. >> 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

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

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

try mitch mcconnell. the senate republican leader. don't try to full conservatives by pretending you're one of us, senator mcconnell. >> harry reid successfully made his senate race in 2010 about something other than himself. tom daschle didn't pull that off in 2004. reid led a race that was a referendum on him. the question is whether allison g grimes is a sharon engel. she certainly doesn't look like one. ham strung by the fact that the number one issue republicans are using to attack democrats, healthcare, is performing pretty well in kentucky. still grimes describe herself as elated to get clinton's support. she spoke about that with my colleague, kasie hunt. >> i want to ask you about president barack obama. would you want him to come down and campaign for you? >> this race is one that's about putting the people of this state first, and i speak for myself and don't need any other surrogate to do that. i stand in stark contrast to the president and many of his ideas and platforms. >> national republicans has cast you as obama girl

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

mcconnell, for the republican senatial nomination but rand paul has endorsed mitch mcconnell. even though he might on several sense active issues be more inclined to go along with the tea party candidate as opposed to the more established republican candidate. >> right. and rand paul is kind of rankled a few supporters by doing this, being so blatantly for mitch mcconnell. he's not super enthusiastic about this. he was asked about it on glenn beck's radio show recently. 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.

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

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

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

for washington's dysfunction. >> not only can she beat mitch mcconnell, she is going to beat mitch mcconnell. >> reporter: the 42nd president is much more in demand here compared to the 44th who see some as political kryptonite. and to that end, harry read was asked today about having president obama campaign for senate democrats and harry reid said, basically, that we have one president going every place and that is bill clinton. jake? >> erin mcpike, thanks. for more on this, i want to bring in democratic strategist, hilary rosen and kevin madden. let's hear what mitch mcconnell has to say about clinton being in kentucky. >> the last time he ran in 1996, i beat the current governor by 160,000 votes, ten points. in 2008, both bill and hillary clinton came to town, including 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 really good for me. >> i guess one question would be, though, mcconnell, before he gets to alison grimes, he has to face down a tea party challenger, matt bevin. does that make is diffe

a democrat who's looking to unseat republican leader mitch mcconnell. mcconnell is facing perhaps the toughest senate election of his career. that's not to say he hasn't had primary problems before. back in 2010, there was a race for an open seat in kentucky left vacant by jim bunning's retirement. republican primary that year saw a guy you might recognize, rand paul. but he wasn't big rand paul at the time and he was the underdog going up against kentucky secretary of state trey grayson. 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 l

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

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

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

a democrat who's looking to unseat republican leader mitch mcconnell. mcconnell is facing perhaps the tough et senate election of his career. that's not to say he hasn't had primary problems before. back in 2010, there was a race for an open seat in kentucky left vacant by jim bunning's retirement. republican primary that year saw a guy you might recognize, rand paul. but he wasn't big rand paul at the time and he was the underdog going up against kentucky secretary of state trey grayson. 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

>> mitch mcconnell has a problem that all incumbents have. and mitch mcconnell has been magnified, because he has the title, leader. voters everywhere don't like incumbents. they especlly don't like incumbents with titles, because they view them as responsible for the problem. i've seen some of the internal polling in kentucky, and the voters in kentucky are mad at mitch mcconnell, because they view him as part of the problem in washington. now, bill clinton said it himself, mitch mcconnell's a very crafty politician. if you go back, there have been many times in his career he's been counted out. he has a tea party challenge to deal with first. he hasn't spent a lot of money focusing on the democrat yet. but if this race right now, february, so, in some ways, discount this, but this race right now, if you match up allison grimes and mitch mcconnell, it's a toss-up, which tells you mitch mcconnell is going to have to fight, assuming he survives this primary, and it tells you, brooke, that a boat load of national money from republicans and demo

mitch mcconnell is all about power. she could use that same argument another way. the second thing is that if you had a vote in, among republicans in the senate now between ted cruz and barack obama and it were a secret vote, ted cruz would lose to barack obama. they are so angry at him, putting all those republicans on the line, having to vote responsibly on the debt ceiling. but it is a great old legislative trick to make sure no one is the last vote in. when i covered the state legislature in albany. the assembly, there were 150. so 76 was a majority. and it was always said that 76 was a close vote, 77 was a landslide. because if it was 77, they arranged who got to vote for it and against it, depending on who was in a safe and unsafe district. >> and alex, the -- what about going forward with mcconnell? i mean, if there's going to be some governing here, it's got to be done in both bodies. we see boehner's problems, we've seen his frustrations. we've always seen him go with votes from the other party. mcconnell it seems to me is in a trickier position than boehn

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

be almost with anyone in the caucus other than mitch mcconnell. >> i don't think so. i think a majority of the caucus would behave exactly like mcconnell if they were leader. so he would be against, you know, all but i don't know, michael e. if leader. >> there's no one -- the tea party caucus in the senate is ted cruz, mike lee and rand paul. that's it. that's why they have to go to tortilla coast, the restaurant off the hill. that's true, by the way, folk, and have meetings with the house republicans. the guacamole there, i've got no problem with it. but they have these little meetings because that's their leverage. as you pointed out in the now infamous question, lawrence, what pudding, sir? what pudding, what pudding has obama care been repealed. they have those meeting. they apply that strategy. and there's two pieces to this. one, as you said, the politics didn't work. they did not repeat the a.c.a. they hurt themselves in the shutdown and the larger military piece is they got some automatic budget cuts through the 2011 deficit-driven tea party threat to default

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 today to endorse don. we have a cost here. going back to kentucky. because he asked me. he asked me when there was nobody else in the race, and i said yes. and -- >> al gore is -- al gore asked me to change my opinion on global warming and i don't do that. so -- >> that was kentucky senator rand paul giving what sounded like a less than ringing endorsement of his colleague, mitch mcconnell's re-election bid on glenn beck's radio show. after everyone had a chuckle over that, today a reporter at the website "talking points memo" published a statement from rand paul's office which offered a slightly stronger statement of support. "mitch mcconnell is an important ally and a conservative voice in washington for the people of kentucky. the commonwealth is stronger because of his service and i look forward to continuing to work with him." that is a nice endorsement. if it sounds at all familiar, it's the exact same endorsement word for word that paul gave to the "associated press" back in july of last year. here

then mitch mcconnell said we're not doing this again this year. we're not taking up immigration again. if the house did pass something, they would have to reconcile with the senate. mitch mcconnell who on both days would be on the same page with boehner. >> is anything really for all practical purposes everything important on hold this year? >> we can't answer that question definitively. there's a chance that republicans will try to do some of the pieces of this. might they do more border control, might they do a guest worker program, might they deal with the dreamers, those younger illegal immigrants who were brought across the border through no fault of their own but through their parents. the big question whether legal status or it is citizen for the 11.7 million or so, republicans no way they'll touch that this year. speaker boehner says the issue is trusting the president. if the house republicans don't trust the president now, do you think they'll trust him more when they get closer to the election? >> if they put this on pause, they need a

now they're after mitch mcconnell. that's what it is. the latest stunt by ted cruz. >>> and here is an easy way to keep democrats from voting. republicans in one florida county eliminated half the polling places in the heavily, guess, what minority district. get the picture? the good news is democrats in other states are working to expand voting rights. >>> anyway, let me finish with this question. is the party of abe lincoln, daring me to be conversational about the guy, daring to become the party of jeff davis? it looks like it in terms of voting rights. this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> boy, that kentucky senate race is getting check. let's check the "hardball" scoreboard. according to a new poll, a republican polling firm, mitch mcconnell has a one-point lead over democrat alison lundergan grimes. 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,

mcconnell are facing tea party opposition, if mitch mcconnell wins, if lindsey graham wins, if the others get through safely on those primaries through tea party opposition, i could see the senate maybe more slightly willing to do something. i think what's happening is the republicans are now saying to themselves let's forget the substance of immigration right now. we'll be in a stronger position to deal with it in 2015 because we might win the senate back, and why should we get in the way of our attacks on the president over obamacare and the pace of recovery. let's not complexify our message right now because later we'll be in a stronger position and then able to do something. and that's a hard argument for people like john boehner to counter. he deserves some credit for having those principles that sort of included a path to citizenship. that was a radical move by him. and now he's kind of throwing up his hands. but i have a sneaking suspicion that it's still theoretically possible they would try something after these primaries this summer. >> marimaria, from immigration reform advocac

mitch mcconnell will be seen as a political operator regardless of this. that will be true before this vote, after the vote. this is just another piece of evidence, but i think a lot of this is already baked in the cake for primary voters, and we seal see if matt bevin, his primary challenger, can use that to his advantage or not. >> less about conservative versus really conservative and more about inside washington and outside washington. >> and i think back in kentucky, mitch mcconnell isn't in any worse off place than he was before this vote. i mean, he has had votes for raising the debt limit before that if conservatives back there who didn't like him wanted to use it against him they could. but, you know, i talked to one really smart reporter up on capitol hill who covers the senate and said, look, this was one of those cases where we skipped to the last chapter. we ultimately knew that this was going to have to happen on the senate side and it did, and i think mitch mcconnell will take a little bit of a hit on the early side, but he's still in a much

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

now they're after mitch mcconnell. that's what it is. the layest stunt by ted cruz. >>> and here is an easy way to keep democrats from voting. republicans in one florida county eliminated half the polling places in the heavily, guess, what minority district. get the picture? the good news is democrats in other states are working to expand voting rights. >>> anyway, let me finish with this question. is the party of abe lincoln, daring me to be conversational about the guy, daring to become the party of jeff davis? it looks like it in terms of voting rights. this is "hardball," the place for politics. for powerful al. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ] there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducin

should mitch mcconnell be the senate republican leader? >> look. that is a decision for the conference to make. >> no. but what is your personal opinion about that? is' strong leader or is he a sell-out? >> i strongly disagree with the decisions -- some of the decisions republican leadership has made this past year. there is a real divide over how you win elections. there are a number of folks in washington who think the way you win elections is you put your head down, you don't rock the boat, you don't take any risks. >> and that describes the current senate republican leadership? >> sadly. >> it's a fascinating interview there. mike allen asking some tough questions and pushing. but david gregory, i want to go back to rand paul. a couple of years ago there was a big discussion whether bwhether you're going to have ted cruz or marco rubio or rand paul or all three of them fighting for the same spot in 2016. it looks like rand paul has just broken out of the pac. certainly if you look at the polls and the way he has handled himself, he has

exactly why is mitch mcconnell in trouble? the senior senator from the ruby red state of kentucky has been in office since the mid1980s. he rose in the ranks in part by being a prolific fund-raiser and good campaigner and a good friend to kentucky interests even while rallying against washington spending. last sunday, the huffington post wrote miss. mcconnell played out this die kom cotmy of across kentucky. washington he voted against a health care program for poor children. in kentucky he funneled money to provide innovative health services for pregnant women. in washington, he railed against obamacare and in kentucky, he supported free health care. and this policy may suggest a coherent belief system but it has led to loyalty among the gop in washington and something close to fealty in kentucky. it has advanced mcconnell's highest ideal. mcdonnell's political survival is still tied least in part to the issue of federal spending. remember last year's debt ceiling deal which he helped -- which helped the u.s. to avoid another

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 from the other." it's a strategy, although it might not be a very good one. >> rand paul is out there. he's banging on the clintons every day. what's his strategy? >> well, i'm not certain he has

. >>> 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

i want to play a sound byte from mitch mcconnell talking about the debt ceiling. >> some of the most significant legislation passed in the last 50 years have been in conjunction with the debt ceiling. i think for the president to ask for a clean debt ceiling when we have a debt the size of our economy is irresponsible. >> what's your reaction to that? >> 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.

how bhig is the threat to mitch mcconnell in. >> he could lose. he's remarkly unpopular in the state. democrats want to try to pin him down and make him have to worry about the race. he is a cagey guy. it is still kentucky. there's a national democratic or republican tide, it's hard for him to lose in the general election. if the democrats fight back, and she proves to be a strong candidate, there were some moments in that piece she looked strong, and others where she looked a little bit like she couldn't stand up to him. so i think there's a chance there. but in the end, it will take a lot of lucky breaks for her to coin. >> kasie, the rand paul effect on this race. >> it's hard to overstate it. mcconnell was very smart, and while rand has not exactly been the most aggressive defender, he's not working against him. that makes a huge difference. rand has also been storing up a little bit of trouble. he had some interesting comments about bill clinton and woody allen, both of whom are supporters of grimes, if you want to take a listen to that. >> y

grimes is facing nominal opposition in the democratic primary and is expected to face mitch mcconnell in november if he moves on to that point. joining me live, nbc news senior political editor mark murray. so, mark, the event hasn't started yet, so let's first talk about the landscape right now. looks like mitch mcconnell, despite early belief that it would be a tough battle for him, he's looking good at this point, pollwise. >> well, he's looking good in his primary race, tamron, that's against matt beavan, a tea party challenger and seems mcconnell has momentum on his side heading into that may primary, but the general election is a whole different story and that race remains competitive. we're going to see which force is more powerful in the state and that's kind of the anti-obama, antidemocratic force like a race in kentucky, or are people so frustrated with congress and its leaders, mitch mcconnell is a senate minority leader, what does that weigh out, and right now those two forces are hitting each other. this may be a very close race to watch come 2014. >> this brings me to al

mitch mcconnell test they did not want to do that.t. ted c cruz has solidified his will. people do not like that. the wall street journal went after him. >> called h him all kinds of names. i love the drama. you have covered this. there is another thing -- you will come back with more about that after the break. stay with us. when w return, the cost of criticizing amacare. when politics and business collide. after the breaeak. >> lcomome back. it is becoming a popular punching bag for businesses. the much-maligned affordable care a act. one leading company has learned that going too far in botching heth care costs can b backfire. especially wn you add into the bashing and complaints about specific employees and their babies. case in point, aol. the ceo is an emple of wh not to say. -- tim armstrong announced on a a conference call with employees changes to the 401(k) plans. first, he blamed rising health care costs. he said they were caused by obamacare. >> we would have to actually increased payments per month on health care plans. that is where the balance of that and t

in 2008 hillary went to campaign against mitch mcconnell and he wub by six. in 2010 bill went back to kentucky to campaign against rand paul and he won by 1. he's a familiar face in the state. i don't think at the end of the campaign it will be dispose tiff but it will help her raise money and have conversations like we're having today. >> what was interesting, she was asked whether she wants president obama to campaign for her. >> this race is about putting the people first and i don't need a surrogate to do that. what's the difference? >> one is an unpopular president and the other is a friend of her father, major powerbroker in the kentucky democratic party. >> will it hurt her she didn't vote for obamacare. that's trouble for democrats to run for re-election. >> hard to say with a straight face she wouldn't have. how do you say in retrospect i wouldn't have voted for it. i wasn't there. i wouldn't have voted for it. she doesn't seem to be able to explain the issue, distinguish the issue, explain how she disagrees other than to say obamacare is a disaster

you have mitch mcconnell the deal maker, mitch mcconnell very conservative leader of the senate where on immigration he comes out and forcefully says no, not going to get an immigration deal and you have john boehner in the house saying he might. he's handcuffed to the tea party. even after the primary, high turnout to prevail in a race against a well funded democratic candidate, a strong democratic candidate. if outside money comes pouring in, you know where it's going to pour, it's going to pour on him. where else would you put it if you're a democrat? >> there you go. up next, the author of smart people should build things. did you hear that, meacham? >> i'm for that. >> explain why he believes the author, solution to economic problems is as simple as the title of his book. "morning joe" will be right back. that's insane. yep, and you can customize it. i can download anything i want. [ girl ] seriously? that's a lot of music. seriously. that's insane. and it's 15 bucks a month for the family. seriously? that's a lot of gold rope. seriously, that's a signature look. you don't have a

quote, mitch mcconnell was the deciding vote in the senate to move forward. john boehner and erik cantor structured this deal in the house. primaries matter. until you defeat these guys, you will do nothing to change washington. this is a mutiny. >> now, i like congressman latourette, and i feel his pain. but i wonder if he is being a little too optimistic when he says this is just a small segment of the republican base. because even without ted cruz, you have all these groups out there, a lot of them getting big funding from the koch brothers and others, and they're appealing to a wider swath. >> okay. >> and you would still have a mutiny against mcconnell, a mutiny against boehner without ted cruz. >> he is engaged. >> be engaged. >> listen, david, i couldn't disagree with you more. my problem with these folks, matt kibbe and the rest and erick erickson, the day i retired from congress, erick erickson said best news of the century. and i'm thinking to me, wait a minute, didn't we land on the moon and we did this, we did that. so these people are into creati

mitch mcconnell is one of those. and the second is mary landrieu, who i always joke wins by 13 1/2 votes every six years. republicans think for five and a half years they're going to vote mary, and mary always ends up winning. democrats think the same thing about mitch mcconnell. what is it about -- let as you talk about mitch, since that's the race. what is it about that guy that makes him so tough, where he doesn't seem like a natural cultural fit. >> he's enormously unpopular. he's around richard nixon territory. he is the toughest politician around. he will spend gobs of money. he's relentless, he will attack. i think it's possible his luck runs out, his charm. charm of mitch mcconnell, you don't usually associate with one another. he has a double whammy. the primary will soften him up, and he'll have a tough time in a general. i also don't think kentucky is a swing state anymore. those cultural states, culturally conservative states -- west virginia, tennessee, kentucky, arkansas -- bubba carried them all. they'

can seee at home and the faces down there, mitch mcconnell is one to watch carefully, as is bob corker. one of the republicans who could support this effort to at least bring it to the floor for a vote. drama on the senate floor on the even though it may not look like much. >> also watching this carefully is wall street. the majority in the red. dow jones industrial down 45 points. s&p 500 down fractionally. thing that is important for people to bear in mind, the clock is working against congress in all of this. we heard jack lew say february 27 is the deadline. air is a snowstorm about to hit washington. if this would go down in defeat, there would need to be an effort in the senate to gin up some new agreement. any change in the legislation would require the house to return to washington. right now the house is supposed to be on recess for two weeks time. house democrats have already left for their retreat in maryland. there are challenges if this does not go down. not insurmountable, but it means they are pushing harder and harder against that february 27 deadline. we know that woul

. >> 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