we have brad woodhouse and ken cuccinelli. chris christie got a 2 1/2 minute standing ovation at his inauguration. i hope republicans plan to cheer that long at president obama's state of the union. republicans used to attack the president for not knowing everything that is going on. obama has to oversee 2 million employees. somehow these same republicans are giving wild applause to chris christie who claims he didn't know what two of his top aides were doing in the next office over. is christie a liar? or just incompetent? or maybe the reckless attacks are the overreach republicans now claim to hate. don't you think republicans look hypocritical and republicans should hold chris christie to the same standard they hold obama to? >> first of all, i think everybody ought to be held to the same standard. your lead in was totally unconnected. each of the people is judged on their own terms and own position and they can both get negative marks or positive marks. >> how can you say when it comes to obama who has to deal with 2 milli

he defeated attorney general ken cuccinelli. clinton the presidential campaigns. the ceremony runs about an hour. >> beautiful day. >> good to see you. it was our privilege to work with terry. great privilege. >> welcome you and everything. >> your team is great. >> martin, hear that? you were spectacular. great job, everyone! >> you remember all the kids? >> i do. jack back there. >> good to see you there again, young fellow. how you doing? welcome back. good to see you. >> sally. >> sally. good to see you. >> and you're the -- you're the oldest? you're up in new hampshire? >> maine. >> maine. that's a great place. whereabouts? >> waterville. couple hours north of poortland. >> gorgeous state. bun as gorgeous as virginia. >> definitely not. >> well, welcome back. beautiful family. >> i wish you well. stay close. and we'll call you. >> really appreciate everything. >> i texted terry at 1:15 and 1:24.ted me back at so he's on the job. >> sleep when you're dead! >> and i want to present you with the key to the governor's mansion, something you will never need. the c

. >> as you know, ken cuccinelli, the former attorney general of virginia, he was on "crossfire" lastight. he ran unsuccessfully to become the governor of virginia. but he urged the governor of new jersey, chris christie, to step down as the chair, the new chair of the republican governors association, because of all of this problems resulting from that closure of a couple lanes going up to the george washington bridge. listen to what ken cuccinelli said on "crossfire." >> just from the perspective of setting aside this as an issue in other races, it makes sense for him to step aside in that role. he does not serve the goals of that organization by staying as chairman. >> well, i -- >> and that doesn't mean any of the charges, political or otherwise, are substantive or not. it doesn't matter. perception is reality. >> people have said about chris christie, this whole time. it's all about chris christie. it's a party of one. why would a chris christie who cares about republicans, cares about people like yourself, running for office, why wouldn't he step down? why do you think he's not

ken cuccinelli, tried to get himself elected, defeated by terry mcauliffe in virginia.s the attorney general. knows a lot about politics, obviously. and he's saying right now he's got this cloud over him, chris christie, because of these allegations in new jersey. doesn't serve republican gubernatorial candidates or incumbent republicans well and maybe should step down for the time being. i would be pretty surprised, knowing chris christie, if he would accept that advice from ken cuccinelli. i haven't heard that advice coming from a lot of other influential republicans. if there were to be some new evidence, for example, directly linking the new jersey governor to some of these accusations, that would change. but i would be pretty much shocked if chris christie were to step down as the chair of the republican governor's association. >> all right. a great deal of influence. thank you, wolf. we appreciate that. >> thank you. >>> some of the most richest and most powerful people on the planet are in davos, switzerland for the economic forum. and here's what they're looking

last night, interestingly enough, former virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli called for christie to resign as head of the republican governors' association. >> i think just from the perspective of setting aside this as an issue in other races, it makes sense for him to step aside in that role. he does not serve the goals of that organization by staying as chairman. and that doesn't mean any of the charges, political or otherwise, are substantiative or not, it doesn't matter. perception is reality. >> let's dig deeper into the bob mcdonnell indictment. we bring in nbc's casey hunt into our studio. great to see you. >> great to see you. >> we are always on remote, now we're here together, which is nice. listen, first break down what's going on and what's next for the former governor. before we get into some of the larger fall from grace issues, what is he specifically dealing with? >> so this is a 14-count indictment and they are corruption charges, they allege he accepted gifts, luxury travel, golf fees, a rolex from johnny williams, who is the head of a company called star scient

the problem for governor christie to the point about what ken cuccinelli made, putting aside the factif you have friends like that, you really don't need enemies. the reality is he's going around trying to basically help governors in a lot of key states that they need to win in order to be competitive in '16. he's going to be an enormous distraction, so it's probably good advice. it's not going to happen. he's not going to step down. but it's going to be a major problem for the rga going forward, if this scandal doesn't get resolved quickly and i don't think it will. >> chip, what's happening behind the doors there, when you've got cuccinelli saying that chris christie is not the guy to be leading the rga. and it's been said in the past, chris christie, who has been a go it alone guy, not liked by democrats, not liked by some republicans as well. does that continue here? >> it's tough to be a caucus of one sometimes. governor christie has shown himself to be a caucus of one, as he's done a good job of leading the state of new jersey. he was re-elected by a huge number. that's mostly i

ken cuccinelli will represent paul in this case. john kerry is trying to broker a peace deal in the middle east. he had talks with the palestinian president and netanyahu. there has been progress in the talks. the most difficult disputes between the two sides remain. >> the parties can have confidence that they know what is happening. is trying to work out an agreement that would establish a palestinian state alongside israel. he said that the talks have entered an intense phase. new york could become the 21st state to allow the use of medical marijuana. the governor will announce his plan in the state of the state speech on wednesday. plans to use his administrative powers to allow a limited number of hospitals to dispense marijuana. this would be an about-face for cuomo. the u.s. coast guard is stepping in, sending in a cutter to help two ships caught in antarctica. the other ship is a chinese vessel that provided the helicopter. the cutter is the u.s. coast guard's only active heavy ice breaker. we could see one of the coldest ga

republican former virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli. republican that tells cnn's "crossfire" that he thinks governor christie should give up his role as chairman of the republican governors association and focus all his attention on, instead, fixing his reputation at home. >> i think from the perspective of setting this aside in other races, it makes sense for him to step aside in that role. he does not serve the goals of that organization by stage as chairman. every governor does better by setting everything else aside. if the goal is to be the best governor you can be, that's done by setting everything else aside. >> we should say, even though they're both republicans, no great love between cuccinelli and christie. christie has said the scandal over the allegations that his top aides strong-armed political opponents will not help his efforts nationally. >> this morning, edward snowden is insisting he's no spy. the admitted nsa leaker tells "the new yorker" he doesn't work for russia. saying he acted alone without any help from any gov

virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli signed that letter. he is with me live now.d morning to you. >> good morning, bill, how are you doing? >> i'm doing fine. thank you for your time today. make your point why you agreed to sign this letter. >> the president is continuing to violate his own law, this is signature, quote, achievement, unquote and it's having all the disasterous impacts that those of us who were raising flags at the beginning said it would. and so his solution is not to go back to congress and adjust the law. it is repeatedly to violate the law himself and essentially make it up as he goes. this is a violation of the separation of powers because he is trampling on congress's role in the law-making process. it also violates what is called the take care clause of the constitution, which is that the president must take care to enforce the laws of this country. of course that's exactly the opposite of what he is doing. in texas ag greg abbott said the at your opening there. this president continues to trample the constitution. our letter first addressed

is urging courts to reverse the position of his whoecessor, ken cuccinelli, argue to maintain the ban on marriage. commonwealth will side with the plan is to have brought this case and side with every other version you couple his right to marry is being denied solely on the basis of their social orientation. -- sexual ientation. this is based on my analysis of y to fulfillmy dut obligations in the office of attorney general. this announcement drawing a lot of reaction. in a statement, william howe toll said mark herring swore defend the constitution of virginia. i am concerned about his and the precedent it sets with regard to the rule of law. 17 states allow same-sex marriage. more coming up at 5:00 on abc 7 news. inhappening right now annapolis, maryland governor martin o'malley delivering his final state of the state address. toernor o'malley plans highlight the progress maryland has made over the last seven years. he will talk about the work still needed to move maryland forward. taking a live look outside, it looks deceptively warm. the deep freeze continues, a little bit of suns

robert gibbs, when you hear ken cuccinelli who's certainly no longer a big player in republican politic, being the first to talk about chris christie should step down from the republican governors association, does that -- does that sound like the first pebble rolling down that hill? >> it certainly sounds like it. obviously, as you mentioned, ken cuccinelli is no longer in public service, and it will be very interesting to see if there are other governors that follow suit, sitting governors that need the help of the rga. it was interesting, you know, when christie was over the weekend in florida doing fundraising. none of the events were open to the public. this was a guy who was partially installed to head the republican governor's association to give that brand of republicanism to other governors running for re-election that might need his help. those doors were locked this weekend and no pictures were allowed and you have to wonder if that doesn't impact his effectiveness to chair the rga. >> steve schmidt, tell us from inside the republican party about how that republican governors

>> one last note, out of virginia, the attorney general used to be ken cuccinelli. he devoted a whole section of his campaign website to talk about his affection for virginia's sodomy law. now mark herring announced his office would no longer defend virginia's ban on gay marriage. elections have consequences. sometimes really, really blunt consequences. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. >> the rnc winter meeting. >> will the ghost of past election defeats haunt their efforts? >> eventually republicans will come around. >> a kinder, gentler brand. >> who is the leader? who is the voice for the republican party? >> that's a good question. >> speaker boehner maz to get something for the caucus. >> we're here to bring fiscally responsible leadership. >> remember why we're here. we're here to win elections. >> let's talk first about the broad change of strategy. >> wernd not defought on our debt. we should get close to it. >> some folks aren't crazy enough to start that thing all over again. >> he says he's not going to raise it for nothing. >> s

. >> that's ken cuccinelli's, virginia's attorney general.overnor bob mcdonnell indicted today on 14 federal felony charges. governor mcdonnell, first elected governor in 2009, same time chris christie was first elected. and it's chris christie that ken cuccinelli said tonight should step down because of the scandal surrounding him. got it? yeah. it's hard to keep track at this point. joining us now is matt katz, a reporter for wnyc. thanks very much for being here. >> big development today in the new jersey story is the assembly and the senate are merging their two investigations. what are the implications of that? >> yeah, this is a big deal. the democrats were somewhat embarrassed by the fact that they had these duelling committees issues two subpoenas. so they did themselves a favor by finally coming to an agreement on this. the governor, remember, he said he was going to cooperate with all appropriate inquiries in this regard. now they've taken away one opportunity, one potentially legal opportunity he would have had to complain about th

former attorney general ken cuccinelli is hoping to eventually gain class action status in his bid to prevent the nsa's data collection. >> the government should only look at your visa bill or phone bill if they think it is specific to you or that you have committed a crime. >> further, attorney barry sanders has questions for the office. has the nsa or anyone else spied on the american elected officials. these calls for this issue come just ahead of president obama's possible reforms to the way the nsa does business. >> i'm going to make a pretty definitive statement in january, where i'll be able to say here are the recommendations that we think make sense. here are ones we think are promising but still need to be refined further. >> but the obama administration is still fighting to keep collecting americans' phone records. on friday, the court said they can continue the data collection, and on friday, they appealed the judge's december ruling which found the nsa's practices likely do violate the constitution. pari paris? >> peter, thank you. >>> the state department is now keeping

>> ken cuccinelli, really surprisingly, decided to say yesterday he thinks chris christie should step down as rga chairman, which is really amazing considering more than $8 million was pumped into cuccinelli's campaign from the rga. a lot of the money was money chris christie helped to raise for him, and it's even more fascinating that christie's top political advisor went and made that exact claim, to say, hey, we helped you out here, and now you're trying to throw us under the bus? you know? >> so i guess we can expect to see cuccinelli trying to make a bigger statement, or have a bigger role did. >> anybody can go on cable news, but i don't know that -- i don't know that that means he has a political future. >> all right. we'll continue to watch this, lots going on. >> thank you. >> thanks a lot. >> and for from domenico and the rest of the nbc news political team, check out first read on nbcnews.com. >>> we're going to check on our weather now. >> yeah. >> a lot going on in the weather. >> yeah, at least the sun's out, and the wind will start to fade away once we get to about sund

a former attorney general and gubernatorial candidate ken cuccinelli tells cnn's "cross fire" he thinks christie to give up his role as chairman of the republican governor committee and focus on home. >> i think just from the perspective of setting this aside an issue in other races, it makes sense for him to step aside in that role. he does not serve the goals of that administration by staying as chairman. every governor does better by setting that aside. if the goal is to be the best governor you can be, that's done better by setting everything else aside. >> worth noting this is a fellow republican giving this advice. christie has said the scandal over allegations where top aides strong-armed political opponents are christie said that scandal will not affect his ability to help other governors nationally. and he spent his past weekend helping fund raise in florida for fellow republican governor rick scott. >>> we're hearing this morning from edward snowden who is denying he's a spy for russia. the admitted nsa leaker tells "the new yorker" he acted alone without any help from any gov

this is ken cuccinelli weighing in on chris christie and whether or not he should step down temporarilym the republican governor's association. >> it make sense for him to step aside in that role. he does not serve the goals of that organization by staying as chairman. >> that doesn't mean any of the charges, political or otherwise, are substantive or not. it doesn't matter. perception is reality. >> why wouldn't he step down? why do you think he's not stepping down? >> well, frankly, i think this is all still relatively new. and he may well step down. i have no idea what his thinking is on that. he may get some counsel from some other governors along those lines. >> mark halperin, what's your read on what cuccinelli said? >> well, look, he's no longer in office. he lost his race. he's not a huge figure in the paer party. but all four of us talk to republicans frequently who say they are worried about chris christie, they're worried about other shoes dropping, if not directly tied to him, to senior members of his staff. i think this is a bit of a canary in the coal mine, there's no doub

and i will say this, i wouldn't necessarily take advice from ken cuccinelli, and i don't think chrishristie will, because i think the most insane he will do right now is to leave the rga post. it will set another series of stories about how embattled he is, how wounded he is, and he can't afford that right now. >> think about really quick, the problem he created for one particular governor, rick scott, who's already got a lot of issues. >> who he was down there visiting with this week in florida. >> and decided not to be seen together. but the stories that were so easy for them to write about that, were to remind people of rick scott's old scandals. and say, here was a governor who came in on backs of the huge medicaid or fraud scandal. >> the largest in the history of the american -- >> and you're instantly reminded, it's an easy trope to go to for all of the editorial writers, as soon as chris christie comes to town. so rather than help rick scott by shoring up the things about republicans that people are supposed to like, the can-do spirit, the getting things done, the rejecting h

. >> ken cuccinelli says gay people are destroying their own souls.eplacement as attorney general says he will not defend virginia's ban on marriage equality. virginia's new attorney general will join me. and mitch mcconnell is so afraid of losing his re-election campaign, his attack ads against obamacare while running ads in favor of his own intervention in the health care market that was his idea. that's next in "the rewrite." [bell rings] [prof. burke] at farmers,we believe what you don't know can hurt you. like what if you didn't know to get coverage for uninsured drivers? [robot] uh oh. [prof. burke] talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪ [ male announcer ] what kind of energy is so abundant, it can help provide the power for all this? natural gas. ♪ more than ever before, america's electricity is generated by it. exxonmobil uses advanced visualization and drilling technologies to produce natural gas... powering our lives... while reducing emissions by up to 60%. energy lives

here is ken cuccinelli, he of the recent loss to terry mcauliffe in virginia, here he is earlier todaybasically calling on christie to step down as head of the republican governor's association. >> you know the importance of the republican governor's association. chris christie's now in charge of that. do you think it's fair for him to stay in that role, that key role for your party, while he's going through all of this? >> i think, just from the perspective of setting aside this as an issue in other races, it makes sense for him to step aside in that role. he does not serve the goals of that organization by staying as chairman. >> does not serve the goals of the organization. i think it's hard to argue with that, right? >> hard to argue with that, particularly this midterm. when you have at least half a dozen governors, many of whom are in this class of 2010, who are already embattled, big target on them in ohio, in pennsylvania, in michigan, in maine. people who were in some senses already controversial, scott walker, for instance. and people who are going to need all the help they c

. >> one of the lead lawyers is ken cuccinelli? >> the former attorney general for virginia. the first attorney general to file a lawsuit against obamacare. he's joined our legal team. he has constitutional expertise. we are hoping with his help we can get a hearing in court and ultimately get this class action lawsuit. i think the first of its kind on a constitutional question to take it all the way to the supreme court. >> senator, what do you want the outcome from this lawsuit to be? what do you want the administration to do? >> protect the fourth amendment. we want them to protect the right to privacy. we want them to understand that we are not willing to trade our liberty for security, that we think we can have security, that we can defend against terrorism. that doesn't mean every individual american has to give up their privacy. we think we can have both, but we are upset that this president doesn't seem too concerned with our right to privacy. >> so you are looking for the administration, president obama specifically, to turn to the nsa and say, hey, be moreville gent

ken cuccinelli urging chris christie to step down from his role as chairman of the republican governor's association. cuccinelli said current investigations into christie's alleged political misconduct will hinder his ability to campaign. joining us now is co-host of the five on fox news. you think this is sour grapes? >> i do. i think cuccinelli is upset with chris christie. he's upset that chris christie when he was running the republican governor's association didn't funnel enough money to cuccinelli's race in virginia, lou and that's why he ot why he lost. it is sour grapes. look, until we see this scandal or bridgegate hit the governor directly, his position with the rga is solid and i think he's doing a great job. >> it struck me that here we go again, why can't republicans shut up, if a republican is in trouble, and kind of -- i don't know -- act like they're in the same party instead of like they want to eat their own. i mean, this is really, to me, repug nant. it's a violation of the 11 commandment which is as simple and effective a rule as partisan politics can have. >> basical

>> willie, i'm not sure how many people listen to ken cuccinelli.licans. and, willie, when i look at polls, movement of a point or two, i don't pay much attention to. but there's a quinnipiac poll yesterday that showed in a mo h month, 9 points of movement for chris christie, compared to hillary clinton. in december, a point ahead. yesterday, eight points ahead. that reflects the coverage. it's like so much of this story -- what else is out there? we saw chris christie strong yesterday in that speech. he was inside at the trenton war memorial. didn't directly refer to the crisis, but talked about how new jersey needed to be strong, resilient, proud, a little like himself. and he took a shot at washington, saying that new jersey couldn't fall for the partisanship and division in washington. willie, two stories out there new this morning, new thoughts about chris christie. one of them, cautionary and the other that's encouraging for him in ben white's "morning money" this morning, he quoted a republican who's connected to wall street as saying that th

is putting together an experienced legal team that includes former virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli and is hoping to eventually gain class action status in his bid to prevent the nsa's bulk data collection. >> the government should only look at your visa bill or your phone bill if they have a warrant that is specific to you and says that they think that you have committed a crime. furthermore, bernie sanders has tough questions for the nsa chief, keith alexander, writing him, quote, is the nsa currently spying on members of congress or other american elected officials? these congressional calls for clarity and privacy are coming just ahead of president obama's announcement of possible reforms to the way the nsa does business. >> i'm going to make a pretty definitive statement about all of this in january where i'll be able to say here are the recommendations that we think make sense. here are ones that we think are promising, but still need to be refined further. >> but the obama administration is still fighting to keep collecting americans' phone records. on friday, a fisa court sa

has concluded the ban is unconstitutional, a sharp departure from his predecessor, republican ken cuccinelli. the family of an african-american teenager executed in south carolina nearly 70 years ago is asking for new trial. the 14-year-old was put to death in 1944 for the murders of two white girls. he was the youngest prisoner to be executed by the u.s. government in the last century. in an historic move, his family says they want the case reach right in order to clear his name. the defense attorney says the family deserves justice. >> there was no cross examination. that is what we know. this case was handled so poorly, his family was treated so poorly in the circumstances in 1944, that his rights were snuffed out then. it was only later when the state changed, the political system changed, and the revolution that we have today, that we're able to come before the court and even bring his rights and his case to the court in some way or he can get justice. >> an african-american teenager in philadelphia is facing charges stemming from an incident in which police left him seriously injured.

ken cuccinelli ran for governor on a straight anti abortion male republican ticket.d that whole ticket lost. and women's issues were front and center in the campaign. now, in the wake of the democratic sweep in november, abortion rights advocates say they hope to roll back the restrictions. telling reporters yesterday they're readying a repeal of the forced ultrasound law and expansion of reproductive services in the commonwealth. that's virginia with its shiny new republican branch. in wisconsin, scott walker and the legislature there cut off funding to planned parenthood. shut down a lot of clinics in the state. the state legislature in wisconsin was all set to pass another round of restrictions on abortion and contraception, including the ask your boss law if you could have your health insurance cover your birth control pills, but that sparked one state senator to declare he would bring all out hell to the senate if republicans tried to push those bills through. against that backdrop of promised all out hell, it now appears that republicans in wisconsin are going

previous attorney general ken cuccinelli opposed same-sex marriage and vowed to defend the band. > ban. >>> chad olson was messaging the couple's baby-sitter during previews when police say the alleged shooter got upset over the cell phone use. the argument escalated leading to the deadly shooting. >> me and my husband didn't get a date night very often, much less a whole day to spend together. i was so excited, looking forward to spending the day with the love of my life. to think in the blink of an eye, my whole world got shattered into a million pieces, now i'm left trying to pick them up and put them back together. it's so hard and it's so unbearable, but i want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. >> curtis reed, a 71-year-old retired police captain is charged with second-degree murder. he is being held without bail. we have live picket frurs now from miami, a prisoner transport van believed to be carrying justin bieber. he was accused this morning accused of drag racing. he's also charged with driving with an expired georgia license. >>> and we also have a picture of t

mcauliffe's win in virginia, and one of the key messages that was most effective was talking about ken cuccinelli'son abortion. i'm just saying as a political strategist type, there's some data out there to suggest that what they're doing is not working. just last week, you had trent franks say in a hearing that, you know, he didn't really think you could get pregnant from rape, right? because part of hb-7 that i ear trying to pass means the irs gets to decide if a woman has been raped and can therefore deduct her medical expenses from her taxes. >> and martha, the republican party isn't even close to representing the country's view of abortion, which is, of course, that it's primarily a -- supports rowe versus wade, a majority. but it's also -- it's almost unanimous outside of politics that people accept the idea of certainly exceptions for rape and incest and that sort of thing. and there are huge number of republicans, probably most of them in congress who do not accept those exceptions. >> right. well, this is part of the problem when you have religion creeping into, you know, the political pro

have more on the power problems for the two men once considered rising stars of the party, as ken cuccinelli becomes the first high-profile republican calling for governor christie to step down as chairman of the republican governors association. >>> now, there's giving peace a chance. we'll go live to syria summit in switzerland where syrian president assad is refusing demands to step down. but first, a look ahead at today's politics planner. a couple of big events at the white house today. one was a postponeed event. they'll be here tomorrow to talk about the election day voting, and a big sexual assault summit also taking place at the white house. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? hearty oatmeal, softly baked with a drizzle of cinnamon

i mean, ken cuccinelli lost the single women's vote. he was a very anti-woman, anti-choice candidate, lost the women's vote by 42 points. women could not possibly be louder about rejecting this agenda. and we're going to see it -- remember how long it took in 2012 for the rhetoric to get amped up this far? it's only january, and we already can't count the gaffes. >> it's not february yet, and we've already learned that the government that you and i pay tax to are nothing but sugar daddies to some women. joan walsh, jess mcintyre, thank you both for your time. >> thanks. >>> coming up, is there a political press in new jersey? a new super committee formed to investigate bridgegate. but a republican on that committee is raising all kinds of new questions today. >>> plus, president obama's state of the union speech will focus on fighting inequality, and is sending the billionaire boys club into freak-out mode. >>> and one right wing group is out with this ad showing president obama as joseph stalin. >>> and why is seahawks player richard s

ken cuccinelli calling on christie to step down as head of the republican governors association.right agrees, fellow republican cord does not. why do you agree? >> i agree because remember when last summer when christie spoke at the rnc convention, he said i'm a better republican than anybody else, i want to restore authority and courage to the party. i want us to win again. fast forward now, chris christie has more scandals surrounding -- well, just as many scandals around him as gnats really, and it's a conflict of interest, because his job as head of the republican governors association is to, what, go out there, help folks fund raise and elect and re-elect republican governors, but -- >> crystal, i couldn't disagree with you more. cuccinelli -- hold on, cuccinelli should have kept why. he is playing into the hands of dmths. they only want chris christie off the playing field in 2016. they want him off the playing field in 2014. we have 22 governor seats we have to defend. who else can raise $100 million to do this? this is about fund-raising. democrats know it, and they want

. >> one last note, out of virginia, the attorney general used to be ken cuccinelli.le section of his campaign website to talk about his affection for virginia's sodomy law. now mark herring announced his office would no longer defend virginia's ban on gay marriage. elections have consequences. sometimes really, really blunt consequences. . >>> good morning, everybody. a massive mashup of cars and trucks along an icy indiana highway kills three. an investigation is underway. drug money, america's attorney general is about to reverse decades old bank laws created to prevent money laundering by drug dealers. >> driver attacked. a crazed passenger attacks a bus driver while attempting to attack the massive coach. >> and thrill seekers using kites to make snowmobiles fly. and a camera shooting at 35 pictures a minute looks like this.

. >> one last note, out of virginia, the attorney general used to be ken cuccinelli.hole section of his campaign website to talk about his affection for virginia's sodomy law. now mark herring announced his office would no longer defend virginia's ban on gay marriage. elections have consequences. sometimes really, really blunt consequences. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. >> the rnc winter meeting. >> will the ghost of past election defeats haunt their efforts? >> eventually republicans will come around. >> a kinder, gentler brand. >> who is the le

that was former virginia attorney general, not governor, attorney general ken cuccinelli last summerarnl as, quote, settled in virginia. translation -- he believed the law banning marriage equality would be there to stay. after his spectacular election flameout, there is a new sheriff in town. >> for those of you who do not know me, my name is mark herring. i am the newly minted attorney general of virginia. >> mark herring isn't wasting any time. this morning he declared his view that the same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional and joined a lawsuit to have it struck down. >> i believe the freedom to marry is a fundamental right. and i intend to ensure that virginia is on the right side of history and on the right side of the law. >> it is a rapid and welcome change in the heart of the newly blue old dominion. it comes as judges in utah and oklahoma recently ruled same-sex marriage bans are also unconstitutional. and earlier this week six same-sex couples in florida filed a lawsuit challenging that state's ban on marriage equality. but the progressive wave is not without opposition

. >> one last note, out of virginia, the attorney general used to be ken cuccinelli.of his campaign website to talk about his affection for virginia's sodomy law. now mark herring announced his office would no longer defend virginia's ban on gay marriage. elections have consequences. sometimes really, really blunt consequences. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. >> the rnc winter meeting. >> will the ghost of past election defeats haunt their efforts? >> eventually republicans will come around. >> a kinder, gentler brand. >> who is the leader? who is the voice for the republican party? >> that's a good question. >> speaker boehner maz to get something for the caucus. >> we're here to bring fiscally responsible leadership. >> remember why we're here. we're here to win elections. >> let's talk first about the broad change of strategy. >> wernd not defought on our debt.

>> well, i think in the wake of ken cuccinelli's race last year in virginia where he got absolutely drubbedllions of dollars of ads on this war on women subject and he didn't articulate a forceful response so, now i think you see rare agreement between grassroots conservatives and sort of party officials, establishment pragmatists who are really -- want to arm candidates with ways to talk about this issue that don't frankly offend women and swing voters. that's what this resolution is about. it's almost a messaging memo, advice to candidates about how to talk about issues citing polling data like you mentioned in your piece, like the ways in which the public supports some abortion regulations, how they oppose late term abortions, support parental consent, thing like that. the problem of course is that they're kind of rolling the dice here because for a lot of republican kanld dames this isn't about tactics. this is about principles. these are things people believe in. so there might not necessarily be on message when they're talking about this issue this year. >> dana, you spoke with the rn

. >> huge, i would say in terms of elections matter, the previous ken cuccinelli one of the leading peopleg suit to the supreme court about the health care law. so it shows you the power that those people have. saying he won't defend the law. this follows kathleen cain said something similar earlier this year. fascinating and as you said earlier, if people don't think down ballot races matter, it was decided far less than 1,000 votes, terry mcauliffe and elected lieutenant governor, relatively easily, the mark herring race was the one in doubt for some time. they quite clearly have consequences because i guarantee if the republican nominee for state attorney general, if he was the attorney general, we would not be having this conversation today. >> we should point out mark herring said he was wrong to support the ban on gay marriage back when he was in the assembly in 2006. >> that's right, he had previously voted for it and reconsidered and reflected on his position, which frankly a lot of elected officials in the same time period, have done something similar. >> chris cillizza and casey

what it says is, when you've got a guy like ken cuccinelli, who's getting his brains beat out with rhetorict isn't accurate, you know, maybe a good response might be, "hey, look, you're calling me extreme, because i value life, why don't we look at terry mcauliffe's opinion on whether or not we ought to have gender-based abortions, or whether you ought to have abortion in the third trimester." i think 80% of americans agree with the republican viewpoint on that issue. and the only thing that this resolution is saying, look, if you're a pro-life candidate, and your strategy is to just stand there and see how strong your jaw is, that might not be the best strategy. i think you might be reading a little too much into this. >> all right. let me ask you about mike huckabee, and your comes afterwards, you told one reporter, they were kind of goofy, and you had a much more formal statement. it sounded to me like a rebuke. were you offering a mild rebuke of huckabee's choice of words? >> sure. yes, i was. and the reason is that, you know, you have to accept the political world we live in, in the se

we saw that played out, for example, in the virginia race with ken cuccinelli and it wasn't until thehat they found a voice on obamacare, if you will. but it was too little, too late. we've been at this doorstep before in 2012 and 2010 with the senate as a possible takeover and lost that opportunity both times, because we have not effectively engaged people in the conversation they are having as opposed to the one we want to have, and i think we need to be very smart about that going forward in terms of the civil rights agenda for african-americans and all americans, quite frankly. certainly, the immigration issue, so there are a number of issues we can begin to carve out space. and the real test, i think, will begin with the state of the union when the president starts a new conversation on the wealth gap in this country and the minimum wage and a host of other economic issues where i think we could have a sweet opportunity to gain some new ground. >> well, kiki, when you look at the national numbers, obviously, they are not great for the republicans, but we know that the senate is n

he comes to office after defeating republican state attorney general ken cuccinelli in a close election and succeeds outgoing republican governor bob .cdonnell some of the expected attendees include tim kaine, former president bill clinton, and former secretary of state hillary clinton. terry mcauliffe cochairing what resident clearing -- cochairing presidentialnton's campaign. he is the former chairman of the democratic national committee. this is live coverage from the state capitol in richmond, virginia on c-span. >> it was our privilege to work with terry and make this transition. you are in for a great privilege. >> we know that. thank you. welcoming andeen everything, so thank you. >> oh, no, we are glad. >> absolutely. >> we really appreciate you coming to my inauguration. >> that is how it should be. your team is great, martin went like you here -- martin -- >> either that, martin, you are spectacular? >> you remember all the kids, of course. >> i do. >> what mike, good to see you. >> sally, ok, and mary. hi. you are the oldest, and you up and new hampshire? >> maine. >> the man