Now. Democrats love her, a lot of republicans like her. Shes not running for anything, certainly not now. Shes retiring from a tough job. People agree shes done a pretty darn good job, and yet shes getting hauled over the firing squad. Dont we want any more dont people anymore wait a bit before they start to say ready, aim fire . Dont we give a person, even an important person, a little timeout before we start the attack, loose the dogs, start ripping at the skin . I know politics. I dont know this politics. Obamas the president. He will be for four years. Hes the guy who will make the calls politically until 2016. Is this about just attacking democrats . Is this about trying to convince her, mrs. Clinton, not to run . If so, it might just be the easiest way to guarantee she runs. Dont you think . Neera tanden is a former policy director to Hillary Clinton, and ron reagan is an msnbc political analyst. Both of you are good people to have on right now. I want to get a comment from neera, and i want a gut reaction. This disgusting attack, the back benchers, each one of these nuts, they are nutty in their behavior, hannity, the New York Post with the disgusting front page today, Rush Limbaugh with his usual feminine nazi nonsense coming out. Do you think this will make secretary clinton more likely to run for president or less likely that all the jackals are attacking her. I dont think Rush Limbaugh or any of these people will have a dimes bit of difference on Hillary Clinton. She has been dealing with their ilk for 20 years. Shes going to make you dont think the attack i want a yes or no, you really dont believe she will have a fighting spirit coming out of this assault on her . Oh, she has a fighting spirit, but whether Rush Limbaugh has an affect on what she decides to do with her life, im just telling you i dont think so. I think, you know, she showed yesterday she has a fighting spirit. I think she showed yesterday in what people were really enthusiastic about in her performance, that she gave as good as she can get. They thought they were going to yell her down, and they didnt. And so my view of that is, look, she is a superstar. Shes done a fantastic job, but she doesnt live her life by the decisions other people make. She lives her life by the decisions she wants to make for her and her future. Ron, let me ask you this thing. Lets switch the question around to another way of looking at it. Do you think these people were doing a preemptive attack thinking she may well decide to run. If they trash her up front, she might decide not to. Whats the politics here . I dont get it. Well, i imagine that the republicans, rand paul, ron johnson on that committee were thinking to themselves, thinking ahead to 2016 and thinking we can get some footage here that can be used in attack ads against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Now, instead what happened was that Hillary Clinton ate their lunch and walked out of that hearing room with a highlight reel of her own she can use in those ads. I agree that, you know, rand paul and Rush Limbaugh and people like that are not going to make up Hillary Clintons mind for her, but she did look like somebody who was up for the fight. Lets show some of that to remind people how good it was. Here is secretary of state Hillary Clinton in a tour deforce at the house and Senate Benghazi hearings, which is probably what have the right so exorcised. She showed acuity, humanity, and charm. Her republican questioners, not so much. Senator ron johnson from wisconsin prompted secretary clintons heated defense. Here is where the secretary gives the senator no quarter. When youre in these positions, the last thing you want do is interfere i realize thats a good excuse. Well, no, its the fact. Number two, i would recommend highly you read both what the arb said about it and the classified arb because even today there are questions being raised. Now, we have no doubt they were terrorists, they were militants, they attacked us, they killed our people, but what was going on and why they were doing what they were doing no, no, no again, we were misled that there was supposedly protests and something sprang out of that. That was easily ascertained that that was not the fact, and the American People could have known that within days, and they didnt know that. With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided theyd go kill some americans . What difference at this point does it make . It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. Well said. On the house side secretary clinton defused a lot of criticism from South Carolina senator jeff duncan who accused her of allowing the benghazi consulate to become a death trap. Here is the exchange. Lets listen. I heard the answer about firing or removing personnel. I get that. But this was gross negligence. At what point in time can our administration and can our government fire someone whose gross negligence left four americans dead in benghazi . What does the word responsibility mean to you, madam secretary . I think i have made this very clear, congressman. Finally senator rand paul who posited or posted that if he were president , hed have fired her, as if he were ever. After his showboating criticism of clinton, he then asked an out of left field question. Lets listen. There is a certain amount of culpability to the worst tragedy since 9 11, and im glad youre accepting this. Now, my question is, is the u. S. Involved with any procuring of weapons, transfer of weapons, buying, selling, anyhow transferring weapons to turkey out of libya . To turkey . Anyway, i dont know what that exchange was about except she knows what shes talking about, and i dont think the member does. Let me go back to ron on this. It seems to me it was a sparring match, a warmup. I have to tell you, they werent the heavyweights. The heavyweights on the committee, like corker, who does have some nuance, and the democratic members showed some respect for the office. The back benchers acted like the characters in gullivers travels, the Little People putting ropes over the people much bigger than them, the lilliputians. And these other people, well never hear from them again ever. Give rand paul some credit. He provided the nation with one of those media moments that we lack so often now. You know, where everybody has the same reaction, the same Emotional Experience at the same time. When rand paul said that if he were president , he would have fired Hillary Clinton, i think everybody in the country in unison, you could hear them, say president rand paul . Oh, dream on. I think that was snoopy thinking he was the red baron. Here is some of what the conservative media jackals said following secretary clintons powerful testimony yesterday. It was the vast right conspiracy gang actually coming to life here. First, sean hannity. I dont understand this guy. I dont know whether he believes this nonsense, but he keeps doing it. Lets listen. As well as i know the clintons and now the obamas, let me just tell you whats going on behind the scenes here. What you saw in this answer, this anger, this outrage, i can tell you, it was not spontaneous. Im telling you, it was staged. Probably at the direction of the rajin cajun, james carville, himself or somebody else. That was all preplanned. Do you love the mixup of words probably. It was all preplanned probably. I can tell you for sure. The oracle of thebes here. Rush limbaugh said clintons emotions were less than genuine. Lets listen. And i guess everybodys favorite part, she lost her cool at one point. By the way, she opened up crying, which is part of the script. The underwater walrus. Anyway, senator ron johnson, who sparred with clinton, said she planned well, she planned her show. She said he planned it. Quote, i think she just decided before she was going to describe emotionally the four dead americans, the heroes, and use that as her trump card to get out of the questions. It was a good way of getting out of really having to respond to me. And then there was this grotesquery, the cover of the New York Post. Supposedly a newspaper. I go back to neera tanden. My belief is she wants to think about this presidency thing. What do you think should be the right media response to her for the next six months or so . You know, i think people should just, you know, take a deep breath and look at what she does, and shes a person who is always committed to Public Service. I think shell have some element of service, whether its i dont think it will be Public Service immediately, but it will be service of some kind, and id say what i thought was really interesting about the hearing yesterday and the treatment by the right wing is, you know, i think hillary really demonstrated to people how ridiculous these hearings are. Republican members, conservative members have spent much more time grilling american leaders than they have been focused on the people who actually killed americans. You know, they spent much more time trying to treat this as a political issue of going after democrats, obama, hillary, susan rice, than actually finding out who is responsible and what we should do about it. And so, you know, i think her outburst is not an outburst. Its a reflection of what we all think about this. If you were going to be real about these issues, you would be asking what can we do to beef up the security. Something gop members have already cut, you know, and they have decisions to cut it now in these days as were speaking. Its rank hypocrisy. I think its a fresh breath of air that people i agree with you about the hypocrisy because i remember 9 11 very clearly, and i remember how this country rallied around a president who had limited ability, but we all rallied around him. The first reaction was he says were going to get the people who knocked down this building, and everybody cheered him. They werent saying how did you screw it up, buddy . It was about unity. The left and center are much better at National Unity than the right. The right sees a National Tragedy like this far off in benghazi, not in new york city, at a very exposed position which could have happened no matter how many troops we had there. We dont blame it on everybody even though it was new york, right into the heartland. I think theres a difference in how people react. I think the left was much more nationalistic. How is that for a statement . Thank you, neera and ron reagan. Its funny its so frickin true. John boehner says the president wants to annihilate the gop. Maybe if republicans werent in a perpetual war with africanamericans, latinos, women, and young people politically at least they wouldnt to worry about being annihilated. Also the pentagon officially lifted the ban on women in combat today. In reality women have already been in combat for some time, certainly exposed to enemy fire as Tammy Duckworth can attest to. Everyone agrees now is the best time in two decades to push for gun safety laws. Today senator Dianne Feinstein introduced an assault weapons ban. I think were going to do background checks. And paul broun, who last year called evolution lies straight from the pit of hell, is back at it. He says president obama is upholding, wait for this, the soviet constitution. Boy, hes up to date. And this is hardball, the place for politics. [ male announcer ] coughequence™ 8. Waking the baby. [ coughs ] [ baby crying ] [ male announcer ] robitussin® liquid formula soothes your throat on contact and the active ingredient relieves your cough. Robitussin®. Dont suffer the coughequences™. Im also a survivor of ovarian a writand uterine cancers. And the active ingredient relieves your cough. I even wrote a play about that. My symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. If you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. Ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. Symptoms are not the same for everyone. I got sick. And then i got better. Senator john kerry is on his way to becoming the next secretary of state. Kerry had his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign relations committee, the committee he has chaired for the past four years. And his confirmation looks to be a foregone conclusion. If confirmed, kerry would be the fifth Foreign RelationsCommittee Chair to become secretary of state but only the first sitting chair to do so. We give you these statistics all the time. The committee expects to vote on kerrys nomination early next week, and well be right back. Up lets you hear it. In your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. Great taste. Mmm. [ male announcer ] sounds good. Its amazing what soup can do. Weve decided to were all having such a [ mgreat year in the gulf,good. Put aside our rivalry. cause all our states are great. And now is when the gulf gets even better. The beaches and waters couldnt be more beautiful. Take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. Enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. And dont forget our amazing seafood. 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Overmany discounts to thine customers [old english accent] safe driver, multicar, paid in full a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. Thou cometh and we thy saveth what are you doing . We doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. Oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts . Here we go. Thank you. He took my shield, my lady. These are troubling times in the kingdom. More discounts than we knoweth what to do with. Now thats progressive. Were expecting here over the next 22 months to be the focus of this administration as they attempt to annihilate the Republican Party, and let me just tell you, i do believe that is their goal, to just shove us into the dust bin of history. Welcome back to hardball. That was john boehner, of course, speaking to the ripon society, a group of modern republicans. He ascribes an awfully sinister motive to president obama these days considering the fact that the Republican Party hasnt needed much help in its recent collapse. Boehner is not alone. House majority whip Kevin Mccarthy sees the same plot by the democrats. This persons main goal is to continue to try to break the Republican Party. Hes out of touch with where america is at with what hes trying to do. Come on, kevin. All of a sudden the democrats are sitting back in the back room conniving how to take the republicans apart. Considering the republicans made it their mission to stop obama at all costs, its fairly rich they accuse obama of using the same tactics against them. Feehery, youre already laughing because the idea that the republicans think theres a big cabal of democrats that sit around and meet and theyre saying why dont we get the republicans to say stupid things about black america, against latinos, come out against Immigration Reform and screw up any chance of being a Majority Party again, and its all the democrats. How does anybody really believe that . Obviously the president would like to see the republicans lose the majority in the house and lose the senate thats an Annihilation Campaign . Of course he does. He wants to get through his agenda, and his agenda is far different than John Boehners agenda. We all know what it is. Its a lot more spending, more government thats a prettyqueamish attack. If somebody opposes you politically, theyre out to annihilate you. He wants to break the back of the republicans, but hes not going to be able to. The House Majority will stay the majority for the next decade. Were probably going to take the senate back. The president has to understand hes got to deal with republicans. That speech on monday said nothing in any way that he wanted to work with republicans. Okay, geronimo. You got everybody roused up. My question is, bob shrum, is i do see a breaking of the Republican Party over policy questions. I do see a breakup over the question of the fiscal cliff. The northeastern members did not want to go over the cliff with the rest of the Republican Party. They wanted to help the victims of hurricane sandy, of Tropical Storm sandy. They wanted to defend their own territory in terms of politics, but i didnt see anything particularly conspiratorial in any of that. No, theyre actually trying to save themselves. Theyve got a bunch of people from very safe districts, and john is right, it would be very hard for democrats to take back the house until after 2020 because all those districts are gerrymandered, and, you know, if you cant take back the house, you certainly cant annihilate the republicans. It was a kind of loopy expression, and i think if john was being honest, hed say he wouldnt have advised the speaker to say it. Is victimhood now a republican meme . Now republicans are all victims too . I know the democrats are sometimes truly victims, but are you selling the fact, hey, were getting beat up by these bullies. Is this the new thing, complaining, crying . Do you think it works politically . I think the president s speech on monday did a wonderful thing for republicans. It got them united and fired up. He said nothing that anybody in any red states would say hes trying to reach out to me. It was a liberal speech for liberal interest groups, and it did nothing for republicans except unite them. I thought it was a good thing. Like when he said some people are justifiably skeptical about what Big Government can achieve. Is that one of your big battle cries . Listen, everybody understands that that was a very liberal speech, and your guys were very excited about it. You know, look i was, but i was also believing it. Go ahead, bob. John is just wrong about this, and so is Kevin Mccarthy. The mainstream has moved, and the president represents it. Look at the polling. The president stood up for tax fairness, and people voted for him. Hes standing up to protect Social Security and medicare. People want to do that. There will be some changes but not fundamental ones. On Climate Change 80 of the people in the ap poll agree with the president its a real problem and we have to deal with it. The majority of the country is with him on gay marriage, with him on issues like inaugural reform. Barack obama didnt just speak to america, he was speaking for america, no matter how much that pains republicans to hear. Theyre out of step and out of the mainstream. Is it a deliberate effort here is conservative rich lowry from the national review. He writes in politico that the real president obama is now revealing himself. By the way, im with that thought. I think it was the real obama, not covered up politics, the real thing on monday. He wrote, obama settled once and for all the debate over his place on the political spectrum and his political designs. Hes an unabashed liberal determined to shift our politics and our country irrevocably to the left. In other words, obamas foes, if you put aside the birthers and sundry other lunatics, always had him pegged correctly. Mitch mcconnell agrees. One thing was pretty clear from the president s speech yesterday, the era of liberalism is back, and the unabashedly far left of Center Inauguration speech certainly brings back memories of the Democratic Party of ages past. The trouble is the definition of liberal includes about 60 of the country. It includes people who want something done on gun control, who believe the issue of abortion rights is really there for women, and they do think equality in marriage is there. So, in other words, youre passed the 50yard line in terms of where the liberal causes are right now. You cant say that and then say far to the left when youre on the right side of the conservative side of the 50yard line. Liberalism has made its case under this president perhaps more effectively than it did in the past, so you cant say its outside the mainstream. Why are you guys keep saying its far left, like mcconnell, when its now the center argument . Let me tell you this its a good question, and i think it ought to be answered. I think in 2014 you will find a lot of the senators in red states in louisiana, arkansas, south dakota, who are going to try to distance themselves from what president obama said in this speech because theyre worried about their elections. I think that in the center of the country and the red states where these senators are running, they dont think that the president s message works, and theyre going to try to move themselves away from that because theyre worried about it. Theyre worried about all these were talking about the majority of the country though. If the majority is with the president , is he too liberal . Thats what im asking. Can you call the guy too left when hes right where the middle is . How can you keep saying that . Its the only question i want to put to you. If more than 50 support equality of marriage, more than 50 support a womans right to choose, if more than 50 are with him on guns and foreign policy, how can you call that the far left . Let me put it this way, the fact of the matter is this is going to be politically very problematic for harry reid because for the constituency he represents in the senate, theyre not going to be able to get a lot of things that the president wants done because its too far to the left of him. For example, on gun control, thats going to be very problematic for can i get back to shrummy . Does it bother you your opinions are generally acceptable or do you prefer to be a maverick . Ive been waiting for the country to come around. I thought it would. I think barack obama has done a brilliant job. I would say to john he keeps talking about the problems in the red states. The red states are becoming a shrinking part of america. The one thing boehner said that is true is the Republican Party is annihilating itself in terms of being able to win the presidency. Because they are in a demographic death spiral with women, with hispanics, with africanamericans, with young people, with gays. What happened with ronald reagan, you remember this in the 1980s, he brought young people into the Republican Party and they stayed. This generation of young people is moving decisively to the Democratic Party, and if they stay, it will be a long time before we see a republican president. Let me jump in real quick. Wyoming, utah, colorado, i love those places. Your thoughts, john. I think bob is right on this thing. I think the Republican Party needs to evolve. I think it needs to attract younger voters. It has problems with hispanic voters, africanamerican voters, and i think thats what theyre trying to do at their rnc meeting. They have to message better. John feehery, now youre talking, showing intelligence at the end of the conversation. Im just kidding. Youre normally not this good. Republican congressman paul broun says president obama is upholding the soviet unions constitution. Is there one . I dont think theres a soviet union anymore. Were back on hardball, the place for politics. [ male announcer ] wouldnt it be cool if we took the already great sentra apart and completely reimagined it with bestinclass combined mpg and more interior room than corolla and civic and a Technology Suite with bluetooth, navigation, and other handy stuff . Yeah, that would be cool. Introducing the allnew nissan sentra. Its our most innovative sentra ever. Nissan. Innovation that excites. Now get a 169 per month lease on a new nissan sentra, plus 500 bonus cash. Plus 500 bonus cash. Iimagine living your life withss less chronic low back pain. Imagine you with less pain. Cymbalta can help. Cymbalta is fdaapproved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. One nonnarcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. Tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. Antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. Cymbalta is not for children under 18. People taking maois, linezolid or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. Taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. Severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. Signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. Tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible lifethreatening conditions. Talk about your alcohol use, Liver Disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. Dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. Ask your doctor about cymbalta. Imagine you with less pain. Cymbalta can help. Go to cymbalta. Com to learn about a free trial offer. Global warming is a total hoax, and ill tell you how i know. Because its cold today where i live. Thats just science. If anything, theres a new ice age coming today where i live. Which were totally unprepared for because its been so unseasonably warm this winter. Back to hardball. Going after Climate Change may be on president obamas second term agenda, but what are the odds of congress doing something when members of the House Science Committee are known to say things like this. Whether or not how dramatic this change will be or is, what its caused by, are things that honest people i think can disagree with. We dont know what those other cycles were caused by in the past, could be dinosaur flatulence or who knows. Well, bill maher took to his realtime blog to describe the climate debate, this planet of the apes stuff. Its just another case of not being able to craft a solution or even begin a discussion because one side is dealing in science and facts and reality and the other is stuck in a state of uninformed ideologicallybased paranoia. Its like a city council trying to debate whether or not to put up a stop sign at a certain intersection to keep the kids safe when some of the Council Members deny the existence of cars. The people maher is talking about is part of the Club President obama called out in the campaign. Remember what he said . If these guys were around when columbus set sail, they would be charter members of the flat earth society. Another nod to the soviets. Last week Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant saidhat if people dont get high capacity gun magazines, theyd look to places like brazil or the soviet union to get them. The soviet union, which hasnt existed for over 20 years now. Phil bryant, meet georgia congressman paul broun who thinks evolution and the Big Bang Theory are lies straight from the pit of hell. Broun was asked by a local newspaper about his role in congress as a far right republican. His answer, i think my role is to uphold, support, and defend our constitution. I dont know what constitution that other members of congress uphold, but its not this one. I think the only constitution that barack obama upholds is the soviet constitution, not this one. He has no concept of this one, though he claimed to be a constitutional lawyer. Okay. Call the soviet stuff a gaffe on the part of the congressman, but the president claims to be a constitutional lawyer . Is broun not convinced that the president graduated from Harvard Law School and served as president of the harvard law review . I think president obama had some Unfinished Business with the al green song he started singing. For now we have to settle for the auto tune version. Reverend al green was here. Im so in love with you whatever you want to do ill do it too lets Stay Together loving you whether, whether times are good or bad happy or sad well, basically hes a really good singer. Up next, the pentagon officially lifts the ban on women in combat. Women are already serving in combat, as congresswoman Tammy Duckworth can attest. Congresswoman duckworth is going to join us next. Youre watching hardball, the place for politics. In that time thereve been some good days. And some difficult ones. But, through it all, weve persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. So why should our anniversary matter to you . Because for 200 years, weve been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. And the next great idea could be yours. Stay top of mind with customers . From deals that bring them in with an offer. To social media promotions that turn fans into customers. 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Thats why at devry university, were teaming up with Companies Like cisco to help make sure everyone is ready with the knowhow we need for a new tomorrow. [ male announcer ] make sure americas ready. Make sure youre ready. At devry. Edu knowhow. Hey, there, im veronica. Heres whats happening. Earlier today, joe biden participated in an online chat on gun control. During the expression, he expressed support for an unlimited round of gun magazine. Caused the battering firearm on a boeing 747 dreamliner earlier this month. And the state overwhelmingly passed legislation opposing gay marriage. Now, back to hardball. In life, as we all know, there are no guarantees of success. Not everyone is going to be able to be a combat soldier. But everyone is entitled to a chance. Welcome back to hardball. That was defense secretary leon panetta today as he overturned a 1994 ban on women serving in combat. The truth is american women have been in combat in both iraq and afghanistan, but they have been prevented from advancing to some higher ranking positions within the military. Panetta said decisions Going Forward must not be made based upon gender but on qualifications. I fundamentally believe that our military is more effective when success is based solely on ability, on qualifications, and on performance. When i have gone to bethesda to visit Wounded Warriors and when i have gone to arlington to bury our dead, there is no distinction thats made between the sacrifices of men and women in uniform. They serve, theyre wounded, and they die right next to each other. The time has come to recognize that reality. With me tonight are u. S. Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth of illinois who lost both her legs actually when her blackhawk helicopter went down in iraq in 2004. Shes also a Lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois Army national guard. And captain zoe bedell who served two deployments in afghanistan and is in the marine corps reserves. She bought a federal lawsuit fighting the ban on women in combat. Congresswoman, i want you to tell me if you can, delineate before today what were the restrictions or limits on what a woman could do as opposed to a male serving officer or enlisted person in the United States military. So, chris, women were not allowed to serve in specific jobs. In the army those combat jobs were infantry, armor, artillery. Theres a whole list of them. For example, a woman could not become a Field Artillery officer. The only combat arms branch in the army that was open to women was aviation, which is what i became. Didnt mean women werent serving in combat, and the army recognized that and awards the combat action badge to show that you were engaged in direct combat. So theres two different policies. Theres a little bit of a split between the old system that says that women cant serve in these jobs but then also recognizing, oh, yeah, but you are engaging in combat action. But they werent in the military, artillery, or armor. Right. Infantry, artillery, armor. Theres a whole host of particular jobs you couldnt get into. Captain, thank you for joining us, and thank you for your service as well. Thank you to the congresswoman. Tell us why you made your suit, what you think was unjust, what do you think has now been changed . Well, i served for four years in the marine corps. I did two tours in afghanistan, and i was in charge of a group of female marines who were overseas patrolling with infantry marines every day and who saw combat, who were in firefights who were targeted by roadside bombs. I knew that what was happening over there was not in line with what the policy was saying, and that policy made it more difficult for to us accomplish our mission. It also made it harder for my marines to get recognition for the work they were doing. When the aclu approached me, it was an easy decision to make. So in effect were women actually working in these units that were apparently banned like artillery, armor, and infantry or were they not . Were they limited to the aerial the choppers and the other aircraft . Let me go back to the congresswoman. What in effect was the reality of a guy or a woman serving in the military that they would have experienced up until today, the reality. Sure. The reality is, chris, for example, we had infantry units that would have a female medic or supply sergeant attached to them but not assigned. If you are assigned to a unit, then you belong to that unit and youre part of the unit, but they would attach a medic or supply sergeant, and they would go with the infantrymen on their doortodoor, housetohouse searches, but they needed the women there to search female civilians that they would come across. So the women were engaging in the same firefights, doing the exact same thing, but they were not seen as being combat troops. And so women are already doing these jobs, but they were not being recognized as doing it, and these units couldnt have the women there and would have to go and look and search for women to volunteer to be attached to them and could not train them alongside the men in infantry training because the women were not technically infantry soldiers. Captain, when a woman joins the military today, will it be different . Will she be exposed to being put into an infantry unit, a front line grunt position where she would have to take that hill get out there and take that hill, mcgee . Will they be put in that position or do you see the law being enforced a different way, like a woman would have the option of going to the Front Line Service . I dont know the answer. What is the answer . You know, i dont know the answer at this point either. Im not sure that those details have come out, and if they are, i havent seen them yet. Whats your position having fought the suit . Do you think women should be vulnerable to the same kind of assignments or it should be an option for them where it may not be an option for men to be assigned to some really terrible duty like take that hill. You got your rifle. I think the assignment process should work the same for men and women. Thats what weve been asking for, weve been asking for equality. For officers, for example, you have to compete for the position. You dont get assigned against your choice necessarily. And we want the opportunity to compete for those positions. You think its going to encourage recruitment of women into the military . The fact that it will be equal service, equal opportunity, if you will . I think it will encourage recruitment, and i want to make a note that for the infantry for the enlisted jobs when you are enlisting into the military whether youre a man or woman, youre enlisting into a specific military occupational specialty. Youre choosing on your day of enlistment as a man whether you want that wasnt the way it was in the 60s. That was not the way it was in the 60s. Because you could apply to be a pio, which i was thinking of doing, and i never believed that you were guaranteed that pio job. Could you have just i wanted to write like ernie pyle, and youd just be a grunt like everybody else. I never trusted that. Im glad to know you can get assignment. Thank you for your service. Congresswoman, its great to have you in congress and, captain, thank you for coming on the show and educating us here. Wed love to have you back. Up next, senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a ban on assault weapons today. She did it again. She did it well the first time and succeeded the first time. This is hardball, the place for politics. Good insurance. Yup, ive got. [ voice of dennis ]. Allstate. Really . I was afraid youd have some cutrate policy. Nope, ive got. [ voice of dennis ] the allstate value plan. Its their most affordable Car Insurance and you still get an allstate agent. I too have. [ voice of dennis ] allstate. [ normal voice ] same agent and everything. Its like were connected. No were not. Yeah, we are. No, were not. Ask an allstate agent about the value plan. Are you in good hands . Battleground texas . Thats the goal of democrats who want to turn deep red texas blue. Politico is reporting democrats are launching a campaign to make the Lone Star State more competitive politically. Texas hasnt voted for a democrat for president since 76, humphrey. The one thing they have working in their favor is demographics. Texas is 44 white, 38 hispanic, 12 black, and 4 asian. 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You should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. Ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve your pain and stop further joint damage. Officemax can help you drive suand down. S down. Use your maxperks card and get a 10ream case of officemax multiuse paper for just 4. 99 after maxperks rewards. Find thousands of big deals now. At officemax. Were back. In the wake of the newtown shooting, the horror up there, advocates for stricter gun laws thought they might have finally momentum on their side, but getting any major legislation passed is likely to face some obviously major opposition. Not just from republicans, of course. The more democrats and conservative states hear from their constituents, the harder it becomes to pass something new. Nevertheless, today several democrats headed by senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill to reintroduce the ban on militarystyle assault weapons. We should be outraged by how easy it is for perpetrators of these horrific crimes to obtain powerful militarystyle weapons. Today my colleagues and i are introducing a bill to prohibit the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices that can accept more than ten rounds. Well, does feinsteins bill have a chance of passing . Thats a good question for our political strategists today. We will hear about them and the. Four strategist today, our political strategist were going to hear about them and the new republican efforts to change the Electoral College by realloca reallocating the votes according to kojsll district. The republicans want to do away with the winner takes all system in the states weve all gotten used to the past you hundred years and have voted with democrats the recent election. With the republicans going to monkey around with the Electoral College to win . Steve mcmahon is a democratic strategy exist robert costa is washington editor for the Renowned National review. Steve, lets talk politics. And i hope you can do this honestly. I dont know what your current constituency is or who you have to work with but it seems to me theres a national con sense u. Right, left and center at least right and center on doing something on background checks. People with mental, emotional problems, with criminal records should not get a gun, at least in a formal transaction, where you can stop it. Im not sure were ready to go for the assault weapons ban again because of the opposition by the nra and gun owners of america, whatever theyre called. Your thoughts. Well, i think this is where the rubber meets the road. If youre a democrat and youre from one of those purple states where elections are very close all the time, this is a very tough vote for you. But frankly, its why youre a democrat. I mean, there are there is widespread agreement on background checks. Theres widespread agreement on these magazines that can hold up to 100 rounds. And the assault weapons ban is where it gets kind of tough for democrats. But i think those democrats who dont want to vote for an assault weapons ban might find a tea party on the left, a primary, somebody whos a little bit more liberal, whos a little bit more progressive and a little bit more willing to do these things. It was something that bill clinton passed in 1994, and nobody in america was outraged at the time. No hunters stopped hunting. And it wasnt really any threat to the second amendment. It isnt any more today than it was then. Go ahead. Robert, your thoughts. Was he too optimistic for gun control . I was down in williamsburg, virginia for that House Republican retreat. Sandy hook was such a big tragedy, what are republicans going to do to respond to this legislatively . Is there anything republicans can do . And they said background checks and enforcement. So though senator feinstein got a lot of press for her comments what im really swachg is senator Patrick Leahy i agree. Hes the star. Hes the chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the senate. His role . He has another piece of lj slaigs thats announced with senator feinstein but its different, its all about enforcement. This enforcement issue of making the laws tougher of helping out cops to enforce the gun laws this is something republicans behind the scenes are privately already working with democrats. Do you think, steve you sound optimist uk about gun control. Do you believe the United States senate, which is run by democrats now, 55 controlled, 55 seats are democrat, will they pass a bill which the house will have to swallow . Will they do Something Real that they can take to conference and possibly get signed by the president . Because theyve got to take the lead. The house aint going to do it. I think if the president takes the lead and he takes the case to the country i think the senate will pass something. Pat leahy is a great example of frankly the challenge here because hes from a state where people value their guns. But once hunters understand and then most hunters do understand that this isnt a threat to their ability to hunt, this is a threat to those people who hunt other people with assault weapons and kill dozens at a time very quickly if they want to. And it will get to the house. And the house, you know, is going to have a tough vote. By the way, chris, theres one other thing in this bill. It also bans rocket launchers and grenade launchers. I think thats fair. I dont want to be the republican who votes against that bill. I just think theyve got to get something done after newtown, for the parents and the survivors of that i agree. Just get something done. Dont talk talk talk. I think the background check thing is something we can actually get done this spring. I dont know how anybody can vote against that, no matter how far right. Lets talk about this Electoral College game. All our lives, maybe for the rest of our lives, we elect by state. There were a collection of 50 states. Republicans, conservatives, especially believe in statehood as the key to the federal system we have. Now republicans are coming up saying dont do it by state anymore, do it by congressional district. Whats your thinking on that . Is it going anywhere, robert . I think it is going march. Look at states like maine and nebraska, they already have this congressional allocation for Electoral College votes. But heres the problem. A lot of republicans are already getting a lot of heat for trying to meddle with this system. But in 2000, early 2000s when al gore won the popular vote there were people talking about rethinking the Electoral College. This is not some scandal to think about the Electoral College. Your thoughts, steve. I think its a scandal. But your thoughts. I think its a scandal, too. And i think the republicans who go near it will get singed. Toes republican governors who are thinking about it, everybodys going to understand that this is a way to undo the election. Its a way to take the winner of the popular vote. Barack obama won by 5 million. He won the the democrats won the congressional vote by 1. 5 million. This is a way to overturn the election. People will understand that, and republicans will be punished. I believe that if a state that votes majority for one guy for president , either party, and finds out two or three days later that the majority of their electoral votes went the other way, well have a revolution. Anyway, i dont think its going to happen. But i understand what you guys are up to because you cant win a majority vote anymore. Thank you, Steve Mcmahon and the objective robert costa from the great Renowned National journal. National review. When we return, the republicans Mickey Mouse Club. 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Thor gets great rewards for his Small Business your boa [ garth ] thors Small Business earns double miles on every purchase, every day ahh, the new fabrics. Put it on my spark card. Ow. [ garth ] why settle for less . The spiked heels are working. Wait [ garth ] great businesses deserve great rewards. [ male announcer ] the spark Business Card from capital one. Choose unlimited rewards with double miles or 2 cash back on every purchase, every day whats in your wallet . [ cheers and applause ] let me finish tonight with this. This Mickey Mouse Club thats back. Oh, yeah. Just look at the Republican Partys plan to kill the Electoral College and replace it with a vote by congressional district. No longer will it be the 50 states. From now on if the mouseketeers get their way well be the 435 congressional districts. Not the United States of america but the united congressional districts of america. Its the latest mickey mouse gimmick to win elections without having to win the most number of votes. Remember the tricks they tried in 2012 . All those changes in the voting times, all those cuts in the number of voting booths, all that effort to make it harder for people to vote . All that targeting of the people who tend to vote in ways the remembers dont like people voting . Remember all that . Well, now theyre trying something new. They dont like that states like pennsylvania regularly vote democratic. So some political quacks came up with the idea of breaking up the states electoral votes so the rural areas will get more power. They dont like the urban vote, as they call it, going to democratic. So they decided to kill its power over how the state goes overall. Look, the real fight here is by the republicans against the countrys shifting demographics. If they dont get or cant get people to vote for them they try to kill the power of