I remember reaching with all my might to get her hand across the street. So i figured what was i . Six inches . Tonight in the war room, if were right and this time is different, werere going to owe the change in gun safety laws not to members of congress or governors or even the president but to the American People and to their reaction to the tragedy at sandy hook, to the reaction to the debate since and reaction to scenes such as this. Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly birds fly over the rainbow why then, oh why then cant i jennifer those are the survivors of newtown connecticut,s sandy hook singing this morning. The songs release comes as a group of concerned parents from newtown who will work to deter gun violence, and they will raise money for survivors and their families and the first responders. Meanwhile, in neighboring new york the state became the first to enact stricter gun safety rules since the tragedy in newtown. A new bill which was pushed by andrew cuomo includes a ban on semiautomatic weapons and magazines that hold more than seven rounds. It requires universal background checks and institutes stricter penalties for gunrelated crimes. If there is an issue that fits the definition of necessity in the state of new york today i believe its reducing gun violence. Jennifer despite opposition to the National Rifle association which predictably called the new york bill draconian Governor Cuomo was able to get support from new yorks legislature. Its too bad that few republicans appear to play ball with president obama even though he made gun safety reform a centerpiece of his second term. Tomorrow the president will outline his plan. Hell be joined by Vice President joe biden as well as children who wrote him letters after the newtown shootings. Here to tell us if any of the president s proposals has a chance of passing the republican controlled house of representatives is democratic congresswoman rose a a delara. Welcome inside the war room. Thank you so much, governor. Its wonderful to be with all of you tonight. Jennifer glad to have you there. I know there is a lot going on right now but first let me start by talking about the gun safety proposals. What ones do you expect the president to announce tomorrow . Well, i am hopeful that what those recommendation also include is, one the ban on assault weapons and also the ban on the high capacity magazines, the feeding devices. Third i would like to see that we close the loopholes on the background checks. I would like very much to see as part of this effort, and i dont know what it will be about is everyone has talked about Mental Health services. Does that mean were going to look at increased resources for Mental Health services . So those are the areas that i would like to see covered and my hope is by executive order the president would be able to encourage the center for Disease Control to begin collecting data on injuries and fatalities on firearms the way they do on Motor Vehicles and prescription drugs, which isnt legally prohibited, but that has had a chilling affect on research. Jennifer well, we hope all of those things are proposed, and that these already they are also passed. And will the house pass any of the bans, the ban on the high capacity magazines assault weapons or even closing the gun show loopholes. Of those three will any of those get through the house of representatives . We need to have a fundamental understanding of what our job is here. We are here because the people in our community have entrusted us with working on their behalf. Today Washington Post poll showed 58 of people in this nation say lets have a ban on assault weapon. 88 say lets close down the gun show loophole. We are not here for whatever our own individual political philosophy or direction is. We are here because we represent this nation. Above all above all when the president said so poignantly sunday night in newtown when we asked the question, are we protecting our children in this nation and we have to admit to ourselves that we are not and we have to move to protect our children from all kind of violence. Thats our job today. Quite frankly the public should be looking very carefully who is doing what in order to protect them an their family. Totally agree. Preach it, sister. I just hope your colleagues on the other side of the aisle are going to be listening. Of course. Well,. Jennifer yes, i know. But i hope they put it up for a vote. I just pray that boehner puts it up for a vote. My god, imagine if he doesnt, how insensitive to the needs, the crying needs of the innocence of slaughter. Jennifer this is your state. I know you feel it deeply. The president said he might use executive orders if Congress Fails to act. There are some who say in congress in legislative bodies that that is just circumventing congress. There are people who have talked about impeaching the president if he goes around congress. Im assuming youre okay if the president goes around an obstructionist group. I think the following. We can accomplish some things by executive order and there will be some of the items that needing to through a legislative process. My hope is that people who are speaking out now, even before the recommendations are laid out there, well take a step back and look at what is in the best interest of American Families and americas children. Thats what needs to be the guiding principle here as to how we get it done. Jennifer youre also debate debating another sandy issue which is Hurricane Sandy. Your includes in the house will vote tonight on this 51 billion Hurricane Sandy aid package. Do you think its going to pass this time . And if so, why . Well, im optimistic that it will pass. That is because again, in order to address the great challenge and you under this after being governor of a state that there are certain things, disasters occur. No one is responsible for them. At that moment when the challenges are overwhelming in peoples lives whether they lost their homes their business, and some lost their lives and their lives are upended that there is, in fact, a role for the federal government to play. As congress over the years whether it has been katrina ike, andrew, we have come together in a bipartisan way to pass the appropriations that would provide relief to these families. Its unconscionable to me that people in the northeast new york new jersey, connecticut are being held hostage when all of us participated in what we believed was the right thing to do to help families in great need, to be able to meet the challenges and rebuild their lives. Thats all were asking for tonight. Jennifer and you have some confidentconfidence that is will pass. Im optimistic that it will pass. Jennifer representative rosa delauro, thank you for fighting for the people of connecticut fighting for the people, families and parents who see that their children arent safe. Thank you for standing up, and thank you for coming inside the war room. Thank you. Jennifer well, in the 32 days since the sandy hook shooting there now have been at least 917 deaths in america due to guns. That is a rough tally from slate magazine. Sadly that list includes Timothy Robinson a 43yearold army veteran from florida. According to the gainesville sun, robinson was shot on sunday night. Although his final moments were filled with heroism his cousin told the paper that this afghan war veteran took a bullet to stop an argument between a shooter and another friend. He leaves behind a 14monthold son. Thats one more of the 9 someone tragic stories since newtown. The number obama we take care of our own. We take care of our veterans. We take care of your families. Not just by saluting you on one day, once a year, but by fighting for you and your families every day of every year. Thats our obligation. A sacred obligation to all of you. Jennifer well, that was the president giving what was clearly a very heartfelt speech at Arlington National cemetery on veterans day. But one of the places this country has fallen short is making sure that those same veterans can find jobs when they return home. The Unemployment Rate of veterans skyrocketed to over 12 in is 2011. The good news is that it has been dropping. Unemployment has just been below 7. 7 in 2012 compared to 7. 9 of nonveteran. That drop is due in part to the initiative by the president. He even signed the vow to hire heroes act of 2011 which helped to put veterans back to work. But the president has said that government cant solve this problem alone. In 2011 he called on the private sector to help. Obama were challenging the private sector to hire or train 100,000 veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. Jennifer today walmart did just that. The retail giant announced that it would hire over 100,000 veterans over the next five years. 100,000. Walmarts ceo who spent 25 years in the u. S. Navy himself said the company would give a job to any veteran who wants one up to a year after being honorably discharged. He said its time for those outside of politics to get to work. The beauty of the private sector is that we dont have to win an election, convince cross or pass a bill to do what we think is right. Hallelujah. Very good point. But some well mart workers is really sure that walmart is doing the right thing. One employee is a navy vet who is now a part of the walmart workforce said youre still subject to extremely low wages poor benefits, if thats the best thats available for veterans, then theres something wrong. Now weve talked on this show about the problematic way that walmart treats its employees but in this case i would like to applaud them for doing the right thing. I would like to bring. Anthony pike, we should mention the iava received a 150,000 grant from walmart to help with displaced veterans in new york. He comes from new york as well. Anthony, welcome inside the war room. Thank you for having me. Its a pleasure to be here tonight. Jennifer you bet. Tell us what its been like for veterans coming home, to the not be able to find jobs as fast as nonveterans. The our counterparts over the last two years have been two to three points below that, its been a distressing thing to come home to. Well have veterans ready to enter the workforce. I had been in journalism for four years and i ran base newspapers. When i went out to get a job all i could find is a job hanging posters for a college university. We need to see the civilian employers recognizing the skill sets of our veterans. Jennifer in addition to what happened with walmart, do you think the administrations response to veteran veterans and their need to be employed has been effective. Its not just on the executive branch, we need congress to act and we need the civilian employers to have the buyin. Walmart is leading the way with the 100,000 Job Initiative and theyre not just entry level but entry and management positions our veterans are truly capable and walmart will find out this is going to be an investment. Jennifer well, according to a Workforce Management survey, 65 of employers say that they would not hire an active guard member or reservist. Do you think there has been a stigma of hiring members of military and veterans and why has it been such a difficult problem to tackle. I think the survey proves there is a stigma there. What the civilian employer will find out is that the veteran is an extremely skilled set employee. Were able to multi task, youre not going to find an employer more capable of handling stress than a veteran. We have combat medics administer administering combat relief under fire and they come home and dont have the certification certifications to drive an ambulance or act as an emt. Well make sure that theyre ready to come home and move into the next phase of their life. Jennifer on this walmart move today. Walmart, as you know, has been accused of its workers of paying low wages not offering benefits treating female employees fairly. Does it concern you that with that reputation that veterans would be going there and secondly, do you thinkdoes it bother you at all that this might be viewed by some as just being a pr move . These are both valid points but we should focus on the fact that walmart is becoming a leader in the private sector by saying were going to hire 100,000 veterans. Again, these are not just interpositions but theyll find that veterans are not able to handle the entrylevel oh jobs but management jobs as well. Jennifer on the pr move, even if a company has a notsohot record if they do something good we should recognize them for it. It might be good pr for them, but it will be good for the community. 16 veterans who were elected to congress in the last election on the policy side, what could you hope theyll do for the Veterans Community . I hope v. A. Is working on both sides of the ail aisle and taking the lead and taking care of veterans. With the nomination of three veterans to secretary level position and 16 members of congress as veterans were capable and more than up to task to take on any challenge presented to us. Jennifer Marine Corp Veteran and iava representativesrepresentativeof a very good cause. Welcome to the war room. Thank you very much. Jennifer is there Hurricane Sandy relief . Certain signs say yes. That may be just shame talking. This is tuesday night in the always outspoken joy behar. On my next show, ill sit down with the explosive yet reflective, Jerry Springer and well find out which one of these camera guys is a secret baby daddy. Only on current tv. [ voice of dennis ]. Safe driving bonus check . Every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. Ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. Are you in good hands . The Natural Energy of peanuts and delicious, soft caramel. To fill you up and keep you moving, whatever your moves. Payday. Fill up and go [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits. Delicious. But say i press a few out flat. Add some beef sloppy joe sauce. And cheese fold it all up and boom i just made an unbeatable unsloppy Joe Pillsbury grands biscuits. Let the making begin. [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry thats been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design . A toaster strudel. Pillsbury toaster strudel. So delicious. So fun. [ ryon ] eating shrimp at red lobster is a fantastic experience. 30 shrimp for 11. 99. I cant imagine anything better. Youre getting a ton of shrimp and it tastes really good [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobsters 30 shrimp for just 11. 99 choose any two of five savory shrimp selections like mango jalapeno shrimp and parmesan crunch shrimp. Two delicious shrimp selections on one plate all with salad and unlimited cheddar bay biscuits. 30 shrimp, just 11. 99 for a limited time. Wow, thats a lot of shrimp. Im ryon stewart im the ultimate shrimp lover, and i sea food differently. [ theme music ] jennifer it looks like there might be some fiscal sanity among some republicans. After all former House Speaker and republican idea man Newt Gringrich of all people has some advice for house members who are looking to pick a fight on the debt ceiling. Its a threat they cant sustain. No one is going to default. No one is going to allow the United States to not pay its bills. No one is going to accept the economic costs. It rallies the entire Business Community to the president s side. Jennifer he said he would rather have them fight on spending. There might be signs of progress on the senate side, too. Alaska republican senator Lisa Murkowski told the fairbanks daily news miner that spending cuts should not be tied to the debt ceiling debate. Then she added if you incur an obligation, you have an responsibility to pay for that. Well, its nice to finally hear someone from the party of personal responsibility stand up for the governments responsibility. Joining me now for the latest on debt politics and much more is Michelle Bernard the president and korea of the person senator center for women politics and public policy. Shes joining us from washington, d. C. And with me in the studio is the always insightful strategist donnie fowler. Welcome inside the war room. Glad to be here. Im going to start with you. The republicans, do we start to see cracks in the wall of obstruction . Are they starting to budge or is that just wishful thing on our part. No, were seeing cakes here and there. I have to start off with Lisa Murkowski. You got to say that women always seem to understand how to jennifer so pragmatic absolutely. A shout out to Lisa Murkowski tonight p but also to Newt Gringrich. What i would really have like to have heard from the former speaker is not just which battles to pick, but why have a battle at all . Why not really think about what is the most porn thingthe most important thing that we can do for the nation and what we can do to governor this and do their job. There is no fight for. Donnie why should republicans listen to Newt Gringrich. He has experience. Back in 1995 when clinton was president , Newt Gringrich was the speaker of the house. He said he would shut it down to teach a lesson to the crazy spending democrats. He shut it down twice around christmas and thanksgiving. The National Parks closed, people quit getting their Social Security checks, and guess what happened, it wasnt from a weak reelection to a reelection. Not a good idea. Jennifer michelle, ben bernaanke told cnn that hes in favor of totally scrapping the debt ceiling. Do you think hes on to something . Should we get rid of it . I agree with him. There is no reason to have it, and then every so often we have to have arguments whether to raise it and whether or not the u. S. Government is going to default on its obligations to people all over the world. I think bernanke is a very smart person and i think he knows what hes talking about and hopefully his sentiment will pick up steam on the hill. Jennifer well see about that. This is a subject that is not going away. Let me switch quickly to politics. The rnc chairman Reince Priebus will pursue rewarding the states electoral votes by congressional districtses. Representation by congressional district. Jennifer and if that were the case then the president would have lost michigan, pen pen, ohio, florida his victory would have been down to two votes. The republicans always want to change the rules they only want to change those rules in areas where it benefits them. Reince priebus did not say lets do it in all 50 states but just in states where it hurts the democrats. Its not about good government, good election. Jennifer how to manipulate the rule. Even if the American People dont want it. Jennifer michelle, on Reince Priebus. This is so fascinating to me. Here is a guy who end up losing members of the house losing seats in the senate. Obviously lost the presidency by a huge margin. Hes in his job. Im not sure how people listen to him. Yet the previous rnc chair michael steele, who was there in 2010 when there was a massive republican sweep, he is on the outs. How does Reince Priebus keep his job . Because of the people and the elements of the Republican Party that has allowed voices. I dont want to make this a sweeping indictment of the entire Republican People because there are good people that are members of that party. But just the notion. Just the idea of what he has floated is so incredibly morally reprehensible. When you think about robo calls that told americans latinos to show up for voting the day after election day. Its so moral irreprehensible that he could speak for the Republican Party and would rather disenfranchise American Voters than rather simply appear to every american. The right to vote is a sacred right in this country and i dont under how he can be the leader of that party. This is the position of Abraham Lincoln and he must be rolling over in his grave. Jennifer the last act of someone who is losing to manipulate like that. Donnie youre mark sanford said he would be announceing pom that he would run for congress for his old saturday. Can he win . There is nothing that people like more than the redemption story. Hell walk out and say he found jesus. He regrets what he did hes still republican but everything is okay, so vote for me. Jennifer im sure that jenny sanford, his former wife. The smart one. Jennifer shes smart and shes not going to run against him, which i was looking forward to. But my guess is she will be a little bit leary about running in a primary or general election when all of the stuff comes out and is made public again. How can this guy do this to his family . Exactly. Particularly to his children. You know, donnie is right. People love redemption, resurrection. But he has not told enough people sorry and not enough time has gone by. I dont understand how he can do to his children. And if you ignore all of that, who is selling him that hell get the womens vote. It is the year of the woman. All of the comedy writers jon stewart theyre all paying him. Thats his biggest donor bank. Jennifer they cant wait. I dont know. You men not you men but some of yall menall right thats Michelle Bernard and donnie fowler. Thanks so much for coming inside the war room. Always great. Up next, politically speaking fracking is a tricky wicket, and environmentally not exactly a black and white issue. What is a good progressive to do . Some answers jennifer the president is going to have a lot on his plate this term. He has got immigration guns, he has another big one, which is energy. During the campaign the president advocateed an all of the above energy strategy, and that include natural gas. Natural gas has a lot going for it. It is a Domestic Energy source that emits much lower co 2 levels than sources like coal. In fact, last year Carbon Monoxide emissions in the United States were the lowest they had been since 1992, thats in a part because Energy Producers are switching from coal to natural gas, which has gotten cheaper as it becomes more available. Weve actually had a natural gas boom in this country over the past decade with the spread of the drilling method that is called hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Perhaps youve heard of it. Fracking send fluid deep underground to back up frack and release natural gas. The debate over fracking has centered over a couple of things. The release of methane gas in the process and whether it pollutes the fracking ground water. Well, that issue got a lot of attention after a 2010 film called gas land. Whoa, jesus christ. Jennifer now that scene is frightening, and maybe just a little sensational but scientific studies do show there could be a reason for concern. There was a 2011 epa report that found that there were chemicals in the ground water of a wyoming town that the agency that epa said were likely linked to fracking chemicals that were injected deal down deep down. The epa is doing further studies, and there is a preliminary report out last month that found it inconclusive. But if fracking is polluting ground water and if it risks emitting methane gas into the atmosphere is there a way to make the process of fracking safer. So there is now Promising Research showing that it might be possible. Joining me now to answer that question, and to really help us sort out fact from friction in this fracking debate is new york time column news and dot earth blog andrew revkin. He is comeing to us frommed with. Andrew, welcomed in the war room. Its great to be with you. Jennifer all right, you have reported on methods being developed to make fracking safer. And one of them is to track fracking chemicals. In real peoples language can you tell us how that would work . Well, a lot of debate, a lot of the fight over this technology relates to things that are essentially not proveable right now. Someone a mile away from a well says that there is some contamination, not so much the fracking slides but the salty water that comes out of the well. You can say there is salty water there, but you cant prove that its coming from that drilling operation. There are a couple of Technology Technologies being developed where essentially youll have a fingerfingerprinting process. Every well would have its fluids tagged, a molecular tag which is would be like a label or barcode. There you could say there it is. And the fracking fightsyou would have a sense of accountability. Then on other things, a month or so ago in the blog i wrote about a simple infrared camera can emit the gas emissions. Unlike other kinds of pollution in the air so with the right kind of camera, and these are not expensive anyone, including a nongovernment Environmental Group can point to emissions and say there is a problem here, then its up to government to push forward. So much of the debate about banning it or this kind of he saidshe said when, in fact, innovators are getting in the mix and showing ways forward. Jennifer youve described two ways one could track potentially harmful emissions or flow and that all of the of the assumption is that they are harmful. Has there been a release of chemicals in ground water, is there a way to make it safer. Most wells are drilled safer. Its not so much the fracking process that can be problematic its the old fashion question how well did you drill a well. How well did you seal it with cement and the quality of the cement. Those are questions that the government can and should be responsible to make sure that the industry is using best practicings. Industry says every well is different and resist industry regulation. Will there are others who say we know there can be problems and we know how to solve them. In 2009 i 2009, there was a front page story on all the ways you can stop the leaks of the gas into the air. Often it can be done at a profit. There are some players in the industry who are leaders and there are some who are laggers. The epa is now moving forward too slowly for most people, towards acquiring the practices that dont release a lot of gas in the air. Remember, if youre doing that, youre not only adding pollution into the air but youre also losing money. As a former governor, youre also losing tax revenue depending on your states structure for drilling. If its federal land, the government wants that little revenue stream from gas. Jennifer im just so curious, ive actually been dying to talk to you. You are the guy who follows this stuff closer than almost anybody, and you have such an objective hat on. Everybody has talked about the problems with natural gas fracking, and the potential of co2. The question bottom line, can we do this safely and lead in producing natural gas as a way of exporting it to other countries, to china, for example, to help them lower their co2 footprint to address climb change . I wrote several pieces about china has a huge amount of gas in the ground there shale gas as well. A lot of experts ive talked to they say the best thing to do is advance our technology to extract the gas here, to the lng liquified exports to balance our trade across the pacific but you do need oversight. This is not going to work out right withouted a adequate oversight. There was a period where it was a wild west era. Pennsylvania suffered a lot of that. But you can see just in new yorks session the days of regulators and governments not worried about the impact of their local economy the attention impact on Water Supplies those days are never. Let me just ask you because we only have a minute left. Many people in the energy community,ness with an interest for Energy Renewable energy is concerned, do you see that as a problem . Well, this is where someone like president obama needs to actually have an Overarching Energy policy. Its easy to say all of the above. But its pretty clear if you like to have more researchnot just renewables, but more basic research and Development Investment on energy. If you have cheap natural gas it blunts that interest as well. You need to be able to sustain advance the next generation that well need town the line. Jennifer all right, we need leadership and policy. This will be a very interesting second term item. Andrew revkin trying to sort out fact from fiction from the. Thank you so much for joining us frommed in the war room. Coming up, guaranteed to enlighten the progressive mind and then one other story by brett erlich. Coming up, ana romney this monday morning current tv presents special coverage of the president ial inauguration. The circumstance the inside analysis. The president ial inauguration this monday morning at 10 eastern only on current tv. At cepacol weve heard people are going to extremes to relieve their sore throats. Oh, okay, you dont need to do that. But i dont want any more of the usual lozenges and i want new cooling relief ugh. How do you feel . Now im cold. Hmm. This is a better choice. New cepacol sensations cools instantly, and has an active ingredient that stays with you long after the lozenge is gone. Ahhh. Not just a sensation sensational relief. [ theme music ] jennifer okay, lets head to los angeles to take the temperature of the progressive fire with cenk uygur. Whats on tap for the young turks tonight. Cenk president obama seems like hes going to put strong legislation together on gun control. Of course republicans are saying perhaps its time for impeachment. Here we go again. These guys are unreal. But the president s proposals seem encouraging. What is not encouraging is federal prosecutors going after people who are doing something perfectly legal here in california which is selling medicineal marijuana. A businessman with a wife and two kids. Well talk to them on the show. And finally how much more do politicians make if they become a lobbyist. Its a lot more. Including a guy who is not going to work for the fertilizing industry. Speaking of which jennifer, what are you doing here. Jennifer i got to go. Always such fascinating stories that you guys do. I appreciate it. Well be watching at the top of the hour. Cenk thank you. Jennifer now a look at some of the other stories that are buzzing around the war room. Stuff that i thought was really fascinateing. Fist of all, Chelsey Clinton is going to share the Community Service event that will kick off inauguration weekend, and its intended to encourage americans across the country to volunteer in remembrance of Martin Luther king jr. Khelsea china clintons role she can speak, and encouraging events in all 50 states. If you want to see more go to www. Currenttv thewarroom. Andspeakingofcivilrightsactivist andspeakingofcivilrightsactivist s, david david campos is would like to rename the airport after harvey milk. Campos already has four cosponsors. There are airport across the country already named for individuals, but if this legislation passes, San Francisco would be the first airport in the world to honor somebody who is openly gay. Appropriate. All right then our favorite statistician senate silver who wrote the book the signal and the noise why so many predictions fail and some dont, thats the title of it. He learned why some predictions failed this past sunday because last week he appeared on espn. He predicted that the Seattle Seahawks would be in the super bowl. With seattle you saw a team blowing people out. The point differential is a predictor Going Forward of how well a team will do. Jennifer i love it when hes so grate and wonderfully nerdy about football and sports as well as politics. But he made that prediction and as football fans know the Atlanta Falcons beat the Seattle Seahawks, and nate may have been able to predict which way all 50 states would go in the 2012 election but he proved that even a mathematical genius, even nate silver gets it wrong sometimes. Up next, brett erlich, ann romney and dancing with the [ theme music ] jennifer this week the producers of the second most action Oriented Tv Program on tv dancingdancing with the stars. A in, n romney was invited to dance in this season. Brett bet is here to report on her response. A man this was a tough week for stars. I wasnt going to get a death star and ann romney is not going to be on dancing with the stars. Come on, ann. Yes you can man. Although ann romney does watch the show. She was spotted at a tapping she respectfully disclined to participate. Making her sensible, the word is sensible, and with that mitt romney will not be the latest political figure to appear on the show which has been on five times the the amount of seasons as arrested development. Get it together. There was Jerry Springer, whose pride fell victim to not existing for a long time ago. I have made a fool of myself so many times in life this is only going to be a