0 >> my republican colleagues want to suppress any kind of activity that will make this president look good. >> they're always been good ideas parties can agree on. >> if i were a liberal democratic president, i would hammer republicans ornamentn mi wage every night, every morning, every day. >> the vast majority of the americans aren't going to pay attention to the speech. >> will a country that is so sour on washington actually listen? it is the super bowl of politics. in just a few hours, president obama will walk into this building and speak to some 532 members of congress to deliver his vision for a year of action, with or without the participation of those same 530 members of congress. can the 113th congress shake off periodically quenched. from the outside, you look at where republicans begin when you talk about compromise and you talk about the farm bill. they want to cut effectively what we're looking at $8 billion in cuts, which is twice what the senate democrats would like. and it's a decade's old proposal to block federal assistance. when we talk about compromise, there's a concern on some parts of the left that that means moving to their side of the field. what do you think? >> i think compromise is listening to their words and making them live up to those words. if we need to deal with the fact that people today don't have access to opportunities that allow them to get into the middle class, let's find out how we can do that together. if their rhetoric is about finding a way to find a path forward that means no more government shutdowns, let's talk about how we find that way. that's how we have to work together. >> how legitimate and deep seeded do you think this new republican concern for the poor and the unemployed and the working class is? because it is certainly a narrative that seems a little johnny come lately. >> they wouldn't be talking about it if they weren't worried about it. we're seeing an economic recovery that has left far too many people behind. it has taken too long. too many people are sitting at home and worried about if their retirement is secure, if their child is going to get an education. we need to address that. and we haven't addressed that. the only thing we've been addressing is government shutdowns. i hope our agreement allows us to get back to that so we can talk about unemployment extension, minimum wage increase that will help businesses and communities get back on their feet, ways we can provide education for all young kids today so they have the opportunities of the future, talk about pensions and retirement. i hope that we've left that playing field open now to talk about. >> well, i guess when you talk about moving forward and collaborating, it sometimes seems like the republicans, if they do concede on an issue, it is only to take it up later. the reason there have been government shutdowns is the republicans are not okay with the aca. today we have a proposal, the patient care act presented by tom coburn. it appeals a lot of the protections that are in the affordable care act with people with preexisting conditions. i would raise the cost of health care for women. does it surprise you that this issue continues to be litigated, or do you feel like you're going to have to be defending obamacare for the next two to four years? >> look i'm surprised when they put out their alternative. what they did was take us backward. the country wants to make health care for everyone work. they want access to health care for everyone. if they're sick or they have a preexisting condition, they can have access to insurance. they want to make sure if they're women and they don't have an automatically preexisting condition that doesn't allow them to pay more for health care. are we working to make it work or make it fail? the republicans have been working to make it fail. now that they have put this back on the table, they are taking us back to where we were. >> dothe fact that they cannot seem to get past this, this continues to be litigated year after year, how does that effect deal making? >> we see it as just what they're going to talk about. the rest of the country wants to know again that their retirement is secure, that they have the job, that they have the skills for the jobs, that their kids are getting an education, that we're doing something that makes their lives more secure. >> there's an article today that says the congressional democrats want the president to move off more of the issue of inequality and focus on the issues that you just outlined. we ne it is good politics. how concerned are you that the democrats may lose the upper chamber in 2014? >> i feel very good about keeping the majority in the senate because our democratic incumbents and our democrats who are running for seats are talking about the issues that people care about today. they're talking about how people can feel more secure, how they can feel they have an opportunity, and how they can participate in the economy as it grows. that's what people want us to do as a country. it's what we've always done, and it's what democrats are going to stand up and fight for in the coming months. >> the other thing i'm sensing you'll be fighting for is the well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound? ohhh...ugh. geico. little help here. 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