Headed in the right direction. And it will stay that way as long as there arent any more selfinflicted wounds coming out of washington. So lets keep on chipping away at this problem together, as democrats and republicans, to give our workers and our businesses the support that they need to thrive in the weeks and months ahead. The president s called for a fix of shortterm spending cuts and tax reform hit a brick on capitol hill. Politico reporting that obamas plan dead on arrival, and House Speaker john boehner was speaking on capitol hill, right now saying that his party plans to stand with the American People and we want to show you exactly what he had to say about that yesterday. On two occasions has passed a plan to replace the sequester. Its time for the Senate Democrats to do that work. Its time for the president to offer his ideas about how to replace the sequester. His first answer to everything is new taxes. And when you think about it, what happened in january, he got 600 billion in new revenue, where were the spending cuts . Now again he wants to raise taxes. I think its time for us to cut spending. Now with 1,379 days gone since the last Time Congress passed a budget and with the country poised to take a poison pill of cuts, what will it take . Not passing a budget is shameful. And now you have the president saying well, im against the sequester cuts. Well okay, great. Well what are you going to replace them with . The republicans have other ideas. Put them on the table. Lets make a small deal. If we cant get to a big deal, he would like to get to a big deal. And hes invited them over, any time. So lets dive in right now. Joining me is marylands democratic congressman chris van holland, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget committee. Right now House Speaker boehner is telling reporters its time iffer the president as well as Senate Democrats that they need to do their job to avoid the sequester in itself. Whats your take on how this is going to all crack out . Is it going to go down to the wire . Well, thomas, first of all, the across the board sequester cuts will hurt the economy. Republicans have acknowledged that. And this is a very timely discussion were having right now, because just over the last two days and i just came off the floor of the house, the House Democrats proposed a substitute, an alternative to those acrosstheboard sequesters. We proposed youd have a garage call cut in the direct foreign subsidies, that you would ask Oil Companies to get rid of the taxpayer subsidies they have. So we put forward a proposal that would substitute for these very negative acrosstheboard cuts, and unfortunately, republican colleagues denied us the opportunity to even have a vote on it. So its great that Speaker Boehner is calling on the president to take action, when the speaker refused to have a vote on the proposal that weve offered just in the last 24 hours to replace the sequester through a combination of other more targeted cuts as well as revenue from closing tax breaks. One thing i want to show everybody, the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was without their forecast giving overall picture of where we stand and where were going. The 2013 deficit standing at 845 billion. Last year it was 1. 1 trillion. So obviously were going in the right direction. But they do give a grim fast if there is a type of austerity measure that is in place while the economy remains very fragile. Well, thats right. There are two things we have to work on at the same time. The most important thing is to make sure that we continue to see an economic recovery, that we do what we can to accelerate that recovery, put more people back to work. And the sequester would undercut that effort, because if you take that much money out of the economy very rapidly in this acrosstheboard way, it will result in lost jobs, which is why we proposed this alternative. Now over the longer term, theres no doubt we have to reduce our deficit, but we have to do it in a smart and balanced way as the president has said, and thats why we have proposed a combination of cuts and weve already done 1. 5 trillion in cuts as part of the budget control act and other action. We did some revenue as part of the most recent agreement on the fiscal cliff, but we need to continue to do a combination of targeted cuts and revenue from closing those tax loopholes. I remember i think the American People do mitt romney and paul ryan talked about all those tax loopholes that benefit very wealthy people. Well, lets get rid of some of those to help reduce the deficit. I wanted to talk about the policy fights that are going on. And time is of the essence with whats going on with the sequester. Weve got immigration, gun control, electoral changes that are in the works, all taking place, all these conversations happening simultaneously. And then we have your colleague congressman cantor coming out yesterday to talk about rebranding of the gop, and i just want to remind everybody what he had to say. Take a look. Our House Majority will pursue an agenda that is based on a shared vision of creating the conditions of health, happiness and prosperity for more americans and their families. Well advance proposals aimed at producing results in areas like education, health care, innovation, and job growth. Congressman, how does this rebraineding or the mission or the hope that the Republican Party has of trying to put some new paint on the brand mesh with all of the big policy fights that are going on right now in washington, d. C. . Well, republicans know theyre hurting after the last election, but they think the solution to this is somehow just to change the packaging, to change the way they talk about their policies, when the real problems are their underlying policies themselves. So, for example, the American People support comprehensive immigration reform. The president has put forth a proposal. Were looking at bipartisan proposals emerging from the senate. But the house for the most part under republican control is not taking any leadership on that issue. The same with gun safety issues. Very common sense proposals, things like having a universal background check. Again, the house is sitting on their hands. All they want to deal with are some of these budget gimmicks theyre talking about and not even there, get at the underlying issue of jobs in the economy. So, again, the big issue for republicans is this fight thats going on between the Tea Party Wing of their caucus and the others. We see that reflected in karl roves new group. But the result is very bad for the American People because it means that were not able the move forward in the house of representatives on these very important measures. Its time for them to exert a little leadership instead of simply always pointing the finger at the president on these various issues, when in fact the president is taking action and simply allowing asking, thomas, for a vote on some of these things. I mean, our lrepublican colleagues in the house are free to vote against immigration reform. Lets have a vote. Great to see you. Real quick, on a personal note, i know your dad passed away, the ambassador just recently, 90 years old. Thank you, thomas. And my parents who grew up on lake avenue just down the street. So they know your family very well. But again, our deepest condolences to your and yours. Thank you, sir. Thank you, thomas. Want to bring in our wednesday morning political power panel. We have joanne reid, doug thornell, republican strategist hogan. The democratic strategy session thats going on, the immigration, the gun control, the electoral changes that are going to take place. But it was really interesting yesterday, as we saw with eric cantor coming out, rebranding or wanting to rebrand the Republican Party and where theyre starting. It seems as if this message is one that weve heard before but from a different person. Take a look. Well, it starts by making sure that everyone in america gets a fair shot at success. Our goal is to ensure that every american has a fair shot to earn success. Thats why immigrants from around the world historically have flocked to our shores. That hope led generation of immigrants to risk everything to endure a tough journey to come to our shores. We should be giving people the chance to get new skills and training. As job markets are emerging, more skills and training are needed. So the rebranding is about going to preelection speeches and drafting those as your own now postelection for eric cantor . Its amazing, because fair shot has been such a signature phrase for barack obama. Hes been using it for over a year. So it really was striking to hear eric cantor literally lifting lines from barack obama. I guess what the Republican Party has decided is barack obama is popular so they need to sound more like him. That doesnt mean theyre going to change their underlying policy but they sure do want to sound like the guy whos more popular. There has been a lot of pushback from the conservative entertainment complex, one being rush limbaugh. I want to hear what he had to say after eric cantors speech. There isnt any resistance to obama anywhere. And its going to get worse. Even from this point. It is because of who obama is and what his policies are and the perception that the American People massively support it all. And thats cantor is saying were going to have to do a better job of explaining who we are. We need to do a better job of explaining why were doing what were doing. Thats i think well, that epitomizes how lost they all feel. And right now, folks, there is no fight. So hogan, they have been labeled the right, that is, as the party of no. If eric cantor is rearticulating the position, is it basically just saying going from no, to nooo just to slow it down . Because schultz was saying that eric cantor has a new tube of lipstick but its the same old pig. Right. I dont think we need any republican candidates that are any less conservative. I think we need republican candidates that are more practical. I deal with this all the time with candidates our firm handles. You say all the things you want to. You can throw all the bombs you want to, but a lot of times, candidates on both sides republicans are definitely guilty of this, they talk about things they cant accomplish because its not a dictatorship once they get to office. And b, you have to work with other people. Its not like you can go in there and under the purview of what you do in that particular off, it doesnt even handle that particular issue. So we need conservatives out there who understand, they can be as conservative as they want to be, but you have to move the balfour ward. You have to govern something. You have to show the people of this nation you care about what they care about. Now, whether the legislation comes through a democrat president , a conservative congress, a democrat senate, thats different story. But either way, republicans have a real challenge here because they dont have the pulpit of presidency and we are in somewhat of a disarray here trying to rebrand and regroup as we move forward. Lets talk about that, the bully pulpit of the presidency, because politico is saying that president obamas fill in the blank sales pitch so wahatevr it comes to, whether its immigration, gun violence, the sequester, that they say tout what hes already done, say the publics in his corner, demand congress to do something, lament washington dysfunction, warn it wont be easy, bask and applause. Does it seem that its become just that formulaic to get stuff done in washington, d. C. , at least when it is the president s idea that hes trying to push through . Well, if i can just say one thing. I think the obama folks should ask eric cantor for a check for some of his speech writing. You think there are residuals for that . Residuals, right. Now, i think the president is showing some very good message discipline. Its something that hogan and myself and others really try to impress upon folks when theyre trying to make their case. But the president has shown throughout his career that he thinks that change starts from the outsidein. I think that was how he approached his First Campaign and Second Campaign and thats how hes approaching his legislative agenda. Hes taking his message to the road. These are issues, whether its immigration reform, whether its gun violence, whether its supporting the middle class, they have strong popular support. I mean, these are the issues that the American People voted on and supported the president on and i think hes doing the right thing. Hes activating his base and hes asking them to help get this agenda through a very dysfunctional congress. So when we talk about the dysfunctioning congress right now, lets talk about some of the policy fights that are taking place, and immigration is front and center. And right now, if we take the temperature of the American People, the abc Washington Post poll shows exactly where they feel that the president is doing, 49 are approving of the president s stance on immigration at 38 back in july, 43 disapprove. That number was higher back in july at 52 . Is this something where unless the president stays ahead of the curve here and basically like a surfer reads the waves that are coming in, theyre going to lose ground because republicans have everything to gain from looking like theyre leading on the immigration debate. Right. But the problem is the republicans also have a divided base. The political people in the Republican Party, the Hogan Gidleys of the world understand they have to move on immigration. But their base has been taught a very different lesson for a long time and its a lot harder to quiet the conservative activists who are just angry that the party wont just double down on conservative principles. I think the president is pursuing i think a smart strategy. Its different from what he did his first term where he went one issue at a time and sort of seated the public fight over it to the right where the tea party came in on health care reform. This time hes flooding the zone. Theyre pushing out so many issues so often that the Republican Party isnt having an opportunity to deal with any one of them in a coherent way and theyre just letting the republicans fight. Their own defense all the time. Go ahead. Ill give do you last word. Real quickly, marco rubio is a great example, very conservative, but very practical on this issue. Barack obama is doing a twopronged strategy that i think is effective. He is taking it to the people, hes trying to get that ground swell of grass roots support. Thats how you move the country in the direction you want to go. However, the second prong, which we know has been a welldocumented problem for the president , his disdain for the process. Hes going to have to get better at calling some democrats in, calling republicans in, and hammering out legislation to move the balfol forward. If he does that, his agenda would have it move a lot quicker than republicans would have it move. I do appreciate your time and your insights. One thing to pass along, keeping a close eye on developing news right now. The boy scouts have delayed the vote on lifting ban on lesbian and gay members. Were going to explain why they have take an push to later in the spring. Plus, big news from the post office today. Starting in august, it will stop delivering mail on saturdays. Packages only still coming to you. The fiveday delivery schedule will save the struggling agency about 2 billion. Thats a lot of cash. Our question to you, will you miss saturday mail delivery . You can tweet me or find me on facebook. Theres nothing worse than getting a bill on a saturday. Nothing worse than that. Were back after this. 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Hes also the author of the book my two moms lessons of love, strength, and what makes a family. Great to have you here. Pete, the bax fasic facts of whe know about how this decision came down, because a lot of people were anticipating how this vote was going to go today, but theyve pushed it until later in the spring. What the boy scouts statement says is that they received what they call an outpouring of feedback from the American Public and they say due to the complexity of the issue, the Organization Needs time for a more deliberate review of its policy. So its not only putting the decision off until may of this year, thats one thing. But the second thing is they say the decision in may will be made not by the board, which the organization meet taking in texas, but by a much Larger National council, 1,400 voting members of that. And so the question is whether the national council, which includes more members of the sponsoring churches that are involved in scouting, would come to a different conclusion about this than the board would. Thats the thing that is also put in play by this decision. So its not merely the delay, its the fact that a different entity of the boy scouts will be making the decision, not just the board. When we talk specifically about the board, theres james turley, and Randall Stephenson, the ceo of at t. They have said they support lifting this ban, welcoming gay members and leaders into the organization. As pete was pointing out and thomas . One other thing. The significant thing about that is that Randall Stephenson is the next in line to be president of the boy scouts, so hes not just a member. Hes a big deal member. So you make a great distinction there about where this is going. Because if he does support this, zack, the fact that he along with other Board Members would like to see this ban lifted, why do you think that it would get pushed to this larger voting body . And do you find that to be encouraging or less encouraging . Its disappointing. Its absolutely an abdication of responsibility. The boy scouts of america was founded on basic values, respect, courtesy, kindness, bravery. This is walking away from that. What were going to see is thousands of scouts and scout families all over the country continue to suffer from the silence of shame that some people have forced upon them by saying that their views about what it means to be gay trumps these basic scouting values. So while we are very disappointed by todays announcement and we think this is not a move in the right direction, we will continue to work with local councils all over the country, to continue to highlight why this is a bad move and why its hurting local organizations all over the country. Youve been out front on this topic. Youre in your eagle scout uniform today. I want to show everybody the numbers. Because 2. 7 million members in the boy scouts. Currently membership is down, some 21 since the year 2000. Thats a really big decline. Absolutely, and especially in the Cub Scouting Program where you have younger parents who are part of the tail end of generation x who embrace Marriage Equality on one hand, lgbt rights on the other and see that theres nothing to fear when people are living who they truly are. The very first part of the scout law, a scout is trustworthy. And if you are going to force people into the closet and institute a policy of dont ask dont tell, how can you possibly lift the very first and most important rule of the scout sflau. And when we look at the other side of things, the girl scouts have girl scout dad. So men who are considered to be heterosexual have access to little young developing girls. What it boils down to is the fact that theyre worried about some type of pedophilia. Nobody is truly worried about youth protection here. The boy scouts of america has one of the most pristine youth protection records since the implement of their new program in the early 90s. It is absolutely one of the best in the world. This is about some people using the fear that theyre able to conjure up by talking about what it means to be a gay person in america, to scare other people into moving away from traditional scouting values like courteous, kindness and respect. Thanks so much. Pete williams, zach wahls, the author of my two moms. Well follow this story and see where it takes us in may. The pentagon also making changes to its policy on samesex spouses. The military will extend some benefits to those couples. Leon panetta has not made a final decision on which benefits will be included, possibly health and welfare programs. An announcement is expected in the next few days that will clear that up. Straight ahead, targeting u. S. Terrorists. Just how effective are those military drone strikes . General Barry Mccafferty is going to weigh in. A change for monopoly and some may call it the cats meow. So i used my Citi Thankyou card to pick up some accessories. A new belt. Some nylons. And what girl wouldnt need new shoes . And with all the points ive been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. Things are definitely looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your Citi Thankyou points to travel whenever you want. Visit citi. Com thankyoucards to apply. To travel whenever you want. All stations come over to mithis is for real this time. Step seven point two one two. Verify and lock. Command is locked. Five seconds. Three, two, one. Standing by for capture. The most Innovative Software on the planet. Dragon is captured. Is connecting todays leading companies to places beyond it. Siemens. Answers. More now on the major change to mail delivery. The post office announcing it will no longer deliver mail on saturdays, although it will continue to deliver packages six days a week. This is a major change, but it could save the cashstrapped agency 2 billion. But that would mean a very small dent to make up for the 15. 9 billion that it lost in the last fiscal year. Tom costello in our Washington Bureau are more on this. This is something people have been talking about for a long time. Weve already gotten the fact on the other end of things that stamp prices have gone up, but they were looking at ways to make a major dent. Does this do it . No, it doesnt do it. It doesnt meet the entire deficit, if you will. Theyre losing 16 billion a year, and this is important. Youve got to understand why theyre losing it. The biggest reason theyre losing so much money is because they, unlike any other government entity, they are forced to pay in advance for the retirement medical benefits of their retirees even before they retire. So as a result, that huge chunk of cash that they have to set aside is costing them a fortune and it is a huge drag on the Postal Service. Second to that, yes, all of us are using email and paying our bills online. And therefore first class mail has dropped off a cliff. However, Package Delivery has increased dramatically because you and i are shopping online and all of those packages are sent to our homes. So thats been up 14 over two years. So in the view of many, this is the Postal Service trying to force the hand of congress. Congress has had this on their agenda for years and has failed to act, even though the Postal Service year after year after year comes out and says its getting worse, its getting worse, were running out of money, we dont have any money. Congress hasnt acted. At this point, the Postal Service says it believes it has the authority to do this on its own. Members of congress, however, are saying not so fast. We want to weigh in on this. I can tell you that republican darrell iso from california, he says that he would support this, but other members arent so sure. So well have to see how this plays out in congress. You can bet theyve had a voice in this. Theyve had some blowback already with their reaction, saying theyve gone through this arbitrary action without going through congress. Tom costello, thank you. You bet. Want to show you this picture, after an 8. 0 magnitude earthquake struck near Solomon Islands this morning. Government officials do confirm five deaths. The powerful quake triggered a small tsunami which nearly wiped out two towns in the Pacific Island nation. Heres a look at some of the stories topping the news. Bombs were found in the bunker where jimmy lee dykes held a 5yearold boy hostage. Police in texas have now released a 911 tape reported moments after the shooting death of chris kyle this weekend. On that tape, the sister of the suspected killy eddie routh is heard speaking with 911 dispatch. My brother just came by here, i wasnt hes now left and he told me that he committed a murder. Im terrified for my life. I dont know if hes going to come back here. Get out those snow boots. A winter storm could drop more than a foot of snow on new england. Lance armstrong is in the clear. Federal prosecutors say that armstrongs admission to taking performanceenhancing drugs during his Tour De France competitions wont change their decision to prosecute. Champion skier lindsey vonn is heading home after a terrifying crash during the world competition yesterday where vonn tore two ligaments in her right knee and will undergo surgery coming up next week. Singer chris brown in trouble again . He could be. 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Some members of Congress Want etch more information on the president s controversial drone program. Now that its been revealed that the Justice Department says its legal to kill abroad if they are suspected of being terrorists but the white house says its necessary. We only take these kinds of actions when theres an imminent threat, when capture is not feasible and when we are confident that we are doing so in a way thats consistent with federal and international law. These strikes are legal. They are ethical and they are wise. Legal, ethical and wise. Joining me now is general barry mccaffery. Lets talk about the fine line between doing whats legal here and whats right. Are these drone killings making our country safer . Well, first of all, i think its a legitimate debate and congress should be engaged with oversight of both the cia and the department of defense. I think the discussion is probably helpful. Having said that, thomas, you know, weve killed more than 3,000 jihadists in the last several years of these drone campaigns, hundreds of strikes. They were running them out of iraq, afghanistan, yemen, you name it. Theyve been an important tool to keeping the American People safe. So i think we should keep in mind that these are not Law Enforcement operations. Theyre acts of war against a terrorist threat to the United States. So the drone program, if we look at it, it has ramped up under the president. There have been 400 more than 400 cia strikes against targets in pakistan and yemen. As we look back over history, thats eight times as many under president bush. Now, the drone attacks, they often have collateral damage. They kill civilians. So doesnt that strain the ongoing future relations between the u. S. And countries where these attacks are taking place, because arent we creating more problems for themselves when a civilian is killed and they dedicate themselves to trying to retaliate. I think its a legitimate concern. The laws of warfare, the four major principles essentially deal with avoiding excessive civilian casualties. So i think there is a requirement for some real diligence and caution in how we carry these out. One of the arguments i heard is were targeting people we dont really even know their names. For gosh sakes, i crawled around in the mud trying to shoot it out with people 20 feet away in combat and didnt know their names. These are imminent terrorist threats to the United States security. So again, its a legitimate debate. We should be cautious. But its a lot more targeted and surgical by far than shooting artillery at taliban units in eastern afghanistan. As we wait, lawmakers are going to be grilling john brennan, the architect of this policy during his confirmation hearings for cia director, and thats coming up tomorrow. Do you think that this is going to have a big impact, a lot of questions during that confirmation directly on this . Brennan was put on the grill before over the so called torture memos. Hes a career cia officer. Hes a magnificent public servant. Hes extremely knowledgeable. Im sure he will be questioned closely about all this. And thats appropriate. Having said that, hes not the architect of anything. This is a responsibility the commander in chief, the secretary of defense and the cia director. So thats who we ought to hold accountable. Are drone strikes the future . Well, all the other nations are now building drones. And so again, theres precedence here that we should be concerned about. Because this sort of tool will be use against us in the coming decades. Having said that, weve got to protect the American People. We have decimated al qaeda globally. Its astonishing how well we have done against a lot of these people. A lot of that was during a drawdown of conventional military power in iraq and afghanistan. Arguably the obama team has done an excellent job of keeping the American People safe. Sir, its always great to see you. Thank you. Good to be with you. Speaking of the president s cabinet, there are some new details that are emerging. A white house official says president obama will nominate sally jewel as secretary of the interior. She is the chief executive of Outdoor CompanyRecreational Equipment inc. , rei. Word that the Congressional Black Caucus wants president obama to nominate james clyburn. She says a letter to the white house making the recommendation because he has worked on several transportation issues. So if you have a flat tire, dead battery, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geicos emergency roadside assistance is there 24 7. Oh dear, i got a flat tire. Hmmm. Uh. Yeah, can you find a take where its a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah . Yeah i got it right here. Someone help me i have a flat tire well its good. Good for me. What do you think . Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. On this day in black history, we look at a trailblaz trailblazer, representative collins cardiss. She led the Congressional Black Caucus from 1979 to 1981. On this day in 1993, the tennis world lost a true champion, arthur ashe, who died from complications of aids. He became an activist in his later years after contracting hiv from a blood transfusion. Long after being criticized as not being supportive of israel, the white house now announcing that president obama is heading there next month. Its the president s first visit there since taking office. Peter alexander joining me now. Its been reported that the president s relationship with the Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu has been somewhat strained, but the president obviously feeling comfortable in the fact that hes going to go there and meet firsthand with Benjamin Netanyahu. The two are certainly in communication with great frequency, but its not just reported that there had been friction, we sort of witnessed it when the two were meeting just a couple years back. You remember what appeared to be netanyahu lecturing president obama. The president didnt seem to be too content with that moment when it took place. They moved past some of that friction during the last four years, during this trip that is expected to take place at some point during march. Jay carney saying specifically that it was an opportunity to reaffirm what he called the deep and enduring bonds between the two countries, among the topics theyll discuss, of course iran and syria. Looks to be more, though, an issue to reaffirm the friendship than it does an effort to ambitiously go after renewing the peace talks between the israelis and palestinians. President obama, this has been a source of contention. The Romney Campaign went after him for what they thought was an insufficient relationship in connection with the state of israel. But the president isnt the only one who hasnt been to israel until this point in his president s. Theres been only four other president s that have been to israel, nixon, carter, bush two went there twice, and clinton who made four. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Governor Chris Christie gets serious about the scale. It is time now for the poly side bar. Just one day after joke around with David Letterman about his weight, the governor admitted its really not something to laugh about. Of course i care about it. And im making the best effort i can. And sometimes im successful, and other times im not. And sometimes periods of Great Success are followed by periods of great failure. Governor christie says his doctor often warns him of the health risks of being overweight. Comedian chris rock might joke around about gun violence, but hes really serious about this issue. Hes in washington, d. C. Right now teaming up with other celebrities, members of congress, and mayors against illegal guns in support of the president s gun violence plan. Senator marco rubio showed off his not so serious side during an interview yesterday, and get this, his love of 90s rap music, particularly tupac. I think that tupacs lyrics are probably more insightful, in my opinion, with all apologies to the biggie fans. So actress ashley judds ongoing consideration run for u. S. Senate, but shes already being targeted by karl rove. Check out the 10,000 campaign ad by his super pack american cross roads. A leader who knows how to follow. I will go wherever the president wants know go. Someone who will never forget where she came from. And it just clicked, tennessee is home. And it just clicked, tennessee is home. Kentucky. The ad is going to run in kentucky for two weeks. President obama called john harbaugh, the head coach of the baltimore ravens, to congratulate the team on their super bowl victory. Fans, they packed the streets of baltimore yesterday, and the teams stadium so celebrate that win. But it was the safety ed reed who really stole the show. Did you see this . Two tickets to paradise pack your bags we can leave tonight whoa whoa whoa whoa that, of course, the rendition of eddie money singing that song. Maybe youve seen the eddie money commercial on tv where he sings that song. Maybe youre even going to see it right now during this break. Were back after this. Well now im her dietitian and last year, she wasnt eating so well. So i recommended boost complete nutritional drink to help her get the nutrition she was missing. And now she drinks it every day. Well, it tastes great [ male announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones, and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. And our great taste is guaranteed or your money back. Learn more at boost. Com [ dietitian ] now, nothing keeps mom from doing what she loves. Being my mom. Humans. Even when we cross our ts and dot our is, we still run into problems. Namely, other humans. At Liberty Mutual insurance, we understand. 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Politico is reporting that scott is drawing up plans for the most ste expensive reelection fight, the likely price tag 100 million. The 2014 fight could pit scott against recently turned democrat charlie crist. Joining me now Alexander Burns of politico. When we talk about this, it says scotts strategists could model their massive machine after president obamas florida campaign. So if they take a page from the democratic handbook here, is that a sign of confidence about how they feel about scotts campaign or a sign of trouble . I think in some ways Lessons Learned from 2012. Looking at what the president did in florida where he found every obama friendly voter and turned them out to the polls about rick scott will need to replicate Something Like that going into a Reelection Campaign as difficult as this one. So we talked this fight could put him up against charlie crist. Again, he was the republican governor, then independent, now democrat. Charlie crist has not decided definitively if hes running, correct . Thats right. When you look at the polling and when you look at chatter in democratic circles in florida and nationally, there is a sense crist is the strongest general election candidate, although he has a set of baggage of his own that certainly the folks on the scott side think they can use to their own great advantage. But when we talk about whats going on currently in florida and the voting issues that took place in the national election, whats being done in materials of shoring up that situation . Because wouldnt Governor Scott be having to battle the leftover shadows of what took place there and that wont bode well for him. When you talk to republicans about what scott needs to do is turn things around for the reelection, part of it is spend a lot of money. Part of it is use the next three on to six months to deal with some of those issues around voting, around health care, around some other state issues like education that have really driven down his poll numbers with independent voters in particular. If he can set himself up over the next couple months to then spend all that money as a candidate, maybe he can be competitive in this thing. I want to talk to you about the other governors, the republican governors around the country, specifically john kasich, saying this week that he would embrace the medicaid under president obamas Health Care Law and he joins republican governors of arizona, nevada, new mexico, north dakota. Does this signal a Tipping Point . I dont know that it signals a Tipping Point for republicans nationally. Conservative consensus on health care is very much still dug in against obamacare. But for folks like john kasich facing a Reelection Campaign, its not necessarily so easy to take a purely ideological stance on Something Like medicare expansion. But if they embrace it, get reelected, is it a dead issue . I dont know if its a comfortable issue for the whole national party. Thank you, sir. Good to see you. That will wrap up things for me today. Ill see you back here tomorrow at 11 00 a. M. Joining me on the show, Charlie Rangel and p. J. Crowley, ron reagan and joy ann reid. Alex wagner comes your way for the next hour. Hello, thomas. Whether it is guns, immigration or spending, are republicans gearing up for an sx sfreem makeover or just another spin cycle . Well rinse and review with maggie ababerman and ask former white house chief of staff about president obamas agenda and his buddies on on the hill. And Michelle Rhee joins us. [ male announcer ] house rule number 53. Big time taste should fit in a little time cup. 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