statement from boehner's spokesman from michael steel just coming in right now. quote, we're here to change washington, no more smoke and mirrors, no more phantom cuts. we promise that we will cut spending more than we increase the debt limit with no tax hikes and we will keep that promise. as we speak, congressional staff are looking at options to rewrite the legislation to meet our pledge. thises what can happen when you have an actual plan and submit it for independent review, which the democrats who run washington have refused to do. he's referencing there, the cbo, congressional budget office, came up with late tonight a scoring on the boehner bill and put that up, if we could. cbo estimates the legislation would reduce budget deficits by about 1.1 trillion between 2012 and 2021. that's the first section of the boehner proposal. the second part, which would be done by a joint committee, charles, couldn't be scored because, obviously, you have to kind of hammer out what you're going to cut on entitlements. >> the boehner proposal is a

president. [ cheers and applause >> there was a michael steele before there was a barack obama. i was the only african-american lieutenant governor in the nation for two years before senator obama was elected. >> michael steele was tapped as the first african-american chairman of the republican national committee. >> the republican party's often criticized because you don't have any blacks, you don't do anything to lift blacks up within the party, encourage them, so you guys are nothing more than racist. when we do lift blacks up and encourage them and give them positions of leadership, then we get oh, tokenism. you can't win. you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. >> across the political spectrum, black americans scored a series of firsts. >> you find yourself governor of people well beyond massachusetts, that a whole lot of people place their hopes and their aspirations in you and in your success, and i appreciate that. i'm honored by that. i'm humbled by it and it certainly is something i will have in mind. >> new york democrat charles rangel became the first black cha

. >> joining me now michael steele. can we get into grovergate? >> have at it. >> i'm trying to read the tea leaves. you're going to take me to the answer. tuesday grover norquist said not renewing the bush tax wouldn't violate his anti-tax pledge. here's the audio from that interview. >> not continuing a tax cut is not technically a tax increase. >> so it does not violet the pledge? >> um, we wond hold it that way. it would be a very bad thing to do. it would raise taxes from where they are. would it technically violate the pledge, no? >> he backed away from those comments here on msnbc and today in "the new york times" he tried to clarify things further, he said he remained opposed to any tax increases. then he went on to write my position and the implications of the pledge is clear if taxes rose automatically then no politicians would have voted for higher taxes and no elected official would have broken his or her pledge that's different than supporting a plan by democrats that would end some or all of these lower tax rates. i still don't get i

former rnc chief michael steele is here. and the rupert-murdoch news corporate scandal is blowing up bigger than ever. tonight on weather murdoch's phone hacking scandal could ever come to america. good to have you with us tonight, folks. president obama has democrats shocked, stunned and flat out furious after the "washington post" reported that he put social security and medicare cuts on the table. now, in d.c. tonight, i spoke to at least a dozen lawmakers. they say that the president went behind closed doors with leadership of both parties to discuss a solution to the debt hostage crisis republicans are waging on the american people. president obama addressed the media after the meeting but didn't take any questions. here's what he had to say. >> i just completed a meeting with all the congressional leaders from both chambers, from both parties, and i have to say that i thought it was a very constructive meeting. everybody acknowledged that there is going to be pain involved politically on all sides, but our biggest obli

ed ren den and former rnc chair michael steele. good evening to both. >> good evening, rev. >> today president obama outlined a balanced approach. take a look at this, mr. chairman. >> i believe we need a balanced approach. we need to take on spending in programs, in defense programs, in entitlement programs, and we need to take on spending in the tax code, spending on certain tax breaks, and deductions for the wealthiest americans. >> but chairman steele, is this really balanced if it's trillions of cuts? >> i think so. when you know the real driver here is spending we didn't get here because the government want collecting enough revenue. at some point along the way, we got out of line and started taking more out of economy. i think the president is right. the question for republicans is, okay, let's get specific in the details of what exactly you mean. >> that's always is the problems, the details. >> reverend, you know that. >> there's some giving on each side. it seems there's an enflexibility on her side. >> first, if i might,

thank you dana milbank and michael steele. thank you very much for joining me. >>> ahead, russia's latest target. those infamous liberal weathermen. you won't believe the hot air he is blowing now. >>> take a look, folks. that's rick perry in cowboy mode. chaps and all. but is the real texan ready for prime time? we're taking a hard look at his record in the lone star state. stick around. >> announcer: this past year alone there's been a 67% spike in companies embracing the cloud-- big clouds, small ones, public, private, even hybrid. your data and apps must move easily and securely to reach many clouds, not just one. that's why the network that connects, protects, and lets your data move fearlessly through the clouds means more than ever. >> rush limbaugh thinks the heat index is a conspiracy cooked up by the left. that's our con job of the day. a heat wave is baking big parts of the country. that has a lot of people talking about the humidity. now the heat index tells people what it feels like when heat and humidity are adde

thanks, michael steele, for coming by with those insights. that's as always to our mega mega barren, karen susan and jimmy. if you thought l.a. traffic was bad now, wade for karmageddon. we'll explain. that's next. [ male announcer ] this is lisa, who tries to stay ahead of her class. morning starts with arthritis pain... that's two pills before the first bell. [ bell rings ] it's time for recess... and more pills. afternoon art starts and so does her knee pain, that's two more pills. almost done, but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve because it can relieve pain all day with just two pills. this is lisa... who switched to aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. it could happen. shut down 53 hour as part of a billion dollar highway project. l.a. named it carmageddon. a town famous for bumper-to-bumper traffic, has us up in arms. our friend's wedding party will have to be rescheduled if they want anyone to show up. sorry. to coax us off the roads, there were electronic billboa

michael steele, you can admire what the tea party members are doing in the house of representatives.hey are small government conservatives. i'm excited about that. but we are a week away from a catastrophic debate. anybody that doesn't believe a default will cause an economic crash and there are a few people out there. not only are they unfit to serve in congress, but they are unfit to handle lawn equipment. this is a -- >> that's the point joe. they have the lawn equipment and they are cutting the grass real short right now and they need to. i get the whole washington game here. people want to get up to the crisis. we have to capitulate to go back to status quo. do business in town like they have done it. you are going to put it off into the future. we are not going to make real cuts today. we have a body of individuals saying this is the bright line. judge us how we approach the line and what we do facing the situation. you have to admire them for that. >> certainly, we admire them for that. what happens a week from now if we haven't passed the debt ceiling? >> they are going to ge

michael steele, what about the freshmen republicans? the media is saying they don't want to do anything at all. they have done something, it's just something that the democratic party hates. >> exactly. they are going to go home and say we did what we said we were going to do. it's a question about boehner and the rest of the caucus. he's not worried about that right now. they have the vote done. they send it to the senate. now, he can carve out the conservatives, the non-tea party conservatives to get the 218. that's the number they are working on now, 217. boehner and the president are at a point where they have the deal pretty much done. it's ticking off a lot of people in town. they are not in the room or at the table. it's going to be carved out. they will go to their caucuses say this is the deal. it's going to be short-term. then they will work out the rest of the details. >> i don't think it's all bad. if michael is right, he might as well be, then boehner is acting like a speaker. if it passes, you have to do it without the tea

it seems like the michael steeles and ronald reagans aren't quite hip enough, crazy enough to bring downovernment. your last thought, joan? >> michael still says he's not -- let's leave him where he is. >> let me answer the question. >> i want him to be a voice for real conciliation on his side with the people in hits parties. reagan sadly probably could not be nominated unless he sold out everybody he believed in at this point. >> i think michael is a lean-forward reagan. i'm kidding. thank you all. >>> up next, if you caught last night's show, you might have noticed how much joe wall much loved saying my name. i like it. stick around for "the sideshow." it's funny. you're watching "hardball" from san francisco. ♪ say my name ♪ say my name ♪ say my name some people think allstate only protects your car. here's the truth: allstate can also protect your home or apartment. as well as your boat, motorcycle, rv, and snowmobile. and even your retirement and your life. not many insurance companies can say that. but allstate can. now that you know the truth, know this: the more of your world yo

. >>> joining me now former rnc chairman michael steele. can we get into grover-gate, michael? >> have at it. >> i'm trying to read these tea leaves. i know you're the guy to take me to the answer. tuesday grove r said it wouldn' violet his anti-tax pledge. here is the audio from that video? >> not continuing a tax cut is not technically a tax increase. >> so it does not violet the pledge? >> we wouldn't hold it that way. it would be a very bad thing to do. it would raise taxes from where they are today. would it technically violate the pledge? no. >> seems straightforward, but then he backed away in the comments here on msnbc. today in "the new york times" he tried to clarify things further. he said he remains opposed to any tax increases but went on to write, my positions and the implications of the pledge regarding temporary tax cuts is clear. if there were no vote in congress and daxes rose automatically, no politicians would have voted for politics and no elected official would have broken his or her pledge. that's different than the lower tax rates. candidly, i still don'

thank you, michael steele, david corn. it's going to be way down the road and the basic thing we have to do. >>> coming up, is president obama giving away too much? we'll debate that one, too. we'll take tadavid's point here. progressives are worried, david and others, me, too, sometimes about any cuts to make, any social security adjustments. people say don't give up on nothing. [ male announcer ] this is america. what makes our country great? our can-do spirit and our can-do cheese. kraft singles. this cheese rolls up its sleeves and gets the job done 'cause we're always made with milk and we're rich in calcium to help build 'em up strong! and fast! and, uh, talented. hey, our country put a man on the moon, maybe because we put our cheese on all our sandwiches. kraft singles. the american cheese. >>> the republican party is losing ground with two key voting groups right now. senior citizens and midwesterners. 45% say they're democrats. 35% say they're republicans. 44%, 35%. a nine-point spread for the democrats. last yea

joining me now, is democratic strategist bob an former rnc chairman michael steele now an mooes moo msnbc contributor. bob, do they get copies at rnc or don't they care about what the american people think? >> well, they have a fundamental dilemma, al. and that is that people like mcconnell and people like boehner understand that this is now becoming a real political problem and that they can back themselves into a box canyon that they can't get out of. so they are looking for way out. boehner was willing to do a grand bargain with the president. wr whether it be $4 trillion of cuts, revenue enhancements spread out over the next ten years, he ran into terrible trouble with his own caucus and with a possibility after kof a cou pe from eric cantor. the tea party is going to pass the house with republican votes. it may or may not pass the senate, though i think it won't. if it passes the senate the president will veto it. it won't be overridden. the veto can't be overridden. then i suspect we fall back to the mcconnell plan slightly satisfied by what harry reid has been suggesting, which is

michael steele is here not exactly as a judge but a commentator. and msnbc contributor, and ron reagan's here. the youthful, forever youthful ron reagan, stressed in youthful attire wearing the threads of youth. >> someone has to. >> the boyish looks he's always had. here he is today. >> how do i do that? >> just dress like that. that's the trick. >> i'll send awe memo. >> you dress like a ceo, and he dresses like -- not. pollster.com did an average of national polls what obama's, the president's, approval rating was trending downward. not a good week for him. 50.5. he's got a greater than 50%. negative is approval, 44%. i'll give you the first attempt here, michael. this is not a good time, but, you know, i keep thinking, almost like a bank guard. one of these overaged guys standing in uniform. when the guys come in, we want all the money now. put it in our bag, the tea party's said, give us all the money. overloaded with arm, bring down the government. blow up the bank. what's he supposed to do? what is he supposed to do to be strong? >> as oppos

thank you, michael steele, david corn. it's going to be way down the road and the basic thing we have to do. >>> coming up, is president obama giving away too much? we'll debate that one, too. we'll take david's point here. progressives are worried, david and others, me, too, sometimes about any cuts to make, any social security adjustments. people say don't give up on nothing. let's see if they're right. you're watching "hardball." almost tastes like one of jack's cereals. fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one. [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus at the pump... and at many of the places their summer plans take them. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. >>> the republican party is losing ground with two key voting groups right now. senior citizens and midwesterners. 44% say they're democrats. 35% say they're repub

bob shrum, michael steele.nd former clinton budget director joining us next on what happens in the u.s. were to default. but first, the prerace prayer that stole the show at this weekend's nascar nationwide series race in nashville. >> heavenly father, we thank you tonight for all your blessings. you said in all things give thanks. so we want to thank you tonight for these mighty machines that you brought before us. thank you for the dodges and the toyotas. thank you for the fords and most of all we thank you for rowsch and yates partnering to give us the power that we see before us tonight. thank you for gm performance technology in our engines. thank you for sin ohç coe raci fuel and goodyear tires and bring performance and power to the track. lord, i want to thank you for my smoking hot wife tonight, lisa. my two children, elie and ema, or as we like to call them the little es. lord i pray to bless the drivers may they put on a performance worthy at this great track in jesus' name, boogdy, boogdy, boogdy, a

michael steele. you've got a 9.2%. republicans as you do, and i feel they really want change. they really want a republican to win next year but don't have one. they don't got one. >> well, they certainly don't have anyone who is stoked the base, if you will. who's really provided that shot in the arm that sort of says, i'm the guy, or gal, who's going to take this train all wait through. and win next year. i think that's been absent for some time. it's had an effect on the way you organize your campaign. it's had an effect on the money you're going to raise and we've seen whether you're talking mitt romney, even michele bachmann who's come in with a lot of pizazz and punch, the numbers are falling short of the expectations, falling short of the bar. now, a lot of that will turn around once you get past, a willowing out for that straw poll, but it's not going to be enough certainly, chris i think, before january. you're going to have to -- somebody's going to have to break this thing open. one or two of them will reall

there's a michael steele region deep in the sun darien forest is one of russia's newest territories formed in two thousand and eight it brought together the chips on the argument regions and with it a striking mix of asian and european culture of traveling around you can find buddhist temples spooling national parks and remote villages that still practice traditions that date back a thousand years but if you're flowing here in the regions vibrant capital. one of your a new place of course the best way to get to know it is to have a local show you around and i know one lady here has promised to send me a bit of what life is like in the false life. children's homes just over three hundred thousand people and it's a real mismatch of styles it's one of the only cities in russia that's based on a grid system and the downtown area has some beautiful european influenced architecture and the further you roll it the more soviet and industrial it becomes . if you don't mind your bug in your teeth this is a great way to see the city the stanislaw her and her friends on the only point is it's all beca

and it was a perfect ten minutes of my time and those of michael steele richer. and. in india all she's afraid of being the movie goer.

and it was a perfect ten minutes of my time is up michael steele richard. we'll. bring you the latest in science and technology from around russia. we've got the future covered. download the official antti application to your i phone or i pod touch from the damps to. watch on t.v. life on the go. video on demand ati's mind bold colors and already says feeds now in the palm of your. questions on the dot com. in india in the movie the joint the photo of the gateway hotel the grand imperial tried to talk. to go and. read this the colonel was hotel treat. fresh arrests over the u.k. phone hacking scandal broke rupert murdoch's already shaken. public fury of the case challenges the future of britain's newspaper industry. got to take a nap no they've got to take a chainsaw to government do something about it. calls for the u.s. to cut spending and threats of the country's credit rating might be downgraded if lawmakers fail to raise america's debt ceiling that more states plunged deeper into economic crisis. initial investigations into the sinking of the belgariad point

to the cbo, michael steele said we're here to change washington, no more spoke and mirrors or phantom cuts. we promised we'd cut more than the debt ceiling. as we speak, congressional, are looking at options to rewrite the legislation to meet our pledge. this is what can happen when you have an actual plan and submit all it really seemed to work when you're looking at websites crashing, including that of the speaker on capitol hill today. and reports of many offices fielding just tons of phone calls. tons of e-mails. on the flip side, though, jessica, there was a conservative group that tried to do the same thing, kind of in response. since the president had his open call. there was a report actually from a conservative newspaper that it had jammed the phone lines here at the white house, but i'm told by deputy press secretary josh ernest that actually that didn't happen, that there was an increase in call volume, but it didn't jam the switchboard and we're still waiting, jessica, to find out how many phone calls they did get here. >> looking ahead to tomorrow, what you're hearing fro

and it was a perfect hence my time is up michael steele richer. it. in the czech republic oh she's available in the gallery hotel and science central hotel prim avira nice a most regal full stop aida which i am a taste in bosnia and herzegovina available in. the children of each. big chain a photo put you know photo period so my coach tells you how to. coach no times. in serbia multis available in most club and hyatt regency they are going to. wealthy.

me was a perfect tennis of my time and those of michael steele richard. well. the latest in science and technology from around the world. we've done the future of coverage. download the official placation i phone the i pod touch from the i choose i'm still. on the go. video on demand tease mine comes and says feeds now in the palm of your. question.

i thought that veteran journalist michael steele was one of millions falling for the bait and catchy headlines even though he knows the business inside out in america we don't break the law per se but they do have sleazy tactics i mean they will slant a story they probably make up sources i mean when you read them a source. who is it many times they can just make up the quote themselves and they say joe queenan said a lot of times i feel they're just inventing his quotes to back up the thesis of the story fascination with scandal is almost religiously observed in the u.s. and great britain we are both countries and both media environments and gossip sells and there's a tremendous interest in celebrity both countries are of was after rupert murdoch's news of the world newspaper phone hacking shocker broke in london his empire stretches far and wide across the u.s. as well let's not forget he owns the new york post the wall street journal and the deal to protest outside rupert murdoch's big apple pad protesters demanded an investigation into this publication that whole we know what mur

. >>> joining me now is richard wolffe, also with me msnbc analyst and former rnc chair michael steele. michael, can speaker boehner get his votes he needs for his plan? >> yeah, i think he can. i think that you're seeing some of the machinations used in that direction despite some of the pronoun pronouncements about this part of the caucus. harry reid had similar responses to the plans he proposed that had no revenue enhancements or tax increases or whatever they want to call them. i think the bottom like, particularly after listens to the president last night and seeing and hearing ms. jaret, that the president will sign the boehner plan when it gets to his desk. >> let me be clear, that what you're saying, so i'm not taking away the wrong message. you're saying that you do think the president will sign it. >> yeah. >> even though there's reports now that he's saying that if it got that far, that some of his senior advisers would advise against it. you're saying he'll sign it. >> yes. >> and ms. jaret says she doesn't think it will get that far. >> i know she said that, and i underst

from the republican party fallout, michael steele and bob slum shrum.s. >>> federal investigators are looking into accusations that minnesota's largest school district discriminates against gay students following seven suicides in fewer than two years. four students were gay, believed to be gay or questioning their sexuality. at least two of them reportedly had been bullied because of their orientation. the justice department and the civil rights office of the board of education are scrutinizing the school district. here's why. school policy mandates that staffers remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation and such matters are best addressed within individual family homes, churches or community organizations. justin killed himself last july. he was just 15 years old. his mother joins me now. tammy, good to see you. >> hi. >> first of all, you have my sympathy about the death of justin. and i know you're concerned about the way the school officials do or do not happenedle complaints. in what way do you think the policy discriminates against g

>> this is michael steele, no not the former republican national committee chairman, another one.t that nice? >> yes, that's so sweet. >> who knew he's got a romantic side. he proposed to mary catherine covert on what is known as the speaker's balcony. this is a spot on the second floor of the capitol looking directly down the national mall with an unobstructed view of the fourth of july fireworks. pretty good idea, actually. i talked to him today. he said they've been dating for a couple years and thought thinking about proposing right away memorial day, so here we are, washington is for lovers. >> fantastic. i also heard there was a pawlenty aide who had to eat a little crow over some comments. >> well, you know, there has been so much focus on the little gaffs that bachmann has made, a lot of politicians do this, but we've seen someone saying something about michele bachmann and having to clean it up later, this time vin weber, a top adviser to tim pawlenty's campaign, apologized for making a reference to michele bachmann's sex appeal during an interview with "the hill" newspap

the world and rupert murdoch showed his steel there and made it clear he's not going anywhere. >> michael isikoff thank you so much for keeping tabs on the hearing todd and for your insight. now let's bring in richard wolf who's been following this as well. before we get to the testimony can we talk about that pie in the face so to speak, the plate full of shaving cream that got flung. apparently it did spatter rupert murdoch a little bit which is why we're told he took off his jacket for the end of the hearing and wrap up of questioning. tell me about the tradition here and what we've learned about who this protesters was and what happened in this session? >> again, this started off on british tv many the '70s and has become a way of protest, it is what the mp called it, it was an assault on this person on rupert murdoch. thank goodness his wife stepped in the way she did. at least there was some

steel. it fell more than 8%. finally, last night's big disappointment was net-flix, with a disappointing outlook. shares fell more than 5%. technical analyst michael kahn puts this on his chart on our website, n.b.r. on pbs.org. and that's tonight's "market focus." >> tom: another day without a debt deal and another record high for the yellow metal. that brings us to tonight's "word on the street," "gold." alix steele is a reporter at thestreet.com. it's always nice to see you. $1600 and counting, a record high for at least two sessions in row. how do you describe this recent rally in gold? is there much volume behind it? >> well no, it's the summer season so there's light volume. this is real a save haven play. it's a great barometer suggesting how scared investors really are over the possibility of the u.s. default come august 2nd. >> tom: with that in mind, how scared are they? are they concerned or terrified. >> concerned not terrified. the reason i say that we are seeing record highs like you said. if we were facing the worse crises the u.s. ever seen we could see gold at 27 1700, 18002000 within days or weeks. that's what i'm hearing. we're

steel and by the way in which the building came down. so, it was like a sense that we weren't abandoned by god. >> joining me now is nationally syndicated radio show host michaelish who is also a contributor to msnbc, and i want to point out that the beams formed a cross organically from the remnants of the cross, and someone did not weld them together in the shape of a cross, so it is something that was inspirational to a lot of people, and what do you make of the lawsuit and does the group have a legal leg to stand on? >> well, it is one of the cases that thomas if it should get to the supreme court of the united states, my hunch is that it ends in a 5-4 decision probably because of the conservatives on the court siding with those who'd like the cross to be kept in the museum. i'm in that category. if you said to me that today with nothing having happened organically and there was a move afoot to put a cross in the museum or put some other religious symbol, i would think it is inappropriate, but it is the organic nature of it and it is more historical and more than iconic religious reference. >> you make a great point, but however n the press release today t

down on the issue that michael raised about the idea that perhaps people in washington are more divided and more divisive than people back home? >> there are the largest pieces of steel fetuses hanging in one anti-abortion display. there's a hell of a big difference place to place. >> austin is a particular oasis -- island. >> there is a big difference in the way we live and think. and, every four years, how we vote. >> a lot of our conversation is presupposing that this is a problem. there are others who have pointed out that maybe this is not all bad. abramowitz wrote a compelling book about the disappearing center, arguing that there is nothing intrinsically -- was nothing intrinsically sound about having a republican party that was composed of that overlap. he says it is nonsense. we have a more educated electorate that has sorted itself out. people are more engaged. this is something we should embrace. what is wrong with that analysis? >> i agree with that. i think the trouble is that we have less crosscutting relationships. we fight about one issue during the day and have mexican food and drink beer at night and are friends on other issues. as every issue comes