let's play that clip. >> the former new mexico governor gary johnson never got much traction in the republican nomination recently dropped out for a run for the nomination to seek the libertarian party's nomination for president and we're hearing tonight that gather i johnson has dropped his bid for the libertarian nomination and instead will be endorsing ron paul. the news about gary johnson, dropping his libertarian party bid and endorsing ron paul was a hoax. so, yeah, sorry. >> that will happen. >> live television, ladies and gentlemen. >> live television, i think that john chancellor is rolling over in his grave. what happened to the standards? >> if you go to -- if you google society of professional journalist ethics code, the first two items are check your source and then check it twice. this is pretty astonishing, and is a value in procedure and checking things and obviously, rachel maddow didn't care i don't think that's fair. everybody makes mistakes and she had a "oops" moment in that. >> did they check it? >> there's such priority getting there first and laid owed. we've talked abo

first a question for you, gary johnson, does the name ring a bell? up until last week he was running for the republican nomination, now he's running for the libertarian nomination. i'll tell you why. [ woman ] ♪ what i want this season ♪ if you'd like to try and guess ♪ ♪ it is something very special ♪ i would readily confess [ dogs barking ] ♪ 'cause all i want this season ♪ ♪ is something from your heart ♪ la da da, la da da [ male announcer ] thinking of others this holiday season, travelers. >>> welcome back to "the contenders 2012." we should call this segment the former contenders. gary johnson is the former governor from new mexico, a two-term, elected twice, they loved him there, and he recently decided to run for the republican nomination. he felt the republican party let him down, that networks and others who sponsored debates unfairly left him out of those debates. so last week he announced that he was now going to try for the nomination of the libertarian party, because first of all, it guarantees him a spot on the bat lol ballot in all 5

gary johnson, you wanted to weigh in on this?re for myself. >> please. >> aclu issued a report a couple of weeks ago and gave every presidential candidate a great on civil liberties and guess who got the highest grade? including obama and ron paul. it was higher up. as governor of new mexico, i may have vetoed more bills than the other 49 governors in the country combined. i vetoes 750 bills because of the unintended consequence that i saw in so much legislation. legislation that got labeled as telecommunications competitive act, you know? let's bring competition to telecommunications. the fact is it did anything but bring competition to telecommunications. so i vetoed the bill. there is nothing about the internet that the government needs to fix. >> when you make that argument, then you make -- you push me to the other side. when people make the argument and they have about the libertarian argument i've heard that argument applied in all sorts of circumstances in which i want there to be regulation. i start -- am i on the wrong

but there was actually a moment tonight where there was a hoax that went out about gary johnson. that gary johnson had quit his libertarian run and was going to endorse ron paul. >> see, a very weird hoax. >> the only thing i can imagine is somebody may have done it to try and get some more delegates in iowa. i'm not sure. but for whatever the reason, at that moment, it was almost palpable, the sense that ron paul is going to go and ron is a libertarian candidate. you can almost feel that twchil through twitter. but i did think that -- i think his son being, you know, having a future in the republican party is probably going to be sort of the leash. >> the republicans i've heard even without a third party candidate running here, for as painful as the democratic primary turned out to be in 2008 with all of the clinton obama, the fact is that the long primary season ended up registering democrats in all 50 states and made a f50 state strategy possible. they're in trouble now because their top two or three don't look like they can go the long haul. somebody is going to show up in th

but there was actually a moment tonight where there was a hoax that went out about gary johnson. that gary johnson had quit his libertarian run and was going to endorse ron paul. >> see, a very weird hoax. >> the only thing i can imagine is somebody may have done it to try and get some more delegates in iowa. i'm not sure. but for whatever the reason, at that moment, it was almost palpable, the sense that ron paul is going to go and ron is a libertarian candidate. you can almost feel that twil chill through twitter. but i did think that -- i think his son being, you know, having a future in the republican party is probably going to be sort of the leash. >> the republicans i've heard even without a third party candidate running here, for as painful as the democratic primary turned out to be in 2008 with all of the clinton obama, the fact is that the long primary season ended up registering democrats in all 50 states and made a foo 50 state strategy possible. they're in trouble now because their top two or three don't look like they can go the long haul. somebody is going to show u

but there was actually a moment tonight where there was a hoax that went out about gary johnson. that gary johnson had quit his libertarian run and was going to endorse ron paul. >> see, a very weird hoax. >> the only thing i can imagine is somebody may have done it to try and get some more delegates in iowa. i'm not sure. but for whatever the reason, at that moment, it was almost palpable, the sense that ron paul is going to go and ron is a libertarian candidate. you can almost feel that twil chill through twitter. but i did think that -- i think his son being, you know, having a future in the republican party is probably going to be sort of the leash. >> the republicans i've heard even without a third party candidate running here, for as painful as the democratic primary turned out to be in 2008 with all of the clinton obama, the fact is that the long primary season ended up registering democrats in all 50 states and made a foo 50 state strategy possible. they're in trouble now because their top two or three don't look like they can go the long haul. somebody is going to show u

sad news for gary johnson and the huntsmans of the world and you can't down twinkle that.y can't. >> i want to up twinkle. i want to say that i do believe mitt is probably the best against obama but the debate is going to be consideration they are two smooth characters. it will be like swimming in a cashmere snugy. don't respond, mike, because we have to go to a break. >> coming up next on the new year's eve special, who and what is dead to us. if you leave now, i will cut up all of your clothing. i will. ♪ >>> joe fraser, andy rooney, harry morgan. my hampster frederick son fur ball. many memorable deaths in 2011 but we would rather highlight people, places and things that although not actually dead are simply dead to us. ♪ ♪ oh. mike, any one dead to you that is still alive? >> yeah, you know, what is dead to me, any reality show that it about cupcakes. that is completely dead to me. and also any government official or other individual who signed a secrecy agreement who can't keep his pie hole shut. they are dead to me. and may i also add and a serious moment it has been

we are hearing tonight that gary johnson has dropped his bid for the libertarian nomination and instead will be endorsing ron paul. let's go back to chris matthews who's in des moines. >> well, that's fascinating. i'm back with the huffington post howard fineman and "the washington post" eugene robinson. you have news about one of the other tier candidates. >> i think as the numbers are beginning to trickle in i think reality is beginning to dawn on some of the candidates and one of them may be michele bachmann who put such a big effort in here, could not get the full backing, the evangelical pastors in part because of her gender her staffers are saying privately. they don't want to sound like they're complaining. >> some of them said so publicly. she is now about to be told by her inner circle that she should call it quits. and that conversation my understanding has not quite taken place yet but is about to. she is supposed to go to south carolina tomorrow. she may or may not go but i think there is a very -- i just know her top people are telling her or getting ready to tell her that

joining me now is gary johnson, presidential candidate for the libertarian party.r governor of new mexico. a popular one i might add. good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having me on. >> you're here to talk about a few things. let's talk about the evangelical and conservative leaders meeting this weekend. they put a lot of support behind rick santorum. they're trying to arrest mitt romney's momentum. what does that say to you about where the republican party is headed? >> i see this whole meeting at much to do about nothing. i mean, you got 150 evangelists who meet in texas. on the fourth ballot they support santorum. i don't know how significant it is. i believe the fastest growing sector are libertarian leaning, that would be ron paul. i'm excited by his showing. >> you talk about that. you wrote about this in the daily collar. what does this mean for you because you're talking about the young, the independents, those people that he did well with. that same group that got behind barack obama. but talk about the significance of that for you and your strategy

a question concerning gary johnson, the former governor of new mexico.ews, an old junkyard dog. he just keeps hanging around and it's too close, he will snappier right on the mind. i am one of those people that became a libertarian in 1980. the reason was that i felt that the republican party had really lost its way. i was one of those that really do believe in small government, efficient government, i felt that the drug war and i still feel the drug war is so unconstitutional. it has ruined this country. it has proved the old concept about power corrupting. host: what is your comment or question for bill kristol? caller: concerning gary johnson, he talked the talk and walk the walk in the republican voters did not follow up on him. just left him in the dirt. i do not understand it. he actually adhered and govern in so-called republican principles. guest: gary johnson was the governor of new mexico and i'm not an expert on how successful he was our was not. if iran is a very strong libertarian. -- he ran as a very strong libertarian. ron paul had more th

she was going for gary johnson. [ laughter ] >> talking about my wife. [ laughter ] >> kind of slipping it. >> i think that is real deal breaker. i have spent all morning trying to do the math on this. tyler was born 1871. >> we have confirmed -- i don't know one pretends. >> gregg: i nodded in agreement. but what a great lie. what does it get you? that gets you a free meal at denny's? what does it get you when you make that lie up? >> but john tyler was born when washington was in office. his grandkids were walking around when george washington with was still alive. they were born in the '20s. the wives and husbands. >> are they tired of politics. you have one president. shut up tyler. >> i love this guy. i want to talk about ron paul. i think ron paul won the debate last night and i want to play some mols. >> i want to challenge them to a 25 mile back ride. >> there are laws against discrimination. >> i don't think we should go to the moon. i think we should send some politicians up there. [ laughter ] >> imagine you are in the oval office you speak to castro, what would you say to hi

sad news for gary johnson and the huntsmans of the world and you can't down twinkle that.t respond, mike, because we have to go to a break. >> coming up next on the new year's eve special, who and what is dead to us. if you leave now, i will cut up all of your clothing. i will. dg>úú ♪ >>> joe fraser, andy rooney, harry morgan. my hampster frederick son fur ball. many memorable deaths in 2011 but we would rather highlight people, places and things that although not actually dead are simply dead to us. ♪ ♪ oh. mike, any one dead to you that is still alive? >> yeah, you know, what is dead to me, any reality show that it about cupcakes. that is completely dead to me. and also any government official or other individual who signed a secrecy agreement who can't keep his pie hole shut. they are dead to me. and may i also add and a serious moment it has been an honor and a privilege to be involved in this show for the years i have been involved in it. i have enjoyed working with you guys. >> thanks for eating up so you time. >> andy? >> mike brakier freezing up my time. paltrow.

sad news for gary johnson and the huntsmans of the world and you can't down twinkle that.respond, mike, because we have to go to a break. >> coming up next on the new year's eve special, who and what is dead to us. if you leave now, i will cut up all of your clothing. i will. ♪ >>> joe fraser, andy rooney, harry morgan. my hampster frederick son fur ball. many memorable deaths in 2011 but we would rather highlight people, places and things that although not actually dead are simply dead to us. ♪ ♪ oh. mike, any one dead to you that is still alive? >> yeah, you know, what is dead to me, any reality show that it about cupcakes. that is completely dead to me. and also any government official or other individual who signed a secrecy agreement who can't keep his pie hole shut. they are dead to me. and may i also add and a serious moment it has been an honor and a privilege to be involved in this show for the years i have been involved in it. i have enjoyed working with you guys. >> thanks for eating up so much time. >> andy? >> mike brakier freezing up my time. paltrow. people

as many as in the past but we have already gotten rid of two candidates, or three, if you count gary johnson. so, we are fulfilling that role and both parties like iowa because it is small enough they can get around it and the candidates with little money can burst through, rick santorum being a prime example, and it is big enough that the state matters. >>shepard: conservatives are concerned and many say legitimately so there are so many conservative candidates they is to coalesce around someone. is it your sense that happens tomorrow, after tomorrow, or when? >>guest: there is a long way for this thing to go. it might happen but romney will could well in numb newspaper, -- in new hampshire, we know that, and it does not matter if he finishes first, second, or third. if he finishes first in new hampshire, he is in good position, and rick perry could do extremely well in south carolina. that would blow it wide open. >>shepard: we have much more on the final public, the daughter of the former house speaker gingrich will be here to talk about the speed butches -- bumps in her father's campaign

remember, you have gary johnson who is playing on a libertarian party line and there's such dissatisfaction about romney being the old republican party. and that's really who put romney together. that you may see some defections to a third party and maybe a fourth party. >> if you're a tea partyier and you've been talking about the banks and how the banks are on society, how do you support a mitt romney? how do you then turn around and say well, you know what? all right, we didn't get everything we wanted but the core of what the tea party stands for is something that mitt romney just does not stand for. that's a problem for him. >> fiscal responsibility. >> i don't know. i mean, the question is, you know, low taxes, he's the governor of massachusetts. he raised taxes in massachusetts. that's going to be brought up. i'm surprised it hasn't been yet. >> but obama -- >> we'll have to leave it there sadly. we only have three hours left. we got to go. mallory, julie and joe, thanks so much. >> thank you! >> all right, 28 minutes past the hour. first, it was apple juice. now tainted o.j. what yo

was asked about it he said he is not going tompt a third party run even if it is buddy roamer or gary johnsonal in a close race to make a difference. >> you push those buttonos ron paul as hard as they could be pushed without knocking him out . really, i thought he just wouldn't absolutely rule it out. >> i think it would be tough for ron paul to run as a third party candidate with his son senator ran paul in a position in the senate and kentucky senator, i think it would be difficult because of the conventional wisdom. we talk about conventional wisdom terps, a third party run from the right would hand the period see back to president obama. >> is there a likelihood of seeing a double dip recession. >> one question is europe. if europe blows up. they are putting band aids on it and if this train comes off of the tracks there is a good chance we'll get a double dip recession. we don't need a double dip recession for it to major impact the psyche of the american voters ands down with the american -- present administration. not even a double dip. he has to have dramatic improve the economy and

first a question for you, gary johnson, does the name ring a bell? up until last week he was running for the republican nomination, now he's running for the libertarian nomination. i'll tell you why. [ woman ] ♪ what i want this season ♪ if you'd like to try and guess ♪ ♪ it is something very special ♪ i would readily confess [ dogs barking ] ♪ 'cause all i want this season ♪ ♪ is something from your heart ♪ la da da, la da da [ male announcer ] thinking of others this holiday season, travelers. >>> welcome back to "the contenders 2012." we should call this segment the former contenders. gary johnson is the former governor from new mexico, a two-term, elected twice, they loved him there, and he recently decided to run for the republican nomination. he felt the republican party let him down, that networks and others who sponsored debates unfairly left him out of those debates. so last week he announced that he was now going to try for the nomination of the libertarian party, because first of all, it guarantees him a spot on the bat lol ballot in all 5

gary johnson is a classic example. you know, he's very similar to ron paul.e doesn't -- you know, that's like a deal breaker for a lot of people is the abortion issue. >> john, you've written about ron paul calling him a crank but beloved by supporters. yet we have the polling information that shows him to be slipping in the last few days. what accounts for that? is that people waking up and learning about the newsletters? is it increasing ar door around rick santorum? what's going on in paul world? >> let me just say first, alex, the important way to think about the abortion issue in the republican party, i think it's a litmus test issue which is to say you can't become the republican nominee unless you are anti-abortion. but you have to pass a certain threshold of credibility on that issue and then after that, it ceases to be all that important. we republicans have never nominated the most pro-life candidate in their field. they always nominate someone pro-life enough and appeals to a broader base of conservative i bes. on ron paul, i think some of the crit

besides the obvious gary johnson who on the republican side is going through the motions of the church and prayer thing because they realize that the presidential level it is political suicide? >> guest: i ferociously defended president obama from accusations that he is a muslim, pointing out that he is an atheist like the rest of his party. there probably are some. there are not many rank-and-file conservatives like i say. why? why would you bother being a conservative. life is so easy if you are a liberal. unless you are planning on an afterlife why even bother being a conservative? but politicians bicker and republicans who are probably -- a few compromises but i don't think. >> host: next call for ann coulter from new jersey. >> caller: thanks. i love your book. just started reading "demonic". earlier e-mail, whether or not you had read much or seen much, if you had read about and rand and do you have an opinion on her book and one more question, how come we don't see american feminists worried at all about treatment of women under sharia law. >> guest: great questions. because ame

already got rid of two candidates since we have been going or three, actual fact if you count gary johnsonwe are fulfilling that role. both parties like iowa because it's small enough that they can get around it and the candidates are w. little money can burst through. rick santorum being a prime example of that. big enough that the sample matters. >> shepard: yes, the sample does matter. of course iowa is only a single step in a very long journey. since 1976, get this now, the winner of the iowa caucuses has won the republic nomination half the time. and that said, no one has ever won south carolina without winning iowa or new hampshire. and no one has ever won the white house without winning south carolina. well, iran now and the situation there has become a burning topic for republic candidates. mitt romney said today the greatest threat in all the world is probably a nuclear iran. rick perry, the texas governor who is mostly out of this thing, let's face it. he he said we just won't let iran have a nuclear weapon. today a new show of strength from that islamic republic. military just t

. >> i should let you know that there -- that the news about gary johnson dropping his libertarian partynd endorsing ron paul was a hoax. so -- >> oh -- >> that will happen. >> that will happen. >> live television. >> tell happen. >> i don't know if she made the mistake or a producer. in terms of the lineup on the field here, you know, five unabashed liberals. is that the approach a news network should take? >> well, in 2004 or 2008, i'm sorry, if you remember, they had chris matthews and keith olbermann leading their debate coverage and got huge amount of pushback from people internally at nbc saying, how can we do this, how can we let primetime bleed into what is supposed to be standard news coverage? >> to the point that when it came convention time and election night, msnbc brought david gregory over from the nbc side so a neutral journalist would be in that chair. this time, not only does msnbc go with the commentator -- and they were relatively restrained. you didn't hear that much -- we heard a few things. nobody seems to care. there was no flack about it. >> i think -- i actually

the only person now that gary johnson is out of the race. all of the other cab datas are planning on continuing the global war on terror without any objectives. >> ifill: so let's get down to brass tacks. which of these candidates is saying things that you think you need to hear. >> i look at romney as being a leader. somebody who has step mood situations that weren't necessarily going the right direction. i think he has a great business experience and right now we need to get the economy cranking and get some jobs going. so i think he's well capable of doing that. he's the right guy for this time. >> ifill: so ted f the polls are to be believed, what dennis is saying is what a lot of other new hampshire folks are saying, what are you saying? >>. >> i've listened to mitt. i have linsed to them all. i've met many of them and have talked to them face-to-face. the one that i'm moving towards is newt. i have heard him in the debates. i've talked to him. i have seen him here in new hampshire. and what i see is a bright guy. he has solutions and h

a question concerning gary johnson, the former governor of new mexico. news, an old junkyard dog. he just keeps hanging around and it's too close, he will snappier right on the mind. i am one of those people that became a libertarian in 1980. the reason was that i felt that the republican party had really lost its way. i was one of those that really do believe in small government, efficient government, i felt that the drug war and i still feel the drug war is so unconstitutional. it has ruined this country. it has proved the old concept about power corrupting. host: what is your comment or question for bill kristol? caller: concerning gary johnson, he talked the talk and walk the walk in the republican voters did not follow up on him. just left him in the dirt. i do not understand it. he actually adhered and govern in so-called republican principles. guest: gary johnson was the governor of new mexico and i'm not an expert on how successful he was our was not. if iran is a very strong libertarian. -- he ran as a very strong libertarian. ron paul had more

you look at gary johnson.ormer governor of new mexico, he's said he's going to seek the libertarian nomination. >> does it really matter. >> iowa does matter but there is more than 50 states. frankly, i'm sick and tired of these media people acting like if you lose iowa, you should jump out of the race, that's it. i think that's a fantasy. you live in tennessee, washington state, oregon, the rest of the states, somehow you don't get a opportunity to choose a nominee. you have to get nearly 1,200 delegates to get the nomination. i think it's idiotic for anyone to drop out of the campaign after tomorrow night. you don't know what's going to happen in new hampshire or in south carolina, or in florida. we have to stop this nonsense of putting all the emphasis on one state when there are 49 other states an americans who live in those states and republicans who live in those states who should have the right to choose their nominee, not just the people in a couple of states. >> real quick, about romney and anti-romne

plus, he is making a third party run as a libertarian gary johnson will tell us what impact he thinksly happen? >> yeah, it did. it is a weird story. >> i will tune in to find out more about it. what should you know for the week come up? this will be the most expensive campaign in history which isn't in and of itself a bad thing. you should know also clear this early juncture most of the money will be spent by superpacs that can raise unlimited amounts of money and face loose disclosure requirements. you should know that just in time for martin luther king day tomorrow, interior secretary ken sals cz salazar. you should know the quote as currently appears reads -- i was a drum major for justice peace and righteousness which makes king sound uncharacteristically like a bit of a bragger. but you should know the entire quote is that if you want to say i was a drum major, say i was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness which sounds a lot better. south carolina prepares to hold the primary on saturday, you should know a new poll from james carville and stan greenberg's pollingi