>> he really damaged himself. >> the people that elected ted cruz are very happy. >> i work for the people of texas and i fight for them. >> the most fundamental thing this fight was about. >> this fight. >> this fight. >> what they like is to fight. >> we're in the midst of battles. >> they don't seem to have a goal. >> the fight took us off message. >> the fiasco has been obscure. >> he operates on the basis of division. >> we elevated the national debate. we accomplished a great deal and we need to reflect on that. >> ted cruz is not backing down. >> the shut down should be in our rear view mirror. >> there will not be another government shut down. >> don't do this again, ted. >> the architect of government shut down leading the civil war inside the republican party went home to texas this weekend to continue his attack against the republican party. and when ted cruz went to speak to the texas federation of republican women he got this welcome. >> thank you. >> we love you. >> that is is a slightly different reception than i get in washington d.c. and having spent the past month up in dc, it is really great to be back in america. [ applause ] >> nice. classy. so there is is a senator who is standing in a state that literally went to war with washington d.c., actually suceeded from the union because it didn't want to be part of america and he is standing there claiming now that that state which used to be mexico and less than 30 years after being part of mexico told america that it did not want to be part of the united states any more, ted cruz is standing there in that state claiming that that state is america. the state that tried to rip the united states of america apart and that washington d.c. and the states that succeeded in holding america together are not america. that's where ted cruz spent the weekend blaming the failure to defund, delay or repeal the affordable care act on senate republicans. >> a significant number stopped the effort to defund obama care. and once that happened, we weren't going to win this one. to use an analogy if the house of representatives was marching into battle, i think the senate republicans should have come like the cavalry to support them. >> in an interview with the national reviews, ted cruz would not rule out another government shut down as a tactic against the affordable care act. harry reid told univision all it did is hurt republicans. i hope they have learned a lesson. the american people will not put up with that and if this happens again, i don't think it will, but if it does, the house of representatives will go democratic. yet another poll shows that harry reed is right. 54% say it's a bad thing. p 11 points from last december. but still, ted kruz calls the shut down a success. >> we couldn't win this fight. but none the less, i am incredibly encouraged in the last two months we have elevated the national debate over the harms of obama care. >> there is one other republican who cheered on ted cruz. >> i just want to remind president obama mike lee and ted -- mike lee and ted cruz, they did run for election and they did win. and they campaigned on getting rid of obama care so they went to washington and they did exactly what they were elected to do. the people that elected mike lee and ted cruz are very happy. >> joining me now, i want to read what ted cruz told you about shutting down the government. on restoring jobs and economic growth. that will remain my focus and it hoped it would be the focus of the house republicans and senate republicans joined together and united. it is just astonishing the things he says about other republicans. >> i don't think that civil war is ready to end at all. when i sat down with senator mcconnel who said he would like to have the shut downs end but when i spoke to senator cruz the next day, he wants to continue to fight into january and february. >> i tend to be on the side of numbers and in this case i think the numbers have clearly demonstrated that mitch was right and ted cruz was wrong. i think the shut down has actually improved the polling numbers for the affordable care act which is what ted cruz was out specifically to undermine. absent him launching an absurdly long filibuster, there is very little avenue for him to shut down the government from his perch in the senate. you have the house and you don't have the senate and certainly president obama is not going to sign a law that defunds the signature legislate. >> to put you in the conservative mind set they look at the roll out and they think come january and february we could get a delay of the individual mandate. this is how conservatives are strat jazzi i-- strategizing ri. >> they might be supportive of some ting tinkering but they ar committed to not negotiating when there is a shut down or threat of default. they think there is is a template you have to set in which you don't negotiate in the situation. >> you have such great sources on the republican side. all sides in fact. what is your sense within the senate and including the house dynamic with this since he crosses the building and goes over and tries to work with the house. where is he in terms of gyming something up? >> it's interesting when you see comments over the weekend and he is praising house republicans. because ted cruise working with house conservatives creates a problem once again. ted cruz will continue to huddle and raise expectations. >> what about those house republicans who saw that ted cruz couldn't actually deliver anything. >> i call them the silent majori majority. and i think that we saw a little bit of push back now and will see a little later. >> to go back to your discussion, you got to talk to harry reed. >> he said some extraordinary things to you about some of the republican members that normally especially after a win like harry reid had you tried to be mag nam mouse. >> i think a lot of the debate touched him deeply and emotionally. it's really the employer contribution. he thought it was incredibly rude and awful of the senator to launch and make that the signature push for health care. he thought it would have led to brain drain and putting the burden on the backs of staffers who are generally not paid that well. he had some choice words much more than you usually see and i thought that was astonishing. this debate was really peeked and emotional in him. >> the more we get into 2013, the one thing that republicans feel that they have the house through 2020, because of the way the bits are drown. if they feel -- they will push back probably stronger than we saw last week. >> it doesn't seem to me that they have to push back very hard. if you don't think it's real, go to houston, go to des moines and follow them around. >> it was no fault of their own, it was the fault of senate republicans. they think if you just do that again. >> it's funny. i kept trying to get them to criticize speaker boehner. >> a senator saying no, no, no. it's their fault. he keeps saying this thing where he says imagine if all the republican senators were united and the answer to that is yes. you would lose. mitch mcconnel gives you an answer and says it's math. >> when i asked senator mcconnel what he thought of cruz, he paused and said i don't have any observations. and he feels like the expectations for divided government need to be lower. but ted cruz is not going to stop. he is likely going to run for president. what's the reason to stop? >> again, it's like every aspect of reality flies in the face of ted cruz strategy. what we're talk iing. >> he animated the conversation. >> he is selling a false bill to these people. he made people defensive about obama care. >> the guys who get the big interview, thank you very much for joining me tonight. >> coming up, president obama defends the affordable care act and says it's more than a website. and what will chris christy's -- and now that wendy davis is running for governor, texas republicans have figured out a way to make it much more difficult for women to vote and other states might do the same thing. and in the rewrite tonight, another episode of are you smarter than a white house correspondent, starring guess who? i love having a free checked bag with my united mileageplus explorer card. i've saved $75 in checked bag fees. 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(vo) meee-ow, business pro. meee-ow. go national. go like a pro. >> senator elect cory officiated nine weddings in newark's city hall. seven were same sex, two were straight marriages. it was booker's first time officiating at any wedding. he refused requests before in protest of new jersey's ban on same sex marriages. there was one objection to the first gay wedding. >> before we exchange the vows, i must ask if there is anyone present here today that should know of any reason why they should not be married. speak now or forever hold your peace. [ inaudible ] would you please remove that person? please remove that person. and i remind people, not hearing any worthy objection -- [ applause ] i now will proceed. >> up next, what chris christy's surrender on marriage equality will mean if the governor does decide to run for president? 2016. in the nation, we know how you feel about your car. so when coverage really counts, count on nationwide insurance. because what's precious to you is precious to us. ♪ love, love is strange just another way we put members first. because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. ♪ baby... ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> yet another win for marriage equality after new jersey became the 14th state to legalize same sex marriage just hours after the first couple exchange, chris christy dropped an appeal against a superior court decision from last month requiring the state to recognize same sex marriages. and it hinted that it would probably rule. none of them overcome same sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today. although the governor strongly disagrees. the people, speaken clearly and therefore same sex marriage is the law. enforces the law as dictated by the new jersey supreme court. while the majority of americans support marriage equality, today's decision might hurt the possible 2016 presidential contenders standing with the -- with only 27% of republicans support same sex marriage. joining me now. and back with us, how does chris christy's choice play? >> i think the main argument if he goes is that he is actually a pro life protraditional marriage candida candidate. i think he will argue on a legal basis. when it comes to his positions, i don't see much changing. >> he dropped the state's appeal. the state had a case and they could have fought it. this guy surrendered. >> and he hugged obama. >> and he also did that. >> right. >> there i believe we completed all of the republican attack ads. >> exactly. the moderate alternative to the far right and the party, the guy who can win. and the guy who can win cannot be al that far to the right on gay marriage, i think. can't take the traditional republican never never never over my dead body position. there is always one guy who doesn't want to run. >> you know what happened? mccain sat out iowa. >> go to new hampshire or florida. >> robert, how about how it's going to play in new jersey. showing tremendous support in new jersey. is this about christy wanting to run up his number so he can present that number and say look, i got x% of the vote? >> i think he is trying to run up his number in new jersey. really has not been sitting back. so we see him now with the shut down happening. >> i guess he always has the activist judges to blame. don't be bringing that weak stuff to us. that his rational was that they indicated that they will rule against him. you know, that sounds iffy but if you read what they actually said, it looks like that is the way it would go. >> if anyone can make the legal case, it's chris christie. >> his position gets to hold. he gets to say i'm personally against it. >> i'm personally against it. this is what the courts have ruled. let's move on. >> right now, let's ignore iowa for a moment. we know that's the place that rewards the michelle bachmanns. moving into new hampshire and in the calendar after that. who does that look good for? >> i think if you look at new hampshire it looks for for senator paul and christie. >> up next. >> can we say main street? he is edging that way. >> right after new hampshire. >> my home state. social issues can play. it's big on defense data. a lot of candidates expect this to be a wide field. you have got to last a long time. longer than usual. >> thank you both very much for joining me tonight. >> the president said absolutely nothing today about the complete failure of a government program that has wasted $79 billion in the rewrite we will have a little test for you. are you smarter than a white house correspondent? you might need to get your notebooks out and make this a fair fight. if you understand, you will win tonight's episode of are you smarter than a white house correspondent. ream is of a better future, a confident retirement. those dreams, there's just no way we're going to let them die. ♪ like they helped millions of others. by listening. planning. working one on one. that's what ameriprise financial does. that's what they can do with you. that's how ameriprise puts more within reach. ♪ congestion, for the smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the buses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution into the air. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. >> on the spotlight tonight, another outrageous failure in a massive government program. since being declared combat ready by the bush administration, the f-22 fighter jet has been plagued with problems at one point grounded for five months. and not one has ever flown in a single combat mission. the failure has cost the american taxpayer at least $79 billion, none of the republican cheer leaders for the sink hole of government waste that the f-22 is mentioned any of the defense department's massive failures in the attacks on the website for the affordable care act, which though shakey is still working better than an f-22 fighter jet. president obama announced a phone number to call today if you're having trouble. he did not announce a phone number to call if your f-22 isn't working. the president made no promises about ever being able to fix the f-22, but he did promise to fix the affordable care website. >> so here's the bottom line. the product, the health insurance, is good. the prices are good. it is a good deal. they are showing up to buy it. which means it's going to get fiked. >> websites created by states are generally working much better than the one created by the federal government. running the rhode island website is the responsibility of christine ferguson. i worked with her 20 years ago when she was the leader of the republican senate staff who wrote the republican version of health care reform bill we always believe that the day would come when we would merge those two bills into a compromise joining me now. >> what -- i'm not sure if you know completely what the federal government has done. what have you done differently in rhode island that managed to get your website online. >> i think the last time we talked, we talked about the fact that it would be surprising if governors decided not to do state based exchanges. i think probably you are just as surprised as i am that so many chose not to. that put the feds at a disadvantage. our website and technology around the application and enrollment process, we got that up and running in a few months. so, i think it's a question of speed and all of the different aspects of the business processes that had to be put in place. and done properly and then translated into i.t. and that's a tough haul and the feds didn't expect to have that short of time to do it. >> christine, we have some breaking news from the washington post tonight on the federal problems. where they report that when the website went live the federal website went live on october 1, it locked up shortly after midnight as about 2,000 users attempted to complete the first step. according to -- it took only 2,000 simultaneous users to apparently freeze up the federal website. you must have run stress tests on your system like that. >> we ran a number -- we tested all the way up to the october 1 date. we are still testing other aspects of the system, but we got 6,000 hits on our website in the first concurrent hits on our website a minute in the first half hour that we were up. and we had a little bit of a glitch and we were able to fix it right away because we had a good back up plan. so it's not an easy thing. i think at the end of the day, the question is going to be not what happened in october, but what happened over the course of the next six months. and for -- i will say for us in rhode island, we took a little bit different tact than everybody else. we are focusing both on the individual access to health insurance and the small business component. we are really focused on helping small businesses get a good price. that, i think, as we go along here. that component of the business side is going to become more important than the other pieces of coverage. >> christine, given your experience with setting one up and knowing that rhode island is about the smallest scale one in the country and the federal one has to be the biggest, what is your guess about when things will get straightened out? >> i think they are working really hard on doing that. they have got some great people coming in to help. i think they will get there. that helps everybody move a little faster than might otherwise be done. i am confident that as we go through this over the next couple of months things will be cleaned up and working well. and then the task as you know when we worked on these issues together, the real issue is in the long run are we going to be able to make a difference in the cost. are small businesses going to be able to afford this? and that at the end of the day really is the set of questions that we should be focused on now. the technology will work itself out. i think we risk the middle and longer term solutions around cost and delivery system if we focus only on the technology right now. >> i know that the great senator would be very, very proud that you got rhode island up and running. >> and senator would be very proud that you're still having this conversation with me. >> yes, he would like this conversation. thanks very much. >> coming up, if you are a dedicated viewer of this program, you know many things most people in washington don't know and you will be able to prove that tonight. are you smarter than a white house correspondent? 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this was the question of the day at jay karney's white house press briefing. >> is the white house going to be delaying the mandate? >> i'm going to play you the answer in full. but first i want to play you the white house correspondent's reaction to jay's answer. >> i don't understand the answer. >> so, there you have a white house correspondent who was hired for that job on the assumption that he would actually understand the answers in the white house press briefing room bravely admitting pubically so that his bosses could hear it that he doesn't understand the answer. now i didn't understand teacher's answers in math class a lot, but i was never one of those kids to raise my hand after one of the complicated answers and say i don't understand the answer. i just couldn't voluntarily suffer that intellectual embarrassment in sixth grade when math started to get like wicked hard. but sincetivety to public intellectual embarrassment has never been a problem for white house correspondents. this answer that i'm about to play is now your test. some of you will surely find yourselves in the white house correspondent position at the end of this answer thinking i don't understand the answer but some of you will find it easy to follow and really complete and because it's complete it is not a quick answer. some of you will understand every word jay is saying and why he is saying it. and some of you here then is your test. remember the question. >> given all the problems that we have seen with people trying to enroll in the program, is the white house going to be delaying the mandate? >> okay. now let's see if you're smarter than a white house correspondent. >> we're three weeks into a six month enrollment period. as i said, the law it as written makes clear that americans who have access to affordable insurance would need to have insurance by march 31. but people who do not have access to affordable care do example to a state not expanding medicaid and there are states out there who are depriving their own residents access because they made that choice they are working to align policies, the disconnect between the open enrollment period and the individual responsibility time frames, which exists on the first year only. the point i'm trying to make, john, and addressing the question at the end of your question is we're focused on providing quality health insurance to millions of americans. we are three weeks into a six month enrollment period. if you enrolled last week or you enroll next week your insurance does not kick in until january 1. ample prior experience shows that in programs like these, most people don't enroll until towards the end. if you're able to shop for an extended period of time before you have to buy you're likely to shop. and in massachusetts, the health care initiative was passed into law, the hanch consumer explored his or her options six to eight times, i believe the figure was, before making the decision. again, we're acknowledging clearly as the president did, that the problems that have existed on the website are not acceptable to him. and our focus is on making the affordable care act work and making sure that americans have access to these plans. not on, you know, figuring out who is to blame for a problem that clearly exists and we need to fix. >> okay. so for you white house correspondents out there who didn't understand that answer, jay is going to say it again and he's going to say it in response to a follow up question from the actual white house correspondent who didn't understand that answer. >> if the website is not fixed will people still have to pay the fine. >> the law makes clear that people who do not have access to affordable care due to states not -- >> those factors can be this website? >> that's how the law is written. >> notice the white house correspondent suffers absolutely no embarrassment about not knowing how the law is written but no one in washington is embarrassed about not knowing how the affordable care act is written, especially the individual mandate provision, which i began quoting on msnbc programs three and a half years ago. if you have heard me quote the law you know that the most complete answer, will people still have to pay the fine is that no one ever really has to pay the fine in the individual mandate because the irs has been specifically forbidden in writing in law in the affordable care act from ever actually pursuing either civil or criminal remedies to collect those fines from anyone. the individual mandate is the only provision in the tax code that was written deliberately to be essentially unenforceable. i have done dramatic readings many times but if a white house correspondent cannot understand the very clear language, then i guess understanding the legislative language in law would be impossible. of course, the answer to the big question of the day is no, no one will have to pay a fine if they can't sign up for health insurance through the federal government's website because the website is broken. and oh, by the way, the deep dark secret that no one in washington continues to kpro hend is that no one really has to pay the fine which means that tonight we have breaking news. obama care individual mandate suspended permanently. the white house has issued these special rules about the individual mandate. special rules waiver of criminal penalties. to timely pay any penalty imposed by this section. such hall not be subject to any criminal prosecution. with respect to any property of a taxpayer by reason. >> the language of the special rule suspending the collection of the penalty and of the individual mandate forever was hidden by the white house until tonight in a place they were sure no white house correspondents would ever find it. on page 131 of the affordable care act signed into law by president obama on march 232010. [ taps baton ] [ dings ] ♪ [ male announcer ] every thought... every movement... ♪ ...carefully planned, coordinated and synchronized. ♪ performing together with a single, united purpose. ♪ that's what makes the world's leading airline... flyer friendly. ♪ >> texas has found a new way to prevent women from voting. that's next. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. >> students, low income voters, people of color, and now there is another group of people to add to the list of disenfranchised voters in texas. women. voters must show a photo i.d. with their most up to date legal name according to the center for justice. 34% of women voters do not have acceptable id under this law because many have not updated their documents with their married or divorced names. women in texas must now show original documents of their name change. a marriage license, divorce decree or court ordered change. the law is going into effect at a time when wendy davis came into governor. >> i have been teaching in stations. >> my name is terry moore and i have spent the bulk of my time prosecuting. there are thousands of rape kits that were untested. it was like nobody cared. wendy davis saw the need by passing legislation she required all of the rape kits to be tested and by doing so she gave the police and prosecutors a very powerful tool. >> it raises campaign money. like wendy davis. this is so clearly targeted at women. >> yes. yes it is. republicans are so scared of women voters right now they can't see straight and they have really good reason. they have been waging a war on women for a number of years getting more and more aggressive. so in 2014, going into midterm elections which means good news for republicans. this seems to be their really appalling strategy. >> is this going to -- >> i would be surprised if we didn't see it elsewhere. only 66% of women have the correct id. i couldn't tell you where my original marriage license was if my right depended on it. >> that's again, just another hurdle they are trying to create. >> absolutely. you have to have original documentation to show the name change. you will have to pay $20. this is really insidious strategy to disenfranchise with the extremist -- which i think they are watching. they contie to be watching. all you have got to do is see