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Republican party with a gaping hole in its political machinery. the president called the nra a, quote, victim of harassment in a tweet this week saying that the gun rights group that helps get into the white house might move to texas where they are loved. he suggested the nra can get better protection there from the new york state investigation into the group's tax exempt status. but the attention from the president comes amid multiple other reports around the fracture at the nra, including an ugly dispute over leadership of the organization. joining me the politico reporter and msnbc contribu...

And it is starting to show up in the numbers. but at the same time, they've made a risky strategy bet here. and there are also questions if she is going to go in iowa, this poll would suggest perhaps she can. what are you picking up on? >> exactly. this is a campaign that looked at their polling sitting at 6%, 7%, 8%, ever since her launch back in january. and the campaign always looked at this as the debate being an opportunity to introduce herself. as alex pointed out in his piece there, she's just in her third year in the united states senate out of california. the debate was an opportunity...

Look him in the eye and go toe to toe with him. >> alex, one critical piece, obviously, african-american voters. that has been the most important, i would say, piece to joe biden's support. you write support for biden among blacks, a democratic voting bloc -- excuse me, this is a reuters poll, not your yours. my apologies. they backed two out of ten compared to 4 out of ten in the june poll for biden. that seems to be making inroads, what's going to assessment th i anything? >> it's going to unite hopefully liberals on one hand, given her background. the two groups going, the liberals and the ...

>> betsy, how much of this has trickled down to what alex was saying that people show up and do what the nra asked them to do? are they starting to get nervous? >> look. it's hard to see how far it's trickled out. and there's a lot of skepticism with the mainstream media. they view the reporters who cover these issues as generally hostile to what they care about. as far as an audience, it's more skeptical. at the same time, of course, it's frustrating board members. alan west who is a conservative fan favorite is a member of nra board and has called for wane lapierre to be deposed. and if you ...

In the early caucus state. the senator's rise has some people wonder whether she can follow in obama's foot steps. quote, the question turns on the notion of electability. an obsession for primary voters on its head that would have been unconceivable just a week ago. like obama, harris hails from her party's establishment but it is a relatively fresh face with only two years in her senate. she has positions which can make they are appealing to more liberal young voters. vaughn hillyard, alex setwald. and our washington correspondent and msnbc contributor. obviously, the polls have been good fo...