why did christie make this decision? >> they're pushing back hard on this political criticism saying they were standing on the firmest legal ground, basically, they consisted the legislative services at the new jersey legislature, and they told them that this would be the best way you weren't going to be sued. if you appoint someone for the rest of lautenberg's term, the democrats are going to sue you, that's what they're saying, there does appear to be a nakedly political cast to this decision as you were talking about. >> what's interesting to me about this. i know there are statutory requirements if i announce an election on this day, we have to have a requirement on this day. having the special election in october, and not in november when christie himself is on the bat ott, that means that cory booker, the popular mayor of newark, new jersey will probably be the nominee. he will not be on the top of the ticket when christie's on the ticket. >> right, which both of them want realistically, neither one of them wanted

but christie stood firm. the economy was weak, money was short, it was his job to make hard choices like this. here's the press release his office put out when he canceled the tunnel. christie administration enforces budget discipline, protects new jersey taxpayer dollars. this was a crucial moment for christie, the politician. a dramatic and defiant stand against big government spending at height of the tea party era. the exact move that turned him a first-term governor into a rising national star in republican politics. now let's add context pittsburgh first the report from the government accountability office 18 months late that completely destroyed christie's stated rational. turned out the costs weren't exploding and new jersey wasn't on the hook for 70% of overruns. the number was 14%. and then there's what's happening in new jersey right now. frank lautenberg died monday. you know that. he did important things in the senate, 21-year-old drinking age, fierce advocacy of gun control. but that tunnel, tha

i'm talking about chris christie. this issue of special elections comes up in new jersey, because senator frank lautenberg passed away. he's been the senator from my home state of new jersey since almost from 1982 on, and there's a brief period in the beginning of the 2000 decade where he was out of office, but about 30 years in the senate, and when i was taking my citizenship test, he's the only question i got wrong. they asked who are the two senators from your state and i was like easy, because i'm a politics buff, bill bradley and -- oh no! oh no! and it was frank lautenberg. when are we going to do the election? we could wait until november when there are important elections in new jersey, one that would involve chris christie. perhaps that might be the reason why chris christie has decided not to have them in november. let's hear from the governor of new jersey. >> i will not permit the insiders and a few party leads to determine who the nominee of the republican party and democratic party will be. a primary ele

christie praises obama.ant relationship. >> ari, i have watched rush walk back his criticisms of republicans as they move closer to winning the presidential nomination, john mccain is an example, there are many examples. how he walks back master servant relationship with chris christie, i don't think that's going to happen. >> i don't have standards for rush limbaugh, there are no standards, not like he didn't meet them, there are none. i would advise him to leave master and servant out of the conversation. don't need that garbage. i disagree slightly with his analysis. i don't think it is about placating barack obama, i think it is what's good for chris christie, period. in the new nbc "the wall street journal" poll, chris christie has the highest favorable to unfavorable ratio of any national politician, 4-1. the question is why is that, because of things he is doing, because of his leadership, or is it because of decisions like this, that no matter what happens, chris christie puts chris christie first, a

chris christie gave voice to that.t is interesting to see. >> do you think that history affects the kind of person who chris christie picks for this seat? conceivably whatsoever he picks could be there until a year from november or depending on how they interpret the law and the state and how he decides to move forward, it could be until this november. which direction do you think it will go? >> i talked to a number of people and i think basically the kind of person is dependent on when the election takes place. the first question is when. he will appoint somebody, but the question is are they going to run first in november 2014 or november 2013? >> does he get to decide when? >> the courts will probably decide. his preference is november 2014. he is in great shape this year and doesn't want to muck it up. he doesn't want to be running with corey booker's name. he wants that. the question is two fold. can he justify in the court of public relation saying you know what, voters are likely democrat and i'm a republican an

there is one huge beneficiary of every move christie has made besides christie this week. it's his pal, cory booker. and 20,997 days to deep dive with the man who is officially the longest serving of congress ever. more than any senator or house member in history. hear what john dingle has to say abo about serving, leading, winning and losing. good morning from washington. it's friday, june 7th, 2013. let's get right to my first reads of the morning. new jobs numbers are out for may. it shows steady hiring, but not enough to put a real dent in unemployment. 175,000 were added last month while the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 7.6%. there were some revisions to the march figure. that was revise up from 138,000. net change over the last two months was a net negative of 200,000 jobs. the pace has slowed down in spring. 255,000 jobs have been added. that's down from 233,000 over the winter. it remains to be seen how this will impact the public's view of the economic recovery. it's been recovering, but it's been slow. accordinging to our latest nbc news "wall street j

especially if you don't have christie's coat tails. but christie is now going to probably coast to re-election against barbara buono and all the new jersey republicans under her will do well, because cory booker won't be on the ballot in november. >> and then maybe christie can get his 10% across the board tax cut also. robert costa, stick around. you're going to tell us who christie is going to appoint if only for a couple months. n now, in another political news, still no answers about who knew what, when, and who ordered the irs targeting of conservative groups. but there were some fireworks in today's hearing. as democrats began pushing back. cnbc's eamon javers joins us now from washington with the details. good evening. >> dweeng, larry. another tough day on capitol hill today. the house ways and means committee looking at the question of why these particular groups were targeted by the irs. a lot of tea party and conservative-leaning groups invited to testify. and a lot of the testimony here focused on the outrageous, in their v

take a look at new jersey governor chris christie. he has managed to do something that we have rarely seen in our poll from an elected official, and that most elected officials are never able to accomplish. he receives nearly universal positive personal ratings across party lines. his overall personal rating is 41% positive, 12% negative, up 5 points from february. those numbers do not vary by party. 43% of democrats, 41% of independents, 40% of republicans. christie has a higher negative rating among republicans than he does among democrats or independents, but it's within the margin of error. that said, his decision yesterday might actually -- could be a little pinprick in his rising balloon here. he announced the decision to have an october 2013 special election to fill the late senator frank lautenberg's vacant senate seat, just weeks before his own gubernatorial election. he defended his decision, which hasn't been popular, with the national party. >> the political purpose is to give the people a voice. i will not permit the insi

we are seeing who christie really is. >> it's the real christie the christie who benefitted from the up surge of sandy popularity. that happens at moments of crisis and that's understandable and fine. >> that's a moment when leadership is called for and sometimes a visual is sufficient. having said that, this is the way he has governed. it is precipitous. often without careful thought and analysis and this is, you know, this is what he is all about. >> bill: former eliotgovernor eliot spitzer. you don't have to wait for every wednesday morning. you can follow him on twitter twitter @eliotspitzer. eliot, i have to ask you, if you talk about lack of leadership boy, was it on display yesterday here in washington, d.c. when the top general rolaids from the gone came in front of kristen jillibrand in the senate on the question of sexual assault. she was on fire. and rightfully so. >> i think this is an issue that is gaining increasing traction, and as we say, not only rightly so but it's about time. the issue is one of how do you deal with the hierarchyical organization within its ranks h

among them and then there's christie's own lieutenant governor.let's take a look and a deeper look. joining me, is steve kornacki. he's the guru i love to turn to. it seems we have two shies here, one is christie having to decide the timing on the election before we even get to candidates here. are you hearing anything differently, which is that he seems intent on trying to do it this year? >> what i've heard is what he seems most intent on not having in other words the question is, will people try to do this? the issue there, as you said, is a legal one. i think the likelihood of a democratic challenge is likely certain, and republicans haven't had much look when elections have gone to court. you think how lautenberg got to the senate in the first place. if don't want the counsel current elections, the only other option is to have this separate special election. that special election would take place a week, maybe two weeks before, so that's a pr problem for christie. that price tag a $24 million. and one of his issues has been consolidation of m

chris christie's decision, is it that complicated?mplicated part is trying to figure out when, if he has to hold a call for a special election and if so when. it's my understand askind the reporting i've done. and he's going to -- may even set that timetable as early as today. there's some sort of legal confusion in new jersey. two different institutes in the law indicate that it would be -- that you could call for a special election this year. the question is -- is it in october or november? obviously it's a lot cheaper for the state to put the election at the same time as the governor's race. but politically a little more uncomfortable for governor christie. or he could try to say, no, the next general election for the u.s. senate is not until 2014 and try to delay that. that, though they think wouldn't hold up in the courts and that he would be forced to hold it this year. national democrats, harry reid obviously wants the special election this year because they think that they'll win and they don't want to have a republican senate

there he is standing there with governor christie. i suppose they're taking questions from reporters. there he is. >> as i said, this is something that's new for me. and my first concern though is the border security. again, that's because of the frame of reference that i come from both as a federal prosecutor earlier in my career and now as the attorney general. and as to the other issues that i need to take care of, those will be part of discussions i'll have as i get to learn about my new job. as i said earlier, this is all pretty new. and i need to learn about the issues in a way before i can make any meaningful judgments on some of the specifics. >> questions? yeah, heather. [ inaudible question ] >> yes, i'm a registered republican, i believe 2000. [ inaudible question ] >> well, i don't know what the result would have been, paul. i know that we would have been sued for 2014. the democrats have made that clear publicly before i even made any announcement. and i think, you know, it's the fault of the legislature for setting up, y

so many of you have already joining us with your thoughts on chris christie. let us know what you think. twitter me @tamronhall and atnewsnation and let us know on the irs today. what do you think? that's great. it won't take long, will it? no. okay. this, won't take long will it? no, not at all. how many of these can we do on our budget? more than you think. that didn't take very long, did it? summer's here, so are the savings. that's nice. post it. already did. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. buy ortho home defense max with comfort wand and get ortho bug-b-gon max free. [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. [ male announcer ] moving object detection. ♪ blind spot warning. ♪ lane departure warning. safety, down to an art. the nissan altima with safety shield technologies. nissan. innovation that excit

if cory booker is on the ballot with him, that turn as 20-point christie win to a 10-point christie win it turns the dynamics of the election. >> do you think it would go against christie, not something that happens after people vote for christie? >> absolutely. people are going to turn out to vote for booker and they are going to he can which the vote for the gubernatorial candidate. >> the good thing going for cory booker, if he's the candidate, we don't have any african-americans in the united states senate. which i think is a disgrace. it's one of the reasons i voted for my friend michael steele when he ran. it's absurd in this country. it's absurd, steve. >> first of all, to answer your question -- i'm sorry. it's an update on that one. >> cory booker would be the only elected senator in the senate. that will change in a few weeks. the state law in new jersey would put the senate election first if you had concurrent elections. booker would have been running ahead of them. >> ah. >> there's an issue there for democrats in new jersey where there's going to be a primary now. frank pal

this means chris christie in november, chris christie will be able to likely run up his margin of victorynts to do so he can claim a mandate and also if he runs for president, he can make the case he won in this democratic state by this margin. also, it means the coattails of new jersey will probably be republican coattails. probably that will help chris christie get his legislation passed because there will be more independence and more republicans in the new jersey legislature. in addition to this move being part of the christie brand, it also, even though there is all sorts of statutory reasons why the elections are being held when they're being held, it also -- you could argue helps chris christie in terms of his margin of victory and in terms of republicans in the legislature. so it really helps him in a lot of ways. >> absolutely fascinating. just the dates and the political parties and new jersey and the democrats -- i'll be watching the lead. you'll be all over this. the lead with jake tapper at the top of the hour. jake tapper, thank you so much. >>> a race against time along the

what did governor christie choose?or october 16th. >> what the --! [ laughter ] >> the governor, who was for election austerity before he was against it, announced this today. >> i tend to appoint new jersey state attorney general jeff chiesa, has chosen not to seek the office of united states senate. he will not be a candidate in the primary or general election. >> the attorney general then said this about his politics. >> this is all pretty new. and i need to learn about the issues in a way before i can make any meaningful judgments on the specifics. i'm a conservative republican. i would say generally speaking. >> and today governor christie continued to face questions on his very expensive taste in election scheduling. >> we would have been sued for 2014. a $12 million cost, while not insubstantial is, i don't think, something in the context of a $32 billion budget. something that should dissuade us from giving people an opportunity to get an elected united states senator down there as quickly as we can. >> okay. b

that's why christie wants to set things in motion.ain, 1:30 today, chris christie. what are the scenarios we can expect? >> right. i've been told that christie yesterday had already set his sights on former governor tom keane sr. that's his ideal pick. that's the moderate governor of new jersey. that's the person he thinks would be best able to serve in this interim appointment. the question, though, remains whether keane wants to do it. he's not to be confused with tom keane jr., who lost a senate race a few years ago by about eight or nine points. keane would be a strong pick. the reason he wants to get this thing kicked off early, as you say, though, is there will be court challenges. democrats and republicans don't see eye to eye on the strategy behind this. republicans would like an interim senator to serve through november 2014 so that they could have at least an assured republican vote through that period. democrats want a special election as early as possible. the calculation that christie has to go on, does he want a special

is bill clinton playing christie, or through the years of a maturing friendship, can he talk christied running as hillary's vp? i've been saying, oh, look, he's been running for governor of new jersey. you run the race right in front of you. you've got him on the democratic ticket in two years. >> i think he has himself on the republican ticket. i think the republican party is trying to stop him from trying to run for 2016 as a republican. i think that bill clinton, as we all know, is very good at what he does, trying to buddy up with chris christie is either a way of ruining him in the gop primary nominating contest, or it's something else. i don't know what chris christie is thinking. i know it helps him now. he's trying to run up a huge margin for a win in the blue state. that's very smart politics if he intends to run for president, but it really will damage him with looking after the 2014 midterms like another very conservative gop nominating -- >> on the other hand, the conservatives didn't much like mitt romney and they nominated him because they thought he could win. >> that's

. >> chris christy doesn't want to risk a sure thing. >> chris christy, the governor. >> it's all chris fom nath the rates. >> he took the route that will cost the taxpayers of new jersey probably $12 million dollars. >> screw you, screw your city and screw all the people that listen to you. >> that is such a self-serving corrupt abuse of power. >> shut up. >> and joining me now is michael steel, former chairman of the rnc and an msnbc analyst. michael steel, how are you doing? >> i'm great, joy. very good. that was classic. >> yeah. michael get your boy. new york mayor corey booker he announced he's running for frank lautenberg's seat. why is chris christie so afraid of corey booker. >> i don't think if he's afraid of cory booker or if he's trying to make sure that his election has the right sound bite. >> he's looking for where he's not on the same ballot as cory booker. >> this has very lit toll do with cory booker and a lot more with thou do how cory booker could drive the vote out on election day. it doesn't mean he would lose his election but instead of getting 70% it could be 68,

obviously chris christie disagrees.der mainstream of the country, and he would like to run from something more like the center. but the republican base think they are the mainstream. the far right of the republican party, they're tired of waiting and being disappointed, included by ronald reagan, george bush sr., by george bush junior and broadly in the culture wars. he isn't playing in that arena so he can't win them. that doesn't mean he can't win them. that doesn't mean he can't necessarily get the nomination. if you look at the history, they didn't like mitt romney either. they weren't want savvy on john mccain. if the establishment wants somebody, the establishment usually wins. >> how do they explain the fact that barack obama won and the fact that the senate is democrat? how do you explain the media which doesn't tend to be right wing except for fox? how do they explain that? why are so many people in their face disagreeing with them? the country's 80, 90% for some kind of background checks on guns. >> right. >>

what are you up to, christie? [ mrs. hutchison ] friday night has always been all fun and games here at the hutchison household. but one dark stormy evening... there were two things i could tell: she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her what our other cats love, purina cat chow complete. it's the best because it has something for all of our cats! and after a couple of weeks she was healthy, happy, and definitely part of the family. we're so lucky that lucy picked us. [ female announcer ] purina cat chow complete. always there for you. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him

>> that's the bottom line, christie. a family spokesperson says paris jackson, doing fine, and at the moment getting the help she needs. a cry for help is how some family sources are describing a possible suicide attempt by paris jackson. paramed uks rushing to the jackson family home, after getting a call from paris to a suicide hotline. >> 20 motrin and cut her arm with kachen knife. >> reporter: 911 responded at 1:27 for the possible overdose and cut to one wrist. >> hello. this is my face. it's kind of a shocker, but, yes this is what i look like. >> reporter: a week ago, jackson released this how to makeup video she's funny, even silly. >> what is she doing there? what, what? >> reporter: the 15-year-old with great natural beauty at times act like any other teenager. unsure of hersel >> i have pink in the face, accident kn acne. i am crazy. >> i wonder why tears are salty and quoted the beatles. yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they are here to stay. >> paris is sensitive and dra

what are you up to, chris christie? >> critics say the decision is all about chris christie insisting the governor just wants to keep newark mayor cory booker now the democratic favorite to win the senate race off the november ballot. the big democratic turnout for booker could help chris christie's opponent. >> jon: that is such a corrupt abuse of power. i miss new jersey so much. [ cheers and applause ] it's just hard to see corrupt abuse of power and not think about it at all. the man i guess governor chris christie must really be nervous about his gubernatorial opponent. who is that again? >> let me be clear. this guy is bono. i'm barbara buono. [ cheers and applause ] >> jon: you're spending $12 million. of tax payer money to beat that lady. barbara buono. >> i'm barbara buono. jon: i'm talking to christ-y over here. i can't believe this, governor. you're already up 32 points in the polls. you know you're going to win. you're going to spend $12 million extra tax payer dollars to make sure you beat the spread. your

attorney with christie earlier in this decade. he comes in as a christie allie.ntil october. he says he's a conservative republican. we have to wait to see. >> i did see that. why did governor christie insure he not go, in he, his appointed guy, not go into the primary and not run for the senate? >> this is the real issue right now in the garden state. republicans are furious because they have not won a senate election in new jersey since 1972. the lost republican senator was nick brady in 1982. he was appointed. christie has a special election in october t. person who runs is not going to be on the ballot with him in november. makes it tough for a republican to win. it's a tough two-month primary period, no big name republican wants to run in this two month primary, it will be very tough to go in. >> but a tea party guy named steve lonergan. he's a serious guy, i know him. >> keep an eye on steve lonergan, he's won for governor twice. he lost both races. he's a tea party guy, ran americans for tea party new jersey. definitely has a shot in the race. >> can gover

christie knows that.e will be sure to appnt a republican if he ever, ever wants to run for president. >> i'll finish the read in a second. >> i'm sorry. >> if he appoints a democrat, he can kiss his support from the right goodbye. i' start from the right, bob, since you jumped the gun. >> he announced he will have a prima.. he's not going to pick a republican. they're going to have a special election and there will be a primary for the democratic and republican sides. people will vote and make a decision. >> he'll appoint seone in the meantime until the primary which happens in november. i think this is political genius,hat he's done here because cory booker, the mayor of ne newark, is a very popular democrat. it keeps him off the ballot in november when governor christie is up. >> it's a veryhrewd political move. it seems as if cory booker is inevitable at this point to be the senator from new jersey, so it is very smart. i think in the meantime he may appoint one of his long time allies. there's a state

he directs christie to keep driving.ie's abduction is now drawing hundreds of people to the highways to watch the crisis unfold in real-time. >> it's crazy. you know, i mean all these people tracking it and following it. us too. just interesting. >> we've been in it for two hours now. we picked it up in arlington and came all the way out here with it. >> there were no ways to take measures to ensure that the general public was safe because they kept involving themselves in the situation. >> s.w.a.t. negotiators reached jones by cell phone, but he won't let christie go. the texas department of public safety or dps decides on a risky rescue plan. while the rig is speeding on i-40, dps troopers shoot live ammunition at the 18-wheeler's engine. >> you needed to shoot the radiator to stop it. within two minutes, the truck overheated and shut down. >> at 7:30 p.m. after three hours, the truck comes to a stop. >> part of me thought it was over. and he just snatched me by the hair and pulled me to the back and just kind of shut

if cory booker is on the ballot with him, that turn as 20-point christie win to a 10-point christie winmics of the election. >> do you think it would go against christie, not something that happens after people vote for christie? >> absolutely. people are going to turn out to vote for booker and they are going to he can which the vote for the gubernatorial candidate. >> the good thing going for cory booker, if he's the ñ ñrc we don't have any african-americans in the united states senate. which i think is a disgrace. it's one of the reasons i voted for my friend michael steele when he ran. booker would have been running ahead of them. >> ah. >> there's an issue there for democrats in new jersey where there's going to be a primary now. frank palone, congressman for the shore, russ schultz wants to run. one of the factors -- booker's pop lay popularity is in a different league. >> only one guy could be -- you have two or three congressman running against -- let's go back to sean here. if you have two or three congressmen running against him, he wins for sure. >> absolutely. if there's som

chris christie will get to make an appointment. the republican bench new jersey, a couple of names that might be out there are joe carallios. he ran last fall. chris christie will appoint one of them, but there will have to be a special election this year as well. >> steve kornacki, thanks so much. we want to switch now and joining the conversation is democratic new jersey congressman bill pascrell. what's your reaction and your reflection of the type of senator and the man that he was in dealing with new jersey politics? >> well, thomas, this guy was a great guy. not only for new jersey, but the country. not so much because the issues. we came from the same town, we drank the same water. he came from nothing. he loved his parents so much, deeply. grew up in patterson. moved to several other cities. other towns. he certainly wasn't born with any golden, any silver spoon in his mouth and he made it. because he was not a spectator. he was not going to be a spectator for life, he was not going to be a spectator in politics. he was goi

i'm christi paul in for carol cost tello. many of you under a flash flood warning right now as tropical storm andrea moves up the eastern coast. this is from tiype tybee island. the white caps rolling in in savannah. and emergency officials are warning residents, winds could be so strong, people in mobile homes need to consider relocating. and nick valencia in wrightsville beach, north carolina. okay, so, nick, how have you seen the storm evolve over the last couple of hours? >> we've been out since the early morning hours, christi. seen wind come up, waves come in. angry waves behind us, and so far, hasn't been much rain. not too much of a problem. and there is a hahnful of residents surrounding us right now. leisurely stroll on the beach. i spoke to the police chief for wrightsville beach, north carolina. and he tells me that the worst of the storm has passed, at least for this area. to put this in perspective, this is an area very accustomed to hurricanes and severe weather. i have spoken to residents that aren't budging o

christie is known as a problem solver. how is he going to convince right wingers to nominate him for president if he's hanging out with bill and hillary and chelsea? time to invoke the mercy rule. the democratic congressional baseball team last night wiped out the republican team. 22-0. that makes five straight wins for them. finally, let me finish with a need to accept that the obama people had nothing to do with the irs screwup. so enough already. this is "hardball," the place for politics. ♪ [ male announcer ] moving object detection. ♪ blind spot warning. ♪ lane departure warning. safety, down to an art. the nissan altima with safety shield technologies. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. here's a statistic that shouldn't surprise anyone who watches this show on a regular basis. confidence in congress all time low. these are sad n

governor christie, thank you for coming back.r than him. that's gonna be really good. >> jimmy: we have to do that together. well, you're always such a good sport for us. and i've got to say thank you for being a good sport. >> you're welcome. >> jimmy: you're a good man. we love you. but you're slimming down, buddy. what's going down? what's up? >> oh, you haven't read the papers? >> jimmy: no, i don't read. >> no, listen. i had some surgery and i've lost some weight. we are continuing to lose weight. i'm feeling better. >> jimmy: well, what's going to happen to my monologue if you do this? i mean -- >> yeah, you're screwed. >> jimmy: i'm screwed. any reason why you did this? i know i've seen a couple interviews. >> well, you know, i mean, you might have noticed that i was a bit overweight. and, you know, it's just -- i got to turn 50 years old. and i thought i'm really lucky that i hadn't had any kind of real health problems up until i was 50. and, you know, this is the time to get it taken care of, you know, and try to do it.