But its also because of the white houses response to benghazi, something that has nothing do with chuck hagel, who wasnt even in the government at the time. Today, the unprecedented step came to a head. That failed to get the 60 votes needed. That mob at the gate headed over what are republicans really trying to do . Nbcs Kelly Odonnell is at the capital tonight. Let me just tell you this, im going to ask you, why are they doing this . Why are they holding up a cabinet appointment . For some of them, it is about chuck hagel wanting to know more, who were not a part of committee. They just all received. They make it very clear. Its not personal, they say. It is a tool within the rules of the senate. They say the only tool they have to try to extract from the Administration Information they did not willingingly give. So case in point, there are two things that have happened because they put up this resistance. Today, they received a letter and they believed that that is a credit to the white house, that theyve now given them that information. Theyre satisfied, for now, on that. Expect more questions, chris u when joan brennan, the cia director nominee comes forward. Its a tool what do they still want to know about benghazi that can be used for this decision to hold up this confirmation . What do they still want to know . They want to know the name of the person that changed the talking points that were circulated and included the description of the video when the secretary of defense and the joint chiefs chair both knew, almost stantly, that it was terrorism. Media, while many in the public think this issue is over and done with, that the families want to know and that they need to have more information so that conduct of any administration will be aware of the power of oversight from the senate. And they think that will change how people react and decisions they will make. Thats the argument they laid out. They said it is not personal, but it is a tool to get information. They believe it was successful in getting the hearing and the letter they wanted. Thank you, Kelly Odonnell, for that report. Great to have you on tonight. Big news breaking. Lets go to Peter Beinart about this. Thank you for joining us tonight for some analysis. Why do you think youre looking at this with a deeper political background on the motivation, what is the motivation of people like Lindsey Graham . Why are they leading the charge to screw the nomination . Its because hes petrified hes too moderate to win the republican nomination for senate in 2014 in south carolina, and so hes desperately moving to the right. For a lot of other republicans, they feel like if they can drag this out longer and longer, that maybe some shoe will drop, there will be some scandal, something they havent unearthed that will destroy this nomination. In the meantime, we dont have the person who is supposed to be secretary of defense going to a very, very important summit next week in europe because its being held up on this fishing expedition. I was listening to kellys report there, and it squares with everything i have been able to figure out. But they keep changing the question. First of all, there was legitimate questions on the republican side and by the American People what happened at benghazi, why couldnt we go to the aid of those people, and Christopher Smith included, who were under attack in real time . Now they seem to have gotten the answers to that. There was no material no ordnance or outfit able to get there in time. Then they went to this other question, why didnt we call up the Libyan Government and get them to come and do it . Now theyre back to arguing about what was said on meet the press after the incident. It seems every time the questions are asked, a new round of questions follow them and a new round of questions to the point you have to wonder if theyre not simply doing what you think is their prime motivation, playing for time, hoping some shoe will drop. I think what needs to be said is they have every right to vote against chuck hagel. What they dont have a right to do is prevent a timely vote on chuck hagel, which is what theyre doing by filibustering a nominee for secretary of defense which has never happened. The filibuster is supposed to be something which is very, very rare, and its supposed to be something difficult to do. To make it the kind of permanent reality as the Republican Party has done year after year ratcheting up to include Senate Nominees is outrageous. The president has a right to have a vote on his defense nominee having just won the election. You know whats going on i think watching this as a dynamic, from now on in politics, at least on the right and center right, you have to do what the worst people are doing. If anybody goes up and says im going to filibuster, if youre not filibustering, youre not on the right anymore. This is the new litmus test. Lets listen to john mccain, who has been on a couple sides of this things. He said a short time ago on fox news this. Lets watch. Theyll probably get the votes when we return from the recess unless Something Else unless another something pops up, and thats doubtful that it will. But to be honest with you, neil, it goes back to theres a lot of ill will towards senator hagel because when he was a republican, he attacked president bush mercilessly, at one point said he was the worst president since herbert hoover, said that the surge was the worst blunder since the vietnam war, which is nonsense, and was very anti his own party, and people dont forget that. That seems honest. Lets go to senator Claire Mccaskill who has been tough in dealing on the Armed Services committee with some of the zealots. I try to find political motive. Why is ted cruz, the new kid on the block, acting so ferociously . Why are they doing this to a guy who is a middleoftheroader . I dont get it. Your thoughts, senator . I think its extremism. I think this is somebody who is on the very edge of the political spectrum, and he thinks he has the right to try to pull everyone over with him, but what was really bad about what happened, chris, was not that he opposed chuck hagel. We can all live with that, although this filibuster is inexcusable, especially in light of the history of this body and what it means, but what he did was he made innuendos and inferences that chuck hagel was a liar and a traitor. Now, this is a man when everyone was going to canada or everyone was trying to get a deferral, he stood up and said take me, and he battled valiantly for our country in war and was decorated. So i think there is a really bright line, that you dont cross that line and impugn someones patriotism with no evidence. It was absolutely mccarthylike. We have the tape. Lets show ted cruz of texas saying that very thing in your committee on Armed Services. We saw with his nomination something truly extraordinary, which is the government of iran formally and publicly praising the nomination of a defense secretary. I would suggest to you that to my knowledge that is unprecedented to see a foreign nation like iran publicly celebrating a nomination. You know, i dont often say it and i rarely say it, but there is echoes of joe mccarthy there, strong echoes. Your thoughts . How is he supposed to control what the pr agency out there in tehran puts out some day . How does that incriminate him . Well, thats exactly what i tried to say to senator inhofe. Be careful here. Because what if a group that you find abhorrent that doesnt match your values endorses you . Does that mean youre cozy with them . And iran is being manipulative here. I think theyre trying to cause the president problems. These are people who are playing a political propaganda game, and i will say this for john mccain. Even though he drives me crazy sometimes, he did step up yesterday, and he said no one should impugn this mans integrity or his patriotism. I admire john for doing that in the heat of this very inappropriate diatribe by senator cruz and senator inhofe. I agree with that so much. Let me ask you about the neocon people. It seems like the real ideological people who really despise chuck hagel, not on personal grounds, they think hes too dovish on the middle east, too dovish overall, theyre looking for a shoe to drop. Is that part of the game here . Its a delaying game, wait a week, hope something pops against him . Im not really sure what their strategy is here, but i think the American People are onto them. The notion that for the first time in history a newly elected president has his nomination for the secretary of defense filibustered . And by the way, theyre not going to change the president s policy by playing these games. Right. Theyre not going to and all theyre doing is sending a signal to the rest of the world that were not united in a bipartisan way around the issue of national security. That is damaging to our national security. And shame on them for doing that. This is not worth it. In this political game that gets played around here, sometimes we lose sight of the goal, and that is the strength of our nation and how we appear to the rest of the world, and this is not a good moment for our country in terms of the United States senate behavior today. Senator, im wondering here, is this about the president s choice for secretary of defense or is it about the peoples choice for president . Are they trying to undermine this president . I think its a little of both. I think john mccain was being very honest when he said that, you know, chuck hagel really irritated the members of his party when he was willing to with a very independent voice, he was still a republican, he was still conservative, he was still from a very conservative state of nebraska, but he was willing from time to time to speak out against a republican president , against some of the policies that were embraced by the Republican Party, and i think it really irritated some of them, and i think it was tough for them and especially probably tough for senator mccain when chuck hagel decided not to endorse his old friend for president. When john mccain ran for president , of course, at one point in time chuck hagel and john mccain were the same kind of couple around here that Lindsey Graham and john mccain are. Good amigos. Very close. Good friends. Lets look now at a comment made by your former colleague, Richard Lugar of indiana. He had this to say about why republicans are obstructing hagels nomination. Senator hagels main transgression is that he is a republican who has questioned policies that are sacred among most conservative senators. The intensity of opposition that the senator is encountering is grounded in the resentments of some conservatives inside and outside the senate who regard his independent thinking as political blasphemy for which he should not be rewarded. Senator, you know the senate now. This is your second term. Can you read it . Is there going to be a vote to try to get cloture to end this filibuster when you come back on monday after this monday . Well, thats whats so sad about this game. Everyone voting today knows that chuck hagel is going to be confirmed. In fact, there are a number of people who have made commitments that they will, in fact, vote for cloture when we return. So this is some kind of grandstanding that goes on. Im confident hell get the votes when we return, and he will take his place as secretary of state. But he is going to miss the nato conference next week, and it sends a signal to the rest of the world that maybe he doesnt have the full support of the american government, which is not a good place for our secretary of defense to be in. Well, the jackals are in the streets tonight. Thank you so much, senator Claire Mccaskill. And Peter Beinart, thank you for joining us as well. Coming up, the frantic rantings of the nra. Citizen lapierre has gotten crazier. He says we need to buy guns, to arm up to protect ourselves from the marauding hispanic gangs. Remember the line, this one, from brokeback mountain, i wish i knew how to quit you. Well, republicans just cant quit their Cartoon Version of president obama as a tyrannical, libertyhating socialist. How is that working for you guys . And no surprise, the late night comics drank deeply from marco rubios water bottle. Dont worry, senator rubio, nobody noticed that you gave a speech. And finally, let me finish with how the attacks on president obamas choice for secretary of defense are really attacks on the peoples choice, the American Peoples choice for president. And thats what this is about. And this is hardball, the place for politics. Direct rates side by side to find you a great deal, even if its not with us. [ ding ] oh, thats helpful well, our company does that, too. Actually, we invented that. Its like a sauna in here. Helping you save, even if its not with us now, thats progressive call or click today. No mas pantalones because every flake is doubletoasted. Splashed with sweet honey. And covered in rich doubleroasted peanuts. Mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kelloggs crunchy nut. Its super delicious well, my good friend new jersey senator Frank Lautenberg says hes going to retire next year and not seek a sixth term. And that opens the door for cory booker to run for lautenbergs seat. Booker has made his intentions very clear, which clearly annoyed the 89yearold lautenberg. While booker is the highest profile democrat looking to succeed lautenberg, other democrats have signaled their intentions to run as well. With lautenberg retiring, its an end of an era. Hes the last world war ii veteran in the u. S. Senate. Well be right back. welcome back to hardball. Citizen lapierre who is is he this screamer of fire in the theater . Wayne lapierre. Watch him go to work. He just sent out a mass manifesto linking a lifeline from every spooked out crowd in the country from one to the other asking them all to arm themselves while theres still time, arm themselves. Afraid of looting after a storm . Get a gun. Upset by illegal immigration . Get a gun. Dont like crime or drugs, get yourself a damn gun, man. Thats the Wayne Lapierre message today. Worried about the debt crisis . Worried about the chaos coming afterwards you know the drill get a gun. Arm yourself, america. Its not just a right, its a duty. Its not just about uncle sam who is coming to get you in one of those black helicopters, its that mob at the gate headed over the rio grande as we speak and right for your house up in idaho, right as we speak. Lock and load. Do it now. Theres not much time. Theyre coming for you. You think this is crazy . Well, this is Wayne Lapierre talking, the head of the nra, and what does that tell you . It tells you about a new division in america between the confident people who think hes nuts and the scared, the really scared, who are listening to him right now. Joining me is u. S. Congressman Elijah Cummings of maryland and former pennsylvania governor ed rendell. Governor, i want to start with you. This line, you have run against the nra in terms of reelection as governor. I have never heard this kind of talk. This talk is crazy. Its reign of terror talk like from the french revolution. Get your gun. Youre the one next. If you have any gripe in this country about illegal immigration, about the debt crisis, you better be armed and ready to fight. Well, chris, not only is it crazy stuff, and it really is outright, flat out committable stuff, but worse, it has heavy racial overtones, and im sure congressman cummings is going to talk about that. So much so that i think its incumbent upon the Republican Party leaders, such as they are, to stand up and disavow Wayne Lapierre now, disavow the statement, say its against everything we believe in. We do not scare people with images of latino gangs and looting by looters after a storm, things that conjure up nothing but racial overtones. I think if the Republican Party wants to do anything in the future in this country in the next five to ten years, they better disavow this and disavow it now like president bush did when the nra went crazy a few years back. Congressman cummings, here it is. A piece titled, stand and fight. The nras Wayne Lapierre worked all the levers of the fear machine. During the second obama term, additional threats are growing, latin American Drug gangs have invaded every significant city of size in the United States. Then he used Hurricane Sandy to stoke more fear. We saw the hellish world that the gun prohibitionists see as their utopia. Looters ran wild in south brooklyn. There was no food, water, or electricity. If you wanted to walk several miles to get supplies, you better get back before dark or you might not get home at all. And then lapierre wrapped it up with a defiant call to arms. Quote, we will not surrender, we will not appease, we will buy more guns than ever. Your reading of that. Who is he talking to . I think hes talking to people who will be accepting of a fear. He basically is trying to put fear into peoples hearts, and if you read it carefully, you would think that it was an advertisement for gun manufacturers. The fact is that weve got basically i see it as a distraction. Weve got to concentrate on sandy hook. Weve got to concentrate on whats going on in our inner cities and folks getting guns that should not have them. And i think that i think what mr. Lapierre is doing is, to be frank with you, hes shooting himself in the foot and shooting the nra in the foot because in talking to some of my colleagues on the republican side today, a lot of them are embarrassed and upset about it, but they are afraid to speak out about it. But one thing that they are definitely not in agreement with, and i think some are going to see this as cover to stand up against the nra. You know, we have common sense legislation against trafficking which is a bipartisan bill. I know you do. Good for you. And scott rigell, who is one of our cosponsors, is an nra member. Thats true. I went back and looked at the republican platform last time around. It was all progun. On every aspect, every front, not a single word challenging the nra. I have yet i accept the fact that, congressman, you have colleagues and good friends that are willing to speak candidly with you as they clearly have. They werent going on television saying anything against lapierre. I agree. Governor, he looks like hes the boss. Its like when Rush Limbaugh speaks and everybody hides in a cave because theyre afraid of Rush Limbaugh. This guy, no matter what he said, if it has a racial tinge, they dont call him out on it, nobody seems to do it on the republican side. And its mindboggling to me, chris, because the polls are absolutely clear, an overwhelming number of americans disagree with Wayne Lapierre on this stuff, and where are the moderate republicans . Where are the jim gerlachs and charlie dents and charlie fitzpatricks in the philadelphia suburbs . Do they think this is acceptable stuff . Are they going to stand and hide behind, you know, a curtain and not come out and say stuff . What will they do when it comes time to cast their votes . Will they vote to eliminate high capacity magazines . Are they going to vote to eliminate assault rifles . Will they vote to make universal background checks the law of the land . Are they going to vote for that gun trafficking bill that congressman cummings is talking about . Its time that we call those guys on the carpet and said, who are you for . Us or the nra . Well, theyre talking now with their silence. Lapierre even called into question what would happen with the economic fear we all have in this country about, you know, budget stops and debt ceilings and all that stuff. He said leading this country to financial ruin right now, he talked about, and warned even when these days of chaos come afterwards, you better be armed about it. Nobody knows if or when the fiscal collapse will come. But if the country is broke, theres likely to be not enough money to pay for police protection, and the American People know it. When Wayne Lapierre testified before congress, he emphasized this fear, that people have got to protect themselves from marauding mobs and the government might not be able to do the job. Lets listen to him on that point again. I also think though that what people all over the country fear today is being abandoned by their government. If a tornado hits, if a hurricane hits, if a riot occurs, that theyre going to be out there alone, and the only way theyre going to protect themselves in the cold, in the dark, when theyre vulnerable, is with a five arm. You know, congressman, what hes really appealing to here, if you have studied the groups like survivalist groups and posse comitatus that live up in the hills of idaho, you know them all, he wants everybody in america to start acting like a survivalist. You have to be in some barricade situation with lots of guns to protect yourself against minorities, against illegal immigrants, against the government. You got a lot of enemies out there, and it may be your neighbor trying to get a loaf of bread from your kitchen. You may have to shoot him. Basically, hes trying to paint this doomsday scenario. I think lapierre i dont even think hes in touch with his own membership when 82 are saying they believe in comprehensive background checks, and 87 are saying they truly believe that there should not be criminals should not have guns. Hes clearly out of tune and again im convinced that this is going to work against when is that going to start . Remember back george bush, sr. Back when he was expresident , he was a good man about this, when lapierre put out a letter about calling federal agents, fbi agents, jackbooted thugs, he said im quitting. I dont hear the sound of republicans quitting because of Wayne Lapierres craziness. I havent heard it yet. Have you heard of anybody quitting the nra . I have not heard anybody quitting, but i will say that meehan, Patrick Meehan out of pennsylvania, is a cosponsor of our bill and hopefully and weve gotten five cosponsors from the republican side. And hopefully well get even more, and maybe, just maybe, that will cause others to stand up, and then when you hear the words of lapierre, and everybody ought to read what he wrote, by the way. I think the people would distance themselves more and more from him. Problem is chris meehan came out for your trafficking bill last night, as he should. Hes a cosponsor. I understand thats a good thing to do, but i tried to get him on assault weapons, i tried to get him on magazines. He wont do it even in suburban and delaware county. Last thought, governor. You know, thats the key. Congressman cummings, can you tell everybody, are the pat meehans of the world going to vote a discharge petition if Speaker Boehner will not allow these things to be voted on on the floor of the house, and thats what the president said, they deserve a vote. Will the pat meehans of the world, those republicans, vote discharge petition to get it to the floor . Comprehensive bill, i dont think so. I have listened to them. And but on this vote, maybe. Trafficking bill, maybe. But again, i dont want if we can agree on something, i want us to get those things done. Things we dont agree on, well have to deal with them another day. Thank you. The sad part is you end up doing nothing, which is sad. I agree. Thats one counter. I want to smoke these guys out. Thank you, Elijah Cummings and governor rendell. Up next, it was only a matter of time. The late night comics take on marco rubios water gulp. You will see that the rest of your life, he will. And this is hardball, the place for politics. [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. Its hard to turn off and go back to sleep. Intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you cant get back to sleep. Its an effective sleep medicine you dont take before bedtime. Take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. Do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. Allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. Intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. Do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and youre fully awake. Driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. Abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. Alcohol or taking other medicines that make you sleepy may increase these risks. In depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. Intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency. Common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue. So if you suffer from middleofthenight insomnia, ask your doctor about intermezzo and return to sleep again. Back to hardball. Were in the sideshow. We knew it was coming. The late night comedy reaction to this. Nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like the one the president laid out tonight. And now the late night rebuttal. What a nice plug for poland spring, huh . You cannot buy that kind of product placement. At least i hope you cant buy it, but in washington who knows. It would have been less awkward had he been wearing one of these on his head during the speech. Dont worry, senator rubio, nobody noticed that you gave a speech. And i cannot imagine what he was thinking, jimmy. Do we have any footage of what he was thinking . It will create and false choices like the one the president laid out tonight. [ applause ] its made for comedy. Rubio has decided the best reaction to the whole thing is to embrace it apparently. His super pac, reclaim america, is now selling this marco rubio water bottle. I dont think its going to work because you only get one reputation in this country, and this guy is now the thirsty one. Why do republicans keep trotting out that strawman version of president obama, the tyrannical socialist who wants to raise your taxes and take away your gun . Maybe its because theyve had so much trouble beating the real guy. And thats ahead. Youre watching hardball, the place for politics. Welcome back to hardball. While the republicans are facing their own internal battles, establishments versus tea parties, outsiders versus beltway types, who are the republicans up against . The liberal barack obama who wants to raise your taxes and quash Free Enterprise or the guy we saw this week talking about the middle class . Well, take a guess. Marco rubios rebuttal speech attacked the leftist president , and last night jon stewart had some fun with him. Our Free Enterprise economy is the source of our middle class prosperity. But president obama, he believes its the cause of our problems. I hope the president will abandon his obsession with raising taxes. Instead of playing politics with medicare, when is the president going to offer his detailed plan to save it . Tonight would have been a good time for him to do it. Yes. Instead of attacking capitalism and obsessing about taxes and not offering a medicare plan, why didnt he just go out there last night and Say Something about medicare . Something, what would that sound like . On medicare im prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same amount of Health Care Savings by the beginning of the next decade as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson Bowles commission. I see the problem. Once again rather than responding to actual obama, republicans are stuck responding to the fictional image of obama that theyve created, the same boilerplate republican talking points but just with a better backstory. Ive got the hardball strategists to debate that question. Democrat Steve Mcmahon and republican john feehery. You first, feehery. Youre laughing. Jon stewart said it better than i have, that basically youre attacking a strawman, a guy who wants to take away everybodys guns, he wants to tax everybody to the hilt, a left wing bad guy. Whereas obama comes in and most americans say point by point were with him. How can both be true . Well, listen, i think when the president talks about medicare, he says one thing and he does another. And i think at the end of the day if were going to get any deal on medicare, hes actually got to not just make the proposals and then take them back. Hes actually got to stick with them. And i think that what he has a habit of doing is talking out of both sides of his mouth about any of this entitlement reform. Is he a left wing tyrannical socialist or not . Yes or no . I think he governs from the left. I think hes a populist progressive who governs from the left, yes. I think thats right. Is he tyrannical . Is he a socialist . I dont think hes tyrannical, and i doubt hes a socialist. Thank you. Then you recognize reality. Thats kind of my deal. John usually recognizes reality. Hes not going to play this game. Hes throwing the ball out and saying, you guys play that game. Hes not going to defend that strawman tactic. Its a mirage. It turns out that running against a mirage out there in the desert makes you thirsty and you need to okay. You guys are cruel. Youre a pr guy. A good sense of that word, Steve Mcmahon. I say you only get one reputation. Im still paying for thrill up my leg. You do these things. You do something out of the ordinary, and it doesnt go away. Is he stuck with that . I worked for howard dean, a guy that i love and what do people remember about howard dean . Thats what they remember about him, standing on the stage in iowa. Screaming. His grandmother says you get one chance to make a first impression. Marco rubio has made his one impression. Its a long, hard road back. This thirsty head having to stop National Television and get a drink. Is that going to be one of the things that becomes a cartoon factor in his life whether he likes it or not . It depends how he handles it. I think these responses are always terrible. I think bobby jindal thank you. I dont know why rubio went for it. I think if you do that, youre putting yourself up, and you really have to clear a high bar. Im with you. Will he be typified by this . He has a long career ahead of him. I think hes a very, very smart guy. I think hes got a great story. These are the types of things that leave a lasting impression as steve said, and its going to be how he handles it next week, and if hes able to poke fun at himself, people will remember him for his sense of humor and not for his water drinking. We know he has a great consultant, todd harris. Thats not fair. If he put that bottle ten feet from him, hes crazy. On a more dastardly note, paul broun touted his name calling of the president. Hes bragging about being extreme. As a member of the house of representatives for the last few years, i have fought tooth and nail against president obamas agenda at every turn. I was the first member of congress to call him a socialist who embraces marxist leninist policies like government control of health care and redistribution of wealth. Well, there you have somebody on the fringe out there, john feehery, bragging about how extreme his language was. I think what broun did was he had a fundraising letter, and in those fundraising letters, as you know, you have the most explosive language because that gets you the biggest money. Now, do i think that paul broun i think hes going to have a difficult primary. I think tom price is going to run against him, and i think there are some other folks who will run against him. But is a pretty conservative state, so it might work for him. Well see. What happened to the hastert rules, youre not supposed to do anything unless most republicans support it. Unless most republicans believe the president is a tyrannical socialist, why do these people not stick with the hastert rule . With fundraising letters you say some of the most obnoxious things. I guarantee you when Steve Mcmahon was drafting those letters for howard dean, he was saying some obnoxious things, too. No, no, no, no, no. Come on, steve. I was going to give you an easy one. Im going to be nice to you again tonight. Whats the smart game in the Republican Party . Is it the jindal, the bobby jindal Chris Christie game of attacking the party from the outside or is it the inside players like rubio and ryan saying were doing basically the right stuff, we just got to refine it. Whats the smart position . Outside attacking in or inside defending and refining . Well, i will put it this way. If youre in washington, d. C. , youre defined by opposing the president. If youre outside of washington, d. C. , youre defined by governing. Bobby jindal and Chris Christie and mike pence and Sam Brownback are all governing, and i think thats a better way to refine and refrain the party than an Oppositional Party which you necessarily have to do within the confines of washington, d. C. Here is a guy that grew up inside washington, worked in the leadership of the Republican Party, the Speakers Office like i did, and saying the best way to fix the party is not be there, but be outside in the country. Thats right. And to be outside attacking washington. Now, its interesting because marco rubio is trying to be both, and he actually has the ability to be both because hes only been there for a couple years. Why the flop sweat . Why is he so nervous . I think thats a pretty big moment no, you have seen him give national speeches on the convention floor, hes been fantastic do you have an answer why he was so nervous and sweaty . I dont think he was nervous. He was tired. He had just given an 18minute response earlier, two minutes before, and speaking 35 minutes straight is pretty tough for someone. I think he was tired. I think he was really thirsty. It wasnt flop sweat. Everybody else thinks flop sweat. Thank you, Steve Mcmahon. And youre being loyal, john feehery. The debate continues, gentlemen, even after were off the air, and you can take part. Visit our blog at hardballblog. Msnbc. Com. Or find us on facebook at facebook. Com hardball. Thank you. Democrats want to defeat, of face it with puffs facial tissues. Puffs has airfluffed pillows for 40 more cushiony thickness. Face every day with puffs softness. This reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work . You just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. Step 1. Eat the soup. All those veggies and beans, thats what may help lower your cholesterol and well thats easy [ male announcer ] progresso. You gotta taste this soup. Democrats want to defeat, of course, Mitch Mcconnell of kentucky, the guy who from day one vowed to make president obama, as we all know notoriously, a oneterm president. Well, some National Democrats think their best chance to beat mcconnell may be with actress ashley judd. Judd, a kentucky native, has not decided whether to run or not, but polls show shes competitive. For that we check the hardball scoreboard. According to a poll by the republican firm harper, Mitch Mcconnell has a ninepoint lead on ashley judd, 49 40 . Not a big lead for a high profile senator against a political newcomer. Well be right back. Were back. Its been decades, of course, since this country has taken a really hard look at poverty in america. But for millions of americans, many of them children, hunger is a reality daytoday. I think its really brave of all of you to be talking to us about you are the. It. But is it something that you feel comfortable talking about . Why should we have to struggle. If we need it to survive, why cant we just get it when we need it . How often are you thinking about food . Usually every single day because your stomach would tie up in knots because youre so hungry. Savanah is teaming up with the group, feeding america. Samantha joins us from boss ton. It was in 1961 that the other america was written. Where are we at in terms of that . Kids being hungry . Reporter its one of the shocking things about the great reception. And, still, we see the fall out from it, chris. Its not just the very, very poor, who, as you all know, have always been with us. But family who is have one parent, sometimes both parents have lost the job or people being underemployed, not having the quality of job they had before. When i talked to these kids, just to be clear about it, theyre not starving, its not that they go days without eating, its that they dont have enough. Theyre not full. A lot of these kids told me i just dont eat breakfast. That school lunch is the first meal they get. And sometimes the schools rotate the meal. Theyre not really getting their first meal until much later in the day. I talked to a little birl that says she and her mom, they go shopping at the beginning of the month. And by the end of the month, they are just scrimping by. I think what was most shocking to me is that its not that stereotypical face of poverty that i think a lot of us have. But that its families who are the working poor, who may have jobs, but, still, struggle. And i think thats what were trying to raise awareness about. Heres more from the school kids you sat down with, savanah, lets watch. The stroout is is that there isnt always a full meal put on my table. You will go to the fridge and there will be nothing there. I used to be scared if any other kid found out that i didnt have food or anything or i was por poor, that they would make fun of me. How did you get them to talk . It sounds somewhat embarrassing when youre surrounded by middle class kids who dont have that reality facing them 1234. Yeah, these kids were really preetty courageous. Some of them talked about how they dont like to talk about it because it is embarrassing. Or one little boy told me i dont want to bring it up because i dont want the other kids to think im asking for their food. All of them, when they heard what we were doing with the ad council and putting them together with a commercial, a psa, they wanted to be a part of the solution. You know what really struck me . They all wanted to hep kids who had less than they did. When we taped these interviews, it was not that long after sandy. And some of these kids said i want to share my food with people who may have less than i do. Lets look at the psa. Lets watch it, the result of your hard work, savannah. An were off. You got plans . You bet. 50 million americans struggle with hunger. But we can do something about it. Excuse me. Whats going on . Please join me in helping put food on their tables. Together, we can feed america. You guys get going. Im going to get the plates. Plates . Sav aurks nnah, i was impressed by that. I have to tell you, i do know about poverty. Its the worst case scenario. What youve found is pretty close to bad, but not the worst. And thats a reality that we didnt know about. Yeah, the psa is designed to make people think about it. This is the land of parenty. A lot of us have the ability to give and there are a lot of people in need. And its not the people that you always think of. Sometimes its your frebd and its your neighbor. The orange tables are simply to help people visualize. This great need, 1 in 6 children is hungry, 50 million americans is hungry. Its so easy to donate to your food bank. There are great programs that we talked to. A lot of them belonged to this Backpack Program so that on fridays, they get sent home with a backpack full of food. A lot of kids told us it makes all the difference. Its one of those things where the smallest effort can really make a difference. Thank you so much. When we return, let me finish with the attacks that dont seem to stop on chuck hagel and how theyre really an attack against president obama. Youre watching hardball, the t when youake up in theiddle ofhe night it can be frustrating. Its hard to turn off and go back to sleep. Intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you cant get back to sleep. Its an effective sleep medicine you dont take before bedtime. Take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. Do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. Allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. Intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. Do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and youre fully awake. Driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. Abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. Alcohol or taking other medicines that make you sleepy may increase these risks. In depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. Intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency. Common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue. So if you suffer from middleofthenight insomnia, ask your doctor about intermezzo and return to sleep again. Because every flake is doubletoasted. Splashed with sweet honey. And covered in rich doubleroasted peanuts. Mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kelloggs crunchy nut. Its super delicious let me finish tonight with the stalking of senator hagel. Those who dont want this man as pentagon chief will stop at nothing. Theyre trying to slow the process of his confirmation, anything to give them time to find something to bring the man down. Question, who are they try king to bring down . Is it president obamas pick for secretary of defense . Or is it the man the American People have chosen . Is it about a confirmation or a desperate push to undermine the president s second term. Listen to those attacking senator hagel and youll hear the yelps of pain, this motley crew of neocons and the sun belt feel. What they hate, despise, really, is the fact that now in the history books, the American People voting in great numbers reject their warreich jinglistic notions of what america stands for