you heard what buck mckeon has to say., better to kill them before they attack us. where do you come down on it? >> well, certainly under our constitutional framework and federal legal system the president has limits on his power but this is something he's allowed. certainly congress should be able to look at the criteria he's using. i feel he can share that with us. if there are individuals that take arms against americans, under certain circumstance, the president has the power to order those strikes. >> the white house and jay carney said in regard to a question about this, the drone program is legal, ethical and wise. it allows the president basically to act at judge, jury and executioner. does it seem right to have that amount of unchecked power in the white house? the ability to determine life or death for an american citizen? >> keep in mind that the drone system and this counterterrorism tool has been brought up. it started under the bush administration and ramped up under president obama. again, i know folks have

congressman buck mckeon, thank you for talking with us this morning, sir.e appreciate your time. >> thanks for having me. >>> coming up this morning, the dow opens at a new five-year high this morning. but is it too soon to celebrate? ali velshi will join us to talk about what those numbers really mean. and that's coming up next. >>> joining us this morning, we plr introduced monsignor rick hilgartner, matt miller, a former senior adviser, ryan lizza is back, washington correspondent for the new yorker. i accidentally thought someone was you yesterday in a restaurant and embarrassed myself. i ran my fingers through his hair and said hey, ryan, but it wasn't ryan. but let's not talk about that. let's talk about the dow opening at a new five-year high after a really big rally late in the session yesterday. closed at 14,075. it was up 170 points on wednesday and that's just 89 points away from it's record-closing high which was reached in october of 2007. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 also rallied. let's get right to ali velshi who's in washington, d.c. this morn

tailored for the photos and twitter handle of the congressman to be this one targeting congressman buck mckeon house armed services committee. forbes magazine releasing its list of the most miserable cities in this country. illus takes into account various factors, including the unemployment rates, violent crime foreclosures, income, property taxes, even weather and commuting time. modesto california, chicago. rockford, illinois, plan, michigan. the first the nearly bankrupt detroit. we may have rent chicago ourselves a bit higher given all the problems they have. up next in the present dispatching his lone republican cabinet member to scare somebody , of course. ♪ the "a-team" will be taking that up and a great deal more. we will be joined here next. ♪ dad, i'd put that down. ah. 4g, huh? verizon 4g lte. 700 megahertz spectrum, end-to-end, pure lte build. the most consistent speeds indoors or out. and, obviously, astonishing throughput. obviously... you know how fast our home wifi is? yeah. this is basically just asast. oh. and verizon's got more fast lte coverage than all other networks comb

tailored for the photos and twitter handle of the congressman to be this one targeting congressman buck mckeonhouse armed serces committee. forbes magazine releasing its list of the most miserable cities in this country. illus takes into account various factors, including the unemployment rates, violent crime foreclosures, income, property taxes, even weather and commuting time. desto california, chicago. rockford, illins, plan, michigan. the first the nearly bankrupt detroit. we may have rent chicago ourselves a bit higher given all the problems they have. up next in the present dispatching his lone republican cabinet member to scare somebody , of course. ♪ the "a-team" will be taking that up and a great deal more. we will be joined here next. ♪ copd makes it hard toreathe, but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. adva is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptom

tailored for the photos and twitter handle of the congressman to be this one targeting congressman buck mckeontakes into account various factors, including the unemployment rates, violent crime foreclosures, income, property taxes, even weather and commuting time. modesto california, chicago. rockford, illinois, plan, michigan. the first the nearly bankrupt detroit. we may have rent chicago ourselves a bit higher given all the problems they have. up next in the present dispatching his lone republican cabinet member to scare somebody , of course. ♪ the "a-team" will be taking that up and a great deal more. we will be joined here next. ♪ ♪ lou: joining us now, the "a-team". we have -- in b.c. has fallen to the fifth position in ratings in the february sweeps. behind univision, for crying out loud. i thought -- i have a theory here. they have become so politicized, lifted the veil on their left-wing stuff. i think they may be paying the price for it. >> maybe it will follow and just take it in spanish. it's all his fault. he starts the day of being a liberal progressive jerk. then the rest of the

tailored for the photos and twitterandle of the congressman to be this one targeting congressman buck mckeond services committee. forbes magazine releasing its list of the most miserable cities in this country. illus takes into accot various factors, including the unemployment rates, violent crime foreclosures, income, property taxes, even weather and commuting time. modesto california, chicago. rockford, illinois, plan, michigan. the first the nearly bankrupt detroit. we may have rent chicago ourselves a bit higher given all the problems they have. up next in the present dispatching his lone republican cabinet member to scare somebody , of course. ♪ the "a-team" will be taking that up and a great deal more. we will be joined here next. ♪ at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. ♪ lou: joining us now, the "a-team". we have -- in b.c. has fallen to the fifth position in ratings in the february s

buck mckeon of all people, classic appropriator of california said in "the new york times," a great reportingiece, this is something that they basically miscalculated, the obama people. they didn't understand the republicans cared less about defense spending than they do about spending cuts. >> look, chris, i don't know if i can prove it because i don't know if i went on record in "the huff post" on it two months ago, but i think after the last time around when, as joy calls them, the coolidge wing of the republican party felt they had been taken advantage of, if you will, by the president on the tax negotiations in the fiscal cliff, they were vowing and they were saying pretty clearly that they weren't going to let it happen again on taxes, and i also think that the coolidge wing of the party is a little less neocon and a little more isolationist, if you will, than the previous crowd of 10, 15 years ago that was around george w. bush and before that. >> i agree. >> this is a different group, and they are -- >> how do you fight it? >> chris, they are almost like '60s protesters who are gettin

. >> reporter: meanwhile, the republican chair of the house armed services committee, buck mckeon says yard workers are laid off as maintenance for the navy is canceled. aircraft are being pushed past their limits and our soldiers are tested not by an external threat, but by the president's repeated insistence that defense cuts are the key to resolving this financial crisis. the white house also now says that the sequester will mean fewer food inspection and reduction in services from the irs and social security administration. uma. >> uma: all right. peter, thank you very much. the secret u.s. drone campaign and how the obama administration is using it is sparking controversy and criticism. critics are saying, there are virtually no checks and balances and some go as far as to say it gives the president a license to kill. joining us now to talk more about the drone program as well as new revelations about syria, author, journalist and terrorism expert gabriel. we have a lot to talk about and let's go first to the drone program and great to have you here today. >> thank you, glad to be

buck mckeon never served in the military.ne of these typical chicken hawks who cannot build enough of this military equipment. some of this goes back to madeleine albright, secretary of state under bill clinton. and you what -- you remember what she said of the indispensable -- indispensable nation which is dangerous talk. put it in the context she said it. if we have to use force, we are america, we are the indispensable nation. that is dangerous thinking. >> , the next popular question was, to what extent did it september 11 false flag operation by elements of the cia , what is your opinion about that september 11 to. >> reporter: was the coverup? >> well, it was not of false flight operation. that's silly. was -- the investigation was not a cover-up. i was not satisfied with the report because it did not go deeply enough into the intelligence failures. i have written about this in my last book, the failure of intelligence. it did not have to happen. there were very serious intelligence failures. there was a wonderful inspe

. >> we will hear from armed services chairman buck mckeon.military will be decimated by the spending cuts. that's on the way. you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide. ♪ [ male announcer ] to hold a patent that has changed the modern world... would define you as an innovator. to hold more than one patent of this caliber... would define you as a true leader. ♪ to hold over 80,000... well that would make you... the creators of the 2013 mercedes-benz e-class... quite possibly the most advanced luxury sedan ever. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law

republican buck mckeon said i don't doubt that important domestic programs will be in jeopardy if sequestermarch. our military is in jeopardy today to consider deeper cuts to the military now as a way to solve a financial crisis driven by entitlement programs and that is both irresponsible and up acceptable. peter singer from the brookings institute said right now the u.s. spends 40 cents of every dal dollar of military spending on earth and if the sequester kicks in, that would drop to 38 cents. peter duty deucey, fox news. >>> all new tonight, a celestial close call. talking about the 2012da asteroid that will pass earth. it will some so close into the earth, it will come into orbit with some of our communication satellites. there is no reason to worry. joining us now to talk about this is the assistant director for science of communications at nasa goddard space flight center. thank you for being with us. appreciate it. >> and thank you, laura, good to be here. >> will there be any indication to us? what will we be able to see if anything? >> reporter: this is completelyp visible to the

let's talk to the republican congressman buck mckeon.ys it may take a market event to get something on the spending cuts. what do you think? he joins us from capitol hill. when you say a market event, are you talking about the type of move we saw in the market today? or are you talking about something more severe? >> well, i think the market just gives us a chance to show what people are really thinking. i think they're just starting to focus in on what's happening here. you know, the president sounds like the last couple of weeks all of a sudden he realizes sequestration is a problem. it was his idea originally. he told us a year ago if we tried to fix it, he would veto it. and if he had just paid attention to all of his military leaders from the secretary of defense on down, we held five hearings to hear from them how important it was to not do this and how bad it would be on the military. then we had a hearing on how bad it would be to the economy. this was over a year ago. it's like the president now is just ai wakening to the fact.

you're seeing people like buck mckeon saying i'll take the defense cuts if i can get some domestic cutsscalculation by the president? >> miscalculation to put sequester in place. but they can save it all when you get to the end of the cr if this is the wake-up call and it sobers people up, you can make the big deal still and get it done. to your point on the districts in marjorie's state a guy name tim holden, a great guy, he lost because he wasn't a good enough democrat. and the same thing happens in my party. the biggest challenge we face now are primaries on the right or left. it's not november anymore. >> that's a problem. >> it is. >> thank you very much, congressman. thanks for coming. congresswoman margolies, i have always respected you. thank you for coming on tonight. >>> up next, how did first lady michelle obama end up announcing the academy award winner for best picture? we've got new details about how oscar's biggest secret stayed that way. i was surprised at the very moment of it. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. direct rates side by side to find you a great

. >> i'm buck mckeon from california. 25th district. chairman of the house armed services committee. yesterday the president gave us a proposal that cuts defense spending once again, has $500 billion in new taxes and also cuts in domestic spending. it's irresponsible, unacceptable, it leaves our troops and our economy unready to face the challenges of the future, the threats of today. when i went to our steering committee to apply for this job, i explained to them the way i saw the job, was to make sure that our troops, those who we send into harm's way, would have everything they needed to carry out their missions and return home safely. everything in the way of resources, training, leadership. these things are very important. and i look at what's happening with these cuts that we've seen the last couple of years and it's irresponsible that the commander in chief, his main job should be the thing that i look at as my job, only he has it in total. he should be looking out for soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines that he sends into harm's

. >> host: was a relationship with the chair of the armed services committee representative buck mckeon? >> guest: is outstanding. one of the great things about the armed services committee it's the most bipartisan committee in congress. it's not a particularly high bar to jump over this point but we have a long tradition of the chair and the ranking majority and minority closing -- working close together. our joint staff in congress does that and we are committed to working together in a bipartisan fashion and also committed to passing the defense authorization bill which we have passed every year for 51 years. last year we were the only committee that did it, the committee appropriations didn't get anything done last year. we did and we did because we had chairs and ranking member's house and who are committed to bipartisanship and getting our bill done and we do it the old-fashioned way. we go through subcommittee, full committee, house, senate, conference committee and we pass legislation. the leadership doesn't come in the last minute and say here's your bill, please pass it. we wo

host: what is your relationship with the chair of the armed services committee, buck mckeon? guest: it is outstanding. we have a long tradition of the chair and the ranking majority and minority working closely together. our joint staffs -- the only committee in congress that does that -- we are committed to working together in a bipartisan fashion and to passing the defense authorization bill which we have done for 51 years. even the appropriations committee did not get anything done last year. we did. we have members that are committed to bipartisanship and getting our bill done. we do it the old-fashioned way, going through subcommittee, full committee, house, senate, conference committee and we pass legislation. the leadership is not come in and say your is your bill, please pass it. we worked the progress -- process. host: finally, us policy in syria, and final and -- possibly in mali. guest: we are stepping up efforts to find people in serious we can support. president assad has to go. it is confusing as to who will replace him. caution was wise. diving into a military

the chairman, buck mckeon, says this is bad, but not unexpected news. the house armed services committee predicted that a sequester would result in layoffs of civilian employees. the house has passed legislation to avoid the white house. democrats have blocked it. here's what president obama had to say about the sequester yesterday. >> republicans and democrats in congress face a choice. are they willing to compromise to protect vital investments and education and health care and national security, and all the jobs that depend on a? or would they rather put hundreds of thousands of jobs and are putting us at risk. that is the choice. if you want to see a bunch of first responders lose their jobs because you want to protect a special interest loophole? are you willing to have teachers laid-off? or kids not have access to headstart? or deeper cuts in student loan programs. just because he would like to protect the special tax interest loophole that the vast majority of americans rely upon. that is the choice on the question. >> the defense department is h

was their idea and by the way, today i'm going to be working with another group of senators and buck mckeonices. we're going to introduce a bill that comes with alternative cuts to deal with sequestration without new taxes. you can do it by cutting spending. we'll do it in a responsible way. >> brian: so the president to come forward now, do you think it's something of desperation or is this a responsible thing to do before march 1 is right upon us? >> i actually think if we have to deal with sequestration in terms of the impacts on our military undermining our national security, it remains a very dangerous world. but again, there are ways to do this without raising taxes. we're introducing a bill today that will do that. in fact, it takes proposals from his own fiscal commission on how to do that. >> brian: do you have leverage over him right now? >> well, i think, first of all, he's got to come to the table and address this issue. he's concerned obviously about sequestration. we are, too. but new taxes are not the way to go. why don't we really look at the big picture? let's do a budget.

i should've said at the time that it was voted upon, the ranking republican, senator mccain and buck mckeon voted for the budget control act. they were the leading republicans on armed services in the two houses at the time. i should have made it clear. it was the ranking republican of the time we took the vote. >> senator ayotte? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank all of our military leaders are being here today, for your service and everything. everything you do for us. to put things in a bigger picture here, sequestration, on a scale from one to 10. one being the least dangerous and 10 being the most dangerous, how dangerous is sequestration in terms of the safety of this country? >> i will take a shot at that, senator. it sure feels like a think tank may not country and want to negotiate me down -- >> i'm asking for your professional judgment. any disagreement on that? >> we are at a place right now where we are facing very dangerous times around the world. would you all agree with that? it's not a time to take a peace dividend? >> if i could, because i didn't get a chance to r

. >> at the time it was voted upon, the ranking republican, senator mccain and representatives buck mckeon voted for it. they were the leading armed services people at a time. but it was not senator inhofe. it was the ranking republican on the time we took the vote. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank all of our military leaders for being here today. let me just start to put this in a bigger picture here. on a scale from one to 10, one being the least dangerous to our country and 10 being the most dangerous, how dangerous is sequestration in terms of the safety of this country? >> well, i will take a shot at that, senator. from where i sit today, it sure feels like a tank -- some think tanks may want to negotiate it down, but it's very serious. >> i am asking you for your professional judgment. is there any disagreement on this panel? >> we are out of place right now where we are facing dangerous times around the world. would you all agree with that? >> not a time to take a peace dividend? >> absolutely. if i could, the issue of the mechanism is one thing. the magnitude of this thi

buck mckeon feels the current urgency the white house is displaying is contrived. >> i have been talkinguse last week woke up and says, oh, gee, we're going to have sequestration. it was the president's idea originally. he put it on the table. and when we tried to change it a year ago, he said, no, no. anything you pass, i'll veto. so this just boggles my mind hearing them talk like this, like all of a sudden now, we've got a problem. >> he and other members of congress are on a two-week president's day break. they won't even be back in washington before the cuts are set to begin march 1. gretchen? >> gretche wendell goler live at the white house. thanks so much. >> steve: all right. yesterday on his radio show, rush limbaugh was talking about the frustration in looking at what's going on in washington, d.c. regarding this -- what he regards as a manufactured crisis and says he's not going to be roped in by it anymore. listen to this. it's stunning. >> ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in my life, i am ashamed of my country. to be watching all of this, to be treated, have my intel

towards the end of the year. 63 again >> wrapping up this briefing and house armed services committee buck mckeon had this to say about the defense furlough. this is a sad but not unexpected news. the house armed services committee predicted over a year ago the sequester would result the communism of china is coming to name these days and it preserves the power of the members of the communist party but they basically through most ideology aside whether he opened the country up and is now become a capitalist haven, the communism now in china they talked at great length that the congress is about marxist lennon etc. but it's all about preserving the party's power economically as the country continues to grow because they threw aside most vestiges of communism a long time ago. and north korea, it's all about preserving the power of the military and the kim dynasty and it has nothing to do with what karl marx vision of communism way back. it's a fascinating book somehow on how communism when it moved into asia it diverged into something different in vietnam, cambodia, north korea, and the communism t

this buck mckeon on and kelly ayotte bill.t will get everyone to sit down and analyze just how devastating this is. it gets everybody to sit down and make it less devastating than what it could be. we have already talked to the chiefs, they are working right now, that is an important step. >> [inaudible question] >> it is not desperate enough, when you can do it without raising taxes. that is why we are here today. >> [inaudible question] >> they run the white house -- >> you know, that's right, they do on the white house. but that's not the people of america. the vast majority of the people say that a problem is that we are not taxed enough, it's that we are taxed too much and we are spending too much. >> senator graham? >> if we had votes in this place, we could define common ground. how about this as an idea come asked the president, during the campaign he promised this wouldn't happen. you didn't tell us that if i get elected president i'm going to reduce sequestration in half. because it's a big deal in virginia. it's a b