it s like i could actually support that though, david. i think a lot of people could support i don t know, it s like when i order a diet coke at mcdonald s with my fries. caitlin, to you, it worked though with dean heller, the public shaming, yes, dean heller is very, very at risk of his seat, it s a swing state, why does the white house think that will work with someone like murkowski who s not up until 2022? you bring up a great point. dean hellor is in a separate category because he s up for re-election next year and is vulnerable, perhaps, to persuasion either by his own governor or by donald trump who are very different stances on this. but think of someone like murkowski who was just re-elected, someone like rob portman who is also just re-elected, actually ran ahead of the president by about seven or eight points i believe in the state of ohio.
obamacare. we can repeal it, but the best is repeal and replace and let s get going. i intend to keep my promise, and i know you will, too. all right. all of these different moving positions, while senate majority leader mitch mcconnell moves forward to repeal obamacare without a replacement. what s happening here? we have maggie haber dan, david chalian and david avl ho n. before we get to the president s ever-changing positions, at this luncheon it was very interesting, the optics, as well as what was said because dean hellor of nevada was directly next to the president, not a fan of the recent gop bills, i think it s safe to say and the president took the opportunity to issue a warning, somewhat code, to dean hellor. let s listen to this. you didn t go out there. this was the one you were
when armed militia members came to his defense, joining in an old west showdown with the feds. the federal government is here with an army stealing my cattle. reporter: his anti-government crusade made him a conservative hero, thanks especially to fox news and support from sean hannity. when nevada s democratic senator harry reid called bundy a domestic terrorist, republican dean hellor said this. what he calls a terrorist, i call a patriot. i want to tell you one more thing i know about the negro. they abort their young children and they never learned how to pick cotton. and i ve often wondered are they better off as slaves picking cotton, having a family life or under government subsidy?
look at how many elections republicans began to lose before they and they moved further right, not to the center. and now they have lost total control of the state. there is no reason to think that republican base voters look at this. they still think they need to nominate one of their own to be their nominee. they don t think romney was that, they don t think mccain was that, they don t think it s happened that they have really nominated one of their own. and i think that will play out for one more election before they begin to reform. i know we began the process, our voters began to say, god, we can t lose anymore. we ve just got to win. bill clinton had some supporters, some union support that didn t agree with him that said, you know what, we just can t afford to lose anymore. i don t think the republican party is anywhere near to that conclusion. stan groeenberg, it s always good to have you on the program. thanks, stan. we ve learned just in the last hour that republican se
him. we know exactly where they stand. they would rather put politics ahead of the economy. r.t. ryback, always a pleasure. thanks so much. now let s turn to msnbc political analyst, richard wolffe. richard, good to have you on with us tonight. another vulnerable senate republican went after house republicans today. nevada republican dean hellor said there is no reason to hold up the short-term extension while a more comprehensive deal is being worked out. what is playing out in washington, d.c., this week is about political leverage, not about what s good for the american people. this is the divide that many of the democrats have been waiting for. what do you think? right. well, what s also holding it up is a full blown leadership crisis among the republican house leaders here. what we re seeing tonight, the breaking news is that what started out as a routine meeting where john boehner was going to reconvene with his members has dragged on for almost two hours. nbc s luke russ