john feehery is a republican strategist. governor, i want to begin with you.sonal question about her because you know her so well. is secretary clinton the type who looks at this emerging controversy and relishes the opportunity to confront it? or does the possibility, the prospect exist that she says, you know, this is a reminder to me of the underbelly of politics. who the hell needs it? i'm staying out in 2016. >> well, little bit of both. but i don't think this controversy would be a factor in her decision whether to run or not. and i think she probably would relish getting another chance to answer the critics here. remember, when she had that fall, the right said she faked the fall to avoid testifying in front of congress. >> right. >> she came back and testified again in front of congress, and as i recall, she handed most of those republican male senators their hats. so i don't think she's worried about the controversy. she can take on controversy. she's been doing it all her career. but i will say, if i could, michael, on this, people are forgetting, if

john feehery is a republican strategist. governor, i want to begin with you.nal question about her because you know her so well. is secretary clinton the type who looks at this emerging controversy and relishes the opportunity to confront it? or does the possibility, the prospect exist that she says, you know, this is a reminder to me of the underbelly of politics. who the hell needs it? i'm staying out in 2016. >> well, little bit of both. but i don't think this controversy would be a factor in her decision whether to run or not. and i think she probably would relish getting another chance to answer the critics here. remember, when she had that fall, the right said she faked the fall to avoid testifying in front of congress. >> right. >> she came back and testified again in front of congress, and as i recall, she handed most of those republican male senators their hats. so i don't think she's worried about the controversy. she can take on controversy. she's been doing it all her career. but i will say, if i could, michael, on this, people are forgetting, if t

john feehery is here. he's a republican expert.enter for american progress. your group wasn't tagged by the irs. american is apparently not a word that causes trouble. >> we started in 2003 under the bush administration. it's all good. >> this is a draft. anyway. this is what i'm talking about. the conservative heritage action for america group, is urging republicans to stay on the scandals. in a letter to house leaders john boehner and eric cantor, "it could be imprudent to do anything that shifts the focus from the obama administration to the ideological differences within the house republican conference. to that end we urge you to avoid bringing any legislation to the house floor that could expose or highlight major schisms within the conference." little catholic word there. schisms. john feehery, i want to start you. is this good politics to focus entirely on the drumbeat? irs, fbi going after "ap" and benghazi and don't allow immigration to come up which will be divisive and don't focus on things, anything else that might be d

john feehery and joan walsh are here.e house snapping across the aisle, a reference to people who are republican but believed there is a reasonable agreement for wider background checks. could your party veer that far over that they'd go to somebody as tough as this guy, as hard-lined? >> it could. he's got the party tied up. i think it will go to the governor. it could be a governor like mike pence who is very conservative. i remember people talking about mark sanford being a presidential candidate. >> what about the political spectrum? my hunch, as i've said, i think hillary will run a notch or two to the right of president obama. that's the sweet spot for any party. will your guy be to the left or right of mitt romney? >> he'll be to the right but not as far right as ted cruz. he would be somewhere in the middle. although i will say, chris christie could get the -- >> well, he wouldn't be to the right. >> no, he won't. >> he could possibly beat hillary. >> republicans don't win primaries. you know that better than i do

john feehery, you're great. you know how i say the that?inton says i like the tie. >>> changing the senate rules. they're talking about getting rid of the filibuster rule. harry reid is the leader for cases when you're picking your own cabinet leaders. this is a big development in the u.s. senate and could be a healthy one. coming up in the next minute. you're watching "hardball." the place for politics. can i ge, 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? and didn't know where to start. used a contractor before told you i'd get half. at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcar

john feehery is here for defense. he's republican consultant. "salon's" joan walsh is in the da's position tonight. what do you do when you're stuck with a lieutenant governor candidate? cuccinelli said i will not answer to that guy. a state, you and i know, and joan knows is the average state. the results coming out of virginia these days are about the same as the national average. it's not right wing, not left wing. it's in the middle. >> what you need to do is make this about terry mcauliffe and not about your lieutenant governor. i don't think most voters in virginia are going to vote for the lieutenant governor at this race. they're going to vote at the top of the ticket. you raise some important points, chris. that is the virginia selection system is broken. they cannot do a convention anymore. they have to go and let everyone have a chance to vote in a primary. if they voted in a primary, a guy like pete snyder could have been very competitive in a general election. and we wouldn't have this problem. it would have been easier for our cand