which means that yesterday, because of susan collins, just susan collins, only susan collins, we goth, waver on the importance of precedent against abortion. aborti>> if you think about somf the most important cases, the most consequential cases in this court's history, there is a string of them were the cases overruled precedent. and it turns out, if the court in those cases had listened -- and they were presented with arguments in those cases -- adhered to the president -- in brown v. board, adhered to plessy, on west coast tell, adhere to atkins and adhere to lock near. and if the court had done that in those cases, the country would be in a much different clip place. >> the country is already in a much different place because of the six three conservative majority on the supreme court. a lot of american women are terrified. let's go to happened when the decision from yesterday's oral argument from abortion is handed down? well, collins, who perhaps is disappointed today -- she's always disappointed -- perhaps she has a solution for that. her office tells nbc news, senator collins

alexis, i want to get into the susan collins factor. collins supports the right to an abortion and believes the protections in the roe and casey decisions should be passed into law. she's had some conversations with her colleagues about this, and is open to further discussion. i mean, first of all, you have the fact that there are 60 votes in the senate for that, but what do you make of what susan collins had to say? >> look, i believe that susan collins is responsible for brett kavanaugh. she was told by him that he would respect roe as a law by roberts. what we saw yesterday from justice kavanaugh wasn't a question whether roe was settled law, it was how the court could overturn it. those were the kinds of questions he was asking. i don't know how she can claim to be a supporter to constituents who support strong protections for abortion in maine when she voted to put one of the pivotal justices on this court. that she is focussed now when she has had an opportunity to be in support of the women's health protection act, a law that woul

and all eyes at the time were on susan collins. collins was listening to the tomorrow of christine blasey ford. kavanaugh denied that. she had meetings with kavanaugh and talked about abortion because collins supports abortion rights and those comments she heard from kavanaugh that he contended it to be settled law was significant, pivotal for collins to ultimately vote yes and ultimately, after she went to the senate floor, said she would vote for kavanaugh. that immediately after may have triggered the support of a key democratic senator joe manchin who said he also would support kavanaugh who was narrowly confirmed by the senate after that intense confirmation proceeding. now in the aftermath of this, perhaps kavanaugh could be a decisive vote striking down roe. we'll see what collins has to say at that point. we'll check in with her also tomorrow to see if she has listened to those comments and if her views on kavanaugh have changed. >> manu raju, thank you. >>> how long did donald trump and the white house know that he may have

just look at the strange case of republican senator susan collins of maine.ports abortion rights, and just this week she said she supports codifying roe's protections into law. but let's flashback to the summer of 2018. then-president donald trump nominated brett kavanaugh. collins recounted a private conversation she had with him where kavanaugh assured her that roe was, quote, settled law. listen to what she said at the time. >> his views on honoring precedent would preclude attempts to do by stealth that which one has committed not to do overtly. he said decisions become part of our legal framework with the passage of time and that honoring precedent is essential to maintaining public confidence. >> so collins cast a key vote at the time in favor of kavanaugh. and he was narrowly confirmed in large part due to her support. despite that vote she was elected to a fifth term, and she won't face voters again until 2026. this week justice kavanaugh heard arguments in the abortion case, and to the surprise of no one, really no one, kavanaugh sounded nothing like

susan collins knew he would be against roe.odge. he was saying, all right, well, i care about precedence. he can say that and then also as a judge decide in this particular case he doesn't believe they are as strong as other arguments, which is exactly what he indicated in the arguments yesterday. none of this is a surprise. it was entirely predictable. susan collins could have, should have predicted it. >> she was asked by cnn. and at the time her response was she hadn't seen it yet. she needed to look at the video to see what brett kavanaugh said. classmates. glad for the reunion here. >> thank you. >>> at this moment, baseball canceled. major league baseball canceled. new information over whether there will even be a 2022 season. >>> four big trials happening in america. all the admissions, the regrets and key witness testimony. our retirement plan with voya, keeps us moving forward. hey, kevin! hey, guys! they have customized solutions to help our family's special needs... hey, graduation selfie! well done! and voya stays b

and, of course, john, that would fly in the face of what he told senator susan collins back in his 2018 confirmation hearing that he wouldn't overturn roe. it seems like maybe he's having second thoughts here. john? >> jessica, let's walk through it, and i'll tell our viewers this is a 50-year political debate as well as a 50-year legal debate. you see the crowd gathered outside the court as jessica speaks to us. jess, let's go through this. one of the leading liberals, sonia sotomayor, says throwing this out will put them right in the middle of politics. >> will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? i don't see how it is possible. it is what casey talked about when it talked about watershed decisions. if people actually believe thaits all poli-- that it's all political, how will we survive? how will the courts survive? >> she is outnumbered, right? >> she is outnumbered, john. interestingly, we heard three of those impassioned debates, soliloqu soliloquies -- if you will. this does s

group covering those hearings there seems to be, at least seems to us, a deal made with modern susan collinsports roe v. wade he's is not going to overturn president dent. b precedent. but it was hard not to listen to kavanaugh. to be clear if he said what she said is what she said, he's moved in a different direction over the years. >> and one thing i want to remind everyone, it ain't over until it's over. we are not going to see the ruling until the end of june. i can probably predict it will come out june 30th, if that's a thursday or friday, because that's just how they operate. i will never sell short chief justice john roberts' ability to purr said but everything brett kavanaugh said from the bench. he knew it was all public and how he respond would be the opposite of how he testified. >> such a consequential day for huge, huge months ahead. >>> next up -- ex-trump staff mark meadows due to testify this week about trump's involvement in the election. how forthcoming will he be? me a, others joy. all are of... various: ahhh... listerine. feel the whoa! - in business, customer support is

and the person who looks like as much of an idiot as much as anybody today is susan collins who stood up there on the senate floor and promised us that brett kavanaugh of all people was going to respect precedent, that he was going to respect senate law, that he believed that roe v wade was senate law. and brett kavanaugh was the guy today who did all the work explaining why he should be able to disregard precedent because he didn't like how a previous case was decided. this was an insult to susan collins if you believed she was telling the truth when she defended the man a few years ago? let's play brett kavanaugh. this is him basically asking a leading question, leading the mississippi solicitor general along the lines he wanted them to, as if to say let's together concoct our excuse of getting rid of this right for women. >> the constitution is silent and neutral on the issue of abortion, in other words that the constitution is neither pro life or pro choice on the issue of the abortion but leaves the issue for the states or the people to resolve in the democratic process is that a

come on, susan collins claims that's what brett told her. nothing here but us chickens. what was striking about the arguments we heard today is that for the most part, contrary to all that gaslighting nonsense, the disingenuous misdirection that we are so used to, is that the anti-abortion side was no longer really hiding their true -- they are so confident that the three justices appointed by trump -- mississippi is confident those justice wills rule in their favor. they were clear as day. they don't just want that upheld with 16 weeks. they want roe overturned. they want to take this right away from americans who have had it for generations. they want to kill roe and they want to kill the 1992 decision that upheld it. this is a portion of the opening argument from the mississippi solicitor general, scott stewart. >> while the justices are not as open about their positiopositio brett kavanaugh did lay out a way to overrule previous settled decisions. >> justice sonia sotomayor. >> to be clear, conservatives are trying to take away a right americans have had nearly five

republican senator susan collins says that's what brett kavanaugh told her. oh yes, senator, told you. nothing else but us here chickens. what was striking about the arguments we heard today was that for the most part contrary to all that gaslighting nonsense, the disingenuous misdirection that were so used to. is that the antiabortion side was an already hiding there to read. maybe that's because the state of mississippi is so brazen and what it's asking. so confident that the three justices appointed by donald trump, who promised he would appoint justices to overturn and roe appears to have delivered on that promise -- maybe the only one he's delivered to have it if -- mississippi is confident those justices will rule in their favor. so, today, they were cleansed. if they don't just want the mississippi law upheld with the 16 weeks. they want roe overturned. done. they want to take this right away from americans have had it for generations. they want to kill roe and they want to kill the 1992 decision that held it, planned parenthood versus casey. this is a

susan collins, always an enigma on the question of abortion and its legality, has suggested -- she's been floating the idea that she would support codifying abortion rights into law. she's often said things about abortion rights that have not played out in her actions. has she talked to you or have you talked to her. is there a possibility that she could sign on to this? >> well, i definitely know that the senate whip committee, such as as senator blumenthal who's the lead author on the senate side has reached out to susan collins. they have asked her to support this. she purports to be pro-choice. and in fact, these positions got her elected in a very tight election this past time in a state that is considered a swing state. and yet, she is kind of talking out of both sides of her mouth at this point. she says she's pro-choice, but then she says that the woman's health protection act is too extreme. well, i do think that the voters need to hold her accountable. what do you mean too extreme? actually, what the women's health protection act does is enshrine roe v. wade into law, no mo

susan collins ze fended her vote for justice brett kavanaugh. >> he noted repeatedly that roe had been upheld by planned parenthood versus casey describing it as precedent on precedent. >> i said that it's settled as a precedent of the supreme court, entitled respect urn der principles of stare decisis. >> if we think the prior precedents are seriously wrong, if that, why then doesn't the history of this court's practice with respect to those cases tell us that the right answer is actually a return to the position of neutrality. >> on wednesday the democratic appointees on the court tried to appeal to their colleagues' concerns about the court's political standing. >> if people actually believe it's all political, how will we survive? how will the court survive? >> a majority of americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. just 32% fave vosh overturning roe. 58% oppose. if roe is overturned, 12 states have explicit trigger laws which would immediately ban abortion. experts say some two dozen states are either certain or very likely to make the procedure illegal and

i have not heard from susan collins in particular.s to change on that, happy to listen. but i will say this, under current rules it takes 60 votes. so, it's not just am i willing to do this, but who am i willing to make sure comes along with me? i have to remind all of us, i was in college before roe v. wade was decided. i saw the devastation to women that i knew who -- one of them in particular was what we call today date raped. she had no choice. she went to a back alley provider. and because of what happened to her, because there wasn't roe v. wade in the land right now, because she couldn't get the health care, she could no longer have children because of the way that was done to her. we can't go back to that. we need to stand up and fight. we need to say american women, american families, with their own religious concerns need to make this decision for them themselves on their own, not politicians, not elected officials. families themselves need to make that decision. >> senator patty murray, thank you very much for being on with

when they had the fbi investigation only in the end because there were a couple moderates like susan collins and jeff clay who were not going to vote on the nomination unless there was an fbi investigation the fbi did interview debbie soh the republicans said that was enough it's hard not to be completely depressed on allhi of this meaning success republicans have had in making the court atmore conservative. so any advice on keeping and even keel? >> everybody keeps telling me my book is so depressing and i wish i could give them a happy ending. it is what it is. people need to stay engaged and i think it's the kind of public pressure making your votes matter and being involved and make the support as conservative as it is the fact that on many of these issues whether it's abortion rights, reproductive rights, gun issues, the overwhelming majority of the american people are in a different place than the majority of the supreme court. certainly chief justice roberts is aware of that and is trying to steer a course that isn't utterly to the right so thatd there would be an uprising. one thing

we have susan collins and we don't call them liars or try to run them off.place for moderates in the republican senate. there is no formal talk about him leaving his party. they don't thinknk he's going t change parties to help to bludgeon them into compliance. he is not going to agree. >> heats the key maker at this point. the fact that he is concerned about this and inflation number are actually up they are going to take this very seriously. >> he is displeased with house democrats have treated him. >> live on the hill thank you very muche. >> up next the latest surge isn't going to change your holliday plans? ♪ these are the faces of listerine. the face of millions of germs zapped in seconds. the face of clean. the face of whoa! some are of intensity, others joy. all are of... various: ahhh... listerine. feel the whoa! a must in your medicine cabinet! less sick days! cold coming on? zicam is the #1 cold shortening brand! highly recommend it! zifans love zicam's unique zinc formula. it shortens colds! zicam. zinc that cold! thinkorswim® by td ameritrade is

people like lisa murkowski who already abandon people like susan collins, whose very moderate if notople like senator toomey whose retiring, why hasn't joe biden made him ambassador? pennsylvania appoints a new senator, it's time for the democratic party not to rely solely on joe manchin who has to do what he has to do for his state. kennedy: exactly, you're making his case for him, he's not beholden to this legislation which is the only one out there? a calculator saying thanks for that, you've written a crappy bill, the part of the belt they've seen, they don't have full legislation, do you know what would help people? not hamstringing them put that for generations. brad, your thoughts? and what a jerk she is. >> she is certainly a jerk and representative of a segment of the population, liberal all the with a leap but probably not representative of most people in the democratic party, i do think a lot of them negatively react and it gives me hope but what is disturbing is overall backlash to joe manchin and if the president is entitled to his vote or he's obstructing one senator ob

had a sham of an fbi investigation only in the end because there were a couple of moderates like susan collins and jeff flake who were not going to vote on the nomination unless there was an fbi investigation. the fbi did interview database of republicans said that was enough. if she had a public hearing and i've talked to her a lot she would have been every bit as credible and impressive the witness as christine was in her term and that's what republicans feared. >> let me ask a question from ann and this will be the last question per tank is that it's hard not to be completely depressed about all of this meaning success the republicans have had in making the court more conservative so ann ask any of ice on keeping any think he'll despite the way the supreme court is ruling? stanger everybody keeps telling me my book is so depressing and i wish i could give them a happy ending but it is what it is. i think keeping it on an even keel people need to stay engaged and i think it's the kind of public pressure and just making making -- votes matter and being involved and make this court is conserva

. >> and susan collins based the vote for his confirmation on the idea it was settled. that was then. >> that was then. conservatives have been working for a long time to get a court like this. >> decades. decades. the supreme court has been the great conservative project and roe v wade is the great target of that project and they thought they came close in 1992 when the casey decision came out. they were surprised what david suitor and sandra day o'connor republican appointees voted to uphold roe versus wade. the scrutiny that republican appointees to the court have gotten since then is very different. they have been scrubbed to make sure that they will vote to overturn roe v wade and today we look -- it looked to me at least like that effort is on the verge of success. >> who do those hearings -- do they even matter? because kavanaugh said confirmation, he said a string of important cases that overturned precedent he talked about but he said this had been subtle. i think he said it was case on case precedent and this was a settled issue. >> that's right, he said casey

susan collins, rand paul, ted cruz, lindsey graham, fill-in the blank, mitch mcconnell, we are all going to vote no. the first person i told about the score was joe manchin and he was stunned that the cbo had the bill more costly than went from 360 billion over ten years to $3 trillion in deficit. again, if joe will do what he said he would do in terms of evaluating this bill, make sure it doesn't add to inflation, make sure it's paid for, make sure he doesn't have any gimmicks, he will vote no because it's based on his own standard. the cbo destroyed his ability to vote yes. >> sean: we are going to watch. why did the republicans help and assist in a one-time role, can you explain that to me? i've got to tell you something, the republican party under mitch mcconnell promise not to do it in september. then at the last minute, they aided and abetted the democrats who bought them more time. now they did at a different way but a one-time rule is just another way to buy the more time. republicans have been kept out of the budgetary process the entire time. why and what are the implications?

. >> susan collins echoed many, senator bob dole defined the term the greatest generation.at point in his book one soldier's story, former senator dole expressed this to express the realities of war, the greatest generation. jon: alexandria hoff, thank you. joining us former kansas republican senator pat roberts. he was a giant in kansas politics. he was something of a mentor to you, wasn't it? >> yes indeed. >> he was a friend he lost one of our two favorite sons, bob dole and his favorite hero and they are both her favorite sons, as the day goes on everybody the bob from kansas would pay their respects in washington. he encouraged that any had stage iv cancer. we all send their prayers and great wishes to his daughter elizabeth who is his stock partner and an awful lot in her own right and behalf of those especially those disabled in our servicemen and veterans. he was a great man and he really helped me a lot when i was in the house. simply because of who he was. everybody thought since i knew bob dole and we were very close friends read everything i was four, he was for

. >> republican senator susan collins, you may remember, assured americans at that time that kavanagh alone. >> we talked about whether he considered roe to be settled law. he said that he agreed with what justice roberts said at his nomination hearing in which he said that it was settled law. >> our system appears to encourage nominees of the supreme court to mislead the public about their views. mitch mcconnell, it's no mystery, has been plotting a dominant conservative majority on the supreme court for years. back in 2016 after justice scalia died, mcconnell blocked barack obama's pick by denying him any senate hearings. mcconnell said it just wouldn't be right to put garland on the high court at that time. during an election year. >> this is not about this particular judge. this is about who should make the appointment. we're in the process of picking a president and that new president ought to make this appointment, which will affect the supreme court maybe for the next quarter of a century. >> then last year, justice ginsburg passed away less than two months before the election.

. >> you know, mariana, senator susan collins of maine said she wants to oob oob figure out a way to> well, the senate could actually take up a bill that would codify roe v. wade. the house actually sent that over earlier this year. that's another bill that also is in that senate graveyard. the problem is, is as much as you may have someone like susan collins who is pushing for that, how else are you going to get nine other republicans? maybe you get lisa murkowski, to make sure that roe v. wade does become law. and that is the problem here on the senate side of things. the house is, again, holding press conferences, saying as much as they can in the hallways, but that is not going to make the senate move in any way. so, there really isn't a path forward unless she is able to convince unlikely eight other republicans. >> before we go to break, i have to ask you about the knock-down, dragout fights on twitter that's happening between congresswoman boebert, marjorie taylor greene. it's like republican-on-republican violence. and it's giggle-worthy watching from afar on twitter. but how

. >> reporter: susan collins back at the center of this bebdebate after voting to confirm kavanaugh tellingtecting abortion access albeit in a more limited way. the december supreme court arguments teeing up a bombshell springtime decision in the middle of the 2022 midterms. >> i think that -- that element of -- of people trying to control our bodies is something that is going to reverb yat to people across the ballot boxes. >> reporter: cultural and political fight for generations. you touched on the midterm elections coming up next year. how might a sweeping change in abortion laws play out there? >> reporter: it could have a big impact. in the midterms, democrats believe this could galvanize their base, especially if roe were to fall or its protections were to be chipped away at. for democrats, they think it will underscore for voters why it's so critical for them to keep and grow their congressional majorities. conservative voters could also see the fruits of their electoral labor. trump and republicans have for decades run on putting conservative justices on the courts. when it comes t

his comments were cited by republican senator susan collins which you provided the pivotal vote to confirmaugh to the high court, even though she is pro-choice. but during wednesday's oral arguments, justice kavanaugh made what seemed to be a much different argument about precedent. >> think about some of the most important cases, the most consequential cases in this court's history. there is a string of them where the cases overruled proceeded. brown the board, allowed separate but equal. figure versus carr, one person one vote. west coast hotel which recognized the state authority to recognize business. miranda versus arizona, which required police to give warnings when the -- about the right to remain silent and have an attorney present. may not prohibit same-sex conduct. upheld exclusionary rule applies to state criminal prosecutions to exclude evidence obtained in violation of the fourth amendment. gideon versus wainwright, which guaranteed the right to counsel in criminal cases. the constitutional right to same-sex marriage. amy: so that is justice kavanaugh yesterday. meanwhile, the

we have people like lisa murkowski and susan collins. we don't call them liars. them off. there is a place for moderates in a republican conference in the senate. >> there is no formal talk about manchin ditching democrats pass the social spending bill next year. >> they don't think he is going to change parties. they hope to bludgeon him into compliance. is he not going to agree. he has told them that. >> but manchin is not budging. he can dictate the agenda. >> manchin is the king maker at this point. without his vote democrats cannot pass this legislation. so the fact that he is concerned about inflation and that the inflation numbers actually are up, democrats have to take that very seriously. >> to manchin, manners count. is he displeased with how some democrats have treated him. mike? >> chad pergram live on the hill, thanks very much. will the latest crime virus surge change travel plans. ♪ [upbeat acoustic music throughout] ♪ [laughing and giggling] (woman) hey dad. miss us? (vo) reflect on the past, celebrate the future. season's greetings from audi. [♪♪

now susan collins around that time. >> we talked about whether he considered roe to be settled law. he said that he agreed with what justice roberts said at his nomination hearing in which he said that it was settled law. >> okay, nia. so remember, it was really close. she was a deciding vote at least because it was 50-50, right? >> right. >> close to that. so fast forward to today. cavanaugh presented a list of cases where the supreme court overheld long held precedents. what happened to senator collins assuring people cavanaugh thought roe was settled law? >> listen, i think she was much more gullible than for instance dianne feinstein who said listen, she's had many people come before congress who wanted to get on the supreme court and said they believed in the principle of stare decisis and the president takes precedent and not overturning precedent, and she has seen the same judges go and overturn precedent. so she was much more skeptical of what cavanaugh was saying and you had of course there with collins believing what cavanaugh said. listen, i think what is most important h

. >> susan, excuse me, pete, republican senator susan collins said this won't happen, this won't happenade. she's talking about it with other senators. what does that even mean? >> it means the senate or the congress would pass a law saying that abortion has to be allowed by states, and that could be done even if the supreme court overturns roe v. wade. remember overturning roe is much of v. wade would free up states to outlaw abortion if they choose but if congress passes a law saying no, you must allow abortion under certain circumstances, who knows what that standard would be, congress could do that. there would be nothing in the constitution to stop congress from doing that and that would become the law of the land. people could make a constitutional challenge to it, but i don't think they would succeed. >> we will be watching. coming up, breaking news, a controversial trump era immigration policy about to be reinstated. as we go to break, how about a little joy, a live look at the rockefeller center christmas tree. it was officially lit last night. it is extraordinary! 85-year-old

let's be grateful that all of the fancy law professors, susan collins, and people told us these folksd bro with president, they meant that is the artifice of saying that let's be neutral, we will pretend to be neutral we will not ban abortions. so we just won't view it as a right, that middle, place that mutual place is to just let states decide. we saw that same artifice in the amy coney barrett, insisting that because there are safe haven laws that allow you to more readily allowed to give your child up for adoption, it is not a problem for women to be forced to term, because they can give their babies up. so for me the artifice of we are being neutral, we are being reason, this is just a tiny tweak around the margins, nothing earthshaking happening here, not to worry about other presidents when we are gunning for roe, just throw. the pretense that this is a big nothing, and everyone has worked up. >> dahlia, do you think we are going to get an answer on the texas span, or the ruling of this short order may be months before we get the ruling on the mississippi case? >> i think so an

but i can't help but recognize that susan collins supported justice kavanaugh, for example, saying that she felt reassured that he was going to -- that he saw roe as set law, yet there was no indication in his questions or statements earlier this week that that's how he sees this. in fact he was basically asking why should the supreme court be the arbiter of this and why not turn it back to the states. so yes, i support the idea of codifying roe v. wade to passing a law. but let's be honest, we don't have a pro-abortion-rights majority in the united states senate right now, let alone a majority of 60. so what we ought to be doing is defending this institutional right that has been in supreme court and constitutional precedent for nearly 50 years. >> the senate has a lot on its plate. before that, you have a huge to-do list in the coming weeks. among the things on the list, the build back better bill, that's the big one. the annual defense authorization bill. and dealing with the debt limit. are you going to get it all done before the new year? >> well, i can tell you that we are hellben

republican senator susan collins from maine has already said she supports passing a law to protect a woman's right to choose, but as you know any senate bill would need at least 60 votes to overcome the filibuster. that filibuster forms the power to legislate reproductive rights pivots to the states in parts of the country with abortion access will sharply decline. joining us now an msnbc analyst. without roe reproductive rights will be determined state to state. tell us what that looks like and how that has the capacity to change our political landscape. >> well, the day after roe is overturned assuming it's overturned and not just gutted, i believe there are ten states that have what are called trigger laws on the books, which means they already passed laws that say as soon as roe is overturned abortion becomes illegal in the state. other states just have their pre-roe bans on abortions still on the books which would presumably go back into effect. so the day roe is overturned a bunch of states -- women are going to wake up in a bunch of states and find out that abortion has become

it is susan collins, the entire gold states will be decimated by climate change and then come begging for federal money to cover the damages from these storms. i think the attention needs to be focused on the 50 republican senators who are saying no. they are not going to participate in trying to make this a better bill and vote for something in the end. it is very much comparable to what was going on in '93. >> the way the media covers this, which is understandable, i get why it happens, is because there's the two joes, two big characters, joe biden, joe manchin. it looks like that is the only thing that matters and we are constantly leaving out the 50 people that it takes which is to say the 50 republicans it takes to put joe manchin in this position. they're all going to get -- if this bill goes down it will be blamed on joe manchin and no one is going to say mitt romney how did you let this happen? >> that is exactly right. like a magic trick. they perform this magic trick that got a substantial portion of the american press to blame this thing on joe manchin not the 50 republican

as you noted on twitter yesterday, senator susan collins during the confirmation hearing said that brett law. based on his questions yesterday, is kavanaugh going back on those commitments? >> he seemed to go almost out of his way to go back on his commitment because he went through a series of questions about the supreme court's ability to overturn its prior prec precedents, which it clearly has. but kavanaugh went on at some length about famous examples of the court overturning its precedents, the most famous being brown v. board of education, another one that separate but equal was constitutional. you know, i don't know if he was trying to troll senator collins and say, hey, i'm confirmed, i can do whatever i want, but the contradiction between his confirmation position and the position yesterday seemed especially stark. >> talk about the potential consequences here. you have a certain number of justices on the court willing to overturn roe entirely, justice roberts presenting middle ground where you lower the legal standard to be 15 weeks as opposed to 23 weeks for legal abortions. i

>> will be to monitor as we have an new york times take care of one or two a year and we have susan collins and and 76 percent approval ratings and we have to spend a million dollars and she is in a tough race and johnson and in new england just above new york times about wiped us out. but there's got to be somebody in the middle summer. and knowing that they don't have to be sort of moderate and liberals and conservatives. but straight down the line pretty. >> to think it's one reason that people outside of the city who are turned off or not ideologically driven and maybe don't pay much attention pretty. >> while i can tell it it's more difficult raising the money and for the republicans particularly because they don't have the sources. msi was listening to a democrat it was the michael. [inaudible]. and very good is talking about how the republicans could be in trouble because there volunteers showing up for the the candidates because maybe hillary is nationally known and barack is you know, very charming guy and new face and fresh. but it kinda makes sense but even then, they are saying

i mean, i think, look, let's be grateful that all of those fancy law professors and susan collins andwho told us that these folks really meant when they said roe was precedent, they meant that, okay, let's put that aside. that artifice is gone. the artifice i worry about and you played na brett kaf clip is the artifice of let's be neutral. we're going to pretend to be neutral. we're not going to bad abortion. we're just not going to say there's a right, and that middle place, that neutral place is to just let states decide. we saw that same artifice amy coney barrett kept insisting because there were safe haven laws that allow you to more readily give your child up for adoption, it's not a problem for women to be forced to carry to term. they can just give their babies up. i think for me the artifice of we're being neutral, we're being reasoned. this is just a tiny little tweak around the margins, nothing earth shaking happening here, not to worry about other precedents when we are gunning for roe, that's the artifice that really rankled the sort of pretense this is a big nothing burg

today was maine senator susan collins' 69th birthday, though she's confident that she will remain 68r ] they all left. trump tower recently began selling a cocktail inspired by former president trump called 45 and it secretly reports to a white russian. [ laughter and applause that really hammers home how the last joke did. [ laughter ] "maybe it's them oh, it's not." [ laughter ] more than 30 people recently spent the night at an ikea in denmark after a snowstorm stranded them at the store and then they were stranded another night because they couldn't find the exit [ laughter ] and i didn't know this, but in denmark, all their furniture has normal names [ laughter ] it was announced today that investment manager peter lynch will donate more than $20 million worth of art to his alma mater boston college's art museum lynch hopes the donation will help bostonians learn to correctly pronounce the word "art." [ laughter ] "now, that's aht that's aht, bro. [ laughter ] and finally, instagram today launched a so-called "take a break" tool. a break from instagram, or as its otherwise calle

court vacancy in recent years, we always end up talking a lot about pro-choice republican senator susan collinso play what she said back in 2018 when now-justice kavanaugh was up for confirmation. >> we talked about whether he considered roe to be settled law. he said that he agreed with what justice roberts said at his nomination hearing, in which he said that it was settled law. >> senator davis, sure didn't sound that way today, did he? >> no, he absolutely didn't. and in fact, he's taken great pains to sort of forecast what his feelings about stairi decisis are and whether settled law are something the court should adhere to and he has written out a number of qualifications or criteria by which he believes that we can overturn settled law. even something as settled as, of course, roe v. wade has been for the last few decades in this country. >> wendy davis, jeffrey toobin, appreciate it. thank you. fight over reproductive rights, so is the battle over gun control, both political obviously thing rods. colliding at one point yesterday in a passionate speech in the senate. we are back with the

. >> reporter: senator susan collins echoed many with this, quote: senator bob dole defined the term the greatest generation. on that point in his book "one soldier's story," former senator dole expressed this, quote: they are the greatest generation. arthel? arthel: indeed. alexandria hoff, thanks, alex. the passing of a giant, former senator and presidential candidate bob dole dead at 98. it's my woke-up-like-this migraine medicine. it's ubrelvy. one dose can quickly stop my migraine in its tracks within 2 hours. don't take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. ask about ubrelvy, the anytime, anywhere migraine medicine. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire ♪ well the sun is shining and the grass is green ♪ ♪ i'm way ahead of schedule with my trusty team ♪ ♪ there's heather on the hedges ♪ ♪ and kenny on the koi ♪ ♪ and your truck's been demolished by the

and susan collins 76% approval rating after -- spent a million dollars.tell, more difficult, raising money, republicans particularly, because they don't have the sources and others. and i was listening last night to norm ornstein who, you know, who is a democrat, and barrone, michael, very good. and barrone was talking about how the republicans could be in trouble because there are fewer volunteers showing up for republican candidates than democratic candidates. maybe that's because hillary is nationally known and barack is, you know, a very charming guy, new face, fresh. but these guys have got to make sense. even that, they're saying this could go, republicans, right down to the convention. you're not going to pick somebody on february 5th. >> at least it will make for an exciting convention. >> yeas, but they've got five different scenarios for republicans. only i think two for the democrats, it will either be hillary or obama. and it could go past february 5th, probably not. that's their view. >> let me flip that coin because there's something contradictory here. people say over

for instance, paid family leave, is there a way to get, for instance, senator susan collins, republican a smaller paid family leave bill that can get 60 votes in the senate? is that a strategy given the fact it looks like build back better is dead? >> jake, this is all happening in realtime, and i'm not one to cede defeat quickly. so i remain focused on keeping the pressure up on senator manchin, the white house using the full weight of this presidency to lean on this senator, to show solidarity with this democratic party and with the american people and to stop obstructing the president's agenda, which is the people's agenda. this is a mammoth bill to address mammoth hurt. let's get it done. >> senator sanders said just a few minutes ago that this would create a stark difference in the 2022 midterms, where democrats are on one side pushing for lower prescription drug prices, childcare, et cetera, things that are in the build back better and republicans are opposing it. i wonder if you think it might actually have the opposite effect of suppressing and depressing the progressive voters,

i think right now you -- i know that i think susan collins and others have been interested in talkingve. why don't they start having that conversation with some republicans. i know there is some interest in that one. there might be -- i bet there is probably some agreement on the child tax credit. but it is going have to be much more targeted than it is right now. but what if they begin having the conversation, the decision was made to do this on a partisan basis early on, unlike the infrastructure bill. >> charlie, i want to ask you, scott perry, the january 6th committee, asked him to come in and testify. congressman perry from the district that i think bordered yours in pennsylvania. what do you think of scott perry and his role perhaps in trying to overthrow the election results? >> well, i think he probably ought to lawyer up right now. certainly i've known scott for many years. but he had contacts with mr. clark at the doj and mr. perry also has been pushing this election fraud narrative. so i think he has a problem. i think what is more interesting, this seems to be anyway so u

one republican senator, susan collins, made some news yesterday when her office told me that she supportsifying the protections of roe v. wade into law. let's post on the screen what exactly her office said. they say she is supportive of the right to an abortion and believes that protections in roe and casey should be passed into law. she's had some conversations with colleagues about this. now, it's notable that collins supports a narrower version of the women's health protection act. she wants some exemptions for abortion rights providers. collins' critics say this is a cynical political move to give herself coverage after she voted for kavanaugh and gorsuch who could vote to abolish the roe protections. >> i believe she said she didn't believe kavanaugh would be in support of overturning roe v. wade. we'll see what happens. but an interesting statement from senator collins' office, obviously you would need a lot more republican votes to get it past the senate. sahil, thank you so much. >>> abortion was made a constitutional right in 1973 in roe v. wade, as i'm sure you know, but you mi