joining us now is elizabeth warren, republican scott brown's likely democratic opponent this november and creator of the consumer financial protection bureau. good to see you. >> thanks for having me here. >> jim from new england cable news there was essentially characterizing your position on this issue to senator brown. let me ask you in your own words, what you think senate republicans including scott brown are trying to do on this contraception issue right now. >> let's just start with what the statute says. the statute says that in effect any employer or any insurance company can decide that it has a personal moral objection to providing any kind of health care coverage for anyone and therefore they're not going to do it. so if your employer says, you know, i don't like that vaccine thing, i'm just going to have an insurance policy that doesn't cover it for your children or i don't like the fact that having cardiovascular disease because you didn't exercise enough or eat the right foods when you were growing up so i'm just going to exempt all of that from my health insurance poli

ads. >> but instead of focusing on jobs, elizabeth warren sides with extreme left protests. >> scott brown'sone to washington, and something's gone horribly wrong. >> reporter: but these are two candidates who like to control their own message, so they've signed an agreement to discourage outside groups, or superpacs, from airing ads in their race. >> we're saying that we want to be able to run our own campaign. >> reporter: warren was traveling out of state the day we visited massachusetts, but senator brown says they share the same view of superpac ads. >> i can't tell you one that's been accurate, just through independent fact checking. they were mostly false and misleading, and in massachusetts, people deserve better. >> reporter: by law, candidates cannot coordinate with the superpacs that support them, so brown and warren had to think of a way to stop them. they came up with a poison pill strategy-- if a superpac airs an ad against war warren, for example, then brown's campaign must donate half the value of that ad to charity. >> listen, they can come and play, but know if they do and

reporter: if there were ever two candidates who don't need outside help, it's massachusetts senator scott brownnd his likely democratic opponent, consumer advocate elizabeth warren. they both excel at fund raising and are savvy communicators. >> i love this old truck. it's brought me closer to the people of this state. >> before you hear a bunch of ridiculous attack ads, i want to tell you who i am. >> reporter: and yet their race is turning out to be so hard fought that outside groups can't resist getting in and have already spent millions on negative ads. >> instead of focusing on jobs, elizabeth warren sides with extreme left protests. >> scott brown's gone to washington, and something's gone horribly wrong. >> reporter: but these are two candidates who like to control their own message, so they've signed an agreement to discourage outside groups, or superpacs, from airing ads in their race. >> we're saying that we want to be able to run our own campaign. >> reporter: warren was traveling out of state the day we visited massachusetts, but senator brown says they share the same view of superp

scott brown a

the scott brown victory. so scott brown, a republican, wins ted kennedy's senate seat. this has devastating consequences for the president's legislative agenda. it's all in jeopardy now, and, you know, she has two issues with her husband's team. one is that, you know, she doesn't understand how they could have let this happen. you know, how they could have sort of drops the ball on the race. but the other issue which is so, is more, i think, to the heart of the role she plays in the presidency. she's always had this idea that her husband is going to be a transformative president, right?

. >> let's take a look at what scott brown said about this. he's a republican up in massachusetts. interview trying to cite ted kennedy's position on this in the past. >> like ted kennedy before me, i support a conscience exemption for-in health care for catholics and other people of faith. i believe it's possible to provide people with access to the health care they want while at the same time protecting the rights of americans to follow their religious beliefs. m matter of nd>> patrick kennedy, obviously the son of the late senator ted kennedy, put out a statement subsequent to that saying my father would have never supported this extreme legislation. just to clarify what scott brown said there, it just give a religious exemption but a moral exemption. anybody regardless of affiliation can say i don't really believe in that. >> correct. >> they're all out to lunch. >> exactly. >> no birth control protection. >> exactly. it goes beyond contraception. the motivation, i think, was contraception. and we're happy to debate that issue. but the legislation goes so far, if an employer sa

the one i do worry about is our friend and massachusetts, scott brown. he should win reelection. i just warn you, i guess to live in massachusetts -- are used to live in massachusetts. it is a tough state. he helped polk the first hole in obamacare. -- poke the first hole in obamacare. in the white house, all we have to do is replace obama. he was a very good candidate in 2008. he is not a good president. a year ago, he decided he would go back to being a candidate. for the last year and for this next year, you have candidates obama. you did not having a guy being president. it is like william henry harrison. he has decided that it is too much work and he is going to be a candidate. when you are trying to negotiate with them, for get it. you are talking to a candidate. we have all these candidates. the reason for that is unlike 1952, eisenhower-taft, these guys were auditioning to run the party in different directions. what happens? we now have a reagan republican party. it is what you have conservatives supporting each of these candidates. it is called a winning. it is not a pro

scott brown has taken an interesting tact.e is doing basically a remake of the old jimmy stewart mr. smith goes to washington movie. he's mr. brown goes to washington. elizabeth warren is a very formidable candidate and belies the myth out there that massachusetts is totally liberal. you get 25, 30 miles out of boston and it's her issue, banks, foreclosure, credit card rates. strong candidate, both with a lot of money as jim indicated. might be some sort of a weakness for elizabeth warren in that a lot of her money comes from out of state. scott brown's money is being raised in state. >> we heard this before that it's hard for a woman to win statewide in massachusetts which also -- >> not true. >> that's not true. >> she's fantastic. >> is that for governor? it's just -- >> it depends on the candidate. she's a very strong candidate. martha coakley was a weak candidate. >> that's what we heard, that people in massachusetts don't like electing women statewide. >> that's not true. the strength of the candidate would carry the cam

a new poll shows republican senator scott brown with a nine-point lead now over elizabeth warren democratic%. this is different from the poll we showed you earlier this week that had them in a statistical tie. where is the energy in massachusetts right now? >> well, it's probably getting ready for spring training. this weekend. >> i didn't ask about your energy. >> i see the poll in that race at this stage is kind of meaningless. it sort of gives you an outline of where it is. i think it's going to end up being a pretty close race. two pretty good candidates. they'll both be well funded. elizabeth warren is really a good candidate. >> both of them. >> she's a very strong candidate. and, again, it's easy to misread massachusetts from the outside. massachusetts liberal, far left state. it's not as liberal as people think. and she gets out beyond the belt way, 128 in massachusetts, out at the central massachusetts where foreclosures are a big problem, where credit is a big problem, she's got strength as a candidate. scott brown is the flip side of mitt romney. people like him. >> and sort of t

the poll shows democratic elizabeth warren in a statistical guy with scott brown.0% of voters say they might change their mind depending on performance in debate. >>> a protest outside the dog show is aimed at mitt romney. about a dozen demonstrators gathered to protest romney after the story was re-revealed that he took a trip with family and strapped his dog in crate on the roof of the vehicle. that happened in 1983. one of his sons told the story. organizers of the dog against romney website say they have about 25,000 members. the protesters held signs that said mitt is mean and dogs are not luggage. >>> newt gingrich gave a california crowd some details on his evening plans. >> all i can promise you is that i believe she will be quite happy tomorrow night. hopefully exchange gifts and reconnect a little bit. i'm not going to give no more details. >> wonder if anything will come from tiffany's. >>> president obama had some words of wisdoms to all you fellas out there. >> a quick public service announcement for the gentlemen out there. today is valentine's day. d

all that, what you got was scott brown winning in massachusetts, then you got -- >> oh, come on, scott brown wins in massachusetts for local reasons. >> you had the rise of the tea party, our wins in 2010, then brooklyn queens, democratic district, hadn't had a republican since 1923. this is a big wave that's going to keep rolling until -- >> all right, let's go back to health care because this is a fair point. >> you're looking at the small things. you want to look at the big picture. >> i want the big picture on health care. the major efforts of the obama administration, in his early years, include the mandated subsidies to get affordable health care through, the cap rate plan on environmental policies, and a discussion about bringing tax breaks for the rich back from the bush lows. all of those things that the republican party in the mid-'90s themselves supported. so when you tell me oh, the party is strong, my sense is, wait a minute, when in fact president obama comes in and is governing on something that would have been in many ways a republican party platform in the early '90s a

the problem is for somebody like scott brown in massachusetts, he's taking that position, elizabeth warrenmost prominent democratic challenger, will eat him up over that making it a huge campaign issue and something we could see for weeks. >> and a way to talk about the president's health care law. >> exactly. >> here's the scoop hiding in plain sight. on thursday michelle obama had a call in virginia, there were 41 separate events throughout virginia, women dialed in to listen to this, 412 house parties. going around for obama website. in nevada, between now and middle of march, 92 organizing events, registration, house parties, et cetera. hometown of san diego in the next two weeks, 37 events. columbus, ohio, 55 events in the next month. chris: all obama. >> this is what obama is doing while republicans are agoing with each oh, building a ground game that's hiding in plain sight. chris: combination of social network and meetings, get togethers. old and new politics. >> voter registration, all of the fundamentals. chris: mix and old and new politics. >> scoop hiding in plain sight. chris:

again, the one i do worry about is our friend in massachusetts, scott brown. he's been a hero in fighting the government-run healthcare. he should win re-election. i just warn you before i am a -- i used to live in massachusetts. and it's just a tough state. so focus on that, he should win. he's great guy and he helped poke the first hole in obamacare and hopefully will be there to see us get rid of obamacare completely. now, on the white house, all we have to do is replace obama. here's the challenge. he was a very, very good candidate in 2008. he's not a very good president. so a year ago, he decided since he wasn't a good president, but he was a good candidate, he'd go back to being a candidate. so for the last year and for this next year, you've got candidate obama. you don't have a guy being president. it's like william henry harrison. he wasn't quite president as long as the other guys. he's decided it's too much work and he's going to be a candidate and so when you're trying to negotiate with him or work on legislation, forget about i. you're talking to

51 you would have to win two of montana, new mexico, missouri, florida, ohio, and virginia, and scott brown has to be re-elected in massachusetts, and i like our chances. >> a couple of different times i have said that the scariest possible outcome in 2016 would be for the republicans to win the white house, both branches of congress and not bring about any significant change. is that the absurd scenario? >> no, i'm afraid that may be where we're headed if the republicans win, an unwillingness and inability to affect change. when you look at voters -- forget registered voters, forget about the general public. look at people who are likely to vote. people that are likely to vote are expecting real change. congress has an 11% approval rating. congress has a bad approval rating among republicans. do you know why? because the tea party that sent them to congress to effect change and they've seen them raise the debt ceiling, they've seen them compromise on spending with barack obama and they've seen them now even with the highway bill. as much as the democrats that want more spending, you've got

and if you look at the conversation between scott brown and elizabeth warren they have brought this toconversation. >> they have. >> we're going to have to get there at some point. i don't know if it is going to be this year but this is slippery slope we're all sliding down. and when you hit the general election, you can be sure obama is going to be hitting that candidate with all he has. >> a lot of this is campaign finance. >> yes. >> what we have done like those toy balloons that you get at the circuit, we have taken the money away from the candidates in the middle. and that means it goes to the sides of the balloon and they are unaccountable, and you rarely know who is spending the money, so you end up with more negativity. >> exactly. a guy like gingrich is it for democracy that -- why not put all of these candidates in nascar uniforms -- >> endorsers don't want to be on those. >> that's right. [ laughter ] >> so we're just going -- we have to head to another break, but seven states in february. february is going to be a sort of quiet month. a month where the states that are lined

the point in my reporting that i found her fuming was after the scott brown victory. scott brown wins. this has devastating consequences for the president's legislative agenda. is in jeopardy now. she is two issues with her husband's team. she doesn't understand how they could have let this happen, how they could have dropped the ball in the race. the other issue which is more to the heart of the presidency is she always had this idea that her husband is going to be a transformative president. she never liked politics. if you are going to go into politics you have this lofty vision of who you are going to be. the administration like the nebraska one that were very unpopular and didn't look that great and barack obama was looking like a more ordinary politician and that is what she was reacting to. that is why the partnership is so interesting. not that we are delving into the secrets of their marriage but looking at her vision of the presidency and the standards she has and whether she can meet them. >> you can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org. c-spa

the point of my report where i found her really fuming was after the scott brown loss, after the scott brown victory. scott around, a republican has devastating consequences for the president's legislative agenda. it is all in jeopardy now and she has two issues with her husband's team. one is that she doesn't understand how they could have let this happen, how they could've sort of dropped the ball on the race but the other issue, which is so, is more interesting and goes i think to the heart of the role she plays in the presidency is that she has always had this idea that her husband is going to be a transformative president. she has never liked politics. if you are going to go into politics, you know, you have this lofty vision of who you are going to be and the administration had made these health care deals like the nebraska law that were very unpopular and barack obama starting to look like a more ordinary politician, and that is really what she was reacting to. so that is part of why i think the partnership is so interesting. it's not that we are delving into the secrets of thei

senators tester, mccaskill, baucus, blunt, grassley, hoeven, enzi, and scott brown, senator scott brown already have joined senator thune and me as original cosponsors. i want to thank them for their support. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. tester: mr. president, i want to thank the senator from alaska for his explanation of what's been going on as far as executive comp with fhfa. thank you very much for that. mr. president, i would ask consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up amendment number 1492. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. the clerk will report. the clerk: -- mr. tester: 1492. the clerk: the senator from montana, mr. tester, proposes amendment numbered 1492. mr. tester: i ask unanimous consent that the reading be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator from montana is recognized. mr. tester: i ask this amendment be set aside and ask consent to call up amendment 1503. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the clerk will report. th

people like elizabeth warren who actually sworn off super pacs were saying along with their opponent scott brown that they don't want to protect supporting them so i think this will be a dilemma the occupiers faces you know should we be using the sort of tools of the system against it or should we just be staying away from this sort of trying to reform the system in other ways that are a little cleaner or do you have an opinion on it do you think that this makes them look like hypocrites if they choose to work within the system but you know like you said there's always that argument is do you work within it to destroy it from within and reform it from within or from the outside or one of the those i guess the occupy visit doesn't have lead. you know they're not going to take advice from me to sail or anyone else but you know what i would suggest is maybe back away from the super pacs from the sort of these big sort of monstrosities a lot of people do a limited spending you know let's not get to that gave it to where everyone's playing it you know rather you can form a normal political action com

the green room at fox when obamacare -- this was after the massachusetts senate election and when scott browndecided to shove the senate bill through the house. i remember going to fox and i ran into juan williams. i said to him, what are you guys doing? you will get killed in the next election. this is what he told me. i just talked to the white house and they said, we believe americans love entitlements. and once we get them hooked on this entitlement, they will never let it go. a group of people to be hooked like mindless fish. that is how they see this country. not people who are free and independent, and have the ability to provide for themselves. a group of people who need them and they need you and your votes to keep their power. this is the state of affairs we find ourselves in today unless we are able to win this election. that is why this issue of obamacare is so vital. it is about taking away your freedoms. it is about destroying the business community by overregulation. it is about micromanaging the health-care field. we will be denying care because there is a budget we have to ke

and if you look at the conversation that's going on massachusetts right now between scott brown and elizabethhey have brought this to a national conversation. >> they have. >> absolutely. >> how do you enforce the pledge that they took? because it's third parties? right? >> absolutely. we are going to have to get there at some point. okay? i don't know if it's going to be this year but i have got to tell you this is a slippery slope we are sliding down, not just the republican party. >> no. it's everybody. >> everybody. i have to tell you when you hit the general election you can be sure that obama is going to be hitting whomever that candidate is with everything he got -- he has and this is not just a republican -- as you said democrat. >> it's everybody. >> all of this is campaign finance. right? >> yes. >> we keep trying to reform the way political money works in our system. what we have done is like those toy balloons you get at the circus, the guy who makes the dogs out of them. we have taken the money away from the candidates in the middle. it doesn't mean the money goes out of politics

then scott brown has to be elected in massachusetts. i like our chances. [applause] i have said the scary as possible outcome would be for the republicans to win the white house and not bring about any significant change. is that the scenario? >> i am afraid there may be an inability to affect change. forget registered voters. look at people who are likely to vote. people who are likely to vote are expecting real change. congress has an 11% approval rating. do you know why they have a bad approval rate among republicans tax is because the tea party sees them re the -- republicans? it is because the tea party sees them raise the debt ceiling. it is fitting 2010 in perspective. he had to go back to the 1800's to find an election of that scale. you take state, county and municipal races. there are cities in north carolina and south carolina and georgia were they used to be all democrats. you cannot find them anymore. the of became a republican. -- they all became a republican. suddenly the top of the ticket moves its. you have them running away from the ticke

threat, you don't have to exaggerate what is going on here when you have senate candidates like scott brown in massachusetts signing up to the notion birth control should be dropped, allowed to be dropped by employers across the board, not on religious grounds, but because they want to do that, that is an area where democrats can say this is where we stand. these are our values, this is why you should be engaged with this election, no matter what you think about the other subjects, this touches your life. that what is politics should be about. engaging people on all sides. this one, you talk about 50% of the population, it shirt is something the white house should engage in. >> jonathan, what do republicans think they are gaining by reigniting social issues. it's at a fever pitch right now. >> i think it's mostly reflection of what santorum actually believes. i don't think -- you got do remember republicans they are not any more sitting in some establishment enclave saying now what are we going to do to change the tone of the campaign. this is a party out of control, it's at war with itself

scott brown, a republican wins ted kennedy's senate seat that had devastating consequences for the presidentslleges that agenda. it is all in jeopardy now. you know, she has to issues with her husband's team. one is that she does not understand how they could have let that happen, how they could have dropped the ball on the race, with the other issue, which is more understanding and use the art of the real rolls to place in the presidency, she has always had this idea that there

on capitol hill they are debating a bill that's co-sponsored by scott brown. this bill allows not just insurance company but your boss to say i won't provide any contraception as part of my plan. people don't want their bosses in their bedroom. this is a total loser for the republican party. the republican strategyist are bashing their teeth. >> i thought it was about the economy. it seems from what jonathan is saying, it's about contraception. >> this is not what rick santorum or any of the republican candidates want it to be. this was supposed to be an economic race. even on that economy is getting better. employment numbers are getting better. this makes it tougher saying sure it's getting better, but let's change horses mid stream. you have a bit of an opening for social issues to come up. unlike abortion where half the country is pretty seriously split, it's hard to find an issue that more people agree on than the fact that contraception is a widespread good even within the catholic community. >> dr. peterson, romney doesn't have fluency with conservative

so scott brown a republican wins ted kennedy's seat. this has devastating consequences for the president's legislative agenda. it's all in jeopardy now. and, you know, she has two issues we are husband's team. one is that, you know, she doesn't understand how they could have let this happen. you know, how they could have dropped the ball on the race but the other issue which is so -- is more interesting and goes, i think, to the heart of the role she plays in the presidency is that she's always had this idea that her husband is going to be a transformative president. right? she's never liked politics and the deal has always been, if you're going to go into politics, you know, i have this lost vision of who you're going to be. and the administration made these health care deals like the nebraska one which wasn't very popular and didn't look great and barack obama looked more like a more ordinary politician and that's really what she was acting to. and that's why i think the partnership is so interesting. it's not that we're like delving

i'm excited for elizabeth warren, because scott brown announced today that he is supporting roy blunt'se did a great favor to elizabeth warren. >> does she run commercials on that issue, do you think? >> i think so, yeah, i do. >> can i just point out one other thing here? the importance of having more women in office, i think it's notable that the two republicans who are breaking ranks here are two women! and right now we have 83% of the legislature is men and that is not to say women always vote the right way, but having those voices at the table makes a real difference. >> you think --. >> womjumped out last week to defend the president. >> both of you comfortable with what the president did, did he handle it properly? >> wonderful. >> absolutely. i think the american people will say the president is being reasonable and republicans are being unreasonable, as usual. >> great to have both of you, joan walsh and krystal ball, great to have you on the program. that is "the ed show," listen to my radio show on sirius radio monday through friday, 12:00 to 3:00. follow me on twitter #edsho

i'm very excited fioor elizabet warren because scott brown announced today he's supporting roy blunt'sor to elizabeth warren. >> does elizabeth warren run commercials on that issue, i think? >> i think so, yeah. i do. >> could i point out one more thing here? there are more women in office. i think it's noted the two republicans breaking ranks here are two women. right now we have 83% of the legislature are men, and that's not to say women always vote the right way, but having those voices at the table makes a real difference. >> you think -- >> and women jumped out in front last week with president obama and senators and house members. >> are both of you comfortable with what the president did? did he handle it properly? >> wonderful. >> absolutely. america will look at this and say the republicans are being completely unreasonable, as usual. >> great to have both of you with us. joan walsh and krystal ball. that's the ed show. you can listen to my radio show on channel 127 monday through friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. just a quick show note -- not that we're keeping score, but we are -- i