speech, we've heard more questions than president obama has allowed in the past year. >> good morning, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. great to have you with me. the senator from texas is keeping his cruise control on, even while his fellow republicans wave the white flag of surrender. they are now itching for a deal with new numbers showing their strategy has been poll tested and is nowhere near mother approved. let's show you some live pictures at the white house where members of the senate gop are arriving right now to meet with the president as we near the end of week two of a government shutdown. a rainy d.c. to boot. now, there's a very different tone in washington this morning following last night's meeting at the white house between house republicans, the president and vice president. >> i'm anxious to hear from our leadership this morning as to the progress that was made during the night, but i think that i felt good, better than i felt for a few weeks about where we're heading. >> politico reporting the president had one question for republicans in that meeting. what's it going to take? this as new polls from nbc news and the wall street journal show the party of john boehner and mitch mcconnell has a serious brand problem because of its strategy over this takedown. 70% saying the republicans are putting their party politics over strong leadership for their country, and 60% of those asked say they would vote out and replace the entire congress if they could. >> this has been a disastrous move. you just wonder who are the people that are still adhering to this strategy? why haven't -- why haven't they come out and held a press conference and said we screwed up. >> joining me right now, nbc white house correspondent kristen welker and nbc news senior political editor mark murray. kristen, let me start with you because the buses just rolled up a moment ago. the senators are making their way in and it's a rainy day there in washington, d.c. >> reporter: it certainly is, thomas. but the tone has changed here in washington, d.c., after that meeting that you talked about last night between president obama and house republicans. we are told that house speaker john boehner put an offer on the table essentially to increase the debt limit without reopening the government. he said before we can do that, let's have budget negotiations. president obama didn't reject the offer but he didn't accept it rooireither. he said, look, we need to do both at the same time. we need to reopen the government. and i am told that a number of establishment republicans agree with that thinking and that they have been increasingly voicing that opinion to house speaker john boehner. so it's back to the drawing board to some extent, but all sides describing that meeting as positive and constructive. so i do think that the tone has changed here a bit. there is more optimism that there might be a deal. but the question is what is it going to take? and you would think that there has to be something that the white house offers, despite the fact that they have said they're not going to negotiate. i think one thing to watch for is that medical device tax, the white house doesn't see that as being as bad as delaying the president's health care law, for example, and that's one of the things that republicans have been talking about as a potential concession. they want to repeal the medical device tax. the white house says we will look at it but we want to see how that would be offset. so that's a possibility and something to look for. but as you say, republicans here at the white house meetings under way with president obama as they try to end this government shutdown and try to figure out a way to increase the debt limit. economists saying that would certainly be an economic disaster if they didn't figure out a way to do that. should point out that the nbc news/wall street journal poll is putting pressure on republicans to work with the white house to resolve this issue. >> kristen, is it a reality that the president is truly going to offer any type of carrot that is attached to obama care? especially when he has been so firm in his language so far. >> reporter: he's adamant that he's not going to, so there is a big question mark. but house speaker john boehner certainly can use these polls to make the argument, look, now is the time to act. one house republican telling me that house speaker john boehner will likely argue to his kcaucu that we will be politically dead if we don't do something. certainly these polls are something that house republicans are going to be looking at. it is possible, though, even though the white house has said they're not going to negotiate, that the medical device tax could get thrown into these negotiations somewhere, potentially after the government shutdown is resolved, but that is something that they are talking about behind the scenes here at the white house and on the hill. thomas. >> kristen, stand by for me. so, mark, we had seen earlier in the last hour at the value voters summit ted cruz taking the stage. a lot of heckling going on there. finally he was able to get by with most of his remarks, but take a listen to a few. >> it seems that president obama's paid political operatives are out in force today. you know what, i'm curious, is anybody left at the organizing for america headquarters? i'm actually glad that the president's whole political staff is here instead of actually doing mischief in the country. gentlemen, ladies, thank you -- thank you for your passion. but you should respect the rights of the men and women who are here. >> all right. so, mark, let me ask you, because it's raining in washington, d.c. i don't think it's helping wash away the smell of you know what. but ted cruz doesn't appear to be backing down in his denial of what's going on and very flippant at the fact that he's on his way to the white house irks we. >> reporter: well, he isn't backing down and that's one of the more interesting things. last night this poll comes out that shows the entire shutdown strategy and tying the fate of the president's health care law to government operations has been a political disaster for the republican party. and then just hours later, there's ted cruz firing up the base and getting people and saying this fight is worth having and we're going to continue to have it. oh, by the way, i'm going to be meeting with the president very shortly. thomas, i do think that there's an interesting thing that's going on in our poll. we're almost seeing two different republican parties. one that's being led by the tea party, the other the nontea party. and even when you look at ted cruz, the people who are tea party supporters love ted cruz. his numbers are fantastic in our poll. but among nontea party republicans, his numbers are upside down and that's what's kind of gone on in this entire shutdown debate, where the tea party folks are 100% or almost close to it behind it, and nontea party republicans, some of your centrist republicans, people from the business community aren't and that is a divided parties. divided parties almost never win political fights. >> kristen, what does this mean in context to the meetings that take place at the white house? while we talk about tone shifts, it doesn't seem as if there has been a big enough one that's going to get the meetings of the minds where they need to be? >> reporter: well, it's a good point. certainly with ted cruz in this meeting, that part of the conversation will likely remain a heated one. clearly he continues to be dug in. but i do think that the overall tone has shifted here in washington. but, oh, to be a fly on the wall in the white house right now, thomas. >> nbc's kristen welker, nbc's mark murray. thanks to both of you. we're going to be monitoring events at the white house as those senate republicans prep for that meeting with president obama. again, that's happening as we speak, as those buses were pulling up dropping off senators in rainy washington, d.c. joining me right now maryland congressman and house democratic whip, steny hoyer. congressman, it's great to have you here. first of all, you just came out of a meeting with your colleagues in the house. yesterday your colleague tweeted this photo of you and nancy pelosi standing in the rain. it's been raining in d.c. for a couple of days now. are the votes there to pass a short-term deal? >> i think the votes are there to open up government and i think the votes are there to make sure the nation pays its debts. now, we don't know the time frame of that, but the answer to that is yes. now, if we're talking about something unreasonable, maybe not, but if we're talking about a reasonable period of time during which the president has indicated he would sit down and talk about alternatives. in this case, however, both sides say they want government open. both sides say they don't want the government to default. so it seems that we're in agreement. we ought to have a bill on the floor to do both of those and pass it today. unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet, but it can happen today and i hope it does. >> sir, what do you think about the courting, the conversation that's going to take place at the white house right now between the president and republican senators? the purpose of this is for the president to really take their temperature or is it the reverse? >> i think the president is prepared to talk to them and to discuss with them, first instant what they already know. and that is the damage that's being caused by the shutdown in government to no end other than disrupting the people's government. and we see incident after incident where it's causing people to be in danger and to be ill served. and in terms of the debt limit, i can't imagine there's a senator that will go down to the white house that doesn't believe that we need to extend the debt limit and make sure america pays its bills. i'm sure that's what the president is going to say. look, we need to get those two things done and then let's talk about a long-term picture. after all, this president has done a lot of negotiating with john boehner, with senators, spent a lot of time with eight united states senators talking about what can be done. this is a president who has not indicated a willingness to talk. what he has simply said is that he wants the government open, as the american people do, and he wants the government to pay its bills, as the american people do. and beyond that he's made no demands and taken nothing off the table to further discuss. >> congressman, let me ask you, though, what is the way that this is going to work? how do you think it's going to end? obviously those on the right, they want to save face. so who's going to be the smartest person in the room to actually provide john boehner an out of the forest here? because he seems to not know the way. >> well, i thought it was unfortunate that last night when the president -- i haven't talked to the president personally about this, but my view, my understanding is that he clearly made the point that he was willing to talk, he was willing to talk with all items on the table, tax reform and sequester, revenues, just as every other commission or body that has looked at this fiscal problem that confronts us in terms of sustainability and he said that. i would have hoped that john boehner would have come out of the white house and said the president has assured us he's going to sit down and discuss with everything on the table moving towards a fiscally sustainable result, a la bowles-simpson, the gang of six, all groups that talk about where we need to be. i would have hoped he would have come out and claimed victory. the president could have come out and said, yes, they wanted to negotiate on these issues. we're going to do that. there's a perfect forum to do that. the senate has passed a budget. the house has passed a budget. as you know, regular order is to go into conference to discuss the differences. but within the framework of that budget discussion, all of the things that paul ryan has talked about, others, republicans have talked about and the democrats have talked about can be on the table ready for debate and ready for disposition in a positive way. >> congressman steny hoyer, we're going to let you get back to work. thank you, sir. >> thank you. two skiffs approaching at a distance of 1.5 miles with a possible other ship following. >> so that was a clip of tom hanks' new movie "captain phillips" which opens in theaters across the country today. the real captain phillips joins me live on set in just a few minutes. plus the shutdown, the backlash, those bad, bad gop polls. are we witnessing the death throes of the republican party? we'll analyze the gop's kamikaze mission. and our question of the day, do you think the damage done to the republican brand is irreversible? she really was trying to disrupt me the whole time. speak up, it is true. it is true. it is true. she's whispering too. weigh in on twitter or facebook. we're back after this. 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"stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. welcome back, everybody. right now at the white house, the president about to sit down with senate republicans who arrived there just moments ago. the meeting happening on the heels of a possible short-term deal to keep the country from hitting the debt ceiling. now, the shutdown is shedding more light on the divide within the republican party with some concern the end of the gop is near. joining me now, karen finney, and joy-ann reid. ladies, it's great to have you here. karen, "rolling stone" has an article out titled "inside the republican suicide machine." doesn't mince words there. details behind-the-scenes meetings starring ted cruz. here's ted cruz, though, this morning at the value voters summit really taking a swipe at his own party. >> why do so many democrats when they're running pretend to be conservatives? for that matter, why do so many republicans do the same? we tried a very different strategy. we said, okay, we'll go over their heads. now, a lot of folks in washington said, oh, you mean you'll talk to republican leadership? we went over their heads to the american people. >> so karen, let's talk about this because, you know, if ted cruz is getting applause there and he's throwing red meat at people that seem to want to eat it. >> raw. >> raw. but the rest of america is not feeling the same way. >> right. >> and the republican brand is really tarnished almost to the point, and i think that it's fatalist to call it in the death throes, it can rebound, but it's a mess. >> here's a couple of things. remember who he was speaking to. the group that he was speaking to is the same group that is fueled and funded by the same group we read about earlier this week in "the new york times" that had this whole strategy for the shutdown for months now. this is also the group -- this is the sarah palin wing of the republican party. one of the things i thought was most interesting in our poll was that it's not just as kristen welker was talking about he's popular among the tea partiers, but the tea partiers within the republican party are losing steam. like consistently since about april, 2011, their numbers have been going down. so he's basically catering to a smaller and smaller size or portion of the republican party. the problem is, everybody else in the republican party is terrified of them. and so to some degree the meeting today with boehner, it's great that he's having one. he's jim demint in there because that's really who is calling the shots. >> which comes first, joy-ann, the chicken or the egg? sarah palin makes bucks off what she's saying now. does she really believe it? who knows. ted cruz got elected this way and he's there trying to make it happen but the rest of america isn't responding to this but the people that got him there, he's talking to them. >> right. and i think that in a lot of ways, ted cruz, sarah palin, they're leading more of an ideological movement than a political movement. they are really in a lot of ways in opposition to the republican party which they see as selling out these core values. they're doing in politics, quote unquote, what rush limbaugh does in media. so it's all about speaking to a very narrow base of people who are very enthusiastic but it's a critique on their own party. so they don't care whether the republican brand is damaged. the problem is they're still associated with that brand, they're elected with that brand and the republicans are stuck with them. >> also remember that for the last couple of years the republicans have been talking about the tea party as that's where the energy is. so the reality is sarah palin saw an opportunity, ted cruz saw an opportunity. i think he saw that if he can garner that support from that group of people, i think he sees that as a way to have some power within the republican party as a freshman senator. otherwise, he'd be mr. 100 of 100. this is -- do we really think he would be at the meeting at the white house if he wasn't such a troublemaker? >> well, i think what's interesting is that it's not totally irrational if you think about the size of, let's say, the african-american and latino cohort within the party. but if you have great intensity among that small part, you can flip an election. the republicans had those three parts. they have the business wing, the evangelical wing and the archie bunker wing. these people who are mad at the '60s and hate all of the changes. if you energize that wing enough, the theory is if you can get that wing energized, you could get a million more votes out of that part of the party. so the republicans love the tea party because they energize that third of the party. now they have lost control of them. >> great to have you here, ladies, much appreciated. be sure to catch karen as she hosts "disrupt" weekends at 4:00 p.m. eastern and she brought some disruption to this set in the a block, i'm just telling you. she denies it though. once again live looking at the white house where president obama is meeting this hour with senate republicans. luke russert will join me from capitol hill with the very latest on the talks to end this impasse in d.c. and from trouble in washington to the trouble on the high seas, the film "captain phillips" starring tom hanks opening in theaters this weekend across the country and the real captain phillips will join me in studio coming up next. if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. turning dreamers into business owners. and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. remission is possible. two skiffs, can't tell how many they're carrying. >> shots fired! >> stick together. we'll be all right. >> the new movie "captain phillips" recounts an incredibly story of survival on the high seas. four smomali pirates taking a captain hostage and its crew for random. the real life richard phillips joins us this morning. captain, i had a chance to see the movie yesterday. it is riveting and i know how it ends. i knew how it ends going into it but still you're cheering that they're not able to get on the boat, they're not able to achieve what they were trying to achieve the whole time. but for you personally, how have you been able to get through this experience, because it is so emotional and was so emotional for you in 2009. how have you been able to distance yourself from it now? >> well, it's pretty much been, you know, that door has been closed behind me. it has been for almost four and a half years ago. i was just lucky to have survived. the s. erchle.a.l.s and the mil did an unbelievable job and they are the true heroes of this story. >> you were taken captive. you guys fought back. then you were taken on the life boat as they tried to escape and then you were held for five days on the high seas until you were saved by the s.e.a.l.s. with creative license being what it is in hollywood, how closely does the movie mirror the actual events? >> well, it's pretty close. paul greengrass boiled it down to. it's a basic story of a man's peril on the sea. it's hard to compress a five-day event into two hours for a movie so there are some schedule changes. but it does portray the stress and the tension in itself. the name, i think, is a little miss norm because it's more than captain phillips, it's myself and 18 of my crew and my crew did a great job and were instrumental in the positive outcome for them and myself. >> when we look at the film and know now some been made for what it means for the merchant marines, the safety on board the ship did not include a gun, correct? >> there was no gun. >> and how have things changed since what happened in 2009 to you? >> well, i'm on a different ship now, although many do not know that the maersk alabama has been attacked six times since. but there is an armed security team on the ships i'm on and some other security things we do. i don't want to divulge them. we're always trying to stay ahead of the pirates. >> one thing i want to ask you about because as you talk about the crew and how much they went through and how much respect you have for them, there are members, the coordination of the crew, a lawyer gave us a statement saying the movie gets significant facts wrong, leaves out important details about why it was located so close to these pirate-infested waters despite multiple warnings to stay away from the area. if you could do it over again, do you think there would be anything you would do differently? >> as a monday morning quarterback there are a few things we'd do different. but what a lot of people don't realize, we in the merchant marine deal with piracy all over the world. we deal with it off vietnam, java, indonesia, east and west coast africa, east and west coast of south america and indeed off of nigeria it's worse today than somalia ever was. it's something we deal with in the merchant marine. it's not a johnny deppesque situation for us out there. if you go to sea, you have to deal with piracy. the maersk alabama was always in those waters. at no time were we away or what anybody wants to call a safe area. every boat you see, every ship in that area should be considered a possible security and piracy incident. warnings are issued all the time. they're not realtime issuing as far as, you know, on the spot by the news we have here. and it's really, if you can avoid the area, most of the warnings are if you can avoid the area to remain 600 miles off. we were never outside 600 miles. we were in the area. djibouti is just north of somalia. >> i encourage everybody to see it. tom hanks does a great job. there's oscar buzz about the film. >> i told him he needs to put on a little weight and get a little better looking. i think he did a good job. >> he did a good job, he really did. it's great to meet you, captain. thanks for your time. captain richard phillips. >> thank you. well, the nobel peace prize, malala not the winner of this year's prize. we'll take a look at who did win and get global reaction. hey, i notice your car is not in the driveway. yeah. it's in the shop. it's going to cost me an arm and a leg. that's hilarious. sorry. you shoulda taken it to midas. get some of that midas touch. they tell you what stuff needs fixing, and what stuff can wait. next time i'm going to midas. high-five! arg! i did not see that coming. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling) is what makes us different. we take the time to get to know you and your unique health needs. then we help create a personalized healthcare experience that works for you. and you. and you. with 50 years of know-how, and a dedicated network of doctors, health coaches, and wellness experts, we're a partner you can rely on -- today, and tomorrow. we're going beyond insurance to become your partner in health. humana. exciting and would always come max and pto my rescue. bookstore but as time passed, i started to notice max just wasn't himself. and i knew he'd feel better if he lost a little weight. so i switched to purina cat chow healthy weight formula. i just fed the recommended amount... and they both loved the taste. after a few months max's "special powers" returned... and i got my hero back. purina cat chow healthy weight. okay. so back to our developing story right now. president obama and vice president joe biden meeting with the senate republican caucus. the senators arriving at the white house just a short time ago and we're told they're going to meet with treasury secretary jack lew. luke russert joins me now from capitol hill. luke, as this meeting is going on, you have new information from the gop aides in the house. explain what that is. >> reporter: yeah, some interesting developments here on capitol hill, thomas. right now we're being told that the house gop and the white house are negotiating over negotiations. what does that mean? one thing that the house gop would like in return for extending the debt limit as well as funding the government is large-scale budget negotiations to deal with debt and deficit that would be all encompassing and an all-out push they would hope from both sides to try to figure out some way to pay down the national debt and put these fiscal issues behind them and extract things they would like in terms of entitlement. however, before they get to that, you would have these two tracks. follow me here, it's a little bit confusing. between october 17th and november 22nd, we would possibly see bipartisan talks with guys like paul ryan and dave kemp going with the white house and then after that deal presumably would be reached, figure out a way to have a long-term government funding bill through -- by december 15th. so we would have two back stops. thanksgiving and christmas. it's confusing, it's fluid, but we're also probably going to hear stuff coming out of the senate from that meeting that the president has with the senators right now and harry reid said he's no fan of a six-week debt limit deal that. could be the only thing that comes out of capitol hill, thomas. >> the president has said that he was encouraged by what the senate democrats were putting together in terms of a year-long debt ceiling increase, but that's really unlikely. nbc's luke russert. thank you, buddy. appreciate it. has congress become a true traff laughing stock. they have pushed the nation to the brink of default. the situation has been spoofed by the onion, saturday night live and a mobile ad firm has launched drunk dialing congress or drunk dial congress.org. the site telling you to have a drink and then it's going to connect you to a random capitol hill office. we have a special agenda panel today. lizz winsted is the co-creator of "the daily show" and brian january -- janesch. let's talk about ted cruz and he gave the audience a laundry list of all the things braung wiwron obama care. >> all the millions of americans losing their jobs being pushed into part-time work losing their health insurance. it is because of you that the american people are energized. >> it's because of you that the american people are energized. as we look at the opinion of obama care right now, 38% of people think it's a good idea, 43% of people think it's a bad idea. the numbers really haven't changed too much on the opinion of it. but give us your impression of what you think. the irony completely lost on republicans about it. >> well, especially speaking at the value voters conference, this small conference of the extreme -- it's like the cream of the extreme crop, right, at this thing. and so there is ted cruz speaking to them. and in watching the whole speech as i watched this morning before i got here, he was saying, you know, the democrats are scared. the democrats are scared. it's like have you not seen the polls, dude? no one is holding the democrats accountable for any of this. so not only is this party like climate deniers, they're political climate deniers. he doesn't even understand the ramifications of where he's going. >> so, brian, the onion got humorous about this saying thought-provoking headlines that i want to show everybody. psychiatrist deeply concerned for the 5% of americans who approve of congress. new poll finds americans view death of close relative more favorably than congress. u.s. on verge of full scale government hoe down. man who understands 8% of obama care vigorously defends it for man who understands 5%. it's sad but funny all at the same time. as lizz points out, we know the numbers don't lie and we know republicans are very curious about what the polls are when that open mike moment was captured. now they have the hard facts in data, but you'll still see ted cruz going out there at the value voters summit and throwing that raw red meat at the base. it's like they just don't get it. >> yeah, i mean it has become kind of a big joke kind of in and of itself. and so it's no surprise to see sort of the comedy sharks just kind of start flooding the waters. but, you know, it really has for us and for the on81 and a lot of people, for "the daily show" comedy becomes this entry point for hopefully most of the nation that doesn't pay attention quite as much as they should, this becomes a little bit more of an easier entry point into learning exactly what's going on here and why this is all happening. >> you know, it really does demonstrate a great out of touchness that our elected leaders have that are sent there to represent the american people. although it is great comedy fodder. jimmy kimmel poked fun at the fact that the congressional gym is open. i'm not sure if they still have towel boys, but take a look. >> the gym is not fully operational because towel service is no longer available due to the shutdown. so everyone is suffering. >> i worked out today without a towel. >> i worked out today without a towel. >> i went to work wet. >> i tried to use newspapers to dry off. wouldn't recommend it. >> newspaper print, bad. bad for your skin. you need to moisturize after that, lizz. >> always. these guys don't even know to exfoliate. >> but it does prove these guys are complaining about towel service not happening and there are death gratuity benefits that have been held from families who have lost loved ones who are fighting for us. >> and they're surprised that the government -- this is the part that's really in the overarching thing of insanity. it's that they were surprised that the government would shut down when they let the government shut down. it's though they don't even know what government is, what branches of the government control what. oh, the national parks are part of the government? well, i like those. and when it gets to that point, first of all, i don't know why anyone is surprised. these people don't even know basically how a woman's reproductive system. so we can't really expect much. but it's on and on and on and the american people are so confused that they look to comedians right now to be some kind of levity in the insanity. >> well, do you think, brian, though, that this is really going to -- congress is still getting paid. there's a website even dedicated to how much they have earned since this shutdown happened. but do you think that there is too much time between now and 2014 for americans and as lizz is pointing out, so confused by the machinations taking place in d.c. that by 2014 that the stench will have worn off? >> that's definitely possible. you know, history has kind of shown that we tend to get really riled up for a short period of time and then it definitely does wane a little bit. but that is why i think, you know, what we've done kind of with the site that we've made, this is fucongress which has generated a lot of traffic. we say listen, use this energy now and divert it into places that can start making a difference long term. there are lots of organizations and institutions out there that are trying to make a yearly effort to stop this and to expose more information and to fight corruption in politics. >> i assume that doesn't stand for fordham university? >> no, it doesn't. >> lizz, brian, great to have you both on. thanks, i really appreciate it. the nobel surprise, the winner of this year's peace prize leading to international debate. it wasn't the girl named malala who was the odds-on favorite. kyra simmons will join me next. lights always be green. 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[ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] powerful sinus relief from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. sudafed. open up. from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. ♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolate ♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolate ♪ we, we chocolate cross over ♪ yeah, we chocolate cross over ♪ [ male announcer ] fiber one 80 calorie chocolate cereal. ♪ chocolate ido more with less with buless energy. hp is helping ups do just that. soon, the world's most intelligent servers, designed by hp, will give ups over twice the performance, using forty percent less energy. multiply that across over a thousand locations, and they'll provide the same benefit to the environment as over 60,000 trees. that's a trend we can all get behind. this year's nobel peace prize goes to a chemical weapons watchdog group overseeing the crucial task of disposing of chemical weapons in syria. but today we're also talking about who didn't win this award. many had expect eed pakistani tn malala yousafzai to win this prize. but despite the disappointment, malala says her work to make sure that girls have a right to education, it will continue. >> they can kill me, they can only kill malala. but it does not mean that they can kill my cause as well. my cause of education, my cause of peace and my cause of human rights, my cause of equality will still be surviving. they cannot kill my cause. >> joining me right now, nbc's kyra simmons and amon mo-- >> it's a testament to the impact that she's had in such a short period of time. you saw this young woman standing up and making a speech in front of all of those world leaders and being so assured and confident about her message. people are saying, okay, well look, how come she didn't somebody would would win the peace prize. at the same time, why is it being given to an organization and not an individual, but at the end of the day this organization has done an enormous amount and sometimes it's about a group of people and not one person. >> malala will be talking to the president of the world bank about keeping up the fight for girls education and she also talks about wanting potentially a career in politics, correct? >> right. and in pakistan there has been an outpouring, a huge reaction about her not winning this prize, which is interesting. because the truth is on the ground in pakistan there are many people who are still opposed to the message that she is bringing. that girls deserve education, deserve equality, deserve respect. so it's not the full picture, but it is interesting to see in that country people standing up and saying actually i support her and i think she should have won. >> definitely breaking new ground. >> when we look at, though, the winner of the nobel peace prize, the committee awarded the prize because of the extensive efforts that they have put into ridding chemical weapons in the world. talk about the peace-building efforts of this group, because malala certainly, again, had the name recognition and the story. this other organization not so familiar to us all. >> certainly. it certainly has come into the limelight a lot more in the recent weeks because of its work in syria. partly the reason behind it is because the conflict in syria has become the single biggest regional conflict and a lot of the major international countries are involved in that conflict. but this is an organization that's been around since the late 1990s. it's an organization involved in more than 80 countries in trying to reduce chemical stockpiles and it's the first treaty that came out of the u.n. back in the '90s was the first ban on any type of class of a single weapon. so it was a very important achievement. but the work of this particular organization i think in recent weeks is what really put it at the front and center of this candidacy to win the nobel peace prize. >> certainly great and much needed work and we don't mean to discount it by talking about malala, but she has captured the attention of so many and we want to see her do well because she is wise beyond her years. gentlemen, great to have you here, much appreciated. we'll talk about the question that we answered today, is the damage done to the republican brand and do you think it's irreversible. yes, but as always they will try to shift the blame on everyone but themselves. christine tweeted any political party that can purposely do this much harm to the american people is a threat to our nation. and then from mazee, we won't be so lucky. keep those comments coming in. the conversation continues on twitter and facebook. we're back after this. ♪ ♪ (announcer) answer the call of the grill with new friskies grillers, full of meaty tenders and crunchy bites. so you may not be aware but today is national coming out day in the u.s. however, in russia, lgtb rights are still under attack. the new law bans russian children from being adopted by same-sex marriage from other countries. even bans singles from adopting if they live in countries that allow marriage equality. as rachel maddow reports, it's about to get worse. >> this becomes particularly acute now that russia is moving onto their next big idea. they want to come into people's homes and start removing kids from their parents if their parents are gay. adoptive kids, foster kids, even your biological children will be taken away from you if you are gay under the next bill that they are moving. so it is an interesting question for countries that believe gay people shouldn't have their children stolen, it's interesting for other people in the world as russia continues to move on this as well as participating in the russian hosted olympics implies tacit consent approval for what they are doing. >> america's anti-lgtb contingent is not only supporting moves but helping russia do it. msnbc.com profiled a pastor helping in that. tony, it's good to have you here. it was last month you had the opportunity to profile pastor scott lively known for making a persecution of the gay community part of his global crusade setting his sights on the olympics. as we're talking about what's happening in russia how does the rhetoric of a pastor like that influence and help laws to take away children and influence who can adopt russian children. how is that helping this cause? >> what we're seeing is the american cultural wars from the 1990 directly exported to russia. he was part of a major group in oregon, the only group to successfully get an american city to ban pro gay propaganda, accepting any language about homosexuality. he went and imposed those laws. hey, that's a great idea, the bills power through. >> when we look at other people here in the state, property and ceo of the family leader, social conservative organization praising vladimir putin and the force he's had enacting these certain laws attachment a listen. >> he's taken what used to be our strengths, which has defaulted into our weaknesses because of barack obama, no leadership, and he's hage making them his strength and he's emerging now on the world stage as a newly discovered leader. ladies and gentlemen, this is why you need to rise up. >> so this is why you need to rise up. now we have these two different laws in russia enacted, one regarding children, one regarding propaganda laws. there's another one coming down the line next year to be debated. meanwhile when the olympic hits. while all of this is going on, would we be talking about it as much if we didn't have certain events like the olympics taking place there. would the tension be less? >> absolutely not. that's what they are banking on, they have given up the fight in the u.s. the culture war has been lost. they are going to a place where their message has found an audience and where advocacy groups are not as set up to combat the vir lntly anti-homophobic rhetoric we're seeing. you're going to see more of this. scott has been throughout the region, former soviet union, africa, he's just the roman gnome of homophobia here. >> great to have you. >> yes, sir. >> that's going to wrap things up for me. back here 11:00 eastern. don't go anywhere. "now" with alex wagner coming up. a special friday edition of the show. >> insofar as we're having the show on friday, indeed it is. we're 11 days in, the gop may finally be getting the message. as senate republicans meet with president obama, will the party's cooler heads prevail. we will discuss with our guests. plus grand old party purse strings. whose money is worth more, wall street's or the koch brothers? and we'll look at the colorado gun lobby's third recall offer. that's right, the third one. that's when "now" starts right after this. i didn't want nicotine to give up nicotine. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. [ mike ] when i was taking the chantix, it reduced the urge to smoke. 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[ male announcer ] open enrollment ends december 7th. so call today. aarp medicarerx plans insured through unitedhealthcare. ♪ evebut only three in tenents of them are women.th and science. to have enough graduates to fill 21st century jobs... ...we'll have to solve this gender divide. let's inspire more young women to pursue math and science. let's light the way for a new generation. join exxonmobil in advancing math and science education. let's solve this. how loudly will republicans have to cry uncle before the tea party hears them? it is friday october 11th and this is "now." it seems as if republicans are finally kluge into the fact that threatening to tank the global economy and leave millions without government services was perhaps not the best strategy after all according to a new nbc "wall street journal" poll, approval of the grand old party