Model for how republicans can win if they want to. Can republicans learn from this and heal the divide between establishment and extremists . Chris christie now has an opportunity to bring his brand of conservatism and make it real for those conservatives who dont think he is. First to sebelius. Tennessee congressman Marsha Blackburn joins me live now from nashville again, as we watch the health and Human Services secretary continue her testimony there. Congresswoman, you had your chance to question secretary sebelius last week. The Administration Working around the clock to get this website fixed. Official enrollment numbers will be out next week were told. Is that enough progress for you . No, it is not enough progress, and we certainly are wanting the problem to be remedied. And the amount of money they have spent, the deadlines they have missed, the waivers they have given, the delays that they have made, i think what were seeing in the president s Approval Ratings is that this is unacceptable to the American People. Im talking to a good many health i. T. Specialists and, craig, theyre telling me theyre very doubtful theyre going to have these interfaces and the appropriate integration done so that it is a working system by the time you get to the end of november. Whats causing them some of the, i guess, the biggest questions is what is going to happen january 1st and 2nd when people who think they are enrolled in the program go to hospitals and they cant be found in the system. Congresswoman, you and i have had several conversations on the air before and weve talked about obama care a number of times. It always sounds like youre sort of pulling against it. It sounds as if you dont really want it to succeed so that your point is made. Would that be an accurate characterization or not . I think that a more appropriate characterization is what we want to do is preserve access to Affordable Health care for all americans. What we have seen with the president S Health Care law is that it is constricting and restricting access. It is restricting choice and options. And it is driving the cost through the roof. And that is not the way it was supposed to be. You know, craig, i think that its important every once in a while when something is not working to call a timeout. To talk about ways to improve it . To talk about ways to improve it . I want to call your attention to matt millers opinion in the Washington Post today. He points out that nearly 50 million uninsured americans will finally know what its like to go to bed at night certain that they cant be wiped out financially by illness. Obama cares well insured critics, you being one of them, seem unable to imagine what it wolf like to be one of them. Why dont we hear, congressman, why dont we hear from republicans about the need to find ways to get poor workers secure Health Coverage . Oh, you do. I mean we have look at the millions of americans that have elected and chosen to have Health Savings accounts. After those came into the marketplace. Im one of those. I like having a Health Savings account. And the president S Health Care law would eliminate many of these not all of them, congresswoman. Youre not saying that Health Savings accounts are some sort of panna sea. Thats not what youre saying, right . No, im saying it is an option. It is a wonderful option for people to have. And has been very successful in the marketplace. For folks who can kfrd for individuals that are under 40 years of age. For folks who can afford to put money away in a Health Savings account. For individuals who are looking for costeffective Health Coverage. Health savings accounts have been very successful. And another option, craig, that would be a way to open up the Health Care Marketplace is to have across state line purchase of health insurance. Let individuals go to a website and choose whatever they want from whatever vendor in the country. Let them find something that suits the needs for them and for their families. Give them the opportunity to make that choice. Congresswoman, while i have you here, i do want to get your reaction to tuesdays Election Results. Teaparty backed conservatives defeated in alabama and also in virginia. Has the tea party lost some of its steam . Has it lost some of its influence . I think that what youre going to see is the Republican Party expand. I think were all very pleased to see Chris Christies win and the way that he reached out and brought people to his is leadership in action. And thats what people want to see. So Chris Christie and finding a way Chris Christie is now the standard bearer . I think that his win is big. I think that that the republicans controlling the house of delegates in virginia, that is a big win. And i think, craig, you and i will hear a whole lot about the analysis as they go through the elections and look at it. State senate, state House District by district. Tennessee congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, thank you. Always a pleasure. Theres a lot to digest on this day after election 2013 from new jersey to virginia. The headlines point to partisanship fatigue. Voters rewarding the middle road in a triumph of pragmatism versus purity. In the wake of his landslide win against barbara buono, Chris Christie had a victory speech that sounded a lot like a kickoff to a 2016 president ial run. We dont just show up in the places where were comfortable, we show up in the places where were uncomfortable, because when you lead, you need to be there. You need to show up. You need to listen. And then you need to act. My pledge to you tonight is i will govern with the spirit of sandy. I know that if we can do this in trenton, new jersey, maybe the folks in washington, d. C. , should tune in their tvs right now and see how its done. Oh, who is he talking to there, steve . Nbc news exit polls show governor christies landslide was made possible thanks to nearly a third of all democratic voters. 57 of women and significant gains being made among black and hispanic voters as well. Gains over 2009. Steve kornacki hosts msnbc up with Steve Kornacki. Hes here to break down all the Election Results with me. Lets start with what the daily beast talked about, some of these exit poll numbers. Heres the headline. The outlines of a candidate who can dig the gop out of the demographic trap its facing. And while hardcore conservatives might call him a rhino, republican name own, theres another name for it, a winner. What is the major takeaway from christies win last night in new jersey, steve . First of all, if Chris Christie is the republican candidate in 2016, hes not going to be blessed for the Democratic Party that rolls over for him like the Democratic Party rolled over in new jersey. One of the reasons they rolled over in new jersey is because he was so skillful in creating these alliances, alliances of convenience with various democrats in new jersey that helped him sort of rack that margin up last night. But that speech he gave last night, that was an audition to National Republican opinion leaders, you could call them donors. Its not about, hey, this is my vision of conservatism, its like, hey, imagine me at the Republican National convention in the summer of 2016. Dont think about the primaries. Imagine the convention in the summer. Imagine the debates in the fall. Im glad you brought that up, the primaries. Heres a guy who, again, you listen to the speech last night and it sounds like its all but a foregone conclusion that hes going to get in the race in 2016. Chris christie has a hard time in South Carolina in an early primary. Chris christie has a hard time in some of the early primary in caucus states. Im a little more bullish on his prospects of winning the republican nomination than a lot of people are. I completely k knowledge im not saying its a slam dunk, there are a million land mines. But when we use the term moderate to describe Chris Christie, that helps him in terms of positioning for the general election. When you dig a little deeper and say, moderate, hes going to have trouble with the republican base. What does that mean . Does it mean hes pro choice . No, hes pro life. Is he supporting gun control . No, hes vetoing it. Does he support gay marriage . No. Is he for tax hikes . No. He goes after the teachers unions, the Public Employees unions. Chris christie actually, when you start looking at the boxes that todays Tea Party Republicans want you to check off, he checks off a lot of them. Hes not nearly as moderate as many in the media made him out to be. Exactly. Terry mcauliffe barely eked out a win there. This is a snippet of his acceptance speech last night. Take a listen. The truth is that this election was never a choice between democrats and republicans, it was a choice about whether virginia would continue the mainstream bipartisan tradition that has served us so well over the last decade, and a time when washington was often broken, just think about what virginia has been able to accomplish when we work together. As our nbc First Read Team points out, president obamas rating is at about 46 right now and equal percentage supports the Health Care Law while 53 oppose it. So president obama and three weeks of intense coverage of the Health Care Rollout are not helping democrats. How much of the president and the Health Care Law nearly tanked Terry Mcauliffe in virginia . Its so interesting how this story has become how Terry Mcauliffe almost lost. This is the first time in four decades that the White House Party has actually won an off year Gubernatorial Election in virginia. The whole story weve been hearing the last several election cycles is that when president obama is on the ballot, this new Democratic Coalition turns up and votes and gets him elected in 08 and 12. When hes not on the ballot, its a disaster for democrats. The extraordinary thing about what happened yesterday is basically that Democratic Coalition showed up . Showed up. It was out there. Its one of those funny things. It remains to be seen the grow to which i dont know if the health care thing at the end made this a two or three point race instead of a four or five point race. But Terry Mcauliffe winning this thing is a big deal. I do want to ask you about something else. Most public polls had mcauliffe winning this thing a lot of those polls by double digits. In fact this is by the way, he squeaked by, boy about 3 . But he ended up winning by about 3 . Washington post had mcauliffe winning with women specifically by 24 points. He won by 8. Any chance that some of those polls were just way off . Oh, it looks that way. The other thing i always wonder is this. This was an election one of the stories about the virginia race was nobody liked either one of these candidates. They didnt like cuccinelli and they did not like Terry Mcauliffe. I think back to something that happened in 1976. Gerald ford was running against jimmy carter and there were doubts about both candidates. Gerald ford had pardoned Richard Nixon and he was running from behind the whole race. In the weekend before that election gerald ford pulled ahead in the polls for the first time and suddenly the first time is, hey, gerald ford is going to be reelected president and it made everybody think back to, wait a minute, the guy that pardoned nixon is going to win . And jimmy carter surged ahead. I wonder how much Terry Mcauliffe has got it, get used to it, guys, i wonder if at the end there were people who like, remember, we dont like this guy. Are we sure we want to make this happen . If it had been cuccinelli up five points, i wonder if he would have crunched in the last few days. Steve kornacki, we always enjoy your insight, thank you, sir. As always, you can catch up with Steve Kornacki 8 00 eastern right here on msnbc. That brings us to our question of the day. Do you think republicans will learn from new jersey governor Chris Christies example . You can weigh in on twitter or facebook. Were going to share your thoughts a little later in the broadcast. History was made last night in some of the races for mayor across this country beginning in the big apple. Voters elected the first democrat in a generation. Bill de blasio won by the largest margin since the 1980s. He called his campaign a progressive one, featuring his diverse family in campaign ads where he promised to tax the rich and rein in stop and frisk. Marty walsh will become bostons 48th mayor. The democrat won a narrow victory to replace longtime mayor tom menino. And in detroit, mike dugan will be tasked with leading that bankruptcy. He was elected on the hopes of bringing revitalization and become detroits first white mayor in four decades. Yes, i have some had some crack cocaine. But do i am i an addict . No. A stunning admission from torontos mayor. He said all he can do is apologize and move on. What about resigning . Forget it. Well tell you why he has a good chance at even being reelected. Our agenda panel will weigh in on that. Plus the Washington Times is ditching senator rand pauls weekly column amid several plagiarism accusations. What senator paul says is to blame for those mistakes. In just a few moments ill talk to Thomas Roberts live from russia. Hell be talking about the assault on lgbt rights in that country. Stay with us. I started parttime, now im a manager. N. My employer matches my charitable giving. Really. I get bonuses even working parttime. Where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. Healthcare starting under 40 a month. I got education benefits. I work at walmart. Im a pharmacist. Sales associate. I manage produce. I work in logistics. Theres more to walmart than you think. Vo opportunity. Thats the real walmart. Humans we are beautifully imperfect creatures, living in an imperfect world. Thats why Liberty Mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. Call. And ask an Insurance Expert about all our benefits today, like our 24 7 support and service, because at Liberty Mutual insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. Plus, you could save hundreds when you switch up to 423. Call. Today. Liberty mutual insurance. Responsibility. Whats your policy . Great. This is the last thing i need. seriously . Lets take this puppy over to midas and get you some of the good ol midas touch. Hey you know what . Ill drive i really didnt think this through. Brakes, tires, oil, everything. whistling developing right now, the u. S. Supreme court just finished hearing arguments in a major First Amendment case involving prayer at government meetings. At issue, whether an upstate new york town starting its Council Meetings with a prayer violates the separation of church and state. The decision from the high court could have, could have a farreaching impact. Nbc news justice correspondent Pete Williams is live for us outside the Supreme Court for us this morning. Pete, what did we hear this morning . Reporter this is the town of greece, which is a suburb of rochester, new york. A lower court said that the problem is that the town of greece prayers were almost exclusively christian and that was challenged by two residents of the town, one is jewish and one atheist. And they said that they in essence felt compelled to pray. Now, the problem is for the Supreme Court, right across the street here, the congress has opened every session throughout our entire history with a prayer from a paid chaplain. 30 years ago, the Supreme Court said theres nothing wrong with that in legislatures. The question is, is there Something Different about these local meetings, where somebody is basically asking for something from the town and told beforehand that they have to join in a prayer that they may disagree with, that theyre not going to sit down an not take the prayer because that might offend the very people theyre asking for something. Here is a hypothetical question that began todays oral argument from justice alana kagan. She said suppose at the beginning of the Supreme Court session the chief justice stood up in front of everybody, talked about how jesus died on the cross, made the sign of the cross. She said would that be allowable . The lawyer for the town said, well maybe not. She said, what if its in the beginning of a congressional hearing . Thats the problem for the court. They dont seem to be willing to do one thing that was potentially an issue here. There was no indication at all. The Supreme Court says you cant have prayer at the beginning of a government meeting. The only question here is, is there any way to set guidance or limits on the kind of prayers allowed. Pete williams from the Supreme Court for us. Thank you. Up next, our agenda panel weighs in on senator rand pauls plagiarism scandal and also torontos mayor coming clean about smoking crack. Your status with the dolphins . Your status with the dolphins . Miami dolphins player Richie Incognito accused of sending racist and hatefilled messages to a teammate. He is speaking out publicly for the First Time Since that scandal hit. What he told that reporter about the allegations is coming up. Also, my colleague, Thomas Roberts, joins me in just a few moments to talk about lgbt ha s hostility in russia. Thomas talked to a journalist who was fired for coming out of the closet. [ male a nnou ncer ] not all toothbrushes are the same. 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We have the Lowest Health care Cost Increases in decades, in the private insurance market, in medicare, in medicaid. Costs are at an alltime lower rate secretary sebelius, you can go through those points and for those data sets that youre talking about, some of those developments have occurred. But on the flip side, we are seeing millions of americans lose their health care. That was republican senator mike crappo questioning Kathleen Sebelius just a few moments ago. Sebelius is testifying in front of a Senate Committee about the rollout. Shes also been answering questions about the law and whether the law is working. We continue to monitor that on the hill. Meanwhile as republican lawmakers continue their angst over obama care, theres a new talking point. Politico is reporting that the Obama Administration has ordered a study to determine whether the Affordable Care act will increase the number of people enrolled in the Food Stamps Program since it increases the number of people eligible for medicaid. Its too soon to tell, but this much we do know to be true. Right now 47 million americans are making ends meet with fewer food stamp dollars. The automatic cuts that kicked in nearly a week ago are forcing more recipients to turn to resources like food pan trees. Rebecca is the executive director of Florida Association of food banks. Florida is among two dozen states where at least 15 of the population relies on food stamps. How much of an uptick has there been at food pantries that you work with over the past week since those automatic cuts went into effect . Well, i dont know that weve seen the impact of that at our food pan Industries Just yet because its just beginning to roll out. People havent necessarily seen the drop well, they have seen the decline in their program, but they havent necessarily seen the impact immediately. But our food pantries over the past four years have seen an increase from 72 Million Pounds of Food Distribution to 173 Million Pounds. So weve seen over four years during the economic decline here in the state of florida a dramatic increase in Food Distribution and we anticipate that this will simply add to that burden. The cuts here that were talking about, those who rely on food stamps, will now see an average cut of roughly 36 food stamp dollars per month. To a lot of folks out there, thats not a lot of money. But when you Start Talking about what 36 fewer in food stamps means for foodinsecure families, what are we talking about then . Were talking about a pretty significant amount of food. If you look at food stamp dollars, that can buy a package of ham pittsburgher, two packages of spaghetti, chicken, bread, lunch meat, a gallon of milk, a box of cereal, i mean its essentially a good weeks worth of food for families who are struggling. Lawmakers right now trying to negotiate just how much is going to be cut from the Food Stamps Program in the farm bill. The house bill calls for a 39 billion cut to the program. The senate is calling for 4. 5 billion cut so either way theres going to be cuts to this particular entitlement program. How are food banks like yours, how are you trying to brace for even more people who could end up needing your resources . Weve been working over the past several years to increase the amount of food thats available to us from two major feed streams. The Retail Industry works very closely with us to donate surplus food through their market and were also working through the Fresh Produce industry. Florida has been a real boone to us with our Agricultural Community donating a lot of Fresh Produce to us, so weve seen significant increases in the amount of Fresh Produce and food coming through the retail market. Rebecca of the Florida Association of food banks, thank you. Up next, senator rand paul with a few choice words for his critics, even as he continues to be plagued by that plagiarism scandal. Our agenda panel is standing by next. With amazing rewards. With the spark cash card from capital one, i get 2 cash back on every purchase, every day. I break my back around here. Finally someones recognizing me with unlimited rewards meetings start at 11, cindy. [ male announcer ] get the spark Business Card from capital one. Choose 2 cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day. Whats in your wallet . I need your timesheets, larry afghanistan in 2009. On the u. S. S. Saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once its earned, usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaas commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy. Get an Auto Insurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Senator rand paul finally admitting mistakes, but is still defiant as ever. Up in smoke, the toronto mayors stunning crack confession, but if you think hes stepping down, youre smoking crack. And winners and losers, the real lessons from election night. Those are todays topics for our agenda panel, zer liena maximum vel, Michael Tomasky and igor vols volsky, good to see all of you. Lets start with rand paul, the kentucky senator accused of plagiarizing material for speeches and writings now telling the new york times, quote, we have made some mistakes but never said that those mistakes have been intentional. He went on to say what we are going to do from here forward if it will make people leave me the hell alone, his words not mine, is were going to do them like college papers. Were going to try to put out footnotes. Thats the latest accusation involving lifting material for a september 20th oped in the Washington Times. The newspaper has now cancelled the senators column. Zerlina maxwell, let me start with you. Is this a big deal or much ado about nothing . No, this is a big deal. Were used to plagiarism or accusations of plagiarism when youre in high school. Particularly from wikipedia. Expect it from somebody in high school or in college and not somebody whos a sitting senator. He needs to do better than this. Its unacceptable to be caught copying. If he wasnt caught, he would probably continue to do it. And then he threw his staff under the bus as well, mike. Senator paul blaming his heavy workload, lashing out at his critics telling the new york times, quote, this is coming from haters to begin with because they want the implication to be out there that youre dishonest. Thats again what hes telling the new york times. Michael, what could all of this mean for senator paul, especially if he wants to run for president in 2016 . Well, in terms of getting the republican nomination or trying to get the republican nomination, craig, it probably helps him because its as far as those voters are concerned, its just another witch hunt of a Tea Party Icon by the liberal mainstream media. And so paul, of course, is going to be defiant and use phrases like leave me the hell alone and so on. Thats how hes got to play it. Hes got to play it to that base and theyre going to defend him up and down as far as this goes. If he actually made it to the general election, it would be maybe another matter. Lets turn to toronto mayor rob fords stunning admission yesterday for folks who have not seen or read about this. After months of denials, after Toronto Police said last week they have got a tape of him doing it, the mayor in probably the most bizarre News Conference that weve seen in some time admitted he did in fact smoke crack. Yes, i have smoked crack cocaine. But no do i . Am i an addict . No. Have i tried it . Probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago. Is torontos mayor rob ford the new marion barry . Cocaine possession is a criminal offense in canada, it can be punishable by prison time, but so far mayor ford has not been charged with a crime. He also insists he is not going to be resigning. Theres no vehicle to remove him from office in toronto. Whats next . Its shocking because it looks like hes going to win reelection. Hes running and he has this hard core base of supporters. These people who are with him all the way who kind of like the ran paul situation view government very conceskepticall buy into the message you need to get the government off your back and they view this as an activity that shouldnt be regulated by the government. Politically at least for now it looks like he can move forward. That was your article we just referenced in the grio. You know, there are folks who have said that the actual worst part of this was the telling of the lie and the continuing to tell the lie and now he comes out and again, any time you have to admit that you smoked crack at some point, thats a bad day at the office. Thats not a good day for you. Thats a bad day at the office. In my piece one of the things i wanted to make clear is this is not marion barry 2. 0. Marion barry was charged and sentenced to prison, so hes actually spent time in federal prison and was held accountable by the law for his illegal actions. Rob ford is still in office and admitting to doing something illegal but hes still the mayor, which is something that is unbelievable to me. Also i think if youre looking at the bigger picture, in michigan last week, they passed a series of bills that drug tests people applying for unemployment insurance. They take away your Unemployment Benefits if you test positive for drugs, but you can be mayor but cant get unemployment that you paid into the system and you want to get back . Thats ridiculous. Its also important to note that many would contend that marion barry was entrapped. If you havent seen the documentary, i would encourage you to watch the nine lives of marion barry. An heres the other part of this, Michael Tomasky and i know you want to talk about the canadian mayor smoking crack, but the excuse, the drunken stupor excuse was i found that to be just as surprising as the admission itself. I did it, i smoked crack, but i was so i was in one of my drunken stupors. It took me back to college, craig, because when youre in college, i was drunk is a plausible excuse for a lot of things, and your friends will probably accept that. But, dude, youre not in college anymore. Youre the mayor of the fourth largest city in north america. Grow up a little. A lot of folks forget that. Were not talking about a podunk town. Before you get out of here i want to get your reaction to what we saw last night. First of all, governor christies big win in new jersey, Terry Mcauliffes not as big a win in the commonwealth. Igor, let me start with you. Have we made too much of the christie win in the garden state . Well, craig, i think the real headline here is the win for obama care. Christie wants to expand medicaid under obama care. In virginia, you have really the loudest opponent of obama care defeat, go down to defeat, and now that state might also expand medicaid. So if virginia is kind of the national bellwether for politics, and i think it bodes well for obama care, particularly if those exchanges start working. Michael, the daily beast called it revenge of the rhinos for Chris Christie, but there are going to be a number of obstacles, a number of hurdles that a Chris Christie would have to jump if he is going to be the gop nominee in 2016. Yeah, hes very conservative. Nobody should be mistaken about that. But hes not really tea party. You know, emotionally and so forth. So he he is going to be in the middle of that brawl if he becomes the establishment candidate. Two other things, though, from new jersey. The exit poll result that showed him still losing to Hillary Clinton 4844 even while racking up this huge victory i think is problematic for him and also the minimum wage increase passed in new jersey with 61 of the vote. Thats not a very christielike vote either. Thats a great spot to leave it. Always great to see you. Michael tomasky, Zerlina Maxwell and igor volsky. Todays agenda panel, thank you. You can find more from our agenda panel on our website, thomasroberts. Msnbc. Com. Speaking of Thomas Roberts, hes live in moscow right now for the Miss Universe contest. He drew the short straw. Good to see you, sir. Good to see you too, craig. Were going to be talking about that through the week. First up, were going to be talking about russias antigay propaganda law and how regular russians are living with it. Im speaking to one man specifically about what his life has been like since he came out publicly on the air and got fired at his job. Well meet anton coming up. [ man ] adventure, it means taking chances. It means trying something new. [ woman ] that uncertainty of whats to come. I have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i cant rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels dont unstuff your nose. They dont . Alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. What a relief it is. [ inhales deeply ] help the gulf when we made recover and learn the gulf, bp from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. I can tell you safety is at the heart of everything we do. Weve added cuttingedge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a stateoftheart monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twentyfourseven. And were sharing what weve learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. Our commitment has never been stronger. Marriage equality advocates in illinois are celebrating a major victory now that the Illinois House has approved a long delayed samesex marriage bill. Governor pat quinn is expected to sign that bill by the end of the month. Once signed, illinois becomes the 15th state to recognize samesex marriage. Last night president obama praised legislators in his former home state. As Marriage Equality advocates in the United States look to illinois as another triumph in their fight, the recent arrests of two norwegian journalists in russia is once again putting a spotlight on that countrys antigay climate. Two norwegian journalists were detained on their way to cover the sochi preparations, the site of the Winter Olympics has been plagued by the countrys recent passage of an antigay law. Our Thomas Roberts is in russia. Hes there all week cohosting the Miss Universe pageant. Hes also getting a firsthand look at the impact russias laws are having on the lgbt cmunity ahead of the sochi Winter Olympics. Thomas, good to see you again. First of all, what are you hearing from those on the forefront of the fight against Vladimir Putins antigay stances . Craig, it really is a taboo subject here in russia to bring up the fact that these propaganda laws even exist, to discuss that there is a distinction between the classes here. And right now because of the antigay propaganda laws it does make the Lgbt Community a second class citizen. Now, i had the opportunity to catch up with 38yearold anton, who is a popular political commentator on a prokremlin cable station. When you came out on the air, it sent shock waves through the air and its left him professionally sidelined ever since. Im sitting home without job and actually without money. Because of because i said that i am gay and the same person like president putin. So you had just had enough, you were fed up. Totally. And when you decided to make this public statement, did you think about the consequences that might come . Sure. And how did you adapt to that line of thinking then, if you knew that the consequences would be this because its time. Now its time to be open. And i thought i thought th that that it was my attempt, it was my attempt to rush g russian gay people, to russian people, to all russian people, because its not good gay rights, its about human rights. Reporter now, he said his story has inspired some other people to come out as well. But since its such a taboo subject here in the country it hasnt elicited a lot of responses with a lot of other people with name recognition coming out. But, craig, anton says that he has no wish to leave his country. He is 100 committed to staying here and feels that he has to see this change through. He also doesnt want to see people boycott the sochi olympics. He feels like that would be boycotting the seven million lgbt russians living here. While there was talk of other countries offering asylum because of the antigay propaganda laws, it remains to be seen how Many Russians would actually do that. But anton is staying for sure. I just have to say this is a remarkable young guy. I mean hes 38 years old and right now hes been without a job for most of the year because of coming out. But there was this Great Sadness in his eyes. Hopefully it came through so you could see it. It did. Great sadness in his eyes about losing his job, but also great pride in the fact that he has taken this on. And its a real integration of the spirit, of the person that he is. To be Walking Around with his head up very high but knowing that he paid a high price for it professionally by just living his truth. Hey, thomas, as an outsider there, how visible is the impact of russias of those antigay laws, how visible is it as an outsider. Reporter its interesting because im trying to come in with a clean perspective and get everybodys take on it. It seems as if the variables of how everybody understands what the propaganda law and what it means, it seems so vague. And people dont really understand. There are some people that say that the west is overreacting. There are other people that would say that the west is underreacting to this news. So its been a fast 14 hours, i think now that ive been on the ground so i continue to educate, i continue to gather and im going to bring you what i find. So bear with me as i get back out there and find more for you. Thomas roberts, thank you so much, sir. Do appreciate you, as always. Be safe there. Thomas roberts in moscow. Well see you again tomorrow. Of course thomas there to host the Miss Universe pageant. Remember, you can check out thomas video diary. Hes going to keep updating that diary at thomasroberts. Msnbc. Com. You can also join the discussion on the agenda setters page there. You can get realtime updates on twitter, facebook, instagram as well. And the hash tag, robertsinrussia. Well be right back. There are seniors who have left hundreds of dollars of savings on the table by not choosing the right medicare d plan. No one could have left this much money here. Whoohoohoo yet many seniors who compare medicare d plans realize they can save hundreds of dollars. Cvs pharmacy wants to help you save on medicare expenses. Talk to your cvs pharmacist, call, or go to cvs. Com compare to get your free, personalized plan comparison today. Call, go online, or visit your local store today. Jbut when it comes to investing, things i prefer to do on my own. I just think its better to work with someone. Someone you feel you can really partner with. Unfortunately, ive found that some Brokerage Firms dont always encourage that kind of relationship. Thats why i stopped working at the old brokerage, and started working for charles schwab. Avo what kind of Financial Consultant are you looking for . Talk to us today. Isnt it also true that on the same date that your department estimated that 66 of the people in small employer plans and 45 in Large Employer plans would lose their grandfather status by 2013 . Isnt that true . Senator, that is an inaccurate use of those statistics. What the statistics is it not true . Senator, could i answer the question . If you can answer whether its true or not. I can tell you what the statistics mean. Im asking you whether its true or not. I would like to tell you what the statistics mean. Would you answer my question and then explain . She did answer. She said you were inaccurate. That was a rather Tense Exchange a few moments ago during this mornings Senate Finance hearing with Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius being grilled about the rollout and implementation of the obama care rollout. We continue to monitor it for you. That brings us to our question of the day. We asked, you answered. Do you think republicans will learn from new jersey governor Chris Christies example . Eric says, no, they are under threat of the tea party. Mike writing, you mean, pretending something something youre really not in order to get reelected . Theyve been doing that for years. And dana says, we can only hope. Keep the comments coming on twitter and on facebook as well. Another plea to change the Washington Redskins name. Its time for the side bar. The washington, d. C. City Council Voted yesterday to call on the team to change the name saying its, quote, racist and derogatory. Native american officials have asked for the name change. The teams owner, dan snyder, says that aint happening. Res denlts in portland, maine, overwhelmingly approved a measure that will legalize Recreational Use of marijuana for those 21 and older. More than 67 voted in favor. Meanwhile, in colorado, voters in 5 of 11 counties voted to secede from the state of colorado. Results are still being counted. The Rural Communities wanted to secede because they felt the legislature had been ignoring their needs and end they dont agree with stricter gun laws there. And the fbi says a former California City councilman accepted a whopping 2. 3 million bribe from an undercover agent back in january. It is thought to be the largest bribe involving a politician in a sting ever. He is charged with one count of bribery. And husband and wife ran against each other in the town of waterville, maine. Jennifer johnson beat her republican husband david 12776. They say they ran against each other to show that democrats and republicans can get along. Thats going to do it for me. Ill be back tomorrow at 11 00 eastern right here. Now with alex wagner is up next. Its simple physics. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. While a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. But if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. Prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. Because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. Plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. Celebrex can be taken with or without food. And its not a narcotic. You and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. All prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. They all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. This chance increases if you have Heart Disease or risk factors such as high Blood Pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. Nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. Patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. Dont take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. Get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor your medical history. And find an Arthritis Treatment for you. Visit celebrex. Com and ask your doctor about celebrex. For a body in motion. How long can a hot seat stay hot . Ask Kathleen Sebelius. It is wednesday, november 6th, and this is now. This morning hhs secretary Kathleen Sebelius returned to her own private haites on the hill. User are receiving far fewer error messages. We are making progress, but theres still a lot of work to do. Still, the progress was not enough to spare the secretary from the panels republican inquisition, including senator hatch, who berated sebelius for her cavalier attitude and issued a presumably nonironic invitation to appear before the committee every month for the next six months. There is a long track record of broken promises and untruthful answers to both this committee and the American People with respect to how