in fact, you even have governor rick perry from the red state of texas sitting down with his leadership in the legislature to expand medicare. and that is because they see that their constituents are yearning for and want affordable health care. and they have to service their constituents to the point where rick perry under pressure from his leadership and legislature is looking to actually expand medicare and also to talk about the exchange and providing access to states which have the least insured population throughout the country. it's about time they start waking up to address the needs of the constituents, rather than playing to, you know, the rhetoric of trying to move their conservative extreme right -- >> when more americans find out that for obama care they cut dollars to medicare, when more americans find that out, they're going to vote more republican,

what does rick perry's father think of people like rick perry? rick perry's father think about $1 funder that makes billion a year paying 15% tax rate while they're working their tail off around the clock? you're probably paying 28%, maybe 33, 34, 35%. what do they think about that? and why do we sit back and continue to allow that to happen? romney ended up -- what was his tax rate? >> 16%, 17%? barack obama wasn't much better. i mean this seems so unfair whether you're in west texas or whether you're a milkman in ohio. and it seems to me we've missed the boat by blindly defending those types of tax breaks. i think we've allowed -- >> i want to get out of here alive, by the way. >> rick perry -- and another thing. i think rick perry's dad probably thinks that we've become the grey poupon party. and rightly so. we've allowed that to happen. when, in fact, in our hearts we're the opposite of that. the more you complicate government, the more rules and regulations, the more power you concentrate in one place, what happens? the guys with the money,

but the last guy who did that was a guy named rick perry. i just want to play some sound of rick perry from one of the republican debates and looking at the response he got. if we can play that sound. >> you say we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they have been brought there by no fault of their own, i don't think you have a heart. this was a state issue. texans voted on it, and i still support it greatly. [ applause ] >> you heard the boos there, john. the idea not just a problem at the federal level, not true. even at the state level governors like christie or rick perry face a huge backlash if they try to change this as well. >> you're right. governors are handling this in a variety of ways. in arizona they are taking a very hard line on immigration, whereas places like texas and other states they have tried to find middle ground. you know, at the state level, these same kinds of fights are going on. sometimes in a much more sort of divisive manner. in congress i think a vast majority of p

jonathan, i'm so relieved as rick perry is flashing social safety net and taking away women's basic reproductivey christmas. >> thank you, governor perry. >> thank you, rick perry. >> what am i going to say to this that won't have me cursing on air. >> we don't want to force you into that position. >> the war on christmas is this right wing construction to make it look like nonconservatives, progressives, liberals, democrats, even who is not them don't like christmas, don't love the lord. >> are not religious, faithful people and enemies of faithful people. >> so even discuss it is to sort of help them sell books, sell -- what's the word -- nontraversy. >> it's the war on people who don't want to spend on bill o'reilly's franchise. >> i'd like to declare a war on the war on christmas. >> i will say, though, sam, what's weird to me is how the narrative -- i'm using two pens. >> i'm jewish. >> this is where -- okay. the war on christmas is a construct, it is a nontraversy. somehow o'reilly and conservative brethren have taken this position we're all for religious freedom. taking their judeo christ

rick perry by 17, huckabee, 15, rand paul, 13. paul ryan does the best. she beats him by eight.y from all of that? there's a ton of people that we talk about in the republican party. >> i think there are two things. first of all, i think definitely hillary benefits from name recognition. the knack people kind of familiar with her, whether they like her or not versus someone whose name they might not be familiar with. chris christie hasn't been through the rigmarole of what it's like to run for national stage, national office. there are issue when he was attorneys general, newer scandals like this -- >> we have seen him lose his temper. >> losing temper on the national stage. he doesn't have any of the baggage. right now he's the fresh face, new hope for the gop. that's why he's pulling for strongly than other contenders. >> back in '08, hillary and giuliani duking it out and that did not happen. when you hear all of the names i bandied about, anyone jump out out at you beyond chris christie and hillary. >> paulrien, if you see what paul ryan's been doing in last three months, hi

18 points is the clinton edge over ted cruz, and up 17 over texas governor and 2012 candidates rick perry. another contender, former rick santorum is behind clinton by 19 points. two newcomers run behind clinton by 13 points and 19 points respectivelily. paul ryan, well, he comes closer. the new poll shows clinton with an eight-point edge. who is the one exception? new jersey governor chris christie, over, he edges 48 to 46%. that's a statistical dead heat, but nonetheless early bragging rights for christie, as he begins a very busy schedule crossing the country. what makes him stronger than the other republicans? don't underestimate name recognition. he's been in the headlines a lot because of the big reelection win. bigging deeper, he -- and by nine points among suburban voter, running much closer to clinton than any of the other republican, so a great present, and they should get clippen some holiday cheer, but a very cautionary note. in this point, mean polling conducted in late 2005, hillary clinton was the runaway leader among democrats, and rudi giuliani, the big early front-runner

governor rick perry said after the shooting that there was no gun law that could have prevented sandy hook, but it was more of a mental health issue, and he vowed to expand gun laws in texas, passing no less than eight pro-gun laws since sandy hook, including the one that you mentioned where it used to take ten hours of classroom time to obtain, and now it takes four to six hours. >> heidi, when do those laws go into effect? >> reporter: after september 1st, del, it has made a big impact. it comes with very little opposition at the capital with handgun licensed instructors testifying in support of it. no one testifying in opposition. but at different schools in the area, some have supported it, and some have said that six hours isn't quite enough to get all of the lessons co condensed, and they're stretching their courses to be a little bit bigger, and since the year that it was passed in sandy hook, 230,000 licenses have been issued and tested, and that's a 150% increase over the year before. >> heidi jo castro joining us live. >>> set to vote next week on the bipartisan budget deal,

. >> well, eric holder is adopting ideas that rick perry in texas adopted first. i think this is a case where once again the republican party is out ahead of the democratic party on addressing the issues you care about. >> let me ask you a question that ties together this whole challenge of prisons and unemployment compensation. it strikes me that there are large parts of america where we have got to find a way to have a totally new approach to job training, to education. i'm very impressed with the germans who are the most effective economy in europe. 40% of their population goes into apprenticeship programs and learns how to do very sophisticated manufacturing and they dominate large parts of sophisticated manufacturing. it's really different than our models. and my question, let's take unemployment compensation. i would be eager to support extension if we attach some kind of learning and training program so that people were not just being sustained but they were taking the time when they didn't have a job to actually substantially increase their potential job c

to take out a plan to get a little longer there was a plan a lot has never had sex with governor rick perry number. one. just a little bit of it was. going to be a little bit of a bit of the. if you. got no opportunity. to start to construct your. kid an olympian bit give don't want to be gangstas you don't want to be drug dealer they don't want to blow a window the time that the kid came be we can see. you just means a hundred dollars and i hope i was in the hood and what a.k.o. somebody with thirty round clips. but it felt like. i said. i don't want to die i just really do not want to die young young age. such. as the country fourteen olympics what's this place like wine is is so special as the russian resort prepares to welcome the world power the games shaping the city's present and future ludlow so it will bring it this is the moment they're reporting from a very cold snowy windy mountainous stuff yet beyond the olympics. starting germany the first on our team. gold for. science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered. i know we

look at the naumz belmes below they've been lighting up the news cycle the last few weeks, rick perryhis shows iowa voters know paul ryan and they like paul ryan. i don't think it makes him the favorite in 2016. i don't think it's a reflection of this budget compromise he's put together in the past week or two. it's simply name recognition. well, name recognition and likability. that's what it is. >> carol, wet blanket will cain here just throwing a bunch of cold water on this. people in iowa -- >> reality. >> -- really know their politics and politicians and the reversal you point out between paul ryan getting passed over in the value voters conference and doing incredibly well in this poll, it's not determinative, it doesn't determine a front-runner but it reflects his responsible actions in the past couple weeks to some extent and that's a good thing. you like seeing republicans being rewarded for being responsible. >> come on. >> does that mean the tea party senators who will vote no on the budget deal, rand paul, ted cruz and marco rubio, democrats and republicans will say these

so rick perry tells the people of texas that he's not going to accept money from the federal government to pay for the expansion of medicaid what he's really saying to his own people people in texas is now you can't have your own tax dollars back he's saying no you cannot have your money back because sabotaging the president is more important than letting you have affordable health care and what's worse the people who live in states that are accepting the medicaid expansion and still have to pay the taxes to foot the bill for the expansion other states. if that sounds petty it's because it is petty. by rejecting obamacare is medicaid expansion twenty five republican governors have put politics above people they denied the people who voted them into office the right to have their own tax dollars spent. if people understood this they'd be outraged but luckily for those twenty five republican governors they get to rely on fox so-called news and right wing radio spread of lies about obamacare to make the residents of their state forget who are the real bad guys. and those bad guys or the tw

you look at governors across the country whether it's chris christie, rick perry, there are people talking about each of them as well. why? because in each and everyone of those statesman 'others like them they are leaders in the republican party who are chief executives getting big, bold things done. i think that is what people are hungry for not only in the states but across the country. >> dickerson: last question, governor, are you running? >> i'm regioning for governor. i'll make that announcement in 2014. we'll see what happens after that. ultimately my decision will be made not just by myself and my family but i've got to look at my state. my state has gone through a lot, there's a part of me just like to stay focused on helping the state move forward. we'll see what the future holds. for now i'm focused on being governor. >> dickerson: thanks so much for being with us. we'll be right back. thrusters at 30%! i can't get her to warp. losing thrusters. i need more power. give me more power! [ mainframe ] located. ge deep-sea fuel technology. a 50,000-pound, ingeniously wired machine t

being done by republicans in these states at what point and what these republicans are saying what rick perry is saying to texans what rick scott is saying to floridians is you paid federal taxes it was in the federal tax system and i'm not going to let you get that money back i'm not going to allow that money to come from washington back into the state of florida i'm not going to allow that money to come back into the state of texas don't these people in these red states have the right to have their own tax money back and they'll take care of that at the election this is a very big moment for federalism we're going to see how this works these governors are standing in the way they don't believe in to be there any logically or they don't think will work one thing that's interesting though is at this point the litmus test for obamacare and whether it works or whether it doesn't and we still have to see certain things everybody is declaring victory just because people can sign up for it we haven't seen how it actually works we haven't seen if the doctors will take it we haven't seen what the ca

live happy ever had sex with that hurt rick perry. only. played. a part. friday's positive employment report boosted the world stocks the payroll survey beat expectations showing a gain of over two hundred thousand jobs and while the unemployment rate fell to seven percent a low not seen since two thousand and eight things seem good but before you break out the champagne everything might not be as rosy as it seems tom hartman host of the big picture and author of the crush of twenty sixteen believes the u.s. is more vulnerable to a crash than ever before he says that's because the pillars of democracy which once supported a booming middle class have been corrupted now earlier i spoke with tom and i asked him why he thinks the pillars are more corrupt this time around and here's what he had to say. there's really there's a political piece to it and economic piece the political piece is that the supreme court has emphatically i mean they've been gradually saying this since the eight hundred sixty s. but just a fad of police and citizens united. turned our or

that back with rick perry. i am the president and i think a society that case and big corporation kind of convinced that to consume cars can do i feel bad for trying to get all that all about money and i'm actually sick for politicians writing the laws and regulations to tax corporate bankers coming. here is just too much is a society. that. welcome back to the kaiser report time now to turn to barr jacobson one of the organizers of the european citizens initiative for unconditional basic income bob welcome to the kaiser report thank you max it's got to be here all right so far jacobson unconditional basic income what is it well unconditional basic income is a regular payment made to everybody unconditionally. and that's it ok. this is but it is a recently because switzerland that's right has put this forward and they are suggesting that also since get unconditional income they get a yes no monthly income and there's been a lot of talk about it so could you just give us an update of what exactly is it switzerla

that you haven't had sex with rick perry. in the age of citizen journalism history is no longer written by the victors it happens in real time through photos videos and blogging but with such little financial support for alternative media it's hard to survive as a full time documentary an activist or one photographer is trying to do just that through internet crowdsourcing his activism is covered everything from occupy wall street to turkey's uprising and tells her story through provocative imagery now she's funny in a photo book through indie go go and it's already raised over ten thousand dollars and a pope joins me now to talk about her work and her activism thanks and i'm going to have you on you started your activism during the two thousand and one uprising against governor scott walker what was it about this particular event that galvanized you to take action at that point i had never been involved political activism but that became personal to me. one of the groups of people that were attacked by governor walker's but

. >> by the way, rick perry wasn't known to be the smartest. ohio is a political state, it seems to me, since i was a kid, a political junky at 14 or 15. ohio seemed the most interesting state. it seemed the state that is most typical. isn't it really where we are on the edge? >> when all of you called ohio, you said that barack obama's reelected. >> no, i said if he carried virginia he was going to carry ohio. >> that's right. virginia's getting more and more democratic. >> i won by six months last year, yet our delegation is 4 democrats and 12 republicans. yet the republicans are very, very conservative and on the wrong side in my view, of so many of these issues that i think will benefit our state that really give the working poor, the people who are working and struggling don't dress like we do. need social security, need help, they are working hard and playing by the rules and everything and they're getting no help from their government. we could work through all these things on unemployment insurance and there wasn't this sort of combativ

border with rick perry, governor of texas. how does that visit or trip impact the information?lways better to see, to put your hands on the story. >> if you're not on the ground you can't defend that. >> i have been to pakistan a number of times. it's scary. >> how about the navy s.e.a.l.s? >> the united states has killed osama bin laden. >> fox news channel sent me to pakistan multiple times and gave me the ability to be part of the presentation that night. the other big story is that pakistan is once again exposed for double dealing. >> you and i worked together at cnn. >> yes. >> do you remember the first image you have of what fox was then? >> i remember we were concerned about msnbc. they spent all this money on a set. look what that did for them. >> msnbc had the money of general electric and microsoft. that was a fierce competitor. it was a big deal when you went to fox. >> they told me cnn would ruin my career. >> how are you doing now? >> it was my departure. i won't take the credit. but that's the last time cnn was number one. >> up ethics, the king of all cable -- mr

and the best form of theater that i have seen on the political stage in 2013 was rick perry dressing n franzen dressing as a beatnik. that man -- no one -- i mean rick berry is just operating with a different set of understanding and values about what you can get by the american people and apparently like clark kent he thinks that just that pair of glasses is enough to convince america that he's actually smart. >> what do you think he is doing? >> awkward. >> when i feel i need to look smart -- >> it's different now. >> i whip out the glasses. that's what they're for. crystal ball? >> alex wagner may not like it but i am also choosing wendy davis for this. >> i like wendy davis. >> what do you have against wendy davis? that's what i don't understand. her filibuster made her a national star. it wasn't about her, it was about blocking a truly awful agreejeous bill that is going to -- that is already hurting women in texas. so people rallied around her across the country. hundreds of thousands of youtube views watching the streaming video of a filibuster on the floor. it's just incredibl

former arkansas governor mike huckabee, owns the texans going over senator ted cruz and rick perry therey 17 as well and former senator rick santorum trails clinton 19 points. a couple newcomers, ran paul, marco rubio and running behind 13 and 19 respectively and at least paul ryan gets into the single digits. former candidate within a respectable clients. who does that leave? new jersey's governor chris christie and if the election were held today, which would be a huge inconvenience if it were, that poll would put him in the white house 48 to 46%. our friends asked americans what they think of congress and results are great for lice and tapeworms because both are more popular than the legislative branch. 2/3rds say the congress is the worst in their lifetime with 28% disagreeing. let us get to the raw politics of this. plenty to talk about with david gur gin and kevin madden and former obama campaign pollster. belchen thanks for joining us. let's start with hillary clinton polls. who do you think reads that poll and laughs harder longer? >> that's a question, but i'll tell you somethin

if you want to live under a system of rick perry, move to texas, if you want to live under others, move to california. >> a divisive issue is obamacare. it had a terrible launch in october. over 1 million people signed up in december. is the battle over obamacare illustrative of the divide between the two competing americas? >> it is, in the sense that what we see in america right now is an intolerance for compromise, as one of my friends mentioned. you cannot be part of an issue if your party is not part of the issue. you see it today, the twha the democrats are staking out minimum wage. it's given to their party and ideology. because they own it no republicans can join them. you have senators and moderate republicans in the house believing that raising the minimum wages is important for the country. because it's anatama for the party to join it, we have a divide. with obamacare to get to your questions, it's the most divisive issue, people that don't like the president don't like anything. if it's successful people will point to the fact that this administration did not panic. they ma

border with the governor of texas, rick perry.tion you put on? >> first of all, it is always better to see to actually put your hands on the story, so that helps tremendously. >> it wasn't a question going over the fence. there was a gash. you didn't have to get a letter. -- ladder. >> if you don't have boots on the ground you can't defend that border. >> i have been to pakistan a number of times. by the way, it was scary. >> the united states conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden. >> the fact that fox news channel has sent me multiple times to pakistan gave me an ability to be part of the presentation that night. >> the other big story is pakistan is once again been exposed for double dealing them. >> you and i worked together at cnn. >> yes. >> the same time fox news channel came on the air. do you remember your first memory or the first image you have of what fox was? >> it was a little different. i remember when msnbc got launched. we were concerned about msnbc three months earlier. they spent all of the money on

. >> keynote speaker in hot springs, virginia is texas governor, rick perry. >>> a fire chief is sentenced $140,000, bo taylor was the chief. prosecutors claimed he submitted false invoss for repair work and bought items on a prince william county public school credit card. >>> the u.s. park police has a new top cop. robert mcclain is the acting chief. he succeeds teresa chamber who is is retiring after 35 years in law enforcement. he most recently worked as the commander for homeland security and oversaw operations here in d.c. and new york. he's been with the park police since 1991. >>> just in time for the holidays, not one but two mystery donors come to the rescue. how they helped a church without heat. >>> we are just hours away from an easy way to get to and from baltimore on the weekends. >>> looking live at the ellipse, there she is. a beautiful tree. lit about 20 minutes ago. the show continues. we are waiting to hear from the first lady who will read 'twas the night before christmas and the president will speak after that. >>> back live now with the tree lighting ceremony on the

>> texas governor rick perry proposed a brands new tax on strip clubs to balance the lone star state's budget. and the city of pontiac, michigan, sold the silverdome, former home of the detroit lions. completed in 1975 at a cost of $55.7 million, roughly $238 million today, pontiac sold it in 2009 for $583,000. about 1% of what it cost to build. they netted just about enough cash from the deal to buy a nice three bedroom in phoenix. there is harrisburg, pennsylvania. they racked up a $310 million debt by failing to fix a broken trash incinerator. so steven reed, the mayor at the time, did what any responsible mayor would do. he used the money that could have gone to fix the incinerator to travel the country and collect $8 million worth of artifacts for a proposed wild west museum. located in harrisburg, pennsylvania. stockton didn't go the wild west route. they did something even more desperate. faced with huge deficits, they made drastic cuts to municipal services, including the department of public works, the fire department, and a full 25% of their police force. >> there have been a

have been thrown off the health insurance because the state legislature at the urging of governor rick perry downsized the state's children's health insurance program often referred to as chip. the same notes that you and the state controller have been outspoken on your criticism on this matter and if i might add to other points before i ask my question, it would take only $98 million in state funds matched by more than twice that amount in federal funds to restore the full checked benefits for the year 2005 and maintained that there is ample money available to do so. and second, this action by the legislature and the governor has dumped the tax burden for health care on to the local communities at a much greater expense as children that lose their health insurance still get sick and often end up and hospital emergency rooms where medical care is the most expensive and tax payers pick up the bill without the benefit of the federal matching dollars to offset the cost. okay. my question. if he were elected governor, what steps would you take -- [laughter] to reinstate the critically needed hea

rick perry. most interesting chris christie at 51% positive but 30% negatives in iowa. what is it about new jersey that doesn't play in iowa. chris? >> just very quickly, andrea, amy couldn't be more right. this poll should be called, whose name do you know. that's essentially what we're getting at here. you've hit on it with chris christie. i think it's going to be very difficult with what we know about the iowa republican caucus elector, social conservatives, a lot of tea party folks, those are not chris christie constituency. with numbers like those, 30% of self-identified republicans at this appoint say they have an unfavorable view of him. amy is right. he could go in there, sort of blanket the state. i will tell you those first impressions are difficult to change, particularly when you're as well-known in the state and nationally as chris christie. i wonder if those people don't look at those numbers and start thinking of a john mccain-like path to the nomination that doesn't include iowa caucuses. i'm not sure with that built-in level of favorability he looks lik

she owns the texans with a 18 point advantage over senator ted cruz and 17 points over governor rick perryther 2012 gop contender former governor rick santorum trails 19 points. a couple newcomers, rand paul, marco rubio running behind her 13 and 19 respectively. at least paul ryan gets into the single digits. a wisconsin congressman, former veep candidate within a respectable 8 points to clinton. who does that leave? new jersey's governor chris christie. if the election were held today which would be a huge inconvenience to everyone if it were, those polled would put him in the white house 48 to 46%. our friends also asked americans what they think of congress. and the results are great for crab lice and tape worms. now those are both popular than our congress. 67% say the worst congress in their lifetime with only 28% disagreeing. raw politics of this, senior political analyst david gergen, democratic obama campaign pollster -- >> let's start with the christie-hillary numbers there. who do you think reads that poll and laughs harder longer? >> that's a good question. but i'll tell you so

where rick perry is a respected statesman. yes, you've entered the texas twilight zone.l aware that many of their associates do not make enough money to buy thanksgiving dinner on their own, and what's their solution? lord knows it's not to pay those associates more. part of why the walmart thing, i think, is so powerful is because it's a microcosm of what's happening in the country at large. at some point that little trickle becomes a wave and that wave knocks over everything that stands in its path. so don't tell me that a living wage is impossible. don't tell me that walmart is immovable. don't tell me that congress won't act. because what i realized on black friday was that that wave is coming, and you either get in front of it or you get out of the way. sometimes it's fun to take a step away from politics and talk about life, love, to talk about what really makes us tick. >> each time i jump on one of the bikes, i always try to imagine the story of the person that rode the bike before me. where did they come from? where were they going, and what is their life story?

followed by mike huckabee, rick santorum, rick perry and former florida governor jeb bush. he tied with new jersey governor chris christie. rounding out, rand paul, marco rubio, ted cruz. a former political adviser to former new jersey senator frank lautenberg and fox news contributor, and lars larson, syndicated radio talk show host. this poll, lars, i think the very interesting. paul ryan just set forth what some claim to be a very moderate budget known mostly as a pretty conservative guy. now here he is with 73% favorability in iowa? which tends to pick a more conservative candidate? what do you make of it? >> it's a little bit surprising, isn't it? i would have expected people would have seen paul ryan perhaps not as a guy who could run a second time. this time in the first position. but i don't know how to explain what's going on in iowa right now with the voters there. as you say, they usually pick a conservative. i would expect they'd be -- they'd be more e namered of a scott walker or rand paul than, say, a chris christie or paul r rya ryan. >> julie, surprising to

and rick perry is incredibly up to 7%. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back to "hardball."ormer secretary of state hillary clinton and husband bill may say she's still undecided about whether she's going to run in 2016, but they are certainly putting pieces in order. their most recent outreach is described in a "new york times" article headlined eye on 2016. clintons rebuild bond with blacks. it says, quote, she and her husband have sought to soothe and strengthing their relationship with african-americans. the constituency that was most scarred during her first bid for the presidency. after comments former president bill clinton made about candidate barack obama in the 2008 race. comments that sounded racially insensitive to many ears. black and white. as a way to salve the wound, the profile including funerals for prominent african-americans or commemorations of civil right events of which the clintons have been present. marking the hundredth anniversary of the largest african-american sorority. >> the idea that in the 21st century african-americans would wait in line to

and actually in a letter from the assistant attorney general in the state of texas to governor rick perry, one of the texas juvenile detention centers documented over 1,000 youth on youth assaults in 2005 -- >> right, i don't think anybody believes that these are great facilities, but it is the reality for the vast majority. i do want to bring in dr. drew on this. what do you make of what jamison is saying? again, this facility seems like a very nice facility. that is not being contested. >> it's a no doubt high quality facility and unfortunately, it's a place he should have gone before he killed other people. listen, when i'm dealing with addicts and alcoholics, which i did for 20 years, i ran a program similar to mr. monroe's. these are good programs. they have great outcomes. it is true, the longer the treatment, the better the outcome. here is how i would speak to him had i had my hands on him before the terrible accident. hey, something horrible is going to happen as a result of your alcoholism and crappy attitude! you have to do something about this! i don't care what your parents s

. >> i hope that we can talk about a much more significant problem and that is why our governor rick perry is refusing to expand the state's medicaid program. [ applause ] and why he is doing that, i can only imagine that it's for purely political reasons. >> now, governor perry is refusing the medicaid expansion for purely political purposes. and it's hurting the real people on the ground. it's denying insurance to more than a million texans. and nationwide republicans are denying insurance to 4.8 million americans, richard. how can you take a health care hearing in texas seriously when they don't address that issue? >> remember, these are republicans who in theory worry about the cost of this kind of thing. uninsured americans put a greater cost burden on the rest of us because they don't go untreated. they put a burden on every single hospital. there are many big hospital companies in the texas area donating to republicans who should be saying not only is this the right thing to do, it's also right economically for the texas health care system. >> let's hold it right there. congressman

advantage over texas senator and tea party favorite ted cruz and she's up 17 over the texas governor, rick perryanother 2012 gop contender, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum behind clinton by 19 points. two senate newcomers, rand paul and marco rubio run behind clinton by 13 points and 19 points respectively. house budget committee chairman paul ryan, remember mitt romney's vice presidential candidate in 2012, he comes closer. our new poll shows clinton with an eight point edge over the wisconsin congressman. so who's the one exception? new jersey governor chris christie, of course. christie edges clinton actually 48% to 46% among registered voters. that's a statistical dead heat but nonetheless, early bragging rights as christie begins a busy 2014 schedule crisscrossing the country. what makes him so much stronger against clinton than other republicans? don't underestimate name recognition. he's been in the headlines a lot because of his big recent re-election win in new jersey. digging deeper, he does beat clinton by 26 points among independents and by nine points among suburban voters

they provided endless drama, the rick perry oops moment, romney saying self-deport, these things hurt. what they want to do and haven't passed a lot of specific things behind the scenes, still working on what to do, penalize candidates who participate in non-sanctioned gop debates stripping them of a full third of their delegates to the convention which could be crippling. they're figuring this out. they're talking about working with the networks to massage who they moderate the debates. they were sort of upset george stephanopolous the abc anchor who used to work for the clinton white house, republicans saying why was a democrat moderating our debates. they want to get five or six debates instead of 20. this is embryonic. but this is something they're going to make a hard push for in the next year. >> let's talk strategy, is this a smart strategy? >> politically it could be smart, i think a lot of the base will be unhappy with this, as we saw in this last election cycle these more conservative candidates that have hermann cain, michele bachmann, giving mitt romney a run for his money

we see more ted cruises and rick perry's been john boehner's and mitch mcconnell's. the moderation we used to see is being replaced and as a direct result the middling area become smaller and smaller. it impacts republican and national policy. most importantly, the traditionalists and over terry and have blown -- grown closer together. there's more opportunities for this bridge, especially during the reagan administration. that alters not only the -- political discourse but outcomes, especially for today's modern republican party. with that in mind, there are really four ways that these three groups can cooperate in order to achieve their ultimate goals. the first being the idea of a inferiority split. say, you have control over issue. you are in charge. there is much more give-and-take than that. secondly you could have a simple split. the idea of, we agree to disagree. something we are not seeing within those two camps. you can leave it ambiguous. this is an argument where activists kind of smudge the difference between themselves and reality it is not there. have

rick santorum, rick perry and rand paul rounded out the top five. terms of favorability. meanwhile, new jersey governor chris christie checked in with a 51% favorable rating. not wrong with that. ranks well among iowa voters overall. he's got home grown controversy to deal with these days. what started with a local story about lane closures a t the george washington bridge could end up having national implications. two of christie's representatives a t the port authority have now stepped down amid accusations they somehow intentionally created traffic jams to punish a local mayor for not endorsing christie's re-election. christie dismissed the allegation out of hand but accepted the resignation. >> i don't get involved in traffic studies. i don't get involved in lane closures. i didn't work the cones. all the rest of the stuff is politics. you know, on the legislature's part. they're just looking for something. you know, that's what they do. >> again, if there is no there there, then why did the governor end up accepting those resignations? keep an

and may surprise you, i have rick perry.erry is a dramatically better politician than his performance in '12. he is serious about this. i have almost no doubt he wants to run. he's not going back to iowa for fun. i think you can imagine a perry-christie fight that will be a very interesting choice for republican party. >> so back this way. do we just say hillary clinton and be done with it on the democratic side? >> i said hillary clinton in 2007 and i was totally wrong. i clung to hillary all the way until april. trying to explain why -- >> are you stlil? >> i want to go back. i'm not going to back off. i think hillary is -- if she runs, she is the inevitable nominee. >> i agree. i'm not sure she will run. i think she may decide she doesn't want to spend the rest of her professional life doing this thing. >> and losing perhaps. >> perhaps. >> i think -- i mean i think if she runs, she is the front-runner. i think there is early prefatigue setting in. this headache factor where if she starts behaving politically, there is an