but first, senator jim demint said if we would stop obama on health care, it would be his waterloo. ll, without mentioning senator demint by name, the president hit back. >> i am quoting him now. "if we are able to stop obama on this, this will be his waterloo. it will break him. think about that. this is not about me. this is not about politics. this is about a health-care system that is breaking america's families, and breaking america's businesses, and breaking america's economy." greta: well, one republican senator joins us live, and ji jm demint. he is also the author of a blocked "savingç freedom" -- oa book. >> if we do not put the brakes on the president, he is going to break our country. we ended up with this catastrophic stimulus failure that is hurting our jobs to and mortgaging our future, and now, and he is trying toç push -- 30 our jobs and mortgaging our future, and now he is trying to push this -- hurting our jobs. this is what i hear from americans more than anything else. slow down. read the bills. find out what is in them. the president wants to go too fast. we h

. >> if you listen to jim demint and james in hofe, they said that the longer it takes, the better it is for them as 2010. >> charles grassley and max baucus have established a relationship. but part of it is that max baucus place like a house of cards. at some point, i do think -- i said this before -- obama has to get the key players in, including his own guys come and say "here are things we have to do, and we will sit around a table, i will be back in half an hour." >> i don't think they are at that point yet. right now is a very important part max baucus and charles grassley to come to terms on some issues that they can bring to a group in. rockefeller has a right to feel peaked, because he is a member of the committee and not involved in that. they want to bring him in as well. but this is part of the legislative process. you have to be able to establish what is going to be the critical mass around this bill. a lot of it very difficult issues are going to have to be reconciled. you will have to have people sign off on cost controls that they don't want to touch at all. some peop

people like jim demint and other republicans in the senate and house, i can't overstate their fear and dislike of barack obama and everything he stands for. in their view barack obama is trying to engineer a government takeover of every aspect of private enterprise whether in the stimulus package, cap and trade, and now health care, and jim demint is proud of what he thinks it stands for which is private sector dominance over health care. politically it's very unpopular but he doesn't care. >> if president obama's effort at health care reform were to fail would jim demint and republicans really win by essentially keeping the status quo and knocking it down? would americans be likely to look at senator demint, even in his own state, as having achieved anything for them? how hollow would the victory be? >> i think it would be pretty hollow. you showed the poll numbers on the public's basic trust of democrats over republicans on health care. the fact is that most americans want health care reform. they know the system is broken. they want it to be fixed. they want coverage extended to all

andrew: senator jim demint, thank you very much. i'm sick and tired of secrecy in the government and the federal reserve is the worst and the congress has to to pass this legislation. is the government about to put a choke hold on your freedom of speech? are you ready for this? details next. ñ Ñ andrew: let me count the ways that we're losing individual liberties as the government grows bigger and regulations grow more every day. now, freedom of speech is in jeopardy. the house has already passed its own bill. now the senate is considering broadening the government's powers to prosecute those who commit hate crimes, and just who is a hit criminal under this bill? it's up for serious interpretation. david writgers is with the cato institute and joins me now. welcome to the program. tell us about the portions of this legislation which might make it a crime for someone like me, or you, to using a gressive speech as we're communicating over the airwaves like we're doing now. >> well, there is a bill in the house that would cri

steve: jim demint was on, and i asked him if anybody had read this.t today, but he said, i guarantee you no one has read it. alisyn: it is always interesting to hear from our audience. this one is from laura -- brian: well worth the wait. . that sticks to your teeth so well you can even drink water with it on. new crest whitestrips advanced seal. get a dramatically whiter smile while you do just about anything. satisfaction guaranteed. [ water ] hey, it's me -- water. did you know that when you filter me from your tap i'm pretty much the same as i am in a plastic bottle? well, that's not entirely true. see, at home, i'm 10 times cheaper. other than that, though, i'm pretty similar. oh, wait, there's no expiration date. and i don't have to get shipped all around the country. but other than the costing, the expiring thing, and the shipping thing, we're pretty much the same. pur. good, clean water. steve: we said we were going to bring you a new poll on how we get illegal immigrants' health care. we had some technical problems, so we will bring that to y

andrew: senator jim demint, thank you very much. i'm sick and tired of secrecy in the government and the federal reserve is the worst and the congress has to to pass this legislation. is the government about to put a choke hold on your freedom of speech? are you ready for this? details next. getting your daily vegetables and fruit can be difficult. nine out of ten adults don't get the recommended amount. that's why there's v8 v-fusion juice. it's one hundred percent juice with a full serving of vegetables, a full serving of fruit and antioxidants a, c and e. you get vegetable nutrition we all need but what you taste is the fruit. try new goji raspberry and passionfruit tangerine flavors. v8 v-fusion an easy, delicious way to get more vegetables. brand power. helping you buy better. of the world's most revered luxury sedan. this is a history of over 50,000 crash-tested cars... this is the world record for longevity and endurance. and one of the most technologically advanced automobiles on the planet. this is the 9th generation e-clas

we've got too many jim demints and tom coburns. it's the southerners. people hear them and say these people, they're southerners. the party is being taken over by southerners. is the party of lincoln getting weighted down by the refugees from the democratic party down in dixie? finally in more ways than one, we've now got republicans opposing health care reform by telling people that the government is coming to your house to ask you how you want to die. is that more mularkey? that's in the "politics fix." plus what, general colin powell has to say about mr. afternoon delight himself, rush limbaugh in the "hardball" sideshow. first, fox news host glen beck said this early tuesday about president obama. >> this president i think has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has a deep seated hatred for white people or the white culture. i don't know what it is. >> fox was so concerned by that that it issued a statement separating itself from it. here's a statement from bill schein, the senior vice president of programming for fox news. "du

did jim demint step in it by giving him a way out? >> i think that was a tactical error and i think the majority is as senator gregg said on your show just a few minutes ago, the majority of senators want to see this work. they also want to make sure they have enough time to get into the debate, to be a part of the debate. health care is not one of those things like in appropriations if you spend too much, you can cut back the next year. once we make this massive overhaul of health care, much of what is very necessary, you can't undo it. so the real focus has to be on why this arbitrary august 7th deadline. i know it gets harder when congress leaves session. but i think that feedback is very important for congress to leave, come back, hear what the people are concerned about. we see the numbers are dropping on health care and support for health care and senator obama. you know, let's just take a break and keep to it. but let's not work on a political deadline, because the political deadline only encourages political discussion. >> wha

why is it they're playing around with the republicans like jim demint made it very clear.s has nothing to do with the american people. this has nothing to do with what we want, what it is that we need. this is about trying to take this president down. he needs to stand and up say, to hell with you, we've had enough. now we'll simply take control and do what must be done. that's all. >> tim griffin, what are we supposed to make of senator jim demint of south carolina when he says he wants this to be obama's waterloo? where's all this bipartisanship, all this love that's supposed to be around there? >> i think the bottom line is there's a lot of reasons to stop this legislation. and you can -- he may not be the most articulate in how he expressed it but the bottom line is there are a lot of people who want this stopped including democrats. you mentioned the blue dogs earlier. well, the blue dogs in places like south arkansas where i grew up, you've got mike ross down there, those people don't want this reform package to pass. >> they don't want health care? >> they want heal

>> well, i would have to probably side with jim demint, this is the centerpiece. if he does not get this this time, you try for next year or later in this term. they are going to keep trying for this. i think it is wrong for people on our side to start getting giddy about polls showing most people opposing this and so forth because these people never give up, they never go away, they will not stop until they get this done. that is why they have to constantly be politically defeated. that is what future elections are all about. i think obama has a problem with criticism. i think he has led a charmed life. he thinks that he is above criticism. if this happens, it will just fire them up even more. rahm emanuel is going to send more dead fish to more democrats. this is a constant battle with these people who want to take over the country for themselves. greta: up next, rush says that there is a battle raging inside the republican party. could a third party becoming? the future of sarah palin and much more. did president obama apologize? he changes his tune after he sa

captivating when you watched the president yesterday make those comments in rebuttal to senator jim demint where he suggested this is the president's waterloo, and he said this is not about me, this isn't about politics. well, wait a second. it's not about politics. then why does this bill have to be on your desk in two weeks. sean: because he senses -- i'll tell you why, and i'll answer your own question. because you're great at asking questions. because the answer is he senses that his political capital that the honeymoon is ending, and this may be his last chance, and this is the problem. the longer people analyze this bill, the longer they realize taxes are going to go up, that rationen is a part of what our health care system -- now will -- have in it, most americans are going to be forced into the government system, they're not going to be able to keep these promises are false just like the stimulus promises were false. >> and that's the problem. they've got the president out a little too often making promises that he can't necessarily keep. it's really dangerous for him to say every

. >> a disturbing comment made by jim demint. i'll read it to you, david and tell me what you think if it's a good analogy. we are about where germany was before world war ii where they became a social democracy. you still had votes but the votes were just power grabs like you see in iran and other places in south america. people become more dependant on the government so that they are easy to manipulate. is that a fair analogy? >> i have been very concerned. the beginning of the week, last year, gallup had a poll that offered the promise of good news to republicans. it showed that the country seemed to be becoming more conservative. when you asked people, were you becoming more conservative, they said yes. when you broke it apart, you found that almost all of that was concentrated among conservatives. 60% are conservative. there is a risk of a disconnect between the conservative minority, the big minority within the country that is becoming sometimes more extreme and the rest of the country that is staying about where it is. >>

south carolina republican jim demint who, just two weeks ago predicted healthcare may be the president's political undoing or his waterloo, says voters are slowing things to a crawl. >> i think the impasse is more caused by the american people, because these democrats are going home and they're hearing what i'm hearing, and that's barack obama, keep your hands off my healthcare. >> democratic majority healthcare leader harry reid backed the p president's hurry up approach but argues the g.o.p. argument that showing down protects taxpayers. >> we're committed to get this right, not just getting it done by an arbitrary deadline. >> the democrats problem is their own centrists, who like republicans, fear the costs and complexities of a healthcare overhaul equal to a sixth of the u.s. economy. florida democrat bill nelson is one of them. >> and all the flap going on is public option or no public option. that is only one minute part. this thing is so complicated. there are other things that are major stumbling blocks. >> liberals cheered some congressional budget analysis this weekend which s

. >> up carolina senator jim demint deflected criticism that he politicize the debate when he said that the plan would be mr. obama's waterloo. >> the president wants to push it through before we are able to take a look at what is really in it. >> tonight is the president's fifth news conference and might be the most contentious since taking office. >> again, the president will address the nation tonight at 8:00. you can watch the health care reform pitch right here on a wbal-tv 11. >>> gov. martin o'malley is expected to announce $280 million in budget cuts today. he is looking to slash about $700 million. a reduction in spending will impact college and health care. also among the plants, closing the state print shop, rebidding energy contracts, renegotiate office space, and using less expensive drugs in state hospitals. >> paradoxically, because of the unemployment numbers in our state, we qualify for additional help from the federal government. >> the governor says he plans to slash the state's lottery advertising budget and will propose a $34 million reduction in state medicaid paym

coming up senator jim demint sounded the rally cry for republicans earlier this week on stopping theemocrats' health care plan, and the president is not happy about it. listen to this. >> just the other day one republican senator said, and i'm quoting him now, "if we're able to stop obama on this, it will be his waterloo. it will break him." sean: could this actually be president obama's waterloo? the "great american panel" is coming up next. welcome to the now network. population 49 million. right now, 1.5 million people are on a conference call. 750,000 wish they weren't. - ( phones chirping ) - construction workers are making 244,000 nextel direct connect calls. 1 million people are responding to an email. - 151 accidentally hit "reply all." - ( foghorn blows ) that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network bringing you the first wireless 4g network. - sprint. the now network. - ( whoosh sound ) deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. i had a great time. me too. you know, i just got out of a bad relatio... it's okay. thanks

it will break him. >> but the only people jim demint will break are south carolina families and businesswners. senator demint is playing politics with our healthcare, putting the special interests in washington ahead of south carolina families and businesses. the only health care plan jim demint supports is no plan at all. the democratic nation until committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> they're going to play this ad in south carolina. smart? >> yeah. a lot of times the democrats do something that i don't think is smart, but i try to be accommodating. this is smart. i think it was a pretty stupid thing to say. he should have read alex's memo. he could have said a couple other things. but this was a dumb thing that demint said and the democrats seized on it. i have no problem with that. congratulations to the dnc. >> what do you think? >> it's pretty clear that senator demint was talking about waterloo for president obama's health care plan, the big government-run plan. interestingly enough, i don't know why democrats are so worried about republicans now because

"we got too many jim demints i and tom coburns. it is the southerners. they get on tv and go err, err. people hear them, these people, they are southerners, the party is being taken over by southerners." i wonder what you want to say to senator george voinovich. >> well, he is apparently very frustrated. he has decided not to run again and i don't mind him taking out his frustrations on me, but the fact is if you look at the southerners, a lot of our elected leadership, like lee mar alexander, john cornyn, these folks are southerners and we have got probably the most constructive working members of the senate. johnny isaacson, saxby chambliss, you look at richard byrd, all contributing people, certainly not hurting the people right now. but wolf, the point i have been trying to make, maine doesn't have to be like south carolina or like california. if we really take a federalist approach, where we are promoting freedom out across the country, these different states can have different solutions for health care or education or energy. and that is what we ar

republican senator jim demint took it one step further accusing the president . going on a spending spree and saying someone has to put the brakes on him. president obama will try to take control of the political debate tonight. he wants a chance to speak directly to a national tv audience in an effort to increase the pressure on congress. >> and i think that if we keep working, then i am confident that we can get this done. >> reporter: but leading republicans aren't buying it. >> health care reform is too important to rush through and get it wrong. >> reporter: the president has told members of congress he wants to see a final health care reform plan on his desk before they leave for their august recess, but it is looking like at best, he will have to settle for a little less, a bill passed by the house and an agreement among senators on how they will move forward in the fall. in washington, joel brown, wjz eyewitness news. >> the president's proposal was dealt a major blow last week when the congressional budget office said it will significantly increase the c

jim demint, my colleague from south carolina said it. it was on tape. we know it. they said health care will be this president's waterloo, it will break him. that is what they are about. it saddens me to say it. they're not all that way. we have a few who are working, but that's where we are. >> i think the president has to respond to that. a lot of people are going to be watching tonight in masses. now is the time. i want to know what you think so get your cell phones out. will the democrats cave to big insurance lobby? text a to yes, b for no. 622639. we'll bring you results later on in the show. coming up, a new democrat, arlen specter being challenged. stay with us. product do women think is best? according to a study presented by better homes and gardens, definity color recapture. it corrects the look of wrinkles and discoloration. 50,000 voters. one brilliant winner. >> i'm planning a trip to canada to see what universal health care coverage is really like. but tonight, i guess you could say canada is coming to us. the top leader there wants to respond on the

somewhere and said oops, it would be bad but i think he came back strong and the president had elevated jim demint now to a national level where he can be a player in the debasement. >> congressman, which of those ideas you've outlined or that sno demint outlined do you think will make its way into legislation and get passed and signed? >> we hope the tax voucher plan that would give every american a tax voucher to buy insurance so we can deal with the unsnurned we think is a more tesk effective way to deal with this situation. it doesn't set up government health care or government option which competes against the private sector. i hope that makes it at least, in part. i do think it is important to listen to what jim demint said we do want to be part of this and have offered alternatives and now they are less expensive and potentially cover more people. keep in mind for a trillion dollar price tag, the president still leaves 20 million americans uninsured. >> congressman kingston i'm joined by richard wolf. >> we were talking to senator gregg who is a big advocate having one of the medicare commi

we welcome back south carolina republican senator jim demint, author of the new book, "saving freedom" and mr. demint, i thought you might have a thought in the sunday "new york times" op-ed section, joe biden says what you might not know about recovery. team obama is taking credit for recovery. do you have a thought on that? >> anyone who thinks all this government spending is making the markets come back doesn't understand the economy the same way you do, larry. >> well, i want to ask you about this, because one of the themes tonight, dow 9100, a splin did i do, splendid summer rally, which has crushed the bears and the petitions mists, okay? now, question. if things are so bad in the world of politics down there in washington, why do you reckon they're so much better here in the stock market and the outlook for economic recovery? >> well, america has a resilient economy. there is still a lot of free enterprise working out there. we're doing this in spite of the politics. i think the government has probably done about all it can to slow down our economy. but fortunately, america is

jim demint took it one step further, accusing the president of going on a spending spree and saying someone has to put the brakes on him. president obama will try to take control of the political debate tonight. he wants a chance to speak to a national tv audience in an effort to increase the pressure on congress. >> and i think that if we keep working that i'm confident we can get this done. >> reporter: but leading republicans aren't buying it. >> health care reform is too important to rush through and get it wrong. >> reporter: the president has told members of congress he wants to see a final plan on his desk before they leave for their august recess. but it is looking like at best he will have to settle for a little less, a bill passed by the house an an agreement among senators how they will move forward in the fall. joel brown, cbs news, the white house. >> we'll bring you the president's news conference. you can watch it hoar live at 8:00 on channel 9 or go to our website at wusa9.com. >>> we are following a developing story of an accident that occurred in montgomery county. an off-

i problem is not too many jim demint s. the problem is we don't inch george voinovichs in places like ohio and enough candidates who can run and more importantly win in places like the northeast. but i will say that given everything -- i think the greatest gift ironically to the republican party's chances next year is how far to the left president obama and the democratically controlled congress has moved, and you look at the congressional generic ballot, republicans are moving up every single week. >> can i suggest where your party went long and then i will let karen take over. your party went wrong when george bush, the governor of texas, a young guy, didn't know much about a lot of things, asked the senior uncle figure dick cheney to pick his vice president for him. dick cheney somehow picked himself as chairman of that committee. >> convenient. >> in picking himself, he knocked apart a guy like tom ridge, who was a good moderate republican from pennsylvania. if your ticket had been built north/south, a texas governor, a

he's more comfortable when he's got a political bogey man, and i think that's why they trotted out jim demint in this case is that they finally found their political bogey man. you got a guy like chuck grassley, he does wanted to play. this gets at something else going on inside the republican party is you have about half the party that sees -- that smells political blood and they think, we can get obama on this. we can make him politically weaker if we beat him on this. and then you have the other half, the chuck grassleys of the world who want to play, who want to be a part. they see the train is leaving the station, something is going to get signed, and they want some influence. >> dan, the big question, how does the president's busyness in the next couple days and weeks when he said he's going to be all over the kun and all over the tube doing interviews everyone where, how does that make a couple senators, three or four republicans, make three or so moderate democrats cut a deal? >> well, there's two things that he's got to do, chris. the first is to continue to press to make this case p

. >> reporter: in one of the most incendiary comments, republican senator jim demint in a conferenceivists recently said -- >> if we're able to stop obama on this, it will be his waterloo. >> reporter: the president accused demint of using the healthcare debate for political gain. >> this isn't about politics. it's about a healthcare system that's breaking america's families. >> reporter: it's not just republicans giving americans headaches. >> we need to slow down. >> reporter: dozens of conservative house democrats are threatening to block the bill if it doesn't slash the costs of well over $1 trillion. >> develop a bill that can really result in the kind of savings that will cause healthcare to stop growing. >> reporter: others are resisting the president's goal of passing a bill by early august. >> sometimes when you move too quickly, you make mistakes. that, to me, is the big concern. >> reporter: the president says he still wants the house and the senate to meet that august deadline, but for the first time he gave himself a little bit of wiggle room, saying it may spill over a

focus grouping these kinds of words and you had jim demint, the president mentioned this, said jim demint barack obama. they clearly see some real political advantage here. >> anytime that a president puts himself out on an issue like this one, where passage is not certain. in politics, politicians tend to like to pick fights they know they can win. it is a risk and what a risk means for the party out of power is opportunity. this is an opportunity for republicans to start scoring some points in advance of 2010 and 2012. >> all right. read more from chris on his blog. thanks to chris and we will be back tomorrow. thanks to all of you. does it for me this hour. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. contessa brewer picks up our kovrnl next and will have the latest on the capture of the soldier in afghanistan. stay with us. you're watching msnbc. the place for politics. at 155 miles per hour, andy roddick has the fastest serve in the history of professional tennis. so i've come to this court to challenge his speed. ...on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i

. >> some friendly to his message -- >> senator jim demint and congressional republicans are trying to kill healthcare reform. 0thers are decidedly hostile. >> government-run health plan, you could end up with government bureaucrats taking away your choices. >> the side effects include bureaucratic waste and delay. >> don't folks say that somehow we're going to be forcing government-run healthcare. it's just not true. >> the president then is having to work hard to reassure the already insured that they won't get handed a big bill or bigger deficit. >> i won't sign it if that reformed as one dime over the next decade. i mean what i say. >> the president needs healthcare reform, but any delay or doubt hurts. bbc news, washington. >> now, the rest of this week's news and the only surviving gunman from last november's mumbai attacks shocked a court in india by changing his plea to guilty. the pakistani citizen had previously insisted he was innocent, and he calmly detailed how he and nine other gunmen planned their attack and just how they were carried out. >> it was the iconic image of t

obama specifically took issue with what one republican critic, south carolina senator jim demint, said last week f. we're >> if we're able to stop obama on this. it will be his waterloo. it will break him. >> it will be his waterloo. it will break him. think about that. this isn't about me. this isn't about politics. this is about a health care system that is breaking america's families. >> reporter: republicans believe they have the president on the political ropes and there's even a republican health care play book that michael steele spoke from nearly verbatim today. >> the barack obama experiment with america is a risk our country can't afford. it's too much, too fast, too soon. >> reporter: another difficulty for the president, explaining to the majority of americans who have insurance how the lack of reform costs them money. and so he's on yet another media blitz. here with nbc's meredith vieira. >> people know the system isn't working right now, but i also think that it's very easy to scare people that it's that going to get even worse and they think well, maybe the devil i know

. >> reporter: in one of the most incendiary comments, republican senator jim demint in a conference call with conservative activists recently said: >> if we >> reporter: today the president accused demint of using the health reform debate for political gains. >> this isn't about me. this isn't about politics. this is about a health care system that's breaking america's families. >> reporter: but it's not just republicans who are giving the president headaches. >> we need to slow down. >> reporter: dozens of conservative house democrats are threatening to block the bill if it doesn't slash the expected costs of well over a trillion dollars. >> develop a bill that can really result in the kind of savings that will cause health care to stop growing. >> reporter: others are resisting the president's goal of passing a bill by early august. >> sometimes when you move too quickly you make mistakes. that, to me, is the big concern. >> reporter: today, the president said he still wants the house and senate to meet that august deadline for passing their initial bills but he gave himself a lit

it will break him. >> senator jim demint comes out swinging in this dnc web ad.l us why the obama health care plan is all wrong. >>> welcome back to "squawk box," everyone. let's take a look at the markets. we have seen futures a little above fair value. yesterday the dow traded down for the first time in eight sessions but the nasdaq has been higher for 11 trading segs if a row. you're talking about the dow futures up about 18 points above fair value. as we continue to get these earnings rolling out through the morning. ford shares are called higher after the company posted a smaller than expected loss for the second quarter and reported revenues well above expectations. as you can see right there, that stock up by about 45 cents this morning already. that's a massive bid. that's a better than 6% or 7%. in other auto news, toyota will begin talks to exit from general motors in california. toyota wants to liquidate its stake in the freemont assembly plant. it is still possible that the operation could be sold to another company. >>> going to be waiting on earning

coming up senator jim demint sounded the rally cry for republicans earlier this week on stopping theemocrats' health care plan, and the president is not happy about it. listen to this. >> just the other day one republican senator said, and i'm quoting him now, "if we're able to stop obama on this, it will be his waterloo. it will break him." sean: could this actually be president obama's waterloo? the "great american panel" is coming up next. taking its rightful place in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz. but it's been two months, and you're still going strong. glade lasting impressions. two fragrances alternate to keep things... fresh and exciting day after day. - and not just for 30 days. - ( inhales deeply, sighs ) but for 60. it's the longest-lasting plugins ever. get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. sean: and tonight on our "great american panel" he is a columnist for the washington times, publisher of breitbart.com and

. >> that a congressman was a senator, jim demint, , and he said this could be the waterloo for obama do not know if that is the case, but if the president fails and health care reform, it is going to be a huge loss for this president and perhaps the political momentum he has had for much of the year will go way. shepard: 2 people on the hill think that is possible, where that it will come up with a compromise? none of these bills will have the votes. >> right now, no. that is why the deadline has been moved. it was gone to be an august recess, and by the end of the year the president has set a bill should be put on his desk. i think that is a reflection of reality that there is not to support right now at this moment in time for a health-care overhaul bill and putting it on the president's desk, and we will have to wait and see whether that changes over the next few days or weeks, but right now, there is not support for passing health care overhaul bills for the president. shepard: and this is his to sell and he will continue the sale tomorrow night on the big three networks. thank y

joining us is the chairman of the steering committee and author of "saving freedom" senator jim demintrom the nation's capital. good to have you on the program. >> good morning. if anyone wanted to know what centrally planned, politically managed economics looked like, you can see it now in this administration. >> i can see that's the take you're using in this new book called "saving freedom: we can stop america's slide into socialism." you say americans have an abusive marriage with the federal government and they want out. what do you mean by that? >> this is not a partisan bashing of the federal government. it's just pointing out that americans have become increasingly dependent on the government and as we do the government grows and continues to spend and borrow and basically pushing out our prosperous economic system. we see this in the jobs report, in the economic report, and i've been meeting with business leaders over the last couple of days. and they're just pulling their hair out at the policies right now that are making it almost impossible for them to grow and create jobs.

greta: joining me now is a senator, who is author of the book "saving freedom, " jim demint.hether or not it has been implemented at the speed or pace as was promised. the vice president asks, "what would you do, " so what would you do, senator? -- what would you do," so what would you do? >> there are a number of options that would leave more money in the economy. basically, you keep the tax rates the same, make the current tax rates in the same, reduce them to businesses and workers be and that is a way to keep money in the economy rather than taking it out and saying who is going to get it. there were promises that unemployment would never go above 8% if we passed it. they wanted it passed in m&a. it has not worked. it is time to let the economy work the way it should -- they wanted it passed in one day. greta: the housing starts, there was a really favorable number yesterday that was, i think, the highest in eight years. that was a good sign. are there any signs either way to support or defeat whether or not the recovery act as passed in february is a good idea? >> well,

it's not about jim demint. it's about putting in place a healthcare strategy that we can move forward from, knowing we've got cost contain, accessibility is still there, and the quality is still high. this is about putting a good healthcare plan in place. what i said yesterday very directly to the president is, when you go to your press conference tomorrow, tell us the truth about the costs and let's talk about the timing. this rush in two weeks is not going to work. >> michael steele, we appreciate your time this morning. take care. >> you got it, harry. >>> now the latest on the u.s. soldier being held captive in afghanistan. the family of private first class bowe bergdahl says they're overwhelmed by the worldwide support for the safe return of their son. cbs news correspondent mandy clark is in kabul this morning with the latest on the search. mandy, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a massive search for private bergdahl is being led by the 3,000 strong task force ucon as analysts scour the hostage ta