True. I think its irresponsible for any leaders from washington to indicate that america would default and not pay our debt. In fact, i think it would be reinsuring if the president would come forward and say america has never defaulted on our debt and america wont. We shall see. Joining me California Democratic congresswoman jackie speier. Congresswoman, great to have you here. And you were at the white house yesterday with your colleagues. And House Republicans there headed there today. You tweeted that the president said that there are reasons to be optimistic in all of this. And a senior gop aide is telling nbc news that House Republicans plan to unveil this new clean sixweek debt ceiling increase. So are we looking at a deal brewing and being ready to be displayed within days . I think we are. And its good news for the american workers. Its good news for the american economy, and hopefully it will keep us from doing the absolute worst thing that could happen to our country. So its all good news. Unfortunately, its only six weeks, but well take six weeks if it gives us the opportunity to compromise and negotiate with republicans on a longterm solution. And you know, congresswoman, everyone uses the phrase kick the can down the road. Why are we supposed to believe that six weeks is going to settle the deep, deep chasms that exist between both sides . Well, youre right, thomas. We do tend to kick the can down the road. We can never do anything in a permanent fashion. But i do think that the stakes are so high here. The American People are so disgusted by the inaction by congress at both sides of the aisle that its incumbent on us to find some meeting of the minds somewhere so that we can restore the confidence of the American People and in business, and the economy can keep moving, and we can create jobs because thats what we should be doing right now. You talk about a longterm plan. And we have the president now responding to House Republicans considering this shortterm kick the can down the road sixweek cr. The president has made clear this is their statement that he will not pay a ransom for congress doingity job and paying our bills. Its better for economic certainty for congress to take the threat of default off the table for as long as possible which is why we support the Senate Democrats efforts to raise the debt limit for a year with no extraneous political strings attached. 12 months. I mean, thats a big ask considering the type of people that the president is dealing with. Do you think thats even realistic . Well, we need to extend the debt limit for a much longer period of time. But having said that, we need to come up with what is going to be acceptable to the republicans. I mean, they are holding the economy hostage right now. We cant let that go on. Last time this happened, we lost over 200,000 jobs and 600 billion in lost 401 k s to the American People. I mean, we owe it to the American Public to find a way to come to the center. You talk about the 401 k s for a lot of people. If we can show the markets quickly because were looking at a big surge with the dow jones up by 178 points right now. Been flirting at almost 200 points before we came on the air. With the debt ceiling deadline just days away, a week from today, congresswoman, we have the Washington PostChris Cilizza is saying every member of Congress Needs to see this chart. The last time the impact on Consumer Confidence was far greater thannant 11th and on par with the lehman collapse. Do you think that people that that resonates . I mean, is shortterm memory loss so common up there . Well, the shortterm memory loss and theres attention Deficit Disorder that plagues the members of congress. I will say this, though. They look at polls. And the polls are devastating. In terms of what the American People think of congress right now. Weve got to get our act together. And im one that believes that we will come halfway. But were not going to hold the economy hostage. Were not going to hold the American People hostage, and we are not going to allow the republicans to obsess continuously about the Affordable Care act. That is not what this is about right now. There is some cracks in the unity, though, of democrats, division because yesterday Eleanor Holmes norton confronted the president about his opposition to piecemeal bills, one of which is to offer critical funding to her district. D. C. Mayor vincent gray confronted Senate Majority leader harry reid over that issue to which reid replied, im on your side, dont screw it up, okay . That was during the immigration rally. The Washington Post opinion board bluntly put the Collateral Damage in d. C. On the democrats. Do you agree with that . I mean, this whole lot of issues is embarrassing for all of our elected leaders. But do you think that everyone gets that . Because American People are hurting, and were really putting people out on an island, especially considering the outrage theres been over military death benefits and families not getting that assured benefit for losing a loved one. Right. We have passed a bill, and it certainly will be passed by the senate and signed by the president. Its pretty disgusting when you think about it. I mean, we are in a situation right now where the republicans shut down the government over the Affordable Care act. That didnt seem to work. So now theyre moving on to the debt limit and the continuing resolution linked to that. I mean, the truth of the matter is were losing 200 million a day by keeping the government closed. Thats how much all of us as taxpayers are paying. This cant go on. And we need to get a reality check here. And come to some kind of an agreement. We can do that. We must do that. Thats why were elected. Congresswoman jackie speier, thanks so much. I appreciate your time this morning. Well let you get back to work. As the congresswoman pointed out, they voted on a bill in the house that will go on to the senate with the president s signature needed on that. But theres been so much outrage over the people on capitol hill not being there for the fallen u. S. Service members, not being there for their families, giving them emergency death benefits because of the Government Shutdown. And today u. S. Military officials tell nbc news that those four american soldiers were killed in special ops missions to take down what is described as an ied and suicide vest bomb factory. As it turns out, the loss of military benefits for these families was not a surprise. The pentagon warned this would happen at a press conference in late september. And then several days before the shutdown actually happened. We would also be required to do some other bad things to our people. Just some examples, we couldnt immediately pay death gratuities to those who die on active duty during the lapse. If lawmakers cant reach a deal on the debt ceiling, 12 billion pay in benefits for Service Members and vets due november 1st, that all hangs in the balance. Joining me, nbc military analyst and retired fourstar general barry mccaffrey. There has been this shortterm solution provided for some of the families caught in this mess. And i say the shortterm solution that was provided is thanks to the Fisher House Charity stepping up until the government reopens. As we heard there from the congresswoman, the house has worked its efforts to a bill to pass over to the senate and then for the president s signature to make that happen so we dont have to rely on great organizations like the fisher house to step in when the government turns its back. But theres also jeffersons restaurant in belleville, illinois, this is a great example which according to its Facebook Page will donate all of its profits yesterday to families of the fallen. The special Operations Warrior Foundation will present 20,000 to each family of the troops killed in afghanistan. Whats your reaction to all of this and the shortsighted mentality that our elected officials are leading by . Well, i think theres no question that this congress is shameful, embarrassing. Under the constitution of article 1, their primary responsibility is funding the government. Neither the administration nor congress has done that successfully for six years. So between sequester and now the Government Shutdown, we have thousands of complex actions going wrong. Intelligence agents who arent working during the war on terror. Veterans administration benefits. By the way, next week as you collectly poi ll lly correctly , were one step short of actually exceeding the debt limit and stop paying Social Security veterans benefit administration. This is amateur hour on the ll. Its shameful behavior. General, i want to read just a couple of quotes to you. First from Lance CorporalJeremiah Michael collins because he posted this on his Facebook Page just two days before he was killed in afghanistan, saying im waiting for the moment they breach my contract, just waiting, get it together, obama, and not to mention congress. Make up your minds. I will protect the being of my country with my life, but do not go blank with the men and women that protect your sorry you know whats. And then we get this from Randall Patterson whose son, cody, was one of the soldiers who arrived home in a coffin yesterday. He said if congress were trapped in a car in the ocean, i would swim down and look them all in the eye and say suck water. These are so heartfelt emotional reactions from grieving families there like mr. Patterson. Should congress at this point even be handling the budget anymore . Well, of course, its the fundamental aspect of our government. I mean, the only the most powerful tool that congress has is to approve money expenditures and to limit the you know, the amount of money the government can borrow. I think, though, youre making a major point here. That the trust of 2. 3 million men and women in the armed forces is rapidly being eroded in their own government. You know, armies dont fight wars. Countries fight wars. Weve got these kids all over the face of the earth out there defending us. And yet as we sit here, half the f15 squadrons of the United States air force arent training. You know, by the way, its not just the defense department. You cant get a new license to export beer. You cant weve got faa safety inspectors that arent working. This is incompetence in our governance. General barry mccaffrey, sir, thanks for your insight. Good to be with you. You may not be able to swim in that river, but its probably, i think, because of all the bodies floating around from shooting victims in your city. Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Getting down and dirty in the garden state. The gloves, they came off in the race to be the next junior senator from new jersey. Coming up next, im going to break down the sopranos style slugfest with our own Steve Kornacki. What would we be talking about if the government wasnt in this shutdown mode . The agenda panel is going to weigh in on what they would be saying is frontpage political news if we werent all distracted by this. And weve been asking, how is the shutdown impacting you . Weigh in on twitter with the dontshutmedown. The day we rescued riley was a truly amazing day. He was a matted mess in a small cage. So that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. Without angies list, i dont know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. From contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angies list. We found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angies list. Join today at angieslist. Com so i can reach ally bank 24 7, but there ar24 7. Branches . Im sorry, im just really reluctant to try new things. Really . Whats wrong with trying new things . Look mommys new vacuum cat screech you feel that in your muscles . I do. Drink water. Its a long story. Well, not having branches lets us give you great rates and service. Id like that. A new way to bank. A better way to save. Ally bank. Your money needs an ally. The u. S. Senate in new jersey is heating up and getting pretty nasty. Republican candidate Steve Lonegan went after newark mayor cory booker focusing on most of newark city and attack on it which lonegan called a big black coal. Being boo booker telling reporters he was offended. We have the pullback of the epa, let fracking go on like many of the fraccers want to do, it could pollute our waters. You may not be able to swim in that river, but its probably i think from all the shooting victims floating around in the water in your city. Oh, my god. Joining us is Steve Kornacki. Steve, its great to have you here. We appreciate it. Were going to rattle your cage on this one because it really seemed like a slam dunk for booker in the polls. And now with this headtohead matchup, it seems like lonegan had booker on the ropes a lot when it came to the crime situation. The latest quinnipiac poll puts lonegan ahead of booker. He had a 25point lead back in august. Hes been chipping away at the lead. Do you think that approach, lonegans approach, is whats making the drastic difference . Theres always the risk with lonegan thats constantly present hes going to go too far. He gives his opponent ads that he can run against him. Now you have the booker people running negative ads against lonegan. Lonegan at a basic level is not a good fit for a state like new jersey. That said, theres sort of a generic Republican Senate candidate in new jersey will typically get in the mid40s. They dont win. Its been 41 years since theyve won. They get up to the mid40s. What youre starting to see it that movement down to 12 points down. Lonegan has finally gotten up into the range of a Generic Senate candidate. The surprise is everybody looked at the start at cory booker and said this is not a generic democrat. This is a guy with rare sort of crossparty appeal. This is a guy whos going to use this election to make a statement about his arrival on the National Stage as a different kind of democrat. Hes going to get 65. Hes going to get 70 . That was the promise of his campaign at the beginning. Were ending at a place where hes got to run negative ads. Cory booker is coming in with a National Profile which lonegan is turning on its heel as an achilles heel for booker and taking him to task for what hes been doing as mayor in the midst of what many consider to be a crisis in his own city. Take a look. Cory booker about a month ago 10yearold Ali Henderson was shot on the streets of newark while he was on the jimmy fallon show telling people what a great job hes doing in newark. Ten people in a row for ten days while my opponent was running around in hollywood and San Francisco promoting himself. Steve, these are easy jabs, and they also resonate because theyre true. Well, in terms of bookers time away from newark and one of the cases that booker would make is that being away, hes built this National Network thats brought benefits from newark just from the friendships and ties hes built around the country. But no, thats right. Its a bit of a cheap shot on lonegans part. At the same time, the role of newark in new jersey politics has always been, fair or not, sort of the punching bag for politicians from outside newark. Political careers in new jersey have been made by suburban politicians, bashing the city of newark, riling up the suburbs against newark and basically saying hey, you suburban taxpayer, youre getting ripped off because your money is going into the city of newark. Theres nothing to show for it. And thats what lonegan is trying to tap into here. Sort of this, again, cory bookers career, he was of the rare newark politician who was as popular if not more popular outside newark than he was inside newark. Lonegan is clearly trying to change that. Meanwhile, booker got a huge cash infusion from bloomberg, but its an interesting mixed bag of people showing up for lonegan when we have sarah palin stumping for him, rand paul has campaigned for him and Chris Christie whos numbers are in the 60s. Hes a likeable guy. What happens to a sarah palin in new jersey . Yeah, if you look at sarah palins individual numbers in new jersey, theyre terrible. Thats somebody you bring in if youre in a six hadway primary and you want to get 28 , you bring in sarah palin. Thats why lonegan is such a rare republican candidate in new jersey because the typical republican candidate in new jersey recognizes that in association with sarah palin, in association with rand paul, with ted cruz is not going to help you, runs away from it. What youve gotten from lonegan in this campaign and i think there is at a certain level, he just come as cross as blunt and authentic. Again, hes saying things that dont resonate with voters in a lot of ways, but the consensus, but hes not trying to hide his views and thats different for a republican in new jersey. Thanks very much. As always, you can watch up with Steve Kornacki weekends here on msnbc. Remember, naps are your friends at all times. As i told you about at the top of the hour, weve got these dueling press conferences that are going to take place. Pelosi and the democrats on one side. House gop on the ot