one member of them, charles grassley. he is extremely popular in iowa.he is going to get an earful, why? >> because he is negotiating with democrats. there has always been reporting that democrats negotiating with republicans can get too liberal, and there is a foot side. some of the republicans are very conservative. this meeting was supposed to take place inside of the library, but the crowd has overflowed so they have moved it outside. because of charles grassley possible as the only negotiator from the gop working with democrats, there has been a grass-roots attempts to put increased pressure on him. the first word of the day is likely to be quiet, but later today to be thousands of people. stakes were raised dramatically this week when president obama gave charles grassley and these other senators a big shout out. >> there are some of my republican friends on capitol hill who are sincerely trying to figure out if they can find a health care bill that works. charles grassley of iowa, like an easy of wyoming, olympia snowe of maine. >> as a result of

to find out what they are talking about, darren gersh spoke with iowa republican charles grassley, a key member of the group. darren asked grassley how much progress the group has made. >> a lot of noncontroversial things that i suppose that you could say there's been a lot of accomplishment on over even far back. but there's always a large share of the issues that are not only complex, but also controversial and there's still a lot of those left to do. >> reporter:? democratic leaders said the bipartisan group should deliver a healthcare plan by september 15th. what do you think of the deadline? >> well, if the majority party made a decision that that's what they were going to do regardless, they could enforce it and do it. but i've always been an advocate for let's do it right. and several reasons for saying "let's do it right." one of them is, you know, healthcare is one-sixth of our economy. when you are restruck you aring that much of the economy you ought to be very careful how you do it. and there ought to be thoughtful. >> reporter: one of the more controversial issues about h

now there is a fight between charles grassley and obama. washington's new answer for health care reform. what do they mean for you? what did they do? in 12 minutes we will debate that. megyn: they are very good. you know the drill, try to leave a voicemail and you get a recording first? could that woman speak any slower? bill: just did it over with. megyn: i already know what to do. guess how much it costs you just to get their? how can you fight back? f bill: hello. megyn: we are back on the air. [laughter] bill: yes, we are. checking your voice mail, you do it all the time, right? you might start to think twice. >> at the tone, record your message. >> nearly everyone knows that voice. >> finished recording, hang-up or press 1 for more options. bill: when i checked myself on to get a message, the chances are good you have got it memorized and chances are good you had no idea how much you are paying for it. to get to that beep it takes about 15 seconds, and that precious 15 seconds means enormous profits for major cell phone carriers. >> it

tonight, we get the views of the senior republican, sitting in those sessions: charles grassley of iowahe joins us from capitol hill. senator grassley, thank you for talking with us. >> i'm glad to be with you, judy. >> woodruff: since it's been announced you're group is not going to reach an agreement before the senate goes into august recess, just how far apart are you? how wide is the gap? >> well, it's pretty hard to quantify but i think we're all committed to making sure that it gets done right. you gotta understand that artificial timelines just don't work when you're dealing with life and health-- life-and-death issues and that's who health care is about and when you're dealing with one-sixth of the economy is needs to be done carefully and cautiously and done right. and that's what we're all committed to doing, and we work at it a little bit every day, and we want it done right. >> woodruff: senator, you've said-- you made it pretty clear you're against the2d public optn the government plan to provide insurance to those people who don't have it now,. how strongly do you feel? ar

some of them have been focusing on charles grassley. some the organized the t parties came here today and some said to go ahead and work with democrats and we will vote you out of office. here is an example. >> i am on conservative and what we expect is for you to fight for us, we don't want this nation to be socialist. fight for us. don't give an inch. if you vote with this bill, we will vote you out. >> you know that elected politicians will hear that kind of noise when people think this is all about power. the first thing they don't want to lose as their own. shepard: grassley is sort of taking credit for these town halls? >> that's correct. he is on the finance committee. he says that all of the delay caused by his willingness to negotiate slowed the process down and created the august vacation town halls. shepard: he sounded kind of pessimistic. >> yes, he did. he said that he would be forced to push away from the table and he believes that the president might let the by partisanship go and push through the bill without any republi

curious, are you so hot under the collar about this, after being so mall lined, if you bumped into charles grassley in the hallway of the congress, would you tell him to his face that you're not telling the truth to the american people? >> absolutely. this -- i find this deeply offensive and frankly there are a number of friends of mine that i plan on following up with to try to understand what's in your head. this is stuff that you supported last month. why aren't you speaking out in support of it now. >> thank you, congressman, keep up the fight. you're welcome here anyname. i appreciate yew honesty, thank so much. >> i appreciate your work. >>> you bet. let's bring in todd webster, jonathan wiseman, and also republican strategist and former communications director for the republican congressional committee karen hanready. are we just not hearing the right things? is this part of the strategy? what do you think? >> i have to agree with you tonight, ed, this rhetoric about the death panels is real ly overblown and not accurate. i agree, they should have read all 1,000 pages of it as well. if they'

new hampshire, has voted for every nominee for the supreme court since he has been there for charles grassley when against his record by voting against the nominee. at suntrust, we help you manage your money at home. and make it easy when you're away. at suntrust, we help you manage your money at home. and where ever you go, atm fees won't follow. at suntrust, we help you manage get back to what really matts switch to suntrust checking today suntrust. live solid, bank solid. >> first they destroy the engines, then they dragged into a yard, report parts to sell, and stack them high. americans have turned in at least 150,000 vehicles. they ran out of money and congress has come up with another $2 billion. which is fine, a great program if you have a job. if you do not have a job, you cannot buy a car, you just cannot. >> you are right, you cannot do that and a whole lot of other things. that this is a government program run amok with success. it is amazing. but the dealerships are reporting profits, and this is one of the best little stimulus plans they have got going on right now. it's hard to

but iowa senator charles grassley says he's still hopeful a deal can be worked out to overhaul the health care system. he told the a.p.today he thinks a final plan would be smaller than first expected. grassley's one of six lawmakers trying to work out a compromise over health care. he says not everyone in that group opposes a public option but the reality is such an option may just not happen. >> susie: it looks like apple is about to show case the fruit of its labors. the company will hold a media event next week and is expected to roll out a new line of i-pod media players. but as is typical for the firm, apple is refusing to comment on the specifics. observers say look for new touch-and-nano models probably with digital or video cameras on board. another big question for next tuesday's event, will ceo steve jobs make an apeernls. as you know, paul, jobs has returned to apple after a long medical leave. >> paul: if he shows up, susie, it would be his first public appearance since then. let's see what was making a public ace peerns in our stocks in the news tonight. disney is going to a

he named charles grassley who said we should be worried about pulling the plug on grandma and he namede up into tiny little pieces and do it over a long period of time. >> why is he doing that? i mean, these folks have got half of the american people believing that there are death panels, that it's a government takeover, that medicare is going to be wiped out. it's been all smear and fear and lies and deception. and the president still wants to talk to these people. >> ed, here is the thing. obama is a student of history. he talked today about how roosevelt had been called the socialist when he was trying to pass social security but he's failed to learn the key lesson, which is sometimes you got to fight. you got to fight hard and you got to fight to the bitter end and the opposition be damned. that's something that happened with roosevelt. you know, if you study what happened with social security, he was being battered from the republicans and from within his own party and he said, i'm drawing a line. i will not sign legislation that does not have the core values of what this is all a

. >> charles grassley and orrin hatch, two respected republican senators, announced they were voting against her, after the announcement was made, the national rifle association, that if you do not vote the right way -- >> i wonder what it would have liked attended jefferson was trying to write the declaration of independence if there had been 24-hour news coverage. the likelihood of failure, the whole thing is collapsed. look, we have to take the long view of sonia sotomayor. how she will be viewed is not based on the hearings, but how she is going to look after she has been on the bench for awhile and incited chance to participate in some of the decisions. -- had a chance to participate in some of the decisions. >> do you agree with charles on john roberts? >> no, i don't agree, but i really don't care to debate this, because it is not an issue. >> you brought it up. >> no, you brought it up. >> i want to answer this question of what would happen if we had tabled in the time of jefferson, we would have been saying it "god save the queen" every day. not a bad tune. >> that is the wa

death decisions for the elderly, at a townhall today in iowa, influential republican senator charles grassley may have added to the controversy. >> there is some fear there is counseling for end of life -- and from that standpoint you have every right to fear. shouldn't have counseling at the end of life. you ought to have counseling 20 years before you are going to die. >> reporter: actually, senator grassley is one of the few repuicans working with the administration on health care. as for town hall the president has two more this week, one in colorado, one in montana. brian. >> savannah guthrie at the white house to start us off tonight. thanks. >>> a lot of the emotion we are seeing at the townhalls concerns what the administration has been calling the public option. opponents like to call it a government takeover of health care. the basic question remains -- what does the obama administration really mean by this term "public option." tonight we launch an effort aimed at making sense of it all. our report from nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> this is not health reform -- >> reporter: in the heal

charles grassley and orrin hah wentagainst the records by voting againsher. >> first they destrod the gines, and then they drag it to yard, rip out the parts they can sell, and then stack them high. americans haveturned in at least50,000 vehicle they ran o of mey. congre has come up with another billion. whh isine, a great program if you have job but ifou do not hav a job, u cannot buy a car. >> you a right, you cannot do that and a whole loof other things. but this is clearly a government program run amok with success. it is amazing that they had to t more money into it. but the deerships are porting profits. they are staying open. this is one of the bt little stilus plans they have going on right now. it ihard to tell whether it is relate to the better-tha expected uneloyment numbers this month, but it is at least ehere they are having - the government i having a real fect on the economy. >> it is nice to see a stimulus plan work when the stimus stimulus pn -- embarrassingly smallumbers have gotten into eeconomy. it is moly just moneyhat goes tthe states. ere is a lot of stirring in

charles grassley and orrin hatch, twoespected republica senators whoave never voted agnst a nominee, annoued they were going to vote against her, after the naonal rifle associationas announcing that if you do not te against her -- >> i wonder if in the time jefferson watrying write the declaration of indendence you had 24-hour news coverage. it would be talking about the likelihood of failure, the colpse, the whole thing is collapsed. look, we ha to take thlong view on sotomayor. how she will be revealed is not based on the heings, but after she has been othe bench for awhile and has had chance to particate in some of the decisions. >> do you agr with charl that john roberts is the most excellent jusce we have had in 50 years? >> no, i don' but i really do not care t debate this, since obviously is anon-issue. he is not the best we have had . you know what, i know it, a the americ people know it. >> i want answer his question -- what would happen if we d cable the time ojefferson? weould be singing "god sa the queen"very day. >> covering health care debate. the way we are coverinthe

republican senator charles grassley says the white house has made compromise difficult. >> the president'sold me lots of times he wants bipartisanship, and part of the problem is, you get conflicting signals out of the white house. >> reporter: the president appears to have intentionally sent conflicting signals. fearful of losing liberals in the house, the white house says he want an option for government-run insurance. fearful of losing moderates votes in the senate, the president signals he is willing to consider other options. the white house hopes that even if the two houses pass very different bills, they will then work out a compromise. >> the white house has always known that if it sets lines in the dust, it's going to end with conflicts and probably end up striking out. >> reporter: but the absence of the ailing ted kennedy has hurt attempts at compromise in the senate. >> he had a unique way of sitting down with the parties at a table and making the right concessions which really are the essence of successful negotiations. >> reporter: so dan, if the president does visit senator

the reason that republicans are suspicious of charles grassley, he could be duped by democrats and he could cut a deal that hurts taxpayers and rejigger it in a way that would undermine patient care. there are big crowd is turning out. just outside of the morning here, the crowd has been so big that they have twice had to change the event site. they were looking at a crowd that was planned for 300 or four -- 300 or 400. several thousand might show up. the fbi unit, as well as a number of organizations are against it, like the tea party group. no bones about organizing to get people here, everyone will get to screaming and have their chances -- have their voices heard. shepard: let's get to afghanistan, where the guns are blazing. marines are launching an air and land assault under taliban control. greg is with them. you will only see this video on fox. >> the marines have been on the ground for four hours now. they say that they have neutralized some, but there are more out there and they're ready to kill. shepard: the offensive is called operation eastern resolve ii. three are told t

. >> jon kyl and charles grassley need to stand up and say, this is what we believe for with health carere a lot of different proposals out there. it is like a kid with straws shooting paper. the teacher is over there. >> that will be the difference. democrats want remote bureaucracy making decisions. republicans are wanting to push ideas, equalize the tax treatment. a small business owners should get the same tax breaks as a large corporation. allow individuals to own health insurance policies, not the government. sean: let me advance this a little bit. dealers have abandoned cash for clunkers because it is not working. max baucus said that social security could be insolvent in two years. medicare is broken. i have a stanford study with the hoover institute that 70% of countries that have socialized medicine do not like it. it needs a complete rebuilding. if america cannot run the current programs they have -- people have faith they can take over 20% of the economy. >> i do not think i have faith. the president misspoke when he talked about the post office being the beacon of efficiency

and could that be because people like senator charles grassley of iowa, who is the senior republican on the senate finance committee who is supposedly seeking a bipartisan solution and who knows better, says things like this? >> we should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. >> there's room for legitimate disagreement about health care reform, but when a united states senator says you have every right to fear the government killing grandma, we've reached the point where the demagogues have seized control of the debate. in a moment we'll see if two members of congress can have a "hardball" discussion of this issue without resorting to provable lies and scare tactics. >>> and there were many lessons learned from the clintons' failed crusade for health care reform back in the '90s. did the obama administration heed them? we'll compare the hillary care debacle with what's going wrong right now. >>> plus, cheney unleashed. the former vice president is working on his memoirs, and "the washington post" says he plans to criticize former pres

our big picture, it all became clear from the soft approach today towards republican senator charles grassley after grassley made a huge false claim about democratic plans. yesterday at a meeting with constituents in iowa, grassley repeated the lie that's been made on the republican frung th fringe. >> in the house bill there's counseling for end of life, and from that standpoint you have every right to fear. we should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. >> but there are no such government programs in any democratic bill. and even grassley's republican colleagues have called the charge false. well, this afternoon faced with the choice of either condemning grassley and signaling a firm approach or giving grassley a pass, the white house chose to forgive and forget. >> we will hope to quell the misconceptions that are apparently held even by some in the senate about what the bill is and what the bill isn't, but we'll continue to hope that they can make progress. whether or not it happens, you know, i don't know. >> president obama has been hav

then thed are cal right, sarah palin, rush limbaugh, others, even charles grassley, says we're pullingth panel? it was a republican idea. >> and the congressman distanced himself from that whole idea, but what does the president need to do? i mean, is there one thing that he could offer here that the republicans would sign on board? >> thank you. let me give you two. talking about equalizing the tax treatment between people that buy their insurance directly from an insurer and people that get insurance directly from their employers. that's a reasonable position that the president should be willing to talk about, but he criticized john mccain in the presidential election and the unions are against it so he won't talk about it. medical malpractice reform is another commonsense solution. i would say to the president you have an opportunity to get something bipartisan here but you've got to walk away from the left side of your party. he's never been willing to do that. >> paul, i want to show you this nbc news poll, how health care is being handled by president obama. but there's a lot of

we are talking about charles grassley.at? he is not sounding very optimistic right now. >> there might be something that comes out of our committee. who knows? maybe nothing will come out of our committee. i mean, it may not be -- at least nothing that i agree with. so maybe i will be pushed away from the table. i don't know. it could be that with what the president said yesterday afternoon or yesterday morning in portsmouth or whenever he had his meeting there, there was some indication that he may be ready just to move ahead in a very partisan way. >> our white house correspondent, dan lothian, is stand big at the north lawn of the white house. let's go to candy crowley first. you are with senator grassley at thist this town hall meeting. can we say this was a red flag? >> reporter: this is as negative as i have heard senator grassley. actually, get can some conclusion. just now, at this town hall meeting, he said, listen, i'm not going to walk away from these meetings but i think i may be shoved away. he talked about co

. >> charles grassley, even he is talking to his constituents about it.should not decide if grandma lives or dies. >> there's counseling for end of life and from that standpoint, you have every right to see her. we should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. >> jonathan allen is a reporter for cq.com. as we debate these statements, are we take k attention away from what people consider to be the really important details of this plan? >> yes, there's a will the of important stuff in the bill and the desire to kill granny is really ridiculous. it's ignorant and dishonest. there are serious issues to debate within the parties among idealogical factions and it's a side show on an issue that really doesn't exist. >> what does it tell you about where this stands at this point, that it has gotten so bogged down? there's a lot of outrage on both sides. does it tell you that less is going to get done? >> i think something will end up getting done. i think the president and democratic leadership and congress have s

. >> charles grassley made his case for a co-op type of system this morning on msnbc. >> certain for the benefit of the members and total benefit goes to members themselves and when it comes to health care, for those that say, we ought to have more competition than what we are, it would provide that competition. >> ezra klein writes a blog for "the washington post." this argument between a co-op and public option, explain the key concern for people who support the public option, the concern they have about co-ops and is their concern valid. >> the current insurance is for profit. for the government, the idea is it wouldn't have that problem. it has experience at running insurance. it would have the sort of size to bargain, to effectively create its own networks, to get good prices. of course, insurers are a little bit less enamored with that plan. i really don't think, i'm not, i think the co-op option is recommended, but not an answer to these questions. when you have senator grassley on, arguing for it, this is not a guy that's been worried about it over the years. it's somebody wh

the iowa republican charles grassley is a major -- major player in the reform talks. he said the senate has removed the end of life care from consideration. the provisions are meant to make sure medicare covers the cost of people who want to talk to doctors about living wills or if you have a relative that is terminal. right now, you have to pay for it in many cases. in this circumstance, the government would of paid. not anymore. the senate dropped them because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly. arlen specter says, come on. >> the proposal to give counseling on advanced directives, living wills, is as pure as ivory snow. nobody should decide what kind of medical care they will get in the last few days of their life. shepard: critics that represented and of life counseling as a way to stop caring for of the elderly when it gets expensive. the administration insists that would never happen. they have called it "pulling the plug on grand opera "there's nothing in the legislation to indicate that is what would happen. sarah palin has arg

democrat arlen specter is on twitter and in a war of words with republican charles grassley of iowa. erencing vertical comments made by grassley on and of life care provisions in the house democrat health-care bill. we understand it started after apparently spector posted the following tweet" it "he called senator grassley to tell him to stop spreading myths about health care reform and imaginary death penalty." senator grassley not wasting time to respond using his own twitter account set" specter got it all wrong than i ever used words thatÑi words. even liberal press would never accuse me of that, so change your last week, arlen." spector later twittered -- treated he would speak to grassley to clarify his position on living wills. magna surveillance video of two men who allegedly ripped up a london jewelery store for millions of dollars. the tape shows the suspected thieves outside the diamond shop today's before the robbery. police think it is more than a dry run. they said the robbers were ready to commit the crime but for some reason, called it off or did two days later -- ther

iowa senator charles grassley held a town hall on health care yesterday, four of them in fact he hasaccused by some on the right for selling out to democrats as well as accusations from the left that he is blocking reform movement. >>> these days daily health care town hall meetings are turning in to shouting matches for people on bod sides of the aisle. we look at the actions being done the meetings. when it comes to booing members of congress, 44% of people call it democracy in action and 47% say it is an abuse of democracy. as far as shouting down people with opposing viewpoints, 33% called it democracy in action but 59% say it is an abuse. we want to know what you think, are people getted too heated and inappropriate about it or is this just democracy in action. cast your vote when you visit wusa9.com. >>> thousands of you park in those garages in downtown silver spring every day. now, police want to make sure your stuff doesn't get stolen while you are at work. digital correspondent armando trl is live with a new initiative. good morning, armando? >> well, andrea, right now mont

could easily be led to believe that republicans are not negotiating in good faith, particularly charles grassley adding error to the rumor that granny is going to get the plugged pulled on her. those type of comments are not helpful. if you wait outside of the negotiation rooms where i have been, they are in there negotiating, democrats and republicans. they are trying to come to common ground. it is incredibly difficult. it is a huge bill. if they decided to go it alone and without republican support and democratic support, they would not get all democrats on this this, it would be very, very dangerous. obama promised to reach across the aisle and said, there is not a blue or red american. if he gives up on bipartisanship, he is going to have a problem. >> he also guaranteed he would pass a health care reform plan through that would have the public option in it. which promise will he break, murph? >> that's his problem. i don't know which promise he is going to break. you can't go making promises if your promises don't line up with each other. that's the pickle he has gotten himself in. >> the

just last week, senator charles grassley of iowa said he was confident president obama was working towardst now he's claiming he's not being included in the talks and the democrats are pushing ahead with a partisan bill. >> and there's always the side of these rowdy town halls. some democratic law make rs are being hounded and some have been very vocal, but democrats are fighting back. they're launching an all-out pr blitz to let americans know not all town halls are out of control and bill clinton says the battle is not over. he's urging voters to help president obama get this legislation through congress and telling democrats not to lose their nerve, and that's a quote. >> he's holding this town hall at the airport hangar in belgrade, montana. it was named after the serbian city in the late 1800s because of the investors on the railroad. they named this little railroad stop belgrade. tickets were handed out first come, first serve, so there is every hope there will be a wide variety of questions, perhaps some sharp criticism and wild claim. some white house officials believe that in that

fox caught up in eye with with charles grassley. >> i wish the white house would take a deep breath and pause. we're talking about healthcare. that's life or death, affecting every american. we're talking about 1/6 of the economy. it ought to be broad based. it shouldn't be partisan. >> another g.o.p. negotiator, mike enzy of wyoming, lasted the so-called public option for healthcare reform, one that the g.o.p. embraces an liberals covet. monopolies never improve efficiency, and a government run option is really no option at all. as the president was walking back to the nascar event, he was asked if there would be a bill this year and he said i'm confident we will get a bill regarding healthcare and he also said, quote, and i hope it is bipartisan. one other thing the president just wrapped up is a conference call with religious leaders from across the left in the country, urged to use their pulpits to push for healthcare reform in the next 45 days. the president called it an ethical and moral obligation. as the death panel pop plagues says, it is bearing false witness. bret: some in th

charles grassley of iowa >> unfortunately, judge sotomayor's speeches and writings over the years reveal a judicial philosophy that highlights the importance of personal preferences and beliefs in her judicial method. >> reporter: democrat tom carper of delaware said that kind of scrutiny presents a standard no nominee or senator could meet. it's easy to take one line from one of our speeches to take us out of context and make us appear to be someone we are not. >> suarez: the broader politics of the vote were on display afterward. democrat robert&] mendez was asd whether republicans would suffer because so many opposed the first hispanic justice. >> for the hispanic community, which is not monolithic, it was monolithic about judge sonia sotomayor. if you meet all of the challenges that you are told you need to meet and still you can be told no, despite fidelity to the constitution, the law and precedent, then it sends a tough message to us as a community. and i think that message is one that will be seriously viewed in the days ahead by the community. >> reporter: republicans held no po

republican senator charles grassley holding a town hall meeting right now. grassley is one of the key negotiators working on a bipartisan reform plan, senior political correspondent candy crowley is covering senator grassley's town hall in winterset, iowa. candy, if you would, describe the mood of this event. >> well, listen, i would say that it is very polite but very pointed. you have heard some tough questions here considering, first of all, let me just tell you where we are, winterset is a conservative area. you're hearing a lot of concern from people here saying, listen, do we have to overhaul everything? this looks like a fickle government takeover. i'm concerned that i won't be able to go to the doctor i want to go to if i have to go into a federal health insurance plan. so, you hear a lot of that. but you also hear them say when there are some doctors here, nurses here, some small business owners and you have a pretty wide swath certainly in terms of career and jobs and perspective. so, you are hearing but don't we need to reform the whole thing. i h

republican representatives and senators, they're pretty much unified in opposition to this thing, and charles grassleyaught in a very difficult place. on one hand people say he doesn't represent all republicans and on the other hand he feels compellinged to speak for republicans because he is at a critical point in revising the system. bret: do you think people are buying what the president is saying when he talks about the republicans being the main cog in the wheel here? >> no. i think people are thinking why aren't republicans willing to do any work with president on such an important issue as healthcare. at the moment, that's not the story. charles is right. the story is what is going on among democrats. unless you want to say we're going to go for the nuclear option and the democrats are just going to force it down the throats of the american people, that's just not a winning ticket for the obama administration. that's why we are seeing something of a circus over the last few days with the flip-flops on public options, with the whole noaks notion of sebelius saying one thing, obama saying one thi

. >> i think it resonated with some conservatives and i think more importantly was that charles grassleycally repeated what sarah palin said the other day. of course, as it turns out, what sarah palin referred to as death panels she was for a year and a half ago when she was governor of alaska. so this is the usual back and forth between sarah palin and sarah palin. laura: how so did she favor a death panel. >> i could read this to you. when she was governor of alaska, she came out for the idea of talking to people about living wills, of the government having having -- paying people back for their living wills. she came out and said that was a good idea and talking to people about end of life care in advance was a good idea. some health care day or something in alaska. laura: was that for doctors being given incentives? i'm not sure she favored doctors being incentivised to give those kind of consultations and discussions. amanda, what's clear here is that sarah palin, like her or not, seems to be able to really get under the wisdom tooth like a raspberry seed of the left in this health

a leading republican senator, senator charles grassley today reported people are scared by the president's health care plan and other policies. senator grassley making that comment at a town hall meeting in his home state of high wa. candy crowley reports from iowa. >> if it's okay with you, i'll get started. >> reporter: winterset, iowa, grassley holds his 72nd town hall meeting this year. and what a year. >> we're here at a time when i sense people are scared for our country. >> reporter: the stimulus plan, bailouts, government spending and now health care. grassley has been getting two, sometimes three times the crowds he's had in previous years. many people, so many hands in the air. >> where do my children go to get their insurance if they don't want government health care? >> how are you going to change the insurance so that the small businesses can compete. >> so many cross currents. >> i need to know what you're doing for these insurance companies that are putting everything in their pocket and laughing at everybody else. simple math even for this southern iowa red-neck, so we can

here's what ranking member charles grassley told cbs today. >> the bottom line of it is that a public option is resented by a lot of republicans and some democrats because we feel it's the first step towards government takeover of health car care. >> with us now is our dynamic you do woe, cbs contributor robert reich, whose book is called "super capitalism" and stev steven moore, "the end of prosperity." i have such a headache on this issue and i don't know who's going to pay for the aspirin. robert, i know you are in favor of the public option but should the president be pragmatic now that the polls are against him and saying it's not going to happen. should he give up. >> he should not give up because a public option is very critical. you have to have competition amongst the insurance companies, there is not enough competition. we saw monday insurance stock soared over rumors on the weekend the president is backing down from the public option. it's all about money and the more money they make, the more health insurance will cost. number two, the white house has to be very specific t

charles grassley, mike enzi and olympia snowe. i give those three republicans a lot of credit because they're under enormous pressure not to engage in any kind of negotiations at all. and in the current political climate, they are showing, you know, some significant result. i don't know if in the end they can get there. >> especially every time senator grassley opens his mouth, the iowa republican now directly challenging the president to give up the public option as a condition of republican involvement. telling "the washington post" it was "pretty important if you're really interested in a bipartisan bill." but wait, there's more. senator grassley pointing at town hall anger the reason why the scope needs to be scaled back. "people are signaling that we ought to slow up and find out where we are and don't spend so much money and don't get us so far into debt." if you can consider health industry employees a sort of right-wing militia members but only know they hate this president if you consider them regular people. a message to

republican sincere friends like charles grassley. who do you think president obama counts as his political enemy? joining us now is the democratic candidate who is hoping to unseat senator grassley next year. he's running for the u.s. senate in iowa. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, rachel. >> honestly, i am not in the habit of bringing on politicians' competitors to assess how those politicians are doing because there is not enough suspense about what you will say but i wanted to ask you tonight about winterset, iowa where senator grassley this morning made these comments that people ought to be afraid, that health care really is a plot to kill old people. he thinks that line will help him there in winterset, iowa. do you understand why he thinks that? >> well, it's outrageous that he said it, first of all. but i think what senator grassley is doing is he's creating a strategy to walk away from the negotiations. he realizes that there is no compromise and that he has played this string for as long as he can. he's des

tonight, we t the views of the senior republicansitting in thossessions: charles grassley of iowa. joins us from catol hill. senator grassley, thank u for talking wi us. >> i'm gladto be with you, judy. >> woodruff: since it'seen announc you're group is not going to reach an agreement beforehe senate goes into augustrecess, just how far apart areou? how wide is the gap >> well, it's pretty hard to antify but i thi we'reall cmitted t making sure that it gets done right. you got understand that artificial timelines st don't work whenyou're dealing with life a health-- life-and-dea issues a that's wo health ca is abouand when you're dealing withone-sixth of the economy is needs to b done carelly and cautiously and done right. and that's what were all committed doing, and work at it a litle bit every day and we want it done right. >>woodruff: senator, you' said-- you ma it pretty clear you're again the2d public option the government pl to provide insurance to those peoe who don't have it now,. ho strongly do you fl? are you basically saying under no circstances a public plan? >> well,

charles grassley iowa >> unfortunately, judg sotomayor's speees and writings er the years reveal a judial philosophy that highlhts the importance of personal preferences anbeliefs in her jicial method. >> reporter: democt tom carper of delaware id that kind of scrutiny presents a stanrd no nominee orenator could meet. 's easy toake one line om one o our speecheso take us out context and make us appear to be someo we are not. >>uarez: the broader politics of the vote wer on display afterward. democrat rert&] mendez was asked whether repubcans would suffer because somany opposed the firstispanic justice. >> for the hispanic comnity, which is n monolithic, it was monolithic about judge son sotomayor. if you meet a of the challens that you are told you need to meet anstill you can e told no, despite fidelity the constitution,he law and precedent, en it sends a tough message to us as a communi. and i think that ssage is one thatill be seriously viewed in the days ahead by thcommunity. >> reporter:epublicans held no post-vote briefings on the confirmation. jue sotomayor will take the place of r

let's take the case of iowa, gop senator charles grassley.he's a ranking republican on the senate finance committee. he's been in the room for all the talks. grassley tells nbc news if the final product isn't bought into by more than a few republicans, grassley says he'll vote against it, even if it is in his words, good for the country. michelle, that's partisanship. >> thank you, steve. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> here's my latest drama on the health care debate. will the health care bills on the table lead to rationing? a word that keeps getting thrown around here? the republicans keep screaming about death panels and end of life care bills in congress. they should be far more concerned about the stimulus bill and a little known billion provision for something called comparative effectiveness research. on the surface, comparative effectiveness research makes sense, the government compares the effectiveness of two different procedures and pay for the more effective one. that's fine. here's writ gets tricky. one of the questions often as

>> that was a question to senator charles grassley. can we put this to rest. illegal immigrants, are they provided for free health care? true or false? >> i don't know that we can put it to rest. but we can say whether it's accurate or not. that gets a false. actually, we gave that one a pants on fire on the truth-o-meeter whtruth-o truth-o-meter when is the lowest rating. this one has been circulated lornlgly throu l largely through a chain e-mail which claims that illegal immigrants get free health care. and that's just not true. you read the bill. actually, the house version of the bill specifies that undocumented aliens would not be eligible for the credits to go into the health exchange and get care. so that one is ridiculously false. now the new twist on that was that they would get it over senior citizens and that's just false, too. so a lot of misinformation still going around about this. >> not just false but a pants on fire misconception. bill, great to see you. thank you. >> thanks, john. >> cnn.com/healthcare is a great place for you to do health c

. >> woodruff: billy hummel was in peoria, iowa to hear charles grassley.assley is one of the republican negotiators on the senate finance committee working to shape a health care bill. >> health care -- i'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the same rumblings that have been going on for years will continue to rumble a little bit longer. i'm glad they're coming to a head. i'm glad there is some discussion going on. but i hope that the discussion leads to a stalemate right now, because right now is not the time to go in more debt, and that's the only way to pay for this. and there is no dollar amount, concrete, that anyone can put to it, and until that happens we've got to just say no for a second -- the same as anyone's personal budget, if you don't know what's on the horizon, especially if you don't have a cushion of crash to absorb those, you have no business sticking your neck out because you're going to get it choppeduv off. >> in winterset, iowa, kate basin voiced her view of support. >> i think you tell a country by how they treat their weaker peopl

democrats and senate finance trying to come up with a bipartisan plan, one of your colleagues, charles grassley, says that you guys have already dropped the end-of-life consultation. that's no longer part of your discussion. is that true? >> that's correct. and, chris, if i could go back to one other point on the cost issue, i didn't have a chance on that. i called a special hearing of the senate budget committee to ask the congressional budget office director are these other plans paid for and do they be bebd -- bend the cost curve in the right way. there's no house plan, there's a house committee plan. there are several different committees in the house that have reported plans. the house itself has not. the committee on which i serve has rejected the notion of any specific timetable. we think it's more important to get this right and in terms of what we've submitted to the congressional budget office, they have come back and said that our plan does bend the cost curve in the right way and is paid for. so there is going to be an alternative out there for our colleagues that will be paid for,

a quote from a world war ii vet today at a town meeting with republican senator charles grassley fromis quote, in a public meeting today in the united states. quote, the president of the united states, that's who you should be concerned about because he's acting like a little hitler. i'd take a gun to washington if enough of you would go with me. that's now reached the level, we talked about this birther movement. we talked about the gun carrying of people to these meetings. put it all together and it's getting weird. now someone has put it together verbally. the question is when will they put it together actually. jonathan martin, chalk apparently stood through that and did not demur. >> this is the second time he's enabled this kind of rhetoric out there. previously, of course, he talked about the whole death panel and basically added fuel to the fire by talking about not wanting to pull the plug on grandma. this, though, i was in florida for two days last week. this is the kind of stuff you hear increasingly at these town hall meetings and especially sort of red america. people are