I filled my washing machine with clothes tonight and it got to the end of the short cold wash cycle and had stopped running so I pushed in the knob then pulled it back out and then pushed it back in and nothing happened so I moved the knob to the rinse cycle and it filled with water and went to go to the spin cycle and did not do anything after that all the clothes were pulled out and rung all the water out of them and went and tried the knob again and nothing happened I have a Kenmore 300 series.

It sounds as if the machine doesn't spin during the spin cycle. Normally the agitator stops spinning, fairly quickly, if the lid is opened during the spin cycle.That safety circuit includes a switch mounted under the opening and is set by a tab on the lid that protrudes thru a small hole in the top of the washer. The most likely failure on most Kenmore models is that switch, broken or loose, the tab on the lid broken, or the two misaligned. I would need the model number of your washer, located on a tag on the bottom of the lid to be more specific