>> republicans are totally over the barrel. >> did you say over? >> they should give in to obama on the tax rate? >> nothing is over until we decide it is! >> we didn't elect them to raise rate. >> not me! >> we don't have a revenue problem. >> i'm not going to take this. >> when are you going to fight? >> let's do it! >> how is that winning? that isn't winning. >> i don't think republicans will win. >> south carolina senator jim demint -- >> jim demint says he is resigning. >> his surprise announcement to step down. >> i think i'm in a more powerful position. >> are you kidding me? >> he doesn't have a law to his name. >> he has been a singular failure as a political strategist. >> i think i'm in a more powerful position. >> the disarray of the republican party. >> there is no progress. >> they don't know what they stand for. >> no progress. >> they don't know what to do. >> no progress. >> they have some real soul-searching to do. >> today the united states supreme court -- >> the supreme court used this afternoon -- >> said they would take up the issue of same-sex marriage. >> it really is an incredible day today. >> important social issues. >> the defense of marriage act. >> on the table for the supreme court. >> will the court be ahead of where the public is? >> what a question. what a story. >> good evening. i'm alex wagner in for lawrence o'donnell. will the republicans be able to face reality before we go over the fiscal curb? with just 24 days to go, it fell to chris wallace to try to get through to the fox news crowd. >> one side is going to have to give, you know. any bet on which side it's likely to be? >> on that issue, i think that the republicans are going to have to give. i mean, it was key issue in the election. it's unsustainable for boehner and the republicans to be in a position where they are blocking a tax cut for 98% of americans because they want to protect the tax rates of the top 2%. that may be right or wrong on its merits. but politically, it seems pretty clear. and you see more and more conservatives and republican office holders who are caving on that. >> later that morning, house speaker john boehner updated reporters on the negotiations with president obama. >> this isn't a progress report because there's no progress to report. >> minority leader nancy pelosi went to the cameras almost immediately after that with a few questions of her own for the speaker. >> the only obstacle standing in the way of middle income tax relief are the republicans' unwillingness to ask the top 2% to pay their fair share. this top 2%, which by the way gets a tax cut. why are you not bringing this to the floor? is this a forever, forever protection of the wealthiest people in our country at the expense of the middle class? >> at a virginia diner having lunch with middle class people who are facing a tax increase come january 1st, vice president joe biden put the pressure on boehner in the way that only joe biden can. >> folks, this is not hard. this ain't rocket science. it would take 15 minutes from the time the decision was made by the speaker of the house to pass and make permanent middle class tax cuts. the president would probably have me sprint up to the hill to bring the bill down for him to sign. it can be done like that. it is not complicated. >> the president and the democrats have the poll numbers on their side. 53% of people approve of the job president obama is doing. 53% trust him to handle the negotiations while just 36% say they trust the republicans in congress. and 65% of voters are with the president on a sticking issue in these negotiations -- raising taxes on household income over 250,000. 31% oppose it. and today a new number is strengthening the president's position in the negotiations. the november jobs report shows the unemployment rate has dropped to 7.7%. the economy added 146,000 jobs last month, and that is one reason why today john boehner kind of, sort of maybe entertained the idea of giving president obama what he wants on tax rates, at least rhetorically. >> even if the president got the tax rate hike that he wanted, understand that we would continue to see trillion deficits for as far as the eye can see. listen, washington's got a spending problem, not a revenue problem. >> joining me now are richard wolffe, the executive editor of msnbc.com and an msnbc political analyst, and robert reich, former labor secretary and a professor at the university of california berkeley. he is also the author of "beyond outrage." richard, i want to go to you first here. the president talked quite a bit in the election cycle. >> quite a bit. >> he did, period, about the fever breaking amongst republicans in congress . >> yes. >> it's been quite feverish of late, which is to say a lot of back and forth, a lot of hot air blown from the house caucus. i wonder if you think that fever might be breaking with the suggestion john boehner said, even if the president gets his way on tax rates, which would seem to open the door to that possibility. >> it's a bit to latch on to that. they cannot settle on a position. very different from the last time around. and it's true. the white house has said both publicly and privately, look, we're prepared to see all the tax rates go up. what are you going to do about it? that's a very, very different dynamic from what we've seen before. interesting that only 65% number out there hasn't changed. republicans know that they've got two-thirds of the country against them on this particular piece of raising taxes on the wealthy, and that obviously includes for those who don't understand and clearly republican leadership doesn't understand, that does include a lot of republicans. there were 65% who voted a few weeks ago. they're going against their party that is itself unsustainable. >> secretary reich, is it a matter of time? i will point out to rand paul on cnbc last night, floating the doomsday plan. let's take a listen to that. >> i have yet another thought how we can fix this. why don't we let the democrats pass whatever they want. if they're the party of higher taxes, all the republicans in the house vote present and let the democrats raise taxes as high as they want to raise them. let democrats in the senate raise taxes. let the president sign it. and then they can own a tax increase. and when the economy stalls, when the economy sputters, when people lose their jobs, they know which party to blame. >> is this not saying oh, we don't care -- we don't care about this game is another way of saying we are coming to terms with the potential loss? >> exactly, alex. i think the republicans right now are trying -- they went through denial and remorse. and now they are beginning, at least some of them seem to be beginning to accept reality. and that reality is, yes, we had an election. most people do want a tax increase on the rich. most people do not want to see their own taxes go up. most people are in favor of extending the tax cuts for the 98%. lower 98% of americans. and republicans see the writing on the wall. the republican crackup is not yet an avalanche. it is not yet a complete capitulation. but i think that john boehner understands and the republican leadership understands it's only a matter of time. but there is not much time left. >> richard, okay, that sounds like an inherently logical position. >> right. >> that they may be cracking, that there may be a deal done. that seeming crackage, if you will, seems to be happening among republicans who are actual legislator. >> right. >> but conservatives do not seem to be going quietly into the night. erick erickson writing on redstate has a new petition, and he has joined sean hannity in this in calling for people to fight against the reelection of john boehner as speaker of the house. he writes on his blog, we must make sure boehner does not buckle this year. it gets easier after the new year. redstate has a fire boehner petition online for voters to sign. it reads in part in order to save the future of our country, we need to stop those in congress who aren't willing to put their foot down. well need an articulate spokesman in the house who is fiscally responsible and won't cave on principle. as your constituent, i ask you to please stand on principle and abstain from voting for speaker of the house on january 23rd. >> in abstention. what a march in the streets for abstention. with all due respect to the senator for redstate, the election to win was the one in november. and, you know, john boehner is a markedly more confident speaker now than he was last time around. when you have people like rand paul saying, well, there is a way we could maybe vote, but not vote, and let democrats vote, you know, this is what happened with the first clinton budget that went over so well where republicans backed out and then wanted to take claim for the economy that grew out of that clinton budget and the clinton economic policies. they are saying we're not voting for a tax rise or a tax cut. we're kind of abstaining all around. well, if that's their position, fine. i think they call that not leading. >> secretary reich, what do you make of that? we talk about kibuki theater. is anything more kibuki than that, voting present instead of yes, abstaining instead of casting a vote one way or another? >> it's a game within a game within a game. and it's an insiders game. the fact of the matter is most americans, even if they're called republicans, even if they consider themselves conservatives, they understand that 98% of americans do deserve a tax cut, a continuation of the bush tax cuts. and they understand that the rich have never been as rich, and they've never paid an effective tax rate that is as low in living memory. if we have a budget deficit at all, it is only fair. and you don't have to be -- again you don't have to be a republican, you can be a common sense republican to understand that this requires that the bush tax cuts not be extended for the richest 2%. it is finally getting through. and i think that, again, as richard said, you can be as clever as you want. you can make all kinds of pretensions. you can abstain, you can do whatever you want to do. this is going through. >> when we talk about abstentions and kibuki theater, that's obviously small ball. but the fact that the president and the vice president are saying we are not going to allow congress to have the power to fight another war over the debt ceiling. >> yeah. >> that to me is a real line in the sand. >> it is. >> republicans are not going to give that up without serious concessions from the democrats. what do you make of it? >> there are going to be spending cuts in this deal, right. this isn't just about tax cuts for the super wealthy. there will be spending cuts. this is where john boehner is going to have to say, hey, we balance things out in some fashion. the president isn't going to go through this again. it's not going to be, you know, charlie brown with a football all over again. and so, you know i understand that there are lots of my former colleagues reporting on the white house who are convinced that the president won't get this through. this is a one-time negotiation. and the white house knows it's going to be too painful. and frankly, too disruptive to the markets. one thing the republicans keep talking about is certainly. and yet, they want the uncertainty of a default debate. it's not going to happen. >> richard and alex, if i can just add to, that we went through this in 2011 with regard to the debt ceiling. the financial markets reacted very badly. most voters and the financial markets blame the republicans. the republicans were the ones who were threatening the full faith and credit of the united states. they don't want to do this again. and if they do try to do it again, if i were the president, i would say forget about it. just raise the debt ceiling automatically. it's not in the constitution. there are no legislative requirements with regard to all of this. just do it. >> and that indeed is the nuclear option. thank you to richard wolffe and robert reich. >> thanks. coming up, the supreme court will hear challenges to the federal defense of marriage act and california's prop, both of which ban guy marriage. what are the chances a court headed by john roberts will favor equality? that's next. and jon stewart tells chris christie to his face that republicans only like government when it's good for them. the same day christie vetoes health care exchanges in his state. governor howard dean joins me next, next. and republicans are pushing south carolina governor nikki haley to make the right choice to replace jim demint. will she pick right or far right? that's coming up. 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[ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1% cash back on every purchase plus a 50% annual bonus on the cash you earn. it's the card for people who like more cash. what's in your wallet? with the exception of newt gingrich, republicans fell over themselves to run from todd akin after his legitimate rape comments. so why were they still giving him money? that's coming up. and the supreme court will hear the appeal of an 83-year-old lesbian who was denied federal tax benefits under the defense of marriage act. that's next. we cannot defend the federal government poking its nose into what states are doing and putting the thumb on the scale against same-sex couples. >> 526 days after president obama made that statement, for the first time ever, the u.s. supreme court agreed today to take a serious look at the issue of marriage equality. the court today granted a review of the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in california called proposition 8, and the defense of marriage act, a federal law, that declares marriage is only a legal union between one man and one woman. the defense of marriage act bars the federal government from recognizing the validity of same-sex marriages in states where they are legal under state law. nine states -- connecticut, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, new hampshire, new york, vermont, and washington allow same-sex marriage or soon will. so does washington, d.c. record lines are expected for those wanting a first come, first serve seat during the historic supreme court proceedings. as nbc's pete williams puts it, today's move by the supreme court could result in the roe v. wade of guy rights. joining me now is political strategist steve elmendorf and chris geithner, senior political reporter for buzz feed. steve, i want to go to you first on this. there has been a lot of discussion and a lot of back and forth whether it's a good thing for marriage equality for the supreme court to take up these issues. some folks think better to leave it at the state level. there has been a lot of progress there. are you bullish or bearish on this? >> i'm bullish. i think the supreme court is going to do the right thing. you know, it's hard to predict, but i think the country has been moving so fast in the right direction. the court is not immune to public opinion. the court is not immune to the wind blowing through the country. and it's so clear where we're moving and the progress we've made in the last five years has been amazing. and i think the court is going to do the right thing. >> chris, let's talk a little bit about public opinion. because we have some polling that shows a breathtaking change of public opinion on this. in 2008, 36% of the country supported same-sex marriage. by this year, 48% support same-sex marriage. 46% oppose it. a split, but a dramatic, a 20% increase almost in four years. and i wonder, is there -- are we now reaching the point where anybody running for public office is effectively going to have to support same-sex marriage? >> well, i think that it's definitely clear on the democratic side that when president obama came out and said that his evolution was complete that the democratic party quickly fell in line. with the republican party, clearly there are going to need to be further discussions. and days like today will quicken the pace of those discussions within the party. but they're going to have to make decisions about where they're going to fall on this in history. >> and steve, you are bullish. so this would fit in with that. but it would make sense. it would seem as if the court was going to make a sort of landmark ruling in favor of the arc of history and civil rights, given the fact that they're taking up both doma and prop 8. i wonder where you think roberts fits into all this. >> based on some of the other decisions he has made, i don't think he is quite as conservative as some people think. i think taking up the doma case is really important because we really need to have the defense of marriage act struck down. marriage in the states is great. but at the end of the day, there is an awful lot of benefits that come from the federal tax code that people who get married need to enjoy if you're going to have a fair and equitable situation in society. so i think they made a big step forward here. and, you know, the court is a hard place to read. unfortunately, it's not like the election. well don't have nate silver to read every morning to tell us how it's going to turn out. but we'll all be watching closely. >> chris, there is a third issue that the justices haven't taken up yet, and that's an arizona law that bars some same-sex spouses from access to state benefits. where do we go on that? what happens to that issue? >> well, the arizona case is a case in which the state rescinded domestic partner benefits for state employees. and the same-sex couples who sued said that they don't have the option of marriage in arizona, and so rescinding the domestic partner benefits was unconstitutional. and they -- they won at the 9th circuit at the court of appeals. and the supreme court today only announced what cases they're going to take. it's possible that they denied that request by arizona governor jan brewer to take the case. and if they did that, then the -- they would maintain their benefits and the appeal would be gone. or the supreme court could choose to take the -- to hold the case until they have decided these other issues. we'll find out whether or not they denied the case on monday most likely when the court lists its other orders. >> steve, i want to play a little bit of sound. george takei was on the show last night, and he was offering his defense of marriage equality. let's take a listen to that. >> the core value of marriage is two people who love each other and who are committed to each other. you want security for your spouse, whatever may happen. and our laws do not provide that. in the case of homophobia, we are literally members of the family. we are sons and daughters of heterosexual parents. we are brothers and sisters. we are literally kin, blood kin. and yet we deny the lgbt member of the family