avoid the situation we find ourselves in. >> they keep on finding ways to say no as opposed to finding ways to say yes. >> he goes up to 400. this deal should be done. >> it's very hard for them to say yes to me. >> the decision is for the white house and the senate democrats to come join us so we can avoid the tax hike on american people. >> it is very hard for them to say yes to me. >> they know it is a nonstarter. >> they're thinking about voting for raising taxes, at least on folks over $1 million, which they say they don't want 20 do, but they're going to reject spending cuts that they say they do want to do. that defies logic. >> guess what? the ceos, they're all on his side. >> we should be able to get something done. >> thank you. ♪ >>> it is 12 days to the fiscal cliff, five days to christmas, and one day before some people believe the world will

for boehner idea today. i kind of share it. but on the other hand, really good politicians solve problems. he hasn't been able to solve that problem at all. look, the one thing, michael, i'm very much with you and with the folks you've been talking to in the sentiment to you and the president express. but i do want to avoid the puck is on both houses when you say democrats and republicans. at least the president has really come a long way. he gave the republicans a higher income tax threshold. he gave the chain cpi. he cut the debt ceiling in the deal. he gave them another trillion dollars in spending cuts. i think he's absolutely in the right when he says i have tried to compromise and i've been met with complete intransigence. >> an aide tells nbc news senator reid believes republicans should return to negotiating table and work with democrats that avoids the fiscal cliff all together. republicans should support passing a bill that extends tax cuts for families up to $250,000 and delays the so-called seque

will boehner move on this?ing that some members of his conference after this tragedy in newtown they say, well, what we need to do is arm kindergarten teachers and have shootouts in elementary schools. i'm sorry to tell you that i don't see many republicans moving towards common sense even in the aftermath of this tragedy. i do hear many democrats, quite honestly even at yesterday's democratic caucus, some democrats who have been regarded as historic supporters of the nra speaking up and saying we have got to figure this out. there are common-sense things we can do. we'll have solutions. the president will put those solutions on the table before congress in january and we need to act. we keep seeing these horrors play out and we say that they are teachable moments and then we forget the lesson until the next horror. we can't let this happen again. >> eliot: well said, and let's hope there is uniformity in that on capitol hill. >> i hope so. >> eliot: always a joy to have you on the show, thank you. >> thanks, g

boehner's plan b.t of course would raise taxes on those who make a million dollars a year and more. but it would raise taxes on middle class americans because of the tax credits. >> that's right. >> are not being extended. is this going to get any democratic votes? >> well, it shouldn't get any democratic votes. it is not a plan, it is a stunt. and i don't believe that democrats should be supporting a stunt like this. democrats have shown an ability to compromise. democrats have shown an ability to try and meet republicans. and when we are met with a stunt like this that doesn't solve the problem but simply continues these cliff-hangers every several weeks, we ought to say no to the republicans. so this is a non-starter. and the b in plan b is just bizarre. this raises taxes for the middle class. >> yeah. >> it is true that it raises taxes on people over a million dollars. but you lose the earned income tax credit. you lose the child care tax credit. you lose tuition tax credits. it's another shot at t

i think that hurt them, boehner. i think that's why boehner is being controlled, unfortunately, by the right wing. i agree with bernie sanders. very sad. i believe that boehner's a good man and wants a deal done and impossible with these folks. >> the finger's not only pointed at the republicans and the tea party caucus but also to some democrats. here's one of your republican colleagues this morning. take a listen to what she said. >> sure. >> everything -- it's just about scoring political points and i know that the american people are tired of that. they're tired of all of us. i understand that. we just make -- used car sales men look good. that's the only group below us. we have to get our act together and prove to the american people that we can regain the trust that they once had in us and get the job done. >> yeah. the perception -- go ahead, please, congressman. looking at the can kicked down the road by both sides. >> let me be clear. she is a very good friend of mine and i understand her point of view. but

how far does the president have to go to give boehner something that helps boehner go to his caucus andet's just do our deal. >> you want someone to be singing "i'll be home for christmas." >> there you go. >> first, it's nice to see you in d.c. >> it's a great pleasure. >> we have this little bubble of optimism in the conventional media the past few days. although they're talking, they're not saying much, there must be progress, but we still have a fundamental divide here. the president says rates have to go up. he doesn't want to trade the debt ceiling for anything. he thinks that should be separate. and boehner put out a proposal saying we'll raise invest knews but we're going to lower rates. won't specify, as you noted earlier. there seems to be in the staff level at least not much progress, any progress, being made. i have to believe the fundamental dynamic is still the same, that boehner is going to have a hard time convincing more than half of his caucus, even half of his caucus, to support something that really gives the president a lot in terms of revenue cuts and doesn't go to

i think john boehner is in a nightmare situation.t could not be a cleaner case for republicans defending only the tax cuts for the top 2%. this is very clear. mitt romney tried to parse it and say, well, maybe we'll get revenue from capping deductions. maybe we'll go after the mortgage interest or some other deductions. that was litigated. they lost. it's simple and clear to everyone that 98% of the tax cuts could go through tomorrow, today, any time if boehner got out of the way. but he still has the rejectionists in the lame duck caucus, and i think he's a little afraid the right flank might come at that speakership he has to reup for on january. he has to talk the tea party, talk even though he knows it's a losing proposition. >> i know you're a progressive, and that's why i love you. but let's talk politics. why does a political party that hopes to get 51% of the country in the next presidential election put all its stock in 2%? >> well, you're dealing with reality. the reality -- >> yeah. >> the tea party caucus of the house wen

rejected boehner's deal. it's hard to see how boehner will get a different outcome this time around. eric cantor looking right over his shoulder. you could make the argument that cantor is the big player who is not in the room. because if boehner does a deal with the president and goes back and tries to get the republicans to vote for it in the house and cantor says no, where are we? the president, calm, cool and collected and remembering what this election is all about. get your cell phones out. tonight's question. the president, calm, cool and collected and remembering what this election is all about. get your cell phones out. tonight's question. will republicans punish e speaker boehner for trying to work with the president? text a for yes, b to no to 622639. we'll bring the results later on in the show. joining me tonight is congressman emanuel cleaver from missouri. great to have you with us. >> good to be with you. >> i'd like to talk about the congressional black caucus if i could. they have been very,

boehner has problems with the caucus. most of the members are quiet.side groups have been harsh. club for growth and hair tage foundation are behind this to say that the speaker is out of line. but to this point he has had the benefit of his leadership holding with him. the majority leader eric cantor, whip, mccarthy and ryan behind him. that kept the republican conference together. it could fray depending on how the vote goes. >> bret: speaker boehner used the dual trap before, with the debt ceiling and how he orchestrated that negotiation back then. if the house goes ahead with the votes on thursday, carl, boehner's plan "b" could become a multiple choice. >> you heard what ed whenly was talking about there. first the vote on the plan. they anticipate an hope it will be defeated easily with the republican majority. the plan "b" is that million-dollar threshold, open question. there are republicans who have issues with it. and part of the consternation they express is when the president offered $400,000, why would mr. boehner take so it far out of wha

boehner doesn't play it right, there are threats to his speakership.ause of the nature of how the republican congress is balanced he could louis eight votes for election of speaker he wouldn't be it for the next upcoming session. >> more on this with the panel. we are talking taxes here but it comes down to spending as well. capitol hill continues to wrestle with the white house. over what to cut, and where. and how much, you have to understand that this back and forth is really tiny. when you look at the fiscal hole the nation is facing. have you wondered how much of the national debt you and your family owe? we take a look at staggering numbers tonight in part two of the series "the cost of spending." >> the national debt clock, spinning faster ever year. we have all seen it before. >> did you see that clock up there? $16 trillion of debt. >> used as prop at campaign events. >> when the come pain began it was less than that. >> you can walk by the main debt clock in new york city. west 44th street and avenue of the americas. but when you really stop

i think boehner is pretty safe because there's not a challenger. >> if john boehner is safe at his job opportunidoesn't e at all relevant. isn't that right? >> i think that's right. but it's in large part because boehner could n't get his plan through the house. i could only imagine how angry they are because they put him into this bind in which he has to ne dpoegotiate with harry re. and then it also gets house democrat support. all the while, he's got an eye when he's up for reelection. house speaker boehner has shown that he's looargely, not entire, but larngly. remember, his deputies were both there with him when plan b was introduced. the logical successes aren't actually there. >> paul ryan is not the guy to watch, right? so paul ryan is the guy who has the real support of the house con sefbtives. a lot of people don't like boehner, they love paul ryan. now ryan, at the final minute, remember, he was with you for plan b. paul ryan, probably the most high profile guy, he's not running against boehner. he's not even interested. >> but robert, if the president gets this through, and

nightmare for boehner. great reporting from chad pergram who said they might bring this to the deal on thursday, put him on record. then they would only have to vote for extending middle class tax rates. this sneaky. >> they should be mad on spending from both sides. double triple counting. it's unclear. this is a huge opportunity for america to change course with major tax reform. major entitlement reform. that is the point, the whole point of the fiscal cliff to push them to try to do something on entitlement reform. what are we getting? zero on that. >> bob: we are getting boehner plan "b" that takes the bush legislation to put it in effect -- >> dana: that is not what the fiscal cliff was about. >> bob: i understand that. >> dana: that is what i'm saying it's a huge missed opportunity. we are going to get the tinkering. perhaps maybe more permanency. the stock market will be happy for six months. the mid-terms becomes harder. boehner did a good job. they think he screwed up but i'd like them to navigate

boehner decided not to do that., i think there's clearly some sort of personal -- they don't know how to talk to each other, the white house and boehner. they just don't know how to negotiate with each other. biden and mcconnell do know how to speak to each other. and i think if they get 75 or 80 votes in the senate for what they come up with, and you know what? they're not that far apart on this fix, if you will. basically, they seem to be divided on whether to buy down the sequester. but they're not that far apart. and if they get 75 or 80 votes, that's going to mean 30 to 35 republicans. boehner has to put it on the floor. and boehner doesn't have to -- boehner really doesn't have to support the deal, but he does have to put it on the floor, and it will pass. >> michael steele, take it to robert gibbs. and it's great that some of these people can talk to each other, but they still have to go back to those who don't want to play ball, correct? >> that's exactly right. and that's the reality that we've lived with.

footing. >> what is boehner's game plan? does he even have one? ryan grim is washington bureau chief for "the huffington post," and glen johnson is politics editor for boston.com. i worked on the hill for years. you cover the hill and know it. that was a very personal shot from harry reid. is it accurate to say, open question, that speaker boehner is worried about staying speaker? >> yes. he's definitely -- i think he's not worried about his election on january 3rd, but that's not the end of it. you know, i think he's worried about his speakership every day he's speaker -- >> do you agree with that, he's worried he may be losing out or being thrown out of the speakership by his own party? >> for sure. he spent the first two years of his speakership looking over his shoulder as the camera shows of eric cantor right behind him ready -- >> but cantor is with him now, isn't he? hasn't his number two guy joined him? >> he's his number two guy and supporter, but he's the spiritual leader of the tea party caucus there, and that's t

boehner, we'll sell this. 28 or 29. >> kimberly: demonize republicans to say he would meet them halfway and number of instances. look, i'm presidential and i am showing leadership. they're intractable. they are the bad guys, i'm good guy and aloha. >> bob: he came up to $400,000 in taxes. >> greg: got to go. much more to come. "the five" will be back in a moment. meet the five-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max says ha. c-max says wheeee. which is what you get, don't you see? cause c-max has lots more horsepower than prius v, a hybrid that c-max also bests in mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. stop! stop! stop! come back here! humans -- we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back with great ideas like our optional better car replacement. if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask one of our insurance experts about it today. hello?! we believe our customers do their