is mcconnell? >> well, of course we'll have to find out once the primary comes. mcconnell has a healthy sizeable lead against the local businessman, the investor who's challenging him here. however, mcconnell is taking nothing for granted in the process. i think anyone -- most observers would be shocked if mcconnell loses that primary. the alison grimes'campaign has said that mcconnell is helping for the weakening in the fall. >> you were covering the campaign of alison grimes today as she was out on the field. can a democrat win in kentucky? >> there's no question about that. keep in mind, kentucky has a democratic governor. the state certainly has been trending more conservative and more republican. mitch mcconnell is the godfather of the modern republican party here in kentucky and he's very vulnerable. this is a very interesting candidate here in alison grimes as someone much more difficult to beat up on as far as negative advertising. she's 35 years old and has only been in office for two year

the democrats want to take out mitch mcconnell because he's mitch mcconnell. this is about slaying the giant. years ago the republicans took out tom daschle. who was the house majority leader. and that -- that's like the redskins beating dallas. it's just a big win. it's also important because the republicans have to take six seats, a net of six seats. and they have a strategy for doing that. a part of their original strategy that was not on the table was that one or two and in fact it's two of their own incumbents would face credible challenges. that could undermine their strategy. gwen: is mitch mcconnell vulnerable or is this just a democratic fantasy? >> he is incredibly vulnerable. and you say it's kentucky. and i think obama got like 12% of the voters. >> more than -- >> so this is all that mitch mcconnell has to do is run against -- democrats run against obama and win. allison lundergan grimes has a good story to tell. she comes from a family that's well-known. political family. but more important, what mitch mcconnell represents is not about republican

. >> the frustration with mitch mcconnell. >> minority leader mitch mcconnell faces a primary challenge. >> where's mitch? maybe we can call him back. where's mitch? where's mitch? >> money talks. they spent over $1 million in negative ads attacking mitch mcconnell. >> super pacs knocking off senators, governors and congressmen. mcconnell now has to go. >> i think they're both nervous. >> mitch mcconnell and john cornyn. >> both men are facing tea party challenges. >> then there's senator ted cruz. >> here's what happened. >> mitch mcconnell and john cornyn ended a ted cruz-led filibuster. >> playing with the debt ceiling is like playing with fire. >> mcconnell and cornyn rallied support for the bill. >> that's the kind of thing that kentuckyians are sick and tired of. >> democrats are count on the tea party to help them hold on. >> the democrat allison grimes will pose a formidable challenge. >> could we see mitch mcconnell ousted? >> yes, you very well could see that. >> in the epic battle between ted cruz and the senate republican leadership, the republican base is about to finally h

in mitch mcconnell, it seems as if they really -- the mcconnell people drew some blood with finding this comment that bevin made about supporting the t.a.r.p., supporting the infamous bailout of 2008 when he was an investor. >> reporter: that's taken the bevin campaign -- i was there, talking to their staff here. they thought they were gaining momentum. that definitely set them back some. bevin is basically polling in the 20s right now. the primary is not till may. there's room for him to gain. the problem right now is he is undefined. most republicans in kentucky don't know much about him. mcconnell is doing a better job of filling in the gaps and casting him as kind of the person who became a tea partier fairly recently. the bailout comments being the best example of that. mcconnell is a bigger staff, stronger staff. he prepared for this for a long time and he's ready. >> no question about it. no tougher campaigner in kentucky history perhaps than mitch mcconnell. perry bacon jr. in louisville for us on the ground, covering that race. thank you, sir. >> reporter: thank you. >>> still t

ultimately, it's the race about can grimes define mcconnell or can mcconnell define grimes as being too close to the president. >> you turned me away from the endorsement too quickly, perry. i want to go back one more time to the value that bill clinton brings allison grimes. rand paul has focused in on that. his attacks have not been against allison lundergan grimes even though his never in law is running the campaign. his attacks are about bill clinton and bill clinton circa the '90s, about monica lewinsky. has that had any impact on bill clinton's effectiveness being able to be used by the grimes campaign? >> you know, i've been a few times before on the cycle already. there's no evidence of having any perspective at all. mitch mcconnell is is not saying those things at all. i think rand paul is looking to 2016. that's what those comments are, building up the republican base for his presidential campaign. i really don't see a lot of evidence, the coverage by bill clinton by the local press has been pretty overwhelming. pretty positive. yesterday, the only person who asked about rand

mitch mcconnell. the target of will this recently released ad. >> bullying, threats, intimidation. the irs? no. try mitch mcconnell. that's right he tried to silence conservatives calling them traitors who he wants to punch in the thoez. and he told other conservatives they would get the death penalty for opposing him. >> all right. that is the sort of thing you don't usually see party to party fight. >> you'd think they would be nicer. precedent for this kind of hinthing? >> no. >> so what is the strategy here? is to really take down the entire leadership? because they're not only challenging mitch mcconnell, they're challenging the deputy republican leader, lindsey graham, a whole network of incumbents being challenged. >> so what you have here, and i think we referred to them as the kamikaze, they want a fight on every issue. they pushed for the shutdown, they want a big proceed tacttrat into the debt ceiling. and they have not wanted -- this is a fight over -- >> is there any substantive issue her

not going to beat mitch mcconnell. he's very far behind in the polls but these ads are really roughing mcconnell up in the state and he could have a very difficult time running against a democratic competitor in the general. >> is there any chance that the competitor is likely to win? >> not at the moment but what's coming out in front of them is doing some real damage to the income bents. >> j debate is dog a public service pushing the debate toward the smaller government. members of the tea party have to be careful who they follow, so-called ted cruz on the pop lis health plan. maybe think about the leadership there. >> all right, james. still ahead, a big setback for big baby borers as they vote against the uaw. is the battle over or can unions still conquer the south? th ] oo. [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important rt of staying active and strong. ensureigh protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrin charge! lo

. >> the frustration with mitch mcconnell. >> minority leader mitch mcconnell faces a primary challenge. >> where's mitch? maybe we can call him back. where's mitch? where's mitch? >> money talks. they spent over $1 million in negative ads attacking mitch mcconnell. >> super pacs knocking off senators, governors and congressmen. mcconnell now has to go. >> i think they're both nervous. >> mitch mcconnell and jon cornyn. >> both men are facing tea party challenges. >> then there's senator ted cruz. >> here's what happened. >> mitch mcconnell and jon cornyn ended a ted cruz-led filibuster. >> playing with the debt ceiling is like playing with fire. >> mcconnell and cornyn rallied support for the bill. >> that's the kind of thing that kentuckyians are sick and tired of. >> democrats are count on the tea party to help them hold on. >> the democrat allison grimes will pose a formidable challenge. >> could we see mitch mcconnell out ousted? >> yes, you very well could see that. >> in the epic battle between ted cruz and the senate republican leadership, the republican base is about to finally

ted cruz 1, mitch mcconnell zero. joining me, "washington post" national political roster, robert costa. i thought this scene yesterday was incredible, robert. how much do you hate ted cruz if you are mitch mcconnell right now? >> i think senator mitch mcconnell is frustrated with cruz. they needed the democrats to extend the debt limit. as you pointed out, it became this political theater on the senate floor. he thinks cruz is pushing purely for concession from democrats, isn't thinking fully about the 2014 field and the expectations to try to get the senate majority for republicans. >> here's the thing i did find interesting. in the end, mcconnell walked the plank, himself, which makes me think actually he's pretty confident about that tea party challenger, he's going to beat the tea party challenger. polling indicates it's not a threat as of yet. is that your read on the vote? >> i think matt bevin is a tea party challenger, a threat, not a major threat to mitch mcconnell. mcconnell is much more worried about aliso

ted cruz 1, mitch mcconnell zero. joining me, "washington post" national political roster, robert costa. i thought this scene yesterday was incredible, robert. how much do you hate ted cruz if you are mitch mcconnell right now? >> i think senator mitch come s mcconnell is frustrated with cruz. they needed the democrats to extend the debt limit. as you pointed out, it became this political theater on the senate plofloor. he thinks cruz is pushing purely for concession from democrats, isn't thinking fully about the 2014 field and the expectations to try to get the senate majority for republicans. >> here's the thing i did find interesting. in the end, mcconnell walked the plank, himself, which makes me think actually he's pretty confident about that tea party challenger, he's going to beat the tea party challenger. polling indicates it's not a threat as of yet. is that your read on the vote? >> i think matt bevin is a tea party challenger, a threat, not a major threat to mitch mcconnell. mcconnell is much more werorrie

grayson was mcconnell's main man. he was said to have hand picked grayson and, of course, publicly endorsed him. then when the election came around, rand paul crushed mcconnell's man, grayson, at the polls. in other words, mitch mcconnell, one of the most powerful republicans in washington, no one argues that, but he couldn't carry trey grayson to victory in a primary in his home state at which point mcconnell may have realized something. he had a self-preservation problem. he went out and hired rand paul's adviser, named jesse benton to run his campaign. he could at least go out and hire the general. you have mitch mcconnell working with rand paul's guy and suddenly something makes sense here. rand paul, not even up for re-election right now has been going around, you may have seen this, saying stuff like this about former president clinton. >> he took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. there is no excuse for that. and that is predatory behavior and it should be something we should

alison grimes is running ahead of mcconnell in polls and mcconnell, i've been surprised about this, that his approval rating, even among republicans is only around 60%. this guy is not the same popular politician that he has been in kentucky for the last 20 years. this is a different guy running and being beaten up in the primary from the right, from the tea party candidate, is going to infect him. >> the president's popularity is also on the ballot and we see president obama's popularity right now, it's barely in the 30s. >> you said it was only between grimes and mcconnell. now you're saying -- >> no. i think the contrast is going to be important but we know in midterms that is unique and we also do know that if any time somebody like bill clinton comes to ten kuk tea, it is a reminder that barack obama cannot be there. i think the reason he cannot be there is pretty relevant to a lot of the voters out there, which is that he's unpopular and obamacare is unpopular and it's going to be a central issue. >> a popular kentucky native in alison grimes. this is between the two of them and i

it's why mcconnell has voted to raise the debt limit ten times. and why he worked with joe biden to pass a $600 billion fiscal cliff tax hike. mcconnell even joined harry reid in opposing ted cruz's evefforto defund obama care. >> so that's life in kentucky in his republican primary. >> this has happened before when mcconnell has done the hard work of actual governance and one would say leadership. he used it to his advantage and ran an ad that sounded more like a ford or chevy ad. mitch mcconnell, actual governance. >> nice voiceover there. >> that's a general election strategy. and mitch mcconnell may, you know, everyone in the republican party has primary worry, but if he can survive it, that's how he gives the democrat a run for her money. >> e.j., ted cruz put mitch mcconnell through hell on this debt ceiling vote. they had a way of doing it where republicans could kind of look the other way and let the democrats just vote for it themselves. but ted cruz incise cysted no, no, no you must get to a 60-vote threshold which then meant some republ

. >> mitch mcconnell is a target for democrats who would love to shake up the g.o.p. by unseating him. he has got a tough reelection battle that is already heating up. >> this is not a very proud day in the history of the sen that it. >> reporter: senator mcconnell is less popular than president obama in kentucky, and that's a low bar. >> they cook up some fake fight over judges. >> reporter: a third of kentucky's republican voters say he compromises with the white house too often. matt bevin is challenging him. >> the people of kentucky are fed up with you fighting to keep your job while people in kentucky are losing their jobs. >> there is a disease of dysfunction in washington, d.c., and after 30 years, senator mcconnell is at the center of it. >> reporter: for three decades mitch mcconnell has represented kentucky in washington, rising to become the senate's top republican leader, but now with his next election nine months away, a poll shows the democrat, grimes four points ahead. washington correspondent jim carroll says this virtual dead heat has the g.o.p. conc

it's why mcconnell has voted to raise the debt limit ten times. and why he worked with joe biden to pass a $600 billion fiscal cliff tax hike. mcconnell even joined harry reid in opposing ted cruz's effort to defund obama care. >> so that's life in kentucky in his republican primary. >> this has happened before when mcconnell has done the hard work of actual governance and one would say leadership. he used it to his advantage and ran an ad that sounded more like a ford or chevy ad. mitch mcconnell, actual governance. >> nice voiceover there. >> that's a general election strategy. and mitch mcconnell may, you know, everyone in the republican party has primary worry, but if he can survive it, that's how he gives the democrat a run for her money. >> e.j., ted cruz put mitch mcconnell through hell on this debt ceiling vote. they had a way of doing it where republicans could kind of look the other way and let the democrats just vote for it themselves. but ted cruz incise cysted no, no, no you must get to a 60-vote threshold which then meant some republ

grayson was mcconnell's main man. he was said to have hand picked grayson and, of course, publicly endorsed him. then when the election came around, rand paul crushed mcconnell's man, grayson, at the polls. in other words, mitch mcconnell, one of the most powerful republicans in washington, no one argues that, but he couldn't carry trey grayson to victory in a primary in his home state at which point mcconnell may have realized something. he had a self-preservation problem. he went out and hired rabid paul's adviser, named jesse benton to run his campaign. he could at least go out and hire the general. you have mitch mcconnell working with rand paul's guy and suddenly something makes sense here. rand paul, not even up for re-election right now has been going around, you may have seen this, saying stuff like this about former president clinton. >> he took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. there is no excuse for that. and that is predatory behavior and it should be something we shoul

it's not enough to just not be mitch mcconnell. they distinguish her from the president and mcconnell. >> let's drill down on that point there. i metal son in kentucky a few months ago and felt her to be a very impressive person. who is she and what is the case for her? >> well, i think unfortunately a lot of case for her is a case against mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell has been voting against kentuckyians. it is one of the lowest in terms of health care. high rates of cancer, diabetes and people uninsured. that's one big example right there. minimum wage is another example. overall i think the reality is that people are tired of senators that don't want to do business that just want to say no. mitch mcconnell has made it very clear since the presidency started in 2008, his goal is to make sure that things do not move forward. he wants to put a stop. they're tired of washington stopping. so she's a very interesting person. she's state-wide elected official in kentucky. she comes from a political family. she's very personable. she

why did you endorse mitch mcconnell and rand paul said, well, he asked me. and remember, mitch mcconnell hired paul's former campaign manager to run his campaign and he was caught on tape last year saying he was, quote, holding his nose and working for mitch mcconnell. so they're not wildly enthusiastic for each other. but again, by having each person on their team, they're sort of keeping, you know, opposite forces at bay. >> last week mcconnell took a bold position in allowing a vote fog forward to raise the nation's debt ceiling without strings attached, no concessions, no demands that earlier had been made. getting a lot of grief for that. rand paul diplomat vodidn't vot for that legislation. he was much more tea party oriented, more conservative on that. so this is an issue that mitch mcconnell will have to deal with in a republican primary. >> absolutely. that's sort of why he is at rand paul's side throughout kentucky or the next two days. mcconnell is running against matt bevin, trying to cease the tea party mantle in that state. i think the vote pro

mcconnell is the one driving this race. all of the news is about mcconnell. bevin is chewing on his ankle in the primary. grimes really hasn't taken many strong issue positions. she's almost painfully cautious. >> reporter: and alison grimes got a huge shot in the arm tomorrow when former president bill clinton comes to campaign with her in kentucky. >> her answer whether she would want the president of the united states come down, she almost mouthed no before she gave her answer. mark, size up this race for us. how big is the threat to mitchell mcconnell? >> he could lose. he is unpopular in the state and not clear why. he is a cagey guy. it is still kentucky. if there is a national republican tie, i think it's hard for him to lose in the general election but if the democrats fight back and she proves to be a strong candidate and some moments in that piece she looked very strong and others she looked a little bit like she couldn't stand up to him. i think there is a chance there, but in the end it's going to take a lot of lucky breaks for her to win. >> the

something's going to have to change in this race for mcconnell to come back. e.j. dionne, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >>> attack on hillary. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. we'll get to the bad politics in ukraine much later in the show. but let me start with the bad politics here in this country. did you notice, and this is certainly a nasty fact that the same hawks who want a street fight, some exchange of trash talk with russian president putin who aren't afraid at all to get in the old cold war raging again also can't quit that nasty little side war they're fighting with hillary clinton. there they go again, blasting secretary clinton over benghazi again this weeke

mcconnell, 43, grimes, 42. later this month, grimes will be getting a big boost from the big dog himself, bill clinton. the former president will campaign for grimes in louisville. clinton is close friends with grimes' father, former state democratic party chair jerry lundergan. and don't forget, clinton carried kentucky in '92 and '96, the last democrat, presidential candidate to do. so and we'll be right back after this. which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. so i get invited to quite a few family gatherings. heck, i saved judith here a fortune with discounts like safe driver, multi-car, paperless. you make a mighty fine missus, m'lady. i'm not saying mark's thrifty. let's just say, i saved him $519, and it cert

mcconnell, 43, grimes, 42. later this month, grimes will be getting a big boost from the big dog himself, bill clinton. the former president will campaign for grimes in louisville. clinton is close friends with grimes' father, former state democratic party chair jerry lundergan. and don't forget, clinton carried kentucky in '92 and '96, the last democrat, presidential candidate to do. so and we'll be right back after this. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ >>> welcome back to "hardball." no exit. we go from the christie dragnet to the christie calendar. it's been just a few weeks since "the bergen record" blew this story wide open.

in short, mitch mcconnell has a real fight on his hands. for one thing, the longtime washington fixture is deep under water in his home state. 27% of kentuckians hold a favorable view of him. a full 50% have an unfavorable view. look at this, mcconnell's approval rating in kentucky is 32%. 32%. president obama who lost kentucky by 23 points in 2012 actually has a higher approval rating in the state than mitch mcconnell. now, you might say, no big deal. election is nine months away. mitch mcconnell has a ton of money. he knows his state incredibly wall. call in a bunch of favors between now and election day. all that is absolutely true. but unlike harry reid, who faced a tough re-election fight in 2010, mitch mcconnell has not been gifted with a -- alison lundergan grimes is young, comes from a well connected political family. she'll have the help of bill clinton who will campaign for lundergan-grimes in louisville later this month. mcconnell's campaign sent a statement to "all in" saying it's comfortable with the campaign stands, promising

mcconnell and cornyn rallied the floor. they are facing tea party challenges in this year's midterm elections. in the end, their gamble paid off with 12 republicans joining all 55 democrats to end the filibuster by a procedural vote of 67-31. senator cruz did not hide his disappointment calling it a classic victory for washington establishment interests. when asked if mitch mcconnell should remain the leaders of the republican caucus, he replied it is ultimately a decision for the voters of kentucky. i don't know, joe. it just seems like things are getting done. isn't that the small victory here? or should there always be a message that the republicans are sending? >> this actually matters a lot to small government conservatives. this is a critical issue. i'm not going to be like barack obama and say i made a mistake. i voted against raising the debt ceiling back in the '90s and i voted against it because there was never anything attached to it that would actually take care of long-term spending, that would actually make su

he is talking about mcconnell. >> mccain, lindsey graham. the guys they are supporting, chris mcdaniel, a guy who went to a neoconfederate group's meeting. and wolf in kansas. he is second cousin of obama but compares obama to hitler and posts x rays of dead people to the internet and makes jokes about it. and matt beven running against mcconnell who says he was against the bailout who was in favor of the bailout. it is not principle conservatives. it is a civil war within the republican party. >> i did this the other night because this guy wolf, these guys are crazy people. they are saying stuff you would never nominate them if you had an election. this group like this madison project, they find these people and say anybody crazy enough to run against incumbent republican senator is our guy. >> and then they lose in that battle or come to washington and get consumed by the process and become establishment politicians. ted cruz is determined not to do that. >> how do you know he is a fraud? i have heard that story around town. >> i saw him i

well, welcome to the world of john boehner and mitch mcconnell. in today's republican party, being the leader means being the pinata and the people with big sticks are fellow republicans. the tea party versus establishment is nothing n but tensions spilled over big time in the fight over the debt ceiling. could the government borrow more money to pay its bills, embarrassing and humiliating, ugly in some ways for boehne and mcconnell and yet at the end of the week some say the republicans are in better shape than ever. >> the republicans are in better shape because they are getting this fiscal fight behind them. the debt limit is extended until march of 2015, and you real have still an internal battle within the battle about expectations for divided government. the right, conservatives, they want concessions from the white house and democrats, but boehner and mcconnell, they live in political reality, and they say that's just not possible with the white house and senate democrats who don't want to negotiate. >> they avoid a land mine. the conclusio

like minority leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky, that filibuster cleared the vote of 54-43 to raise the debt ceiling. president obama is expected to sign the bill which avoids a default on the nation's bills come february 27th. >>> for his part, senator cruz says he has no regret saying the senate has given president obama a blank check. >>> a stunning fall from grace in new orleans. former mayor ray nagin who became the face of the city during hurricane katrina has been convicted on federal charges of corruption and bribery. nagin was accused of accepting more than $500,000 in payoffs including first class trips to jamaica and manhattan in exchange for millions of dollars in city contracts and he was found guilty on 20 of the 21 counts against him. each charge carries a prison sentence from 3 to 20 years. sentencing is scheduled for june 11th, until then, he is on home confinement. >>> to an nbc news exclusive. alleged nsa leakerer snowden may have obtained that information when he swiped a password from a civilian colleague using trickery. what happened was the colleague entered h

but i've got to say, if mitch mcconnell is known for anything in kentucky, it has to be opposition to everything president obama thinks about. >> right. but you know, with the republican base, the right-wing part of the republican base that bevin is trying to get, that kind of ad works very well. the notion that he'll never raise the debt ever, that means he won't be able to vote for any budget since we're going to be in deficit for a long time. it doesn't matter to that part of the constituency -- that part of the republican party. i think mcconnell has enough going for him both because of how anti-obama he has been, and on the other side people who hate spending nonetheless love all the money he's brought to kentucky. and that's going to be his calling card, ironically, is how much -- how many dollars he's brought to kentucky from other taxpayers. >> let's listen to alison grimes' defense against the kentucky charge that she's just an obama girl. >> national republicans have cast you as obama girl and one of their national spokespeople referred to you as an empty dress. >> yes. >> d

the pregnant pause about how he wants to deal with mcconnell. and he knows right now mcconnell is in, not only a real primary with matt bevin, but we see numbers he' trails behind a brand-new democratic challenger here in allison london-grimes who bill clinton was out campaigning for. what you're seeinging in that pause is the calculation of you know what, i messed with mcconnell a lot. this is not the week for me to pile on. and in that pause is the political grand standing that i think characterizes ted cruz. a guy who wants us to believe he's a true believer. i think those are great in both party, but he's proved to be a guy full of machinations. >> but in that moment he knows his crazy tea party audience that eats his pudding that somehow the fight to stop obamacare worked. they believe that. that he knows they're listening too. and he knew he had that line ready after the word leader. it's what's stencilled on his door. they get it. i'm not actually calling him a leader. this is the most minimal way i can -- >> it was almost like the quiete

mcconnell's unpopularity may be leading the polls. mitch mcconnell seems anything but worried about the former president campaigning in his home state. he was asked about it yesterday on capitol hill. >> welcome him back. the last time he ran in 1996 he eked out a narrow victory in kentucky while i beat the current gov any by 160,000 votes, 10 points. in 2008 both bill and hillary clinton came to town and i won by 100,000 votes. i welcome president clinton back to kentucky. every time he's come, it's been really good for me. >> there are some new signs of progress in the push to make children healthier. a study says the obesity rate of kids has plummeted 45% in the last decade. in 2003 and 2004, 14% of kids that age were considered obese. now the number is just 8%. the study found a significant decline in the number of children drinking soda and other sugary drinks. the findings were announced as michelle obama marked the fourth anniversary of her let's move campaign. she said "i am thrilled at the progress we have made over last few

and after 30 years, senator mcconnell is at the center of it. >> for three decades, mitch mcconnell has represented kentucky in washington, weathering battles and rising to become the senators top republican leader. with his next election nine months away, a poll shows the democratic grymes four points ahead. career journal washington correspondent jim carrol said this virtual dead heat has the gop concerned and democrats smelling blood. >> they see him as sort of the symbol of republican obstructionism in the senate. republicans obviously want to reelect him because they feel that they're this close to taking the u.s. senate and would like to make him the majority leader. >> while millions of dollars are pouring in for mcconnell outside kentucky, grymes is getting her own bump. >> she understands how the issues debated in washington affect the people in kentucky. >> republican campaign strategists say mcconnell has survived in politics by never taking an election for granted. >> it's a real race, but a long way off. it hasn't even really begun. >> the clock is ticking for mcconnell to

senator mitch mcconnell. i've been catching this with kind of -- been very skeptical about this guy. mitch mcconnell has been under fire from the republican base and they say conservative grassroots organizations are supporting his challenges. yesterday, mcconnell's colleague from kentucky rand paul was asked why he endorsed the minority leader. >> the hardest question that i have for you, and it is -- it is this. why are you endorsing mitch mcconnell? >> i'm here in texas today to endorse don huff. we got our signals crossed here. the senator of kentucky asked me. he asked me when nobody else was in the race and i said yes. >> al gore has asked me to change my opinion on global warming and i don't do that. >> so there is a little levity there. we could talk about that. but i want to actually talk about the back story, if you want to. but i think more interestingly, the story that came out yesterday that is going to shake up this race is a story that matt bevin, who has been running around with self-righteous

mitch mcconnell's response -- the visit is great news to mcconnell. speaking a few moments ago, he had this to say. >> the last time he ran in 1996, he eked out a narrow victory. in 2008 they both came to town, include the day before the election and i won by 100,000 votes, so i welcome president clinton back to kentucky. every time he's come, it's been good for me. >> so if the debate continues whether 42 is a helping hand, there's another democratic president that received naira a mention at the current event. our current one. 31% is to be precise, which is the same incident as mitch mcconnell. here is how hi characterized his party's leader. this race is about putting the -- i don't need any other surrogate to do that. standing in stark contrast to the president and many of his ideas and platforms. >> putting people and perhaps polling first. joining muss is professor of political science at the university of louisville, and author of the presidential campaign. dewey clayton. professor clayton, thank you for joining us. i want to talk about the odd

when mitch mcconnell talks, make sure you listen. mitch mcconnell is a guy who is very savvy has a political strategyist and is relatively honest in his public pronouncements for a politician. john boehner hired a woman named rebecca talent on his staff to potential work at immigration. then president obama said some sort of bipartisan things about immigration during the state of the union. now all of a sudden immigration is on the fast track to passing. mcconnell says, wait a minute, it's comprehensive versus piecemeal and those two things don't go together. it is a sort of cooling off period. the number i always tell people, 27%. that's the percentage of the hispanic vote mitt romney got in 2012. >> what accounts for that? what accounts for john boehner sort of at least ringing the wind chimes of possible reform and then basically mitch mcconnell stomping on said wind chimes yesterday? are they not communicating with each other? >> to a certain degree, it is a bit to play in terms of his own reelection. you're getting to the point

that's the mcconnell job here. it's not easy because he has to spend two months getting conservatives back -- he's going to win but not going to break 60. there is a chunk of republican voters who will punish him a little bit. he's going to spend time -- >> that's the question, right. >> and it's tough. this is harder than i think some people realize in washington for mitch mcconnell. >> interesting stuff. >> the question is -- >> jonathan? >> the question is do those conservatives work for bevan in the primary, do they come out in the fall because they can't stand obama and see grimes as the person fiction of obama or stay home all together, that's the key question. >> we'll have to leave it there. what's on the political menu at the white house with boehner? >> we'll see. it is an unusual -- one on one meeting. we'll see if we get much out of it. some has to do with what's coming out on the budget. the budget rollout of the president, part of this is to brief him on the budget rkts on one hand it's not going to b

mitch mcconnell will go to live to the campaign trail. the former president speaking. >>> and a secret u.s. plan to strike syria. we're going to find out about a new era in warfare, cyber attacks. life could be hectic. as a working mom of two young boys angie's list saves me a lot of time. after reading all the reviews i know i'm making the right choice. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time. with honest reviews on over 720 local services. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job, and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male an

why are you endorsing mitch mcconnell? >> i'm here in texas to endorse don huffines. we have our signals crossed here. i'm going back to kentucky because he asked me. he asked me when there was nobody else in the race, and i said yes. >> ouch. rand paul, the other senator from kentucky only supported mitch mcconnell because no one else was running at the time? well, just moments ago paul released a statement calling mcconnell, quote, an important ally and a conservative voice. okay, senator. but did senator mcconnell think we wouldn't notice that he spent too much time blocking the president and not enough helping the bluegrass state? nice try, but we got you. begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ all aboard. ♪ nothing says, "you're my #1 copilot," like a milk-bone biscuit. ♪ say it with milk-bone. i didn't think i could buy them their own, let alone for under $300. but this asus with windows is lightweight and has everything they need -- not like chromebooks that can't install

if she doesn't, mitch mcconnell will and it is going to be less flattering. what we have learned in the polling is that mitch mcconnell is not liked, and alison grimes is not well known, and that is a danger zone for the candidate, because whoever defines her first with the undecided voters will likely win the race. >> well sh, in terms of definin her, she has bill clinton coming to kentucky to campaign for her, and regardless of how well she is known or liked, you know, he is certainly known, and how much will he support her candidacy by his presence? >> well, i think that remains to be seen throughout the year how involved they will be, but no question that he is, you know, it is bringing out the big guns, and you can't overstate what an s a set president clinton is in a state like this and es pepecial among the democrats, he has popularity, and this is a big step for the grimes' campaign. >> thank you, sam youngman. >>> this is the tweet of the day coming from ben white, if we win, canada has to keep bieber. #lovehockey. good one. ♪ i finally found the r

now they're turning out against mcconnell. >> so the real enemy is mcconnell, but it may also be rand paul. here is another point of view, gentlemen. "the washington examiner," a conservative newspaper wrote today that the anger cruz embodies in his soul and body i suppose represents many of the republican base. anyway, quote, here is what he had to say there are a lot of republicans, it's not clear how many, but a significant portion of the party's base that cheers cruz on when he battles with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. they want to see a republican throw a wrench into the washington spending machine, even if it creates chaos and damages the gop's standing with independent voters. and it is that conviction that is really behind the party's problems. it's why republicans would not enjoy smooth sailing even if cruz were to retire tomorrow. i'm not so sure that is true. i think people matter, mr. latourette. i'm one of those who believes that history is run by certain people that if there wasn't a charles degaulle, france would look very different today. if there wasn't a r

. >>> and former president bill clinton is in kentucky today trying to unseat mitch mcconnell. that's a big move for democrats and it's drawing strong pushback from kentucky's junior senator. we're going to take you down south to the tempest in louisville. >>> and politics broke out right here at nbc headquarters in new york last night, vice president joe biden stopped by late night with seth meyers and brought jokes. >> i was planning on making a major announcement tonight, but decided tonight was your night. >> your 2016 plans? >> i'm going to run for president. >> great! vice president of the united states, joe biden, everyone! >> good morning, i am ari melber in for chris jansing here at 30 rock. next hour, president obama will host a pretty rare one-on-one meeting with speaker john boehner at the white house. after a year in which the two couldn't seem to agree on anything, aides say the president and the speaker will discuss a broad range of topics, could include immigration, of course, as well as the president's call for an up or down vote on the minimum wage, a big issu

house speaker john boehner cleared the way for passage in the house, republican liter mitch mcconnell moved around the filibuster got it through the senate. we're joined now by former republican senator jim demint who heads up the heritage foundation author of upcoming book "falling in love with america again" senator, the good thing for us about this storm is, you were going back to south carolina you couldn't get there. >> i'm glad to be here in person. >> schieffer: you're here with us. let's talk about this. you and sea party folks, john boehner cleared the way of getting this done, this is not something tea party folks, are you going to try to topple john boehner now? >> i'm amused talk about the tea party this is just millions of americans who are concerned about spending and debt and thousands of little groups, they're not a political party and they don't speak with one voice. but i think a lot of folks who believe in limited government, less spending and debt are concerned that under this president we've had more debt than any president in history. it's very possible by the en

mcconnell running for re-election looking to keep tea party challengers at bay. well now that mcconnell does have a primary challenger from the right, a tea party-backed republican named matt bevin, glenn beck wanted to know why rand paul was still endorsing mitch mcconnell. paul is still interested in running for president in 2016. if he can't convince glenn beck why he's supporting mitch mcconnell for re-election, how in the world is he going to convince the tea party conservatives he shares their values? perhaps that partly explains his recent repeated attacks on bill clinton. >> he took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. there is no excuse for that, and that is predatory behavior and it should be -- it should be something we shouldn't want to associate with people who would take advantage of a young girl in his office. >> with hillary clinton widely perceived as the 2016 presidential front-runner on the democratic side, rand paul's strategy seems to be in his words, "when it comes to the clintons, it's hard to separate one

>> it was mitch mcconnell that proposed the mcconnell rule, which is that the president can do the right thing and make sure we pay our bills on time. if congress wants to vote to try to default, congress can do that. i know he doesn't want to be associated with it anymore. in a moment of acting responsibly a couple years ago, he's the one who put that on the table. he knows better. we know that because he said it himself two years ago. this notion that going to threaten the health of the american economy to try to get the tea party agenda through is simply reckless and the american people know it. there are a lot of folks in the republican party know it. they've got this impulse to go forward. >> all right. what do you think of the $8.6 billion in cuts to food stamps in the farm bill? was that really necessary to pick on the most vulnerable americans and the number of people who are going to be effected by this? >> i voted against the farm bill for a variety of reasons. it is chock full of huge taxpayer subsidies for some of the biggest agribusinesses in the country. you know, we hear o

second up, we have the opponent trying to dethrone, senator minority leader mitch mcconnell. he is very important to the republican party. he's actually the seventh most senior member of the senate. having spent nearly 30 years in office. his job approval rating in kentucky is flagging. right now it's actually lower than president obama's. third, up against mcconnell in the republican primary is a tea party candidate, matt bevan has been dogged by controversy by comparing same-sex marriage to incest and lags behind mcconnell in the polls. joining us is james carroll. >> con grats on your new gig. >> appreciate it. >> clinton is a big deal in kentucky and approval rating over 60% there now. what was the major headline coming out of this event? what have we heard? >> we're going to see him in a minute. i appreciate you got me on before him because in politics and showbiz, never follow bill clinton. he's the big dog for a reason. he's the most popular by all accounts the most popular democrat in the country. he -- everywhere he goes, he draws big crowds and important to alison g

right before he did to, mcconnell reportedly told his colleagues, we're not doing this again. in the end, it was mcconnell and texas senator john cornyn, both men facing tea party challengers this fall, who were forced to take the plunge. ten more republican senators including senator mccain, murkowski, and collins would ultimately join them. here is how republican senator bob corker who voted with mcconnell and cornyn, here's how senator corker described the madness in the upper chamber. >> there was no game plan. i asked before we went out to vote, okay, we blocked cloture, we put the country in economic turmo turmoil, we create tremendous disstress for the next several weeks, what is the end game? and there was no end game. >> ground control to the republican party -- is there anybody who knows how to fly this plane? joining me now is the washington bureau chief for buzz feed john stanton and "washington post" columnist and senior fellow of government studies at the brookings institute the wonderful e.j. dion. e.j., i want to start with you first. there's an interesting ana