bush, didn't bow to craven politics of people like mitch mcconnell. but with mr. mcconnell -- so if you think about it that way, our reaction obviously mitch mcconnell will deny this and you don't get thrown under the bus. i was the craven guy that wanted to forget national security because we wanted to do what was good for us in the elections but with mitch mcconnell not denying this account, this is now a huge story. we've just been through a midterm election that was not really at all about foreign policy and national security. those were not the main topics of discussion and actually it was an election that had very little to do with mitch mcconnell. he was not a starring figure in these elections either but we are about to start a whole new session of congress on monday. and this scandal puts mitch mcconnell and frankly national security right back in the middle of everything. we asked senator mcconnell today if he would please come on this show to talk about these matters, his office declined our request. i hope that he will reconsider. i hope that he will ag

mitch mcconnell has not denied this new revelation. mcconnell's hometown paper denounced the senator for "contemptiblehypocrisy" because of this story. we reported this on friday night. we asked senator mcconnell to appear on the show to discuss this. his office has declined the request. with that skeleton in the closet now revealed, republicans have a problem on their hands. the debate in this country is about to return to questions of whether and when and how to draw down u.s. troops in wartime. what's their leader in the senate going to say about it? and why won't anyone believe him that that's what he means? and why will anybody believe him that he's lobbying for the same thing in public as he is in private? and what's his explanation for saying he wanted to change the strategy in the other war to help republicans win the '06 midterms? he's the republican leader in the senate. and this scandal hanging over their senate leader means republicans are now politically ham strung on the war as long as he's there. so what happens next here

senate republican leader mitch mcconnell stunned many of his colleagues in both parties by announcingll support a moratorium on earmarks. those spending projects members slip into legislation. it's a conservative message. >> nearly every day that the senate has been in session for the past two years i have come down to this very spot and said that democrats were ignoring the wishes of the american people. when it comes to earmarks, i won't be guilty of the same thing. >> republicans will push their earmark ban in the next session of congress. the one that starts in january, and that's one issue where president obama is on the same page with them. what about the rest of this session, the so-called lame-duck meeting? well, democrats use their final week controlling both chambers of congress to repeal don't ask don't tell, pass immigration reform, and end the bush tax cuts for wealthy americans or in the words of the liberal washington post columnist today, will democrats be "lame and spineless and avoid the controversial issues?" senator, let's get straight to that question. if you look

but first senate republican leader mitch mcconnell on "face the nation." captioning sponsored by cbs "face the nation" with cbs news chief washington correspondent bob schieffer. and now from cbs news in washington, bob schieffer. >> schieffer: good morning again. well, the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell joins us today from louisville kentucky. senator, i want to start by giving you a chance to make some news here. you want to extend the bush tax cuts for all income levels that expire this year. you want to extend them permanently. the president's opposed extending those cuts for the richest americans. but in an interview to be broadcast on "60 minutes" tonight, steve kroft asked the president if he'd be interested in extending the bush tax cuts for those upper-income americans temporarily, say, two years? presumably, in order to extend the tax cuts that he wants for lower-income americans. let's just first listen to what president obama said. >> hopefully, we can agree on a set of facts that leads to a compromise. but my number one priority comi

he did not meet with mitch mcconnell for 18 months after he took office one-on-one. how do you not call the republican leader in and have a dink, have a merlot, as john boehner says. chris: yeah, red wine for red states. >> how do you not have those kinds of connections. now he has no base because he never has them over. chris: this is so fundamental. you talk about it being calm and almost opaque, everybody's using that word. does that mean he would have to say, i hear you like merlot. does he have to fake it? >> he has to start somewhere. his problem is, he said, famously to one interviewer, i'm lebron. i've got game. valerie jarrett was quoted by david remnick saying that he's never been intellectually challenged or equaled. they believe his publicity and one suspects he views himself sort of in the third person context and he believes his own publicity. >> and he's not faking it because faking it won't work. people understand -- chris: getting along with the opposition requires charm. >> right. and you've got to decide actually maybe it's genuine and they have a

mitch mcconnell decided it was better this week for earmarks it than to fight. a veteran democratic congressman and charlie arango got his comeuppance from the house committee -- a veteran democratic congressman charlie rangel got his comeuppance from the house committee. where do we stand on tax cuts? >> the house democrats stand with the president and on cutting them off and at $250,000, but senate democrats have settled off the reservation by flirting with the idea of extending them for everybody. >> if the tax cuts are expected, the richest americans -- we are all the deficit hawks now. >> in the end, the only way to solve the problem is with entitlements and growth and raising income taxes, marginal taxes, by at least 13%, on what will amount to half of the small business income in america. it is not exactly a wise way to promote employment and growth in the middle of a bad recession. as the best solution which peter orszag himself has suggested is extend them temporarily, and when the economy improves, then you terminate them. >> although most people do no

. >> there was also a real difference in between -- tone between mitch mcconnell and incoming house speaker john boehner. boehner was far for kill silliatery, talking about needing to get things done. whereas mitch mcconel said our chief political goal is to replace president obama. >> and it's worth spending one more minute on. boehner is something of a newcomer. the republicans are hoping that boehner does not copy newt gingrich. i remember 15 years ago karen tumulty spent a week or two weeks trailing gingrich -- gwen: she was working for "time" magazine at the time, let's be clear, she was not stalking him! [laughter] >> right. "time" could not get so much as a posed picture with boehner this week because they are so concerned about making those mistakes. gwen: he's also a very different person than newt gingrich. he's not that much out there. he came up from humble circumstances in ohio but his reputation in washington is being someone who hangs out with lobbyists and -- >> i think they're very concerned that the tea party people will see them as just another round of old-fashioned repu

i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. >>> senator mitch mcconnell who supported earmarks over the last three years reversed course yesterday. mcconnell has been pressed by his party. the editor oond chief of the hot line joins us. i want to play a sound byte. take a listen and we'll talk on the other side. >> democrats were ignoring the wishes of the american people. when it comes to earmarks, i won't be guilty of the same thing. make no mistake, i know the good that has come from the projects i helped support throughout my state. i don't apologize for them. there's no doubt the abuse of this practice caused americans to view it as a symbol of the waste and out of control spending every republican in washington is determined to fight. >> after hearing that, is it an expression of the power of a growing group of conservative senators and the tea party as it emerges being symbolic? >> i think it certainly is. mitch mcconnell said it's a symbol of the abuse of spending. earmarks represent a tiny fraction of the spending. cutting all earmarks is not going to do a lot

john boehner and mitch mcconnell, they want 100%.n't want to compromise. >> caller: been ready to lead and being able toledo two different things. i think he can do it. >> we've got to find a way because this polarization -- is taxing. >> host: it is, billy. i agree. i agree, but i'm telling you the message from bain and mcconnell is my way or the highway. listen to the statement. they are not saying let's see and take a look at this health care reform bill and see many parts of it we have to modify, or, no, no, no. they are saying the whole damn thing out. that's not what the american people want. it's not what barack obama is going to you, or should even try to do. should he try to compromise with these naysayers? 866-55-press. >> okay. i love those c-span callers. not the one in their cars. is it safe to assume that the ones calling from their cars are not watching c-span? >> you never know. >> i hope it is. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> these are the shots of c-span lives for, as eating -- us eating. >> i

of us in washington to show that every way possible we mean what we say about spending. >> so mitch mcconnellssentially is saying he will cast a vote tomorrow to impose a moratorium on earmarks. and this is no small thing because mcconnell has been a powerful defender of congressional earmarks. perhaps that's what he meant by old habits. we'll talk to jessica yellin, our national political correspondent. just explain big picture what just happened on the floor? >> reporter: so what happened here, brooke, is that the tea party as you say scored a victory, but a very, very meaningful one to them because i've been talking to tea party activists for the last few months as you no know. last week what they were telling me is we are going to ask republicans in the leadership to make it clear they will ban earmarks which they see as very bad. tea party activists see them as very bad and if they don't we'll turn on them essentially. effectively they said they'll go to war with their own party if the leadership doesn't bow to this and agree. the leadership has not been on board fully until now. mitch m

mitch mcconnell's already counting four out of the 10 for a majority. he holding -- he is holding them. your calling that race. >> i think tumey's going to win that race. for a long time pennsylvania's is a blue state. always been fool's gold for republican to suggest that game. polls suggest that he's going to win but this is part of that big wave. >> the democrats are going to try to win, michele obama is going to rally women voters and young voters. >> i think it still goes republican. out on a ng depo go limb and say it's possible for siesta. trying to come to the center. he's pretty far to the right. you have to realize that most pennsylvania voters are in the middle. >> so right now tumey? >> no. . now sestak. chris: let's go to west virginia with you, howd?ar the governor is not a popular governor. tough race for him? this is one that the democrats can hold on too. i know west virginia, i spent a lot of time there i think racy is a big businessman. gave them the money but not the lift he needs in west virginia. >> the underliing popularity of man

he called steny hoyer, john boehner, nancy pelosi, mitch mcconnell. in these calls with representatives in a near and mitch mcconnell, he said that he was looking forward to working with republicans to find common ground and to get things done for the american people. the president was campaigning sunday in ohio and making regular calls today to a number of urban radio stations. live coverage tomorrow. we will also hear from congressman to john boehner and we will have coverage beginning tomorrow starting with "washington journal." we are waiting jon casey to will be speaking shortly. >> hello. thank you for taking my calls. i would like to say that i was really worried today, but i am a democrat and i did get my kids out to vote. our country should removing any better direction. in our country, there is a separation of church and state. everyone has a right to their opinion and i don't think that he is being disrespectful to the country. there were many years of chaos before the president. >> you have a new republican governor and a familiar face to

mitch mcconnell met are there and she gave a speech about start she was good friends with mitch mcconnell and that could be the ace in the hole that could be were clinton can use to see national security arguments and her personal relationships to get this treaty on the floor tell me this very quickly because obviously. the russian side is getting frustrated saying what's taking so long so if you know if this doesn't happen then well they have to renegotiate the entire treaty is america going to look like someone who you know isn't a good partner that's exactly why people say in the national security united states is at stake here you lose confidence in the ability of the president of united states negotiate any new agreement washoe would lose confidence in the partnership they have with united states russia wouldn't have inspectors in the u.s. inspecting our weapons we don't have them there it's been almost two years since inspectors have been there as senator lugar pointed out today you may have forgotten about those thousands of missiles that each side has but they're still there we ha

bush writes, ledmy senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who supported the surge and graciously lateritted to me he had been wrong to suggest a withdrawal. we reached out to mcconnell to see if he would be on the program, he declined. he goes on to say, quote, but the public record is clear on his unwavering support for ensuring our troops in the field were fully funded and general petraeus was able to execute our counterinsurgery strategy on the ground in iraq free of ash tary deadlines for withdrawal even when it was politically unpopular to do so. that doesn't address why mcconnell may have been saying one thing publicly and saying something privately if president bush is correct in his book, advising the opposite. not just for strategic reasons at all but for political reasons. senator mcconnell now finds himself under fire in his home state of kentucky. the cukucourier journal entitle why does he place greater value on that purely political goal than on american citizens' well being? joining me now, cornell belcher, and dana loesch, tea party organize er and 97.7 fm. you have a b

. >> reason mitch mcconnell came out and said he was going to support a moratorium on earmarks, because of pressure from the house. republicans are pushing for this strongly. in his post election news conference he very quickly embraced the republican leadership to do that. this is why mitch mcconnell has been opposed to this sfrep the beginning that that makes a trivial contribution to the deficit problem we've got. one of the challenges for lawmakers in trying to reconcile the desire for austerity with the popularity of programs is that in the mind map of many voters, they don't -- they see the amount of waste in the government associated with things like earmarks as much bigger than it actually is. pollsters have found you this when they do focus groups. vast amounts of the federal can be resolved by waste. we know with these commissions, you can't. >> let me ask you about taxes because this is part of the game that everybody's going be focused on between now and tend of the year. one theory is kick the can down the road. extend the bush tax cuts. make it the big issue of the preside

under pressure from the conservative insurgents, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell is bowing to the new reality. whit johnson is in washington with more on that. good morning, whit. >> reporter: betty, good morning to you. well, top republicans appear to be falling in line with the tea party when it comes to earmarks. the longtime washington practice that has held countless lawmakers, both win and lose elections, may be on its way out. senator mitch mcconnell's longtime support for pork barrel spending has suddenly ended. >> and what i've concluded is that on the issue of congressional earmarks, as the leader of my party in the senate, i have to lead first by example. >> reporter: mcconnell's change of attitude sets off a battle with gop conservatives. >> he's under a lot of pressure. a lot of attacks from the right wing of his party. he realized, you know what, it's better to join them, rather than keep fighting with them. >> reporter: a flurry of tea party-backed candidates rolled to victory earlier this month, with many campaigning against the practice of tacking pet projects

he has a good relationship with mitch mcconnell. relationshipell's with chuck schumer was not very strong. but harry reid and mcconnell our friends. they have a good relationship. she has a lot of grassroots support. she is a regular on the cable news shows patrick whether she has the support remains to be seen. a lot of these things come down to popularity contest. michele bachmann is well liked. kevin mccarthy was in charge of recruitment and did a lot of work. michele bachmann surly could launch a bid. -- certainly could launch a bid. host: jason from tennessee. caller: good morning. i have a question. it seems like the biggest senate battle was in arkansas, and it just kind of died down there in the last couple of months and never heard anything on that. i was wondering that maybe senator clinquant could have lost because of the health care bill or she was just in the southern state -- senator quentin -- senator lincoln. guest: she survived a tough primary early this year and ran a good campaign. she was in a red state. what happ

it's hardly a done deal just because mitch mcconnell says he likes it in fact, shortly after mcconnell's speech today another republican jim inhofe of oklahoma came out to say banning earmarks could be something that in the end might back fire on us and echoed the same concerns that mitch mcconnell once had that it is up to congress to spend the money and they shouldn't do anything to limit their own power lest they give some of it back to the other end of pennsylvania avenue at the white house. shep? >> shepard: carl cameron with a lot of news at the rotunda tonight. the big talk has been over compromise on tax cuts. that compromise between president obama and republicans over the extension of the bush era tax cuts. here is where things stand right now. both sides are indicating they would like to permanently extend tax cuts for all wages under $250,000 a year. republicans say they would like to do the same for people who make more than that as well. president obama says he opposes a permanent tax cut extension for the wealthy. which could leave open the door for compromise. temporary t

mitch mcconnell was seeing the footprints behind him. he's been a historic supporter of the earmarks in the belief they make only a trivial contribution to the budget deficit. some of them are legitimate projects. the public doesn't feel that way. especially the tea party. president obama wands to respond to this that lesson. mitch mcconnell did. that's how they present some element of bipartisanship cooperation. not because they want to get along, but they feel they need to get along. >> so this is just the beginning, right? they said in their own caucus we want to ban these. but when do we find out if it's real? and how do we find out? what do they do where we say okay, now we give them credit. >> on this subject we'll find out next year they pass legislation and see if the earmarks are added. president obama in his campaign as candidate obama promised to go after earmarks, and then he found himself when he came into office signing bills that contain ad lot of earmarks and saying, well i don't have the opportunity to end that practice

senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, i guess could you say is buckling to the tea party on government spending. mcconnell trying to break his billion dollar addiction to pork barrel spending. this is what he said about earmarks. >> nearly every day that the senate's been in session for the past two years, i have come down to this very spot and said that democrats were ignoring the wishes of the american people. when it comes to earmarks, i won't be guilty of the same thing. >> wishes of the american people? we will get to that in a moment. mcconnell, well, he now has sainthood amongst his colleagues because he is going after earmarks, interesting after over $1 billion went to kentucky on his behalf. eventually, folks, you know what this is going to do? this is going to gut middle america if they are successful on that and destroy america's infrastructure even further. the party that gave us two unfunded wars, tax cuts for the wealthy now thinks that doing projects for the american people, well, that's just too much. folks, you won't recognize rural america in five years if they get th

>>> he inad vert enly gave mitch mcconnell a promotion earlier. > on our broadcast tonight, touchy subject. why more and more americans are saying they've had it with airline security that invades their privacy. >>> above and beyond. on the eve of receiving the nation's highest military honor, a young man from iowa says it doesn't belong to him. >>> perfect together. who thght combining fish and lettuce was a good idea? turns out it happens to be in the farming business. >>> and getting personal. our exclusive conversation with prince charles about the pressure of raising two sons. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. there is something about the current state of airline security that has set people off at a lot of major airports right w. travelers have a choice of a full body scan that shows everything to a screener or a full-on pat-down designed to feel everything. as we approach the christmas anniversary of the attempt to blow up an airliner using a bomb embedded in underwear, t feds say they have to check everybody carefully. that i

mitch mcconnell, plus the democratic leadership over to the white house for more than just a photo-op. he said he's hoping to have dinner with them after he comes back from asia. and quickly, brian, a little election news, overtime that is in the state of illinois, the president's home state, he went 1 for 2. pat quinn, the appointed governor who got it, he won a full term on his own over republican bill brady narrowly, but he won a little feather in the cap for the president after what has been a tough election week. >> and we still wait for two big senate races. chuck todd at the white house tonight. chuck, thanks. >>> it was apparent on wall street today, investors were giddy over the federal reserve's new $600 billion bond buying program, which ben bernanke said was meant in part to raise stock prices. and rise they did. the dow up nearly 220 points, its highest level before the collapse of lehman brothers going back to '08. >>> now to a big story we've been watching, tropical storm tomas approaching haiti over the next 24 hours. as we've been reporting, this could have a devastat

at least 27 republican senators have agreed to ban earmarks, including minority leader mitch mcconnell who secured 113 million in pork projects for his state last year. and how far can a presidential library go in shaping the legacy of george w. bush? will a record that includes iraq, katrina and wall street's collapse be overshadowed by the construction at southern methodist university? among those celebrating, dick cheney. also, lisa murkowski took her best shot against sarah palin. now that the alaska senator leads joe miller in the vote count, she said palin lacks quote leadership qualities and curiosity that are needed to be president.{ and let me finish with some counterintuitive advice for the national football league. if you want to cut down on head injuries, consider ditching the face mask. >>> we're joined by two incoming members. congressman-elect steve sutherland of florida and karen bass, congresswoman-elect. mr. sutherland, you're in the midst of orientation. what have you learned in the last 48 hours that you department know? >> i'll tell you, we're busy learning the lay

senator mitch mcconnell and other legal -- and other beleaguered conservatives have successfully held the line against many initiatives that would have moved the country we believe is the wrong direction. senator mcconnell has led the good guys over health care, campaign finance, real tax reform, sensible foreign and defense policies, and so many other policy issues. we are grateful and are excited to work with you and your reinforcements as they arrived in the capital over the next few weeks, and we look forward to the policy battles and the policy discussions in the months ahead. mitch mcconnell was first elected to the united states senate in 1984. he has been the republican leader of the united states senate since 2007. ladies and jump, it is my pleasure to welcome back to the project ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome back to the heritage foundation, mitch mcconnell. [applause] >> thank you very much, ed. but mr. by telling you again how grateful -- let me begin by telling you how grateful conservatives are that you've found this organization and you have led so s

. >> this morning, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell held a news conference calling the next two years critical. >> the fact is if our primary legislative goals is to repeal the spending bill, end bail outs and shrink the side of government is to put somebody in the white house that will not veto these things. >> he took more a of bipartisan stand when he spoke this morning. >> it's clear that the voters sent a message which is they want us to focus on the economy and jobs and moving this country forward. they are concerned about making sure that taxpayer money is not wasted. >> the president reiterated he wants a better working relationship between the white house and new congressional leadership. an invitation to meet at the white house in two weeks. top democrats will meet and top republicans, john boehner and mitch mcconnell. >> this is going to be a meeting in which i want us to talk substantively about how we can move the american people's agenda forward. >> right now both parties seem to agree to cut government waste and prevent tax hikes to the middle-class but agreeing o

. >> this morning, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell held a news conference calling th next two years critical. >> the fact is if our primary legislative goals is to repeal the spending bill, end bail outs and shrink the side of government is to put somebody in the white house that will not veto these things. >> he took more a of bipartisan stand when he spoke this morning. >> it's clear that the voters sent a message which is they want us to focus on th econo and jobs and moving this country forward. they are concerned about making sure that taxpayer money is not wasted. >> the president reiterated he wants a better working relationship between t white house and new congressional leadership. an invitatn to meet at the white house in two weeks. top democrats will meet and top republicans, john boehner and mitch mcconnell. >> this is going toe a meeting in which i want us to talk substantively about how we can move the american people's agenda forwar >> right now both parties seem to agree to cut government waste and prevt tax hikes to the middle-class but agreeing on that may be

ben, senator mitch mcconnell talks about the agenda for the congress. analysis of election results from the american enterprise institute. in about one hour ,ap economics writer on the federal reserve writer on the federal reserve plan to stimulate the

it will be even more difficult for mitch mcconnell and john boehner to do the outreach.y're part of the handshake jimmy carter was suggesting. it is a really different washington than it was in 1976. this is a much more divided and extreme set of parties. tavis: the alaskan singletary members is because of these tea parties to one -- the last -- less conciliatory members. tell me whether or not those persons who did win the last night with the tea party support in bold and the republican party or challenges the republican party. >> it gives them multiple headaches. if there was a group of republicans who are inclined to be briefly consolatory in the name of getting something done they will find themselves with a bunch of high strung rebels, not just rand paul but marco rubio. we still don't know what is happening with the alaska race. there will be four or five guys in the senate who will make it more difficult for mitch mcconnell. on the house side there are probably 30 others who ran a tea party-like races. there is one other factor that will make it hard for republica

white house said that mitch mcconnell and john boehner requested the delay. >> what happened? you guys are just too busy tomorrow? >> speaker elect boehner, you may want to check with him on that. >> are you serious? >> if the president invites you, you postpone and you get there. >> the risk is on the republican side. >> stay humble. >> for the first time now, our republican colleagues are going to share in the responsibility. >> good evening from new york, i'm chris hayes filling in for lawrence o'donnell. house representatives voted today to stick with nancy pelosi as their house leader. >> i'm proud to be part of this leadership team, our consensus is we go out there. it's about fighting for the middle class. i look forward to doing that for this great leadership team. >> pelosi won the democratic leadership by 150 to 43. overcoming a challenge if you could call it that. from heath schuler. >> it wasn't about our -- winning or losing this race, it was about truly making a difference within our caucus, to ensure that the moderates are heard within the caucus. and that we ha

mitch mcconnell decided it was better to switch on earmarks than to fight. a bill failed in the house. charlie rangel got his comeuppancee from the house committee. we have a lame-duck congress, and nancy pelosi is still speaker. the president would cut off the bush tax cuts, and republicansns want to extend them across the board. >> as of this moment, the house democrats stand with the president on cutting them off at $250,000, but the senate democrats once again have left the reservation. j.r. flirting with the idea of extending them for everybody -- is a are flirting with the idea of extending them for everybody. >> we are all in deficit hawks now. >> in the end, the only way to solve the problem is with entitlements and growth and raising income taxes, marginal taxes, by at least 13 persons on on what will amount to half of the small business income in america. it is not a wise way to promote employment and growth in the middle of a bad recession. that is the argue against it. the best solution is to extend them temporarily, and when the economy improves