mcconnell, and i think mitch mcconnell's basic stance, which is that we'll take the federal government's money, but we don't like the federal government, is the kind that sells in kentucky. and it's sold time and time again. >> focuses on jobs, he's going to be playing defense like this. i don't think it's going to work. i'm going to back to what i've said, a democrat should be for jobs, jobs, jobs, black community, anybody in kentucky, you're always stronger, even if you fail, if you're fighting for jobs. thank you, a.b., thank you howard fineman. we'll be right back after this. >>> let me finish tonight with this. i'm profoundly impressed by the power the african-american vote this early century, despite efforts to keep people from getting there is a solid, good thing for the country, a display of civil energy that promises to enliven this country politically. people who vote control things, people that don't just get to complain about things. the big republican mistake was to take the wrong side on the civil rights struggle. the irony, they had it right in the early '60s, it's when th

let's talk about mitch mcconnell. now, i guess it's okay, if you're very right wing, to support someone who says my number one job is to screw this presidency, make sure it's a disaster, make sure nothing gets done. nothing gets done. that seems to have been solved. the house members met the night that he was inaugurated in 2013. january. five years ago and said, let's make sure this guy gets nothing done. is that something vetters really want to see in the presidency? they will make sure nothing gets done. >> mitch mcconnell is going to tell kentucky voters in the general election that this president's health care law is unpopular. it's going to create tremendous anxiety. it's going to shudder small businesses, it's going to take your doctors away, it's going to raise your premiums. the economy is not going to recover. he's had five years. president obama's approval rating has stayed steady so far but we're looking at a midterm election where the democrats have to defend the implementation of obama care. mitch mcconn

mcconnell, and i think mitch mcconnell's basic stance, which is that we'll take the federal government's money, but we don't like the federal government, is the kind that sells in kentucky. and it's sold time and time again. >> focuses on jobs, he's going to be playing defense like this. i don't think it's going to work. i'm going to back to what i've said, a democrat should be for jobs, jobs, jobs, black community, anybody in kentucky, you're always stronger, even if you fail, if you're fighting for jobs. thank you, a.b., thank you howard fineman. we'll be right back after this. ♪ [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ♪ [ agent smith ] ge software connects patients to nurses to the right machines while dramatically reducing waiting time. [ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ] i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it

how much trouble is mitch mcconnell actually in? >> i don't think he is in that much trouble unless he is complacent which he clearly is not going to do. i mean, that's when people in his position actually get into trouble if they don't make the early and aggressive moves to stave off any opposition and put themselves in a good spot for re-election. so that is exactly what we're seeing senator mcconnell doing and he is playing to the base with this ad but the irs panel concerns a lot of democrats and independents as well so it is not purely a base issue the way a benghazi ad would be. >> i have to say, jim, on its face, using nixon against president obama, comparing him to a -- that is a -- i've never seen a republican president do that. a republican candidate do that. >> i will beat my table colleagues to the joke that finally republicans have acknowledged nixon as a bad guy. that is the big news. >> seriously, that is a big thing for the senate minority leader to run an ad in which nixon is the bad guy. >> when you think of the re

mitch mcconnell had to face himself on "meet the press" today. watch this. >> there are restrictions now on the kinds of activities that, for example, a 501c-3 and 4 organizations, charitable organizations are being abused by not just people on the right, but most of the so-called charitable organizations that are involved in political activity in this country who are, in my judgment, involved in arguable violations of their tax-free status and violations of the campaign law, happen to be groups on the left. so that is a problem. >> big groups on the left, oops, this is how he responded to the 26-year-old clip. >> i was wrong 25 years ago, i've been right for the last two decades. >> kind of like us, huh, martin? >> well, what can you say to that, honestly? it's ludicrous. and the whole idea, ed, about them never mentioning the name "karl rove" in relation to 501c-4s is just sacrilegious. if you want to have a discussion about -- >> this morning karl -- >> as harry reid said, what has karl rove done to improve the social welfare -- >> well, this

i want to ask you, what did you hear from mitch mcconnell? >> mitch mcconnell wants congress to be the focus but did not rule out appointing a special council. that's an important point. congress is going to press, but that is an issue that's only going to build. >> katie, do you think he's right that congress is the right vehicle, that congress can get the public or do you think the congressional investigations automatically become too political? >> well, let's see. they're starting their investigation, let's see if congress has the teeth to do this job and to do it well. and if not, then we certainly need someone on the outside to do it. the bottom line, larry, we need answers. and how we get there, i think we can debate and discuss. but we've got to have answers to move forward productively. >> john steel gordon, congress played a prominent role in the nixon impeachment business, you've got to give them that. >> indeed it did. that's when it started almost 40 years, almost to this day when the congressional hearing started and that's when

you haven't talked to mitch mcconnell. we'll talk to the man running against him coming up next. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current. they think this world isn't big enough for the both of them. but we assure you - it is. bites. little greatness. you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything.

look, you remember when mitch mcconnell was asked what his legislative agenda was. he said to make barack obama a one-term president. that failed. so now he just wants to undermine any program like obama care, we're going to have the 36th or 37th vote to repeal this law of the land next week, and they sit there trying to concoct ways to undermine the president, his authority, and anybody like hillary clinton that might step up next. that's their agenda. >> what is the point of congress, then, at the moment, ma'am? because many of us look at this house, this storied house, and we think, what is the point of these people coming in -- and they have plenty of recesses -- but coming in and doing absolutely nothing about the major issues that confront the nation today? >> i feel so bad about that because you're not the only one asking that question. the popularity and the approval rating for congress is so very low. because the american people say the same thing. what are they doing there? is this really the people's business? why are they there at all? and it hurts me be

they can't get anybody in the ring against mitch mcconnell. this plays into kentuckians resentment of government. they're taking up the guns. it's the evil irs. it's the revenuers and all that stuff. you hand that to mitch mcconnell, it's an extra 50,000 votes in rural kentucky. it just is. >> so the president, what can the president do, joe, right now, to meet this concern? i think it's a big one. i think this has got some legs. what does he do about the fact he's got, perhaps, bureaucrats, perhaps somebody at the high level of bureaucracy of the irs knew about this two years ago and had to flak it? remember they were denying it a year later after they knew about it in '12. knew about it in '11. denying it in '12. the pr person may have talked to the pr person in the white house. they're always circling the wagons, joe. you know how it works. we have a stinker coming here. you better be ready for it. >> in the military, you're responsible for everything that goes on during your watch. that means the director of the irs at the very least is re

i don't think mitch mcconnell put out a dictate of how you should vote on this. i think it was... >> jon: hasn't that book come out though mcconnell, you guys were at a retreat. i think you were still in the senate. you were probably there and he said we're not going to cooperate with this administration. we're not going to give them any bipartisan victory. even a senator went on record at that meeting at the library of congress. you guys were in the basement of the library of congress. >> i don't think mitch ever meant to say we're never going to cooperate with president obama because he... >> jon: but... he didn't negotiate. he negotiated off the fiscal cliff. mitch mcconnell deserves a lot of credit. honestly he does. he and joe biden, yes. he and joe biden literally... >> jon: don't you think that has a resounding effect on a caucus when the leader says, hey, man, whatever happens, if you work with this guy, that's a victory for him. you can't do that. think of all the common sense things. infrastructure bank. background checks that have fallen by the wayside

why don't you get a drink with mitch mcconnell? [laughter] >> 18 years ago after newt gingrich said republicans had taken over congress, president bill clinton famously said, the president is still relevant here. we were reminded of that moment this week at obama's news conference when an abc correspondent asked the president if he still had the juice to get the rest of it agenda through congress. the president paraphrase mark twain in saying that the rumors demise might be- exaggerated, and then added this. >> you seem to suggest somehow these folks over there have no responsibilities and that my job is to somehow get them to behave. that is their job. >> the president thought it was a gunss's job to pass controbill, the senate failed to do so. he is struggling to get something done and immigration. heat fromng republicans on everything from bed gauzy to syria and he cannot shut down guantanamo bay, but the voters still like him. and the unemployment rate, we learned at week's end, dropped to 7.5%, heat from republicans a seven-we

. >>> next, the mitch mcconnell primary already under way in kentucky. we're on to you, senator. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ [ male announcer ] that's handy. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have h

mitch mcconnell is in an election fight. he's not going to want to put anything through the senate that could make him look weak to the conservatives. but you never know. president obama and john boehner, there's one thing that they both really need to work on that benefits each, you know, that's mutually beneficial and that's their legacy. they need a legacy issue here. they don't have that yet. >> so this has been a long time coming. we've been wanting to get down here. >> yes. >> i think it's because you want the million dollar view. how do you get your work done? >> it's quite impressive, isn't it? >> it is. >> the only time i don't like the view is around 4:30 or 5:00 when it's sunny out. because then you just get this amazing blast of sunshine right into your eyes. and it's a very bad glare. in fact, when i have to deal with that i have to put on my now with alex wagner hat on so i can actually type on the key board. >> yeah. >> but other than that you look out there, it's extraordinary. and when there's big moments wh

chris: let me ask you about mitch mcconnell. it seems he won't win any popularity contests, not a likable personality. he can say i can be a tough customer and not very pleasant. we need someone to look out for them, i'm your guy. >> i spoke to his campaign manager the other day. there was a happy man. not only does mcconnell not have a democratic opponent yet, what mcconnell was really worried about was a primary challenge from the tea party. now he puts on the tea party anti-government hat himself. he says i'm going to use all of my experience in washington to fight your fight, tea party people. chris: like a schoolyard kid, the kid is on the cement, do you pound him or let him up? the republicans have their chance. they better take it while they got it. >> seizing the facts is probably the best way to go forward. chris: you don't like this rough play? >> no, it hasn't worked for the republicans. the republicans do have to be careful. their image of hyperpartisan aggressive, bang, bang, bang. the public it's clear doesn't like

how significant is mitch mcconnell's statement on the sfloor. >> i think it's very significant. it signals that the republican are still going to push to have 60 votes for this nomination. you had some senior members come out against it. mr. mcconnell, senator cornyn, senator rubio, grassley, and hatch. senator hatch said something very importance this week. he said, a lot of people don't feel mr. perez has been straightforward with us. this is the first time that you've had a senator identify one of the core problems with this nomination. mr. perez has been telling one story to the senate under oath. and other witnesses in the house investigation and documentary evidence has been telling another story about this st. paul -- >> do you think he should be confirmed? >> no. absolutely not. >> do you think he will be confirmed? glo. >> i don't think -- i'm not making those kind of predictions on this show. >> all right. we have to take one more break. coming up, hits and misses of the week. >>> time for hits and misses of the week. mary, first to you. >> i'm giving a big hit to bhoe

great, a win-win for mitch mcconnell, a lose-lose for the country, another reason to hate the irs. we turn now from the irs scandal to that old chestnut benghazi. more than 130 members of the house of representatives have cosigned for a solution. it will interview thomas pickering and admiral mike mullen who wrote the authoritative report on benghazi, and who the republicans have not previously allowed to testify. the republicans are pushing the point that susan rice gave false information in her talking points following the attack. the participate responded. >> obama: the whole issue of talking points out there this process has been a side show. what we have been very clear about throughout was immediately after this event happened we were not clear who exactliried it out, what it had occurred and what the motivations were. and suddenly three days ago this gets spun up as if there's something new to the story. there's no there there. >> michael: in response darrell issa criticized the president for not calling the incident a terrorist attack. it's not good enough that he did call

mitch mcconnell you are done. up next jeff flake. you are done being so down on yourself, you said ever since you voted against the man chin toomey gun bill your approval ratings have been somewhat just below pond scum. first don't be so hard on pond scum, and second, you could be this guy. >> this gan lost his life savings on a carnival game like this one. >> poor guy. at least the banana has dread locks. and finally tea party pooper ted cruz. you were born in canada. i almost lost it when i read in the national review that your defense is you, quote, consider yourself a natural born citizen. i consider myself a member of marine five, but that doesn't stop me from getting arrested every time i come close to putting my arm around adam levine. ted cruz you are done! and i'm done talk now. push-up routine go. ♪ >> michael: really good brett. someone is always in our "war room" here. check us out online at current.com/thewarroom. that's also where you can link up to our twitter and facebook page. thank for joining us here in "the war

. >> why don't you get a drink with mitch mcconnell, they ask. really? why don't you get a drink with mitch mcconnell. [ laughter ] >> reporter: after iran-contra, ronald reagan shook up his staff to regain control. >> a few months ago, i told the american people i did not trade arms for hostages. >> reporter: bill clinton had to overcome impeachment, george w. bush, the iraq war and failure to reform social security. the obama team seems confident its second-term problems will blow over, despite warning signs. >> when you're under siege, when your whole legislative agenda and your legacy are in danger of being swallowed up by conspiracy theorists, that's when you have to be more direct and more aggressive. >> reporter: tonight, signs that the message may be sinking in. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >>> and still ahead here tonight, new crash tests designed to be more like real-life crashes. not good news here for a lot of people who own a lot of popular brands. >>> and later, an unbelievable chance encounter at a high school track meet that cha

you heard mitch mcconnell. there's a reason why you're seeing pundits saying it's a post policy party. the only thing they disagree on is they want to despise and dislodge this president. you see it with everything, with immigration where he can't tough it otherwise it can't pass. this is not about denvers. this is about a party that -- >> i also sense con ddescending attitudes, it's his fault and these are people committed to obstructionism. but nobody said what is wrong with you guys, it's his fault. and you know, i think that -- i hear a lot about how good lyndon johnson was as he was handling the senate and washington crowd. let me show you this picture where he was getting an a for this in his face. he's known for leaning in and getting in people's face and he wasn't a senator but that was johnson's style. but you also had to deal that his speaker was sam rayburn who he and rayburn came up to the ranks together in texas. you're not dealing with john boehner when you look at a relationship between the speak

-- mitch mcconnell, were afraid of having challengers from the tea party and now mitch mcconnell can defend the tea party. and every republican can come in defense of the tea party which was as we know wronged in this. everyone agrees to that. so it kind of plays into them. because the mid-term elections, your base can be narrower. because those are the people who turn out. >> but the smarter republicans have their eye on the long game. and the long game is they need more people to be open to their party. this is why even if you have a continued lathering of these scandals, i would not expect republicans to drop the idea of going forward on immigration reform. it is very important for the long-term future of the party. and i think the key republican strategists understand that. >> and have to have people saying this is what the republican party believes. and to the extent that the news cycles are taken up by complicated scandals and exciting members of your caucus saying extraordinary things about these scandals, it just crowds out any chance that you can talk about immigration. or y

>senate. >> dana: you think mitch mcconnell is in trouble? there's not even a canada. > >> bob: look. you can't -- to politicize this thing before you have the hearings and go on the air with that kind of rug, that's a muck raking disgraceful ad and it's typical of a guy from a bourbon state. i would not have done that. in my worst day i wouldn't have done that. >> you bragged about things worse than that. >> kimberly: sometimes when you wake up from a nap, you're a little cranky, bob. > >> bob: never mind. >> if you think that's helpful in this discussion having that kind of crap on the air? >> dana: i think the politics of it is very serious. no matter what, the hearings will take a long time to get out. their pr problem is even possibly much larger even than their hill problem. one of the things that happened that we found out is that one of the groups that was targeted, they said well, the irs said you can get your status, 501c4 status, but you have to promise that you will never, ever protest a planned parenthood site. well, so the burea

. >> mitch mcconnell's office circumstan circulated what's become basically a weekly memo saying the president should rethink the purpose of his event today. quote, i hope he will use it instead as a platform to prepare women for the actual consequences many of them will soon face under obamacare. the president needs to get out of in front of this, quote, train wreck, quoting max baucus, before americans, men and women alike, are completely blindsided by it. first ad pegged to, guess what, health care. >> obamacare's coming. it's already causing layoffs, higher premiums are next. mitch mcconnell saw it coming, leading the fight against obamacare. >> this bill is a legislative train wreck. >> he was right then and now it's architect is admitting it. >> i can see a huge train wreck coming down. >> you're going to hear those words a lot, particularly with republicans who are worried about republican primaries like mitch mcconnell. >>> the battle over what happened in benghazi has become a full-on partisan fight. democrats see a political fishing expedition, republicans see a scandal. a

that's mitch mcconnell. the trouble is, he's not really waiting to come to terms with the president, is he? >> i would be satisfied to think even if he doesn't want to drink with the president, the issue he has right now i'm sure to some degree, to some degree, this doesn't explain all of it, senator mcconnell, his greatest fear is a challenge from the right in kentucky so he's doing everything he can to signify to the tea party folks in kentucky and the anti-obama forces there that he's with them and then see how he is after that. january 2010 he did an interview with the new york times and made a decision from the beginning not to give the president cooperation on any major bill because that would say he's figured this out. that's not what we want from our leaders. we have big problems in this country and they deserve real answers and they deserve some element of cooperation. we have two parties. they don't agree on everything. surely there are things that we ought to agree on and to take a position of bli

mitch mcconnell spoke a few moments ago. they are talking all things irs and that focus on the tea party. white house is springing into action in full damage control mode. president obama tried to stop the bleeding from trifecta of trouble making remarks from the east room on the irs. >> we're going to have to make sure the laws are clear so that we can have confidence that they are enforced in a fair and impartial way and that there's not too much ambiguity surrounding these laws. >> let's bring in joy, nick and arol. watching mitch mcconnell showing up there not a surprise. this irs scandal one of the side benefits for the republican party is that it gives them a chance to unite around something rather than focus on the division that was developing on immigration and budgets and frankly division on guns. less so there. this irs is a way for the entire party to rally itself. >> it's almost cosmic. when you think about it. i can't think of a better scandal to erupt to motivate precisely the part of the party that was upset f

i saw mitch mcconnell, his note was ohm about the irs. house republicans seem a little more interested in benghazi. almost as if there's a split among congressional republicans. where do you go after the president? >> i think it's easy to overplay the benghazi issue. when you dig down, we're not talking about criminality. we're talking about negligence and incompetence. >> this is not watergate. >> which seems to be what the president was most annoyed about. the three-day cover-up. >> but in fact, it's not nothing that you undermine your own credibility. that there are serious issues at fairly high levels in the state department and the white house here. so i don't think he has no risk. but i think you have to recall that the president's agenda was pretty much in trouble before these two things. when it came to overselling the sequester, his arguments on the sequester, with not -- unable to get even a modest gun control measure through. this now can only complicate matters. that can turn around, with a victory on the budget or a victory o

now mitch mcconnell has the perfect thing to, to run out the clock with. he can talk about this irs thing from now until 2014, and it plays right into sort of the anti-government, anti-federal tea party-spirited rural kentucky. he's going to get an extra 50,000 votes, if not more, out of this, out of this one thing. there's an example of how this is already having an effect. >> alex, just to go back to the fundamental point here, which is about the behavior of government. i think we can all be clear, when we describe something as nixonian, thatted ed adjective s that this thing started at the top. there's nothing here to suggest that the white house is culpable. but on the other hand, we're seeing that the machinery of the state is incredibly vast and there are all of these bureaucrats asked to do complicated things that involve interpretation of complicated laws. and sometimes they act in ways that don't violate the law per se. but violate norms that we've set up and that should govern the way that things operate. and so even if the justice department did

on "meet the press," senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell suggested that the irs was acting at the direction of the president. >> there is a culture of intimidation throughout the administration, the irs is just the most recent example. >> the problem with baseless theorizing on a national news program is that oftentimes a question-and-answer session will reveal that it is baseless theorizing. >> do you have any evidence that the president of the united states directed what you call a culture of intimidation at the irs to target political opponents? >> i don't think we know what the facts are. >> but that hasn't stopped you from accusing? >> well we're talking about here an attitude that the government knows best. the nanny state is here, to tell us all what to do. and if we start criticizing, you get tafrgted. >> and then there are those in the gop who have embraced a unique, hybrid strategy of baseless theorizing and fear-mongering, tea party firebrand rand paul cited the existence of a mysterious policy document that specifically called on the irs to go after white house foes. >

the question remains, though, mitch mcconnell is also up for re-election. lindsay graham is up for re-election. gop leadership, people that would maybe normally come to the table at least in some fashion, are not inclined to do that. given 2014 on the horizon. >> right, i mean i think that look what i would, my asterisk to everything. >> there are a lot of asterisks -- >> like a double helix of, a triple helix of asterisks, what i would say, a caveat here. i think it is important to not suggest that there is nothing to see here in terms of benghazi. irs, the a.p. if it is nothing to see here, then the president doesn't come out yesterday and say what he said. for people who are saying the irs is not a scandal, when the white house is essentially ceding that point, i think we have to move on from there. that having been said, republicans are very wary of an overreach. mccain has been very clear about that. he has been saying something parallel to what krauthammer says, essentially don't make the mistakes of past years, 1998 in particular, don't, don't go loo

it's mitch mcconnell, speaker boehner, and their scandal machine that rolls ever onward, hopefully to oblivion. thanks so much for watching. chris matthews and "hardball" is next. >>> it's the economy, stupid. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with that very point. it's the economy, stupid. everything i've seen in politics tells me this. we can argue issues every night here, but i know from experience it's how people feel about their own circumstances, whether they're working or not, how prices are doing, interest rates that determine whether they get to take the family out to dinner on friday night or get to buy new shoes for the kids. whether they get to go intsomewe fun on vacation.

mitch mcconnell was there talking about impeachment. >> how is mitch mcconnell any different to what you describe as crazy back bench republicans? >> he's actually in charge. >> okay. >> that is the only distinction. >> well, he was elected by his peers, but now we know who the peers are. so it's not entirely surprising. spinning out all kinds of crazy conspiracy theories. it's not -- it's just dumb politics for the republicans here because they have the president back on his heels. e't of criticism from both sides of the aisle. but what they're going to do now is they're going over the top with this and it's going to become just another partisan issue. and that, in a way, from their point of view, is going to let the president off the hook. >> professor dyson, it struck us that all roads in the current controversy lead back to the election in november. republicans say the truth of benghazi was intentionally withheld so the president would get to november unimpeded. they say the targeting of the tea party groups by the irs was not disclosed because, again, it would have obstructed hi

why don't you get a drink with mitch mcconnell, they ask. really? why don't you get a drink with mitch mcconnell. >> today the president sent washington reporters scrambling with the surprise announcement of a press conference, his first since march and took a more serious tone, though the theme was familiar, repeatedly asked about the first hundred days of his second term and his failure to avert the sequester or passing a gun bill, the president disabued reporters that he has some sort of magic power that he refuses to use that will alter public behavior. >> you seem to suggest somehow these folks over there have no responsibilities and that my job is to somehow get them to behave. that's their job. the point is that there are common sense solutions to our problems right now. i cannot force republicans to embrace those common sense solutions. >> there was not a whole lot new about all that until an amazing moment. the question turned to the issue of guantanamo and this is where the president made news today where he spoke the most passionately and

mitch mcconnell takes a trip down memory lane. rummy, oh, yeah, he's back at it. he's running his mouth again, still not telling the truth. and paul ryan still doesn't know the meaning of the word arrogant. this is "the ed show." let's get to work.

we will have an exclusive conversation with the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell of kentucky. i'll talk exclusively with the man behind the effort of the irs investigation. all of that and our political roundtable coming up on," meets the press." >> more reports of severe weather in the plains states. they caught up with two tornadoes saturday afternoon and you can see both of them formed over open farm fields and kicked up a bunch of dirt but no serious damage has been reported. parts of alabama is trying to get dry after floodwaters washed out roads and forced several water rescues. when the sun came out in play county, some of the roads look 400 milesand close to of farms were washed out. there is a live look at pimlico after preakness. it looks like it is in pretty good shape. they are cleaning up and facing some drizzle. we're watching for a few showers around the area with temperatures right now mostly in the 60's. easterly winds are 6 miles per hour and the humidity is 97%. the easterly wind flow causes the cloud cover. it brings the moisture in right off the coast. we

. >> i want to turn to senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky. welcome back. >> good morning. >> why don't you accept the word from not only white house officials but from former acting commercialer said there is not evidence of a political agenda? >> actually, there is a culture of intimidation throughout the administration. the irs is just the most recent example. let me recount a few for your audience. over at hhs in the obama care debate, the secretary sent out a directive saying they couldn't say what the policy would be. now they're trying to convince the public they should love obama care. at the fcc efforts by obama appointees to shut down or make difficult people who are seeking to buy advertising to criticize the administration. over at the sec the obama appointees have been engaged in an effort to make it difficult for corporations to exercise their first amendment political rights. the irs coming back to the irs, the head of the union at the irs gives 99% of her campaign money to democrats. she openly criticizes the republican house f

mitch mcconnell said he didn't want this man to get a second term. they have been dead set against working with our president, and they don't want to admit it because it's politically incorrect. but there are people that are staunchly against him because he's an african-american. host: focus on what you think about congress, senator mitch mcconnell. caller: ok, i think congress, many of them being in the majority, they have this feeling, and america has not progressed to the degree where they're willing to look beyond racism, so congress is using every opportunity. i'm starting to feel compassionate. as i said, i'm an independent, and i'm starting to feel compassion for president obama. they don't refer to him as the president. they call him obama, which is very disrespectful. they call it obamacare as though they stated earlier, and it's the affordable health act. they disrespect this man and constantly try to find any policies, tack his and that is congress, and it's a shame, because we had a divided congress when we had the civil war in this count

and he played a clip of mitch mcconnell from 25 years ago when he was a much younger turtle. >> wow. >> when he was one of those turtles that was crawling across the beach before being eaten by a gull. >> stephanie: yeah. there he is a little baby turtle. yeah, that happened. we talked about this last week but it just amazing. they are not impeded by facts at all. it's -- yeah i was reading this in the sunday l.a. sometimes quoting representative steve king and he is now described as the hyperbolic steve king. the three embrolios, and tom brokaw say do not add up to another watergate. even not close. the irs thing it's the opposite of watergate. nixon again, as we must point out, planted someone at the irs and directed them who to audit and target on his enemy's list. this was lack of oversight at the irs was there was no one in charge because the republicans have obstructed it again. oy vey. >> why did obama force him not to be there and do stuff that he is supposed to do. >> stephanie: right. eric boller writes about this as well, why -- isn't the biggest scandal this abc thing? th

mitch mcconnell takes a trip down memory lane. rummy, oh, yeah, he's back at it. he's running his mouth again, still not telling the truth. and paul ryan still doesn't know the meaning of the word arrogant. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >>> hurricane skandy. the continuing tropical [ bleep ] storm, that is rocking the obama administration. >> i understand the republicans are still very angry that obama care is law. what's sad is if they try to use this as an excuse to try to repeal obama care. >> the irs has a role to play in the implementation of obama care. >> remember, the irs is the enforcement arm for the president -- >> there's a republican playbook here -- >> which is another reason why if we had the opportunity to do it, we ought to pull it out, root and branch. >> guess who the republicans are! >> really, tea party? really? you're surprised that you're targeted by the irs? you named yourself after a group of people who proudly and historically violated tax laws. >> we're not going to let that distract us and the

jenna: very serious accusations on those other organizations as well by mitch mcconnell. we'll look into that. what are we hearing from the tea party groups the specifically the ones that were targeted allegedly by the irs? >> reporter: they say they were asked questions by the irs that they felt that the irs had no business of knowing. for example, who their donors are. then there were those delay tactics. >> every two months we would call and kept saying oh, we're still reviewing your application. it was not until 14 months later that i get a letter in the mail, with 80 questionnaire, 80 questions on this pamphlet and saying that they couldn't process our application until those questions were answered. >> reporter: there are many lawmakers up there on capitol hill who feel like these delay tactics for these small groups that wanted to express whatever opinion they have may have in effect killed them. jenna. jenna: interesting. we'll speak to congressman levin who you also interviewed, mike. we saw the sound. he has been part of the house ways and means committee that h

. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ and then he said i got the news this morning ♪ ♪ today mitch mcconnell fix my crappy bridge ♪ ♪ tea party politics has run us off into a ditch ♪ ♪ muddy water off my aging crappy bridge ♪ >> yeah. she's got a great voice. >> stephanie: she does. rocky mountain mike, of course. yahoo. >> woot. >> stephanie: indeed. they're trying to fill the dirt of comedy left, the giant vacuum left by michele bachmann. oh golly what's next for her? one only wonders. by the way, speaking of bridges falling and things like that, we were talking about this yesterday. someone sent me -- forgot about this one. [ ♪ "nbc nightly news" ♪ ] washington's literal sinkhole. there is a sinkhole. >> like blocks from the white house. >> stephanie: right? somebody trying to send a message? jehovah god perhaps? sinkhole in our idiotic fixation with deficits. >> it was built on a swamp. >> i was going to say that. >> stephanie: on tuesday a sinkhole suddenly sank in washington, d.c. three blocks from the white house. not a metaphor but a massive hole in the road as long as a ford explorer, doub