presidential campaign, and a senior strategy in the bush/cheney 2004 campaign, and our other steve, steve kornacki, political columnist for salon.com. steve schmidt, you've got a republican front-runner now who's talking about amniocentesis. this is not something anybody would advise any candidate to get into. >> no, it's crazy talk, lawrence. and i tell you, if he is the nominee, given what he said over the last week on the contraception issues, amniocentesis, prenatal testing, one of the big medical advances in the last 15 years, there'll be a blowout the likes that no one has ever even imagined before. >> steve kornacki, you wrote a fascinating piece today, talking about what santorum's move into theology and this religious conversation means for romney. it puts romney in a difficult place, doesn't it? >> no, really, i think it really does, because you talk about the role that evangelical voters play in republican politics today, and it's really more pronounced than it's ever been before. that's true in states like michigan and ohio, but it's really true in the south. and there's going to be, y

steve kornacki, that's statistically identical. so if romney loses the electability argument, as we saw him lose it in south carolina, with south carolina primary voters, they said they thought newt gingrich had a better electability posture than romney did. if he's losing it nationally, which is what that "new york times" poll is, what is left of the romney campaign. >> and that's what's so interesting to me about santorum's rise. because i suspect for the last year, santorum has made a lot of sense on paper to conservatives, but what's holding him back is the perception that he's a loser. but now that he's got this one-on-one race, basically, and people are giving him a fair look, i think that whole 2006 issue goes away, and for the first time, you're really seeing people, conservatives look at this and say, yeah, why not. >> dana milbank, what is the case that mitt romney makes now when he's going to money people. he's had a very easy case to make to the money people all along here. look, i'm inevitable. i'm electable, nobody el

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and david shuster in michigan steve kornacki, and sam seeder. $20 million off of women's healthcare. not off of the price. off of the care. pushing to deny more women more health care even as alabama and virginia have to back off some of their preabortion transvaginal ultrasound demands. and where fox news gets it's quote, news. >> this could be the intent of the obama administration. >> and the latest from michigan too close to call and arizona, romney in a breeze. and the quote of the day. >> i'm not willing to light my hair on fire to try to get support. >> i'm sorry about that. that i would have paid to see. all of that and more now on "countdown." ♪ >> good evening, this is tuesday february 28th 253 days until the 2012 presidential election. republicans voting tonight except in michigan where one in ten is a democrat voting in the primary. the majority of michigan polling places closing as this new hours ends tonight. romney's home state of michigan anything but a guaranteed win. the latest public policy poll showing, front runners romney and rick santorum the race is too close

news editor, steve kornacki.me tonight but let me just ask you: in florida, romney out-spent newt gingrich by 5 to 1. was that what made the big difference? >> you know, i think it's a critical part of it, but i don't think it's the only part of it. i think it would be a mistake to chalk this up to the money. i think there was sort of a winning formula that the romney people stumbled upon but what the republican party establishment. romney took the lead in leveling all sorts of attacks on newt gingrich talking about his past leadership, the ethics controversies, all of the reasons why republicans won't want to nominate this guy, amplified with the advertising romney put on the air. i think the key piece that doesn't get talked about enough is that the sort of opinion-shaping class of the republican party, whether that's elected officials, you know, commentators, pundits, the people who hold sway when it comes to the opinions of sort of the rank and file the party holds, that class was basically split in two camps

steve kornacki, thank you. appreciate it. >>> senator bernie sanders is here for the interview, that is still ahead, stay tuned. phish republicans to say stuff like jt job creators" he tells republicans don't say government spending, call it waste. he is the one who told republicans to called health reform a government takeover. so republicans call it a government takeover. according to frank the words "climate change" are less frightening than gloal warming. he is a republican consultant who calls himself a wordsmith. an utterly mainstream figure in republican politics and his message is words matter. he is not just a guy on fox, this past thanksgiving in iowa, he hosted a presidential candidates forum in iowa. last night in michigan he warmed up the crowd at a campaign event for rick santorum. reporter cory morris posted the video for the grand rapids press. >> i want your forgiveness here when i came in to grand rapids, i stopped in mcdonald's, did you see they have that new obama happy meal? order anything

dana milbank and steve kornacki. a clear day like this you can see forever politically. >>> coming up, the optics of today's trump endorsement aren't good for romney. it comes one day after romney said he's not really concerned about the little people, the very poor. and that has some republicans even wondering if this guy has good enough chops to even be their nominee. >>> speaker of the house john boehner says he and eric canter of virginia get along just fine, despite reports to the contrary. politico reported this morning that tension between boehner and cantor had gotten so bad the two sides had to call a truce. boehner said he and cantor haven't had a single disagreement in the past year. cantor is often seen as the voice of the tea party people that can make compromise difficult for boehner. >>> welcome back to "hardball." the criticism of mitt romney for his incredible gaffe about poor people continued today. conservative media figures have piled on the front runner for the statement he made in a cnn intervie

steve kornacki, thank you.ppreciate it. >>> senator bernie sanders is here for the interview, that is we put a w k's worth of bad . some aerosols may just mix with them. can febreze remove it. [ moderator ] describe the smell. it's very pleasant. some kind of flower maybe? awww, oh yuck! [ male announcer ] febreze air effects doesn't mix, it actually removes odors. so you can breathe happy. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it can be done well. [ ilona ] i came to ge after the plant i was working at closed after 33 years. ge's giving me the chance to start back over. [ cindy ] there's construction workers everywhere. so what does that mean? it means work. it means work for more people. [ brian ] there's a bright fu

joining me now is erin mcpike, reporter for real clear politics and steve kornacki, political columnistboth for coming on the show. >> sure. >> erin, let me start with you. let's go back to that big number. 58% of gop voters wish someone else would hop in this race. can romney ever get the party to unite behind him? >> he will if he becomes the nominee. but you know, as much as republicans would like other choices, there's really not a way for them to get another choice because we've already had deadlines pass for the primary states that are remaining for ballot access. in other words, to get on the ballot. so the only way for there to be another choice is if there is a brokered convention and somehow another name comes up, which is very unlikely. but we could have, you know, a third party candidate get in. those things are all possible. the romney campaign is not necessarily going, at this point, looking to unite conservatives behind them the way you are thinking. it's rather just showing if he's the last man standing, they want to know showthat santorum can't be the nominee, that ging

steve kornacki and erin mcpike.hank you for your time tonight. >> sure. >>> ahead -- the latest right wing conspiracy on those great jobs numbers. it's so crazy, it's actually funny. >>> and this is a fight i never saw coming. karl rove unleashes an unbelievable attack on clint eastwood. and go ahead, karl, make his day. >> this country can't be knocked out in one punch. we get right back up again. and when we do, the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. yeah. it's halftime, america. and our second half is about to begin. [ male announcer ] every day thousands of people are choosing advil®. here's one story. pain doesn't have much of a place in my life. i checked the schedule and it's not on it. [ laughs ] you never know when advil® is needed. well most people only know one side of my life. they see me on stage and they think that that is who i am. there's many layers to everybody everywhere. singer, songwriter, philanthropist, father, life's a juggling act. when i have to get through the pain, i know whe

steve kornacki, thank you.reciate it. >>> senator bernie sanders is here for the interview, that is still ahead, stay tuned. phish [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those

dana milbank and steve kornacki. a clear day like this you can see forever politically. >>> coming up, the optics of today's trump endorsement aren't good for romney. it comes one day after romney said he's not really concerned about the little people, the very poor. and that has some republicans even wondering if this guy has good enough chops to even be their nominee. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above and still pay the mid-size price. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro. of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left

into this discussion, former dnc director karen finney, former rnc chair michael steele, and steve kornackiu're the head of the rnc -- >> i was. >> in my-you still are. >> i still am. >> and you have governor romney's best interests at heart, because you recognize he might be the standard bearer and made an inopportune set of remarks, and now you learn he's about to accept an endorsement from the donald. >> the goal is to not direct the or the nominee or potential nominee, just to make sure the ground game is in place. to the extent that anything -- you know more about the history of -- i think in this instance i would defer toed campaign. >> no, come on, you're giving a literal answer. >> i'm very serious, though. >> you're his campaign manager. >> that's a different story. then i sit the brother down and go, look. >> when i saw that announcement, c'mon, you're not even making it hard -- i was -- he would be standing with the donald and that the donald has become the guy to go kiss the ring -- in the republican parties. >> notice two things about that. the shortness of that endorsement i t

steve kornacki, where do you go?bets, the votes that are cast today, santorum wins, convincingly. but early voting favored romney, so i'm going say you factor in the early voting, and mitt romney gets a small victory. but my third bet, totally impossible to prove, but the win for mitt romney does not matter. we go into next week and everyone said he safed his campaign tonight, but he loses georgia and tennessee and oklahoma and he loses ohio next week. >> you have anything katrina? >> i don't bet. >> but she just stole my money. >> good job. >> we have to go break -- >> i just hope that we pull this country out of this election so it's not scarred for generations to come by -- no seriously by someone like a rick santorum who makes barry goldwater look extreme, our country can do better. >> and we will talk more about where the country is going, we will not talk about bets, we are done with them. thank you to john ward in detroit, coming up. santorum appeals to his base, is his focus on social issues that matter most

and steve kornacki, political columnist for the salon.com. thank you both for joining me. can republicans win with the message built solely on attacking president obama? >> maybe. this ow, and that's part of why choice. one of my dear colleagues, john aldridge, his theory about why political parties exist is a pretty straightforward theory. and it goes like this. political parties exist in order to elect candidates to office. full stop. and so the republican party at this point when it says our number one goal is to get this president out and to elect a republican is not doing something inherently bad. in other words, it's doing what a party does. i think the problem is exactly as you pointed to in the introduction. if they are willing in the work of, you know, saying we have better ideas. we think we have better candidates, what you can't do is, one, actually work against economic recovery which we've seen this republican party do by cutting public sector jobs just as private sector jobs are being added. and, two, you can't actually work against sort of what's -- what is

steve kornacki thank you very much. >>> karen and michael will be back with us after at break. chris matthews will have coverage of all the results starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. first we'll get the latest from the las vegas strip and talk about what's coming up after nevada. you're watches msnbc's special live coverage of the nevada gop caucuses. ♪ ♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i got heartburn. hold up partner. prilosec can take days to work. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast. yeehaw! ♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for excellent fruit and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion, also refreshing plus tea. could've had a v8. hey, aren't you supposed to be following that fidelity green line? well, yeah, but it keeps leading me back to my old office. i think it might be broken. or maybe it's trying to tell you something. yeah, but what could i

. >> steve kornacki busting out his knowledge of politics, which has left us agape.lad you're here with us tonight. we have 95% of the caucus votes are in, there's 5% of the caucusing that doesn't even happen until after tonight, i believe. so it is possible those votes change. but michael brendan jordan. mitt romney, the campaign has two, a good headline, which is, wins the cpac stroll poll, wins in maine, good day for romney, back on track. >> absolutely. i think we've seen that the media has this amazing influence over the race. good story lines in the week before a contest can lead to a 10-point surge as we saw for santorum in iowa. we saw for huntsman, went from 7 to 17 in new hampshire in about two days. we saw it from newt in south carolina. so momentum is really i think even more important than the votes sometimes or the preelection polls. so it's very good for mitt romney. i think this is also very bad for ron paul. i think it shows that he, his campaign made a big mistake not investing more in the get out the vote efforts in south carolina and florida. and