mitch mcconnell. et of will this recently released ad. >> bullying, threats, intimidation. the irs? no. try mitch mcconnell. that's right he tried to silence conservatives calling them traitors who he wants to punch in the thoez. and he told other conservatives they would get the death penalty for opposing him. >> all right. that is the sort of thing you don't usually see party to party fight. >> you'd think they would be nicer. precedent for this kind of hinthing? >> no. >> so what is the strategy here? is to really take down the entire leadership? because they're not only challenging mitch mcconnell, they're challenging the deputy republican leader, lindsey graham, a whole network of incumbents being challenged. >> so what you have here, and i think we referred to them as the kamikaze, they want a fight on every issue. they pushed for the shutdown, they want a big proceed tacttrat into the debt ceiling. and they have not wanted -- this is a fight over -- >> is there any substantive issue here? is the

. >> the frustration with mitch mcconnell. >> minority leader mitch mcconnell faces a primary challenge. >> where's mitch? maybe we can call him back. where's mitch? where's mitch? >> money talks. they spent over $1 million in negative ads attacking mitch mcconnell. >> super pacs knocking off senators, governors and congressmen. mcconnell now has to go. >> i think they're both nervous. >> mitch mcconnell and john cornyn. >> both men are facing tea party challenges. >> then there's senator ted cruz. >> here's what happened. >> mitch mcconnell and john cornyn ended a ted cruz-led filibuster. >> playing with the debt ceiling is like playing with fire. >> mcconnell and cornyn rallied support for the bill. >> that's the kind of thing that kentuckyians are sick and tired of. >> democrats are count on the tea party to help them hold on. >> the democrat allison grimes will pose a formidable challenge. >> could we see mitch mcconnell ousted? >> yes, you very well could see that. >> in the epic battle between ted cruz and the senate republican leadership, the republican base is about to finally h

not going to beat mitch mcconnell.ind in the polls but these ads are really roughing mcconnell up in the state and he could have a very difficult time running against a democratic competitor in the general. >> is there any chance that the competitor is likely to win? >> not at the moment but what's coming out in front of them is doing some real damage to the income bents. >> j debate is dog a public service pushing the debate toward the smaller government. members of the tea party have to be careful who they follow, so-called ted cruz on the pop lis health plan. maybe think about the leadership there. >> all right, james. still ahead, a big setback for big baby borers as they vote against the uaw. is the battle over or can unions still conquer the south? th ] oo. [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important rt of staying active and strong. ensureigh protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrin charge! low fat♪ ♪ five gram

the democrats want to take out mitch mcconnell because he's mitch mcconnell. this is about slaying the giant. years ago the republicans took out tom daschle. who was the house majority leader. and that -- that's like the redskins beating dallas. it's just a big win. it's also important because the republicans have to take six seats, a net of six seats. and they have a strategy for doing that. a part of their original strategy that was not on the table was that one or two and in fact it's two of their own incumbents would face credible challenges. that could undermine their strategy. gwen: is mitch mcconnell vulnerable or is this just a democratic fantasy? >> he is incredibly vulnerable. and you say it's kentucky. and i think obama got like 12% of the voters. >> more than -- >> so this is all that mitch mcconnell has to do is run against -- democrats run against obama and win. allison lundergan grimes has a good story to tell. she comes from a family that's well-known. political family. but more important, what mitch mcconnell represents is not about republican

try mitch mcconnell. the senate republican leader. don't try to full conservatives by pretending you're one of us, senator mcconnell. >> harry reid successfully made his senate race in 2010 about something other than himself. tom daschle didn't pull that off in 2004. reid led a race that was a referendum on him. the question is whether allison g grimes is a sharon engel. she certainly doesn't look like one. ham strung by the fact that the number one issue republicans are using to attack democrats, healthcare, is performing pretty well in kentucky. still grimes describe herself as elated to get clinton's support. she spoke about that with my colleague, kasie hunt. >> i want to ask you about president barack obama. would you want him to come down and campaign for you? >> this race is one that's about putting the people of this state first, and i speak for myself and don't need any other surrogate to do that. i stand in stark contrast to the president and many of his ideas and platforms. >> national republicans has cast you as obama girl

it's not enough to just not be mitch mcconnell. istinguish her from the president and mcconnell. >> let's drill down on that point there. i metal son in kentucky a few months ago and felt her to be a very impressive person. who is she and what is the case for her? >> well, i think unfortunately a lot of case for her is a case against mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell has been voting against kentuckyians. it is one of the lowest in terms of health care. high rates of cancer, diabetes and people uninsured. that's one big example right there. minimum wage is another example. overall i think the reality is that people are tired of senators that don't want to do business that just want to say no. mitch mcconnell has made it very clear since the presidency started in 2008, his goal is to make sure that things do not move forward. he wants to put a stop. they're tired of washington stopping. so she's a very interesting person. she's state-wide elected official in kentucky. she comes from a political family. she's very personable. she has a

so this is an issue that mitch mcconnell will have to deal with in a republican primary. >> absolutelyt of why he is at rand paul's side throughout kentucky or the next two days. mcconnell is running against matt bevin, trying to cease the tea party mantle in that state. i think the vote probably won't be as much of a big issue as people say it is. if you're voting in a republican primary on the basis of a procedural debt ceiling vote you're probably for matt bevin anyway. mcconnell don't have the strongest standing, still winning the primary about 20, 25 points so in the driver's seat here, but has to protect his flank. the bigger challenge might be the general election against democrat allison grimes, who will have a lot of money behind her, wolf. >> coming up, assuming he gets the republican nomination. >> that's right. >> we'll see what happens. that's why we like covering politics. peter, thanks very much. >>> so are democrats big fans of bruce springsteen? would republicans rather listen to country music? pandora says it has figured out how your music choices reveal your politics

ted cruz 1, mitch mcconnell zero. joining me, "washington post" national political roster, robert costa. i thought this scene yesterday was incredible, robert. how much do you hate ted cruz if you are mitch mcconnell right now? >> i think senator mitch mcconnell is frustrated with cruz. they needed the democrats to extend the debt limit. as you pointed out, it became this political theater on the senate floor. he thinks cruz is pushing purely for concession from democrats, isn't thinking fully about the 2014 field and the expectations to try to get the senate majority for republicans. >> here's the thing i did find interesting. in the end, mcconnell walked the plank, himself, which makes me think actually he's pretty confident about that tea party challenger, he's going to beat the tea party challenger. polling indicates it's not a threat as of yet. is that your read on the vote? >> i think matt bevin is a tea party challenger, a threat, not a major threat to mitch mcconnell. mcconnell is much more worried about aliso

house speaker john boehner cleared the way for passage in the house, republican liter mitch mcconnell moved around the filibuster got it through the senate. we're joined now by former republican senator jim demint who heads up the heritage foundation author of upcoming book "falling in love with america again" senator, the good thing for us about this storm is, you were going back to south carolina you couldn't get there. >> i'm glad to be here in person. >> schieffer: you're here with us. let's talk about this. you and sea party folks, john boehner cleared the way of getting this done, this is not something tea party folks, are you going to try to topple john boehner now? >> i'm amused talk about the tea party this is just millions of americans who are concerned about spending and debt and thousands of little groups, they're not a political party and they don't speak with one voice. but i think a lot of folks who believe in limited government, less spending and debt are concerned that under this president we've had more debt than any president in history. it's very possible by the en

but i think mitch mcconnell's points are right. bill clinton hasn't really been that great of an asset for candidates in kentucky. 2008 and 2010, both of the candidates there in those cycles were beat handedly even though bill clinton and hillary clinton came in to campaign about them. again, this is going to be a question between the contrast of the two people on the ballot and that's alison grimes and ultimately mitch mcconnell. >> i actually think that is right. i think bill clinton is popular in kentucky. alison grimes is running ahead of mcconnell in polls and mcconnell, i've been surprised about this, that his approval rating, even among republicans is only around 60%. this guy is not the same popular politician that he has been in kentucky for the last 20 years. this is a different guy running and being beaten up in the primary from the right, from the tea party candidate, is going to infect him. >> the president's popularity is also on the ballot and we see president obama's popularity right now, it's barely in the 30s. >>

>> it's about as accurate as mitch mcconnell being a chippendale dancer. >> e.j., she knows how to give she's also shown herself to be very tough when mcconnell went after her really strong when her campaign started, and she hit right back with a great ad that had some of her family in it. her dad is a real -- could be a real tough guy in politics. so i think mcconnell has always been known for running take no prisoners campaigns, but i think she is capable of giving him that kind of campaign right back. >> well, as of now she's winning. according to that poll, an incumbent in that kind of poll against a challenger is losing. something's going to have to change in this race for mcconnell to come back. e.j. dionne, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >>> attack on hillary. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. we'll get to the bad politics in ukraine much later in the show. but let me start with the bad politics here in this country. did you notice, and this is certainly a nasty fact that the same hawks who want

>> it's about as accurate as mitch mcconnell being a chippendale dancer. >> e.j., she knows how to givehe's also shown herself to be very tough when mcconnell went after her really strong when her campaign started, and she hit right back with a great ad that had some of her family in it. her dad is a real -- could be a real tough guy in politics. so i think mcconnell has always been known for running take no prisoners campaigns, but i think she is capable of giving him that kind of campaign right back. >> well, as of now she's winning. according to that poll, an incumbent in that kind of poll against a challenger is losing. something's going to have to change in this >>> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. the ceo in charge of the largest public oil company on planet is all about fracking in america. except when it's in his own backyard. and who could blame him. the business of extracting fossil fuels is a dirty one. here's what it looks like along the mississippi today. boats stranded after a barge collision yesterday sen over 31,000 gallons of crude oil into the water forcing

cheap and taking advantage of the antagonism within the hard right of the party and endanger mitch mcconnell'shances. >> some are calling mcconnell's vote necessary and courageous or is it going to hurt him in the gop primary in kentucky as you eluded to against matt bevin who has the backing of the tea party? >> he does have the backing of the tea party and kentucky is a conservative state but mcconnell is an institution in that state and slb interesting to see what he and what we are calling the party establishment can hold off the insurgents like bevin. >> i want to switch gears to new jersey and governor chris christie. his popularity may be taking a hit in the bridge scandal but he has raised a whopping $6 million for the republican governors association. >> i think an old saying i don't care what you say about me, just talk about me. this is somebody who is very high profile right now. i think a bet among people who are in the, quote, moderate wing of the republican party that he might be their champion so they are not about to say no to him. >> they are holding on indeed. bob frankum, w

senator mitch mcconnell.ching this with kind of -- been very skeptical about this guy. mitch mcconnell has been under fire from the republican base and they say conservative grassroots organizations are supporting his challenges. yesterday, mcconnell's colleague from kentucky rand paul was asked why he endorsed the minority leader. >> the hardest question that i have for you, and it is -- it is this. why are you endorsing mitch mcconnell? >> i'm here in texas today to endorse don huff. we got our signals crossed here. the senator of kentucky asked me. he asked me when nobody else was in the race and i said yes. >> al gore has asked me to change my opinion on global warming and i don't do that. >> so there is a little levity there. we could talk about that. but i want to actually talk about the back story, if you want to. but i think more interestingly, the story that came out yesterday that is going to shake up this race is a story that matt bevin, who has been running around with self-righteousness indignati

rand paul or mitch mcconnell? 59% to 27% republicans prefer rand paul. so what mitch is trying to do right now, obviously, is to cozy up to rand paul as best he can. he drove literally 100 miles to bowling green, kentucky, so rand paul would sign his filing papers. that's how much mitch is concerned about rand paul's stature among republicans and particularly with tea party. so i think rand is out running for president and i think this clinton ploy is really to show the republican base nationally that he's willing to stand up to the clintons. more so than to really effect the senate race. >> let me jump in there. >> sure. >> there's no question when it comes to your own race in these kind of political games, if senator mcconnell wanted senator paul to back off this trip down intern memory lane, they could have that conversation. >> they could. >> they're not having it. your point, though, is that it's not necessarily only about the local race. it may be a net even thing, but it helps rand paul nationally? >> i think this is what rand's about. yeah. i thin

mitch mcconnell's response -- the visit is great news to mcconnell.few moments ago, he had this to say. >> the last time he ran in 1996, he eked out a narrow victory. in 2008 they both came to town, include the day before the election and i won by 100,000 votes, so i welcome president clinton back to kentucky. every time he's come, it's been good for me. >> so if the debate continues whether 42 is a helping hand, there's another democratic president that received naira a mention at the current event. our current one. 31% is to be precise, which is the same incident as mitch mcconnell. here is how hi characterized his party's leader. this race is about putting the -- i don't need any other surrogate to do that. standing in stark contrast to the president and many of his ideas and platforms. >> putting people and perhaps polling first. joining muss is professor of political science at the university of louisville, and author of the presidential campaign. dewey clayton. professor clayton, thank you for joining us. i want to talk about the oddity here of

>> mitch mcconnell has a problem that all incumbents have.nd mitch mcconnell has been magnified, because he has the title, leader. voters everywhere don't like incumbents. they especlly don't like incumbents with titles, because they view them as responsible for the problem. i've seen some of the internal polling in kentucky, and the voters in kentucky are mad at mitch mcconnell, because they view him as part of the problem in washington. now, bill clinton said it himself, mitch mcconnell's a very crafty politician. if you go back, there have been many times in his career he's been counted out. he has a tea party challenge to deal with first. he hasn't spent a lot of money focusing on the democrat yet. but if this race right now, february, so, in some ways, discount this, but this race right now, if you match up allison grimes and mitch mcconnell, it's a toss-up, which tells you mitch mcconnell is going to have to fight, assuming he survives this primary, and it tells you, brooke, that a boat load of national money from republicans and democr

mitch mcconnell is all about power. she could use that same argument another way.d thing is that if you had a vote in, among republicans in the senate now between ted cruz and barack obama and it were a secret vote, ted cruz would lose to barack obama. they are so angry at him, putting all those republicans on the line, having to vote responsibly on the debt ceiling. but it is a great old legislative trick to make sure no one is the last vote in. when i covered the state legislature in albany. the assembly, there were 150. so 76 was a majority. and it was always said that 76 was a close vote, 77 was a landslide. because if it was 77, they arranged who got to vote for it and against it, depending on who was in a safe and unsafe district. >> and alex, the -- what about going forward with mcconnell? i mean, if there's going to be some governing here, it's got to be done in both bodies. we see boehner's problems, we've seen his frustrations. we've always seen him go with votes from the other party. mcconnell it seems to me is in a trickier position than boehner is. >>

big new poll out of kentucky, but bad news for senate republican leader mitch mcconnell. iggest media outlets found democrat alison lundergan grimes leads mcconnell 46% to 42% in the race. two recent polls showed a tight race between lundergan-grimes and mcconnell who held his senate seat since 1985. mcconnell has to get past a tea party primary challenger, matt beavan, the backing of both freedomworks and the senate conservatives fund. in short, mitch mcconnell has a real fight on his hands. for one thing, the longtime washington fixture is deep under water in his home state. 27% of kentuckians hold a favorable view of him. a full 50% have an unfavorable view. look at this, mcconnell's approval rating in kentucky is 32%. 32%. president obama who lost kentucky by 23 points in 2012 actually has a higher approval rating in the state than mitch mcconnell. now, you might say, no big deal. election is nine months away. mitch mcconnell has a ton of money. he knows his state incredibly wall. call in a bunch of favors between now and election day. all that is absolutely true. but

be almost with anyone in the caucus other than mitch mcconnell. >> i don't think so. ink a majority of the caucus would behave exactly like mcconnell if they were leader. so he would be against, you know, all but i don't know, michael e. if leader. >> there's no one -- the tea party caucus in the senate is ted cruz, mike lee and rand paul. that's it. that's why they have to go to tortilla coast, the restaurant off the hill. that's true, by the way, folk, and have meetings with the house republicans. the guacamole there, i've got no problem with it. but they have these little meetings because that's their leverage. as you pointed out in the now infamous question, lawrence, what pudding, sir? what pudding, what pudding has obama care been repealed. they have those meeting. they apply that strategy. and there's two pieces to this. one, as you said, the politics didn't work. they did not repeat the a.c.a. they hurt themselves in the shutdown and the larger military piece is they got some automatic budget cuts through the 2011 deficit-driven tea party threat to default on t

the other big thing is that, obviously, you know mitch mcconnell is a minority leader of the senate, ng about how he is responsible for the gridlock, for the dysfunction in washington and she's running against that. of course, mcconnell's campaign has many answers to that very nuanced specific responses and i'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more of that this summer. >> she invited bill clinton to come to kentucky to campaign for her. let's see if she invites the president of the united states to come to kentucky to campaign for her. i suspect she probably won't. all right, thanks very much for that, erin mcpike. >>> coming up, it's the age of cyberops, a new type of warfare. we'll tell you about a secret u.s. plan to hit syria's government. they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪ (dad) we lived... thanks to our subaru. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. which will cause me to miss the end of the game. the x1 entertainment operating system lets your watch live tv anywhere. can i watch it in butterfly valley? sure. can i watch it in glimmering lake? yep. here, too.

then mitch mcconnell said we're not doing this again this year.aking up immigration again. if the house did pass something, they would have to reconcile with the senate. mitch mcconnell who on both days would be on the same page with boehner. >> is anything really for all practical purposes everything important on hold this year? >> we can't answer that question definitively. there's a chance that republicans will try to do some of the pieces of this. might they do more border control, might they do a guest worker program, might they deal with the dreamers, those younger illegal immigrants who were brought across the border through no fault of their own but through their parents. the big question whether legal status or it is citizen for the 11.7 million or so, republicans no way they'll touch that this year. speaker boehner says the issue is trusting the president. if the house republicans don't trust the president now, do you think they'll trust him more when they get closer to the election? >> if they put this on pause, they need a net gain of

why are you endorsing mitch mcconnell? >> i'm here in texas today to endorse don.going back to kentucky. because he asked me. he asked me when there was nobody else in the race, and i said yes. and -- >> al gore is -- al gore asked me to change my opinion on global warming and i don't do that. so -- >> that was kentucky senator rand paul giving what sounded like a less than ringing endorsement of his colleague, mitch mcconnell's re-election bid on glenn beck's radio show. after everyone had a chuckle over that, today a reporter at the website "talking points memo" published a statement from rand paul's office which offered a slightly stronger statement of support. "mitch mcconnell is an important ally and a conservative voice in washington for the people of kentucky. the commonwealth is stronger because of his service and i look forward to continuing to work with him." that is a nice endorsement. if it sounds at all familiar, it's the exact same endorsement word for word that paul gave to the "associated press" back in july of last year. here it is. "mitch mcconnel

according to a new poll, a republican polling firm, mitch mcconnell has a one-point lead over democrat alison lundergan grimes. mcconnell, 43, grimes, 42. later this month, grimes will be getting a big boost from the big dog himself, bill clinton. the former president will campaign for grimes in louisville. clinton is close friends with grimes' father, former state democratic party chair jerry lundergan. and don't forget, clinton carried kentucky in '92 and '96, the last democrat, presidential candidate to do. so and we'll be right back after this. which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. so i get invited to quite a few family gatherings. heck, i saved judith here a fortune with discounts like safe driver, multi-car, paperless. you make a mighty fine missus, m'lady. i'm not saying mark's thri

when mitch mcconnell talks, make sure you listen.cconnell is a guy who is very savvy has a political strategyist and is relatively honest in his public pronouncements for a politician. john boehner hired a woman named rebecca talent on his staff to potential work at immigration. then president obama said some sort of bipartisan things about immigration during the state of the union. now all of a sudden immigration is on the fast track to passing. mcconnell says, wait a minute, it's comprehensive versus piecemeal and those two things don't go together. it is a sort of cooling off period. the number i always tell people, 27%. that's the percentage of the hispanic vote mitt romney got in 2012. >> what accounts for that? what accounts for john boehner sort of at least ringing the wind chimes of possible reform and then basically mitch mcconnell stomping on said wind chimes yesterday? are they not communicating with each other? >> to a certain degree, it is a bit to play in terms of his own reelection. you're getting to the point in the e

you seem to suggest this is almost a gentleman's agreement between john boehner and mitch mcconnell, they understand they have to play two sides of the same coin here. i feel like in the process john boehner is humiliated once again. he did come out with standards. this is a behind closed doors meeting, members of his own caucus, and it looks like he can't even sort of get a piece of paper through his own party without the senior senator from kentucky slapping him back. i just wonder truly if you think there is a line of communication where those two men understand each other. >> i think if john boehner had been the kind of guy who shriveled and went away at the prospect of being humiliated, he would have left washington a long time ago. >> that is true. >>> because it keeps happening over and over again. i think what's happening here is that it's possible -- it was very downbeat by boehner today, killed it maybe, but i think that after the senate primaries in which a number of republicans including mitch mcconnell are facing tea party opposition, if mitch mcconnell wins, if lindsey

mitch mcconnell will be seen as a political operator regardless of this.t will be true before this vote, after the vote. this is just another piece of evidence, but i think a lot of this is already baked in the cake for primary voters, and we seal see if matt bevin, his primary challenger, can use that to his advantage or not. >> less about conservative versus really conservative and more about inside washington and outside washington. >> and i think back in kentucky, mitch mcconnell isn't in any worse off place than he was before this vote. i mean, he has had votes for raising the debt limit before that if conservatives back there who didn't like him wanted to use it against him they could. but, you know, i talked to one really smart reporter up on capitol hill who covers the senate and said, look, this was one of those cases where we skipped to the last chapter. we ultimately knew that this was going to have to happen on the senate side and it did, and i think mitch mcconnell will take a little bit of a hit on the early side, but he's still in a much str

should mitch mcconnell be the senate republican leader?onference to make. >> no. but what is your personal opinion about that? is' strong leader or is he a sell-out? >> i strongly disagree with the decisions -- some of the decisions republican leadership has made this past year. there is a real divide over how you win elections. there are a number of folks in washington who think the way you win elections is you put your head down, you don't rock the boat, you don't take any risks. >> and that describes the current senate republican leadership? >> sadly. >> it's a fascinating interview there. mike allen asking some tough questions and pushing. but david gregory, i want to go back to rand paul. a couple of years ago there was a big discussion whether bwhether you're going to have ted cruz or marco rubio or rand paul or all three of them fighting for the same spot in 2016. it looks like rand paul has just broken out of the pac. certainly if you look at the polls and the way he has handled himself, he has been a much more astute politically t

according to a new poll, a republican polling firm, mitch mcconnell has a one-point lead over democratison lundergan grimes. mcconnell, 43, grimes, 42. later this month, grimes will be getting a big boost from the big dog himself, bill clinton. the former president will campaign for grimes in louisville. clinton is close friends with grimes' father, former state democratic party chair jerry lundergan. and don't forget, clinton carried kentucky in '92 and '96, the last democrat, presidential candidate to do. so and we'll be right back after this. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ >>> welcome back to "hardball." no exit. we go from the christie dragnet to the christie calendar. it's been just a few weeks since "

"mitch mcconnell is an important ally and conservative voice in washington for the people of kentuckyis stronger for his service and i look forward to continuing to work with him." the two of them forged something of a quid pro quo political relationship. paul with his presidential aspirations, looking for connections to mcconnell's donor base in the republican party. mcconnell running for re-election looking to keep tea party challengers at bay. well now that mcconnell does have a primary challenger from the right, a tea party-backed republican named matt bevin, glenn beck wanted to know why rand paul was still endorsing mitch mcconnell. paul is still interested in running for president in 2016. if he can't convince glenn beck why he's supporting mitch mcconnell for re-election, how in the world is he going to convince the tea party conservatives he shares their values? perhaps that partly explains his recent repeated attacks on bill clinton. >> he took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. there is no excuse for that, and that is predatory behavior a

exactly why is mitch mcconnell in trouble? the ruby red state of kentucky has been in office since the mid1980s. he rose in the ranks in part by being a prolific fund-raiser and good campaigner and a good friend to kentucky interests even while rallying against washington spending. last sunday, the huffington post wrote miss. mcconnell played out this die kom cotmy of across kentucky. washington he voted against a health care program for poor children. in kentucky he funneled money to provide innovative health services for pregnant women. in washington, he railed against obamacare and in kentucky, he supported free health care. and this policy may suggest a coherent belief system but it has led to loyalty among the gop in washington and something close to fealty in kentucky. it has advanced mcconnell's highest ideal. mcdonnell's political survival is still tied least in part to the issue of federal spending. remember last year's debt ceiling deal which he helped -- which helped the u.s. to avoid another threatened default? off

is it enough for mitch mcconnell to just assert that he is a true conservative in this state? so. at least that's what we're seeing right now. you know, it's easy to make the case that senator mcconnell is not well liked, but it's a difficult sell to say he's not conservative. there's not a lot of room to run on his right, you know, you remember this is the same guy who said his top priority was denying president obama a second term. president obama is not popular here in kentucky. he was following a mission that a lot of kentuckians here wanted him to do. >> yeah, and that's a place where you see the national politics work for mcconnell, even though we've paid a lot of attention to the primary. the primary is in interesting, it's democracy a lot of these incumbents don't have primaries very often, yet also the national attention allows him to be the number one guy, republican face, against president obama. kasie, i want to play more sound, though, as we touch on senator rand paul. take a listen to this, i know you've heard it. >> you know, it concerns me. i mean, the thing is

grimes is facing nominal opposition in the democratic primary and is expected to face mitch mcconnellmoves on to that point. joining me live, nbc news senior political editor mark murray. so, mark, the event hasn't started yet, so let's first talk about the landscape right now. looks like mitch mcconnell, despite early belief that it would be a tough battle for him, he's looking good at this point, pollwise. >> well, he's looking good in his primary race, tamron, that's against matt beavan, a tea party challenger and seems mcconnell has momentum on his side heading into that may primary, but the general election is a whole different story and that race remains competitive. we're going to see which force is more powerful in the state and that's kind of the anti-obama, antidemocratic force like a race in kentucky, or are people so frustrated with congress and its leaders, mitch mcconnell is a senate minority leader, what does that weigh out, and right now those two forces are hitting each other. this may be a very close race to watch come 2014. >> this brings me to alison grimes. she wo

if you had to use one word to describe mitch mcconnell, what would it be? y. >> you look at the votes he has taken, personally, i believe he has gone too astray. >> reporter: why did you switch to come to work for matt bevin? mcconnell's levels are at historic levels and with support from rand paul mcconnell seems eager to take on bevin and the national conservative groups who are backing him. >> i've been a pretty solid conservative throughout my career. i don't think there is any particular reason for conservatives to be upset about my performance. >> reporter: allison grimes is the bigger threat. >> it's hot in here! i tell you, there must be some women about ready to make things happen! >> reporter: she is secretary of state and comes from a powerful political family. she is a pro labor democrat who wants to raise the minimum wage and she is energizing women who she says mitchell mcconnell has left behind. are you prepared for the scrutiny? do you feel like you're ready for it? >> for the past seven months we have endured $6 million worth of negative nas

>> it was mitch mcconnell that proposed the mcconnell rule, which is that the president can do the right thing and make sure we pay our bills on time. if congress wants to vote to try to default, congress can do that. i know he doesn't want to be associated with it anymore. in a moment of acting responsibly a couple years ago, he's the one who put that on the table. he knows better. we know that because he said it himself two years ago. this notion that going to threaten the health of the american economy to try to get the tea party agenda through is simply reckless and the american people know it. there are a lot of folks in the republican party know it. they've got this impulse to go forward. >> all right. what do you think of the $8.6 billion in cuts to food stamps in the farm bill? was that really necessary to pick on the most vulnerable americans and the number of people who are going to be effected by this? >> i voted against the farm bill for a variety of reasons. it is chock full of huge taxpayer subsidies for some of the biggest agribusinesses in the country. you know, we hear o

in 2008 hillary went to campaign against mitch mcconnell and he wub by six. in 2010 bill went back to kentucky to campaign against rand paul and he won by 1. he's a familiar face in the state. i don't think at the end of the campaign it will be dispose tiff but it will help her raise money and have conversations like we're having today. >> what was interesting, she was asked whether she wants president obama to campaign for her. >> this race is about putting the people first and i don't need a surrogate to do that. what's the difference? >> one is an unpopular president and the other is a friend of her father, major powerbroker in the kentucky democratic party. >> will it hurt her she didn't vote for obamacare. that's trouble for democrats to run for re-election. >> hard to say with a straight face she wouldn't have. how do you say in retrospect i wouldn't have voted for it. i wasn't there. i wouldn't have voted for it. she doesn't seem to be able to explain the issue, distinguish the issue, explain how she disagrees other than to say obamacare is a disaster

mitch mcconnell test they did not want to do that.t. ted c cruz has solidified his will. people do not like that. the wall street journal went after him. >> called h him all kinds of names. i love the drama. you have covered this. there is another thing -- you will come back with more about that after the break. stay with us. when w return, the cost of criticizing amacare. when politics and business collide. after the breaeak. >> lcomome back. it is becoming a popular punching bag for businesses. the much-maligned affordable care a act. one leading company has learned that going too far in botching heth care costs can b backfire. especially wn you add into the bashing and complaints about specific employees and their babies. case in point, aol. the ceo is an emple of wh not to say. -- tim armstrong announced on a a conference call with employees changes to the 401(k) plans. first, he blamed rising health care costs. he said they were caused by obamacare. >> we would have to actually increased payments per month on health care plans. that is where the balance of that and t

you have mitch mcconnell the deal maker, mitch mcconnell very conservative leader of the senate where, not going to get an immigration deal and you have john boehner in the house saying he might. he's handcuffed to the tea party. even after the primary, high turnout to prevail in a race against a well funded democratic candidate, a strong democratic candidate. if outside money comes pouring in, you know where it's going to pour, it's going to pour on him. where else would you put it if you're a democrat? >> there you go. up next, the author of smart people should build things. did you hear that, meacham? >> i'm for that. >> explain why he believes the author, solution to economic problems is as simple as the title of his book. "morning joe" will be right back. that's insane. yep, and you can customize it. i can download anything i want. [ girl ] seriously? that's a lot of music. seriously. that's insane. and it's 15 bucks a month for the family. seriously? that's a lot of gold rope. seriously, that's a signature look. you don't have a signature look, honey. ♪ that's a signature look.

quote, mitch mcconnell was the deciding vote in the senate to move forward.ohn boehner and erik cantor structured this deal in the house. primaries matter. until you defeat these guys, you will do nothing to change washington. this is a mutiny. >> now, i like congressman latourette, and i feel his pain. but i wonder if he is being a little too optimistic when he says this is just a small segment of the republican base. because even without ted cruz, you have all these groups out there, a lot of them getting big funding from the koch brothers and others, and they're appealing to a wider swath. >> okay. >> and you would still have a mutiny against mcconnell, a mutiny against boehner without ted cruz. >> he is engaged. >> be engaged. >> listen, david, i couldn't disagree with you more. my problem with these folks, matt kibbe and the rest and erick erickson, the day i retired from congress, erick erickson said best news of the century. and i'm thinking to me, wait a minute, didn't we land on the moon and we did this, we did that. so these people are into creating

mitch mcconnell is one of those.13 1/2 votes every six years. republicans think for five and a half years they're going to vote mary, and mary always ends up winning. democrats think the same thing about mitch mcconnell. what is it about -- let as you talk about mitch, since that's the race. what is it about that guy that makes him so tough, where he doesn't seem like a natural cultural fit. >> he's enormously unpopular. he's around richard nixon territory. he is the toughest politician around. he will spend gobs of money. he's relentless, he will attack. i think it's possible his luck runs out, his charm. charm of mitch mcconnell, you don't usually associate with one another. he has a double whammy. the primary will soften him up, and he'll have a tough time in a general. i also don't think kentucky is a swing state anymore. those cultural states, culturally conservative states -- west virginia, tennessee, kentucky, arkansas -- bubba carried them all. they're all in the -- really all republican states. it's virginia

can seee at home and the faces down there, mitch mcconnell is one to watch carefully, as is bob corker the republicans who could support this effort to at least bring it to the floor for a vote. drama on the senate floor on the even though it may not look like much. >> also watching this carefully is wall street. the majority in the red. dow jones industrial down 45 points. s&p 500 down fractionally. thing that is important for people to bear in mind, the clock is working against congress in all of this. we heard jack lew say february 27 is the deadline. air is a snowstorm about to hit washington. if this would go down in defeat, there would need to be an effort in the senate to gin up some new agreement. any change in the legislation would require the house to return to washington. right now the house is supposed to be on recess for two weeks time. house democrats have already left for their retreat in maryland. there are challenges if this does not go down. not insurmountable, but it means they are pushing harder and harder against that february 27 deadline. we know that would raise

if she doesn't, mitch mcconnell will and it is going to be less flattering. learned in the polling is that mitch mcconnell is not liked, and alison grimes is not well known, and that is a danger zone for the candidate, because whoever defines her first with the undecided voters will likely win the race. >> well sh, in terms of definin her, she has bill clinton coming to kentucky to campaign for her, and regardless of how well she is known or liked, you know, he is certainly known, and how much will he support her candidacy by his presence? >> well, i think that remains to be seen throughout the year how involved they will be, but no question that he is, you know, it is bringing out the big guns, and you can't overstate what an s a set president clinton is in a state like this and es pepecial among the democrats, he has popularity, and this is a big step for the grimes' campaign. >> thank you, sam youngman. >>> this is the tweet of the day coming from ben white, if we win, canada has to keep bieber. #lovehockey. good one. ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ [