(laughter) so you've been warned, harry reid!itch mcconnell's filibuster and he will strike back by obstructing everything you do! or let him keep the filibuster so he can obstruct everything you do! (laughter) i think the choice is clear. we'll be right back. (cheers and applause) 04ql-x@$,x56 (cheers and applause) >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. my guest tonight is the original voice of both yoda and cookie monster. i'll ask him if four cookie cs. please welcome frank oz. (cheers and applause) thank you, hey, nice to meet you frank oz. can i call you frank oz. >> you can. >> stephen: frank oz -- >> can i just say something? >> stephen: yes. >> my favorite part of your show bar none is when you introduce the guest and you come here and take a bow. (laughter) i love that. >> stephen: well, i've got to give these people what they want. >> it's great. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: well, that's great to hear. >> i mean it, i think it's hysterical, and you deserve it. >> stephen: thank you, i put the most thought into it. >>

and sixty's and only had to deal with in the entire six years one single republican filibuster harry reid himself knows that something needs to be done in a senate floor speech in may earlier this year reid praised senators tom udall all and jeff merkley who desperately tried to pass filibuster reform at the beginning of two thousand and eleven reid said these two young fine senators said it was time we changed the rules in the senate and we did it they were right the rest of us were wrong or most of us now anyway what a shame. now reid has a chance to correct this mistake and it looks like he'll try to do just that in a press conference the day reid said in regard to the filibuster i think the rules have been abused and we are going to work to change them we will not do away with the filibuster but will make the senate a more meaningful place we're going to make it so we can get things done on day one of the new senator or there will be a small window of a few hours open for harry reid and democrats to reform the filibuster and all it'll take to change the senate rules is fifty one votes

i love logistics. >> greta: is it time, should democrats dump their leader, harry reid? single handedly block progress. his senate didn't pass a budget in 2010, between the 11 or 2012. is it time for majority leader reid to go? joining us, byron york, and sam youngman and michael crowley. byron? >> i checked with senator sessions office and tonight is the 1,288th day since the sbt senate has passed a budget, they are supposed to do it every 365 days. what has happened was the senate pass -- senate democrats passed a budget to their liking with huge filibuster-proof majority in april of 2009. that's the last time they passed one one. they have used rules and procedures to extend the think about -- >> greta: it's a dodge. >> it's a dodge of the 1974 law. it is true, the president has submit aid budget, nobody wanted to vote for that. the house republicans have passed a budget. and it remains stuck. the person holding it back is harry reid. >> greta: so to the extent, sam, that the president talks about wanting to reach across the aisle and speaker boehner wants to reach acr

to 4% on hope that we could would get some progress on these fiscal cliff talks. >> wonder who harry reidnted with, given he is the senate majority leader. fess the leader of the senate circumstance disappointed with himself? congressional leaders, boehner and reid that have to lead the negotiations who is he disappointed with? yell at your party, yell at the other party, yet get in a room, play a game of jennings ga, who cares, get this thing resolved who is he disappointed with, highly confused that happens frequently. >> sit down and sort it out, all i can say. the meantime who have you got over there with you in charlotte, north carolina? >> talk about that with larry carroll. the headlines moving the market. larry carroll runs carroll financial advisories, one of the top five financial advisers in the entire state of north carolina as ranked by baron's. there we go. it is the voice of nascar god saying, brian, move the show along. i guess i'm going to send it back to you, i can't hear a thing. hold on, hold on, do you have one of these, mandy? i have to say i went out, memorize those

harry reid on the other hand is saying absolutely not. -- we can't possibly run the senate without making the changes. the m republic is at stake. >> bret: you believe that this is what they want to pursue and not part of the let's force them in to dealing better in the negotiations somehow with the threat of -- >> it could be both. i think, i mean the majority is going to want to do this, regardless of what the majority is. the minority will fight this no matter what. democrats maintain that the republicans abused the filibuster as the majority always does. so i think they would be doing it anyway. but if it's, you know, gives them extra leverage that's a bonus. >> i link this with the president's approach today where he essentially said to the republicans on taxes, you give me everything, i give you nothing, we go over a cliff otherwise. i think this is an assault by democrats on republicans, democrats have an idea that having just one what they won is a landslide, they will push this on all the fronts in the congress and on taxation. i

>> i don't know that harry reid is a super villain here. think he has done what the height house needed him to do. he is not bruceing the president's budget because it would lose. he is not bruceing the republican budget -- >> greta: is the president 9 villain? >> i not assigning labels of villains and heros. >> greta: but the budget's important -- >> there is no question. >>. >> greta:th getting the economy revved up. you are telling me that the president -- doesn't want him to take it up? >> what i am saying here in washington, i don't think have you to look far to find more than one person responsible for the gridlock we are facing now. >> look, i think that not passing a budget, to some degree is a symptom of the problem in congress, not a cause of it. you need the senate and the house to agree it a budget to get anything passed. that's clearly want going to happen. it's a three-way process that involves the president. it is true that reid is a proxy for the president. but the guys have to get in a room together and hammer out a deal. y

democrats have harry reid. we have mitch mcconnell. get them in the room. no one gets all they want. if reagan and o'neill could do it, obama and boehner should be able to do it. >> it's the right approach, the one most beneficial for our economy, that protects the middle class and strengthens it and creates ladders of opportunity for those who aspire to the middle, to get there. >> it's time for the president to present a plan that rises above the reckless and radical voices on the hard left, that goes beyond the talking points of the campaign trail, and that has a realistic chance of passing the congress. the time, in other words, for campaigning is over. it's time for the president to lead. >> when you're $16 trillion in debt, the only pledge we should be making to each other is to avoid becoming greece. and republicans should put revenue on the table. so i agree we shouldn't raise rates, but grover is wrong when it comes to we can't cap deductions and buy down debt. what do you do with the money? i will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good

harry reid wouldn't do it last time. but now he's so fed up, he says -- >> eliot: last time, they crafted some meaningless compromise. now i hope he's learned a lesson the compromise was meaningless and he'll use the 51. congressman, back to you, i, too, along with michael read the constitution. i never saw the number 60 in there which is the magic number. are there even 51 democratic votes for the nuclear option? i know that sounds like it should be a silly question but there are a lot of democratic senators who were stuck in the gridlock mentality. do you think harry reid could get the 51 votes on the first day? >> i think there is a better shot at that this year than two years ago when we tried it. there are some newer senators who have come on board and in their campaign, senators from maine and massachusetts and across the country who have increased the number of democratic senators who have said yes let's come on that first day and let's try to fix it. and work together on this. so i think harry reid has a stronger

harry reid has seen 386. do we see a pattern here at all? sing the following rule changes. republicans can't filibuster after having a debate over a bill. democrats shouldn't have to wait as long for a filibuster to be revolved. if republicans want to filibuster, they should have to talk about it. they shouldn't be able to hide in their offices while all this filibustering takes place. come out and talk it over, again and again for a lengthy period of time. the republicans claim that these changes are not fair. blocking legislation for another four years isn't fair to the american people or the process either. it's harry reid's call. joining me is steve benen. great to have you with us. thanks for your time. these rule changes that harry reid and the senate democrats are talking about, how drastic are they and how much of an effect could they have? >> one might think they are outrageous. in reality, the measures that you identified are modest. for many people who are eager to see major changes in the senate because of its dysfunction, this is

clearly, harry reid has no plans to end the partisan politics.ith reaction, we have a panel here. you said this was a mandate to raise taxes am he wants to eliminate the filibuster and take full control of a body that didn't pass a budget in 3 1/2 years. >> less than 24 hour, this working across the aisle stuff is b.s. he is going to hijack everything so the republicans not only they have no voice, they can't do anything about it. they are not going to be able to do anything this. >> sean: can he pull this off? >> look -- what -- the obama administration -- look at the hole of what the liberals have been able to do so far. they have ram-rodded-- >>> i agree with all of that and the abuse and the accumulation of executive power has been unprecedented. can reid pull that off and take the filibuster out from underneath the republicans. >> the senate leader in the majority gets to set the rules. does he have the opportunity? he does. that said, to use terminology that harry reid would understand, if you don't want to play in his casino, he will stakt

that was echoed by harry reid. individuals earning $200,000 or more, including many of the big cities where president obama got so many votes, a lot of those people will be impacted many who do not consider themselves wealthy. in 2009, 3.9 million filers reported adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more. that represents 3% of all federal tax returns. that paid around 30% of all of the income taxes that are paid in this country. so we're going to break this down. we'll really talk about this, analyze the best way to deal with all this. bill: a former congressional budget director, warning that failure to act on the fiscal cliff could have disasterous consequences for the economy. doug holtz-eakin saying it could lead to yet another recession. >> these are big cuts, 10 to 14% in programs, a quarter of the way through their fiscal year. that is bad policy and dangerous. the fiscal cliff is $440 billion of taxes and $200 billion spending cuts. that is had% of gdp when we're growing one 1/2 2% growth rates. going over

not to me, as harry reid and mr. biden say. there are three things that people campaign that obama made more confusing. all the people behind him and no press questions, covered as if it were a press conference. one is all the bush tax cut laps that predate bush that they let lapse every two or four years. if that happens on january 5, it did raise taxes $500 billion a year. i guess this is the $5 trillion tax cut that obama used to attack romney for supporting. obama just sit there and does not agree to anything. or we can do all we did two years ago. again i get too worked up because the play this game of chess with the exact same people around the table with the chess board exactly the same as two years earlier. oh no. we're all going to die. we have been through this. if you do not really want to spend the rest of your administration with an economy as lousy as the one you brought us to now with no sign of making it better. this does not make the economy better. does the tax increase go up? what about the sequester? how is

he's of course, from the same state as harry reid. so you can count on the majority leader to keep the pressure on him. and then mark kirk of illinois who took the president's old senate seat. he's a moderate who voted to repeal don't ask don't tell but on the other hand he also voted for the ryan budget. finally, lindsey graham, collaborated with democrats on issues like immigration and climate change but is up for re-election in the very red state of south carolina in 2014. he will probably feel pressure from the right to stand firm. joining me now is sahilkapuh. he wrote the article about the five republican senators who might work across the aisle. he joins us from washington d.c. i'm also joined by our favorite democratic strategist, donnie fowler. thanks donnie, thanks, is sahil for joining me inside "the war room." can harry reid bring those republican senators over to avoid a filibuster if not all of them? maybe some of them and which of the republicans is most likely to come over? >> it really depends on which issue. i think

harry reid is concerned about climate change. listen to this. >> climate change is an extremely important issue for me and i hope we can address it reasonably. something we have seen with these storms, overwhelming our country and the world and we need to do something about it. stuart: blaming hurricane sandy on global warming. liz: i agree there is climate change. the glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising. i'm not sure it is something we need to address -- do job creation first but this is an issue even conservatives have said this is happening. stuart: he is going to introduce cap and trade which is and of -- excellent former enhancement. [talking over each other] dave: they lost the debate when they had democrats in the senate and controlling the house of representatives. republicans still control the house. it may be tough to get cap and trade. he will do what he did the first term which is used the epa to enforce cap and trade. without having congress vote on it at all. stuart: tax the oil companies which is what presi

mitch mcconnell and harry reid. they get to decide themselves. they have a ton of power in terms of putting senators where they want to put them or where the senators want to be put, or not. so here's my question. what's going to happen with her? what's going to happen with the the most high profile freshman member in a long time? what's going to happen? elizabeth warren's background is an expert on bankruptcy law. she was the chair of the oversight panel for the bank bailout. she came up with the idea for the consumer financial protection bureau and helped get it off the ground. elizabeth warren was born to be on the senate banking committee. if anybody want ever born to be on that committee, she was born to be on that committee. want to know who would very much not like elizabeth warren to be on the banking committee? the banks. we have been hearing pretty much since she got elected about how wall street is going to do anything in its power to keep elizabeth warren off the banking committee and presumably out of their hair as much as possible.

>> harry reid and i have been friends for 30 years. harry and i both share a vision and a love for the state of nevada. >> susan austin says even here the cliff will hurt. >> anything that happens in washington affects everybody in the united states. it's going to trickle down to me sooner or later. it's definitely going to hurt me in the end. >> now, the ranch owner says political leaders need to realize money is on the sidelines until confidence returns. as for susan austin, you can see her entire interview on the blog funnybusiness.cnbc.com. back to you. >> thanks so much. we'll be watching that. jane wells. >>> two more companies announcing special dividends tonight. here's a quick market flash. >> that's right. national beverage confirming its board has decided to distribute a special dividend of $2.55 a share. the record date will be december 7th. also, regal entertainment announcing $1 per share for its class "a" and "b" common stock. these two companies among many others declaring special dividends ahead of the end of the year a

. >> harry reid kept the focus on the president's winning campaign message of letting the tax cuts expire on incomes over $250,000 a year. >> the people who have done so well during this difficult time with the economy, the richest of the rich are going to have to pay a little more to solve the financial problems we have this this country. >> this is what the campaign has been all about. congressional democrats are making sure the message is simple, consistent, to the point and easy to consume. recent comments from david plouffe as well as lawmakers left the president's strategy open to interpretation. progressives were concerned the social safety net programs were on the chopping block, but today democrats were unified in their approach. they are all on the same page. the president was reluctant to agree to a deal cutting medicare and medicaid benefits. president obama is seeking $1.6 trillion in additional revenue over ten years and $340 billion in health care savings. the time says the deal would not affect benefits. that's the keyword, benefits. the president and some democrats in the

harry reid. i find this obsession with race and gender instead of ideas to be disturbing. i think an african-american can lose like colonel allen mutt looked like he lost in florida. he was a conservative. he lost. i think white guys can be conservative and win if they are good candidates and they make good ideas that are repealing. democrat, republic. this obsession with welling the ticket has to be all white or all black or brown, white, i just think it's silly. you are nodding your head. you want a color coded ticket. >> no. you are talking about racial bean counting. you are way way lost on this one. i don't get it you are so smart. look at the numbers of what came out tuesday and it looks like huge victory among whites for romney but loses the election. he had a plus 27 advantage among white men. still couldn't put him in the oval office. if you are thinking of it strategically and you want republicans to win. you have to be more inclusive and especially with the rapidly emerging latino population. >> do you think considers could have beaten barack obama? >> i don't k

free market is not one that hangs on every whim and word of harry reid. at the end of the day there are multiple factors at work here. china hit a new low. we will talk about these things but i think it is multiple factors a at work beyond what somebody in washington says. >> this reminds me of when we had the european crisis or in 2008 when there was the vote on the tarp. i don't think we should overreact to this. if i learned anything from schoolhouse rock making a bill is like sausage making. you will have imaginations going on. >> i don't think they made that comparison on school house rock. >> he was watching a different schoolhouse rock. >> the jack black "schoolhouse rock." >> the fiscal cliff is just a great headline but the tip of the iceberg of what is really ailing or what could potentially ail this market in weeks to come. we are within the whisper of a four-year high. europe is a mess and the data in the states has been mediocre at best. the fiscal cliff is an easy thing to point the finger at. >> there is a silver lining. if there is a silve

i talked to harry reid earlier today. i asked him whether or not tim geithner had brought a specific offer up here to the republicans from the president. he said no. no specific offer today. in fact, he said the president made the offer from the democrats two weeks ago, and that's the offer that stands now. so, guys, a very high-stakes poker game here on capitol hill right now. treasury secretary geithner meeting with nancy pelosi, the democratic leader in the house, as we speak. we expect to hear from her, probably not him, in about a half an hour. >> what is soon? no deal soon. we're 32 days away. this is just mind boggling. >> you mean it's going to go down to the wire? what a surprise, eamon. >> washington loves brinksmanship. they love deadlines. they're incapable, they've proven time and time again throughout history, they're incapable of coming to a deal before that deadline. my guess is, based on seeing these things before, that's where we're going here. right until mid to late december before we get a final deal.

at length whether the november 6th election was -- >> comments from the senate majority leader, harry reid. essentially saying the exact same thing that speaker boehner did except mr. reid chiding republicans, if you will, saying we're still waiting on a serious offer from the republicans. just a few moments ago, as you did hear live on cnbc, it was speaker boehner saying democrats have yet to get serious. you can continue to watch the comments from senator durbin, senators schumer and murray are also there as well, likely to speak. you can continue to see that as you see at the bottom of your screen on cnbc.com. >>> let's head down to capitol hill and our own eamon javers. i know you keep saying this is a negotiating tactic being used by both sides. it seems as though the markets and the investing public are the ones being held hostage. >> reporter: absolutely. they must feel that way up there on wall street. i can tell you in washington terms, this is a little bit of educated speculation trying to figure out what actually happened here today. it seems like what happened is that tim geith

>> they don't like obama's obama's, like harry reid are john boehner. these are the people that brought us to this point* but now they will get into roomto fix the problem they brought to was? i don't think so. the only good news december is seasol strength also 2013 we get more bearish into the year. gerri: is here any place to run and hide? >> housing stocks. gerri: they are already up. >> listen. something is going on. the nasdaq was down 80% through 2003 because interest rates stay low. short-term bonds but my big worry hitting the of financial stocks they broke down a few names as be real worried. gerri: as a result over regulation for financial's? >> of course. elizabeth warren has the senate seat wants to put the stranglehold on financial companies. we are dealing with what should be the opposite. too much government to much government spending, it has never worked in the history of time but that is the recipe and the market voted today. >> people are out there who say that is what we need. the market is not doing well, and neither is the economy

harry reid's sentence here today gave us information that he wants more out of the republicans. what you're seeing is an unfolding negotiation here, not something that should raise alarm bills, not that negotiations have stopped or something has gone wrong in this process. back to you. >> all right, eamon. thank you very much. i think they should get in a room, close the door, and don't come out until you get a deal. >> we've done that before. that was erskine bowles, gang of six. that was the problem. >> it doesn't serve anybody's interest to be talking publicly, negotiating publicly. we start getting little bits and pieces about social security coming off the table. no progress being made. all these things that are upsetting and roiling. just get behind closed doors and get the deal done. >> i think you're asking for politicians to change their human nature. >> let's talk to one and see what he thinks. our next guest says one area we could cut spending is corporate subsidies and wall street must share the burden with main street. the congressman of arizona says the spending cu

harry reid said he wants to do it.ll it do and what effect will it have on the legislative process? >> he wants to take baby steps. he had a big press release on capitol hill where he said filibuster reform is going to be one of his top priorities, not eliminating the filibuster but reining it in, and when you should be able to implement it. we haven't heard much from the republican side on where they're going to be willing to compromise. you know, then there is the possibility of harry reid using the nuclear option to get through filibuster reform. i think first in these first days after election you put out the olive branch, the other side harry reid, we won. it's my agenda. would you like to help us out on filibuster reform. put out the olive branch. wait for the response. if you don't get it, it will be a test. i think the democrats do feel they have a mandate especially in the senate picking up seats to push. >> not only do you put out those olive branches, you put out the trial balloons, especially in this lame d

we will start with harry reid and move on to john boehner.video clip] >> they are tired of partisan gridlock. i have one goal, to be obama. obama was reelected overwhelmingly. republicans want us to work together. democrats want us to work together. they want to reach a balanced approach to everything, but especially the situation we have with the huge deficit. taxes are a part of that. >> the american people have spoken. they have reelected president obama, and every elected a republican majority. if there was a mandate, it is a mandate for us to find a way to work together on the solutions to the challenges we all face as a nation. my message today is not one of confrontation, but one of conviction. mr. president, this is your moment. we are ready to be led. not as democrats or republicans, but as americans. we want you to lead as president of the united states of america. we want you to succeed. let's challenge ourselves to find the common ground that has eluded us. let's do the right thing together for our country. host: ron, you are up f

should we expect a softer harry reid to emerge after the election?as a boxer in college, so i think that tells you -- he was a capitol hill policeman before he was a united states senator and the majority leader. that gives you everything you need to know about the majority leader. >> so no, then? >> the answer is i think the comment that you put up on november 2nd was preelection date, and now he is going to be leading an expanded democratic caucus. he wants -- listen, his reputation is on the line e.s the senate to be old school, to get aalong, to do things, to produce things. so i know -- yes, kornacki does hate the words "fiscal cliff," but watch for the fade-away of the gang of six. there's three democrats and republicans that are working together to walk us away from the fiscal cliff on august of 2011 and watch for the president of the united states to come in and focus on thanksgiving on getting a deal and bringing the leaders together and doing a summit at camp david and watch for a big deal. wall street wants it and america wants it and the

harry reid saying let's not kick the can further down the road. negotiations really get under way next week when both sides of the house and the senate come back to town. >> it will be a lot of phone calls before that. you and i had a lot of fun talking about the final senate races and house races where they were all falling. where does the balance of power stand right now? >> things have changed since yesterday morning, john. take a look at this. in the senate, we called two more races yesterday afternoon. here's the breakdown in the senate. it's a little bit different than it was in the old congress. take a look at the charts here. we now have 54 democrats including one independent. as for the republicans, 45 republicans in the new senate. we also got one independent up in maine, a5 angus king. as for the house, take a look at. this we have eight races still outstanding. so we don't know where they lay right now. we have 233 republicans in the new house. we have 194 democrats which is already a slight pickup for the democrats whether it's all sa