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Have problems. for example, the taft-hartley plans, the private sector unions where they provide their own health insurance, they are left out and they do not get the kind of tax breaks that the profit-making plans get. those kinds of issues have to be discussed. but these are issues that can be worked out and these are issues that can be dealt with. again, we support obama care 100%. we think that it's a good thing to provide young people 26 years of age, they can still have health insurance provided by their families. it helps seniors. it's going to lower the costs. you look at the past four...

Unions, afsme, teachers unions, firefighters, recognize that they had to fight for their very livelihood. i think it made them much leaner, meaner, and more effective political players. and once you've started to win tough battles as has happened in ohio, as has happened in a number of states nationally in november, then you start to think about what you might be able to accomplish not in a defensive position, but in an affirmative position. >> of course, the conservative movement in this country has vilified unions for last 30 years. and of course, they want to take out their infrastructure. ...

In 2012, they may have given it new life instead. here is someone who has been with us all yearlong covering workers' issues. joining me tonight, john nichols, washington correspondent of "the nation" magazine. john, it has been a very eventful year when it comes to labor. has labor been emboldened by the obama victory in november? and is there really been a new stage set for what they can accomplish? >> i think so. i think labor changed over the last year and a half, and especially over the last year. one of the things is that it is safe to say that a lot of unions, not all of them, but a lot...

Host of "roll call tv." guys, great to see you today. karen, i want to begin with the financial part of this equation, so to speak. afscme, the nation's largest union, spent 87 million bucks in the midterm election. that was the biggest single source of independent funding, even more than karl rove's conservative group. so how significant would it be if the power of the unions was busted, dismantled? >> right. well, one thing i want to remind people, though, with afsme, we know where that money came from versus karl rove's funds, we don't exactly know where all those monies came from. so i thi...

Deficit reduction. lee saunders will be here afsme. so, he'll be trying to get their prospectives on all of this. >> kristen welker at the white house for us this morning. thank you. tuesday political power panel. it's great to have you all here. i know that the washington post has been covering the story, the e-ma e-mail smear story with general allen. as far as we know, no everyday of security leaks. lots of big bombastic headlines, this today on the "daily news." in the line of booty. showing jill kelley, this woman