so what did olympia snowe do? she saved jobs and she saved lives, and i'm proud to be par part -- work with her. and we're going to miss her. and then there's my good friend, kay bailey hutchison, who's just come to the floor. and i'm glad she's going to be here to hear what i've got to say about her. i hold her in such enormous high esteem. now, senator kay bailey hutchison is known for her competence, her strong character, and being an outstanding champion for texas, an advocate for women, and a real patriot, dedicated to serving our nation. i, too, know her as a dear friend, someone deeply committed to creating that zone of civility among the women of the senate. when senator hutchison arrived in the senate in 1983, this is -- there were -- there were prickly politics beginning to emerge. she had come from the texas legislature and knew the dynamics of a rum and tumble legislative -- a rough and tumble legislative body. but as we worked together on something called the homemaker ira, we said, why don't we just

and i think that tells you so much about who olympia snowe is. her kindness to this individual, when everyone else was passing him by, her kindness to him when no one was watching, her kindness to him was a private act that told all of us so much about her character. with her retirement from the senate, olympia snowe will join the pantheon of great leaders that our state has produced: margaret chase smith, ed muskie, george mitchell and bill cohen. all of them, like olympia, exemplify the principle that public office is a sacred trust. olympia's inspiring record of service is but part of an even more inspiring life story. several times from childhood on olympia has been visited by tragedy that would have caused most people to become discouraged, disheartened and negative. but each time olympia rose up, transcended her personal tragedy and was more determined than before to succeed and to contribute to a better life for others. her well-deserved popularity among maine people transcends party lines and is testament to her strength and her spirit. t

i think that tells you so much about who olympia snowe is.er kindness to this individual when everyone else was passing by. the kindness when no one was watching. her kindness to him was a private act that told all lost -- al of us so much about our character. it with her retirement from the senate, olympia snowe will join the pantheon of great leaders our state has produced. george mitchell, margaret smith, bill cohen. all of them, like columbia, exemplifies the principal that public office is a sacred trust. olympia's inspiring record of service is but part of an even more inspiring life story. several times from childhood on olympia has been visited by tragedy that would have caused most people to become discouraged, disheartened, and negative. each time, she rose up transcending her personal tragedy and was more determined than before to succeed and to contribute to a better life for others. for well-deserved popularity transcends party lines and is testament to her strengths and her spirit. the people of maine and america are grateful fo

so what did olympia snowe do? she saved jobs and she saved lives, and i'm proud to be par part -- work with her. and we're going to miss her. and then there's my good friend, kay bailey hutchison, who's just come to the floor. and i'm glad she's going to be here to hear what i've got to say about her. i hold her in such enormous high esteem. now, senator kay bailey hutchison is known for her competence, her strong character, and being an outstanding champion for texas, an advocate for women, and a real patriot, dedicated to serving our nation. i, too, know her as a dear friend, someone deeply committed to creating that zone of civility among the women of the senate. when senator hutchison arrived in the senate in 1983, this is -- there were -- there were prickly politics beginning to emerge. she had come from the texas legislature and knew the dynamics of a rum and tumble legislative -- a rough and tumble legislative body. but as we worked together on something called the homemaker ira, we said, why don't we just

we get response from olympia snow, bob corber, and congressman labrador. cutting through the clutter of the fiscal cliff and 2016, yes 2016, with a.b. stoddard of the hill, "the washington post," "time" magazine's michael crowley and jessica yellen. i'm candy crowley. this is "state of the union." we still don't know if a deal is in the works or out of the question. mitch mcconnell promised aen update as soon as he had any news to make. that could happen when the senate convenes a rare sunday session of congress. looking to dominate his side of the story while leaders wrangle on the details, president obama made his first sunday show appearance in three years, sitting down with nbc's david gregory this morning to talk about the fiscal cliff. >> i'm arguing for maintaining tax cuts for 98% of americans. i don't think anybody would consider that some liberal left wing agenda. that used to be considered a republican mainstream agenda. >> joining me senator olympia sn snowe of maine. let me start with that. it does seem sort of counter intuitive to have republ

join ming me from washington is senator olympia snowe.g between the president and spirit? >> i think it is optimistic in the sense that at least they have met once again because i think that that is going to be crucial and central to any resolution, to the fiscal cliff crisis. and the more they meet and more that they have these lines of communications opened on a daily basis and their staffs are meeting, the more likely we'll see a conclusion to this issue. but it is regrettable that it is this late in the day, given the uncertainty and the apprehension that it continues to create among the american people, and, of course, both within the markets here and abroad. but i think it is hopeful that they have begun to meet and have some discussions because i think we can breathe a sigh of relief that the lines of communication are open. >> are you breathing that sigh of relief? >> i am from the standpoint they're talking. it remains to be seen. but i can't imagine in the final analysis that they're not going to come up with a solution to this

senator olympia snowe republican from maine who will not be in the next congress. >>> up ahead they'reral park five, the group convicted, sent to prison and years later exonerated for the brutal assault on the central park jogger. the story is the subject of a rifting new documentary, the director and one of the central park five join us next. to pack a bowling ball. that was ups. and who called ups? you did, bob. i just asked a question. it takes a long time to pack a bowling ball. the last guy pitched more ball packers. but you... you consulted ups. you found a better way. that's logistics. that's margin. find out what else ups knows. i'll do that. you're on a roll. that's funny. i wasn't being funny, bob. i know. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. when you're carrying a lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. >>> it was a crime that made headlines across the countr

olympia snowe? lugar? scott brown? >> you have identified some of the usual sususpects. the problemsproblem republicans have iss this -- you have people like scott brown in massachusetts, linda lingle in hawaii heather wilson in new mexico who were good statewide candidates with good credentials who lost for one reason -- they had "r" next to their name. it did not hurt heidi heidkamp or jon tester. this is an albatross for the republicans to deal with. the president knows he has the advantage, and the republicans have to get beyond this if they become combative as a party. >> any wiggle room in the house charles? >> i don't understandnd when colby says that for the president raisising rates is s a matter of principle. there is no principle here. the president himself said at the july 2011 press conference that if you raise the $1.20 trillion that he wanted at the time without raising rates, by eliminating deductions and exclusions, which is t the more rational way. obama's on a debt reduction commission recommended that you raise tens of revenue with the fedel govovernm

olympia snowe? lugar? scott brown? >> i think you have identified the usual suspects. the problem republicans have is this -- you have people like scott brown in massachusetts, linda lackl, a twice-elected governor of hawaii, running for the senate, and other wilson in new mexico, who were good statewide candidates with good credentials who lost for one reason, they had (r) next to their name. this is an albatross. this is a problem for republicans to deal with, and the president knows he has an advantage and the republicans have to get beyond this is a day are going to become competitive. >> any wiggle room in the house, charles? >> i don't understand when colby says for the president raising rates is a matter of principle. there was no principle involved. obama himself said at a briefing in july 2011 press conference that you can raise the $1.20 trillion that he wanted at the time without raising rates, by doing it by eliminating deductions and exclusions, which is the more rational way. obama's, and debt reduction commission had recommended that you raise tens of re

partisanship that's holding us back and the efforts of people like the ones i mentioned, or like olympia snowe, who announced her retirement and is retiring. ?iewn fortunately. >> they're hampered by the fact they work very hard, and then the hyper partisanship prevents the accomplishments. >> but are there any sorts of maybe mechanical policy senate rule changes that could actually help bring or help restore that balance? >> well, i think -- i actually do believe we need to change the senate rules. i think we have to get back to a time when filibusters were real and rare. i think these holds that go on indefinitely and block nominations and legislative action is unacceptable. we have seen -- we have seen on struck shun used as a partisan tal. the one thing i would say, i think we're at a defining moment. james baker's old phrase. this is really a time when we will find out whether the senate can reverse its decline, and i'm more optimistic. >> what gives you that sense of optimism? >> number one, i believe that the public demands it. number two, i think that many of the senators are as

a bar owner in olympia has a private room upstairs where cigarette smoking is allowed.ith not many people showing up, frank is hoping pot smoking will improve his bottom line. >> i have no customers. to bring in another type of a person to come in my establishment it is plus for me. >> local lawmakers are trying to anticipate what federal authorities might do. among the options, the u.s. could sue the state and try to prevent legal marijuana growing or selling. or try to cut funding, similar to states in the 1980s, to raise the minimum drinking age. >>> men low park police have arrested a man for an attempted shooting. police arrested 24-year-old jeffrey smith of truckee as he ledgedly fled that scene. no one was injured in that is shooting. >>> gazelle estebon is due to be sentenced tomorrow. she faces at least 25 years in prison for her first degree murder conviction. a jury found her guilty in octave killing michelle le in hayward. prosecutors say she killed le out of jealousy, because she thought her ex-boyfriend was having a romantic relationship with le. >>> the s

we have senator olympia snowe, bill kristol of the weekly standard, like simpson of idaho. david brooks. walter jones. the national review. we're here to say that passing the middle class tax cut is the right thing to do. you don't need to take our word for it. 2/3 of the american public agree with us. you don't need to take that word either. listen to the speaker's own party. it is clear that speaker boehner as needed cover from the right flank before he can agree to any deal with the president. the speaker did not have it before. when the wall street journal editorial page says that it would not go against the anti- tax principles, what more does the speaker need? when he refuses to declare that decoupling would violate the group pledged, what more cover does the speaker need? when more rank-and-file republicans come out every day in favor of passing the senate bill, it gives the speaker the cover he needs. tom cole was the first on the other side to speak the truth of what should be done. he has been on tv almost every day making the case to his party in public and he wa

representative barney frank, david dryer and dan burton from the house, joe lieberman, olympia snow andben nelson will join 21 members of the house and five other members of the senate in hanging up their congressional careers. 2012 also marked a milestone in implementation of president obama's health care law. in a 5-4 decision back in june, the u.s. supreme court ruled the major crux of obama care the individual mandate is indeed criminal constitutional. >> happy and pleased. >> the decision was the result of lawsuits brought by 26 state attorneys general against the federal government who claimed mandated participation was violation of american's freedom. >> republicans won't let up whatsoever in our determination to repeal this terrible law. >> the justices heard arguments from both sides in a record setting three-day hearing back in march. at the time it was unclear which way the justices were leaning as both conservative and liberal justices seemed to question its validity. >> do you not have a heavy burden of justification to show authorization under the constitution? >> purchase

trying to find a last minute compromise to keep us from going over the fiscal cliff, respect senator olympia snowe is saying that it's a bigger sign of a bigger crisis. >> what is deeply troubling is you cannot get congress and the president to reach any agreement on anything. >> the latest on the fiscal cliff negotiations in a few minutes. a 31-year-old woman has been charged with second degree murder as a hate crime in connection with a subway death in new york city. they identified the woman as erica ericamenendez in new york. the victim was a store owner and graphic designer. witnesses described a womani pacing the platform and talking to herself before pushing the victim on the tracks as a train entered the stadium. the video shows a woman running from the scene. a airliner smashed into a highway in russia. four of the crew were killed, no passengers were on board and no one on the highway was injured. it was arriving when it over shot the run way. a lot of celebrating early this morning in portland, maine, the first same sex couple said i do under a new state law that took effect at mi

olympia snowe points out how the latest crisis is the sign of a bigger problem in washington. >> moreou can't get congress and the president to reach any accord on anything. >> president obama says he is optimistic congress will beat the deadline. >>> a 31-year-old woman has been charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime in connection with thursday's subway death in new york city. the district attorney identified the woman as erika menendez of new york. she was seen running from the scene after the 46-year-old victim was pushed onto the tracks. prosecutors say menendez confessed saying she, quote, hates hindus and muslims. it was the second time in a month that a man's been killed by a new york subway train after being pushed on the tracks. >>> two missing georgia boys, ben and henry cleary, have been found safe in austin, texas. their father, the man who allegedly kidnapped them, has been taken into custody. someone at a hotel recognized the boys from the am bert alert and a cnn report. and contacted police. the brothers had been the subject of a nationwide search after their

olympia snowe points out how the latest crisis is a sign of a bigger problem in washington. >> more than troubling is that you can't get congress and the president to reach any accord on anything. >> president obama says he's optimistic congress will beat the deadline. a 31-year-old woman has been charged with second degree murder as a hate crime in connection with thursday's subway death in no. the district attorney identified the woman as erica mendez in new york. she was seen running from the scene on a surveillance camera after a 46-year-old victim was pushed on to the tracks. she reportedly implicated herself. it was the second time in a month after a man was killed by a new york subway train after being pushed on to the track fps. >> some good news about a story we've been reporting on. missing georgia boys have been found safe in austin, texas. their father, the man who allegedly kidnapped them, lab taken into custody. a austin police say someone recognized the boys from media and amber alert and contacted police. their mother reported them missing just before christmas. we'll hav

through all of this, and that's that the republican caucus, the right-wing republican caucus losing olympia snow, losing other thoughtful members, is now so far to the right that no matter what barack obama says, does, thinks, uses his brain for, their answer is no, even if it's one of their own. >> i know you have a point you want to make, but isn't it also the fact that the people who oppose chuck hagel are the people who have been the most wrong on foreign policy, pretty much on everything for the last generation? right? there was a piece in the national journal in which he writes for too many lawmakers on capitol hill, nominating hagel would be too uncomfortable. it would be too uncomfortable to have him restored to power because he would be a living, nagging reminder of just how much they got wroonk. >> that's certainly arguable. there's nobody who has been put up yet. before anybody is officially nominated, there's all kinds of posturing that goes on. we saw it with susan rice who was never even nominated, and they buried her as if she was nominated. what's funny to watch on the hill

a federal appeals court has cleared the way for a lawsuit filed by peace activists in olympia, washington over spying by u.s. military informant who infiltrated their group. declassified documents obtained by students for democratic society and port militarization resistance reveal the man everyone knew as john jacob was in fact john tower, a member of the force protection service at fort lewis. when "democracy now!" he wrote the story in 2009, one of the activists said towery had personally admitted to the spine. >> he admitted he did in fact spy on us, infiltrate us. he admitted he passed on information to an intelligence network, which as you mentioned earlier, was composed of dozens of law-enforcement agencies ranging from municipal to county to state to regional and several federal agencies, including immigration customs enforcement, a joint terrorism task force, fbi, homeland security, the army in fort lewis. >> the exposure of the spying led to disclosures of intelligence gathering and sharing about the activists by the air force, a federal capitol police, the coast guard, and loca

democrats onboard for the 250 or below and he was able to pick up retiring republicans and maybe he gets olympia snowe from maine, scott brown and folks like that and get to the 60 threshold and break the filibuster and if he was able to do that and it went to the house floor, there's no doubt it would pass and probably get enough republicans at the end of the day. the question is a, would he be able to break the filibuster in the senate, we don't know if that would happen. would boehner put it on the house floor and he said from day one, any plan he would like to see the majority and the republicans in the house move forward. if it were to go to the house i am very confident from conversations i've had that it would pass. >> nbc's luke russert. always appreciate the insights. >> nbc news senior political editor mike murray also digging this joining me live. president obama using the bully pulpit of his office to put pressure on congress. "meet the press" tomorrow and take a listen to part of what he said yesterday afternoon. take a listen. >> if an agreement isn't reached in time between senato

gas to go back and forth to the house as well as olympia republicans said, why don't you the house it will pass with a bipartisan vote. what other spending cuts would you propose? what has gotten us into this mess is people propose large numbers and never fell in the details. we have filled in the details of our first step. let them kill and the details of their first step on it attacks or the spending side. they have not done either so it is not much of an offer. >> what they did say, they did not include having the top two rates on the wealthiest americans which means their proposal, their $800 million goes right back to the middle class. it would have to the mortgage tax deductions, college deductions, charitable deductions, mortgage relief legislation that i have had in place to you don't have to pay taxes on a short sale. there is a whole range of things that you have to go to better back on the middle class. we're not going to do that. we've got to make sure that the wealthiest in this country help pay down this large deficit. >> will the democrats just wait? >> we have a lot of

were carl rove, which isn't something i imagine myself being often, i would knock on the door of olympiaay what are your lessons for us? >> fun conversation. >> that would actually be a fun conversation. we hope that carl rove, if you're listening, takes that advice. >>> coming to the recent data, planned parenthood provides less than 5% of resources to abortion services, but that's not stopping republicans in their quest to defund the organization entirely. we'll head to the lone star state and take a look at the eye of the storm just ahead. >>> lauren wanted to introduce cabbage to mainstream america. she created mother-in law's kimchi. for more, watch 7:30 on msnbc. we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of tim and laura. it's amazing how appreciative people are when you tell them they could save a lot of money on their car insurance by switching to geico...they may even make you their best man. may i have the rings please? ah, helzberg diamonds. nice choice, mate. ...and now in the presence of these guests we join this loving couple. oh dear... geico. 15 minutes could save

dana, we're hearing hints of some move between republicans, coburn, olympia snowe, how significant is it? >> reporter: it's significant for a couple reasons. you're right, three republicans in different ways suggested they would be okay with what most republicans are saying, that they're not okay with, which is raising tax rates for the wealthiest. tom is the most conservative, in general, not just fiscally, the fact he broke with his party. the others have sort of gone along with this in some way, shape or form in the past. it's significant because the way these things kind of tend to go is that there is a little bit of a crack and then that tends to send other cracks into the -- what is now a solid opposition. of republicans to raising rates on the wealthy. we'll see how that goes. however, i think it's important to underscore we're talking about senate republicans. and the key thing we have to watch is house republicans because if something can't get through the house, which has a big majority of republicans, then it can't get through congress. those are the republicans we need to

. >> alice, based off what lynn is saying, making this the 113th congress's problem, olympia snowe sayss a whole new equation and not that easy to put the genie back in to the bottle here. do you agree with that, that maybe this is the 113th's problem opposed to 112th's? >> i do think it's a problem of the next congress. and one thing that we will have to consider will be a more moderate congress and an opportunity far little bit more compromise but the truth is i think the president is hoping to go over the fiscal cliff. he can enact tax increases, cut defense spending and blame it on the republicans. the problem is we have had harry reid and the senate democrats haven't passed a budget plan in three years and they're looking at just raising taxes. we need to seriously address the spending in this country and we haven't had that from the democrats. we have to have that for things to pass. really get this deficit under control. >> all right. so keith, that was a loud sigh that you just gave. >> you heard that? >> i think everybody at home just heard that. so you obviously do not agree w

i thought it was interesting that senator olympia snow told "the washington post" that it's bizarre,t's truly bizarre, there's no sense of urgency. do you sense any concern by members of congress about the optics of all this? i mean i can just say, anecdotally that people say, i don't understand, why aren't they getting this done? why is the speaker going home? why are members of congress going home? and you have some members of congress complaining they're totally out of the loop nymph. >> until there's a frame work of a deal being discussed, there's no order of business. i would say two things, number one, there is concern, i talked to members this week who are aware that everybody's taxes could go up on january 1, will go up if nothing's done and that dews trouble them. but to your question of urgency, i don't sense a whole lot of urgency because there is not yet a fear that so-called going over the cliff, heading into january without a deal is going to cause some immediate fiscal calamity that's going to send the economy into a tail spin. i think if people believed that would hap

. >>> let's turn now to maine senator olympia snowe. she says it is time to talk about spending cuts and not limit the talk to just the tax hike question. senator snowe joins us now. let me start by asking, are you in favor, senator, of raising tax rates on anyone making more than $250,000 a year or are you more prone to the $400,000 figure that's been raised? >> well, you know, could i support that but on the other hand, we want to make sure as well not raising taxes on small businesses and there are some audits in the tax code currently between 250,000 and 400,000 that would disproportionately affect those people as opposed to those who make more than 400,000. they would end up -- paying more in taxes than those earning over 400,000. but nevertheless, if the bottom line is that we have to do something to extend the tax cuts for those making 250,000 or less, then certainly, i would support that because we should mitigate and allay the fears of the average american who is worried about facing a major tax increase come the first of the y

also helps that he has folks like haley barbour, tom corker, susan collins, olympia snow. they're obviously moderates, but they're saying we have to raise the rates, and that other thing, reality, which is the rates are going to go up regardless of whether you really want them to or not. i mean, in terms of -- david mentioned the speakership question. to what degree do you guys have a sense that there is any sort of currency to this threat from the aircraft ericksons of the world to oust him from the. >> i think it's noise. it's worth paying attention to. >> it's not that there will be another speaker who will run against him, cantor or anyone else, but if 20 tea party members of the house decide to vote present on january 3rd, he will not become speaker. he can be delayed. he can be embarrassed. a lot of things can happen without someone having to challenge him. you can vote for anyone for speaker. you can vote for dafy duck. >> david corn. >> alex wagner, mark, jim, or anyone. or present. he still has to have his caucus behind him to be fully behind him to become speaker

there is the constitution dollars of 1987 and 1988 is another olympia and then 1989 is thecongress of white the eisenhower. -- eisenhower. popular sets. you are paying about $100 per set for them.then i will explain about this one in a minute. the only one where the half dollar is also2 silver this1 is the james madison5 commemorative54 and then9 the world cup commemoratives and in '95 the silvo commemorative. and the most valuable of all of these and if you go to www.hsn.com this set is $549 right here. i sell them all the time of that price. i sold them individually out in five minutes last night. $700 basically for those 2 sets. of them at $100 i sell them out in like two seconds. the most popular singles that i have is one right here.all in the original government packaging. around and you can see there isther olympic coin and now i am going to set this one down the call that the nolan ryan commemorative dollar. a living american on a u.s. government issue coin. baseball card c13 take thatand you match up against their any looking every fold in the uniform and shoelaces and a lace

. >> sreenivasan: pacific oysters like the ones grown on shina wysockis family farm near olympia washington are served in restaurants around the country. >> we think our water tastes great here and that makes our oysters taste great. >> sreenivasan: but there's trouble in the water. the oceans p.h., which measures the level of acidity of a liquid, shows the water is becoming acidified. most growers like the wysockis can only farm oysters if they can buy oyster larvae, also called oyster seed, from hatcheries. but a few years ago, the larvae suddenly began dying by the billions. the culprit-- the seawater pumped into the hatcheries is so corrosive that it eats away the young oyster shells before they can form >> ocean acidification is this huge problem and there are so many things-- it's the currents, it's the carbon dioxide, it's the aragonite. most of which i only understand a tiny fraction of, but what i do understand is when the nursery calls on the phone and says there's no oyster seed to ship. we don't have any. >> sreenivasan: seed production in the northwest plummeted by as much as 8

are you glad olympia snowe is a republican?eah, i wish jim jeffords was still in the senate because even in his most liberal day, he was better than the most conservative democrat. i said hell, yeah. that's my party, my leader, the mindset. we have to get pragmatic. it's about winning, not about feeling self-righteous. >> haley is listening to you now. eugene, thank you. read your column at the "washington post".c."com. >> dan bartlett, we went off the rails and didn't make sense. >> can you get me a cut rate on the raptor? >> man-up. >> man-up. >> that's what's wrong. you guys are what's wrong with america. >>> we have the former governor of mississippi, haley barbour and msnbc news political director chuck todd joining the political discussion on "morning joe". ♪ i am the ghost of cookies past. residue. so gross. well you didn't use new pam, so it looks like you're "stuck" with me. [ female announcer ] bargain brand cooking spray leaves annoying residue. that's why there's new pam. for thos...this...ions of doing bargain bthi

. >> the storage is centered over maine but those two senators olympia snowe and susan collins got hereefore the storm hit. they are here to vote if they have to. tracy: we make a joke about mother nature but they have to get there. >> you almost did not have anchors for the 1:00 show. [laughter] we were almost in a body cast. >> will 2013 bring peace to the middle east? call being be violent syria and iran. look at the interest rates. the yield on the 10 year note has a big move down as people pile into the treasury's. along with the flight to quality people suggest that it should be down even more we will be back after this. marr, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get marrd, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guince and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. >> i am at m shapiro. wholes

by the way, olympia snowe, the gap even gets wider. some of the more liberal republicans are leaving the house. that device gets even deeper. the parties are ideologically sorted. complimenting that, reinforcing that division are three other major factors that did not exist in the 1980's. the way congressional districts are drawn with computer models today, most districts are pre drawn to elect one party or the other. that means most of us in the house or about primary elections, we do not worry about the in general elections. my experience has been primary voters punished compromise. there is a slew of former members that had higher aspirations that can testify to that. when you take a look at the redistricting this lost time, even two years ago and then to a 2010 when you had the highest turnover since 1938, less than one-quarter of seats were in general contention. reinforcing those are what i call macro trends. the fact that the media models are far different than they were 20 years ago or even 10 years ago. you did not have a fox

going to miss the services, and the independence of the distinguished senator from maine, senator olympia snowe. i think anyone in this body would have to admit that senator snowe has been even-handed, bipartisan, often nonpartisan, but she has objected to this very practice by this very majority leader, and i think it's destructive to the overall process of the senate. in the specific words of retiring senator olympia snowe -- quote -- "first and foremost, the senate should have the ability to debate more than the three amendments the majority leader is allowing. it is therefore imperative that senate deliberations on the defense bill be conducted without limitations and in a manner that allows for the consideration of all related amendments that senators may wish to offer." so i feel aggrieved that my little amendment is not even going to get any more debate than these few moments right now. i know the senator from tennessee feels the same way, and undoubtedly senator udall would prefer a vote and debate on his amendment. we can fix this senate. we can get back to the leadership we had

olympia snowe ♪ . >> could see the billboard in las vegas with the three cowboys. well come.t-runner to win this competition. >> they didn't win but they're top five finish and national exposure propelled them to fame. joining us now, the texas tenors, marcus collins, jc fisher, john hayden, good to see you guys. >> thanks for having us. >> the hoff knows talent. your love of reality television paid off in this case. tell us how the three of you came together and how you ended up auditioning for "america's got talent"? >> my wife and i always watched reality shows and thought it would be interesting to put country music and classical together. these are two of my best friends. they do a little bit of everything and we gave it a shot. >> you certainly do a little bit of everything, marcus because on the website describes you as combining, country, classical, broadway and classical and how do those things merge together. >> i don't know. wow, we love every genre of music. we're all three classically trained and we have country backgrounds. we love broadway and love gospel music

more collegial bipartisan women, a lot of them have been republicans, the moderate republicans like olympiahat margaret thatcher was collegial? >> no, and thank goodness she wasn't. thank goodness she wasn't. stuart: precisely. >> the idea that we have more women there's going to be more bipartisanship as if bipartisanship has never existed. bowles simpson commission was a bipartisan commission, it had bipartisan agreement, but the president ignored it. there's been plenty of bipartisan legislation scene ideas in washington, but they're not always taken on by the one guy who is in charge. stuart: hold on a second, kelly jane, because we have with us charles payne who is just dying to get at this. charles: listen, maybe collegial may be the wrong word but i do think they have different instincts like mothering instincts. as someone who flips the channels and every now and then stops on one of those housewi s housewives, shows. if you saw the real housewives of atlanta, we wouldn't vote any women into office, but having said that, i do believe that there are some little traces of truth to som

also had the privilege to work closely with another member of this body, my colleague and friend, olympia snowe of maine, her willingness to reach across the bipartisan divide, to advance legislation to benefit the nation and the senate and her state of maine is in my view legendary. i'm pleased to work with her when it came to support your our feshermen and lobstermen, critical to our local economies. we worked together closely on a host of issues including supporting investments in liheap and our nation's libraries. and jim webb, a decorated combat veteran, someone whose love for this nation was manifested very early as he led marines in combat in vietnam and his are extraordinary courage is only matched by his quiet demeanor and his calm sense of confidence that projects outward in every different capacity. of course, he's taken it upon himself to make sure we don't forget our veterans. he was the architect of the post-9/11 g.i. bill and in doing so he has enriched the lives of so many who were willing to risk their lives for this nation and i again salute him for all he's done. kent c

olympia snowe announcing she is stepping down and delivering her farewell address to colleagues in the senate. her husband is also the former governor of maine. they talked about what she is leaving behind what the recommendation is for the future. [video clip] >> 55 leaders converged on the city of philadelphia to draft a new government to strengthen the country. these were no shrinking violets, the had risked their lives and fortunes to establish a new nation with liberty. there were unabashedly opinionated. they disagreed and argued about a great many manners both petty and consequential. thomas jefferson considered a virginia not part of the united states. by september of that year, 39 of the original delegates signed the most ingenious government document the world has ever known. it did not happen because 55 people who shared identical the points and gathered in a room. it happened because these visionaries determined that the gravity and the enormity of their common goals and necessitated advanced decision making through consensus. i worry. we are losing the art of legislating.

we are talking to debbie stabenow and olympia snowe.ry. a woman jogging in central park, brutally assaulted and left for dead. central park five arrested and after years in prison, all exonerated. a new documentary. we'll talk to the director along one of the members of the central park five. >>> and find a dog, and he'll write you to his new novel. dennis lehane pleading for your help to help find tessa. we'll talk to him live, that on "starting point" kicking off at the top of the hour. i'll try and keep the fiscal cliff talk to a minimum. >> talking to tessa the dog? that's incredible. >> talking to someone about tessa the dog. >> we have to find her. >> thank you, ali, so much. >>> and critics say that the atlanta braves are bringing back a savage logo. and we got the first look at the hats. the native american groups consider the caricature really offensive. the great hank aaron had it on his shoulder during most of his playing days. >>> george h.w. bush is fighting off a fever in a houston hospital, but he's not planning on going