mitch mcconnell got six more votes. there are going to be more emboldend in the senate and republican majority in the house. there are things john boehner won't bring to the floor. gwen: this is a president who came out after the election and called republicans hostage takers. bad feeling left over from that or is he the one feeling that way? >> he's happy. he is feeling mostly happy. he has these contradictory sentiments. he likes the idea of compromise to get things done, he likes saying, we are making washington work. one of the reasons that the democrats lost in his estimation is they failed on the promise to make washington work. on the other hand, when he makes these deals, he makes it so clear that there are parts of those that he really hates that it angers the people he is making the deals with. i don't know how he is going to work that balance out over a long sustained period. gwen: i heard some of that playing out on wednesday on the question about gay marriage now that you got don't ask, don't tell. some sai

to discuss that and other developments is mitch mcconnell. welcome back. >> glad to be here. >> bret: first, let's do process here. continuing resolution. it passed the house, just a temporary, a few days. do you have a deal with senator reid on funding government to early next year? >> we're working to decide how long the continuing resolution should be. february, march. we're working on the details of that. the important thing is we did not pass a 2,000-page omnibus bill, eerily representative of what we were doing here in february last year, passing 2700 page healthcare bill. >> bret: another issue. start treaty. u.s. and russia. senator kerry continues to say that he has 67 votes for ratification. are you confident? >> at some point he has to demonstrate that. if there are 67 votes -- there are certainly 60 votes to bring debate to close and move to final consideration. and the democratic majority insists on doing that before christmas, i'm assuming they will. >> bret: not to spend too much time on it, dream act on the table. >> i think i

. >> reporter: and the president has an unlikely ally on that, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell. >> we've reached a bipartisan agreement. it's time democrats in congress reach a similar conclusion and enable us to act for the good of the whole country. >> reporter: but mcconnell may have some work of his own. not all republicans like the deal.

democrats are calling statements like that and senator mcconnell's letter today a slap in the face. republicans are saying they're listening to the american people and the priority should be on the economy. you can decide for yourself which side you believe or support. but keeping them honest, some of the claims for extending the tax cuts aren't necessarily supported by the polling data. >> no tax increases for nobody. >> the american people spoke loudly. >> the american people spoke in deafening terms. >> the american people spoke loudly and clearly. >> the american people spoke on election night. >> the message i heard this last election cycle was, we don't want anybody's taxes going up. >> americans don't think we should be raising taxes on anybody. >> the message was clear from the american people. >> we should prevent a huge tax increase. >> keep tax rates where they are. >> no tax increases for any american. >> the message they sent was stop the tax hikes. >> and we heard them. >> according to a gallup poll last week, about 80 -- well, 80% of the american people do not want to

>> sean: mike mcconnell? mike mr. president. we know you are self-involved, but you didn't feed to make it so obvious. steve king in studio in 90 seconds. [ male announcer ] millions of men 45 and older just don't feel like they used to. are you one of them? remember when you had more energy for 18 holes with your buddies? [ glass shatters ] more passion for the one you love? more fun with your family and friends? it could be a treatable condition called low testosterone, or low t. c'mon, stop living in the shadows. you've got a life to live. [ male announcer ] so don't blame it on aging. talk to your doctor and go to isitlowt.com to find out more. >> sean: tomorrow all eyes will be on the u.s. senate as a final vote is likely to take place on president obama's tax cut deal. even if the measure passes waiting in the wins are very unhappy members of the house of representatives. unlike the senate, opposition in the house appears to be growing. 54 house democrats have sent a letter to the san francisco speaker

>> sean: mike mcconnell? mike mr. president. we know you are self-involved, we know you are self-involved, but you didn't feed to host: could switching to geico really save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance? do woodchucks chuck wood? (high-pitched laughter) man: hey you dang woodchucks, quit chucking my wood! vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. >> sean: tomorrow all eyes will be on the u.s. senate as a final vote is likely to take place on president obama's tax cut deal. even if the measure passes waiting in the wins are very unhappy members of the house of representatives. unlike the senate, opposition in the house appears to be growing. 54 house democrats have sent a letter to the san francisco speaker opposing the framework. calling it fiscally irresponsible and grossly unfair. this morning house majority leader hoyer described the unease his party feeling over this so-called compromise. >> this deal, is giving democrats some pause. having said tha

this deal was cut between the white house and mitch mcconnell. then it got signed off and passed everywhere else. so we'll see. there's going to be only a handful of republicans that do come to the bill signing. a lot more of the folks that attend this will be democrats. but at the end of the day cutting these deals, it is probably, he'll be working with boehner closely because boehner in many ways controls a lot of the legislative agenda by simply being speaker of the house. but the deals, the compromises, finding the 60 votes in the senate, mcconnell will be a major player here. >> when you think about this, will we see the democrats following the president? he charges ahead as he did in this situation again with this tax deal? >> reporter: i think in many cases they'll have no choice but to follow the president. the president is the one on the ballot in two years. he's the leader of the democratic party. you've seen them take a backseat. you didn't see the leaders coming out and hitting back at the white house. they're realizing they have no c

mcconnell: mr. president, i have to say to my friend, may i make a few observations about where we are? mr. reid: yes, and i would also say this to everyone. i'm going to file cloture tonight on the dream act. we'll have a cloture vote on that saturday morning fairly early. we're going to have a cloture vote tonight on don't ask, don't tell -- not a cloture vote. i'm going to file cloture on it tonight. so those will be sequenced for saturday or whenever we get to them. but we've got to move this alo along. following that, the -- i was told by a number of republican senators that they needed six or seven days to debate and offer amendments on the start treaty. that will certainly be availab available. we'll finish, i think if the math works out the way that i believe it will, early monday morning -- that early monday morning. first of all, tomorrow we can debate start to everyone's heart's content, offer as many amendments as you want. and then monday we can go to that again. remember, this would --

mitch mcconnell can defend him or not defend him. because the republican leadership was blind-sided by tea party anger about the tax bill, they were determined to get out ahead of this. mitch mcconnell who could have cut a deal with harry reid couldn't deliver the votes this time. reid said the nine republicans who promised to vote in a way which allowed that omnibus bill which contained the democrats' priorities for this year's spending, they had to pull it because they couldn't get the votes. all the talk about readings the bill on the floor is all out the window now. the tea party won this round. >> there were two options for mr. reid. he could have gone along with the temporary measure and handed this off to the 2011 senate and congress or said, there's no support. you're going to blink. we're not going to blink. we're going to let you shut it this down. don't democrats normally benefit from shutdowns? wasn't that turning the point against gingrich? >> it was the turning point against gingrich 15 years ago. i don't think democrat

mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, could you -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senate will be in order. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, according to the strange logic of democratic leaders in congress, the best way to show middle-class americans that they care about creating jobs is to slam some of america's top job creators with a massive tax hike. today's votes were an affront to the millions of americans who are struggling to find work and a clear signal that democrats in congress still haven't gotten the message of the november elections. mr. president, the senate still is not in order. mr. baucus: the senate is not in order. the presiding officer: senators, please, the senate will be in order. the senate will be in order. mr. baucus: mr. president, the senate is still not in order, especially right down here in this part of the well. the presiding officer: would the senators please remove their conversatio

mcconnell: i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with.the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: i rise to pay tribute to my friend kit bond, a man who dedicated the better part of four decades to public service and never failed in all of those years to put the people of missouri ahead of himself. as kit puts it, serving missouri has been my life's work. i've walked the land, fished its rivers and been humbled by the honesty and hard work of our people. the highest honor is to receive and safeguard the public trust. but kit also knew when to leave the field to somebody else. as he put it in his retirement announcement last year before a packed missouri house chamber, in 1973, i became missouri's youngest governor. i do not aspire to become missouri's oldest senator. it may have been the one ambition kit didn't pursue, born in st. louis, kit is a sixth generation missourian. grew up in mexico, missouri where his grandfather founded a brick company, the largest employer in town, and kit and linda still call mexico

mcconnell always said he supported earmarks until after the election.am not defending republicans. >> he put earmarks in. >> sean: but he's opposing the bill. >> that is still disingenuous. >> reporter: i don't want to defend this any republican that supports earmarks does not get the mood of the people. so, he changed after the election. >> did he really change? >> sean: yes. >> this bill has earmarks in it. >> sean: he's not supporting the bill, so yes. >> this all goes back to the fact there's no accountability in washington. yes, there are earmarks from both parties. no accountability, nobody wants to cut the fat where fat is necessary to be cut. they are pointing fingers at each other. yes they have earmarks in that bill any republican that said they would not have that, they better vote against this. >> not only vote it, they should rescind putting earmarks in. our fault we heard you loud and clear and we mean what we say. >> sean: mitch mcconnell said and i interviewed him. he said he always supported earmarks. now he hears the american people an

who are the new all powerful well we decided to take a detailed look we start with senator mitch mcconnell the minority leader for weeks he has made comments saying the g.o.p. has goal over the next two years is to make sure that obama is a one term president but today he was preaching working together said that their meeting was frank and productive you're right and he was followed by senator jon kyl of arizona this suspect hasn't been the most trustworthy at keeping his word in recent weeks he said he was all for a start treaty then last week he all of a sudden said that he's not going to vote for in the lame duck session he also back to ban on earmarks and three days later he placed a two hundred million dollars earmark in a bill that was passed in the senate that is leadership for you now on the house side you had mr orange himself the next speaker of the house john boehner was there it's been reported that the president and boehner have tried to make nice recently but he's made repealing obamacare and extending the bush tax cuts his top priority so i'm still betting their relationship

it came from mitch mcconnell in a motion he made before the committee. >> our guests, congresswoman debb debb debbie masserman schultz. >> something you could hit your crazy relatives with over dinner this weekend. a study that shows everything we

and most of all mitch mcconnell and harry reed and john boehner have to figure out how to work together. this is first time that the senate and the house will be run by different parties since 2004. people are out of practice. >> schieffer: cheryl, you know, again, we see money entering in to the system like we've never seen it before. "the washington post" this morning in a front page story points out that during the very week when congress was working out the regulations to police wall street, the members of the joint committee working that out received $480,000 in campaign contributions. do you see this letting up at all? will there be any serious work done to try to rein in this campaign spending? >> may be work done on it. for now it has worked for the members ever congress despite the criticism, they haven't stopped this practice. i want to point out that what the "washington post" reported is very common. it's been going on for years. when i look at those congressionally tax payer funded earmarks that the members of congress hand out to individual people, i've gone through one by

i want to point out we're actually looking at mitch mcconnell.mocratic leader, he actually is the number two democratic senator who is there. want to point that out. it is dick durbin to the right of mitch mcconnell. one out of all the democratic leadership. here comes the vice president. >> here's the vice president. let's listen. >> thank you very much. thank you. ladies and gentlemen, this is -- i was going to say big deal, but an important deal. i can no longer say big deal. thank god my mother wasn't around. the famed 18th century british statesman edmond burke once said all government, indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act is founded on compromise and barter. today we have a crystal clear example of what he meant. this package, this package is a result of leaders from both sides coming together to act on behalf of the american people at a time they need it most. i want to begin by applauding senator mitch mcconnell and the other republican leaders who, like their democratic counterparts who are here t

republican leader mitch mcconnell just last month. >> on the issue of congressional earmarks, as thef my party in the senate, i have to lead first by example. >> reporter: example, mcconnell's earmarks of $650,000 tax dollars to advance genetic technologies, a million for a blood center building, four million for marijuana eradication. democrats are right in there with billions of dollars worth of their own earmarks despite their supposed disdain from them. >> i'm somebody who is big on eliminating earmarks in congress. >> reporter: all tolled, congress added at least 6,600 earmarks worth $8 billion. many of the projects already get millions from the regular federal budget. these are extra sweeteners dolled out by members usually without competitive bidding. there is money for the coal fuel alliance. research on cool season lagoons, maples, small fruit and peanuts. management of beavers, blackbirdss potato pests and nokcious weeds. oyster safety virus-free wine grapes and cranberry and blueberry disease. >> everybody who took a pledge and said we aren't going to do earmarks going for

wikileaks, you heard senator mcconnell say this was a high-tech terrorist.secretary, of course, had a slightly different view of what the fallout actually is. this is what he said this week. i want to show it. >> now i've heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game changer and so on. i think those descriptions are fairly significantly overwrought. the fact is, governments deal with the united states because it's in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us and not because they believe we can keep secrets. >> do you disagree with that in terms of what the damage done here is? >> i think there is damage and maybe a little more profound than the secretary -- i don't think it goes to the extent that some people are saying but, yes, there is real damage. social security numbers of individuals have been made public. technology about roadside bombs has been made public. the relationship of a president, let's say, of yemen, who is involved in helping us fight domestic terror in yemen has been

good session for mcconnell. >> without a doubt. good session.ontrary thought is the economy will do well. the stimulus package which is what brought the objections from the republicans, including the likes of limbaugh. >> chris: because he improved the economy? >> no. it will improve economy under obama's watch and his presidential hopes and democrats in general. people feeling maybe mitch mcconnell should have been stronger for republicans and save some of this for the bigger majority block in the senate and majority -- >> chris: to heck with the figures, right, bill? >> exactly. republicans are responsible, juan. president of the united states said this deal is good for all of us. amazing concession. keeping the tax rates low and cutting the taxes is good for all of us. the big loser i will say from the last week or two is the last. sanctimonious left, if i can quote obama. i've called the left sanctimonious for 20 years but good to have obama agree with me. the left has had a big defeat. for president to move away and endorse the bush tax cut

mitch mcconnell the top republican said if the house makes any changes that breaks the deal. end game for them. a chance to try to make a change is symbolic on the house side. if people want to get it done in some form or another, if they can swallow some things they don't like they have to take it as is. the clock is ticking to deal with other things, funding all the operations of government which run out on saturday, the s.t.a.r.t. treaty with russia. a number of things before they put a period on the end of the congress. there isn't much time. any try to change something throws the clock into disarray. >> they just want to vent, i know. that is part of the politics as well. let's talk about the other issues. first of all, s.t.a.r.t., a nasty statement from the white house showing how angry they are about jim demint suggesting when the s.t.a.r.t. treaty hits the floor he is going to require the reading of the entire treaty which could take eight or ten or 12 hours. where does that stand? is senator demint going to try to slow down a vote on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty? >> republi

you can see the republican leader, mcconnell, and durbin and many others. this is not the full leadership team on both sides. careful to avoid that. dpiet fler and the economic team are coming out. it is a mixed bag for a lot of the folks would realize the president was under incredible time pressure to get this done. the president now is doing something he swore he would not do, did not want to do, said wasn't wise to do, of course, the most controversial part for him is the tax cut for the rich. now the president and the vice president. and the issue was to mol file the base. thank you all very were. please be seated. ladies and gentleman, this is ... this, i was going to see big deal but important deal. i can no longer say "big deal." thank god my mother wasn't around. the famed 18th century british states man burk. said, all government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment every virtue and every prudent act is founded on compromise and bart other -- barter. today is an example of what he meant. this package is a result of leaders from both sides com

we will t hear senator reid, minority leader mitch mcconnell, and illinois senator richard durbin ofillinois talking about the spending package.ng cloture >> mr. president, we were undert the -- members on both sides anticipated to night my filingpg cloture on thus spending bill that would take us through next year in. mi everyone knows we are operating on the continuing resolution now expires on saturday night. it might -- midnight. senator leahy has worked so rtry, very hard for the entireaa year working on a bipartisan ye. agreement and a bipartisan manner put together a bill would fund the government for the next nator fiscal year. all he hasn't done this asking he started working with democrats f and republicans.ag he has been an all the efforts of senator inouye has made. the product as filed a few days ago. overall spending level on the bill was supported by 40 republicans earlier this year.dm priorities from the members, democrats and republicans and ro though some of my republican colleagues in recent days publicly distance themselvesw tr from the idea that members of role t

mitch mcconnell was saying there would be weekend sessions. that sounds to me like they're going to go ahead with start after they get the tax vote and the spending bill out of the way. it seemed like they were preparing for this to go into next week. unfortunately. >> and so what you're saying is the timing would be this tax vote, start, then funding the government, so they would insert start in between that? >> before or after or even in the middle. but something like that. then they still want to get a vote on the immigration bill. they've got the don't ask, don't tell bill. if they want to stay into next week, they'll have a lot of votes through the weekend and into early next week. >> and i don't want to play with you -- >> yes, you do. >> you're right. but this bill that senator harry reid is is championing, where is that going to get inserted? is that part of the tax bill? >> i don't think he'll put it in the tax bill. me may try to put it in the spending bill. i think he's going to have a difficult time getting that in anyway. however

who would win between mcconnell and reid?: mcconnell won the punchout last night because he got him to get rid of the spending bill. >> well, you know. that spending bill to me was a pox on both houses. if you look at the earmarks. i remember i had a party once to get money for an aquarium in new bedford, depressed post industrial town, aquarium was going to bring tourists in. barney frank ironically, is the congressman from new bedford. he came and said, why not get federal money for the aquarium and he said, that's one of these earmarks that everybody is always complaining about. if you're complain being it, let's raise this private money for the aquarium? what is an earmark? generally it's pork and we hate them. but they, generally speaking, go to build a bridge or school or charlie rangel museum in harlem somewhere. >> steve: don't you think that the fact that harry reid couldn't get 60 votes, so there could have been a filibuster, ultimately this proves the tea party, the impact of it, will be felt beyond the midterm. >>

. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell pledged early this year not to request earmarks and spokeng bill today. >> i am actively working to defeat it. there are many members who have provisions in their state actively working to defeat it. this bill should not go forward. >> notice he said members snaft who have provisions in it, senators including kentucky's mitch mcconnell. even though he's opposing the bill and even though he took a pledge not to take earmarks, he's got a bunch he put in before he took the pledge. $18 million to upgrade the rail head at ft. knox, 3 million to widen a road in ft. campbell, more than $100 million in all. earmarks he did not withdraw after taking the no earmark pledge. what you heard a moment ago was part of his explanation why not. here's the rest. >> and regardless of whether members had some input in the bill much earlier in the year when the bills could have been moved to the floor by by bill by bill is completely and totally inappropriate to wrap all of this up in into a 2,000-page bill and try to pass it the week before christmas. >> now oth

. >> mcconnell offered one-page temporary funds to keep it running until february. a main objection is the earmarks in it. harry reid dismissed the concern. >> i can't accept that people are saying why vote for it? that's our job. >> he cede earmarks will help his country and his state and noted some critics of earmarks have many of their own. >> if you went to each in the dictionary and found hypocrite under that is people who ask for earmarks and vote against them. >> several republicans who had earmarks say they intend to vote against the bill because they voted to stop the practice. many argue it's not the earmarks themselveses that are bad but not letting the lawmakers carefully review and debate them before voting on them. >> members have very little time and ability to change legislation before us. >> that is one reason the republicans will incyst the bill will be read in its entirety. that brought this jab. >> have the clerk up here just reading the bill. there is an act of stunning responsibility. >> to rub it in, dick durbin said he has christmas gift idea

two weeks ago janet and i attended a farewell dinner hosted by pheurb mcconnell. -- mitch mcconnell. although i have had differences with mitch, i have to credit him with keeping the republican team together. there is no one more strategic than mitch, jon kyl and lamar alexander. still -- still -- i share the concern of many of my colleagues that too often, too often the herd mentality has taken over our respective conferences. at the dinner that mitch hosted, i shared with my republican colleagues what ohio state university coach jim trussel defines as success in his book "the winner's manual." it is the inner satisfaction and peace of mind that comes from knowing i did the best i was capable of doing for the group. success is a team sport. hopefully this will become the senate's definition of success because finding common ground and team work is what it will take to confront the problems facing our nation. my colleague, senator chris dodd, hit the nail on the head when he said -- quote -- "it is whether each one of the 100 senators can work together, living up to the incredible ho

. >> now, at noon today the tax cut showdown begins in the senate with the reid mcconnell bill. sharon brown who originally opposed this deal says he will now vote for it. a fetest vote did pass overwhelmingly but the big question mark is what is going to happen when the bill gets to the house where there is opposition from liberal democrats as far as far right conservatives. a huge cry from republicans because we just learned that two gop senators want to block a trillion dollar budget bill that's necessary to keep the government running. they say it's because it's chock-full of those earmarks. senators will hold a news conference this hour and check out these numbers. we're talking about a $1.2 trillion budget bill packed with more than 6,000 earmarks for a total of $8 billion. richard lui has been looking at this earmark battle and we've seen this before. when you look at where some of this money is going, taxpayers couldn't necessarily be criticized for shaking their heads. >> yeah, you can hear the growns right n right now coming. shaking their finger at republicans and dem

. >> reporter: mcconnell's earmarks of $650,000 tax dollars to advanced genetic technologies, $1 million for a blood center building, $4 million for marijuana eradication. democrats are right in there with billions of dollars worth of their own earmarks, despite their supposed disdain for them. >> i'm somebody who is big on eliminating earmarks in congress. >> reporter: all told, congress added at least 6,600 ear marks worth $8 billion. many of the projects already get millions from the regular federal budget. these are extra sweeters in doled out by members usually without competitive bidding. there's money for the cold fuel alliance. research on cool season legumes. mailles, small fruit, and peanuts, management of beavers, blackbirds, potato, betsings, oyster safety, virus-free wine grapes and blur berry disease. >> everybody who took a pledge and said we're not doing earmarks going forward, they didn't mean this year. they meant for next year. >> reporter: in other words, congress was for earmarks before they were against them. it's gotten so confusing senator mcconnell said he opens

being held up here by senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. senate republicans pulling off a stunning victory last night. is this a sign of things to come? alan colmes weighs in on that. but first, a fiery harry reid on the floor yesterday. >> i can't accept the fact that people are saying why should we vote for this? it's got congressionally-directed spending in it. that's our job. that's what we're supposed to do. don't want to deal with a lot of flibbity-flab or mumbo-jumbo. sounds like you need to name your price. no gobbledy-gook? never. do i still get all the dagnabbit coverage i need? sure. we give you a quote and you can adjust your price up and down to find something that works for you. ♪ this things okey-mcsmokey skiddly-doo. great! i think. diggity. oh! still not sure. the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. call or click today. another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, go

. >> reporter: tuesday, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell warned changing the bill could result in no bill at all and taxes going up for everybody. the senate is expected to approve the measure later today before sending it to the house. >> i don't think we're basing what we want to do on mr. mcconnell. >> reporter: following a closed-door meeting tuesday night, house democrats still worried the plan favors the rich. they want to amend certain provisions including what some see is an overly generous estate tax. despite their concerns, which president obama says he shares, the white house is optimistic the compromise will go the distance. >> i think the president has had some good conversations and i think we are on a path toward getting this agreement through the house and ultimately to the president's desk. >> reporter: with so much senate support for the bill, some house democrats admit they probably can't make big changes. still, that won't stop them from trying. >> i'm hoping that the bill is improved. and i'm hoping that it passes before the end of the year. >> reporter: a

. >> those comments drew some criticism from democrats, including senator claire mccaskill since mcconnell reportedly sponsored $112 million of his own earmarks in the measure. >> the irony, guess who has earmarks in there? the minority leader. who just voted on a moratorium for earmarks ten minutes ago. did he pull his earmarks out? no. did any of the republicans that voted for a moratorium on earmarks did they pull their earmarks out before this bill came to the floor? we could have eliminated a few pages. so, you know, i just don't think the righteous indignation works. >> still the turn of events a major victory for earmark opponents like john mccain and mark kirk. >> as the most junior member for those who are not understanding what just happened did we just win? it seems that change has come to the senate tonight with the death of this $1.1 trillion plan. >> this may be a moment in the history in the recent history of the united states senate, because for the first time, since i've been here, we stood up and said, enough. stop. >> the senate faces a midnight saturday deadline to fund

and deal with real spending reform come january. >> well, why doesn't mcconnell do that?'re pushing these guys around, you're the new juice. why don't you make these republicans do what you guys sell, matt? >> that's exactly what we've done with the house republicans. >> you've guys -- you have not done that, matt. all of these these fat cat republicans every one of them are pushing porks. they're all doing and t and laughing at you guys. >> and senator mcconnell is leading the charge against this ominibous pork bill. >> and getting his pork while he's doing it. >> not if we don't agree with the bill. >> great organization for you guys. and bob walker, it's always great to have you on. >> thanks. >>> when we return, let me finish with a tribute to larry king, who's 25-year run as a tv talk show host is coming to an end tonight. you're watching "hardball." ♪ oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday. gentlem

bill: and what mitch mcconnell on the republican side has offered, instead of the $1900 spending bill that was on the floor, he's offered one page to keep government operating until february. >> right. bill: which would essentially be a two-month delay. >> yes. bill: they would have a new congress in washington the first week in january, then they would start battling out, to figure out what america is going to spend and not spend. >> you are correct. this continuing resolution, forget the jargon for a minute f. it means that, we're going to keep spending money the way we are now, no change until february, when the incoming congress gets a chance to dictate spending for the rest of 2011. the defeat of this spending bill means that the outgoing, somewhat discredited 111th congress will not dictate spending for the year 2011. bill: and the reason that's important, stuart, we're going to find very early in the new year whether or not the politicians in congress are serious about cutting spending and cutting into our deaf at this time. >> it's now become all about spending and that is the

mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, for the last two years democratic leaders in washington have spent virtually all of their time ticking off items on the liberal wish list while they've had the chance. government-run health care, a national energy tax, financial regulations, bigger government, bigger deficits, union bailouts, government takeovers, and so here we are, just a few weeks left in the session, and they're still at it. last month the american people issued their verdict on the democratic priorities. democrats have responded by doubling down. for two years they legislated as if they weren't in the middle of a national jobs crisis and now they're legislating as if they don't realize that the government is about to run out of money and every taxpayer in america is about to

>> and he won. >> and his opposite number, in the senate, mitch mcconnell, who when he said his number one priority was to defeat president obama, it is not inspirational to a country where we have significant unemployment and they're looking to the senate to do some other things besides just politicking. and he is so one-dimensional in his speech. >> it was raw plate meat for the heritage foundation. >> most boring? i will give it to president obama who was the most electrifying presence on the scene for years starting with the 2004 speech he gave at the democratic convention to the campaign to being the most boring drone in washington. >> i think rand paul is just as boring for me. the son of ron paul. incoming senator. and a guy who as far as i thought would sound like exciting ideas until i realized they were warmed over and it is interesting to see how things turn out once he hits the real world on capitol hill. >> an optometrist? >> yes. >> robert gibb, most boring. a total snooze. and paradoxically, also the nation's biggest ongoing news maker. most boring and most newsy. gibbs.