>> will republicans cry uncle on taxes? with the holidays approaching, last night house spaeker john boehner took a break from the fight. .
>> god bless us, everyone. and from my family to yours merry christmas .
>> five, four, three, two, one. good job.
>> well, that was one countdown clock . this morning the president is going to tell a graup of ceos that businesses need the certainty that middle class families won't see their taxes go up it at the end of the year. the president made it clear in his first interview since being re-elected on bloomberg news that he does not plan to budge on the idea of raising tax rates for the wealthiest 2% of americans .
>> unfortunately it is still out of balance. $800 billion worth of revenues but he says he'll do that by lowering rates. when you look at the math, it doesn't work. we're going to have to see the top 02% go up. we're not going to be able to to get a deal without it.
>> leaving open the possibility that they could come down again next year as part of comprehensive tax reform .
>> let's let those go up and then let's set up a process for a time surgeon end of 2013 or the fall of 2013 where we work on tax reform , look at loopholes and deductions both democrats and republicans are willing to close be a it's possible we may be able to lower the rates.
>> part of the decoupling we've been talking about. speaker boehner said, quote, if the president really wants to avoid sending the economy over the fiscal cliff, he has done nothing to demonstrate it. the position of congressman tom cole , that the party should agree immediately to extend the bush tax rates for americans making less than $250,000 a year is the best of a bunch of bad choices for the gop.
>> the g 0 op is boxed in saying it's a terrible position because by default democrats get what they want. a big bargaining chip for house republicans is they need congress to raise the debt ceiling before the end of february when analysts estimate the treasury would run out of options and hit the borrowing cap. no deal is reached. closer to the deadline and today they will argue that's bad for business . help in supporting an approach without drama or delay a.
>> we can't be going through another debt crisis, debt ceiling crisis like in 2011 . that has to be dealt with.
>> the president of the business roundtable has said congress should raise the debt ceiling enough for the next five years to avoid uncertainty. clearly that's something that won't happen. short term spending cuts should be part of any fiscal cliff deal. the big news this morning is we're not going over the cliff. they have a bad hand. they're going to end up passing this middle class tax thing if that's the only thing they do. and live to fight another day. you can see the momentum building. not official but you see it. the difficulty for boehner still is passing the extension may be best of the options it is an option that a chunk of his party has said he would reject. the fiscal conservatives criticizing boehner 's budget pr proposal. then you had senate republicans watching their backs, rejecting a u.n. treaty that bans discrimination against those with disabilities around the world. senator jim demint said speaker boehner 's $800 billion tax hike will destroy american jobs . yes, he said speaker boehner . one party proposes increase in an effort to counter them. the other party's leadership proposes, wait for it, $800 billion in tax increases and then former alaska governor sarah palin blasting boehner 's decision to remove some conservatives from plum house committee assignments writing, come on now, gop. don't go wobbly on us. congressman jim jordan , an influential group of conservatives criticized the boehner plan.
>> the problem i have with the republican proposal , frankly, is that it does raise taxes. the thing we need is economic growth. you're not going to grow the economy, put in place a framework conducive to job creation if you're raising taxes taxes.
>> oklahoma senator tom coburn said conservative criticism might not be all that bad.
>> i think that helps boehner .
>> he's drawn a line in the sand for the fiscal conservatives and it communicates to both the white house and boehner . here is how far you can go.
>> coburn also acknowledged house republican plan may be about as far as he can go. the conservative backlash in 2014 was very apparent in the senate. advocate for the disabled, a war hero , bob dole seated on the senate floor, did not stop republicans from voting down a united nations treaty that would promote equal rights and better treatment for the disabled around the world which says is inspired by the americans with disabilities act . noefrdz i in other words by a u.s. law .
>> it's unthinkable that americans could not get over a curb or enter a school building or watch a debate if they were in a wheelchair.
>> that's why a veteran comes back to the senate on an early december day because it matters.
>> despite those pleas from two former presidential nominees, just eight republican senators voted to ratify the treaty sending it down in defeat. every senator up for re-election in 2014 except susan collins who, by the way, is from a blue state , voted against it. lindsey graham cast a no vote though john mccain was one of the treaty's biggest advocates. kelly ayotte voted for it. mississippi senator thad cochrane voted in favor and then as it was going down switched his vote to no. cochrane up in 2014 . mississippi more worried about a primary than a general. this is one of of the saddest days i've seen in almost 28 years in the senate. and it needs to be a wake-up call about a broken institution that's letting down the american people . the g 0 p divide was on full display yesterday in both chambers. so was the republican attempt to move past the losses in 2012 . there was a tribute to honor the late jack kemp . two men who had their eye on 2016 . congressman paul ryan and marco rubio laid out their visions for expanding the appeal to the middle class . clear from the outset that the night was about moving past mitt romney . ryan welcomed rubio to the dinner, by the way, by joking about potential early state run run-ins the two of them may have ahead of them.
>> i'll see you at the reunion can dinner for two. notice any good diners in new hampshire or iowa?
>> paul, thank you for your invitation for lunch in iowa and new hampshire. but i will not stand by and watch the people of south carolina ignored.
>> in his first big public speech since losing the presidential contest, they now have something in common.
>> we both used to be the next vice president of the united states . though i wish this election turned out a little differently i'm proud of a campaign that mitt romney and i ran. losing is part of politics. and it can often prepare the way for greater victories.
>> if that weren't enough of a signal that ryan is ready to move past the romney campaign with his political future in mind, there was this not so veiled reference.
>> tend to divide into our voters and their voters. let's be really clear, republicans must steer far clear of that trap.
>> rubio focused much of his speech on rebuilding the middle class . don't be surprised if we hear it this line again in the months ahead. a story about meeting some employees from the catering department at a new york hotel who had seen his speech at the republican convention where he talked about his dad who worked as a bartender when he came to america.
>> they had a gift for me. they presented me with this name tag which says rubio, banquet bartender. there are millions of mario rubio's all across america today. they are not looking for a handout. all they want is a job that provides for their families.
>> finally yesterday we heard from someone we haven't heard from in a while. former president george w. bush . he use add rare appears to give his party some advice on something he has a lot of credibility on, immigration.
>> they invigorate our soul. as we debate the proper course of action relating to immigration i hope we do so with a benevolent spirit.
>> quite the day yesterday.
>> this battle for the soul is worth going back reading those speeches from bush to ryan to rubio.
>> god bless us, everyone. and from my family to yours merry christmas .
>> five, four, three, two, one. good job.
>> well, that was one countdown clock . this morning the president is going to tell a graup of ceos that businesses need the certainty that middle class families won't see their taxes go up it at the end of the year. the president made it clear in his first interview since being re-elected on bloomberg news that he does not plan to budge on the idea of raising tax rates for the wealthiest 2% of americans .
>> unfortunately it is still out of balance. $800 billion worth of revenues but he says he'll do that by lowering rates. when you look at the math, it doesn't work. we're going to have to see the top 02% go up. we're not going to be able to to get a deal without it.
>> leaving open the possibility that they could come down again next year as part of comprehensive tax reform .
>> let's let those go up and then let's set up a process for a time surgeon end of 2013 or the fall of 2013 where we work on tax reform , look at loopholes and deductions both democrats and republicans are willing to close be a it's possible we may be able to lower the rates.
>> part of the decoupling we've been talking about. speaker boehner said, quote, if the president really wants to avoid sending the economy over the fiscal cliff, he has done nothing to demonstrate it. the position of congressman tom cole , that the party should agree immediately to extend the bush tax rates for americans making less than $250,000 a year is the best of a bunch of bad choices for the gop.
>> the g 0 op is boxed in saying it's a terrible position because by default democrats get what they want. a big bargaining chip for house republicans is they need congress to raise the debt ceiling before the end of february when analysts estimate the treasury would run out of options and hit the borrowing cap. no deal is reached. closer to the deadline and today they will argue that's bad for business . help in supporting an approach without drama or delay a.
>> we can't be going through another debt crisis, debt ceiling crisis like in 2011 . that has to be dealt with.
>> the president of the business roundtable has said congress should raise the debt ceiling enough for the next five years to avoid uncertainty. clearly that's something that won't happen. short term spending cuts should be part of any fiscal cliff deal. the big news this morning is we're not going over the cliff. they have a bad hand. they're going to end up passing this middle class tax thing if that's the only thing they do. and live to fight another day. you can see the momentum building. not official but you see it. the difficulty for boehner still is passing the extension may be best of the options it is an option that a chunk of his party has said he would reject. the fiscal conservatives criticizing boehner 's budget pr proposal. then you had senate republicans watching their backs, rejecting a u.n. treaty that bans discrimination against those with disabilities around the world. senator jim demint said speaker boehner 's $800 billion tax hike will destroy american jobs . yes, he said speaker boehner . one party proposes increase in an effort to counter them. the other party's leadership proposes, wait for it, $800 billion in tax increases and then former alaska governor sarah palin blasting boehner 's decision to remove some conservatives from plum house committee assignments writing, come on now, gop. don't go wobbly on us. congressman jim jordan , an influential group of conservatives criticized the boehner plan.
>> the problem i have with the republican proposal , frankly, is that it does raise taxes. the thing we need is economic growth. you're not going to grow the economy, put in place a framework conducive to job creation if you're raising taxes taxes.
>> oklahoma senator tom coburn said conservative criticism might not be all that bad.
>> i think that helps boehner .
>> he's drawn a line in the sand for the fiscal conservatives and it communicates to both the white house and boehner . here is how far you can go.
>> coburn also acknowledged house republican plan may be about as far as he can go. the conservative backlash in 2014 was very apparent in the senate. advocate for the disabled, a war hero , bob dole seated on the senate floor, did not stop republicans from voting down a united nations treaty that would promote equal rights and better treatment for the disabled around the world which says is inspired by the americans with disabilities act . noefrdz i in other words by a u.s. law .
>> it's unthinkable that americans could not get over a curb or enter a school building or watch a debate if they were in a wheelchair.
>> that's why a veteran comes back to the senate on an early december day because it matters.
>> despite those pleas from two former presidential nominees, just eight republican senators voted to ratify the treaty sending it down in defeat. every senator up for re-election in 2014 except susan collins who, by the way, is from a blue state , voted against it. lindsey graham cast a no vote though john mccain was one of the treaty's biggest advocates. kelly ayotte voted for it. mississippi senator thad cochrane voted in favor and then as it was going down switched his vote to no. cochrane up in 2014 . mississippi more worried about a primary than a general. this is one of of the saddest days i've seen in almost 28 years in the senate. and it needs to be a wake-up call about a broken institution that's letting down the american people . the g 0 p divide was on full display yesterday in both chambers. so was the republican attempt to move past the losses in 2012 . there was a tribute to honor the late jack kemp . two men who had their eye on 2016 . congressman paul ryan and marco rubio laid out their visions for expanding the appeal to the middle class . clear from the outset that the night was about moving past mitt romney . ryan welcomed rubio to the dinner, by the way, by joking about potential early state run run-ins the two of them may have ahead of them.
>> i'll see you at the reunion can dinner for two. notice any good diners in new hampshire or iowa?
>> paul, thank you for your invitation for lunch in iowa and new hampshire. but i will not stand by and watch the people of south carolina ignored.
>> in his first big public speech since losing the presidential contest, they now have something in common.
>> we both used to be the next vice president of the united states . though i wish this election turned out a little differently i'm proud of a campaign that mitt romney and i ran. losing is part of politics. and it can often prepare the way for greater victories.
>> if that weren't enough of a signal that ryan is ready to move past the romney campaign with his political future in mind, there was this not so veiled reference.
>> tend to divide into our voters and their voters. let's be really clear, republicans must steer far clear of that trap.
>> rubio focused much of his speech on rebuilding the middle class . don't be surprised if we hear it this line again in the months ahead. a story about meeting some employees from the catering department at a new york hotel who had seen his speech at the republican convention where he talked about his dad who worked as a bartender when he came to america.
>> they had a gift for me. they presented me with this name tag which says rubio, banquet bartender. there are millions of mario rubio's all across america today. they are not looking for a handout. all they want is a job that provides for their families.
>> finally yesterday we heard from someone we haven't heard from in a while. former president george w. bush . he use add rare appears to give his party some advice on something he has a lot of credibility on, immigration.
>> they invigorate our soul. as we debate the proper course of action relating to immigration i hope we do so with a benevolent spirit.
>> quite the day yesterday.
>> this battle for the soul is worth going back reading those speeches from bush to ryan to rubio.