debbie wasserman-schultz was on with gretchen carlson on "fox and friends." said the economy is better off. she said this. i said no, they are not by any nature what debbie wasserman schultz said. it's false. they are doing that. the other thing is smearing and besmirching and character assassination. that is their strategy. they can't run on their record. can they be success to feel pull it off? i don't see how the strategy could work? >> no. core strategy for 2012. no candidate defended obamacare or said the stimulus was good. there is one important thing going on now. our candidates are getting vetted. i use this metaphor at the end of the last shore. you grimaceed but is it the right metaphor. you had eight and you sprayed them all with roach spray. herman cain couldn't handle it. somebody else dropped out. tim pawlenty dropped out. the one that will emerge, the one that will survive is the one that is immune. the one that can't be hit with negatives. >> sean: newt? >> newt or romney certainly and see who he decides the roach spray the best. that is what t

congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz of florida.n heilemann, contributing editor at the "new york" magazine. sir, this is really simple. i guess you never get a straight answer. you can ask for it, you'll never get it. will they ever tell us who they least want to run against or least want to debate, or are they two separate questions, mitt or newt? >> they would much rather run against newt gingrich than mitt romney. let's start by saying that i think the white house and the president's re-election campaign are quite confident in either one of those rivals. i think they feel like they can beat mitt romney and i think they feel like they can beat newt gingrich, even despite a lot of the headwinds that the president's facing, they look at those two candidates and they think they're both seriously flawed and that the president is a much better political performer than either one of them and would take on either one of them handily. but mitt romney is a much more appealing candidate to a lot of moderate voters, a lot of swing voters. h

congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz is a democrat from florida, of course.lso chair of the democratic national committee. congresswoman, madame chairman, i guess that's the question. here's david axelrod, by the way, over the weekend, laying out the case against romney on "meet the press". >> this is about how you behave in public. and he seems to think that every day is a new day that he can simply change all of his positions, depending on who his audience is or what the political circumstance is. and that is not what you want in a president of the united states. >> and here's the same ax, giving a shove, by the way, at gingrich earlier today on "the daily rundown". >> i was amused by the newt gingrich ad, by the way, because he talked about he's going to bring the country together to solve problems. you're talking about the godfather of gridlock here. the guy who two decades ago really invented the kind of tactics that have now become common place in washington. so this is a whole new newt. >> well, congresswoman, let me ask you a more narrow question than

. >> florida congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz is also heading up the dnc. good to see you. >> thanks so much. >> the president wants to keep the working class american dream alive. is this the heart of the fight we're going to see in 2012? >> well, i think it really is. the president's speech was not a campaign speech yesterday. >> well, it sounded a little bit like a campaign speech. >> well, what it sounded to me was the president of the united states of america laying out his vision and his strong belief that we need to make sure that america's foundation is supportive of the middle class having an opportunity to prosper, and that all of our policy should not exclusively focus on the well-being of the wealthiest, most fortunate americans. that's an incredibly important value that most people in america, the overwhelming majority of americans, can identify with, and it's something that it's important for the president of the united states to lay out there and show the contrast between the direction that, for example, all of the republican candidates like

brian is talking about dnc chairwoman debbie wasserman schultz live in our studio.orning. >> she will respond to brian's interview with mitt romney when we return live from new york. >> they agreed on newt -- ♪ ♪ mom? dad? guys? [ engine turns over ] [ engine revs ] ♪ he'll be fine. [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes, and lexus for audi than ever before. take advantage of exceptional values during the season of audi event. i'm a dad, coach... and i quit smoking with chantix. knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke -- and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health

night on "the last word with lawrence o'donnell," lawrence and democratic congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz discussed late-breaking rumors that republican leaders in the house wouldn't even allow a promise vote on the payroll tax bill and why. >> we've adjourned for the evening. the house republicans didn't bring the vote up -- didn't bring the senate bill up for a vote tonight, pushed it to tomorrow, and now we're hearing that the rules committee is going to basically punt the legislation, we're not going to have a vote on the bill at all, and we're just going to have a vote on a motion to go to conference with the senate. because i think what you alluded to a minute ago, lawrence, is exactly the problem republicans face. they probably have a couple dozen of their members that want to vote for the bill that are in districts that they are very vulnerable to a loss next year, and if they vote against a middle class tax cut and extending that middle class tax cut right at the holidays, and they know that that is going to cause the economy some harm, they don't want to be in that situation. so

chairwoman debbie wasserman schultz she's joined by several other democrats are throwing their support behind this bill and erickson is pledging to do everything in his power to defeat the republicans that favor sopa and calling on the left to do the exact same thing and you know what it pains me to say but i kind of i have to agree with him here it's time for voters and organizations on the left to stand up to hollywood big wigs and the politicians who put their votes up to sale to that those that are choosing to limit free speech or potentially potentially break the internet as we know it against all rhyme or reason need to be voted out of office period. and there's a new debate going on in the scientific community it's raising a lot of questions about transparency safety and biological weapons let's start with the basics h five n one is a particular flu virus that breeds and spreads amongst birds fourteen years ago it emerged and there have been the rare occasions where humans have been infected leading to fatal results but it does not spread from person to person it is until now ma

this morning, debbie wasserman-schultz said unemployment have not gone up under president obama.acts do not back up the statement. the factson't back up the statement. in november of this year, 8.6%. finally, the media appears to have been strick within a case of tebow derangement syndrome. the denver broncos won the last six games with tim tebow under center. religiously infused language abounds with miraculous and blessed. here are a few representative headlines. god's quarterback. tim tebow, and christianity, is it secret of his success? tebow faith mentioned in 64 articles in six weeks. the reigning super bowl champion packers are on pace to shatter many records. the devout faith of aaron rodgers was mentioned in just one major news source. >>> big docket for the supreme court got bigger today. correspondent shannon bream tells us on top of hearing a challenge to president obama healthcare law, the justices will consider the argument on the arizona tough immigration statute. >> two major controversies, both due to be decided by the supreme court on june 2012 will land in the

martha: keeping it fair and balanced let's get reaction from congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz whomocratic committee. you heard carl's piece there and it's interesting the criticism that has come out against president obama at this conference. what do you think about mitt romney's statement that the president visited saudi arabia, turkey, iraq, why no visit to israel? >> this entire forum is sponsored by an organization that puts it partisanship and party in front of its love for israel. that's entirely inappropriate to begin with. in addition because they know in the jewish community in america the republican party is wrong on every major issue that matters to the overwhelming majority of jewish voters, they have nothing else to appeal to jewish voters so they have to distort the president's record on israel, including mitt romney. mitt romney talked about iran and the president's policy towards iran. and the importance of not doing business with iran. yet this is a man who has still not withdrawn his own family foundations' investments from businesses that do business with iran.

debbie wasserman schultz joins us of the democratic national committee. thanks so much for being with us. we appreciate it. so just give me your -- how do you feel tonight? >> well, really outraged. i have to tell you, outraged on behalf of my constituents, on behalf of the single mom and single dad who i stood with a couple weeks ago in an ice cream parlor in my district who would face $1,000 coming out of their paycheck if this payroll tax cut extension doesn't pass. the legislation passed the senate 89-10. the senate is not exactly known as a very functional institution. if they were able to pass a bill 89-10 with overwhelming bipartisan support, how could the house republicans, this is how extreme they are, that the house republicans would refuse to take up the two month extension so that we could sit down at the table and work out how we would extend it for a year just so that they could insist on their way. we're talking about house republicans who oppose the payroll tax cut extension to begin with, had all year to take it up and pass it, and only n

. >> debbie wasserman schultz called this the literacy test. why? do you agree?> i think what we're seeing, chris, is the first time in nearly half a century that laws are being passed that make it more difficult, make it harder for people to vote. we've not seen this in a very long time. we oppose these laws. we've seen it in the form of photo i.d. laws, which you just talked about. but we've also seen it in the form of laws that make it more difficult for people to register to vote and make it more difficult for people to vote early in their states. so across the country, especially in many of the battleground states, we're seeing law after law making it much more difficult for people to get to the polling place and cast a ballot. >> do you believe the republicans are behind this and why? >> there's no question they're behind it. just look at the republicans' statements on this. point in case is mitch mcconnell who has said that his primary objective is to see president obama as a one-term president. but republican after republican have said that they prefer to

. >> debby wasserman schultz heads up the dnc. good morning. it's one of the most underused words in the dictionary, zany. is mitt romney going after newt gingrich tonight? >> he also used the word unreliable. and i would say it takes one to know one. i think someone who has had more different positions than carter has liver pills should know that what the term unreliable means. it's a person who's had both sides of the position on whether or not middle class americans deserve a payroll tax cut. been for and against bringing troops home from afghanistan, has consistently focused on making sure that the wealthiest and most fortunate americans have the wind at their backs and to heck with the middle class. mitt romney will certainly know what someone unreliable is like. >> truth be told, you'd rather see gingrich as the nominee, right? >> honestly, chris, it doesn't much matter which one of the republicans are -- >> oh, that can't be true. look at the money mitt romney has. look at the polls that show where independent voters are. are you really

. >> well, we had debbie wasserman schultz on last night, and it looks like they're beginning to workogether. former speaker pelosi and the democratic national chair are all working with the president coordinating, they're beginning to act like they're in the same political party which is a good sign for them and perhaps the country. president obama emphasized that the stakes couldn't be higher for the middle class these days. let's listen to him. >> but osawatomie, this is not just another political debate. this is the defining issue of our time. this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. because what's at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement. >> there you go again, ron, all the good things for a party based on the middle class. yet you hear these stories that they're going to give up on ohio, perhaps pennsylvania. they're headed towards the new economy people in north carolina, virginia, color

congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz is a democrat from florida and also chair of the dnc. i'm delighted to see that she joings us now. >> good afternoon. >> i don't think any of us could do better than today's "wall street journal" saying the gop leaders have somehow managed the remarkable feat of being blamed for opposing a one-year extension of a tax holiday that they are surely going to pass. this is no easy double play. now, i have to ask you. you've been in the congress a while. is this because speaker boehner can't count or is it simply that he is now utterly powerless because the congress is run by extremists, many of whom arrived as you know, a year ago and will pursue their agenda even if it ruins the lives of 160 million americans. >> well, martin, this is a classic case of the tail being allowed to wag the dog. this is speaker boehner caring desperately about clinging to his office. about making sure that they do as much as they can to cow tow to the office and not caring about the 160 million americans who will have a thousand dollars more taken out of their pa

you heard debbie wasserman-schultz, the dnc chair, say mitt romney has no moral core, david plouffe saying no core, david axelrod saying the same about mitt romney, fair to say we're headed for a very personal and nasty campaign? >> you know what i think? i think people in this country are starving for not necessarily all republican answers and not democratic answers, people in this country aretarving for real, authentic people to lead this country. i think that the pageantry, the speeches, all the prepared remarks, the campaign stops that are masqueraded as official white house visits, people are tired. people are tired of this president's promises and failure todeliver. guess what? if this president was an employee of any biness out there in america, he would have been fired a long time ago. >> let's talk about the field. herman ca, suspended his campaign. how do you react too that? >> he has to make that decision for himself and he did. eventually we're going to be narrowing down the field. eventually we're going to have a nominee. these things are pretty common in primaries, candidates