this was not john boehner tripping and falling. this looks like john boehner was pushed. who let john boehner took this stand on the payroll tax? john boehner took this defiant out on a limb stand with absolutely nobody in his own party backing him up. john boehner came out this weekend with this bold plan to defy the thing the senate had already approved including a huge majority of people in his own party. he came out with this plan to defy a deal his own party had worked out, to defy a deal he himself had support aid few days earlier, to defy a deal there was overwhelming puck suppo ini for, john boehner came out this past weekend and boldly declared that house republicans were standing against, against this payroll tax cut extension, and we are not doing it. i realize i said i was for it before and i realize it just got 89 votes in the senate and that senate republicans have signed on to it and that we want to be seen as the tax cut party and that even though we were sort of against this before we'd like to be for it now and tit's kind ofa mess, but no, john boehner s

house speaker john boehner. "roll call" newspaper reporting the payroll tax cut fiasco, "has raised significant questions about john boehner's ability to lead his conference for the long term." listen to this. "the number one question that will be debated over the eggnog at hill centric holiday parties is whether john boehner will be able to continue -- excuse me, will be able to save his speakership for more than a few more months in light of his horrible miscalculation on the payroll tax bill and then his desperate flip-flop to get in front of the troops that were marching in opposite direction from where he said they needed to go." wow. bob corker of tennessee is turning out to be the personification of the republican party's political and policy incoherence on this. here's senator corker on cnbc this morning calling on house republicans to just pass the darn payroll tax cut bill. and remember, bob corker is also a republican. >> are republicans getting killed right now in public opinion? there is no question

i think john boehner's record explains what's going on with john boehner. on day one, the first day republicans were in charge of the house, they flailed their way through a reading of the constitution, skipping some sections by accident, because the pages got stuck together in the three-ring binder they were reading from. leaving out some sections on purpose because they just didn't want to read them. also day one, two republicans who managed to miss the swearing in ceremony on the house floor tried instead to take their oath from a television that was broadcasting the ceremony. and then they tried to start voting on stuff as if they had actually been sworn in by the television. that had to be undone. the brand new republican majority also passed a bunch of new rules about transparency and accountability and citing the constitutional authority for every single bill they introduced and almost immediately they started violating those new rules. their own rules. the john boehner-led house republicans also promised to cut spending for every bill that adds to d

john boehner caves and accepts the senate's payroll tax cut extension. it's a win for the democrats and a win for 160 million americans. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> if you can get this fixed, why not? why not dot the right thing for the american people? even though it's not exactly what we want. >> republicans have caved, and middle-class americans get the victory. tonight, chuck schumer of new york on john boehner's failed strategy. representatives garamendi and ellison on what's next for the democrats. and e.j. dionne of the "washington post" on the lasting damage this cave causes for republicans. >> i don't think it's unusual. i do think prior presidents would have done the same thing. >> mitt romney gets busted taking another new position regarding the president's decision to kill osama bin laden. democratic strategist bob shrum is here with the latest. >> i think that the president should play much more of a lead role rather than going shopping for his dog. >> john mccain, eric cantor, sarah palin, and fox news are howling about oba

for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. >>> john boehner and the tea partiers in the caucusbig-time today. this evening boehner was asked about the political consequences of digging in his heels on payroll taxes and whether it was worth it. here's the answer. >> doing the right thing for the right reasons is always the right thing to do. and while everyone asked for a full-year extension of these programs, a lot of people weren't willing to put the effort in as the holidays were approaching to get it done. our members were. >> joining me now is e.j. dion, senior fellow at the brookings institution and columnist for the "washington post" and friend of mine. e.j., good to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. >> happy holidays. how come it was the right thing to do today but not the right thing to do yesterday for john bow sner what happened here? >> because i think he added up all of the things other republicans were saying. you know, we got so accustomed to the newspaper headline "democrats in disarray." it was almost programmed into the computers. i don't think we've ever

john boehner and i agree on everything. 're seeing fissures. >> i'm having a little trouble with audio. let's see if we can get that fixed in just a moment. >> john, the question i was asking is, do we know, is there, the reporting by politico, is there any evidence that we do see a split, whether it's between john boehner and eric cantor or whether it's between john boehner and eric cantor and the rest of the republican conference? sure looks like that from the outside? >> chris, your audio is just coming back to me, i have the gist although i did not hear every word. as john allen and kim wrote this morning, john boehner has had a very, very difficult time under the best of circumstances. his job is hurting. there's clearly disarray among republicans over how to handle the confrontation with president obama over the payroll tax and that disarray difference between republicans in the senate or republicans in the house and clearly differences of strategy within the house has really put them in a compromise position where it'

the honorable john boehner. [applause] >> let me say thank you. my colleagues and all of the year who have come out here on this evening to help celebrate the lighting of the christmas tree. it makes a worthy addition to this tradition of hours. the christmas tree forces as a symbol of everlasting life. that life is christ. whose birth promises joy and salvation. the angels broke the silence by singing glory to god in the highest and peace, goodwill toward men. we have -- we serve this story by serving one another. it is better to give than receive when so many of our fellow citizens are without jobs and are in need. christmas is not a distant historical event. it is a spirit that brings us closer to each other and closer to the peace of which the angels saying. on behalf of our family, i want to wish all of you a merry christmas. [applause] >> now we're going to do what we came here to do, light the tree. to help in the honors this is a 7-year-old from california. he is a cub scout. if something goes wrong, he will figure this out. he is here wit

the honorable john boehner. >> let me say thank you.all of my colleagues and all of the year who have come out here on this evening to help celebrate the lighting of the christmas tree. it makes a worthy addition to this tradition of hours. the christmas tree forces as a symbol of everlasting life. that life is christ. whose birth promises joy and salvation. the angels broke the silence by singing glory to god in the highest and peace, goodwill toward men. we have -- we serve this story by serving one another. it is better to give than receive when so many of our fellow citizens are without jobs and are in need. christmas is not a distant historical event. it is a spirit that brings us closer to each other and closer to the peace of which the angels saying. on behalf of our family, i want to wish all of you a merry christmas. >> now we're going to do what we came here to do, light the tree. to help in the honors this is a 7-year-old from california. he is a cub scout. if something goes wrong, he will figure this out. he is here with his

acknowledgement that he faces an uphill battle and he has mcconnell's support, i think it's tough for john boehnert to read something that boehner's spokesperson sent to me. we're trying to do the right thing by legislating responsibly, we're running up against a decades-old washington eeth 0s, that business stops around the holidays. boehner was to return the house to a deliberative legislative body and make members of congress legislators again. that's his brand and that's what we're doing. >> that's my story and i'm sticking to it. i can't resist the luke russert biblical analogies. they've turned obama from pharoh into moses. i think boehner is up against not only a pr machine, but he's up against the logic of elitism. when people sniff at, sneer at $40 or $1,000 as rhonda was saying, that's big money in most people's pockets. if they don't get the optics that boehner was talking about, you don't get the fundamental drive of what delivering politics is all about. that's what politics is about. and especially in a holiday season, don't you have any compassion? >> against the backdrop of the hol

the one way out of this right now is to for john boehner to take up the senate bill. it will solve the problem. it will bring everybody back to the table when they come back after christmas and insure that we can pass a year-long extension. but in the short-term, why can't they take this action to insure that middle class americans can go into the holidays, knowing that their taxes are not going to go up? >> stephanie cutter, deputy campaign manager for the obama re-election campaign, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >>> eight u.s. soldiers have been charged in connection to the shooting death of a fellow soldier, army private danny chen. a spokesperson for chen's parents reacted on their behalf this morning. >> we are cautiously optimistic about today's news. the people responsible for his death must not only be charged, but they must be found guilty. of killing him. >> jim miklaszewski is nbc's chief pentagon correspondent. mik, chen died in early october. what's happened since then? >> the army launched an intensive investigation. and this really is a tragedy o

the traditional style of house leadership is different under john boehner. in part by his own design. >> the question of whether he is going to be able to get them to follow him into the next debate is one that i am not sure we know the answer to yet. >> one of the lessons that john boehner might have learned, and i say this tongue-in-cheek, is to have a conference call where only he can speak. that is what he did on thursday. when he let everyone else speak, things got out of control. i think that is part of this dynamic. >> what about his speakership? is it in jeopardy? >> not in any real sense. there is no one who is rallying or plotting against him. john boehner has a very respectful, institutional relationship against harry reid. what good could come from any republican swapping out the speaker in the teeth of an election year when things in the economy are so unstable and the question of leadership and management in washington -- it does not reign supreme, but it is not insignificant. republicans need to work on their internal ability to work with them

will john boehner ever have the guts to stand up to the tea party? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no to 622639. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. results coming up later in the program. joining me now, r.t. rye balk, mayor of minneapolis, minnesota, and vice chair of the democratic national committee. r.t., good to have you with us tonight. >> good to be here. >> you bet. i find it interesting the tea party can't come up with a credible candidate but can raise mell on the house and stop everything. where does this all end in your opinion? >> they sent poor boehner out to dress this thing up. he talks about kicking the can down the road. the can that's getting kicked belongs to the american middle class. the can that should get kicked this november belongs to the pea party republicans who hold the entire country hostage. they have had months, months, to be able to demonstrate to america they actually do stand up for tax cuts for the middle class and have done everything humanly possible to find any way to stand in the way of a tax cut for

but try and by trying to save face for the house john boehner also called a press conference backed by the very same tea party bozos who are now in charge of his party. and next up is clear i think president obama needs to call on senate democrats. to go back into session move to go to conference and to sit down and resolve this bill is quickly as possible i told the senate leaders senator reid and senator mcconnell. that there would be no negotiations with the house until such time as the senate passed a bill i meant what i said. and when they were getting ready to pass this wouldn't somebody pass on the me what they thought it would look like i made it clear to them at that point that i was uncomfortable with where they were going i expressed my displeasure and once again taking the convenient route and not doing the people's work i think that one year extension the boehner is talking about is nothing more than a gimmick it will freeze pay for federal workers force that are workers to contribute more the pensions means test unemployment benefits and raise medicare premiums on high in

wanted this thing to happen and he and john boehner i mean there's the two senior republicans yes they got to be talking to each other so boehner had to have said to mcconnell sure go ahead and do it wolf you know we'll be able to pass it which means that when it finally got passed and it was dropped in boners lap my guess is eric cantor he turned around he says what's that poking me in the back and turned around and it was eric cantor with the shift you know well you know look i mean i've long said you know john boehner has become kind of like the speaker in name only eric cantor really runs the house of representatives on these any real question about that we this is the first time that bayer has been has been pulled back on his leash you know by by mr cantor and we know from what senator schumer said on saturday that they did have a deal that better you know came to the table the mcconnell had requested kind of a pre-built conference with the house and senate republican leadership they had an agreement so the house because it really yes he's either he's lying and anybody doesn't rea

what is john boehner doing? well, he's treating this like a damn game. >> our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again. >> did he say punt? okay. let's play football, speaker boehner. what the hell? 89. that's the key number. this is how many senators have voted for the two-month extension. all democrats. 50. i guess you could say 39 turncoats. decided to go with that socialist communist marcus pinkco in the white house and say, let's go another two months. 39 republicans. they want you to punt. that's what you want you to do, mr. boehner. they want you to punt. when you punt in football, you get the ball back. you're going to have your chance, mr. boehner, after the new year in the next 60 days to make your case to the american people that these 39 people are wrong on your side. and you've got a better plan. but instead, you are stuck in this tea party philosophy. they've got you in the huddle in this game. if you want to play a game. and th

house speaker john boehner ends days of gridlock over the payroll tax cut. >>> traffic cameras capture a horrific motorcycle collision in china. >>> and, what a view. a nasa orbiter delivers stunning new images. good morning, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with the house folds after days of refusing to back down, house speaker, john boehner gave in to demands from the white house and his party to approve a two-month extension of expiring tax cuts. lawmakers can go home for the year, if all goes as planned. brian mooar joins us from washington with details. good morning. >> reporter: well, lynn, there's one last bit of drama and guess work. if even one lawmaker objects, the vote is pushed into next week. house republicans surrenders in the fight against the payroll tax cut. >> we were here fighting for the right things. may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world. i tell you what, i think our members waged a good fight. >> reporter: facing pressure from 160 million americans who faced a ja

because eric cap thor is busy driving the knife into john boehner's back.ric captor has sort of taken himself to be the representative of the rowdy tea party caucus and the thorn in bainers a side every time he has a grand bar gape. your point about gingrich v romney, we talked about this on the show, this is part of the larger cleave in the republican party, a group of very archconservative, deficit above all else, incredibly right-wing republicans against the establishment and that's exactly what you see in the capped dash so i was newt gingrich and mitt romney and the split in their supporters. now, richard, if we were to ask boehner and someone did whether or not he caved, here's what he said. >> sometimes it's politically difficult do the right thing. may not have about politically the smartest thing in the world but i'm going to tell you what, i think our members waged through a good fight, we were able to come to an agreement, able to fix what -- what came out of the senate. >> am i -- am i crazy or is this position i tried do the best i could but th

john boehner. but what we found out here is what we already knew, he does not have control of the tea party and tea party is leading their party off the cliff here. if the tea party gets their way taxpayers will go up for 160 million american families. other guy is mitt romney? where is he? how come he's not slowing any leadership? maybe he ought to tell us what heities about this. >> bill, let's be fair. at the end of the day, john bane -- someone has to be the adult in the room up there and say, guys, you're not getting everything you want for cyst nas. >> you i think for republicans either way it's going to be something that democrats are going to be able to spend reflecting poorly on republicans. no matter which way you throw it it can be seen republicans in this time of need are not helping out the middle class. this is bad for republicans and everybody needs to get their act together. >> i agree with meghan there. >> it's difficult for me -- >> i think most of them know that this is not going

the surprise at what happened, isn't this john boehner's patent. he reaches an agreement as he did with the president and the moment tea partysquealing, he r from the deal. >> sorry that the criticism. >> sorry that the patent? >> it's an interesting thing. you have to look objectively. if you look at it objectively, john boehner himself has been a deal maker. he worked with ted kennedy on no child left behind and he himself would like to take the deal and make the deal. it was very conservative after the last election and he doesn't like a short-term banding or fix. if he has to represent that constituency, he would not like a deal like this that is too short-term. >> massachusetts republican senator scott brown called house republicans irresponsible and wrong for planning to vote down the payroll tax extension and cracks in the foundation here again. >> don't forget that dean helder, a republican senator from nevada also just said that the house should pass the bill as well as a republican senator from indian a. a lot of senators should say you s