Transcripts For MSNBC Morning Joe 20131008

Republicans initial offer, having mitt romney be president. [ laughter ] there is that. Good morning, everyone. Its tuesday, october 8th. Welcome to morning joe. With us on set, we have the former Communications Director for george w. Bush, Nicole Wallace. Karl bernstein. And in washington, White House Correspondent for bloomberg news, julianna goldman. And Pulitzer Prize winning columni columnist, Eugene Robinson, along with willie, joe, and me. So were going to show these polls. Wow. Well start there. Youre surprised by those. Ive got to say, its the blame is more evenly spread out than it usually is in these matters. Really interesting. Im very interested to see what everybodys take. Americans are increasingly unhappy with the handling of the Government Shutdown by all sides, as joe alluded to. According to a Washington Post abc news poll, 70 disapprove of how republicans have handled budget negotiations. 61 disapprove of the democrats. And 51 are unhappy with president obamas role. The disapproval number for all groups are up since last month with republicans up the most. A cnn poll tells us similar story. 63 disapprove of republicans handling of the budget compared to 57 for democrats and 53 for president obama. A pew pole has republicans up from a threepoint spread last month, but compare that to 1995 when the public blamed Congressional Republicans nearly 21 over president clinton. The pew pole want eed the president to make a deal. 44 say the republicans should just make a deal without altering obama care. Its very interesting, isnt it . You tell me whats your take on the poll, and as you saw these polls, you were telling me about going to pennsylvania. Yes, i was in Lancaster County over the weekend. With jims friends and family members. You said there was just anger about obama care. Absolutely. A lot of the worker Small Businesses and Bigger Companies on mid levels, they feel like its really going to hurt them. But im personally not surprised by these poll numbers. I think when Something Like this happens, everyone suffers and im sure the white house expects that at this point. And i think the Bigger Picture is at what point do you look at the polls and you think about the future politically and at what point do you do whats right or wrong . You cant have this law taken hostage by a small group of republicans and changed. What does that mean for the future of our democracy if they can do this . Apparently a lot of americans agree with those small groups of republicans. And we knew coming into this that both sides were going to be hurt. The white house knew the last time they were down in the low 40s, the last time we had this sort of budget shutdown. But there is an asymmetry to these numbers, because those republicans that, lets say, are reading these polls and say 70 of americans are against us, see polls in their own district that show 70 of my constituents who are going to decide where im here or not, are for me. So lets just drive Barack Obamas numbers down even more until i get down in the low 60s, you know . And thats the asymmetry. Thats the problem the white house has to deal with right now, right . Yes, but were also at a great cultural moment right here. Great political, Pivotal Moment in our history. I compared it last week here to mccarthy, joe mccarthy, mccarthyism. This is about the Republican Party and what is it going to be. Is it going to be a factbased, philosophical argument or anile listic, hateful, asymmetrical in terms of facts and the truth, as in joe mccarthy. This is about media as well. These poll numbers are about a totally different media culture than weve had in the past. And as you see in that clip from comedy central, we need to start covering this story not 50 50, this much on this side, we need to cover it factually. Because there are facts here that will show what this event is about. And where, in fact, is this anger, hatred of obama coming from. What is the root of this. The New York Times did a great story the other day about how this wing of the Republican Party, call it the mccarthy wing, call it the eric cantor wing, whatever you want to kalt, h call it, has been gearing up for this. Playing the role, because we teamed up last time. We did. You came after me. But it was good. I liked it. I gave you 12 joe mccarthy references. I think its important because its the only comparable time since joe mccarthy weve had this in the Republican Party. And who is going to appease it . Ive got to move on, playing the role of bill krystal this morning, Nicole Wallace. Lets look at this from where you looked at it from a white house communication director. Theres an old proverb that says beware the man with nothing to lose. These House Republicans have nothing to lose. Very popular in their own district. I would bet if i saw 51 of americans were angry at bill clinton back in 1995, id turn to my friends and id go step on it, boys. Were going to drive him into the 30s. Im just saying thats what those guys have to be thinking this morning looking at these polls. And i bet their numbers arent just high in their district. I bet that if you poll conservatives nationally, these are the hometown heroes of the conservative movement. I bet when you look at the early poll numbers in the primary states will be the republicans skewed by the media. You and i both know the great irony of this is these hometown heroes who will hold on to the house will also make it next to impossible for our candidate in 2016 to beat hillary in the suburbs of philadelphia. Unless that candidate does what some of the like chris christie. And there are republicans in congress who have been critical of this approach. There are House Republicans showing up on television who are talking about a very different tune in their districts. Congressman dent was on tv last night. I mean, there is a divide in the Republican Party. But lets leave hate out of it just for a second. I know that wont last for too long. Its kind of hard because ive got some incredible sound bytes. Its more fundamental. The divide in the Republican Party isnt about haters and lovers. Its about governing and not governing. And there is a group that and you can condemn their motives and you can condemn the outcome, but there is a group that is simply not interested in governing and that is the divide in the Republican Party. Very wellput. Ideologically, we as a party are all on the same page. We do not believe that obama care is the right way to reform a health care system. Theres no divide in the Republican Party on the policy. But there is a great and bleeding wound now over whether we as a party are meant to govern. Thats why i call ethem annihalists. I dont know what the democratic equivalent would be. The liberal equivalent would be. I guess it would be like hey listen, if we do nothing, if the government remains in this state, then just billions and billions and billions of dollars of new federal spending are going to be spent every day. And were going to keep spending and were going to keep spending and were going to keep spending and create new programs, were going to build new bureaucracy you know, think about it. If youre a libertarian and youve squeezed it with a sequester, and even with the cr, you go back to pre2008 levels, youre sitting here going, you know . Lets see how long we can play up this Government Shutdown. Again, not about hate. But just about a governing or a nongoverning philosophy. Its true on a political front, i guess. Those are victories. But youd like to think there are some people thinking larger than winning political points in their district, given the fact now nine days until october 17th when we hit the debt ceiling. Lets bring in our washington contingent julianna goldman. Where is the white house sitting on this right now . Obviously john boehner has said youre not getting a clean cr. Thats not coming your way. On the other side, obama said were not negotiating. Were not using all of these moments whether its the debt ceiling or anything else as leverage points for you to get something you want. So what breaks this impasse . You know, willie, its really hard to see how any side right now has an end game, and the scary thing about this is that since 2011, you look back at this point where we are as were approaching that same debt limit kind of deadline, threat of a default seems so much more likely now. And the catastrophic consequences for the economy are so great, no one at the white house is sanguine about this. And its really hard to see how this gets resolved right now before that october 17th deadline. Yeah. You know, its day 8, and now its like truth or dare, or some other game like that. President obama is now telling Speaker Boehner to prove that he doesnt have the votes for a funding bill. I want to get to gene on this. Boehner has said it would not have a chance of passing the house, but some moderate republican congressmen like pennsylvanias charlie dent want to end the standoff and are siding with the president on letting congress vote. And by the way, this is already a give on the side of the president because its the republican spending levels. President obama said that, saying that the republicans are getting much of what they want. The bill that is being presented to end the Government Shutdown reflects republican priorities. Its the republican budget. The funding levels of this shortterm funding bill called the cr is far lower than what democrats think it should be. So when you hear this negotiation that democrats arent compromising, were compromising so much were willing to reopen the government at funding levels that reflect republican wishes, dont at all reflect our wishes. And, gene, as recently as september 6th, House Minority leader eric cantor echoed the president s sentiments saying the funding bill at the current sequester levels would be a victory for republicans, and in a memo he wrote this. The president would be endorsing a level of spending that wipes away all the increases he and Congressional Democrats made while they were in charge and returns us to a pre2008 level of discretionary spending. Isnt that negotiating, to an extent . Well, it would seem to me. On a fair level . Look, the logical thing would be for republicans to declare victory and end the war, right . But theyre not ready to do that. John boehner either is from some sort of deviously subtle game or just kind of winging it every day. I cant figure it out. In any event, hes not ready to give up the leverage he has, or thinks he has at this point. So he has to say i dont have the votes for a clean continuing resolution, even though basic arithmetic suggests that the votes are there. And president obama is trying the call his bluff. The Senate Democrats are going to do the same i gather with the debt ceiling and try to pass a clean debt ceiling and send it over to the house. If they vote, thats fair, isnt it, carl . Yes, and we just did a great factbased thing on the air. We showed what the positions really were. This is why i say this is partly about media. Its about the ability of demagogues, back to the mccarthy era, to get their message out. Bing can we have a bell every time he says joe mccarthy . Its very important. No, its not a bell. Its important. Ding its very important. Its about demagoguery. What you just did on the air with that quote from eric cantor, every newspaper in america, the wall street journal, ought to have it on the front page. People who are republicans like nicole ought to be saying all over the place, this is what its like. Its about truth, its about fact. Its about a wing in our party that has no interest in truth or governing or fact and its bringing the country down. It might not bring the party down. Like mccarthy, it might work. Ding. Thats the terrible thing. Ding. Mccarthy works in this country. Okay, so mccarthy. Mccarthy. Ding. Thats good. So julianna, any sense in the white house that the same people who said we will not negotiate, we will not negotiate, we will not negotiate, are starting to think oh god, 51 of americans angry with us. We may have to negotiate. I think one of the lessons that the white house takes from the 2011 debacle over the debt ceiling then was that by negotiating, the president actually came down to their level and rolled in the mud with the rest of them and thats why he came out so injured. So part of that explains the nonnegotiating posture. But look, there really havent been any negotiations with republicans. What you have seen is a little bit of reaching out through third parties, through intermediaries, to try and figure out what kind of facesaving agreement or measure we could get at the end of this, whether its a clean cr, a clean debt ceiling, and then some sort of informal agreement down the line. But it would have to be totally informal, whether its debt talks, the medical device tax coming back in, tax reform, something that deals with entitlements. But then you get the democratic pushback because they need to get something in return, if you have entitlements, then you have to have revenues as well and that might not be enough for boehner to be able to stomach with his caucus. Now, in the middle of this, were trying to get through the obama care exchanges. Its week two of those. Beginning like the first week did, some technical glitches. Error message for people trying to get signed up. Last night the Affordable Care acts primary website healthcare. Gov reportedly taken offline for maintenance and software updates. Kathleen sebelius is trying to down play issues with the website. Im going to try and download every movie ever made, and youre going to try and sign up for obama care. And well see which happens first. [ laughter ] how many have signed up thus far . Fully enrolled . I cant tell you. Because i dont know. We are taking applications on the web, on the phone, well be giving monthly reports. But i can tell you weve had not only lots of web hits, hundreds of thousands of accounts created. So its hundreds of thousands of people have signed up. Of accounts created, which means that then theyre going to go shopping. What . This is like a kayak site. Can you run it okay . We will. The v. A. s got huge problems. Im concerned. Were not running the insurance programs. Youre just running the enrollment. Thats right. The chief Technology Officer says the website was built to handle about 50,000 visitors simultaneously, but 250,000 users tried to access the site during peak traffic. His quote, these bugs were functions of volume, take away the volume, and it works. Thats why hes supposed to be in the internet business. I ran a remembers and i ordered extra servers, when i knew there were going to be really heavy traffic like the day before election day. And it worked. This argument doesnt work. This is about the republicans want to say theres government ineptitude sometimes. Theyre absolutely right. Theres a perfect example of it. But thats not the underlying issue. You just wonder why they left themselves open to this. This is a thing you have to get right because everyone else can criticize the policy. Get this part of it right. And theyve actually opted to telling members of the press that the phone number works better. Im surprised. As far as somebody told me, i think i read this somewhere, and im sure its true. Espns website, espn. Com, gets more traffic during the tournament. During the mens basketball tournament. Extra servers. They had to know this was coming. Its not like they werent warned. But if you look at the reason that republicans are so frustrated with what ted cruz is doing, its because hes made it impossible for the nation to focus on this. On how inappropriate it is for the government to be in charge of health care. Because it cant even handle the computer side of it. The ineptitude. They cant even handle the signups online. Can i address what nicole just said, though, about the government having a role in health care. Ill tell you what. Ten seconds and please say mccarthy. No mccarthy. And then we need to go to julianna. The government shouldnt be involved in health care i didnt say that. You can ding all you want at me, but thats not what i said. I said the republican philosophical objection is to this vastly expanded role of the government. And running a computer is to a republican mind i think it reveals how inept the government is in taking over all of our health care. You heard me on that, i agree. Going to be able to handle the complexities of health care, gene robinson, tell us where were wrong. This is silly. They screwed up they didnt get enough servers, as carl said. And apparently theres a problem with the software as well. But theyll fix it. Guess what, the government does know how to run computers. The nsa, okay . Thats the government. Theyre good at computers. They can take over my health care any time. Its ridiculous to say well, this just shows the government cant do anything. Well, no, the government can do a lot of things. They got this wrong. It certainly doesnt reflect well on the computer planning process for this. But they will get it right. Does anyone doubt that they will figure out how to run the computer . My point is this is symbolic for republicans about how inappropriate a larger role for the government is in health care. I understand that. Were talking about ted cruz. Love it, nsa. Just to prove you wrong, gene oh, okay. Wall street journals headline, meltdowns hobble nsa data center. They cant even spy on their own people right. One fact about health care . Carl, you are wound up. No mccarthy. Hold on, julianna. We have to get one more voice in here. Were conducting traffic stops. A lot of people are trying to get in. Too much caffeine. Julianna, the white house has to be embarrassed. We talked to some people over there beforehand, and thats what i said. I said listen, i disagree with obama care, i disagree but if youre going to do this, you better make sure you do it right from day one and have the servers, and they assured me that they would. Here we are i mean, over a week out and its botched. I dont understand why they werent ready for the biggest bureaucratic launch in a generation. Yeah, i dont think theres probably any real good answer to that. One upside is that theres another story that everybody is focused on and thats the shutdown and the pending debt ceiling debacle again. So thats been a distraction from these messups. But look, heading into this, they said there are going to be glitches that this is just the beginning of an education campaign. So they left themselves some room here. But it is an embarrassment. This is the white house that revolutionized technology for campaigns, and theyre supposed to be the 21st century white house when it comes to computer technology. So its kind of a sore spot probably. They can run a campaign pretty well. Yeah, they can. A little bit like rolling out Social Security. And there are going to be glitches. And the other point about health care is that obama was against the public plan that would have enlarged the government role. He fought his own party. And what you ended up with was essentially the republican plan of massachusetts by romney. Thats what this obama care thing is. All right. Weve got to go to break. Coming up, from the Carl Bernstein republican hour. Oh, here we go. Bill kristol. We have got the mud pit ready. Carl is warmed up. Mud wrestling like youve ever seen it before. And also screen writer john ridley, hes going to write a movie about this. The Government Shutdown is having a major impact on the race for governor for virginia. Which candidate is benefiting from washingtons dysfunction . Thats next. Heres bill karins. Hes got a check on the forecast. Mr. Dysfunction, right . Where are you . You said it, you have your own dysfunction, but dont we all. What happened, mika, the judge increased distance i have to be from you now. I remember that. [ laughter ] i never saw that coming. Sitting there and were eating our hot dogs. It has some material. Foot long, joe. Oh, my goodness thats it. Byebye. Yesterday, the airports and Everything Else were a mess in the northeast. We saw the airport delays when the cold front went down. Also downed a lot of trees. Really got ugly out there for a little while. As far as today goes, Beautiful Day in the northeast. A lot of leaves came down in the northeast, too. Be careful out there. Any wet spots. As far as the rest of the country goes, the southeast is where we still have some rain. If youre on the carolina coastline, maybe the myrtle beach area, up to norfolk, outer banks, thats whats going to be rainy and windy and raw during the day today. As far as the forecast goes, this is going to be with us for a couple days. It will eventually go all the way to d. C. And new york city say thursday and friday. Keep that in mind if you have travel plans. Otherwise, youre in the middle of the country, talk about beautiful october weather. Enjoy it today. Chicago, minneapolis, all the way down to dallas. Washington, d. C. , a lot better today than yesterday. Enjoy the sunshine. Tomorrow looks like some rain returning. Youre watching morning joe. The American Dream is of a Better Future, a confident retirement. Those dreams, theres just no way were going to let them die. Like they helped millions of others. By listening. Planning. Working one on one. Thats what Ameriprise Financial does. Thats what they can do with you. Thats how ameriprise puts more within reach. Time now take a look at the morning papers at 28 past the hour. The army times, the Government Shutdown is forcing the Veterans Benefits administration to begin closing its regional offices today. 7,000 employees will be furloughed, which means phone lines will be closed. Officials say the shutdown may cause a delay in benefit payments for november. Hospitals, clinics and counselling centers will remain open. The enormous reports that Puerto Rico May be in a debt crisis worse than detroit. About 23,000 of debt per person. Puerto rican Officials Say the territory is not yet bankrupt and theyre working with u. S. Officials on trying to find a solution. The minneapolis star tribune, the 9yearold who eluded security and boarded a plane to vegas has some prior instances of bad behavior. I dont know if this is bad behavior. The kid got a free trip to vegas. Local Authorities Say he was arrested for stealing a car and is flown for sneaking into a water park without paying. Reports say he also scoped out his plans at the airport a day before flying, eating at an Airport Restaurant without paying. I love this kid. And stealing luggage from baggage claim. Willie. That kid is a hustler. I mean, seriously, this kid i mean, you dont want this kid sneaking on a flight and going to tulsa. This kid was born to sneak on a flight and go to vegas. I bet he can count cards, too. The New York Daily News, shall we . Oh yes, the New York Daily News im so taken by this kid. A school in naples, florida, sent an 11yearold student saying she was overweight because of her body mass index. A volleyball player, not even close to being obese. The so called fat letters have become an attempt to address obesity. Her mother says the letter sends the wrong message regarding body image to students. That is absolutely horrific. Well, its also incorrect. Its incorrect. Washington post, nfl officials will meet with members of the Oneida Indian nation who are leading the campaign to change the name of the washington redskins. The nfl is take on the issue which continues to gain national attention. This news comes days after president obama said he would think about changing the name if he were the teams owner. And the l. A. Times following a printing delay of two years, the newly designed 100 bill is set to begin circulating this week. The changes include a threedimensional security ribbon that runs through the center of the big with imprints of small bells and the number 100. New york post. Police released a video of a storekeeper chasing away a robbery suspect with a machete. It happened in brentwood, new york. The deli clerk chased the suspect out of the store and through the parking lot. Okay. That will do it ive got a machete i can chop your arm off. I dont think that gun was loaded. No arrests have been made. Wow. Have you ever seen mike allens machete collection . Its more of a samurai sword. He likes them on display. He has them over his fireplace. Unsheathes that thing, look out. The chief White House Correspondent for politico is mike allen. Hes got a look at the playbook. Hello, willie. Lets talk about the virginia governors race. On one side, its getting a boost from the shutdown drama on capitol hill. You guys have a new politico poll. What were you looking at there . This politico poll is a real canary in the coal mine for republicans for a couple of reasons. This is a poll for politico by a republican firm, a democratic firm, shows clear movement in this virginia race. Now we see the democrat clearly ahead of the republican. The shutdown, thats the biggest change since other polling. Both candidates have been running ads. Ken cuccinelli knew it was a problem for him. He quickly ran an ad saying the government should be open. Virginia, both because of Northern Virginia and because of the tidewater area down in norfolk, virginia beach, lots of federal workers in virginia. We look here and we see a poll both the same result that we see on the front page of the Washington Post today in another poll. 50 15 points more, blaming republicans than blame democrats. So thats part of whats driving that virginia race. One other little we did a little favorability also in this poll. This will tell you something as a resident of virginia, i can tell you this definitely is the sentiment around here. You look at the favorability for both of the virginia candidates. Half of people view them unfavorably. 56 for the republican candidate cuccinelli. 49 for Terry Mcauliffe, the democrat. One other question we threw in here. A favorability question for ted cruz, the man who started it all, the senator from texas who some people argue basically shut down the government. He has a 26 favorable rating, which is pretty terrible. But ive got to point out thats three times the favorability rating for congress itself. 11 , Something Like that. Yes, at most. That poll was obviously in the state of virginia on ted cruz, but explains perfectly the story you brought us yesterday why Ken Cuccinelli was running for dear life when he saw ted cruz at that event over the weekend. He took the money, but didnt want the photo, thats for sure. Mike allen with a look at the playbook. Thanks so much. Have a great week. Coming up, a couple of closeout chances. One for the dodgers, one for the red sox. But only one drinking champagne last night. And the jets, the new york jets, new yorks team, it pains me to say it at this point, just wouldnt quit against the falcons on monday night football. The rookie geno smith marching down the field. Could they pull off the win . Sports is next. When we send them off to school, we want them to be explorers critical thinkers who can make connections and interpretations all their own. Thats why nearly every state has chosen to adopt a set of consistent, gamechanging standards that will better equip students for college and careers in the global economy. Join the nea in supporting the common core state standards and their commonsense implementation. So no matter where theyre from, every student will have the chance to succeed. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. Try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. And zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Zyrtec®. Love the air. [ sneezes ] 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. Lets do some sports. The baseball playoffs if just saea second, but how about the new york jets in looking for a pretty big upset on monday night football in atlanta. Geno smith, the rookie finds kellen winslow, that gives the jets a 13point lead there. Smiths third touchdown pass of the game. Fourth quarter, julio jones makes this incredible onehanded catch. It set up a threeyard touchdown pass from matt ryan. The falcons go up a point. But geno leads the team down the field. The jets in field goal range, and that is the gamewinner. Nick folk with three seconds on the clock. The new york jets are 32. Give them credit. I dont think anybody saw this coming, with a rookie quarterback starting. Falcons, meanwhile, fall to 14. Playoff baseball. The dodgers looking to close out the braves in game four. Atlanta with a onerun lead in the eighth. L. A. s juan uribe atbat with a man on second. That ball is drilled to left. Back toward that wall and gone and the dodgers lead. And the dodgers would hang on for a 43 victory, knocking the Atlanta Braves out of the playoffs. The l. A. Dodgers move on to the nlcs. Watch out for the dodgers, man. That was a good braves team. It was only a few months ago that people were calling for Don Mattinglys head, what was wrong with the dodgers. They went out and got all these guys. Th they did a great job standing pat. Took on a quarter billion in salary, end up on top. Lets go to another tight one in the a. L. Red sox looking to sweep the rays at the trop. Game tied at 44 in the ninth. Uehara is a strikethrowing machine. In the air, rightcenter field. Thats got a chance into the aquarium. A walkoff home run keeps the rays alive. They win the game 43. Its now a 21 series. There will be a game tour bafou in tampa. Youre not worried, are you . Yeah, i am. I worry about the rays. Especially winning like they won last night. When the sox go up 30 and then they claw their way back. Lets look at some photographs. Heres game one. This is off the tbs broadcast. Thats Mike Barnacle there sort of to the right. Scowling. He is so angry. Hes angry as John Travolta glances back at him trying to say hello. Hes like im watching baseball. Barnacle has no time for baseball. Travolta shouldnt take this personally. Sitting next to john henry. Theres Joe Scarborough. Im trying to talk to him and he wont even look at me. Even tom doesnt want to talk to you. Nice seats, by the way, guys. Yeah. Thats like upper deck. A man of the people. Hold on a second. Youre wearing the same shirt. Ive been wearing it for a week and a half. Lets go to pittsburgh. Back to the national league, the pirates with a chance to close out the cardinals. Could tmatt holliday smacks a tworun shot over the wall. St. Louiss michael walka pitching a nohitter into the eighth inning. They win 21. That series is even at 22. Pittsburgh really would have liked to close this one out at home. Now they go back, game five will be played in st. Louis, a Decisive Game five. Detroit. Astigers. Oaklands brandon moss with a goahead solo home run to right field. As win it 63. The oakland as this is crazy. What about the as . 21 series lead. That is crazy. They can close out that series in detroit or go back to oakland for a game five. A lot of people would say the Detroit Tigers were better set up to win a best of five series. Verlander and scherzer. They have the pitching. But listen, oakland wins, if pittsburgh wins we have an awesome baseball playoffs that maybe could steal a tiny butt of attention. Can i just say if oakland wins and pittsburgh wins, there will be officials at fox sports jumping out of their windows. Grisly deaths. Its good for us, though. Good new energy in the playoffs. Exactly. Coming up next, last election. The republicans had a problem with women and minority voters. No now theyre in danger of losing another group. The kayly callers matt lewis joins us next. Daily callers ma joins us next. Ng out of pipe. Sfx birds chirping. Always go the extra mile. To treat my low testosterone, i did my research. My doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. Axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. Axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. Women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. Report these symptoms to your doctor. Tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. Serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. Common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. Ask your doctor about the only underarm low t treatment, axiron. I missed a payment. Aw, shoot. Shoot this is bad. No were good this is your first time missing a payment. And youve got the it card, so we wont hike up your apr for paying late. Thats great it is great thank you. At discover, we treat you like youd treat you. Get the it card with late payment forgiveness. Hing, helicopthierhis hibuzzing, andk engine humming. Sfx birds chirping sfx birds chirping 47 past the hour. Here with us now from capitol hill, senior contributor to the daily caller and columnist for the week, matt lewis. Matt, good to have you back on the show. You write that the gop is losing Young Christians and its pretty amazing. Heres part of it. A couple decades ago, the Christian Coalition provided Ground Troops for the conservative movement. But today, perhaps having seen what happened to their parents generation, many Young Christians are choosing to be Conscientious Objectors in the culture wars. Some of this may be due to changing attitudes concerning hotbutton social issues, but theres also a growing sense among Young Christians that a growing movement is a corrupting force. For christians, political involvement has a way of breaking bad. The real danger is that over a time, it has a coarsening effect, and that our political ranks and church pews alike will be filled full of walter whites who will do anything to achieve their goals. They are wise as serpents but no longer innocent as doves. For what shall it profit if he should win the election, but lose his soul . You know, in 1994 i had a lot of Young Christians that wanted to work on my campaign. By the time i left in 2001, they were talking about aids in africa. They were talking about the hungry. I saw a sea of change even over those six, seven, eight years. And thats only continued. And your piece i think your piece is remarkable because it paints a real challenge for a Republican Party that has been built on evangelical support since 1980. Absolutely, joe. You cant underestimate the importance of christian conservatives in helping the Republican Party achieve victory. From Ronald Reagan up until george w. Bush. But in recent years, thats changed, the partys obviously becoming a little more libertarian. Thats part of it. But i think part of it is also is look, theres always been this tension between the city of god and the city of man. Theres nothing new about that. But i think that modern politics, where really anybody can get on twitter and what works to be really negative, its hard to balance that with you go to church on sunday and youre sitting in the pew and youre hearing love thy neighbor, bless those who curse you, and then you get involved in politics and its mock the other side. Well, i know youve seen it, but some of the harshest tweets, you go in and you look and theyll go christian conservative. And you look and then you just see this spewing of hatred. Well thats not exactly the type of guys and women that i grew up with at the First Baptist church in meridian or in pensacola or anywhere else. This win at all costs approach. Just to be blunt, we always told ourselves thats what liberals do. And now, u. , the shoe seems to be on the other foot as well. The irony is really i think whats happened is conservatives if you read conservative blogs as i do, and follow the conservative movement, the really interesting thing is that a guy named saul olinsky, a leftist organizer out of chicago, passed away in the 1970s, but he wrote this book called rules for radicals. He dedicated it to lucifer. Basically that the ends justify a means. Now its conservatives, not liberals, who are holding this book up and emulating it. And of course, the danger, joe, is that you have people who sort of get this is insidious, that you get involved in politics for all the right reasons, for virtuous reasons and you slowly get sucked in, and the next thing you know, its matt, let me bring one other thing up, and then i want to pass around the table. This is very important, too. There also is a conflict with massive cuts for the poor. And matthew 25. There just is. And thats something as a member of congress, i dont believe the federal government can do what churches and communities can do. I dont think they can do it as well. But a lot of times, were given the choice of cutting it off. I remember in the contract with america, i never said this until now, one of the items that i voted against, it was a Conscientious Objector to it, was like a 250 billion cut in medicaid and we were told to go out and call this welfare for medicine. A lot of poor people out there that would have suffered with those extreme cuts. I dont care being called a rhino hear. You read matthew 25, and there is a responsibility if you believe what jesus said, to figure out how to alleviate suffering in the poor, and just cutting it off without a transition doesnt really square up with matthew 25, does it . Well, joe, i think you make a very good point. As a conservative, i believe that there are certain things that we as individuals are called to do that the federal government isnt called to do. But as an individual, i have to care very much about the poor. Im called to do that. And so the problem is the rhetoric. If i put on my political hat and i go before the cameras and i use rhetoric that implies that i dont care about the poor or let them eat cake, thats a problem. It doesnt mean that i think the federal government necessarily needs to be the one to solve it. But if im coarsening my heart and going out there with this laissez faire attitude, that says something about me as an individual. Matt, its Nicole Wallace. I want to ask you about young evangelical christians. I saw them as one of the great hopes for the Republican Party. They were more progressive on social issues. On immigration. The environment. On climate change. On samesex marriage. Where will they go . I mean, the coarsening that you describe is undeniable. But these are also people who care not just about the country they live in, but the world they live in. Theyre globallyminded. So where are they going to go . Are they disenfranchised . Where are they going . I think if democrats field candidates like barack obama, some will go there. Even though i dont like president obamas philosophy, i think that he did have this aspirational rhetoric that did appeal to young evangelicals. I think some of them have been let down by him. I think theyre not going to flee the Republican Party en masse. I think theyre just no longer going to be the Ground Troops for the Republican Party. As joe said, theyre going to focus on aids in africa instead of going door to door for some candidate in the midwest. And by the way, that is mika thats a devastating loss. I can tell you my 94 campaign was run by young evangelicals that would go door to door, that would make phone calls. And i didnt even go to churches to find them. They came to me and they ran a Grass Roots Campaign despite the fact i was underfunded. If they stopped doing that, as matt said theyre doing, that is a serious problem for the party. Matt lewis, thank you so much. Great piece. Thank you. Coming up, republican governor from louisiana bobby jindal is here. More morning joe in just a moment. [ female announcer ] made just a little sweeter. Because all these whole grains arent healthy unless you actually eat them multigrain cheerios. Also available in delicious peanut butter. Healthy never tasted so sweet. Well take something tasty and healthy. Must be the honey theres a party going on in your cereal bowl os can help lower cholesterol oh why does it taste so great . Hey must be the honey oh why does it taste so great . Could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Yep, Everybody Knows that. Well, did you know the ancient pyramids were actually a mistake . Uhoh. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you. Well, you know. 20 years with the company. Hool. Thousands of presentations. And one hard earned partnership. It took a lot of work to get this far. So now im supposed to take a back seat when it comes to my investments . Theres zero chance of that happening. Avo when you work with a schwab financial consultant, youll get the guidance you need with the control you want. Talk to us today. Julianna goldman, thanks for being on the show. How is this going to end . Take cues in the market. Theyre complacent right now. Stock market not really react. We could have to see another tarplike scenario like we saw in 2008 with that vote, which rattles the markets, rattles politicians and forces them to some 11th hour solution. And around that time, id also expect to see some sort of primetime address from the president laying out the real life consequences of a default. Okay, that was 30, but it was valuable. Im glad we gave her the extra 20. She didnt say Joe Mccarthys name once. Ding up next, with the Weekly Standard bill chris toll. Well be right back. They flip the switch and the light comes on. Its our job to make sure that it does. Using natural gas this power plant can produce enough energy for about 600,000 homes. Generating electricity thats cleaner and reliable, with fewer emissions it matters. They always have. They always will. Thats why you take charge of your future. Your retirement. Ameriprise advisors can help you like theyve helped millions of others. Listening, planning, working one on one. To help you retire your way. With confidence. Thats what Ameriprise Financial does. Thats what they can do with you. Ameriprise financial. More within reach. Thats what they can do with you. At a ford dealer with a little q and a for fiona. Tell me fiona, whos having a big tire event . Your ford dealer. Who has 11 major brands to choose from . Your ford dealer. Whos offering a rebate . Your ford dealer. Who has the low price tire guarantee, affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of tires . Your ford dealer. Im beginning to sense a pattern. Get up to 140 in mailin rebates when you buy four select tires with the Ford Service Credit card. Whered you get that sweater vest . Your ford dealer. And it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. Humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. In clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. Blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening Heart Failure have occurred. Before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. Ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. Tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. You should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. Remission is possible. Welcome back to morning joe. Carl bernstein and Nicole Wallace are still with us along with Eugene Robinson in washington. Joining us from washington, the editor of the Weekly Standard, bill kristol. Hi, bill. Hi there, how are you . Im good. We hope you heard the first hour driving in to the studio with Carl Bernstein. Yeah, were ready for you now. Its going to be a good one. Ill do my best to live up to your high expectations. We didnt say they were high. Theyre not high. We have a low bar. Just trying to flatter myself. Bill, were going to read these polls and try to get our arms around exactly what it means. Last hour, i suggested that the republicans in the house really had nothing to fear, nothing to lose, because, you know, theyre at 70 , i think, disapproval. In their own districts, theyre still pretty high, while the president s numbers go up. Everybody is suffering. People that want to be republican president , theyve got a lot to be worried about. Governor of virginia. Im going to let you and carl go. Americans increasingly unhappy with the handling of the government, shutdown by all sides. 70 disapprove of how republicans have handled budget negotiations. 61 disapprove of the democrats. 51 are unhappy with president obamas role. Ifthedisapproval number for all groups are up since last month with republicans up the most. A cnn poll tells a similar story. 63 disapprove of republicans handling of the budget. Compared to 57 for democrats and 53 for president obama. A pew poll on who is to blame for the shutdown has republicans eight points over the president up from a threepoint spread last month. But compare that, joe, to 1995 when public blamed Congressional Republicans nearly 2to1 over president clinton. 42 of the people want the president to make a deal ending the shutdown that includes changes to the health care plan. 44 say republicans should just make a deal without altering obama care. You know, bill, given the press coverage of this the past several weeks, i expected those numbers to be much further apart. I expected republicans to be minus 20, minus 25, like were back in 95, 96. Whats your take on the poll numbers . Yeah, its not 95, 96 all over again. Its not a great victory for republicans either. Ted cruz can be disappointed and i think president obama and his strategists can also be disappointed. If youre a republican congressman and you look at these numbers and think well, whatever hit weve taken, weve probably taken now. Theres no point panicking. Lets play out the shutdown. Try to put pressure on harry reid to pass some of those through the senate. Try to put pressure on the president to at least negotiate. And think hard about how to handle the debt ceiling, which is the trickier thing to handle and has real consequence, much more and more real consequences for the country than the shutdown. The virginia numbers, cuccinelli has run a very bad campaign and is down by nine points to the democrat Terry Mcauliffe. The libertarians are getting 12 of the vote. The actual ideological i would think 2 3, three quarters are. So the ideological breakdown in this stage of were full of government workdowns, the people are not more progovernment. Those 12 voting libertarian dont think government should be bigger. That suggests to me, and this is a theme that joe has talked about over the weeks and months and years, actually, that the conservative Libertarian Alliance needs to be thought about i mean, the libertarian streak within the Republican Party, within the conservative movement is real. It needs to be attended to, i think. But thats not a point of view thats going to be happy with republicans just caving to the forces of big government. So big picture, look at these numbers, and the number of people that want the president to cut a deal with changes to obama care, doesnt that really allude to kind of the overall fact that republicans, bill kristol, have spent so much money bashing obama care, that they got ahead of the message . I think it loses the faallud fact that obama care is a bad law. I guess we can credit the republican expenditures or credit reality. Its certainly not going to encourage republicans to give up on the attempts to delay and modify parts of obama care. Is it a bad law, carl . No, its like the beginning its like the beginning of Social Security. Its something that we can build on and finally do something about the awful state of medical care and insurance in this country. But theres a more important point to look at about these numbers. And that is that the people of this country by and large are fed up with cultural warfare in washington especially. That piece that you showed about Young Christians is also about having had it with ideological responses. Whether for a communist kind of left or whether a eric cantor kind of right. I dont know that i would the kneejerk ideological response cantorism with 100 Million People over the past century. No, that is very true. That is very true. Only got the power that hes got and that there are others in washington that keep him from being more dangerous. Maybe we need a bell for every time you say eric cantors name, too. I think that would be a good idea. I want to ask bill something. Bill, i know how you feel about whats happening right now. I think you probably think its a good idea for the republicans to pursue the path theyre pursuing. But do you think more broadly that its not just good for a party, but for the country to use things like the raising of the debt ceiling as a political leverage point . Yeah, i think its legitimate to use. It has been for decades to use the raising of the debt ceiling as leverage to pursue policies that might cause the future accumulation of debt. If we can use domestic spending, reform entitlements as a prod to do that, that would be good. I think it is crazy to keep running hundreds of billions of dollars of debt every year. Having said that, look, if you could do that through regular legislation, that would be fine, too. It would be nice if the senate ever took up actual regular legislation if that the house does try to pass. Its a slightly wacky way to run a government with all these continuing resolutions and debts. But the continuing resolutions is a problem. Were supposed to have when i came to washington, Congress Actually passed appropriations bills, they went to conference. When they were resolved, the president signed them. Sometimes the president vetoed them. To be fair to the House Republicans, they havent been perfect, but they have tried to pass at least some of the appropriations bills. The Senate Democrats its an amazing fact. It is an amazing fact. They have passed zero appropriations bills. They dont even have to pretend to try to legislate anymore. I hear harry reid lecturing john boehner every day about getting things done. And harry reids senate that harry reid runs first of all, went four or five years without passing a budget. And this year with a democratic president , and democratic chairman and chairwomen has passed a grand total of zero appropriation bills. They have a chance to pass a clean cr at republican spending levels right now. A cr, though, is a failure in and of itself. That means that you werent able to get regular order. That means that you couldnt run your institution, the u. S. Senate or the u. S. House, without going through the regular process, that its so dysfunctional and broken, harry reid has a majority. But the republicans have a chance to win something right now. And theyre passing on it because they actually want to default. I mean, i dont get it. My point is not that the republicans are saints and ive never said they are. But please, harry reid. Go back thats great. I dont disagree. Go back and pass whats on the table right now . A twomonth temporary cr because harry reid didnt do his job in the senate. And because republicans didnt do their job in the house. And harry reid should really be quiet and go back and do the job that he was hired to do. And at least pass one appropriation bill and then come out lecturing us. But all these arguments are based on obama care and what the republicans would like to do with it. I dont mean to interrupt you. My argument is based on harry reid doing his business. And if he had done his job over the past year, then maybe he would have more of a right to talk. This has nothing to do with obama care. This has to do with passing a budget. Passing appropriation bills. And doing what youre elected to do. How about a totally dysfunctional branch of government, a legislative branch of government is totally dysfunctional. It doesnt work. Its broken. And ideology is underneath why it is broken. Anyone at the table today think the congress shouldnt try and take a vote on a clean cr . Okay. Well, wait. Why is congress the branch of government the president of the United States. How is that obama care you dont think theres a case for delaying the implementation, that those exchanges are working great, we have to dogmatically a perfect transition to eugenes piece. You really think this is like Social Security . Absolutely. I think its something were going to build in ha im glad youre laughing. I am laughing. It was actually a good laugh. Very good, bill. Social security was passed with bipartisan majorities in congress. Social security was then modified over the years by bipartisan majorities. Thats exactly right. It was a bipartisan after the initial vote on Social Security. Im sorry, the initial vote was bipartisan on Social Security. The first report out of the congress was very onesided. Then there was a bipartisan vote. But the point is that you had republicans in congress during a new deal who were willing to work with a democratic president to create something and build something that has helped america for the last 50 years. We know that our medical care system, including our insurance system, needs reform. Obama took the republican plan, not the public plan, not the so called socialized medicine plan, bill, and he built this thing that is going to work out over time and were going to get it right eventually. Okay, bill. Franklin roosevelt is rolling over in his grave to be compared to barack obama. Franklin roosevelt was a serious legislator who had southern democrats, liberal republicans. People who thought you couldnt manage congress. He proved he could. Won a huge reelection victory and huge off year legislative victories. Barack obama lost the democratic majority in both houses of congress in 2010. Couldnt get a Democratic House in 2012. Thank god from a conservative point of view that barack obama is no franklin roosevelt. Gene robinson, i heard you chiming in. Youve written a piece that obama care is here, get used to it. Jump in. Well, yeah. I mean, it is happening. And the websites are working very well now. But its law. People are going on, theyre buying insurance. Its not going to be taken away. Its not going to be reversed. At some point, if the republicans ever become a National Party again and win the senate and win the presidency, they could reform obama care, they could repeal the law, they could in order to call it something else. But there will be something else. There will be somebody else that offers reasonably priced insurance to those people who were uninsured. I think basically obama care is a huge step in the direction that the country needs to go. And by the way, bill, franklin roosevelt, for the record, was called a tyrant by the way the right and was vilified and hated by many on the right. Basically as much as barack obama is. Franklin roosevelt did not have a 45 Approval Rating in his fifth year as president. Nicole . Bill, its nicole. I want to ask you, picking up on genes point, obama cares law, obviously the most efficient way to change a law is for republicans to win more senate seats, to take back the white house. At what point in your view as an observer of our party and our politics at what point do we cross the line where this fight makes that fight more difficult . Where does this shutdown, if it gets ugly over the debt ceiling, as everyone predicts it will, where do those efforts to defund obama care, which everyone agrees is near impossible, where does that make the process of winning more senate seats and winning back the white house more difficult for our party . Its complicated. I wouldnt necessarily have gone down this path or gone down it the way that some of the republicans did, but youve got to play the hand you now have. I dont think now is the time to panic. It could become very damaging to the Republican Party. Its not yet. And, in fact, i think in an Actual Senate race in arkansas, where an actual republican congressman tom cotton is running against an actual democratic senator mark pryor. This isnt theoretical how do you like the republicans, how do you like the democrats. Cotton is up on the air with an ad attacking pryor for his vote to preserve the congressional exemption. We talk a lot about how things looks, the optics, national polls, but there are real votes being cast. If youre a republican challenger, you feel okay about the votes you cast. Youre voting to delay the most unpopular part of the obama mandate. Harry reid has forced those Democratic Senators to vote for both. I think the politics right now are complicated, slightly detrimental to republicans in a National Mood sort of way. But could be advantageous to actual republicans running in actual congressional districts and in senate races. But look, two weeks from now, things could be very different. This is politics. Im not dogmatic about it. And i do think the debt ceiling is a fundamentally different situation. There i do wonder whether the speaker has in mind trying to do a clean four, sixweek extension just to push it back. So you do disagree with republicans that are saying a few of them that are saying oh, we can default on the debt, thats no big deal. Yes, i disagree with that. Okay. Mika, let me just ask you as we leave, going back to what we talked about at the top of the show. If there were a congressman or congresswoman running in central pennsylvania, with the people you talk to in central pennsylvania, would the candidate that supported obama care win that congressional race or the candidate that was doing everything he or she could do to stop and defund obama care win . From the people that i spoke to, anecdotally, theyre very angry about obama care. A lot of democrats. They dont understand a lot about it. And i had some long conversations, and it was possible to actually debate it. But there seems to be, i think republicans you said theres a lot of anger out there. There is. Disgust. Toward the government overall. And then obama care gets lumped in with that. And toward congress overall. And obama care gets lumped into that. I would argue that some of their feelings were based on facts. It was more just an overall disgust. And a winning of the message wars. You know, republicans have been running these ads over and over and over again. They have worked. Theyre not necessarily true. Nobody really knows. Im just talking about, though, you know, you can debate the merits of this. But the bottom line is at least where you went, outside of new york absolutely, but im not sure thats productive. But thats the real world, though, when were talking about an Arkansas Senate race. People can sit here and say the Republican Party is burning all they want. Ken cuccinelli is probably going to lose. But where you have real candidates like bill kristol said, in real races and theyre making it about the Affordable Care act. Today. Today. And im with bill. You never know how this is going to end up. And i think its a risk. A huge risk. And i think the left i think the white house has to be very careful and realize, as we said to them a couple weeks ago, you never know how these things are going to turn out. Absolutely. But the white house is standing by a law that Congress Passed that the president signed that the Supreme Court endorsed. I understand these talking points. This is unprecedented. I can also say the president has given over a thousand exemptions for his own Health Care Package unilaterally. Hes exempted huge corporations. Hes exempted congress itself. Hes exempted a lot of friends and a lot of supporters. And so people in pennsylvania or pensacola, florida, would say you know what . Im kind of with those guys that are saying if hes giving all those exemptions for a year to his buddies, why dont i get an exemption for a year . If the republicans could actually communicate if they could. That would be a hell of an argument. If they could step aside and just let the website crash, they would do a lot better than the destruction theyre doing to the country now. And wait until we default. That will go well for them. Bill kristol, stay with us. Carl, for being here. Gene, thank you as well. Crazy days ahead. Well see you all there. Whats coming up next . Still ahead, republican governor from louisiana bobby jindal joins the conversation. And up next, from street activist to civil rights leader, reverend al sharpton is here to talk about his brandnew book on his lifes journey. Screen writer John Ridley Ridley is back and hes angry. Hes coming after you, willie. I dont think he is. Its like frank gifford. Holy cow humans. Even when we cross our ts and dot our is, we still run into problems. Namely, other humans. Which is why at Liberty Mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. See what else comes standard at libertymutual. Com. Liberty mutual insurance. Responsibility. Whats your policy . knochello . Hey, i notice your car is not in the driveway. Yeah. Its in the shop. Its going to cost me an arm and a leg. Thats hilarious. Sorry. You shoulda taken it to midas. Get some of that midas touch. They tell you what stuff needs fixing, and what stuff can wait. Next time im going to midas. Highfive arg i did not see that coming. Trust the midas touch. For brakes, tires, oil, everything. whistling stick with innovation. Stick with power. Stick with technology. Get the flexcare platinum. New from philips sonicare. If you want to lead, you must decide where youre going. In that chapter, i talked about how youve got to decide early and firmly what it is you are trying to do. Where are you trying to be a leader . Where is your direction . You cant arrive about a destination. Most people go through the ride in life without a destination. And then upset that they never got anywhere. Here with us now, host of msnbcs politics nation and president of the National Action network, reverend al sharpton. Hes out now with a new book the rejected stone alsharpton and the path to american leadership. I love the title. Talk about the biblical illusion. 118 psalms talks about how the stone that the builder rejected becomes the corner stone of the new building. My new become is about how we watch the country now be led by those who would have been rejected. You have a black president from a single parent home. You have latino woman on the Supreme Court. And this transformation of the country. But also how i transformed as the country transformed. I grew up rejected from a singleparent home. Felt rejected by my father. I talked about fighting with the elders of the church who never wanted me to go into civil rights. And in the civil rights movement, some of the older guard that didnt like my northern urban style. So i think that all of us can learn to grow and not be afraid to grow. The book is about dealing with your rejection complex and not being afraid to grow and become bigger and be the person you want to be. Its more about life lessons and society lessons. Also joining us at the table, screen writer john ridley is back. Boy, look at that guy. The coolest outfit ive ever seen. Thank you very much. Never looked so good. This is a morning joe original. Were talking 2007 secaucus, new jersey, taking phone calls from pat buchanan. Yes. Walter isakson. Theres nothing more to be done. Good to see you again. Thank you very much. Nice to be back. Very good to see you again, reverend. Good to see you, john. So talk about your growth. Talk about your growth. You obviously are not the same man that you were in the 1990s, 1980s. Talk about it. Even as a child. I think youve got to become more deliberate. I think most people want the hold on and say i havent changed. Well, if times have changed and you havent changed, then somethings wrong with you. I think you learn how to do what you do better. Im committed to social justice and civil rights. Thats my calling in life. But do i care enough about it to do it better and be more effective and have more than one strategy and not just react, but have a strategy to act . So i still march. I mean, as you know, joe, from the Trayvon Martin case. But i also know how to sit at the table and deal with more than just namecalling and back and forward. I talk in the book about my experiences with the president , my experiences from Michael Jackson to james brown. Lessons i learned along the way. A lot of people dont know what happened in the Trayvon Martin case. You sat down with leaders, with people who disagreed with you and just hey, no matter what happens, theres going to be peace. I mean, that was you were as concerned about that as anything, werent you . And the reason i was, and i should have done that probably more in my younger days, though i was never one to advocate violence. I think you have to make it a point to say weve got to be nonviolent. Because if you really want to push your cause, part of your cause is how it was portrayed to the public and the message youre getting across. And i used to have the attitude i dont care what people think, we got to do whats right. Well, you have to care what people think if you want is right to occur. You cant antagonize the public and then appeal for them to understand your cause. So thats why in florida, i said the worst thing that can happen here is we become like what were fighting. And we took time to do that. Lets go to another case, if i could, and that is the one of tawana brawley, who accused a group of black men of raping her. You came to her case and it was found that her claims were fabricated. How does this fit into her life . I think that what i learned in brawley, i would respond the same way. But what i wouldnt do is get into a back and forward name calling with the prosecutor and go for the quick from the hip kind of flippant attitude with the press. You learn to do what you do better. Like he just raised about George Zimmermans case. Or any number of cases. Sean bell cases. Whereas 25 years ago, it was i dont care what you think, i feel im right, i feel that ive got to do what ive got to do. Now im not talking to the prosecutor i may think its unfair. Im talking to the public. If im going to represent a young lady, young man or stand up for a cause, i owe it to them to make sure that i give the best public display of why were concerned about a given situation. Do you regret at all what you put some of the men through in that case, the guys who turned out to be innocent . People ask today did i apologize to George Zimmerman . Why would you regret standing up for someone not to George Zimmerman. Im talking about brawley. Im absolutely talking about her. Brawley made a claim bill cosby and everybody rallied around it before i did. Why would i say that i should not come to the defense of someone who had made a claim and those that had been accused never would come forward before in the grand jury at that time that we got involved. So in any case, right around the brawley case, i got involved with central park. 13 years later, i was proven right. I was universally condemned for getting involved in the central park case. Same time period. So i think any of the cases we get involved with, were not the investigators. We have the basis of coming in based on we feel that theres been a civil rights but knowing what you know now. Well, what do i know now, that a grand jury didnt believe her . A jury didnt believe Trayvon Martins case. So you believe i believe that there was enough reason to go to court on that case, which is what we advocate, just like i believed in other cases. Once it had gone to court you got to remember the same prosecutor came after me on situations that i knew was wrong. Why would i believe the jury that he used there . So i think again, this book is not about all of that. This book is about how you do things. But i think that the basis of a case, youve got people right now, willie, that says he shouldnt have gotten involved in duke lacrosse. I didnt get involved in that. Not one time. Never went to north carolina. But people get carried away in the emotions because they just broad stroke, rather than say well, wait main, if theres a claim there and people are being denied their right for redress, why wouldnt civil rights leaders respond . Thats what were about. But rather than explain that, i used to just call you a name, keep going. I dont mean to belabor this, but it is part of the book and its stuff a lot of people are going to ask you about. So you dont believe that the brawley case was a hoax . I believe that the basis of our involvement of saying that this prosecutor should have moved forward and brought this into court was absolutely the right position to take. And that was the position we took. John ridley. For me, reverend, and i lived in new york a long time ago, youve always been a person of stature. A lot of people, this book is addressed to other rejected stones. I look at you and say heres a man who started somewhere and went somewhere. If youre someone sitting at home, doesnt have a platform, how do they take your message and actually activate it . How do they go from being someone whos completely rejected, has no platform, nowhere to go, to actually changing their life . It has nothing to do with a platform. People are rejects in their own family. People are rejects in their own workplace. People getting ready to go to work now feel rejected. What do you do . These are lessons ive learned from people that have had to deal with it in everyday life. I was a boy preacher. I showed the fliers in the book. I couldnt get along with other classmates because i was considered weird. And youve got to be able to embrace yourself, see yourself as something that may be rejected by others. What did james brown see in you . I dont know. I met james brown when i was a teenager. His son got killed and he kind of adopted me. And he became like the father that left me, that rejected me. I think he saw a kid that wanted acceptance and he wanted to have somebody that believed in him. How much did your father leaving and rejecting you, how much did that shape your life then . How much does it still shape your life today . I think that my father leaving shaped a lot of my life that i didnt want to admit. I was in denial because i spent many years, probably decades seeking a father figure. And you never get that hole that is in you filled. And i think by seeking other father figures, i learned from people a lot more intently than i would have because i wanted to be them. James brown once on an airplane said to me, joe, i want you to do your hair style like mine. So a lot of people say to me why does he wear his hair like that . This was the first time in my life a man wanted me to be like him. That validated me, it meant a lot to me. So you become a lot of things because of a lot of the demons youre fighting inside. Thats what rejected stone is about. If i do my hair like that, will i be able to dance like james brown . Why dont we first do your hair and then well see. No, no, no. The book is the rejected stone al sharpton and the path to american leadership. Thank you very much. Well see you on politics nation. Mikas favorite show. Connie chung is on tonight. Get out shes going to interview me for one segment. Im watching that. Still ahead, she became a house hole name on friday night lights and is now enjoying rave reviews in nashville. Connie britton will join us on morning joe. Stay with us. At a ford dealer with a little q and a for fiona. Tell me fiona, whos having a big tire event . Your ford dealer. Who has 11 major brands to choose from . Your ford dealer. Whos offering a rebate . Your ford dealer. Who has the low price tire guarantee, affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of tires . Your ford dealer. Im beginning to sense a pattern. Get up to 140 in mailin rebates when you buy four select tires with the Ford Service Credit card. Whered you get that sweater vest . Your ford dealer. Were gonna stop beating ourselves up about our weight. Were not gonna give up what we love. Its not gonna happen. And when the pounds still come off. Well be like, whoa one night well even eat a cupcake like its our job. Just not the entire cake. Thats part of the Weight Watchers plan. Were gonna feel happy. Healthy. And good. Weight watchers. Because we understand. Because weve been there. Because it works. Join for free. [ hudson ] hurry, offer ends october 19th. Up next, republican governors are taking a stand against the dysfunction in washington. One of those governors, louisianas bobby jindal joins the table, next. When we send them off to school, we want them to be explorers critical thinkers who can make connections and interpretations all their own. Thats why nearly every state has chosen to adopt a set of consistent, gamechanging standards that will better equip students for college and careers in the global economy. Join the nea in supporting the common core state standards and their commonsense implementation. So no matter where theyre from, every student will have the chance to succeed. take me home. ill be gone. in a day or. man twooooooooooooooooo is that me, was i singing . Vo not paying for scheduled maintenance feels pretty good. Nocharge scheduled maintenance now on every new volkswagen. Thats the power of german engineering a live look at washington, d. C. Looks like a nice day there. Republican governor of louisiana and chairman of the republican governors association, governor bobby jindal. Good to have you back on the show. Thank you for having me. Good morning. Nicole, i hand you the first question. What an honor. Ive heard you say that you dont want to be critical of fellow republicans. I think in tone, thats the right idea. But why not give our party some Straight Talk . Why not point out what is helpful and what is not helpful when youre running a state, and you know exactly how the partisan politics play out in the real world, if you will. Absolutely. What we said is im not interested in secondguessing tactics, but part of the rationale behind this, where weve got 30 republican governors. We said were going to stop outsourcing our brand in washington, d. C. , because if you want to see conservative ideas being applied, its not happening in d. C. Dont you have to shush them a little bit if you want to take back ownership of the republican brand . Were absolutely starting paid advertisements to do that. And so, for example, if you want to see school choice, balanced budgets, tax cuts, folks taking on public pension, governors taking on the government unions, its happening in state capitals. You see governors like rick scott and rick snider and scott walker taking on the tough challenges and then having great results. Youre seeing unemployment rates one point below in democraticled states. Top ten states according to ceo magazine led by republican governors. So absolutely, its important for us to say for too long weve let d. C. Define our brand. Were going to stop doing that. How, though . Theyre drowning you out. Well, weve done the policies. Now its about calling attention to the policy results. Will you come every week and tell us about it . Maybe not every week. Thats a real problem. My concern is that i agree with you. I think the next republican president comes from a governors mansion. How do we drown out the chaos in washington, though . A big part of the challenge is governors have day jobs. Most of us arent near the media capitals. Were not near l. A. A lot of these reforms arent getting covered. The reason theyre doing so well in blue states, red states is in part voters see the results. They see the improving schools, they see the improving economies. They see the improving government finances. They see that governors are making the tough choices. Its not happening in d. C. Its not happening in the white house. So youre right, governors i think have to speak with a lot of voice. Historical historically, we have elected governors to raise money. And to follow up on that fairly dickinson university. Theres a great example, john ridley. Theres such a disconnect between Washington Republicans and republicans running states from wisconsin to new jersey to louisiana to florida. My question would be, though i use the word against lightly. But is it so much republicans against democrats, or is it more politicians in a local area against washington . People tend to be very happy with their local representative. Their state representatives. But once it gets out in washington, i think at this point, it doesnt matter if youre democrat or republican. You look at whats going on, theyre not getting the services they probably get in your state. I think thats right. I think theres a lot of just general frustration at the dysfunction in d. C. I think theres also a lot of frustration in the lack of leadership coming out of the white house. It doesnt have to be that way. Joe was there, i was there for a brief time. But you remember the last time, had real bipartisan progress on a very important domestic policy issue was actually welfare reform. It was done twice by a republican congress. Vetoed twice by a democratic president. The president showed leadership and actually tried to find common ground. D. C. Can work. Its not working right now. I personally think we need structural changes. I dont think its just who we send there. I think we need a super majority vote before they raise taxes. Everybody is focused on the debt ceiling. The real crisis is the debt. I think the frustration for the american people, weve seen this movie, two years ago we had this debate. Nothing got resolved. We were told now is not the time. Two years later, were in the exact same place. If we kick the can down the road, nothing is going to change. At the local level, whats amazing is you have republican governors in corporal states like new mexico, nevada, wisconsin, that dont even have credible opponents. Youve got republican governors in red states and in blue states doing amazing reforms. I think what voters are saying is show us the results. And all of those cases where governors took on tough challenges, whether it was chris in jersey or rick in michigan or rick scott in florida, their numbers dipped originally, and pundits said oh, this is the end of the world. People saw the results and now those governors are doing very well. Its amazing. The most important question, are you coming to tuscaloosa in november . November 9th. Were inviting you there. We slouhould do the show there. Exactly. Governor bobby jindal. That is the most important College Football game in the entire country. Alabama and lsu. All right. Thank you, governor. Thank you so much for being on. Up next, did you know that Connie Britton was once roommates with a current u. S. Senator . Really . Well find out which senator it was when she joins us next. Wasnt ted cruz. No. Lets see. Who else is there . [ male announcer ] if you can clear a crowd but not your nasal congestion, you may be muddling through allergies. Try zyrtecd®. Powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms all in one pill. Zyrtecd®. At the pharmacy counter. Of providing a free worldclass education for anyone, anywhere. If you look at a khan academy video, they cover everything from basic arithmetic to calculus, trigonometry, finance. You can really just get what you need at your own pace. And so, bank of america came and reached out to us and said, we are really interested in making sure that everyone really understands personal finance. Were like, well, were already doing that. And so it was kind of a perfect match. At a ford dealer with a little q and a for fiona. Tell me fiona, whos having a big tire event . Your ford dealer. Who has 11 major brands to choose from . Your ford dealer. Whos offering a rebate . Your ford dealer. Who has the low price tire guarantee, affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of tires . Your ford dealer. Im beginning to sense a pattern. Get up to 140 in mailin rebates when you buy four select tires with the Ford Service Credit card. Whered you get that sweater vest . Your ford dealer. Highway 65 and i have a verbal agreement. My lawyers, plural, dont see it that way. Look, we dont have to fight about this. Will can make his choice. I am not forcing him. Is this really how you want to start with me . Your fledgling is not the right place for an artist with wills potential. My fledgling label . Yesterday it was the future of fledge hill. I think your back catalog is where i want my money. My back catalog. Will lexington, not scarlet . Its not personal. Im not letting you take will from me. West best of luck. I make my own luck. Here with us now the shows costar, connie witten, whos working with ponds as a spokesperson. Thats a skin caroline. But her hair i could not do it. Her hair has a twitter accoun thats what they tell me. Your hair your sweater. Is that okay for me to say . I dont know it. I dont twitter. Tweet. Its a verb, right . While were on it, you were Kirsten Gillibrands roommate in college. Yes. Im glad you dont remember my brother, who was at college with you too. I dont. He was going through his weight lifting stage in college. Talk about nashville. Talk about keirsten. What was she like as a roommate, really messy, right . More interesting is she was my inmate in china. We started chinese together. She was specifically my roommate in china so we shared a dorm room in beijing, which consisted of basically a kind of concrete room and two straw mats. Youve got to have some stories. I do have a lot of stories. I have some amazing stories. A couple of which i cant tell. Thats no fun. We did, however we were there over the summer so, we were there over 4th of july, and the American Embassy had a big 4th of july party. And which part of that was was doing a lip sync contest. And keirsten and two other girlfriends of ours who were in the China Program did a ma dan no song, cant remember which one it was, but let me just say we won the contest. Oh 4th of july. I have a mental image right now. Let me jump in because i have a question having just worked on a music show. To do nashville, its hard enough, and i dont think people know how difficult acting is both as a skill and just as on an artistic level. To act, to sing, to do it on a weekly basis and to do it so well. Tell us about the production of nashville and particularly working in nashville, which if you have not been is amazing. It is really amazing, yeah. Thats really its so nice to hear a writer acknowledge these things. But, you know, we also, by the way, have the best job in the world, so its sometimes well complain about the hours, but you cant ever complain about the job because the job is amazing. But nashville is very ambitious, the show. The town is welcoming and has m embraced us amazingly. We are shooting 14 to 16 hours a day, doing musical performances, singing our own songs. For me it was a steep learning curve because i hadnt sung in a very long time. You sang previously. I did, but i never recorded anything. Just done musical theater and now your songs go straight to itunes. Its amazing. Im on albums. By the way, a great revenue stream for a lot of tv shows. They sell their music. It is. Youre revered for your work but also for the person you are off stage and off camera. I want to know what you think about some of the actresses who seem to be making missteps not necessarily in their work but in their life. How have you struck that balance where youre so respected on stage for your work and also in life . I have to say yeah. I have to not naming names. I have to say that i actually consider myself sort of a late bloomer. I really didnt get my big break until my late 20s. And i went to college, you know, i went i studied chinese. I really believe my parents always believed education was the most important thing and i wept to college and always dreamed of being an actor but even when i was studying in china i said even if i end up being an actor this will hold me in good stead. I was very fortunate then to have a lucky break and then to sort of work my way through, and ive always had a very strong consciousness about the voice i wanted to put out into the world. And so but i think that its tough when you start really young. I think so too. Especially now. I didnt grow up in the now its all the media blitz and the screen obsession and the obsession with being seen and being famous. And, you know, when i grew up, everybody it felt like the people you really respected were mysterious. And everybody wasnt doing interviews 24 hours a day, you know. There was a sense of mystery and sort of decorum about the whole thing and people really creating characters. And thats been lost. And i think thats making a big difference. Thank you so much. I love what you went to. Well. A writer and actress about to connect. All right. So great to meet you. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you. Coming up, brandnew polls show americans are fed up with virtually all of washington as the shutdown drags into week two. But how does that compare to 1995 . Morning joe returns in just a moment. Acso 45 states and then District Of Columbia have voluntarily decided to raise the bar with consistent educational standards. Now, students in those states will have a better chance to succeed in college and careers and to compete in the global economy. Which means a Better Future for our students and our nation. Join exxonmobil in supporting the common core state standards. Lets solve this. The president is stubbornly refusing to negotiate on obama care even though the republicans have been very flexible. Id like to repeal every word of the law. But that wasnt my position even in this fight. My position in this fight was we should defund it. And even now what the house of representatives has done is a step removed from defunding. Its delaying it. Weve been pretty reasonable as weve worked through this process. Ive heard the reference to a full delay or a full repeal to now just saying, mr. President , can we not just have one year delay . We said what about a oneyear delay . Weve been offering compromise after compromise, but you hear from the president and his men and his women, no negotiation. No negotiation. Even though every one of those offers is a compromise from the republicans initial offer having mitt romney be president. Good morning. Its 8 00 on the east coast, 5 00 a. M. On the west coast as you take a live look at new york city. Beautiful. Wake um now. Im not going to. Come on now. Look how beautiful it is in new york. Back with us on set, we have Nicole Wallace, Carl Bernstein, and in washington Eugene Robinson and juliana goldman. Americans are increasingly unhappy with the handling of the Government Shutdown by all sides as joe alluded to. According to a Washington Post abc news poll, 70 disapprove of how republicans have handled budget negotiations. 61 disapprove of the democrats, and 51 are unhappy with president obamas role. The disapproval number for all groups are up since last month with republicans up the most. A cnn poll tells a similar story. 63 disapprove of republicans handling of the budget compared to 57 for democrats and 53 for president obama. A pew poll on who is to blame for the shutdown has republicans eight points over the president , up from a threepoint spread last month. But compare that to 1995 when the public blamed Congressional Republicans nearly 21 over president clinton. The pew poll also found 42 of people want the president to make a deal, ending the shutdown, that includes changes to the health care plan. 44 say republicans should just make a deal without alters obama care. Its very interesting, isnt it . You tell me whats your take on the poll and, as you saw these polls, you were telling me about you going to pennsylvania. Yes. I was in lincoln over the weekend. With jims friends and family members. You said there was just anger about obama care. Absolutely. Anything about barack obama. Many of them work for Small Businesses and Bigger Companies on midlevels, and they feel like its really going to hurt them. But im personally not surprised by these poll numbers. I think when Something Like this happens everyone suffers and im sure the white house expects that at this point. I think the Bigger Picture is at what point do you look at the polls and you think about the future politically and at what point do you do whats right or wrong. You cant have this law taken hostage by a small group of republicans and changed. What does that mean for the future of our democracy if they can do this . Apparently a lot of americans agree with those small groups of republicans. We knew coming into this, carl, both sides would be hurt. The white house knew the last time they were down in the low 40s was the last time we had this sort of budget shutdown. But there is an asymmetry to those number, arent there, because these republicans reading these polls that say 70 of americans are against us see polls in their own district that show 70 of my constituents, who are going to decide whether im here next time or not, are for me so, lets just drive Barack Obamas numbers even more until, you know, i get down in the low 60s. You know . Thats the asemitri. Thats the problem the white house has to deal with right now, right . Yes, but were also in a great cultural moment, political, Pivotal Moment. I compared it last to week to joe mccarthy. This is about the Republican Party and that its going to be. Is it going to conduct a factbased, philosophical argument in our political system or is it going to be a nihilistic, hateful asymmetrical in terms of facts and the truth part of the party as in joe mccarthy . This is about media as well. These poll numbers are about a totally different media culture than weve had in the past. As you see in that clip from comedy central, we need to start covering this story not 50 50, this much on this side, that on the we need to cover it factually, because there are facts here that will show what this event is about and where, in fact, is this anger, hatred of obama coming from, what is the root of this. The New York Times did a great story the other day about how this wing of the Republican Party, call it the mccarthy wing, call it the eric cantor wing, whatever you want to call it ted cruz. Has been gearing up for this. Ive been patient. I know. Playing the role, because we teamed up last time. We did. You came after me. I let but it was good. I liked it. I gave you 12 joe mccarthy references. Six already. Important because its the only comparable time since joe mccarthy weve had this in the Republican Party. And who in the party going to appease him . Get a move on now, playing the role of bill crystal this morning, Nicole Wallace. Nicole. Come after me, nicole. Seriously, if you lets look at this from where you looked at it, from the white house communication director. And, you know, theres an old proverb that says beware the man with nothing to lose. These House Republicans have nothing to lose. Theyre very popular in their own district. If i saw 51 of americans were angry at bill clinton back in 1995, i old turn to my friends and say step on it, boys. Right. Were going to drive him into the 30s and im just saying, the machiavellian approach, thats what those guys have to be thinking this morning looking at these polls. And i bet their numbers arent just high in their district. I bet that if you poll conservatives nationally these are the hometown heroes of the conservative movement. I bet when you look at the early poll numbers in the early primary states at the top of the list will be the republicans viewed by media. Now, you and i both know the great irpny of this is these hometown heroes who will hold onto the house will also make it next to impossible for our candidate in 2016 to be to beat hillary in the suburbs of philadelphia. Well, unless that candidate does what some of like chris christie. Chris christie. Play bad cop to chris christie. And there are republicans in congress who have been critical of this approach. There are House Republicans showing up on television who are talking about a very different tune in their district, congressman danton on tv last night. But lets leave hate out of it just for a second. I know that wont last for too long with you, carl. I have sound bites here. Its more fundamental. Defining the Republican Party isnt about haters and lovers. Its about governing and not governing. And there is a group and you can condemn their motives and you can condemn the outcome, but theres a group that is simply not interested in governing, and that is the divide in the Republican Party. Very well put. . They dont fracture on ideological lines abuse id i dont imaginally we as a party are on the same page. We do not believe obama care is the right way to reform the health care system. There is no divide in the Republican Party but a great and bleeding wound now over whether we as a party are meant to govern. Thats why i called them nihilists. And by the way, willie, you know, if youre a libertarian its so fun when carls here. I love carl. We love carl. But think about it. I mean, this would be i dont know what the democratic equivalent would be, the liberal kwismt would be. I guess it would be like, hey, listen, if we do nothing, if the government remains in this state, then just billions and billions and billions of dollars of new federal spending are going to be spent every day. And were going to keep spending and were going to keep spending and were going to keep spending, create new programs, you know, build new you know, think about it. If youre a libertarian and youve squeezed it with a sequester, and even with the cr you go back to pre2008 levels, youre sitting here going, you know, lets see how long we can play out this Government Shutdown. Again, not about hate. But just about a governing or a nongoverning philosophy. Its true on a political front, i guess. Those are victories. But youd like to think there are some people who are thinking a little larger than winning political points in their district, given the fact now nine days till october 17th when we hit the debt ceiling. Lets bring in our washington contingent. Juliana goldman, wheres the white house sitting on this right now . I mean, obviously john boehner has said youre not getting a clean cr. Thats not coming your way. On the other side president obama says were not negotiating, not using all of these moments, whether its the debt ceiling or anything else, as leverage points for you to get something you want. So what breaks this impasse . You know, willie, its really hard to see how any side right now has an end game. And the scary thing about this is that since 2011 you look back at this point where we are as were approaching that same debt limit kind of deadline. The threat of the default seems so much more likely now. And the catastrophic consequences for the economy are so great, no one at the white house is sanguine about this. And its really hard to see how this gets resolved right now before that october 17th deadline. Yeah. You know, its day eight, and now its like truth or dare or some other game like that. President obama is now telling Speaker Boehner to, quote, move from he doesnt have the votes for a funding bill. I want to get to gene on this. Boehner has said a bill that does not defund or delay the Affordable Care act would not have a chance of passing the house. But some moderate republican congressmen like pennsylvanias charlie dent want to end the standoff and are siding with the president on letting congress vote. And by the way, this is already a give on the side of the president because its the republican spending levels. President obama said that, saying that the republicans are getting much of what they want. The bill that is being presented to end the Government Shutdown reflects republican priorities. Its the republican budget. The funding levels of this shortterm thing called the cv far lower than what democrats think it should be. So when you hear this notion that democrats arent compromising, were compromising so much, were willing to reopen the government at funding levels that reflect republican wishes, dont at all reflect our wishes. And, gene, as recently as september 6th, House Minority leader eric cantor echoed the president s sentiments saying the funding bill, the current sequester levels, would be a victory for republicans. In a memo, he wrote, the president would be endorsing a level of spending that wipes away all the increases he and Congressional Democrats made while they were in charge and returns us to a pre2008 level of discretionary spending. Isnt that negotiating to an extent . Well, it would seem to me. On a fair level . But, look, the logical thing would be for republicans to declare victory and the war, right . But theyre not ready to do that. John boehner either is playing some sort of deviously subtle game or just kind of winging it every day and making it up as he goes along. But in any event, hes not ready to give up the leverage he has or thinks he has at this point. So he has to say i dont have the votes for a clean a continuing resolution even though basic arithmetic suggests the votes are there and president obamas trying to call his bluff and say, you know, its the Senate Democrats who are going to do the same i gath we are the debt ceiling and try to pass a clean debt ceiling and send it to the house and see what they do. In the middle of all this were trying to get through the obama care exchanges, get those up and running. Some technical glitches, error messages for people trying to get signed up. Last night the Affordable Care acts primary website, healthcare. Gov, reportedly taken offline for maintenance and software updates. Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius is one of several white house officials trying to down play issues with the website. Going to do a challenge. Im going to try and download every movie ever made and youre going to try and sind up for obama care and well see which happens first. Okay. How many have signed up thus far . Fully enrolled . I cant tell you. Yeah. Because i dont know. We are taking applications on the web, on the phone. Well be give moogly report, but i can tell you weve had not only lots of web hit, hundreds of thousands of accounts created, we have hundreds of thousands of people have signed up. Of accounts created, which means then theyre going to go shopping. John, this is like what . A kayak site. Can you run it okay . Yes. We will. The va has huge problems. Im concerned. Were not running the insurance programs. Were running just running the enrollment. Thats right. The chief Technology Officer says the website was built to handle about 50,000 visitors simultaneously, but 250,000 users tried to access the site during peak traffic. His quote, these bugs were functions of volume. Take away the volume, and it works. Thats why youre supposed to be in the internet business. I ran a website. I ordered extra servers when i knew there were going to be really heavy traffic like the day before election day. And it worked. This argument doesnt work. This is about the republicans want to say theres government ineptitude sometimes. Theyre absolutely right. Its a perfect example of it. But thats not the underlying issue. You just wonder why they left themselves open to this. This is the thing you have to get right because everyone else can criticize the policy but get this part right. Theyve omted to telling members of the press that the phone number works better. So im surprised. As far as somebody told me, i think i read this somewhere, and im sure its true, espns website, espn. Com gets more traffic during the tournament. The mens basketball tournament. Extra servers. Than this. They had to know this was coming. Its not like they werent warned. But if you look at the reason that republicans are so frustrated with what ted cruz is doing, its because hes made it impossible for the nation to focus on this. On how inappropriate it is for the government to be in charge of health care, because it cant even handle the computer side of it. The ineptitude. They cant even handle the signups online. Can i address what nicole just said, though, about the government being having a role in health care . Ten seconds and please say mccarthy. No mccarthy. Then we need to go to juliana. The government shouldnt be involved in health care and like carl, i didnt say that. You can ding all you want at me. Thats not what i said. I said the republican philosophical objection is to this vastly expanded role of the government in the delivery of health care and running a computer is to a republican mind i think it reveals how inept the government is in taking over all our health care. You heard me. I agree. Handle the complexities of health care. Gene robinson, tell where you say were wrong. This is silly. They screwed up the they didnt get enough server, as carl said, and apparently theres a problem with the software as well. But theyll fix it. Coming up on morning joe has the nfl worked hard to avoid responsibility for the soaring number of players suffering from brain injuries . Well talk to the producers behind front lines new documentary league of denial, the nfl concussions and the battle for truth. And next the Government Shutdown is helping one of the candidates in the closely watched virginia governors race. Another installment of the politico playbook is ahead. But first, why dont you toss to him . Im scared. Does anybody feel comfortable tossing to bill karins . I dont. I need a restraining order. Is miley cyrus here . Its time for bill karins with a check on the forecast. Bill, i hope youre not on a wrecking ball. Nice. A little old weatherman making the great Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough nervous . Mission accomplished. New jersey took the brunt of the storm yesterday. This was primarily what happened. We didnt see many tornadoes but there were a lot of trees that fell, a lot of big oak trees, too, that caused some problems. Hoping those without power will be getting it back on soon. The reward is what were having today. A beautiful air mass. You can see new york city, a gor jouls pictureperfect top ten fall day. This swarmt is just crazy in the middle of the country. Its just gorgeous out there. Look at minneapolis. 78 degrees and sunny. This is the middle of october. You should be in the 50s, maybe 60s if youre lucky. There is some rain out there. Its going to be right along the southeast coast over the next cup dales but overall its looking nice. Anyone who has a baseball interest, detroit looks good today, and st. Louis tomorrow, that night game, your weather looks fantastic too. Major League Baseball outdoor games. Youre watching morning joe. [ banker ] sydney needed some Financial Guidance so she could take her dream to the next level. So we talked about her options. Her valuable assets were staying. And selling her car wouldnt fly. We helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the volume on her dreams today. And tomorrow. So lets see what we can do about that. Remodel. Motorcycle. [ female announcer ] some questions take more than a bank. They take a banker. Make a my financial priorities appointment today. Because when people talk, great things happen. Make a my financial priorities appointment today. How can i help you . Oh, youre real . You know im real at discover, were always here to talk. Good, cause i dont have time for machines. Some Companies Just dont appreciate the power of conversation you know, i like you i like you too at discover, we treat you like youd treat you. Get the it card and talk to a real person. Make my mark i wawith pride. Ork. Create moments of value. Build character through quality. And earn the right to be called a classic. The lands end no iron dress shirt. Starting at 49 dollars. Time now to take a look at the morning papers at the army times. The Government Shutdown is forcing the benefits administration to begin closing its regional offices today. 7,000 employees will be furloughed, which means phone lines will be closed. Officials say the shutdown may cause a delay in benefit payments for november. Hospitals, clinic, and Counseling Centers will remain open. And the New York Times rorpts Puerto Rico May be on the verge of a debt crisis worse than detroit. Currently the territories racked up 87 billion in debt compared with 18 billion in detroit. Thats about 23,000 of debt per person. Puerto rican Officials Say the territory is not yet bankrupt and theyre working with u. S. Officials on trying to find a solution. From our parade of paper, the minneapolis star tribune, the 9yearold who alluded security and boarded a flight to vegas without a ticket has some prior instances of bad behavior. I dont know that willie and i would consider this to be bad behavior. He got a free trip to vegas. Local Authorities Say he was arrested for stealing a car and is known for sneaking into a water park without paying. Reports say he also scoped out his plans at the airport a day before flying, eating at an Airport Restaurant without paying. I love this kid. And stealing luggage from baggage claim. Willie. That kid is a hustler. Seriously, this kid i mean you dont want this kid sneaking on a flight and going to tulsa. This kid was born to sneak on a flight and go to vegavegas. I bet he can count cards, too. Seriously. The New York Daily News im so taken by this kid. A school in naples, florida, say an 11yearold student lily grasso was sent home with a letter saying she was, quote, overweight because of her body mass index. The 55 volleyball player weighs 124 pounds and is actually not close to being obese. The socalled fat letters have become a staple in many states as schools attempt to address obesity. Her mother says the letter sends the wrong message regarding body image to students. That is absolutely horrific. Its also incorrect. Its incorrect. A mistake. Washington post, nfl officials will meet with members of an Indian Nation leading the campaign to change the name of the washington redskins. The nfl is taking on the issue which continues to gain national attention. This news comes days after president obama said he would think about changing the name if he were the teams owner. And the l. A. Times following a printing delay of two years. Newly designed 100 bill is set to begin circulating this week. The bills have new security features on it that make it harder to counterfeit. Changes include a threedimensional security ribbon that runs through imprints of small bills and the number 100. New york post. Police released a video of a storekeeper chasing away a robbery suspect with a machete. It happened at a store in new york. The deli clerk whipped out a machete and chased the suspect outof the store and through the parking lot. Thatll do it. Got a gun. I have a machete i can chop your arm off. I dont think that gun was loaded. No arrests have been made. Wow. Wow. Hey, willie, have you ever seen my machete collection . More of a samurai sword. Yeah. He likes them on display. Likes them over his fireplace. Unsheath that thing. Look out. The chief correspondent for political coe is mike allen. Hey, willie. Good to see you. Lets talk about the virginia govern governors race. On one side its getting a boost from the shutdown drama on capitol hill. You have a new political poll. What were you looking at there . This political poll is a real canary in the coal mine for republicans for a couple of reasons. This is a poll for politico by sources that a democratic firm, a republican firm, shows clear movement in this virginia race. We see the democrat Terry Mcauliffe clearly ahead of Ken Cuccinelli, ten point, nine points depending on whether or not you throw in the libertarian. This is Real Movement and the most logical explanation is the shutdown. Thats the biggest change since other pollinging in this race. Both candidates have been running ads about the shutdown. Ken cuccinelli knew it was a problem for him. He quickly ran an ad saying that the government should be open. Virginia both because of Northern Virginia and because of the tidewater area down norfolk, virginia beach, lots of federal workers in virginia. We look here and we see the same result that we see on the front page of the Washington Post today and another poll. 50 , 15 points more, blaming republicans than blame democrat, part of whats driving that virginia race. We did a little favorability also in this poll. This will tell you something as a resident of virginia, i can tell you this definitely is the sentiment around here, you look at the favorability for both of the virginia candidates. Half of people view them unfavorably. 56 for the republican Ken Cuccinelli. 49 for Terry Mcauliffe, the democrat. One other question we threw in here. A favorability question for ted cruz, the man who started it all, the senator from texas who some people argue basically shut down the government. He has a 26 favorable rating which is pretty terrible, but ive got to point out thats three times the favorability rating for congress itself. 11 , Something Like that . Yes. At most, yeah. So that poll was obviously in the state of virginia and ted cruz but explains the story you brought us yesterday, why Ken Cuccinelli was running for dear life when he saw ted cruz at the event over the weekend. Took the fmoney but didnt want the photo. Next up, is the nfl doing enough to confront the concussion crisis . Well talk with the producers of league of denial. [ male announcer ] no success is overnight. Its about working harder. And smarter. Its the culmination of a million decisions. Its where you see yourself going. And how you choose to get there. The 2013 gs. Our boldest response ever. Theres no going back. Add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance and well replace stolen or destroyed items with brandnew versions. We put members first. Join the nation. Nationwide is on your side they dont know it yet, but theyre gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, theyll find some financial folks who will talk to them about preparing early for retirement and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isnt rocket science. Its just common sense. From td ameritrade. Its just common sense. If we want to improve our schools. What should we invest in . Maybe New Buildings . What about updated equipment . They can help, but recent research shows. Nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. Lets build a strong foundation. Lets invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. Lets solve this. In football, one has to expect that almost every play of every game, every practice, theyre going to be hitting their heads against each other. Thats the nature of the game. Those things seem to happen around 1,000 to 1,500 times a year. Each time that happens its around 20 g or more. Thats the equivalent of driving a car at 35 Miles Per Hour into a brick wall. 1,000 to 1,500 times per year. For mike webster, the head hit just kept on coming, for 17 years. You have to survive so you learn the methods to survive and the best at survival in that environment. The minute you put your pads on. Youre only one play away from getting seriously injured. Okay. That was a clip from the new front line documentary, league of denial, about the nfls concussion crisis, airing tonight on pbs. Everyone should watch it. Joining us now the authors of the book, the documentary is based on, mark feigner and steve ridley. Brian shactman with us as well. Mark, i always go back to something that Jim Miklaszewski told me when he was a reporter in dallas. He went out and was watching the cowboys practice with tom landry. He said, this isnt the game that i came into. Theyre too fast. Theyre too strong. Its too lethal. Well, its interesting. I was telling people as a reporter the first time i got a chance to watch a game on the sidelines it was so eliminating. Its watching an entirely different game. What you see on television, what you watch in the stands, its not the same sport. The game is so fast, the players are so strong, its so loud and maybe the little oneyard run up the middle that looks like nothing on television is startling. The level of violence to the human body. Its just reached unsustainable proportions. And i say this as a kid that grew up, you know, playing football, organized football from the time i was 6 years old. Yeah. Theyve studied the amount of force thats general rated by nfl football. And hes documented that the amount of i can nettkinetic ene generated at the line of scrimmage has essentially doubled over the last several decades. He equates it to basely loading a Revolver Chamber into the line of scrimmage every single play. And thats the kind of force that these guys are absorbing. Theyre huge. Theyre bigger and faster. Huge, fast, strong. John . John ridley. For me, im curious about the skren sis of this because most of us here are football fan, we enjoy it, but theres a conversation thats been growing. Have you been tracking that conversation . Where did it begin and what has been learned over the last few years about concussions . That was sort of the genesis of the book was we really wanted to look at what did the nfl know, when did it know it, and there have been a lot of great report ong that issue, but as we dug into it, heal rheally what the book lays out and the film, too, is the trajectory of denial for about two decades by the league as you had sort of a dueling level of denial. You had scientists emerging who were talking about the connection between repetitive trauma and football and longterm brain damage and those scientists being attacked basically by nfl doctors. But the denial is over dlshgs 765 million settlement. I know they changed the rule because of Trey Richards and what hed been doing in cleveland before about using your head. Does the nfl get it yet . Well, i think, you know, it remains to be seen, they were much more proak tich than under commissioner goodell. Only one time theyve once acknowledged the link between football and brain damage and that was immediately after they were hauled before congress to address this issue. Even in this lawsuit theyve not admitted any culpability or have they or are they even talking about any link. So, you know, theyre putting a lot of money into research now, and as you said theyre trying to change the rules but its difficult. Brian shactman is with us as well. He has a question. There are so many angles you want to play. The participation is interesting, too, because suburban mothers arent letting their kids play as much as they used to. Thats going to change who plays in the professional league. What about the player . Professional football league, they get paid to play. Now that theres acknowledgment and a settlement, i dont know how the settlement moves forward but its a way to change the way to play the game, too, maybe a system to take liability off the league . I think that liability issue is moving in a different direction now that obviously youve got this settlement having taken place and theres all this information out there. I think you touched on where the story is going to go. Its really around kids, mothers, making these decisions. Theres a section in the book we talk about where you have an nfl doctor confronting the ongoing evidence and saying, look, if 10 of mothers begin to feel football is too dangerous, thats the end of football as we know it. I my malcolm glad wealth said almost very controversial to talk about the ghettoizing of football and if that effect is going to happen. Its one thing for the nfl to get it. Its an inherently violent sport. What can actually do be done as the father of a son who plays football to make this sport and you say can it . I think thats the Biggest Issue that the nfl is confronting now. We who love football are confronting. The leading experts will tell you its not the big blowup hit that is causing these problems. Its the repetitive head trauma that occurs on every play. And its the incessant pounding thats endemic to football thats causing it. And can he legislate that out of the game. Thats really unclear. All right, mark and steve, thank you so much. Thank you. League of denial the nfl, concussions, and the battle for truth. The front line documentary airs tonight on pbs at 9 00 p. M. Eastern. Coming up, from top quality shirlts to top quality stakes. What clothing shop is planning to go in a whole new direction . Business before the bell next. Im so confused. I am too. [ girl ] roses are red. Violets are blue. Splenda® is sweet. And so are you. [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. Splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. Its a very good reason to enjoy Something Sweet with the ones you love. Think sugar, say splenda™ as your life and career change, fidelity is there for your personal economy, helping you readjust your Retirement Plan along the way, rethink how youre invested, and refocus as your career moves forward. Wherever you are today, a fidelity i. R. A. Has a wide range of Investment Choices to help you finetune your personal economy. Call today, and well make it easy to move that old 401 k to a fidelity i. R. A. 45 past the hour, business before the bell with cnbcs brye yap sullivan. A lot of global economists not pleased with the way the United States is handling the shutdown. No, theyre not, mika. Indeed were starting to hear warning cries from a variety of different nations, most notably china and now japan. Those two nations are the biggest outside holders of the United States debt so they run the risk of not being paid, albeit in a minuscule event that the United States defaults on its debt, which is pretty much an impossibility but thats a possibility. China and japan also want to be paid back but theyre saying theres a global risk to stability here as well. Sort of in a move you would not expect, necessarily, the wall street journal has a story out where top bankers are saying that if you prioritize bond payments on our debt over Social Security or other payments, you might pose more of a risk to the economy. One would assume that the bankers would say, hey, pay the debt and bond holders back first. But theyre actually saying the opposite because theres an instability when people dont know whos going to be paid so theyre saying essentially pay everybody that you owe or pabpay nobody, but dont prioritize one party over the next. John ridley, you were asking me a question, when does this end . A lot of people want to know ill tell you how it ends, because ive seen it, we tried to stop most favored trade nation status with china year in and year out and the all the leaders would be with us and lead with us and then the head of Goldman Sachs would come down to washington, then the head of jpmorgan, then the head of bank of america, and they got never mind. And thats whats going to happen. If anybody thinks that john boehner is going to allow there to be a default, because ill tell you what, wall streets going to come down. Do you think hes more afraid of those ceos than ted cruz . Oh, god, yes. And not only him good to know. Eric cantor, the whole republican leadership, yeah. When the people that run americas economy say and i wish i could say the word here dont mess this up other word for mess . Dont destroy this economy . You want to take us back to 2008 . And by the way, there will be all the bloggers saying the default wont make any difference at all. Bill crystal came on and like when faced with that choice, John Boehners not going to fold. John boehners going to listen more to jamie dimond then hes going to listen to ted cruz. The market kind of agrees with you. The market is not theyre not going to default. First off we can get a technical definition of default, which is a very specific term dont bother. You know what, jamie dimond is not going to get to the technical definition of default. Im just talking the politics about it. Jamie die mondays not going to no. Hes going to go down to the republicans and say are you guys crazy . Im going to say something, joe, thats going to make you think that ive been drinking. Okay. Wow. Thats new. Go ahead. Which i have not been. However, the u. S. Treasury is legally prevented from issuing an up limited amount of paper currency, gold, silver, or copper. There have been some people out there, not complete loons, that have suggested the idea the treasury could print, make a trilliondollar platinum coin. Ive heard of this. Right. Im not kit idding. Ive heard this before. Not saying its going to happen. Im saying there is an extreme outlier final solution. But why does there need to be when jamie dimond and i want to hear about the steak house. Nick saban could bail out the u. S. Government. Do you think theres going to be default . I dont know. You know how this stuff works. I dont know. Yes. Between cruz and jamie diamond. Every day of the week. Are you kidding me . Do you believe the headlines . Oh, please. I believe everything. Okay. Everything you head in the papers. You want me to get in with this final story, the New York Post reporting brooks brother lbs opening up a steak house in midtown manhattan. So im thinking that doesnt sound ap tizing to me. What other brand extensions would be natural . Im going to do that on my show today. Hanger steak. Alex, was that you . At his restaurant . Hanger steaks . That comment has me hot under the collar. Dont laugh. Please dont laugh. Dont laugh at that. Im out of here. This is the second time. Hot dogs and now this. Sfx birdg sfx birds chirping okay, who helps you focus on your recovery . Yo, yo, yo. Aflac. Wow. [ under his breath ] that was horrible. Pays you cash when youre sick or hurt . [ japanese accent ] aflac. Love it. [ under his breath ] hate it. Helps you focus on getting back to normal . [ as a Southern Belle ] aflac. [ as a cowboy ] aflac. [ sassily ] aflac. Uh huh. [ under his breath ] i am so fired. Youre on in 5, duck. [ male announcer ] when youre sick or hurt, aflac pays you cash. Find out more at aflac. Com. T t t were not gonna give up what we love. And when the pounds still come off. Well be like, whoa Weight Watchers. Because it works. Join for free. [ hudson ] hurry, offer ends october 19th. Ng out of pipe. Sfx birds chirping. Its beautiful. At what price . We will take it. Chirp, come see what your father has just purchased for me. One moment, sir. Youll be assisted. Sir, if you could discuss the price. Welcome, sir. Mind your wallet. Pay no attention to this gentlemans nonsense. My regrets for the intrusion, sir. No intrusion. Good day, sir. Good day. Get out. That was a scene from the new movie 1 years a slave, written by john ridley, whos been with us all morning. John, that looks amazing. Tell us about it. Its probably and ive been very fortunate to tell a lot of stories this hollywood its probably the most american story ive had the opportunity to tell. Its about freedom, about liberty, an individual who took all that for granted and what happens when those are taken away from you. I think one of the things we all love the say now in hyperbole, my freedoms, my liberty taken away, this is about someone that had that happen but never gave up his faith in Family Living in upstate new york. Saratoga, new york. Free black man. Not free. Kidnapped, sold into slavery but never gave up his faith in his family and a system that would set him free. To me solomon north, a true individual, lived the quality of his character, the fact that he would use all of his self to survive, his wits, guile, defended people weaker than him at the risk of his own life, a life lesson for all of us even in 2013. Looks wonderful. In theaters october 18th. John ridley, congratulations. Can you invite us to the premiere or something . I dont know. Probably not. Up next when we send them off to school, we want them to be explorers critical thinkers who can make connections and interpretations all their own. Thats why nearly every state has chosen to adopt a set of consistent, gamechanging standards that will better equip students for college and careers in the global economy. Join the nea in supporting the common core state standards and their commonsense implementation. So no matter where theyre from, every student will have the chance to succeed. Losing thrusters. I need more power. Give me more power [ mainframe ] located. Ge deepsea fuel technology. A 50,000pound, ingeniously wired machine that optimizes raw data to help safely discover and maximize resources in extreme conditions. Our Current Situation seems rather extreme. Why cant we maximize our. Ready. Brilliant. Lets get out of here. Warp speed. All white meat chicken was made to be blanketed in golden breadcrumbs. With whipped mashed potatoes, topped with a thick homemade gravy. So she makes her country Fried Chicken to be eaten together. So they savor every last bite. Marie callenders. [ male announcer ] may your lights always be green. [ tires screech ] [ beeping ] may you never be stuck behind a stinky truck. [ beeping ] may things always go your way. But its good to be prepared. Just in case they dont. Toyota. Lets go places, safely. But its good to be prepared. Just in case they dont. Ito guard their manhood with trnew depend shields and guards. The discreet protection thats just for guys. Now, its your turn. Get my Training Tips at guardyourmanhood. Com so she could take her dream to the next level. So we talked about her options. Her valuable assets were staying. And selling her car wouldnt fly. We helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the volume on her dreams today. And tomorrow. So lets see what we can do about that. Remodel. Motorcycle. [ female announcer ] some questions take more than a bank. They take a banker. Make a my financial priorities appointment today. Because when people talk, great things happen. Make a my financial priorities appointment today. announcer answer the call of the grill with new friskies grillers, full of meaty tenders and crunchy bites. Suspect it great to have john ridley back . Its fantastic. Vintage morning joe. I asked him why he didnt come here more and he said because he hates some people do. I couldnt love america anymore. To prove it