every word that bill kristol just said is now republican heresy.can orthodoxy. ronald reagan believed in a progressive income tax code. ronald reagan believed that the mitt romneys should pay more than 13%. ronald reagan believed that the mitt romney should pay a higher income tax rate than the people who made less money. way less money, than the mitt romneys. and there is another stunning bit of current republican heresy wrapped in the middle of what bill kristol just said. >> i'm just not a believer that he -- that he needed -- you know, that there would have been any economic detriment to him paying more. >> that's one of the intellectual leaders of the republican party saying there is no economic detriment to increasing mitt romney's taxes. here is the actual leader of the stupid party, in the house of representatives. >> it's a very simple equation. tax increases destroy jobs. >> not according to bill kristol, they don't. bill kristol says there would be no economic detriment to raising mitt romney's taxes, but john boehner says tax increases

bill kristol is there a compelling. is he a technicrat and his father dying as teenager and he had to pull up his boot straps and become something. >> he is a good guy and friend and i am totally biased. we were together in the washington think thank annual conference a few months ago . paul was giving one of the major talks and i ran into him and said what do you think of the discussion and panel. he said i was not there. janna and his wife and kids, we were all out on the beach. don't tell anyone . he's a policy walk and family guy and sports enthusist and as people get to know paul ryan they will like him. >> will he get the message forward? >> i think so, yeah. >> we'll be back and poll numbers are coming in . talk to scott rasmussen who has the latest on ryan's favorables and whether the romney campaign can turn things around in the polls, stay with us. >> we offer solutions that are bold, specific and achievable. we offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs and bring better take home pay to middle cl

bill kristol and steve moore joining us right now . there is a little bit of a fight between steve and bill kristol. whose editoral it was and the weekly standard that catapulted. >> oh, only a fight. in steve. >> i am not going to tk about it i am just a modest guy. steve hayes and i would never take credit for anything. >> one of the things that we had congressman from maryland . gave an indof the democratic. tax cuts for the wealth yecut to medicare that are going to put an extra burden on the elderly . we remember the tossing granny off of the cliff that came out after the first ryan budget. how does romney pull out. >> taxes are a tougher attacked and combined. they are cutting medicare . why do they have to cut medicare and education. they insist on giving them to the wealthy. people do know entitlements have to be reform even president obama said so. tax cuts for the wealthy they have not done a good job and i think you will see the democrats focus on that. >> we have known for two years that the democratic attack line is tax cu

bill kristol. that's the thing, his tone was exactly right, it seems to me.urse, it's entirely politically motivated but this idea of yeah, 13% for a guy who is making $10 million, $20 million, $30 million, $40 million a year, is that fair? that seems to be the way to posit it. when you're running for president, all kinds of personal situations and your track record as a professional are part of the discussion so why not how much federal income tax. >> especially if we're looking for tax reform. the center for american progress had a breakdown of the tax rate that average households make. households making between $30,000 and $45,000 pay 12.5% rate. households making between $45,000 and $92,000 pay a 15.7% rate. look in the middle, governor romney, who made $21.6 million in 2010, right in the middle. 13.9%. >> you don't need multi-year returns to know that to most people, who have to get a salary to earn a living, that something is not fair. there's no equity in the tax system where a multimillionaire pays a lesser rate because they get income from dividends

bill kristol is there a compelling.he a technicrat and his father dying as teenager and he had to pull up his boot straps and become something. >> he is a good guy and friend and i am totally biased. we were together in the washington think thank annual conference a few months ago . paul was giving one of the major talks and i ran into him and said what do you think of the discussion and panel. he said i was not there. janna and his wife and kids, we were all out on the beach. don't tell anyone . he's a policy walk and family guy and sports enthusist and as people get to know paul ryan they will like him. >> will he get the message forward? >> i think so, yeah. >> we'll be back and poll numbers are coming in . talk to scott rasmussen who has the latest on ryan's favorables and whether the romney campaign can turn things around in the polls, stay with us.

and i think what you are then going to see, and i think what people like bill kristol are setting thetage for is an outcry when people like that are ultimately not picked. >> and that's the point. it's sort of a bound-to-disappoint situation. this is bobby jindal talking about paul ryan. let's listen to what he said. >> i think there are a lot of good choices. i'm not trying to pick one out of all of them, but as an example, i think picking someone like a paul ryan would send a very powerful message that this administration is serious about tackling medicare reform, entitlement reform, shrinking the size of government, and doing so in a courageous way. >> it's like everyone on the short list is pointing to someone else who may or may not be on the short list. but maggie, if he does end up going with someone who is, let's say, not as much firework and glass as a chris christie or a bobby jindal or a paul ryan, what does that do for conservatives? do they then express their disappointment? there is already so much disappointment around mitt romney. >> i don't know. you've got to wonder,

host: william kristol is joining us. guest: good to be here.ost: your peace today, why r -- why ryan matters. guest: it affects the outcome more about what they've said about the president or the presidential nominee. there was reagan and there was a bush in the 1980's. reagan was not just a yes man on the ticket. when clinton chose al gore in 1992, it reinforced the message that it was a new kind of moderate democrat. in this pick, romney showed strength, showed he wanted to present voters a clear choice. he chose someone young. the romney ticket is younger. than the younger. with a ryan ticket, it looks now more like a cause than a campaign. before, it was a tough campaign. people try to help him get over the hump -- people were trying to get him over the hump. people may not agree with everything romney is for, but you have a sense it is a forward-looking agenda, not just we are sick of president obama. i've always felt the problem with the romney campaign was that it was all the negative and there were counting too much on disillusionment w

bill kristol of the weekly standard democratic strategist joe trippi karl rove fowner of american cross roads and former democratic senator evan bayh. bill, you pushed hard for ryan to run for president and then romney for running mate. karl? >> he writes an editorial and romney picks ryan. either bill is most powerful man in washington or bill has the ability to foresee the future. >> chris: there you go bill kristol. you take the swame hat and pass. >> i will pass. it is a beautiful hat. >> chris: you think you should wear it. other way around. there you go. >> this is going to be around for a long time. >> chris: you look like carnac the magnifent. (laughing) >> i did not know this was coming . >> chris: no. >> you could have arranged for other things this morning. mr. 1: how has ball ryan done this week? >> he's done great and changed the nature of the campaign and changed and made it a different campaign. couple of weeks ago it was a bore tough hill and i really foal the romney-ryan ticket it foals like a move less like a campaign and less a couple of hundred poem working very hard

you look at what the wall street journal, look at what bill kristol and them said. now they're saying romney can't move away from ryan's budget. they were out talking yesterday. bill kristol said he can't just be for ryan for v.p., he's got to be for the ryan program. they want to take over the whole romney campaign. >> bob, let me ask you this quickly. it's not only medicare. president was out slamming congressman ryan for holding up the farm bill which is going to hurt him in a lot of those states. he says it endangered the livelihoods of millions. take a listen. >> right now too many members of congress are blocking the farm bill from becoming law. i am told that governor romney's new running mate might be around iowa the next few days. he's one of them standing in the way. we've got to put politics aside when it comes to doing the right thing for rural america and for iowa. >> looks like the president and his team is going to define mr. ryan on several issues that will not resonate well with certain voters in certain areas of the country. >> look, ryan's going t

but bill kristol says it is coming in one week and it is down to two. who are they? that is next. ♪ lord, you got no reason ♪ you got no right ♪ ♪ i find myself at the wrong place ♪ [ male announcer ] the ram 1500 express. ♪ it says a lot about you. ♪ in a deep, hemi-rumble sort of way. guts. glory. ram. ♪ in a deep, hemi-rumble sort of way. you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. >> bill kristol thinks the announcement is coming next week for the vice presidential candidate, and the governor's calendar could be telling the you think it is either rubio or paul ryan. let's get down do that. win of the two, right? >>guest: well, i thought it was that over weekend and i wrote that in an editorial. we called it for those two at the best picks. chris christie i

but, andrea, is it possibly a brilliant move that now we talk about medicare and bill kristol says cut medicare to pay for obamacare. ryan would have preserved it in the trust fund and romney says we'll deal with it later. maybe it's not such a bad idea. >> andrea: it's risky, but now watching ryan and romney explain it, i'm a little bit relieved. i do think a lot of people worried this is complicated, the democrats are going to say everything, paul krugman will write columns saying they are going to kill somebody over this! they will actually kill people over this plan. but listening to them, dana, the more i hear both of them i'm so glad it's happening. there is a lot of seniors out there that don't know the truth and don't know that their medicare has already been cut. we can sit here and debate the plans back and forth. what are romney and ryan going to do. the fact of if matter is, obama already cut it. it's not a plan. it's the law of the land. i'm glad they can say here is the difference. ryan will put in a trust fund. romney said you know what? i would leave it back in medicare

bill kristol. you were supposed to address the convention on monday night and do you know if you are going to speak and what is it that the romney campaign. >> i don't know if i will be speaking. if they need time with other people. >> chris: you got three hours a day on your radio. >> that's right and other people who don't have that and so i understand. i don't know if we will be incorporated. the night was going to be a positive and we can do better. yeah, it was a contrast. we need to show there is it a fundmental difference in the way these two men approach the country, its problems and solutions. i don't think that is being negative. that is being honest and the whole idea of we can do better is it a optmistic and positive message. i hope it gets incorporated even if my spheech doesn't. >> chris: governor, you are one of the few republican notables in this country who is defending todd akin, the congressman who made the remark about legitimate rape. i understand loyalty but isn't he toxic. >>

kristol, do you know if you will speaking now with the change?hat does the campaign want to you do? >>governor huckabee: i don't know if i will speak, and if they need the time for other people i am okay with that i mean that. >>chris: you is three hours a day on radio. >>governor huckabee: and others do not. i don't know if well be incorporated into the other night. i think the night is going to be "we can do better." a contrast. we need the contrast. we need to show there is a fundamental difference in the way that these two men approach this country, the problems and the solutions. i don't think what that is being negative but it is being honest. the idea we can do better is an optimistic and hopeful message. i help the message is incorporated even if my speech is not. >>chris: governor, you are one of the few notables at this point who is defending todd akin who made the remark about "legitimate rape." i understand loyalty, but isn't he toxic to mitt romney? >>governor huckabee: i'm in the defending what he said. todd akin repudiated the stat

. >> tomorrow, weekly standard founder and editor bill kristol on the latest development in prison to race. look at the u.s. tax system. cynthia nelson will talk about her work at the website that focuses on the african-american community. "washington journal"live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. >> watch coverage of the republican and democratic conventions. live on c-span. your front proceed to the conventions. next, rick santorum at the young america's foundation news conference. a discussion about the airline security. rick santorum at the young america's foundation annual 1900 -- he comment on a wide range of topics such as same-sex marriage, welfare reform, and the pro-life movement. this is an hour and 10 minutes. >> can we have your attention please? she was at central washington, she was very active after- school. she also launched an aftershock from campus. she will be starting at a junior year say -- >> thank you. lucky that that it has given me this opportunity. i am thankful for the foundation for giving this opportunity. it is committed to ensuring that an increasing number of

. >> we are back with our panel now charles krauthammer, steve ha hayes and bill kristol.ou listen to that response i pressed him during that interview saying did mitt romney embrace fully he said fully not every decimal point but he embraced the themes the overall tackling the big choices. what about that question about this budget and mitt romney? >> look, i think when i was on special report earlier you showed clips of democrats attacking the romney ryan plan. that was before paul ryan was on the ticket nobody thought he would be on the budget. they were going to attack medicare reform anyway. it's not like they were going to say if mitt romney didn't pick him it would be a safer pick. if you made a siafer pick we can't criticize what you said about entitlement reforms and what they voted for with respect to entitlement reform. both support it. i think in for a dime in for a dollar the republican position conservative position and true position a lot of independents is you have to reform these entitlement programs. we are going over a cliff of debt and deficit and we ar

charles krauthammer, mara liasson, bill kristol. hear a smattering of delegates going to ron paul and rick santorum released his delegates, ron paul hasn't. this is a moment for romney. we talked the caucus for a long time and it was not foregone conclusion he'd win the race. up and down with the surges. this is meaningful to the party. but romney fought hard to get here. >> he fought hard to get here. primary is that he kept on winning but the headlines say romney weakness exposed, wins by a hair after mild night lik -- aftermidnight like in oh. many were distrustful of him but any state with more than 50% of the christian evangelicals in the primary he lost. every state with fewer he won. as soon as the primaries were over it's amazing how fast the party came together behind him. this party is united and wanting to defeat barack obama. that overcame the hesitancy about him. >> bill? >> like the voters in the old days for different candidates and went with different delegate in the state. it's so scripted there are three votes for

that's what bill kristol was saying. to use this and say this is really about obamacare and how it would impact medicare. the difficulty is people on the defensive initially is romney ryan ticket specifically paul ryan. the question is will they be able to flip president obama and make it about obamacare? we will see. they have a ton of money to spend. see how the ads work. right now is the pressure is on paul ryan. that is why brit was on him about you are cutting money, they are cutting money. but theirs is guaranteed, yours is not. they have serious questions. >> bret: off the bench, a good pitching -- >> all right. well, good. >> bret: next up, the president runs on energy. ♪ ♪ >>> governor romney even explained his energy policy this way. i'm quoting here. you can't drive a car with a windmill on it. that's what he said about wind power. you can't drive a car with a win mill on it. now -- windmill on it. i don't know if he has tried that. i know he has had other things on his car. >> of course, i like all the source

news, as we've seen, president obama talked about them in a white house briefing today, while bill kristolervative "weekly standard" said this on c-span. >> i personally, if i were, you know, designing the tax code, would have a tax code in which mitt romney paid more than 13%, i would say, given what i know about the kind of investments that he made money from. i'm just not a believer that he -- that he needed -- you know, that there would have been any economic detriment to paying more, and i think it just seems kind of weird that he pays a lower rate than an awful lot of middle class people. >> bill kristol also repeated his release that romney should release his secret tax returns, which makes romney releasing his secret tax returns the most bipartisan idea in washington. >> custom over the last, i don't know, 20, 30 years, i suppose, has been to release a couple of the years of tax returns. if you know you're running for president anyway, i think it's part of the price of running. obama did it, so i think romney should probably do it. >> i think the idea that this is somehow exception

we'll bring in our guest and columnist bill kristol.ou have to wonder what the late night comics where he comes up to paul ryan. sometimes i have been known to make a mistake. >> i don't know. i suppose so. but it was a good natured occasion and a good recovery by mitt romney. it is tough to pull off and they did it quickly and they didn't have a huge amount of time to prepare. paul ryan flew in last night or this morning. >> can you see ann romney. pointing, you are doing it wrong. >> okay, ryan-romney ticket. i can live with that. i don't think ann romney was enthusiastic. chris, what do you think? >> this pick, there are risks with this pick with the older voterss and ryan budget as relate to medicare and social security. they are undoubtedly true. but you are talking about with karl. mitt romney needed to the trajectory of the lace. i am sure mitt romney made the choice before the polls were out and i am sure today's choice and i suspect mitt romney is the kind of guy who will tell you what he will have for breakfast three we thinks

there you go, kristol. there is your crystal ball. >> chris: money in your future if you will take the hat and put it on. >> a beautiful hat. you think i should put it on. >> chris: yes. the other way around. the other way around. flip it around. there you you go. >> this is going to be around for a long time. >> there you go. you look like carknack the magnificent. >> now, you had your fun. >> chris: i was thinking you should keep it on. >> i did not know this was coming. >> chris: really. >> i could have arranged for other things to do this morning you know. >> chris: how has paul ryan done this week? >> he's done great. he has done very well, i think. and he has really changed the nature of the campaign i think and changed -- really made it a different campaign than it was a couple of weeks ago. it was a boring conventional campaign and uph hill climb and now i feel that the romney ryan ticket could have the wind at its back. feels more like a movement. feels like a couple of hundred people in boston wor

in that piece business kristol writes this.hat if every -- mitt romney trailed by am 5 percentage point in the real clear politics average of polls. two days later he trailed by 1 point, his strongest rally in the campaign season. what do you make of that logic that bill kristol writes about? >> i think he's write. we think conventional rules of politics don't apply to a current election. the fact is they are all different. i think as point out and you pointed out, picking paul ryan was a brilliant move by mitt romney. what he's saying, i'm not just putting out policy papers and talking about balancing the budget and reforming entitlements, i have specific programs and the guts to work to achieve it if the people give me the chance. another point kristol made in that article. conventional wisdom, the voters don't care about all these issues, they do. voters are engaged and understand the country is headed in the wrong direction. that's why the romney-ryan ticket did the right thing. i think they are going to win this election.