let's get to kelly ayotte from new hampshire, ron johnson from wisconsin. senator ayotte, i don't want to be cranky about this. but ryan's speech was brilliant in his dissection of obama care and obamamonics. i didn't hear a mention of tax cuts and the phrase tax fairness, i don't know where it comes from. that's a left wing phrase. that's an obama phrase. can you tell me what's going on here? >> i think larry is taking the phrase and putting it in terms of what we know his position is on tax reform -- and mitt romney's which is lower and simplify. let's make the tax code an efficient way to get revenue and help economic growth. that's the plan. i think he was going to take their terms and say this is what fairness is. let's have a code that's lower and simplified. >> okay. that may be -- that's a good defense, senator ayotte. but it may be too good of a confiden defense. tax fairness is not a conservative phrase. tax fairness is what obama talks about. senator ayotte may be right. if that were the case -- and you are right -- then ryan should have taken a s

new hampshire senator kelly ayotte. nikki haley, john caseic. remember, rick santorum?king tonight. two people people are expecting to hear from, new jersey governor chris christie and ann romney, of course, mitt romney's wife. both of them speaking about 10:00 eastern. >> ian thing we can expect to hear from chris christie or ann romney? >> oar ann romney is expected to touch on the more personal side of mitt romney, make the appeal to female votes. here's what she had to say about her speech on the plane ride down here. >> i think you'll see that my speech is heart felt. i think a lot of you have been covering me long enough and i've never gone off a wren text. -- written text. so this is a new experience for me. >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie on the other hand may be bringing a little jersey style to florida. he has promised to give a lively speech and it will probably be a fiery one. who knows. >> jamie? >> all right. i'm jamie costello, coming up, the storm has gone from tropical to hurricane status. we'll have latest live from a lap tonight, and w

and how we frame those up, whether it's with a clint eastwood or with a marco rubio or with a kelly ayotte, i think that everyone has a story to tell about how this economy has impacted them and how this romney/ryan ticket is the team to move this country forward. >> thank you very much, tara wall. thanks for showing up after a late night last night. we appreciate it. >> absolutely. i'm a little hoarse, as you can tell. >> we all are, actually. >>> up next, bill burton and tony fratto. we will see if they are a little hoarse as well, with their theater reviews of the romney and eastwood performances. >>> still ahead, we go live to the storm zone in louisiana. we're sitting on a bunch of shale gas. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to think long term. we've got to think long term. ♪

we will be talking live with senators john mccain and kelly ayotte.are hitting the road to call attention to severe cuts facing our military men and women and communities that support them. skyrocketing gas prices. a live report on what is fueling the spike and how each candidate wants to bring the cost of filling up down. and was it a murder-suicide or just plain murder? our legal panel weighs in on a father on trial right now accused of killing everyone in his family. jenna: the turn to politics now. the 2012 campaign getting a jolt over the weekend as the race for the white house jumps into high gear. we're glad you are with us, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. the republicans have their tickets now. romney and ryan giving voters a clear choice come november a. jenna: and giving democrats a new target as they focus on paul ryan's conservative record. the president is landing in iowa kicking off a three-day bus tour. congressman ryan heading out on his own as governor mitt romney's running mate. iowa holds six electoral vote. the latest poll shows

later tonight, kelly ayotte is going to be here. she's going to talk about the economy. they don't want to talk about todd akin, they're going to talk about economic issues, and specifically joe dailey, he has a landscaping business in new hampshire. she wanted to practice the speech for him, he said he wanted it to be a surprise. the pages will be gone, he'll be sitting here in the front row. and he'll hear it for the first time tonight, brian. >> andrea mitchell in new hampshire. john yang has made it up 95 to the great state of maine. john? >> reporter: here in the main delegation, a lot of uproar over the fact that the credentials committee is this afternoon stripped the state of ten ron paul delegates. all of mitt romney's opponents in the primary have endorsed mitt romney except ron paul. he won't be speaking here at the convention because he didn't want to endorse him. and he didn't want his speech vetted by the romney campaign. his supporters are making themselves heard, they're angry about the fact that the rules changes that the romney camp is pushing through t

martinez, who will be showcased later in the convention, and also, from new hampshire their senator, kelly ayotte and one of the things she did is talk about how her husband came back from iraq, and started a small business, a landscaping business, he didn't want to hear her speech. she wanted to practice it for him. he wants to watch it tonight from the front row. that's her message about family values. they're all moms, and women trying to close that gender gap. >> andrea mitchell down in new hampshire tonight, andrea, thanks. john yang has made his way north on i-95 to the great state of maine, john, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, all of mitt romney's primary opponents have endorsed him, all except one, ron paul. there was a little ruckus on the floor this afternoon, when the officials committee officially stripped maine of 10 of ron paul's supporters, they're angry over that, over rules changes that the romney campaign is pushing through. and they're especially angry that ron paul himself is not speaking at this convention. this afternoon when he visited the convention floor

ten minutes later, kelly ayotte says akin should step aside now. by 1:00, 45 minutes later, there's a new joint statement from one cities republican senator from missouri and four former republican senators in akin's state in missouri and they say "the right decision is to step aside." todd akin must put the nation and his future ahead of everything else and make the right conclusion. after initially only disagreeing with and then chastising him, after 36 hours of everybody else and their mother making a statement, the presidential nominee finally chimes in and says i think akin should exit the senate rate. after that at 5:30, we got a comment from pete sessions saying "i believe that winning the race would mean that todd would not be the that candidate would be on the candidate." in other words, get out. at 6:20, orrin hatch says says he should step out. do you notice a pattern of who is not calling for todd akin to get out of the race? democrats. it's not just an absence of calls for him to get out of the race, it's unbridled glee over the prospe

heard leaders like governor mary fallin, governor nikki haley, governor susana martinez, senator kelly ayottend secretary of state condoleezza rice. [cheers and applause] as governor of massachusetts, i chose a woman lt. governor, a woman chief of staff, half of my cabinet and senior officials were women, and in business, i mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies. i grew up in detroit in love with cars and wanted to be a car guy, like my dad. but by the time i was out of school, i realized that i had to go out on my own, that if i stayed around michigan in the same business, i'd never really know if i was getting a break because of my dad. i wanted to go someplace new and prove myself. those weren't the easiest of days too many long hours and weekends working, five young sons who seemed to have this need to re-enact a different world war every night. but if you ask ann and i what we'd give, to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room. well, every mom and dad knows the answer to

gerri: john cornyn, roy blunt, mitch mcconnell, scott brand, kelly ayotte, this isn't a totalist. the national republican committee says we will give you no go. this is a big fat no. what is this does this say to you about the power of the republican party when they can't really even control one of their own? >> this is a democracy and he won the primary. he can choose to withdraw, maybe he should. if i were sitting in missouri, i might call him up and say please withdraw. i think it's bad that you are you're going to be on the ballot this year. but he was nominated. he doesn't work for john cornyn and the other senators can have their opinion. some of the other members of the united states senate have said some pretty stupid things or done some stupid things. they have done some pretty offensive things. i won't mention names. everyone can think of things that have been done. they did not withdraw and if they were committed to making crimes, then they did -- i, myself, if you told me that that is his choice -- i would say withdraw. i am sick of everybody piling up on us. gerri: it

kelly ayotte exceptions in the case of rape or insist. believes the question on whether to have an abortion is personal, moral and religious one. pro-choice. >> you and i marinating on this. they have to make a dent in president obama's lead when it comes to female voters in the poll. what they have left is the convention and the debates. with this akin story sort of muddying the waters if you will at the convention, it's the debates. i can't wait to watch to see. >> i can't either. the numbers are incredible. if you look at the men versus women gender gap, if and how tight this is, if mitt romney can get that to move one or two percentage points, literally two per scentage points, if nothing else moves, can give him the election. >> candy crowley moderating. she's have tough questions, i'm sure. >> our pride. >> make sure you watch erin tonight 7:00 eastern only here on cnn. because we like space, it is a big day for nasa's mars rover curiosity. we have some cool new pictures and even, oh yes, animation of curiosity on the red planet. ma

. >>> and you can see david's full interview with senator kelly ayotte on ""meet the press" blog.re, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then find out how to get lunesta for as low as $15 at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sleep. we can help you go there on the wings of lunesta. ar ntlr gh rg [ nn ]errequ gh sf owgrl. rg >>> welcome back everybody, two years ago, the supreme court handed down its decision on the citizen's united case. that ruling

heard leaders like governor mary fallon, governor nikki haley, governor suzanne that martinez, kelly ayotte secretary of state condoleezza rice? as governor of massachusetts, i chose a woman lieutenant governor, a woman chief of staff. half of my cabinet and senior officials were women. and in business, i mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies. i grew up in detroit in love with cars and wanted to be a car guy had just moved into town or just joined our church. we had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregations of all walks of life, and many who were new to america. we prayed together. our kids played together. and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways. that's how it is in america. we look to our communities, our faiths, our families for our joy, our support, and why we live our lives. the strength and power and goodness of america has always been based on the strength and power and goodness of our communities, our families and our faiths. that's the bedrock of what makes america america. in our best days, we can feel the vibra

ten minutes later, kelly ayotte fresh han from new hampshire says akin should step aside now. by 1:00, 45 minutes later, there's a new joint statement from one sitting republican senator from missouri and four former republican senators in akin's state in missouri and they say "the right decision is to step aside." two hours later, 3:00, rush limbaugh and old timy radio hour says todd akin must put the nation and his future ahead of everything else and make the right conclusion. at 4:10 p.m. after all that, after initially only disagreeing with and then chastising him, after 36 hours of everybody else and their mother making a statement saying this guy has to go, finally, 36 hours into it, mitt romney, republican presidential nominee finally chimes in and says i think akin should exit the senate race. after that at 5:30 a statement from pete sessions of texas, head of the house republican campaign committee, he said, i believe that winning the race would mean that todd would not be that candidate would be on the ballot. in other words, get out. at 6:20, orrin hatch says he sho

and so i think we bring that to the table but it doesn't take away from the fact that kelly ayotte and conservative women. kelly is one of our women of the future. she's going to have a long career like kirsten. she's about the same age, and they are going to be the women of the future and they're both strong, they're smart, one's conservative and one is more moderate to liberal, but that's what we need. we need women at all levels who can be what they are and yet bring something to the table with their experience that is lost if you don't have women at the table. >> well, we are certainly happy to help in a search for rosie the riveter. i want to thank kay bailey hutchison of texas and kirsten gillibrand of new york. it is an honor and pleasure to have you both to discuss these very important subjects. coming up, from basic health care to owning a business, will the next generation of women have to refight old battles? senate candidate elizabeth warren joins the conversation ahead on "now." >> certainly obama with the health care reform strikes me as women's rights that that supports.

it took new hampshire senator kelly ayotte nearly five minutes into an eight-minute speech to get to mitt romney. south carolina governor nicki haley spoke about voter i.d. laws and fighting unions but didn't mention the nominee until six minutes into her ten-minute speech. while governor kasich touted his record in ohio, he only got around to romney halfway through his remarks. rick santorum attacked the president's welfare plans with a selection of questionable facts, then celebrated married men and women but spent the rest of his speech talking about all the hands he shook during his own campaign. even chris christie took 16 minutes before mentioning romney. david axelrod tweeted during the speech i know he's going to mention mitt somewhere here, isn't he? eric bates, i kind of -- during christie's speech, it went from disbelief to actually feeling bad for the nominee insofar as chris christie really took a long time winding up to get to the pitch. >> he didn't just take a long time winding up. that wasn't what his speech was about. fundamentally. his speech was about him and posi

. >> kelli ayotte was here. >> condoleezza rice was here. she is going to be before ryan.ickoff. there is two minutes, by the way to rob portman's speech and after that. >> condoleezza rice i talked to her this morning as well. she broke the glass ceiling at agust that. if you can do that,ing what what she can do in the campaign. >> she is almost like romney. she is not confrontational, you know. she is not going to get up there and say but she is, she is and she will stay in her speech tonight what women can become in this country. she went from birmingham, alabama, the most is he seeing get segregated state in the nation to become secretary of state. >> show wrote a book chronicling how she did that i don't expect fireworks out of condoleezza rice. i do out of paul ryan though. because ryan has really got to light it up tonight. he has really got to show the nation why he was selected. >> we're going to break out. >> one of the things he is going to say. one of the points that ryan is going to make is from mitt romney you are not going to get any excuses. you are not goi

>> add to that list, republican senators john mccain, olympia snowe and kelly ayotte releasing statements urging akin to call it quits. should he stay or should he go in tons of questions to put through the spin cycle. steve, you say he stays? >> i get why republicans want him out. i don't get why he would want to plae along with them. >> embarrassment? public shame? >> also -- >> there's plenty of reasons. >> 50% chance if he ends up staying in the race he ends up a united states senator. >> you think he can win? >> absolutely. at end of the day, missouri is a republican-friendly state where there's a strong desire in poll after poll among vote to get rid of claireccaskill. think back 2010, it cost them a winnable senate races, sharon engel, ken buck in colorado. >> o'donnell. >> that's different because it's delaware. i'm talking about swing states. look in 2010 the marriagen in colorado for all of ken buck's problems less than a point. for all of sharon engels problems in nevada, less than five points. missouri is a republican friendly state than colorado and nevada. the desire of vote

watch john mccain and kelly ayotte here, two senators on the republican side. >> we're going to places obviously that are most severely hit by these draconian cuts which, in the words of the secretary of defense would have a devastating impact on our national security. >> it means nearly a million jobs from the defense industrial base but as senator mccain has said, our secretary of defense has said we would be shooting ourselves in the head and hollowing out our force jeopardizing our national security. >> cenk: shooting ourselves in the head. what a ridiculous thing to say. the draconian cuts. oh, my god, we're going to lose a million jobs. the director of raytheon said it is propaganda. you've got $55 billion in cuts in 2013. $500 billion over ten years. my god it is so terrible! they cut more money from the poor and the middle class all the time. i'm going to show you the scale of this in a second. first, let me show you it is also bipartisan. so here is the defense secretary leon panetta making ridiculous, ineeks usable -- inexcusable claims. >> it is a ship without sailors. it is

john, we know that kelly ayotte and john mccain just added their names to the list of republicans who think todd akin should go the way of the dinosaur. this strategy, though, when we're talking about sort of getting the opponent you want on tap is something that harry reid masterfully employed in nevada with sharron angle and we see how these loony-tune senate candidates don't fare well in general elections. >> sometimes the incumbent is able to do things to get the opponent they want. sometimes the republican party or democratic party, as the case may be, helps them on its own. it's now become kind of the rule in republican primary politics that the most conservative candidate wins. that's partly the influence of the tea party, partly the influence of the way the party in general has moved to the right. the most conservative candidate if they're well funded, as long as they're not broke, they win. the republican party has handed a lot of gifts over the last two cycles to the democratic party. i'll say one thing in addition on the missouri race. of all the people calling for akin to

in 2010, she supported nikki haley in south carolina and kelly ayotte in new hampshire. year, so did richard murdoch and ted cruz in the senate primary races after palin campaigned for them. 234i9 tonight we will find out if sarah steelman wins senate primary. the far right loves her. mitt romney will pretend he does, too. see you at the convention, miss palin. thanks for watching. i'm al sharp upon the. "hardball" starts right now. >>> trouble in sherwood forest. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. romney hood. according to obama, he's the guy that raises the taxes of the middle class, cuts the taxes of the rich. and this is how obama wants to you see this coming election. it isn't about how are things going for you. it is about who are you going to trust? who is going to look out for you? this guy, he calls romney hood, is going to take from you and give to the rich. looking at the romney tax plan, by the way, fair look at things. those in the top brackets do get a bigger percentage tax cut off their

. >> let me finally say lindsay graham and kelly ayotte around i and many others believe that senatornderstands the seriousness about this because we had conversations with him about it and actually some negotiations. we would be eager to join in a bipartisan effort to address this issue but it is the president's leadership. i would like to be president. i tryd that once. but the fact is that we need the president's leader shelling attacksship on this and he is no where to be found and it is almost dirties dereliction of . >> greta: i don't know if you have seen the jake tapper report. of abc news, a blunt straight reporter made a remark to laura ingram on her radio show saying in 2008 the media tipped the scales in favor of president obama. i suspect at this point you don't disagree with jake tapper on that? >> probably not. but i still believe it was the economy and a bad campaign that we he ran. i will take credit. i will take the blame. i really think the economy had something to do with it. but i also want to emfamous again there are certain areas that should transcend party poli

governor mcdonnell, governor scott walker, chris ruddi and david malpass and jed henserling and kelly ayotteved it. it was great fun. uh heard a lot. my tough love for mr. romney, stay with the tax cuts. my volt is the best vehicle i've ever driven. i bought the car because of its efficiency. i bought the car because i could eliminate gas from my budget. i don't spend money on gasoline. it's been 4,000 miles since my last trip to the gas station. it's pretty great. i get a bunch of kids waving at me... giving me the thumbs up. it's always a gratifying experience. it makes me feel good about my car. i absolutely love my chevy volt. ♪ and every day since, two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf.t. we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energ

senator kelly ayotte, conservative columnist ann coulter, former speaker of the house newt gingrich,ch mcconnell. i will be back at 10:00 p.m. with special coverage of the republican national convention. we'll hear from veep candidate paul ryan and former secretary of state condoleezza rice. we'll throw in some hurricane coverage tonight at 10:00 eastern. it's a full house. please stay with us. i'll see you tomorrow evening. i don't spend money on gasoline. i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. ♪ [ male announcer ] at scottrade, we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 loca

i was talking to kelly ayotte, the senator from new hampshire. she speaks tonight, she will speak about small business people. she will speak about her husband, joe, who is going to be sitting in the new hampshire delegation. i said what does joe think of the speech, you will talk about him, and she said you know, as we watch ron paul again on the floor, there he is live, reaching out to his supporters, senator ayotte said to me let me practice the speech and joe said to her i don't want to hear it until i hear it live on the floor. sort of a lovely moment. he's going to be sitting out there in the new hampshire delegation, she's going to be talking about him and his role in business and he wants to hear it for the first time when -- >> they're going to have a lot of small business, independent businesses on screen tonight and on that podium because they think that's a great strength for them going forward. but let's talk for a moment about when mitt romney stands up there thursday night, will he be seeing his father, do you think? >> i think he

vp contenders marco rubio, paul ryan, chris christie, tim pawlenty, rob portman, bobby jindal, kelly ayotteand bob mcdonnell. joining me now, jim rutenberg and national political correspondent for "the new york times," and maggie haberman, intrepid senior political writer for politico. tell us the answers, read the tea leaves. you know that this media speculation over the veep stakes is going to continue until an actual vp is announced by the romney campaign. but, maggie, let's sort of look into the bus tour, right? is there a reason that mitt romney is going from florida to ohio? if you were actually doing this logically, you might want to start in ohio. what do you think about the speculation that it all ends with fireworks and a rob rtman announcement? >> i think maybe and maybe not. i think they are interested in keeping as much speculation going as possible. and they know that doing the bus tour this way does that. the thing that is very important to remember about the romney campaign right now is they are losing a series of news cycles, one after the other after the other. and dan bal

about liberal leaders like mitch mcconnell, reince priebus, mitt romney, paul ryan, john mccain, kelly ayotte, roy blount, the tea party express and last night, sarah palin. those liberals and their liberal pressure. in reality, this seems to be more of an act of mutiny within the republican ranks. this morning, akin seemed to acknowledge that, saying he stands with the people, not the party leadership. >> the people of missouri chose me to be their candidate and i don't believe it's right for party bosses to decide to override those voters and it makes me uncomfortable to think that the party bosses are going to dictate who runs as opposed to the election process. >> akin is going rogue, even telling the party's presidential candidate to back off. >> if you were in romney's position, don't you think that he may have bit this thing up and made a bigger deal about it than he needed to? why couldn't he run his race and i run mine? >> even if akin is downgraded in the coming days to nothing more than a low pressure anomaly, he spawned other storm systems by bringing the republican stance on abor

in 2010, she supported nikki haley in south carolina and kelly ayotte in new hampshire. they both won. this year, so did richard murdoch and ted cruz in the senate primary races after palin campaigned for them. 234i9 tonight we will find out if sarah steelman wins senate primary. the far right loves her. mitt romney will pretend he does, too. see you at the convention, miss palin. thanks for watching. i'm al sharp upon the. "hardball" starts right now. >>> trouble in sherwood forest. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. romney hood. according to obama, he's the guy that raises the taxes of the middle class, cuts the taxes of the rich. and this is how obama wants to you see this coming election. it isn't about how are things going for you. it is about who are you going to trust? who is going to look out for you? this guy, he calls romney hood, is going to take from you and give to the rich. looking at the romney tax plan, by the way, fair look at things. those in the top brackets do get a bigger percenta

ladies and gentlemen, senator kelly ayotte. [applause] >> live free or die. the model of the great state of new hampshire, but i believe tonight, we all share that view, as have generations of americans before us. like most americans, our life and changed after 9/11. my husband, joe, who was on track to be a commercial pilot, instead served our great country flying combat missions in iraq. [applause] and when joe returned home from the war, he found himself in the same position as so many americans. he needed a job. so he started a family business, a landscaping and snow plowing company. when i say he, i mean we. i spent many sleepless night shoveling snow, and i am proud of the fact that in addition to being the united states senator, i am also pretty good with a snowplow. [applause] we are no different from those families who take risks starting their own business. we borrowed money to pursue our dreams, and believe me, there was no guarantee of success. we were certainly not too big to fail. we had to make it work. yet, through all the hard work and sacrif