it's not about trying to make jim demint happy.trying to respond to the people of the state of alaska. i'm going to give them a choice. and if the people on november 2nd say, web don't like her, that's fine. but that's part of what we're doing here. that's part of the process as well. >> what do you think of senator demint and his efforts this year to back tea party candidates, incoming your opponent? >> it's absolutely his right, it has his prerogative. i mean, anybody can step up and say, i want to see more people that are more of my ilk, my mind-set, that's fine. they can help them with that. i don't think that it's particularly helpful to undercut fellow republicans, but as i say, it's his prerogative. >> but your opponents a republican, so he's not really undercutting republicans, he's kind of opting for nonestablishment republicans. >> and again, he certainly has that right to help whatever members he may want. if he wants to bring in insurgents -- >> do you think he's started a civil war inside the republican party? >> you k

any piece of legislation not personally cleared by jim demint will be blocked by jim demint. a threat that "roll call" newspaper described as remarkable. among the things that the senate has yet to pass and which senator demint could presumably block is a spending measure to keep the government operating past september 30th. so senator demint in effect is now threatening to shut down the entire government. a government shutdown like the one we had in the '90s under newt gingrich. a few key differences. for one thing, right now it's just a lone republican senator without a leadership position who is threatening this. in 1995, at least, mr. gingrich was the republican speaker of the house. the other difference that the government shutdown in 1995 was at least theoretically about something. about republicans wanting president clinton to cut medicare and medicaid and education. this time around, mr. demint is not even bothering to make a case that it is about anything. it's not that jim demint wants some legislative thing he's not getting. like remember when that alabama republic

demint will come out and endorse and raise money for them.his was a time when buck had no money. >> she got o'donnell over the hump in delaware and milner alaska? >> i don't. >> chris: wait, wait, wait. i want to talk about one more race in washington. incumbent mayor fenty lost by a fairly decisive margin to the city council president vincent gray. erin, what happened? >> i don't think -- obviously, washington tonians were not happy with fenty leadership. there is questions about how he rehandles the education system. anti-incumbent year. they want fresh face. mr. gray is not a fresh face on the city council. >> chris: charles, you want to talk about the school reform as signature race. >> his signature point was school reform. he had superintendent out there firing teachers and being tough on competence in the worst school district in the country. being aggressive on this. strongly opposed by teachers unions who opposed fenty. also, the government workers union opposed him. a huge defeat across the country. a mayor with a serious amount of

demint, demint and the republicans, they don't care. they want to cut social programs and unemployment for 46.3 million people in poverty. they want to repeal any help coming for the 50 million americans who have no health care. the tea party and the republicans don't value americans in need. i think the only thing that they value is the almighty dollar, they seem to get a kick out of scaring people, too. here's a sample of what else was on the agenda at the voters value summit. breakout seesions, included this. you know they go into their little groups. here was one, social justice. am i my brother's keeper? how tory. online generation, without losing your soul. and american apocalypse, when christians do nothing. oh, that was a dandy. i'm sorry i missed that one. they have nothing on the agenda for the middle class, nothing about job creation, but just getting the way of everything, and nothing for americans who are wrestling with things on their kitchen table like the unemployed. psycho talking queen michelle bachmann got into the ac

when we come back, the interview we did earlier with senator demint. >>> senator demint, thank you sofor joining us. >> candy, it's great to be here. >>> i have listened to you since the election of christine o'donnell, and you have repeated what you said kind of all along during this election year, which is, in general, i would rather have people who adhere to conservative principles than have the majority. so accepting that, the problem is that in the minority, you can't get anything done that you'd like to get done. so how do you -- i mean, square that for me. you can't repeal obama health care. you can't cut spending. you can't eliminate earmarks, which is one of your favorite causes here. so i don't -- i just -- it is inexplicable to me that you would rather have true conservatives than the majority, where you could actually do something. >> first of all, let me clarify what i mean by conservative. i'm just talking about common sense people who don't think balancing a checkbook is a radical idea. that's what we're looking for now. because the people in washington have clearly got

you're friends with senator demint. an ally with demint.u listened, he said, i'm going to back mitch mcconnell for the leader. i think he needs some people around him to help him. that's one of the things he said. what did he mean by that? and he also wouldn't answer directly when i said what about the main moderate, susan collins, olympia snowe, people like them, when they're up two years or four years from now, is he going to find a tea party challenger to go after them? >> i think there's a gamble by a lot of the senate conservatives and those who help them that susan collins and olympia snowe may see what's going on this year and change their voting a little bit heading into 2012. now, on the issue of who mitch mcconnell is surrounded with, he's going to back mitch mcconnell. the issue is lamar alexander more than mcconnell. alexander has been make a lot of conservatives in the senate and staffers bristle with some of his pleas for finding commonalty with the other side. so jon kyl might be an acceptable alternative. i doubt you'll see

where is demint? he's on a power grab. he's thirsty for power. they've a couple victories with some psychocandidates that are out there. i think we as americans have to take a real hard look at themselves in our mirror and ask us, where do we have to go? is it really about the money? i have paid close attention to education week on this network. i'll bring you a story later on tonight about a gentleman who has dedicated himself to this country when it comes to educating young people and creating opportunities. isn't that what america is about? those two words -- creating opportunities? now, if we are going to streamline the money. if we're going to have the concentration of wealth in this country, opportunity is going to get choked off for a lot of americans. is that fair? are we going to divide people up, depending on how much money they make? en appalling what the supreme court has ruled. it's taken the voice of the little guy out of the political equation in this country. what do the conservatives call it? they call it free speech. yeah, if yo

jim deminted right here that he is the party of no. that the tea party, the republican party doesn't matter. he doesn't want anything passed. what this move effectively does is slows down all legislation in the senate. >> but any senator has the right to do this, including senator demint. why is this so extraordinary? and why have we not seen somebody do this before in these polarized times? >> they call it a senatorial courtesy. but what jim has done here, senator demint is anything but a courtesy. it's been an extraordinarily discourteous maneuver, a tactic for the american people. the reason this is different is that while we do this sometimes, our senators do this sometimes whether it's to pass -- whether it's to expedite legislation or occasionally make a fuss about well, i want this particular piece of pork in my district or i have an ideological problem with this. what this is a categorical blanket slowdown of all legislation in the senate. >> is there a point to it other than to show he can do it? >> with the, senator demint re

senator jim demint, who helped both o'donnell and fellow tea partier jim miller of alaska help upseteam members of congress in this year's primaries took his victory lap on cnn yesterday, and pointing out, correctly, that his party ran up the deficit the last time they were in power, he reiterated his decision that he would rather have a tea party minority in congress than the republican majority made up of mainstream republicans, like, you know, him. >> will you take any responsibility if the republicans don't take control of the senate? if, for instance, they should lose in delaware, someone you backed? >> i'll tell you this, the only reason we have a chance at a majority now is a large part for the candidates i've been supporting. if the republican party in the senate was now characterized by arlen specter and charlie crist, we would not have the energy behind our candidates anywhere in the country. >> mr. bush's former political adviser, mr. rove, however, added to speculation that o'donnell's primary win could cost the gop that seat in november by adding that in the case of alas

jim demint and the new theocracy next on countdown.r eight years, helping them build a strong dealer network. bringing music to people... i like that. ♪ ♪ [ bob ] i didn't know you could play. i didn't either. ♪ i didn't either. bob ehrlich pretends to be for the working guy... but he's not on our side. i thought i knew bob ehrlich, but then i found out... he raised property taxes on every maryland family... and business. he increased college tuition... by 40%. 40%. and i thought i knew bob ehrlich. he was against raising the minimum wage. >>> the president got the recession to end in june of 2009, which is not much helping the unemployed in september of 2010. >>> it's gaga versus mccain over don't ask, don't tell. >>> could they have found a better name for the place he's going to be campaigning on wednesday? >>> and the kingmaker's quote, "i think the slate of candidates we have for the senate is as representative of america as we've seen in a long time." that would be an ex-witchcraft dabbler living off her campaign funds, the anti-

demint's got plans. he is right now the face of the conservative movement in this country.nd he's winning. he's leading these long-shot candidates to victory with tremendous counsel. you've got to hand it to him. the media sees him as the link between the gop and the tea party. demint says tea partiers aren't republicans and don't want to be republicans. i don't believe that. but he says he's willing to arrange i guess you could say a marriage of convenience to knock out the democrats in the midterms. but if the republicans win control of the senate, i am convinced that demint is going to hand over the keys to the kingdom to mcdonell. i don't think he'll do it, unless he has a big, big role to play in the republican party. i think demint's going to end up being the leader. for more bring in former assistant to george w. bush dick cheney and george bush. >> nice to see you. >> i've wanted to go face to face with you on so many issues for so long. i'm in new york, now we're in washington. >> we're here, let's do it, ed. >> all right, jim demint in many respects is the leader

i'm excited about the prospect of a senate next year with not just jim demint and tom coburn, but six or seven or eight more like history. as jim demint told me, the reinforcements are coming and that's a welcome thing if you're a conservative and believe in limited government. >> paul: take a look at wisconsin, hardly a right wing state. two democratic senators for 18 years, democratic governor for eight years yet, the republicans could sweep most of these, these state wide elections this year. what's going on in a state like that? >> well, it includes david olby, elected in the 1960's chaerm of the appropriations committee. >> it's a toss up. a clear ago rasmussen did a poll, what people thought about congress. 58% said they would like to he think change the entire congress. that's a year ago and i think people have just become disgusted with the political class and they literally want the whole thing to start over again. and that's true in places like wisconsin, new jersey, california. this is a historic off year election, it really is. >> paul: 2006, 2008, republicans suffered tha

they should be blaming themselves. >> jim demint. why jim demint? >> he endorsed o'donnell, he endorsed lamontagne. all of demint's candidates win. which is why o'donnell the nrsc is not going to help her. >> let's go to o'donnell headquarters where jessica yellin has the winning candidate with her. >> hi, anderson. i'm here with christine o'donnell who has been greeting supporters all night long. first of all, what message do you think your victory says sends to establishment republicans cannibalizing the party. >> we, the people, want our voice heard again. it is not always about power. it is about principles. i think the voters are craving candidates who will stand for something. >> we have already been told this evening that the national republicans, the party organization that often funds campaigns like yours is not going to fund yours and many national republicans have said simply you cannot win in november. do you need their money? can you win without it? >> good. they don't have a winning track record. but, you know, of course there is a gre

jon: gym demint will be here live in the next hour of "happening now." we'll also be speaking live with sarah palin and get her take on all of this. and later this hour karl rove, stick around. jenna: molly was talking a little bit about the situation in new york and char rerangel going ahead to the elections this fall. a major upset in new york's republican primary for governor, another tea party favorite, real estate developer carl paladino bull dozing rick lazio with a decisive victory. eric, what can you tell us about paladino, who is he? >> reporter: he came out of nowhere when he stunned the establishment last night. he is a tea party favorite. he is a wealthy new york developer. he crushed lazio62 to 3 #-%. he says he'll go to albany with quote a baseball ba t-rbs to take out the trash. >> republicans, democrats, indianas all new yorkers who are fed up, all of you here, all of you watching and listening across this great state, together we will win in november, we'll take back our government, and rebuilt and re-- rebuild and restart our economy. >

a number of republicans in the senate are attacking jim demint. >> he's our hero. >> sean: i agree.

>> well, it is obvious to me that jim demint is going to run for president and get a heck of a lot of votes over there, and that is what i have learned from this conversation, the most popular guy over there on the right. by the way, he puts a lot of skin in these things, and i think that he will do pretty well. the next thing is that, look, that party is way, way, more right than any republican party we have ever seen, and that is by design. you know in the democracy corps of research, the tea party is more influential in the republican party than organized labor and african-americans are in the democratic party. so this is outgrowth of democracy. the republicans, themselves, are choosing to do this. this is what happens, and i think that it is fascinating and i also think that the 2012 thing is going to be fascinatingings because i think that deminlt is going to run. you can't bucket that, he does not want mitch o'connell's job, but barack obama's job. >> that may be news to him. >> if it is, then this race is interesting, because jim demint is with mr. lamontagne, and so this may r

well, demint is demint, complete gridlock, shutdown government, that's what demint wants.him credit for saying what he wants and saying it clearly, anyway. >>> up next, jon stewart has an answer for glenn beck and sarah palin. stewart's hosting his own rally on the national mall. he's calling it "the rally to restore sanity." and he wants people to bring signs that say things like, "i disagree with you, but i'm pretty sure you're not hitler." can john stewart change the country, tamp down the craziness? you're watching "hardball." stufy, make the call. ♪ [ dialing ] ♪ is to reproduce every color in the world on tv. introducing quattron quadpixel technology, it adds a fourth color, yellow, to the standard rgb color system, creating a vast array of colors you can't see with your tv's 3 color technology. but, you can see this... wow! oh my. [ male announcer ] quattron from sharp. you have to see it, to see it. [ takei laughs ] became clean sheet week? new ultra downy april fresh gives you a whole week of freshness and lets you climb in to more freshness from day 1 to day 7 th

they should be blaming themselves. >> jim demint, why jim demint?jim demint endorsed o'donnell, endorsed lamontagne, he's basically endorsed everyone against the nrse and all the nrse's keep losing, which may be why o'donnell may be happy that the nrse isn't going to help her given their track record. >> and now we go to jessica. >> reporter: i'm here with christine o'donnell who has been greeting supporters all night long. first of all, what message do you think your victory sends to you, you've called them establishment republican who's are cannibalizing the party. >> that we the people want our voice heard again. and you know it's not always about power, it's about principles and there's a lot of work to do to get our country back on track. and i think the voters are craving candidates who will stand for something. >> reporter: we've already been told this evening that the national republicans, the party organization that often funds campaigns like yours is not going to fund yours. and that many national republicans have said simply you cannot wi

>> no wonder jim demint has expected a sock in the face from john cornyn.tent counter weight to his own parties leaders in the choosing of winning and losing candidates. >> i hope i am a threat to the so-called establishment here in washington. i see press reports of anonymous staff members cowards saying things they won't say to me. a lot of the republicans here will whisper to me that you know, keep up the fight. >> demint in this cycle has thrown his weight behind 12 gop candidates. nine winners. most aa audacious was the backg of mar co-rubio. now, he is vowing to raise by next week $174,000 for kristine oh donald. >> people can come to senate conservatives.com and give directly to candidates. we have ten candidates on the site and hopefully we will hit 5 million before november 2. >> only sarah palin who boasts no beltway title rivals demint as an unofficial gop kingmaker this year. endorsed 43 candidates and racked up an impressive 25-11 record. like demint palin rejects the kingmaker title and denies seeking the role. >> i'm not in this for any kind

he got the endorsement of demint.ty, and i think in another party and the two will have trouble getting together. >> you may be right. what else are we looking at in new york, chris? >> the embattled veteran congressman charlie rangel surviving a challenge by five rivals despite a dozen ethics charges in congress. he won a majority of votes, nearly 51%. his most aggressive opponent, powell, finished with 23%. >> i want you to know no matter what they say, i go back to washington stronger than i've ever been. and it has nothing to do with my personality. it has everything to do with you. >> chris, charlie survives? >> i know, easily, easily, 51% to 25%. it wasn't even close there. obviously he's going to win. >> adrian fenty, a guy we've interviewed a good bit, he's taken on special interests and fought for reform. he was defeated last night in d.c. >> you hear from a lot of people in d.c. who say perhaps he's not a good politician, mark halprin, wasn't good at reaching out to people and feeding specific interests and

should be blaming themselves. >> y jim demint? >> because he endorsed law montaigne and has endorsed everything against them, they keep losing which is why o'donnell might be happy they're saying they will not helper given her track record>> let's go to o'donnell headquarters where jessica yellen has the winning candidate with her. >> i am here with christine o'donnell has been greeting supporters on light long, first of all, what message do you think your victory here cents. yeah: establish and republicans. >> we the people want our voice heard again and it is not always about power, it is about principles. a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and i think the voters are crazy candidates who will stand for something. we have already been told this evening that the national republicans, the republican organization that often funds campaigns like yours is not going to fund your spirit and that many national republicans have said it cannot win in november. do you need the money? can you win without a? >> they don't h

demint.wn of government. give him credit for saying what he wants and saying it clearly. up next, jon stewart has an answer for glenn beck and sarah palin. he's hosting his own rally on the national mall. he's calling it the rally to restore sanity and he wants people to bring signs that say things like, i disagree with you, but i'm sure you're in the hitler. [ female announcer ] you use the healing power of touch every day. ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving cream works quickly to activate sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals fast for relief you can feel precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more $2, $3 fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more paying to access your own money. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it'd be like every atm in the world was your atm. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the schwab bank high yield investor checking(tm) account. tdd# 1-800-345-2

he is running against senator demint. i'm not thinking any poll shows him within striking distance.demint. >> i'm glad you said my favorite candidate in terms of being intriguing because that is what he is. cheerlkoreanclearly demint doeo have anything to do with the bizarre puppet show that is alvin green. he has a 40 plus-point lead. the absolutely objective of any political campaign is just to win and so what does jim demint gain by engaging alvin green? and frankly, if the democrats aren't going to treat alvin green as though he is a bona fide candidate, and they don't, then p why should jim demint? >> he is on 11:10 a.m. wbet in charlotte, weekday mornings. thanks, keith. >> shannon: the house majority leader says stephen colbert's testimony on farm labor did not amuse him. steny hoyer blasted the appearance. >> i think his testimony was not appropriate. i think it was an embarrassment for mr. colbert more than the house. >> chris: he was called by the democratic chair of the subcommittee. >> he was called. you asked whether the testimony was appropriate. i think it was not app

in command and jim demints basically says, you know, close down the government.n't care. so, how are we going to solve the immigration problem, the debt problem. the energy problem? how are we going to solve it in the two parties are at logger heads alt time on everything? >> the fact that the two parties that have gotten us in, and the people in washington who have gotten us into the mess and i don't think we count on them to get us out of the mess. >> lisa mer cowski is going to run as a candidate in alaska despite she was beaten by joe miller and supported by the tea party, alaskans republicans elected joe miller in the primary and lisa mercowski is going to conduct a write in campaign. >> i think it bespeaks a level of arrogance, people in washington who think they're entitled to remain in washington. when somebody leak a joe miller, well spoken, arct articula articulate. i'd like to see mike castle run as an independent. >> bret: i bet you would. kt. >> the people are speaking around the country and the people who are most sort of shocked every time it happe

demint here, making the case for juice. you may not win every race but you got to picked person you believe in. here he is talking to fox news.com. let's listen. >> well, i don't want the majority back if we don't believe anything. i came into the senate, we had 55 senators a large majority in the house, republican in the white house. frankly, we didn't do what we said we were going to do so i think if we want the numbers if we want the majority, then we are going to have to stand on some principles that the american people believe in not so much political principle bus just common sense economic principles. >> what kind of a democratic party is it going to be, chuck if it has to win elections by personally trashing the opponent, whether it is christine o'donnell or sharron angle. don't win because people like you, don't ask people to like harry reid or chris coons, who will be on the show in a minute, see whether people like him or not, just say how terrible the other person is and you can't afford to let him in there. tha

demint has bucked the senate g.o.p. establishment to support a number of insurgent candidates.ld the crowd principles mattered more than party. >> this no longer voting for "least worst" on the ballot. we've got candidates we can be proud of, who, when they get to washington, will stand up for americans who feel ignored. >> holman: demint has said he would rather have 30 republicans in the senate who share his conservative principles than a filibuster-proof 60 who do not. one of demint's preferred candidates is delaware republican christine o'donnell, who upset moderate congressman mike castle in tuesday's primary. o'donnell's win has given democrats new hope they can win in delaware, but o'donnell also has injected new excitement into the conservative base. she spoke to the summit this afternoon. >> the small elite don't get us. they call us "wacky," they call us "wing nuts." we call us "we the people." >> holman: polls show conservatives are highly enthusiastic about voting this fall. the key for republicans may be to find common ground between the party's ideological purists

meanwhile, senator demint is looking for conservatives, period. and what will end up happening is, sure, senator demint has all these conservatives who are on the ballot in the general election ballot for november. now is when the you are rubber hits the road and we find out whether folks throughout those states, moderates and independence who can vote, will come out to the ballot box and actually say whether they want their tea party republican to go and represent them in washington, given lots of the things that they've said on the campaign trail that run counter to what many of them might think. >> mark tapscott, do you think you could articulate what the basic value system of a tea party republican is? what are they for? >> leave us alone. we're smart enough to manage our own life. stop telling us how to live. >> i get that. and that's a lot of negatives. that says don't do this, don't do this, don't do this. but what do they do? >> that's what we have to say. >> so, in other words, you wouldn't have the government prevent people from stealing

and charlie crist, we would not have the energy behind the candidates anywhere in the country. >> demint has been criticized for backing candidates who cannot win in general elections. >>> the new york times is reporting that obama's advisers are considering using national advertisements. david axlerod denied such a campaign is being planned, democrats argue this would limit expected big losses force democrats in the midterm elections. on sunday's "meet the press" bill clinton and colin powell both weighing in on the tea party support. >> first of all, i think that a lot of the voters who are voting for the tea party candidates have really good impulses. they want to see some help for ordinary people. i get that. the question is what are the specifics? what really matters is what we're going to do. and right now they've elected a lot of people who are articulate, attractive, but it's not clear what their specifics are. >> it may appeal to the fringe elements of the party, but i don't think it appeals to all republicans. i don't think it appeals to the whole country. this kind of chatter,

i've matured in a lot of my positions. >> reporter: demint says fosing on tea party candidates being extreme miss the larger point of the movement. >> so they're asking for some common sense things. stop spending, stop borrowing, stop adding the debt. >> reporter: whether voters will separate the personal from the policy is a concern for republican regulars. >> national party strategists have to wa a fine line here. >> reporter: analysts say republicans can't publicly abandon her because she won the domination, but they are reluctant to fully embrace her. >> they don't want to be seen as destroying the tea party candidates. on the other hand, they don't want the republican party to be defined solely as the tea party and tea party candidates. >> reporter: pat buchanan who has led his share of conservative insurgencie believes the republican establishment has to trade carefully. >> history shows if you cut the coming movement, it will cut you. nixon campaigned for goldwater in '64. '68 he was the nominee and president. nelson rockefeller wouldn't wear a goldwater button. 10ears later h

senator demint says they've all come together. it is kumbaya. i bet the democrats love this. >> sure they are looking for something to take the republicans off their game. what happened in delaware was a big upset. it plays into their narrative that these crazies are out there and you have to be afraid of them. what happened was, a moderate to liberal republican, in a state that normally elects moderate to liberal republicans, elected a conservative. elected someone who has been out there a long time. i know christine o'donnell, i've known her for years. she's been out there working for organizations that are strong conservative organizations. very much movement conservative types of groups. she has been a candidate before in delaware. which is a moderate to even liberal state. she never fared well. guess what? things have changed. >> greta: it is a wake-up call to your party. and it is not just delaware. you have seen it in alaska, utah. you've seen it for the republican nomination for governor in the state of new york. first we watched the dem

she the support of sarah palin, senator demint late. the vessel for hopes and frustration that delaware republicans have had with mike castle, a moderate republican in that state for sometime. >> greta: i was list thing to sean hannity and karl rove talk about her. they went at each other debating of course, about it. karl i think is fair to say is very suspicious of her as a candidate and sean supports her this is going to divide a lot of conservatives. >> that's right republicans thought the only way to win in delaware was to have a moderate someone like mike castle run statewide as governor, state's only member of the house they that -- they thought he would win. to have a tea party favorite like o'donnell win this nomination big blow to their chances. there's something that the national republicans are going to be split on. a lot are going to say we are going to focus elsewhere if she can pull it off great they are not going to spend a lot of time and attention nationally to butte her can -- to boost her candidacy. >> greta: even he

i interviewed senator demint in his office today and some sources said that he is saying that purity is more important than actually getting the majority, he rejected that. >> the gop establishment is out and what we're going to do is help the american people take back their government and i hope the republican party will be the party that carries that banner. >> reporter: even demint, wolf, he admitted that o'donnell is going to have a tough time getting elected in november. but the most important thing is that republican voters are sending the message that in his words the kind of mushy candidates that have been elected in the past won't stand, they want people who are really going to take charge of the voters and that people here in washington should start doing their job. >> dana bash on capitol hill for us. when christine o'donnell woke up this morning, she sounded fully prepared to campaign for the general election without the support of the state or national republican party. >> we will reach out to them, but i'm confident that if they choose not to get behind this race, we wi