this is pat toomey on the senate floor talking about how horrible the health insurance law is. latish. he's wrapping up his comments, maybe ready to pass the baton to the next republican, but instead of handing off to whoever the republican is who's supposed to be next, instead, he says this. >> the absence of a quorum. the republicans forgot to send somebody else to go after pat toomey. the whole idea was relay. it's like you and you and you. they forgot. there was nobody for pat toomey to hand off to, so then yay for cspan, the clerk has to take attendance. the clerk has to call the roll, watch. >> and i know absence of a kwaur quorum. >> clerk will call the roll. >> mr. alexander. >> mr. alexander? mr. alexander? hello? and the camera pulls out, revealing oh, look, nobody's in any of those desks. there's some staffers leaving, one guy is carrying around like a white board, but none of the people you can see there are republican senators. there are no senators on the floor. nobody to speak. the republicans forgot to show up, oh, there goes the board. republicans forgot to sho

senator pat toomey of pennsylvania. happy holidays, sir. you for helping us this even. >> thanks larry, for having me. >> you bet. >>> time to get back to your none. i hope you didn't have too much tied into gold today. it's down big-time to a three-year low. we're going to talk about that. and stocks with our team of investment experts up next on "the kudlow report." life's an adventure when you're with her. and it always has been. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. si

pat toomey in other good news today, go ahead and kiss the gas savings goodbye. a gas tax hike that could wipe them out. ick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare. >>> talk about a kick in the gas. a push to double the federal tax on every gallon of gas. to democratic congressman says it's time and it will do some good. you're talking about hiking the tax to more than 33 cents a gallon. that doesn't sound all too good but explain why you think it's a good idea. >> well, first of all, we haven't raised the gas tax in 20 years. during that time the amount that the average motorist pays per mile they drive because of increased full efficiency and inflation, has been cut in half. we are facing for all the talk of a budget deficit, we're facing an infrastructure deficit. and because we have just sort of run the gas tax trust fund down to where it's approaching zero, if we don't do something in the next ten months, we're going to face an inability to fund any transit

. >> let's bring in senator pat toomey, republican from pennsylvania and a remember of the budget andinance committees. good to see you, senator. thanks for coming in. let me start with your reaction to what's going on with obama care, because the white house says they're making progress. monday alone a million unique views. the pages are loading faster, people are able to get on. how do you feel about it right now? >> well, there's no doubt there's been some progress. not enough that my wife could get on yesterday, as you know, all members of congress and our staffs are forced onto the obama care exchanges. my wife made a valiant effort and she's pretty capable person and couldn't get us signed up. i'm sure they will work out the problems with the website. the website isn't the big problem with obama care, it's the fundamental design of the plan. it's the premise of the plan. it's the mandates that they have built into it. none of that is fixable. >> but you understand that is what congress voted for, that is what the supreme court affirmed. >> sure. >> and so onward? >> well, until

. >> you are talking about the coming together of joe manchin and pat toomey. what were they trying to do? amendment thatn would have expanded background checks so that it would be applied to all gun sales including the private market. at the moment, the law says those background checks only applied to federal gun sales. that was really the breaking point for a lot of lawmakers and it kind of impeded the issue for a lot of the year. >> what about in localities and states? a lot of states didn't ask a number of gun laws. it was an interesting chart in the new york times the other day. a majority of the 100 gun laws enacted across the country were actually loosening gun regulation. a number of gun laws that actually tighten them. >> it was the death knell for a in colorado.ators we are speaking with rebecca shabad at the hill offices. ourant to show you some of coverage of congressional debate and hearings regarding gun violence. >> thank you for inviting me here today. this is an important children,on for our for our community, for democrats and republicans. , b

i was glad to see pat toomey take a couple of courageous stance as well on a lot of different issues. i think it's really good news the republican party has come out of my region and is now starting to influence elections in the northeast, the midwest and who knows maybe in the far west and here's the thing. if we want to be a national party again, we are going to have to do that. in 2008, 2009, 2010 there wasn't a single republican representing anybody in new england. hopefully we are turning that around it is we have to be a national party again. that's not only good f

i was glad to see pat toomey take a couple of courageous stance as well on a couple of different issues. i think it's really good news the republican party has broken out of my reach and and is starting to influence elections in the northeast, the midwest and who knows maybe in the far west. here's the thing. if we want to be a national party again we are going to have to do that. in 2008, 2009, 2010 there wasn't a single republican representing anybody in new england. hopefully we are turning that around because we have to be a national party game. that's only good for republicans but good for the two-party system in the country. thank you so much. i appreciate it. thank you, guys. [applause] >> we will do a book signing and if you can do it as orderly as possible. a. >> they arrived in coeur d' alene and eagle city in 1884 and he came over from thompson falls montana. he heard about a gold rush. people would find money and gold lying on the ground. everybody was coming from all over the country because of the railroad. they make it display in the papers all over the country about how

in this week's republican address, pennsylvania senator pat toomey says what he described as some of the more serious issues. >> the problem with obama care isn't just a glitch, it's fundamental and it's taking away our pregom. at the heart of the program is the idea our government should decide your coverage, what you require and how much you should pay. never mind, what you want what you need and what you can afford. >> well, that's one view. on the other side, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius was in miami this week. she's helping to promote the spanish language version of the obama care site. as the white house continues to say it is working through the glitches and defending the program. the administration rolling out what it calls a soft launch in order to avoid many of the other issues they've had in the initial rollout. jamie. >> meanwhile, fox news is taking a more in depth look at all of the problems plaguing the obama administration in their latest edition of fox news reporting. this team really gets behind the obama breakdown. take a look at the previe

you will recall that a bipartisan deal came together between pat toomey and joe man mansi ion that would have expanded background checks. the legislation didn't have the enough support to make its way through congress. it had stiff opposition from the nra and other groups is. much. here's what senator joe manchin is saying on this somber anniversary "my heart will the always weigh heavier on this day as we remember the precious lives lost. as a father and grandfather, i couldn't wrap my head around how this country could begin to offer these families comfort. today one year later, i am still in au of their courage and kindness." if it you look at polling out today, alex, a majority of americans still support stiffer gun control laws although the numbers have come down since the immediate aftermath. not quite as high as 90%. there has been a bipartisan deal on the budget which made its way through the house. some people saying that could signal and i emphasize could, a new spirit of getting things actually accomplished by partisanship here in washington. that remains to be seen. clearly b

we've -- the newtown horrific tragedy that happened there, but the bottom line is i think me and pat toomey looked at this coming from gun states, gun culture states, gun owners ourselves who really will do all we can to protect the second amendment that every law abiding gun owner will protect. with that being said, the people that basically are law abiding gun owners and understand gun culture, they weren't offended by saying if you go to a commercial transaction that makes sense to go ahead and find out is that person that wants to buy your gun a criminal? what we found out is that people just didn't trust government that they were going to stop there. they said hey joe, we're okay with the bill. we like the bill. the bill is not bad at all. we can live with that. but we just don't trust government stopping and doing what we say we're going to do. >> do you think that anything will get passed next year? >> i'm hopeful. >> i know you are. what do you think will happen? >> right now, you know the makeup of the senate. we have 55 democrats. i think all 55 would consider that. i know we had

this is the most common sense approach that pat toomey and myself have taken.we basically said law-abiding gun owners like myself are not going to sell to strangers, to someone who's been a criminal, or someone who has mental problems or give it to a family member that's not responsible. we're just not going to do that. but we think it's absolutely fine that if you have a commercial transaction, you don't know the person, you go to a gun show or on the internet, you should know and i should know. that's what we do as law-abiding gun owners. most people agree with that. most gun owners agree with that. what it's gotten down do, they just don't trust government. they don't think the government will stop there. they said, joe, i like your bill, i'm sure that fine, it doesn't bother me, but i'm not sure i want to do anything because i'm afraid they'll try to take more. i can assure you, that's not going to happen as long as i'm here. but that's the problem. that's what we really run into. that's the roadblock we're facing right now. >> they should talk to the paren

. >> after the newtown shooting, manchin and republican senator pat toomey introduced background checkislation that ultimately failed by just five votes. but cost manchin double digits in his approval rating back home. his frustration we saw first hand. >> 90% of the bill is -- but 10% of it is unacceptable. it's taking more from us. >> no, you got 90% back. >> no, we have lost enough. >> are there any regrets? >> if i regret it, something that made that much sense, then i would be thinking about myself and my political self, my political posturing and my political position more than i would the job i was elected to do. >> it protects the safety of the public and our constitutional right to bear arms. >> so you're not done fighting the battle? >> it should be passed. it makes all the sense in the world. >> while every voter i talked to voiced frustration with the government, west virginiaens also rely on it. nearly 27% of west virginia's personal income comes from transfer payments like disability, unemployment, and welfare benefits. almost one in five receives food stamps. still, both

conservative joe manchin teamed up with pat toomey of pennsylvania. it looked like the nra's nearly two decade undefeated streak on capitol hill was about to come to an end. it didn't t. gun lobby not hard, background checks went down in a filibuster back in april. there is immigration. by their own aadmission after their 2012 defeat, they needed to seriously improve their image with latinos. more voices came out to say it was time for comprehensive reform and a bill did pass the senate in june. it went to the house and then it went absolutely nowhere else. the fever still raged. 2013 is almost over and still no immigration reform. the house also didn't pass a farm bill in 2013. it ignored president obama's calm for minimum wage hike. it was only really productive when it came to naming post offices after people. it's 20% of water gotten done in the boehner era. the brookeings institution this week said quote by all objective measures, this is the worst congress ever. it makes the actual do-nothing era look like workahollicks. 113th congress actually

. >> you are talking about the coming together of joe manchin and pat toomey. what were they trying to do? >> they introduced an amendment that would have expanded background checks so that it would be applied to all gun sales including the private market. at the moment, the law says those background checks only applied to federal gun sales. that was really the breaking point for a lot of lawmakers and it kind of impeded the issue for a lot of the year. >> so congress didn't do anything major in terms of gun legislation for the rest of the year, but what about in localities and states? >> a lot of states didn't ask a number of gun laws. it was an interesting chart in the new york times the other day. a majority of the 100 gun laws enacted across the country were actually loosening gun regulation. there were a number of gun laws that actually tighten them. loosen them iddid gun laws. >> it was the death knell for a lot of legislators in colorado. we are speaking with rebecca shabad at the hill offices. we want to show you some of our coverage of congressional de

this background bill was drafted by democrat joe manchin and pat toomey. maybe it was hope.he time, gun safety would win but while over 90% of americans support universal background checks, the national rifle association did that. in the end, a sign of how catastrophically broken our democracy is. the manchin-toomey bill. new gun restrictions did pass. in new york and maryland as well as other blue states with democratic legislate ittures and governors passed as well. if colorado, universal gun checks were passed in the law along with other gun-related measures, a backlash in successful organizing lets the recall of two democratic state senators who backed the bill and resignation of a third. overall, 1,500 gun bills were introduced in state legislatures this year. 109 of them have become law of those 39 tightened restrictions like in maryland and colorado and 70 loonsed gun restrictions. looking back at the complete failure at the federal level and the mixed back at the state level, it would be easy to get discouraged to be convinced the pro gun movement are too powerful. g

. >> forgotten but earlier senators joe manchin and pat toomey came together in the wake of the newtown bipartisan gun check bill. it was not successful ultima matly but that showed a profile where a vast majority of americans wanted to see something done. that deserves credit. >> you continue to see the challenges they face. the challenges of that pacing, there was hope and that fell so quickly and we haven't seen anything since in terms of gun control. >> we haven't. >> i see a governor on your list. >> yes, a governor. some not always call nice. chris christie deserves credit. a nice list for his re-election win. the margins of his re-election victory were stunning. positive for a republican party that's looking to get out of the deficit diversity it faces. winning women and hispanic voters. he showed an ability to reach across the aisle and pull together a bipartisan coalition. >> strong choice. who's next? i take exception to the next one. >> oh, why the exception? >> i'll let you say it first. >> pope francis. in one year he's come in and really been able too change feelings about

but at the same time, we got to worry also about the kelly ayotts in new hampshire and pat too ma toomey'sy, what's coming up next? i understand we have a great primary down in the great state the great repub leg of texas. and that free spending liberal john cornyn currently ranking second most conservative member ranked above jim dement when he was there is being attack as being too liberal. we will have a primary to fight that one out, right in. >> right. the chamber of commerce weighing in on corn then's side. up next, we will have msnbc's chuck todd. we will look at the poll numbers him maybe he can explain who makes up the 1% of americans who say this is the best congress ever. you are watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. [ music playing ] . >> welcome back to "morning joe." look at the white house. it's great to have you, chuck. >> where else are you going to be? mid-town in december? because all of humanity is here. >> you can't turn left anywhere. >> anywhere. >> you can't turn right or left in manhattan. >> mid-town in december is like d.c. in about april or may. right. yo

i was glad to see pat toomey take a couple of courageous stance as well on a lot of different issues. i think it's really good news the republican party has come out of my region and is now starting to influence elections in the northeast, the midwest and who knows maybe in the far west and here's the thing. if we want to be a national party again, we are going to have to do that. in 2008, 2009, 2010 there wasn't a single republican representing anybody in new england. hopefully we are turning that around it is we have to be a national party again. that's not only good for republicans but it's good for the two-party system and good for the country trade thank you so much. i appreciate it. thank you, guys. [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> it's a rare constant in american political life if you look at say congress in 1901, less than 2% of members came from working-class backgrounds, got into politics and eventually round up in congress. flash forward to the present day the average number of congress spent less than 2% of their career doing manual labor jobs or doing service indus

i was glad to see pat toomey take a couple of courageous stance as well on a couple of different issues. i think it's really good news the republican party has broken out of my reach and and is starting to influence elections in the northeast, the midwest and who knows maybe in the far west. here's the thing. if we want to be a national party again we are going to have to do that. in 2008, 2009, 2010 there wasn't a single republican representing anybody in new england. hopefully we are turning that around because we have to be a national party game. that's only good for republicans but good for the two-party system in the country. thank you so much. i appreciate it. thank you, guys. [applause] >> we will do a book signing and if you can do it as orderly as possible. [inaudible conversations] now, this is official. good evening, ladies and gentlemen, my name is president obama. i'm the director of ford's theater society. on behalf of the board of trustees and everyone at

i was glad to see pat toomey take a couple of courageous stands as well on a lot of different issues. i think it's really good news the republican party is broken out of my region and is now starting to influence elections in the northeast, the midwest, and who knows, maybe even in the far west. and here's the thing. if we want to be a national party again, we are going to have to do that. in 2008, 2009, 2010 there wasn't a single republican representing anybody in new england. hopefully we're turning that around because we've got to be a national party again. i think that's not only good for republicans it's good for the two-party system and good for the country. thank you so much. i appreciate it. thank you, guys. [applause] >> we can sign right here. >> [inaudible conversations] >> for more information visit the author's website, joe scarborough.com. >> dagger strong is the name of the book. the author but you may not have heard of but might have seen his work is kal kallaugher who is the editorial cartoonist for the economist. how did you come up with the idea of putting all your