republicans all right well thank you very much for that that was dave levinthal from the center for responsive politics. well still ahead for you in the program over a barrel a former oil tycoon convicted of stealing billions could see his sentence extended in a case that's fueling debate find out more as our team brings you the latest from the courtroom and beyond also. much when we started training for the station itself did not exist there were no menus there were no exercise machines. well today marks ten years since the first crew aboard the international space station find out if the station has justified at stratospheric costs and what the future holds for the gateway to the final frontier. now russia has started delivering a free guns and ammunition to be to arm the afghan police are the first aircraft has already landed in kabul sixteen more shipments are expected to take place as part of a bilateral agreement reached in august military analysts say russia will engage further in calgary threats emanating from afghanistan. all neighboring countries and to russia as a regional superpower i think

earlier we spoke to dave levinthal from the center for responsive politics that tracks campaign spending now he believes there's a possibility politicians become dictated to by they do nader's as soon as they get into congress. there is a concern among many people that politicians who receive a considerable amount of money from a particular industry or a particular union or special interest group are going to be beholden to that entity when they get into congress so in other words they get a whole lot of money from people who want them to do something in particular and then they go to congress and then all of those special interest groups come back to them and say hey remember when i gave you that big check or remember when i supported you with millions of dollars of television advertisements well they're going to come with their handout at that point wall street has played a major role in the success of republicans going forward in large part because we have found that republicans have shifted their donations just in less than two years time from giving primarily to democrats to now giv

personal wealth collectively rise more than 16% between 2008 and 2009 the nonpartisan center for responsive politics has a new study on financial disclosures showing nearly half of house lawmakers, 261 are millionaires. a slight increase from the previous year of those congressional millionaires 55 have average wealth of $10 million or more. with 8 in the 100-million-dollar plus rake. in 2009 the median range was $765,000. increase of 120,000 compared to the previous year. median wealth for senators stood at nearly $2.38 million. up about 100 grand from 2008. religious freedom advocates here in the u.s. are urging united nations members to vote against a defamation of religions resolution backed by islamic countries. critics worry the proposal does more harm than good and actually restricts religious freedom and leads to violence. a bipartisan letter signed by 42 members of congress urges 150 heads of state to vote no. catholic league president bill donohue says, quote. these muslim nations already kill christians and jews with impunity. they don't need any further encouragement to bring their idea

the center for responsive politics said the overall personal health of house representatives increased by more than 16% between 2008 and 2009. that may be because significant numbers of congress own shares in health care and financial service sectors. of course those got boosts from major reforms. the wealthiest member is california's darrell isa. much of that is his own money. he used to be the ceo of directed electronics. it's not that extremebut the state of california reduced the number of bonds it's selling due to a lousy bond market. is this the end of the world? no. is it the door opening? maybe. history on wau street as general motors sells stock for the first time sinces the bankruptcy and bailout. the initial price is up to more shares created to meet demand. that's like printing money for gm. the federal government owns 65% and will reduce the investment and make money in the process. it's not enough to get all of the money back, but it's an awfully good pay out for the feds. the gm worker who is kept working and kept contributing to the tax base so generally speaking a win.

according to the center for responsive politics, nearly $4 billion will have been spent, most of it onision advertising how candidates get the word out. the senate race in the lead of the races where people are spending so much money. barbara boxer spent $26.2 million, hoping to keep her seat. her challenger, carly fiorina, $17.8 million. does all of that make a difference? is it might. barbara boxer spent a little bit more and according to the poll completed over the weekend, see is up by four points and only four points. that's less than the polls we saw last week where she was up by a little bit more. we have less than 24 hours before the polls start to open. a lot of money being spent, but is it going to make a difference? that is will be up to the voters to decide. >> we will been by about this time on wednesday morning. >> the man accused of master mining the kidnap of elizabeth smart. more than eight years after she was kidnapped, brian david mitchell will go to trial. he kidnapped smart from her bedroom in salt lake city in early june of 2002. she is now 22 years old and expect

because according to the center for responsive politics, let's see, the tan man, the guy who's leading the charge on this, well he's worth $3.6 million. ooh, cantor he's up there at $4.9 million. mitch mcconnell is at $19.9 million in the senate. that's what he's worth. and my buddy, darrell issa, he's worth a cool $303 million. these are the people who are making the decisions on the unemployed in this country. are they selfish? you make the call. the selfish lawmakers in my opinion the republican party they couldn't have picked a worst time to turn their backs on fellow americans. one week from tonight, americans will be enjoying thanksgiving, it's a special time of year, and the republican party's just given million of jobless americans very little to be thankful for. you know, i've said it before, they're heartless, they're clueless, but now they are really cruel. self-centered and un-american to treat unemployed americans like road kill. so i guess what i have said on this program in the 20 months of being here on msnbc with "the ed show," i guess we could say it's been validated

this raise my taxes campaign came out the same day that the center for responsive politics reported onhe wealth of members of congress based on their own financial disclosure statement. in 2009, 261 lawmakers, almost half were millionaires. lawmakers median wealth? $911,000, up 16% from the year before. senators as a whole had a better year than house members, almost $2.4 million in median net worth compared to $765,000 for the house. in just two weeks, four million americans could use their unemployment benefits. why? my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more... and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol...stop. along with diet, lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39% to 60%. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including peo

to my immediate left is sheila who is the executive director of the center for responsive politics. she has been the executive director since 2006. prior to that, to serve as the research director and oversaw the analysis for -- was the assistant editor for their flagship magazine. to her left and in the center is a butler derrick. he is a south carolina and washington-based lawyer. he is a former u.s. congressman, serving 20 years in the south carolina house before that. he is also a member of the national governing board. to his left its peers sen. he was the direct vice- president of programs for common cause. he has had experience of the citizen of leadership fund. with that, let me turn it over to our distinguished panel. sheila, we will start with you. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. let me just at the many of the same comments that charlie made. money was certainly a big story in 2010, but it was not -- outside spending is not new. it was just more free-flowing after the citizens united and speech now decision. more of that was hidden this time around. it is not a guaran

to my immediate left is sheila who is the executive director of the center for responsive politics. she has been the executive director since 2006. prior to that, to serve as the research director and oversaw the analysis for -- was the assistant etor for their flagship magazine. to her left and in the center is a butler derrick. he is a south carolina and washington-based lawyer. he is a former u.s. congressman, serving 20 years in the south carolina house before that. he is also a member of the national governing board. to his left its peers sen. he was the direct vice- president of programs for common cause. he has had experience of the citizen of leadership fund. with that, let me turn it over to our distinguished panel. sheila, we will start with you. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. let me just at the many of the same comments that charlie made. money was certainly a big story in 2010, but it was not -- outside spending is not new. it was just more free-flowing after the citizens united and speech now decision. more of that was hidden this time around. it is not a guarante

to my immediate left is sheila who is the executive director of the center for responsive politics. she has been the executive director since 2006. prior to that, to serve as the research director and oversaw the analysis for -- was the assistant editor for their flagship magazine. to her left and in the center is a butler derrick. he is a south carolina and washington-based lawyer. he is a former u.s. congressman, serving 20 years in the south carolina house before that. he is also a member of the national governing board. to his left its peers sen. he was the direct vice- president of programs for common cause. he has had experience of the citizen of leadership fund. with that, let me turn it over to our distinguished panel. sheila, we will start with you. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. let me just at the many of the same comments that charlie made. money was certainly a big story in 2010, but it was not -- outside spending is not new. it was just more free-flowing after the citizens united and speech now decision. more of that was hidden this time around. it is not a guaran

i asked dave leventhal of the watchdog group the center of responsive politics for it ethical concernsut all of this take a listen. >> you have to ask the question, well, these family members, are they actually benefit the person giving them the money? if by giving you 1,000, 10,000, $100,000 what the sum may be, is the member of congress, him or herself actually getting a benefit from it? it is difficult to argue in certain circumstances. >> so we are saying essentially the congressman in question may be getting some kind of personal benefit from the campaign money given to a relative because that money could be part of his household income, even if it is given indirectly. all this is legal and the fec told us two main rules it has to be for bona fied campaign work and the rate of pay must be fair market value. you cannot overpay a family member or that consulting work. >> as you correctly point out, democrats do it and republican does it something both sides of the aisle do. >> very good at looking at these rules, these plus and coined of getting around them, not disobeying them but

center. the russian president has pledged that those responsible for the brutal beating of a prominent newspaper journalist will be brought to justice. a well-known politicalorter and bobber is now in intensive care following the attack outside of his home last weekend. it was the latest in a series of attacks on journalists in recent years. >> inside this hospital in the capital lies yet another journalist in critical condition. his legs, hands, and java are smashed. jaw arelt -- and dra smashed. his father says that it is hard. he was attacked by two men using a weapon. most believe he had become a target because of his bold recourse sang and hard-hitting blogs on the internet. now, even the president has been forced to speak out about this list brazen attack on a journalist. he said the journalist's job is to tell the truth honestly and professionally. whoever is behind the attack, he said, would be punished. those are the words that journalists will take into the streets in moscow. but they are also vowing to continue these protests. until the president's words are turned into action and those responsible for the attack are actually brought to justice.

responsible for making those rock rock on election day. >> reporter: maryland's attorney general wants more than $15 million from those responsible. political consultant julius henson is at the centerint. they claim it violates the telephone consumer protection act. calls targeted mainly african-americans. henson was a paid consultant for bob ehrlich's campaign but the ag does not believe ehrlich was involved. >>> a fire at an auto body shop turned deadly. it happened on arundel county road. there's no word yet on what started the fire or how the men died. >>> the man police believe shot three people on heather brown are behind bars. burkes later died and the other two are expected to survive. steriling matthews is charged with first-degree-murder. >>> home sales in the baltimore area aren't getting better. according to our media part next the number of homes sold in october fell 30%. the drop could be contributed to buyers taking advantage of the home buyers tax credit. stay with wjz, maryland's us in station. up next, could your laptop computer be affecting your fertility and why some types of salt maybe worse,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> a lot of people will be saluting around the countr

center for the people and the press. carroll is responsible for the velvet of the center's research projects and its editorial output including surveys, opinion pieces and politicalanalyses. recent pew center reports cover the role of the money generation and politics, 2010 matrons, the public policy priorities and views of the upcoming census. i have known carroll because he's a former senior writer at "congressional quarterly" where he spent a decade covering congressional leadership, politics, and foreign affairs. he also served as a commentator on presidential clinton's impeachment proceedings four in pr during that time, and is previously an investigative reporter for cbs news. so carroll, thank you for being here. bob bennett send is not in his 12 campaign cycle of specialize in election coverage. he is the senior elections analyst for cq "roll call." and he was cq's politics editor from 1998 up until the merger with rollcall in 2009 and has been with cq since 1981. bob is one of the sharpest political minds out there and has encyclopedic knowledge of congress and politics cq-roll call's greatest assets, prior to cq, actually, you started at cq after a stin

asking for more than $15 million from those responsible which does not include former governor bob ehrlich. >> i'm on the bob ehrlich team. >> reporter: political consultant julius henson at the centeris complaint filed in court by attorney general doug gansler saying the 112,000 clx night phone calls violated the federal communications act. >> we're calling to let everyone know that governor o'mally and president obama have been successful. we're okay. relax. everything is fine. the only thing left is to watch on tv tonight. >> this was with the intent to suppress voter turnout, much like literacy tests and poll tax in the past, we do not tolerate this. >> reporter: gansler asks for $168 million from henson, his company universal elections, inc. and cowork are rhonda russell. >> we have absolutely no reason to believe that bob ehrlich had any knowledge these calls were being put out nor any knowledge that he had a view of the content. >> reporter: -son admitted the calls should have identified itself. >> robocalls steams have a tag. in rt trough spect we should have put a tag on it. >> reporter: most of the calls went to residents in prince george's county. federal and criminal cha

center for the people and the press. she is responsible for the development of the center's research products and its editorial output including surveys, opinion pieces, and political analyses. recent pugh center reports have covered the millennial center, the midterms, the public policy priorities of the upcoming census. i have known carol because he is a former senior writer at congressional quarterly where he spent a decade covering congressional leadership, politics, and foreign affairs. he also served as a commentator on president clinton's prepared -- impeachment proceedings for npr during that time and was previously an off their investigative reporter for cbs news. thank you for being here and welcome. bob bennett is now in his 12th campaign cycle of specialized election coverage. he is the senior elections analyst for cq/roll call. he was the cq politics editor from 1998 up until the merger with c kick -- with roll call in 2009 and has been with cq since 1981. bob is one of the sharpest political minds out there and his encyclopedic knowledge of congress and politics is one of cq/roll call's greatest assets. prior to cq, -- actually started at secure after