White House meeting comes too late for a fix

>>> supposedly the day of reckoning , but a week of that he ricks is ending today. just about an hour from now, congressionally leaders will meet at the white house .

>> my message will be the same as what i'm telling you today. it's time to do their job and pass a bill. it takes a lot of pill zach for the house williams to say they're waiting for the democrats to do something. they have done nothing.

>> the meeting comes too late for a fix in case you're wondering. yesterday lawmakers streamed out of the capitol for an official break. in case there was any confusion about what not to expect, top republican senator mitch mcconnell said today, quote, there would be no last minute back room deal and absolutely no agreement to increase taxes. the president will formally notify government agencies that sequestration is in effect, triggering $85 billion in budget cuts this fiscal year. today's low expectations meeting caps a week where pretty much no one has tried to get anything actually done.

>> we should not have to move a third bill before the senate gets --

>> i think he should understand who is sitting on their posterior.

>> i hope they're not expecting a round of applause.

>> there are republicans dancing in the streets.

>> we're going to go through a charade here.

>> rise up, oh god, and save us from ourselves.

>> could anybody say it any bert? even prayers couldn't save the senate. two show votes were all but designed to fail, and boy, fail they did. in fact the republican bill to keep the cuts in place, but give the president the authority to allocate them failed miserably, picking up just 38 votes, 9 republicans voted against it. a fascinating coalition of new guys in the tea party caucus, and defense hawks like kellie ayotte, lindsey graham , and marco rubio , dean heller and susan collins also against this thing. it picked up two democratic votes from max baucus and mark warner , both up for reelection. three endangered red state democrats voted against it, and it got zero republican votes, which immediately blasted the democratic senators in releases like this one, hagen allowing devastating sequester to hit north carolina , voting against both republican and democratic alternatives to replace the sequester. so it's the start of a frenzy to prevent layoff or furloughs, or does sequester end up being much ado about nothing? the white house still thinks republicans will be forced to come around. last night the president said, quote -- instead of closing a single tax loopholes that benefits the well off and well connected, they chose to cut vital services. will the country have the reaction that the white house is looking for? senate democrats are signaling they won't risk a government shutdown fighting for replacement sequester cuts. remember, boehner, mcconnell, cornyn, all believe they cannot politically making a deal that includes tax increases and keep their jobs. so here we are. not a serious attempt all week along to get rid of the sequester. it makes you wonder if they all really think may they just want to let it happen , but somehow not get blamed for it.

>>> now to the supreme court , which will hear arguments later this month on proposition 8 , the amendment to california's constitution that approved a ban on same-sex marriages in 2008 . after first suggesting it would not get involved, the obama administration has decided to now weigh in. the justice department filed a brief on two gale couples who launched the fight, argumenting that proposition 8 failed heightened scrutiny. the state argumented that it offers equivalents to marriage. but the argument in the brief is the designation of marriage confers a special validation of the relationship between two individuals and conveys a message that it's a partnership that civil unions cannot match. there is a strong suggestion that all but marriage laws violate the 14th amendment 's right to equality protection. during his 2008 campaign, then senator obama opposed same-sex marriage, but even after his evolution, he was hesitant to get the federal government involved in this fight.

>> i believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and i'm not in favor of gay marriage , but when you start playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that that's not what america is about. i continue to believe this is an issue that's going to be worked out at the local level, because historically this has not been a federal issue.

>> but ever since the president came out for gay marriage , supporters have pressed the administration to weigh in on prop 8. in an interviews just ten days ago with a san francisco television station , the president hinted that the announcement was coming.

>> the solicitor general is looking at this. i have to make sure i'm not injecting too much of myselves into this. i can tell you obviously my personal view is that i think that same-sex couples should be treated equally.

>> by the way, propyl probably wouldn't pass in california today. just think about that.

>>> every friday in this off year, we're going to look at the 2016 landscape, what moves potential candidates made during a various week. it's very early in the 2016 process, but it's beginning. the one with the most attention was governor chris christie . some conservatives were alarmed.

>> i think this is a vast overreaction, a mistake.

>> i didn't know that i hadn't been invited to cpac. they don't want to invite me, that's their call.

>> david axelrod pointed out the snub doesn't exactly hurt christie in the blue state of new jersey. today he raises money with ousted moderate scott brown in boston. last night he was fund-raising with another 2016 hopeful, bock bob mcdonnell . -- if you are a conservative, remember mcdonnell thinks you're an idiot. he defended himself earlier in the show.

>> are republicans wrong here in calling this a tax increase.

>> there are net revenues increased for localities.

>>> just out this morning, five of the top 2016 hopefuls. they will huddle with donors at the rnc quarterly finance meeting next month. according to an invitation obtained by politico, rubio himself has been trying to expand his foreign policy foot. his office decided to share quite a few photos of his trip, and he had a speech calling for more help to the syrian rebels.

>> there are plenty of weapons in syria, coming from other countries. what the opposition really needs is access to ammunition.

>> he even posted this picture of himself with guatemala's foreign minister.

>>> rand paul has been taking some foreign policy heat after voting for chuck hagel 's nomination. the iowa republican slammed paul saying, quote, like it was with his father's campaign, foreign policy is the major inhibitor of senator paul becoming a legitimate candidate. he tried to explain his vote on fox earlier this week.

>> i filibustered him twice because i wanted more information. i think when we stick together, we can get information. on final passage, i take the position that the president does have leeway i voted for john kerry also, though i agree with almost nothing that he represents.

>> governor andrew cuomo announced a change to his new assaults weapons ban, changing it to exempt guns used in movies or tv shows filmed in new york.

>> apparently they have blanks, so phony magazines or something. people want certainty, and i don't see -- there's no reason not to make a change like that to give people, an industry, comfort, especially when it's an industry we want to be doing business in the state. should you be able to move these types of guns in movies? the answer is yes.

>> helping hollywood there.

>>> elizabeth warren demonstrated why she's so popular among liberal democrats , taking on ben bernanke this week at a senate hearings.

>> these big financial institutions are getting cheaper borrowing to the tune of $83 billion in a single year, simply because people believe that the government would step in and bail them out.

>> that earned her this headline from the huffington post -- elizabeth warren continuing to be the senator we all hoped she would be.

>>> and we're going to hear from mitt romney on a sunday news show. here as a clip.

>> we were on a roller coaster, exciting, thrilling, ups and downs , but the ride ends and you get off. it's like can't we be on it the rest of our life? no, the ride is over.

>>> up next, the first ever meet the member duo, two