and very angry. just not himself at all. and his health? is it also an issue the longer he stays in jail? he has very bad arthritis. so he is having trouble getting in and out of chairs and walking like he did. what is our government doing? i know we hear statements from the state department but what really is happening on the ground? jimmy carter tried, bill richardson stride and others who have good relations from havana. what are you hearing back channel as well as from the state department? main lit issue is we don t know what cuba wants. and they have not made it dleer any of the visitors who have gone down there or to us or to the state department. what was he doing with the lap tops? we know there are restriction owns communication devices going into havana. what was the purpose of this usa id mission? there are three main jewish communities on the island, but
15-year sentence for bringing in some lap tops is ridiculous. cell phones, 15 years. that s quite a he was not overting the government. he wasn t a spy. he doesn t even speak spanish. just cell phones. he has no intention of doing anything to the government or overturning any government. do you think this is in their mind connected to the prisoners who are here who they believe are held unjustly, the cuban five? i honestly don t like to put them in the same sentence because the cases are so different. judy gross, thank you very much. thank you. your repeal for your husband, alan gross still in prison in havana. thank you. thank for being here. the payroll tax showdown. critical vote hours away. congressman steve israel will join us live from the hill next on andrea mitchell reports. this is ridiculous. yeah, and it s got apps. nice. it s got vudu, twitter, facebook.
that s that s just unreliable as the leader and said things that sabotage the agenda. he said, look, with friends like this, who needs enemies. jim talent from the romney camp, thank you very much for joining us today. thank you, andrea. this month marks two years that american contractor allen gross has been suck in a cuban jail. gross has been working for the age ensieve international development when he was arrested for bringing in lap tops and cell phones into cuba. he was convicted of quote crimes against the state and sentenced 15 years in prison. joining me now, allen gross s wife, judy gross. jiedy, i know you traveled three times to cuba. what are you learning and what is the mood, first of all, of your husband? have you been able to see him and talk to him in prison? the most recent trip was about three weeks ago. his mood was the worst i ve seen. you have to know him. he is gregarious and outgoing and a jokester. and he is just very depressed.
i ve got nothing personally against michele bachmann or herman cain. i got nothing personal against a lot of these people but a lot of them should not be running for president of the united states. you know what s true, also, the heavy lifting on the mitt as flip flopper has been done. the white house, whatever the dnc put out in the ad that narrative is out there. mitt versus mitt. he says one thing and then another thing a month later so mitt can ride that narrative and as he did yesterday in the radio interview, i know you re going to play some of this, mika, the dnc comes out that day and then he is helping push that along. john? the thing is the newt and all of the crazy, moderate to liberal statements he s made in the past and even calling paul ryan a radical a couple weeks ago. back in the first week of 1995 when you first came into congress the big headlines were around newt s idea that he was going to give tax credits so all poor children in america could have lap tops
way, a positive way. in order to do that you have to make it safe for families. they want to take the family there s to make it more like america. they are having sex there? they are trying anyway. we are going tomorrow. i think you are right. right now they have no rhyme or reason what they are fighting for and what they are protesting about. if you bring the family in people in middle america say i am frustrated as well. maybe i will join this cause. it is probably the smartest thing they will do. but no sane parent will take their child and put them around there. people are stealing money and lap tops. if you are 18 years old, what the hell are you bitching about? you complain about this country? my car wasn t worth that at 18 years old. they are on the right track, but it ain t going to work. people s kids are already there. and parents are happy about