mr. richard mourdock for rebuttal. >> mr. donnelly is one of the key components of the obamacare bill.t came to say but you voted for the bill that included that tax but then you came and said it shouldn't be there let's put a bill to cans it will tax. now you're saying do away with it. sheer clyly. but to taxation, you are quite correct we need to bring taxes down. >> thank you. >> now you have one voice, you could be sending one person to washington d.c. for the seat. one voice in 100. do you want to hear the bickering on both sides? it doesn't have to be this way. if i were to be elected. it would be a punch in the gut. but we would have new opportunities to look at new coppingses. it is not all one things or all another. there are all kinds of ways to reach across that don't involve compromise. >> mr. donnelly on this question you have the last word. >> with regards to the medical device tax, i've been thanked repeatedly by the companies to try to reduce the companies and eliminate the tax. and they have repeatedly thanked me for the hard work we've put into that. >> thank you. tha

mr. richard mourdock's comments do not reflect governor romney's views.gree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him. they will leave that ad up in indiana where mitt romney enthusiasticcally supports richard mourdock. is that the kind of guy you want? look at all these guys? they're all on the same team. what they are really afraid of is that you're going to find out what their real policy is. all right now when we come back we got some updates on the campaign for you including some swing state numbers. are they positive? are they negative? should you worry? should you be happy? it's nip and tuck. we'll tell you when we return. >> yes know what we know. they know what they know. and i'm confident that we're going win this race. we'll know who is bluffing and who isn't in two weeks. >> cenk: also that strategy, we're going to win! why do both sides do that? then later in the program obama administration well, there is breaking news on bengahzi. we'll bring in the tyt supreme court. are they bluffing or are they telling

mr. richard mourdock for rebuttal. >> mr. donnelly is one of the key components of the obamacare bill. it came to say but you voted for the bill that included that tax but then you came and said it shouldn't be there let's put a bill to cans it will tax. now you're saying do away with it. but to taxation, you are quite correct we need to bring taxes down. >> thank you. >> now you have one voice, you could be sending one person to washington d.c. for the seat. one voice in 100. do you want to hear the bickering on both sides? it doesn't have to be this way. if i were to be elected. it would be a punch in the gut. but we would have new opportunities to look at new options. it is not all one things or all another. there are all kinds of ways to reach across that don't involve compromise. >> mr. donnelly on this question you have the last word. >> with regards to the medical device tax, i've been thanked repeatedly by the companies to try to reduce the companies and eliminate the tax. and they have repeatedly thanked me for the hard work we've put into that. >> thank you. thank you for joi

richard mourdock. >> we got to get this guy elect in the u.s. senate. >> reporter: a romney spokesman says governor romney disagrees with richard mourdock and mr. mourdock's comments do not reflect governor romney's views. we disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him. the san francisco republican chair says it is the right move by romney to stand by mourdock but not for this issue. >> i think it's absolutely fine for him to disagree with the candidate he endorses on one issue. i'm the chairman of the republican party and i don't agree with candidates who we endorse on every issue. >> reporter: so while focused on the race for the presidency this could have repercussions for the senate. there are only a handful of seats up for grabs including this one in indiana. it was held by a republican. the democrats currently controlling the senate by six every seat is critical to both sides. i'm grace lee, cbs 5. >>> back on the campaign trail, mitt romney was busy rounding up undecided votes trying it stay on message on the economy. >> the president doesn't understand what it takes to get this economy going. he

richard mourdock. indiana republican u.s. senate candidate, richard mourdock, has proven to be his own october surprise, in his race against democrat joe donnelly. mr. mourdock got to be the republican candidate in that senate race when he ousted long-time and widely respected conservative republican senator richard lugar, with the help of the tea party earlier this year. mr. mourdock combined richard lugar as just too reasonable to continue to represent indiana republicans. and now with people already able to vote in indianapolis, anytime, all i do long, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week at the county clerk's office, now the republican party is reaping the consequences of choosing this guy. >> this fall, i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate. >> even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> i hope you'll join me in supporting richard mourdock. >> that's part of an ad that the democratic-leaning super pac, the american bridge pac cut for the indiana senate race after richard mourdock made his comments in that debate yesterday about god's will and rape and why he thinks th

governor romney disagrees with richard mourdock and mr. lect governor romney's view. we disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him. signed andrea saul. does that sound like condemnation? >> not condemnation enough considering mourdock said. >> shut out to my editor that conducted that interview. >> mr. brinkley. >> the romney campaign noticed the less romney talked to the press, the less people liked him. after this built up this momentum, the momentum that the obama campaign stopped ten days ago, they don't want to jeopardize that. it seems crazy considering they're not coming out stronger considering how many problems he's had with women -- >> hang on a second, mike. i thought the more we know someone, the more we trust them, the more we learn about them. that's the process. you're saying the less we know about this man, the more likely he is to be elected. >> i think they got their lead, got back into this race, and they're trying to protect that at all costs, and keeping away from journalists i

mr. romney's closest supporters have exposed themselves and their friend for what they are. first, there's richard mourdockng no worse than a less than perfect christmas present. but mr. romney is standing by his man recommending mr. mourdock as the one individual likely to tip the senate toward the republican party. >> there's so much at stake. i hope you'll downmi in supporting richard mourdock for u.s. senate. >> see how close they are? but do they seem like men who have a genuine interest in the victims of this horrifying crime? have they ever done anything to support women who may have been violated in this way? to follow that clown is the ring master himself, the man whose artificial appearance is only matched by the stupidity of his pronouncements. here was the latest, demanding the president release his academic history in exchange for a $5 million donation to charity. >> if he releases these records, it will end the question and, indeed, the anger of many americans. >> no, mr. trump. releasing those academic records will only fuel your racist anger because you know exactly what you're implying. so

itself somewhat from richard mourdock, how to say, there is a statement i can read you from andrea saw, a campaign spokeswoman, she says governor romney disagrees with richard mourdock and mr. mourdock's comments do not reflect governor romney's views. we disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest, but still support him. you do hear from the romney campaign that the gop nominee is still standing behind richard mourdock, still supporting him in that race for the u.s. senate, and at this point, fredricka, they're not calling on mourdock to pull that spot. it is still up on his website. it is still up on his youtube page. and that is why you see democrats out there trying to call on romney to say, hey, wait a minute, you need to take down that spot, there is a proobama super pac that has put out its own web video using mitt romney's endorsement ad in its own web video to try to draw attention to that and this all comes as a distraction for the romney campaign with precious little time left, just as democrats and the president have been hammering mitt romney on women's issues. so not good timing for mitt romney. >> jim acosta in reno, thanks so much, john

richard mourdock. >> we have to get this guy elected in the u.s. senate. >> reporter: a romney spokeswoman says that governor romney disagrees with richard mourdock and mr. mourdock's comments do not reflect governor romney's views. we disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him." the san francisco republican chair says it is the right move by romney to stand by mourdock but not for this issue. >> i think it's, you know, absolutely fine for him to disagree with a candidate he endorses on one issue. i'm the chairman of the republican party and i don't agree with candidates who we endorse on every issue. >> reporter: the presidency will be decided by the swing states we talked about this and in a poll taken in 12 battleground states, 39% of female voters say that the number one issue this year for them is abortion. let's go back on the campaign trail though for today. president obama rallied supporters in iowa. it is his first stop in a campaign blitz. he is covering thousands of miles over the next two days with eight states including several battleground states. in the meantime, mitt romney's a frequent flyer, as

. >> this fall i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate but on the trail today, mr. romney who has been carefully courting women voters ignored the controversy, while his campaign insisted that governor romney disagrees with mourdock and that his comments don't reflect romney's views. still, the campaign trying to swing away from the right wing says it will not ask for the ad to be removed. but one republican senator, a romney surrogate, scheduled the meeting today, cancelled her trip. her spokesperson said she disagrees with mourdock's comments, which don't represent her views. for his part, mourdock tried to clarify the remarks in a press conference this afternoon. >> i think that god can see beauty in every life. but certainly i did not intend to suggest that god wants rape. >> reporter: also today, clint eastwood who got mixed reviews, you will remember, for his conversation with an empty chair endorsing governor romney at the national convention is making a new ad on behalf of the campaign, particularly, the super pac, trying to fire up the conservative base. >>

statement yesterday when all of this was gloe blowing up, quote, governor romney disagrees with richard mourdock and mr. mourdock's comments do not reflect governor romney's views. we disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest, but still support him. now they have not, however, pulled this ad. >> this fall i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate. as state treasurer richard worked with governor daniels to balance the budget. there's so much at stake, i hope you'll join me in supporting richard mourdock for u.s. senate. >> and the campaign says they have not asked him to pull the ad. is that a mixed message? >> potentially, although i think some of what we saw yesterday was reporting that it would have drawn more attention to the campaign and to their differences if they asked him to withdraw the ad and then he refused to do so. so i think their hope is that they've made their statement and they'll try to move on especially because this is not a state that romney himself is contesting. it looks like it will go to him regardless. >> republicans are asking richard mourdock to apolog

mr. mourdock currently running in indiana. >> this fall, i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate.surer, richard worked with governor daniels to balance the budget and make government more accountable. as senator, richard will be the 51st vote to repeal and replace government-run health care. >> you heard right, if republicans have their way, mr. mourdock will be the guy to tip the balance of the senate to the gop. and with romney and ryan in the white house, all government will be in their control. and you have to wonder where things might go from there. let's get right to our panel now in washington, msnbc political analyst karen finney and bethleh bethlehem, pennsylvania, professor peterson and joy reid in new york, managing editor. this is the second time in a matter of weeks that a republican candidate for the house, in this case the senate, sorry, has had to clarify that rape is a bad thing. can i just say for the sake of our viewers, rape is a horrifying crime. these people talk about rape as if they're selecting a cupcake from magnolia bakery. what's going on? >> yes, no it

understanding of it is, romney, ryan, the republican platform, is exactly the same issue with richard mourdock and mrken and other candidates put forward and is a reason why you are seeing in virginia -- >> let me interrupt briefly to say the romney position is that the he would allow exceptions in the case of rape, incest and the life of the woman. but let's -- >> hasn't mr. romney, though, vote consistently... >> chris: he h on -- mr. romney, to allow those exceptions... >> but, he has voted -- mr. ryan's voting record -- >> mr. ryan... joe biden didn't agree, with a lot of barack obama's positions but you listen to the guy in the top job. >> look, look at his positions now. i guess that is news. >> chris: no, actually, it has been for some period of time. let's move on to libya and the continuing controversy on the attack in the consulate in benghazi that killed four people, four americans and we learned friday, cia operators on the ground repeatedly requested military backup, and were refused and that they also asked to be able to go from the annex where they worked, over to the consulate to help

richard mourdock, republican. andrew horning, libertarian, and joe donnelly, democrats. thanks for being with us tonight. we will begin with one minute opening statements beginning with mr. mourdock. mourdock: good evening. just 14 days until very important election. and the fact that it's important here in india cannot be outweighed by the fact that it's important actually because it may well determine the majority in the united states senate. with 14 days to go, one thing is clear and with such as a record behind him, my opponent, mr. donovan has a clear track record of saying one thing and heading in a different direction by the time he is serving in office. is a fiscal conservative he says and yet he supported stimulus. he supports expanding. the fact is you need to know about who the other candidates are and quite simply, i'm a geologist, unlikely as it may seem. five years ago i was asked to join governor daniels team and i did my part during the tough days of the financial downturn to make sure indiana live within its means. we've kept the state going, we've been apart indiana's comeback. we look forward to taking hoosier commonsense principles to washington. >>

mr. mourdock, and actually released an ad on his behalf. have a look. >> this fall, i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate. >> even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> this is a man who i want to see in washington to make sure that we could not just talk about changing things, but actually have the votes to get things changed. >> senior congressional correspondent dana bash is still here with me, and i'm sorry we are interrupteded your report because of the president's live event. this is clearly on a lot of people's agenda today. for his part, mr. mourdock has said, i did not mean to say that rape is god's will. rape is a horrible thing. but the resulting pregnancy, any pregnancy, is god's will. so he is trying to clear this up. but in the meantime, governor romney has this optics issue, and his support of this candidate to deal with. how is he responding today? >> optics issue. and the big issue, the fact that he has been desperately trying to get the votes of women, and this is not going to help. so the way he res

richard mourdock, republican, andrew horning, libertarian, and joe donnelly, democrat. gentlemen, thanks for being with us tonight. we begin with a one-minute opening statements, beginning with mrmourdock. >> good evening. just 13 days until a very important election and the fact that it's important here in indiana cannot be outweighed by the fact that it's important nationally, because it may well determine the majority in the united states senate. with 14 days to go one thing is clear. in the six years of record hyped him, my opponents, mr. donnelly, has a clear track record of saying one thing and then heading a different direction by the time he's serving in office. he's a fiscal conservative, and yet he supported stimulus. he supports big spending. the fact is, we're going forward now and you need to know about who the other candidates are and quite simply, i'm a geologist, unlikely as it may seem. five years ago i was asked to join governor daniels' team and i did my part during those tough days of the financial downturn to make sure indiana lived within its means. we've kept this state going. we've been a part of indiana's comeback. we look forward to taking hoosier comm

mr. speaker, you heard stephanie bring up the issue of richard mourdock in indiana, saying that it's wrong for romney to stand up for him. and say that his comments were wrong. your response? >> my response is, if you listen to what mourdock said, life begins at conception. this seems to be fixated by the democrats. but the radical on abortion is senator obama, voted three times in allowing doctors to kill babies in the eighth, ninth month. the democratic party platform which says you should pay with your tax money for late-term abortions. something which is about 20% issue. it doesn't seem to fascinate the press nearly enough -- >> mr. speaker, what mr. mourdock said exactly, life after rape is something that god intended to happen, do you agree with that? >> he also issued a clarification that he was talking about the act of conception. he condemned rape. every decent american i know condemns rape. we all condemn rape. now, let's talk about whether we condemn killing babies in eighth, ninth month. >> mr. speaker, thank you for your time. >>> our powerhouse roundtable is standing by. that

controversial comment about abortion made by richard mourdock has caught at tension of president obama. paying a visit to the tonight show with jay leno, mr. obama took a moment to speak about the issue. >> rape is rape. it is a crime. a crime. and these distinctions don't make sense to me. >> reporter: mourdock is working to clarify the statement. >> i did not intend to suggest that god wants rape, that god pushes people to rape, that god wants to support or condone evil in any way because that goes against the strongest base of my faith. >> reporter: his democratic opponent joe donnelly called mourdock's comments hurtful for women. >> this controversy is not about pro-life. it is about mr. mourdock's words and his continuation of extreme positions. his words were extreme but maybe as important, hurtful to survivors of sexual abuse. >> reporter: mitt romney has disavowed mourdock's comment but continues it stand by his endorsement. his campaign has released a political ad in support of mourdock and signaled the ad will continue to run. mitt romney has not spoken publicly about mourdock's controversial comment. >>> we still have plenty ah

mr. obama had a 2-1 lead among oh ohioians. the latest wild card as you saw with richard mourdock. >> do you still consider himself in his cornerpends on what he does. i think it depends on what he does. if he apologizes and says he misspoke and he was wrong and asks the people to forgive him, i would be the first. as i said, i'm not sure how big amiss saek that i have made. i have made a few. and i have asked for people's understanding and forgiveness when i won't own up to it. it is when you don't own up to it when people don't believe you. >> joining me now alex castellanos. gloria, are the officials concerned at all? >> of course you are concerned at everything that happens at this point in the campaign and they have an add running in the state with mitt romney. they did not ask for it to be taken down. but i spoke with a romney senior adviser who said they did some testing on this after the wholeed to akin case in missouri. when somebody says they make a stupid remark they are not going to blame mitt romney for it. do you agree with that? >> this too will pass. it is more of a distraction. and that is really the cost the c

button 716 billion richard, you take that out in your budget but mr. mourdock gives it away in tax breaks, we put it into care for seniors and to be able to get prescriptions for 50% off. i think that's a better use of the fund. >> that's totally incorrect. the fact is $716 billion will come out of medicare and it will result in at least a 15% reduction in the delivery of services to seniors. that is not richard mourdock that's the actuary that works for the united states congress. >> when you have two parties bickering like this, you need to have a marriage counselor come in and introduce some sense into the decux. we haven't done that for a long time. this is a serious subject and nobody is talking about taking away anybody's benefits. we can't pay for it. i've been specific offering up fair taxes to get rid of the demographic problems in the way we fund social security and medicare. >> we're going to move to the lincoln douglas segment of our debate. i'll ask each candidate to make a statement about his beliefs on a particular issue and then the other candid

that fact out are it seems to be mr gates or so we're going to we're going to we're going to argue about historical data indiana secretary senate candidate richard mourdock said this about rape and abortion in last night's debate. struggled with it myself for a long time but i came to realize life is a gift from god and i think even would life be good should you ation agree that it is good god did it to happen. mitt romney is indoors more still endorses him but putting aside these outrageous comments that are becoming commonplace in the in the republican party there are serious issues here come to gender equality well actually i think abortion is a serious issue birth control is a serious issue mitt romney was was asked if he would sign of personhood amendment we should make you know the pill illegal he said yes that would make any abortion for rape or incest or the life of the mother illegal he said yes paul ryan has signed on to these kind of things in the past i mean and here we are three men talking about women which is one of the things that makes me crazy to so much of this discussion is being driven by men in the political arena sixteen percent of

mr. mourdock? mourdock: that's incorrect. the medicare ac rare says it results in a 15% reduction in the delivery of services to seniors. that's not richard mourdock, but the medicare ac rare -- actuary. >> you need a third party to enter sense into the discussion. we have not done that for a long time. it's a serious subject, nobody knows it. we're not talking about taking away anybody's benefits. i've been specific in the past about offering up fair taxes, a means to get rid of the demographic problems we have with the way of funding social security as ponzi schemes. >> moderator: we're out of time. i ask each candidate to make a statement about beliefs on a particular each, and the two other candidates with rebut that or comment on the statement. returning to the first candidate for a one minute response, three rounds through the process. mr. mourdock, beginning with your one minute statement, please. mourdock: picking up where we ended. talking about obamacare issue because when mr. donnelly when asked in the election if he would support it, he said no. he said he was against obamacare, but in the end, he decided to vote for it. when

richard mourdock has caught the president obama. paying a visit to the tonight show with jay leno, mr. obama took a moment to speak about the rich. >> rape is rape. it is a crime. and so these distinctions about rape and -- capitol make too much sense to me. don't make any sense to me. the second thing this underscores is this is exactly why you don't want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women's health care decisions. >> mourdock is working to clarify the comment suggesting the statement he made was taken out of context. >> it i did not intend that god wants to support or condone evil in any way because that goes against the strongest base of my faith. >> reporter: his democratic opponent called his comment hurtful to women. >> this controversy is not about pro-life. it is about mr. mourdock's words and his continuation of extreme positions. ies word were extreme but maybe as important hurtful to survivors of sexual abuse. >> reporter: mitt romney has disavowed mourdock's comment but continues to stand by his endorsement. his campaign has released a politica

mr. romney out of his house and said don't you ever do that again. but this is the mitt romney who supports richard mourdockelieves the rape victim should be forced to bear a pregnancy forced by rape. >> eliot: should he not only pull the endorsement it seems to me he should--either you subscribe to what richard mourdock said, you can't have it both ways. hopefully the pressure will build on romney and unmask him because he has done a great job of being a mist to what his core positions are. >> my organization and my partners throughout the women's movement we're doing everything we can to get the story out and get the word out of who mitt romney really is, and the policieses that he really will impose on us. i'm hopeful. i think women who look at this kind of thing will remember, their moms will talk to them and tell them the stories about the way it was in the 1950s and 60s. we are not going back there and we will, in fact defeat these men. >> eliot: congresswoman jacki speier said something remarkable not republican woman elected to congress has stood up to object to the war on women waged by the republi

richard mourdock. so what does romney say now when mourdock says rape is what god intended? >> governor romney disagrees with mr. mourdock and mr. mourdock's comments do not and flekt governor romney's views. we disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but we still support him. we still support him. the romney campaign will not ask the ad to be pulled. why? because they share the same extreme views on abortion that are being -- becoming mainstream in the gop. >> i believe that life begins at conception. >> would you have support the cons r constitutional amendment that life is at conception? >> absolutely. >> i think when life begins at that horrible situation of rape, it's something that god intended to happen. >> i've always adopted the idea that the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life. >> this is an extreme party. and this is an extreme candidate. he picked a running mate as far to the right on women's issues as you can get. a guy who wrote the redefined rape law with the legitimate rape todd akin. mitt romney and the gop is selling you a haunted house and for th

richard mourdock for u.s. senate. >> in light of mourdock's comments, the romney camp says governor romney disagrees with mr. mourdock and mr. mourdock's comments do not reflect governor romney's views. we disagree on the process for regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him. >> this is a man who i want to see in washington to make sure that we cannot just talk about changing things, but actually have the votes to get things changed. >> even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> we've got to get this guy elected in the u.s. senate. >> it is something that god intended to happen. >> with so much at stake, i hope you'll join me in supporting richard mourdock for u.s. senate. >> for the record, mourdock is not an exception to the rule for the romney campaign. romney's running mate, paul ryan, co-sponsored legislation to change the definition of rape in abortion cases. the republican national convention included language in the party platform, identical to mourdock's definition. we support a human life amendment to the const

richard mourdock. i urge him to apologize. and governor haley barbour, what he said super bowl kind of crazy. i think mr. romney not saying is a loud statement within itself. >> i agree. >> michelle cottle and alicia menendez -- go ahead. i'll let you finish. >> we had governor huntsman on and this is the problem with mitt romney. he doesn't know how to talk about a serious issue, one of the most important issues a woman could make in her life, and say, i understand what this means for you. i understand what this means for your family. i'm going to have the decency to talk about it that acknowledges all of the complexities around it and instead he says, have a nice day and that's not enough for american women. >> thank you. michelle cottle and alicia men mendez, thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. >>> coming up, this is what real momentum looks like. colin powell endorses the president and the right wing can't handle it. wait until you see this. >>> and the good times keep coming from mitt romney. if you believe mitt romney. what his campaign is now saying about ohio that we need to talk abo