0 >> you know, i have no idea about, about the timing of this event. and just, just appalls me that it's got to go to portugal and not stay here where we need the jobs. >> and did you hear that south korea is developing their own sequester? >> i feel like it's just-- i don't know what that is, sure, let them do it. >> and my parents were killed by a sequester. >> okay. >> i'm sorry. (laughter) so like a terrorist, they're building like a robot terrorist? is that what? no, that's not good, yeah. >> and what do you guys think about obama's decision to pardon the quest and send it to portugal? >> the sequester what? i don't know, i just don't know anything about no quest. >> sean: nonwhat to say, but it was funny. anyway, that has to be one of those incredible nights. hurts everybody. >>-- we'll be talking about revenues, talking about expenses, entitlements, we have to do that. the problem right now is that we don't see from the president any structural changes in this unsustainable course on the entitlement. >> we see the request for more and more taxes at a time we just raised taxes 620 billion dollars. we believe that obamacare is it a program that will not work. we believe obamacare will actually leave the hospitals, doctors, health care providers, turning people away. >> and first tonight, a new record, but it's not a good one. more than 47 million americans on food stamps in the month of december. a new department of agriculture report showing in 2012 the food stamp program was the biggest it's ever been. why? because it's bigger need or the government has made such a mess of it. and joining us former presidential candidate herman cain is here. >> thank you, greta, happy to be here. >> greta: sir, why have food stamps programs exploded? because more people are needy and hungry and we're reaching them or because because the government made a mess of the program? >> because the federal government made a mess of the program by exploiting the program and exploiting those people who have learned how to abuse the program. the food stamps program, greta, is a misnomer with two words, food and stamp. it's no longer just about helping to get people to get food. it helps them to get free stuff and secondly, because some bureaucrat thought that people going in and handing in stamps was somewhat insulting, they now have given them a government credit card. and i found this out today, greta, on my radio show. a guy called in who said he owns fitness centers. the government has even allowed food stamp recipients to use their card for fitness training programs. so the problem starts with the exploittation on the part of government because ideologically, they want as many people dependent upon the government as they possibly can. >> greta: all right. so what do we do? certainly, some people have these, some people are hungry and need food stamps and you're saying for some it helps them get free stuff. what are you going to do about those who want it for the free stuff, don't need it and how do you define those people? >> you start by using the correct narrative. we don't need to reform the food stamps program or the snap program, we need to restructure it. if you restructure it such that the bureaucrats at the usda don't have the ability to just open it wide open to attract people to come to the program, that's what i mean by restructure. secondly, here is another example, the usda actually advertises and promotes using taxpayer dollars to try to get people to get on the program. they should have it there for people who truly need it. i don't have a problem with that. no one has a problem with that. the problem is the abuse that takes mace that's not being controlled because many of these governmental agencies, they want more and more people on the government dole because that's another way of buying votes. >> greta: all right, staggering numbers, for instance, texas has the most numberically, a big state, a food stamp program with 15.5% of the population. the district of columbia with a much smaller population has 23% of washington d.c. residents on food stamps. you think even in our nation's capital with such a tremendous amount of government jobs what in the world do we have such a high percentage for? >> the reason why we have such a high percentage is because of the ideological reasoning behind wanting more people on the programs and that is class warfare, when you have an black community overall, if you look at unemployment, if you look at teenage unemployment, and they simply don't want to talk about the elephant in the room, so they're trying to put pressure on him relative to something that's visible called cabinet selection. let's look at the facts, that's really what they're frustrated about, but because he's black and they're black, they don't want to talk about the elephant in the room and the unemployment rate in the black community and all of these other metrics that we look at are worse in the black community, which means that the obama administration policies are even worse for the black community than they are for the general nation at large. >> greta: mr. cain, new, sir. >> greta, it's always a pleasure. >> greta: is president obama flailing in the sequester battle? the national review's michael barone says that, and he's here. you said flailing? times and people try to come up with strategies and this had the look of a political meeting where they weren't sure what to do, so they said, let's do option a, option b, and throw a little option c into it. >> greta: but i suppose what he's going to say if he's watching this tonight. everyone complained i didn't talk to the republicans and now i'm inviting the republicans and everyone says i'm flailing when i'm taking the tip. >> well, let's see what comes of it. that's a position they're taking, democrats, top aides in the white house, people with considerable experience and ability are saying, gee, he really wants entitlement reform. there hasn't been, in my judgment, you know, any real intent on the part of the president to get entitlement reform. he wants higher taxes on high earners. >> it looks good he's meeting with them. but remember, he met with republicans and set them in the room in the blare house and apparently later did what he want today do. so it looks like there is he' going to be some discussion and ended quickly. >> and he had a discussion whether or not they would have republican parts of the stimulus package by the president saying two words "i want." i think it's stimulus not the health care. anyway, michael, nice to see you. >> nice to see you, greta. >> greta: obamacare may be the law of the land. that's not stopping senator ted cruz, he joins us. >> great to see you. >> greta: so you're proposing an amendment to the continuing resolution to slowdown the funding of obamacare. explain what you want and why? >> well, i think the top priority of every elected representative in washington should be economic growth. if you look at the past four years, our economy's not growing and the last four years it's grown 0.8% a year and as a result of that stagnant growth we're not able to get 23 million people back to work, our federal balance sheet remains a train wreck. the only way to solve the deficit, to solve the debt and get people back to work, to get opportunity flowing again is to get growth. this last quarter we had growth at 0.1%, so this week on the continuing resolution, i'm introducing an amendment that is entitled restore growth first, and what it would do is delay funding obamacare until we get back to historic levels of growth. with the economy stagnant, if we implement obamacare now, it will kill jobs, it will hammer small businesses. and it could well push us into recession, that doesn't make any sense. >> greta: is there any likelihood you're going to get a vote on this? >> well, i actually feel quite confident we're going to get a vote. when i initially introduced it, there was a fair amount of skepticism and we've seen in the several days since then, one republican after another republican, after another republican coming on board and i believe we'll get a vote and it's not likely to pass the senate because all 55 democrats will vote against it. but i think it's helpful, number one, for us to be focusing on growth and the fact that the policies that the president is pushing could well push us into a recession. but number two, there's a good chance the senate's going to amend the continuing resolution, which will send it back to the house and i'm hopeful the house, if they get this back, will add this to the continuing resolution and will be willing to send it to the president and see if the president is willing to try to shut down the government in order to insist that obamacare be implemented now, even though the economy is gasping, people are hurting, jobs are not there and implementing obamacare now could make things a lot worse. >> greta: without going into the substantive value, whether it's a good idea or a bad idea, it's the total strategic process. do you really believe that senator harry reid is in any way going to let one foot out the door of the senate. >> i think he'll allow a vote on it. >> you really think so? >> because he has the votes to kill it. 's confident-- >> and should we let him vote and get killed. >> he's confident his 55 democrats will march in lock step to say even though the economy is stagnant-- as obamacare started to be implemented, we're seeing more and more people dropping their coverage and more and more employers saying we're going to force you to work fewer hours and premiums jump up. >> and the thing i don't get. the wavers. and the point was everybody was in to keep the pot down so it will be cheaper and you look at hhs and all sorts of organizations and groups and unions and everybody else is getting wavers and the single people who don't have the big groups are saying what about me? >> and it's worse than that because the waivers aren't uniform, they're given to those who have political connection, those who have sway with the obama administration so i was talking to a small business man in houston who owns a lumber yard and complaining that his competitors are getting waivers so their costs are going down and they're much bigger companies and he's having to struggle against those with political juice. >> greta: how about all of those on the side of the aisle that he voted for the statute and now they see the constituents, medical device people pay tax and want wavers. and nobody bothered to read it before they voted for it. >> you take a young person coming out of school right now. if obamacare is fully implemented it becomes harder for them to get a job. if they get a job the employer may well restrict their hours and even if they get health care, the premiums are skyrocketing especially for young people, and look, i think obamacare is it a bad idea altogether. i think we should repeal every word of it, but at a minimum, we shouldn't be implementing it at a time when the economy is gasping and putting it into place could very well push us into a recession, so, the purpose of this amendment is say, let's at least wait till growth is back first, that's what we should focus on is economic growth. >> greta: what's your message for cpac when you give your speech this weekend? what's the message? >> the message is that republicans need to get back to two words "growth and opportunity" the last election the republicans didn't win the argument. margaret thatcher famously said first you win the argument then win the vote. we didn't win the vote and in particular we didn't make the case that free market policies benefit those who are struggling or climbing the economic ladder. under president obama the people hurt the most are those who are worst off among us. >> and that's what mr. herman cain said moments ago, talked about the black community, unemployment someplaces like detroit 20%. >> it's terrible, african-americans, hispanics, young people, single moms. >> nobody complains in the neighborhoods, and they're troubling. and i did property law for years and i find it appalling nobody does. senator, great to see you. if you're in the middle of figuring out your tax returns, this will light your hair on fire. wait until you hear where 3.5 billion dollars in unpaid taxes. you're going to find out next. mystery unfolding in new orleans, a second grade teacher vanishes into thin air and the missing woman's mother is here to talk about it coming up. and harry styles-- who is taylor swift seeing now? ♪ we are never ever ever getting back together ♪ what are you doing? licking the cream off these oreo cookies. that's stupid. you're wasting the best part. shuh, says the man without a helicopter. wait, don't go! 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