he was not one of the folks today to call for shinseki to go. several senators who are facing tough re-election battles, mark udall from colorado, kay hagan from north carolina, they said it s time for new leadership at the v.a. obviously concerned this could become an election issue for them if they are identified too closely with the obama administration. and so a lot of serious national security type folks today who have been holding off calling for his resignation. today heard enough and said it s time for him to go. i m talking about john mccain arizona senator. jeff flake. chairman of the house armed services committee. buck mckee hand all who had showed a lot of respect for general shinseki for his record as a war hero. today they finally heard enough from the independent investigator looking into this and they said it s time for new leadership. mike, thank you. thank you. and you have to hear what our political panel has to say about the latest findings in expants v.a. in
had the fact that the national environment. so what is the message that democrats fear that they re learning out of this? is that the national political environment trumps a campaign apparatus, a good organization that you think you ve put together. well, what kind of message does that send to the red state democrats that are fighting for their lives in these re-election battles in the senate? i can tell you those states, arkansas, louisiana, not as friendly democratic territory as the 13th district down there in florida. you get the impression that democrats believe that, for example, the battle over minimum wage will offset some of the heat from the health care issues that could impact. but it seems that they re having trouble making that message a broader one that could stick. they haven t been able to figure it out, because the message works. minimum wage our new poll shows minimum wage comes in among the top five best characteristics, that voters tell us would make them more
red states when these re-election battles, will this put help them in a tough spot? i don t think so, victor, because, frankly, the majority of the american people are moving towards accepting the fact that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should have the exact same rights that you and ben and i have in terms of not being discriminated against simply because of who we love. and the democrats in red states, frankly, are focused on the issues that their constituents care about. the economy, making sure that working class families have equal opportunity and that s why i think that they will get re-ele re-elected. if republicans continue to focus on this issue, victor, it is going to be the death nail for them as a national party. and the difficulty with what ben just said is, you know, what if a couple goes in to a restaurant and they re not there celebrating it s not the reception but they have a balloon, for example, that says must just married. it is impossible to really te
up on capitol hill as well. mark, kind of counter intuitive thought on this. when you look at let s talk about some democrats who are in tough reelection battles. this might put them in a tough spot. it could. again, if you re in a state where the opposite is happening, where the tied is shifting, you seem like you re against she knows where her state is on this. that s tough. it s ethical on the one hand, but also pragmatic on the other. so they re wrestling with this constantly. the public time for gay marriage has doubled since 1996. to kevin s point, ted cruz positions himself, when you re driving ahead for a small basis.
power to go and get what he wants. he will go everywhere he can to try to move the ball forward. reporter: tuesday night, president obama walks up to the house podium and into american living rooms to outline his agenda under the shadow of weak approval ratings and a ticking clock. seated in the house cham per bill be progressives, previously known as liberals, disappointed with the president for not being more aggressive with republicans and moderate democrats facing re-election battles in conservative battedle that is the president work and republicans that might win a senate majority this year. all of that would mean during the last two years of his tenure, president obama would be dealing with a republican-controlled capitol hill. no pressure. candy crowley, cnn, washington be sure to tune in to cnn s coverage of the state of the union, tomorrow at 7:00 eastern. checking other top stories. two toledo, ohio firefighters