joining me now is chris hayes, host of "up with chris hayes" here on msnbc and melissa harris-perry, host of melissa-harris perry on msnbc. thank you both for being here. melissa, it does seem that president obama has shifted his tactics this time around and it's all about using his power. >> yes. in this case we have to remember that nothing has fundamentally changed structurally as these players. it's the same lame duck congress. the new 113 is not seated yet. the power in this case is really the power of percent situation, the ability to convey two things. one, that the american people voted for him based on the sets of issues that are now before the country on the fiscal cliff issue and, secondly, he has to be convincing that republicans will be punished at the ballot box next time if they don't come to a deal. >> but, chris, speaker boehner keeps arguing for cuts but the second time in as many days he declined to name any of the cuts that the gop would make. they seem to be on the defensive. they refuse to give any specifics on what they offer, any deal. republicans want entitlem

i'm melissa harris-perry. good morning. i'm melissa harris-perry. i'm coming to you from our studio on democracy plaza at rockefeller center here in new york city. let's begin today by going back exactly four years, back to november 4, 2008. it's the day when a multiracial coalition of american voters, including those living in states that were once part of the confederacy elected this nation's first black president. it was historic. to paraphrase a vice president joe biden sentiment, it was a big deal. john mccain had this to say about the outcome. >> a century ago, president three dore roosevelt's invitation of booker t washington to dine at the white house was taken as an outrage in many corridors. america today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. there is no better evidence of this than the election of an african-american to the presidency of the united states. >> senator mccain was right. that at no other time in american history could this moment have been possible. and even as the opponent, he was a bit swept up

melissa harris-perry, thank you. watch melissa's show on saturdays and sundays here on msnbc. we will be right back. we're going to talk about donald trump yujumped back on the birtr wagon and it's causing big headaches for mitt romney. while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. prand you're seeing that rightno enequit in amnow.a...ives... over five million new jobs. exports up forty one percent. home values... rising. our auto industry... back. and our heroes are coming home. we're not there yet, but we've made real progress and the... last thing we should do is turn back now. here's my plan for the next four years: making education and training a national priority; bui

joining me live for new orleans hon this, melissa harris-perry, host of the melissa harris-perry show msnbc. earlier this week we saw grover norquist sharing his thoughts on america's recent political process. i want to remind everybody what he had to say. take a look. >> well, we just had an election. and the house of representatives was elected, committed to keeping taxes low. the president was elected on the basis that he was not romney and romney was a poopy-head and you should vote against romney. >> i'm not sure that was the overall theme of what romney is labeled now, but what are your thoughts on that and grover norquist's future going forward. >> what we have seen is basically in the election, the american people did something pretty extraordinary and surprising to a lot of progressives watching who have had a lot of anxiety post citizens united about the amount of money in the campaign. and we saw american voters being unwilling to either be bought or to be suppressed at the polls. what that means is somebody like grover norquist who is not an elected member of any legislati

joining me now is melissa harris-perry host of the melissa harris-perry show here on msnbc and margiemarrow. democratic strategies. thank you both for joining me tonight. >> absolutely. >> melissa, the romney comments have managed to doll what nothing else has, unify the republicans. >> look, i guess i can say a couple of things. one, we already knew before this general election that republicans really did not like mitt romney. that was not, you know, if we can go back and remember the primaries they seem so distanced now but those republican primaries were ugly and bruising in a circumstance where mitt romney really was highly likely from the very beginning to be the nominee. so you have to ask why wasn't that ugly. in a certain way, i think you're seeing that same thing show back up that we saw during the primaries. but the second thing i would say and it goes back a little bit to the conversation that you were having about the issue of our president, president obama and his foreign policy efforts. what we have seen from the republicans in terms of them quieting their own discord du

. >> melissa harris-perry, that's very good point. think about the suspense heading into this event. a lot by what is going to happen based on superstition and whetherc or pessimistic. was not this close to john m 2008 it was soú overwhelming. park fill up but america (>ating. tonight it was much erent feeling. it is a diffng you, it's a consequential presidency. th b chicago. >> it's about an extraordinary e. the likes of which i have not adulthood. remember what he haddo. to hold on to the ing po it was impossible becausead dividual, thiscandidate, and ws out using what i think is the mostiticalve seen u action established with millions of people over the last four years,specially in his clo where i sta the credit is due to theave to begin w barack obama the person barack obama the the pres who won i think there is a real connection seeing theaina, numerous peo 're not giving up. we're just not giving ieved in it. and they wanted their story to that a manufactuain. romneyheadquarters chris goings of the thatn mccain is going to yo

melissa harris-perry, thanks. watch melissa's show here weekends 10:00 oa.m. on msnbc.a.m. "now with alex wagner" is next. >> thomas, i really look forward to a mitch mcconnell/ashley judd run-off. >> a good face-off. >> must-see tv. >> the debate. >> right. let's go. ashley judd, can you hear us? election giddiness -- giddiness of the election is wearing off as the country heads towards a fiscal precipe. congressional leaders ready to extend a lifeline? we'll discuss compromise with governor ed rendell, luke russert, joy reid. money can't buy you love or elections, at least this time around. outside spending's big fail. and author sasha isenbberg, all of that when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1% cash back on all purchases, plus a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more... [ midwestern/chicago accent ] cheddar! yeah! 50 percent more [yodeling] yodel-ay-ee-oo. 50% more flash. [ southern accent ] 50 percent more taters. that's where tots come from. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1% ca

up in new york melissa harris perry host of msnbc's "melissa harris-perry." i'm sorry.'d be in new york today. >> yes. >> all of our travel schedules have been messed around a little bit. i want to focus quickly on michele bachmann. i go back with these memories of bob thorn you know when he ran for president. and on election night at the time an unknown hispanic woman by the name of loretta sanchez shocked him. turned out orange county was slipping away. he got punished for not being in the district, too much of a national figure. this happens when you try to be a national star and look like you're not tending to the home front. >> it does and it could. the district and redistricting got about a plus four republican benefit so a slightly improved district for michele. she has a history as luke said of running tight races. she has a few scares where she won by three or four points. that is probably the likely outcome here. your point is valid. >> i want to talk to you and i want you to both hit on this point. melissa, i just had sessions, the fact is you talk to the str

." >>> joining me today, host of the aupon muss msnbc show melissa harris- perry is here. could it be that democrats are a little caught up in powerball madness? this is the reaction of a maryland man reportedly watching each lottery number fall into place and realize he may get everything he's ever wanted. yesterday treasury secretary timothy geithner went to capitol hill with a proposal that included everything the white house wanted. it has two stages. phase one, to be agreed on before the new year would raise nearly $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue including raising the top two marginal rates, ask for $50 billion in stimulus spending and a permanent end of congress' ability to prevent debt ceiling increases and nonspecified cuts to entitlement spending. phase two more friendly to republican interests calling for $400 billion in unspecified cuts to entitlement programs with no guarantees. the chances of this plan making it through congress may be lower than the chance of winning the botterball lottery jackpot. surprising no one, republicans acted with vague horror. mcmc

that's melissa harris-perry. you want to stick around for that next. here on "up." if you think you missed out on black friday prices at the home depot, think again. black friday prices are still here. instore and online, right now. where prices have been cut, chopped, and sanded... ...on the most powerful tools that cut... ...chop... ...and sand. so we, or somebody on our list, can do the same. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get a special buy on a ryobi 2 piece lithium ion kit for just $99. hurry in this saturday and sunday for great deals. like the lucid by lg, free. or the galaxy nexus by samsung, free. this weekend, get the best deals on the best devices on the best network. exclusively at verizon. >>> this morning my question -- how confident are you feeling about our economy? and anita hill gives us her take on women's ongoing political agenda. plus, restrictive abortion policy pushes some women pea be the line. walmart is ground zero for worker justice but does anyone care as long as prices stay low? >>> good mornin

i'm melissa harris-perry.lection day we saw some big time muscle flexing and be it wasn't just by president obama. oh, no, my friends, it was as if the left wing of the democratic party. they won several major victories in the form of ballot initiatives for the liberal agenda. teachers unions racked up victories in indiana, florida, and south dakota. they fought off vouchers and defeated laws and measures that would have taken away their bargaining power. if they stick, the state of washington and colorado may become some of our more popular tourist destination as both passed initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana use although it remains to be seen if they face a challenge by the justice department. same-sex marriage, maine, maryland, washington, d.c., allow same sex couples to marry. excuse me, washington. they join the sis states and the district of columbia that have passed such measures. what can these victories teach us about the larger democratic party? for one, it tells us there is a little powe

joining me now from new orleans is melissa harris perry. you got to hear all that.first off, he regarded the conversation that he had with the president last night as a very nice conversation, direct and straightforward. it's been reported throughout the morning that it was more of a curt conversation. but it seems as if with the president going into this discussion, he holds all the cards and all the lemverage, bu it doesn't seem john boehner is willing to meet in the middle here. he said i'm not going to get into the details. why not tell us the details what have they want? >> i think because of what you just said. because as a matter of politics in fact hold the cards here. it's more than just sort that he has the ability to go over the fiscal cliff, allow sort of the 113th congress to convene. that congress will certainly continue to have a republican majority but also a greater influence of the democratic party, and a lesser influence of the tea party coalition within the republican party, and once that 113th convenes the president can institute obama tax cuts,

i always learn something watching melissa harris-perry. that jumped out is there is a lot of stupidity in how our elite deals with politics. after the health care, a lot of the coverage was, how are people reacting? there were a lot of polls, did people support or oppose the health care opinion? i'm not talking about politics but how people felt about a decision of the supreme court that was going to become law of the land. there was one poll that asked people, hey, what did the supreme court do? >> i don't know. >> it was the most widely covered decision according to media metrics since bush v. gore? what they found was 45% of adults had no idea what the court did. those numbers broke down into a majority of those people, thought they knew what the court did and said they opposed it. a smaller plurality said they didn't know. how much of the top down larger discourse that we have that treats politics as a game and a sport and a predictive project rather than siecivics. >> we forget the purpose of our public schools, to educate citizens fo

that's melissa harris-perry coming up next. will be on a special edition of "hardball" airing at 7:00 p.m. eastern. see you next week here on up. go vote. people love our potpourri parties. it's a smell of a good time. this is the juniper! oh that is magical. [ male announcer ] when you combine creamy velveeta with zesty rotel tomatoes and green chiles, you'll get a bowl of queso that makes even this get-together better. but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth!

up next is melissa harris-perry on today's mhp, america's prison system in perl.about mandatory minimums and the latest on the fighting in the middle east. i'm sticking around for her discussion of the petraeus scandal. that's melissa harris-perry coming up next. great to have you here. see you next week here on "up." happy thanksgiving everyone. [ male announcer ] when this hotel added aflac to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve

. >> joining me now, my friend and colleague, msnbc's melissa harris-perry. right there, you got it, i vetoed anything to do with choice. there's been a lot of discussion where mitt romney stands on issues critical to women and women's reproductive rights. there you have that video clip that says it all. >> suspect he so much more fascinating and interesting when he doesn't realize he's on camera? it's like the 47% comment. you get this sense of passion and i think as you point out, it's really hard to figure out who is mitt romney, this is why the salt lake city gave their endorsement to president obama. so this is mitt romney talking about his moderate self, his self that got along with those democrats in massachusetts and there you get all that fire behind making sure that women don't have the ability to choose. >> i guess my question is, there's been talk about the gender gap. the huffington post says basically that bump among women was the residual effect of the first debate. when you look at the split among unmarried women, the president is womping, whi

i'm melissa harris-perry. the current struggle between israel and hamas is a long and difficult history. would not be an overstatement to say it's among the most complicated the world has known. for context, we'll begin in 1947. the year the united nations passed its partition plan calling for the creation of separate arab and jewish states. fighting broke out between the two groups and israel declared independence in may 1948. the next day, israel was invaded by jordan, egypt, lebanon, syria and iraq. but the fledgling country survived. the u.n. passed resolution 194 in december 1948 which allowed ref are geez who wished to live peacefully the right to return home at the earliest practical date. nearly 20 years later in 1967, israel pre 'em tifl struck egyptian forces after the access was blocked to the port. israel gained control over areas including the west bank and gaza strip and east jerusalem. for arabs, this was the beginning of a period of occupation by israel which remains at the center of today's co

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and on the melissa harris-perry show this morning, let's listen and talk about it on the other side.e messaging was loud and clear. people rejected it and now plan b, which they are going to, is promoting candidates such as marco rubio and saying, okay, we're going to dress up these policies that no one likes with a brown face. >> see. >> that's still not going to vote because latino voters vote for policy, not for co-ethnic. >> is that true, reed? >> i think what they are going to have to deal with is that there are differences in their own party on immigration and some of the other issues that come along on the policy side, specifically marco rubio has a slightly different version of the dream act than democrats do that he's introduced. the question is, whether or not other republicans, who were not marco rubio, are going to go along with this. there was going to be 234 to 235 house republicans in congress next time around. are they going to go along with a dream act when they are getting heat from their activists back in their home states? lo look, the republican party can't just

i'm melissa harris-perry. now, if you've been paying attention to the news in the past week, you've probably been hearing some big confusing and scary sounding words. words like budget crisis, deficit sequestration, and of course, the fiscal cliff. listening to breathless elected officials discuss the fiscal cliff can be terrifying. as the story goes, we've made some bad choices over the years. we've tried to outrun it, but in the ends we're trapped and it sounds like like our country is facing this. ♪ but let's just take a moment and breathe. because fear is not going to help. and facts will. here are some of the facts. if a new plan for the federal budget is not reached between congress and the white house by the end of the year, january 1, 2013 will be the first day that significant spending cuts and meaningful tax increases take effect. adding up to about $500 billion in 2013 alone. now, let's remember this cliff is manufactured. the result of lawmakers tying each other's hands back during the 2011 debt ce

melissa harris-perry, you get the last word. thank you. again, i'm alex wal wagner tomorrow at noon on my show, senator brar ba boxer will join me to talk about what is at stake in this election. >>> good evening, americans, welcome to "the ed show." coming to you live from the plaza at rockefeller center. 28 hours until the election. mitt romney's team is going to talk their way to the relationship. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> let us vote! let us vote! >> this is what democracy looks like in florida. and team romney thinks they have it all locked up. >> it looks like the map is starting to he can pand drastically in our favor. >> the spin from the right just keeps oncoming. tonight, richard wolffe and jonathan altar have a massive day on the campaign trail. >>> plus, all the latest on a bizarre day of early voting in florida. the romney campaign finally addresses their chief lie. james hoffa of the teamster reacts. and karen finney and e.j. dionne talk about the rightys who blame hurricane sandy for the rough finish. >> t

i'm melissa harris-perry. i'm kog to you from our studio in democracy plaza right here in new york city. the last time we were here, not here, that was this morning, but here on the cusp of an election, we reached the culmination of an extraordinary year. not because our country was about to elect the first african-american president. we must remember 2008 was a year a woman almost won the democratic nom face for president of the united states. and though some of us may want to for get sarah palin her place as the first ever woman in the vp slot on the republican ticket represents another historic milestone for women that year. in 2008 nancy pelosi was making history as the first woman to serve as speaker of the house. four women, 2008 felt like a moment. i mean, president obama may have been the reason that there was no president hillary clinton, but he was also the reason that the united states has been repped on the world stage for the past four years by secretary of state hillary clinton. and president oba

joined by josh green, kurt anderson, lynn sweet, jeff mason and melissa harris-perry. >> not as goodanelists as we were. >> find us at facebook.com/nowwithalex. "andrea mitchell reports" is next. >> thanks so much. coming up next right here, the president's first big obstacle, fiscal cliff. can congress beat the deadline? joining us today, congressman chris van hollen. senator olympia snowe, virginia governor bob macdonald. and chad griffin on the historic election night for lgbt rights. "andrea mitchell reports" next. that i could smoke e for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which coul

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. >> on the question of race, i remember talking to melissa harris perry a few months ago, almost theirst black president in some ways means more for racial progress than the initial election of the first one. >> yeah. i put them on equal footing. i think the history of last night was lost on a lot of people as well. we took a profound step forward as a nation to say, and to judge the first term of the first black president to such an extent that they say okay, you get another term and to john's point, that is very much an important part of that legacy. it really gurdss that legacy, whether obama care or anything else the president does, i think that now sort of cements him in history to have accomplished something that quite frankly a lot of people, friend and foe alike, didn't think was possible. there was real skepticism about whether or not the country -- we did it once, do we really need to do this again? and they did. and i thought that was an important step forward. >> we haven't talked too much about the supreme court appointments. >> right. >> minor detail. >> minor detail bu

we'll see what's under the christmas tree with melissa harris-perry, sam stein, joy reid and michaelf" word, chris hayes explains why the filibuster has become a dirty word in congress, when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. ♪ it's so important to make someone happy ♪ when you give a child a toy, it has to work. ♪ make just one someone happy and when it's a toys for tots child, well, what could be more important? so this year, every hasbro toy donated to toys for tots will be powered by duracell. happy holidays. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere. duracell with duralock. when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost.. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership.

coming up is melissa harris-perry. also, education reform moving forward. ial guest which you are going to want to see is randy wine garten, president of the american federation of teachers. we'll see you tomorrow at 8:00. thanks for watching today, i appreciate it. thanks for getting up. a winter wonderland doesn't just happen. it takes some doing. some coordinating. and a trip to the one place with the new ideas that help us pull it all together. from the things that hang and shine... ...to the things that sparkle and jingle. all while saving the things that go in our wallet. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get an assortment of martha stewart living ornamen,s free when you purchase select artificial trees. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our t