senator heitkamp later put out a statement clarifying a more moderate-sounding position on the issue. is ladd everitt from the coalition to stop gun violence which is the group that ran the newspaper ads asking voters to call senator heitkamp about her stance on the issue. thank you for being here, mr. everitt. it's nice to have you here. >> yeah. thanks for having me, rachel. >> i have described the way i think you guys responded to senator heitkamp in terms of her comments in your ad and what happened thereafter. did i get that right? can you help us understand your organization's thinking in how you approach this? >> i think you did a great job of explaining it. absolutely, we were reacting to words that we found very offensive. one thing you didn't have a moment to mention was that the ad was signed by four parents who lost their children in mass shootings including roxanna green, the mother of christina taylor green, the 9-year-old who was killed in the tucson mass shooting. and you know, like you said, we wanted to send a very clear message here. and that message is the era of n

we reported recently on new democratic senator heidi heitkamp. well, the coalition to start gun violence started running these ads in washington, d.c. and back home in north dakota, calling senator heitkamp out for having said that. senator heitkamp then issued a statement clarifying her feelings, saying, quote, all options must be on the table when it comes to addressing gun violence in america. heidi heitkamp responding to pressure, just the way debbie "not budging" halvorson responded to pressure when she discovered a sudden new-found willingness to advocate for background checks for guns, nra be damned. pressure worked. pressure works. pressure works not just for the nra, but for the other side too. well, today in washington, the senate judiciary committee convened a hearing, a very high profile hearing with a title that was ambitiously broad, "what should we do about gun violence?" five witnesses on both sides of the issue offered expert testimony. those witnesses included nra executive vice president wayne lapierre, naturally. wayne is alwa

but as heitkamp says, they don't have the votes, and she doesn't think it would pass.what do attitudes mean if you can't get the votes? >> well, you know, i know that mayors and police chiefs and sheriffs all over this country deal with gun violence every day. but what we saw in newtown a couple of weeks ago really should be a game changer. and ed, if we don't do something now, and you talk about extreme, if we don't do something now, i don't think we will ever have an opportunity for change. a ban on assault weapons, i think that's a no-brainer. a ban on high capacity magazines, having a national database where you can check criminal histories as well as do mental health checks, those things are not extreme. when we look at what has happened in the united states of america, i think those things are a step, a major step in the right direction. >> are lawmakers missing a leadership opportunity here? i mean should lawmakers in rural states be having conversations with constituents about responsible gun ownership? >> i really think they should. i did a lot of work as the

senator heitkamp, let me begin with you, 1 of 20 women in the senate.talking to diane sawyer just the other day talking about how women are better at working together than men, and during the campaign, that was actually your biggest criticism of president obama. i want to show everybody what you said during the campaign. "i think president obama failed in the one test america had for him, which was to unite the country. i think he needed to be more hands-on. i don't think he's done enough to think broadly and come up with solutions that would engage both sides in a reasonable dialogue." so how specifically does he fix that right now, and how can you help him? >> i think the first thing in the last segment you saw leader -- the minority leader talk in ultimatums. we all need to stop talking in ultimatums and say only these, you know, narrowing the debate, put everything on the table, start working together, that's what you do in america in every small town and every business in america. you don't rule out anything. >> the president has got an ultimatum a

then, learning the ropes with two freshmen, democratic senator democrat heidi heitkamp and republican congressman richard hudson. plus, can either party compromise and keep hard core supporters on board, neera tanden of the center for american progress, "the wall street journal"'s jacqui kaums and "the new york times" and our own dana bash. i'm candy crowley and this is "state of the union." you knows what happens when sisyphus rolls that boulder to the top of the hill, it rolls back down, a piece of greek mythology that brings to us the reality of the u.s. congress. it got a deal for now that raises taxes on the upper brackets and prevents for now huge spending cuts. it's moved on to the issue of avoiding a u.s. default. >> the president needs to show up early this time. >> republicans say they are done raising taxes. they want the president to agree to spending cuts in exchange for raising the amount of money the u.s. treasury is allowed to borrow. the president wants the debt ceiling raised without debate. but be serious, this is washington. >> any future budget agreements must bal

you heard heidi heitkamp from north dakota.democratic senators from pro-gun states including mark begich from kirsten's home state of alaska, pro-gun. and leaders like mr. baucus, from montana. from a pro-gun. he is up for re-election in 2014. these you will not be senators that take this vote likely and go on board with it because it will be the cause and issue for the home. it will be tough because they have to buck their state's interests. bill: kirsten, do you agree. >> i guess the question is what is so radical about a universal background check? i think it is true any of these senators might oppose taking away guns but i don't know why they would oppose a universal background check. bill: what is a universal background check? what does that require? >> i think it remains to be seen because we already have background checks that are fairly comprehensive. one of the problems and hopefully something they will look at, is the fact that the database actually isn't that great. where you have actually people who have been flagge

heidi heitkamp from north dakota. those are people that need convincing they can make the leap on gun control measures if they're willing. >> it's a tricky issue for the white house. on one hand you have some on the left who sit there and say the white house has been lacking any sort of spine when it comes to gun issue. there's the political reality staring them in the face. heidi heitkamp. >> i would add two other challenges for the white house. one is the timeline. already people aren't paying attention to this as much as they were in december. the media coverage is dwindling, of course. the second is, you have a lot of well meaning groups on the democratic side who are running in many different directions. and the nra is a formidable opponent. >> it's interesting. that's a very important key here. you know, michael bloomberg sort of doing this. you have a group with ties to move on to doing that. white house during their thing. the nra sticking to plan. >> absolutely. of all the groups the only one that's really be

as allorter: democrat heidi heitkamp is a new senator from north dakota. >> i'm hoping it will mean this dedy becomes more collaborative, more willing to compromise. dakoporter: the last time five women were elected to the senate co in 1992, and it was dubbed tehe year of the woman." maryland democrat barbara mikulski was one of them. >> it was forbidden for women to wear trousers on the senate em.or. rsen i stepped out in my slacks, you would have thought that i was walking on the moon. >> i really look forward to whrking with you. >> reporter: the new members will become part of a long- ntanding tradition. il the female senators from both parties get together for funch once a month to talk about policy and their personal lives. >> that's how you work with people. >> reporter: republican deb fischer is a new senator from nebraska. >> it doesn't matter if you're in the united states senate or if you have a job anywhere else, you work on the relationships by knowing the people you're with, what their interests are. >> reporter: it's a big shift from the first elected women senators. .atti

gas development was impacting small town america, perhaps some of those communities that senator heitkamp represents. once fastening what they conclude is that income in both small town america in quote was up over 3.8% since 2007. and energies foundational role in our employment picture was also evident that the department of labor's most recent jobs report, when it reported that oil and natural gas extraction employment is up 6.5% over the past year. these jobs were created through a resurgence in domestic resources, which can change our energy and economic future. study after study has shown that we are a resource rich nation, with a vast energy assets, both oil, natural gas, along with others, and we have the world's leading refine capability to deliver the fuels and products america's businesses and families need. u.s. oil and natural gas companies are truly investing in america's future. with the development, production and refining of oil and natural gas, and in doing so, are opening new opportunities for our economy. in 2011, the united states ranked 159th in the world in terms of

. >> senate massachusetts minority leader mitch mcconnell agrees with heitkamp.ts a stall on any kind of legislative action because in his mind, gun control is not a top priority. >> the biggest problem we have at the moment is spending and debt. that's going to dominate the congress between now and the end of march. >> senator chris murphy of connecticut, who has spent a lot of time with the families of newtown, connecticut, in the past month called out mcconnell's timetable. >> i don't think we should wait three months to get this done. i think we should get it done now. and i frankly think if we did that, it would save lives. >> congressman rick nolan of minnesota made the case for responsible gunowners curbing assault weapons is just plain common sense. >> i don't need a assault weapon to shoot a duck. and i think they ought to be banned. >> where do we go with gun control? let's bring in val demings, former chief of police of orlando, florida. thanks for being with us, i appreciate your time. >> thank you, ed. it's great to be here. >> we see the urban and r

senator heitkamp you have received an "a" from the nra.e and set an example, given that you are so far apart on the issue of gun control? >> i think one of the areas that we can agree is to sit down and analyze what actually can work. there's things that we can all agree on that need to be done. and one of our big pushes is going to be the mental health system and helping children if they have a child that's in the basement that they think could do this, where do they go today? that's the common ground we all share. >> heidi was a former attorney general. i was a former prosecutor. the issues of school safety mental illness, we can get something down on background checks. obviously i'd like to do something on the high capacity magazines and other things. i'm hopeful when we sit down and look at these things that there can be common ground. we have to do it for the kids of america. people are expecting us to get something done here. >> you know it's important -- and you've just recognized it -- to understand that women span the ideological

. >> reporter: but heidi heitkamp, a democrat from north dakota, told george stephanopoulos today, those proposals go too far. that's way in extreme of what i think is necessary or even should be talked about. and it's not going to pass. >> one member of that task force told me he's surging reforms that go beyond assault weapons. his reasoning, he wants to keep any kind of gun out of the hands of the criminally or the mentally ill. >>> we have a note tonight with -- about a diane sawyer interview. former congresswoman gabrielle giffords who was shot two years ago this tuesday, on that anniversary, diane sits down for an exclusive interview to talk about her recovery and newtown. the interview is tuesday night right here on "world news" and across our broadcasts. >>> turning to syria, we heard for the first time from president assad in months. tonight we asked alex marquardt to read between the lines. is this a leader who thinks he can survive? >> reporter: president assad mobbed by supporters at his first address to the nation in over half a year. in front of the faces of soldiers who ha

democratic congresswoman heidi heitkamp says that she doesn't like what the president is suggesting already. it's going to be a big battle royale i think. >> it must be the first loss for obama in the new year. gerri: thank you both for coming on tonight. we appreciate what you have to say so much. gerri: now we want to know what you think. are you worried about president obama tightening restrictions on guns? avant gerriwillis.com, vote on the right-hand side of the screen, we will share the results at the end of tonight's show. there's a lot more to come this hour, including new calls for an end to government cash handouts as welfare recipients are using their benefit cards at strip clubs and other x-rated establishments. and nancy pelosi says the latest tax deal in congress does not go far enough this is $100,000. 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 a

particularly optimistic that with the republican congress with democrats like including new senator heitkamp optimistic? no. over the long term a group like this shifts the political calculus and will have change over time. >> yeah. i mean, is anything going to happen in next few months? almost certainly no. because you have a republican house. if something does happen legislateively, it's so watered down it will not have any meaningful impact. i think we can say that with republicans running the house but what i thought of with that clip of giffords and kelly is jim and sarah brady and the story of 1981. the press secretary and shot in the assassination attempt on reagan and transformed them in to gun control advocates and they were successful in that the legislation that ultimately took his name, the brady bill was the brady law but took 12 years. shooting in 1981. president clinton, there you can see signing the bill. that's 1993 when that happened. that was eight years of reagan, four years of bush senior and then in 1993 a democratic president and house and senate and the bill which had

max baucus of montana, senator heidi heitkamp of north dakota, senator johnson of south dakota.ator donnelley of i7d ind. senator begich of alaska, senator manchin of west virginia, senator tester of montana. however, senator mark warner spoke out in favor of the president's plan and said he believes it has bipartisan support. those senators all have a or a-plus ratings from the national rifle association. reid has a b rating. these senators know they will lose their high rating and maybe become a target with the nra if they vote for a sensible assault weapons ban. you see, we had the assault weapons ban back in 1994, but we're so screwed up in washington right now they're even afraid to go back to that. every senator should explain to their constituency why they would not cast a vote for the assault weapons ban. what's the holdup? what are you afraid of? certainly it's not the nra. these senators should not fear the national rifle association. the nra didn't affect any races in the last election cycle and it probably won't do it the next time around. now, if senate democrats ca

newly elected ted cruz of texas followed by newly elected democratic senator and nra member heidi heitkamphorrified at what happened there, to see 20 children, 6 adults senselessly murdered. it takes your breath away. but within minutes we saw politicians run out and try to exploit this tragedy, try to push their political agenda of gun control. >> you need to put everything on the table, but what i hear from the administration and if "the washington post" is to be believed, that's way an extreme of what i think is necessary or even should be talked about. and it's not going to pass. >> rebecca, see the problem in this country. you know it. there you have ted cruz, a well-educated right winger like pat robertson. it's like they flush out their high educations when they get out of school for political purposes. talking about this being a political -- it's not anybody's political agenda. the only person who wants to have gun control is somebody who is scared of what the gun has been doing. it's nothing but trouble to be for gun control. you don't get any votes for that, but there you have a

it was music to my ears to hear the announcement today that the presiding officer today is heidi heitkamp we have nine new democratic senators. four of these new senators are women, and it makes our democratic caucus about a third of the caucus are now women. we have, for example, the first asian woman. we've expanded our majority. but i'm pretty satisfied with each passing election cycle about our caucus better reflecting the nation it serves. but despite the diversity of the caucus, and particularly its freshmen, there is one quality shared by each democratic senator: deep and abiding patriotism. and as governor adlai stevenson said -- and i quote -- "patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion. but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." that's really true, madam president. patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. and if you look at the records, the careers of these new senators, that's the way it is. each person coming here reminds me of my first few weeks in the house of representatives, when ti

in the south, in the mountain west, and places like north dakota, and you saw the new saar heidi heitkampe out and she thinks some of the proposals coming out of the white house are way too extreme for her. so you'll have republican senators like mark kirk in illinois who have been open in the past on issues like assault weapons bans, and you'll have democrats in the west, the mountain west and the rural south that will be absolutely opposed to it. and as you said earlier, though it is nonsense, and i'm certainly a person who believes that you can be a second amendment supporter, and also have sensible regulations on guns, but this issue plays out on the extremes, on the absurd binary choice that has defined the issue for so long. >> and that analysis, what you said there at the end, that we've spent so much time fighting about extreme positions that nobody is actually trying to advance, that we've left the -- we've left the whole middle ground of responsible, reasonable, respectful reform essentially untilled politically, that argument which you're getting from people like gabby giffords

here's what democratic senator heidi heitkamp of north dakota is saying. >> i think you need to put everythingble. but what i hear from the administration and if the. "washington post" is to be believed that's way in extreme of what i think is necessary or even should be talked about. and it's not going to pass. >> give us a sense, phillip, of how the white house is gearing up for this fight, what their strategy is. >> in the immediate aftermath of the shooting in newtown last month, president obama tasked vice president biden with leading an interagency working group. they've been meeting with a lot of key stakeholders, law enforcement leaders, faith leaders, various gun control advocates to develop their recommendations. they're still in that process. and the proposals that we reported about over the weekend are just things that are under consideration. it's not clear yet whether that's going to be a part of the final legislative package. but people who've been involved in those discussions say the white house is very much looking at a broader, more ambitious agenda than just the assault wea

also talked with republicans jeff flake of arizona and deb fischer of nebraska, democrats heidi heitkamp of north dakota and tim kaine of virginia, as well as independent angus king of maine. you can find those interviews on our web site. >> ifill: finally tonight, this year marks the 150th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation. a three-part series on pbs's "american experience" profiles the passionate anti-slavery activists who convinced president abraham lincoln to take action. "the abolitionists" tells the stories of five major figures: frederick douglass, william lloyd garrison, angelina grim- keÉy, harriet beecher stowe, and john brown. this excerpt is about douglass, the african-american writer and movement leader. arizona. >> by the winter of 1845, frederick douglass had been touring the anti-slavery circuit for for four years. as he contemplated his future he couldn't imagine himself traveling forever in the shadow of his white mentors repeating his story to small gatherings of the curious and the converted. >> tell your story, frederick. but whisper my friend william lloy

[applause] as i thought about senator heitkamp's addition to the senate, i think i finally found someone who is a bigger cheerleader from north dakota than i am. fancy you, senator. thank you very much. we look forward to working with you. she is truly an expert in the oil of area management in the area of oil and natural gas, not only comes from the number two oil producer in the united states today of north dakota, she's also been attacks commission and state attorney general. let me quickly go around and introduced some others. walter, would you please stand. walter is the general president of the iron workers union. is part of our labor-management group at the api. let me skip over top and introduced doug. would you please stand. doug is the president of the united brotherhood of carpenters. we work closely with organized labor at the api. we have 15 unions now. we are working closely together in job creation and economic recovery. doug and walt, thank you very much for being here today. we appreciate it. [applause] to other good friends, dot, would you please stand? dot is director

so far, we've talked with arizona republican jeff flake, democrats heidi heitkamp from north dakota andirginia's tim kaine, and independent angus king of maine. deb fischer will be one of just a handful of cattle ranchers in congress when she is sworn in tomorrow. the 61-year-old republican was a state senator from sparsely populated northern nebraska. she won her party minaon in a surprise victory over other, better-known candidates last summer. in november, shshe defeated forr democratic senator bob kerrey by a wide margin, and replaces retiring democrat ben nelson. deb fischer, welcome and congratulations. >> thank you, judy. great to be here. >> woodruff: given the spectacle we're watching in the congress right now and the last few years and the low regard we know the american hold of congress, are you sure you want this job? >> oh, yes. there is so much that we need to do. we just need to roll up our sleeves and get to work. in nebraska we're very fortunate. we have a nonpartisan unicamral. we have experience with working with republicans and democrats. we've been able to get a lot

so far, we've talked with arizona republican jeff flake democrats heidi heitkamp from north dakota andginia's tim kaine, and independent angus king of maine. deb fischer will be one of just a handful of cattle ranchers in congress when she is sworn in tomorrow. the 61-year-old republican was a state senator from sparsely populated northern nebraska. she won her party nomination in a surprise victory over other, better known candidates last summer. in november, she defeated former democratic senator bob kerrey by a wide margin, and replaces retiring democrat ben nelson. deb fischer, welcome and congratulations. >> thank you, judy. great to be here. >> woodruff: given the spectacle we're watching in the congress right now and the last few years and the low regard we know the american hold of congress are you sure you want this job? >> oh yes. there is so much that we need to do. we just need to roll up our shreves and get to work. in nebraska we're very fortunate. we have a nonpartisan uni camral. we have experience with working with republicans and democrats. we've been able to get a lo

heitkamp of north dakota. mr. heller of nevada. ms. hirono of hawaii. mr. kaine of virginia. the vice president: please raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation eely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? the group: i do. the vice president: congratulations, senators. [applause] the vice president: the clerk will call the names of the next group. the clerk: mr.ing of maine. ms. klobhar of minnesota. mr. manchin of west virginia. mrs. mccaskill of missouri. the vice president: ease raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic; thatou bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation freely, without any mental