from the floor of the senate earlier today senator barbara boxer democrat from california, senator orrin hatch, republican of utah and the headline from the hill newspaper, the senate today rejecting an amendment put forth by senator roy blunt, republican from missouri that would limit the birth control mandate. welcome to hour one of washington today here on c-span radio. i'm steve scully. thanks for wk us. the vote in the senate was 51-48. it killed a controversial amendment to weaken the obama administration's policy requiring employers to provide birth control to their employees. we'll have more on this story coming up in just a moment. meanwhile more news on gasoline prices. they've speck 30 cents a gallon just in the last month. this is after all the first of march and in the month of february gas prices have risen. some buyers are buying fuel-efficient vehicles. it's helped ford, gm and chrysler. the president today is dismissing republican charges that his policies are driving up gas prices, saying those claims would not pass what he calls the political bull detector. he told an audien

what happened with orrin hatch.out individual mandate, i've always hated that idea. watch. >> i'm the first to individual mandate under obama care, you have to buy something you don't want to buy, meaning health insurance. i was the first one to point out its unconstitutional. >> you were the first to point out its unconstitutional? he was the first one to cosponsor the mandate back in 1993. i did a segment on that earlier. and point of fact, is orrin hatch lying about it? he's calling it unconstitutional now and he cosponsored it. you know what they found out? quote, it's totally true because they did sponsor it. it was the republican idea, and this is how it works. president obama agrees with the republicans and the republicans move further right and then accuse him of polarizing the country. you see how that game is played. in fact, professor pool broke this down as well. i want to go back here. he shows first of all the most partisan republicans, the once who are 90% republicans and most partisan democrats from

let's actually listen to something that senator orrin hatch said today which is just not president obama. the hard lunch category of the democratic party. and a lot. liberal environmental dreams ahead of the economic reality that working class americans have been struggling with for years. so this is an regards to the keystone x.l. pipeline idea had no idea that all environmentalists are hipster doorway people that latte and especially. mean if anybody is the quintessence or the second coming of coal i mean it's. he wears a. green he says no i. don't know about that but i do think politically speaking this is an attempt and it was kind of a successful one that they did with nancy pelosi sort of always calling her the san francisco liberal trying so i think it seems to me that they're just trying to put him in that category of people that the majority of america just can't relate to but there are a lot of hipsters out there yet but you know if they're even though they were very tight jeans they get caught in the single here by they can back it was like today i do think this is the shame o

those would be the type of blue-collar democrats that i think orrin hatch was impugning. >> no fedoras to include this mug that includes an image of his birth certificate. it comes just a couple of hours before sheriff joe arpaio is set to release the findings, quote/unquote, of his investigation into the president's birth certificate and his eligibility to be president. stay tuned. my postscript is next. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. i love the fact that quicken loans provides va loans. quicken loans understood all the details and guided me through every step of the process. i know wherever the military sends me, i can depend on quicken loans. no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. hey, aren't you... shhh. i'm researching a role. today's special... the capital one venture card. you earn double miles on every purchase. impressive. chalk is a lost medium. if you're not earning double miles... you're settling for half. was that really necessary? [ male announcer ] get the venture card at capita

this week, republican senator orrin hatch accused president obama of pandering to the hipster wing ofat orrin hatch knows what a hipster is. [ laughter ] i was like -- really? listen to this. new york city's first gay hotel opened this week. yep, it's that one upscale hotel, the four stevens. [ laughter ] it's replacing that other gay hotel, howard's johnson. they got rid of that one. [ laughter ] >> steve: they don't need that anymore. >> jimmy: you stayed there a couple of times, right? >> steve: at the howard's johnson? >> jimmy: yeah. >> steve: yeah. i also stayed at the hotel 69. stayed there too. >> jimmy: oh, is that right? [ laughter ] great place too. i was just reading about this, you guys. starbucks is planning to double the espresso shots in every drink served in the u.k. >> steve: yeah. >> jimmy: which explains why today, queen elizabeth was like -- [ laughter ] it's a joke that you can tell. it's clean. >> steve: yeah. the kids -- >> jimmy: your kids can tell it. listen to this, you guys. this week, a 95-year-old woman married a 98-year-old man to become the world's olde

. >>> let me ask you one more question you guys were buzzing about today, which is that orrin hatch is facing potentially, tonight, a primary -- an unusual kind of primary in utah where he might have a coke brothers -- a kokh brother opponent that takes him out. a lot of people thought the tea party had lost some steam and, if, in fact, this happens, i wonder if it would signal otherwise. your opinion. >> you know, i think that's a great question. i mean i think, you know, there is -- i mean, the notion that mitt romney is going to be the nominee does seem to signal kind of kind of there is a counter revolution going on, that the mod rats are coming back. mod romney moved to the right but he is nobody's idea of sort of, you know a tri-corn hat wearing tea party favorite. you know, the place, the most committed conservative activists can matter the most in the sort of most -- in the smallest primary primaries, in the places where real committeement matters and one of the tea party impulses is throw the bums out. you have a long time incumbent also seen as maybe a bit of a squish on the

. >> maybe orrin hatch. >> maybe hatch.a map or some kind of graphic that sort of shows the decline in sort of moderates. we know statistically, the middle has shrunk if it even exists anymore in congress. the most conservative democrat and the most liberal republican no longer overlap in terms of bipartisan support for legislation. so steve, when we look at our broken congress to what the senator says, do we think there is hope for moderates in the future? >> i wanted to ask senator because of what you said interested me. i wondered this while you were trying to survive in the senate in the 2010. you started out as a republican, you were facing the primary challenge from pat toomey. it was looking kind of grim. you switched over to the democratic party. you faced a primary there and you couldn't win. you mentioned the lisa murkowski model out in alaska where she lost the primary, came back and won as an independent in the fall. did you ever give thought in pennsylvania to not running as a democrat but running as an indepen

we talked about orrin hatch. he looks to be in better shape that he's prepared for this fight and his twin here is dick lugar. both came in in 1976. if they win, lugar gets to be senate president. if republicans get control -- >> because it's the bigger state? >> you know this stuff. if lugar obviously if only one wins and that stuff. this is for the most senior post inside the senate republican party. dick lugar two polls out. one from democrat and one from republican firm showing lugar under 50. >> if lugar loses the primary, we could be talking about indiana in the fall as a competitive race, right? congressman joe donnalley running for republican seat. we think of indiana being a safe republican place. if the tea party candidate wins the nomination, it's possible this could be in play. also amazing that being the senior senator may not be such an appealing label in a year when everyone hates washington. >> i was going to say. if lugar loses, he loses the way other guys have lost when it looks like they've los

. >> even orrin hatch who is nobody's moderate this terrified. i think tom coburn who is definitely a conservative, very fiscally conservative and then took some time off to become a senator, tom coburn was in the gang of six. i have always found him, to be very honest, straightforward, he has a good relationship with barack obama and has always tried to be honest and work on the deficit and cares a lot about deficit reduction they he is not running for reelection. he has announced that. >> host: of freedom comes from the sense he is retired. >> he is freed to do and say what he once in the republican party cannot do anything to him. >> host: skip ahead to the solutions. they are hard to come by. the chapter is brief but i don't blame you it is hard to figure out. two categories of solutions. thinking of the deadlock system is a third-party presidential candidacy from the center you devote some time to that. is that the solution? could such a person when? >> lazard two separate questions spin 98 expend their energies? >> i will say we will hear m

and orrin hatch got amir $192,000. but big oil, believe me is fighting back.omorrow the american energy alliance launches a campaign. take a listen. >> since obama became president, gas prices have nearly doubled. obama gave millions of tax dollars to a company which then went bankrupt. and the blocked the keystone pipeline so we will all pay more at the pump. >> according to "politico" that ad's sponsors also has ties the koch brothers. they are the ultra conservative siblings who's goal is to steer $200 million to consolidates ahead of the election but they have to continue to purchase candidates who can continue to give them their oil subsidies. $4 billion is a lot for them to lose. and do you know what big oil is spending part of your oil on? your taxpayer dollars? in 2011, 148 million of that $4 billion that you give them went to lobbying so that they can keep your generous subsidies. mad yet? now for incites on the koch brothers, and the oil lobby, and the american legislative exchange council, we're going to go to washington and lisa graves. lisa we're

supreme court, i don't think alito or roberts would have gone through as easily as they did without orrin hatch. the vetting of obama has begun, unemployment numbers i don't think is honest, all of this up, obama stimulus bank rolling algae, solyndra, all these things are out there. the question is, now that the vetting of obama has begun and we're going to show tapes of not returning bill maher's money tonight. what do you think has the greatest impacted in terms of defeating him come november? >> a nominee. >> sean: no. i'm talking about the narrative. i got that. what do you think the issue is. is it the combination or what. >> at the moment i think it's energy prices, his refusal to drill. his refusal to open anwr the keystone pipeline, all that stuff and i think he is going to take it on the chin because of energy prices. i think his unemployment numbers are phony. i have a column on my website. you can't beat someone with no one and you can't beat someone if you go all the way to the convention. >> sean: i think there is a process, hillary and obama went through it, it's painful at times

orrin hatch was a co sponsor and had a whole line of conservative senators who actually backed the mandate back in the day and you have romney -- in fact, we have it on tape, watch. >> this 1993 legislation said each individually who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the united states shall be covered under a qualified health plan or an equivalent health care program. >> as i understand, the plan is that every individual has to, has to buy health insurance if their company doesn't provide it, and if they're too poor, the state will give it to them or help them buy it correct? >> that's a pretty fair statement. >> i am for people, individuals exactly like automobile insurance, individuals have been health insurance and being required to have health insurance and i am prepared to vote for a voucher system giving individuals on a sliding scale a government subsidy so to insure has individuals have health insurance. >> i like mandates. the mandates work. >> beg your pardon. you like mandates. >> let me tell you what kind of mandates i like. >> the ones you come up with. >> all those

even orrin hatch from utah who is nobody's moderate just like robert bennett who is terrified of the tea party challenge. >> host: and the base primary. >> guest: yeah and soy think tom coburn, who is not a moderate, who is definitely a conservative, very fiscally conservative. he took some time off and became a senator from oklahoma. tom coburn was in the gang of six and i think, i have always found him a republican. you asked for a republican. i've always found him to be very honest, very straightforward and worked in the gang of six. i think he has a good relationship with barack obama. i think he respects him and i think he has always tried to be honest and work on the deficit and cares a lot about deficit reduction. he is not running for re-election. he has announced that he is not running for election. >> host: some of this has come from the sense that he is retired. >> guest: that's right so he is free to say and do what he wants. the republican party can't do anything about it. >> host: let's skip ahead a little bit and talk about solutions. they are hard to come by. i will b

senator orrin hatch warning those who vote against a contraception amendment are playing with fire. does hee his colleagues heed the warning? the latest on the big vote. and senator graham goes on the record, that's next. also, grim news from afghanistan. two more american soldiers murder as the koran-burning protest continues. and after president obama said his apology calmed things down. did it? john bolton is here. and rush limbaugh's memories of the unique commentator, andrew ok, guys-- what's next ? chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink ! with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast spes. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one. small sinesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon. i wonder how she does it. that's why she's the boss. because the small business with the best tecology rules. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006. oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions

. >>> looks like utah senator orrin hatch may survive the primary challenge he is facing.er all, republican caucus goers elected 4,000 state delegates last night in utah. they will gather next month to vote on the party's nomination. early anecdotal reports of 2,000 caucus sites suggests hatch won the majority of delegates, an encouraging sign for the six term senator. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] that's the all-natural sugar she puts on her grapefruit. but is she eating sugar this week? maybe she wants the all natural, zero calorie stuff. but if you're wrong, you're insinuating she's fat. save yourself. it's only natural. with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles for up to 16 hours of relief. that's 8 hours while you wear it, plus an additional 8 hours of relief after you take it off. can your patch, wrap, cream or rub say that? so if you've got pain... get up to 16 hours of pain relief with thermacare. but we couldn't simply repeat histor

orrin hatch said i hope the president will stop the class warfare and start leading real proposals to code. >> i don't know where you get off on this notion thinking you're going to somehow solve a 15 -- >> president obama or me? >> both of you. get off on this idea you're going to solve a $15 trillion deficit you know or debt with taxing the wealthiest in the country. the reality of it is everyone's got to pay to play. $47 billion over ten years. >> why does it get -- >> sorry, go ahead. >> why does the discussion get shut down because here's the scope of the problem, this doesn't completely address it. therefore, it shouldn't be incorporated into the solution. in the 1990s bill clinton raised rates on the wealthy, we heard the same arguments how it won't solve the problem. >> it's not being incorporated into anything. the senate democrats haven't passed a budget in over 3,000 days. >> that is not totally the democrats' fault. >> three years. so in other words, they're not serious. so don't give me this, we're about to go to this whole dance with the budget. ryan to his credit has. >

utah senator orrin hatch said it was a matter of protecting fundamental rights. >> it's the religious commitments of our nation that has made it the greatest nation in the world and i've got to tell you those of you who vote against this amendment are playing with fire, those of you who vote against this amendment are ignoring the constitution. those of you who vote against this amendment are wrong. >> sreenivasan: democrats rejected that argument. instead, they said the measure was an assault on women's rights. california democrat barbara boxer argued it would open the door to denying access to a host of health services. >> they would no longer have to offer breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screenings. all they have to do is say, "oh, i'm really sorry. we believe prayer is the answer, we don't believe in chemotherapy. we believe that if someone is heavy or obese and they get diabetes, we have a moral objection to helping them because you know what, they didn't lead a clean life." >> sreenivasan: in the end, the republican proposal was defeated, 51 to 48. in economic news, sma

. >> this is orrin hatch.ote in about 45 minutes but the contentious vote is underway. the vote p would be on an amendment that would a lou employers to to -- allow employers to opt out ofock. >> in my stay alone, an estimated 2.3 women and 1.2 men could be denied. the amendment is expected to fail in the democratically-held senate. we'll have live coming up in about an hour. back to you. >>> 7:18. well, the head of the fbi will be here in the bay area today delivering the keynote teach of a spoker furniture. te will give the speech at the -- delivering the -- delivering the keynote teach. >>> activists say all people arrested had been active on a single website used by the group and were care also about what they talked with. he's not saying how he found the people missed. a text tessage another -- message, a student went text and said "i'm gonna" and the spell checker chased it to "gunman." it was found out what happened. >>> richard cebill says he sent the e-mail that compares to appear that compares africa

. >> guest: even orrin hatch from utah, nobody's moderate, just like robert bennett, terrified of theea party challenge. >> host: about-face. >> guest: i think tom coburn who is not a moderate, definitely a conservative, very fiscally conservative who was in the class of '94 in the house and then became a senator from oklahoma. tom coburn was in the gang of six, and i think i have always found him a republican. i have always found him to be very honest, very straightforward. he worked in the gang of six. i think he has a good relationship with barack obama. i think he respects and. i think he has always tried to be honest and work on the deficit. he cares a lot about deficit reduction. he is not running for reelection next time though. he was announcing that he is not right for reelection. >> host: some of it comes from the sense that he was retiring. >> guest: that's right. and so he is free to say and do what he wants. the republican party can't do anything to him. you know. >> host: let skip ahead a little bit and talk about solutions. because they're hard to come by. i'll be hones

. >> guest: even orrin hatch from utah who is nobody's moderate terrified of the tea party challenge. estimate he's definitely a conservative, very fiscally conservative and class of '94 in the house and took some time off and became a senator from oklahoma shoes and the gang of six and i think i have always found him a republican but police found him to be very honest, very straightforward, he works in a gang of six he is a good relationship with barack obama and respect him and he's always tried to be honest and work on the deficit and he cares a lot about deficit reduction he's not running next time hokies announced he's not running for reelection post and he was retiring. >> guest: that's right. so he is free to see and do what he wants. let's get a handle little bit and talk about solutions to this problem because they're hard to come by it's a little brief but i don't really blame you because it's just hard to figure of what the heck to do about this. let's talk about to categories of solutions. the first one that occurs to most people when they think about our deadlock system i

. >> i'm talking about orrin hatch in the 90s. megyn: i feel like -- you tell me whether i'm wrong.re is lingering anger. there were no republican votes. the polls in america showed the american people were against it. they were always a majority against it and it has grown over time. almost 40 democrats who voted for it got kicked out because of their votes. the american people still don't support it. can we have a law stand like that? can it be accepted by the american people under those circumstances two years later? >> i think it can. 86.5 million people were covered as result of this law. this law begins to push back against the unbridled attack on women's health. 20 million women were screened for things like breast cancer and bone density, perhaps saving tens of thousands of lives. it ended preexisting for everyone. including being pregnant,ing about the victim of domestic abuse it also ends the lifetime cap on healthcare coverage. if you are running the risk of losing a spouse you don't have to lose your house. you don't have to decide between caring for the rest of your fam