0 pole. >> firefighters were hampered by a windchill of 55 degrees below zero. water was turning into ice psychiatri crystals before it reached the top of the fr. >> how many of these do you get? >> fewer. >> and a definition of the vortex. that is pretty good. >> colder than a well digger's bottom outside. streets are empty in some parts of the country like in ft. wayne, indiana. look at this. in chicago, hundreds of planes have been grounded at o'hare where american airlines says it is so cold. >> how cold is it? >> their fuel lines have frozen. i can't say anything bad about you because of what you did so you may for tour me this morning. >> your sweater says may. >> no, it's fantastic. >> a gene rayburn imitation. >> do you know what you just did? >> not now. >> jetblue cancelled every flight yesterday out of boston. a guy kicked off more jetblue flights. >> creating new ways every day. >> bill, try in some way to bring dignity to this story. >> have you guys heard it's going to be cold? >> it's as cold as hell. >> the numbers speak for themselves. yesterday i mentioned in new york city, it was 57 degrees when i came into work and i had mentioned 24 hours later, it would feel 70 degrees colder and that has actually happened. the 24-hour temperature change map is just kind of off the charts with this arctic front that came through. philadelphia 54 degrees colder and not factoring in the windchill. the windchill a winner or lose onner. ryan lander, wisconsin, right now at minus 51 and a lot of schools are closed within that region and too dangerous for the kids to be outside for any extended period. when you see that the windchill is minus 8 in atlanta that is the same windchill pretty much a as new york city right now at minus 9 and everyone pretty much east of the rockies is affected by this historic outbreak. let's me talk about this polar vortex thing we entertained you with earlier. white shade here is one piece of the polar vortex. another piece of it inside beria. the one chunk over the northeast in the great lakes. as we go throughout the next seven days, it returns where it should toward the poles. the cold air builds up to the north and usually where it is and occasionally it breaks off and heads to the south and what we just experienced and are experiencing. the great news here, the january thaw begins about the 9th through the 13th. >> hold on a second. >> yes? >> bill is making this stuff unfortunate. >> no, he is not. >> he just made up the polar vortex thing. he thinks because he has a map and he has arrows moving around that -- oh. >> he was moving in a certain way and whispering polar vortex earlier. i didn't want to say that on the air. >> we have all been edumucatet. >> how much will it warm up? >> 45. 50 for you. >> thank you, bill. >> what just happened? >> i don't know. your neighborhood is five degrees warmer than mine? >> he did that say. the cold temperatures are impacting business in washington. >> is this the weather channel? can we get to politics? is that what we are doing now? >> no, jen likes to cover the winch because she is going to sochi. after majority leader harry reid delayed yesterday's vote. the democrats need 60 votes to advance the bill but more than a dozen senators unable to make it back to washington because of weather-related flight delays. john cornyn believes the delay is because democrats are searching for the votes and causing the delay a political exercise and speaking of cold. republicans say they are not against the bill but are looking to offset the benefits with spending cuts. the director of the white house economic council gene spurling says the president wants the bill passed with no strings attached. >> what that means, no strings attached means put $25 billion deeper in debt or printing $25 billion worth of money. that is like me walking into a store and saying, hey, i want that car, no strings attached. give me the key. >> no, it's not. >> that is exactly -- when they go no strings attached, they are saying, we want to add $25 billion -- >> it's like walking in -- >> there is no such thing as a free lunch. the language -- i guess this is the difference between democrats and republicans. we republicans say, okay, let's do this. it's important on. and let's figure out where to find $25 billion of waste and let's say the pentagon and massive, you know, waste fraud and abuse so we can find in entitlement programs in other areas and all -- the programs let's find that $25 billion or whatever the price tag is, we will pay for the unemployment benefits. that is great thing to do. but we're 17 trillion in debt and we have to pay for it. the white house is saying, no, no, no, no strings attached. you mean republicans we will steal $25 billion more from your children and grandchildren. i don't think it's irrational. harold, is it irrational to say let's extend the benefits but not print $25 billion more of money? is that wrong? >> it's not unreasonable. i don't think democrats should agree to a original deal forcing republicans to disagree with the $25 billion when paul ryan or patty murray deal was reached or find 17 billion to give us an extension. i think charles krauthammer said to force democrats going for it, you have to show us how pay for it and he believes that like i do. i imagine you do as well. you don't want to see those who have suffered the most -- >> absolutely not. absolutely not. >> because politicians -- >> i agree but also what -- what i don't want to see is what has been happening for the past decade under republican presidents and democratic presidents and if you want something, if you want a war, if you want a tax cut, if you want drug benefit plans for medicare, if you want what -- whatever you want, write a check and don't pay for it. we can't do that any more. >> in the house and senate voted for these extensions of war payments without looking for payment -- i'm just hearing that. >> republicans? >> i'm sorry, i got you. i didn't hear you. >> it makes me sad. >> oh, stop, joe. jeremy peters, what is going to happen on the hill? >> i don't think anything should surprise any of us at this point. the expectation is that the unemployment extension will go down in a republican filibuster. it still might get the republican votes to pass and i don't think a lot of people are terribly optimistic about that. i would look at the month this way. it's going to be framed on the one hand by this debate over extending unemployment insurance and at the other end by obama state of the union. both of these are going to be opportunities for the democrats to articulate their visions about inequality and point the finger at republicans. this all sounds an awful lot like 2012. and 2012, of course, reelected barack obama. i think that is where republicans are on a little bit shaky ground. they realize that extending unemployment raising the minimum wage and policies that the democrats are advocating are popular in the public and they need to do more than just say no and they know that. president obama has been hitting the phones reaching out to republicans. he'll speak about the bill after the senate vote later this morning. mark halpern, as jeremy just said, it's unemployment insurance but the minimum wage and democrats are licking their chops begging republicans to vote against this giving them ammunition going forward. >> they also care about the issue, though. >> right. >> i think the danger for republicans they are on the wrong side of public opinion on these issues and they are dangerous. they fight on them and then they lose. >> right. >> i think there are some republicans strategists who say -- i think the krauthammer bid goes in this direction. if we are going to lose eventually, let's just give in now, because there is a sense, saw you this on the budget deal. a sense for republicans and let's make 2014 about obama care and any other fight we have is just going to distract from that. you're right. some citizens a part of democrats but not that much. they want these two things and they it's the right thing to do on equity grounds and you can argue and they are good for the economy and that has got to be part of what the president is offering. what else is he offering on the economy? >> i separate this out from the government shutdown, which was a stupid idea, given that we had absolutely no leverage. this case, are you suggesting that charles krauthammer is saying let's go ahead and cave in? >> he said for three months. >> for three months? it doesn't sound like him. >> the world is going to be a different place in three months. you won't have the debt ceiling fight and that is the harder baby to split. >> right. but are you suggesting that we are going to lose this fight, though? i don't think we lose this fight. >> i think a good chance the republicans lose this fight and then cave. >> i think there is also -- what you're hearing on the hill, at least from what i'm hearing, is that there is more likely to be a compensation over the minimum wage and where -- the public is really behind the minimum wage increase and if they just keep saying no, that that is going to take harm them and mark just pointed out, it also kind of prolongs this discussion that we're having which is not about obamacare. >> let's sum things up really quickly here. i ask patience from people at home to understand. i'm just being a political analy analyst here. i'm a kid whose dad was on unemployment for a year and a half so i understand how important this stuff is when he was looking for a job every single day over that time. extending unemployment benefits, whether it's the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do, that is not -- like that battle is not going to cost elections to republicans next year if they fight against that, because a lot of americans don't want them extended. but i do think the minimum wage is. i just wanted to separate that out. i mean, maybe americans are cold and -- you say whatever you want to say but i say politically i don't care what the polls say they will not go to the polls and say the republicans didn't extend unemployment benefits. but minimum wage, i think they understand that a little bit more and they probably will have to compromise here. >> 1.3 million people lost their benefits -- i hear you. i'm just giving you the numbers. the number will change more over the next six months. >> i understand they are in pain and mika -- >> $300 a week. >> we all have friends that are suffering and we understand that. >> i want to get one more story in here. income inequality, both parties begin to define their narratives for the midterm elections. senator marco rubio is set to give a major speech on wednesday outlining his vision for helping the needest americans. he began with a video over the weekend. >> after 50 years, isn't it time to declare big government war on poverty a failure? instead of continuing to borrow and spend trillions of dollars on government programs that don't work we need an agenda to help people acquire the skills they need to lift themselves out of poverty and pursue the american dream. this would create an economic with good more paying middle class jobs and a government with less debt. it would repeal obamacare and replace it with more affordable benefits. >> i think the field for the 2016 candidates is very level. very level. lots of room there for people to stand out in the crowd. >> what about marco? how do you rate his performance there? >> in that video? >> yes. >> i would have amped it up a little, i think maybe. >> contrast that today what is happening for chris christie. he is signing a dream act in new jersey with a big ceremony have politicians and democrats and republicans there and he will make the case this will have a greater impact on change not only the narrative but become policy and growth opportunities for particularly latino americans and people all across new jersey and you listen to that and make the case governors have a better shot at this thing in 2016 than legislators. i didn't sense any energy. probably well intentioned but i don't know what he said. >> i don't know if they tried to set him up to look presidential but i'm glad he is talking about this and i'm glad paul ryan is talking about this and john ksaich is talking about this. it is how we help the most disadvantaged among us. >> with optimism and -- >> a optimism and just like we did in the mid 1990s on welfare reform when every liberal in america said we were cold and heartless and we changed -- we changed an entire culture. >> yeah. >> for the better. it's changing back for the worse. we republicans have an opportunity. >> you mentioned paul ryan. he is doing a panel on poverty. brian williams is a part of that and rand paul is coming out with policy ideas. >> is brian williams for or against poverty? where will he come down on that? >> will you look that up in wikepedia? >> can you look and see objective? >> stop. >> and his hair? perfect. >> yes. >> i'm going he is against poverty. >> you think brian is? >> he is against it. >> he is far a tight knot. >> ask again later. >> let's go around the table. do you regret anything you said this block? >> no. >> i do. i think i need to apologize for a few things. halpern, any regrets? >> the whole bing thing. >> you know what i have a regret? >> tell me. >> i regret i can't read the tweet you showed me earlier today when somebody said joe needs to understand there a fine line -- you can't say it? >> i can't? >> -- no, between being funny. >> he goes joe has a chasm between trying to being funny and -- the more you know. >> say it. >> i'm -- it's pretty funny, right? >> i'm reading it. >> you can't retweet that! >> i can't? >> no! >> why? >> your daughters will see that. >> they don't do twitter. they are young. >> go back to talking about -- >> mika, they are 17. >> she is more buzz feed and instagram. >> buzz feed will put it on that you're retweeting stuff. don't do it. >> but it's really funny. >> it was. who was that? rickles? that guy is good! still ahead on "morning joe," we have actor bradley cooper. star of the hit film oscar isaac will be here. you're watching "morning joe" and politicoesque is 2014 a huge republican year? talk about that more on "morning joe." ♪ ♪ ♪ [ girl ] roses are red. violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you. 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