i'm not a republican. because i am so appalled by corruption -- [inaudible] i always wanted to the main contributors are to each candidate so that i know who their puppet masters are because eventually the puppet masters wind up pulling the strings and running our country. so i kind of bend towards trump -- [inaudible] both republican and democrat and i found that this country -- [inaudible] it's going to be up to 30. $30 trillion. now you have lawyers -- [inaudible] politicians that have no concept of how to run a business. and i did this myself. whenever i delegate a job that has to be done on time and under budget, i picked the one employee who has the biggest ego because they always find time and they always get the job done and on budget. >> host: that's here in pennsylvania. let's hear from anthony in georgia, independent line. >> caller: good morning. i just wanted to chime in here for those who are more libertarian minded like myself. neither the establishment nor the outsiders are really looking a

and republicans had 21 governors. since that time 31 republican governors big majority in the house, majority in the senate, his policies have been rejected by the american people but he doesn't want to hear that. >> dickerson: gun control question, donald trump has suggested getting rid of gun free zones in schools and military bases would you agree with that? >> i think for the military, i've said this before for attacks earlier in tennessee. that it seems ridiculous that military folks can carry a weapon with them. they're trained to do it. the best trained people. our military folks being able to carry weapons in those circumstances. on the gun free school zones they should be able to look on its own. >> dickerson: your record on assault weapons. when we last talked you said that originally you wanted to keep an assault weapons ban, those who wanted to get rid of it. in 2009 you were still supporter of the assault weapons ban that was after you'd been a prosecutor. >> what i said at the time that i was not interes

, republican that. there is a thread there. which is, at this point if this gets to be a real problem, the elephant in the room for hillary clinton, everywhere she goes remains possible she could be indicted for a crime of a very serious nature. >> we're going to get to that. >> no matter what she does, that puts a stink on it. >> it's a pig pen in the peanuts, like, still there. and you're coming back in a little bit. in the meantime, mrs. clinton not only ran against bernie sanders but unloaded a couple times on those guys on the other side of the aisle, those republicans. >> we've got to do everything we cannot to let the republicans rip away the progress. >> karl rove is with us tonight. if you saw this, you could have thought she's looking forward to working with them cooperatively to get things done. >> yes. sort of inconsistent. look. that was a side show. the main focus of her comments was continuity. i'm going to build on the legacy of barack obama. she wrapped herself as close as she could to

then a choice between a dark republican party or a native republican party. or somebody who wants to open up the company. somebody who said yesterday's candidate wants to take us back to yesterday. you would have a generational -- the video you showed of the clinton rally i thought was so powerful. i thought that rally looked old. it felt old. it felt lifeless. bernie sanders, i agree with matthew. >> we're talking about trump's chances. i think a lot of -- look back, we're going to look back at this one and, again, see a media malpractice. that led our media to give him obsessive coverage, click, ratings, and -- look at tissue he's a right wing -- >> there's no question he is leading. here's the question i have. i have interviewed him 20 times since june. he's been asked every single tough question. he's had every single attack come at him. he's done things that would drive other candidates out of the race, in a heart beat, but it hasn't happened to him. why? >> if you want to -- we talk about bernie sanders out of sync with the majority. which i believe he'

there was nikki haley's address for the republican republican one. but the tea party republican one was given by a guy you've never heard of. his name is wayne alan root. huh? wayne alan root. i had to check twice to make sure that's the order of the words. but that is. wayne alan root. if you want a sense of the schism in the republican party right now, the divide right down the middle of that party, this is a very clear way to show that because the official republican republican response to the state of the union was nikki haley saying don't vote for donald trump. the official republican tea party response to the state of the union was given by this guy wayne alan root, who today debuted as a warm-up act and emcee for donald trump campaign rallies. >> i'm supporting donald j. trump because donald understands this isn't a picnic, this isn't a golf match with muffy at the country club, this isn't badminton, this is a war. you and i love trump because we know he'll go to washington and break it. he'll upset the apple cart. he'll derail the gravy train

on the republican side, republicans rely less on younger voters. younger voters make up a smaller portion of the republican primary and caucus electorates. we're talking about iowa and new hampshire, you're seeing some candidates say, hey, it's time for new leadership. marco rubio, for example, is one of the candidates in the republican -- fernando: well, i want to ask you about that, because he's made that argument in a very clear way. yet, he has, at least seemingly, very little traction in the polling. what do you think is the disconnect there? because younger voters make up a very small portion of the republican primary electorate, that's not an argument right now that's well-served for him, when it comes to taking down ted cruz and donald trump. but once they move to a general election, and it comes to facing the democratic nominee, cutting into the advantage that barack obama has had in the past two elections among younger voters is going to be essential for the republicans if they're going to compete in the general election. fernando: what w

i guess we should be expecting the unexpected now, but to have nicky haily, the republican, the republican response to the state of the union actually take a shot at the front-runner, and accuse him of being divisive. what could have been more divisive that she could possibly have said. >> she put little stink on it. she did not do diatribe against trump. she's allowed to not like donald trump, right? lou: of course, when she speaks for the party, i suppose her personal opinions respect the views and opinions of the party, that would be a new form of politics that only stirewalt knows. >> nikki haley is a valuable commodity for the republican party. lou: she's a terrific governor. >> successful governor of an important state. she's a woman. she is a mom. she is indian american, daughter of immigrants, she has a great story to tell. that's of value to the republican party. does absolute decorum demand that she take no swipe at donald trump? yes. you are absolutely right. absolute decorum would demand she not say anything about fellow republicans. lou: push decorum and good manners and judgm

smart for republican party to talk aboutivity. when they're trying to undo food stamp program all these other things that happens every time they talk about that. but i think you're right. by everything washington based republicans, congress, working on these things. either thehe can find way to score points or at least working on policy decisions while trump is running around the country. >> what's so interesting about this year is that mrs. clinton, on the democratic side, mrs. clinton is the establishment. leader on the republican side is rebuke to the establishment. the establishment using this sloppily in a broadway, is going to have to figure out what to do about this. do we just roll with this? suppose trump brings lot of independence and democrats in virginia. some of the republican party is in the position of happily letting new people in except they don't like the guy that are coming in. it's reallyy- it's complicated and strange year. >> dickerson: one more complexity, charles is quoted as saying the things i'm passiona

it was the heartland republicans. by the time the eisenhower administration was over, by the '50s, the midwestern heartland republicans were looking to take the party back. >> goldwater, jr.: there were a lot of people that wanted him to run, and there was really nobody else that he could pass that off to. and the reason he ran was because he didn't want to let these people down, knowing he probably wasn't going to win. >> gold: it was goldwater who first said and knew he was not going to win the election because he said, the country will not take three presidents in over a period of two years. it was too much of a shock. >> man: don't look now, young man, but somebody has his hand in your pocket. it's the hand of big government. it's taking away about four months' pay from what your daddy earns every year. $1 out of every $3 in his paycheck, and it's taking the security out of your grandmother's social security. >> you know, that's the great trouble with big inflationary government. it takes more and more of your ear

with the republican issues conference and there is a bit of a divide with strategy republicans control the house and the senate. very energized to say this is what we will do this is the policy agenda. we just '01 to repeal obamacare it is a replacement on tax reforme and trade and health care reform replacement.mitcg to mitch mcconnell doesn't want a lot of them going off ahead of the elections and he is happy to repeal obamacare. ed to come up with a lot of money with medicare and medicaid. we don't want to take those votes ahead in november. you can see this as the year evolves with the strategy to. >> host: if you have questions we will have democrats and republicans and independents.sion is there the eternal struggle? or is a a lopsided one where the other? >> we ask the question if he is unelectable with a socialist democrats too far left and out of the mainstream, he believes pretty much everything nancy pelosi and harry reid have that same agenda if he is unelectable then what is yours?but but the campaign to have that policycytr differences butw he gaveou sanders a truthhe ser

they have become fairly reliable republicans for cultural republicans and charlie pierce, here comes donald trump who is going we're going to build a wall, keep immigrants out, negotiate tougher trade deals. whatever you want you white republican voter who hates the establishment. they still can't make sense of the gap he is exploiting. >> yeah. i'm a little bit alarmed. there seems to be a creeping element of coherence to the trump message all of a sudden. used to be it was throwing out any idea that came to his head. the mental radio of donald trump has been on scan for a while and finally found station. it has wrong footed everyone he's running against. i'm old enough to remember when there was a republican consensus on things like medicare and social security. it was called the 1950s and '60s before the republican party moved south and west and the conservative movement took over and blew up those consensus. it's possible that one might come back that the consensus might be reestablished. i agree with michael in the sense i don't think donald trump is in it for that particular re

it sounds to me like, doesn't necessarily mean that the republican party doesn't -- and the republican establishment doesn't have an interest in going after donald trump. but given that that's his appeal, the absolute wrong way to criticize him is by saying he's intemperate or an inappropriate personality. that will help him. that won't hurt him, because that's part of what people like about him. >> that's part of what people like about him. but then not just saying what you said, but taking the actions, as we -- as you reported several weeks ago, a few -- actually, last month in december, the secret meeting in washington between the leadership and mcconnell and others talking about what to do about donald trump. well, the answer to that is nothing. let the primary voters work this out on their own. they haven't cast a vote yet. so we still don't know exactly whether the numbers we're saying right now, rachel, will translate into turnout, into votes and caucuses, et cetera. that's to come. but every day there's more and more attempts by those who don't want trump in the lead here to ta

and no other republican republican is going to be winning. the people in this country are amazing. they're amazing. they're really smart. they really know what's happening. >> and as for cruz, not one republican senator has endorsed him. now presidential candidates mitt romney and john mccain, neither of whom were born in the u.s., got a senate resolution to announce their eligibility for them to run for president. yet mitch mcconnell has refused to bring such an action for ted cruz also not born in the u.s. so the establishment doesn't want their own two lead candidates to win. this person not conservative enough for you, and this person not republican enough for you, and this person doesn't have real values. now let me ask you something. do you think that the establishment -- whoever they are -- even cares about you? do they think you even like you? folks, this is the one hand washes the other washington two-step. might the establishment be looking to maintain its status quo, keep their donors and lobbyists happy while they feather their ow

then a choice between a dark republican party or a native republican party. or somebody who want tots open up the party. you woumd ld have a generational -- i thought that rally looked old. it felt old. it felt lifeless. bernie sanders, i agree with matthew. >> we're talking about trump's chances. i think a lot of -- look back, we're going look back at this one and again see media mall practice that led our media to give him obsessive coverage, tissue he's a right wing -- >> there's though question he is leading. here's the question i have. i have interviewed him 0 times since june. he's been asked every single tough question. he's had every single attack come at him. he's done things that would drive other candidates out of the race, in a heart beat, but it hasn't happened to him. why? >> if you want to -- we talk and bernie sanders out of sync with the majority. donald trump is in sync with right wing populism. the other day, he said medicare should negotiate with drug companies. but his attacks on muslims and immigrants. he's tough on immigrants. >> but it

that's the problem i think the republicans have. >> republicans have to figure out who and what they want to be when they grow up. >> and what they stand for. >> i got to say tidbit in "the new york times" i guess you knew this had to be coming. michael bloomberg, billionaire former mayor of new york, here thinking of the possibility that donald trump could be the republican nominee. hillary clinton the democratic nominee has done some polling i'm told that polling shows a legitimate three-way race. do you think -- >> please god. please god. yes but mayor bloomberg shall >> out it in a sports metaphor. [ laughter ] >> you got me. you got me. >> i think that the opportunity -- if ted cruz or donald trump are the republican nominee and hillary clinton is the democratic nominee you'll have the most unelectable candidates competing against each other. it creates a lane for a third party. i don't know that a billionai billionaire -- >> our puzzling. >> lyndon johnson. >> first was harry truman. >>> up next two of america's top economists look forward >> announcer: catch this week all line

that apt ted cruz. republican party. a different republican party. a great contrast with hillary clinton and a democratic party and trap it in amber. if this is a trump-rubio race, tissue. >> that's the future. it masks regressive old ideas. >> he wants to open the economy. democrats want to keep it close. >> the only thing we don't know, donald trump has not -- he's left marco rubio alone. he left ted cruz alone zplp he decided to leave him alone again. >> he left ted cruz alone until last three weeks inspect the last three weeks, donald trump has system atically taken down ted cruz in iowa. >> he peaked too soon. at 31 pgt in december, he's going down. there are three tickets. an old cliche. three tickets out of a iowa on the reason side. donald trump has his own plane. ted cruz will likely come out. marco rubio will likely become the establishment ment and then 50% are chosen in march. >> will the others drop out? >> tlths not much reason to unless they want a cabinet post in say a trump administration. which some might. as you do, republicans are

wasn't that striking to hear the governor of south carolina, a republican, really going after the republican front-runner in south carolina? one of the earl i ly voting sta. it got negative reception from the far right, especially on social media. they were hitting nikki haley hard for going that. that made it all the more striking. it tells you a little bit more about where the heads of republican leaders on capitol hill are at. mitch mcconnell and paul ryan were the ones who invited nikki haley. they knew what she was going to say, and here she is releasing this sort of attack on the republican presidential front runner. it was a fascinating moment. >> it was the establishment strikes back in a way. erik for us in iowa. we'll talk to you more in the coming minutes. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for staying up with us. >> hillary clinton launching new attacks against sanders as his support soars in a new national pole. the race for president intensifi intensifies. that's next. >> hillary clinton's lead is slipping nationally. a poll just out shows clinton seven points ahead of sanders

this incredible republican campaign is down to the wire. for the first time last night, both front-runners spent the night in iowa. ted cruz this morning, taking the day off before he finishes visiting all # 9 counties. donald trump is headed to church, but the top talker here, how personal and negative this fight has been. trump overnight said he would not vote for cruz if he wins. donald trump began running his first negative tv ad hitting cruz. cruz is fighting back. >> if donald trump wins it's going to be a snowball to hell. >> i was at that rally, martha, the cruz's case against trump is getting sharper, it's electrifying his sporters. day, but the big question here is, will those huge crowds for trump actually turn out to caucus? his iowa operation of course has been untraditional. the underdog, marco rubio getting endorsed this morning by the des moines register. rubio trails in the polls here. worth noting in every election in the last 20 years, the register has endorsed the republican candidate who went on to win the nomination. m

i got along with conservatives and republicans. i happen to be a republican. but when you're a businessman you have to get along with everybody. you can't just say, i'm going to get along with a small group because you won't be able to function that way. i get along. worldwide. i get along with everybody. >> ted cruz is saying a vote for trump is a vote for obamacare. saying in the last few months, you're for single payer government-run health insurance. on that obamacare issue, right there, he's saying, because you want the government to pay for everyone to have health care, sthat just like obamacare? >> look, ted cruz is a total liar. i'm so against obamacare. i've been saying it for two years. i'm going the repeal and replace obamacare. i don't know where he gets this. he didn't put down on his financial disclosure forms that he borrowed money from banks at lower than you or anybody can get. he's got favorable deals from the banks on wall street. he never put it down. ted is a liar. this is why nobody likes him. this is why he doesn't have one endorsement f

republicans see it as a two-front win for them. there's few things that anger republican voters than the use of executive action. there's a lot of concern among republican voters about any actions that could limit their access to guns. but republicans also need to be looking ahead to the general election and when you look at polls, there's overwhelming public support for expanding background checks which is the action we expect obama to take. >>> an early state of the union this year the president will be active. >> i was in new hampshire with permission raided mailbox of friends and family up there. we spend a lot of time talking about tv ad and digital ads that groups are airi ing but they ar sending snail mail. this is one that is supporting marco rubio. you notice senator tom cotton is up here with legislation. the other group is sending a the lot of mail. right to rise usa which is a group supporting jeb bush. they sent seven mailers like this. they leave door tags or car tags, even, if you go to a bush event. neither of the g

over the course of the next year. >> hugh hewitt, you're tapped into the republican base, the republican primary voters. they're listeners of yours, as well. how does an issue like this get traction? there isn't one single legal scholar in america who believes this is an open question. ted cruz is qualified but i am reminded when i was a lad there was a series of three fights between joe frazier and muhammad ali, and they were epic battles and i think iowa, new hampshire and south carolina between ted cruz and donald trump are going to be that kind of slugfest, and on the other side there's who's got the george foreman lane? someone will emerge on the other side but those two will clobber each -- >> you brought back memories listening to those fights on my transistor radio on my pillow. meanwhile, hugh heweitt talks about this epic battle right now. donna brazile, you see donald trump at the top of these polls especially in new hampshire holding so strong. >> i mean, no one is a bigger birther than donald trump. i mean, he did it with president obama and now he's doing it to ted cruz and

republican. that trampleays give you a nomination. what do you think about that? guest: that is a good question. i reside in the junior these days. i come from the state of arkansas and represented arkansas. arkansas has an open primary, so you don't have to register party. you can go in and declare your party affiliation at the time you boat. i think that has been a debate that has gone on a long time. should the party be able to control who the nominee will be by having the members of the party select a nominee? i think there is a strong top republicans selecting the republican nominee and not having democrats crossover or independents influence the nominating process, but i think that is a debate that the people with honest opinions can disagree on. it's not something that will divide is too much and i hope it won't. will get aator rubio lot of democratic support as a go into the general election and i would be confident with him regardless of the process being open or closed. wille primary pr

the reality is the great majority of them are democrats or republicans, and they vote like republicans or democrats. if you run a campaign that republican issues like kasich has to attract independent voters, you will probably lose. jon huntsman tried that strategy in 2012 and finished in distant third place. in fact, a lot of people refer to john kasich as doing the full huntsman this year. fernando: struggling candidates will have just over two weeks to catch the front-runners before voters go to the polls for the nation' s first primary. >> coming up next, cracking code words on the campaign trail. saying? mr. trump: they are bringing drugs. they are bringing crime. they are rapists. fernando: the crowded republican field has not shyed away from hot-button issues like immigration, income inequality and women' s rights. be considered "dog-whistle" politics, fanning the flames of racial division. about race and politics at harvard university. she joins me now on skype. fernando: there' s been a tremendous amount of controversy so far in the election. some would say that there' s dog w

the reality is the great majority of them are democrats or republicans, and they vote like republicans or democrats. if you run a campaign that criticizes republicans and republican issues like kasich has to attract independent jon huntsman tried that strategy in 2012 and finished in distant third place. in fact, a lot of people refer to john kasich as doing the full huntsman this year. fernando: struggling candidates will have just over two weeks to catch the front-runners before voters go to the polls for the nation' s first primary. >> coming up next, cracking code words on the campaign trail. >> there has definitely been pannouncer: where do you line up with john kasich on the issues? take the kasich quiz! forced obamacare expansion in ohio. voted for massive defense cuts and defended the process that closed pease air force base, which cost thousands of local jobs. even had the worst rating on spending of any governor in the country - republican or democrat. john kasich - wrong on new hampshire issues. right to rise usa is responsible saying? mr. trump: they are bringing drugs. the

it happens because the day that any republican candidate stood that climate change is real, that republican candidate would lose campaign contributions from the koch brothers and the fossil fuel industry. and that is a corrupt campaign uinance system is doingt to o country. and i say to my republican colleagues, think about your kids, think about your grandchildren, think about the future of this planet, stop worrying about where you are going to get your campaign contributions. what this campaign is about is asking people to think big not small. understand that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, when we stand together there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. turns out that the united kingdom provides health care to all of their people. germany does it. france does it. scandinavia does it. does it. does it, canada major country on earth guarantees health care to all their people is a right. we do not. now, i have been criticized for this but let me be honest and clear with everybody in this room and with the people of iowa . yes, i do believe that health care is a rig

it is a burning issue in republican party circles and republican voters around the country but i don't think i dok anybody is having a serious conversation about that issue being made, either you giver people a clear path to citizenship or they live in the shadows. none of the republican candidates most likely to win a nomination are seriously finding a nuanced position between the two. it's all let's get them out of here and be done with that when it's not practical politics. >> lennie mcallister, help me understand, when you go to iowa, a lot of the work that gets done day to day in the fields in the stores in the restaurants working on trucks and grain elevators, is being done by people born in other places of the world. >> well there's a difference between being here legally and illegally. number one, the difference between having somebody work for you and everybody benefits from it versus some of the rhetoric that's out there which includes they're taking up our resources or schools or health care system, when you get to candidate rhetoric, you move away from presidential rhetoric

and, republicans versus republicans. is there a civil war in the grand old party? plus -- >> i' m angry that it is so fernando: any candidate running for office needs to send a voters. and if you live in iowa, new hampshire or south carolina, you have already seen more than your share of ads. which ads are effective, and which will backfire? peter fenn, president of the the winners and losers. peter: we are seeing commercials in iowa and new hampshire. fernando: what is your take so far? peter: the closer you get to the election, the more ads you will see, going after the last-minute deciders, folks who haven' t quite made up their mind, who are leaning toward one candidate or the other, and no candidate wants to be left out. so it' s kind of a war of campaign ads. but i tell you, i think in this cycle ads have played a much less important role than they have in the past. fernando: and what' s your theory, why is that? peter: well, i think that the debates have gotten huge audiences. i mean, you know, you get 24 million, 25 million, 18 million people watching these

that's republican line. -- republican line. caller: the one highlight of his legacy is getting bin laden. i give him credit for that. economy is doing wonderful in new york and d.c. the jobs being created are not jobs people can survive on. i hope republicans and independents go to the polls. trump as thenald nominee. host: charles in baton rouge, louisiana. democrats line. caller: hello. thank you for taking my call. we're very excited to welcome the president to baton rouge on thursday. i'm extremely proud of the president for his work on health care and for confronting the nra on gun violence. let me touch on health care again. if we don't do something about providers not accepting medicaid patients, we will end up with a segregated health system. we will have to combat that. one last point i want to make. we understand you are the party of fear and fright. democrats and independents will not be scared into voting for four more years of war rhetoric and wasting $7 trillion like we did in afghanistan and iraq. host: the wall

donald trump's numbers with republicans were terrible before he got in the republican race. he's a very talented brander who is good at changing the perception of him and changing the way voters think about him. he's got republicans to forgive him for so many things. this is a guy who was avidly pro-choice. >> they're running an ad in iowa which is dominated by evangelicals of him saying i'm very pro-choice over and over. >> it doesn't mean to matter. he used to be for a 13% wealth tax. his old positions are a litany. >> the issues aren't what's driving -- >> he was also for amnesty. >> the issues aren't what is driving who he is playing to now. when he expands out past that. >> it's not just republicans who can be appealed to on nebulous feelings stuff. >> the voters base doesn't necessarily think ted cruz is that odious. >> it's the people in the establishment who despise them. thank you both. >> thank you. >>> still ahead, we'll have continuing coverage of this donald trump event. we'll tell you what happened the last time trump held a fund-raiser for veterans. bernie san

who cares about policy substance is a republican debate without trump showing a better side of the republican party? are people comporting themselves in a way that you're happier with as a republican? >> i think when you look at the debate, donald trump pulled off a remarkable political feat here. he raised $6 million for veterans. he had the last two winners of the iowa caucuses show up at his event and he turned the entire fox republican debate into an undercard vaept. it doesn't have a particular amount of relevance without his presence there. in fact, he set up a scenario where the establishment candidates going after ted cruz weaken cruz's position in iowa and of course the establishment candidates are in competition for who comes in third in iowa and who is going to emerge out of new hampshire. and i would just say at the beginning of this, the notion that donald trump won't aquit himself well if he should be a nominee against bernie sanders or hillary clinton, i disagree with it. first i don't think either one of them are particularly effective debaters. secondly, i think that donald t

look, the republicans are going to nominate whomever the republicans decide gives them the best chance to win or satisfies their anger. but the president was asking, what kind of a nation do we want to be? what kind of perception do we want to project, and who do we want to do that? >> what struck me about the reaction to the speech is really that more and more it's clear that two parties live in two different realities. and i know what you may say about the speech. and it's not talking points. i really think there's just two world views going on here. >> the republicans certainly think on foreign affairs the president lives in a different reality than the world. there was something bizarre about this incident going on with the iranians picking up our boats. and you have 250,000 people dead in syria and you have russia in ukraine and syria. then you have the president saying everything's fine, everything's good, no one can say that america isn't more respected. i don't think that's what hillary clinton wants to run on. americans don't believe that. and i don't believe it's true. so at

it's a way for republicans to rally their base. they want to show that they're the toughest candidate against this challenger or democratic general election nominee who republicans think will be pretty tough opponent. it's also frankly not something that the clinton campaign is all that upset with. they sort of figure that anyone who is voting in the republican rimary is probably not a gettable vote for hillary clinton. having her attacked so much in the republican debates gives them a way to boost their own base, to send out fundraising appeals and get their own people excited about a general election by striking that contrast. >> karen, you had mentioned the republican establishment that sort of people that are -- what was interesting last night was the rubio-chris christie battle. it's been bubbling up for weeks and all about new hampshire where both men are competing pretty aggressively. did you sense any, when you were there, what was the mood like in the room? did it feel like chris christie got the better of that exchange be

i think for three republican conventions in a row republicans will not hear from a former republican president. >> that of course meaning the only living former presidents are the bushes. >> if jeb is the nominee, i think he wants to be his own man. if cruz or trump or christie, i don't see it. >> my prediction on politics is it's going to be a three-way race. there will be aung establishment republican. if trump doesn't get the nomination, somebody else, trump, maybe somebody else runs instead to show how mad they are at the establishment. >> basically you'll sea there would be two republican/conservative. >> is that a guarantee that >> likely. that's not part of my prediction. >>> nikki haley has been given the economy room to flourish, shown grace in leadership. she also understands the dynamic dynamics of the grassroots versus the establishment. when he ran for governor, she was opposed. she will be the republican nominee for vice president. >> it's a republican state, used not go for ohio or florida? >> el they need somebody who can show they understand this divide, a proven --

it won't be republican votes. it not going to hurt the republicans and besides, what will the laws tell you? who runs those debates? the republicans and democrats. if you can't get into the president debates how does the message get out? thank goodness for the inter-nate because we're able to get our message out. >> and thank goodness for cable television. >> i agree. >> thanks for coming on, sir. appreciate it. >>> next, who, what, where, why, today's headlines including why meteorologists are tracking an atlantic hurricane in january. ibs-d. you know the symptoms when they start. abdominal pain. urgent diarrhea. now there's prescription xifaxan. xifaxan is a new ibs-d treatment that helps relieve your diarrhea and abdominal pain symptoms. and xifaxan works differently. it's a prescription antibiotic that acts mainly in the digestive tract. do not use xifaxan if you have a history of sensitivity to rifaximin, rifamycin antibiotic agents, or any components of xifaxan. tell your doctor right away if your diarrhea w

democrats to republicans, 924. democrats to republicans -- republicans to democrats, 640. democrat, 1960. it could indicate the nailbiter between mitt romney and rick santorum. areconditions on the ground that citizens and registered voters, are they largely the same? caller: the same as 2012? it is hard to say. the field is so big. rick santorum shooting past everyone else, or mike huckabee coming out on top. ishink the general feeling that it will probably be cruz and trump. see someone rise to come close to third or fourth place. i think that is where the drama will be. days andthese closing arguments, what storylines are you following up? in cedar rapids, most of the candidates are passing through this weekend. .e are covering each candidate one thing that you look forward to is, did they say anything new or different than they have said in the past -- six months over a year? , at this point, people are ready for the caucuses. the crowd that you see -- are they excited? sometimes you can feel the energy at this point. energydon't feel the when you are a candidate, that

this does not exist on the republican side. on the democratic side, there are nearly 1,000 superdelegates. they automatically get votes at the democratic convention. governors, senators, members of congress, elected officials. they are overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly going to be with hillary clinton because they do not like the idea of the democratic party nominating somebody who calls himself a socialist. and so bernie sanders, the ultimate obstacle for him even if everything else is breaking his way is he's got to win some of them over or he's got to be so strong that he makes them have no choice but to come to his side because there's going to be so much resistance from them to the idea of putting up bernie sanders for president. >> ultimately what i think we are seeing is a democratic party that is much stronger as an entity in this race than the republican party is as an entity. not in terms of their electoral strength. that's in some ways bernie sanders has an obstacle that someone like ted cruz or donald trump doesn't on

less than 4% of republican voters had ever heard my name. pollsters wouldn't even ask for my name and today in yet another poll, i am number six nationally i am tied for number five in new hampshire with a whole bunch of the guys sitting on the main stage debate and they have spent tens of millions of dollars getting there and i haven't spent a dime yet on tv. in the meantime i have leadership teams and 25 states. a lot of the guys on the main stage can't say that. in the meantime i have her robust ground game. a lot of guys on the main stage debate can't say that. lou: you are feeling good. >> i'm feeling good and elections are won by votes in the voters haven't started voting it. lou: i'm wondering how perhaps the front-runner on the democratic side is feeling. you opened the evening may i say crisply. this is what carly fiorina said to get things going tonight. >> i am not a political insider. i haven't spent my lifetime running for office. the truth is i have had a new opportunity to do a lot of things in my life and unlike another woman

less than 4% of republican voters had ever heard my name. pollsters wouldn't even ask for my name and today in yet another poll, i am number six nationally i am tied for number five in new hampshire with a whole bunch of the guys sitting on the main stage debate and they have spent tens of millions of dollars getting there and i haven't spent a dime yet on tv. in the meantime i have leadership teams and 25 states. a lot of the guys on the main stage can't say that. in the meantime i have her robust ground game. a lot of guys on the main stage debate can't say that. lou: you are feeling good. >> i'm feeling good and elections are won by votes in the voters haven't started voting it. lou: i'm wondering how perhaps the front-runner on the democratic side is feeling. you opened the evening may i say crisply. this is what carly fiorina said to get things going tonight. >> i am not a political insider. i haven't spent my lifetime running for office. the truth is i have had a new opportunity to do a lot of things in my life and unlike another woman

iowa, if you are a republican, you have a republican candidate. if you look at a democrat ballot, you have democrat, independent, farm labor party, green party, democratic socialist, so on and so forth. white? is that -- why is that? i never understood. can you answer that? guest: if you are talking about the general election ballot in november where the entire country is coding, all of the candidates who are listed on that ballot are the candidates eligible in iowa to be listed on that ballot. while you may think of some of those as more left-leaning, if you think about the green party that candidate have to qualify to get on the ballot. there could be other parties that would organize to also get on the ballot, but the fact that there are multiple parties represented means there were not organizations, petitions signed, the paperwork done for this candidate to get on the ballot. was a huge there number of people who filed with the fec to be considered candidates for president. i think it is over 1000. not many of them are going to end up doing t

the republicans relish the fight because a lot of republicans live in conservative districts. the country has become increasingly polarized, and the house reflects that. many house members say bring on this fight because the people who vote for me back home, they don't want to see gun control efforts happen. they can benefit politically from this debate as well. we'll see that in their reaction to what president obama has to say tonight. a big message we hear from republicans if you want to change what the president is trying to do, elect a republican to the white house in 2016. unlike some of president obama's other hallmark issues like opening up cuba or getting gays in the military, gun issues can be rolled back quite easily, something that fluctuates with every administration. republicans feel like they can publish back on this one. >> libby, you're there where things are getting busier, as people move into the house. adam schauffler, who is in roseberg, oregon, the seen of the shooting at a college this past october that left nine people dead, the president visited rosebe

you poll very highly among republicans in vermont. >> because i got 25% of the vote from republicans in my last election. >> but then there's a question about the way politics works now. because when you talk about your material interests are this, right? politics have gotten very tribal, very polarized. there's this real kind of demographic fear that's playing among a lot of what we used to call the white working class. that's a real thing, right? that's not something that's just a malleable -- >> what we have got to do, this is what you have to do, as you know. my whole life i have been pro choice. i am pro gay rights and so forth. and what you have to say to people, okay -- and this is why i went to liberty union. liberty university a few months ago. look, we disagree on gay rights. we disagree on abortion issues. can we at least agree that income and wealth inequality, the grotesque level in this country, is a moral issue? can we stand together? >> right. >> should we work together to end the fact that we have a high rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth.

back in a moment, folks, with more on the republican race and the republican party's bank shot strategy of late. support donald trump now to defeat cruz then hope somehow you can defeat trump later. we'll be back. day to feel alive" jake reese, " day to feel alive" i accept i'm not 22. i accept i do a shorter set these days. p i even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, tnot caused by a heart valve problem. but i won't play anything less than my best. so if there's something better than warfarin, i'm going for it. eliquis. reliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus it had significantly less major bleeding than warfarin... eliquis had both... that's what i wanted to hear. ndon't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, p as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. neliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have p an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. r while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... p ...and it may take longer than usual for any b

marco rubio is t f republican party. a different republican party. a great contrast with hillary clinton and a democratic party that wants to preserve the past and trap it in amber. if there's a little shot that if this is a trump-rubio race, we could see the beginning of a better republican party. >> that's the future. marco rubio's youthful exuberance masks regressive, old ideas. >> he wants to open the economy. democrats want to keep it close. >> the only thing we don't know, donald trump has not -- he's left marco rubio alone. he left ted cruz alone. >> he decided to leave him alone >> he left ted cruz alone until the last three weeks. and in the last three weeks, donald trump has system atatically taken down ted cruz in iowa. >> he peaked too soon. at 31% in december, he's going down. there are three tickets. an old cliche. three tickets out of a iowa on the republican side. donald trump will get a free pass. he has his own plane. ted cruz will likely come out. marco rubio will likely become the establishment candidate. they'll all consolidate.