GOP: Destroying, not building

>>> i helped close the government twice. it actually worked. bill clinton came in and said the year of big government is over after two closures. not before.

>> wow, the expert on government closing, newt gingrich . we're back. but some republicans are acting like it's 1995 again. conservatives are actually talking about shutting down the government to get their desired spending cuts.

>> i believe that government shutdown gave us the impetus as we went forward to push toward some serious compromise. i believe it drove bill clinton in a very bipartisan direction. we also balanced the budget for the first time in four years, 1997 , 1998 , 1999 . when i left, we had nearly a $200 billion surplus.

>> i think it's a good idea.

>> yes, i think it's about time.an spot a real bipartisan guy, when he uses the word democrat as an adjective.

>>> anyway, not of the right, either one of them, they're both merks msnbc political analysts. something never changes, joan. your smiling face never changes. bring it to a halt, mommy, mommy, i don't like it here and do your usual, crazy acrobatics. the government falls into disrepute and the world laughs at us. your thoughts?

>> i think there's one important thing here. some of them have moved away from using the debt ceiling as the big cud jol on the president. everybody's shifts to government shutdown works that helped president clinton , it didn't hurt him. it gives president obama more leverage. it's very hard to see him say okay, let's just default. but it is possible to see him with the example of president clinton and with the new strength that he has standing up and saying, okay, we don't want you to shut it down. but if we have to, we're not going to have any hostage to take anymore.

>> once again, joan has taught me something i didn't know, or at least i forgot a long time ago. thinking he has the right to make it keep going. if somebody gets in his way, they're screwing it up.

>> yes, i think newt gingrich is somewhat delusional to talk about the last time --

>> this is a news show. can you give me news?

>> i was expecting him to say afterwards, you know, i won the 2012 presidential nomination . he's like an ageing star lot. you rebel back when i almost won the academy awards ? i'm ready for my close-up, mr. damil. it's delusional to think that the politics works for them. i don't think that all the house tea party members, republicans, have consigned themselves to not fight it over the det ceiling.

>> mitch mcconnell is the senate leader of the republican party . i think this will bring us up to date on state of the art shutting down the government.

>> would you rule out a government shut dounl down to achieve your goals?

>> what i think we ought to do is encourage the president to actually be pthd.

>> i understand that. but my question is would you rule out a government shutdown ?

>> i know what your question is. what i'm telling you is i haven't given up on the president stepping up to the plate.

>> well, there's a new way to answer a question. i know what your question is, david gregory . why isn't he answering? it sounds like mr. mcconnell would be the first one to throw a monkey wrench into this system. what's his game?

>> i do think he's ready for a shutdown. i don't know that he would be ready to refuse to lift the debt ceiling, but he sees himself as having won something, chris. and i think boehner sees himself as having lost something and win back the republicans. i think we're still in for an ugly few months.

>> what a country. let's drop left wing , right ring. we're the city on the hill , right? what a joke. we're teaching democracy this way?

>> i'm not sure the framers of the constitution envisioned a day when the members of congress would hold the president hostage without paying their own building. you have the c.r., continuing resolution running out in march. you have the sequestration deadline and the debt ceiling hitting at the same time. this is going to be a three ring cliff, three cliff circus coming up very soon. and if you have this group that doesn't believe in compromise, it's going to be very hard to get through this wouithout a lot of blood in the water.

>> i hope this goes away. anyway, thank you. thank you, it ought to be about building, not destroying. thank you. anyw anyway, when we return, let me finish with why i think the nomination for defense chief should be given a solid chance. i'm putting it that way, you're watching, "hardball," the place for politics.