Transcripts For CURRENT Full Court Press 20121213

Ncer taking your emails on any topic at any time, this is the bill press show. Live on your radio and current tv. Bill hey for janet i want to say happy hanukkah, janet. Im sorry. Shes pointed out we keep saying Merry Christmas and we have not wished our jewish friends a happy hanukkah. Hanukkah is underway. Christmas is still way off. Janet, sorry were late getting to that. Happy hanukkah. George wants to know if me and our entire current staff are card carrying dues paying Union Members. Perhaps you can clarify this on your show tomorrow. Im proud to tell you george, we are Union Members. This is a union shop. Here is my union card. Heres mine. Bill ive been a member since 1981. We are a proud union shop and my brothers and sisters are here for you. u [ theme ] bill hello hello hello fellow americans it is the full court press here on current tv. Welcome, welcome thursday, december 13. Great to see you today on a busy day in our Nations Capital. Congress scurrying around still trying to get something going on the fiscal cliff. And the latest poll shows that 2 3 of americans including a majority of democrats republicans and independents all say that congressional leaders meaning republicans should compromise so we can avoid going over the fiscal cliff. That means republicans must give up their insistence that the bush tax cuts continue for the wealthiest of americans because it aint gonna happen. The president s not going to sign the bill and the American People dont want to give them a continued tax break. They think they ought to pay more. So lets just get it done and then go home and celebrate the holidays. Hey, good to have you with us. Well talk about all of that and get all of latest including whats happening out in the state of michigan. But first, we take time out for todays current news update. Lisa fergusons got it out in los angeles. Hi, lisa. Good morning. Hey bill. Good morning everyone. Americans are calling for a Major Overhaul of the Republican Party. Especially when it comes to the g. O. P. s pro rich policies. According to a new Bloomberg National poll, 87 of people say its time for some type of change. Even support within the Republican Party is low. Only 16 of g. O. P. Members think their party is fine the way it is. Nbc news wall street journal poll shows favorability is slipping. Only 30 of those respondents see the party in a positive light. 45 say they dont approve. At issue here is the view of republicans as the party of the rich. Voters say it is time to broaden the base and change what they value. Some big topics include gay marriage immigration and abortion rights. If republicans are looking to change their stance on abortion, michigan isnt helping much. The state senate there just passed one of the countrys most extreme abortion bans in a 2710 vote. Among other restrictions, the bill would limit abortion in rural areas. It would force doctors to prove their patients were not coerce and it would impose complicated regulations that could drive clinics out of business. The bill is now headed back to the state house for a final vote. More bill press is coming up live after the break. Stay with us. Youre about to watch an ad message created by a current tv viewer for capella university. Matter. Education is the key. It is the vehicle. Its the way in which we evolve. Every journey is different every possibility is unique. But the beginning, the beginning is my craft. Im an ordinary person striving to achieve extraordinary things. It started with a dream and im on my way there. Announcer broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill press show. Bill yes indeed. Congress getting ready to go home again today without accomplishing anything. What fiscal cliff . They dont seem to be worried about it. Good morning everybody. It is thursday, december 13. Good to see you today here on the full court press coming to you live on your local progressive talk radio station. If youre lucky enough to have one and on current tv. Booming out to you live all the way across this great land of ours from our radio factory book factory tv factory here on capitol hill in washington, d. C. In the shad dove the capitol dome where members of congress busy going to holiday parties. I saw several of them last night. At a holiday party. The department of labor, thrown by our good friend, secretary of labor hilda soliz but they didnt get much work done on capitol hill as we just heard from David Jackson from the white house. Seems like things have come to a dead stop both at the white house and on the congress mainly because republicans still refuse to theyre still insisting that the bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 of americans be extended permanently. Come on, john boehner you lost the election the American People want to move forward. American people want the wealthiest of americans to pay their fair share. Boehner, why are you representing the 2 and not just the 98 . Lots and lots to talk about here this morning. And youll want to get into the conversation, we know, and you can do so, give us a call at 186655press. Follow us on twitter and talk to us on twitter at bpshow. Or on facebook. Facebook. Com billpressshow. Our team here, entire team, phil backert has the phones. Go ahead. Bill peter ogborn and dan henning. It was a tough lunch yesterday. Still a little foggy. Ive never seen you drink so many martinis. Bill well, theyre good at the palm. So i just tell them to make a pitcher. [ laughter ] bill i was wellbehaved compared to cyprian. Cyprian is our videographer here. He slept from noon yesterday until what . I think 4 00 this morning. He just woke up. He looks terrible this morning. Bill poor guy. He cant even speak to defend himself. Ive never seen anybody mix cocktails the way he did. He put a little bit of everything behind the bar. Rum, tequila vodka tomato juice and pineapple juice. Bill it beats having to make a decision. Exactly. Why decide when you can have everything. Bill you just mix them altogether. Big concert last night in new york for those who are still sober. The 121212 to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy particularly in new york and new jersey. I guess the biggest attraction was Paul Mccartney appearing with nirvana. Nirvana reunited. Obviously they cant have all of the members since kurt cobain is no longer with us. Paul mccartney stepped in to be kurt cobain. Bill heres what it sounded like. Bill all right. I am very disappointed that they did not do a nirvana song. They didnt do one of the classics. They did a brand new song. Its called cut me some slack, brand new song. Bill would have been nice to do one of the classic mccartney songs. Hes recording that with dave grohl but i think that gawker said that this is the second worst thing to happen to nirvana fans. Paul mccartney. Im a big nirvana fan and i would love to see Paul Mccartney team up with them. Dave grohl might be the best drummer working and he doesnt even drum in his band, the foo fighters now. The fact that two of them are in a band now, it would be great. Bill coming up, congressman sandy levin from michigan is going to join us atop the next hour. Well start out this hour by going out to michigan and talking to karla swift, head of the aflcio in michigan. And Karla Davenport talking about whether or not we can see action on Global Warming but first, dan. This is the full court press. Quick check of other headlines making news. Former president george w. Bush is set to become a grandfather. Daughter Jenna Hager Bush announcing yesterday hes pregnant with her first child. The 31yearold nbc contributor said so on the today show. Shes due in the spring. President bush said he wont change any diapers any time soon. He just wants to be the grandpa that drives the ford f250 around the ranch with the kid in the pickup truck. Bill they asked president bush what he wants his granddaughter or grandchild to call him. What did he say . Bill he said sir. All right okay. Yeah, thats good. Politifact is out with its lie of the year. According to the st. Petersburg fact check arm, mitt romneys infamous jeep ad is the top lie of 2012. He claimed that jeep was packing up jobs and shipping them off to china. Not the case. Bill got caught with that lie. The very last batch of twinkies from the shuddered Hostess Company has gone on sale. It is now basically gone. Super Value Grocery chain in chicago made the final purchase from hostess. They got an order of 20,000 twinkies. They went on sale monday at 150 different stores. Pretty much all gone by yesterday. Bill oh, my god. How about that. You dont think they ate them. Save them. Theyll stay good for awhile. Bill sell them on ebay. Yes, i have to tell you department of labor last night holiday party. Hosted by secretary of labor hilda soliz and i talked to a couple of International Labor president s there lee saunders from afscme, joseph nigro from the sheet metalworkers. President jim hoffa from the teamsters was here on the program with us on monday. All of them said of course theyre outraged by what happened in michigan. Michigan just forcing through the republicans in the legislature, forcing through this righttowork legislation. Signed into law immediately. Theyre outraged by this. They vowed to continue the fight in michigan. And expect to have to continue that fight in other states. What is next . Were going to go out to michigan and say hello to karla swift who is the head of the Michigan State aflcio. Hey, karla good to have you with us this morning. Caller good morning, bill. Good to be with you. Bill so Governor Rick Snyder says it is your fault karla, because you guys put this initiative on the ballot that would have enshrined collective bargaining and if you hadnt done that, they wouldnt have stuck with you right to work legislations so it is all your fault, huh . Thats an interesting spin on the facts but the fact is that Governor Snyder really lied to michigan citizens for two and a half years. He said over and over again that right to work wasnt on his agenda. Bill yeah. Then last week, instead of engaging michiganders in any kind of open and honest conversation about this legislation, he rushed the bill through. He made the decision to move it. With legislators, that voters chose not to reflect. To reelect because he wanted to avoid next years legislators. Bill so will there be a democratic majority next year or more democrats in the house and senate . There will be more democrats in the house next year. The senate was not changed at all in the 2012 election. But there will be more democrats in the house and the the margin is so is slimmer in a way that you know, when they did the count they knew that they couldnt win this kind of legislation next year. Bill the governor also said i dont believe a word he says, by the way, but i want to get your reaction. He called which i thought was outrageous he said this isnt antiworker. This is really pro worker. Whats the truth about righttowork legislation karla . Well, right to work means that across the board workers will fair worse in Wages Benefits pensions, on average workers in righttowork states make about 1500 a year less. So it means less spending, fewer jobs. Weaker communities. And just when michigan was on the right track, the governor has put this kind of a devicive policy in place and it really is an attack on the middle class and all of the rebuilding that has been going on is threatened. Bill well, we fought the fight in wisconsin. Fought it in ohio. And people are geared up all around the country. The labor president s i talked to yesterday, at least three of them theyre geared up to continue the fight in michigan. The question is what are the options available . Is it possible to repeal this . Is it possible to recall the governor . What are the options youre considering . Well, clearly, michigan voters are going to have the last say when it comes to this. There are multiple ballot options. There are Key Senate Races and the house is up again in 2014. In fact, the governor is up, of course in 2014. And there are multiple ballot options. So were looking now at you know, at the strategy for the next couple of years. And were going to be organizing across the state and making sure that were you know, aiming for a shift in power in the legislature and in the Governors Office in 2014. And there are options to do a citizens initiated law to override. Well be looking at all of those things. Bill thats particularly what i want to ask about. Im from california. We have a referendum. If the Legislature Passes something people dont like, you get enough signatures, you can put it on the ballot and repeal it just like what was done in ohio. Does that option exist in michigan . Well, the option exists in michigan but the sneaky way that this governor and this right wing legislature did this was they attached an appropriation to it. And in michigan, when theres an appropriation attached to a law it is referendumproof. So we will not be able to repeal this law. But we will have to pass a new law to override it. Bill okay. Now we talked to one of the leaders in wisconsin yesterday karla. Were talking again with karla swift, the president of the aflcio in michigan. And your web site, i believe is miaflcio. Org. Is that correct . Yes, thats right. Bill miaflcio. Org. This leader from wisconsin john nichols said one of the first things they did in wisconsin is they hired a good group of lawyers to challenge their legislation in the courts. Is this another option . Do you see some possible legal action to challenge the law . Yeah, we have a legal team that has been looking at that and well be making decisions soon about how to move on that front as well. So well be moving on the legal front. Well be moving on the electoral front. Well be moving on the organizing front and the political front and thats our job for the next two years. Bill absolutely. Ill tell you one thing karla we all know this. It would not have happened if current tvs Jennifer Granholm were still the governor of michigan. No doubt about that, right . We absolutely know that. The direction this state has gone in the short two years since shes been out of office is just is just outrageous. They started off by taxing seniors pensions and cutting education and cutting things like earned income tax credits. Just a tax one after another on working people. You would have never seen that happen with Jennifer Granholm. Bill , no she was great. We love having her on current tv. But i know you miss her in michigan. And again, she would have held the line against this. Karla swift you got your work cut out for you. Thank you for your leadership in michigan and you know youlls be joined by your brothers and sisters all across the country starting right here with the bill press team. Thanks karla. Thanks so much, bill. Take care. Bill karla swift miaflcio. Org. Check it out. Announcer this is the full court press. The bill press show. Live on your radio and on current tv. Going to do the young turks. I think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. They know that im not bsing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. When the democrats are wrong, they know that im going to be the first one to call them out. They can question whether im right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. [ theme ] announcer this is the bill press show. Live on your radio and current tv. Announcer chatting with you live at current. Com billpress. This is the bill press show. Bill 24 minutes after the hour. And the next segment, were going to get into Global Warming. Whether we can expect any action on Global Warming with coral davenport, covers environmental and Energy Issues for the National Journal. I was talking with karla swift from michigan about plans to try to overturn the righttowork legislation. Michigan becoming the 24th state this week to have righttowork legislation. Thanks to Governor Rick Snyder who campaigned for governor saying man the last thing i want is to get into any of the battles over labor issues like scott walker in wisconsin and john kasich. Uhhuh, thats not me. I dont want anything to do with any of these challenges. He was lying through his teeth. Paul calling from out in seattle, washington. What do you say . Hey bill, listen, i was born and raised in detroit michigan. Im proud alumnus of Michigan State university. I have family back there. But i gotta tell you im unsympathetic and let me tell you why. The attitude of people back there, even democrats is that anybody whos got two more nickels to run together than i do their attitude is take his nickels away dont give me some more. It is take somebody elses away. They knew what they were voting for. The whole legislature the governor everything is all right wing. Theyve been doing this for 20 years since they got john engler in there. Thats when i left. The people of michigan are going to have to pull their heads out of their rears and start waking up to what the thing that really makes me angry is not so much whats going to happen to them but how it hurts labor around the country bill sure. And you know other states, paul, there will be other governors who will say hey they got away with it in michigan. Lets do it here. Im in a true blue state and im sticking with it. Bill good for you paul. Unfortunately, there are too many members of labor unions who voted for this jerk, rick snyder thinking that oh, man he wont hurt me. But boy, hes good on guns. Ill go with him or Something Like that. Laura is down in i never know produce to pronounce it. Sebring, florida. Caller how are you bill . Bill im good. A little upset this morning but whats up . Caller im from a big ole righttowork state. Florida. And ill tell you what, my husband and i moved here seven years ago. He got a job working for a man. Never paid him a dime because it was a righttowork state. How stupid are we right . Bill yeah. So we took him to court and we won. So he has to pay all of the backlog of overtime. Bill good for you. Thats just another example right. About 12,000 to 15,000 the average worker makes less per year in a righttowork state than in a state where you dont have righttowork legislation. My husband just got a new job now making 9. 50 an hour. Bill wow. Yeah, there you go. In florida. Thats considered a living wage . I dont think so. Laura, good to talk with you emphasizing that score. Peter, what else is going on . A new poll put out by nbc wall street journal on the fiscal cliff how americans want to see this resolved. 65 say bill they want a deal. Congressional leaders should make a compromise and make a deal which includes higher tax rates for wealthier americans and cuts to entitlement programs the people have spoken. Make it happen. Bill you know what, on the higher tax rates, what gets me is so john boehner and the Republican Leadership are fighting for the 2 , right and they dont care about the 98 . This poll proves it. Announcer this is the bill press show. Every day presents another exciting issue. From financial regulation, iran getting a nuclear bomb, civil war in syria, fraud on wall street, destruction of medicare and medicaid. There are real issues here. Having been a governor, i know that tradeoffs are tough. Things everyday exploding around the world that leave no shortage for exciting conversations. I want our viewer to understand why things have happened. At the end of the show, you know what has happened, why its happened and more importantly, whats going to happen tomorrow. Announcer this is the bill press show. Bill you bet it is. 33 minutes after the hour now here. It is the full court press on a thursday morning. December 13. Coming to you live from our Nations Capital and our studio on capitol hill brought to you today by the International Association of sheet metal air rail and transportation workers under president joseph nigro. Good men and women of the sheet Metalworkers Union giving a fair days work for a fair days pay. You bet. And their new web site is smart dash union. Org. I like that. A lot of speculation here about what president obamas going to do when it comes to his cabinet. We thought last friday we would hear who the new secretary of state was going to be and who the new secretary of defense was going to be. Didnt happen. President obama, jay carney told us at the white house, the day before yesterday is continuing to work on those issues, have meetings on the issues. No announcement to make. But coral davenport from National Journal said if we get john kerry in either one of the positions we might see something happening on Global Warming. Nice to be here. Bill she covers the Environmental Issues for the National Journal. You and everybody else thinks it is a slam dunk that john kerry will get one or the other. Not necessarily a slam dunk. You know, a couple of weeks ago i would have lined up with everyone else and said it was very clear that susan rice was the top contender. Bill for state. For state. Now it appears increasingly difficult as much as the president would like to put her in that position, it would be difficult to get confirmed by the senate. Bill because of benghazi. Because of the way the republicans have highlighted this as an issue. John kerry who has been you know the bridesmaid for this position for years and years and years, he is dying for the position. We know that he wants it. Hes all lined up and ready to go. It is also very clear Senate Republicans have made it clear he will sail through a confirmation and thats important. So now it is kind of looking by process of elimination that he potentially is back in the front of the line. He remains a top contender. No question. Bill would he take defense if he doesnt get state . I make no claims to reading the mind of john kerry. He sphnt made himself available to the press to talk about it. Bill it would not be a step down to be secretary of defense. Of course not. He has a lot of experience on Foreign Policy issues. It would be an appropriate fit. Bill no matter what they said in 2004, he is a genuine america war hero. I want to throw that in here. Your article is interesting in National Journal. A secretary john kerry either state or defense would elevate climate issues. Why do you say that . Its interesting, i dont know if a lot of people realize if a lot of americans realize that Climate Change is an issue that john kerry is extremely passionate about. As a Foreign Policy and National Security issue. And i think a lot of democrats especially on the liberal end of the Spectrum Care about Climate Change and talk about it. John kerry has been working sort of, you know, behind the scenes on Climate Change issues for 20 years. He went to he attended the first big u. N. Climate summit in Rio De Janeiro in 1992. This is an issue he works on with his wife, teresa heinz kerry. He was the author of a major senate Climate Change bill. Hes gone to a lot of the u. N. Summits and worked behind the scenes and in 2009 in copenhagen which was sort of the big summit where president obama came, john kerry went several days ahead of the president and ahead of Hillary Clinton and he met with environment ministers foreign ministers, gave speeches, gave talks. Really did just kind of the hard slog, unglamorous work of diplomacy, trying to get something done. This is an issue that is tremendously tremendously important to him. Ive talked to a lot of people who say you know, a lot of secretaries of state will pick one or two issues that they will prioritize as we saw Hillary Clinton do with women and girls. And everyone ive spoken to says absolutely. Climate change will almost certainly be john kerrys if hes secretary of state. Bill this is its not just john kerry but at least in the Progressive Community theres a lot of hope that this will be a priority for president obama. Also. In this second term. So if you have kerry at state you also need obama in the white house to make this a priority. Any sign of that . With john kerry, you really know what youre getting with Climate Change. Hes passionately committed. Bill president obama hasnt shown that yet. Not the same kind of passion and commitment. He has talked about Climate Change in speeches. I think it was very significant that he talked about it on his Election Night speech. That was an important speech to talk about it. But in the white house they havent decided what theyre going to do. They havent decided is this an issue where well spend political capital. They want to do tax reform and immigration. Theres only so much you can do. So if we were to see a secretary of state really prioritize this and say this has gotta be a number one issue. This iss did fining issue for u. S. Foreign policy. You know, secretary of state is kind of a first among equals in the cabinet. And would be taken seriously by the president. So secretary of state who brought a tremendous amount of strength and credibility and passion to that issue bill john kerry secretary of state. 186655press. What do you think . Now, i just have the other half, right or the other side of the coin maybe whatever analogy you want to use, if he becomes secretary of state some people say oh my god thats going to open up a senate race in massachusetts. And that means scott brown gets automatically back in. Not necessarily. It depends on who runs against scott brown. I had a long talk saturday night with ed marquee congressman ed markey ninth in seniority in the house of representatives. Hes told me, he told other people too, he would take a look at it which is just this short of saying he would definitely run. But if ed markee was senator from massachusetts, you would replace one champion on Global Warming with another one who is probably as informed and as passionate about the issue as john kerry is. Absolutely. Ed was the chief author of the Climate Change bill in the house. The same one that kerry led in the senate, eth has also done yeomans work, going to these International Conferences slogging through on international Climate Change and diplomacy issues. Knows the issue. Knows how it plays on the hill. It is a top tier issue for ed markee too. That would be great. Now, you mentioned bill we were chatting earlier, there could be some news from state department this week on an important issue. Keystone. On keystone, yes. Not a final decision. I dont think that well see bill lets back up. Keystone, it was up and republicans were sort of forcing the state department to make a decision by last december, wasnt it . So what happened was about a year and a half ago, the state department was moving toward making a decision to approve the keystone pipeline. Bill reviewing it as they have to because it is an international pipeline. Sure. So the state department and ultimately the president makes a decision if its in the national interest. Thats sort of the broad terms. It looked very they were really moving along toward approving it. It was very likely they were going to approve it. And then president obamas Environmental Base got all fired up about this. Rallied around the white house. Said if you approve this, this sort of puts us over the edge toward Global Warming. Bill had a pipeline encircled the white house grounds. Yeah. And so republicans really seized on this. They saw this as a great political opportunity, tried to force the issue and said the president has to make a decision by the end be of the year. What ended up happening is they got kind of politically lucky. There were problems in the actual root of the pipeline. It went through an aquifer environmentally sensitive aquifer in nebraska and so it got sent back for rerouting. They had to come back with a different route that wouldnt hurt the aquifer and very conveniently for president obama, it looked like that rerouting and the new studies on that routing werent going to be complete until after the election. So he got to punt on that decision which would have really galvanized opponents and supporters either way. So now they rerouted it. Hes been reelected. And so its back. It is time to make the final decision. And it looks like bill the final decision on the new route. The final decision on the new route. And so it looks like possibly as early as this week. Maybe even today or tomorrow. The state department will release its Environmental Impact statement on the new route. Its analysis of the new route. Thats not the final decision. That doesnt say yes or no. But it will probably give us a strong signal of which way the final decision will make. The final decision will go. If the Environmental Impact statement looks good, says you know, this routes fine. Theres nothing wrong with it. Doesnt hurt anything. You know, it would be hard to imagine then that the president would go ahead and deny and stop the pipeline. Bill here we go. Keystone pipeline. If i had to bet, i would have bet last year that they were going to approve it. And i would bet this year even more that they would approve it. I dont think they should. I dont think we get anything out of the pipeline from what ive seen. Pay attention to the report, the new state Department Report coming up soon. Bill heading in that direction. Weve got john kerry secretary of state. What do you think . 186655press. Keystone pipeline. 186655press. Coral davenport stirring it up this morning. Well be right back. Announcer this is the bill press show. Always outspoken, now unleashed. Joy behar. On my next show i get serious with comedian kevin kealon and i have a few laughs with the actor jeremy irons. Only on current tv. Announcer this is the full court press. The bill press show. Live on your radio and on current tv. Bill 13 minutes before the top of the hour. Congressman sandy levin from michigan in studio, not Hurricane Sandy congressman sandy leen in studio. Big difference. Bill top of the next hour here. Were talking Energy Issues, john kerry bringing Global Warming maybe to the state department. With coral davenport from National Journal. Well get back to our conversation and your calls in just a second. With the holidays here, now is a great time for you to visit tryancestry. Com and join me in this incredible journey of discovering your familys roots. Probably heard me say i was able thanks to ancestry. Com and their what was it . 10 or 14 billion Historical Documents online, ive been able to trace my family from Delaware City delaware to salem new jersey and all the way across the pond to latvia to riga in latvia. Now is the time to get into this. When your family gets together for your holiday fun youll be able to share your discoveries. Start today. Share my incredible experience by visiting ancestry. Com. See what you can discover with two weeks free. Thats what theyll offer two weeks free. Start your journey today to share your finds with your family over the holidays. Visit tryancestry. Com. Thats tryancestry. Com. And wouldnt you think this when do you think this decision is going to come down . We thought it would be last friday. Secretary of state . I wish i knew. Bill really . No insights into that . By the way, were tweeting at bpshow on twitter. The g. O. P. Is salivating to get kerry out of the senate to get scott brown back in. Not good for america. Bill you know what . I still want to point out scott brown, first of all hes tainted now tarnished because he lost to elizabeth warren. Two, this is a different time than when he ran before. Hell have a tougher candidate. Hell have either i think ed markee or duval patrick. It aint automatic. Were tweeting at bpshow. Find us there. Bill tula is calling from milwaukee. What do you say . Caller hi. I just wanted to say that i love john kerry like anybody else but i think no, if the president wanted susan rice, as secretary of defense, he should get some backbone and fight for her. Dont just be intimidated by republicans again just like the cliff. If we have to go over the cliff we may suffer but you know, rather than him give in to all the time, he needs to fight for what he wants and what we put him in there for. Bill all right, i hear you, tula. Thats an interesting question, coral is whether the president would say all right, john mccain and lindsey graham, you want to fight youve got one. It looks like at the offset, thats what he was doing. Weve really seen the president in his postelection press conference bill i was there in the front row. He was pissed. He was pissed. He was fighting back. He seemed ready to put his back into it. It seemed that that was the strategy. Were not backing down on this. As time goes on, the question becomes as much as you fight you cant get those votes. If you cant get those votes you dont get your candidate. Theres another issue too. In his second term, the president s going to probably have to confirm get a lot of cabinet members through. So you kind of have to pick and choose your battles because you do need to have people hes going to need a treasury secretary. Probably going to need an energy secretary. You cant have a protacted fight about every single one of those. Hes probably going to likely he may need a Supreme Court justice. Bill or two or three. Right right. So you kind of have to pick and choose where your battles are going to be. Bill brenda is out in cincinnati. Good morning. Good morning. And im calling regarding i almost agree with everything the lady tula said. I think that was her name. Oh i believe in picking and fighting our battles. I fought the battle hard here in cincinnati. I like john kerry like she said. John kerry is weak, im sorry. I voted for him. But hes not the strongest person against the republicans. And we need to pick our battles and start now. Im sick and tired of being told by republicans who blankety blank we can pick and who we can choose while they think this is the reason why theyre the way they are now because this president gave gave, gave. Im sick of the give. I worked my butt getting people out to win ohio. Ive been writing him. Do not pick john kerry. Im sorry. I dont care how many battles he has to fight. He aint got no more time to run. Fight him off. Im here to help fight against all of those people in michigan, too. Im sick of this. Oh, we have to do this because of the republicans. Rack her. Bill brenda, youre my baby i love you interesting, that spirit, right . I think if the president went with susan rice, it sounds like he would have a make a lot of people happy and have a lot of people fighting with him. Doesnt mean he wins. Bill fight the fight. It seems there are a lot of president s supporters who are pushing this. They dont do the Senate Confirmation votes. I think i think thats probably the calculation thats going on. Bill thats exactly right. You know. I have one announcement to make before we break here. And that is im going to be on vacation between christmas and new years this year and brenda from cincinnati is going to be our guest host. Were going to turn the microphone got progressive fire bill turn it over to her and brendas in charge. Controller coral davenport thank you for coming in this morning. President obama, well tell you whats on his schedule today when we come back. Announcer this is the bill press show. Im actually looking at the wood grilled chicken talking points that the right have about the heavy hand of government. I want to have that conversation. Really you know, id like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table. [ male announcer ] red lobsters hitting the streets to tell real people about our new 15 under 15 menu. Oh my goodness oh my gosh this looks amazing [ male announcer ] our new maine stays 15 entrees under 15 seafood, chicken and more oo the tilapia with roasted vegetables im actually looking at the wood grilled chicken with portobello wine sauce. That pork chop was great no more fast food fridays were going to go to red lobster. Yep. [ male announcer ] come try our new menu and sea food differently and introducing 7 lunch choices for just 7. 99. Salad, sandwiches, and more. [ singing Christmas Carols in background ] aunt sallys singing again. Its a tradition honey. [ singing Christmas Carols ] mmmm. [ female announcer ] make new traditions with pillsbury grands cinnamon rolls. [ female announcer ] holiday cookies are a big job. Everything has to be just right. Perfection is in the details. Get to holiday fun faster with pillsbury cookie dough. [ theme ] announcer this is the bill press show. Announcer this is the full court press. The bill press show live on your radio and on current tv. Bill well, at the top of the next hour, congressman sandy levin from the state of michigan will be here. A michigander. A michigander. I just learned that. Bill i know. We heard it again this morning. He will be here in studio with us along with in studio, bob cusack managing editor of the hill. Great newspaper covering everything happening at the hill on the hill and at the white house. President obama spending a lot of time behind closed doors today. Were sure hes going to be heavy in meetings on the fiscal cliff. And on changes in his cabinet. The only two things on his public schedule is that he will get the Daily Briefing today with the Vice President at 9 45 at the white house. And then this evening at 7 40 p. M. At the white house president will be hosting a hanukkah reception. Hes been having a lot of christmas parties. The white house tonight is the hanukkah reception. I should know third or fourth night of hanukkah. At any rate, were into hanukkah here. President obama marking that this evening at the white house. Jay carney will hold his regular press briefing at 1 00 today. And ill be there representing all of you. Announcer this is the bill press show. [ theme ] bill hey, good morning everybody it is thursday, december 13. This is the full court press. Welcome to the program here on current tv coming to you live all the way across this great land of ours from our studio on capitol hill in washington, d. C. Our Nations Capital. With Everything Else going on here today president obama at the request of governors christie and cuomo president obama has asked congress for an extra 60 billion to help those two states, new york and new jersey, recover from the impact of Hurricane Sandy. But republicans in congress are balking. Theyre not buying it. They say theres no evidence there was that much damage from Hurricane Sandy. Oh yeah . Maybe they ought to talk to governor christie about that. Well get into that and a whole lot more here. First we take time out to get the latest, the current news update with Lisa Ferguson out in los angeles. Hi lisa. Good morning. Hey bill. Good morning everyone. Hillary clinton now has plans to testify on the benghazi attack. She will speak to the house and Senate Foreign Affairs Committees on december 20th. Amid security over scrutiny over Embassy Security and the talking points given to u. N. Ambassador susan rice. Before clinton testifies a state Department Accountability board will release a report on those attacks in libya. The report will consider whether washington gave enough attention to potential threats and how it responded to security requests from u. S. Diplomats abroad. The state department is also speaking out on north koreas Missile Launch calling it highly provocative and saying the country will now Face International consequences. North Koreas Foreign Ministry asked the International Community not to blow the launch out of proportion. But by firing that missile the country violated two resolutions of the u. N. Security council. The u. S. A. Department said yesterday this will further isolate the north korean regime and further impoverish the countrys people. And an nyu grad student is set up with u. S. Drone strikes. Hes taking it upon himself to tweet every single strike dating back ten years. He has opened the account at drone stream where you can find more than 150 tweets. Each one citing a different attack. Begley originally created it to notify users of each strike but apple rejected the app three times, once for objectionable content. More bill press is coming up after the break. Stay with us. Youre about to watch an ad message created by a current tv viewer for capella university. Matter. Education is the key. It is the vehicle. Its the way in which we evolve. Every journey is different every possibility is unique. But the beginning, the beginning is my craft. Im an ordinary person striving to achieve extraordinary things. It started with a dream and im on my way there. Rich, chewy caramel rolled up in smooth milk chocolate. Dont forget about that payroll meeting. Rolo. Get your smooth on. Also in minis. [ theme ] announcer broadcasting announcer broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill press show. Bill president obama asking 60 billion to help new jersey and new york recover from Hurricane Sandy. But republicans in congress say we dont know that there was that much damage from Hurricane Sandy. Maybe they ought to ask governor christie about that. Good morning everybody. What do you say . It is thursday, december 13. This is the full court press. Were coming to you live coasttocoast all the wray across this great land of ours on current tv and on your local progressive talk radio station. Good to have you with us this morning. Remember, you can join the conversation any time by giving us a call at 186655press. Or joining us on twitter. Hey, hell, if the pope can tweet, so can we and so can you. Join us on twitter at bpshow. For this hour, we start off man, i gotta tell you so blessed to have in studio with us two good friends from the state of michigan, congressman sandy levin. Great to see you. Welcome back. Nice to see you again. Bill last time we were together in charlotte at the convention. We were. Bill indeed. Good party down there. It was good for america. Bill exactly. And bob cusack is the managing editor of the hill, my favorite newspaper here in washington, d. C. And in fact, i even contribute to it once in awhile. Yes, do you. Bill maybe i have a conflict of interest. Bob, good to see you too. Good to see you. Bill i want to tell you both before we get started on the issues of the day i had an unusual experience here in our Nations Capital. A lot of security around, right washington. I went in a Federal Building on capitol hill yesterday. And i was put my little my pen and my wallet and my cell phone in a little tray to go through the metaldetector and then i have a little implant. I said to the Security Guard should i walk through there or not . And he said no you just walk around. I walked around. I said so do you want to pat me down . He said no. You can just go in but just dont shoot anybody while youre in there. Really . [ laughter ] that makes you feel safe, huh . Bill i thought this is a new level of nonsecurity. That ever happened before . Bill no, no. I think we better go on to another subject. Bill it sort of blew my mind. I thought whoa how many other people were allowed in here. I want you to know youre wellprotected. There are other issues to talk about in washington. Bill yes including michigan. The state of michigan. I saw you congressman photo of you. Greeting if im correct greeting president obama when he arrived in michigan earlier in the week. That was my brother. Bill i thought you were there with him. I was but at the factory. Bill right. At the factory the daimler factory, this is the day before Governor Snyder signed that righttowork legislation. The president spoke out against it, said it was a right to freeload or right to work for less right . So you would think of any state where this would happen, why michigan . Because the radical right essentially has taken over. Taken over the Republican Party. You know, not to take too long but i do tell the story the act was put together in the mid 60s. I chaired the Senate Labor Committee as a young freshman. So i chaired the committee and republican employees had no rights in those days. They could not be represented. So we thought that should change. So i sat down, wrote out the law. And then i sat down with the governor of michigan. He and i, one on one, he was in his rocking chair with his blue sweater. And we had some issues to work out. We did an hour and a half or so. He said to me, as i remember it, sandy, weve got an agreement. Who was the governor . Bill george romney. George romney. We took the bill to the floor. And every republican voted for the bill except one. It passed as i remember 351 in the house with only five or six republicans voting no. Guy vander jack, later became a member of congress, a conservative member, voted for it. The majority leader voted for it. So essentially rick snyder has thrown aside the tradition in michigan of having republicans who can sit down with democrats and work out issues. Instead, theres been a right wing turn. Very right wing and snyder decided to join the right wing crowd. Bill and when he ran for office, he portrayed himself and presented himself as just the opposite as i recall. He was a man who said he didnt want that divisive stuff that was going on in wisconsin and ohio. There was a phrase forward positive thinking or Something Like that that he talked about. What was that . Just a lie . Well, well see. I dont know what he believed. He said it wasnt on his agenda. It wasnt on his agenda. Then all of a sudden, it is at the top of his agenda. And so instead of a united michigan and he talked that way he now presides over a bitterly divided michigan. Bitterly divided. Do you think snyder and the republicans who voted for it are going to pay a price . Oh, he said lets move on. Lets get this behind us. Bill thats what snyder said. Thats what snyder said. Now, it is smack in front of michigan. You know, talk to any ceo of the big three ask them about Labor Management relations the sad part of this is when you dont give workers a voice it creates dissension within. Theres no voice to talk to management. And progressive managers like the big three, they say look we, in the last 10, 15 years have developed a really strong, positive relationship between labor and management. Just walk into any plant. Like the daimlerchrysler it is not chrysler anymore. It is a daimler plant. Just walk in and talk to the management. In fact, i did talk to management. I talked to labor representatives and they talk how they worked together, these last years. Hes decided to do is the governor, is the opposite. I talked to someone whos a union rep and he goes down to North Carolina where theres a plant there, a daimler plant doing the same work. And it is a righttowork state. Bill mmm. So they have a tshirt there and it says i ride, you pay. Bill oh, wow. Freeloaders. Free riders. So people dont have to pay a share of the cost of representation. And participating in that is such a good, american idea. Isnt that responsibility . Bill of course. If any state exemplifies what can be done when labor and management works together it is michigan and uaw and the big three. As you say. And rick snyder just breaking with that tradition. So congressman, what happens i have to say for current tv, this would not have happened if our current tvs Jennifer Granholm were still governor of michigan. Absolutely. Bill right . Absolutely. You know, it is such a step backward. It is such a step backward. It goes back 67 years. International relations act essentially said americas better off if workers have a voice. What made the middle class of michigan . Bill sure. Union workers. Where does the Union Movement go . This is a big blow. What should they learn from this Going Forward so this doesnt happen in other states because as i understand it, righttowork laws are in about half the states. Bill now 24. Michigan is 24. I think it means work harder. The Labor Movement has worked hard. What it means i think is having a stronger conversation in america about whether we want workers to have a voice in the workplace. And if they dont what are the consequences . You know, weve had a flattening of income for middle class in this country. Its been dramatic, right . Youve talked about it. In your paper which i read every morning, the minute i get there im sure youve written about it. Yep. Youve had a flattening for most middle income families, it has been just treading water. And if they dont have a voice in the workplace they wont get a decent wage. They wont get a decent share of prosperity. Theyll begin to have pressure on their pensions. The Labor Movement helped to build the middle class and give people a chance to have a decent wage, to have healthcare. You know, when i ran for governor long ago in macomb county, very blue collar place only 10 of the kids of college age were in higher ed. Now it is 50 . Bill yeah. So you have the middle class with more opportunity in part, because the worker was represented in the workplace and whereas able to negotiate a fair share. Instead of now having a fair share, youre going to have free riders. Bill congressman i talked to three International President s, labor unions, lee saunders from afscme, jim hoffa from the teamsters and joseph nigro from the sheet metalworkers, theyre very angry, outraged, not totally surprised because they knew that even after wisconsin and ohio, things were going to continue. But they theyre really pissed off and they want to continue the fight. What are their options in michigan . Can you put this on the ballot . And overturn it . Or recall rick snyder or whats being considered . It is difficult. You know, another unfair part of this was that the republicans put into the bill a phony appropriation provision. We asked Governor Snyder to say he would take that out. He had the possibility to lineitem veto bill right. He listened like a sphinx. He wouldnt give any back and forth so he signed the bill. So it may be that bill left that measure in. It will be challenged. But there is an election coming. I remind Governor Snyder this is a democracy. And you will face the electorate and you will face the music. And you will face the discord that you have helped to create in the state of michigan. And i feel so strongly about this because as i mention i worked with republicans like governor romney, like bill milken, who could sit down, who had a feel for what it was you know. I read this i showed you this earlier. What he said, Governor Snyder said. He said im pro collective bargaining. He says i think its a good thing, this legislation. I think its pro worker. It is orwellian. Bill it is orwellian. Do you think hes trying think about his future and this is how you get your chops in the g. O. P. Is you take on labor . Because obviously this is going to be something that in the next election, is going to be talked about a lot. This issue is now front and center. Not only in michigan but i think in this country. Bill yep. Absolutely. We have to take a break here. Congressman sandy levin representing whats your district . 12 until another few days then it goes to the ninth. Bill i see. 12th to ninth Congressional District in michigan. Bob cues an, managing editor of the hill. Were talking especially, the right to work debacle in michigan. We want to get your views congressman. Whether republicans and democrats in this town can Work Together avoid going over the fiscal cliff. Well be right back on todays full court press. Announcer on your radio and on current tv, this is the full court press. Wow ive never seen anything like this. When disaster strikes sometimes the only way out is to look within. Current tv digs deep into the extraordinary tales of heroism determination and escape. Trapped experience the drama. Back to back to back. Hold on mates catch the trapped minimarathon saturday starting at 1 eastern. On current tv. Announcer heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the bill press show. Bill thursday, december 13. Bob cusack, managing editor of the hill is here this hour as a friend of bill. Were joined by congressman sandy leven from the great state of michigan. A true michigander. We like that phrases. Michigander. So do i. Bill yeah. Congressman, you were talking about the day when you could sit down with republicans and make a deal work out work out solutions to problems. That day no longer exists in michigan. But it looks like it doesnt exist in this congress anymore does it . It is very worrisome. We were talking just earlier about whats going to happen here. Christmas is unless they change the calendar, it is next tuesday. Then you have between christmas and new years. The republicans simply have to accept the fact there was an election. We asked people when they run for president to say what they stand for. And this president made very clear, if you ask the public what were the two or three or four major issues in the campaign, what would they say . Definitely tax policies was right at the forefront. No doubt about it. Bill taxes going up on the top 2 , yes, obama, no, romney. Obama talked about that at every stop. If you look in your newspaper how many times that was stated in your newspaper, my guess is it would seem like endlessly. Yes. There was no doubt about it. That was the big the big debate and even republicans who thought they were going to win the election before the election, they were very confident so that they were like already thinking okay, were going to extend the bush tax rates. Romney will be president. They were already planning that out. Obviously they were disappointed on november 6th. They should listen to the election results. What we have to do to break this logjam is if i might say so the speaker has to say to the president , mr. President , you stood for this. You won. We dont like it. But you won. So we know we have to accept it. We have to go back to the clinton era rates. So now lets sit down and work out the rest of it. But i guess he hasnt said that yet. But he really has to do that because otherwise were headed for the cliff. The republicans have to really decide whether they want to go over the cliff to take the country with them because Grover Norquist is more important than anything else. And i think thats so risky for this nation. By the way we also have Unemployment Insurance two Million People are going to lose their Unemployment Insurance immediately for the first time, it is going to be like that. And then you have this amt the alternative minimum tax and it will be a mess if we dont do something. The answer is lets pass the senate bill that keeps the middle class tax cut that doesnt keep it for the wealthy 2 in the hands of amt then we have to handle Unemployment Insurance. Bill if that bill, which john boehner so far refuses to bring up for a vote in the senate, the bill that passed the senate which would give actually 100 of americans a tax cut up to the first 250,000 do you think there would be enough republicans to vote for it to get it past the house . I think so. Because whats the choice . Because it then paints the alternatives very clear. It is that or going over the cliff. Congressman, do you think that president obama has to give john boehner anything, whether its medicare testing medicare eligibility age obviously has the electorate, what do you think . Bill we need a quick answer here, congressman. The answer is they need to sit down and talk about what else. I think the president has already proposed some budget cuts. They need to sit down and talk about them. I think the age issue the medicare age change is a very difficult issue but the president is willing to sit down and talk. If the speaker is willing to. Bill congressman, good friend, great to see you. Thanks for coming in this morning. Announcer this is the bill press show. Going to do the young turks. I think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. They know that im not bsing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. When the democrats are wrong, they know that im going to be the first one to call them out. They can question whether im right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. Announcer this is the bill press show. Live on your radio and current tv. Bill here we go. 33 minutes now after the hour. It is full court press on this thursday. December 13. And the full court press brought to you today by the National Education association the good men and women of the nea, creating Public Schools for every student in america. You bet. Under president dennis van roekel. You can find out more about their good work at nea. Org. Nea. Org. Bob cusack still with us here as a friend of bill. Managing editor for the hill. Bob, i want to switch to not that weve exhausted the fiscal cliff. Well come back to that. But another big Issue Congress Justice Antonin Scalia got in a little hot water this week. You mean noni . Bill thats his nickname. Antonin scalia. He was at princeton and somebody said you know, justice in the past youve equated homosexuality with beastality. Is that really fair and he said basically his own style hey get with it i mean if you cant have moral feelings about homosexuality can you have moral feelings about murder. Puts the two in the same sentence. So the question becomes now you have same sex before the Supreme Court. Can he fairly and evenly and openly rule in that case . Hasnt he already made up his mind . The question is raised. George takei was asked about this yesterday. Great actor. Remembered mostly from star wars. Star trek oh, my god bill he predates. Hes star trek. George takei no doubt about it. His answer here. Jaws tis scalia needs to consider recusing himself. He is obviously not unbiased. He is clearly biased in this situation. So how can he look at the issue and make a judgment fairly . Oh, my. Bill good question, huh . Scalia does a lot of public events, more so than any other justice by far. Then youre always going to be asked the question especially if you have open q a. You see him occasionally on capitol hill, whoever he is meeting with. Bill hes on fox news and gives speeches all over the place. He talks about issues that are before the court. Gun control, gay rights. It is a valid question when youre making the public statements, how can you be impartial. We know which way scalia is going to go anyway but still, it is a legal question. Wait a minute. Bill most Americans Still believe that Supreme Court justices are sort of you know, the eunuchs you know, above the law. You dont hear from them except when they write from the bench or ask a question from the bench and that they have an open mind like on every issue. Right. Bill aint the case. You think of justice chief justice roberts. He does not give a lot of we havent actually heard from him about his apparently reversal on obamacare. We have not heard because he doesnt do a lot he testifies before congress when he has to. But otherwise thats about it. Bill yeah. So now you and i i think most people know that with the Supreme Court rules are a little different right. There are set rules for when you should recuse yourself and not on the lower courts but on the Supreme Court, it is up to the justice himself or herself. So scalia, himself will have to make this decision. Right. Thats right. Weve seen kagans cues herself from one case. I believe it was an immigration case, im not sure. Justice thomas was also a lot of people on the left were saying he should recuse himself on healthcare. Bill he did not. Exactly. Bill of course, we famously in 2004, Justice Scalia and dick cheney and the duck hunting trip down to louisiana. And scalia says the proudest thing hes done on his time on the bench was not to recuse himself in that case. Even though Cheney Energy task force case was before the court. Thats right. I dont think thats the proudest thing hes ever done was to be a jerk to keep himself on. Bill i think the bottom line is the chances that scalia will recuse himself are probably zero to none. Remember, he wanted to be chief justice. He was almost openly campaigning for it. So i just think that you know, roberts probably is wincing when he sees those reports of scalia going out there and making those comments. Bill now, you know, you people your people at the hill know more than anybody about whats going on at the white house and the capitol. And john boehner yesterday told members of congress dont make any plans for christmas. Was he just bluffing . I think theres some bluffing here. Senate majority harry reid said something similar. You know i think that theyre actually getting closer despite the rhetoric because were not seeing a lot of leaks on either side. Either from the white house or boehner. Theyve had the phone calls. We dont know what really went on during them. Before, we got some semblance of what went on. I think there is incentive on both sides to get a deal. Now whether it is done before christmas or new years, im not sure. Boehner needs a if fatigue factor. He knows it will be the toughest moment of his speakership. He has to get 100 votes on his side. He has to get something from president obama whether its more aggressive medicare means testing, something he can go back with a shiny object to his tea party guys and say at least we got this. And of course, we have to increase taxes because well, we lost the election. Thats going to be very hard sell. Bill so this does this this have to be entitlement socalled entitlement reform . I think its gotta be some type of change in entitlements. It doesnt have to be a radical change. But whether its means testing medicare so rich people arent getting the medicare benefit they used to. Bill i read in your paper this morning speaker poll osi has said pelosi has said no way to that and democrats are lined up behind her. Theyre most outspoken on raising the eligibility age. Of course, that was on the table in 2011. When they almost had to grand bargain between obama and boehner. You know what, i think that obama has got to make the decision. Am i going to win this negotiating battle 955 against boehner or win it 7030. We know he will win it. He won the election. Does he give a Little Something to boehner and then tell his troops listen, i had to show some good faith. I want to see washington work a little bit better than the first term and i think hes going to do that. I think hes going to give boehner something so he has a little bit of cover. It will be a civil war on the g. O. P. Bill so the elements of whatever grand or not so grand bargain we might get this time would include tax rates going up on the top 2 , maybe not all the way to 39. 6 but definitely going up. Yes. Bill something to do, not with Social Security probably but with medicare. I think is medicare because harry reid has said dont mess with Social Security. We saw that in 2011. The cpi, cost of living adjustment was on the table. I think thats off the table now. I dont think he will mess with Social Security. Maybe boehner could raise the threshold possibly from 250 to a little bit higher. Theyve beened adamant about small businesses. They could get 500,000 instead of 250,000. Bill Chuck Schumer wanted it at a million. So those two things, in some form. How about the third factor being the debt ceiling so an agreement on the debt ceiling so we dont have to have another armageddon in january. I could see them giving a little bit on the debt ceiling not giving obama the new powers that he wants. Bill to do it every year forever. One time. Giving it a little bit so they have some breathing space until the beginning until mid 2013 because Congress Needs a deadline. They need whether its the debt limit or whether its raising the debt ceiling. They need a date where they can say we must get this done. And also the Credit Rating agencies are demanding that. Theyre like listen, youve got to do some this is going to be a relatively small deal. They need to do a big deal in 2013. Theyll give them a little on the debt ceiling but then come july, theyll probably be faced with it again. Bill nbc cbs poll this morning shows that 65 of the American People say get a deal done majority of democrats majority of republicans, majority of independents say compromise, get a deal done and yet you know, boehner and cantor keep digging in their heels. At some point, the political pressure even from voices inside the Republican Party, some of which we have heard right . Tom cole among others who is saying just agree to this damn thing and move on. I think theres some selfpreservation for boehner and cantor and the rest of the Republican Leadership. The republican majority in the house looks fairly safe because you have the sixyear itch usually. Bill clinton was the exception. The next election 2014, republicans in the house will probably do well based upon history. But if they screw this up, and theyre going to get blamed, polls show that, then they could lose the majority. Bill right. Thats an important point. The polls show, peter we talked about this yesterday on who would get the blame. It would come down on republicans. Bill right. You can follow us on twitter dont forget and join the conversation at bpshow. Bob cusack from the hill here, managing editor in studio with us as a friend of bill. Were talking michigan. Were talking fiscal cliff. Were talking antonin scalia. Any of the above. 186655press. Announcer heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the bill press show. Happened and more importantly, whats going to happen tomorrow. There is so much going on that every day presents another exciting issue. From financial regulation, iran getting a nuclear bomb, civil war in syria, fraud on wall street, destruction of medicare and medicaid. There are real issues here. Having been a governor, i know that tradeoffs are tough. Things everyday exploding around the world that leave no shortage for exciting conversations. I want our viewer to understand why things have happened. At the end of the show, you know happened and more importantly, whats going to happen tomorrow. vo youve heard bills views now lets hear yours. Politically direct means no bs, just tellling you whats going on in politics today. vo at the only online forum with a direct line to bill press. Current. Com billpress announcer this is the bill press show. Bill okay. Happy thursday. December 13. The full court press here coming to you live from our Nations Capital. Bob cusack is managing editor of the hill. Thehill. Com if you want to know whats going on in washington. At the capitol. Both ends of pennsylvania avenue on the hill, at the congress and at the white house no better source than the hill. Bob, always good to you have with us. Good to be here. Bill peter ogborn has his eye on the social media world. Bpshow at twitter. Comments all over the board. Don boyle saying on the fiscal cliff, politics is the art of the compromise. War is a zerosum game. Dems are playing politics. G. O. P. Is playing war games. Rum and coke party u. S. A. I dont make the names up, i just read them, and an tonin scalia. Judge judy hooked on crystal meth would still have more credibility than Justice Scalia. You talked earlier about former governor of michigan and current teammate on current tv, Jennifer Granholm. Kealy says we need jennifer on a national level. Shes awesome bill she is on the national. Eliot . Shes on current tv. I think she means in office. Cant be president. Bill she would be a candidate for president if not for the fact that she were born in canada. They didnt change the constitution for Arnold Schwarzenegger but they should change it for Jennifer Granholm as far as im concerned. Another issue bob thats come up. Struck me as unusual. Remember a year a couple of years ago when the earthquake hit this area and eric cantors district. There was a lot of damage. Even then, eric cantor said nope. No more fema money for my district unless we can get some cuts in medicaid or something else. So republicans have been squishy on Disaster Relief and fema funding. President obama now has asked the congress for 60 billion in supplemental funding for new jersey and new york particularly. I think connecticut maybe too. For the damage for Hurricane Sandy. Hes doing that at the request of the governors there and republicans in congress are now saying do they really need that much money . Was there really that much damage to Hurricane Sandy . Havent they been watching tv . Theyve been dodging the question about whether they should offset the cost of it. I think when i think boehner has so much on his plate right now. That hes going to let this through. He just doesnt want to say it. But you know, obviously this is another thing that conservatives are pushing for. So its a tough spot. Especially because i had forgotten about cantor and that damage when he said back then. He kind of retreated subsequently because he got flak for it. Bill heres what i would like to see. I would like to see whoever these members of congress are republicans in congress that are questioning the amount of storm damage in new jersey, i would like to see them sit down with Chris Christie. The wrath of Chris Christie. Bill thats what i mean. The way Chris Christie treats teachers or Union Members in new jersey. Imagine, he would flay these people alive. Last night, the big concert to benefit sandy. It started out with just total devastation. The images that were up there. The guys were running around saying theres no evidence of damage. Plenty of damage. Plenty of damage. Just turn on the tv. Bill weve seen it. Now back to the fiscal cliff for awhile. There was a voice spoken yesterday that you would think again, members of congress would listen to. Ben bernanke, chairman of the fed saying hey guys, you got hes the one who came up with the term fiscal cliff. Did he. Bill warning to members of congress. Here he is yesterday. Even though weve not yet even reached the point of the fiscal cliff potentially kicking in it is already affecting Business Investment and hiring decisions by creating uncertainty or creating pessimism. Bill front page of the hill today, cliff is already inflicting damage. It is because people dont know what the hells going to happen. It will be interesting to see what ben bernanke says behind closed doors and the cursing he does at congress. He has to be rolling his eyes that were at this point and at least publicly, were nowhere. The clock is ticking and he was saying once again listen, dont minimize this. As president obama said, this is avoidable. They can do this. But if they dont do it and you go over the cliff then who knows what happens and then maybe it is irreversible, some of the damage. Bill barbara is on the line from columbus, new jersey. Hey, barbara, good morning. Hi, bill, how are you . Bill were great. You have a question or a comment . Caller yes, i have a comment. I was calling into the show because i just happen to tune into the show and listen to what you were saying about the fiscal cliff. With the republicans and the democrats. And im an independent. Im so glad to be a part of this country but right now, im just not in love with republicans at this point because theyre the party of no. It seems theyre very selfish. You know people shouldnt right now vote any republican in office because they all seem to be on this agenda of destruction with this country. I just dont understand how theyre not listening to their constituents because most republicans who are middle class are middle class. First. Theyre not democrats or republicans. They want the same thing for this country to go forward and to go ahead and theyre just not really bothered by what the people are saying. Bill i got your comment barbara. This gets back to what we were talking with congressman sandy levin about bob. If you took a poll, across the board, i think irrespective of party today, people would say look, we had an election. Elections have consequences. Rates have to go up on the top 2 just do it. Some republicans have moved. Some are publicly taking on Grover Norquist. Some are doing it before the election. Very few. Now more of them are distancing themselves from Grover Norquist. But the party as a whole is not there yet. At least not publicly. So you know, it is hard because this congress, this house anyway Tea Party House came in won 63 seats in 2010. Now at the end of this congress, whats going to happen . Theyre going to raise tax rates in all likelihood. Thats tough for them. Bill so much for the tea party and John Boehners job obviously is on the line. He knows it. Hey, bob great to have you in studio. Thanks so much for being here. Thank you. Bill covered a lot of territory. Always a lot easier when youre here as an expert. Bob cusack, managing editor of the hill. Thehill. Com. Parting shot coming up. Stick around. Announcer this is the full court press. The bill press show. Live on your radio and current tv. vo current tv gets the conversation started weekdays now at 9 and noon eastern. Im a slutty bob hope. The troops love me. We have a big big hour and the iq will go way up. [ theme ] announcer the parting shot announcer the parting shot with bill press. This is the bill press show. Bill hey and on this thursday, december 13, my parting shot for today. In all of the debate about the role of the federal government, most people agree there are two things the government ought to do. One, defend the country with a Strong Military and two help republicans who help the public americans who are victims of natural disasters. Well most people believe that but republicans only believe half of it. They believe in the military but not so much when it comes to Disaster Relief. Remember george bush gutted fema. House republicans in this congress gutted femas budget. Mitt romney said we should abolish fema an leave it up to states. You would think even after Hurricane Sandy, republicans would have learned their lesson but oh no. Now, president Obama Asking Congress for 60 billion to help new jersey and new york rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. But republicans in congress are saying uhhuh we dont want to do that because we dont see any evidence theres been that much storm damage. I just have one suggestion, let those republicans talk to governor Chris Christie bottom line, when it comes to Disaster Relief, republicans are a disaster great show today folks. See you back here again tomorrow