this bill, i assume, for gabby giffords, is a done deal. they wouldn't want her final deal to actually go down. >> good morning. it's very much a done deal. it's a bill that's got a lot of bipartisan support. it strengthens the penalties for those who use light airplanes to smuggle drugs across the border. it's something she's worked on in her time in congress. she's had a very good bipartisan relationship with a lot of members in that region of the country on border security issues. it's a great issue for her to go out on. what exactly is going to happen here on the house floor is they're voting on a ceremonial bill for the buffalo soldiers. then they will go on to her bill. it's expected that once about 200 members vote, she will then walk onto the floor. there will be no doubt expect there to be a raucous sort of applause from her colleagues. speaker boehner is expected to be in the chair and at the conclusion of those votes debbie wasserman schultz, her good friend will read gabby giffords' resignation letter on the floor and she expect

. >>> plus an offensive ad featuring an assault rifle because a big debate to replace gabby giffords. but the outrage goes much deeper. we'll talk to some experts who think the republicans are the problem in washington and have the facts to back them up. all multivitamins give me the basics. they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients, so i'm at my best. centrum. always your most complete. ♪ spread a little love my way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ [ female announcer ] fresh milk and real cream makes philadelphia and the moment a little richer. makes philadelphia and the moment cuban cajun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cashback. signup for 5% cashback at restaurants through june. it pays to discover. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or

>> i think that america loves gabby giffords. she is the example of facing adversity with courage, with confidence, and with determination. and i think that is what is going to be reflected on the floor tonight as she will be welcomed tonight and then tomorrow, we are going pass a bill that gabby giffords sponsored that deals with illegal drug being imported. >> that will be part of her legacy. >> that will be part of her legacy and people will say what courage it took to resign, nobody was forcing her out. neither republicans or democrats were suggest ing she resign. gabby clearly felt that that in fairness to the people she represented and fairness to the country that she needed to withdraw and have somebody come in who could pick up the mantel and then focus on her rehabilitation. which has been extraordinary to date, i expect it will be extraordinary in the future and we will see a lot of gabby giffords in the future. >> thank you very much. >> thank you so much. >> and taxing matter s and the complete coverage of the state o

in just a few days, we'll know who fill s gabby giffords' seat in congress. we'll ask him about that provocative ad that plays off soft sympathy for giffords and attacks his opponent. does it go too far? >>> and a tragic statistic. suicides among american troops are surging. just about one per day this year. that's far more deaths than troops killed in action. >>> good morning from washington. it's friday, june 8th, 2012. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. of course, stay with us this morning. the president will be making a statement in the press briefing room, also expected to take a few questions. let's get right to my first reads of the morning. presidential campaign is a marathon, and this is the week mitt romney caught up with the president. not just the national polls have been tightening for a while, but now romney has pulled even in a handful of key areas. most important is money. the president has had a big appraisering advantage, and even had his biggest fund-raising month in may. that didn't matter. romney and the rnc out-raised president

giffords and to have served with her. >> for the past six years, congresswoman gabby giffords has served arizona's eighth district with dedication and dignity. i want to recognize her accomplishments here and thank her staff in their exceptional service, dedication, and, yes, courage during these difficult times. >> house speaker john boehner also in tears as giffords gave her resignation letter and later walked off the house floor. nbc's kelly o'donnell joins us live to talk more about this. kelly, really an emotional moment for people to gather and to watch this. certainly people knew this was coming, as the congresswoman announced she would be submitting her papers, her resignation papers so to speak, but it really is a touching moment for everybody to watch this morning. >> reporter: it has been, and earlier today there were many other tributes where members went to the floor and talked about their experiences serving alongside gabby giffords. she submitted her letter, which is really also a very poignant tribute to her constituents. she acknowledges those who were injured and killed

. >>> and gabby giffords' official resignation from the house today. it was a deeply emotional scene on the house floor that few who saw it will ever forget. finally let me finish with those brand new tapes from jack kennedy that show his conflict over vietnam right to the end. we begin with the president's speech last night targeted sharply at quarter billionaire mitt romney. chuck todd's nbc's chief white house correspondent, political director, and chris sliza is managing editor of post politics.com and msnbc political analyst. mitt romney might well have been sitting in the house gallery like they always put those people up there for the president watching his address because the president's message was a clear signal of what the obama campaign's attack will be on the former governor if he is the nominee. it was a theme the president repeated again today in iowa. let's listen. >> we need to change our tax code so that people like me and an awful lot of members of congress pay our fair share of taxes. tax reform should follow the buffet rule. if you

here is the ad. >> two years ago, kelly said this about gabby giffords. >> now she stands there with that smile and pretends tob to be some kind of hometown hero. she a hero of nothing. >> do you really want jesse kelly representing you? >> is that ad appropriate, considering his words when he said this, it implies that it's about gabby giffords after the shooting when, of course, he said this during the 10:2010 campaign. is that fair? >> first of all, the video or ad has nothing to do by my group and it's by an outside group and we have no control over what they say. i believe it shows clearly it was 2010. >> joshua, that is an example of what is going on here. you have an article with "the washington post" talking about a sympathy vote. gabrielle giffords, her role in this and legacy playing a big part in what we might see tomorrow. >> yeah. as chuck noted that footage from giffords was from before the 2010 election, before the shooting. so it's been very controversial but it's also been very effective. because there are a lot of independent voters the less hard-core voters in the

a lot to tell you about, including gabby giffords heart-tugging good-bye to congress. we'll show you that in just a minute. >>> plus, jon stewart and stephen colbert take the president to task for his uncharacteristically lame spilled milk joke in the state of the union agrees. first the news at 5:30 at "30 rock" in new york city. president obama starts his day in nevada thorg, part of a five-state tour to battle ground territory for the 2012 election. he will speak in las vegas this afternoon to lay out his plans for energy policy and job creation. yesterday the president visited a manufacturing plant in the state of iowa where he called on congress to provide tax breaks to companies who hire american workers rather than sending jobs overseas. nbc news/wall street journal poll, new signs the president's message on the economy is connecting with voters. the poll shows 48ers of americans approve of the way president obama is handling his job as president. his first positive rating in that poll in seven months. 45% approve of the way he's handling the economy, that's a s

. >>> all of us come to the floor today, colleagues of congresswoman gabby giffords to salute her as a brightest -- the brightest star among us, the brightest star congress has ever seen. >> though gabby may be leaving washington today, i know this won't be the last we see of her. or mark. and i will say once again, mr. speaker, congresswoman gabby giffords' strength against all odds serves and will continue to serve as a daily inspiration to all of us. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. >> well, we're back. a very emotional scene on the house floor this morning as members of both parties honored congresswoman gabrielle giffords from arizona. it was just over a year ago she was nearly killed during a shooting rampage, an event in her home district. she was shot right in the head. she's made incredible progress. this weekend she announced she'd step down to focus on her recovery. and today she handed her official resignation letter to speaker john boehner. there she is doing that. wow. now to talk more about congresswoman gabby giffords is one of the people who knows her best,

and i do wonder what they'll be saying tomorrow, martin. >> look at the gabby gifford case. one of the reasons was the magazine which is not used again for hunting. it is a gun nuts preferred choice of ammo. we couldn't really have much of a debate over even legislating the sales of those. >> david corps and jamie floyd. >>> next, the gop leadership cries out, out. >> my experience in history is it is not over until it's over. >> iceberg straight ahead! every time a local business opens its doors or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business, it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $6.4 billion in new credit to small businesses across the country last year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. get two miracles in one product. new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. covers spots, lines... and wrinkles. and helps improve skin tone over time. new tone rehab from easy... breezy... beautiful... covergirl! c

giffords, has tweeted gabby and i were horrified to hear of the tragedy in colorado last night. our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. that is mark kelly. this of course does remind you of what the families and the victims' families and what the community in columbine experienced. talk about that. >> it sure does. that was a terrible day. you know, i remember really vividly the morning after the victims literally had changed overnight because i was out there while it was going on, tuesday afternoon, and there was all sorts of massive confusion, people were running around crying, hugging each other. it was kind of pandemonium and what you would expect, but by the next morning, none of the kids were crying and they weren't really emoting at all. they were walking around like emotional zombies, i hate to say that, but with no emotion at all, and they were really open about talking about it. they could all tell you exactly when they had stopped feeling anything and it was 1:00 or 2:00, 3:00 a.m., none of them had gone to sleep and they knew exactly when it

former congresswoman of arizona, gabby giffords, still recovering from the shooting in tucson from january of last year, 20 months ago, appeared on stage with her friend, debbie wasserman schultz, ahead of the dnc, leading the audience in the pledge of allegiance. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. [ cheers and applause ] >> that's just an incredible moment. you hear it in here, tears in people's eyes, people clapping at 5:30 in the morning. >> and much deserved. >> john, thanks so much. we'll talk to you in just a minute on "morning joe." still ahead on "way too early" when we come back to charlotte. in sports, the nationals are great, the cubs are just horrible. last night they brawled. we'll show you, ahead in sports. >>> plus -- >> when america needed it most, who got us rolling again on the road to recovery? >> whoo! former michigan governor jennifer granholm gives a speech that is quite literally still ringing in the ears of those in the conven

. >> your wife being former congress woman gabby giffords. on the plane is bill rickey, the pilot, in nasa aircraft operator is his formal title. do you know him? >> yeah, at our aircraft operations division at johnson space center we have a bunch of research pilots. he's one of those, a pilot in t-38 training airplane we use, also pilot on the shuttle carrier aircraft. >> does it feel different flying that with the shuttle on top of it than it would flying a normal 747? >> well, absolutely. that is not a normal 747. it's almost gutted on the inside, to make it much lighter, once they add the shuttle carrier or once they add the space shuttle to the orbiter to the top, that has different flying characteristics. i haven't had an opportunity to fly it but i hear it's a challenge. >> i wbet it is. people made observations what would be the future of manned space flight and are people -- obviously, a lot of what happened with the space race early on in the time of john glenn and the first moon landing. do you think this is going to be a good thin

have met gabby giffords and to have served with her in this body. >> tears and tributes on the house floor today. a rare show of unity as congress comes together for an emotional sendoff for brielle giffor. i'm craig melvin in for tamron hall today. the "news nation" is following new developments in that daring middle of the night rescue of an american aid worker in somalia. u.s. officials are now saying that the elite navy s.e.a.l. unit that led that strike is part of the same group that killed osama bin laden. 32-year-old american jessica buchanan and her danish colleague were kidnapped back on october 25th. the s.e.a.l. team reportedly parachuted into the area early tuesday, killed nine kidnappers and hustled those hostages to special ops army choppers waiting nearby. vice president biden gave few details on the "today" show this morning. >> it were had been in the works for a while, matt, and the president authorized because the special operations forces said this was the time. jessica's health was beginning to decline. we wanted to act. >> nbc's jim miklaszewski joining me live

and gabby giffords hits the campaign trail. can she keep her former seat in the democratic party? >>> and former penn state defensive coordinator jerry sandusky is just about out of time to make a plea deal. will he do it before the trial starts today? >> first the trivia question. who was the first u.s. president to be born in a hospital? the first correct answer. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressant

and certainly poignant emotional but happy images as the president hugs gabby giffords. we also want to update everyone that there were several moments with newt gingrich in the campaign today. he was questioned about having said back in 2007 that spanish is "a ghetto language." this was his response. this was an interview, courtesy of univision. >> you're learning spanish. >> right. >> but you said that spanish is the language of the living -- of living in a get tote. >> it wasn't about spanish, i said about all languages. i am for english as a communionfying language because everybody -- we were just talking about miami-dade has 94 languages currently engaged. >> about language spoken by 500 million people. >> what i was saying in the united states, if you are not conversant in english, your commercial future is limited. >> newt gingrich under fire a bit in that univision interview today about his past comments about spanish. of course, there is an enormous 30% of the hispanics in florida are cuban-americans, many of them are republicans, and key factor in this republi

the move to replace gabby giffords. good morning from washington. it's wednesday, june 6, 2012. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. i need two hours this morning and let me get to the first read of the morning. i'll jam it this morning. if you're going try to kill the king, you better make sure you succeed. state democrats didn't come close to succeeding. walker easily beat back tom barrett, 53-46. it was almost identical to the first time the two ran against each other and over 2.5 million people voted in a summer recall election and more votes were cast, nearly as many as in the 2008 presidential election. walker actually got more votes than john mccain won in wisconsin in 2008 and there was a more electorate in 2008? look at this, as you can see the numbers, 38% in 2004 to 38% in 2012. what did we learn here in 2004, 2008, 2010, and 2008 might be the anomaly. rebecca governor kleefsch. he held on to his seat. the balance of power hangs on the final results of the 21st district with democrat john lehman. at this hour the a.p. still has not called the race. as you can

>> i think gabby giffords would have said this as well. she's no different than anyone else. she's a citizen of this country. i think she ought to be given the right to freely assemble without the fear of assault. let's go back further to columbine in colorado. let's go to virginia tech, tucson and now back again to colorado in aurora. i think the time is for a discussion. what it really shows, i think quite frankly, is the hold nra has on members of congress. when you look at the recent vote that took place here in the house to hold attorney general in contempt was scored, nro holding members feet to fire if they voted against the motion to hold him in contempt, they would hold it against lawmakers. that's an enormous amount of power. i can't even connect the dots between the attorney general vote and gun ownership. >> sir, as we talk about this 18 month period as you reference back to gabby giffords and what we're living in, seeing two men with mental health issues obtain guns, massacre people. how do we get guns out of their hands? we live april time where it is harder to

we think that jesse kelly who was the republican nominee against gabby giffords in 2010 and nearly won will be the republican nominee. the general election, special election, is in early june and there will likely be jesse kelly against ron barber who was the district director. so a race that has some national reach to it, starts tonight. won't finish until june. >> that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow, ted koppel joins us. my colleague tamron hall joins us. >>> are the gas prices we're witnessing real or artificial? president obama announces new steps to crack down on oil market manipulation, is that the real reason we see these spikes with the gas prices? the daily beast will join me live. plus, take a look at this. what a sight. space shuttle "discovery" takes its final journey into retirement over the nation's capitol. we'll have information on that. and an emergency room nurse, nurse jackie and her hugely popular show but that's not where life ends for her. she is about overcoming breast cancer and reaching out to other women. with scottrader stream

. >>> how gabby giffords is spending her final days as a member of congress and a race to replace her. >>> also, get ready for a super rematch. the new york giants, or is it new jersey -- they kick their way into the big game. highlights for you after this. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. [ female announcer ] live the regular life. today my journey continues across the golden state, where everyone has been unbelievably nice. mornin'. i guess i'm helping them save hundreds on car insurance. it probably also doesn't hurt that i'm a world-famous advertising icon. cheers! i mean, who wouldn't want a piece of that? geico. ah... fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent oh dear..

we do know that gabby giffords's husband, mark kelly will be in the first lady's box tonight and the republican response is being given by indiana governor mitch daniels. >>> last night's florida debate had a decidedly local flavor. well, florida republican senator george lemieux, who's running for the u.s. senate joins me now. i want to break things down, senator, nice to see you. >> nice to be with you, chuck. >> i'm going to go to the first question, and i'm curious about your reaction. i believe you have not endorsed in the race? >> that's correct. i'm focused on my own race. >> fair enough. which was romney's the sponges romney gave to what's been a bit of a confusing position he has on what to do with undocumented workers here in the united states. do you force them? deport them or not? here's what he said. >> if you don't deport them, how do you send them home? >> the answer is self-deportation. people decide they can do better by going home, because they can't find work here, and so we're not going to round people up. >> let me ask you, you know, i know that in previous repub

gabby giffords still has trouble walking. her astronaut husband, mark kelly, and gabby approached the podium slowly and kelly did the talking. he looked directly at loughner and the first thing he said, and if you pull up the graphic it's stunning. gabby would trade her own life to save any of those you savagely murdered that day. you may have put a bullet through her head, but you have not put a dent in her spirit or commitment. kelly also at one moment said to loughner, pay attention. he also talked about the physical damage that has come being as a result a loughner's attack on his wife. and he said if we could show that second quote. she struggles to deliver each and every sentence. gabby strugs to walk. her right arm is paralyzed. she is partially blind. you have decades upon decades to contemplate what you did. after today gabby and i are done thinking about you. so with that, the couple sat down. miss giffords left the courtroom briefly and then returned, and the proceedings are still under way, tamron. other victims,

giffords. >> and mr. gottlieb, hold the thought for a moment. as governor of pennsylvania, you vetoed stand your ground, am i corre correct? >> correct. >> it was your successor tom corbett who came in to sign it into law, and you are look like a soothsayer in the aftermath of trayvon martin, but the question is, do you think that the trayvon martin case is going to cause a serious re-examination of the stand your ground in those states across the country that now have it on the books? >> i hope so, and mayor bloomberg has called for it. it is interesting on the stand your ground legislation, every police group in pennsylvania and the pennsylvania district attorney's association, made up of 50 republican d.a.s and 17 democratic d.a.s all urged me to veto it. so why don't we listen to the law enforcement, mr. gottlieb, because they are asking us to do something to stop the gun violence and let's listen to the police and the d.a.s. >> well, it is great to listen to the police, but we don't want a police sta

have you spoken to gabby giffords about her feelings about today? >> actually, i spoke with mark yesterday. i think today is going to be the first and last time that gabby will have an opportunity -- gabby and mark will have an opportunity to be in the same room as her attacker. it's an opportunity to close a chapter. it will be the last time she's there too. he'll go off -- he'll continue in prison where he belongs, and she's going to bring closure to this. they're doing great. she's back in tucson. they bought a new house. she's so happy to be home in her beloved hometown. this is an opportunity for closure and for this nightmare to really officially be behind her. >> america got to see her at the convention, and certainly she still has the hearts and prayers. >> she sure does. >> from the country for a full recovery. congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz, thank you so much for your time. we are keeping a close eye on the markets. not much movement today. we're seeing negative numbers down by 35 points on the dow jones. there was a recovery from

one of gabby giffords' best friends. she was part of the way that the family, the giffords family, sort of kept in touch with the country in terms of that whole tragedy. i don't want you to put me on camera, because obviously i'm crying like the rest of the country right now. now go back and show the picture of the hall. thank you. appreciate it. i have to say, if you didn't think this room was an emotional room tonight, it's emotional on a lot of different levels, in part because of that reception you just saw for gabby giffords. all right. this is caroline kennedy, the daughter, obviously, of president john f. kennedy. let's listen in. >> it's an honor to join us tonight for the most important reason i can imagine, to make sure that barack obama is re-elected president of the united states. four years ago, i was inspired by the way senator obama had lived his life, fighting for jobs, giving hope to the hopeless, and working day in and day out for the america he believes in. i was inspired by barack obama's vision for a

. >> they keep those magazines out of the hands of the crazy guy like the guy who shot gabby giffords. >> you vetoed stand your ground, aple correct. >> correct. >> it was your successor, tom corbett who signed it into law. do you think that the trayvon martin case is going to cause a re-examination, a serious re-examination of stand your ground if those states across the country that now have it on their books? >> i hope so. mayor bloomberg has called to are that. it's interesting on the stand your ground legislation. every police group in pennsylvania and the pennsylvania district attorney's association, made up of 50 republican d.a.s and 17 democratic d.a.s all urged me to veto it. why don't we listen to law enforcement, mr. gottlieb? they're telling us that we have to do something to stop gun violence. >> mr. gottlieb? >> it's great to listen to the police but we don't want a police state. we enjoy freedom in america. we're not like other countries run by death stops and dictators. >> i want to return to this issue about what the president is about to do. the president doesn't kno

." >>> a top aide to arizona congress woman gabby giffords is running for her seat. ron barber was injured in the same shooting that nearly took giffords life last year. >>> the marine corps is apologizing for a photograph of a sniper team taken in afghanistan in 2010 poezising i front of a nazi flag. they will not be disciplined because they thought ss stood for sniper scouts. >>> authorities made a historic drug bust, seizing 15 tons of pure methamphetamine, equal to half of all the meth seizures in the world in 2009. >>> now here is the first look how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,890 after adding six points yesterday. s and p. up a point, nasdaq gained 11. in tokyo, the nikkei fell 5 points, the hang seng dropped 226. >>> thursday's upbeat unemployment report could help stocks continue higher today. the number of people seeking unemployment fell near a four-year low last week, a sign strong hiring may continue in the coming months. >>> in europe, an agreement on debt restructuring moves to the greek parliament which must pass unpopular bu

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this was about gabby giffords and her legacy and as much as the republicans tried to say it was about the future of america and the policies she recast that election and propelled him to victory. >> what do you make on walker making this argument that, hey, this was a policy split in the state of wisconsin. that's true but was the recall a policy split? or was the recall election -- did he win because he benefited from some folks that may not have agreed but didn't agree with the idea of recall. >> it seems to me from the exit polling that most of the voters didn't think the recall was the way to go. you'll have another election in the next couple years. if you don't like scott walker then get rid of him. the voters it seemed to me were saying we don't want outside sources deciding who is going to be the governor. >> i wonder would we have seen it pop up all of a sudden in other states? and it brings me to what i've enjoyed with my conversation with andy, this idea that our culture now is divided politically first. do you see it in your polling? >> of course. there is such a sheer lev

visit exelonpatch.com to learn more. >>> today, gabby giffords performed a bit of a miracle in washington. she brought the house of representatives together in a rare moment of bipartisanship. kelly o'donnell has the report. >> reporter: a truly extraordinary day. party and politics simply did not matter. >> gabby, we love you. we have missed you. >> the brightest star among us, the brightest star congress has ever seen. >> reporter: gone were the usual fiery passions. >> no matter what we argue about here on this floor or in this country, there is nothing more important than family and friendship. >> reporter: so many wanted to honor gabrielle giffords' grace and resilience. >> gabby's courage, her strength, and her downright fortitude are an inspiration to all of us and all americans. >> reporter: giffords' year-long, hard-fought recovery brought her back here, and continuing that work is the reason that she will not stay. >> my district deserves to elect a u.s. representative who can give 100% to the job now. >> reporter: with her arizona colleagues of both parties gathered round, best

gabby giffords was on the campaign trail with him. obviously she's one of the more popular democrats in the nation now and does have a national profile. most of your candidates aren't going to have that type of advantage. when you look at what happened there, is this more about that single district? or is this more about something you can learn about how to go and take different places from red to blue? >> look, our candidates throughout the country have a different kind of advantage. the advantage they have, they're standing up to protect medicare. republicans want to end medicare. they're standing up to protect the middle class. republicans want to protect millionaires. and any time that plays out, as it played out in arizona's special election this week, when those priorities are contrasted, democrats win. this was a ref ren derendum. >> one thing that can't be ignored, the money. superpacs have an impact on the race. the house majority pac, came under scrutiny, kelly, comments he made in 2010 on gabby giffords. how much tougher is

yet, you look at what happens after gabby giffords, you have pivotal moments for the country and nothing ever seems to change. >> i was thinking that exact same thing. let's be honest. someone from a gun control group like yourself does not come out and have a platform in america anymore unless some tragedy like this happens. i was going to ask you, what do you attribute that to? the democratic party doesn't want to talk about your issues. am i right or wrong? >> we've definitely been encouraged to the extent right up to the president that this issue has been talked about. i'm new to this gig. and that's what we plan to change. my job is to -- is to help the american public express the outrage that clearly exists around the state of fairs in our country. and i do believe that this time it's different. i believe this time you have a confluence. you have this guy, george zimmerman, the poster child of what the gun lobby is trying to accomplish in this country. this is a guy with an aarrest record, a violent pass who was issued a concealed is carry permit in a state that is basically the gu

congresswoman gabby giffords was holding a meet your congress event at a supermarket in tucson when this mentally ill, heavily armed young man opened fire. this was the type of weapon he used, and the reason it looks a strange shape is because it has an extended magazine larger than the gun was designed for. the standard magazine for this gun would fit into the handle without hanging below it like you saw in the other picture. a standard magazine would hold 15 bullets. jared loughner had two of the standard-sized ammunition clips in his pocket that did at the safeway in tucson, but the clip he had in the gun held double the number of bullets as compared to the standard one. it holds 30 bullets. that's why jared loughner, last january in tucson, was trying to kill and wound so many people before he was stopped. he fired one bullet in the chamber and fired the 30 bullets in the extended magazine. it was not until he stopped because he had to reload that somebody was able to tackle him and stop that massacre. in the aftermath of the gabby giffords shooting, the country for a second was puzz

. >> that was mark kelly, the husband of gabbi giffords, sitting beside ron barber, who is running in a special election for her congressional seat in arizona today. giffords resigned from her seat in january and is expected to cast her vote today alongside ron barber. patricia, it was a national moment when gabbi giffords was shot and there was a lot of discussion about civility returning to political discourse. that moment seems short-lived at best. politico has a preview of a study called civility in america 2012. nearly 7 in 10 americans have quote, lost hope that our political parties can discuss matters civilly. >> yes. if i was in that survey i would have been one of the seven. i could have kicked it up to 8 in 10. i actually think that the civility, the level of civility on capitol hill, when you go there, is actually pretty high. but the problem that i have with their discourse is they talk completely past each other. there is a democrat party and a republican party. they refuse to even engage. republicans will not debate issues. it is their way or the highway. so you have al

. >>> in one of her final acts as a congress mom, gabby giffords finished the meeting she started a year ago. she sat down with survivors of the massacre that left six dead and 13 others injured. she's expected to attend the state of the union address tonight before leaving washington all together to focus entirely on her recovery. >>> illinois senator mark kirk is in intensive care today after undergoing emergency brain surgery following a stroke over the weekend. doctors say the first term republican appears to recognize his family and that he can respond to verbal commands. still his physicians warn it could be a long recovery adding the senator may never regain full use of his arm. in a state his fame says they're confident that the "fighter in him" will prevail. senator kirk who served in the navy reserves won the senate seat in 2010 that was vacated by president obama. we wish him a speedy recovery. >>> still ahead, the abouts about ton bruins were missing their star goalie when the team visited the white house to accept congratulations from the president on their stanley cup win.

the contest to fill the former seat of congresswoman gabby giffords. while in nevada, virginia, north dakota, voting will help decide the lineups for november's key senate races. and john bryson makes a major decision following his hit-and-run convictions on saturday. all that and more coming up on thisda "the daily rundown." good morning from washington. it's tuesday, june 12th, 2012. also this morning, our deep dive into the sometimes strained relationships with israeli prime ministers, especially this one, beeb bibi netanyahu. >>> both obama and romney are going rural, focusing on small towns and states that could make a difference this fall. this fall, romney launches a bus tour through battleground states. and president obama kicked off this week by going local, inviting reporters from eight small stations around the country to the white house. the target, mostly rural markets in battleground states. think sioux city, iowa, roanoke, virginia, and the biggest little city in america, reno, nevada, hoping to turn the page on the private sector is doi

ron barber will now serve out the final six months of gabby giffords's term. but these two will likely face off against once each other again this coming november. so barber won. assuming republicans in arizona want to give mr. kelly another chance, that remains to be seen. either way, i'm sure we'll get to break out the awesome election music again. up in north dakota, voters took to the polls yesterday to decide on a number of headline-grabbing ballot measures. among them, a ballot measure to abolish the state's property tax. the state is awash in cash thanks to the oil boom there. and voters were asked yesterday, do you want to get rid of your property tax. and by an overwhelming margin, north dakotan voters said, no, we do not want to get rid of our property tax. the eliminate the property tax ballot measure failed yesterday, 77% to 23%. if it had been approved, north dakota would become the first state in the country without a property tax. but north dakotans voted yesterday to keep paying property tax. also on the ballot yesterday, north dakota was a ver

republican. 100% reported in arizona's second district, gabby giffords' former seat, though it had had been redriked, democratic congressman ron barber is trailing by about 400 votes but no call there. in arizona's 9th district, 125 vote there. in california, lungren is trailing by less than 200 votes. in florida's 18th district, 100% of the vote is in. republican congressman allen west is trailing. seems a little bit too much to overcome. 2,500 votes. he's demanding a recount. you do wonder what happens if the florida presidential has to go in that direction. i'll explain that in a few minutes. north carolina, district 7, 100% in. the democrat incumbent there is in the lead but it is only 500 votes. there will be a runoff in louisiana's third dwikt between two republicans. >>> two races still too close to call at this hour, in washington state, the governor's race is still undecided. we've been down the road here before with washington state. haven't we? the mail-in ballots. talk to us next week. we might have a winner there. then there's florida. we still haven't called in the presid

giffords. what kind of impact she will have. >>> and 18 years of economic gains wiped out across the board, but the middle class being hit the hardest. how americans lost 40% of their wealth. you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam? more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. i'm eating what i know is better nutrition. mmmm. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself. ♪ power surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8. ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announc

gabby giffords aide whothat i could smoke for thfirst week. i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects includ

this win in arizona, the gabby giffords' seat is a big win. >> a very nice win. maybe democrats aren't quite hitting the panic button as much as they would. >> psychological boost. >> mark murray, fan of the oklahoma city thunder. >> the u.n. says the syrian conflict is now a civil war. gun battles are being reported in the capital damascus in four main provinces and for the first time, washington is accusing moscow in helping assad with the brutal crackdowns on civilians. >> we have confronted the russians about stopping their continued arms shipments to syria and we are concerned about the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on the way from russia to syria which will escalate the conflict quite dramatically. >> richard engle is nbc's chief foreign correspondent and he's live in cairo and richard, give us a state in play in syria now. do you believe the citizenry there is aware of the russian influence and how big a role russia will continue to play in this conflict? >> the people across syria are certainly aware of the russian position.

and if you look at the history of these things, the tragedy of the gabby giffords shooting and so on, or even back to oklahoma city, back in the '90s, they seem to have an impact on us for a week or two, you know, collectively in the media or the political campaigns and in congress, and then it kind of dissipates, pretty quickly, as soon as there's a reason to sort of throw the switch and get intense again or nasty again, it happens. so i think we'll see a return and there's not going to be any long-term impact because of this tragedy and we're certainly not going to be talking about gun control policy in a serious way either. >> well, let me ask you about that, susan. because, obviously, in a very tragic way, this has provided an opportunity for people, both outside and inside the beltway, who are interested in this issue, to raise it again. but is it likely to change anything, or is gun control going to be a serious topic of discussion in this campaign in any way on either side? >> i think the short answer is, no, we saw no inclination on president obama's part over the weekend tone

giffords life and he did not mention gun control. what are we afraid of? people want reasonable gun control? why are they so afraid? >> gun control laws have been loosened in ohio. people under 18 are not allowed to purchase firearms but no license needed to possess a shot gun or rifle in ohio. in june there was a bill signed into law that allows concealed carried weapons into bars or where alcohol is served. >> we tried to get a bill passed that made it mandatory to report a lost or stolen firearm. you have to report a loft and stolen car. but we could not get it through because our legislature is tear rised by the nra. >> ohio is now considering a bill that would allow concealed weapons in universities and daycare centers and in places of worship. we will bring you any details as we get them. coming up, rick santorum, press secreta secretary, will be with us to discuss -- oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an ins

how gabby giffords plans to mark the somber anniversary. >> in a few hours, the texas teen mistakenly deported will return home to the united states. shocking new studies here. the new study finds that memory loss may start much earlier than we original thought. not good news. we will be back in three. what makes scottrade your smartphone's most powerful trading app ? total access - to everything. from idea to research to trade. including financials, indicators and real-time streaming quotes. whether you check your investments every day or every minute, our app can take them from thought to trade. at scottrade, seven-dollar trades are just the start. try our powerful mobile app. it's another reason more investors are saying... i'm with scottrade. ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. >>> officers and a congressman will attend the candlelight vigil. it will mark the painful anniversary of the shooting rampage that left six people dead. she and 12 others were wounded. gina kim is in tucson and th

. >>> gabby gifford campaigning this weekend. her husband told politico while she's not sure she wants to run for office again, she does want to get into public service. >>> it's reported the driving records of ten senate candidates show a need for speed. republicans have the dubious edge. six gop candidates have eight speeding convictions, while four democrats have only three. >>> all right, jamie foxx, he wants to be president. okay, well, sorts of. he's in talks to play the president. "a white house down," a thriller about an attack on the white house. >>> a former "west wing" resident, short of. martin sheen thinks the president will soundly beat mitt romney. no romney fan, sheen told "the australian" the race boils down to "a man living an honest life and a hustling . >>> and finally, in a tough week for the president, this could be the biggest blow. "the daily caller" reports that amber lee ettinger -- do you remember her? 2008's obama girl? okay, do you remember her now? okay, yeah, she's not going to say whether or not sh

perhaps the night's most memorable moment was the bipartisan salute to outgoing congresswoman gabby giffords. she was welcomed with a standing ovation as she steps down from congress to focus on her recovery from last year's assassination attempt, just over a year ago. president obama joined the chamber in welcoming giffords. great moment there. much of the president's 65-minute speech was dedicated to the economy, he also reflectioned on key military successes, in fact, he began with it, on his watch. >> for the first time in nine years, there are no americans fighting in iraq. [ applause ] for the first time in two decades, osama bin laden is not a threat to this country. most of al qaeda's top lieutenants have been defeated. the taliban's momentum has been broken. and some troops in afghanistan have begun to come home. these achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness and team work of america's armed forces. at a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. they're not consumed with personal ambition. they don obsess over their diffe

thanks for inviting me. >> if gabby giffords endorses barber, he would be the sentimental favorite but would that change your decision to run, and have you made your own appeal to congresswoman giffords to endorse you? >> if ron barber does indeed announce that he is interested in running for the special, i have already stated i would be happy to support him. he's a dear friend of mine, someone i respect tremendously and of course the congresswoman i respect tremendously as well so i would honor that and i would actually help him as much as i possibly could. and then i would, of course, change my own filings and my paperwork to run in the november election, the august/november election. >> so this is something you do have your sights set on no matter what, whether it be now or later but it means filling some big shoes. would you continue your political agenda if you were elected and, if so, how? >> i would. i think it's important to point out nobody can replace my congresswoman gabrielle giffords period, about but what we can do is move forward and hopper her legacy, her conviction and

because after a big shooting like gabby giffords or trayvon martin there's huge hysteria and paranoia about guns and we have to ban begans. gun owners react -- >> nobody says we have to ban guns. show me one word that's come out of my mouth or the mouth of the brady campaign -- >> i don't follow everything you say. >> there's nobody that's anti-gun. we're anti- -- >> nobody is anti-gun? >> no, we're anti-killing people. things that prevent -- >> people kill people. guns don't. >> it's usually people with guns. >> right. >> s.e., friends. i will tell you this much. after trayvon martin and after gabby giffords, nothing's been done on gun control, my friend. >> you're right. >> nothing. >> big goose egg. thanks to dan gross, president of the brady campaign, sir, we will be talking about these issues. we'll probably never have a resolution on them. >> we'll try. >> we'll continue inviting you back to this show. >>> coming up, drinks are on me. i wish they were. that was music to the words of a group of former newspaper staffers silver lining on the "time's" picayune story. that's next on