it's gop civil war. >> stephen: yes, gop civil war. of course, the first thing they'll have to fight over is which side gets the confederate flag. [laughter] so, as a conservative, i guess i have to choose sides. karl and i have had some good times, we buried that hooker. [laughter] but deep down, my heart is with the tea party. well, maybe not my heart. what organ produces bile. gall bladder, i guess. i don't know. i believe that republicans can not wuss out here. they need to charge ahead and take even more conservative positions. forget embracing latinos, we need a program to shoot them into space. [laughter] let's give them a pathway to low orbit. gays shouldn't be allowed to marry, or vote. i for one don't want sloppy seconds on their lever-yanking. and i believe all women should have mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds before they can get a driver's license. [laughter] hey, nobody's happy with their picture anyway. now are these extreme positions? maybe. can we really win the election by giving the voters more of what they didn't

why isn't it your gop? >> i am not in the gop. >> we have to be able to win elections.here is a bunch of reasons why we don't win elections. i don't buy we have to become more libertarian to win elections. i don't know what the magic sauce is at this point. it is about the candidate, the guy delivering the message. yes, i think there are things we can do to change the message, but at the end of the day the messenger, people vote on who they want to have a beer with. it is a really light, low bar. i think we have to have candidates that can deliver a powerful message and who are also willing to be stronger. i think the romney campaign demonstrated it in ways that were too timid, and they thought the campaign would be more about obama, and we didn't have any idea that we were pushing for him. >> tom, what do you think? does the gop need to be what rand paul considers more tolerant or less tolerant or keep the same amount of tolerance? >> i think everybody is right here. rand paul is right that the gop should stress libertarian principals. anne is right when she says holde

that plays to the gop as well., in many cases will say a pox on both their houses, there's an equivalence where the democrats are as bad as the republicans. >> in one sense they're not. i want to quickly go through a little bit of the pew poll. the assessment is fascinating. the opinion of the gop by the general public is at a 20-year low, 33% favorable, 58% unfavorable. who's out of touch with the american people. 62% says the republicans are. only 46% say the dems, and who's too extreme? 52% said the gop, 39% say dems. is it a pox on both their houses or is the gop successful to sam's point in a micro sense because they're getting their way, but in a macro sense they're damaging the republican brand. >> don't guess agrdisagree with. >> you're a hard man to disagree with. i think there are a lot of folks in the gop that we talked about, preeb pleeb raince priebus's memo. they're worried about that. the party does seem able to a general sense turn fast after it loses elections. we're talking about immigration which

ron paul is the gop man of the moment., he's the life of the party and the views on civil rights, religion and the role of government are all way out there. but he's not going away. >> how seriously are you looking at 2016? >> we're looking at it very seriously. i think our party needs something new, fresh and different. >> and then u there's texas senator ted cruz. the man who called president obama the most radical president we've ever seen. and he'll be front and center at the rnc event this weekend with some of the parties biggest leaders. but senator mccain is not a big fan of either tea party star. when "the huffington post" asked if they were a party to either star, he paused for six seconds and said "they were elected. nobody believes there was a corrupt election. anything else"? but i always believe it's the whacko birds on the right and the left that get the media megaphone. whacko birds? this is a party at war. and now that the rnc is going after carl rove's plan to target unelected presidents. >> historically,

gop easterring? >> we're a little bit too math focused and not focused in people's hearts so that we don't relate to, i think, average americans more than we should. stuffy, old guys too much. and it really is painful to hear, because reality is we've got a very young party. >> after failing to win the white house five months ago, the republican party has begun a $10 million analysis of how to resurrect itself. the party especially wants to reach minority voters who voted by huge margins for president obama last november. 93% of african americans. 73% of asian americans. 71% of hispanic americans. the gop is holding listening sessions across the country to figure out why minority voters were turned off by the party's 2012 message. it's also sending canvass to areas republicans rarely go. by order of republican national chairman the party has issued a blunt assessment of its problem that details why when it comes to the presidential level the party leaves the impression that it, quote, not care about

a new gop. the thing is this debate will be happening over the next couple years and we won't find out where the republican party is for a while. democrats were just in this position after losing the 2004 election. they had very big debates, particularly over the iraq war in 2005, 2006. then everything was settled. we'll see where republicans are come 2015 and 2016. >> mark murray, good to see you. let's bring in radio talk show host michael smerconish who is also with msnbc and jonathan from american cross roads. thank you for being with me. jonathan, let me start with you. this is what rnc chair reince priebus said. >> focus groups describe our party as narrow minded, out of touch and, quote, stuffy old men. the perception that we're the party of the rich, unfortunately continues to grow. that's frustrating. because we care about every voter. >> what does this plan do? what does plan do to change those perceptions at least? >> i think it is a very, very good start. a very good framework of wha

what does the gop need to do to attract more >>> if mr. paul wants to be taken seriously you, he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressional libertarian kids in it their college dorms. >> the gop of old has grown stale and moss covered. i don't think we need to name any names, do we? >> chris: republican senators john mccain and rand paul trading some pretty tough shots about paul's recent filibuster over the president's drone policy. and it is time for the sunday group. bill kristol of the weekly standard. nina easton from fortune magazine. the founder of americanroads karl rove and democratic strategist joe trippi. bill, you have an editorial in the latest issue of the weekly standard in which you say that rand paul is wrong on natural security as a matter of policy and politics. why, especially is he wrong on a matter of politics? >> because the republican party to the degree it has been a successful party and important party and contributory american well being over the last 50-60 years has been so in large pa

how will the establishment and the gop handle this?know, it's just a strange, strange thing for her to be doing. as you're watching that clip, you have to remind yourself, this is paid for by sarah palin's pack. she's raising money to produce a campaign video like this but hasn't held elected office for run for anything since she quit as governor. so it's just weird. what is is she doing? why is she producing this campaign-style web video? she points out that it's 20 months before an election. but what election? is she going to run for something? i think she has no idea what her place is in politics right now. she's just kind of out in the wind right now. she always defines herself for those that she's opposed to. first it was liberals and now it's karl rove and so i guess good luck to them. >> you know, angela, some powerful conservatives, though, dobt right her off. john mccain says there are many candidates who request the campaign for them. kelly ayotte says she still has an ability to ignite activists. it's not the last of her. ne

so what is the gop's 2012 lesson? # also.epublican senator rob portman used to oppose gay marriage until his son told him he was gay. until a personal issue came on, a family issue, he didn't have the same position. now portman has had a change of heart that all politics is local and as many people come out in terms of orientation, more americans will be accepting of same-sex marriage. >>> plus, we know gop wants president obama to fail, will do anything to make sure he fails that. and no new taxes is all they can really agree on. but why hasn't president obama offered the republicans a deal from his point of view? his version of a grand bargain? will it force the republicans to say no and walk away from the table? he han done that yet. donald trump tweeted yesterday, really big krourd expected at cpac. here's the really big crowd. this morning, an overflowing audience filled with empty chairs. that's hardball. we're playing it. this is the place for it. [ nyquil bottle ] you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers... [ tylen

hired former gop chair dave hansen to help explore options.t in november by a little less than 1 percentage point. >>> more news from the political play grooup includingoverbial p of town at the same time. a president and vice president rarely leave country at the same time. on tuesday, president obama scheduled on a trip to the middle east, and vice president joe biden, i mentioned, arriving shortly in rome. expected to be at the vatican all day tuesday for the papal inauguration. depending on flight times, there's a good possibility that the top dogs in washington will be gone simultaneously. >>> kind of looks like the keys to the white house already got left to the kids. take a look at that. it was michelle obama, though, who suggested the fountains on the north and south lawns were d dyed green to mark st. patrick's day today. >>> and an encore. watching barney frank take the broadway stage for a one-week appearances in a play, we've learned frank has another retirement plan up his had sleeve. the outspoken democrat just printed an opinion

does the gop need to recognize and respond to a war weariness in the country?think the drone issue and war we areness are two totally different issues. rand paul's war and drones is a war on a pretty successful fight against terrorism right now. i'm not sure where that gets us. i agree with bill that the gop doesn't lose by being a strong party of national security. what we -- what the republicans lost were moderates new election. thin in the 56% of moderates self-described moderates went to barack obama not to the party. those are the people you need to get back. you will not do it by a drone going after drones. you will do it by not making comments about "legitimate rape or you need to appeal to single women. you need to appeal to people at the bottom of the economic ladder, by, which the way, we heard a lot of as cpac. you heard that from a number of the speakers there. >> chris: everybody agrees legitimate rape was stupid and that if there is a child out of a rape that is what god intended. but does it -- in a more subtle way, rand paul talks about that you

gop. get it? a blistering report based on 52,000 voter contacts. and the respondents apparently didn't mince their words. >> focus groups described our party as narrow minded. out of touch. and, quote, stuffy old men. >> by the way, it's reince priebus' birthday today. happy 41 years to you, young sir. back to stuffy old men, and as therapists like to say, admitting you have a problem is is the first step. and if packaging is partly the issue, former florida governor jeb bush pointed out, there's not a lot of love for gop policies, either. >> all too often, we're associated with being anti-everything. way too many people believe republicans are anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-science, anti-gay, anti-worker, and the list goes on and on and on. >> oh, it certainly does. and if that weren't enough, in what's perhaps the gop's biggest challenge, many republicans right now are anti-each other. case in point, keynote speaker an rising star, senator ted cruz. taking on party elder, john mccain. >> we did have a certain eminence greze of the republican pa

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. >> ahead, inside president obama's tough new plan to shame the gop into a deal. he's daring them to defie his wishes. plus, mr. 47% is back. but another republican is making real news today. this gop civil war is just getting started. >>> and congressman john nuers here of the civil rights movement moved to tears by an apology. why a march from selma to montgomery was not a commemoration but a continuation. big show ahead. stay with us. vo: always one step ahead with an intuitive motion activated lid and seat, bold makes sure you'll never have to ask him again. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. [ sigh of relief ] we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally. >>> have

after all, the gop has been so welcoming. just take the gop conference chairwoman.he told her colleagues that they should not take pictures of the president or ask him for his autograph. don't get too close, he might bite. and then there's congressman ryan. just listen to his reaction to the president's so have called charm offensive. >> it didn't come across as terribly charming to me. the question is, is he going to go out on the campaign trail and start campaigning against us again like he has been since the election? was the so-called charm offensive a temporary poll-driven political calculation? or was it a sincere conversion to try and bring became together? >> hm. suddenly mr. let's repeal health care is the authority on sincerity. how about that. just listen to what congressman mccarthy has to say about the president. >> i'll bet you this. i bet you he spends more time filling out his march madness brackets than he does writing a budget. >> wow. with news views like that no wonder the meeting was tense. the truth is the gop's real policemen with the presiden

and ever since they lost the election, the gop has been flailing around for answers. no one has flailed harder than republican national committee chairman and unsolved jumble puzzle, reince priebus. [laughter] by the way, the solution to that jumble? crisp bee urine. [laughter] look it up. look it up. [ laughter ] right after the election, mr. urine convened a panel of republican leaders called the "growth and opportunity project" to study why they lost. or as he put it: >> you've got to do a full autopsy. >> stephen: yes, a full autopsy. [laughter] it's the natural thing to do when you've got candidates this cold and stiff. [laughter] well, the panel released its autopsy last week, and good news, there are multiple causes of death! [laughter] >> our message was weak. our ground game was insufficient. we weren't inclusive. focus groups described our party as "narrow minded," "out of touch," and "stuffy old men." i'm only 41 by the way. [laughter] >> stephen: yeah, he's only 41! he's a stuffy middle-aged man! [laughter] and while the autopsy says that republicans need

he wrote an article about the gop, joan, and he told me this.ecently asked a smart veteran republican pollster what his party could do to turn his party around in the near future and his response was refreshingly honest. nothing. the republican brand will improve, he continued, only when the president screws up. hope the president screws up? i mean, that's the political strategy? doesn't sound like much of a national agenda to me. >> it goes right back to the leader of the republican party, rush limbaugh and what he said on the eve of the president's first inauguration, reverend al. he said, i hope he fails. and that has been their strategy and when the president has had hard times, they kind of come back and when he does a good job, which is what he mostly does, they are in big trouble. they sit around hoping that the economy gets worse. it's too late now because the president got reelected overwhelmingly, they did everything in their power just hoping that the american people would say, hey, 8% unemployment, we can't rehire this guy but we did

. >> okay, gop is old. is that the answer to the gop? >> the gop of old has grown stale and moss covered. >> the gop. or grand old party, is just that. old. so says kentucky senator rand paul, age 50. paul gained international status when he filibustered for 13 hours the white house's legal rationale for drone killing. paul's filibuster took heat from republican old guard members like john mccain who referred to paul as a, quote unquote, wacko bird. in fact, paul was the star at cpac, the conservative political action conference held two weeks ago. cpac is a testing ground for politicians eyeing a run. this year was no different. president in ng for president i 2016. ng for president in 20ng the strathe paul, 25%. marco rubio, florida paul, 25%. marco rubio, 23%. rick santorum, former 23%. rick santorum, former 23%. rick sdespite not being invited cpac. paul ryan, wisconsidespite not presvice scott walker, wisconsi governor, 5%. scott walker, car maryland johns hopkins carson, ted cruz, 4%. ted cruz, bobby jindal, louisiana governor, 3%.

but would fewer debates and earlier convention really fix what is wrong with the gop? >>> plus, we'll go to jerusalem for more on the president's meetings today and learn about israel's iron dome. [ male announcer ] i've seen incredible things. otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪ ♪ 'cause germs don't stick on me ♪ [ female announcer ] band-aid brand has quiltvent technology with air channels to let boo boos breathe. [ giggles ] [ female announcer ] quiltvent technology, only from band-aid brand. use with neosporin first aid antibiotic. ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go f

no gop approximate the has balanced the budget since nixon.is a fair i didn't six from our republican friends? >> no, they have in the balanced any buts. bill clinton and the republicans in congress balanced the budget, but that's because the economy was growing in 1990s. i was there, i know it. it was balance -way before anybody expected it to be balanced. there is nothing that is particularly important about balancing the budget. it sounds good, but you don't really want the budget to be balanced if you have a lot of people who are unemployed or under utilize examines city. there's no reason to balance the budgets on the backs of the poor and if it means sacrificing investments in education job training, research and development, infrastructure. those are investments in future growth, the future of our country. we don't want to reduce those investments for the sake of some totem which is called balanced budgets. >> you pointed out to the gop leadership is held hostage by the tea party. when john boehner said we don't have a long term debt pr

he's reaching out directly to gop lawmakers, gop rank and file. in fact, he even took a few of them out for dinner. a thumbs up from republican senators after a swanky dinner meeting with president obama. the dozen gop lawmakers dined on the president's dime. >> all i can say is we had a very good evening. i appreciate it very much really. you'll have to grab somebody else. >> reporter: do you think the conversations will continue? >> oh, yes, sure. >> reporter: the dinner was the latest in an outreach effort. by president obama to rank and file republicans. the president has been meeting with gop lawmakers at the white house and will address their caucuses on capitol hill next week. for mr. obama the approach is a shift from the combative tone he sometimes used in the past. the president hopes greater communication can lead to bipartisan cooperation, and it just might be working. >> his goal is ours. we want to stop careening from crisis to crisis. >> reporter: the dinner came just hours after house republicans passed their plan to prevent a gove

and gop opposition to immigration reform is falling away.e still facing a tougher fight on things like gun control. but the president's progressive agenda is already taking shape and even the gop's getting on board. joining me now is angela and abby huntsman. thank you both for coming on this show. >> thank you, rev. >> angie, why are we seeing a shift on these issues? >> well, it's political expediency as the country continues to shift demographically, as the country continues to evolve like the president, you're going to continue to see a change in the gop's politics. they can't afford to be as conservative and right leaning as they once were. >> abby, your dad took grief for taking some positions. now i see rand paul defending his stance on immigration, of all places, fox news. take a listen. >> people like coulter and limbaugh say that you are being suckered. >> what we have now is de-facto amnesty. here's another news flash. we haven't been too competitive in the last two national elections. >> what do you say when you hear rand paul sa

we don't need a gop autopsy. csi unit to figure out whose fingerprints are all over this crime. republicans claim they are trying to reinvent their brand

well, what about the gop's savior marco rubio. is he ready to lead?we need action for example, to engage in the global economy, through fair trade, but we also need to engage in the world, if we're living in a global economy, america must wise in how it uses its influence. >>> not exactly lighting up the crowd, but look out, establishment. she's back! sarah palin was greeted like a rock star when he took the stage over the weekend. the conservative crowd loved it. >> no background checks, bad idea, mr. president. should have started with yours. oh, bloomberg's not around, our big gulp is safe. we're cool. it's just pop with low-cal ice cubes in it. i hope that's okay. >>> so the half-term governor turned reality tv star turns fox newscastoff is the life of the party. does the gop have a problem? you betcha. joins me here on set is lauren ash burn and ryan grim. lauren, what does it say about the state of the gop when sarah palin is getting that reaction? >> she livened up that crowd. as a person who spent the day listening to rubio and ryan -- >> that

what should the gop do? one last point.e youth vote is in favor of gay marriage. >> they are. if you're under 40 it's not an issue for you. they think it should be done. what is challenging for us, the older the party is, the more they think it should not be allowed. there are people who would be okay with a union or partnership agreement. if you didn't have a long relationship you can't see the person you love the most in the hospital or rights like that. this is a real challenge. at the base of the party it is a religious issue or moral issue. >> as campaign marriage of a former governor and presidential candidate, do you see that? >> no. i think at the end of the day for me, marriage is defined not only between a man and woman but a religious issue. i think that's where the base is. >> it's a moral issue of people who support it. >> religious and moral issue. there is movement. new york, for example, republicans contributed to passing a guy marriage law. just a question. >> one second. the important point here, pardon me

is reince priebus right or is the gop missing the message here?bring back chris co phone us and guy benson. chris, i go to you on this. because i think that the republicans are doing exactly the wrong thing in a lot of places right now. you've got the chairman of the house budget committee, call paul ryan, a very smart guy, used to be a follower of jack kemp. he argues austerity. he says if you balance the budget, the economy will grow. i say you will balance the budget if the economy does grow through lower taxes and lower regulations and more opportunity. i think they've got it back-assward it my point. >> listen, they have a lot of problems, okay? and you saw these come glaring out in the last electric. there is a demographic problem. when you have to do a report that says we need to speak to minorities more, you've got a problem. and i think in policy -- they have a significant challenge. the challenge is, the american people doesn't buy what they're selling. i think part of what you're saying is right. it's not just a tonal shift. that's too

the new gop will need to embrace liberty in both the economic and the personal sphere. if we're going to have a republican party that can win, liberty needs to be the backbone of the gop. >> rand paul wasn't the only one at the cpac taking a swipe at the old guard. governor rick perry, remember him? gave an animated speech as he took on the credentials of the last two candidates for president. >> the narrative is this country has shifteded away from conservative ideals as evidenced by the last two presidential elections. that's what they think. that's what they say. that might be true if republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012. might be true. >> now, today, it's congressman paul ryan's chance to address the conference. donald trump and wayne lapierre and mitt romney speaking today. on saturday, headliners include sarah palin and ted cruz of texas. >>> no topic was off the table during president obama's separate meetings with senate republicans and house democrats. the talks covered everything from gun violence and immigration to trade

let's watch them. >> the gop of old has grown stale and moss covered. i don't think we need to name any names. >> we don't need a new idea. there is an idea. the idea is called america. and it still works. >> what in the world does this first guy talk -- first, he's out there, rand paul, like he's elected for a couple months and comes out there and immediately slams, guess who? who's he trashing? >> take your pick, mitch mcconnell, mitt romney. >> john mccain. >> john mccain is who he's -- >> look at the division here. >> wait a minute. get to this point. let's let him have his point. here's the guy, new voice of the republican party, he and the guy from texas, ted cruz, trashing all the people that have been there before him. >> right. but he's out there saying, we need new ideas. what is the new idea? it's liberty. marco rubio says we have good ideas. what's the good idea? america. this is the big debate in the party. liberty versus america. >> don't the democrats have america, too? >> where are they going with this? >> they have liberty. >> is it lib

do you think that the gop has just decided to heck with public opinion?> i don't think the gop has but i really think that unfortunately the speaker is beholden to this clique within his conference of the tea party members who come from very safe gerrymandered districts and unwilling to budge and to be speaker he has to placate them and i don't think it's something he's eager to do and i think at heart more of a pragmatist but led by the majority of the members and they're willing to really i think expose to great risk the moderate members of the gop in the house to take this extreme position and it will probably take as the president says these members hearing from the public as the pain of the sequester goes in to effect before they'll be willing to come to the table and get to yes. >> democratic congressman schiff of california, good to see you, sir. >> good to see you. >>> after his meeting at the white house, david gregory sat down with speaker boehner and talked about what happened behind closed doors. >> as we sit here friday afternoon, you have em

and now the gop has a civil war on its hands.ative national review is calling its recommendations shallow and opportunistic. donald trump is in on the act tweeting that the report was written by the ruling class of consultants who blew the election. short on ideas, just giving excuses to donors. that's right. even calling for the heads of the establishment. >> reince priebus was the head of the republican national committee when romney lost. why hasn't he been fired? karl rove ran the biggest independent pac in america, or one of them. he won 1.3% of his races. these losers are not going to save the republican party. >> wow. they usually save that kind of hate for democrats. but, of course, the loudest voice is coming from the most narrow minded of all the stuffy old men. you know who i mean. >> so the republicans think that what they have to do in order to stop being criticized or mischaracterized is to get rid of what people are criticizing. they don't understand that they're being suckered into participating in their own offic

we have done at, terrific thing within the gop. we are doing an excellent job at ensuring that in the top tiers of our party, there is sufficient diversity. we know all too well about tim scott, colin powell, condoleezza rice, allen west, and many others. this is an inequitable equation because we have diversity at the top of the party, but part in the soul the party still does not reflect a sufficient measure -- the heart and soul of the party still does not reflect a sufficient measure of diversity. we will use the persuasive force of our ideas alone to ensure that we are winning hearts and minds to our cause. the persuasive force of our ideas alone, no political promises, no tricks, no gimmicks, no political gestures, merely good and sound ideas that will win the hearts and minds of the american people. we know that we are the party that believes individuals are best suited to determine their future, and not government. we believe that economic freedom, entrepreneurship, and free-market principles will ensure success for every a

my question is simple, can the gop pull it off or will it get split in half? think that the gop, it's healthy what is happening that we are looking at what happened in the last election. and being the party for everyone. i think one of the things that was really telling for me, is that we lost the who cares about me provision. if you look at the exit polling and our principals apply to everyone. you think of free market principals, upward mobility and fiscal responsibility and it appeals to young people who are going to be burdened with the debt that is going to happen with what the democrats want and the president wants for the fiscal state of the country. absolutely this is a party where our principals apply to everyone. and they go back to the american principals of what made the country great. >> worked for reagan years ago and he was a believer in the big ten, what you are describing and others are describing is a return to the big ten. but just let me ask you, is it clear now, it sounds like it, rand paul gave a speech. is the gop committed to an immigra

well, the bigger problem right now is within the gop.d we see that because we see the gop frankly at war with itself. we don't see this in the democratic party right now. and what it is tea party wing that wants to cut at any cost. it is giving the republican brand a brand that stands for nothing but cutting, nothing but austerity and frankly, putting job growth as a secondary priority. i think it will cost them dearly in 2014. but frankly, i'm not interested in waiting until 2014 when american families are hurting right now and people are looking for jobs. yet i think it's a real price and i'd love to be in the majority again. but i don't want to have to go through another year and a half of this kind of manmade economic crisis when we can have a -- frankly, a more thoughtful reasonable bipartisan plan that would get americans working again, that would get our growth up to 3%, 4%, 5% instead of an anemic 1 % or 2%. and that means the difference between potentially hundreds of thousands, millions of americans working or not working. and

. >> michael: to the gop wants to salvage their image.re they going to do it with stuff like to? >> right. that's exactly it. it's not the way that they communication, it's what they are communicating. and as long as the republican party has a tea party that has as much control as opposed to the establishment republicans, and others who may want to moderate the par city little bit, you have this convergence of message where you have the tea party that wants to take the country back in terms of racial inequality, and denying women equal rights and until the republican establishment can figure out a way to satisfy the tea party to get them to change their minds about some of these issues, the republicans civil war is going to continue for a while. >> michael: it is what they are talking about that is so unpleasant to many americans, and when they give ground to the tea partiers that is just going to drag them down further. now he is proposing a different primary system. will something like that fly? >> this is really a matter fore the state

what is the gop establishment? maverick john mccain might have been on the wrong side of this one. >> interesting. i'll stay with you as we switch gears here. we're going to take a bit from the president's weekly address talking about his gop meeting. >> earlier this week, for example, i met with some republican senators to see there were smarter ways to grow our economy and reduce our deficits than the arbitrary cuts and the so-called sequester that recently went into place. we had an open and honest conversation about critical issues like immigration reform and gun violence and other areas where we can work together to move this country forward. >> so, there appears to be some goodwill, genuine appreciation. the president reached out which he's not known for doing in the first term. did anything concrete happen in those first meetings? >> it's hard for us to tell. we know what they ate but we don't really know what they said. the white house is closely guarding the details of this meeting. and even many of the re

. >>> the shock announcement from a leading gop figure. how is his support for gay marriage playing in today's big conservative conference? good morning, everyone and welcome to "weekends with alex witt." let's get to what's happening right now. in a surprise move the pentagon is beefing up u.s. missile defense systems in response to north korea's latest threat. defense secretary chuck hagel hinted north korea had made faster than expected progress on nuclear weapons and missiles. joining me now live from the white house, nbc's kristen welker. a very sobering good saturday morning to you. what's the latest we know about this? >> alex, that's right. it is a sober saturday morning for this administration. with defense secretary chuck hagel announcing that the united states will add 14 anti-missile interceptors in alaska. the defense secretary saying that this move comes after north korea really increased its provocations, its bellicose language, and also had made more progress in its nuclear development. so that's really at the root of this

which will create a host of problems for the gop.fact, the best thing for republicans in order to sort of put this issue away and take it off the table for them and stop the interparty sort of debate is for the court to strike down both doma and prop 8. if they don't, one can see this sort of, this time spent on the psychiatrist couch deciding what to do about marriage equality prolonged for the years to come. >> i think the time on the couch with the republican party on this issue will be prolonged. look, i think whatever the court does, marriage equality -- say marriage equality could become the law of the land in the state of california. if they do such a narrow ruling that it only applies to california, marriage will be legal in the most populous state. and people will go to california to get married, and then they will go back to their home states, most likely, a state that already has a constitutional or legislative ban on marriage equality, and then they're going to sue and have their cases go to the court, and that will only

million to connect with latino americans, arabian americans, lbgt and to end the perception that the gop is a party of old rich men. >> focus groups described our party as narrow-minded. out of touch. and, quote, stuffy old men. >> the perception that we're the party of the rich, unfortunately continues to grow. that's frustrating. because we care about every voter. >> but the gop split was on display at cpac this weekend with prominent conservatives unable to agree on whether the republican party needs to change its ways. >> let's be clear about one thing, we're not here to rebrand the party. we're here to rebuild a country. >> way too many people believe republicans are anti-ingrants. anti-women. anti-science, anti-gay, anti-worker and the list goes on and on and on. >> for the last three weeks, conservatives have been winning. >> the gop of old has grown stale and moss-covered. i don't think we need to name many names. >> i want to bring in washington bureau chief of the chicago sun-times, lynn sweet, as well as as politics reporter jackie kucinich. we'll start with you, one of the fi

there has been so much criticism within the gop and outside the gop so say it's more than just the facadey is about the approach that this party is taking to appeal to people. and sarah palin just said moments ago it's not about reviving, restoring the party. it really is about rebuilding the country. >> it is about rebuilding the country. you don't have a chance to do that until you reconnect with the voters. and this party does have a serious problem, as everyone now recognizes. after all, democrats at the presidential elections have won the popular vote in five out of the last six presidential elections. and the off-year elections they've won now, you know, handily in '06, lost ten, but, you know, they think they may come back here in '14. the republicans have a problem. they have to figure out how to reconnect. it's not surprising that there would be so much disagreement about that. normally when a party loses as many elections as republicans have, they do spend time in the wilderness trying to find a new way, trying to find ways to apply old principles to new problems. just checked o

what's going on with all this infighting in the gop?infighting has to do with sarah palin razzing karl rove for getting involved in gop primaries when he just points out, hey, you do the same thing. so it's a lot of -- it's an intrafamily feud. >> we're expecting a report on the future of the party. what kinds of changes do you think they need to make after losing two presidential elections? >> well, one of the things that's going to be suggested this morning, i can tell you right now, is that the gop chairman is going to suggest a shorter primary season and fewer debates. they had about 23 last time. he's going to say that's just too many. >> certainly did seem like there were an awful lot of debates. moving on to something more serious, obama's first trip to israel and the west bank as president. what is he looking to accomplish on this trip and how will he be received in both places? >> the highlight is going to be a speech he's going to make in jerusalem. what he's looking to do is speak directly to the israel hee people. he's not l

. >>> gop soul-searching.cans try to find out what went wrong in 2012. >> there's no one reason we lost. our message was weak, our ground game was insufficient. we weren't inclusive. we were behind in both data and digital, and our primary and debate process needed improvement. so there's no one solution, there's a long list of them. >>> but is this their blueprint for victory? >> mr. president, we admit it, you won. accept it. now step away from the teleprompter and do your job. >> if standing for liberty and standing for the constitution makes you a whacko bird, then count me a proud whacko bird. >> more background checks? dandy idea, mr. president, should have started with yours. >> bon voyage, president obama prepares for his first trip to israel since becoming president. before departing tomorrow, some unfinished business, tapping a new labor secretary. >> today i'm proud to nominate a leader to carry on those efforts, as america's next secretary of labor, tom perez. >>> vice president biden in rome, to l

saying, quote, the gop today is a tale of two par tis.one of them, the gubernatorial wing is growing and successful. the other, the federal wing, is increasingly marginalizing itself. stunning words there. acknowledging the drubing president obama's campaign gave the romney campaign in the area of technology. the report calls for a wide ranging digital briefing. recommending priebus hire a digital and technology officer by april. even opening an rnc field office in san francisco. the report calls for big changes to the primary system for the presidential season. noting that the 20 presidential primary debates in 2012 were damaging to mitt romney. calls for prohibiting primary debates before september 1st, 2015. limiting the number of debates to 10 to 12 and possibly docking delegates from candidates who ignore the rules so that there are not, like, other debates around there. it also calls for moving the national convention up to late june or even july. shortening the primary process. priebus talked about the damage he believes the long p

the gop is really good at language. if they're going to try this outreach and still use words with narratives that matter, that are negative. words like illegal immigrant, phrases like makers and takers, anger babies and engaining in offensive policies like immigrant enforcement instead of compassionate policies, they're really just working on the box and not changing the actual pizza. >> that's right. look. i think that priebus, mentioned the phrase self-deportation which was an air ball of a line that romney used in the primaries and said once hispanic voters hear that, they tune you out entirely. what is interesting is that there is a lot of talk about the language and the presentation. some substance on immigration reform. but to me, what i see is the fundamental identity of the party right now is that it is anti-tax and once big cuts in the size of government. and that has not changed. and through the whole budget wars we've been seeing, the sequester, i think this came up the last time i was here. the economic con

it's not just the gop calling them out, it's also explaining the problem. we can say the gop has the high ground right now, but both parties really have to be in this together. charles: absolutely. we need honesty, and we need someone to really, truly articulate this. you guys did a fantastic job doing that, and i appreciate it. >>> all right, president obama's reaching out to his honchos. he's calling the top ceos, but not this ceo. the former apple head who's worried the president's talking and taxing too much and cutting too little. >>> but, first, after the tax whack is the big mac getting attacked? why the bad news out of mcdonald's has pele worried that this recovery is in reverse. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline)

i want to play some of the reaction of gop senators as they left that dinner with the president. >> i thought it was a positive, constructive, candid conversation about our debt and our deficit and how we have got to come together in a bipartisan way the address it. it's what the american people expect and deserve and what we focused on. >> i think it was very good for the president to have that dinner. and i think he needs to do a whole lot more of that because relationships matter and building trust and confidence and knowing you're not going to get gamed is a way you get something done for the american people. >> these are very difficult issues but i do think there's real fatigue and just going from crisis to crisis so i think we're -- i think tonight was a good first step. >> speaker boehner says it's a hopeful sign. what's the next step you're hearing, kristen, is likely for the president and the members of the gop here? >> reporter: well, look. i think you are going to see a whole lot more of this type of outreach, tamron, and white house officials tell me the president, his adv