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>>> plus gop candidates just love a good voter i.d.> doing the right thing is to make sure that people who vote have the identification that says you can vote. >> let me ask you the question, if doing the right thing is that, then why don't the gop require i.d.s at the iowa caucus? one of these candidates actually said that marriage is all you need to avoid being poor. you're watching "politics nation" live on msnbc. 9ç 9. >>> ahead, mitt's on top with five days to go under iowa. so why is arririvals acting lik doesn't exist? that's next. argain detergent, but i found myself using three times more than you're supposed to and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. thanks, honey. yeah. you suck at folding. [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] just one cap of tide plus bleach gives you more cleaning power than six caps of the bargain brand. visit facebook.com/tide to learn about special offers. that's my tide. what's yours? what is this shorty? uh, tissues sir, i'm sick. you do

newt gingrich surging to the top of the gop heap. former gop house speaker now the man to beat in iowa. a new nbc poll shows gingrich leading with 26%. mitt romney trails far behind at 18%. and you can count cain out. herman cain as you know suspended his campaign saturday dogged by allegations of sexual harassment and a report that he denies of a 13-year-long affair. >>> a grand jury decided against indicting a mcdonald's worker. two women attacked a cashier over a payment dispute in october. even going behind the counter. that's when another worker grabbed a metal object and started swinging at them. both women suffered head injuries. they face charges for menacing and disorderly conduct. in many, facebook is hiring thousands of new workers. the social networking giant can gearing up to go public next year. that means the company anticipates rapid growth and is expanding its team to keep up. >>> in sports ten people injured at the oklahoma game. they were trampled in a postgame celebration that went awry. let's get i quick check of

>>> the iowa gop debate. who won, who lost? is the race for the gop nomination changed and how might it affect president obama's strategy for 2012? >>> a new nbc marist poll just released, and it shows how the front runners fair against obama in a critical swing state. >>> and will the gop block the bill that could keep $1,000 in the pockets of many families next year? i will talk with congresswoman, maxine waters about that. >>> and then a tree without hoisting it on the car roof. thank you so much for joining us. first up, a brand-new poll. newt gingrich is way out in front in south carolina, and the winner there has captured the nomination in every race since 1980. gingrich has 42% likely support among voters to romney's 23%. and in october, it was a 38-point surge. romney in second with 29%. now these polls also show major problems for the republican party. in florida, president obama still wins over romney and gingrich in the hypothetical match-ups there. the president has 48% support to romney's 41, and 51% to gingrich's

text "a" for the gop nominee, text "b" for president obama. to 622639. we'll bring you the results later on in the program. go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com and leave a comment as well. let's turn to my friends in the radio world, sirius xm radio talk show host joe madison, and sindh kate syndicated raid you talk show host bill press. why am i the only one with the holiday tie on? get it together. come on, now. i'm out here with the red -- >> next time, next time. >> maybe because you're at rock center, ed, where the big tree is so you have to dress up. >> that's true. they even tried to hang lights on me the other night. all right. bill, you first. is there room for the democrats to be a little optimistic because there might be a long drawn-out fight? what do you think? >> no, no way. listen, you got it right, ed. i mean, these guys have one thing in common. doesn't matter who they are. michele bachmann, rick santorum, crazy ron paul, they all have one thing in common. they hate barack obama, they're out to get barack obama. they may be fighting among the

the gop wants to get that message out. this comes against a backdrop a for tough day for house republicans. "the wall street journal" wrote a scathing editorial saying they had botched this. they should pass the senate bill and move on. bob corker has said let's get this two-month extension and move on. against this backdrop a lot of folks in the higher end part of the republican party saying this fight is not worth it because the president is win, they're here in washington perceiving to work. what's going to happen today is after this meeting they'll sit around in d.c. the conferees waiting for negotiators to come from the democratic senate. democrats chris van hollen and steny hoyer are going to go to the house and ask to pass the bill with unanimous consent. if you want to talk on the house floor you can and try to move something. basically we end up where we've been for this last week. it's a stalemate and 160 million working americans could see $1,000 disappear from their paychecks if nothing is done. who blinks firs

there is still plenty of contenders in the field for the gop nomination. do you feel confident that the vetting process that's going on now will be effective in picking a candidate that will be successful for a republican against the president and do you think it's going to be drawn out as long as everyone predicts? many people say using proportion ale delegate social security going to mean this race could go right up to the convention. >> the proportionality rules only extended the primary or elongated the primary for 30 days. that's all we're talking about. so in month of march, states have to award delegates proportionately starting on april 1, you can have winner take all states. we've had proportional state voting for a long time. now, how long do i think it will last? i don't know. but i do think, to your first point, the vetting is very good for our process. i think primaries work. i think they make us stronger. hillary clinton, barak obama, they tore each other apart 'til the end of june and guess what? barak obama won pretty easily. took a congres

. 11 days after announcing he would moderate the news max gop debate.but here's how he's spinning it. >> they want me to announce that i won't run as an independent candidate, and i won't do that because if the republicans pick the wrong person i would in fact seriously consider running, but because of the fact that the republicans are upset and because of the fact that i refuse to give up the possibility of running as an independent candidate, i've decided to cancel the debate. i don't want to waste a lot of newt's time or rick santorum's time or donald trump's time. >> really. really? you don't want to waste time. i've got two words for you, donald -- >> you're fired. >> jonathan, you just talked to donald trump yesterday. >> yeah, yesterday. >> what did he tell you about the debate then? >> well, then he told me, because i -- as i wrote today, i felt a tremor in the force. something told me that donald trump could possibly pull out of debate given all of the criticism that he was getting and news max was getting and also because there was no one show

new gop front-runner newt gingrich quotes donald trump in new york. >>> just right. scientists discover the most earth-like planet yet in the so-called goldilocks zone. >>> pet pizzazz, check out a new holiday trend that's going toth. good morning everyone, i'm lynn berry, those stories and more are straight ahead on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with an empire state of mind. as gop presidential hopefuls make the most of the final few weeks before the iowa caucus cusses. newt gingrich took his campaign to new york. the most recent republican front-runner reached out for some bright light, big city report. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: newt gingrich is on a role in iowa and new hampshire, but he spent the day in new york, hoarding the support of donald trump. >> i think one of the differences between my party and the other party is we actually go to people who know how to create jobs. >> it was a great honor to have newt up here. it's amazing how well he's doing. >> reporter: the former speaker is cultivating a tea party hour base that grew stronger over

too bad we don't have some dude running named gop candidateel and be on top. and hope they can bring out what he represents and what obama represents. the socialist policies that are bankrupting this policy. we have to make sure the candidate that emerges from the primary understand that we want passion, that we want fiery, not just rhetoric, but solutions that are proposed and experiences been expressed to make sure that we undo what obama has done to this country. >> and jay carney, by the way, says the white house is not very focused on the republican race. do you buy that? >> no. you know, a lot of republicans live in jay carney's and barack obama's minds free of charge. it's interesting to live there rent free and kind of put some pressure on them as we go forward in talking about the changes that need to be made in this country. you know, remember too, sean, we have a distinct advantage going into the 2012 race that we did not have in '08. obama finally has a record. he did not have a record when he ran as a candidate in '08. he had a lot of hogwash rhet

it was a gop debate in tampa back in december.erry for ordering the vaccination of young schoolgirls in texas to guard against hpv. then the next morning, she was asked about it and repeated what she was told by a woman the night before. here it is. >> i had a mother last night come up to me, here in tampa, florida, after the debate. she told me that her little daughter took that -- took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter. >> i thought the worst part about it was repeating such a scurrilous rumor. >> yeah, the irresponsibility of that. there are many children, of course, that get vaccines for all sorts of things. i know that this is a source of contention for some people, but to tell people as a presidential candidate that this particular vaccine causes mental retardation, based on what, some woman who came up to you at the the end of a debate and blurted this out? that's the height of irresponsibility. >> and medical professionals say they're forever fighting this online. >> i think

the how gop met today as a conference.to a member who went in there who said the leadership informed him they may not have the votes to pass a republican bill. the reason being they have an ideological opposition to extending the tax cut holiday, because they see it as a temporary band-aid. that all being said, it's believed the addition of the keepstone pipeline will get enough republicans on board, because they'll be seeing as being a pro-jobs growth agenda. that's the road to 217, there's been a a divide, and it's going to not be the easiest slam dunk, but it is expected to pass. le to what harry reid said about it on the floor of the united states senate. >> we have to understand as i explained to the speaker today, we're going to have to do this together. this ideological candy that they've added to this bill is not going to sell over here. >> that is the keystone pipeline. it's been a three-year study on the environment effects, but a lot of democrats say this is not the time and place for a vote. that should not be

did they reel in the gop in a trap? >> well, i was amused by speaker gingrich's statement that obama is inept. the president has inepted his way into having the republicans go over the edge of a cliff here. to answer your question i don't think that david plouffe, who is the political strategist at the white house who first floated this idea of a two-month extension, i heard about it on tuesday, wrote about it on tuesday. i think i was the first to do so. that was -- they were putting it out there right then. i can't say that they thought when they did that that it would be a perfect way to back the republicans that a corner, but that's the way it's turned out. i think plouffe and company at the white house just wanted to pass an extension of the payroll tax cut because they are concerned about the economy. they didn't want it at christmas time. they didn't want to kill what looks like a creeping but real recovery. i don't think it was a machiavellian plot, but it certainly worked out to their advantage. >> here's the p

coming up on "hardball," the gop circular firing squad.er taxes but first nothing says merry christmas like a barrage of political ads and we're lured ari melber in for the daily rant. s of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. easy. name some things that aren't on your list. jumper cables, camo anything, a power drill -- ooh! [ male announcer ] the only place to go for every guy on your christmas list with great deals throughout the store. walmart. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you up to thousands of doll

there's a problem right now for the house gop leadership on this issue, the payroll tax cut extensionse that last week they had to formulate what their message was going to be. john boehner at first said he didn't know what the economic impact was. later on he said, there's no question that the payroll tax cut extension will be good for the economy. there's now a belief within the house gop leadership you have to pass this especially going on to an election year because republicans do not want to be seen as being responsible for raising taxes on the working class heading into election year. the problem though has been with this issue is that the rank and file they see it as paul ryan, the house gop budget chairman once called the payroll tax extension a sugar high. it's not a substantiative tax cut. there should be something more. this is a temporary fix that's going to add to the debt. that issue has been agreed to the leadership realizes they can't do anything that would hurt them politically. they have to figure out a way forward on this and the red meat would come from spending an

what is newt saying -- is this what the base of the gop want to hear? >> i don't know if it's what they want. but they do respond so this sort of demonization of the poor. you can only take him at what he says. you can't say, what he meant was -- i can only analyze what the man says. and he's saying that these very poor kids don't have anyone around them who works. that is not true. >> hold one minute. you wrote accurately, 3 out of 4 people living below the poverty line have a job. this is in your column. >> absolutely. >> i quoted some data on friday night. but i was glad that you put it in "the new york times" on saturday because most -- not most, but a lot of people don't understand that people that are poor are not necessarily people that don't work. >> absolutely. and what newt was saying was they don't have a habit of getting up and going to work on monday and staying all day. that's probably true because they have a habit of getting up at night and working all night and working on the weekends because a 9:00 to 5:00 monday to friday is actually

big development in the gop race. it looks like someone is dropping out tomorrow, but you don't have to wait until to find out. that candidate is here live tonight. you don't want to miss it. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. lord of the carry-on. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can en take a full-size or above. and still pay th mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. >> shannon: right now all eyes are on iowa but jon huntsman are setting sights on new hampshire. he is in all all the way in new hampshire. i spoke with the governor just a short time ago. thank you for joining us, great to have you with us? >> glad to be with you. >> shannon: i have to ask you about iowa. earlier on it wasn't the place, you weren't going to spend a lot of time, any regrets? >> no regrets, nothing against the voters in iowa

questioned by a panel of three gop state attorneys general on policy differences. newt gingrich for his part defended his plan to have citizen boards determine which immigrants might be allowed to stay in the u.s.. he said those panels would be more trustworthy than washington bureaucrats. >> thank you. huckabee had his forum this morning we have our own later i'll talk to three state attorneys general about immigration, health care and the 2012 election. >> with a lot of prayer and soul-searching, i am suspending my presidential campaign. >> atlanta businessman herman cain says after a lot of soul-searching he has moved on to plan b. joining us one of his chief campaign advisers. niger innis we have a bit of a delay. i want to start by asking how tough was this decision was and know how tough the spotlight would be on the national stage? >> e he knew how tough it was going to be. -- i think he dealt with it brilliantly. i would advice your viewers to go to the u.s.a. today interactive poll released last night and what it showed was compelling. in spite of the mont

he needs a blank check. >> the biggest single impediment is the gop leadership.what happened just to try to get $1,000 payroll tax cut. the gop leadership almost sabotaged their entire party by being so intransient and i will tell you that we won't through a scorching debate over this four months ago. i mean, i don't think anybody's memory is that short, that royaled the financial market, cost us our triple a rating. we got a deal that was the best deal we could get and that's appropriate. the debt creel something a -- ceiling is something that we pay our bills. what we need to do is a mixture of spending cuts and tax increases. the president is willing to do that. this congress has been unwilling to do that. >> eric: jonathan, somehow, somehow the white house turned the dialogue around and took credit for keeping taxes lower. how in the world are they -- did they win that perception that they were for lowering payroll taxes and looked like the right was holding up a tax? >> i think what the house republicans were trying to do on the policy side was actually righ

would you be comfortable with him as the gop candidate?marijuana above a certain quantity of marijuana and yet he is among 100 million americans who smoke marijuana. so i've advocated since 1999 legalizing marijuana. now 50% of americans support that notion. i would love to have a discussion with him on the fact that he smoked pot and under the wrong set of circumstances he proposed the death penalty for something potentially that he had committed? i have troubles with that. >> pot smoking aside, i'm not sure that's going to be on the forefront. but what i would like to ask you is why you think every gop front-runner has collapsed so far. >> well t. is, it is a focus. it's a process of where the light shines on you and you get the scrutiny and survive it or you move forward. it's been kind of a whack a mole process to this point. i wish the light would have shined on me. it didn't. newt gingrich over the last four years collected $36 million in consulting fees from various corporations. isn't this the problem that we have in this country?

is this is gop or will the democrats feel some of the hurt here?> i think everybody's going to feel the hurt. congress's approval rating is 11%. the comments might be right that the american people blame republicans for it. i think over the last year when washington's gridlocked what we've seen is when the american people blame republicans they throw up their hands and say they're all terrible. for democrats particularly for the president if you don't have the payroll tax cut extended you should shave half a percentage point off of growth next year, what's called a fiscal drag. that's going to be very bad for his re-election campaign and for that channel for house democratic re-election campaigns. >> some numbers we're very familiar with. if this does not pass, if it ends december 31st, this is what people will lose. if you earn $50,000 your taxes will rise by $1,000. if you make up to $125,000 per household you will see your taxes rise by over $2200. when we look at what's happening right now, the vote was supposed to happen on this, why didn't th