senator deb stabenow and congressman jim mcdermott, great to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. >>> now let's turn to ezra klein, msnbc political analyst and columnist for the "washington post." let's say they don't do a deal, ezra. what's it do to the recovery? >> hurts it. the economists say it will take about a half percentage point off growth next year. if you say growth it going to be 2 to 3 percentage points, that brings it down to 1.5%. >> i never thought we'd see a republicans raise taxes. it's a religion to them. here they are. apparently they're going to do it. can they politically get away with it? what kind of favor would they be in with the american people? >> not much favor. it's important to remember the folks don't pay much attention to the ins and outs of the debates. listening to the coverage on most stations, seems complicated. boehner wants everybody to go to a conference. gets very complicated very quick. three or four months from now people forget why it happened. republicans said they wanted a payroll tax. democrats wouldn't deal. d

jim mcdermott, i want people to know you're a doctor, you're not just talking.now this profession. thank you for your presence. >> thank you. i'll be back again. >> ahead. governor scott walker says the recall effort is all about sour grapes. so why was he praising recalls a year ago? and willard "mitt" romney is turning his back on the birther king. trump gets dumped. stay with us. you need ♪ when the things that you need come at just the right speed, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ medicine that can't wait legal briefs there by eight, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ freight for you, box for me box that keeps you healthy, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ saving time, cutting stress, when you use ups that's logistics. ♪ but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife.

fellow republicans he's now able to do this ethical because of his ethical lapses because of his jim mcdermott played to him yet in the law all kinds and just he made a tremendous amount of enemies on the hill and beyond with his erratic style but also i think this day and age he can get away with it because you have groups like americans for prosperity and freedom works who will do that kind of on the ground work well he can go on fox news and take to twitter and get his message about way if newt and and herman cain were able to get so forward because they had money from basically the koch brothers i mean you know all these front groups that were funneling that are channeling billionaire money. why you know mitt romney's been willing to take anybody anybody's position for a long time are we going to end up with a situation where when they all fall by the wayside mitt romney will simply say to the koch brothers. i'll take your money i'll take your crazy positions and he'll be their guy i mean i think he would like to be certainly i don't know if they'll take him is the question why are they no

joining me now is congressman jim mcdermott, democrat from washington, and jared bernstein, an msnbc contributor and former chief economist for vice president biden. thank you both for being here tonight. >> sure. >> pleasure. >> congressman, let me start with you. so many americans are hurting. how can you explain to them, let's forget the beltway talk. to the american people, how do you explain what's happening in congress right now? >> well, reverend sharpton, i discovered the motto of the republican party. they are giving the american people a lump of coal for christmas. there is no excuse whatsoever that they can give for why they are not passing the bill that passed the senate. it was mcconnell -- it's mcconnell/reid. republicans voted for it. there's nothing wrong with it. it's got the oil pipeline in it. it's got everything they want. but they just want to stop the government from working. they want everybody to get a lump of coal when they go there whether they're unemployed or they're getting a paycheck and they're going to have a tax increase. they're going to get a lump o

here's jim mcdermott of washington state accusing republicans of playing scrooge. >> it's christmastimer the world. and they're all getting up and hoping there'll be something in that sock on christmas day. and the republicans have something to put in it. they have a lump of coal! they're going to say to 160 million people, we're going to boost your taxes. here's your christmas gift, right? >> with the approval rating for congress now at a record low, it seems perfectly clear who the american people think should wake up to a pile of coal this sunday, am i right? and finally, may the best man win, or at least the one who can withstand the firestorm of attack ads taking center stage in the republican presidential race. just ask bill clinton, the former president appeared on the "today" show this morning to talk about the 2012 showdown and whether newt gingrich will be able to weather the storm, despite being the target of negative ads. let's listen. >> you find out a lot about people in the crucible of battle. and they're all turning on him now. and running all these negative ads, and bas