John boehner stands out there on the bridge while this blows out. Whose decision was it to put a senate hold on a meeting between the senate and house budget committees . That lack of Appropriations Bills passed and signed by the president exposed the entire u. S. Government to shut down and who was it that demanded as a price for the passage of a continuing resolution the destruction of the Affordable Care act . Ted cruz. The man whos now standing back and watching the government crash in. Within the last hour, president obama met with the congressional leaders of both parties at the white house. Howard, lets talk about the setup before tonight. Where are we with this speaker of the house . Hes got the heat on his back. On his backside. Lets be blunt here. Hes facing a tremendous torture. You can see it in his face. How long will it take for the moderates in his party to give him enough backing where he can make a move and make a lesser demand on the president , one that he might be able to accept . Well, chris, were he an all counting, one by one, republicans are saying, privately first and then publicly, in the house, that they would be willing to vote for a socalled cr, meaning go ahead, fund the government without conditions. Right now there may be 16 or 17 of those republicans. That would be enough so that the leadership doesnt fail. Lets look at this. President obama gave an interview this afternoon saying he was kp so that we can negotiate on a real fwhaujt allows us to stop governing from crisis to crisis it would pass. The only thing thats stopping is it that john boehner right now has not been willing to say no to a fashion of the Republican Party that are willing to burn the house down because of an obsession over my health care initiative. Unless i say that 20 Million People you cant have Health Insurance these folks will not reopen the government. That is irresponsible. Lets talk about guts howard at a basic sense. I look at the president and i see the guy who told governor romney, proceed, governor. Dig your ditch and fall into it. And i notice he is not sweating. I notice that boehner is shaky out there. Is that a good indicator of where they stand . The problem you have here chris is that this is the first part. The overture to the crazy symphony over the debt ceiling. John boehner said months ago, dont mess around with the funding issue, dont attach obama care to it. That was boehners position months ago. He had to climb down from that if he wants to keep his speakership. But in the Republican Party where the president has few friends, john boehner, as weak as he is is one of the only people that president obama can talk to on the republican side. I agree. Who is in the room with the tea party people. Heres the question. When is that coalition formed . When is the president and the speaker going to say down the road whatever theyre talking about, when are they going to ice a deal and say we can never get a deal with ted cruz. He doesnt want a deal. He wants to destroy the president. Dont you think that john boehner knows that . Of course he does. John boehner and ted cruz come from two completely different planets in terms of their view of their responsibilities and their approach to politics and their ideology. They are farther apart than Many Democrats were from 10 to 15 years ago. Do you see this thing . You dont remember the Republican Party howard and i remember, the one that was for civil rights and it wasnt a crazy whacko bird. I remember when it was a party that understood governing and sent people to washington who understood the role of a legislator is to governor and compromise when needed for the nation. A couple of the reasons you are seeing the president look calm and not sweating is because he feels he is on perfectly firm ground. He is not budging on the Affordable Care act baz as you have said its the law of the land. Its his baby. Its his baby and the American People reelected him knowing he would push this through. This is one, and two, people forget that weve gotten to this point of brinksmanship because we have been here before where the president has given things to the republicans. And now he is thinking, look, ive given a lot. Ive given enough and this is where im drawing the line. Many republicans are willing to let the shutdown continue. We have pass the Witching Hour and now the pressure builds on both sides and the American People will weigh in. The g. O. P. Only has something if it now stands it ground and demands defunding obama care. They must be in this to win this. Just like in 1995 they have to wait this out. The fight has to be keep government shut down until the democrats blink or drive from Office Republicans who vote to fund obama care. And a congressman had this to say. Ill say most of americans realize that the Government ShutdownMeans Nothing to them. This attitude of i dont see it. Ignorance is bliss. If i dont think something is going to go bad nothing is going to go bad. They seem to be denying fact again like with evolution and climate change. Facts dont work with some of the people in that party. The Government Shutdown, though partial and doesnt affect social security, et cetera has a terrible impact on the poorest and most Vulnerable People in the country in terms of feeding infants and women for example. Thats something that is not on his radar screen. And the Tea Party Strategy now is to continue the Government Shutdown until it bleeds directly into the dramatic debt ceiling debate that were about to start having here and what is really on the president s mind here. And the republicans are going to let that flow into the debt ceiling debate and see who is willing to blink first. The president may look calm now. They are betting he wont look calm on october 17th. I think he is loaded for bear. I think this is a foretaste of the bad fight later this month. The shutdown may be the undercard. They may take it to the debt ceiling and hold the economy hostage. And the hostage takers who forced the shutdown are trying to win publicity points by releasing one hostage at a time. One case in point offering to open the world war ii memorial in washington. Just who are the tea party idea logs who are turning their contempt for the president. And let my appearance comes with steven colbert. And this is hardball. The federal government may be closed but it is open season for the 2016 president ial race. Lets look at the hardball score board. Its clinton with a 13 point lead over chris christie. If rand paul is the nominee, clinton leads him by 17 right now. Against ted cruz, its clinton by 23. Shes way ahead of the pack and the lead is growing for now. Well be right back. Is when the storms are this powerful, the batteries had better be powerful, too. Introducing duracell quantum. Only duracell quantum has a hidensity core. And that means more fuel, more power, more performance than the next leading brand. So, whether youre out on the front lines or youre back home, now you have the power. New duracell quantum. Trusted everywhere. New duracell quantum. I need you. I feel so alone. But youre not alone. I knew youd come. Like i could stay away. You know i cant do this without you. Youll never have to. Youre always there for me. Shh ill get you a rental car. I could also use an umbrella. Fall in love with progressives claims service. Welcome back to hardball. Money talks and the battle of the budget is on a collision course with a fight that could decide the global economy. A lot of people think this fight is headed there. If a deal isnt reached by october 24th we could miss Interest Payments on Treasury Bonds and savings bonds and all the rest. The radical right is willing to destroy the foundation of every job in america if the president doesnt kill the Affordable Care act. House Speaker John Boehner is unwilling to challenge the far right in the party. Today president obama met with 19 of the largest banks at the white house in a show of force aimed at the g. O. P. Itself. They have emerged as critical allies of the president s. Dont forget as the countrys economic gatekeepers they carry an enormous influence in politics and bank rolled the campaigns of the relationship leaderships. They dont want to see a default. Hours after that meeting, president obama basically dared republicans to tank the economy by defaulting on our debt. Lets take a listen. This is not a problem of congress per se. This is a problem with a particular faction in the Republican Party. I think wall street can have an influence, ceos around the country can have an influence. I think its important for them to recognize that this is going to have a profound impact on our economy and their bottom lines their employees and their shareholders unless we start seeing a different attitude on the part of that faction in congress. Chris, i know you an objective reporter. Here is an objective question. Will the debt default if it occurred and we stop paying interest on bonds to chinese billionaires and paper boys who buy Treasury Bonds will america look different to the world . Yeah, i think it will, chris. And i think it would drastically alter all the political calculus that Midterm Election and everything we are thinking about in the traditional order of how these things go. Its usually good for the outside party. All of the things we usually depend on. I depend on people smarter than me. This happened in the summer of 2011 when we were running up to this possibility as well. They said Government Shutdown, fiscal cliff. But a debt ceiling breech has real and lasting its not just that we real and lasting impacts that many people and i would say many members of congress arent aware of. And they are from a policy standpoint, obviously. But any time something that large happens, it has big political ramifications. Its my belief why they wont do it i heres my problem with this my friend, chris, i dont think they are willing to believe fact. There are people in the hard right right now who are going to say i dont believe in evolution in any form. They are not willing to say there is climate change. It might hurt a mining company. They dont face the facts. Thats the problem. Im beginning to think they are quite willing to not face this looming reality. If the United States becomes a deadbeat thats what we are. Chris, you have had Tea Party Members of congress on this very show who have said i dont think the default will be that bad and we can pay the bills in a retire order. Really, they are the only people who believe that. They are no nothings and the bottom line here is at some point in this terrible game we are stuck in, will john boehner or peter king and moderate republicans, hard to call them moderate these days, will they at some point say, no, you dont get to take us over the cliff. At any time they make that decision, they can bring, you know, the Government Shutdown to a halt with a majority vote with democrats and republicans and raise the debt ceiling the same way. This is really about at what point does john boehner even pressured by wall street or common sense or john mccain say enough is enough. Were not going to let these 30, 40 members wag the dog and throw it over the cliff. Speaking of dogs i got to tell you, one thing that scares me, objectively again im afraid the only time they listen to rich people is when donald trump says obama is not american. He is talking their talk, you know, the saudi buster talk. Hes not one of us. Hes a foreigner from somewhere overseas, indonesia, kenya, maybe. And donald trump with all the money and the beautiful wife says youre right. But heres the point here. This is the problem. The tea party doesnt listen to big business. And big business doesnt have the power that it used to have. Look at this. When a republican from Southern California was asked if he had heard business groups express fears of the Government Shutdowns economic impact. No and it wouldnt make any difference if it did. Reed wilson wrote a piece along the same lines. The Business Community is not what it once was in the halls of influence. For 40 or 45 members who vote regularly. We did a survey on six big votes they voted against john boehner at least three times. Their sources of funding for their campaign and where their loyalties lie is with heritage action, the club for growth. I dont think they are terribly worried about whether sort of big bankers, paul singer i dont think they are worried about where the money is going to come in those big roles. Ted cruz how can he run for president . The big money is against him. There is a lot of money thats not the big money wall street money in the Republican Party. Weve seen that. Ron paul raised 15 million when he ran for president in 2008. There are at sources of funding and loyalty out there. I agree that the idea of the chamber of commerce and heads of banks is saying im not convinced that in particular is all that persuasive. These people are not going to respond to any pressure. Its not about getting business to lean on the 40 to 45 members that chris and the post identified. Its about leaning on boehner and the Republican Party to jetson them and throw them over the cliff and break with them. I think because of what you said earlier, they are beyond persuasion. In their district this plays well. So theyre a lost cause. As long as john boehner feels he has to cow tow to them we are stuck in this quagmire. Thank you for reminding me of. That i remember the congressman on the right winger, dont the bankers and economists tell you you dont dare default . I said how do you find out what is going on in the world . He said i raised a family. How do you talk to people like that . Up next, Stephen Colberts plan to [ male announcer ] imagine this cute blob is metamucil. And this park is the inside of your body. See, the special psyllium fiber in metamucil actually gels to trap some carbs to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Metamucil. 3 amazing benefits in 1 super fiber. Time for the side show. Why some are reoccupied with the health care act. The message war continues on television with ads supporting the law beginning this week. But jason jones doesnt think that they pack enough of a punch. Here was his take last night. Everyone deserves affordable Health Insurance. Is that prohealth care or antihealth care . Its it is pro. Thats how you are selling new yorkers . Yes. You dont suggest health care in new york. You tell them. And this is how. Hi, im harvey keitel, buy some [ bleep ] insurance, new york. We have botulism, ebow la, hepatitis and that is just the six train. Log on and sign up you [ bleep ]. If you dont ill come out there and grab your little [ bleep ] heads and beat the thats the short version. He goes on like that. Harvey keitel. But the campaign in support of health law, the health law is using social media. Heres what Stephen Colbert thought about that. The battle comes down to who can win over the young and the president is trolling for our kids on the internet. The white house is tweeting photos of hamsters and pandas e rebranding it as the adorable care act. They are usually not this good at it. I started a campaign called the abominable care act. Featuring ugly animals. For instance i pick my own doctor and he cut off my balls. Thanks, obama care. Ill be on with colbert on his show. As the shutdown continues with no end in sight many are reflecting on how frivolous or politics can be. If you think the lawmakers are petty right now one of the reasons for 1995 shutdown was that Newt Gingrich felt sleighted because he had to sit in the back of air force one. No joke. The affair took a bizarre turn when the speaker said that a snub from the president led to the landoff. In the 25 hour flight for air force one, the president refused to talk to him and senator bob dole about the budget. Then forced them to exit from the rear of the plane on return. Democrats on the hill had a field day. It must be the first time in the history of this country that our nations economy is put at risk. Hundreds of thousands of people put out of work because of the seat assignment and service on an airplane ride. Up next, the republican hostage takers want to release one hostage at a time. The latest offer . To reopen the world war ii memorial. Unbelievable. Your watching hardball, a place for politics. Thats a good thing, but it doesnt cover everything. Only about 80 of your part b medical expenses. The rest is up to you. So consider an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Like all standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesnt pay and could save you in outofpocket medical costs. Call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about and which aarp Medicare Supplement plan works best for you. 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Call now to request your free decision guide. This easytounderstand guide will answer some of your questions and help you find the aarp Medicare Supplement plan thats right for you. Heres whats happening. No deal was reached. Democrat heeders say they wont accept changes to the health care law. Eight people were killed after a church bus blew a tire and crashed into a truck and an sufficient on a tennessee highway. 14 others were injured. A jury ruled that aeg was not negligent when they hired dr. Conrad murray. Well have more news later. Now back to hardball. Veterans stormed past barriers at the world war ii memorial in washington. They previously scheduled visit to the memorial but found it closed due to the government shut down. A shut down caused by the i have republican members of congress who paraded them through the lines today. Among them, Michelle Bachman and louie gohmert. This was the same who shut down the government. This was a sideshow in their larger show of the government shut down. Theyre releasing one hostage at a time for credit. Joining me is Tammy Duckworth from illinois. I am absolutely stunned at the chutzpah of people who would shut down the government as a tactic and then try to open up a piece of the government they shut down to try to get credit as patriots. Oh, absolutely. And, then, you know, further, they introduce a bill that cuts 6 billion of funding for the department of Veterans Affairs last night and claimed they were helping veterans. These people will stop at nothing. Veterans are not to be used as pawns. How do you make them pay the price of shutting down the Veterans Administration and Everything Else in the first place yesterday. Ive been out there. And one of the things i want to make sure people understand is that the veterans bill last night, you know, was a nonstarter. We dont pass a budget piecemeal. We dont have a veteran do you want us to pay for you but not allow your grand baby to go to head start . We need a clean cr. To use veterans, this is political theater and its not acceptable. My dad was a world war ii veteran. And hed be shaking his head right now if he saw what was happening. The whole countrys shut down by this. The whole government now is vulnerable. You cant go to yosemite, you cant go anywhere. And all kinds of really life and death issues are up in the air right now. Were hearing reports that our country may be in danger by this shutting down. And then from the people who have done it to win their fight against the president S Health Care bill, theyre strutting around, pretending theyre the caretakers of the people. Thats right. This fits into the narrative that the republicans are trying to promote now, because they know theyre on the defensive, just as they were back in the 1990s when they got most of the blame from the public for that shut down. Same thing is happening now. So here they arrive, and priebus, part of the committee, riding to the rescue because those darn democrats are closing down the government. Thats their rhetoric theyre promoting. I dont think anybodys buying it. But it shows a ragtag effort. This wasnt planned. This was reflexive. But theyre trying to push the notion that the democrats are at fault. Its like they believe in pt barnum, a suckers born every day. Talk about crazy performance, priebus pledged that the Republican National committee will pay for the monument. I come here to announce that the Republican National committee has put aside enough money to hire five security personnel, full time, to keep the world war ii memorial open. How can you lose to such lightweights as this guy . Political lightweights . Puppetoons. It was a tactic used to bring down the government. And the only way that obama could stop it is to give up his major achievement in history, which no one is stupid enough to brief he would do. My constituents like a lot of the parts of the Affordable Care act. Now there are problems with it. But they like that their preexists conditions are covered. And these are two separate things. If you have problems with the health care bill, lets talk about that, but lets dont shut down government over it. These veterans that theyre pretending to help today, their access to their pensions is going to be limited after october 15th. Theres going to be cuts in Prosthetic Research for veterans. The National Cemetery administration is not going to be able to lay our heroes to rest at the same rate that think were. And Michele Bachmann who was there today actually said shut down is exactly what we wanted. We got what we wanted. A good day for the tea party is when government is having a bad day. Who said this . Michelle bachman. Michelle bachman was the one who said she got exactly what shy wanted was a shut down. Didnt she know she was supposed to be shedding crocodile tears . Wasnt that part of the act . That she was as hurt as everyone else was . They are gleeful about shutting down government. But im sure when they were with the veterans they made it seem that it was everybody elses fault but their own. We owe our veterans a whole lot more than showmanship. We need to make sure that we do fund the va, that we get them processed. A spoiler alert, isnt it the responsibility to make the government work . Arent they responsible to make the government perform, not to die . Thats right. And as a vietnam veteran i salute Tammy Duckworth for her service. This reminds me during the reagan years, the same day he cut funds to services for the elderly was pictured visiting a nursing home. Visuals mean a lot as far as Public Relations goes, and thats what republicans are doing here. I really feel offended by. Theyre showing the visuals of the world war ii memorial. And theyre visiting veterans as ms. Duckworth pointed out, theyre trying to cut veterans benefits. I remember talking to reagan one time. Tip says tell them im fighting for their budget. Its an honor to have you on. Up next, the small kabbalah tea party whose ideology is driving this government. This is hardball, the place for politics. The American People have a good idea what republicans in congress are up to. Check out the latest poll. It found that nearly a third of americans say the republicans top priority is to cause problems for president obama. Nearly a quarter say their top priority is reducing the cost of health care. Well be right back. Standing for liberty and if standing for the constitution making you a wacko bird, then i am a very, very proud wacko bird. And the wacko bird phrase comes back to john mccain when he used it to describe some of the louder members of the Republican Party. Mccain apologized but nevertheless its been worn as an honor. A band of republicans standing their ground, and it wresting control. Youre great at satire, but i dont know how you beat the reality here. Lets start with Michele Bachmann had talked about suspected antiamerican members of congress. She told the world net daily that the reason president obama and democrats wont cave in on Affordable Care is they cant wait to get americans addicted to the crack cocaine of dependency on more Government Health care. You know, she packs a lot of crap into one sentence, i tell you. Crack cocaine. Now theres a little ethnic reference for you. Its amazing how much the dog whistle goes past some people. Crack cocaine, an interesting drug of choice for her to apply to the supporters of president obama. Particularly interesting since bill oreilly made the same quip just nights before. Its easy to dismiss Michelle Bachman because of all the crazy stuff she says but if you look at all the wings of the Republican Party right now are firmly attached to the wacko bird and ted cruz is essentially running this thing. Im calling it the lifeboat strategy. They decide which pieces of government they should rescue, and guess what. Its not going to be anybody who regulates business. But well make sure the veterans and troops are taken care of. Shes on her way out of politics. They dont really believe in government, certainly not as a career or a goal in life. These people, these birthers, a lot of them are birthers in this group. The people that wont even admit the president was legitimately elected. There seem does be an ethnic piece in this. Hes from africa,s not really one of us. I know they dont like obama care, but this isnt just about getting rid of a law they dont like. I think they want to erase the Obama Presidency from history, go from 43 to 45, like theres no j street in washington. They cant do that if this law becomes an enduring part of our domestic policy history. I think thats a piece of this here. Its removing the monument. Lets take a look at steve king. Hes one identified as one of the wacko birds. He was dismissing the concerns about what would happen if the United States defaulted on its debt. Thats the important question right now. Instead, he was taking his cues from constituents, he said. Lets listen to this. Let me get this straight, you dont believe we would go into default, you believe that tim geithner is lying, the president is lying, everybody is wrong, everybody in the country is worrying about this. But you have some superior knowledge, what basis do you get that from i do have superior knowledge, thank you for recognizing it. Where do you get it from . The United States citizens, who will elect the next president of the United States. So youre polling in your district to decide if the United States goes into default i have an independent judgment, it comes from a long experience of dealing politically and in business and raising a family and being an american citizen, just like the independent judgment of my constituents. Dana, do you trust in the international economists, he said i dont trust the national economists, theyre foreigners. I said do you trust the domestic economists . He said no, i said how . He said i know what im talking about, i raised a family. And i do listen to those who understand it. Like scientists, i go to a dentist because he knows how to do that. I go to get my car fixed by guys who do that. What is this new same brush wisdom that sort of builds these guys egos up so they can talk about something they dont know. On his positive side, he didnt use the phrase cantaloupes like he did when referencing illegal immigrants. They seem to think ted cruz said i am here speaking on the floor of the senate for 300 million americans. No, youre not doing anything close to that, not even half the americans, so theyre hearing their own echo chamber, allowing themselves to believe theyre speaking for everybody. Dont you think they deep down know what can be true, that we face the end of our credibility as a debtor country, that you could always borrow or lend the United States government money, and Treasury Bonds, no matter how much you didnt like it you could always get your money in interest. Now, once that doesnt happen, arent they afraid that it will change our currency in the world, in terms of the dollar itself. Well, you would think they would hope that in the leading districts, they dont really care about National Economics at all. The only thing theyre concerned about is not getting a primary challenge. And that means that whatever this president says it is wrong, and he is opposed to it. So the one and only trip to europe, theyre 70 years old, they had to pay 500 bucks for a coke because the dollar is worthless. Susan i think it must shift from the right, angry people, who do want to go to the washington memorial and love this country, even if it is run by a liberal president , they love the country. I hope so. The thing that is most disturbing that were seeing right now is there is very little sense on the hill that theyre there for something bigger than themselves. You know this of course, your book with tip and the gipper, when kennedy last negotiated with the immigration bill, the first thing he did was have everybody in the room, the democrats and republicans, and talk about how people came to america. It was a very profound moment, it made them all realize they were there for something bigger. That is gone on the hill. There is no sense of the responsibility to the group. To the responsibility of the institution of congress or the responsibility of anyone except the constituents they talk to at town hall meetings. You know, i just remember that tip and reagan had had a wonderful meeting about the grain embargo, and tip said you have to think about the whole country, this is the soviet union, you know, they really tried to talk about things together, and get something done for the country. Youre too nice to live in these times. And well be right back after this. Let me finish tonight with this, it takes a lot of chutzpah for the hostage taker to decide to release a few of his hostages, and that is what congress says, they would shut down so they can keep shutting down the rest of it and still get the payment they demanded. So they pose this picture of the veterans, down at the washington mall, defending the fact they were the very people that were continuing to hold the government hostage for awarding the obama care. Any veteran who believes it was the democrats who came up with the shutdown has not been reading the newspapers. And something tells me that veterans are the very best of the newspapers, because they know firsthand the consequences of what politics can do to your life and do to your country. Last night i had the great honor to speak a talk about my book, tip and the gipper, when politics act