s.u.v.s or limousines it was called the caucus room restaurant and according to a new book by robert draper that was where a group of republicans put together a plan to destroy the obama presidency literally on the day it began as draper notes in his new book do not ask us what good we do inside the u.s. house of representatives quote the dinner lasted nearly four hours they parted company almost giddily the republicans had agreed on a way forward show united an unyielding opposition to all the president's economic policies begin attacking vulnerable democrats on the airwaves when the spear point of the house of representatives in two thousand and ten jab obama relentlessly in two thousand and eleven when the white house in the senate in two thousand and twelve. was there so too were most of the prominent republican members of congress including representatives eric cantor paul ryan and kevin mccarthy senators jon kyl jim de mint and tom coburn and frank luntz republican pollster and fox news employee was there as well they all sat around a square table perhaps that very one. and at the end

robert draper has a book called do not ask what good we do. he talks about a meeting that happened immediately after president obama's inauguration where the republicans said: >> that's really interesting. not to the president politically, but to his economic policies so that they don't work so that we can damage him so we can rewin the white house. but there's a problem in that. that means that you're going to hurt the country for four straight years. tom heartman came out on that his program and had very strong words. >> this was not the president's idea. it's the austerity program that the men who were in that meeting have forced us all into so they can crash the economy or at least keep it back. the question is what do you call it when a small group of republicans gather to sabotage an entire nation just so their party can win political power off the pain of americans? is it treason, or the most corrupt evil and petty politics seen since newt gingrich? >> i like tom hartman a lot but treason is a very strong word. does it go too far? >> i

i was listening to your show today regarding the robert draper book and. it's just so hopeless because of the citizens united money that can be dumped and this kind of thinking how do we get out from this i know voting is the thing but that didn't work in california r.j. van also came in two weeks before come fifty grand fifty million and kind the tide seems pretty hopeless thanks for your good help tom by. well i would give you two names meg whitman and carly fiorina and meg whitman is a billionaire carly fiorina here in a multimillionaire they ran for governor and senator from california respectively using their own millions while only outspent their opponents and they both lost now it may be that they're the exception that proves the rule i mean there's no disputing the fact that the supreme court has basically turn america into a banana republic when it comes to politics and you know whoever's got the most money and whoever's willing to be the most corrupt and frankly tell a biggest lies sometimes will win but i still have a lot of hope that america wi

now contrast that with what we now know from another brook, robert drapers about the meeting that took place with top republican leaders on inaugural eve in 2009, a president who came in with a 70% approval rating in the worst economy since the great depression, vote against everything and make the victories look so ugly it will delegitimize it all. i think that's a difference and you look at things like blocking nominations that are widely acceptable because you don't want bills to be implemented, that's a difference. now let me address for just a second the argument that you made to our colleague peter w walhisson made tom and i lost our marbles and how could it be extreme if it continues to win elections? let's think of some examples in history of parties that were very extreme and won elections. peter is old enough to remember the 1930s. in fact he's very, very old. [ laughter ] he's perhaps our oldest colleague, but i could give you some examples from the '30s. parties win elections when people are unhappy. in our system, especially, elections get won and lost far more often becau

we learned this week when roberts what's his name robert draper's new book came out that on an auger all day january twentieth two thousand. the two thousand and nine yeah that fourteen republicans met and and including eric cantor and they and five senators and they agreed that they would block everything that obama was going to try and do as a way of crashing his presidency and mitch mcconnell basically announced that the next day or cantor bragged about it one of them talked about how we were going to become the taliban with regard to obama and this is. the news. obama now mitt romney in response to what obama just said is is saying well here's what mitt romney has. he wants to add more to government he wants to know the stimulus he wants to hire more government workers he says we need more firemen more policemen more teachers did do you not get the message of wisconsin the american people did congress to. help the american people so we need fewer teachers fewer firemen fira police officers this is the campaign the mitt romney is going to win on adam well let's just address exactl

but then came the book from robert draper, detailing how the effort to block obama began on the very night of his inauguration with a bevy of lawmakers. but wait, republicans cry foul. they say it's only their principled differences that led them to vote against the president again and again. but here's the catch -- when republicans vote against their own ideas, you know something stinks. when they were for it before they were against it. the republican party used to support infrastructure spending but not when president obama asks for it. more on that in a moment. republicans used to allow deficit spending to get us out of recessions. they did it under their hero ronald reagan. under president george w. bush alone, they allowed massive tax cuts toward medicare part d, all unpaid for, all of those items ballooning the deficit. before president obama, republicans rarely voiced opposition to the federal reserve using monetary policy to help the economy. under president obama, the federal reserve chief ben bernanke is called every name in the book. but you know republicans are trying to

. >> this summer i want to read the book, do not ask what did we do which is by robert draper.side look at the way he manages tea party freshman in congress. there are some great lines that i've heard and read in the book that showed just how crazy it can get in there with some of these freshmen who are put in by the tea party who arguably are controlling the way that the house is running. even though they are freshmen. there is one line i have right here. apparently in a meeting, in his conference, boehner told people, yet you're asked in line and i think this is how congress has been so polarizing and a book like this would be great for summer reading just to kick back and figure out some of the dramas that are actually going on behind the scenes as we watch nothing happened. another book i would like to read is called love is a mixed tape. it is written by someone who worked for "rolling stone" but it's a personal story about how he fell in love with someone and also fell in love with him. they were very unlikely pair. and from what i understand, she died and he was devastat

we know from robert draper's book that house republicans, congressional republicans, were plotting onugural day to bring down the president so the permanent campaign has become more permanent, more intense. we're obviously in a more volatile, more extreme type of politics. so this president, this administration, had no chance from day one. there was no honeymoon, no sense of coming together in a time of crisis, and yes, they made plenty of mistakes, but it's a different environment from even when president bush was in power. >> right. let me just push back a tiny bit on that. there were things the president could have done if he wanted to make an authentic effort. the fact he went almost a year before he sat down with mitch mcconnell. the fact he started we're going to have republicans over for cocktails, that lasted about three cocktails. he got no support on stimulus, even though a third of it was on tax cuts. a third on tax cuts. they didn't want to even work with a newly elected president. >> from the very beginning they wanted nothing, nothing, nothing, except to defeat him and s

. >> this summer want to read the book did not ask why we do by robert draper.it is an inside look. managing two-party freshman. there are some great lies that i have heard and articles i've read that showed just how crazy it can get with a lot of these freshmen who are put into the tea party who arguably are controlling the weight that the house is running, even though their freshman. one liner here. apparently in a meeting, he told people, get your in line. i think it's so polarizing. this would be great for some summer reading, to just kick back and figure out some of the draws they're actually going on behind the scenes. and another book with a cheery, it's a story written by rolling stone, but a personal story about how he fell in love with someone who also fell in love with them. a very unlikely pair. for my understanding she died. devastated, but then he makes tapes which is something i did for years and years and years. but he basically writes the book that is essentially a mix tape to her in her honor because he wants her and she is gone. it sounds like

. >> this summer i want to read the book "do not ask what good we do" which is by robert draper.it's about, um, it's sort of an inside look on house speaker john boehner and the way he manages the tea party in his conference. there's some articles i've read that show just how crazy it can get in there with a lot of these freshmen who are put in by the tea party who arguably with are controlling the way that the house is running even though they're freshmen, and john boehner's in charge. there's one line i have right here, apparently in a meeting with his conference, um, boehner told people, get your ass in line. [laughter] and i think this past congress has been so polarizing and so ineffective that a book like this would be great for some summer reading to just kick back and figure out some of the dramas that were actually going on behind the scenes as we watched nothing happen. another book i'd like to read on a totally different note is called "love is a mix tape." it's a story about -- it's written by someone who works for rolling stone, but it's a personal story about,somebo

now contrast that with what we know from another book, robert draper's about the meeting that took place with top republican leaders on inaugural eve in 2009. a president who came in a landslide with 70% approval rating and worst economy since the great depression. we'll vote against everything and make the victories look so ugly it will delegitimatize it all. i think that is the difference. i think when you look at things like blocking nominations that are widely acceptable because you don't want bills to be implemented that is a difference. now let me address for just a second the argument that you made that our colleague peter wallison made in print when he said tom and i had lost our marbles and how could a party be extreme if it wins elections and continues to win elections? let's think of some examples in history of parties that were very extreme and won elections. now, peter is old enough to remember the 1930s. in fact he is very, very old. [laughter] he is perhaps our oldest colleague. but, i could give you some examples from the '30s. parties win elections when people are unhapp