we would know who the boss was. because the boss is the one calling when you have to come. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "the ed show" with ed schultz starts right now. good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" tonight. this afternoon president obama came out swinging at republicans and stood up for the 99%. newt is under fire from fellow republicans. and mitt romney ducks trump. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. the basic bargaining that made this country great has eroded. this is a make or break moment for the middle class and for all those fighting to get into the middle class. >> 100 years after teddy roosevelt called for new nationalism, president obama is calling for renewed nationalism. >> today the wealthiest americans are paying the lowest taxes in over half a century. >> reaction of the president's

speech with congresswoman sheila jackson lee and betty sutton. will republicans go for a 21st century square deal? i'll ask msnbc's jonathan alter. and "what's the matter with kansas" arthur, thomas frank. mitt romney is dissing donald trump. >> i spoke with donald trump earlier today, indicated we just can't make this debate. >> tonight trump is responding. "slate's" dave weigel is here with the latest. the occupy movement has moved out of the tents and into foreclosed homes. this marine from minneapolis is taking his house back. and we'll be there live. great to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. president obama, if you missed it earlier today, he cleared the beach. he really went after it. you missed a dandy. his speech in kansas was a wholesale rejection, and i mean a wholesale rejection of failed gop policies leading to the great recession and creating the greatest income inequality america has seen in decades.

president obama drew a straight line between republican policy and the inequality fueling the 99% movement in this country. you know, i sometimes like to talk about a defining moment, some have made fun of that. bottom line here is the president was onboard. today, the president did it himself. >> this is the defining issue of our time. this is a make or break moment for the middle class and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. because what's at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement. >> earn enough to raise a family. isn't that pretty basic? i mean, what do you think he's talking about here? fair wages, pensions, benefits, and, of course, the big three, where the public is telling congress, keep your hands off social security, medicare and medicaid.

you know, i wonder, where is the march? i haven't seen the march. have you seen the march in washington lately for the big three to be taken off the table? have you seen the march, hey, we got to cut all these programs republicans are talking about? this is what gives working people a living wage and a secure retirement and ensures they won't go to the poor house with some medical bills. now, if you have any doubt that he's referencing all of those things, he got into specifics and he targeted republican policies threatening what we talk about this show, the middle class. >> in 2001 and 2003 congress passed two of the most expensive tax cuts for the wealthy in history. and what did it get us? the slowest job growth in half a century. massive deficits that have made it much harder to pay for the investments that built this country and provided the basic security that helps millions of americans reach and stay in the middle class.

things like education and infrastructure, science and technology. medicare and social security. we simply cannot return to this brand of "you're on your own" economics if we're serious about rebuilding the middle class in this country. >> this sounds like a president who's finally ready to draw a line on the bush tax cuts. today the president called for the payroll tax cut to be extended but he attacked the republican brand of taxation. >> today the wealthiest americans are paying the lowest taxes in over half a century. today, thanks to loopholes and shelters, a quarter of all millionaires now pay lower tax rates than millions of you. millions of middle class families. some billionaires have a tax rate as low as 1%. 1%.

that is the height of unfairness. >> again, that doesn't sound like a president who is willing to cut another deal on extending the bush tax cuts. this is where i have to jump off the train with any democrat who goes along with what they did a year ago in the lame duck session of the congress. i don't care what happens. i believe in my instinct, my gut, that middle class americans out there would forego this payroll tax cut if they would see us restore the old tax rates for the wealthiest americans. i think middle class americans and poor americans are ready to bite that bullet. i really do. because the income inequality in this country is so great, if it doesn't stop, we will never turn this around. i think the democrats clearly have to make a statement that as jon kyl says that he wants major concessions in this deal, that he wants to make the bush tax cuts permanent, that's a nonstarter. tell the country that's a

nonstarter. it's time the top 1%, 2% in this country go back and restore the old rates during the clinton years. today the president took on the ugly truth of income inequality. >> in the last few decades, the average income of the top 1% has gone up by more than 250%. to $1.2 million per year. and yet over the last decade, the incomes of most americans have actually fallen by about 6%. now, this kind of inequality, a level that we haven't seen since the great depression, hurts us all. >> bottom line, democrats, you have a chance to do something about this. at this very time, in american history, you can turn to the wealthiest americans and say for the last decade you have had enough. it is now time to make sure that we restore the old tax rates. it's not a tax increase. it's what we had before. the democrats have to make that

case. now, we've been talking about this on this show for months. there it is. i think the white house is getting the message. no doubt. the top line, the 1%ers, look at their income. it has sky rocketed over the last 30 years where wages for everybody else stayed pretty much flat. this is very clear to me that if the democrats want the house and the senate and for president obama to go back for a second term, put that graph up again, guys. this is it. this is undoubtedly it. whose side are you on? those folks on the red line, where are the jobs? they got all the breaks in the last ten years and all they've done is fuel the righties in the congress who have obstructed those who want a better life down on the blue line. you can't deny that survey. you cannot. whose side are you on? the president spelled out what could be the mantra of the 99% movement. >> also distorts our democracy. it gives an outsized voice to

the few who can afford high-priced lobbyists and unlimited campaign contributions. and it runs the risk of selling out our democracy to the highest bidder. >> oh, isn't that the truth? with his speech today, the president identified himself with the 99% movement and he elevated it. >> i believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot. when everyone does their fair share. when everyone plays by the same rules. these aren't 1% values or 99% values. this isn't about class warfare. this is about the nation's welfare. >> let's be clear, the president did not go easy on republicans. he blasted trickle-down economics, a policy republicans have glorified that for years. >> now, just as there was in teddy roosevelt's time, there is a certain crowd in washington

who for the last few decades have said let's respond to this economic challenge with the same old tune. sure they say there will be winners and losers, but if the winners do really well, then jobs and prosperity will eventually trickle down to everybody else. but here's the problem. it doesn't work. it has never worked. >> have you noticed that the republicans are selling the same package, the same load of garbage that they put on the american people during the bush years? it's the same stuff. and it's all a theory that if we do everything we can when it comes to deregulation and everything we can, all the tax breaks and even make them permanent, even lower them even further is what they want to do. if we do that for the wealthiest americans, middle classers, you have nothing to worry about. don't worry, the economy will turn around. and he made clear today's republicans, all they want is more of the same.

>> after all that's happened, after the worst economic crisis, the worst financial crisis since the great depression, they want to return to the same practices that got us into this mess. and their philosophy is simple. we are better off when everybody's left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i am here to say they are wrong. >> president obama didn't say so directly, but i would challenge him to draw the line on extending the bush tax cuts tomorrow. even if it means letting the payroll tax cut expire. that's where i think americans are. the president made clear this country needs resources. we need our treasury in order if we are going to invest in jobs and build this whole thing up again. >> do we want to make the investments we need in things like education, in research, in high-tech manufacturing? all those things that helped make us an economic superpower.

or do we want to keep in place the tax breaks for the wealthiest americans in our country? because we can't afford to do both. >> so in the middle of the country, the president goes where teddy roosevelt was and says some real startling things about the economy. basically the president today was brilliant on the basics. you have a choice. and i think he was asking americans, are you better off today than you were going through all this mess for ten years? whose side are you on? it's about absolutes. either the wealthy pays more, or the middle class pays more. whose side are you on? get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, should the democrats take any deal to extend the bush tax cuts? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no to 622639. our blog at ed.msnbc.com is there for you. we're going to bring you the results later on in the show.

i'm joined tonight by congresswoman betty sutton of ohio and congresswoman sheila jackson lee of texas. great to have both of you with us tonight. congresswoman jackson lee, i want to ask you, is this game on for the democrats in did the president lay out a very progressive vision that you can stand behind and this is where the democrats have to go? >> ed, game on. this is truly a home run, renewed nationalism. i'm almost standing on my tippy toes because of the excitement of the president taking charge on behalf of the american people. teddy roosevelt talked about busting monopolies. he was called, as the president said in his speech, a socialist, a communist, and then turned out to be a hero, because in busting those monopolies, he created jobs for the american people. the president today laid out a roadmap and asked us, are we prepared and willing to sacrifice to get a better education, better opportunities for jobs and infrastructure, for the american people?

by saying to those top 1%, many of whom are in agreement, but they have been taken hostage, themselves, by the republicans who use them as pawns to keep bush tax cuts that have done nothing to create jobs but only diminish the american people's opportunity for their genius and their job opportunities to grow. so the game is on. i will not in any way accept an extension of the bush tax cuts or a permanency of the bush tax cuts. we've got the payroll tax ready to go to save 160 million people over $300,000 and we have the unemployment insurance ready to go to invest in the american economy. >> congresswoman sutton, do you stand with your colleague there, that under no terms would you ever go along with extending the bush tax cuts? because, you know, i've said for weeks this is where the republicans are going. now jon kyl has said it. >> i think the idea of extending the bush tax cuts for the wealthy is, as you put it, a nonstarter. it's time that those who have done well in america do well by america.

and they just frankly haven't been paying a fair share, as has been pointed out not only by you for months on this show, years, perhaps, but also by the president so brilliantly today. and he showed the vision, a vision, by the way, that i think won't just be embraced by democrats, but will be embraced by americans across the board. >> well, i was going to ask you about that. there's a lot of independent voters in ohio. ohio clearly is a big state in 2012. what the president said today, does that play well in the buckeye state? >> he spoke right to the hearts and the needs of the state of ohio and the people that i'm so honored to serve there. he's asking for a fair shake. he's talking about what kind of a country we're going to be. are we going to return, are we going to strengthen that middle class? because it was the middle class that makes our country so great. and all of the things that the president was talking about, today, and putting into prospective how we got to be where we are. through the tax cuts that were given so generously to those at

the very top at the expense of the middle class. getting rid of that and aiming policies that will benefit working families. and people who are doing everything right and just want a fair shot. >> the president went after taxation and inequality again and again. here it is. >> it's wrong that in the united states of america a teacher or a nurse or a construction worker maybe earns $50,000 a year should pay a higher tax rate than somebody raking in $50 million. >> congresswoman sheila jackson lee, does this play well for democrats as a theme until november of 2012? >> ed, as you have championed over these weeks and months and for a long time, we've got a clarion call. i hear a bugle playing the music and calling us to stand up for the american people. i hear the resounding applause. i was so excited to hear in kansas, the heartland,

republican territory, give such a resounding applause when the president spoke about the fact that those who made this country great have benefited less than those who are now wealthy. they who are wealthy did not make this country great. so frankly, i think we do have a roadmap to victory. not for ourselves, ed, but really for the american people. we can take back the house and the senate and keep the senate. it is to go this pathway of opportunity for all. >> well, i think the president, today, talked about everybody's kitchen table and asked pretty basic questions and basically laid out what we have seen as a radical agenda by the republicans. and put the choice out in front of the people. congresswoman betty sutton of ohio and sheila jackson lee of texas. great to have you with us tonight on the program. thank you so much. >> thank you, ed. answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. share thoughts on twitter using #edshow. i want to know what you think. president obama's speech today invoked teddy roosevelt just over a century ago.

more with jonathan alter and author thomas prank. that's next. donald trump turned the republican party on its head. pulling strings like karl rove trying to stop him. trump is ready to steam roll all of them. will he ruin the republicans' shot to win the presidency? that's next. stay with us. i stepped on the machine, and it showed me the pressure points on my feet and exactly where i needed more support. i had tired, achy feet. until i got my number. my dr. scholl's custom fit orthotics number. now i'm a believer. you'll be a believer, too. learn where to find your number at drscholls.com.

coming up, more analysis of president obama's speech with jonathan alter and thomas frank. the president's health care law already saving medicare patients, listen up, over $1 billion. yet michele bachmann and other righties, they're willing to cut and run on what they call obama-care. we have the numbers. some 99%ers are taking a different approach to protesting the big banks and foreclosures. we'll talk to a man who has invited others to occupy his home. you're looking live. they are outside in 12-degree

weather in minnesota. and they will -- you will hear their voices on this program tonight. and don't forget to let us know what you think on twitter using the #edshow. we want to hear what you have to say.

welcome back to "the ed show." the significance of the location the president chose to deliver those remarks was no accident. 101 years ago, republican president theodore roosevelt gave his new nationalism speech in the same spot president obama spoke today. in that era, just as it is now, big money, corporate interests, controlled the country and roosevelt used his bully pulpit to go after them. >> our country, he said, means

nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy. of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him. now, for this, roosevelt was called a radical. he was called a socialist. even a communist. but today we are a richer nation and a stronger democracy because of what he fought for in his last campaign. >> let's bring in msnbc political analyst and "bloomberg view" columnist jonathan alter with us tonight. also joining me, thomas frank, author "what's the matter with kansas" and the upcoming book "pity the billionaire." gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight.

mr. frank, what was president obama doing today? what was the overall message in your opinion and what you heard? >> it sounds to me like he was trying to make the populist turn the same way teddy roosevelt did in 1910. you know, it's about time. i am really, really, really happy to see him going down this road finally. but that's why people go to osawatomie. >> how did he tie it with the frustration and motivation of the 99% with this populist tone today? >> he went a long way in doing it. he put his presidency in the context of american history. and that's very important not just for, you know, history folks like you and me, but for the american public to see that this is part of a continuum of a philosophy of government that says, we owe each other something. we don't rise and fall alone in this country. we do it together. and the republicans have had a

very different view. not always, not in teddy roosevelt's day. he was, after all, a republican. but in the 1920s they had a different view. in the 1950s eisenhower and the republicans came back to the square new deal approach, but then in the last 10, 20, 30 years since reagan, the republicans have moved back into this laissez-faire approach where they want every man or woman to be for himself or herself, and that philosophical difference is something that can penetrate our politics if we get speeches like this. >> mr. frank, did he succeed in connecting the economic crisis of the past few years with republican policies? and how is that going to play in kansas, the middle of the country? >> look, that would be fantastic if, you know, to play in the middle of the country if you could make the connection like that. i, you know, i don't think he nailed that message as well as

he might have done. i mean, you got to talk about what happened. you know, how did the regulators miss this thing? how did the -- how did s&p miss this thing? how did everybody -- how come everybody was asleep at the wheel? you've got to go into it with a lot more detail than what he gave us. you know, but it was a great start. and this is, i think, exactly the way to approach voters in a place like kansas. i'm not saying this is going to, you know, overnight make obama a popular man in kansas -- >> he's making -- he's making the case that the bush tax cuts didn't work. the wealthy are still running strong with the money. they're getting richer. the gap is getting wider. it's the worst it's been since the great depression. and the job creation is nowhere near what it should be. >> that's right. >> so jonathan, i mean, is this the foundation of what president obama is going to run on? >> it is. i think he still needs a frame. he actually rejected the 99% versus 1% frame because, you

know, he doesn't want to rule out the 1%. he wants it to be everybody. so he needed something today that was a little bit more like what teddy roosevelt did with the new nationalism or the square deal or franklin roosevelt did with the new deal. this was a speech about fairness, and he needs to call it the new fairness or something -- i don't mean to be sloganeering here, ed, but there is a missing element here in giving people something very simple and short to hang on to. that was the only thing i thought was really missing from this speech. >> look, he clearly is using our charts, he's using the charts we put on this program. just to illustrate basically where this country has been and where we're headed. here's the sound of the president touting one of his administration's successes. >> i think about the big three auto companies who during recent negotiations agreed to create more jobs and cars here in america and then decided to give

bonuses not just to their executives but to all their employees so that everyone was invested in the company's success. >> mr. frank, how well does that play? what do you think? is that something he can ride all the way to the white house again? >> well, look, what's going to work for him and especially in a place like kansas is when you talk about just the built in unfairness of the system we're in now. it wasn't all that long ago, ed, that the republicans, themselves, were marching on to their victory in 2010 talking about constantly, talking about the ruling class in this country. this is a message that works in this kind of environment. you know, this is totally the direction he needs to go in, but it's a start. okay? you go back and look at teddy roosevelt's speech that he gave in 1910 and i recommend that every single one of your viewers do that. in that speech, teddy roosevelt basically gave the justification for big government. right? for why you have a regulatory state. and, you know, how these people, how the, you know, the moneyed interests have been subverting

government all along. obama didn't go there. he's got to keep going. he has to hammer these issues and hell, yes, this stuff will work. >> i don't know why the democrats really don't push harder. i know they've got to make it an american agenda. they really have to get out on the trail and talk about that. i mean, i think that is just going to be a winner. there's consumers in this country are consciously aware of how many manufacturing facilities we've lost over the last ten years and made in america is something that i think really would resonate with a lot of people. jonathan alter, thomas frank. great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. mitt romney is picking up a few tips from his kids on fox and friends. he's attacking president obama and taking a trip to hawaii. i'll remind mitt about the king of presidential vacations in "psycho talk." and new data shows that president obama's health care law is saving senior citizens a bunch of money. plus, tens of millions of them are getting preventative care. what happened to those death panels?

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and in "psycho talk" tonight, mitt romney is starting to echo fox news talking points. fox's latest complaint about president obama is his 17-day christmas trip to hawaii. >> some people are thinking that 17 is maybe just a little too long. i thought it was a joke. i thought it was maybe like even a typo. 17 days. this is a photograph from last year's trip when they were getting off air force one.

i was like, woo-hoo, surf's up. >> let's be fair, dana, because your boss was hammered for his long summer vacation. >> he never had a surfboard. >> did that sound bite start out "some people think"? dana perino's boss, george w. bush, didn't have a surfboard but no one was better at taking vacation than w. bush spent 490 days at his texas ranch and 487 at camp david. a 25-day trip in 2002 and 27-day bush clearing -- should i say, brush clearing -- extravaganza in august 2001. but bush's vacations didn't stop steve doocy from slamming the 17-day trip. then mitt romney jumped on the bandwagon during the iowa tele town hall. >> this president has been a failure, in some respects his idea of a hands-on approach to the economy is getting a grip on his golf club.

he'll be going off for 17 days in hawaii. he'll be playing a lot of golf. i just think it's time to have a president whose idea of being hands-on does not mean getting a better grip on the golf club. >> mitt romney read bush's book. >> i read president bush's book, "decision" by president bush. i read "decision points" by bush. >> if anyone knew how to get a grip on his golf club, it was "w." >> i call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. thank you. now watch this drive. >> of course, mitt romney is no stranger to tropical vacations either. he took his own family to hawaii for christmas last year. although when you're an unemployed 1%er, i guess you can take as many trips as you want,

right? but for mitt romney to criticize president obama's trip home for the holidays really is bush league "psycho talk." newt gingrich already said he's showing up to donald trump's debate. now it's mitt romney's turn. we'll tell you whether he's in or out. he served his country, he now faces possible eviction from his family home. one of the newest faces of the 99% movement. vietnam veteran bobby hull will join me. stay with us. [ male announcer ] you never know when a moment might turn into something more. and when it does men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. ♪ [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications

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the wheels are flying off the republican bus as candidates decide whether or not to participate in the donald debate. today mitt romney gave his answer. >> no, i'm not participating in that. we have two debates in december that i've agreed to participate in. the rest of the month is going to be spent campaigning. >> so what do you think happened after that?

true to form, trump took a shot at mitt romney for turning him down. in a statement to "the huffington post's" sam stein, trump said, it would seem logical to me that if i was behind in the polls especially in iowa, south carolina and florida, i would be participating in the debate but i can understand why romney decided not to do it. karl rove continues to panic. >> is mr. trump going to ask the candidates whether they agree with him that barack obama was not born in the united states, if they agree with him what we ought to do is tax chinese imports setting off a trade war? let's ask and see if the candidates agree with him on that. >> all right. of course, trump won't stand for any criticism of his behavior without taking pot shots of his own. >> you read about a huntsman who's upset or ron paul who's never going to win anything, but you don't read about the thousands of people that want it. i mean, most people want -- i heard stephen king was on today.

>> george will, and karl rove -- >> these are the three people, i have to tell you, they're hacks, they don't speak for anybody. they have no power. a guy like karl rove is the one who gave us bush which ultimately gave us obama. >> trump is putting fox news in kind of a tight spot. they want him on all their shows, but they don't want him kneecapping paid contributors like karl rove. he still is pretty influential in the republican party, but trump isn't interested in fox news damage control. >> we like karl rove. we also like you. i just don't want to -- >> i like people that are straight. he's got his own agenda. 100%. i've always viewed him as a hack. >> let's bring in msnbc contributor, political reporter for slate.com, david weigel. dave, what do you make of all this back and forth? is this just a game show for trump? >> i defer to conservatives who have had enough of trump and had enough of trump for a very long time.

"national review" when the debate broke as news editorialized he was a fraud who should stay out of the presidential election. i align myself with the conservative elite on that one. rarely has anyone taken such a large and loud megaphone and said so little with it. everyone's a hack, everyone's stupid. >> is this maybe one of the best political moves mitt romney's made in some time? >> well, romney's been playing an opposite game compared to newt gingrich. and this is actually not the best encapsulation of it, but it's one version of it. he has been winning the conservative elite. he's been winning opinion makers. he's been impressing members of congress, certainly. gingrich has been -- we kind of misuse this word, i hate to misuse this word after tom frank was on, but more populist. what very angry conservative voters think.

he's already -- i'm sorry, go ahead? >> well, the surge is on for gingrich. the iowa polls are out there and he's moving way ahead at 31% to mitt romney's 17%. is mitt worried about this? i mean, shouldn't he go in there and just bust some chops with donald trump and newt gingrich? >> there's an eery calm about the way the romney campaign is responding. they have two debates left. since they're in conversations with republicans who make endorsements, who spend money, they know these people are not comfortable with gingrich. i was asking a couple of elected republicans in congress today just basic question if they were comfortable with gingrich as the nominee, if they agreed with a couple of statements. they don't want to confront this reality and the romney campaign are pretty confident they have enough time to win those people back. >> you know, one of three people it looks like is going to be president of the united states. it's either going to be president obama, his re-election or it's going to be newt gingrich or going to be mitt romney. why wouldn't romney view this as

an opportunity to go in there and just bust both of them and break out? here's michele bachmann taking shots at gingrich and romney this morning on this network. >> if you want to talk about a poster child for crony capitalism, it would be newt gingrich. as the ultimate consummate influence peddler but also mitt romney is also cut out of the same cloth. >> so david, what do you think? iowa is still wide open. does michele bachmann have a shot? >> well, you know, nate silver at "the new york times" had a good post today pointing out that maybe 2004, howard dean was an exception, but most often the people succeeding right now in the polls win iowa. and she has been in the dumps for a few months now. if you look at "the new york times" poll that just came out, the only area where voters agree with her, republican voters, is on values. they share her values. they don't -- i don't think she gets much -- she gets to be in this kind of scrappy, always punching above her weight category where she does a little bit of damage, but maybe gingrich can be punctured. i don't think it's with attacks

like that. i think it's going to be with on-air attacks and with mail and with the traditional subrosa ways the people get attacked. gingrich has risen at the right time where she's not accountable for the things she's talking about. >> he's risen at the right time. he's doing well in the polls. can he survive the scrutiny over the next month? >> republicans are pretty convinced -- maybe they wouldn't say he can't survive. they're expecting him it get more scrutiny. mark kirk of illinois, he's not up next year, but he'd probably like it if the strongest possible republican nominee was at the top of the ticket in illinois was kind of nudging a couple of reporters he was talking to. you guys are going to give him more scrutiny. you let him go for a while and you're going to pay more attention to him for now. they all expect -- this kind of narrative you've seen about

gingrich that no one's really looked at the way he used his power, the way he used his influence in the years since the speakership, that's going to come out. the interview he did with glenn beck today, you're going to see more interviews where people ask him, look, philosophically you've come out for mandates. can you be our nominee? >> he's the best conservative of the two. that's what richard viguerie told me today. david weigel. michele bachmann is still fighting president obama's health care law even though it's still saving people money. these guys can't afford to have president obama succeed. stay with us.

now up next, these are the numbers. republicans warn, they're been warning us a long time the health care bill would pull the plug on grandma, doom and gloom. it's actually saving elders money. and this house, it is in foreclosure. bobby hull is fighting back. he's invited others to occupy his home. bobby joins me later on in the show. stay with us. we're right back.

of course, you can follow us on twitter using the #edshow.

now, they call it obama-care, but this is something they don't want to tell you. is that people are saving money. i'm not talking about fat cat insurance executives. more than 2.5 million medicare patients have saved over $1.5 billion on prescription drugs this year, alone. which means seniors are saving on average a $569 per person. nothing to sneeze at for someone who is on a fixed income. also 24 million medicare recipients have taken advantage of the new rule allowing for a free annual physical. and insurance premiums for medicare part "d" have not gone up as, of course, many republicans predicted they would. but the jokers running for president on the republican side, they can't give up their push to repeal the law. michele bachmann doubled down on it this morning.

>> i wrote the legislation to repeal obama-care, so if -- i mean, honestly, who is going to go in and repeal obama-care as president of the united states? mitt romney? who put it into place in massachusetts? newt gingrich who had the idea for it in the first place and wants to mandate that everyone buy the insurance? or me, the person who brought 40,000 people to fight it? we need job creation. that's one reason also why i am so adamant against obama-care. it's the number one job killer in the country right now. >> well, why don't you put out a press release, tomorrow, michele bachmann, and tell us the numbers are wrong. republicans have to keep bashing obama-care because the law is working. they want to win the white house next year, and if it turns out if the kenyan socialist muslim sympathizer knows what the hell he's doing, the tea party crowd, they won't stand a chance, will they? the republicans have chosen to keep attacking the health care law which means they are attacking the people benefiting from it.

like senior citizens. and kids under the age of 26 who can stay on their parents' health care plans. instead of admitting that president obama and the democrats, well, they won on this one and the american people are winning. republicans are going after old people and young people. we'll see how that strategy works out for them. he fought for this country in vietnam. he is now fighting foreclosure. bobby hull will join me next. stay with us.

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nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. hi, sir, how are you? >> how are you? >> mic check. >> merry christmas, everybody. have a great day. >> well, that was a familiar scene on capitol hill today as members of congress ran away from their own constituents. thousands of 99%ers traveled to washington, d.c., to speak with lawmakers about jobs, unemployment benefits and tax relief for the middle class. most were denied face to face meetings and were told to take a seat by congressional staffers.

folks visiting congressman paul ryan were greeted with a closed door and a sign stating "only scheduled appointments will be admitted." 99ers, 99%ers from arizona tried to make an appointment with their senator, jon kyl, but certainly were unable to. one woman in the group has been out of work for over a year and her family situation is getting dire. "our world has fallen apart," she says. "we lost everything we saved. all of our dreams, the american dreams are gone." but even if members of congress won't listen, the movement is still growing. today 99%ers in over a dozen cities also took on the housing crisis. protesters disrupted bank auctions, blocked evictions and occupied foreclosed homes. one of them -- one of the homes being occupied belongs to bobby hull of minneapolis. his home has been in his family for more than 40 years. mr. hull fought for this country in vietnam, served his country

and he is now fighting eviction. joining us tonight is bobby hull here on "the ed show." mr. hull, thanks for your time tonight. when are they going to foreclose on your home? how much time do you have, and what's your plan? >> well, i have until february 17th, and my plan is to stay here. we plan to fight. >> what does that mean? >> well, means that i can gather all my neighbors, friends and community that are willing to stand up with me and we're going to fight. >> i see you got -- >> we need to change what's been wrong. >> yeah, change what's been wrong is for sure. i see you got a lot of friends with you there tonight. do they feel the same way? i mean, are they going to be there with you when the cops come to foreclose on your house? >> absolutely. that's the plan. >> how emotional is this? >> we don't plan on doing it just for myself. we plan on doing it for anybody else who's in foreclosure who wants the help. >> sure. how emotional is this for you? you've lived in that house i understand since you were a

child. >> since 1968. yes. it's been very emotional. >> how did it get to this point? >> well, i lost my health, i went through the stimulus programs. i tried negotiating with the banks. and nothing seemed to work. >> tell us act the response you got from the bank. how were you treated? >> well, like the banks always do. you know? if you don't have the right figures in dollars, they really don't want to talk and negotiate with you. >> what do you want washington to do about this? you were one of millions of americans who are facing this predicament. >> they need to make it right. they need to make housing affordable for everybody in america. we need to support the american dream. >> would you -- would you do anything to stay in your home? >> yes. i'm a marine. i'm ready to fight.

>> now, i have to ask you, what does that mean? does that mean when they physically come in to foreclose on your home, you're actually going to do something about it? >> no, we're going to stand there arm to arm and activate our rights. >> and how disappointed are you that the country is going through something like this? how motivated are you to make a stand to be an example? >> my whole family has always been patriots. my great-grandfather is a vet and everyone else since then is a vet. we want our rights back. >> i'd like to know from the crowd behind you tonight, by just a little bit of noise, how committed are you? ask them, how committed are you? >> they'd like to know how committed you guys are to this. [ cheers ]