stan greenberg, we should note does polling for nbc news. great thanks for joining us tonight, sir. >> npr and l.a. times. >> we got the whole roster out there. give us your assessment of the caucus tonight and what you told them and how much they listened? >> this issue is obviously taken seriously. i came over here, the caucus was supposed to be over, it was still going on, discussing this subject with a lot of support for addressing this. i don't want to talk about what members said in the caucus. that's for them to raise. i can talk about, you know, the polling that we did, and what i said, which was, essentially, this is an issue in which about 38% of the country supports the republican position to extend these tax cuts. which is ten points below the vote that republicans are getting right now. so this is an issue that drags them down. it's an issue that helps democrats. it is an issue that i believe democrats want, it creates a framework of choice, and it defines the two parties. it's a defining issue. democrats need that, both to buil

she's trying to put together this coalition, you know, last week stan greenberg, as you know, the democraticeft the house democratic caucus and told the members, raise the taxes on the rich and cut taxes on middle class, what happened at that meeting according to my source all the members looked at stan greenberg and said he's not polling in my district. the truth is, cutting those taxes for everyone is what popular and i think the reason, paul, is that our message that we've been saying on the journal has really penetrated. if you raise taxes on the rich, that hurts the economy, hurts small businesses and most american workers say, wait a minute, a rich person is the one who scenes my paycheck. >> paul: kim, the president says that like stan greenberg, this politics works, all you do is raise taxes on the well-to-do, don't worry, nobody will care. so, that isn't flying in some of these blue dog districts around the country and do you think it's because of the shape, the state of the economy, the iffy state of the economy? >> yeah, no, look, right now this is the worst possible time democrat

stan greenberg talked about that. and i think it does let people know throughout the country whose side are you on. and when you've got mitch mcconnell coming out and saying you know what? 98% of the american people, their tax relief has to wait until we do something for the top 2%, even though it puts it on our national credit card, and we all are going to be paying years and years for those tax cuts for the very wealthy, that's an issue that clearly defines the candidates and the parties. >> congressman, wouldn't calling these tax cuts what they actually are, the obama middle class tax cuts and then forcing republicans to go out there and vote against them in a month before the election, or even in the senate filibuster against them, would that not be manna from political heaven for the democrats, especially the way the midterms are shaping up 49 days out? >> look, i do think it's worth a fight. i do think it's worth a vote. as to whether we start in the house or the senate, that's obviously something that we have t

. >> democratic polling stan greenberg is making her case it does say that people are willing to fightht, that the rich shouldn't get the tax cuts. the democrats believe this i hear nancy pelosi believe it is in her gut and she's going to fight like heck on this. what do you say? >> it's a mistake, to answer your first question. i can't think of anybody in this country who wouldn't want a tax cut. but the class warfare distinction, i think the democrats are making a mistake. if the democrats do nothing between now and the election, democrats can go back and say, see, we told you. >> i would say most americans, like 95%, don't know anybody, shaken hands, know anybody, who makes over a quarter million a year. >> i believe that. >> they are counties in pennsylvania that don't. 100,000. >> this is politics rather than sound economic policy. the problem is we have had an administration that has spent almost a trillion dollars on a stimulus bill by saying we're going to get out of the ditch by using kenzian economics. >> let's not get into that. let's talk taxes here. if the bill gets passed