my name is john kelly. i was born in this great city, and i'm a political liberal. however, over the years i've turned into a fiscal conservative because government too often misuses taxpayer dollars. however, there are some services government must provide, and i am fully supportive of the alcohol mitigation fee for two

my name is john kelly. i was born in this great city, and i'm a political liberal. however, over the years i've turned into a fiscal conservative because government too often misuses taxpayer dollars. however, there are some services government must provide, and i am fully supportive of the alcohol mitigation fee for two -- three reasons. the revenue must be spent on the health cost to our city services caused by the alcohol problem. second, the revenues will come from the people who

my name is john kelly. i was born in this great city, and i'm a political liberal. however, over the years i've turned into a fiscal conservative because government too often misuses taxpayer dollars. however, there are some services government must provide, and i am fully supportive of the alcohol mitigation fee for two -- three reasons. the revenue must be spent on the health cost to our city services caused by the alcohol problem. second, the revenues will come from the people who consume the product that caused the alcohol problem. third, among the city services, supported by the alcohol fee, will be substance abuse treatment programs. in a 1994 report by the california department of alcohol and drug programs concluded that for every $1 spent on substance abuse treatment programs $7 is saved in taxpayer costs. we need more substance abuse treatment programs and an end to the waiting lines to get into these programs. lastly, i want to make a pitch for alcoholism prevention. research shows that more than 40% of youth who start drinking before age 15 develop alcoho

siacro, john kelly, joshua puner, tom colter, debbie learnman. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is for rest fwray. i own the speak easy brewry. i've been operating in san francisco and the hunters point area for a little over 13 years. we have fewer than 35 employees, however, we do provide health care. we don't have to but we do because it's the right thing. window everything we possibly can to be a good citizen and a good business owner in san francisco, and we want this city to be the best it can be. we are very concerned about the tax. it's one more nail in the coffin for us that we're -- we're just concerned about the general outcome of this and the fact that it hasn't been thought through well enough. we're -- there's certain several points which have been covered. if you -- i do want to come back to the trader joe drop shipment. if it's dropped in another county and transferred store to store would not be subject to the legislation as it's written. but really more to the point, i think what i've been hearing now, i've been here in two different hearings, it's two

john roberts. lester? >> kelly, thank you. >>> that ruling in california yesterday overturning a ban on same-sex marriage is almost certainly going to wind up at the supreme court, but the political reaction already has been strong and swift. with us tonight from washington, the moderator of "meet the press" david gregory. david, what might the repercussions of this decision be as we head into the fall political season? >> well, in any off-year election, we know that enthusiasm, certainly on the right among conservatives has to do with activist judges, so-called in the view of a lot of conservatives, and the role of government. that could certainly be an issue here. but the conservatives are pretty well enthused already and are expected to turn out in pretty big numbers. from the democratic point of view, you have a president who is opposed to gay marriage, but who also opposed proposition 8, doesn't want to see any discrimination, believes in equal rights. so this is a murkier territory for the president but it's

with me today, john heilemann, erin burnett, kelly o'donnell and howard fineman. democrats say they will take up the bush tax cuts right after labet. but that gay marriage ruling this week could be a wild card. will it distract? >> we don't take more from the private sec and grow government with it and that's exactly what obama has in mind. it's idiotic t othink about increasing taxes at a time like this. chris: for his part president ob a ishitting the familiar democratic line, that republicans cater to the rich. >> they want to extend the bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. i don't understand. how do you get up here and talk about how you care so deeply about the deficit and yet you want to perpetuate a tax cut that cost $700 billion. chris: is the president right? is it good policy to raise taxes on the rich to fight the deficit? >> i don't know that they're going to use it to fight the deficit. last year the number of m ears and billionaire in america up 13%, average wages were flat. it's not an insignificant thing to do. we're talking about 35% t

we have john heilemann, norah o'donnell and kelly o'donnell and "newsweek"'s howard fineman. barack obama has past his 49 birthday and he is president and he is one lucky guy. remember obama won his first race in the u.s. senate just six years ago. republicans ended up with alan keyes. mccain who had been a strong candidate faded in defending the bush record. and this year, while the numbers don't look good for the democrats. the g.o.p. could be split between the tea party candidates and the regular party. and that obama luck may hold when he runs again in 2012. modren persidents have one strike in terms unless they face a commanding opponent. john, he has been lucky? >> he has been lucky, but one exception, hillary clinton, who is a rival when he ran for the nomination. right now, it's fascinating. you think of obama's approval rating has fallen and yet over the course of the first 18 months, unlike in past presidential elections, you don't see republicans out there. there have been two, mitt romney and pawlenty. and the white house have said, couldn't we be lucky enough to

kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. john mccain told me it was political instinct and it was harsh words from voters that made it clear he was in trouble early this year. and add to that a conservative tea party challenger in j.d. hayworth and he was in a corner. he had to win over conservative republicans. arizona's blistering heat has matched the political climate for john mccain's toughest primary fight. today republicans decide if he deserves a fifth senate term. to convince them, he's shed the label that once defined him. >> yes, we're mavericks, but does washington need anything else today than a pair who will go and shake it up? >> reporter: mccain's independent streak had been his brand, separating from his party at times. >> i'm not george bush. >> reporter: taking some positions unpopular with conservatives. >> my commitment to address the issue of climate change, comprehensively and globally. >> reporter: but on issues like climate change or campaign finance reform, mccain has gone silent in recent months. primary

arizona, where john mccain, just two years ago his party's nominee for president, has been fighting hard and spending a lot to hang onto his seat in the u.s. senate. our report from nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: after 28 years in congress and a presidential run, tomorrow's primary comes down to this. who do arizona republicans think john mccain really is? >> listen, i have to prove myself to every voter who will consider voting for me. and i will stand on my record. >> reporter: critics say mccain has run from his record, taking a hard right on key issues. a maverick who once partnered with ted kennedy for comprehensive immigration reform, the mccain of 2010 became all about border security. >> complete the dang fence. >> reporter: mccain looked vulnerable in the spring when former congressman j.d. hayworth accused him of supporting amnesty. >> if people really want amnesty and open borders, they can vote for john mccain on tuesday. >> john mccain talks tough on the border today. what about tomorrow? had enough? >> reporter: in an exclusive interview mccain acknowledges he has shifted. >> i would say that a certain amount of emphasis has changed with the changing situa

chuck, good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> we just heard from kelly that john mccain is ahead, at >> we just heard mccain is ahead according to polls but had to spend like $20 million but his opponent spent about three million. what does that tell us about what is going in arizona, chuck? >> he had to do this the old-fashioned way in politics, winning ugly. the $20 million was necessary. he always had about 35 to 40% of the republican conservative electorate down there that wasn't crazy about him upset about him on immigration, taxes, a number of issues. so mccain had to disqualify j.d. hayworth. what we found out as upset at voters are these days about washington politicians infomercial hucksters are worse. that's what mccain did, completely disqualified him. the big question people have in washington which john mccain comes back to washington, the new consistent conservative and a consistent thorn in the side of president obama, or is it the guy from the early part of this decade who was unpredictable and you didn't know which side of the aisle he would come down on a different

kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. we expected to talk about john mccain's big victory here in arizona after a bruising primary, and he delivered. what we didn't know about was the potential upset in alaska, where a sarah palin pick, a tea party conservative, gulf war veteran that very few people had heard of is actually leading senator lisa murkowski, a two-term republican incumbent. >> what do you think this vote -- >> reporter: boosted by sarah palin in their home state, republican senate challenger joe miller. >> what i think they're saying is that, look, alaska and this nation have got to take a new direction. >> reporter: miller is a former judge and tea party conservative who took on alaska and washington establishment in senator lisa murkowski. palin had defeated murkowski's father before and recorded robo calls for miller. >> he's got the backbone to confront obama's radical agenda. by contrast lisa murkowski has voted with the democrats more than any republican up for re-election this year. >> reporter: trading in the label vulnerable incu