kay bailey hutchinson organized a trip to go visit the national guard that was deployed in bosnia. how do you get there? you go on a government plane. my late wife was a general in an army, you need to go to iraq and see what is going on. >> martin, hold on, martin, how can you justify, how can congress justify when they are ripping apart the dz of chrysler and gm and citigroup and coming to d.c. -- nancy pelosi is running around in a private jet. >> it started when dennis hastert was speaker. no other member of congress flies on a government jet unless they are going with the president of the united states. there is perfect justification for to be able to take these on trips outside the united states, maybe they only need four but nothing wrong to take members of congress. >> john, you are shaking your head. >> this is absolutely insane. i've been to iraq eight times, i've never flown private. i got on a c-4 out of andrews and flown with the military. i've flown back on the military. $3500 million on private planes what that is not the only way to get to bosnia. >> these are plane

gwen: john cornyn in texas -- or kay bailey hutchinson running for governor of texas who you would think would want to support the first hispanic nominee but who are balancing out the pressure. >> exactly. they feel the n.r.a. will be far more important to their political future than perhaps the hispanic vote. they made a calculated decision. >> and one tie-in on the health care debate, if lip rams inside the congress and outside are somewhat unhappy with obama and others that are letting this senate finance committee look for this big compromise and they're saying, why are you trying to pick up some republicans? look, you can't even get a handful of them to vote for sonia sotomayor, why are we chasing this bipartisanship that's a phantom, let's just go ahead and particular with -- stick with our liberal ideals and get this through because we have large majorities on the house and national. you're hearing that on the right and the left. gwen: in fact you talked to mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader who says he's happy the angst is all on the other side. >> he was absolutely deli

went up against, sonia sotomayor, and someone whois agains gwen: john cornyn in texa -- or kay bailey hutchinson runng for governor of exas who you would think wouldwant to spport the firt hspanic nominee but whoare balacing out thepressure. >> exactly. they el the n.r.a. will be far more important to their political future thaperhaps the hispic vote. th made a calculad decision. and one tie-in on the healt care debate, if ip rams inside the congre and outside are somewhat unppy with obama and others that are leting this senate finance mmittee look for thi big compromis and they're sayg, why are you trng to pick up some republicans? look, you can' even get a handful of them to vte for sonia sotomayor, whyare we chasing this bipartisship at's a phantom, lets just go ahead and particular with -- stick with our liberal ideals and get ts through bcause we have large majoritiesn the house and natiol. you're hearing that o the ght and the left. gwenin fact you talked t mih mcconnell, theenate nority leader wo says he's happy thangst is all on the other ide. >> he was absolutely delighted. mitch mcconn

we'll be speaking with kay bailey hutchinson, senators kent conrad, jeff bingeaman, judd h greg.his the first time a live show has been broadcast from a senate hearing room -- >> other than the actual hearings themselves. >> other than the hearings themselves. a live program with 6% of the senate joining us. >> incredible. >> and you feel -- i remember when you went to davos you came back a socialist. do you remember? >> the davos syndrome. >> patty hearst syndrome, you got there and came back -- >> it was good. >> i look around, this is the seat of government here. there are so many buildings and they're all filled with big, government people. government can be a force for good. >> really? >> well, when you're here, you feel that -- >> protected? >> you can feel almost like idealistic about what's possible with a benevolent, smart government. >> because they're keeping order, right? >> i'm uncomfortable with the ceilings, and i'm just wondering, once you get ost past the beltway circle, you're back to normal, aren't you? >> as you get on the train today -- >> yeah. as soon as i

senator kay bailey hutchinson is challenging perry for office. there will be blood on the floor. happy anniversary to you. sean: to who? greta: to you. sean: my anniversary? greta: six months. sean: of what? greta: you'll have to stick around. sean: i've been married 17 years, i've been -- i got it. let not your heart be troubled. the great american panel straight ahead. @ sean: tonight on our "great american panel" she's the daughter of a good friend of ours, fox news contributor susan estridge author of "hancock park." isabel kaplan is here and "usa today" columnist, radical left winger bob beckel is back and the founder of the faith and freedom coalition, ralph freeder is here. i'm not going to let beckel start. >> what else is new. sean: what was the trial balloon this weekend about the public option, what's your take on it and what do you think of the reaction, 100 congressmen on the left say no way, howard dean says no way, trial balloon pulled away. how do you analyze it? >> they're trying to salvage a total disaster and it's been a com oddy of errors. gold plated, gold p

senator kay bailey hutchinson is challenging perry for office. there will be blood on the floor.happy anniversary to you. sean: to who? greta: to you. sean: my anniversary? greta: six months. sean: of what? greta: you'll have to stick around. sean: i've been married 17 years, i've been -- i got it. let not your heart be troubled. the great american panel straight ahead. @ what heals me? girls' night out. and for damage from acid reflux disease, my nexium. announcer: for many, one prescription nexium pill a day can heal damage to the esophagus that acid reflux disease may cause over time. and nexium can provide 24-hour heartburn relief. headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are possible side effects of nexium and other serious stomach conditions may still exist. announcer: ask your doctor about the healing purple pill. learn how you can save online. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. sean: tonight on our "great american panel" she's the daughter of a good friend of ours, fox news contributor susan estridge author of "hancock park." isabel kapla

republican senator kay bailey hutchinson kicked off her five-day announcement tour by going right after the incumbent. carl cameron is in the capital city of austin. >> i'm running for governor because i believe in texas. >> it begins what is already one of the nastiest g.o.p. fights of 201. kate bailey hutchinson, senior senator from texas, launched her bid to oust the longest serving governor, fellow republican rick perry. >> after ten years of governance under rick perry, where are we? property taxes, highest in the country, state debt, doubled. >> a senator for 16 years, hutchinson got a sparse turnout at her former high school. the g.o.p. primary is in march. she will leave the senate this fall to campaign full-time. perry issued a blistering counterattack, quote "she has violated, ignored and flip-flopped on every promise she made to voters and her career has been characterized by per perpetuating excessive pork barrel spending and driving our nation's economy and the republican party's future into the ground." >> we will not be ignored! >> perry has been governor since 2000. he i

kay bailey hutchinson kick off her campaign in her hometown of la mark. first stop on this week's 19 city announcement tour. running against republican governor rick perry in the g.o.p. primary next year. perry took office in 2000, has become the longest serving governor in state history. senator hutchinson says as governor she would push for limit on the amount of terms a texas governor can serve. worth noting back in 1994, senator hutchinson promised to put a self-imposed limit on her own time in the senate and broke that promise in 2006 to successfully run for a third term. and in wisconsin, governor jim doyle today said he will not run for a third term because he believes governors should limit themselves to just two terms in office. the democrat reports he made the announcement early so that other candidates could stop building their campaigns for next year's election. governor doyle expected to serve out the full term. hundreds of billions of our tax dollars went toward a stimulus that was supposed to help make everything better. the president says

had pure -- i had a minute where he called my radio show once, it was a very funny story, kay bailey hutchinson, she's in the cloak room, i said, if you get ted kennedy on, i'll donate money to your charity. it was pretty funny and that was the only time i've had the chance to interview him. >> what's interesting with this, if people go back in history because i think it's important to revisit the history of this great country, if you go back to the 1970's, ted kennedy had an opportunity to put in real health care reform which he then later regretted that he did not work with nixon on it. he worked against it to kill that health care reform so now the democrats are upset and they're saying that the republicans and the conservatives are mean spirited and all the americans, hardworking americans, that are going to have to pay for this health care reform that is not valid, that will not work, are upset about it, they should voice their concerns and now they want to put it on ted's back. sean: he wanted the federal government to run everything, he rejected capitalism. i mean, we have staunch politi

attorney from texas kay bailey hutchinson is going to resign her seat and run against rick perry, the incumbent governor, for that seat. have you taken sides in this and how worried are you as someone in charge of republicans running for the senate next year, that you guys could end up losing that seat in texas to a democrat? >> well, that's my most -- the most important concern i have is about what happens in that special election which it looks like it may be in may 2010. no, i'm not going to take sides in the gubernatorial primary. both of these people are great public servants and friends of mine. but this is a open special election which last time texas had something like this, texas was a blue state in 1961 and john tower, a republican, was able to win under the circumstances. so as head of the national republican senatorial commit yen and somebody worried about our diminished numbers here i want to make sure that doesn't happen next year. >> you had a example when lloyd bentsen stepped down from that seat. you do have a history where the seats can flip. let me ask you about the

. >> only one i can see is kay bailey hutchinson knocking off the current governor of texas.onathan, great friday. interesting week for mesh politics. douglas brinkley, good luck with the book. "countdown" with keith olbermann starts right now. >>> which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? the truth is out about the societal sabotage dressed up as phony protests against health care reform. poisoning the political well. give it up. any presence of being the loyal opposition. they've become political terrorists. the searing op-ed in "the washington post". constant references to, images of hitler, nazis, the ss or from the organizer whipping up a crowd of the americans for prosperity funded by big tobacco and big oil, all of the above, and euthanasia, too. >> adolph hitler, he called his program the final solution. i kind of wonder what we're going to call ours. >> the one saving grace? they are not that smart. just an ordinary american and a connecticut town hall still wearing his blue cross blue shield shirt. just an ordinary american in a wisconsin town hall

we'll have judd gregg, lamar alexander, and kay bailey hutchinson. there's a lot hal happening here. as the senate has to tackle cash for clunkers, they've got a lot of things on their desk this morning. >> we are in the dierkson senate building. i don't think any live television program, other than the hearings themselves, has ever come out of this room. >> hasn't been done. >> and they didn't know what they were in for because already we figured out how to use the microphones. >> i like -- the teleprompter is so far away. if we say something that makes no sense, it's because we're reading absolutely no idea what it says. what about if it was 6 members host house? 1.3%, i think. >> and then we're going to move down here where we're going to have some senators up here and i hope they start asking me questions like they did those poor banking executive peps. >> well, also, boone pickens has testified here severales

i particularly would like to thank senator kay bailey hutchinson for her support. thank you for helping me through the process. they were really great. i would like to think commissioner rick l. -- commissioner mcdowell for his time, an encouragement, and assistance. if it was not for angela, i might still be writing my responses to the questions for the record. i would like to thank the chairman. we are also lucky to serve with not only such a capable man, but such a personable one. thank you very much for your calls and for ensuring that i had everything i needed to make this transition very smooth. thank you for putting together an agenda today which is a first meeting that we can all agree on. i want to thank you for swearing in as well. i would like to think commissioner copps for your collegial attitude that you instilled while you were here as acting chairman. i think we are all incredibly grateful for that. i would also like to thank commissioner clyburn 4 partnership in a the confirmation process. it really was a bonding experience. last but not least, i w