0 resolve the issue of over a million americans losing their unemployment assistance. instead, it is because the senate, which has suddenly overtaken the house in terms of dysfunction, may remain in session through the holidays, fighting over a slate of president obama's nominees. and when they return in january, republicans plan to turn the debt ceiling extension into another battlefield. >> every time the president asks us to raise the debt ceiling is a good time to try to achieve something important for the country. the debt ceiling legislation is a time that brings us all together and gets the president's attention. i can't imagine it being done clean. we'll have to see what the house insists on adding to it as a condition for passing it. >> brings us all together in fractious fighting. paul ryan has one idea, the keystone pipeline. so does ron johnson. tax reform and, quote, freedom in health care. unemployment assistance and food stamps in january before moving to a debt limit showdown come springtime. joining me today, washington bureau chief of mother jones, david corn, vice president of heather mcgee, maggie haberman. i feel like i started that segment on such a high note and ended in the dumps with coal. heather, this part of the budget scenario and the work ahead for congress always gets ignored, which is the needy, the working poor, and the working class. the democrats have a choice ahead of them. there's a farm bill that has yet to be approved. and in that farm bill will be s.n.a.p. funding and presumably cuts to s.n.a.p. funding. chris van hollen said this week, we are not going to pass a farm bill unless congress deals with unemployment assistance for the long-term unemployed. do you think the democrats can and will hold the line on it? >> i think they have to. this is one of those "whose side incredulity. given the fact we are talking in the same breath that republicans talk about this murray/ryan budget deal, they are also opening the door to a debt ceiling fight. seems to me to say the fat lady has not sung on the question of the debt limit. >> possibly not. the things that are so incredible about this threat, number one, they tried it. it's a bluff. we know. we had the moment of truth in october. are you willing to destroy the world economy to get your way? the answer is no, you're not. for whatever reason, they're not willing to do it. the threat is now worthless. >> can you believe that? >> you can't use this threat anymore. no one is taking it seriously. >> they're passing more hostage notes. >> there's no gun. we know it's a finger, not a gun. give it up. it's over. number two, they agree to the level of government spending. so now what they're threatening to do is not authorize the treasury to make good on the level of spending they agreed yes, you'll have a wing of the republican party that does not want compromise. matt bevin is very much appealing to that group. you were talking about blowing into the hat or talking into the hat. this hat has two sides. he's got the democrat on one side and matt bevin on the other. his instinct is to play much more to the center. he's getting totally pulled to the right. as long as that's happening, you have this really odd situation where the minority leader might lose. he's really not in a great position right now. so i think that as long as that is going on, you are going to have even if the gun is a finger, you're going to have the finger continue to emerge and say, no, it really is a gun, for a while. >> this is beyond. it's like political kabooki put pet ri. >> let's bring out the puppets. >> that's what you could use instead of senators at this point. >> grade medium. >> heather, the white house announced they're bringing in john podesta to help organize things and perhaps take a harder line stance on certain issues. i wonder if you think there is a way that the white house should and could better position itself with the fights ahead. >> so i mean, i think the president gave a wonderful speech about inequality. that was a big deal. and that is, i think, the way he needs to redefine the conversation right now. it cannot be about debt and deficits. it has to be about what's keeping people up at night, which is the future of their children. and he's got plenty of room to run on that. in fact, there's something that i think the president could do. we know the president could do, which is actually an executive order that he could do. he's saying he wants $10.10 an hour for minimum wage workers across the country. that has to go through congress. we know congress doesn't care about people who aren't donors. but he could use an executive order to raise the wages of people on federal contractors. low-wage concession workers in union station. he could do that with the stroke of a pen. it would say, you know what, this is who i care about. this is who i'm taking a bet on. >> last year at the state of the union speech, the president laid out a pretty progressive agenda in terms of minimum wage and expanding head start. he did it again in the inequality speech, given at center of american progress, which is where john podesta is coming from. he's clearly been setting up a more progressive agenda. with the unemployment numbers better than they have been, the republicans are losing the ammo they had, which is attacking the president on the economy. obamacare, it's like whack-a-mole. first it was the website. the website is working. now cancellations. cancellations are not so bad, people are getting coverage. now it's the navigators. oh, they're actually doing public service. they'll find something else. they're running out of points. i think he has more room because of obamacare not being as terrible as people said it was. and because the economy is getting better. he can start talking about these things. >> i think there's also -- i mean, independent of congress having running room to go on the affordable care act, john podesta and many progressives and folks on the left have been saying the president should max out on his executive authority and do whatever he can. even if the affordable care act had the most seamless rollout in the world, republicans in congress are not going to play ball with him, especially not in an election year. given the tools in his tool box and the fact he's seeing dwindling power over the bully pulpit, go for it. use whatever power you have and craft as much change as you can. >> and that's what this senate fight was really about. the senate was fighting over the use of the fill buibuster to com judges. republicans have been blocking open seats saying we won't let you have any judges. and mitchell mcconnell has said if this is the main impediment to obama's agenda. so they were setting up a couple moves in advance what's going to be the main dynamic for power. >> that's where all the action is happening, in that branch of government. naturally, republicans are trying to freeze it up as much as they possibly can. that's a brilliant tee-up for our next segment. thank you. after the break, janet yellen has a resume that's been described as dream training school for the job, but for senator rand paul, it is not about yellen's qualifications. we will discuss rand and the right's fed fight when economist justin wolfers joins us. that's next on "now." avo: the volkswagen "sign then drive sales event is back. which means it's never been easier to get a new passat, awarded j.d. power's most appealing midsize car, two years in a row. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on any new 2014 volkswagen. hurry, this offer ends january 2nd. for details, visit vwdealer.com today with 0-calorie monk fruit in the raw. it's made with the natural, vine-ripened sweetness of fruit, so you can serve up deliciously sweet treats without all the sugar. raw natural 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