cold. i take your sign hospitality as a sign of things to come. >> tony perkins and gary bauer and the politics of top secret with homeland security xharn jor joe lieberman and congressman peter king. i'm candy crowley. and this is "state of the union." the president's congressional to-do list is as broad as it is unlikely to pass. job outsourcing, mortgages, small business tax credits, clean energy, and jobs for vets. the beauty of the president's to-do list, what doesn't get done becomes campaign fodder. the question is whether congress will be anything more this year than a campaign prop. joining me now from springfield, illinois, the number two democrat in the senate, dick durbin, and here in washington the man charged with electing more republicans to the senate, senator john cornyn. thank you both for being here. let me start out, i want to play something that senator durbin said in mid-april to kind of kick off our conversation. senator, let he remind you of what you said, which was unless there is some intervening event, some external event, i think the reality is we are knotted going to take up tough issues involving spending, taxes, medicare, social security before an election. my question to both of you, and i'll start with you, senator cornyn, is why are you all here at this point. nobody wants to do anything big because they think the other might get the advantage, and you're going to do it all in the lame duck or try to and maybe even kick it then. why even stay in washington? >> senator reid is the majority leader and is the one that determines what the agenda is on the senate flor. for the last three years senator reid has said we will not take up and pass a budget in the senate, and you're right. there's no good reason for us to be here if we're not going to make some of these tough decisions, cast tough votes. that's what we get paid for. that's what we should do, and that's what we should be held accountable for, but do nothing because the majority leader has said he doesn't want to put democratic incumbents -- >> but you all also blocked so much of the stuff that comes up. i imagine i could get senator durbin say that and i want to bring him into the conversation. but i mean, i think the country looks at this and it's pretty clear there's fault on both sides here. >> there are a couple -- about a dozen, maybe two dozen bills the house has passed that have come over to the senate that are dead on arrival because senator reid simply refuses to take them up. and, yes, when senator reid refuses to allow the minority and opportunity to offer amendments and debate amendments and vote on amendments, then we have no choice but to say, we have to protect the ma norni no right to have a voice heard. the people we represent can't be excluded because of senator reid's fiat. >> senator durbin, no kidding, why don't you guys just go home. no one expects anything big is going to happen. >> candy, i think a lot of people on cable are really protesting because the c-span channel has no activity on it. we lurch from mind numbing fill biser to the next. last tuesday we tried to bring up this provision, simple provision, which said don't let the interest rate on student loans double on july 1st to 6.8%. we called for a vote on tuesday and said open to amendments. not a single republican would street for it. we got stuck in another filibuster. let me just say the blame is on both sides to some extent, but if we're ever going to get anything done, we literally have to reach some level of agreement. i think about the bowles simpson commission. when tom coburn and i can both vote for this and say let's move forward and use this as a template, that should have been a moment, a teachable moment, for all the members of the senate and the houts. >> but it wasn't, so you can understand and see why people say they're just not going to do anything. do you agree with that, until after the elections you all aren't going to deal with the tough issues that have to do with the continuation of the tax cuts, or the stopping of the tax cuts. none of that is going to happen until after the november election? >> i think that's an honest appraisal, and i think it may have started with the republican leader mcconnell saying our job is to make sure obama is a one-term president. and so we had more filibusters than ever in the history of the united states senate. we just cannot take up anything constructive. the american voters have the last word in november. do they want to continue this kind of obstructionism or do they want to see something different? >> it seems like a waste of a year but i don't think i'm going to get you to agree on who is to blame. i want to move us into the political realm. mitt romney, the presumptive republican nominee, was at liberty university in lynchburg yesterday talking to the largest christian university certainly in the country. i want to play something he had to say. >> culture, what you believe, what you value, how you live matters. now, as fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate from time to time. so it is today with the enduring institution of marriage. marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman. [ cheers and applause ] >> that was the biggest applause line, as you might imagine. the battle is clearly joined. we had the president coming out making history saying he favors gay marriage. i know senator durbin that you also believe gays should be allowed to marry. do you worry though that the president could lose some states, north carolina, missouri, some of those where the evangelical vote is very strong because of his same-sex positi position? >> i can tell you i don't think it was a political calculation by the president. i think it was a matter of conscience. he talked it over with his wife and his children, and i know i have talked to him over the years. it's a difficult issue, a real challenging issue, but i think the president came down on the ride side. this morning i took a look at loving versus virginia which i'm sure senator cornyn remembers, the 1967 supreme court decision which said the virginia law banning interracial marriages was a violation of the equality under the laws of due process. i think it comes down to the same basic principle. whether we're going to have marriage equality in this country. >> but do you think it could hurt the president politically in some of these swing states is the question. >> well, i don't think he's going to lose votes that he otherwise hadn't lost. i'm not sure the evangelicals were going to lean towards president obama anyway. >> senator cornyn, is this something that you think mitt romney ought to bring up frequently? is this an issue that you think is a winning issue for republicans? >> candy, president obama brought this issue up because he wants to -- he can't run on his record. let's put it that way. and so he's trying to raise divisive issues up to solidify his base and to divide the country, and that isn't what we should be focusing on now. we should be focusing on jobs and the economy. we have two looming things that are going to happen in december and january, and the president is awol on both the largest tax increase in american history that will occur when about 130 different tax provisions expire on december the 31st and a sequestration in january which will be a half a trillion dollars in what secretary panetta, his own secretary of defense, said would be disastrous cuts in the military. where is the president? he's raising issue that is aren't going to be resolved between now and then in an attempt to try to distract the country from his record. >> that's a no, you don't think this ought to be a focal point for mitt romney to campaign on. >> i think we ought to talk about what the american people want, and that is jobs and get the economy on track. they want to know what the president's plan is once the supreme court strikes down his -- the so-called affordable care act which we find out is the unaffordable care act, but when the supreme court rules in june, what's the president's plan? what's his plan "b"? >> i want to talk to both of you, senator durbin to you first. there was a story in "the washington post" this week with some firsthand accounts of mitt romney's high school years where certainly under any definition he was portrayed as a bully, apparently against a gay student. he said, look, i don't remember it. it certainly wasn't about the student being gay. do you think this story tells you anything about mitt romney? do you think this is an important point in a campaign where you start looking at who the person is? >> well, here is what it comes down to. i find it hard to believe that you couldn't remember that kind of an episode in your life, even if it occurred in high school. >> so you think he's lying? >> i'm going to say this -- well, i just say it's hard to believe he doesn't remember, but i will say this. there's not a single thing that i know about mitt romney in his adult life which suggests this kind of discrimination or this kind of prejudice. and so i don't believe it was a telling moment in terms of who he is today. it was obviously something he should regret and probably does deeply regret from his youth. >> senator, i want to just pick up on one more subject, and that is the defeat of senator lugar. he's been in the senate for more than 30 years. he was known as someone who would reach across the aisle. what does this say about republicans' desire to have someone who actually will work with the other side? >> well, what i think it says, candy, is that people are mad at what's happening in washington. the inaction that you have identified early on in important issues where we should be working together to deal with jobs and getting the economy back on track and where they see nothing but inaction, and so people are tired of just yelling at the tv set. they actually are going to turn out and vote and they did and they want to try new leaders, and that's what happened in indiana. by the way, we will hold that seat. mr. mourdoch is the state treasure earer there. we will miss him. >> senators, thank you both for joining us. i think people are still probably yelling at their tv sets but i thank you both very much for getting up and joining us. president obama evolves on same-sex marriage but republicans quickly pivot to more friendly ground. >> i believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and the president and the democrats can talk about this all they want. the fact is the american people are focused on our economy, and they're asking a question, where are the jobs. >> next, sex and politics from a democratic governor in a battleground state. great! tyler here will show you everything. check out our new mobile app. now you can use your phone to scan your car's vin or take a picture of your license. it's an easy way to start a quote. watch this -- flo, can i see your license? 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[ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. . liberty university was founded by conservative activist and reverend the late jerry falwe falwell. the campus has become a bit of a must-go for republican politicians in search of the evangelical vote, which is why mitt romney was there yesterday. >> people of different faiths, like yours and mine, sometimes wonder where we can meet in common purpose when there are so many differences in creed and theology. >> as a quick refresher course, mitt romney, a mormon, was not the first or second choice of evangelicals during the primary season. >> i think mitt romney is a good moral man but i think followers of christ should follow a competent christian to a competent nonchristian like mitt romney. >> but for all intents and purposes, it's the general election season now, and the choice is obama or romney, so it's different. a new poll by the public religion research institute shows they favor romney over president obama by 68% to 19%. but even if evangelicals will vote for romney, will they work for his election? will they stuff the envelopes? make the calls? galvanize other voters? >> i think the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle when it comes to the enthusiasm issue behind the romney campaign may have -- that piece may have been handed to him yesterday by the president. >> up next, two christian conservatives who oppose romney in the primaries, tony perkins, and gary bauer. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. joining me now, two leading christian conservatives, gary bower and tony perkins. the presumptive nominee mitt romney had a much-anticipated speech at liberty university. you were there. >> i didn't make it down. i watched the speech. >> there has been much made about evangelicals being skeptical. i want to play a little bit for our viewers of something he had to say down at liberty. >> people of different faiths, like yours and mine, sometimes wonder where we can meet in common purpose when there are so many differences in creed and theology. surely the answer is that we can meet in service, in shared moral convictions about our nation stemming from a common world view. >> so not about religion, about values, that's where he went with that. is the mormon issue now off the table? >> well, i'm not sure how much it was on the table. look, i think in american politics values ends up being a major part of every election, even if it's not in the headlines. people look for candidates that they think share their views on the most important, deeply held things you care about in life, including family and faith and so forth. so while the media has been obsessed about this, i think on this coming november we're going to see that same coalition that's been there for many, many elections, that elected reagan twice, of people that believe in family and faith, et cetera, and i think mitt romney will do very well among christians. >> you know, it still is true that a number of evangelicals in particular don't see mormon as a christian religion. they are troubled by his mormonism but i think the question has never been will the conservative christian come out and vote for mitt romney. it's will they be, you know, enthused enough to run a phone bank for him. >> it's the intensity issue. >> right. >> which has been the problem all along. >> is it there yet? >> i think this was a great opportunity for mitt romney to go to liberty university, largest christian university in the world, and be able to speak to these issues, and i think he hit just the right tone. did he talk about the differences, and you can't gloss over the theological differences between the mormon faith and evangelicals, but he zeroed in on the common values. and people that have been involved in the states, 32 states that have worked on marriage, passing those marriage initiatives, the mormon church has been very involved working shoulder to shoulder with the evangelical church. i think he helped his campaign tremendously yesterday at liberty. >> what does he do from here on out to continue to court evangelicals, conservative ch s christia christians, and i think their problems with him had more to do with him on evolving positions like abortion and stem cell research. >> i don't like the concept of courting. i think what mitt romney needs to do is explain to the american people why he would be a great president, and i think you do that by giving your views on a whole range of issues, lower taxes, smaller government, strong national defense, marriage between a man and a woman, the sanctity of human life. that's not really courting people. that's giving the governing vision of people that believe in conservative reagan-type issues, and i think if he does, that he'll be very successful. i fully expect to be at his swearing in. i think the president this past week took six or seven states he carried in 2008 and put them in play with this one ill-conceived position that he's taken. >> you are, of course, talking about the president's position personally to say i support gay marriage, although it's up to the states to decide what they want to do about it. do you think this is something he should campaign on? in your -- even your immediate response to this was we all knew how the president felt about this, but where are the jobs? so is this really something that you this think helps mitt romney with the general public? >> well, i think, again, i have said this before, i don't think it should be the central point of his campaign. i think the way he addressed it yesterday is the way to do it. i don't think the way the republicans on capitol hill are addressing it saying it's a distraction. defending the family, the cornerstone of civil stone, is not a distraction. it should be a privaconcern. i don't know i would say he put this out there as a political distraction. i think this is who he is, but that's not where america is. every time a state -- >> but it kind of is where america is. if you look at the polling -- >> the polling is actually shifting. >> no. >> a little more than half of americans say gay marriage is fine. >> where do they live, candy? where do all these people live? 32 states have voted. it's always overwhelming. >> gallup shows in last year a six-point swing toward traditional marriage. as this president pushes this radical agenda, america realizes it's more than marriage. it's about education of our children. it's about religious freedom, it's about public accommodati s accommodations. it's a lot more than just marriage, and americans are catching onto that. >> let me play for you something that mitt romney said on thursday. he says that he is for, you know, relationships -- you know, that people ought to be able to live with who they want to live with and have relationships, and he had this to say about adoption. >> if two people the same gender want to live together, want to have a loving relationship, and even want to adopt a child, in my state individuals of the same sex were able to adopt children. in my view that's something which people have the right to do, but to call that a marriage is in my view a departure for the real meaning of that word. >> set aside marriage, gay adoptions, is that a palatable position for the christian right? >> well, look, he's right that it's a state issue. this is not something that a presi