Page 552 - Imperative News Today

The numbers are overwhelming. so it is imperative that the president and the democrats press this advantage as they are doing now and not let the republicans off the hook. joining me now jonathan capehart, editorial writer for the "washington post" and msnbc contributor. welcome. >> thanks. >> we showed you those numbers and shown -- i dont know, on this show, maybeselfson different polls, all show the same thing, dont tow touch medicare, social security, medicaid, raise tax on the rich, et cete...

Debt. >> congress is going to pass an increase in the debt ceiling. they recognize that. they know they have to do that. they have always done that. thats not the issue. the real challenge is to make sure we put in place multiyear targets that put the deficit on a path that declines over time so that the debt burden starts to decline. thats the economic imperative. thats the important thing to do. >> were joined by cnbcs steve liesman to help us make sense of the debt crisis. and the way the pre...

Saying, is the president going to seize control of this issue until now the budget deficit issue has been a run in the parameters of the debate, determined by the republican party. their agenda in congress from bush tax cuts to cutting domestic spending has driven this debate. the political question and the imperative facing the president is, does he seize control of this by laying out his own blueprint and saying, im the president. these are going to be the proposals, the guide, the debate. >> ...

Reintroduction. how did he do? >> hes been quiet, andrea. i think he wants to do this kind of low entry into the race. the romney folks recognize the spring and summer of 2011 are going to be largely dominated by the most flamboyant, provocative voices in the party. what hes doing now is creating this exploratory committee so he can start raising money and building a war chest. i dont think were going to see him every day or even every week from now on. i think it is going to be a good while. he...

Democrat anthony weiner of new york, republican jason chaffetz of utah. thank to both of you for coming in. you were one of 42 democrats who voted against what the president wanted you to do, keep the government open, allow the workers to get their salaries. why did you disagree with the president? >> i didnt disagree with the imperative of keeping government open. we needed to do it. it took too long because of the extraneous things put on the table by my republican friend. a disagreement over ...

Parts up there on capitol hill. brianna keilar, thank you so much. now were going to turn to carol costello who gives you your chance to auk batalk back budget deadline for the military. >> it is all about political gamesmanship. u.s. troops now fighting two-plus wars are worrying about their paychecks if the government shuts down. theyll still get their money but their paychecks will be delayed, were talking $1,700 a month for privates. house republicans came up with a bill funding the milita...

Well, heres your chance to talk back on the budget deadline, and its affect on the military. carol costello is here with a question for you, and carol, the democrats are talking about women. the republicans talking about the military. and you have a lot of people affected in all of this. >> yeah, in fact, the sand end fact, isnt it? u.s. troops now fighting two-plus wars are worrying whether they will get paid if theres a government shutdown. well, theyll still get their money but their paycheck...

These cuts. to let our viewing audience know that the amount of money were talking about is 4% of a $1.6 trillion benefit sit. this is not a democrat or republican issue. this is an american issue. this issue is imperative that we fix it for future of our children and grandchildren. i know anthony weiner. he wants to be the mayor of new york. i think hell agree on that. cities have to balance their budgets. families do every day. i went home and talk to families this past week and they are strug...

He wants to tell the environmental protection agency they cant regulate the environment. at a certain point you have to realize whats going on here. the straw thats stirring the drink are tea party who wants the government to shutdown and one thing about being speaker is you have to lead. i dont see speaker boehner doing that. well have a government shutdown and my republican friends will get what they want. >> congressman rowe, are you happy to have the tea party lead the speaker in the directi...

What is the truth about that issue? >> well, the truth about the issue, savannah, is that its an extremely large revenue source to this government, andraly y heoipruc unygornnt so tres generally underlying cash region, why you want to get oil companies producing. the problem is, the oil companies buy the leases with the knowledge that it might not be economic to produce right out of the gate. theyre buying a portfolio of options. they dont always want to be forced to take them. force them to dri...