Page 69 - Plus 1 News Today

Or do they not care? >> i think this could be an explosive issue. the merits of the healthcare reform bill. i think a lot of people think this goes too far. its an inrulessive government involvement in the relationship between the doctor and the patient. i think they will be very unhappy about that and they may be very unhappyry with the fact that they feel they have sent their message to the polls and especially through the race in massachusetts where scott brown campaigned as at 41st vote agai...

To pass healthcare on a 51-vote majority and that is what they are preparing to do. >> yes and no. im not as exorcised about this as you are. a couple points. there is rampant hypocrisy on both sides on this issue of the 50 plus 1. if you go back to the debate over judicial nominations you can find a lot of republicans who were talking about the minority running rough shot with the filibuster. now they embrace the filibuster. you can find plenty of democrats talking about well you cant pass some...

Pass healthcare reform. meaning putting it through the senate on a 51 vote instead of a 60 vote. but the president did not always think using reconciliation was the best way to govern. here is what then senator obama said about this issue a couple years ago. >> if you want to transform the country, that requires a sizable majority. you have got to break out of the 50 plus 1 pattern. but you cant govern. megyn: could this contradiction become a read my lips moment for the president? chris wallace...

You listen to mitch mcconnell talking about the republicans have never done this before, right? and, of course, they have done it an awful lot and barack obama saying we just want a 50 plus 1 vote. and this is why people get so sick and tired of politics as usual in washington, d.c., because both sides look like hypocrites. >> it may be his only option if he wants to get this through. >> yeah, yeah. lets go ahead and play the clip, chris. >> they need 60 votes to get something significant to hap...

Majority to get a bill to my desk. that is not 50 plus 1 majority. this notion that we should function sort of like karl rove, where we identify our core base, we throw them red meat and get a 50 plus 1 victory. if we want to transform the country, though, that requires a sizable majority. >> the problem is, mika, i know were talking about what they passed before. then massachusetts happened. then middle america ran away from this bill, moderate democrats ran away from this bill. make no mistake...

Joining us with more, bernie goldberg. we heard president obama speak about the up or down vote, the 51-person vote. just listen to this sound bite of him a couple years ago. >> the bottom line is our healthcare plans are similar, the question once again is, who can get it done? who can build a movement for change? this is an area where we are going to have to have a 60% majority in the senate and house in order to actually get a bill to my desk. we are going to have to have a majority to get a ...

And political fallout, if that is how this bill is passed. the president sung a different tune before he became president on the issue of reconciliation. we put together this sampling. i want to ask you how this will play out. >> we have to break out of what i call the 50-plus vote pattern. 50 plus 1. you cant deliver on that. we cant pass it with a 50 plus 1. megyn: that was the president on audio tape saying we are not going to do a 50-plus-1 strategy if we get in control. there is a mann talk...

Do you want to see that debate relitigated? >> well, im not too sure that we have not had a good discussion already on that. we know that the house passed three bills with public option. the senate passed one bill with a public option. there was only one version in the senate that didnt have a public option so i think so far as the public option is concerned, if you are going to do a 50-vote or 50-plus one strategy rather than a 60-vote strategy im not too sure that the public option cannot be a...

Unfortunately, europe has paid lip service to these sanctions, but we know germany, for example, in the last year, has increased its trade with iran, rather than reduce it. italy is very heavily involved in iranian market. so if europeans, in fact, join, and if china and russia join, then there can be focused sanctions that hurt the revolutionary guards, that help the regime leadership, that hurt their ability to engage in mischief around the world. and not headquarturt the people. that kind of ...

In the midst of a blizzard. we appreciate your time this morning to discuss these things. >> its too important not to -- id walk here to have an opportunity to say how strongly i feel this policy, these whole series of policies, must be changed if our country is to remain safe. >> sir, thank you for coming on. >> appreciate it. coming up, another sticky situation internationally. will sanctions work against iran? >> well get into that, but first, our washington speak. its p 5 plus 1. its the r...