diane i want to go back back to wayne lapierre.'s watch this together. >> the whole thing universal checks is a dishonest premise. there is not a bill on the hill that provides a universal check. the shooters in tucson and arrow, newtown, they are not going to be checked. they are unrecognizable. diane how do you respond to that? >> well, it -- the logic doesn't make sense. if you follow that through, criminals don't respond to any law, okay. so if we are going to follow that through we wouldn't have passed any laws. we need to put obstacles in their play anyway. we can't just hand the country over to them and say since you don't want to play ball, we're just going to give you the field. >> cenk: that makes so much sense. but of course, wayne lapierre is not paid to make sense. michael moore was recently on television and personalized this saying if harry reid's grandchildren were shots, he would have a different opinion. now a family member of yours was shot. was michael moore wrong to personalize it that way? >> i'm beginning to

." >>> in the great gun safety debate, michael bloomberg prefers data, and wayne lapierre prefers wayne lapierre's opinion. it's monday, march 25th, and this is "now." >> the whole thing, universal checks, is a dishonest premise. >> wayne lapierre, meet youtube. we'll take the nra spokesperson on a trip down memory lane. >> 80% of nra members even say that they think we should have reasonable checks. >> the numbers don't lie, but are the lawmakers deluded? james carville and howard dean will discuss one nation under a gun. >>> marriage equality sees its day in court and republicans are forced to see the light. >> can you imagine the next presidential campaign, a republican candidate saying flat-out, i am for gay marriage? >> i could. >> all that hinges on the verdict, ahead. >>> the gop's best and brightest are out with their budgets. and they might just take the country to a scary, dark place. #runfromrand. >>> forget the shadow, punxsutawney phil may have the legal hammer coming down on his head. what's a little climate change when there are prognosticating groundhogs to worry about?

wayne lapierre or mike bloomberg? it's monday, march 25th, and this is now. >> joining me today, former pennsylvania governor, and nbc news political analyst and current governor of "now," ed rendell. managing editor of the grio.com and soon-to-be lieutenant governor of "now," joy reed. >> and assistant managing editor for "time" magazine, rona. congress may be on spring break, but mayor michael bloomberg is at work. his group, mayors against ill leelg guns announced it will drop $12 million on a tv advertising campaign against 13 states. >> guns are for hunting and protecting my family. i believe in the second amendment and i'll fight to protect it. but with rights come responsibilities. that's why i support comprehensive background checks. so criminals and the dangerously mentally ill can't buy guns. that protects my rights and my family. >> yesterday in an interview with david gregory, mayor bloomberg continued the full-court press. >> we're trying to do everything we can to impress upon the senators, that this is

wayne lapierre.f you want to make the nra look back, put wayne lapierre on. >> they are always booking wayne lapierre, who says, you are not going to buy america. >> he will find out this is a country by the people, for the people and of the people and he can't spend enough of his $27,000,000,000 to try to impose his will on the american public. they don't want him in their restaurants. they don't want him in their homes. they don't want them telling them what food to eat. they don't want him to tell them what self defense they can have. he is reckless in his comments on this whole gun issue. >> wayne lapierre what an idiot. % who is he to accuse bloomberg of spending money to try to influence the gun safety issue? >> all the nra does. they walk around this city. they walk around this capital building, handing out checks and they have done it for years and years and years. and it's money that they get from the gun manufacturers, recycled through the nra and turned into campaign contributions. now, yo

. >> this isn't about wayne lapierre. it's about the public wanting to be safe on their streets. ♪ you don't need a weatherman to know it's where the wind blows ♪ >> it's a busy and wintery monday on the east coast. congress is on spring break as lawmakers return to their districts where they're likely to face constituents ready to weigh in on several flashpoint issues. outside the supreme court, spectators are already lining up as the court prepares to hear two cases this week on same-sex marriage. these cases could literally transform the landscape of equal rights in this country. earlier today, president obama addressed a naturalization ceremony for new citizens challenging lawmakers to, quote, have courage when the debate resumes next month. perhaps the most volatile issue facing lawmakers right now, the debate over proposed new gun safety measures. this weekend marked 100 days since the sandy hook elementary school massacre, and gun reform advocates are clearly frustrated with the lack of action from lawmakers. organ

what wayne lapierre is doing this, is drumming up the concentrated base.o in that speech, are they insane? what's the point of newspapers printing the name of legal gun owners? so the chinese can hack the list? so the mexicans can get the records? he's dog whistling, he's race baiting. he's doing all the things that make that group of the american sector froth at the mouth. it's very smart on his part, frankly. >> the fact that he's been given this prominent speaking role at this event, does this support many liberals' claims that the gop is beholden to the nra? >> i think that's probably very true. when i worked in the senate for almost seven years, the gop obviously was naturally allied to the nra. just like the democrats were for the most part to the teachers union, et cetera, et cetera, you're going to have natural alliances all over. but it's not as simple as that and i'll give you an example. take joe mansion from west virginia, a democrat, a red state what role is joe mansion going to play in this debate? you've got a bill, several bills to come out

this isn't about wayne lapierre. this is about a public wanting to be safe on their streets. this is about the public having the right to buy arms and the right to protect themselves and the right to use them for sport or hunting. but, also, it's about the public's right to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. that's in everybody's interests. if you go back to 1999, wayne lapierre testified on behalf of the nra that background checks were appropriate and should be done and congress back in 1968 actually made them the law of the land, but they don't apply to 40% of the gun sales today. something like 58,000 gun dealers across this country, three times the number of mcdonald's stores, as a matter of fact, there are gun stores every place in this country, and those gun sellers -- they do background checks on all their clients. i think last year 78,000 times the government found reasons to deny people a permit to get a gun based on either they were criminals or they had mental problems. if that doesn't tell you that this is a real problem but good checks

government is to inform the public. >> mayor bloomberg being thanks as always. >>> and here with me wayne lapierre of the national rifle association. mr. lapierre, welcome back to the program. >> thanks, david. good to be with you. >> the legislative moment has arrived here on capitol hill. what's going to happen with gun safety legislation? >> well, you just heard mayor bloomberg, but he's going to find out this is a country of the people, by the people, and for the people. and he can't spend enough of his $27 billion to try to impose his will on the american public. they don't want him in their restaurants. they don't want him in their homes. they don't want him telling what food to eat. they sure don't want him telling what self-defense firearms to own and he can't buy america. he's so reckless in terms of his comments on this whole gun issue, he talks about guns buzzing. he's talking about machine guns. none of these guns are machine guns. >> but is he going to have an impact politically? he wants to be a counterweight to youth. he wants to go into these races in 2014 and spend along with you.

wayne lapierre taking aim at the liberal media. i wonder if he is talking about me here. >> the political elites, they may not like it the liberal media can keep hating on me. but i'm still standing, unapologetic and unflinching in defense of our individual freedom. you know, they can call me crazy or anything else they want. but nra's nearly 5 million members and americans, 100 million gun owners will not back down, not ever. i promise you that. >> you're not cynical, mr. lapierre, just dangerous. and rob portman's stunning decision to now support same-sex marriage after his son told him he is gay. join something he david boss circumstance president of citizens united and republican strategist and cnn contributor, margaret hoover a big day forth republican party in this country, in many ways, to start with, the portman sensation. another way of putting it really, here is a republican senator who had repeatedly voted against gay marriage doing a complete u-turn because his son turned out two years ago, went to him and said, dad, i'

also, wayne lapierre, said previously that schools should be gun-free zones.ow he said everyone in the school should be armed. the man does any u-turn that suit him, and yet he's winning this war in washington. why is he winning it? why does the nra continue to wield this power? i've got a tweet here from ted nugent. ask michael moore this. will you ever admit your "bowling for columbine" big lie is a propagandist smear against the good families of the nra and the honor american legendary freedom warrior charlton heston? >> listen, ted and i are both from michigan but there's a reason why in detroit we call him the motor city mad man. you know, he's -- he's been off his rocker for a long time. i feel bad about that because he actually had some good music back in the day, but, listen. the thing here with wayne lapierre, who by the way actually i thought he's aged pretty well. >> by the way, he's never come on the show. i repeatedly ask him. lapierre, if you're watching. >> that's odd. >> go on every other show. come on my show. >> they are generally not afraid.

wayne lapierre seems the angry side of gun rights and threatening.amazing to me these are the two figures that have emerged in this back and forth. but -- >> what do you have, deep pockets on both sides. you have mayor bloomberg -- >> he who has the money. >> of course. mayor bloomberg, a billionaire and can spend this money. takes a $1 salary from new york, not why he is mayor of new york, for the money. >> right. >> and wayne lapierre has been involved in this fight for a while. and now he has an adversary with deep pockets and needs to push back. >> right. in a way, it's kind of raising wayne lapierre's profile, if anything. and the nra's profile. so we know from the senate bill last week they have jettisoned the assault weapons ban and bans on high-capacity magazines, which really puts all the eggs -- making my easter reference, all the eggs in the background checks basket. let me play something that tom coburn, republican senator from oklahoma, said over oh the weekend on c-span, talking about where they are in background checks. >> they're goin

wayne lapierre spoke the truth. he does have the facts straight.n the syracuse report ranks dead last. ninetieth, 90th in the country . the mayor talking about gun violence. is the murder capital of america. prosecuting federal gun crimes. the city with the nation's toughest gun laws is not enforcing laws on the books. the second worst gun law enforcer is los angeles. los angeles comes in 809th. the third worst, new york city. why is the mayor sitting in washington d.c. talking nonsense with the president of the united states. why shouldn't you be talking with eric holder about what they're doing. eighty-eight. these of the same people playing politics and exploiting tragedy, folks. the city with the mayor who is now spending millions of his own money trying to restrict the second amendment of every citizen in this country watches his city as it fails in prosecuting federal gun crimes. you know who else is in prosecuting felons and fugitives? the obama administration. this is the administration of the president is sincere with a tear as i. after al

. >> who would you rather fight, wayne lapierre? >> the whole thing, universal checks, is a dishonest premise. >> or mike bloomberg. >> we have a lot of work ahead of us. >> biggest voices in the gun debates square off. >> criminals aren't going to be checked. >> this isn't about wayne lapierre. >> he can't buy america. >> this is about a public wanting to be safe on their streets. >> background checks has pretty broad support. >> 90% of the american people support stronger background checks. >> the nra wants to do things that makes people safe. >> interesting remarks. >> mayor bloomberg has the american people i believe on his side. >> this country shifted away from conservative ideals. >> we have to win in 2014 and we have to win in 2016. >> i remain haunted by the experience of the 2012 campaign. >> why i think republicans should be focused like a laser beam on nothing but getting elected. >> we have a long way to go, but we're making progress. >> oh, my goodness! yes! >>> when supporters of marriage equality go in front of the s

we have seen donald trump and, mitch mcconnell, kelly ayotte, and paul ryan and wayne lapierre, and weave everybody in there, right? is that a time for the conservatives to look forward to a launch pad going toward 2016 or a time to bash the president, and first is kelly ayotte spoke and mentioned benghazi. >> well, it is interesting, because it needs to be a time for the republicans to look ahead, and the lineup that you just showed, reflects some of the problem. there is a certain schizophrenia in the party, and there are so many stakeholders here and so many ideologies competing and you see it in the discussions around immigration and the discussions around gay marriage and foreign policy and the opinions are sort of all over the map, and really, this time i think that it needs to be used for the republicans to solidify, with who are are we? what kind of party are wie goin to be and position themselves well. >> one of the speakers is mitch mcconnell this morning and this is what he said. >> i want you to take a look at the stack of paper behind e me. it is the most powerful argument

pick up your phone and call congress now or wayne lapierre will win. ♪ ♪ >>> we are watching an orj of violence. >> two brutal murders in colorado. >> they call us craze. >> there are current laws at the state and national level are swiss cheese. >> you just shoot. >> weir trying to keep guns out of the hands of people who committed murder. >> they call us craze. >> that male marine had first shot and killed the woman and then turned the gun on himself. >> think about newtown. think about newtown. >> they call us crazy? >> literally, kids went and shot her baby through the head. shot that baby dead. >> and they say we're crazy? >> does anybody need a hundred-round drum of ammunition. does anybody need that other than the military or licensed police? >> no. >> dragged out of a city bus and shot to death in front of witnesses. >> three people are dead after a late-night shooting. another day, another shooting. >> orgy of gun violence. they call me crazy. ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> we are watching developing stories on multiple fronts this afternoon. the president is continuing his middle east trip meetin

. >>> why wayne lapierre may have had the worst week ever.st for the record from my point of view, senator -- >> how many cases have you made? >> it doesn't matter it's a paper thing. i want to stop 76 -- i want to finish the answer. >> no -- >> i want to stop 76,000 people from buying guns illegally. that's what a background check does. if you think we're going to do paperwork prosecutions, you're wrong. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer. there's no subtext... just tacos. yeah, it's our job to make you want it. but honestly... it's not that hard. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. >> i want to stop 76,000 people >> i want to stop 76,000 people i remember the day my doctor said i had diabetes. there's a lot i had to do... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's so

we've had wayne lapierre.e had mitt romney politely -- cpac for failing to invite the two most popular republican governors. if one were looking for the singular message from the republican party, would it be g guns, governors and gung-ho overseas? >> that is something that is alluring and appealing. yeah, the reality is that the right wing right now and the conservatives are really in disarray. they're trying to figure out what the soul of the party is about. what the anatomy of the movement will look like. so they're out here casting as wide a net as possible. they're missing, however, an opportunity to outreach, as anna marie said, as miss cox said, to minorities and the hall is empty. they can take advantage of inherent conservatiatisatiscons refuse to make the political bridge to the communities they could exploit in good way. the problem is they have no interest in doing so, but they have no knowledge intimately of these communities. which means also that they don't have a sense of the broad spectrum of

. >> stephanie: and he had the lovely and talented wayne lapierre on meteet the press. >> yeah wayneould -- cowardly democrats pay attention. >> yeah. we didn't really want to line up with the other guys, no you lined up with [ inaudible ] and cheney. they were the only people in offer. >> stephanie: yeah exactly. and may i use the analogy you really shot holes in wayne lapierre's analysis you know who is supposed to enforce those laws, the atf? and you know who hasn't had a director for the last six years and who is at fault for that? >> yeah, the default position is even illogical. enforce the laws we have. fine get out of the way and let us do that. and the they are wrapped up on the international amnesty in arms. >> stephanie: can i just say as i mentioned earlier, your writing about peggy nunan is probably the thing that makes me laugh -- >> i crew up with peggy nunans. my mother's friends were all peggy nunans. >> stephanie: you say the tiny canaries that orbit her head went into full swing. [overlapping speakers] >> stephanie: what they decide is the right thing. and you say k

i mean this is something that even the nra, even wayne lapierre used to support.nk this is a common-sense measure that we hope and the president hopes, is moved forward on it. there's progress on in congress and that he will eventually get to sign into law. >> before i let you go, jay, there's a report on "reuters" that chuck hagel at the pentagon is going to be announcing a new missile defense to be installed in alaska presumably to protect against anything coming from north korea. can you tell us about that? well i want to point you to the announcements coming out of the defense department, so i don't have a lot on that for you. we have obviously very mindful of the north korean threat as well as threats from other areas. that's why we have pursued missile defense in the way that we have. but i'll leave the specifics to the secretary of defense. >> and i don't know what the protests are outside the gates there, but it sounds as though you've got some company, a little chorus. >> i haven't been able to see them, there's a screen here, but i'll go check it out aft

what kind of reception will wayne lapierre get at cpac?reaching to the choir, so i suspect he'll get a standing ovation, a sustained round of applause. he'll probably say what he's said, it's an assault on second amendment rights. i believe in the right very strongly to bear arms. hour, there should be a back ground check. hour, i don't see the need for semiautomatic weapons in the household. that makes no sense to me. so what i think is wayne lapierre will spread more gasoline on the fire, if you will, in preaching to the choir. >> is that what you think happens? >> i think so. wayne lapierre said a decade ago he was for background checks. now there's a poll out that shows even in states like montana, the majority, about 78% of gun owners are for background checks but wayne lapierre -- >> why is that? why does there seem to be such a disconnection between nra and its membership? >> because it's the lobbyist group in washington and the spokespeople. they're stopping commonsense gun safety laws going in effect. they're my parents and your p

john welcome back into "the war room." >> thank you. >> michael: isn't it ironic that wayne lapierres bloomberg can't buy the american public? >> it sure is. the ben factors and the uniquely dominating gun industry has intimidated the democratic party and influenced the republican party. i go to a gun store. federally licensed gun dealers have to run a background check. but members of congress have agreed that criminals and terrorists who can't pass a background check should be able to legally buy guns in 33 states from private gun dealers. so they are supporting the rights of criminals, the mentally ill and even terrorists. it's time we stand up to the uniquely regulated gun industry and say no, you are not going to buy our government. >> michael: listening to you say that it's so damn frustrating, john, the nra it appears and i think you would agree -- does int seem like they are still winning at this? and if they are, have they at least been weakened by newtown at all? >> i think so with regard to the general population. but we have lost our d.c.sy to special interests. and the nr

wayne lapierre calls him nuts. >>> the irs., the internal revenue service, is behind this "star trek" movie starring tax collectors and it's getting backlash. first, we start with developing news at this hour. secretary of state john kerry made a surprise visit to baghdad earlier today where he spoke to prime minister nuri al maliki. secretary kerry is now in amman, jordan, and so is chief foreign affairs correspondents andrea mitchell, traveling with the secretary of state. she joins us by phone now. andrea, what did secretary kerry accomplish with this trip to baghdad? >> reporter: well, it was a very tough trip and a tough message, because we went to baghdad, a quick visit. surprise, under tight security and secrecy, for obvious reasons, because ten years ar the war, there still are terror attacks. last week, when dozens were killed in baghdad. he was in a secure place in the embassy and then visiting prime minister maliki and the speaker of the parliament in iraq in their residences, but his message to mallski that the mali

wayne lapierre, thank you. come back sometime. the head of the nra.you would like to connect with us and talk by this issue or any other, go to loudobbs.com. you can e-mail me. i would love to hear fromm you. parts of the midwest are bracing for what meteorologists are now calling perhaps the heaviest of snowfall of the season. are you ready? we are coming right back. alec, for this mission i upgraded your smart phone. ♪ right. but the most important feature of all i.. the capital one purchase eraser. i can redeem the double miles i earned with my venture card to erase recent travel purchases. d with a few clicks, this mission never happened. uh, what's this button do? [ electricity zaps ] ♪ you requested backup? yes. yes i did. what's in your wallet? yes i did. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. lou: a major winter storm bringing heavy snow and freezing rain tonight to a wide swath of the northern plains and upper mississippi valley. forecasters say the blitz is ex

wayne lapierre, thank you. come back sometime. the head of the nra. if you would like to connect with us and talk by this issue or any other, go to loudobbs.com. you can e-mail me. i would love to hear from you. parts of the midwest are bracing for what meteorologists are now calling perhaps the heaviest of snowfall of the season. are you ready? we are coming right back. dad, i'd put that down. ah. 4g, huh? verizon 4g lte. 700 megahertz spectrum, end-to-end, pure lte build the most consistent speeds indoors or out. and, obviously, astonishing throughput. obviously... you know how fast our home wifi is? yeah. this is basically just asast. oh. and verizon's got more fast lte coverage than all other networks combined. it's better. yes. oh, why didn't you just say that? huh-- what is he doing? lou: a major winter storm bringing heavy snow and freezing rain tonight to a wide swath of the northern plains and upper mississippi valley. forecasters say the blitz is expected to dump up to a foot of snow in minnesota before it moves eastward over the mid-atlanti

i want to start with wayne lapierre, if i may saying the nra supports a bill to get the records of thosedjudicated mentally incompetent and dangerous into the background check system for gun dealers and better enforcement of federal laws and stronger penalties for illegal third-party purchases and gun trafficking. that is, i would think, a fairly impressive list of things, the nra supports. paul, can you -- and the brady campaign, then join hands with the nra on those issues? >> those are all basically things that need to be done, things we have pushed for, for years. i was happy after the virginia tech shootings that work -- work with the nra members to make sure we passed the bill to get more records into the background check system but with all of those things, unless we require background checks on all sales we are not going far enough. yes, they are talking about things that make sense and yes, they've talked about things in the past and wayne lapierre supported universal background checks in 1999 and changed his mind apparently now but we need to make sure we do a back ground check

keeping it real with wayne lapierre.ne thing i've noticed is the president is living like a sultan and michelle obama runs away from a reporter and starts shouting benghazi, benghazi. but it goes back to this upity negro and -- >> or living off of the -- >> living off of public assistance. this is sort of a high-level welfare queen sort of situation. any time you give black people a little bit, they are going to be lazy, which we've heard, not real americans, hardworking, and living it up on our dime. hannity keeps talking about how they keep going to different places. george bush took a month off but hannity said but he kept going to his house. >> they always accuse the obama family of being entitled. listen to this. >> and this is a lifestyle that is one of excess. now we find out that there are five chefs on air force one. >> there she is in her one shoulder coturre clumping around the beach side in her designer sh shoes. >> you did see the dress she was wearing when she toured the oil spill? >> we don't like paying m

. >>> next, my all-star panel and the gun control battle turns personal between the nra's wayne lapierre and new york's mayor bloomberg. >>> we got a 911 call that there was a shooting at sandy hook elementary school. >> we need to remember the 26 victims who lost their lives. >> she just wanted to teach little kids. that was her goal. and she died doing it. >> that was the last i ever saw jessie alive. >> a new ad calling for gun control featuring families who lost their children at newtown. we did something special the last few days. we conducted an informal count of u.s. senators asking them whether or not they supported dianne feinstein's proposed ban on assault weapons which was never allowed to get to the senate floor. the number's not official. in some cases the answer wasn't quite as simple as yes or no. the current total, 30 senators said they would support the ban. 44 said they would oppose it. 16 had no response. 10 took no position. the 16 that haven't responded we should name them. bennett from colorado, cantwell from washington. chambliss from georgia. corker from tennessee

. >> maria, i want to talk about wayne lapierre quickly here. he had a prime speaking spot.that no republicans will ever vote for any means of gun control? your thoughts on that. >> well, i think it should be more of a message to voters in this country that a political party and i know that amy keeps talking about how cpac is not focused on republican or political politics. that's right. but you can't get away from the fact that it is -- it is part in parcel of the gop of the republican party. and so when you have people like wayne lapierre speaking at this, it's clearly a message from the nra warning republicans they should not focus on any type of gun violence priorities or legislation. and i think what it tells the american people is once again that these are leaders, call them republican leaders, call them conservative leaders, whatever you want. but these are not leaders that are in tune with where the majority of americans are. the majority of americans want sensible gun violence legislation so that -- so that all of the gun violence that we have seen in the past sever

and wayne lapierre says that he's trying to buy america, what do you say? influence and the problem i have with these commercials, to charles' point he's not using facts to back up what he is pushing on the television commercials. he's injecting a lot of emotion. he's not using why are these people actually killing in the first place, he's blaming it on the guns themselves. so, are there some things that mayor bloomberg that have been done in the city that are good. yes. i don't disagree, i think they're helpful as a consumer, however, he's got the money, he's going to influence politics. charles: exact, i agree. i think he could do more-- what he does with his mayor is fine. as mayor some of the things he pushed through, you know, and i thought was ridiculous. if he wants to spend his fortune to change the way that america thinks, that's up to him. stuart: a little later on the program, i'm going to side with mayor bloomberg on his nanny-ism. >> shocking. stuart: we've got another live report from a country that's said to be on the verge of an economic dep

enter wayne lapierre, ceo of the nra. >> if you're not free to protect yourself when government puts thumb on the freedom. they can call me crazy or anything else they want. and they say we're crazy? that's crazy. crazy. crazy. it's as if sanity, itself, has been sequestered in washington. >> crazy. that's the word he likes. that's what we're hearing. see what i mean? >>> finally this week in conspiracy theories, is ben affleck a secret undercover government operative as in the present day version of character he played in movie "argo" that came out this year? the iranian government is not pleased with affleck's oscar winning movie which tells of the escape of six americans during the iranian hostage crisis. this week an iranian news agency gave an american conspiracy theorist a chance to discredit the movie. quote, if the makers of "argo" are deposed under oath, they may be forced to reveal their film like the fictitious film within the film is a covert operation disguised as a movie. i have a theory, too. "argo" was a successful effort to make a popular movie. and that's reality. f

that is kind of thing i think wayne lapierre was pushing on sunday on "meet the press."ushing the idea it's about mike bloomberg, not about your own safety from guns. >> well, a couple of things. that's all we can ask for is pryor listens to arkansans. they think every gun buyer should get a background check no matter who they buy the gun from or where they buy it. this get background checks because they buy them at licensed dealers. if you buy the gun online or buy the gun at a gun show, there's no background check. that's where the criminals and seriously mentally ill go to get their guns. all we want is to close that loophole. we think it's going to happen and think it will happen with senator pryor's support. >> what do you think of lapierre yesterday? he is trying to make it one of these country mice against the city mice. he's trying to basically say if you want to sand up against your community against the big shots from gotham, you can vote for more guns. you know what's going on here. >> if wayne lapierre is the country mouse, he may be the only making money to

. >>> next, my all-star panel and the gun control battle turns personal between the nra's wayne lapierre and new york's mayor bloomberg. whoa! nobody insures more bikes than progressive. do you guys ride? well... no. sometimes, yeah. yes. well, if you know anybody else who also rides, send them here -- we got great coverage. it's not like bikers love their bikes more than life itself. i doubt anyone will even notice. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today. aarrggh! >>> we got a 911 call that there was a shooting at sandy hook elementary school. >> we need to remember the 26 victims who lost their lives. >> she just wanted to teach little kids. that was her goal. and she died doing it. >> that was the last i ever saw jessie alive. >> a new ad calling for gun control featuring families who lost their children at newtown. we did something special the last few days. we conducted an informal count of u.s. senators asking them whether or not they supported dianne feinstein's proposed ban on assault weapons which was never allowed to get to the se

nra president wayne lapierre says bloomberg is "reckless" in his comments on gun issues, and the nra will match his spending dollar-for-dollar with its own anti-legislation ads. the sec is giving the go-ahead to nasdaq's plan to pay customers for losses from facebook's botched ipo. brokers will recieve $62-million. but that's not even close to the $500 million people on wall street estimate was lost on social media's opening day of trade. nasdaq will pay in cash. the deal with the sec leaves the door open to future lawsuits. a report next month is expected to reveal how the so called "patent cliff" is affecting drug companies. the patent cliff refers to patents ending for drug companies, opening the way for others to send generic versions onto the market. the new york times reports drug costs fell slightly in 2012, mostly because of generics. it's the first decline in half a century. a new survey shows how far employers will go to save money on employee healthcare. human resources consulting firm aon hewitt says a growing number penalize workers who don't make healthy choices. a surv

other speakers include donald trump, paul ryan, wayne lapierre and bobby jindal. also today the u.s. chamber of commerce is hosting a fair for military members. and a happy 80th birthday to u.s. supreme court justice rut bader ginsburg. here's a look at what's coming up later on "today." in an exclusive, ann curry speaks with one wall street's former top female executives about her sacrifices and regrets. and can napping at work really make you more productive? one office is putting snooze rooms to the test. now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm richard lui along with dylan dreyer who you can catch on the "today" show this weekend. thanks for watching "early today." have a great weekend. . . >>> i put them anywhere i could find. anyone that wants to hear what's going on in our neighborhood >>> neighbors taking action after a san jose teacher is arrested for possessing child pornography. the new twist in the story. >>> new developments in the death of a san jose biker, what police are saying happened in the moments be

i want to play what wayne lapierre played on "meet the press" in response to mayor bloomberg and his millions of dollars he is willing to put up in this battle. >> he is going to find out this is a country of the people, by the people and for the people. and he can't spend enough of his $27 billion to try to impose his will on the american public. they don't want him in their restaurants. they don't want him in their homes them don't want them telling them what food to eat. they sure don't want to say which firearms to own that and he can't buy america. >> interesting remarks for many reasons. he waves in this soda ban and some other things but basically paints bloomberg as daddy war bucks, trying to dole out his cash. we know the nra has its arsenal as well and has, too, shelled out millions of dollars in an effort. >> i think before this whole fight is over, we'll be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on this. he made a very clever point. he is trying to paint bloomberg as a guy that is just going to buy everything. but the one thing that is going on here is optics. basically

wayne lapierre said to nbc's david gregory about mayor bloomberg this.en. >> people all over, millions of people, sending us five, ten, 15, $20 checks, saying stand up to this guy that says we can only have three bullets, which is what he said. stand up to this guy that says ridiculous things like the nra wants firearms with nukes on them. it is insane. >> lapierre also says bloomberg wants to buy america, heard what he said, he called him insane. when you look at this, could bloomberg's massive wealth interfere with his message with all of the other criticisms levied by the nra? >> it is not just of course mayor bloomberg, you have the brady campaign, a gun organization fighting for stronger gun safety measures as well, along with the american people. and there are just as many i believe just individuals and families that are willing to send in the five and ten dollar contributions adding to the effort. i would encourage mayor bloomberg and the brady campaign to reach out to average contributors that would be able to match what the nra is raising in ter

. >> that is wayne lapierre head of the nra.k mayor mike bloomberg. here with us now is democratic senator from pennsylvania and member of the foreign relations committee, senator bob casey and former governor of pennsylvania, msnbc political analyst and co-chair of fix the debt campaign, governor ed rendell. you guys, pennsylvania. huge state. huge sprawling state. filled with sports people, hunters, gun owners, the vast majority of them responsible. where are you on what wayne lapierre said? >> well, we have a million hunters in the state. as ed knows, it's a big part of our culture and pennsylvania. after newtown i spent a lot of time thinking what happened there and i made a pretty substantial shift in my position. i think we should have not only a vote but pass some of the measures we have been talking about, the assault weapons ban, the magazine clip legislation, if we can get to that, and the background checks. there could be others but those are the three main ones. even if it's only done by way of amendment when we get

wayne lapierre will be speaking as well, as well as the great sarah palin and the great donald trump.xpect mitt romney to say to the cpac crowd given what was a fairly poor performance in the presidential election? >> last time he said he was severely conservative. i wonder if they actually believe that now, and so i don't know, i don't know why -- it's almost like lazerous risen from the dead. why would he come again? he's not going to run again. ran 17 times for president. lost every single time either in the primary or the general. i'm not sure what he's going to add to this except maybe he thinks he's the moral leader of the republican party having just been the banner holder. i'm not sure what he can add to it. let's be honest who the moral leader of this group is, that's grover norquist. you heard the reaction he got. no one cheered more wildly for anyone than grover norquist. guy who says if you raise prices, i'm going to beat you in a primary. >> dana, what do you expect magnificent mitt to offer us tomorrow? >> he's getting a lot of abuse in the back sessions blaming him for