[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: good morning everybody! what do you say? it is tuesday july 3rd. the day before our big 4th of july celebrations. here on the "full court press" on current tv, we've got breaking news this morning. really big breaking news. are you ready for this? yes! fish swim, birds fly and anderson cooper is gay. that's what he said yesterday. that's what he told us but who cares? the big question is not whether or not anderson cooper is gay

it is whether or not he can get good enough ratings to save cnn. which i doubt frankly. at any rate, that's one of the things we'll be talking about this morning here on this tuesday celebration. but first, we go out to los angeles and get all of the latest today's current news update from our good buddy jacki schechner. good morning. >> good morning, bill. the president and mitt romney are both on vacation again today but "the new york times" is reporting that romney has made plans to visit israel later this summer. the confirmation comes from president benjamin netanyahu's office. romney is meeting with other israel's leaders and the president of the palestinian authority during the short less than two day trip. it is an attempt to reach out to jewish voters and evangelical christians and beef up the foreign policy credentials which are a little slim. romney said with regard to his israeli policy, he'll do the

opposite of president obama but has not been more specific as to what that means. the u.s. is strengthening its u.s. military presence in the gulf to block the strait of har mouth as tensions escalates. the u.s. and allies have started to push harder an iranian oil embargo which runs the risk of drawing response. if iran tries to shut down the strait, a key water way for oil exports, the u.s. and allies want navy ships to be poised to be able to reopen it. the u.s. has positioned aircraft in the region in what has become a delicate balance between enforcing sanctions and not giving the impression that military action is eminent. according to "the associated press" today the obama administration may be on the verge of cutting its nuclear arsenal down to as little as -- at the very least 1,000 nuclear weapons. the u.s. now is at 1737 and has an agreement with russia to cut

that down to 1550 in the next six years. back with news at the top of next hour. bill is right back after the break. having fun. >>don't worry because she'll be back. >>where are the lefties besides on current tv? >>joy behar is getting her own show coming to current tv this fall. it's like chicken and crunchy stuff got married! i only use french's french fried onions on my crunchy onion chicken because it's america's number one brand. just minutes to make, then bake!

the real world and politics collide on "the gavin newsom show." this week the experts are wrong. failing is good and wall street is bad. but how does vinod khosla really

feel? [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey have you heard the big news? anderson cooper is gay. think it was the worst-kept secret in america? hello, everybody. what do you say? happy tuesday. tuesday, july 3rd. great to see you today. this is the day before the 4th of july. kind of a friday in the middle of the week except then we come back and do another monday on thursday. whatever. what a weird week. great to see you today.

thank you so much for joining us. here we are coming to you from ghost town. very nobody -- there ain't nobody in washington, d.c. except us, the members of the bill press team and of course you joining us wherever you happen to be in this great land of ours. we'll bring you the news from our nation's capital such as it is. president obama continuing to hang out at camp david today. he'll be back tomorrow of course for all of the festivities maybe even later this evening. and we'll bring you news from washington again around the country and around the globe. and take your calls on a lot of important issues. you tell us what it means to you at 1-866-55-press. here they are. red, white and blue. peter ogborn, dan henning -- >> hi, there. >> bill: our videographer, cyprian bowlding. >> happy fake friday. whatever you want to call it. >> bill: it is the day before the 4th. you know, yesterday, going around washington, first of all between the heat and the

holiday, right, a lot of people took off because 4th of july in the middle of the week, they take advantage of -- taking the whole week off then with the heat, a lot of people, federal employees had sort of one of those unofficial days off they didn't have power. >> a lot of people didn't have power. >> bill: a lot of people didn't have power. it was easy to get a seat on the subway. >> traffic was great. >> bill: traffic was great. >> pretty awesome. >> bill: one of those times. but there is big big of course breaking news. not only the fact that anderson cooper tweeted to andrew sullivan that of course he's gay and he's always been and always will be and proud to be. which we all knew anyway. but now we know that not only anderson cooper is gay but equally shocking news, bill o'reilly is an idiot! he admitted last night on the factor. >> i'm not really sorry but it's

man of my word. i apologize for not factoring in the john roberts situation. truthfully, i never in a million years thought the chief justice would go beyond the scope of the commerce clause debate and into taxation. i may be an idiot for not considering it. >> bill: he said may not i am. >> pretty weak but we'll take it. >> bill: pretty pompous ass classic bill o'reilly. i may be an idiot. never in a million years. i don't know. i don't get it. i don't get what it is about that persona and personality that makes him the most watched person on cable television. i don't. i don't care what his politics is, i don't find him that attractive a personality. hey, he's done pretty well. >> you know who does like him? the folks. the audience.

when we talk about real americans, he just calls it the folks. >> bill: idiots. coming up today tom from the center for american progress. he's the guy who ran for congress and won. supporting healthcare. voted for it and then lost his seat because of it. we'll ask him what he thinks about the supreme court's decision last week. also judd, it is tuesdays. tuesdays with judd legum from think progress and then julie mason from p.o.t.u.s. on sirius x.m. will be along as a "friend of bill." and the drug companies out of control? but first... >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> check of other headlines making news on this tuesday morning. the 13-year-old boy that took the conservative cpac conference in 2009 and got labeled as a potential future star of the republican party has changed his views. now 17, jonathan chrome became

known for his speech on defining conservatism says that speech was nigh east telling politico he was just a 13-year-old kid from georgia just saying stuff he had heard a long time from people he was associating himself with and his family because he wouldn't define himself as a liberal quite yet. he's opened up his mind to other points of views. he supports gay marriage and obama care and he may vote for president obama. >> bill: you know the difference between jonathan cole and a tea partier? jonathan grew up. >> good point. >> bill: i must say. i missed this kid when he was 13. he was the hottest thing on the planet and i was introduced to him by -- at a restaurant by a mutual friend who said you know, you ought to have this guy on your show. he's the hottest thing out there. i just said we'll think about that. but there was no way i was going to have him on my show because i knew it was phoney-baloney.

how are you going to say take a 13-year-old and take him on television and say he's the conservative voice. >> derek torres will not be going -- >> bill: welcome to the light. i'm sorry. >> star u.s. swimmer derek torres will not be going to london to compete for a record olympics. the 45-year-old came in fourth in the 50 meter freestyle qualifying race last night where only the top two spots make it to the olympics. torres has 2012 olympic medals. she missed the mark last night by less than a tenth of a second. she started competing in 1984. >> bill: pretty good for a 45-year-old. >> despite massive storm and power outages independence day celebration will go on at the national mall here tomorrow. >> bill: except thunderstorms predicted. >> pbs featuring a capital 4th

from the west lawn of the capital. >> i looked at the line-up for this capital 4th. i recognize one performer. >> "dancing with the stars" host tom bergeron is hosting the show this year where performers include the national symphony orangest ra -- orchestra "american idol" winner and matthew broderick. country singer josh turner, amber riley from glee, kool & the gang and anton ohno. >> i don't know matthew broderick. >> i said i do know matthew broderick. >> bill: i've seen that show. it is a fabulous evening just to be on the front of the capitol there. i went with lynn woolsey one year. member of congress from sonoma. we got up on stage dancing. it was wild. >> wow really? >> bill: yeah.

they were watching the show on television. there's bill on stage! she knew i was there with lynn woolsey so she didn't suspect anything. but it was just a fun evening. people picnic on the lawn. and then you're right there. you have the best view of the 4th. the fireworks on the mall. it is really great. thank you, dan. hey, how about it. you know, it is not too early in the morning for drugs is it? never too early in the morning for drugs. yeah we talk about politics. on the "full court press." a lot of other -- more to life than just politics. i saw this report last night. maybe you saw it on abc news. that just showed again once again, how powerful and how crooked these great big drug companies are. don't get me wrong. they do come up with a lot of good drugs they save a lot of lives and do us a lot of good. we all depend on them at some point in our life. but they also -- some of them at

least -- have pretty sloppy and pretty shameful business practices that every once in awhile come to light. and the latest is glaxosmithkline, gsk they're referred to, a big british firm, one of the biggest yesterday the justice department announcing criminal charges filed against gsk and they admitted to them. here's james cole of the justice department. >> today, i'm pleased to announce that the justice department of and our law enforcement partners have reached an historic $3 billion resolution with the pharmaceutical manufacturer glaxosmithkline llc. >> bill: $3 billion and james cole said this is serious stuff for which people could go to jail. >> gsk will plead guilty to criminal charges and pay a $1 billion criminal fine and forfeiture for illegally marketing and promoting the drugs paxil and well putin for

uses not approved by the fda. >> bill: what they were doing right, is they were pushing this paxil which is a depressant drug on little kids without telling parents and without doctors telling parents that paxil in younger kids could introduce suicidal thoughts in underage kids like young teens and secondly, there is another drug called well butte rin which they were promoting, it is a depression anti-depressant drug. they were promoting it for weight loss when it has nothing to do with weight loss and increase of sexual appetite. nothing to do with that either. another drug called evan dra. they forgot to tell the fda that their research had shown that evan dra could increase the risk of a heart attack which it did in some patients and where some patients died of that. and then as thomas showed last

night, where i saw the report on abc news, and nbc news by the way did the same report. similar report. they had these wild parties in vegas where they would invite their sales staff in and it was just like some shameful, shameful over-the-top promotion to go out and make as much money as you can selling this drug! these drugs. here it is. >> their senior executive for pharmaceutical giant glaxosmithkline at a pep rally for their sales team in las vegas. >> who wants to be a millionaire? >> the goal to rev up sales as part of what prosecutors say was a culture of greed where patient safety took a backseat to profit. >> you do the math. there are people in this room who are going to make an ungodly sum of money. >> the company apparent spared

no expense to entice doctors. >> ungodly sum of money. >> what they were giving doctors, they were giving doctors hawaiian vacations, i have vacations in bermuda and vacations in jamaica big luxurious spa treatments, hunting preserves special hunting trips, all of this to doctors for prescribing their medication for people who didn't need it. who shouldn't be taking it and for illnesses which the drugs were not even designed for or created for. it is a whole huge scam. they got caught thanks to four whistle blowers at gsk who said to the justice department you ought to look into these practices. but here's the question that i come back to. i want to ask you about. is you know, gsk is only one of many many pharmaceutical companies and you see them all the time who are running these spots, running ads on national

television. if you ever watch the evening news doesn't matter whether it is cbs nbc or cnn or abc or whatever, you will find what are most of the commercials? most of the commercials are drug companies talking about drugs that are -- not over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs and convincing you to go to your doctor, not just to get better but go to your doctor and ask for a specific drug. and like, for example -- i'll tell you how bad it is. this morning peter and i wanted to bring up this little p.r. thomas clip we played for you. but in order to watch the p.r. thomas clip first on abc news, the web site, you have to watch this ad for this drug, what is it? pradaxa. you have to watch it in order to get the p.r. thomas report which ends like this. >> other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset

or burning. >> having afib not caused by a heart valve problem increase your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk with pradaxa. >> bill: ask your doctor. spending all of these millions and millions and millions of dollars every year, right to convince us to go to our doctor and ask a specific medication, not going saying hey i've got this little heartburn can you make me better. no, you go in and say i've got this heartburn and i want x drug. i don't think those kind of spots ought to be allowed. i don't. do you? 1-866-55-press. i don't think drug companies should be allowed to advertise on national television. asking people to request a specific drug from their doctor. that decision is up to the doctors. secondly, doctors should not be rewarded for prescribing particular drugs. this payoff, this tickback i think is outrageous, illegal and

ought to be stopped. then the third question is to you about this whole practice, so they fine him $3 billion. is that really big enough? they make $3 billion a year. this is just chump change for them. so they lose one year of profits in the united states. by the way the company pays $3 billion. operating cost, nobody goes to jail. no individual was charged. just like what we did with wall street. we let them go. 1-866-55-press. this is the time to crack down on the big pharmaceutical companies. time to stop this kind of advertising. i know you see it. you can't watch television without seeing it. 1-866-55-press. >> announcer: heard around the country. and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show." septic disasters are disgusting and costly, but avoidable. the rid-x

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cu ♪ take just one more ♪ it's been dumbed down ♪ long before romney ♪ ever did ♪ >> thank you . >> stephanie: 45 minutes after the hour. we'll be back as we close "the stephanie miller show." >> on "the stephanie miller show" in suburban america this

>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: 26 minutes after the hour now here on a beautiful tuesday morning. july 3rd. it is hot hot hot hot hot all the way across the country. maybe a couple of degrees as much as 5 degrees which means it is 95. instead of 100. so take your relief where you can get it, i guess. we're talking about the big fine yesterday against glaxosmithkline. $3 billion. for misrepresenting what some drugs were all about. but they really didn't fine them for what i think ought to be prohibited and that's the spots we're flooded with on

television. telling us to go to our doctor and demand a specific medication. don't leave it up to the doctor to say this is what you ought to be taking. tell the doctor i want this drug stuart is down in st. petersburg florida. what do you say? >> caller: very good morning and i hope you have a great 4th. >> bill: thank you happy birthday to you. >> caller: thank you sir. i would agree with you 100%. the advertising they do is very cleverly. they say discuss with your doctor. code word "i want." >> bill: yeah. >> caller: abc, all the networks will do one thing. they will not turn down the almighty revenue dollar. >> bill: that's right. >> caller: they're going to put those things on there, i would agree with you. it always says discuss with your doctor. i feel like who the -- sorry, i was about to say something. who would think of stuff like

this? oh i got gout, i have depression. i need this. >> bill: i got you stuart. i agree, too. maybe i'm old-fashioned but you go to the doctor, here's why i'm here. let him decide what you need. don't go in and demand any particular drug. raji is calling from ft. lauderdale florida. good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. love your show. >> bill: thank you. >> caller: great topic. i agree with you. the pharmaceutical companies are get kickbacks and they're getting paid way more than $3 billion if you ask me. but i'm also curious sometimes i wonder if some of the pharmaceutical companies are advising doctors hey stop selling brand x that patients love and push off brand y and we'll give you trips here. >> bill: they are! absolutely, they are. that's whole part and parcel of it. you get that from us. you won't get it from this other manufacturer. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

or before that when they've had administrations, they would keep spending all of the cut taxes, putting it all on the national debt and after they ran it up high enough, they would say oh my god, look at this national debt. we can't do this. they'll try to kill social security, medicare and everything they've always wanted to kill in the first place. basically a conspiracy leaving our national security at risk. >> bill: well, you know, that was a david stockman theory, i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? hershey's drops. a lot of hershey's happiness in little drops of milk chocolate. and cookies n creme. pure hershey's.

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we are the trail-blazers, the truth seekers. >>every night we will drill down on the day's top stories in search of facts that inform. >>we are the rule breakers. >>be afraid, be very afraid. >>the investigators. >>our system is fundamentally broken. in a time that we're supposed to be worried to death about defecits, they're considering lowering corporate taxes. (vo) we are independent. >>a new scientific study shows conservatives hold science in contempt. that's a shocker. >>we are fearless. >> you who are pragmatic, you who are progressive, you who are impatient, uncle sam needs you. >>we push, we prod. >> my job is to keep it real. the good and the bad. (vo) and we don't do talking points. >>we will have a continuous conversation. >>the young turks with cenk uygur at 7. >>i can see both side of this issue. >>viewpoint with eliot spitzer at 8. >>transparency is good in government. the more we know the better. >>the war room with jennifer granholm at 9.

>>i think that's smart politics. (vo) and there's only one place you'll find us: [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: you got it. 33 minutes now after the hour on tuesday, july 3rd. the "full court press" coming to you live from our nation's capital. brought to you today by the united steelworkers and their great international president leo girard. the united steelworkers, good men and women of the united steelworkers under president girard, north america's largest industrial union representing 1.2 million active and retired members. find out more at usw.org. we're taking your calls about

drug companies some of their practices, particularly advertising on television. to lure us into going to the doctor and demanding a certain drug, prescription drug rather than just going to the doctor and saying hey here's the problem i got. what do you prescribe? glaxosmithkline getting fined $3 billion for misrepresenting the effects of various drugs that they manufacture. they paid that fine yesterday admitted to criminal charges. your comments at 1-866-55-press. first we take a little time off to discuss something very important to all americans these days. something that has impacted all of us. two million americans still out of power as a result of the storms last weekend which raises questions certainly about what shape our electric grid is in. we turn to somebody who knows. it is his business. engineer for the electric power research -- oh i'm sorry.

i'm ahead of myself. what am i doing? >> slow down just a little. >> bill: thank you peter. i buzzed ahead here. buzzed ahead over buzzfeed. that's where we always are on tuesdays at 6:30. we like to check in with our friends at buzzfeed. we'll talk about the electric grid later. political reporter mckay hoppin's joins us to talk about all things political. were you getting nervous you were going to have to talk about the electric grid? >> i was frantically googling. [ laughter ] >> bill: do you have power at your house? >> we've had no problems. i'm in new york. >> bill: well there you go. you know something about the grid. it works! hey, interested in a couple of stories that you have written lately. most recently in response to the earth-shaking news about anderson cooper yesterday.

interesting the way he did it and interesting the public response right? >> yeah. it is interesting. he obviously came out yesterday and said that he is gay. it is interesting, the way he did it, he sent an e-mail to the blogger andrew sullivan. this has kind of been an open secret for a long time. he's never denied it but has never directly addressed it. a lot of people thought he would announce it on his show for buzz and ratings but it was a very subtle understated thing. he just said the fact is i am gay. the only reason that i hesitated to come out and say it is because i didn't want to restrict my ability to report in foreign countries but i've decided it is worth saying. so that was the story. >> bill: and in a sense, it was really a great big nonevent, right? >> yeah.

>> bill: i mean -- even like don lemon anchor -- last one i recall coming out like that, don lemon anchor at cnn he made an announcement of it, right? i'm a cnn anchor and i am gay. not a great big fanfare. a little bit more than anderson cooper. with cooper, it was oh, by the way. as you point out, it was no big secret. certainly his friends knew. his family knew and anybody with any gaydar knew. >> right. i think also what's interesting about this being a nonevent as you call it, it really shows kind of where we are as a country with the news media in our culture that anderson cooper who is really one of the most prominent anchors on cable news can come out and say yeah, i'm

gay. and you know, it drove twitter conversation for a couple of hours and then people kind of moved on immediately. >> bill: you know, to me, it braises question -- it raises questions, so it does say a lot about where we've come as a country and look at the acceptance of same-sex marriage in most parts of the country as well. but one area where we -- we're still dragging your feet, if you will on acceptance of a gay lifestyle is in conservative politics in right wing politics in the religious -- eyes of the religious right. i don't want to name any names but there are people -- everybody knows members of congress, senators and members of congress, i could name a few. we know are gay. republicans but they will not say so. they will not come out because they could not get re-elected. they think they could not get re-elected as republicans and in some cases people who did not

get to certain points of leadership in the house or the senate because only because of the fact that they -- everybody knows that they're gay. we still have a ways to go in some circles. >> one of the people i interviewed, we have a story about how this could be actually really good for anderson cooper's career. you can check that out at buzz feed. one of the people i interview is rick granel. i don't know if you remember him. he was the foreign policy spokesman for the romney campaign for about a minute who's openly gay. >> bill: yeah. >> there were some voices among social conservatives who kind of let this public campaign -- who led this public campaign to get rid of him and amid this controversy, he ended up leaving the campaign. it was a big controversy for the campaign. i interviewed him and he said nice things about anderson and how this will probably be good for his show. but yeah, you're right. he would tell you.

if you wanted to really get into this that yeah, definitely still in the republican party, it is not easy to advance your political career as a politician while being openly gay. >> bill: mckay coppins political reporter for buzz feed. check him out at buzz feed.com. we do our buzz feed moment every tuesday morning. here on the "full court press." so mckay, i don't know your sexuality and i don't really care but i do know that you're a member of the mormon faith. and there was some -- news over the weekend about mitt romney's mormonism sort of coming on public display for the first time almost accidentally up in new hampshire, right? >> yeah. so this is kind of a great story. a reporter over at the associated press casey she had looked up where the local mormon church was near romney's

vacation estate and went there sunday morning and happened to be there at the same time the romney family including mitt romney. and kind of sat there and wrote this nice little story describing where -- describing what mitt romney was like during church. he sang the hymns and chatted with congregants. what's interesting to me and why i kind of picked up on this and wrote about it is that you know, there's really nothing shocking or particularly groundbreaking as far as revelations in that article but it did get people's attention and i think the reason it did is because mitt romney has been so guarded and private about his faith that any tiny glimpse into what he's like in church, even the most boring kind of few details seems like you know, a huge scoop. >> bill: couple of quick

questions. first of all, i don't know casey hunt, is that her name? is she a mormon? if not -- i didn't think you were allowed to go to a mormon church if you're not mormon. >> that's an important point. the mormon church does welcome visitors. casey hunter is not mormon as far as i know. but the reason i think there's confusion is there are mormon temples then mormon chapels. mormon chapels, there are 18,000 of them throughout the world. they're open on sundays for church and the church actually very aggressively tries to invite visitors. temples are where they have sacred ordinances and oak mormons -- and only mormons. >> bill: romney is not just a mormon. romney was a bishop. what does that mean? what do you have to pledge to become a bishop? >> well, a bishop is a lay reader of the congregation. we don't have paid pastors in the church so he was tapped at

one point for a few years to be a bishop. and that is -- that's a prominent position usually given to members of the church who are successful, very faithful and willing to devote a significant amount of time to that. but you know, he didn't have to make any special covenants or pledges. frankly, like said, 18,000 chapels throughout the world many more congregations. there are a lot of men out there who become bishops for a time. >> bill: men only? >> only men yes. only men are allowed to be bishops. mitt romney is very, very mormon. >> bill: sounds like the -- like the catholic church, the mormon faith has a little progress to make there in the area of sex discrimination. hey, mckay so good to have you with us again this morning. thank you for joining us on the "full court press" and we'll give you a week to go back and bone up on the electric grid and we'll talk to you again. >> thanks, bill.

>> bill: mckay coppins buzz feed.com. boy, you can see i'm already on vacation. i don't know whether it's the pain pills or the idea that tomorrow is the holiday. >> stop drinking! it's not the 4th yet. >> bill: i'll have another sip. >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show." now on current tv. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to.

oh, no. if al gore's watching today... unwrap your paradise. soft, sweet coconut covered in rich, creamy chocolate. almond joy and mounds. unwrap paradise.

you've heard bill's views, now let's hear yours. politically direct means no b.s. just telling you what's going on in politics today. >>at the only on-line forum with a direct line to bill press. >>it's something i've been waiting for a long time. >>join the debate now. >> announcer: radio meets television. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. you got it. 13 minutes before the top of the hour. hope you're having a good morning here and thank you for making the "full court press"

part of your morning on your local progressive talk radio station. be sure to thank them and support them and support their advertisers. we're coming to you also live this hour on sirius x.m. and on, of course, all three hours on current tv from every corner of this great land. talking about the big action taken against pharmaceutical giant gsk yesterday by the justice department. but gsk being fined $3 billion for misrepresenting the impacts effects of different drugs. they're not the only ones. we see all of the pharmaceutical companies advertising on national television, trying to lure us and convince us that we need a particular drug and go to the doctor and demand it. john abramson, before we get back to your calls at 1-866-55-press john abramson is a professor who specializes in this up at harvard writing a book called "overdosed america" and says the problem is doj

didn't go far enough. >> it won't have much impact. they're selling $3 billion a year of some of the drugs that are involved in this action. so it's just a cost of doing business. they have to give some money back to the federal government. >> bill: yeah, this is what they throw by the wayside in order to get away with these practices. the idea that docs would get all of these special benefits and these goodies talk about a goody bag right? paid full paid trip to some swank resort in hawaii, jamaica bermuda just for prescribing a certain drug whether we need it or not outrageous! andy is calling from wilmington, delaware. andy, what do you say, good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. i'm a little confused. are drugs -- do drug people have the first amendment right to put their resumes out there? you know what?

i'm trying to get excited about this issue. if you've watched any of the commercials, no matter how glitzy they are, there is a frightening list of aftereffects. >> bill: i know. every one of them. 30 seconds out of 60 seconds is spent felling you what could go wrong by taking this drug, right? >> caller: i've hear instance, an anticholesterol drug that says at the end this drug does not prevent heart disease or stroke. what the hell do you take that kind of a medication for then? there are some drugs in these advertisements that say taking this drug may result in death. i mean isn't that enough of a warning for people? >> bill: no, no, no! you know why they do it, andy, they have to put that in but the reason they're still spending millions on the ads is because they work. there are enough idiots out there who will see this and say oh i need paxil or i need

whatever. i don't even know all of the drugs. >> caller: have you ever asked your doctor for a drug? >> bill: no. i must tell you, absolutely not. i'm old-fashioned. i go to the doctor and say hey i got this sore throat or i got this pain in my chest or whatever, right and then the doctor examines me and says here's what you've got and here's what i would recommend you take. i have never never gone in -- >> caller: i don't mean to interrupt. i have a feeling these commercials are just directed at doctors. >> bill: well that, too. could very well be. i must admit thanks, andy for the call. always good to hear from you. i had a -- one time years ago i moderated a panel at a conference of pharmaceutical companies. down in florida somewhere. and this was not my panel but they did have a panel on this

very topic and these were drug companies debating among themselves whether these commercials ought to be allowed on television. so even within the industry, they know that there's something kind of not quite kosher about them. there's something a little sleazy about these kind of ads. >> the thing that sort of rung a bell for me is when we talked about paula deen, you know, who made herself very unhealthy and then when she got super unhealthy, it became official she had diabetes, she becomes a spokesperson for a drug company. >> bill: for a diabetes drug. >> she's no doctor! what does she know about it? >> bill: exactly. john is calling from canton, michigan. hey, john. >> caller: hey bill. how are you guys? first, i would like to apologize , because of the storm you can there may be background noise. i've only really had something against pharmaceutical companies because i think they're taking advantage of their so-called

patients. they're cash cows, something to get a quick profit out of them. i think this $3 billion fine is a more of a slap on the wrist. you can't let these people slide because like you said, they're really advertising drugs to tell you to the go to the doctor and take this when you don't really need to take it. the side effects are worse than -- than what you really need the medicine for. >> bill: you plight not need that medication and that medication might be the worst thing for you for that particular illness that you might have at the time. as i said, they were promoting and getting docs to prescribe wellbutrin i think it is called for weight loss and increasing your sexual appetite when it really was an antidepressant drug. so look, i'm glad that gsk got caught. i'm glad they got slammed but they didn't get slammed enough if you ask me.

still you watch the news tonight. you'll see all of these ads promoting, trying to convince us that we need a particular drug and then demand that from our doctor. bad news. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." [ voice of dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good now it's guaranteed. [ normal voice ] so i can trust 'em.

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if you missed joy behar one week only... >>hey, time flies when you're having fun. >>don't worry because she'll be back. >>where are the lefties besides on current tv? >>joy behar is getting her own show coming to current tv this fall. >> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any >> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any time, this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: all right very excited. we're going to get around to talking about the electric grid at the top of the next hour.

we'll also welcome judd legum from think progress in studio. yesterday we talked about the minimum wage with arthur delaney. maury perry has a great idea. tie the minimum wage increase to congressional raises. if they give themselves a raise everybody else gets a raise. good plan. kirk raises a good question. why do progressives use the word "conservative"? what is the opposite of progressive? regressive. that's what we should use. over and over again. not a bad plan. we talked about tiger woods yesterday. and bill says hey bill, you may want -- he should donate his entire winnings, $1.17 million to his foundation. well good for tiger. he did a good thing and i salute him for it. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[ laughter ] >> bill: pile up your trash and cake it down to the kkk highway. >> they may have swayed me with that one.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hello everybody. good morning. good tuesday morning. it is tuesday july 3rd. so good to see you today. welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. bringing you all of the big stories of the day from our nation's capital. around the country and around the globe. we'll not only tell you what's going on, we'll get you involved in the conversation and take your calls at 1-866-55-press. good to have you with us this morning. and there's a big split in the republican party over the supreme court decision on healthcare. a lot of republicans like john boehner and mitch mcconnell says this proves president obama

is guilty of the largest tax increase in american history. but the mitt romney campaign says no, no, no, it's not a tax increase. it is a penalty. not a tax a penalty. thank you, mitt romney for destroying the republican talking points. we'll have a lot of fun with that and a whole lot more here in the next two hours together but first, we start out -- couldn't start out without getting the latest from jacki schechner out in los angeles. hello, jacki. it's all yours. >> thank you bill. good morning everyone. how much do you think it costs to keep a secret? according to an annual report by the information security oversight office, it costs more than $11 billion a year. that's just the price of the cost of things they know about. it costs more than twice as much as it did about a decade ago. "the new york times" estimating that the agencies left out of this report could bring the total up to $13 billion. expenses include security clearance investigations, equipment, salaries, training,

it's not only increased counterterrorism since 9-11 but it's also the cost of keeping decades old secret from the cold war era. some experts will say they're classifying too much information and not declassifying quickly enough but of course, there are arguments for keeping secrets from even as long as the cold war era. starting tomorrow, herman cain is launching his own internet television channel, the trailer alone is a piece of work. >> benjamin franklin once said democracy is two rules. voting on what you have, liberty is a well-armed lamb contested to vote. let's give a lamb a gun. >> from the video posted on cain's facebook page, it looks like his station will have everything from what appears to be a homeless person's commentary, an animated attack on the president questionable comedy documentaries and bizarre political cartoons. he spares no one in his attacks. it will be quite the luck.

it starts again tomorrow. back after the break. we'll see you on the other side. this week the experts are wrong. failing is good and wall street is bad. but how does vinod khosla really feel?

it's like chicken and crunchy stuff got married! i only use french's french fried onions on my crunchy onion chicken because it's america's number one brand. just minutes to make, then bake! of sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong. we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support our

eliot spitzer joins the new news network. we don't stop until we get answers that are truthful, serious, not based on simplistic answers.

>>only on current tv. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey we're ready for the 4th of july. it's tomorrow. let's start celebrating today. it is tuesday july 3rd. day before the big birthday celebration. good to see you today. hope you're having a start of a good tuesday. and maybe the middle of a good week if you're lucky enough to take the week off. it seems like a lot of people did. there ain't nobody else around washington, d.c. today. it is a ghost town. but we're here for you.

at least four days out of the five days this week. to bring you the big stories happening here in our nation's capital, around the country and around the globe. and giving. >> chance to sound off at 1-866-55-press. our morning conversation with you, having a seat at the table. 1-866-55-press. what do you say? here they are all ready for the big celebration. peter ogborn and dan henning. hi guys. >> hi, bill. >> bill: going out of town? >> no, no big plans at all. >> bill: what can you do when you just have one day? >> skip over to the shore eat some crabs then come back tomorrow. >> my entire family is out of town. >> bill: is that right? >> it is like christmas for me. >> bill: cyprian bowlding, did you get power back yet? >> no! >> bill: oh!

>> he's been sleeping in the booth. >> bill: i would ask cyprian to come over to my house but i have a wife and kids. >> bill: who are out of town. >> are they out of town? geez i forgot about that. >> bill: we got a bunk for you tonight, cyp. the guest room at the ogborn residence. [ laughter ] >> bill: all right. well you know, chris christie, there's something about chris christie i like actually just because i don't like his politics but he's such an unsmooth politician. and doesn't make any bones about it. he called a reporter stupid yesterday. called a reporter an idiot. then he actually talked about his weight. and admitted that yeah, he's got a problem. don't we all have a problem, he says? >> you can go without drinking. you can live every day without

taking drugs. you can't live every day without eating. in some ways, it is a really difficult thing to deal with. i've struggled with it for the last 30 years on and off. i'm trying. it may not look like i'm trying sometimes but i am. >> bill: he does have a point. you do have to eat. you don't have to eat as much as he eats, right? you don't have to eat the same kind of crap that -- >> you don't have to eat a bucket of fried chicken. >> bill: also, here's the news of the day is he admits that he is working with a trainer. >> i work out with a trainer four days a week. so i'm exercising a lot more than i did five years ago. i'm trying to eat better. it is a really difficult life to eat better with running around all the time and grabbing things on the go but i'm trying to eat better. >> bill: do we have the name of his trainer? >> that trainer did not want his name out there. i can assure you! that trainer was watching please don't say my name, please don't

say my name, please don't say my name. >> bill: here are my famous clients. maybe you know some of my famous clients. hear my success stories. you know how they have the before and after photos. >> the before and the before and the before and the -- >> bill: and the not change. got a great line-up for you today. it is tuesday. tuesdays with judd legum from think progress. tom, one of the top people at the center for american progress will be here to talk more about the healthcare decision and we'll cover the political landscape with julie mason from p.o.t.u.s. x.m. as a "friend of bill" in the next hour. but first -- >> this is the "full court press." >> on this tuesday, other headlines making news, the worst-kept secret in the broadcast media world finally came out yesterday. anderson cooper came out saying in an e-mail to the daily beat the fact is i'm gay. the cnn host says he did not make it public until now because

he want to the maintain privacy for professional reasons. cooper says he thought people thought he was hiding something and he didn't want to give that impression. he's proud to say far and wide that he's gay. >> our top winner in the showcase is gay! >> bill: that was his announcement yesterday. >> katie holmes is wasting no time getting away from tom cruise. "people" magazine telling us she and daughter suri secretly bought and moved into a new apartment in new york city blindsiding her soon to be ex. she was also in good spirits back at work yesterday on project runway on the set and not wearing a wedding ring and has hired her own security detail ditching the one with tom cruise was paying for. >> i can't wait for her first interview. i'm so excited. >> bill: i can't wait for the church of scientology to come crushing down on tom. >> another big upset --

>> bill: i should not have said the church of scientology. the last thing it is a church. it is a cult. >> another big upset -- >> bill: should be illegal. >> i'm leaving now. i don't want to deal with the fallout from that. >> another big upset at wimbledon. maria sharapova the number one women's player in the world was ousted by germany's player 6-4 6-3. sharapova did make it to the finals last year but lost there too. as americans still in the tournament serena williams and brian baker all still alive in the third round. >> bill: a lot of upsets. dan, thank you very much. yes indeed. here's something that we don't talk about very much. but a lot of people are talking about it these days. in the sense of two million americans still most of them on the east coast still without power as a result of the storms last weekend. which raises all kinds of

questions. about the -- what shape america's electric grid is in. we wanted to get some answers today. we found somebody who knows all about it. an engineer with the electric power research institute. matt, thanks for joining us. >> good morning, bill, good to be here. >> bill: we hear infrastructure, we think about roads. we think about power plants maybe, water treatment plants but the electric grid is certainly a big part of our infrastructure. what shape is it in today overall generally nationwide? >> i would have to say if you look at the reliability of the system in general people's lights are pretty much on all of the time. in general the system is in pretty good shape. >> bill: no matter what shape

it's in, you can't do anything about storms, right? natural events like that. they're always going to be some disruptions to power correct? >> that's right. i think again, i was listening to your show there ahead of time. you guys are right in the middle of it now seeing the restoration and the repair underway and we were watching from down here in charlotte as the local utilities do their best to get all of you folks back. >> bill: charlotte was pretty hard hit both weatherwise tempwise and some outages down there. >> more temperature for us down here. we had an extended period of over 100. that certainly puts stress on the system but the winter storm the straight winds you saw in your area, we did not catch down here as bad. >> bill: now do we have an electric grid nationwide for the 21st century? are we still limping along as we are with other parts of our

infrastructure with 20th, if not 19th century facilities? >> the system design has not changed fundamentally over the years. and again, i would go back to the overall reliability that we see is really good. the system that we design today is driven by rates that utilities are able to get through regulation. and if you look at it in general, the system is pretty reliable. it is the storms that happen that really put a big focus on the design itself, the infrastructure, the age and if you look really closely, you're going to see these large trees that came down up in your area. i've been watching the television and seeing pictures in some of the neighborhoods. the balance that utilities try to i guess take is the folks in those neighborhoods very resistant to those trees being trimmed. rightly so. they want the neighborhoods to look decent.

when the big trees come over, we call it tree failure from the root. they come over right into the infrastructure and that's when those big trees come down. that's when we really have difficulty restoring. we have to repair the poles, all of those conductors have to be placed up in the air. that takes an extraordinary amount of time. so it is really one of the main drivers in some of the big events when you see the big trees come over from the roots not a limb failure but from the roots. that's what's occurred up in your area. >> bill: i didn't lose -- we had a big tree down on our street close here to the studio. we did not lose any power but in this area, in the washington, d.c. area, there are still hundreds of thousands of people out of power. and if any of them are watching or listen this morning however they are with battery-powered appliances rate, and they hear you say that the system's in pretty good shape and utilities are doing a pretty good job

they won't be happy to hear that matt. they say what the hell is taking you so long. they were saying it could be until next sunday which is over a week. from the storm. that they could restore power. and again why aren't they on the job faster with more people and knowing how to do this. >> in the rural areas, i would guess that could be right. >> bill: these are urban areas. i'm talking about right here in the washington, d.c. area. not in the boonies. bethesda and you know, gaithersburg, those areas are still areas without power. >> again, not being there on the ground, i don't know precisely what they're dealing with. again from what i can see from the reports on tv and otherwise, it is the tree damage. if you can imagine the whole entire infrastructure coming down over areas, all of those poles need to be replaced. the amount of crews resources that the local utilities are

able to marshal is driven through the ei assistance program which works very well. there are thousands of crews coming from as far as texas and canada headed toward you folks to do the restoration. now the trick is to figure out where the damage is the most severe. and try to direct those crews right at those areas and frankly, when the damage is as widespread as what you've seen, you can imagine how difficult it is to get those crews right on to the work as quickly as possible. and prioritize to get to everybody in a timely fashion. it is just a matter of the magnitude of the devastation from what we can see down here. >> bill: matt olearczyk is with the electric power research institute. matt, i want to come back to the idea of the overall electric grid nationwide which i saw is pretty reliable and in pretty good shape. i've heard and seen reports that

we need to upgrade that system. but taking your word for it, i also see that epri, you in particular, i guess, have talked about one way to monitor the health of this -- of the grid would be the use of drones? >> yeah, well specifically, the idea would be to use unmanned vehicles to do damage assessment following an event like you just have seen in your region where we would fly this unmanned drone or uas system and with high desks video -- high definition video be able to do reconnaissance, ascertain the damage to where we can send in the repair crews primarily to those customers who need it first. these would be the hospitals the nursing homes the critical customers and prioritize those first and move down the line, commercial residential and the drone we feel by flying overhead

can give the utility restoration incident commanders much better vision into the damage that's happened, much better ability to do the assessment and surgically send in the repair crews. today what happens is we've got to send workers on the ground in trucks to go visually look at the damage. walk street by street, some of streets you were mentioning before and go look at the trees the damage, call that in and then do the assessment in the back office. that takes some time. that's how it is done today. we believe with the hues -- use of the vehicles, flying a drone or even a helicopter or fixed wing aircraft with this type system, we can improve the damage assessment or the front end of a storm event like you've just seen. >> bill: have you actually -- have any utilities so far as you know or any group of utilities applied for permission to use drones? >> yes. >> we have. we are working with some of our utility funders namely southern

company, con edison new york and others who are interested in this are scheduled to work with new mexico state university and ourselves to fly prototype flights of these vehicles over the terrain and some of the circuitry and that infrastructure to test out the entire concept and prove out it can work. we will take a position from a research perspective and drive out a design for the technologies that's needed to actually accomplish this. we believe it can happen. it is just a matter of time. >> bill: it is a matter of time and it seems that it may be a matter of valuable airspace. every time i turn around, somebody is thinking about a possible use for a drone but the faa has opened the door to commercial uses of drones or for public safety cases like this. hey, matt, it is a busy time for you. appreciate you taking time for us this morning. matt olearczyk with the electric

power research institute. thanks for joining us. >> thank you very much. >> bill: lots of questions for me and for you. i don't know that i see any evidence that -- to back up what -- he knows more about than i do. first one to admit that. i didn't think our electric power grid was in such great shape as he says it is. maybe because we only hear about it when people lose their power and if there are two million people without power maybe we should look at the bright side of things, that means 348 million americans have power. think positive. always look on the bright side of life. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." septic disasters are disgusting and costly, but avoidable. the rid-x septic subscriber program helps prevent backups by if you missed joy behar one week only... >>hey, time flies when you're having fun. >>don't worry because she'll be back. >>where are the lefties besides on current tv? >>joy behar is getting her own

show coming to current tv this fall. septic disasters are disgusting and costly, but avoidable. the rid-x septic subscriber program helps prevent backups by

cu we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... [ ♪ theme ♪ ]

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: you got it. it it's 27 minutes after the hour now. judd legum from think progress in studio for the next half hour here on the "full court press." and don't forget you can always talk about not just by giving us a call but talk about what's going on by joining our chat room. the "full court press" chat room. go to current.com and join in with your fellow viewers and fellow listeners. and just talk it up. talk it up about what we are talking about at the moment. very unusual event in american local politics at any rate. the city of anchorage alaska, where we are proud to be on station 1080 up in anchorage

alaska. has a new mayor. the new mayor of anchorage alaska, daniel sullivan, who was very smart. he went on vacation in hawaii and he took the oath of office via skype. >> i daniel sullivan solemnly swear or affirm that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> bill: how about that. and it is legal. he didn't even have to be there. i wonder if he had his hand on a bible in hawaii or anything, right? >> who knows. >> bill: but i'll tell you, i would vote for that guy for maybe. anybody who is smart enough to leave alaska and go to hawaii for a vacation, right? this guy knows what he's doing. absolutely. all right. judd legum, think progress next. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

>>we talk a lot about the influence of money in politics. it is the defining issue of this era. the candidate with the most money, does win.

>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour on july 3rd. day before the big birthday celebration, the "full court press" coming to you live all across this great land of ours. on your local progressive talk radio station. and on current tv. of course brought to you today by the sheet metalworkers international association. the good men and women of the sheet metalworkers union under president joseph nij row a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. find out more at smwia.org. as you know, we're here with

you, three hours every morning talking about all of the big issues of the day and people always say my god three hours? three hours to fill? where do you get all of your material? i tell them, we get our material from think progress. thinkprogress.org. maybe not the sole source but one of our main sources. we go to the source himself this morning. every tuesday. we welcome judd legum from think progress to the studio. judd, thank you for being here and coming in again today. >> great to be back with you. >> bill: good! lots and lots going on. so you know, gertrude stein famously, a rose is a rose is a rose. the republicans are trying to say a tax is a tax is a tax about healthcare but mitt romney says no. you shouldn't call it a tax because it's not a tax right? >> yeah well -- >> bill: interesting to see the split among republicans. they can't get their act together here. >> i was waiting to see how they would react. because right after the supreme

court ruling, you had every republican come out and really hammer this idea that this was a tax. and that they were going to stick it to obama. >> the largest tax increase. >> bill: somebody said yesterday in the history of the world. >> that's point one on the list of talking points. >> i think it was like 45 different republicans were on television and radio and in papers saying this. it was really every single person but we didn't hear anything from romney until yesterday morning when eric fehrnstrom who's basically one of his top guys, top strategists -- >> bill: etch-a-sketch fehrnstrom -- >> famous for the etch-a-sketch comments. we disagree and we don't agree this was a tax. >> bill: he was on with chuck todd on msnbc. peter, there are two clips of -- first, this is -- the second

one. this is where he makes -- because chuck pushes him and eric todd first says well, you have to know an hour after the decision, governor romney came out and said he disagreed with a majority but then chuck pushes him again. now what is it? what did you call it in massachusetts. here's eric fehrnstrom. >> what did you call it in massachusetts? were you guys calling it a tax or a penalty? >> it was a penalty and the governor had all of the authority he needed under our state constitution to put in place the reforms that he did put in place. >> bill: eric fehrnstrom who was -- who is top advisor to romney now and was with romney as governor of massachusetts as his chief of staff or whatever, a top aide. so he's saying no, it's not a tax. it is a penalty. >> really what this reminds us is this idea that everyone has the responsibility to get health insurance as long as we can make it affordable and if you don't you should pay. what really is a modest penalty

under this law. more modest than i think some of the healthcare experts would have even liked to see is not a liberal or a radical idea. in fact, this was an idea that was really created or championed by the heritage foundation, one of the most conservative think tanks in the country. and so that's what we're running up against. >> bill: romney called it a responsibility fee or something like that. i mean they use that word. >> it is essentially a fundamentally conservative idea. it was the conservative alternative to some of the things that hillary clinton was proposing back in the early '90s. to see it twisted and wrapped around now as this radical takeover of the country, it is really -- it is a challenge for them. that's where i think the romney campaign is running up against. >> bill: what i think is kind

of fun to watch almost is that the republicans -- fighting among themselves. the romney campaign has really taken all the air out of the balloon, right? in the sense that republicans had decided, their talking points tax tax tax tax obama, biggest tax in history all of that kind of stuff. they can't do it now because the romney campaign has undone the whole argument. >> chris christie who is one of his surrogates, probably not a potential v.p. candidate but certainly one of the big romney supporters, was on this morning and they asked -- they pushed him on it. because now everybody is going to get asked. he said you know, really, it is both. it is both a tax and a penalty. which is kind of course dodging the question. but it's putting people in uncomfortable position because you've either got to decide with the leadership in the house john boehner with the leadership in the senate. mitch mcconnell or with the

presidential candidate because they have diametrically opposed views now on what this is. >> bill: think progress and others have also reported another aspect of the response to the supreme court decision on healthcare is that some governors now republican governors are saying hey on medicaid, they gave us an out. they say we don't have to expand medicaid so we're not going to do so. what's going on now? >> this is really astounding. we went out and we actually contacted all 50 states, contacted whoever the administrator was for the medicaid expansion and asked them. and -- >> bill: medicaid expansion as allowed by the affordable care act. >> as subsidized incredibly by the federal government so the federal government is essentially ready to hand the states billions of dollars in exchange for a centrally medicaid's the program that

covers the very poor and gives them healthcare and really expanding it out because there's a gap of people who really can't afford coverage but are covered by medicaid now. and under traditional medicaid, you know, the states are paid 40%, 45% of the cost. here the federal government is ready to pick up 90% of the cost. actually 100% for the first four years and then 90% so it is a great deal for the states. but there's ten republican governors who have already decided they are going to reject this money. to avoid paying the 10% they're going to reject the 90% and that, according to studies by the kaiser foundation which tracks this kind of stuff, that would leave 3.5 million additional people uninsured if they go through with this. >> bill: the governors first

of all they're idiots. how can you look a gift horse in the mouth in effect. we had senator tom harkin on the program yesterday. senator harkin said you have to understand these governors are basically just bloviating right now. he thinks once the state legislatures see that here's the federal government saying we'll pick up your cost. and save you -- the states, as you point out are paying 40% of medicaid. we're going to pick up all of it. we're going to save you all of the money and thin when we come back and you have to pay -- it will only be 10% not 40%. senator harkin thinks the state legislature will never reject this. >> i think he's probably right. the end of the day right now -- >> bill: the governors could lose their jobs. >> exactly. right now, it is about opposing obama care. it is a political move. but once this fight as we get to the election ends, something will happen, obama will win romney will win something will happen.

it will be over the political fight. it is really going to come down to dollars and cents. actually, even the 10% they're going to have to pay it will be a net savings of money because right now, it is not like all of these folks don't get any healthcare. they're having to go to emergency rooms they're essentially drives up premiums for everyone else. so overall you're going to have a net savingses of money. you're really giving away not only all of the free money from the federal government but additional -- you're incurring additional cost for your state. i think eventually, i think senator harkin is right that the political costs seem to be too high for this to be sustainable. >> bill: it just seems to me at some point the republicans have to come up with a new song book here. they keep saying repeal, repeal, repeal repeal. well unconstitutional, unconstitutional. guess what, right? and i mean i saw some articles

yesterday, even some republicans are saying we have to come up with a new argument. we just can't say we're going to repeal this. more and more of it first of all, they can't repeal it that easily. for romney to say he's going to repeal it on day one of his presidency is just blowing smoke. he doesn't have the authority to do that. he may be president but he can't pass a bill and sign it himself right? >> right. no. that's right. >> bill: he can't do it. more and more of these provisions as they kick in, more and more people are signing up. it becomes more and more popular. i saw one of the networks this morning, i was watching one of the morning shows 13% said they oppose of americans all of the affordable care act. other provisions have a lot of support, right? so there's not even the public support right now to repeal this thing. yet they keep talking like john boehner yesterday said we're going to have a vote to repeal next week and they will.

>> and i think that's where the desperation kicks in on the republicans right now because they rick that look -- that look, if this expansion kicks in and you start covering millions of more people, no one's going to be able to kick off millions of people and take away their healthcare. >> bill: i just think they ran out of gas on this thing. certainly with the help of the supreme court. bill o'reilly must have been watching think progress. he had something to say about that finally last night and we'll get into that and a whole lot more with judd legum. any questions on the tax is a tax is a tax or is it really a penalty. 1-866-55-press. we'll be right back. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." take the gamble out of stain removal.

only resolve all-stains has two formula chambers ♪ take just one more ♪ it's been dumbed down ♪ long before romney ♪ ever did ♪ >> thank you . >> stephanie: 45 minutes after the hour. we'll be back as we close "the stephanie miller show." >> on "the stephanie miller show" in suburban america this morning. >> it's "the stephanie miller show." [ ♪ music ♪ ] take the gamble out of stain removal. only resolve all-stains has two formula chambers to remove all types of stains. using shout or oxiclean? that's just playing the odds. don't chance it, resolve it. see a resolve difference or it's free. what makes hershey's s'mores special? pure chocolate goodness that brings people together. hershey's makes it a s'more... you make it special. pure hershey's.

of sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong. we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support our if you missed joy behar one week only... >>hey, time flies when you're having fun. >>don't worry because she'll be back. >>where are the lefties besides on current tv? >>joy behar is getting her own show coming to current tv this fall.

>> announcer: this is the "full >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show" now on current tv. >> bill: 12 minutes before the top of the hour. julie mason from p.o.t.u.s. sirius x.m. will be here as a "friend of bill" in the next hour. tom perriello from the center for american progress joining us as well. right now we're visiting with judd legum from think progress. thinkprogress.org is where you find it. sign up, make it one of your favorites. check it several times a day as do we. take your calls about healthcare and the tax or penalty at 1-866-55-press. judd, before we move on, bill o'reilly, you were one of the one to point out that bill

o'reilly said back in march, it will be a 5-4 decision to overturn the affordable care act and if i'm wrong, i will come on tv and admit that i'm an idiot. now, he wasn't here -- to be fair, he was not -- he was off on a break when the supreme court decision came out. but he finally was back on the air last night and he kind of fessed up. >> i'm not really sorry but i am a man of my word so i apologize for not factoring in that john roberts situation. truthfully, i never in a million years thought the chief justice would go beyond the scope of the commerce clause debate and into taxation. i may be an idiot for not considering that. >> bill: i may be an idiot for not considering that. you got him! >> interesting kind of apology that's prefaced with i'm not really sorry but i promised i would apologize so let me do that anyway. give him credit. he did follow through and

apologized so even if he's not really sorry. >> bill: kind of. >> i'll give himmel 50% credit. he also said he wasn't sorry. >> bill: which is more than what most people do. hey, richard is a caller from aurora illinois. what do you say? good morning sir. >> caller: good morning. as a conservative, i think what we have to do, it is like roe v. wade, it is like the gun decision. once it's law and it goes through the process it's law. now let's move on. i called senator kirk's office and shot him an e-mail then i called boehner's office and shot them an e-mail saying you have to move on. what i want for my conservatives -- my conservative leadership is protection from -- i mean from a tax and now we have to move into a world where we have to be protected from -- now i hear from the left, now

let's just move it on to single payer. the cam's nose under the tent. that's the kind of stuff that was always -- thought it would happen. you give them an inch and they'll take every aspect of your life. >> bill: go ahead, go ahead. >> now i want the republicans to act like they're supposed to act and protect us from the other side. >> bill: richard, just a couple of comments. first of all, you don't have to worry about the single payer. i'm a single payer guy. it won't happen. president obama has said it will not happen. and in this debate over healthcare, president obama took single payer off the table from the beginning. said it is not an option. you might hear a dennis kucinich or bill press talk about it. it is not going to happen. don't worry about that. back on the other thing and i appreciate the call, richard. judd, let me ask you. i saw an article somewhere this morning where there are a lot of republican voices now telling

their republican leadership as richard just did hey guys, move on. get off this horse right? you beat this horse to death. now let's go on and talk about some other issues. let's go back and talk about jobs again right? >> there's actually a poll that came out yesterday that found it was 56% of americans to 38% on the other side said it is time opponents of obama care should move on to other issues. that they shouldn't continue to try to oppose it, repeal it. and it is a real tension because the republicans have been insisting jobs are the only issue we want to talk about. the romney campaign clearly their mission is to not talk about immigration, not talk about healthcare which obviously is a little bit difficult for them and to get on the job so to the extent that they're focused holding votes really meaningless votes in the house to repeal obama care, they're shifting their focus and i think a lot of republicans like your

caller, even if they oppose obama care are ready to kind of shift the focus and that's going to be -- it is going to be a difficult tenure because there are other people who are so against it that they never want to shift the focus. they all want to talk about this forever. >> bill: i think it has become a loser for them to continue to do so. just about a minute left. i have to ask you this. we've heard a lot of reports. this is unusual to hear reports about the inner workings of the supreme court and the fact john roberts might have, at one time, been with the four conservatives but they went a bridge too far. he said i can't go there. they put lots of pressure on him to come back. >> yeah. i'll tell you i encourage people. look at the "new york times" today. they have a story on this. look at the last -- right at the end of the last two paragraphs, there is a very important part there where they talk about how jan crawford, a cbs reporter, is justice thomas' favorite

reporter, singled out by him as a favorite reporter and essentially signaling to the readers that it was thomas who was potentially the leak for this information trying to suggest that john roberts was influenced by media coverage and different commentators saying this would can -- if he didn't uphold the mandate, it would undermine the authority of the court. you have to read between the lines. it is right at the end of the story. it is unmistakable. i think it is a huge breach of judicial ethics if thomas was behind this leak of the inner workings. >> bill: one more reason why clarence thomas ought to resign. the leaker in chief! oh, my god. judd legum good stuff. thinkprogress.org. check it out. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

the real world and politics collide on "the gavin newsom show." this week the experts are wrong. failing is good and wall street is bad. but how does vinod khosla really feel? [ ♪ theme ♪ ] [ ♪ theme ♪ ] [ ♪ theme ♪ ]

press show." [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: the president's schedule today one short line from the white house. today, the president will remain at camp david. that's it. >> busy schedule, huh? >> bill: no briefing, no press briefing, no presidential briefing. no work. no nothing. he's at camp david and you know what? good for him! mitt romney is on vacation. president obama is on vacation. the bill press team is here on the job! with the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

of him in fund-raising.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: good morning everybody! what do you say? it is tuesday july 3rd. how about it. big holiday tomorrow. and we begin the birthday celebration right here. welcome to the "full court press" on current tv this tuesday morning. good to have you with us as we do a little roundup of the big stories of the day here in our nation's capital around the country, around the globe. and take your calls on what it all means and the big story of the day really, big, big breaking news today. have you heard? birds fly. fish swim and yes anderson cooper is gay.

that's what he told the world yesterday. but in the sense who cares? the question is not is anderson cooper gay the question is can he get enough ratings to save cnn? i doubt it. we'll talk about that and a whole lot more. first, today's current news update here she is out in los angeles, jacki schechner. >> good morning, everyone. the obama campaign financing its attack on mitt romney, bain capital and shipping jobs overseas. the new ad out today follows three that aired last week in iowa, ohio and virginia and takes on the issue of outsourcing. >> he supports tax breaks for companies that shift jobs overseas. president obama believes in insourcing. he fought to save the u.s. auto industry. >> the ads going up in nine swing states including those former three. the ads are based on a "washington post" article that talked about romney's time at bain capital and the romney campaign has asked that it be retracted making a note that it

did not distinguish between outsourcing and offshoring. the paper however standing by its story. factcheck.org has criticized the obama campaign ad saying that mitt romney cannot be blamed for anything that happened after his time at bain capital which he ended in 1999 but as the obama campaign fought back and points out that factcheck needs to check its facts. romney, even though he officially left in 1999 was still affiliated with bain until at least 2002. romney has got one public event on his schedule this week and that's a parade while he's at his family home in wolf boro, new hampshire. now g.o.p. sources are saying new hampshire senator kelly ayotte will join him in marching the parade. she's on the short list of vice presidential candidates. also going to new hampshire this week will be senator rob portman from ohio. he too is on the short list. we're back with more bill press after the break. you can join us online

current.com/billpress. we'll see you there. current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. it's like chicken and crunchy stuff got married! i only use french's french fried onions on my crunchy onion chicken because it's america's number one brand. just minutes to make, then bake!

the real world and politics collide on "the gavin newsom show." this week the experts are wrong. failing is good and wall street is bad. but how does vinod khosla really feel?

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. the 4th of july but guess what i still don't like the star-spangled banner. i still think we need a new national anthem. >> oh, jesus. >> bill: i hate to rain on the parade. >> open that. >> bill: i'm not giving up even on the 3rd of july. hello, everybody. it is the "full court press." on this tuesday july 3rd. so good to see you today. so good to have you with us as we come to you live all the way across this great land from our nation's capital. coming to you live on your local

progressive talk radio station and on current tv and we're so proud and pleased to welcome back into the studio today as a "friend of bill" for this hour, our good friend from sirius x.m. p.o.t.u.s. channel host of her own show on the p.o.t.u.s. channel, julie mason. >> i love the star-spangled banner. >> bill: no! >> not really but it is part of america. >> bill: don't get me started. >> you want to debate? i can walk right out. >> you might need to break them up. >> bill: i just think it is time -- god bless america. >> be careful what you wish for because they're going to have katy perry write it or justin bieber and it is not going to be any good. it will be tacky. >> bill: we would have bruce springsteen write it. in fact, he's already got the great songs. >> i've always said the best national anthem would be muskrat love by captain and ten ten

he'll. can we start drinking yet? it is like 4th of july eve. >> i was told there would be mimosas, bill. [ laughter ] >> spiked water. >> bill: what can i say? how about pain pills? would you take pain pills? >> you come to our studios and we serve you vodka. >> okay. >> bill: oxycontin. hillbilly cocaine? [ laughter ] >> oh, lord. >> bill: i think we were saying -- okay. by the way. [ laughter ] >> bill: you and i were probably never treated like this. chris christie has a way when reporters ask questions that he doesn't like ond doesn't expect, here he is yesterday up in new jersey. he was trying to talk about -- i don't know, the heat wave or something but this reporter asked not an unintelligent question. >> on monday, are you going to

be addressing the legislature? >> did i say on topic? are you stupid? >> no, i'm not stupid. >> next question. >> how many days will you have them come back? >> thank you all very much. sorry for that. >> bill: sorry for the idiot. did i say on topic? are you stupid? >> the impeerious governorship. reporters like that. >> bill: you must admit he is colorful. >> so fun to cover. >> bill: so then he went on, another show -- night line, he was asked about the fact that he basically says whatever he thinks. this is the way he was raised. >> i think we're all a product of the way we were raised. i think you know, i was just raised in a circumstance where my mother emphasized that to us that in a trusting relationship, you know, you leave nothing left unsaid. >> bill: i would like to have heard the dinner conversations at the christie household.

>> probably like the shy quiet bookish one in that family. you know what will be great when he runs for president against an drew cuomo the of two of them hot heads. >> bill: my mom taught me to be obnoxious. being obnoxious is a way to be real. >> it is a part of virtue. >> bill: in new jersey. julie mason is here as a "friend of bill" for this hour. we'll be joined by tom perriello a little bit later. but first the headlines of the day. >> i do. it starts with the worst kept secret in the broadcast media world finally coming out yesterday. anderson cooper coming out saying in an e-mail to the daily beast "the fact is i'm gay." >> bill: what? >> our winner in the showcase is gay! >> the cnn host said he did not make it public until now because he wanted to maintain privacy for professional reasons. he thinks the less his interview subjects know about him the better a reporter he can be but

he felt that people thought he was hiding something and he didn't. to give that impression so he is proud to say far and wide he is gay. >> bill: who would have thunk it. >> in other news, wolf blitzer is not actually a wolf. [ laughter ] >> bill: in other news, fish swim. >> information that didn't need confirmation. >> bill: the only question is who's next? >> who's next? you're on my list, bill. [ laughter ] >> bill: i have a few members of congress i could -- >> no runoff for the final spot in the u.s. olympic women's 100 meter race. after that amazing photo finish for third race, geneva conceded the final spot to her training partner allison felix yesterday. >> bill: why? >> they were originally set to do a runoff. she will still go -- >> bill: i thought they were going to flip a coin. >> they were going to run a runoff. but it got canceled when she

conceded. she will remain an alternate for the 100 meter race and will likely race in the 400 meter relay. >> bill: i still want to know why. what prompted her not to run? >> because she said that she felt she won the first time so now it was allison's chance to win. >> bill: oh come on. >> i have never heard a more -- >> sportsmanship. >> what is this? >> bill: i must admit i suspect there was money involved. >> independents say celebrations are set to go on the national mall here in d.c. pbs featuring a capital 4th hosted from the west lawn of the capital by "dancing with the stars" host tom bergeron. performers include national symphony orchestra, "american idol" winner, matthew broderick and kelly o'hara from broadway. country singer josh turner, also amber riley from glee and kool & the gang as well. >> i recognize kool & the gang. >> that's awesome.

all the rest of them -- >> glee, that's big. >> is it big? >> you don't watch glee? >> bill: it is big in oxford, maryland. where are you going to watch the fireworks? south lawn of the white house? probably? >> truman balcony. how about you, bill? some glamorous rooftop party and some impossibly chic neighborhood? >> how did you know? >> bill: you nailed it. rooftop party in georgetown. >> see how you are? >> bill: there you go. absolutely. and don't ask me how i'm going to get home because the traffic will be a bear. >> wear your walking shoes. >> lord knows he is not going to drive. >> bill: indeed. so julie, good to have you with us this morning. what i want to know is so -- let's talk a little bit about healthcare. is it a tax or not? >> it is a penalty. it is a penalty. >> bill: the republicans can't make up their mind. >> the white house is tying itself into knots.

they love the supreme court ruling but not the part where they say it is a tax. everyone is trying to have it both ways. >> bill: the problem is not on the democratic side. the problem is the republican talking points went out saying call it a tax it is the biggest quote-unquote, the biggest tax in history of the united states if not the world. >> the supreme court said it was a tax. i believe it is a penalty. they said it was a tax. >> bill: but the romney campaign yesterday we know, eric fehrnstrom famous for his etch-a-sketch -- this guy should not be doing so much national tv. >> he's a truth teller. >> bill: he goes on with chuck todd and chuck pushes him a little bit first of all at first just about the response -- he's trying to get an answer to this question. eric fehrnstrom tries to dodge it at first. >> what did you call it in massachusetts? was the mandate, was it a tax or a penalty? what did you call it in massachusetts? >> first, let me say that when

the supreme court ruling came down last week, within an hour or two governor romney went before the cameras and he said that he disagreed with the ruling. he disagreed with the findings of the ruling. he disagreed with the logic that supported those findings. he said he agreed with the dissent written by justice scalia and the dissent clearly stated the mandate was not a tax. >> bill: there's the attempt to duck and say we were out there within an hour of siding with the opposition with the minority opinion. chuck todd won't let him off the hook. >> what did you call it in massachusetts? were you guys calling it a tax or a penalty? >> it was a penalty. and the governor had all of the authority he needed under our state constitution to put in place the -- >> bill: so when the romney -- leading person for the romney campaign says it is a penalty it sort of takes the legs out from under john boehner argument right? >> and a mitch mcconnell argument. well almost. it just makes him inconsistent. i don't know if it undercuts

plus i think it was one of the beltway obsessions, people either like healthcare reform or they don't. it is noise in the distance. >> bill: speaking of beltway if you will, obsessions, but it might mean more than that. there are now several stories that have come out about the fact that john roberts who wrote the majority opinion actually started on the other side and then switched his -- he thought the conservatives had maybe gone too far in this case. he went back and sided with the four more liberal members of the court. i don't know whether you've had a chance to see it this morning judd legum from think progress just pointed it out to us that in "the new york times" this morning, it is revealed, somebody apparently leaked this roberts move and according to "the new york times," the leaker might very well have been clarence thomas. >> that's extraordinary! >> bill: because thomas is very -- the one who reported on this roberts move, if you will, was jan crawford from --

>> well cbs news. she used to work for "the chicago tribune." >> bill: he, justice thomas has called her out by name and said there are some people, wonderful people who do a fantastic job of covering the court like jan greenberg. >> she used to be greenberg. one year, "the chicago tribune" brought clarence thomas to the white house correspondents' dinner. >> bill: whoa. >> that was when she was with the paper. so i'm not saying he she was his source. >> bill: the times by mentioning this relationship sort of indicates -- this is very unusual isn't it? >> it is extraordinary to be able to report the inner goings on of the supreme court. we haven't seen that not really since woodward's book. that was very much after the fact but to be doing like sort of real time reporting out of the supreme court i mean jan has just broken down a whole new barrier in journalism. >> bill: if it's true, it

seems to me that this proves that there may be some trouble with a capital t inside the supreme court. >> if they're talking yeah. >> bill: they have always prided themselves on the fact that they can agree and disagree and inside the court you know. they have these animated certainly not ugly but really heated discussions about some of the issues but it stays inside the court. >> right. >> bill: if it they have one member -- >> she had two sources in her story, looked like two sources. i mean she's just -- i'm so proud of her. i think think progress and some other news organizations have cast dispersions on her and called her a conservative and everything and that's completely unfair. >> bill: i think she's a great reporter. >> i really do. >> bill: if she's got a good source whoever it is, good for her for developing those sources. i wanted to ask you one other thing about the -- this whole 2012 thing. it is sort of refreshing this

week -- >> the whole 2012 thing? that little thing off in the distance. >> bill: some people are concerned about. it is nice to have president obama and mitt romney both on vacation this week. >> and congress! i feel like i can breathe. i can take a full lung full of air. >> bill: get a good time-out here. we all need it. >> we talk about them like they're still here. >> bill: what's interesting to me is we remember cory booker and ed rendell and bill clinton for a moment coming out and saying you know what? president obama your campaign, you better knock off this bain thing. just knock it off now. the polls showed one reason they haven't knocked it off is because it seems to be working. >> it gets a little bit of traction. right. it seems like the polls have shown mitt romney really -- people don't know him. they're not sure they like what they hear about him. he's having a hard time reintroducing himself to america

and having it take hold. >> bill: and the fact that he does, he romney continues to talk about i'm a businessman at bain capital. i know how to create jobs. so then obama campaign comes in and says let's look at your record at bain capital. i saw the ad again on television last night watching the news, this obama ad that says when they have romney saying i know how to create jobs. it didn't work then and it doesn't work today. so again it looks like it is an effective message and people who don't know romney see this ad and say hmm not as good as we might have thought at one time. i guess the bottom line is we're going to hear more about bain capital. >> we are. also his term as governor. it is interesting being governor having served as a governor of a state is such a high level sort of prep for being president. being in congress, not -- maybe the senate but there's no really sort of apprenticeship for being

president that's like being a governor. we never hear mitt romney talk about his term as governor. >> bill: no. that's why we've had so many people run for governor -- run for president successfully for governor bush being one. because you're an executive. you've got a budget. you work with the legislature. you work with democrats and republicans. you bring that experience. bill clinton, same thing. jimmy carter. let's go down the list. not all but former governors have kind of surpassed being a senator or a member of congress. in fact, remember one of the things about barack obama was no senator has been elected since john f. kennedy so it ain't gonna happen. proof we're not always right about these things either. julie mason is in studio with us. a pro and good friend with the sirius x.m. p.o.t.u.s. channel from noon to 3:00 east coast right? >> mm-hmm. >> bill: every day. >> channel 124. >> bill: sirius x.m. here on the "full court press"

as a "friend of bill" today. we'll be right back and take your calls at 1-866-55-press. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces?

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of sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong. we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support ourcu if you missed joy behar one week only... >>hey, time flies when you're having fun. >>don't worry because she'll be back. >>where are the lefties besides

on current tv? >>joy behar is getting her own show coming to current tv this fall. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 26 minutes after the hour. tom perriello from the center for american progress is the man who ran for congress on the issue in virginia on universal healthcare. was elected. voted for the affordable care act and then was defeated

because of the vote in virginia. he'll be here to give his take on the supreme court ruling with with me and julie mason from sirius x.m. p.o.t.u.s. channel 124. >> you got it. >> bill: in studio with us. one of our favorite members of congress of course is alan west, not that we agree with anything he says. he's just nuts. >> always entertaining. >> bill: so alan west, who used to represent the palm beach area decided which is a democratic area, somehow he won that seat. he did. so with redistricting he looked and he said oh, there is a district up in the northern part of the state i think i would be better off in. so he has actually moved his residence and he's now running up around jacksonville, i believe it is. yesterday he was introducing himself to the new members of his new district where not all republicans are happy that he's there. he was met are some protestors.

here's what he had to say. >> he does not want you to have self-esteem of getting up and having that title of american. he would rather you be his slave. >> bill: he's saying president obama would rather that we be his slave. >> what! what! >> bill: we might add, alan west is an african-american. >> so strange! >> bill: isn't it though? they get away with saying stuff like this. i have to say i don't know who the republican opposition is in that district. i think the republican party would be better off with somebody -- >> how does jeb bush allow this to happen in florida? >> bill: god bless you, julie mason. i knew this was a way to blame this on one of the bushes! i was trying to blame it on w. blame it on his brother. >> yeah! >> bill: tom perriello joins

us next. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low

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granholm at 9. >>i think that's smart politics. (vo) and there's only one place you'll find us: >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. here we go. the "full court press" on this tuesday, july 3rd. we're celebrating america's birthday here in studio with julie mason from sirius x.m. p.o.t.u.s. channel 124 from noon to 3:00 hosting her own show. julie. welcome back. >> bill. >> bill: joined now by a former member of congress, big supporter of universal healthcare, may have lost his job because he voted for the obama care and the affordable care act, he's now president of

the center for american progress action fund, tom perriello. nice to see you. thanks for coming back in. >> good to be here. good morning. >> bill: you guys at the center were all prepped all prepared to go public with your response to the supreme court decision last thursday. were you surprised? did you have one prepared for upholding the entire damn thing? >> we did. and you know, i had actually -- i had thought it was going to come down 6-3 in favor so kennedy was the biggest surprise to me. it really was -- >> bill: you thought roberts would be the -- >> i did. when you look at -- it is in print. if you look at it from a constitutional perspective, this was really well within the bounds of where constitutional -- i wrote a piece the day before saying this was really not a choice between liberal constitutionists and conservativestitutionallists -- constitutionalists and

federationists, those who supported the articles of federation, these didn't have the interstate commerce clause. didn't have the general welfare tax and spend provisions, the founders tried that approach with the articles and rejected it and wrote a discussion and many people have been upset ever since. but you know you saw conservative constitutionalists consistently supporting the constitutionality of the bill. people at jay harvey wilkinson very respected conservative jurists. ultimately, this was a question about whether roberts was going to put himself in the conservative constitutionalist camp. >> bill: i did see most constitutional scholars regardless of their political philosophy, they did feel that constitutionally it passed muster but the feeling was that this court this conservative roberts court would not go that way. at least that was what most people, julie, were predicting. >> i was surprised bill, i was surprised they upheld it. i was surprised about roberts

everything. i was so sure it was going to get blown out of the water. >> bill: why did roberts do this? >> we can't know. >> go ahead and speculate. >> bill: what do you think? >> everybody enjoys speculating. i think ultimately, the case wasn't there against the bill. i think he was not persuaded. i think his feeling was this was -- he gave a very conservative ruling, let's be clear. this was a 4-1-4 decision, not a 5-4 decision because he explicitly rejects the grounds that four of the members, i would say the moderate to liberal members said were within bounds. >> bill: they would have gone with the commerce clause. >> commerce. >> tom, do you think that roberts was concerned about the standing of the court? >> i'm sure he takes that very seriously as a chief justice and as someone who really -- >> people have so lost faith in instructions, including the supreme court. >> it is true. i think that those things both explicitly and implicitly affect

him but i think that you have to believe that the guy was looking at the constitutional arguments. if one even has a legitimate disagreement on the commerce clause, the idea of not seeing it within the taxing powers is particularly absurd. i think for kennedy to sign on to a dissent for full repeal was shocking. i think it was a shocking act of judicial activism and just because it was in the dissent and doesn't have that power doesn't make it less shocking that a guy who's said to be in the o'connor tradition showed he's very clearly not. >> bill: it was particularly out of character it seemed to be out of character for what we thought about anthony kennedy. but i want to come back to what you said about the standing of the court. because i interviewed justice -- former justice john paul stevens a couple of weeks ago. and asked him about the fact that whether he was concerned that the public approval rating for the supreme court, this was two weeks ago was 44%. at one time, it was up in the

70s. >> people thought that the court made decisions based on political considerations over the law. >> bill: you were pointing out that since this decision -- >> 56% now approve of the u.s. supreme court. that was right after the decision but -- that was whether or not they agreed with what the court did. it is still 44-44 for and against healthcare reform but 56% have now a good opinion. >> it makes you wonder back during the very contentious years of '09 and '10 if there had been a couple of republican to cross lines for energy independence or preventing a depression what that might have done for people's confidence in congress and the senate but you didn't see any of that crossing of lines in any meaningful way. here i think people will respect that about roberts. it doesn't make citizens united go away. it doesn't change the fact he's a deeply conservative jurist. again, a conservative

constitutionalist. we're going to continue to have very important fights about the court. but i think in this case, people so rarely see that sort of statesmanship. >> bill: a lot of conservatives didn't hesitate to throw roberts under the bus though. >> the anguish. >> bill: ugly stuff man. >> the sadness the heartbreak. >> bill: whatever happened to -- but you know, you mentioned -- >> i hope they pile that on, as terrible as that is to treat a justice in that way particularly when he's done that act, i think it shows people exactly where this logic comes from. we saw this during the healthcare bill with groups like the aarp who had been respected to standing up for seniors but then the second they disagreed with the facts that people wanted to exist then it is not a question of saying oh, maybe i need to reevaluate the bill, it's oh, we're going to throw the aarp under the bus. >> bill: here at the table tom perriello and julie mason

from the sirius x.m. p.o.t.u.s. channel and you. now the response from the republican side to the supreme court decision, want to ask you both about. julie and i talked about this a little bit tom, at the very top of the hour. the republicans are saying well some, john boehner mitch mcconnell saying this proves what we said all along. this is a tax. it is a huge tax the biggest tax increase in the history of the world. and boehner and mcconnell are still saying what we're going to do is we're still going to repeal it. john boehner is scheduled to vote next week to repeal yet again the affordable care act. so is this the way to go? let's start with the repeal. isn't this getting a little old? >> i think it is an asinine move. they don't ask me for a lot of advice from boehner's office but if the constitution handed the president a big victory on healthcare with an assist from john roberts the congressional

republicans are handing him -- turning it into a big victory on jobs. because the fact is people want the country want our leaders focused on jobs and the economy. the president has had a jobs bill on congress's desk for over a year now and the president's now in a strong position to be able to say can we finally get to my jobs bill and the republican response is no, we want to keep litigating this healthcare fight that people are exhausted with. >> bill: it does seem to be getting tired julie. >> it does. >> bill: even some critics of president obama have said get off this thing! let's move on. >> mitch mcconnell said over the weekend he only needs 51 votess to repeal it in the senate. because repealing it would reduce the deficit, he doesn't need a super majority to get it done. i don't think he can get it done. i'm not sure you can make the case that repealing healthcare reform will reduce the deficit. i think it was sold to us on the premise that passing healthcare reform would reduce the deficit. it has become a very convoluted argument. at the same time, the polls

already show, bill, that americans, voters want congress and washington to move on, to get on to other issues. this is a look behind us. >> let's be clear who's driving this. rush limbaugh told john boehner before this happened, you have no choice but full repeal if you back off of this, we're going to -- we the base are going to go after you. so they know just like with the immigration issue right now that they're losing voters, they're losing independents with this message. but right now, i think they have a base that's telling them they have no choice. >> bill: i saw this in the post last week and one of the networks again this morning that the public opinion polls not that they mean everything but they do mean something of public response to the affordable care act, there are a lot of provisions in there that are pretty popular. right? and so over outright repeal of everything is not necessarily politically smart. >> there were some republicans in congress who wanted to work to keep certain provisions like

the pre-existing conditions and keeping your kids on your insurance until they're 26, that kind of thing. they were advocating let's keep that even if they throw the other stuff out. the larger republican caucus said no, we have to get rid of the whole thing. >> bill: the more people -- the more of these provisions kick in, the more people sign up for various of these provisions, right, the harder it is going to be -- >> the white house has do a better job telling people what's in the bill, selling it, convincing them it is a good idea. >> bill: amen. >> another backwards gift of the repeal effort and again first of all, i think that the president's focused on jobs and rebuilding the middle class. i think the republicans are showing they don't have a plan on that and i think that's what's going to dominate the next few months but the other issue with the healthcare bill is we found people are much more ready to believe that something good is being taken away from them than something good is being given to them. when you say to people, for example, that seniors benefit

from prescription drugs and free preventive care, there is a lot of skepticism. when you say a repeal vote would take that away. they're taking the benefits from seniors, people are more ready to believe that. repeal vote is reminding seniors it was the democrats that pushed for medicare. that defended it over and over again and are trying to prevent the republicans from taking that away. >> bill: julie knows better than anybody we need to take a quick break. i have to squeeze this point in, i'm sorry. on your point. last night watching television, i was stunned to see this commercial about healthcare. i expected it to be anti-affordable care act and it was put out by the obama administration hhs telling people hey you realize now you can get a mammogram and you ought to and there's no co-pay. you can get a colonoscopy and you should and there's no co-pay. you can get a preventive medicine checkup and you should

and there's no co-pay. they have to do more of that so people understand what's in it. we'll be back with the "full court press" with julie mason and tom perriello. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >>we talk a lot about the influence of money in politics. it is the defining issue of this era. the candidate with the most money, does win. this is a national crisis. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. see how much you could save with

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if you missed joy behar one week only... >>hey, time flies when you're having fun. >>don't worry because she'll be back. >>where are the lefties besides on current tv?

>>joy behar is getting her own show coming to current tv this fall. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. 12 minutes before the top of the hour. we go into the july 4th holiday. we're on the "full court press" with tom perriello from the center for american progress action fund. former member of congress and julie mason here with the p.o.t.u.s. x.m.

what have you got on your show today? >> it is always a surprise when i get in. i have no idea. >> bill: is that right? >> i'm serious. >> bill: that's the same here. i have no idea before we get in. >> now i know why you guys get along so well. >> bill: i have no idea once we get start. >> seat of your pants bill. >> bill: we've been going 20 minutes and i forgot to ask you the most important question. >> no, i'm not seeing anyone. >> bill: do you have power? >> i'm a woman in washington and i have power bill. don't deny me! >> bill: that's good. tom, do you have power? >> i have power in alexandria but down in charlottesville, it will be a few days. my brother my sister, my mom -- >> bill: charlottesville? >> you've got listeners down there. >> we do. not that remote. >> no. i've never seen anything like it. i was going through neighborhoods on saturday. checking my sibling' houses and nearly 100% of yards had trees or branches down. i've never seen this volume of

damage. normally after a storm there will be two or three trees that hit power lines. these were entire neighborhoods wiped out. 48 hours later, we had roads serious roads you couldn't pass. people are out there working hard and hydrating a heck of a lot. >> bill: i had a doctors appointment yesterday and i'm in the waiting room there and there's people -- you know people coming in, right and checking in and sitting down. i sat there probably 15 minutes and everybody who came in the first question anybody asked anybody else was so, do you have power? >> it is a great conversation starter. >> bill: that's what everybody was talking about. there's something else i want to ask you too. so we've talked about the republican response to the affordable care act. what should the democratic response be to the supreme court decision? tom? >> first and foremost, i think it is what the democrats have been talking about for the last year which is jobs. and i think --

>> bill: not enough maybe. >> it was a huge victory to get the student loan bill through. go back a couple of months. nobody thought that the president was going to be able to legislate this year. everyone had given up on that. here you had a serious issue. they got a student loan bill through. his dream act order. these are serious things that are affecting people's lives that have gotten through. but i think their core message is about how do we rebuild the american dream. >> bill: getting back to jobs and pushing the jobs. >> in many ways, the healthcare debate goes to the governors. you've got democratic and republican governors who said they're going to work to implement this. hhs is work on the default plan for the states that act like 12-year-olds and say no, we're not going to do it. and don't implement. and then obviously there's a big fight over the medicaid provision which i think there is a lot of huffing and puffing about. it would be fiscally and morally crazy for the republican governors not to participate in this program. working poor and you saw the

nuns on the bus come back yesterday talking about this issue of poverty and the working poor and the moral urgency of this issue. >> bill: julie don't democrats have no now and starting with the president make sure the american people understand what's in this legislation. >> the koch brothers are about to spend $9 million on an ad campaign tearing down healthcare reform, just really taking it apart. the democrats have to be ready with something. tom is absolutely right. the next wave is governors and there's like a republican governor who's willing to implement it but all the rest, chris christie, nikki haley rick perry say no, absolutely not. it will be a huge fight and the federal government says we will impose it on you. >> bill: what's interesting about that. that's what they're saying. today, states spend 40% of medicaid is covered 40% by the states. what the affordable care act says is we want you to expand medicaid and we'll pay for all of it. 100%. for two years.

and then we'll pay for 90% of it. at the end of that time, the states still are paying 30% less than they do. >> so strapped for money they can't afford to pay anything. >> bill: but 10% is a lot less than 40%. >> keep in mind who picks up the bill for this if they don't do it. it is middle class families who have private insurance. >> bill: i think the governors cannot make this case. they cannot make it. >> if you like it or not rick perry is out there. >> bill: they're going to die if they do. >> let's see what happens when they start getting the calls from the heads of the hospitals who consider this dreadfully important. people who realize this is going to send middle class premiums up and the walmarts of the world ho are funding a lot of the people. >> bill: i want to say this about chris christie, he's an idiot if he thinks he can get away with this in new jersey. >> i think you look a little bit like john roberts. >> thank you. >> bill: thank you john. thank you john -- thank you justice for voting the right

way. >> bill: julie mason and tom perriello, happy 4th of july. >> to you as well. >> bill: i'll be back with a quick parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." of sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong. we need more teachers, not fewer

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