0 government is not the problem. what is the problem is something that we have focused on in this program for over two years. unfairness. income inequality is the problem. and the country is still focused on that. get your cell phones out. we want to know what you think. tonight's question, have republicans gone so far to the right that they're unable to govern? text a for yes, b for no. the number is 67622. our blog is there for you at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. let's turn to our congressional panel tonight. congressman shaka fattah of pennsylvania is with us this evening. congresswoman gwen moore of wisconsin is also with us tonight. and congressman steve lynch of massachusetts. great to have all of you with us. i want to let our viewers know that we're having a technical problem with the connection with congresswoman moore's picture, but it's important that her voice be here with us tonight. so from milwaukee that's how we're going to do this. and we'll go to her first. congresswoman moore, thank you for your time. do you believe that these poll numbers make it easier for democrats and progressives to stand strong and win the conversation as we move forward. your thoughts. >> ed, i think they're absolutely critical. because i think the republicans feel that they're in the catbird seat. these cuts that are in the sequester, the $85 billion minus the defense cuts, are a republican's dream of ending so-called big government, ending job-killing regulations, to do what grover norquist has always wanted to do, to shrink government and make it so small that you could drown it in the bathtub. and even though between 1.4 and 2 million jobs will be lost, republicans would have accomplished an aspiration for their party that they have had for a long time. >> no doubt. >> and they figure that they can come in through the back door, introduce a bill to restore the defense cuts, and with a bill that would pass both houses by 2/3 votes, that they could get a supplemental bill to restore defense cuts. this is what i think their plan is. and were it not for the president, we may -- they might have tried to -- they might have succeeded. >> the scary thing about this is that once you see these cuts kick in and once you see americans lose their jobs there's no guarantee that these folks are going to get back and get rehired and get back into the game. and this is the dangerous thing about these cuts that are one week from tomorrow. congressman shaka fattah, what about that? people lose their jobs, they're gone, there's no guarantee they're going to come back. how are you going to deal with that? >> well, look, you've seen it. you've been around the country. it's devastating the families. but i want people to know we're going to win this fight. and just like you said at the front end of this show, with the governor of florida now joining the governor of michigan and ohio on health care reform, republicans in the congress are going to have to come around on these other issues. we live in a republic in which the elected officials have to listen to people. and the public is what the president on all of these key issues. and we're going to win this fight. now, they're playing a delaying game, but the truth of the matter is that once we move forward with votes out of the senate just like we want on the fiscal cliff vote we will win on this. that is to say that the president, if he can garner a bipartisan vote in the senate, it will put the house republicans in a box. and that's -- >> i hear very few democrats talking like you. they're not really sure how this is going to go. it's refreshing to hear you say that we're going to win this thing, win it for the people. here's president obama talking about the inability of congress to get anything done on time. >> i don't know why it is in this town folks leave stuff till the last minute. you know, there's no other profession, no other industry where people wait until the 11th hour to solve these big problems. and obviously, it creates a lot of uncertainty in our economy. >> that uncertainty is a big deal. congressman lynch, what do you say to people who can't understand why congress just doesn't seem to get things done? >> well, i have to point out that congresswoman moore, congressman fattah, and myself all voted not to adjourn, to stay in washington and keep on working on these problems. look, i think the american people in your polls, they're choosing common sense solutions over radical ideology. they realize that if the sequestration goes through we're talking about, just one small piece of it, $1.6 billion being cut from medical research, including alzheimer's research, diabetes research, autism research, cancer research. so those are very important issues for the american people. and that's why you see this migration in those polls. >> i also see that there are a lot of progressives starting to get together in congress. to the point where they have written a letter to the president. and this is the quote. "we will not vote against any and every cut to medicare, medicaid, or social security benefits including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and needed. i mean, this is -- >> let me weigh in on that, ed. >> go ahead, congresswoman. >> this is gwen moore. that's very important for people to understand, that what was not included in the sequestration were those programs, those mandatory programs, social security, medicare, medicaid, food stamps, pell grants. and what the republicans would love to see is for this president to serve up on a silver platter these programs and not just make some changes in them but structural changes to undermine the program -- >> you agree with that? you agree with this letter, congresswoman? >> oh, absolutely. i agree with that letter. because ultimately, in order to end the sequester that is the demand that they're making on the president. that he make structural changes to medicare and social security. >> shaka fattah, go ahead. >> what we've had is a quarterback controversy. and then we had a decision that rather than romney we were going with obama. what we have now is we have some people on the team who because they didn't get the quarterback they wanted they want to stop the game from continuing. this is an inside game by the republicans to slow this economy, to create uncertainty that causes business decisions to be delayed. we know that at the end of the day they have to produce a bill that the president's prepared to sign. and he's made it absolutely clear, and you've made it fundamentally clear that we have to protect the middle class. right? and he has said very clearly that he is not willing to affect these beneficiaries in these programs, that we're going to have to get our -- >> so it's defense cuts. >> but that it's got to be balanced. right? it's got to be balanced. >> it's going to have to be defense cuts and you're going to have to get republicans to go along with that. i think they're trying -- >> no, no, no. >> i think they're just trying to get some kind of political narrative going that will put the president on the defensive, and they're thinking that people don't know what happened back in the summer of 2011 and they're even trying to blame the president that this is his sequester. congressman lynch, you're going to have to win the echo chamber. can it be done? >> i think it can be done. although you have to say this is just another back door attempt by the republicans. they tried to turn medicare into a voucher program. instead of the comprehensive program that it is -- that it has been for years. they went after social security and tried to take that money and put it on the stock market. we all know what would have happened if they had succeeded. this is just another back door attempt at that type of denigration and erosion of basic programs that have been championed for a long time by the democratic party. >> congressman shaka fattah. congresswoman -- go ahead, sir. >> what the president is saying is that it's not just a game of cut this or cut that. we can raise revenue. we are the wealthiest country in the world. he says that the loopholes that romney proposed on the campaign, that we closed on businesses, let's close them, let's get those revenues in so that we can have some cuts that are smart -- >> i agree with all that. >> to move forward. >> democrats obviously agree with that, but the republicans have not identified one loophole to date that they are willing to take out of the tax code. this is a dog and pony show. >> yeah. >> they're reading those same polls that you're reading, and i'm telling you, we're going to drag them on headed in the right direction. >> congressman shaka fattah, congresswoman gwen moore, and congressman steve lynch, great to have you with us on "the ed show" tonight. you bet. remember to answer tonight's question on the bottom of your screen, share your thoughts on twitter and @edshow and let us know what you think. appreciate your interaction. the case of the alleged murder of this brilliant, beautiful woman by an olympic star takes an unbelievable turn. two famous attorneys, marcia clark and roy black, are here tonight. stick around. we're right back.
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