increase support with the public for your party is to embrace policies to public supports. >> howard fineman, jay carney makes sense every once in a while. >> and he did right there. and this report from rnc read like a soviet five-year plan. we will have more production and we are going to reach out to the ethnic minorities that we don't understand. it had very little relationship to reality, except there was a distant sound of their realization that for example on gay rights, they're way, way wrong. hillary clinton today came out in favor of supporting gay marriage. young people in the rnc's own report, young people are the ones leading the way on that. i'll give reince priebus credit for saying in that report that the issue of gay rights is a gateway issue for young people that if the republicans don't get right on, no young people are going to listen to him on anything else. it is a gateway, a gateway. they said that. they alluded barely to the question of immigration and immigration reform. you had the president today nominating tony perez, hispanic american, to be secretary of labor. p

thank you, howard fineman.ou, alex wagner. >>> up next, maybe the country isn't quite as crazy about guns as we've been led to believe. wait until you see who's been buying these guns. it's not the way you think. it's really a few special cases. anyway, this is "hardball." the place for politics. it's a n. if your a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased r

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howard fineman, who wins, who loses politically as the cuts now begin to play themselves out? >> well, i think the president has the upper hand politically, but i think it's a closer question than was true during the fiscal cliff. i think in this case not raising taxes, just the mere statement of refusal to raise taxes is overall by itself a pretty popular sort of default position for the american people, so it's a little bit of a closer question. where the republicans lose and where they're going to continue to lose is that they seem to be the uncooperative ones. they're the ones who are refusing to properly negotiate. they're the ones who are taking, you know, a line in the sand position. and in the 1990s it was the republicans who were blamed for a shutdown of government. and this time around it will be the republicans, by a narrow margin perhaps, but the republicans who will again be blamed for the disruptions that the sequester causes. you're going to see lines at the airports. you're going to see furloughs. you're going to see a slow down of economic activity in various

thank you, howard fineman.ou, alex wagner. >>> up next, maybe the country isn't quite as crazy about guns as we've been led to believe. wait until you see who's been buying these guns. it's not the way you think. it's really a few special cases. anyway, this is "hardball." the place for politics. [ tylenol bottle ] we are? yeah we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. olay ultra moisture body wash can with more moisturizers than seven bottles of the leading body wash. with ultra moisture your body wash is anything but basic. soft, smooth skin with olay. >>> want to know why mr. smith won't be going to washington any time soon? we're leaving it to wealthy people like ashley judd. a study by the campaign finance watchdog group found the winners of senate seats just last year spent an average of $10.476,000. in other words, over $10 million. even

thank you, howard fineman.x wagner. >>> up next, maybe the country isn't quite as crazy about guns as we've been led to believe. wait until you see who's been buying these guns. it's not the way you think. it's really a few special cases. anyway, this is "hardball." the place for politics. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understand. our financial advice is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. life brings obstacles. usaa brings retirement advice. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. olay ultra moisture body wash can with more moisturizers than seven bottles of the leading body wash. w

i wanted to bring in howard fineman on breaking new on another upcoming major race, this one for the snort of kentucky. howard, of course, also an msnbc political analyst as well. he joins me on the phone. good afternoon, sir, you're reporting on sources that say 44-year-old ashley judd has decided she's definitely going to be running against senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. i understand you just got back from louisville. >> what i can tell you is that she has told several key people that she's in and that she will announce sometime in and around derby, which is the kentucky derby, which is the first saturday in may, i'm guessing late april leading up to the derby, maybe up to the beginning of may. the attention of the country on louisville at that time. she'll make a big play. that's what she's told people, that she's in. >> how has she gone about laying the groundwork? >> she's being very methodical. she sat down with kirsten jigil brandt gillibrand from new york. she's talking to a lot of different media people who might help her. the name i hear is j.b. porschp. she's been

. >>> howard fineman has a wrap-up of the conservative conclave. >>> plus more republican obstruction of appointees has democrats fuming. i'll ask former senator tom daschle if harry reid needs to revisit the filibuster reform. >>> and yesterday it was the president. now democratic leadership looks like they may cave on social security. i'll ask the big congressional panel where they stand. >>> good to have you with us, folks, thanks for watching. people around the country are still buzzing about the man behind the 47% video who revealed his identity on this show last night. now, today the world is getting to know the real scott prody. he described himself on this program as a regular guy. he's got bills to pay, he struggles in the middle class like anybody else. he has a dream to go to law school and he's -- really, here's another thing about him that i think you should know. he's a bartender. this is interesting. bartenders are in the service and hospitality industry, they are also some of the best armchair psychologists you can find. some of the best people readers on the earth. th

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howard fineman, as always.hank you very much. >>> coming up, mitt romney's first interview since losing the election. he says he was convinced he would win even as late as election day. that's ahead. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ kitt ] you know what's impressive? a talking car. but i'll tell you what impresses me. a talking train. this ge locomotive can tell you exactly where it is, what it's carrying, while using less fuel. delivering whatever the world needs, when it needs it. ♪ after all, what's the point of talking if you don't have something important to say? ♪ >>> the 2016 speculation continues with jeb bush's interview this morning on the "today" show. bush wouldn't rule out becoming the first-degree member of his family to run for president. >> that's way off into the future. i have a voice i want to share my beliefs about how the conservative movement and the republican party can regain its footing because we've lost our way. >> bush says he's not ruling anything out but he's not decla

with us the huffington post howard fineman. kelly o'donnell. first up, remember we were young and many of us were out on the streets and many of us said, don't trust anyone over 30? until this week when we witnessed the support for gay marriage we may not have seen the power of the 20-something. we know they voted for obama in far greater percentages. 32% more likely to go for obama than boomers than the over 65 crowd. maybe you don't know how big the divide is. as recently as the 2000 elections there was no age divide. it's about just how different this new generation coming at us right now from what we saw before. and get this, by the 2020 presidential election, get this, the under and 30 crowd some now still in elementary school will be 40% of the american elect tort. this is an enormous power of people, much more liberal on every issue we argue about on television.

and it has shown results around the country and why republican governors are pretty popular. >> howard fineman. >> university of louisville tie. >> coming up next is best seller harlan coppen who will join us. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. [ female announcer ] how do you define your moment? the blissful pause just before that rich sweetness touches your lips. the delightful discovery, the mid-sweetening realization that you have the house all to yourself. well, almost. the sweet reward, making a delicious choice that's also a smart choice. splenda no-calorie sweetener. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda makes the moment yours. [ male announcer ] we all have something neatly tucked away in the back of our mind. a secret hope. that thing we've always wanted to do. it's not about having dreams, it's about reaching them. ♪ an ally for real possibilities. aarp. find tools and direction at aarp.org/possibilities. otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. whi

thank you, howard fineman. >>> coming up, the man who shocked america in 2004 when he announced he was gay or is gay. and resigning as governor of new jersey. jim mcgreevey were faced with the same situation today would our greater acceptance of gay rights, would he still feel he had to resign? we're going to get into all those questions. no more law. personal stuff coming up here. >>> also, why would the republican governor of north dakota sign the most restrictive anti-abortion measure ever if he knows it will never survive a court challenge? because it's all about keeping the gop's right wing base quite happy no matter how flawed the legislation is. >>> have you heard about the >>> political news from kentucky. actress ashley judd will not run for the u.s. senate down there. judd was long rumored, of course, to be interested in challenging republican leader mitch mcconnell. but she's passing on that chance. a source close to judd told "the washington post"'s chris silizza the timing is not right. democrats in kentucky were worried that a judd candidacy would hurt other democrats run

thank you, howard fineman. >>> coming up, the man who shocked america in 2004 when he announced he was gay or is gay. and resigning as governor of new jersey. jim mcgreevey were faced with the same situation today would our greater acceptance of gay rights, would he still feel he had to resign? we're going to get into all those questions. no more law. personal stuff coming up here. >>> also, why would the republican governor of north dakota sign the most restrictive anti-abortion measure ever if he knows it will never survive a court challenge? because it's all about keeping the gop's right wing base quite happy no matter how flawed the legislation is. >>> have you heard about the government's secret plan to use obama care to register more democrats? neither has anyone else except a republican congressman from louisiana. >>> when a politician gets into a sex scandal, what are the rules for taking it back by the voters? this is "hardball," the place for politics. more than two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. t

according to former kentucky political reporter howard fineman, ashley judd has told advisers she willher candidacy in early may. a public policy poll of kentucky voters conducted in december shows judd polling within four points of senator mcconnell. joining me now, "the washington post" and sam stein. nia, four point gap against incumbent is basically you're winning. when it comes to normal political arithmetic, when they poll below 50, then the undecideds go to the challenger. she hasn't run an ad or done a thing and is within easy challenging distance of the republican leader of the u.s. senate. what is going on here? >> i mean, i think those low poll numbers you cited, 17% of folks in kentucky, those are the only ones want to vote for him. the problem is whether it is the candidate he would want. his strategy has been to raise a bunch of money and play a bunch of negative ads against his opponent and do a carpet bombing. you can see some of it starting already with some of the outside groups already running "the ed show" against ashley judd. so that's the question. democrats would

howard fineman is the editorial director for "the huffington post." its media group. reid, grio.com. both msnbc political analysts. this is something i never knew and now i know. you and i, and you i think got used to this, too, that there are, joy, that there are two kinds of republicans. there's the two-fisted business guy, usually a man, who wants to make money, he wants lower taxes, less regulation. that's the reason he's a republican. you have the evangelical republican, religion comes from church, basic moral beliefs. according in this poll, they're the same people. better than that, the business conservatives buy into the cultural issues. cultural driven people buy into the business issues. it's heterogeneous. >> it's heterogeneous internally but they turned inward. a generation ago the republican party reached outward and reached to people who had been democrats. they expanded demographically because they got a lot of catholics, got northern catholics in the party who hadn't been there before and got southerners who had been democrats and who were economically

thank you, howard fineman, james carroll, excellent name on st. patrick's week.we return, i'm going to tell you what you can do for the victims of the gun violence in this country, especially the kids in newtown, connecticut. you can do something. it's not hard, you can do it tonight. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medici

now, i will see you back in new york city tomorrow at noon eastern when i'm joined by joy reed, howard finemand wood and james cavalirville. you can find me on facebook.com/now. "andrea mitchell reports" is coming up next. ou can do that a, i don't like v8 juice. [ male announcer ] how about v8 v-fusion. a full serving of vegetables, a full serving of fruit. but what you taste is the fruit. so even you... could've had a v8. at a hertz expressrent kiosk, you can rent a car without a reservation... and without a line. now that's a fast car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

thank you, howard fineman, james carroll, excellent name on st. patrick's week. return, i'm going to tell you what you can do for the victims of the gun violence in this country, especially the kids in newtown, connecticut. you can do something. it's not hard, you can do it tonight. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. [ female announcer ] stress sweat is different than ordinary sweat. it smells worse. get 4x the protection against stress sweat. introducing new secret clinical strength stress response scent. get 4x the protection against stress sweat. it's not what you think. it's a phoenix with 4 wheels. it's a hawk with night vision goggles. it's marching to the beat of a diffe

howard fineman reports a formal announcement is expected in late summer. >>> no deal yet on gun legislation, but an interesting note from history. the a.p. points out richard nixon wanted to ban handguns altogether. oval office recordings show president nixon wanted to take on the nra but another recording shifted the focus to watergate. >>> president obama is expected to name thomas perez his next labor secretary according to multiple reports. right now he's the assistant attorney general for the justice department's civil rights division. if confirmed, he would -- it would also make him the only latino in the cabinet. >>> and no cameras were allowed, but it's worth reading you. one of the president's jokes from the gridiron club dinner over the weekend, and there were a lot of them. quote, as i was saying, we face major challenges. march in particular is going to be full of tough decisions, but i want to assure you i have my top advisers working around the clock. after all, my march madness bracket isn't going to fill itself out. he probably delivered it better than i did. and if you read

congressman harold ford junior and editorial director of the huffington post media group msnbc analyst, howard fineman debut today. >> i'm honored. >> grand bargaining is the name of the game in washington as president obama and republicans seek an illusive middle ground on spending and taxes. so far, the game is not going very well. >> is the grand bargain dead? >> i don't know whether we can come to a big agreement. the president believes that we have to have more taxes from the american people. we're not going to get very far. >> the president has sounded equally pessimistic about bridging the divide. >> it may be that the differences are just too wide. if their position is we can't do any revenue, or we can only do revenue if we gut medicare or gut social security or gut medicaid, if that's the position, then we're probably not going to be able to get a deal. >> while there's not much agreement there are plenty of ideas. washington is awash in budgets. no less than six plans are currently circulating on the hill. there is the plan from senate democrats, or the murray plan. it includes a one-to-one

there was a huffington post report by howard fineman that she told friends she's running. far the source says she has not pulled the trigger. >> mitch mcconnell is 40% behind in the polls. lots of states, that's vulnerable. i am told he is always behind when he wins re-election. their side, they are thinking bring on ashley judd. she lives in nashville. she would have to move, they could make the carpet bagger argument. >> does mcconnell have to worry about that. >> the odds are if you're a republican you're more likely to get beaten. republicans say it is proof no credible democrat with pedigree in politics is willing to run against mcconnell. mcconnell people are salivating at this. she called consultants, having conversations, hasn't taken the final step. people that a month ago said she will blink are saying hmm. >> thanks for coming in. we will see you at 4:00 p.m. eastern starting next monday, i believe. "the situation room" will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. >> right next door in the studio next door. >> try to keep it down. >>> new york's sugary drink ban stopped

. >> howard fineman is reporting she will make the announcement sometime around the derby.r being with us this morning. >> thank you. >> chuck todd will join us conversation, along with rana forooher. we will be right back. [ telephone ringing ] [ sighs ] [ ringing continues, dog barks ] [ male announcer ] staples makes it easier to get everything your business needs. [ dog whimpers ] even paper towels. and now get a scott mega roll paper towel 6 pack for $4.99. staples. that was easy. from capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you. that's three new paper shredders. [ boris ] put 'em on my spark card. [ garth ] boris' small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase every day. great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. read back the chicken's testimony, please. "buk, buk, bukka!" [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase every day. told you i'd get half. what's in your wallet? omnipotent of opp

host: howard fineman sent out this week -- back to your earlier point about not many people able to seethese, how important are these dinners, especially this one? guest: that is a good question. my sense is both the gridiron and the correspondents association dinner probably appeal to a very limited audience. i suspect that there are not too many voters outside of the beltway that are paying very close attention to them. i was surprised by how few tweets were flying around last night. the journalists who were not there, not a lot of response from people inside the beltway, virtually none. that is not scientific. my sense is that these dinners are very "-- closely watched inside the beltway, and not very much so outside. host: john fritze, who was in the gridiron dinner for the president's remarks. we appreciate it. joining us now for a look at the past week and the upcoming week are peter cook, who is chief washington correspondent for bloomberg television -- good morning. we also say good morning to smoken, the deputy editor at politico. we're talking about the president's schmoozing.