>>> good morning. i'm chris jansing . republican congressmen in controversy from skinny-dipping to comments about rape. mitt romney and barack obama wanted to get back to talking about medicare , but they will almost surely get asked about these comments. the comments coming from todd akin . the missouri congressman was leading senator claire mchaskell in the polls, but yesterday he was asked if abortion should be legal in cases of rape.
>> it seems to me, first of all, from what i understand from doctors, that's really rare. if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down, but let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. you know, i think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.
>> well, akin quickly tweeted that he misspoke, and then just hours later another controversy broke out. kansas congressman kevin yoder admits he took off his clothes and swam naked in the sea of galilee during a congressional fact-finding mission to israel. politico reports that five other freshmen republicans joined in the swim. the rest had at least some of their clothes on. the whole thing went down in front of family members as well as some of those members of congress, and they all apparently got a good dressing down from house majority leader eric cantor . yoder has apologized to the people of kansas. let me bring in ben labolt, the obama campaign national press secretary. good morning.
>> good morning, chris. thanks for having me.
>> i think you know republicans are saying already this is just distracting from the real issue, which is that the economy is bad, unemployment 8.2%, the cover story in "newsweek" i'm sure you saw it, ben , obama has to go. no matter what happens, all these other issues that are out there, do you think ultimately people are going to vote based on how the president has handled the economy?
>> we do think the top line economic xhois between who is building the economy from the middle class out and who believes we should build it from the top down will provide us with a decisive edge in november, but i don't think there's any doubt that congressman akin's comments were both appalling and offensive, and the broader debate in the republican party has been having over women 's issues, it sounds like something we would have heard 50 years ago. there's a policy dimension to this issue. congressman ryan has sponsored legislation with congressman akin to narrow the definition of rape. both governor romney and congressman ryan have endorsed the personhood amendment and human life amendments which would ban abortion in all forms, including rape or incest, and some forms of birth control, so i do think that women across the country will care about these issues in november, and, obviously, the economic issues will be at the front of everyone's minds as well.
>> do you think the republicans in general, mitt romney in particular, should ask him to get off the ballot and have someone else run against claire mchaskell?
>> i think ultimately, you know, senator mchaskell said that's a decision for the people of missouri. there's no doubt that when voters go to the polls in november they'll have this on the top of their minds, and they can make that decision.
>> what are the things that romney - ryan will be talking about today in new hampshire? it's medicare . there's a new attack ad out today talking about the president and welfare reform . let me play a clip of that, ben , and i'll get your response on the other side.
>> since 1996 welfare recipients were required to work. this bipartisan reform successfully reduced welfare roles. on july 12th president obama quietly ended the work requirement, gutting welfare reform .
>> is that fair?
>> absolutely not. listen, president clinton has said that these attacks are false . the republican co-author of welfare reform has said they're false . governor romney knows they're false . the entire purpose of this initiative was to allow states to move more people from welfare to work . they've got to demonstrate that they can move 20% more people from welfare to work in order for the administration to allow them to move forward. these are as false as the medicare attack that is governor romney and congressman ryan have been talking about. congressman ryan kept the same $700 billion in savings in his budget plan as the one that the president proposed in the past.
>> make sure people know what you are referencing there, which is that what the republicans have said is that he has taken -- the president has decided take money to pay for the health care reform , taken it out of medicare , $700 billion, and their question is that what you want? as you know, their point has been that the health care reform is something that the taxpayers cannot afford, so now just with that as a back drop, let me ask you is he right about that?
>> absolutely not. listen, the savings that was identified in the program were unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies , waste and fraud within the system. this doesn't cut benefits for seniors. it enhances benefits for seniors. puts those savings back in the program to extend the life of medicare . to get rid of the prescription drug donut hole so senior kz save on their drugs each year and provide them free access to preventive services. if governor romney and congressman ryan would have their way. medicare would go bankrupt by the end of their first term. the prescription drug donut hole would go back in the program charging seniors $600 more out of pocket, and once they fully implement their initiative, it would be the end of medicare as we know it and it would turn into a voucher program and cost seniors $6,400 more out of pocket each year.
>> you know, it's interesting to me because medicare is something that usually neither side wants to talk about. you don't want to mess with this -- this is a popular program. it is also a very expensive program that i think a lot of republicans would say, look, you've got to take a look at everything if you are going to really be serious about looking at the deficit. in the end in the big picture , ben , where do you think, if any states, that this might really make a difference? is this a debate that's going to resonate in a significant way?
>> well, i think this is a long-time social contract that we've had with our seniors, and it's something that helps keep them out of poverty and to provide for them, and i think across demographics people are going to be concerned about this. particularly if you are a caretaker for a parent who is going to be on medicare . you could be responsible for that $6,400 in additional health care costs each year. in terms of the sole vensy of the program, the president hasn't just talked. he has taken action. the affordable care acts extends the lifetime of medicare by eight years. he has identified additional savings within medicare and medicaid to extend its lifetime by another two years. again, medicare would go bankrupt by the end of governor romney and congressman ryan 's first term under their plan.
>> ben labolt, i understand you were asked what you wanted for your birthday. you said i couldn't think of a better way to start it than by going on chris jansing . happy birthday , and thank you for coming on.
>> let me get barbara comstocker, virginia co-chair, a chance to talk about all of these issues. it's good to see you, barbara. good morning.
>> good to be with you.
>> let's start with medicare . there's a big crowd gathered in new hampshire to see the governor and his running mate, paul ryan , and there is this debate ongoing about medicare . you've heard what ben labolt just said that medicare would go bankrupt under the republican plan and, in fact, that the statements that they're making about the money from -- for medicare are patently false . your response?
>> i obviously disagree. his statements are false , and we've had a very good discussion all of last week. you saw congressman paul ryan in florida with a large group of seniors who were having a very intelligent discussion. paul ryan 's mom was there, who is on medicare . you know, a lot of us actually have parents who are on medicare . we're very concerned about preserving it and protecting it, and then protecting it for the next generation because our parents also want to see this program be protected, but what the romney - ryan plan does is they're going to repeal obama -care and take -- and not going to allow that $719 billion to be taken out of medicare and then the way they get those so-called savings that ben just talked about is they have the 15-person unelected board that's going to decide what seniors sdsh current seniors who have medicare right now who paid into the system with their taxes for years, they're going to have limited ability to get certain procedures according to this 15-person board that has not been transparent. we don't know what this board is deciding. they're having these different meetings. you know, the president said he would have these things on c-span, and they're not. that 15-person board is going to determine the savings and the lives of a lot of people. that is a cut out of current seniors' medicare , the $719 billion, to put it into obama -care. instead, what the romney - ryan plan does is it's going to repeal and replace obama -care, and we're going to look at reforming medicare for younger workers. if you're 55 and older, we are not going to touch medicare . we are going to protect it and make sure you get everything you paid into and all of the things that you have been promised and you depend on. for the younger workers, you still can get traditional medicare if that is what you choose, but if you like to choose a different plan the way federal employees do -- when i was a federal employee, i could choose among a number of plans. we want to introduce choice for younger workers, and if you don't like a plan one year, you switch it the next year.
>> let me ask you about the other stories that are in the news, and i appreciate your --
>> these are the high-minded discussions that we're happy to have. you have seen governor romney and paul ryan have said we welcome this debate. we want to have it because it's very central to the economy and jobs. we have got to have growth in jobs, and if we gut medicare , if we don't protect the safety net , it is going to be very difficult for us to focus on jobs the way we want to, and that's the number one issue for people is to get this economy moving again, to get turn-around of the unemployment. you see the jobs reports every week are horrible, and they don't want to talk about that. ben labolt didn't want to say one thing about jobs because the record is total failure, and they don't want to talk about the economy. they distract on everything else.
>> well, i don't know that they are the distraction. it seems to me that a couple of members of congress have provided some distractions that you certainly would prefer to not to have had. a few hours after the akin story broke, the barack obama account set out a tweet with this picture saying retweet this if you stand for women . they, meaning the romney campaign, want to take us back to policies that are more suited to the 1950s . the obama campaign has been playing to women voters. is this a serious problem for you, and do you believe the governor should or will ask for congressman akin to step down from his campaign against claire mchaskell?
>> well, governor romney and the romney campaign have already said these statements were inappropriate, and they don't agree with them at all. they are inappropriate and already congressman akin himself has retracted them. i think when women look at this economy, women in poverty, 15%.
>> he apologized, which a lot of people are noted. he sen out a statement and a tweet, and at no time did he say that he was sorry. he did not apologize for his comments.
>> listen, congressman akin is going to have to deal with that, but on the romney campaign, what we're dealing with is getting women back to work, protecting women 's jobs. women are --
>> but aren't his --
>> women are in poverty in 15%. i know that the obama campaign --
>> aren't his comments similar to paul ryan , and they were co-sponsors of a bill that would have redefined rape?
>> no, not at all. as governor romney and paul ryan have said, they support having an exception on rape and incest and that's been the position of george w. bush and, you know, presidents back.
>> that has not always been the position of paul ryan . the position of paul ryan -- and i tried to research this extensively this morning. he very clearly has said in the past that he believed when the mother's life is in danger there should be an exception. i could not find any instance of him saying that in cases of rape there should be an exception. i saw that as a statement now from the campaign.
>> well, and right now the federal law that republicans have kept in place for years allows for funding. not for abortion in the cases of rape and incest. i think the obama campaign is trying to change the subject are once again from the economy. you know, women are being hurt 401,000 women have lost their jobs under barack obama . you have 15% in poverty women right now. women and children are the ones hurt most by a bad economy.
>> barbara comstock , i have to let that be the last word. thank you for coming on. we do appreciate it.
>> thank you.
>> i want to bring in erin karmone who has written about women 's issues for salon.com. how much is this going to resonate, do you think? there's certainly a lot of commentary out there on social media .
>> absolutely. you saw yesterday twitter was blowing up over this, and i think one of the reasons it's really going to resonate is because as you pointed out, this is incredibly consistent with the presidential ticket that we have right now. there is no daylight between paul ryan 's views and todd akin 's views. the only thing that happened is that todd akin expressed this in a particularly sort of biologically ignorant false way, but these have actually policy implications and i think once people realize this is not just about point scoring or, you know, made up biology, this is also about women 's access to health care , then it's going to resonate because they want to, you know, ban the morning after pill . they want to ban abortion in all circumstances. once people understand that this is not just rhetoric and this is real policy, it will resonate.
>> this points out why the democrats and also claire mchaskell herself puts some effort and some money behind akin's campaign. i mean, he was in a tough primary. it wasn't a particularly close race. maybe because they thought either he would say something like this or at least we would see these kinds of statements come out. we have a system, frankly, where -- don't we -- it seems like the most conservative republican in a primary race is most likely to win.
>> again, i think todd akin doesn't -- although he expressed himself inelegantly and it seems like abstinence only education is not working very well for republicans , there is not a substantive difference between paul ryan 's position and todd akin 's position, and, in fact, todd akin as a member of congress , the house of representatives ever since it was taken over by republicans job number one has been legislating women 's reproductive rights .
>> let me play for you some sound because senator claire mchaskell was on " morning joe " today. here's what she had to say about the controversy.
>> he may be acting like he is back track, but he didn't say he was wrong. all he said was he now is acknowledging that someone can become pregnant when they are raped. he hasn't said that's a wrong statement. he hasn't apologized for that statement.
>> how much does this reignite the war on women ? how much of a gift to the democrats?
>> i always think it's a gift when someone says exactly what they believe. for the longest time people have been cloaking their contempt for women and their contempt for science in things like we're protecting women , we love babies. this is ain a moment where you see what do they believe about women and they believe that women lie about rape, women don't have a right to their own bodies. all we have to do is listen to what they're actually telling and yous what policies they're trying to pass.
>> erin, thank you for coming on. really appreciate it. a
>> it seems to me, first of all, from what i understand from doctors, that's really rare. if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down, but let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. you know, i think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.
>> well, akin quickly tweeted that he misspoke, and then just hours later another controversy broke out. kansas congressman kevin yoder admits he took off his clothes and swam naked in the sea of galilee during a congressional fact-finding mission to israel. politico reports that five other freshmen republicans joined in the swim. the rest had at least some of their clothes on. the whole thing went down in front of family members as well as some of those members of congress, and they all apparently got a good dressing down from house majority leader eric cantor . yoder has apologized to the people of kansas. let me bring in ben labolt, the obama campaign national press secretary. good morning.
>> good morning, chris. thanks for having me.
>> i think you know republicans are saying already this is just distracting from the real issue, which is that the economy is bad, unemployment 8.2%, the cover story in "newsweek" i'm sure you saw it, ben , obama has to go. no matter what happens, all these other issues that are out there, do you think ultimately people are going to vote based on how the president has handled the economy?
>> we do think the top line economic xhois between who is building the economy from the middle class out and who believes we should build it from the top down will provide us with a decisive edge in november, but i don't think there's any doubt that congressman akin's comments were both appalling and offensive, and the broader debate in the republican party has been having over women 's issues, it sounds like something we would have heard 50 years ago. there's a policy dimension to this issue. congressman ryan has sponsored legislation with congressman akin to narrow the definition of rape. both governor romney and congressman ryan have endorsed the personhood amendment and human life amendments which would ban abortion in all forms, including rape or incest, and some forms of birth control, so i do think that women across the country will care about these issues in november, and, obviously, the economic issues will be at the front of everyone's minds as well.
>> do you think the republicans in general, mitt romney in particular, should ask him to get off the ballot and have someone else run against claire mchaskell?
>> i think ultimately, you know, senator mchaskell said that's a decision for the people of missouri. there's no doubt that when voters go to the polls in november they'll have this on the top of their minds, and they can make that decision.
>> what are the things that romney - ryan will be talking about today in new hampshire? it's medicare . there's a new attack ad out today talking about the president and welfare reform . let me play a clip of that, ben , and i'll get your response on the other side.
>> since 1996 welfare recipients were required to work. this bipartisan reform successfully reduced welfare roles. on july 12th president obama quietly ended the work requirement, gutting welfare reform .
>> is that fair?
>> absolutely not. listen, president clinton has said that these attacks are false . the republican co-author of welfare reform has said they're false . governor romney knows they're false . the entire purpose of this initiative was to allow states to move more people from welfare to work . they've got to demonstrate that they can move 20% more people from welfare to work in order for the administration to allow them to move forward. these are as false as the medicare attack that is governor romney and congressman ryan have been talking about. congressman ryan kept the same $700 billion in savings in his budget plan as the one that the president proposed in the past.
>> make sure people know what you are referencing there, which is that what the republicans have said is that he has taken -- the president has decided take money to pay for the health care reform , taken it out of medicare , $700 billion, and their question is that what you want? as you know, their point has been that the health care reform is something that the taxpayers cannot afford, so now just with that as a back drop, let me ask you is he right about that?
>> absolutely not. listen, the savings that was identified in the program were unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies , waste and fraud within the system. this doesn't cut benefits for seniors. it enhances benefits for seniors. puts those savings back in the program to extend the life of medicare . to get rid of the prescription drug donut hole so senior kz save on their drugs each year and provide them free access to preventive services. if governor romney and congressman ryan would have their way. medicare would go bankrupt by the end of their first term. the prescription drug donut hole would go back in the program charging seniors $600 more out of pocket, and once they fully implement their initiative, it would be the end of medicare as we know it and it would turn into a voucher program and cost seniors $6,400 more out of pocket each year.
>> you know, it's interesting to me because medicare is something that usually neither side wants to talk about. you don't want to mess with this -- this is a popular program. it is also a very expensive program that i think a lot of republicans would say, look, you've got to take a look at everything if you are going to really be serious about looking at the deficit. in the end in the big picture , ben , where do you think, if any states, that this might really make a difference? is this a debate that's going to resonate in a significant way?
>> well, i think this is a long-time social contract that we've had with our seniors, and it's something that helps keep them out of poverty and to provide for them, and i think across demographics people are going to be concerned about this. particularly if you are a caretaker for a parent who is going to be on medicare . you could be responsible for that $6,400 in additional health care costs each year. in terms of the sole vensy of the program, the president hasn't just talked. he has taken action. the affordable care acts extends the lifetime of medicare by eight years. he has identified additional savings within medicare and medicaid to extend its lifetime by another two years. again, medicare would go bankrupt by the end of governor romney and congressman ryan 's first term under their plan.
>> ben labolt, i understand you were asked what you wanted for your birthday. you said i couldn't think of a better way to start it than by going on chris jansing . happy birthday , and thank you for coming on.
>> let me get barbara comstocker, virginia co-chair, a chance to talk about all of these issues. it's good to see you, barbara. good morning.
>> good to be with you.
>> let's start with medicare . there's a big crowd gathered in new hampshire to see the governor and his running mate, paul ryan , and there is this debate ongoing about medicare . you've heard what ben labolt just said that medicare would go bankrupt under the republican plan and, in fact, that the statements that they're making about the money from -- for medicare are patently false . your response?
>> i obviously disagree. his statements are false , and we've had a very good discussion all of last week. you saw congressman paul ryan in florida with a large group of seniors who were having a very intelligent discussion. paul ryan 's mom was there, who is on medicare . you know, a lot of us actually have parents who are on medicare . we're very concerned about preserving it and protecting it, and then protecting it for the next generation because our parents also want to see this program be protected, but what the romney - ryan plan does is they're going to repeal obama -care and take -- and not going to allow that $719 billion to be taken out of medicare and then the way they get those so-called savings that ben just talked about is they have the 15-person unelected board that's going to decide what seniors sdsh current seniors who have medicare right now who paid into the system with their taxes for years, they're going to have limited ability to get certain procedures according to this 15-person board that has not been transparent. we don't know what this board is deciding. they're having these different meetings. you know, the president said he would have these things on c-span, and they're not. that 15-person board is going to determine the savings and the lives of a lot of people. that is a cut out of current seniors' medicare , the $719 billion, to put it into obama -care. instead, what the romney - ryan plan does is it's going to repeal and replace obama -care, and we're going to look at reforming medicare for younger workers. if you're 55 and older, we are not going to touch medicare . we are going to protect it and make sure you get everything you paid into and all of the things that you have been promised and you depend on. for the younger workers, you still can get traditional medicare if that is what you choose, but if you like to choose a different plan the way federal employees do -- when i was a federal employee, i could choose among a number of plans. we want to introduce choice for younger workers, and if you don't like a plan one year, you switch it the next year.
>> let me ask you about the other stories that are in the news, and i appreciate your --
>> these are the high-minded discussions that we're happy to have. you have seen governor romney and paul ryan have said we welcome this debate. we want to have it because it's very central to the economy and jobs. we have got to have growth in jobs, and if we gut medicare , if we don't protect the safety net , it is going to be very difficult for us to focus on jobs the way we want to, and that's the number one issue for people is to get this economy moving again, to get turn-around of the unemployment. you see the jobs reports every week are horrible, and they don't want to talk about that. ben labolt didn't want to say one thing about jobs because the record is total failure, and they don't want to talk about the economy. they distract on everything else.
>> well, i don't know that they are the distraction. it seems to me that a couple of members of congress have provided some distractions that you certainly would prefer to not to have had. a few hours after the akin story broke, the barack obama account set out a tweet with this picture saying retweet this if you stand for women . they, meaning the romney campaign, want to take us back to policies that are more suited to the 1950s . the obama campaign has been playing to women voters. is this a serious problem for you, and do you believe the governor should or will ask for congressman akin to step down from his campaign against claire mchaskell?
>> well, governor romney and the romney campaign have already said these statements were inappropriate, and they don't agree with them at all. they are inappropriate and already congressman akin himself has retracted them. i think when women look at this economy, women in poverty, 15%.
>> he apologized, which a lot of people are noted. he sen out a statement and a tweet, and at no time did he say that he was sorry. he did not apologize for his comments.
>> listen, congressman akin is going to have to deal with that, but on the romney campaign, what we're dealing with is getting women back to work, protecting women 's jobs. women are --
>> but aren't his --
>> women are in poverty in 15%. i know that the obama campaign --
>> aren't his comments similar to paul ryan , and they were co-sponsors of a bill that would have redefined rape?
>> no, not at all. as governor romney and paul ryan have said, they support having an exception on rape and incest and that's been the position of george w. bush and, you know, presidents back.
>> that has not always been the position of paul ryan . the position of paul ryan -- and i tried to research this extensively this morning. he very clearly has said in the past that he believed when the mother's life is in danger there should be an exception. i could not find any instance of him saying that in cases of rape there should be an exception. i saw that as a statement now from the campaign.
>> well, and right now the federal law that republicans have kept in place for years allows for funding. not for abortion in the cases of rape and incest. i think the obama campaign is trying to change the subject are once again from the economy. you know, women are being hurt 401,000 women have lost their jobs under barack obama . you have 15% in poverty women right now. women and children are the ones hurt most by a bad economy.
>> barbara comstock , i have to let that be the last word. thank you for coming on. we do appreciate it.
>> thank you.
>> i want to bring in erin karmone who has written about women 's issues for salon.com. how much is this going to resonate, do you think? there's certainly a lot of commentary out there on social media .
>> absolutely. you saw yesterday twitter was blowing up over this, and i think one of the reasons it's really going to resonate is because as you pointed out, this is incredibly consistent with the presidential ticket that we have right now. there is no daylight between paul ryan 's views and todd akin 's views. the only thing that happened is that todd akin expressed this in a particularly sort of biologically ignorant false way, but these have actually policy implications and i think once people realize this is not just about point scoring or, you know, made up biology, this is also about women 's access to health care , then it's going to resonate because they want to, you know, ban the morning after pill . they want to ban abortion in all circumstances. once people understand that this is not just rhetoric and this is real policy, it will resonate.
>> this points out why the democrats and also claire mchaskell herself puts some effort and some money behind akin's campaign. i mean, he was in a tough primary. it wasn't a particularly close race. maybe because they thought either he would say something like this or at least we would see these kinds of statements come out. we have a system, frankly, where -- don't we -- it seems like the most conservative republican in a primary race is most likely to win.
>> again, i think todd akin doesn't -- although he expressed himself inelegantly and it seems like abstinence only education is not working very well for republicans , there is not a substantive difference between paul ryan 's position and todd akin 's position, and, in fact, todd akin as a member of congress , the house of representatives ever since it was taken over by republicans job number one has been legislating women 's reproductive rights .
>> let me play for you some sound because senator claire mchaskell was on " morning joe " today. here's what she had to say about the controversy.
>> he may be acting like he is back track, but he didn't say he was wrong. all he said was he now is acknowledging that someone can become pregnant when they are raped. he hasn't said that's a wrong statement. he hasn't apologized for that statement.
>> how much does this reignite the war on women ? how much of a gift to the democrats?
>> i always think it's a gift when someone says exactly what they believe. for the longest time people have been cloaking their contempt for women and their contempt for science in things like we're protecting women , we love babies. this is ain a moment where you see what do they believe about women and they believe that women lie about rape, women don't have a right to their own bodies. all we have to do is listen to what they're actually telling and yous what policies they're trying to pass.
>> erin, thank you for coming on. really appreciate it. a