what did speaker boehner have to say? >> good afternoon.hat you are seeing now is due to the failure of the super committee, you will see a pivot on capitol hill to very important legislation that needs to be figured out by the end of the year. that is an extension of the payroll tax holiday that you heard president obama talking about and an extension of unemployment benefits. all things that are essential of keeping theç economy afloat an moving forward. on the issue of the payroll tax, speaker boehner had this to say. we told the president in september we stand rate to have an honest and fruitful discussion with him regarding the invitevation and that stands. the american people continue to await action on the jobs bills passed that are stuck in the democratic-controlled senate with one statement he could dislodge the jobs bills and make sure they are brut to a vote. i hope he will put the country before the party and vote immediately after thanksgiving. that necessarily won't happen because harry reid, the democrat who controls the sen

and trying to solve the nation's problems. >> speaker boehner said he was worried about them reaching denigrating the status and power of grover norquist. here's what happened. >> our focus here is on jobs. we are doing everything we can to get our economy moving and get people back to work. it's not often i asked about some random person in america. >>. >> is grover norquist a random person? >> didn't speaker boehner sign the pledge that the house members and senators have sign and now he regards norquist as a random person? >> on top of that, our photographs of speaker boehner and grover nor gift dating back to 2008, he later tried to clarify saying that he shared the concern that he didn't think there was a benefit in seeing taxes being raised on american families, but the comment struck a lot of folks, not just in the press corps, but capitol hill. not to mention that yesterday a letter was circulated by jim demint trying to get 31 signature, securing the norquist pledge. >> just a random person. luke russert, thanks very much indeed. that is a live picture. we are waiting on a st

but speaker boehner yesterday down played the influence on the party speaking to nbc news. >> our focus here is on jobs. we're doing anything we can to get our economy moving and to get people back to work. it's not often i'm asked about some ran don person in america and what i think. >> is he a random person? >> our focus is on creating jobs. not talking about somebody's personality. >> blas fa my. republicans have signed the pledge. speaker boehner said his party could soften its stance on tax increases if democrats agree to real reform on the entitlement side. >>> new details coming out about the alleged incident that led a female employee of the national restaurant association to accuse herman cain of sexual harassment. the employee says cain made an unwanted sexual advance. the woman left her post after the incident with one year's salary. the other woman received a settlement of $45,000. they will decide if they will allow the akuszer to come forward with her story. mr. cain said the story reported was completely untrue. later he offered opinion on why people are critical of his

the budget negotiations with speaker baiting -- speaker boehner, it was almost a role in meeting. if we send him for -- we send him economic update each and every day on quite a variety of issues. >> the does he handle the economic issues as well as or better than bill clinton? >> [laughter] rahn told me at the very beginning not to ever take clinton versus obama questions. there's nothing to be gained from those. they are both very smart policy people, trained as lawyers, who i think come to expect as i would, and probably you as well. who i think, added from a very discerning position. -- come at it from a very discerning position. they come at it from a year high understanding of economics, but also -- a very high understanding of economics, but also with realism about what works and what will be perceived. you have to have a core of the guiding you when you make these decisions. when you are in that room and you have absolutely determined that the right thing to do is just going to be terrible politics and you decide to still go forward. when the decision it was made on chrysl

speaker boehner signed the pledge himself. >> listen, martin, i think it's very clear that republicanssenate worship at the alter of grover norquist. they quake in his wake and like the president said, republicans have committed not to raise taxes on anyone ever. not just for the wealthiest 1%, but on anyone ever. with the exception of the payroll tax cut extension in the american jobs act that the president propose and of course on adding a payroll tax cut for small business owners that allows them to expand locations and create jobs and get themselves on their feet to the next level. unless you are -- they won't raise taxes on anyone unless you are in the middle class. that double standard, that i had pock rhysy is shocking. >> the president is facing a huge problem because he conceded that he might have to pass this jobs plan in sections and in parts. that is not even happening. what happens now? >> what the president has done is he is not waiting for congress. we can't wait. the american people can't wait. he proceeded to enact by executive order what the republicans in congress ar

>> on top of that, our photographs of speaker boehner and grover nor gift dating back to 2008, he latert he shared the concern that he didn't think there was a benefit in seeing taxes being raised on american families, but the comment struck a lot of folks, not just in the press corps, but capitol hill. not to mention that yesterday a letter was circulated by jim demint trying to get 31 signature, securing the norquist pledge. >> just a random person. luke russert, thanks very much indeed. that is a live picture. we are waiting on a statement any minute from the attorney of one of herman cain's accusers. stay with us. we will bring it to you live. [ male announcer ] there are only so many foods that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. ♪ ♪ ♪ walk, little walk ♪ small talk, big thoughts ♪ gonna tell them all just what i want ♪ ♪ i said don't stop, don't stop ♪ ♪ don't stop talking to me [ male announcer ] the most legroom

i think speaker boehner wants a big deal.t ceiling limitç that didn't come about. but i know in speaking with him, he wants to solve this problem. >> chris: gentlemen we have to leave it there. thank you both so much. we'll stay on top of this story. >> thank you. >> chris: next e herman cain accused of sexual ha hasment but stays on top of the polls and in-- harassment, but stays on top of the polls and increases fundraisingç. we'll ask our sunday group what is going on, when we come right back. ...was it something big? ...or something small? ...something old? ...or something new? ...or maybe, just maybe... it's something you haven't seen yet. the 2nd generation of intel core processors. stunning visuals, intelligent performance. this is visibly smart. congratulations. congralations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire binesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people insid

speaker boehner said i got 98% of what i wanted.e that again and they would be more than happy to let the defense industry go on with it. not to mention president obama can use this in his 2012 campaign. even 12 members of the super committee. they will not see a tax raise. >> thank you for the latest on where things stand. you take care. >>> now to the brutal government crackdown in syria that continues today.ç sadly, november is shaping up to be the bloodiest month yet in the uprisings against president assad. they started in march. more than 3500 people have been reportedly killed so far. the united nations estimates that this is all been since march. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us live. he is in turkey. there have been a lot of developments today. what can you tell us? >> reporter: many developments. it seems like the conflict in syria that started out as an uprising like the uprising in jip and tunisia has significantly turned the corner in the last 72 hours or so. diplomatically, syria is under pr

. >> speaker boehner, grover norquist was on the hill this morning. is he a positive influence on your conference? >> listen, our focus here is on jobs. we're doing everything we can to get the -- to get our economy moving and to get people back to work. it's not often i'm asked about some random person in america and what i think. >> is he a random person, though? to your conference is grover norquist a random person? >> listen, our focus is on creating jobs, not talking about somebody's personality. >> it's interesting boehner called norquist a random person. here are some of the pictures of boehner sitting by norquist that were found on americans for tax reform website. if you take a look at the names of the random person's anti-tax pledge, you'll find speaker boehner's name right there. so i ask again, congressman, do republicans care more about a pledge than they do about the 99.8% of the american people? what do you think? >> they care more about their tea party politics. they care more about grover norquist. not a random person but a guy who ha

speaker boehner? [ applause ] >> this happens to be john boehner's birthday. so we have a present for him. and the present is a letter that was written november 22nd, 1800. does anyone know what that date means? that was the day the first session of congress was opened in this building by president adams. and the letter was written by a gentleman -- a member of congress namedlouis morris of vermont who is a nephew of senator gerben morris of new york. congressman morris was appointed the first united states marshal by vermont and appointed by george washington in 1791. he provided an eyewitness account of president adams' speechere in this building. and he said it was a very modest, good speech. and he also discussed in this letter the living arrangements he andis uncle had in one of the two houses on capitol hill built by george waington in mrs. washington's house, he talked about it. and he complained that dining in mixed company, which meant the other people who lived in the house, was very unpleasant but otherwise the accommodations were, quote, comfortabl

. >> under pressure, speaker boehner admits there is a sense of nervousness on both sides as the super committee struggles to reach a debt deal in a few weeks. new comments from nancy pelosi. the jury in dr. conrad murray's trial could get the case by the end of today. we will get the latest on what's happening now and the closing arguments with conrad murray's case. ♪ whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ we never can give enough ♪ i got something for you and you... ♪ [ female announcer ] may your holidays be merry and bright. merry pringles. [ chuckles ] you think that is some information i would have liked to know? i like tacos. you invited eric? i thought eric gave you the creeps. [ phone buzzes ] oh. [ chuckles ] yeah. hey. [ male announcer ] don't be left behind. get it faster with 4g. at&t. ♪ at&t. i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. . >>> welcome back to "news nation." just a few hours ago, occupy protesters removed a blockade at the port of oakland, allowing

i think speaker boehner wants a big deal.yied to negotiate on the debt ceiling limitt and that didn't come about. but i know in speaking with him, he wants to solve this problem. >> chris: gentleman, we will have to leave it there. and thank you so much. we'll stay on top of the story. up next herman cain is accused of sexual harassment. but hoe stays on top of the polls. we'll ask our sunday groupp what is going on when we come back. feeling safe and secure that important letters and information don't get lost in thin air. or disappear with a click. but are delivered. from person to person. and, sometimes, even face to face. have a great day. you too. for some of the best ways to connect and protect... it's all in the mail. learn more at usps.com/mail. you know what else is early? medicare open enrollment. now through december 7th can i sck with my old medicare plan? sure! or find a new plan with better coverage, less cost, or both. medicare plans give you free cancer screenings and wellness visits and 50% off on brand-name

it is speaker john boehner's birthday. happy 62nd birthday, mr. speaker. congratulations.g, right? >> eventually getting the retirement age to 70 is a step that needs to be taken. if you have substantial nonsocial security income while you're retired, why are we paying you? >> and maybe it's time to say so long to health insurance. >> when you look at social security, medicare, medicaid, these are important programs for tens of millions of americans but they're not sustainable at their current levels. we're going to have to make some changes. >> but since it's your birthday we here at politician nation got some gifts for you on your special day. first, a dog. he's a man's best friend. and with those mean tea party members in your caucus, you can certainly use one. we've also got some driving lessons. you keep driving the conversation away from jobs to guns or taking away abortion rights so maybe we can steer balk ontrack. and we have new golf clubs. we know you spend half the year on the course but the tea partiers might give you even more time to tee up.

and it is working. >> speaker boehner, the people here in ohio don't think it's working. the american people know republicans are willing to sabotage the economy to hurt this president. by a 50% to 44%, americans agree republicans in congress are playing politics by blocking obama's proposals. among independents, the percentage is even greater. the numbers are staggering. let's bring in congresswoman betty sutton and also congressman tim ryan both of ohio. great to have both of you with us tonight. thanks so much. congresswoman, is this a do-nothing congress, in your opinion? >> well, the congress isn't focused on what it needs to be focused on. that is putting america back to work. >> why, is this a strategy, do you believe they're trying to sabotage the economy? >> i think that they've said as much. their main goal is to keep this president from getting elected. and the way they are going about it is letting people fall off the cliff. and it's not acceptable. tomorrow in ohio, we're going to send a message. we're going to send a message. >> tim, i'll ask you the same qu

i mean, speaker boehner tried to down play grover norquist influence at republican party by calling him some random person but he also said that republican leaders have assured him that they are not going to increase taxes. so the white house has been very frustrated with the republicans backing the pledge and not being able to crack it, but we have seen a couple cracks in recent days. >> well, i know reid said it was disheartening, that whole factor, let's see if boehner and mr. reid can pull something through here, bob cusack of the hill, nice to meet you, thanks for coming on. >> thanks, brooke. >>> it is the story a lot of you are still talking about tweeting me about it through the last 24 hours. the story is this, this young girl, they kills herself after years of sexual abuse. she left behind words of pain, suffering and secrets all over her twitter page. coming up next, you're about to hear my emotional conversation with this young girl's mother. she talked to me about this investigation, including why the mother says police essentially ignored her daughter. stay right there. th

i think speaker boehner wants a big deal. he tried to negotiate one with the president earlier on the debt ceiling limit. that didn't come up but i know in speaking with him that he wants to solve this problem. >> chris: gentlemen, we have to leave it there. thank you both so much. we will stay on top of this story. >> thank you you. >> chris: up next, herman cain is accused of sexual harassment but you stays on top of the polls and increases his fund raising. we will ask our fund group what is going on, when we come back. daddy, come in the water! somebody didn't book with travelocity, with 24/7 customer support to help move them to theool daddy promised! look at me, i'm swimming! somebody, get her a pony! [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone. >>> they can't argue with herman cain on the merits. they can't argue with herman cain on policy to what do they do? >> unless you cow to yo tow tod order you will be lynched, destroyed caricatured rather than hu

speaker boehner today expressed optimism that an agreement would be reached. senate leader harry reid spoke to reports and said republicans on the committee are responding to threats from grover norquist. is there any hope for progress before the deadline? >> it's hard to read the motivations and intentions, but as you set it up, speaker boehner and the withins in the senate believe they are willing to make changes to the tax code and that would be progress. they believe they have got to get a deal before the deadline. harry reid really put a firm point on this. as you know, grover norquist who is the anti-tax cheerleader who gets so many members to sign a pledge not to raise taxes and harry reid said the republicans should impeach him to reduce influence. the leader eric kantor was asked and he said it's not about him, but the pledge that republican members have made to their own constituents. with all of that stew, what it comes down to is can they get it done? many predictions they won't and many are trying to say they will get it done. they will put off th

listen to house speaker john boehner talk about this issue, the pay roll tax this morning. >> there'sbate about whether these extensions ought to be paid for. the president has called for them to be paid for. democrats here have called for them to be paid for. so if in fact we can find common ground on these extensions, i think you can take to the bank the fact they will be paid for. >> and tamron, the extension of the pay roll tax cut, the president wants it to go from 4.2% to 3.1%. that will cost the nation about $240 billion. now the idea is that a lot of that money will go back into the economy and help stimulate it. but that has a significant amount added to the debt that both sides want to figure out a way to pay for. obviously how to pay for that comes down to the contention which has divided the capital for a long time. >> we just showed speaker boehner. he once referred to grover norqvist. i think he said he was a random person. nonetheless that random person will be speaking to house republicans. what's going on there? >> well, november 3rd of this month, house speaker john

i think speaker boehner wants a big deal. one with the president earlier on the debt ceiling limit. that didn't come up but i know in speaking with him that he wants to solve this problem. >> chris: gentlemen, we have to leave it there. thank you both so much. we will stay on top of this story. >> thank you you. >> chris: up next, herman cain is accused of sexual harassment but you stays on top of the polls and increases his fund raising. we will ask our fund group what is going on, when we come back. [ male announcer ] there are only so many foods that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. there's no time like the present to consider all your health insurance options. does medicare alone meet your needs? would additional coverage be better for you? well, now is a good time to take a look at an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcar

speaker boehner was bipartisan in his tone.en. >> i believe all the members of the joint select committee on deficit reduction, so-called super committee, both democrats and republicans have done good work and worked very hard but there isn't an agreement. and i'm convinced that if there is an agreement it can, in fact, pass. >>reporter: the tone from leadership this afternoon, republicans in the senate sounded like failure is not an option and senator harry reid the democratic leader sounded very pessimistic. >>shepard: there were file works on the hill over the white house promise that all u.s. combat troops in iraq will be home for the holidays. the defense secretary panetta said he has faith in iraq's new government. did you hear that? the defense secretary panetta has "faith in iraq's new government." write it down. but arizona senator john mccain pointed out that talks were in place to keep some troops this after december but they breakdown when iraq refused to grant legal immunity to forces. joe paterno argued the offici

speaker of house john boehner responded to a remark made by the president on the economy. >> the president was asked yesterday by a cbs affiliate if american people were better off than they were before he took office and he answered in the affirmative. do you agree with that, senator? >> are you kidding me? why don't you go out and ask the 14 million americans out of work. whether they're better off today than they were four years ago. >> speaker boehner also accused the senate of stalling on passing legislation to create more jobs. said the president should stop campaigning and get back to washington. >>> 100 house members signing a letter urging the supercommittee to keep all options on the table while putting together a proposal to reduce the national debt. leading the group is republican mike simpson who urged the committee to go big, so far, both the democrat and republican plans fall short of that $4 trillion mark. the democrats' plan comes the closest, with up to $3 trillion in budget cuts, $500 billion in medicare cuts and more than $1 trillion in new tax revenue. current republic

and twice the president negotiated with speaker boehner. he walked away. point i am making is the republicans made it clear if president obama weighed in it would be a presidential issue. they don't want the president credit to achieve things. if he came in the super committee it would not be constructive. the president wants debt reduction and first get america back to work >> chris: we'll have to leave it there. thank you for coming in and we'll stay on top . story that is not going away. up next. newt gingrich takes the lead and promptly creates a problem for himself on imigrationn. our sunday panel assesses the damage and where things stand in iowa when we come back. in louisiana. they came to see us in orida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi hathe welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amber

>>neil: but given the fact, or despite personal protests, the likes of speaker boehner and former speaker wide, here, and i past say, they are saying that no insider trading or special privileges took place does that affect the appear tide for acting on this? >> my feeling about this is that everyone has risen so strongly to defend themselves that i think we will pass a bill to make insider trading by members of congress or our staffs illegal and we will set up some mechanisms to make it less likely that it would ever happen one of which might be to have, see, every year members of congress have to file forms that indicate any transaction they have had in stocks. >>neil: but it is a birthday range, like when you have to release your network. the difference when you ran for the vice-presidency, you had to give details reports so that is why i would never do that, but, it is a problem, right, this goes how far? >>guest: well, it is true. so, here are a couple of things. we could try to make the filings more detailed. second, instead of filing one a year we could have a requirement for trans

thank you particularly to speaker boehner for your leadership in moving us forward on this important jobs initiative. this action is really a blueprint for jobs, energy and building our roads and bridges, as the speaker said. speaker boehner's action today, november 17, represents a milestone and a great step forward to building america's infrastructure. this is a key component to our republican jobs proposal that i'm pretty confident will put americans to work with a long-term and fiscally, financially responsible plan. by contrast, june 17, 2009, president obama undermined the opportunity for a long-term transportation bill. remember, he's the one that put it on hold. he put jobs and building our major infrastructure -- that has cost our country, again, millions of jobs on hold on that date. the results have been devastating. hitting hardest our construction industry where millions remain unemployed. the speaker and republicans today by contrast are offering the opportunity for a jobs bill that will be a win-win for the american people. americans will win first by putting millions t

speaker boehner, minority leader mcconnell have all supported cutting payroll taxes.n that was bipartisan. that was a bipartisan proposal. that's about half of the entire plan. when i was here in the '90s until president clinton, every single infrastructure bill was bipartisan. both believed that we could create jobs by rebuilding roads, bridges and highways. if there's politics here. where does that come from? we would like nothing more of a bipartisan package of a strong act. we'll share the political credit that anyone wants to have, but let's do something for workers. how can people sit on their hands and do nothing? the president put forward a detailed plan, $447 billion, projected to create up to 1.9 million jobs. when that failed, we put forward piece by piece. what have the republicans done other than say no? so let's absolutely come to the table and work together on something bold and significant. >>> bold and significant. gene sperling, thank you for your time. >>> we'll get reaction from our panel on all that gene sperling had to say, just ahead. >>> but fi