in our state to go chris christie. otherwise, it's sour grapes, so stop wasting your time complaining about praying for a storm. find a candidate first, then get a message. >> this raises a really interesting point though, which is that the whole country assumes chris christie is going to run and he's very popular right now. and then when you actually run, people start throwing at you. they did with mitt romney, about his taxes, about the education rank of massachusetts. there were all kinds of things. things like having an unemployment rate 2% higher, that could change. or you could look at these statistics and they could change how you think about how he will do in a republican primary. >> the big thing is that chris christie has this profile where he's saying i'm a problem solver, a bipartisan guy. i get things done, but the thing is that there are two big democratic party bosses in the state. that's the reason why he gets things done because those guys with knuckle under the democrats and legislature, that's not ho

>> well, i love all this chatter about chris christie. i think there are other more moderate republicans in the party who i would love to see take back control from of the right wing. this is the structural problem that the republican party has because of gerrymandering we have very right wing republicans controlling the house of representatives, essentially, making compromise absolutely impossible. remember we have a qadry of people in our congress who believe it's their job to essentially make sure nothing happens. to them, that's their job. and that's really the problem. it's great to see, you know, some national republicans here and there talking about these things but jen, structurally, here in washington, we're not going to get to a place where we're able to have compromise if at the congressional level, voters -- if the republican part doesn't change the nature of their primary electorate to be more moderate are and voters don't actually hold leaders accountable. not just i don't care what you stopped, i don't care how many times y

christie. >> i'm here now with governor chris christie. >> chris christie is a headline waiting to happen. >> that means he has crossover appeal. >> would you support a federal ban? >> these are complicated issues. >> and the push to do something about guns appears to be picking up steam. >> vice president joe biden's declaration. >> the president is going to act. >> that the white house can take executive action. >> executive action that can be taken. >> to address gun violence. >> out of the way, obama is coming. >> is there room for common ground. >> the vice president's plan is designed to be big. comprehensive. >> too comprehensive for passage. >> that could disappoint a lot of folks. >> well you know what they say, if at first you don't succeed. >> >> today, republican governor chris christie told matt lauer that the republican party is in trouble. >> but are you happy with the course of the republican party right now? do you think it is head understand the right direction? >> we have lost two national elections, i would say no. we're in politics to win, we need to think about doing

explains how long chris christie keeps this up? this attack on the republicans. >> let's see, november -- >> can he just get his hurricane sandy money and then stop talking about them? >> yeah, and i think that krystal has made this point, too, i think it is right. a big part of chris christie's thinking, he has to win re-election in the blue state and with obama voters. but this is a new jersey guy, in a certain level he cares more about his state than just the day to day politics. and the 2016 politics, so a certain amount of it is to apply pressure on the republicans. i do think it will die down after that. but at the same time the pressure to continue being chris christie who defines himself a little bit against washington republicans will continue through at least a little bit of this year. and it will be interesting to watch, if he does have designs on 2016, how can he sort of navigate back to being a hero to conservatives, after spending a year doing this. i am not sure he can. >> krystal if he has designs on the vice presid

christie. >> i'm here now with governor chris christie. >> chris christie is a headline waiting to happen. >> that means he has crossover appeal. >> would you support a federal ban? >> these are complicated issues. >> and the push to do something about guns appears to be picking up steam. >> vice president joe biden's declaration. >> the president is going to act. >> that the white house can take executive action. >> executive action that can be taken. >> to address gun violence. >> out of the way, obama is coming. >> is there room for common ground. >> the vice president's plan is designed to be big. comprehensive. >> too comprehensive for passage. >> that could disappoint a lot of folks. >> well you know what they say, if at first you don't succeed. >> today, republican governor chris christie told matt that the republican party is in trouble. >> but are you happy with the course of the republican party right now? do you think it is head understand the right direction? >> we have lost two national elections, i would say no. we're in politics to win, we need to think about doing somethin

in our state to go chris christie. otherwise, it's sour grapes, so stop wasting your time complaining about praying for a storm. find a candidate first, then get a message. >> this raises a really interesting point though, which is that the whole country assumes chris christie is going to run and he's. >> reporter: popular right now. and then when you actually run, people start throwing at you. they did with mitt romney, about his taxes, about the education rank of massachusetts. there were all kinds of things. things like having an unemployment rate 2% higher, that could change. or you could look at these statistics and they could change how you think about how he will do in a republican primary. >> the big thing is that chris christie has this profile where he's saying i'm a problem solver, a bipartisan guy. i get things done, but the thing is that there are two big democratic party bosses in the state. that's the reason why he gets things done because those guys with knuckle under the democrats and legislature, that

why john boehner refuses to take chris christie's phone calls. that is next. and in the rewrite tonight, what the senate did today. that is right, today, the united states senate. i know you have been told that the senate is closed for business. that is not true. harry reid got some good work done in the senate today and he got 100 votes for things that for some strange reason no one has told you anything about. >>> there is only one group the blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims. the house majority and their speaker, john boehner. last night, politics was placed before our oath, to serve our citizens. for me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch. >> that was new jersey's republican governor chris christie today slamming fellow republican john boehner for cancelling a vote late last night that would have provided billions of dollars in federal aid to victims of hurricane sandy. in the spotlight tonight, republicans versus republicans. republican congressman peter king of new york attacked his leader's decision earlier today. >> r

chris christie, we have the chris christie press conference where he promised chris that, you know, pick up the phone. you call and lobby the members and i'll take care of it. and then he got his vote. shut down the house. and that was it. everybody feels like john boehner did not tell them the truth. >> so here's chris christie yesterday as well. >> there's only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims. the house majority and their speaker, john boehner. we respond to innocent victims of natural disasters not as republicans or democrats but as americans. or at least we did until last night. last night the house of representatives failed. that most basic test of public service. and they did so with callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state. i called the speaker four times last night after 11:20, and he did not take my calls. on a political chess board of internal palace intrigue politics, our people were played last night as a pawn. and that's why people hate washington, d.c. that's why they hate this politics. last night it was my pa

chris christie is the republican everyone is talking about. his approval rating is certain. over 70% approval. even after publically embracing president obama. wow, he actually lived to tell about it. the cover of "time" magazine simply calls him the boss. >> and, today, he made it clear what works. >> we're getting things done and we're compromise where we need to. it's not a dirty word. >> compromise is not a dirty word. pretty simple, right? but speaker boehner and republicans in congress just don't get it. boehner is vowing to stop direct talks with president obama in the future. and let me introduce you to this fella that he's got with him now. he's tom cotton. a newbie congressman from arkansas. today, he unvailed his big, new ideas. >> i think that the congress, as a whole, may be able to say no to barack obama a little bit more. >> genius. say hello to the president. what could possibly go wrong? good plan, mr. colt ton. . >> i don't think what washington needs is more compromise. i think what washington needs is more common sense and more principle. >> yeah, sure. w

then chris christie said i can do one better. he went off on boehner and the republicans as well. >> there is only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims. the house majority and their speaker, john boehner. this is not a republican or democratic issue. national disasters happen in red states and blue states, and states with democratic governors and republican governors. we respond to innocent victims of natural disasters not as republicans or democrats but as americans. or at least we did until last night. >> cenk: strong words. if he's going to run in 2016, he said i was going to take on the republicans. if he's going to stay in new jersey he's fighting for his home state. a lot of people enjoyed this press conference, and he wasn't done yet. >> we vote for relief in other states. we're sending much more to washington, d.c. than we ever get back in federal spending. despite this history of unbridled generosity, in our hour of desperate need we've been left waiting for help six times longer than

that's exactly the kind of question chris christie would answer and in the wrong way. and, by the way, he accepts civil unions. that will kill you in this shrunken, extreme electorate. >> now, abbey, your father, john huntsman, he was recently talking about the state of his party. and it wasn't part of it. let me quote what he says. he says it's really tough to define republicanism today because we don't have a leader and we don't have a platform. the party right now is a holding company that's devoid of a soul. akd it will be filld up with ideas over time and leaders will take their proper place. devoid of a soul? that's pretty strong stuff from a republican. i do think chris christy and even my dad should be the face of that. they're reformers. in the sweet spot of their leadership is authenticity. they live in reality. they live in the real world. they realize and understand, you know, they can embrace things like civil unions and even gay marriage, heaven forbid, without sacrificing their core conservative principles. that's exactly what the republican party needs.

you know, looking broader at this potential primary, you've got chris christie. you've got rahn paul and paul ryan, marco rubio. all people who are thought of as potential candidates. who do you think right now is positioned best not for the general election, but for the base, for the primaries? >> that's a great question. you know, back to what karen said, it really depends on where the country is. i know it's an unsatisfying answer to say that it matters. to me chris christie is a kind of a throwback to a giuliani candidacy in certain respects. he is a guy who is sort of brash attitude, his willingness to kind of take it to fight is very reassuring the conservatives, right, in the same way that, you know, when giuliani who loved taking it to democrats, and that was important to them enough to overlook the fact that on substance he was not that conservative. the difference is, actually, chris christie is quite conservative on substance and he is brash and also able to do these things doing right now to put himself above the fray, above politics of usual. that's

conservatives that hate chris christie, let me repeat that, chris christie has a 73% approval rating among voters. and unlike you, those of you lurched far out on the right, he actually wins elections. and he's going to win again in the bluest of blue states. he's now calling on lawmakers in washington to quickly pass federal aid for hurricane sandy relief. what did christie focus on the most in this address? >> in his address yesterday, he talked about the storm that reshaped the jersey shoreline and underscored the delayed response in federal funding when compared to other disasters. >> we as a state have waited 72 days, seven times longer than the victims of hurricane katrina waited. and one thing i hope everyone in america now clearly understands, new jersey, both republicans and democrats, will never stand silent when our citizens are being short-changed. we have stood with the citizens of florida and alabama, mississippi and louisiana, iowa and vermont, california and missouri, in their times of need. now i trust they will stand with us. >> he also said washington could learn a

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now one of the biggest fans is chris christie. he may be what they need to break out of their super religious people. here's my question. how does a pragmatist like christie get through a tea party driven primary season. >>> christie wants to save the party from itself. republicans have reintroduced a bill to defund planned parenthood. republicans. if you want to remain a minority party, keep it up. >>> let me finish tonight with a fabulous story about dick nixon and his 100th birthday. this is "hardball," the place for politics. to argue would be rude. nissan altima. with moving-object detection. lease now. just $199 per month. visit choosenissan.com. road and track called sentra an economy car minus the look and feel of an economy car. wonder how civic and corolla look and feel about that. the all-new nissan sentra, with best-in-class mpg. lease for $169 per month. visit choosenissan.com. >>> well, another sign the country's getting a slight in. gallup says today democrats are gaining an advantage on republicans. 47% identify th

shame on congress. >> chris christie outraged on relief efforts. tonight, why he might get what he needs. >> >> live and in h.d. -- this is abc 7 news at 6:00, on your side. >> first at 6, the frustration over the fiscal cliff deal less than 24 hours after the house passed a bill. critics call it a band-aid that does not solve the long-term spending problems. >> big spending cuts are delayed for two months and ickes income taxes at the same level for the majority of americans. that means your taxes have gone

now one of the biggest fans is chris christie. he may be what they need to break out of their super religious people. here's my question. how does a pragmatist like christie get through a tea party driven primary season. >>> christie wants to save the party from itself. republicans have reintroduced a bill to defund planned parenthood. republicans. if you want to remain a minority party, keep it up. >>> let me finish tonight with a fabulous story about dick nixon and his 100th birthday. this is "hardball," the place for politics. it smells worse. get 4x the protection against stress sweat. introducing new secret clinical strength stress response scent. >>> well, another sign the country's getting a slightly line in blue. gallup says today democrats are gaining an advantage on republicans. 47% identify themselves as democrats or leaning democrat. 42% say they lean towards the gop. you got the numbers. in 2010 and 2011 the parties with for neck and neck. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back to "hardball." as president obama's secon

>> one of the few republicans to call the nra out for that video was governor chris christie. take a look at what he said in a press conference just yesterday. >> to talk about the president's children or any public officer's children who have not by their own choice but by requirement to have protection and to use that somehow to try to make a political point i think is reprehensible. i think it's awful to bring public figures' children into the political debate. they don't deserve to be there, and i think for any of us who are public figures, you see that kind of ad and you cringe. >> chris christie i think is on the right side of this politically speaking for himself at home in new jersey. why aren't more republicans -- he's the only one i'm aware of who took this position. >> absolutely. chris christie once again -- first of all, he's consistent because he's yelled at people for asking about his own kids being private schooled, if you remember that youtube moment. but he's also one of the only republicans who doesn't seem beholden to the far right. i think that's part beca

now one of the biggest fans is chris christie. he may be what they need to break out of their super religious people. here's my question. how does a pragmatist like christie get through a tea party driven primary season. >>> christie wants to save the party from itself. republicans have reintroduced a bill to defund planned parenthood. republicans. if you want to remain a minority party, keep it up. >>> let me finish tonight with a fabulous story about dick nixon and his 100th birthday. this is "hardball," the place for politics. why let constipation slow you down? try miralax. mirlax works differently than other laxatives. it draws water into your colon to unblock your system naturally. don't wait to feel great. miralax. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. >>> well, another sign the country's

chris christie is doing a great job there. his top priority is to represent the people of new jersey. that's what he's got to do best. >> look, party critics from the gop are basically going to say he's burning bridges and he's doing it just so he can get reelected and bashing congress is the easiest way to do it. do you agree? >> no. i don't think he's taking on congress to get reelected. i think he's doing what he has to do. remember, i'm from florida so i come from a state that gets hit by hurricanes. and when you are an affected state, what you want is you want quick action and you want other people to feel the sense of urgency no as an affected victim feel. i don't think that this is about his reelection. i think he's trying to do his job the best way he can. he's doing his job. we also have to cut john boehner some slack, i think. he had been in a marathon for weeks trying to get this fiscal cliff deal done. he finally made it. he did it at the last minute. he was fried that night. he didn't have the political capital. h

i this that's the pathway to take. >> so you think chris christie is being smarter on this? >> i think they have all got to take their own path, but talk about what we believe and why we're standing up for our second amendment rights. >> we talked a little bit about hillary clinton, you also have joe biden, he's been ahead of this issue for a long time and a pers -- and senator gill brand, used to talk about how she had a gun underneath her bed and she's also someone who's talking about what do we do to stop gun violence. is this going to be even be beyond a conversation, i'm wondering, ted? is gun control going to be a kind of litmus test in 2016 for democrats? >> i think it could be. in presidential politics, there are basically two issues, the economy and war. and if the nation's economy continues to improve, if we're able to get out of afghanistan the way the president got us out of iraq. this issue of gun violence is emerging very quickly. and i have no doubt that it could become one of the dominant issues in the midterm election and also in the general election. >> als

chris christie making inroads in that community is huge. there is a lot of cash there, but there's also a tech talent gap that republicans have suffered from. the campaigns, when they're staffing up, they don't have access, all the time, to a lot of the most talented tech people, because they're all so liberal. but if chris christie can use his relationship with mark zuckerberg to ingratiate himself, that could help. >> he needs the obama apps. joe, you work for bill clinton, you know hillary clinton well, you worked with mark zuckerberg, so christie versus hillary, what's your take on who might be better in 2016? >> well, i obviously think that hillary is. i think if you look at just the politics of this, you know, chris christie is a conservative republican, in the state of new jersey. it's, you know, that's a tough road for a state that's fairly progressive. so it's no, you know, his campaign plan will be moderate, but i think he's very conservative, much closer to the tea party than the real, you know, traditional republicans. the one t

from joe biden at the white house to chris christie in new jersey, andrew cuomo in albany, there's new energy for a comprehensive approach to gun violence control. chris cillizza, and kristen welker. thanks much to both of you. first of all, kristen, you were there today, joe biden opening the task force meetings for a brief photo opportunity saying something is going to get done. they have this end of the month deadline. it's going to be in the state of the union. but how comprehensive is this going to be and is it going to be any different from all of the other failed initiatives, frankly? >> well, we are expecting something to be quite comprehensive, andrea, and one thing out of the meeting is joe biden said the president is considering taking some executive actions. he's not sure what those actions are right now, but that's certainly something that's under consideration. we also expect some of the proposals that the vice president puts forth to include some legislative proposals, stiffer gun laws, including banning assault weapons, banning those high-capacity magazines, as well as

chris christie does not. do you think people would realize even a guy they like can have policies they don't like or is charisma more important than ideology? >> is that a trick question? >> john: no, it's a very real question. look at george w. bush. >> we love charisma and we love politicians with swagger. he has done good things with new jersey. you drive through and it even smells better. >> john: who doubt, and who cannot cheer what he has done for sandy victims. >> and the police forces, they love him too. >> john: and we could use that tunnel to manhattan as well. >> to predict anything about what chris christie's bigger play is on the national scare right now-- >> that was a double pun in there. >> yeah, exactly. wait until there's not this desperate emotional place that we're in, and again you know, chris christie was amazing in new jersey, but to give someone credit for loving the state that they're a governor of and stem in and do whatever they want, it's like saying he doesn't feed his kids. he dr

meet the congressman who is perfectly happy to get in chris christie's face. unfortunately, a lot of colleagues were not. >> the president [ woman ] if you have the audacity to believe your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ woman ] if you have the nerve to believe that cookie cutters should be for cookies, not your investment strategy. if you believe in the sheer brilliance of a simple explanation. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do: face time and think time make a difference. .. nes, it's how we make sense of investing. isurprise...it's eating less. to losing weight. i'm hungry just thinking about it. thank goodness for new slimful. one delicious, 90-calorie slimful and a glass of water, like before dinner, helps keep me satisfied for hours. so instead of this much, i only need this much. and slimful tastso good... i don't even miss dessert. slimful and a glass of water... eating less is a beautiful thing. >> neil: you want it match dollar for dollar, whatever aid w

chris christie comes on the program. mcguirk is a producer there. talking about the "time" magazine cover. throw it on up there and you say? >> i say first of all "time" magazine it's a dead mag walking. about as relevant as mother jones magazine or phil donahue for that matter. as far as the picture goes, i think it's amusing. he looks like he is sitting in a room -- small room with al roker getting gastric bypass advice. >> bill: he does look kind of ominous there gibson does he not? >> sure he does this. is part of the east coast christie love fest going on. >> bill: why would they make him look like a mafia guy if they love him? >> everybody loves tony soprano. why wouldn't they love chris christie. >> bill: i took it another way. >> if they did that to devol patrick or antonioville gross is a there would be whining. >> if they tried to make the mayor of l.a. look like al pacino in scarface there would be a problem. >> exactly. black and white thing looks like a mugshot of ravel cram cramlin going to the moon alice and got busted without the bus

chris christie is doing a great job there. his top priority is to represent the people of new jersey. that's what he's got to do best. >> look, party critics from the gop are basically going to say he's burning bridges and he's doing it just so he can get reelected and bashing congress is the easiest way to do it. do you agree? >> no. i don't think he's taking on congress to get reelected. i think he's doing what he has to do. remember, i'm from florida so i come from a state that gets hit by hurricanes. and when you are an affected state, what you want is you want quick action and you want other people to feel the sense of urgency no as an affected victim feel. i don't think that this is about his reelection. i think he's trying to do his job the best way he can. he's doing his job. we also have to cut john boehner some slack, i think. he had been in a marathon for weeks trying to get this fiscal cliff deal done. he finally made it. he did it at the last minute. he was fried that night. he didn't have the political capital. h

and given what we saw happen with mitt romney, might it hurt a chris christie, you know? you have this right center candidate, coming out of the northeast, or romney had the similar problem. >> well, he's got -- he's got a similar challenge. if the republicans in the northeast who are almost an extinct and endangered species at this point, if they have a recovery, it will be somebody like christie. it is a rocky path. we can all see that. step by step, when he tries to be independent or he tries to criticize the republican establishment, he makes a bunch of enemies. some of those problems will come back to haunt him, when he -- if he does indeed hit the presidential campaign trail. on the other hand, i gave you the numbers for his state, there aren't too many ways to be a governor in the northeast that don't involve making some kind of compromises and appeals to democrats and especially to independent voters. >> errol lewis, thank you, for us from new york there. >>> now to this, this woman, married to another woman, married to this lieutenant colonel in the army, says th

but chris christie, i will give him credit, he finally stepped up and said at least this nra ad is bad. but what about the guys calling for civil war, impeachment, attacking the president for being a king, imperial, rand paul. it's amazing the free run they're getting from the more responsible people, if they even exist, in the republican party. >> what's amazing to me is the president in his remarks with the vice president embraced the second amendment, made reference to the creator, invoked the name of ronald reagan, and still comes out of the thing as a socialist who -- >> a secret muslim socialist who wants to take your guns. >> perhaps the most disturbing trend since the newtown shootings has been the rise of conspiracy theorists who claim the whole thing was a hoax, part of an elaborate plan by the government to provoke enough anger to warrant rounding up your guns. websites, blogs, youtube videos have attacked the veracity of officials and official accounts of tragedy. they allege many of the people were actually actors. that the parents didn't show enough emotion and must be in

in screwed news new jersey governor chris christie might be very popular right now but he sure is not a friend of working people in the garden state. this week christie vetoed a bill passed out of the state senate that would have increased that state's minimum wage from seven twenty five an hour to eight fifty an hour currently the federal minimum wage is seven twenty five an hour and has been about rate since two thousand and nine but if it had kept up with inflation starting in one thousand nine hundred sixty eight the minimum wage right now would be over ten dollars and fifty cents an hour let me repeat that if the minimum wage today were to have the same purchasing power it had in one thousand nine hundred sixty eight that it would be well over ten dollars an hour instead of the seven dollars and twenty five cents an hour currently is and all the state in jersey's senate wanted to do is modestly raise that state's minimum wage to eight dollars and fifty cents an hour still well below the ten dollars plus where it needs to be for minimum wage workers to get by but governor christie

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. >> coming up, chris christie's rise cannot be stopped except maybe by facts. >> john: chris christie, a guy so nice they named him twice. i'm just throwing out a possible slogan for christie's 2016 presidential run. governor christie still insists he's not thinking that far into the future. that's why he didn't mention romney's name in the first 15 minutes of his keynote address in the republican convention. christie said 2016 not even on his mind yet. >> what are the prospects of a christie-hillary clinton race. >> as good a prospects against anybody else. anybody who tries to plan four years from now is crazy. the fact of the matter is i'm going to follow the advise my mother gave me, which is to do the job you have right now as well as you can do it, and your future will take care of itself. >> john: like beating up on teachers' unions. i hate to be the one to rain on the christie parade. let's get past he seems like a really nice guy and he's charismatic thing. to quote a colleague here at "viewpoint," facts matter. under governor christie unemployment in new jersey is 9.6%. nati