cornyn is doing exactly what cornyn should do for the state of texas, for his primary. move to the far right as dana just said. the problem with that is that i'm not sure how far right you must go on the republican side these days to not get primaried. let's take, for example, utah senator bob bennett. remember him? you couldn't get much more conservative than bob bennett, yet he was primaried in the state of utah. not a liberal bastion. and so i guess these days the tea party -- i have always said this and you heard me say this before, both sides have their fringes. the far left and the far right. it seems to me if you're looking at the opposite end of the magnet, the far right has a far harder or far stronger pull on their party than the far left does. and that's why i think you're seeing cornyn and others do what they're doing today and will continue to do until barack obama is not president. >> so professor, speaking of another tea party darling, sarah palin actually campaigned to get tet cruz elected to the senate, and his star seems to have eclipsed hers. and unli

here was senator cornyn in "the houston chronicle" just this week. he said "it may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-material fiscal well-being of our country rather than plod along the path of greece, italy and spain." what exactly does that mean, a partial shutdown of the government, and do you endorse it? >> well, look, it only -- the only reason we're even having these discussions is because of the president and the democratic majority in the senate is unwilling to cut spending. we don't need to have these crises. we need to cut spending. it shouldn't require a crisis to get the president and the democratic majority and the senate to start focusing on the real problem, which is that we spend too much. >> i accept that that's your point of view, but the division still seems to be there, so i'll go back to my original question. how far are you willing to take this strategy? is it acceptable to you that the government default if the president won't agree to discuss spending cuts over the debt limit? >> my

cornyn or senator cornyn would definitely rethink that. that is the sort of thing we need to get away from in washington, d.c. >> yeah. certainly this new congress has more diversity than we've ever seen before. >> yes. >> record number of latinos in the house, record number of women in the senate. what does this tell you about where we are in the country and do you think it'll make a difference in whether the president will be able to get his agenda done? >> yeah. absolutely. the new congress is absolutely amazing. when you look at the number of latinos, you look at the number of women i believe at new hampshire, the entire congressional delegation in new hampshire consists of women. absolutely the new congress is very diverse and i hope that that signals some change. but i think even with the diversity again that the democrats, and we mainly, when you talk about the diversity, that is within the democratic contest. i believe the new democrats that are here, that we want to do what's right for the country. we're proud of our diversity but

cornyn wrote an op-ed discussing the coming deadlines of the sequester, the continuing resolution tod the government, and the debt limit. it may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well-being of our country, rather than plod along the path of greece, italy and spain. it caught the attention of a lot of folks. let's be clear. not raising the debt limit is not the same as a partial government shutdown. it would cause an immediate financial collapse with long-term national and global consequences. senator cornyn's office was asked if his government shutdown comments refer to the continuing resolution to fund the government or the debt ceiling or both. a spokeswoman said she didn't see a distinction between the two in terms of republicans using them as leverage. she says "i wouldn't look too much into it." she said," i think there are three big deadlines." you think? republicans want to use those three big deadlines as leverage, and republicans want to blur the distinction between them. meanwhile, the king of the government shutdown,

cornyn wrote an op-ed discussing the coming deadlines of the sequester, the continuing resolution tothe government, and the debt limit. it may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well-being of our country, rather than plod along the path of greece, italy and spain. it caught the attention of a lot of folks. let's be clear. not raising the debt limit is not the same as a partial government shutdown. it would cause an immediate financial collapse with long-term national and global consequences. senator cornyn's office was asked if his government shutdown comments refer to the continuing resolution to fund the government or the debt ceiling or both. a spokeswoman said she didn't see a distinction between the two in terms of republicans using them as leverage. she says "i wouldn't look too much into it." she said," i think there are three big deadlines." you think? republicans want to use those three big deadlines as leverage, and republicans want to blur the distinction between them. meanwhile, the king of the government shutdown, f

cornyn wrote an op-ed discussing the coming deadlines of the sequester, the continuing resolution tothe government, and the debt limit. it may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well-being of our country, rather than plod along the path of greece, italy and spain. it caught the attention of a lot of folks. let's be clear. not raising the debt limit is not the same as a partial government shutdown. it would cause an immediate financial collapse with long-term national and global consequences. senator cornyn's office was asked if his government shutdown comments refer to the continuing resolution to fund the government or the debt ceiling or both. a spokeswoman said she didn't see a distinction between the two in terms of republicans using them as leverage. she says "i wouldn't look too much into it." she said," i think there are three big deadlines." you think? republicans want to use those three big deadlines as leverage, and republicans want to blur the distinction between them. meanwhile, the king of the government shutdown, f

senator cornyn, why do you think tom pickering, ambassador pickering, doesn't have this right? >> well, i think it's not a matter of personalities. i've known chuck haling. he is an honorable man. he has had a record of distinguished service, but he is profoundly wrong on a number of the most important national security issues that face our country today, like denying iran nuclear weapons, like direct face-to-face negotiations with state department designated terrorist organizations like hamas, and calling into question our commitment to our principle ally in the middle east, israel. those are three things that strike me as senator hagel being out of the mainstream, and i believe just wrong when it comes to protecting the national security of the united states. >> colin powell has just endorsed him within the last half hour, saying that he is bold, he is independent, he is the right person for the pentagon. colin powell no slouch when it comes to being tough on iran. >> well, as you know, washington d.c. is a pretty tight little click, and there's a lot of people who have had l

the republican that i look to right now is john cornyn. what a reversal. this guy writes an op-ed in the hometown newspaper in houston and turns around and tells the editorial board something totally different. what does that say about their leadership? >> it says they are all over the map. it says they are basically a rudderless ship and it says that they really don't get what is at stake for us economically. president obama clearly does. we've had 34 straight months of job growth, begun to get this economy turned around, unemployment rate is continuing to drop. the stock market is doing well. but the republicans could very easily throw all that into the trash can if they continue to leave the market uncertain and potentially continue to jeopardize the full faith and credit of the united states. >> congresswoman, does this now put some pressure on the democrats to deliver in the next 90 days? show the spending cuts you're willing to make? >> at the end of the day, when we deal with this sequester, we deal with deficit reduction, it has to be in a balanced

lindsay graham and john cornyn. we'll hear from him shortly. why go ahead with this pick?well, by the way, it's also despite some warnings from some. >> exactly. >> democratic senators. not -- there's not a whole big constituency of supporters for chuck hagel among that crowd either. although he has some key prominent support from someone like jack reid that aren't respected rhode island senator. look, the thinking was this, andrea.

>> with due respect to john cornyn, i spoke with chuck hagel at length.'ve got written answers to my questions. i know his record on israel. and the fact is, he said a couple of thing s he shouldn't have said, and he has admitted that, good for him. and he is a strong supporter of israel. and he is strongly against what iran is trying to do. and i think, given his history, and given the fact that he will be a strong supporter of making sure that the worst possible sanctions are placed on iran, nothing is off the table when it comes to iran, he's going to be very strong. and i think it's very, very sad to see republicans lining up against a republican colleague who they served with, who is a hero, a war hero, twice woundeded wound eed in vietnam. i mean, he really cares about the troops. he has answered every question. there is definitely a right-wing effort to derail his nomination. and we don't know of any democrats at this point who are voting no. we have 55 democrats. so all i could say to my republican friends is, i hope you're not thinking of filibus

and ted cruz and john cornyn of supporters of second amendment rights. a new bill is gaining contraction on the hill. a bi-partisan group of senators including tom co burning, mark kirk joe shoechumer are working on a proposal to strengthen the enforcement of background checks. this does have a potential to break some of the gridlock. coburn said need to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a danger to themselves and others. and to draft a bill gun rights supporters can get behind. more bill press is up after the break. stay with us. [ music ] these talking points, that the right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table. >> broadcasting across the na

already we are hearing discussions in this case initiated by senator john cornyn. he shutdown may already be in process? >> we have an administration that is addicted to spending. when you have an addiction, you do it incrementally. but we also have to do is teach the american people that we have a president that has misinformed online about the strength of this country finds itself in. >> congressman, i am as fiscally conservative as anyone in this country. but at what point do you all say that we are going to have to wait until the next round of elections? solvation does not lie with shutting down the federal government. it has been demonstrated time and time again in a well, the president did win in my district. think what the american public voted for was a stalemate. because they wanted to have some accountability and traparency. >> i agree with that. i'm talking about the power of the house of representatives himself. >> i think that's why we lost this last one. we were progressive. we weren't in front of the issues and we didn't have a discussion with the am

senator john cornyn saying that if the president intends the president intends to carry through with his no negotiation threat, but a government shutdown may be the only way to find resolution. the new senate majority leader is saying that it may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the fiscal well-being of our country. the looming deadline for action has been obvious. and in every instance the white house has purposely blow up the process in a shameless attempt to score cheap political points. "the washington post" reported the top ally in the senate may not be fully on board with his approach his imperious stance, if you will. senator harry reid reportedly warned mr. obama is refusal to negotiate on the debt limit and the sequester could be a strategic bluner. nancy pelosi making it clear that the democratic priorities called for even higher tax hikes. >> i don't think that democrats are saying that we aren't having spending cuts. we have agreed to over a trillion dollars in cuts in the budget control act. so we all know how we proceed has to be in

of time to sit down and get negotiating done. >> i want to pick up what republican senators john cornyn said in the houston chronicle. the op-ed, it may be necessary to parnl partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well-being of our country, rather than plow along the path of greece, italy, and spain. making a comparison to the beleaguered countries in europe. do you think we could see a shutdown? >> i don't think so. republicans want spending cuts to happen, but newt gingrich said yesterday and a lot of other republicans will say this eventually. called it a dead loser. no one wants to see the country default. they might be pushing on something that isn't quite fair and you will hear other republicans quietly saying this. and the president, of course, will take this. very convinced that the popular opinion is behind him. so you will see him like kristen said earlier take this on the road. spin this to people, this is on the heels of the fiscal cliff. the white house thinks the leverage is on their side. >> thank you, both. what do you think should be

i hope that senator cornyn would rethink that.ort of thing woo me to toad get away from in washington, d.c.. >> yeah. certainly the new congress has a diversity that we've never seen before. record number of latinos, women. where does this tell you where we'll number the country and what difference will it make for the president in getting his agenda done? >> absolutely. the new congress is amazing when you look at the number of latino. you look at the number of women. in new hampshire, i believe the entire congressional delegation in new hampshire consists of women. >> congressman veasy that's he applauds diversity but congress' number one job, in his words, is to get the economy back on track. >>> we've been talking for weeks about the "fiscal cliff." there were many, many more metaphors tossed around during the debate over tax hikes and spending cuts. and we've got it for you. >>> well, when traveling to other cities and countries, the best way to get a real taste of a place is through local food. a cnn ireport teamed up with "

so i think it's -- i think it's very real, and when you have a senator like john cornyn threatening to shut the government down, we're in for a pretty serious fight here. >> well, we know that congress had a year and a half, essentially, to agree on these spending cuts before the fiscal cliff and they couldn't do it. >> yeah. >> they've given themselves now two more months. is there any real hope of agreement? >> martin, i wish i was not so pessimistic. i think after the election i was much more optimistic that washington wld operate a little bit differently now that obama had been re-elected. and, you know, if you're a conservative republican you could argue that you wanted to beat obama at the ballot box, but if you could don't that, then it's time to cooperate with him. i think the last few weeks have showed us that that's not the lesson that most republicans took away from the election. and we're in for bitter, acrimonious debate for the rest of the year. very, very hard to see how much gets accomplished. and, you know, as you point out, they had months and months to deal with this

>> now, we -- yesterday, you know, chris alissa, we have john cornyn on. vigorously against former republican colleague of chuck hagel's. how lives are going to change for men and women of the pentagon and how committed chuck hagel is. so she wants to know even though some of the gay activists and some of the interest groups human rights campaign have said that they accept his apology for what he said 14 years ago. >> well, so andrea, i would say that, first of all, i agree with chuck, and i think that what matters here is that the confirmation hearing, i think, may actually matter for chuck hagel. both in terms of the point chuck made, which is that if there is something sort of that we don't know that comes out, this is not a nominee who can probably with stand something like that. i think it's important that chuck schumer, tammy baldwin, normally if nominees fail, whether it's for supreme court or cabinet decisions, they fail in terms of confirmation because the sort of old party of the president pulls back. with harriet myers it was the uprising amongs

what's your reaction to that statement by senator cornyn?is anything i'm backing is something i'm completely comfortable with in the minority. in fact, they say if you're going to argue for more debate, you actually got to use your voice. so it's empowering. and if they don't have the courage of their convictions to make their case before their colleagues or the american people, then they should sit down and get out of the way. so that the process can go forward. so it's -- these are reforms that i'm comfortable with, that tom udall is comfortable with. if we're in the minority, we support these reforms because they facilitate debate. >> do you have the votes? do you think they will filibuster even on the filibuster reform? >> well, i think we can anticipate that. but under the constitution it says a simple majority can change the rules. the senate can organize itself. so if it comes down to it, when harry reid puts forward a proposal and says here it is. i need 51 of you with me, the only way we're going to make a change. he will have 51. i

john cornyn said you must shut the govlt down. that's not what he's proposing. there's a whole bunch of people that the u.s. owes money to. contractors we have to pay, the salaries of u.s. senators. and what they're saying is some small subset of those, on a certain day, you should stop paying. >> partial. >> what the heck does that even mien? and if you're worried about arbitrary government power, are you saying the executive should exercise the arbitrary power and authority to decide who gets paid and who doesn't? could they pay the salaries of democratic senators and not republican senators? >> and who decides that? >> exactly. it should be very clear to everyone watching and everyone following this debate, they don't seem to even understand what they are proposing. >> because they actively, under eric cantor's leadership, cantor basically said you know what, you're not going to teach us. you're not going to teach -- we've got all of these freshmen in, we're not going to learn from our elders here, initially, right? this is a kind of strategic point on eric c

i think there are legitimate reasons, and i think folks like senator cornyn have good reason to have questions about senator hagel's viewpoint when it comes to looking at the -- at the american foreign policy. >> does the president deserve to have the -- >> i firmly believe when you get to choose the cabinet that you want and there, of course, is the advice and consent of the senate, and that's an important part of the process. i think that's why these hearings are going to be quite illuminating. i think you will see some changes from senator hagel based on some of the past statements that he has made. he has had some policy prescriptions that haven't worked out right, and i think many of these senators are going to explore those, and as part of trying to find the right foreign policy platform for the country, that's all going to be part of that debate. >> kevin madden, it's great to see you again. thank you very much. >>> how are the nation's civil rights leaders now reacting to the bipartisan effort to overhaul immigration? the national urban league's mark joining us next. [ male a

in john cornyn's scenario where we shut down the government, how dire of an outcome is that? >> well, it's a terrible outcome, erin. it's not just shutting down the government. it is actually saying to the creditors of the united states we're not going to deliver on the full faith and credit of the united states. we're going to default on our debt. republicans played this card once before, remember, in december of 2011. it was -- it was very dangerous then. our debt was downgraded. it is very dangerous now. >> right. and, of course, the problem is, doug holtz-eakin, i know you're probably more sympathetic to the republican side, but the reality of it is is the money that the debt ceiling is being raised to pay is money that's already been borrowed and promised. i mean it is the full faith and credit of the u.s. government. >> yeah. i think that's right. let's put the rhetoric aside and recognize that there is no fight about raising the debt ceiling. that's not in question. and there isn't even really a fight about the need to control spending. anyone's who's in touch with the

texas senator john correspond anyo cornyn threatened a partial government shutdown. the coming deadlines will be the next flash points in our ongoing fight to bring fiscal sanity to washington. it may be necessary to shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well-being of our country, rather than plod along the path of greece, italy and spain. president obama needs to take note and put forth a plan immediately. and pat tume voiced the same sentiment in week earlier on "morning joe." >> our opportunity is on the debt ceiling. the president made it very clear. he doesn't want to have a discussion about it, because he knows this is where we have lev range. we republicans need to tolerate a temporary partial government shutdown which is what it could mean and insist we will get off the road to greece. >> i don't doubt that 72% want to see the spending cuts. which way do you think the public sentiment swings if there is a government shutdown? >> i think that pat toomey is confused. it's a continuing resolution. if they don't fund the continuing reso

cornyn, no. mr.john cornyn and ted cruz opposed john kerry's confirmation, and of course oklahoma senator james inhofe voted now. we should point out that senator inhofe is terrible at flying airplanes but great at denying the science of global warming there is no reason they should have voted against john kerry's confirmation. he is without a doubt the most qualified person to be our next secretary of state. john kerry has served on the senate foreign relations committee for, let's see, 28 years? in the last four as chairman, as has served four years of the united states navy including active duty in the vietnam war. he has run for president, kind of knows what is happening. and he also already has travelled the globe on behalf of the obama administration, helping mend strained relations with afghanistan and pakistan. during kerry'ses nomination, president obama called him the perfect person for the job. >> i think it's fair to say that few individuals know as many presidents and prime ministers or

number two, texas senator john cornyn took that fighting spirit even further threatening a partial government shutdown. he said in an op-ed, the coming deadlines will be the next flash points in our ongoing fight to bring fiscal sanity to washington. it may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well-being of our country rather than plod along the path of greece, italy, and spain. president obama needs to take note of this reality and put forward a plan to avoid it immediately. finally, pennsylvania republican senator pat toomey voiced the same sentiment earlier this week on "morning joe." >> our opportunity here is on the debt ceiling. the president has made it very clear, he doesn't even want to have a discussion about it because he knows this is where we have leverage. we republicans need to be willing to tolerate a temporary partial government shutdown, which is what that could mean, and insist that we get off the road to greece. >> governor, i don't doubt that 72% want to see the spending cuts. which way do you think the public sentimen

. >> reporter: texas senator john cornyn laid out the case on wednesday saying hagel is tough on israelt on iran. >> he simply does not understand the true basis of the u.s./israel alliance and he's the same person who suggested the united states might be able to live with a nuclear iran. >> some well funded groups have taken to the tv and websites with ads to oppose his confirmation. >> president obama says he supports sanction, hagel voted against them. >> but hagel has been aggressive in fighting the accusations. he made the rounds here on capitol hill to talk with former colleagues and clarify his position. >> senator hagel and i had a very good meeting to talk about the department of defense and its future as well as his role. >> hagel picked up a big endorsement on the democratic side when he won over new york senator chuck schumer. >> i can now say i will support his nomination and urge my colleagues, many of whom who have had similar doubts to me, to do the same. >> if confirmed he'll be the first former enlisted man and first viet nam vet to become secretary of defense. now, si

. >> all right, let's talk about republican senator john cornyn of texas who wrote this op-ed in the houston chronicle, who said it may be necessary to shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well-being of our country rather than plod along the path of greece, italy, and spain. a couple of things here, is there a fair analogy to be made wish issues like greece and the financial troubles they have been having and do you think we really would see a government shutdown over this? >> as susan pointed out, it's always a possibility given the nation's financial situation and the upcoming deadline, i don't think it's that likely. i think this is more of a bargain chip, an opening foray from very conservative republicans and i'll make a note about senator cornyn as well, hoix t homes the number two senator among republicans but he's also up for re-election in 2014, texas is a very conservative state, there's probably a reason he placed it in "the houston chronicle," obviously that's a concern don his mind. >> some republicans oppose the sandy aid that passed yesterda

cornyn: mr. president, in 2008 a prominent democratic politician said that adding $4 trillion to the national debt was -- quote -- "irresponsible and unpatriotic." in 2009 this same politician said -- quote -- "i refuse to leave our children with a debt they cannot repay." we cannot simply spend as we please. close quote. and again in 2010 this same individual said -- quote -- "it keeps me awake at night looking at all that red ink." and then in 2011, he echoed the statements of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen, when he said -- quote -- "the greatest threat -- the greatest long-term threat to america's national security is america's debt." and then finally, in 2012 this same politician said he was running for reelection -- quote -- "to pay down our debt in a way that's balanced and responsible." well, you might have guessed who this was. these are statements made by president barack obama. unfortunately the president's actions have not come close to matching his own

and joining us now from capitol hill, senator john cornyn of texas. the senate armed services committee which will hold confirmation hearings. senator, thank you very much for coming. i know you've already said you will vote to deny him confirmation. why not wait to see how he does during the q & a, during the testimony, before making up your mind? >> well, wolf, chuck hagel has a long record. by the way, i consider him to be an honorable man with a distinguished record of service. but also at the same time, profoundly wrong on some of the biggest national security threats confronting the united states today. namely, a nuclear iran. their aspirations to get a nuclear weapon. which would of course destabilize not just the region but present a national security threat to the united states and certainly a state sponsor of international terrorism. he also has supported direct negotiations with state department designated terrorist organizations like hamas which recently re lly rained in thous rockets into israel. and also his commitment to supporting our

senate, there's a photo of john cornyn handing tom holman that a worker and i will say the new times i think was really responsible in undoing that narrative and really telling a different story about what happened in the small town. and bob herbert kind of worked off of some tremendous work that had been done by local investigative reporter down in texas. and really started covering the cases. and atom who still writes for the times was down there for a series of hearings. we had a lot of national media. not only "people" magazine wanted to write about one of my clients, matthew white to afford kids have been arrested as part of this sting. bill o'reilly was suddenly claiming credit for turning the situation around after covering the cases for three times on issue. you can imagine ldf was a frequent on the same side as bill o'reilly, especially on criminal justice. and suddenly people around the country were talking about, sort of understand the flaws in the criminal justice system in a way that i don't think it ever been very real to folks. that was a critically important piece, ki

one top republican in the senate, john cornyn.n op-ed in the houston chronicle: "it may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country." a preview of that brinkmanship came in the house. where 67 republicans. including house budget chair paul ryan. voted against 9.7 billion dollars in aid for victims of super-storm sandy. despite the tongue lashing they got from new jersey governor chris christie. >> "shame on you. shame on congress." >> reporter: the fact that the rest of the storm relief is now up in the air until a vote later this month. was a let down for new york and new jersey lawmakers. even the freshmen. >> "i am new here. i don't know all the rules of washington but it sure seems like the rule here is to put off till tomorrow what should be done today." >> reporter: it was a return to the reality of broken government in washington. >> "come on mom take a chance. ruin your reputation here" >> reporter: after all of that good-will on display. when vice pr