smith, tracy byrnes, jonas max ferris, john layfield, and david mercer. john, paying for maternity care or other coverage you don't need is all part of america's value system? >> not part of the america i understand. it's part of a socialist system. if that's how you want to view health care, that it's a right, that you don't have to pay for it. we pay taxes to pay for defense. 's not fair to compare it to health care where peopl have the ability to pay for what they use. how about we take the 65% homeowrship right now and have them pay a double mortgage or extra mortgage to pay for the 35% who don't have homes? where does this end, and where does it -- somewhere, we realize health care is not necessarily a specific right. >> well, the problem is, david, that you are paying for things you may not necessarily need, and it's costing more too. is that part of the vae system? >> well, i believe that the whole objective of the affordable care act is to lower costs overall to the economy and to individua. but secondly, with regard to the obama care and what it

david mercer. al jazeera in mexico city. >> in cuba privately run cinemas and gaming cafes have been shut down. they want to restore order, discipline and obedience in the business center. >> raul castro has implemented reforms, and the ban resulted in job losses and caused anger with the public. >> more than 40,000 runners are trying to get a good night sleep already the new york city marathon. chartize are looking -- charities are looking forward to making money again. >> count down to race day. rupers from around the world are ready for sunday's new york city marathon, and the wait has been longer than usual. last year hurricane sandy threw everything into chaos. the starting line is on staten island. initially mayor michael bloomberg insisted the race should go ahead because it pumped hundreds of millions into the local economy. >> residents are furious. >> we are pulling bodies out of the water. >> less than 48 hours after the race was due to start... >> we will not conduct the 2012 new york c

smith, tracy byrnes, jonas max ferris, john layfield, and david mercer. john, paying for maternity care or other coverage you don't need is all part of america's value system? >> not part of the america i understand it's part of a socialist system. if that'show you want to view health care, that it's a right, that you d don't have to pay fo it. we pay taxes to pay for defense. it's not fair to compare it to health care where people have the ability to pay for what they use. how about we take the 65% homeownership right now and have them pay a double mortgage or extra mortgage to pay for the 35% who don't have homes? where does this end, and where do it -- somewhere, we realize health care is not necessarily a specific right. >> well, the problem is, david, that you are paying for things you may not necessarilneed, and it's costing more too. is that part the value system? >> well, i belie that the whole objective of the affordable care act is to lowe costs overall to the onomy and to individuals. but secondly, with regard to the obama care and what it affo

smith, tracy byrnes, jonas max ferris, john layfield, and david mercer. john, paying for maternity care or other coverage you don't need is all part of america's value system? >> not part of the america i understand. it's part of a socialist system. if that's how you want to view health care, that it's a right, that you don't have to pay for it. we pay taxes to pay for defense. it's not fair to compare it to health care where people have the ability to pay for what they use. how about we take the 65% homeownership right now and have them pay a double mortgage or extra mortgage to pay for the 35% who don't have homes? where does this end, and where does it -- somewhere, we realize health care is not necessarily a specific right. >> well, the problem is, david, that you are paying for things you may not necessarily need, and it's costing more too. is that part of the value system? >> well, i believe that the whole objective of the affordable care act is to lower costs overall to the economy and to individuals. but secondly, with regard to the obama care and

joining us for a fair and balanced debate, david mercer, the former deputy national finance director of the dnc. ron, the chief of staff for the republican congress. >> great to see you. >> will it impact 2014 elections? is it designed to do that? david, start with you. >> given the clarity that they are seeking on the activity of the 501c4 and the 511, the groups, you won't see anything impact until 2016. for 2014, they will be trying to get the clarity but i don't think it will much impact the 2014 elections. as it stands. >> i think it's unlikely to imfact 2014 election in terms of the rule-making. with the politics itself it could do so. this is a nasty game the i.r.s. is playing. they went after the conservative group. they were caught going after them. now a simply trying to change rules of the game. politically it looks like restriction and freedom of speech here, and that could hurt democrats in the 2014 election. >> this is a proposed rule at this point. printed in the federal register, without going in weeds about the federal rule making it takes at least a year does it not

four years on, al jazeera's david mercer returned to see what has changed. ever since he can remember pass quell hernandez has been fishing the waters. he could support his family using a hook, a line and some bait. that was back when fish were plentiful, before changes to the ecology saw his catch getting smaller and smaller. >> this is the size of the fish we catch these days. it's hard to sell one that is small. normally people buy fish that weigh half a pound. they don't want one that doesn't have meat on it. fishermen are on the front line of a crisis threatening a beautiful lake. raw sewerage and agriculture run off empties into the lake. finally in 2009 the lake struck back. a type of algae bacteria transformed the pristine waters into a foul-smelling soup. tourism plummeted and the government swept in, promising tens of millions of dollars to stop the pollution. but four years later scientists say the contamination has gotten worse. levels of signo bacteria is increasing and scientists mere it could mutate and become toxic. bad news for people lying

joining me now to discuss it, a fox news political analyst and david mercer, former finance director for the democratic national committee. great to see both of you. >> great to see you. >> let me start with you and ask you whether or not the president who it's been intimated would not approve the upton bill which would actually fine-tune, let's say, the affordable care act based on what we've seen with the rollout. if he's not in favor of that, what is his specific issue with it? and what alternative is he presenting? >> well, i think we heard two days ago the alternative or at least his proposal, which is to extend -- which is to allow insurance companies to do two things. when the insured is -- policy is expiring, that they have a chance to renew it and not just being canceled or dropped off. and that they are informed as to the alternatives they have, whether through the exchanges or other policies that may be offered. i think that is the crux of what his policy and the thrust of his policy is. keeping whole the maintenance or the development of the website and the exchanges in n