[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, hey, hello >> bill: good morning, everybody! happy tuesday tuesday august 28. good to see you today. welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. your morning town hall where we talk about all of the issues in the news today whether it's happening here in washington, d.c., around the country or around the globe and give you a chance to talk about it by taking your calls at 1-866-55-press. great to see you today and today is the official first day now of the republican national convention. but the focus the spotlight is not on tampa. it is on new orleans where

hurricane isaac threatens to hit shore tonight on the 7th anniversary almost to the day of hurricane katrina. so sorry mitt romney. nobody cares about your dumb convention anymore. we'll get into isaac and a whole lot more here on the "full court press." first we take time out as always to start the day with today's current news update from lisa ferguson in los angeles. hi lisa. good morning. >> hi, bill. good morning everyone. it is full speed ahead with the republican national convention today. tampa is missing the brunt of tropical storm isaac and a romney advisor says he expects no change in convention plans over the next three days. today's events start at 2:00 p.m. eastern with the roll call and nominating paul ryan as the vice presidential nominee. we'll later hear from rick santorum who we're expecting to speak on jobs and welfare. as well as ann romney and keynote speaker chris christie. we can expect christie to follow

his signature off-the-cuff style tonight. he says he is not used to working from a written speech and he might stray a bit from the teleprompter. obviously a big charge giving the keynote but the new jersey governor says he's not nervous and his wife says he's as cool as a cucumber. mitt romney will also be headed to tampa today but while it is all systems go for the convention, you can bet republicans are getting a bit nervous behind the scenes. isaac is likely to become a category 2 hurricane before it makes landfall and if it holds its path, it will hit new orleans the same week katrina did seven years ago. the g.o.p. is looking at split screen media coverage at the exact same time romney desperately needs to revamp his image and for another if disaster hits louisiana while the convention is all pomp and circumstance, well that looks pretty bad for republicans. senior democrats say the president will not hesitate to visit the gulf if he's needed and the dnc chairman says he

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than vacuuming alone while neutralizing odors for a clean you can see, smell and really enjoy. don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: mitt romney arrives in tampa. isaac arrives in new orleans. what do you say? hello, everybody. happy tuesday. it is tuesday august 28th. great to see you today. this is the "full court press." we're coming to you live coast-to-coast from our studio here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. our radio factory tv factory and book factory all combined here just down the street from the united states capitol building. great to see you today wherever

you happen to be and if you are in the low-lying areas of louisiana, mississippi or alabama or florida, get out! get out! get out of the way! because hurricane isaac heading your way. not quite a hurricane yet but building to one and expected to hit shore as a category 2. we'll bring you the latest from the gulf coast from tampa from here in washington, d.c., around the country and around the globe. we've got it all covered. we'll take your calls and invite you to join the conversation at any time at 1-866-55-press. good to see you today. we've got lots to talk about. let's get right to it with our team press here. peter ogborn, dan henning and cyprian bowlding our videographer. >> hey, hey, hey. >> bill: i've been meaning to start talking about the fact on september 14th, going up to buffalo. >> nice. >> bill: peter we went up there a few years ago.

>> it has been a long time since i've been to buffalo. >> bill: i went to school out there. favorite part of the country for me. on the 14th of september having a big book signing up in buffalo. and now that i'm there -- i don't remember the name of the bookstore. check it out on the web site. friday evening september 14th. signing paperback copies of my new book, "the obama hate machine." up there with our good friends from wnyy. i'm sorry wkb 1520 a.m. great, great blowtorch of a station. you can actually hear that buffalo station here in washington, d.c. before the sun comes up. >> from canada to cuba. 1520 wwkb. >> bill: is that it? >> i don't know if that's actually it. they can have it if they want it. >> bill: lovefest down in tampa. may not be loving the weather but everybody's loving everybody

else. remember all of those nasty things that people said about each other in the primary? oh no, that's all behind us as herman cain said yesterday he doesn't mind that he's been snubbed for a prime time speaking spot in tampa. no he doesn't mind at all. >> is it because of hard feelings that you aren't taking center stage here? >> oh, no. i was a candidate and we were doing those debates governor romney's one of the most likable people out there. >> you like him? >> i like him. >> bill: oh, yeah, he's so full of it. herman cain. wow. we'll be going to tampa later in this hour to talk to current tv's david shuster on the scene in tampa. also from tampa, we'll be talking to the chair of the democratic national committee. debbie wasserman schultz good friend, great chair of the party. terri o'neil, the president of now, national organization of women as well as judd legum.

tuesdays with judd here on the "full court press." judd legum from think progress. what a great line-up. but first -- >> this is the "full court press." >> on this tuesday other headlines making news a former "american idol" contestant is living a healthier lifestyle thanks to a mean comment from simon cowell. "people" magazine reports mandisa who tried out back in 2006 was the target of a fat joke by then judge simon. he asked as she took the stage if idol was getting a bigger stage because of her large carriage. >> i remember mandisa. that's too funny. >> she has lost 100 pounds and she's without a new album and while she does forgive simon for what he said she does want to go up to him and say how do you like me now? >> why forgive him? he did her a favor. if that's what kicked her into gear to lose weight. >> bill: here's the question. have they built a bigger stage in tampa for chris christie

tonight? [ laughter ] >> bill: where's simon cowell when we need him? >> in a couple of years he may look back. >> mikhail won't be crashing the republican convention. she's invited, there with her boyfriend and his journey is performing in tampa. "the huffington post" confirms the recent divorce will be in attendance but will not have much more than a role than a backstage groupie. >> bill: she will be crashing every party she can. that's what she does. >> tim tebow hasn't made a huge splash with the new york jets in rotation as quarterback along with mark sanchez. the two along with the entire team have failed to score any touchdowns through three nfl preseason games. that's the longest a team has gone without scoring a touchdown in 35 years. yahoo sports reports mark sanchez says they're simply saving the good stuff for the regular season. >> bill: i love that sports

spin. >> they have only put points on the board so far with field goals. >> bill: what i want to know is where's jesus. >> yeah, right. >> bill: jesus is supposedly with tebow. how many times has he done the tebow? it proves that there is a god. he's making fun of tim tebow. all right dan, thank you. >> there is a god. he's got $50 on the giants. >> bill: here we go to tampa. no no, no, not necessarily. the number one story if you watched the news last night. it was not tampa. they might have been reporting from tampa but they were talking about isaac and they were talking about new orleans rightfully so. the latest this morning just a few minutes ago richard pasch from the national hurricane center told the latest on isaac. still crosses the gulf heading for the louisiana coast. >> it's almost a hurricane. maximum winds near 70 miles per hour. it has not been strengthening

very rapidly. >> bill: but still building, still building. expected to be a hurricane category one or two by the time it hits coast. it hits the coast. it looks like it is going to be even a little to the west of new orleans. sparing that city the full brunt of it. but it's not so much the winds although they could get up to 100 miles per hour still they're predicting. now at 70 as you heard him say. it is the rainfall that they're worried about. >> we could see some totals up as high as 20 inches actually in some of the areas here along the north central gulf coast. >> bill: so this is the second time in a row for a republican national convention. you know, they ought to find out who's a guy that schedules the republican national convention and hang him! come on. 2008 it was hurricane gustav. remember they had to cancel the first day of the convention. this time, a lot more serious. it is hurricane -- looks to be hurricane isaac. expected to be, again moving up

to a category two. which is bad news. bad news for mitt romney. bad news for republican party for at least three reasons. number one because the coverage, they're losing media attention. if there is a storm if there are people suffering, there are people being evacuated if their homes, communities towns being flooded, that's where the news media is going to be. that's where the attention is. i didn't see every one of the network news but i saw cbs and nbc. the first 10 minutes was all about the storm. rightfully so. that's where the story is. nothing was happening in tampa. and here's the problem. even tonight that storm hits tonight as it is expected to and tomorrow morning and then there's going to be the aftermath. you know what you're going to see. the convention coverage, they may -- the networks and cables may cover the convention but it will be split screen, one side of the screen will be ann romney with a cheery face and the

delegates with their stupid hats on and on the other side of the screen will be people struggling for their lives sitting on the rooftops waiting to be rescued. that's the last thing the republican party needs. the first thing because the media attention will be shifted. that's first reason it's bad. the second is because what's it going to remind people of? seven years to the day that hurricane katrina struck new orleans. hurricane isaac hitting the gulf coast and whopping new orleans as well. you know, what's it remind you of? hurricane katrina. seven years earlier. and the pittable performance of george bush's fema under michael brown. bush had cut fema, cut the budget for fema. he had moved it from being a cabinet agency which it was under bill clinton down into the

bowels of the then the commerce department i believe. because we didn't have a department of homeland security yet. and fema wasn't on the job. they didn't have the resources to be on the job. there it is. we remember that. it was -- it just brought disgrace to the bush administration. never really recovered from it. and that's what people are going to be -- it is the ghost the ghost of katrina and george w. bush now floating over this republican convention. but the third reason it is bad news is because over the last two years what have the republicans done? they have cut cut cut cut disaster relief spending, the very kind of relief that alabama and mississippi and louisiana and those states and those communities and the cities down there in the coastal plains need right now. it won't be available because of paul ryan and john boehner and eric canter and the republicans in congress. "the new york times" lays it out

this morning. over the last two years 2010 to 2012, get this. the ryan budget results in -- has put -- as a result of it, 43% less money to the primary grants to cities and states from fema. that's $1.8 billion that fema does not have today to give relief which they're demanding to louisiana or to mississippi or to alabama or to florida. to pay for those first responders. to help pay for generators. to pay for whatever supplies they need to get in there and help the people of those states. $1.8 billion short because of the paul ryan budget. because of republicans in congress. not only so they cut the fema budget grants to locals by $1.8 billion. they cut noaaa the weather forecasting agency by $454

million. they tried to cut another $354 million out of fema but democrats blocked it. and what's -- what's the reason why the people of new orleans mitch landrieu from new orleans say we're confident this time. why? because they've got these brand new levees and brand new pumps. i saw them on the news. they're incredible, these pitches that can get the water out of the streets, out of the low-lying areas and pump it back into the river and out of harm's way and those pumps built by the army corps of engineers. republicans and house cut the army corps of engineers budget over the last two years by 21%. so this is the very, very kind of money that these communities are desperately needing today and it is not available because of these republicans. not only that, remember a couple of times when virginia was hit by an earthquake and fema needed to go to congress to get extra money because they didn't have any more money in the cashbox to

help out virginia hit by the earthquake even eric kantor who represented that district said no more money to fema unless we cut money from healthcare or some other place. when missouri was hit by the tornadoes and fema had to go and demand some supplemental money so they could help the poor people of missouri and those communities, the republicans again in congress said no, no, no we're not going to give anymore money to fema for any reason whatsoever. we don't give a rat's ass about the people of missouri. unless we cut head start or we cut food stamps or we cut some other program. so all of these disaster relief moneys -- now listen. here's the contrast. i just want to leave you with. here is bobby jindal, governor of louisiana yesterday, just gets off the phone with president obama with his hand out for money. that's what all of the governors do. i'm not criticizing them. that's what they ought to do for

their people but all of the republican smaller government governors, what's the first thing they do when there is a disaster gimme gimme gimme. here's bobby. he's happy. he got it. >> during the phone call the president let us know he has approved our request for our prelandfall declaration federal declaration of emergency. we made the request yesterday. we certainly appreciate the approval of that request. >> bill: he made the request yesterday. he got it the next day. all right. what little there was to give. now, contrast that with here's paul ryan and the paul ryan budget that cut disaster spending. here's his attitude about fema. >> and so at the end of the day the choice between the president's failed leadership, the big government that he's offering, the borrowing he's offering, the spending and regulating he's offering that will give us a stagnant economy a lost generation, not just a lost decade and the mitt romney/paul ryan plan of getting back to economic freedom and liberties.

>> bill: what he's saying is screw you. we don't care about your damn hurricane or your tornado or your flooding or whatever. we don't care. they'll cut fema funding. i gotta tell you. this is going to come back to haunt these republicans. 1-866-55-press. let's talk about it. the republican convention starting and isaac has stolen the show and republicans once again caught with where their policies lead. their policies lead to disaster. american people realize what these people are all about. you see it? there it is on the split screen. the storm and the people that need help and on the other side of the split screen are the republicans who don't give a damn. 1-866-55-press. let's drive this message home! >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." (vo) every news network will cover the convention. but only current coverage will put you at the collision of tv and social media. we'll provide unsurpassed insight into the

most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, it is 24 minutes after the hour. talking about jeb bush yesterday coming down, clasping down hard >> 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 we go on this tuesday august 28th. republicans get underway tonight with speeches by the main -- speeches by ann romney and governor chris christie giving the keynote address. delegates will also go through their -- well, they will nominate -- nominate mitt romney as their nominee for president of the united states. they will go through the roll call tonight. they want to get that out of the way in case they have to cancel the next two days of the convention. bob schieffer reporting last night that one contingency

they're thinking of is having mitt romney give a speech and everybody goes home. just in case they'll get that out of the way tonight. but the big story of course is isaac and the big story for us is that this is another example of people are going to suffer, communities and states that are not going to have the resources they need to respond to a natural disaster because of the paul ryan republican budget. mike is calling from eureka, california. hey, mike, good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. >> bill: good to talk to you on the west coast there. >> caller: indeed. i'm your often neighbor across -- i've called from marshall many times. >> bill: oh, my god. i was just out there last week. beautiful. go ahead. >> caller: anyway, you're saying all of the right things that we need to get the point across to the right people. i'm using, for example my

daughter in the city and she doesn't have the time -- she's working hard and she's very successful. she doesn't have the time to learn all that needs to be learned and everything that i've heard from you frankly it sounds like the old days of you and pat buchanan. i don't want to hear anymore of this democrat stuff. we need to get bona fidely progressive and move on. >> bill: well, mike, i'm not sure what you're saying. what the hell. i'm doing it three hours a day getting the message out there. i think we've got the message out there. there are a lot of people, maybe your daughter is one of them who don't have time to follow the stuff as close i had as all of the rest of us do but the more we talk about it, the more we fell the truth, the more people will hear it and get the message. that's what progressive radio and television is all about.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." 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

>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. 33 minutes after the hour now. here we go. tuesday, august 28th. we're talking about the big split screen convention, republicans gathering in tampa. isaac bearing down on new orleans. you got the republicans on one side of the screen preaching smaller government. and on the other side, you've got republican governors begging, begging for assistance from the federal government except republicans have cut all of the money out of fema and noaa and the army corps of

engineers. can they -- i mean can they get away with this? 1-866-55-press. should they be? it is the "full court press" here on this tuesday august 28th. coming to you live from our nation's capital brought to you today by ullico, incorporated proudly serving the union workplace for more than 80 years under president ed smith providing specialty insurance risk solutions investment products and services, find out more about the good work at ullico.com. ed smith has a great piece on "huffington post" now about why unions matter. check that out too. at huffingtonpost.com. back to your calls here. virginia caller from alexandria, virginia. what do you say virginia? good morning. >> caller: i'm sending you guys all three a big hug. >> bill: thank you. >> caller: all four because one we hardly see. >> bill: we just have to wave to cyprian. >> caller: he seems like a fine

fellow. i think it is time to talk about trickle up. first you tax the rich then you fund good programs and then the new middle class spends the money and it goes back up to the rich people again. >> bill: well, if only the money would trickle down. there's not much -- al sharpton says we get the down but we don't get the trickle. start at the bottom. that's what president obama wants to do. >> caller: i hope he wins. i really do. otherwise we're in big trouble. >> bill: virginia, we gotta make it happen. one of the ways we'll make it happen is let people know what's going on with these republicans who preach smaller government. then the first thing that happens, a storm hits and they turned around and they've got their hands out for money. i'm not criticizing the people who have their hands out. i'm criticizing the people who preach smaller government and then refuse to accept the responsibility for their actions when you see the disasters strike and the army corps and

the local governments are not able to do the job because of the federal budget cuts. victor calling from down in columbia south carolina. hey, victor, what do you say? >> caller: hi, bill. listen, i'm a little disappointed you're already politicizing this hurricane and it hasn't hit yet. >> bill: wait. i'm just telling the truth victor. i'm telling the truth. what did i say that's not true? >> caller: you already blame paul ryan's budget and it never even got passed. or the democrat's budget. >> bill: whoa. republicans did victor, in fact cut $1.8 billion from fema's primary grant program. okay. that's a fact. that's a fact. it's done. they cut -- what was it? $454 million out of noaa's budget. they're operating with that much money less. don't you think that has an impact? >> caller: that's irrelevant. the democrats have control of the congress to pass -- the past

three years. >> bill: i'm talking about -- during the time the democrats had control of congress, they did not cut fema. over the last two years republicans have cut responsible for fema is operating with $1.8 billion less. now you defend that. you defend that. go ahead. don't attack me for telling the truth. you can't stand the truth. >> caller: i'm attacking you for politicizing a hurricane. >> bill: i'm telling the truth. why is that politicizing it? >> caller: because you're bringing up paul ryan's budget that was never passed. >> bill: guess what, victor. guess what! there is accountability in politics. you're damn right there's accountability in politics and if he cuts the budget, we want people to know about it. he can't get away with having it both ways. his cuts mean something. they hurt people! they hurt people on welfare. they hurt people on food stamps. they hurt people on head start. they hurt people that don't have jobs. they hurt people who have hit by

the hurricanes or tornadoes or earthquakes or whatever and can't get the help that they need. this preaching smaller government and then saying oh, if you tell people what we did you're politicizing it. go to hell. annie is calling from state borrow georgia. >> caller: good morning. i'm proud of you. >> bill: i just gotta calm down here now. >> caller: that's all right. you're telling the truth. i watch you every morning. i'm very proud of you. you speak the truth. somebody has to pull the cover off and i'm proud of you. >> bill: thank you annie. i just want people to know what's going on. >> caller: they cut the budget, like you said. the mayor from louisiana asking for money got his hand out asking for money. number two why mitt romney having a convention instead of worrying about people in the hurricane. okay, let's push it back another day. let's look at the people. let's be concerned about people. number two here's a rich man

don't know nothing about -- having to have money to take children to the doctor. here's a man that says he was a preacher at one time and he lie with a straight face. i don't understand that, you know. and number two why nobody not pushing him. if you call me a liar, i can prove, hey, i'm not lying. and you want him to govern the whole united states and you don't want to open up to us? he's just an undercover man. you tell the truth. you stand up and go out. we're proud of you. because all of the covers have been pulled off of them. he can talk about cutting medicaid. he's a joke to me. >> bill: annie i gotta tell you. you speak truth and power, my friend. i appreciate very much your call. and you know, you said so much. i wanted to comment on. but just on the taxes.

that's what president obama keeps saying. you want us to show you paid your fair share of taxes. you want us to believe you weren't taking advantage of the law to hide your wealth and to avoid paying taxes just release your tax returns. that's what president obama has done and vice president biden and every other presidential candidate. mitt romney ought to do the same. gerald is calling from tampa, florida. hey, gerald, are you down there with the convention? >> yeah but fortunately i'm in a northern suburb and haven't had to deal with that. i have to tell you the fact that that we were getting ready to have a hurricane here in tampa for a bit during the republican convention is making me reevaluate mayate atheism. >> bill: you think god has a message for the republicans? >> caller: i was very amused by the fact that when we thought it was going to hit tampa and you know, these things are very hard to forget. ahead of the republican national

convention. i'm sorry i can't remember his name. was quoted on our local news station as saying we're not worried about it because fema will take care of it. >> bill: oh, really? >> caller: i was appalled! >> bill: seriously they cut fema their grant program 43%. $1.8 billion and then when they need it, it ain't there. >> caller: yeah. the other thing i was driving the other day to work, i went in a little early to do some stuff and here's one of those electronic billboards in red with scary white letters you know how they're serrated. it says obama supports gay marriage and abortion. i thought how low can you go? >> bill: well, you know, let them run on the social issues. i think they're losing issues for them. and i'm proud of the fact that pardon me, the democratic party platform, when we get to charlotte next week, will be the first national political party platform to support marriage

equality and it is about time. gerald, good to hear from you. i hope you is survive the convention. chuck out in santa fe, new mexico. good to hear from you. >> caller: first time calling you. i've been listening to you at night because i haven't been able to sleep too well. i'm glad you told that guy who called you up about politicizing the hurricane. they have no responsibility for what happens. >> bill: they don't want to take accountability for george bush screwing up in new orleans seven years ago right? they don't want to take responsibility for the way that they have really destroyed these emergency relief programs today. >> caller: well, you know, it wasn't only george bush. it started with ronald reagan. i was in california, i was an actor at the time in the screen actor's guild and it gave me the chills that he was governor at the time and was going to run for president.

because he was a nice guy very amiable but very malleable too. >> bill: yeah. you know, what's interesting, it started with reagan but he was more talk than action when it came to cutting government because government actually -- i mean he is a member -- remember the phrase, government is not the solution. government is the problem. but if you look at reagan's budget. if you look at his programs. if you look at a lot of his policies reagan could not get elected today. in this republican party. he could not win a primary today in this republican party because he was by comparison to the tea partiers today ronald reagan was a moderate. that's pretty sad. 1-866-55-press. welcome your calls. we're going to jump down to tampa next and talk to current tv's david shuster on the scene

with whatever the hell is happening down there today. not much. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv.

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national committee debra wasserman schultz joining us a little bit later in the program. down in tampa the convention will finally get underway tonight. there are some 15,000 or more reporters and 4,000 and some delegates. that's four reporters for every single delegate. among the 15 -- current tv's own david shuster. hello, david. good morning. >> how you doing? >> bill: you picked out your four delegates that you're going to be following today? >> you know, it is funny. yesterday, i ran into reince priebus, the rnc chair. he was mad at me because some of the tweets i sent. the republican national committee chair is busy reading his tweets. i would never send any bad tweets about anybody. no. >> bill: i'm impressed he was reading your tweets. very good. >> and then the other funny reaction was i ran into karl rove.

good buddy of mine. he was walking one way and i was walking the other. i said hey karl. he said oh, hey. are you still on tv someplace? i said yes i am. and you? [ laughter ] >> bill: so what is the mood down there? just trying to make the best of a bad situation or what? >> i think that's right. there are a lot of concerns among people putting on the convention about the sensitivity toward isaac and as isaac starts to hit new orleans and the gulf coast, they're very concerned about it. there is a sense here and people are learning a lot about the levee system in new orleans and about acuweather tracks and all of that kind of stuff. there is a sense there's no katrina, it won't cause that sort of damage but they're trying to be sensitive. they don't want to be talking about the economy and things that people are running for their lives because of a hurricane. but you know, the schedule goes

on tonight. the idea is the hurricane would make landfall tomorrow. so at least today they get their schedule in and they'll see what happens tomorrow. tonight, they've got nikki haley and scott walker from wisconsin and the headliners are ann romney and chris christie in the 10:00 hour tonight. they can get the messages out. you'll see chris christie bash president obama and ann romney start to try to soften up mitt romney and tell family stories and talk about what other adversity they think they've been through. >> bill: don't they plan to do the roll call tonight so at least they can get that out of the way and romney's officially the nominee? >> yeah. they were supposed to have an afternoon session yesterday. they're doing that this afternoon. they'll do the roll call and the other thing that will be interesting is they will finally vote on the platform. so interesting they refuse to release the actual platform language until they vote on it.

the language includes detailed descriptions of paul ryan's medicare plan. they want to adopt that as the official republican party platform. that's where you go from doctors and hospitals to the voucher system. no abortion, no exceptions to rape and incest. all of that language gets formally voted on and adopted today. >> bill: we're talking with david shuster current tv's david shuster. you can follow him like reince priebus, you can follow him on twitter. at david shuster. easy enough. so what are the delegates doing if there's no convention activities to go to? no official convention activities? >> last night, there were a lot of parties and it seemed like -- i think all of the parties continue. the delegates wandered over to

the convention yesterday to the "tampa bay times" forum the rean just to check it -- rain just to check it out. you got the sense that last night, the parties are continuing. today, chock-full day of events and stuff. i've heard a lot of delegates missed their flights. a lot of flights are canceled. a lot of people had difficulty getting in because of the havoc isaac was causing. it was sort of an arrival day of sorts. i think people are taking it easy. but i gotta tell you bill, it is not easy getting around downtown tampa. it is like an armed camp. the security perimeters and the fences and the secret service. i had an easier time getting into baghdad six years ago than i did getting into downtown tampa yesterday. it was crazy. >> bill: i would imagine for the 15,000 or so reporters who are there that it's not -- well, if you have to file two stories from tampa today right

or yesterday, must be tough finding good material to talk about. i mean news, news, news. >> yeah, there's really no news. yesterday, it seemed like reporters were all getting excited because of a floor fight over ron paul's support and whether or not he was going to get delegates counted by the state conventions or by the other numbers. it was like well, that's the stuff that they're getting into and then reporters are getting excited. you know it is thin. probably more of the same today. we'll get the platform language and the roll call but it is so contrived on so many levels. >> bill: and do you find that the delegates now have at least warmed up to mitt romney to the point that they put all of those primary concerns behind them and accept them as the nominee? >> i think so. i get the sense delegates here just want to have the time of their life. talking to a delegate last night. he was concerned that romney's

message is way off and that he has no consistent message. you hear a lot of sniping from the delegates who don't think romney is running a very good campaign. the fact of the matter is they're right. but i think the delegates are concerned about the polls. obama slightly ahead. romney should be winning. >> bill: i think you're right. in the end all they want -- they're down there to have a good time. as you are david shuster. we'll see you in charlotte. david shuster covering the convention for current tv. thanks so much david. >> take care bill. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

>> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any show." live on your radio and current tv. >> 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: so we asked yesterday whether it is worth having these conventions anymore. i said no. beth redstone says i agree. haven't thought of it before but you're correct. roger turner wants to know are you going to say the same thing for democrats? >> absolutely. i think no matter which party these conventions have become meaningless. steve harvey says they are worth having because emotional mass rituals like these are social bonding experiences. and john cobb points out yes, it is worth having them but the hookers have gone to great expense to be there for the nonmedia types. ray barry says without the g.o.p. convention, how would i remember to get my septic tank pumped out.

this is the "bill press show."

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: good morning everybody! welcome to the "full court press" on this tuesday august 28th. great to see you today. we are your morning talk show. your morning town hall where we tell you what's going on in the world here in our nation's capital, around the country around the globe. wherever. bring you up to date on the latest news and take your calls at 1-866-55-press. of course, hurricane isaac is heading for the gulf coast. while republicans are partying in tampa. it is too bad the good people of

mississippi, louisiana florida and alabama may not get all the help they need because paul ryan and house republicans cut fema's budget. now people are suffering because of those cuts. we'll get into that and a whole lot more here on today's "full court press." but we start out with the latest today's current news update from lisa ferguson joining us from los angeles. it is all up to you now. good morning lisa. >> hi,. >> bill:. good morning, everyone. here is the latest in abortion news to start off the hour. this should be interesting huh. politico is reporting that susan b. anthony list is launching an ad campaign attacking president obama's stance on abortion. the first ad airs in missouri, the birthplace of todd akin's legitimate rape remark and features a woman born alive despite an attempt to abort her. >> the nurse cared enough to save my life. when he was in the illinois

state senate, barack obama voted to deny basic constitutional protection for babies born alive from an abortion. >> here is what she's referring to. it is called the born alive infants protection act. which then senator obama did vote against. but here is the fact check from think progress. the bill would have required doctors to revive an aborted fetus if it had any even just the slightest chance of survival. mr. obama said that would define all fetuses as humans with human rights and that would under mine roe v. wade and could be used to take down a number of abortion rights legislation. he did say he would completely support another kind of bill if it gave assistance to babies born fully alive even if that's after an attempted abortion. in romney's latest flip on the subject, he's telling cbs that the president whoever that may be, has no power over abortion issues and that will be fully decided by the supreme court. of course, abortion rights advocates say that's just not

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so you will never forget to maintain your system. sign up at rid-x.com. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: mitt romney heads for tampa. and hurricane isaac heads for new orleans. big stories of the day. good morning everybody. it is tuesday august 28th. great to see you today. on this, now the first delayed postponed, official day of the republican national convention. getting underway in tampa with speeches by south carolina governor nikki haley. wisconsin governor scott walker.

new jersey governor chris christie. and, of course, mrs. ann romney. we've got it all covered here on the "full court press" this morning. we'll cover it from every angle including talking to the chair of the democratic national committee who is in tampa. congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz. thank you for joining us here on the "full court press" on current tv and your local progressive talk radio station. we're coming to you live from our nation's capital. and ready to take your calls at 1-866-55-press. here on the job, of course, as always, the entire team. we need everybody here for the republican convention. >> yeah, right. >> bill: no. everybody's gotta be on board full time. peter ogborn and dan henning. >> hey hey. >> good morning. >> bill: videographer cyprian bowlding who gets the big wave. >> one of these days we'll put a microphone in there for cyprian.

>> quiet you! >> bill: who was that in there? >> pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. >> bill: this is the time we're all supposed to get to know mitt romney and like, for example, what cartoon character does mitt romney identify himself with? he was giving an interview to scott pelley from cbs news and told us here's the man that he wants to be. >> all i can do is be who i am. remember that popeye line, i am what i am. >> popeye. >> bill: popeye the sailor man. see mitt romney. >> paul ryan does look a little bit like olive oyl. i can see the resemblance to the ticket there. >> popeye and olive oyl. >> olive oyl. >> then you've got chris christie playing blew bluot. i see a theme here.

>> bill: the republican convention has taken on new meaning. debbie wasserman schultz chair of the entire u.s.a., democratic party. will be joining us from tampa. we'll start off this hour with the mayor of somerville, massachusetts who knows a little bit about mitt romney. judd legum from think progress will be along with our regular tuesdays with judd segment. terri o'neil, president of the national organization for women. but first... >> this is the "full court press." >> other headlines making news on this tuesday. even though her network is struggling and she's no longer hosting her own daytime network talk show, oprah winfrey is still raking in the big bucks. the own president topped "forbes" magazine's newest list of the highest paid celebrities. she earned $165 million for the one-year term ending in may. thanks to having her hand in shows hosted by dr. phil, rachael ray and dr. oz plus her magazine and her satellite radio channel.

director michael bay is second. took in $160 million paycheck thanks to the transformers movie out last year. steven spielberg jerry bruck limier and dr. dre -- bruckheimer and dr. dre round out the top five. >> bill: queen oprah continues to reign. >> a big change at penn state football games this year. the school will no longer play neil diamond's popular song "sweet caroline" during games a tradition for many, many years. espn reports the school's likely banning the song because of the lyrics. the words reaching out touching me touching you hit very close to home inappropriately now following the jerry sandusky scandal. >> bill: oh, is that what they used to play? >> they played it all the time. it was a big thing. the whole crowd would get into it. all 100,000 people in the stadium. with the words in the song -- >> i'm not sure how i feel about that. >> bill: it is a great song. >> it gives a little credence to the jerry sandusky -- you can

move on. you can continue to sing that song. >> bill: it seems to me you could. i don't think they have to -- if they get too -- >> i wouldn't play gary glitter songs at penn state but that one i think you could get away with. >> bill, this story especially for you. a pizza shop in new england has been forced by police to stop its delivery method for getting its pizzas to its customers because they were illegally using segways. >> bill: no, really? >> "huffington post" tells us segways are classified as motor vehicles in the country and require tags and registration which this pizza shop did not have and since they're motor vehicles they can't be driven on sidewalks, until they pony up for registration, they can no longer use their segways. >> bill: you know what? i'm so glad. that's just one more stupid thing people are doing. >> how do you drive a segway with pizzas? >> that's what i want to know. >> the pizza delivery drivers never go out with just one

pizza. you go out with multiple orders. >> bill: that's a good question. >> you're probably carrying three or four pizzas. >> bill: they probably put racks on the segways. >> they've converted things. >> hot pizzas in a backpack? you just made that up! out of thin air. pizza backpacks. okay! >> lie flat. like a big box. >> you are making that up! you are making it up. >> bill: get out of here. you never saw that. >> i'll invent it. >> bill: all i have to say is i hate -- we get our pizzas at this place next door. but if i ever ordered a pizza and if a guy showed up at my door on a segway delivering a pizza, i would say you take that pizza back where it came from. absolutely. all right. thank you very much, there mr. henning. yes, indeed.

part of the whole scene in tampa is what the stories are saying that the goal of the convention is to get people to know mitt romney. get americans to know mitt romney. well, we want to turn to somebody today. there are a lot of people who already do know mitt romney because they have served with him or served under him or served at the same time with him. a lot of people up in massachusetts for sure including the mayor of somerville, massachusetts who joins us on our news line this morning. he was mayor when mitt romney was governor. he's still mayor of somerville, massachusetts. good morning mr. mayor. >> hi, bill, how are you? >> bill: thank you so much for joining us. so what kind of a legacy did mitt romney leave as governor of massachusetts? what's your recollection? >> well, you know, i have a great recollection of governor romney. i hoped back then that he would

use his experience as the private sector. enable new jobs for my city, the state and help small business. but the fact is, mitt failed. romney economics certainly won't work now. we saw a typical takeover artist approach to shift costs on to working class families, small businesses cities and towns without any regard for the consequences. we saw spending increase, debt increase. our job growth lagged behind the rest of the country. romney economics didn't work for massachusetts. it is not going to work now. i wish people would get to know mitt romney and look at his record. you will get a very clear distinction between him and president obama. >> bill: one of the things he brags about is he's a businessman. he knows how to create jobs, right. and obama doesn't. but mitt romney does. so what did he do in terms of jobs for massachusetts? >> well, you know, under mitt

romney private sector jobs growth lagged well behind the national average. in fact, in governor romney's last two years in office, the range of state employees were over 5,000 workers. we ranked seventh in the nation in the size of state government. but massachusetts ranked 41st in private sector job growth. i'm not opposed in particular to hiring more public sector workers if their efforts end up stimulating growth in the economy but i'm not out there claiming as governor romney does, he's a conservative republican and the growth of spending unmitt romney didn't jump start our economy which failed to keep up with the rest of the nation. >> bill: i want to ask you mr. mayor, there's this super

pac that's supporting president obama called the priorities u.s.a. they're out with a new ad this morning and the woman in the ad is a small business owner in massachusetts who has a similar experience that you've had under mitt romney. i want to play a little bit of that ad and get your comment on the other side. here she is. >> i'm an independent. i voted for him. i contributed to him. governor romney promised he would bring jobs to the state. by the time governor romney left office, we had fallen to 47th in the nation in terms of job growth. governor romney cares about big business. he cares about tax cuts for wealthy people. and i certainly do not believe he cares about my hard working employees. i feel like i was duped by mitt romney. i'm going to vote for president obama. >> priorities u.s.a. action is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> bill: do you think that's the way a lot of people in massachusetts are feeling today mr. mayor? >> absolutely. what we've learned is that back

then what you'll see now is a huge gap between governor romney's promises about economic growth and his ability to deliver. there is an even bigger gap between the governor romney who presided over massachusetts from 2002 to 2006. governor romney is trying to appeal to the voters of the country. that's how people are feeling. that's what we experienced. we're coming out of it now bill. and massachusetts, you have unemployment just over 6%. in my city of only 3.9% because you have prutd strategic investments and infrastructure, education, innovation by president obama and we're seeing the results. this country is coming out of the recession. with four million jobs created since he's taken office, when we had lost over eight million jobs because of the failed policies of the previous administration. those same policy of governor romney and his running mate are endorsing today. didn't work back then.

it didn't work in massachusetts. it will not work again. >> bill: mayor joe curtatone is the mayor of somerville, massachusetts. five-term mayor. he's been in office since 2004. i want to ask you mr. mayor about healthcare in massachusetts. you know, how -- mitt romney doesn't want to talk about it anymore, right? he tried to walk away from it. but how is that working? how good is it? >> it's working very well. i mean to know that you have access to quality healthcare is important for any working class family. for any small business employees. it has kept people in massachusetts. one of the important things to remember is the moment mitt romney became governor, we lost tens of thousands of people. they fled the state because they found it to be an unattractive place to work and live.

our healthcare plan led by mitt romney, one of the great and only things he did in massachusetts he's running away from which is the model for the affordable care act. so i give him all of the credit in the world. i applaud mitt romney for that important piece of legislation which i helped lead. >> bill: yeah but you're right. the one thing maybe that we could say he did well in massachusetts and that's the first thing he's eager to repudiate, right? and all of the other stuff he really failed. mr. mayor, it is so good to have an insight and an inside look at what really happened in massachusetts under mitt romney. we appreciate your joining us this morning. thanks so much. >> thanks for having me on. have a good day. >> bill: when you speak to the people of massachusetts, you get a totally different picture of mitt romney than the one that the national party and the romney campaign are trying to present. mayor joe curtatone from somerville massachusetts. what do you think? who is the real mitt romney? 1-866-55-press. the "full court press" on a big

tuesday, august 28. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 27 minutes now after the >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: you bet. 24 minutes after the hour. tuesdays with judd. judd legum from think progress joining us in the next segment here on the "full court press." back to your calls in just a

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they're saying tonight is to humanize mitt romney. get us to know the real mitt romney. we just heard a lot about the real mitt romney from mayor joe curtatone from somerville, massachusetts. james from heartland new york, wants to weigh in, too. good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. how are you doing? >> bill: i'm good. thanks. >> caller: my question is if romney ran a business like he did with bain, he wants to run this country like a business, do you think it is a very successful idea? >> bill: well, given his record at bain, i would say no way. you know what, james? it reminds me, remember when george bush came in. he was a businessman right? he owned the rangers. he was going to run the country like a ceo. we know what happened. lost eight million jobs and look at the economic crash resulted from his policies, right? >> caller: look what happened when he left and the crash there on wall street and the banks

the homes everything just went. >> bill: so i think this idea that we get a businessman and we put him in and everything is going to run smoothly. we tried that. it didn't work. but i must admit george bush had a better business record than mitt romney does. his record as a businessman is to enrich himself and to impoverish others. is that really what we want? perry is in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, on the real mitt. hi perry. >> hi. bill, how are you doing? >> bill: i'm good. >> caller: love your show. >> bill: you're very kind. what's up? >> caller: back in 1932, hitler wrote a book saying on how to win an election. he said don't tell small lies. he said tell the big lie and repeat it over and over. >> bill: i thought that was himler. it is the theory that the republican party seems to thrive on and to practice. by the way the latest exam of

that is that yesterday -- so john boehner arrives in tampa and reporters he gave a talk at some lunch i think it was "christian science monitor" luncheon. the reporter says what about this claim that by mitt romney that president obama has ended the requirement under welfare that people move from welfare to work after a certain amount of time? everybody who looked at that ad, every independent organization looked at that ad has said that's an absolute total lie. even the governors who requested president obama to make that change in the welfare rules has said mitt romney is not telling the truth. john boehner came out yesterday and said yes. mitt romney is absolutely right. that's exactly what president obama did. there again when everything else fails resort to the big lie because as hitler or himler proved, if you tell the big lie often enough, there are a lot of idiots that will believe it.

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: oh, boy. 33 minutes after the hour here. it is the "full court press" on tuesday, august 28th. judd legum having a little transportation problem. he will be here shortly. metro broke down this morning. i mean, ya know, i've been there. >> good ole d.c. metro. >> bill: good ole d.c. metro. we're talking about the effort to humanize mitt romney tonight. that's the goal of the speakers

tonight, led particularly by ann romney. by the way, this disturbing news out of tampa. "the daily caller" headlines this morning that despite a sarah palin look alike the strip club business in tampa is slow. >> i saw that. what the hell is going on. >> bill: what's the matter with these guys? there's no convention so they may as well be partying, right? i would go just to see the sarah palin stripper. >> is she going to be in charlotte, i wonder? >> bill: i doubt it. >> i'll go do some research. research. >> bill: yeah, right exactly. the effort to humanize mitt started -- love your take on that by the way. 1-866-55-press. started yesterday. mitt romney telling scott pelley, i think it was on cbs news that as he's preparing to give his big speech for the convention he's thinking about his daddy. >> i'm drafting the convention speech and thinking about the kinds of things my dad would say

if he had the chance to offer that speech. >> bill: what would my daddy say. for one thing, his daddy would release his tax returns. his daddy would say you know, when you just release one year of your tax returns or two years, that's a cover-up. if you really want to know the truth, he released all 12. one of his five sons, tag two gs, came in and said what you don't know about my daddy is he's sort of like john boehner. >> you ask him about his dad he'll get emotional. you ask him about my mom he'll get emotional. he gets emotional when he talks about god and christ. >> bill: talk about sweeping the floors, he gets emotional. just what we need. a crybaby. on mitt romney, the real mitt romney, leo is calling from indianapolis. leo, good morning. >> caller: good morning. >> bill: yes sir, what do you have to say? >> caller: i'm really surprised that the american people -- i'm

a naturalized citizen. and i'm an independent. we have seven votes in the house in indiana. we are not republicans. but i see people talking about mitt romney, mitt romney, such a great guy. why can't mitt romney be told to put his money -- put his mouth where his money is because he's in america okay. he's got all of his money out of the country. and he's thinking in america, i can do this, i can do this, i can do this. >> bill: he's got his money out of the country so he doesn't have to pay taxes on it. he parks it in the bahamas and the caymans and a swiss bank account. >> still make some bumper stickers put your money where your mouth is. >> bill: i hear you.

you might add to that, the only way we'll know, right exactly where his money is and how he's using it and what kind of tax loopholes he's taking advantage of, how much money he's writing off on his dressage horse is to release his tax returns. appreciate hearing from you. pat in flint michigan. hey, pat. >> caller: hey, bill, it is so good to get on your show. i'll tell you what. i was down in north carolina visiting my nephew. he's a die-hard republican but he said in good faith, he cannot vote for mitt romney. not with the way he lies. he said i can't vote in good faith for somebody that lies. and another thing -- >> bill: i hope he tells all of his friends that, too pat. >> caller: he's very wealthy and runs his own company down there but he's an honest, upstanding person. he said he can't vote for somebody that lies to him. what are they going to do when they get in. >> bill: good for him. >> caller: on chris matthews if you don't mind my carrying on.

chris matthews yesterday on the show, i was so tickled when he got out that whacker and got after that dog gone raunchy penis guy. i was so tickled. by god he needed a whack. they all need it whacked. [ laughter ] >> bill: i never heard the raunchy penis line before for reince priebus. that's great. good for chris. good for chris. he's been a friend of mine for a long time. when raunchy penis came out with a line, again repeating the birther line and defending mitt romney, let's call it what it is. that's a racist remark. that's what they've been using it. they've been using it for five years to show a black man who came from africa and he's not a legitimate president. enough is enough is enough. shame on mitt romney for telling that joke. shame on reince priebus for defending it.

>> raunchy penis. >> bill: good for chris matthews for calling it just like it is. hey, pat great to hear from you. donald is in aurora, illinois. hey, donald. >> caller: hi, bill. i was watching chris matthews myself yesterday and he had some golden opportunities to ham hammer newt gingrich and he failed. i was so furious. >> bill: didn't see that part of it. but he was good in the morning on shut up mica show. >> caller: when newt gingrich started -- he did great for the economy for massachusetts for mitt romney. that was chris matthews -- how could you say that when he was 47th in the nation. i believe that was coming out. then when he hammered obama about being a welfare king -- newt gingrich saying that obama wants to give all of the money to people -- continue welfare programs and just keep continuing welfare programs. well, that was another golden

opportunity. that is what obama did. obama wanted to take that money and not take the money. he wanted to give to the states and best way to give these people jobs. he failed on that one too. >> bill: i didn't see the interview, donald. maybe it is that chris used up all of his fire in the morning. not sure. but i'll tell you one thing, the other side of it is nobody takes newt gingrich seriously about anything anymore. i don't know if you saw the coverage about the newt university yesterday. it was a colossal embarrassment. nobody showed up! >> newt university. >> bill: nobody showed up because nobody cares. raunchy penis. >> i think we've started something. >> bill: i think pat started something. i've never heard that before. >> i haven't either. i like it. >> bill: can we steal it? >> absolutely. >> bill: what the hell not. we steal all of the best lines. >> you steal them from us.

you steal them twice. >> bill: metro hasn't delivered but a cab has. judd legum is next. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." on my crunchy onion chicken because it's america's number one brand. just minutes to make, then bake!

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going to their web site at www.goiam.org. well, if you can't take a plane he'll take a bus. if he can't take the bus he'll take the metro. if the metro breaks down, he will take a cab. judd legum from think progress. not a good morning for the morning commute. >> i made it. that's the good news. >> bill: must have been disaster. at this hour for the metro. you know. bad enough in the middle of the day when i'm heading down to the white house on the metro. great to see you. lots to talk about. let's start with the fact that we've got republicans in tampa but the focus is really on hurricane isaac heading for the gulf coast. sad reminder of hurricane katrina, george bush seven years ago and now that all of the states down there are seeking disaster relief, there's not much disaster relief available correct? >> well, it used to be up until

a year or two ago that disaster relief was one of the few things that congress did in a really bipartisan way. disaster would hit, they would make an assessment of how much funding was needed and they would do an emergency appropriation for that -- to cover that. but what we found and really eric kantor has kind of -- majority leader who's been elite of this is it has now been used as another political football. every time there's been a need for disaster relief, even in the state of virginia -- >> bill: even in kantor's own district. >> exactly, this is another thing where we won't fund this unless you provide cuts, not just any cuts but cuts republicans have been looking to cut. >> bill: food stamps, head start. >> they have a list of what they want to go after then they use

these disasters to try to get those to try to get those cuts. >> bill: "the new york times" reports this morning that in the last two years i think progress has reported also, that the republicans in congress cut fema's disaster relief grant program by 43%. so $1.8 billion that would be available to go to first responders and cities and counties and states, louisiana mississippi, alabama florida ain't available today right? thanks to paul ryan. >> i think this is really what happens is that it is easy to talk about funding cuts in the aggregate. nobody likes to spend money. nobody likes to pay taxes. nobody likes the federal government to spend anymore than it needs to spend but then when you get to a point where you really need it, that's when you realize what the consequences of this kind of thing are. and a lot of the funding is

there some money spent in the federal government that's spent and you don't need to spend it? probably so. >> bill: sure. >> but a lot of it is really needed. and i think when a situation -- when you've got isaac bearing down on new orleans and the state of louisiana and the gulf coast now, you know, you look back at some of these decisions and you know, it's not going to be money well spent if you -- if we find ourselves in the same situation. hopefully it doesn't get that bad. >> bill: and final point on that, in every case, in every one of those cases republican governors in every one of those states, first thing they do is they turn around, looming potential federal disaster even before it hits, they're asking for federal aid. they're asking for disaster emergency declaration which bobby jindal did in louisiana. one day. he gets it the very next day from president obama. so they're always out there the small government types right

with our hands out. when they need help, right. the rest of the time they're preaching smaller government, cut spending. >> the private sector is not going to do the disaster relief for this storm. there's some things the private sector will not do. this is one of them. >> bill: we talked last week about todd akin. senate candidate in missouri and his comments about rape and legitimate rape and women not getting pregnant when they're actually raped because their body knows the difference between rape and legitimate rape and regular -- anyhow -- impossible to follow. now we have a senate candidate from pennsylvania who sort of makes the same -- tom smith is his name, i believe. peter, here's what -- the interview sounded like yesterday where he makes -- tries to make a comparison. >> how would you tell a daughter or a granddaughter who god

forbid would be the victim of a rape that she has to have a child. do you have a way to explain that? >> i lived something similar to that. she chose life and i commend her for that. she knew my views. fortunately for me, i didn't -- she chose the way i taught. >> similar how? [ indiscernible ] >> bill: awfully hard to hear. he said i had a similar case in my family. a daughter or girlfriend of a boyfriend who had a baby out of wedlock and that's the same as being raped? >> it really is kind of mind-blowing, the way in which -- candidates for u.s. senate are talking about rape in 2012. not 1812 or 1712 which seems to be where these kind of comments

are coming from. you know, what's interesting about this is that it seems to have not really drawn any kind of condemnation or issues from the republican leadership, you know, as you saw them come down on todd akin and it seems like the difference here is that this guy, tom smith the republican candidate -- >> bill: running against bob casey. >> is down 15, 20 points. so there's no rush to replace him or condemn him because they know that even if he, you know, goes away, it is unlikely that they're not really thinking they have a chance of taking out bob casey. he's not one of their targets so it's less urgent situation because -- it really, i think shines a light on what was going on with akin. it wasn't so much that people -- the republican leadership were offend by what akin said. there was a political necessity to try to just cut off the limb.

>> bill: because they were counting on picking up that seat. >> they were counting on it. it was a high profile seat. they feel like if they can just get anyone else in there who doesn't make that kind of mistake because missouri has been trending more republican, that's the conventional wisdom at least that it seems to be true. that they could pick up that seat. they're still trying to do it. by the way they're still -- very, very active. they've got until the 25th of september. as like the drop dead date. although they would also have to convince todd akin to pay for new ballots at this point. >> bill: good luck with that. so finally again we're visiting with judd legum from think progress. thinkprogress.org. mitt romney and paul ryan both paint themselves as deficit hawks. you have reported on the think progress this week that there's one good way that they could cut

the deficit by a trillion dollars. >> all you have to do is get rid of the bush tax cuts for people making over $250,000. what's interesting about this and it illustrates how we made these cuts in the first place is that you've got the money that you get from the cuts which is a lot of money. over ten years. but then all of this money -- you know, we never heard about paying for tax cuts or paying for anything. we're spending for that matter. when george bush was president. and you save a lot of money just on the -- it is so much money you save money on the interest payments for -- >> bill: because that adds to the deficit which means we're paying more interest, right. >> you know, you saw that over eight years in the bush administration. we had tax cuts. we had wars. we had a huge expansion in medicare with part d and prescription drug coverage and

no one ever mentioned -- this includes, by the way paul ryan who voted for all of this. who voted for the extension of the debt -- the cap the debt limit. never had any problems with it until barack obama became president. >> bill: none of it paid for. judd leg em, even for a short visit, good to you have. >> glad i made it. >> bill: it is always tuesdays with judd from think progress. i'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. (vo) every news network will cover the convention. but only current coverage will put you at the collision of tv and social media. we'll provide unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically

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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: this is the "bill

press show." >> bill: hey, how about it. president obama, busy schedule >> bill: okay. what is the leader of the free world up to today? president obama heading off on the campaign trail. first of all going back to iowa today. he leaves the white house about 10:30 this morning. heading for des moines, iowa. and a big campaign event at iowa state university. then he leaves there and heads off to fort collins fort collins, colorado. with another big campaign event at colorado state university this evening. spends the evening -- spends the night in fort collins and tomorrow he heads for charlottesville, virginia. that schedule could change. you might expect it to change depending on what happens with hurricane isaac. jay carney will be gaggling with reporters on air force i today. we'll be back and talk to chair

debra wasserman schultz. so make sure you add lysol no touch hand soap and lysol wipes to your "back to school" list. that way, the healthy habits they learn in school will reinforce the good habits you've already taught them at home. to learn more, visit lysol.com/schools. lysol. mission for health.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: what do you say hello, everybody. good tuesday morning august 28. great to see you today. welcome to the "full court press," your new progressive morning show on current tv where we bring you all of the latest, bring you up to date on the news of the day here in our nation's capital, around the country around the globe and of course, in tampa florida. take your calls at 1-866-55-press. yes, it is today the first official day of the republican national convention. but the big story is not in tampa. the big story is in new orleans

where hurricane isaac is about to strike on the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. sorry mitt romney! nobody cares about your stinkin' convention anymore. we'll bring you up to date on all of the latest and take your calls but first we get the current news update today from lisa ferguson out in los angeles. hi lisa. good morning. >> hi, bill. good morning everyone. mitt romney is flooding history a bit in his latest attack against the president. he is saying president obama passed every piece of legislation he wanted under a democratic congress but that he still failed to turn the economy around. this argument does two things for the republican party. for one, it discredits democratic ideas and legislation and two, it manages to blame the recovery entirely on the current president. it conveniently hides g.o.p.'s role during president obama's first two years in office. you might remember the senate used a record number of

filibusters to block large parts of the president's agenda. we saw that with the 2009 stimulus package and, of course, with the affordable care act. team obama is hitting right back on the economy. priorities u.s.a. out with a new ad today. it features a small business owner in massachusetts saying she was duped when she supported mitt romney. >> governor romney cares about big business. he cares about tax cuts for wealthy people and i certainly do not believe he cares about my hard working employees. >> priorities cofounder bill burton says this is the first part of a project highlighting how mitt romney's proposals would hurt the middle class. that ad is running in florida colorado iowa, ohio and virginia. and twitter is filing an appeal in new york court. a judge ruled the web site has to turn over the tweets of occupy protestor malcolm harris but twitter says no, that users own their own tweets and giving them up violates the fourth amendment. the site has been fighting that case since may.

back with more bill and live in chat current.com/billpress. cover the convention. but only current coverage will put you at the collision of tv and social media. we'll provide unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. brought to you by spiriva handihaler. if you have copd like i do you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers

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(vo) this is joy. >>who the heck does mitt romney think he is? (vo) this is joy on current tv. >>if mitt romney treats his magic underwear the same way as his tax returns, then he's been going commando for the past 10 years. >>since when do you get to say stuff like that on tv? >> listen, if you'd read your email once in a while, you'd know i have a new show. (vo) always outspoken.

>> you think because this is an election year you can just say anything? >> hello! say anything, that's the name of the show. [ ♪ 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." >> mitt romney heads for tampa while hurricane isaac heads for the gulf coast. which is the bigger danger? hey, hello everybody. great to see you today. it is the "full court press." we're coming to you live from our nation's capital. we are boycotting tampa. i'm glad that we did. hey, there are already 15,000 reporters down there. that's enough. we'll see you in charlotte. and great to see you here today

on the "full court press" this tuesday, august 28th. as we bring you up to date on all of the latest from tampa from here in our nation's capital, from out across the country and around the globe and ready to take your calls as well at 1-866-55-press. always great to have you join the conversation, make it a real town hall here on this tuesday morning. we've got the entire team in place here. peter ogborn and dan henning and videographer cyprian bowlding. what do you say guys? >> hi, there. >> good morning. >> bill: good morning. want to make sure all of you know, all of our listeners up in the buffalo area, i'm coming up for a big book signing on september 14th, friday, september 14th at the falling leaves -- no, is that it? >> talking leaves. >> bill: sorry. talking leaves bookstore. friday, september 14th in buffalo. it will be great to see you.

so check out our web site at billpressshow.com. we've got all of the details. i'll be signing copies of my new book, the obama hate machine which is also available now in your book stores. the paperback just came out a week ago today. if you want a signed copy and i'm not able to make it to -- and are not able to make it to our buffalo signing, go to billpressshow.com. click on the web site. tell me how you want it signed or inscribed to whom, we'll get it out to you book, postage mailer everything, $16.99. such a deal. the "the obama hate machine" which rolls on and on. and hurricane isaac rolling on and on across the imufl. not yet quite a hurricane. winds about 70, 75-mile-per-hour range today. expected to be a hurricane soon. then slam into the gulf coast shore tonight and early tomorrow morning.

the governor of louisiana bobby jindal says today's the day. get ready and get out of town. >> those who are thinking about leaving, today is the day to leave. today is the day if you need to get your prescriptions refilled, you need batteries bottled water, nonperishable food, today is the last day we advise people to go and do that. >> bill: take advantage of it today. get what you need and get in the car and hit the road, toad! >> by the way, that was yesterday. >> bill: that was yesterday. >> so today you're running late. you can still get it done. >> bill: right. the governor also announced that he had requested the declaration of an emergency for the state of louisiana which would qualify them for federal funds from fema and he talked to the president yesterday and here's how that call went down. >> during that phone call, the president did let us know that he's approved our prelandfall -- our request for our prelandfall declaration for emergency.

we made that request yesterday. so we certainly appreciate the approval of that request. >> bill: all right. there it is. he asked for help one day. he gets it the next. coming up, we'll start off this hour by speaking to the chair of the national democratic party. congresswoman debra wasserman schultz. terri o'neil is the president of the national organization for women. she'll join us in studio a little bit later. but first -- >> this is the "full court press." >> bill, mitt romney is ready to start his debate training. his campaign has selected ohio senator rob portman to play obama during their mock debate practice session. politico reports he was chosen after they decided he would not be the running mate. last week, we told you of course that john kerry would be playing mitt romney. >> bill: i don't think that rob portman is an obama type. i don't know. it is a strange pick. >> you understand john kerry playing romney because of the

connection and they know each other. >> bill: i'm not sure about that one. >> rosie o'donnell casually revealed yesterday in a blog post she got married back in june for the second time. rosie is recovering from a heart attack two weeks ago. she said she and michelle round tied the knot in a private ceremony in june. remember, she was married once before to kelly carpenter for three years separated back in 2007. >> bill: so she just said by the way we got married? >> private ceremony. not a lot of people knew about it. she was talking about her health yesterday in a blog post and said by the way i got married. >> bill: remarried. all right. >> betsy cooper of georgia -- >> bill: sort of okay and fair right that lesbians or gays can get married and they can get divorced and they can get remarried. just like the rest of the world. >> exactly. >> second marriage. betsy cooper of monroe, georgia celebrated her 116th birthday over the weekend. >> bill: happy birthday,

betsy. >> the oldest person in the world by the guinness book of world records. reportedly one of eight people in the world to reach the age of 116. she was born in 1896. today has four children, 12 grandchildren and many more great and great great grand children. house she make it? she minds her own business and doesn't eat junk food. >> bill: i'll bet she's never been to a mcdonald's. can you image that? born in the century before the last century. >> good point. >> working in world war i. >> bill: unbelievable! yes, indeed. the convention gets underway today in tampa florida. and this is where the republican party says the purpose is for the american people to get to know mitt romney. it seems to me we already know enough about mitt romney and his

policies. certainly someone who's been delivering that message why his policies aren't good for this country is the chair of the democratic national committee. representing still florida's 20th congressional district. congresswoman debra wasserman schultz. madam chair, good to talk to you. >> you too bill. thanks for having me on again. >> bill: good morning. always great to have you on the program. your district, i guess in that part of florida hurricane isaac kind of spared you is that right this time? >> no. we got hit. we have some power outages and downed wires. last friday was the 20th anniversary of hurricane andrew so certainly we know and have experienced what could be worse and today being the anniversary of hurricane katrina the damage with you sustained pales in comparison to those. we're just praying and urging

gulf coast residents to prepare and do everything they can to get ready. >> bill: this time, fema is on the job thanks to president obama as well. they've been on the job for the last week helping the people down there get ready. >> president obama has deployed fema early in advance of the storm because it is expected to become a hurricane in the gulf and then become possibly a category two as it hits the gulf. so even though -- it is good to see it hasn't happened yet but it's definitely a concern and we want to make sure we learn from past experience that you shouldn't wait until the storm hits to be prepared and get all of the supplies that you need. fema can take of in the aftermath. >> bill: amen to that. let's look at tampa. republicans say we want the american people to get to know mitt romney. we already know a lot about mitt romney, don't we, madam chair? >> bill, what i've been sort of

tongue in cheek saying is that i was surprised when i was at the convention hall the other day because we've got our romney economics for the middle class war room set up in tampa making sure that we can draw the contrast. i was surprised that there wasn't a giant etch-a-sketch behind the podium in the convention hall. because that's what they're getting ready to do here is convention reinvention for mitt romney because the first introduction hasn't worked out so well. understandably so because his policies obviously are focused on helping millionaires and billionaires who are already doing really well do even better while barack obama has been fighting for the middle class and working families. >> bill: the convention -- i love that phrase. the convention reinvention. >> has a nice ring to it doesn't it? >> bill: it does have a nice ring to it. to humanize mitt romney or to talk about how his experience as a businessman prepares him to be the leader of the free world right? we've seen his record as a

businessman and it wasn't good for small business or for american workers. >> there's just not going to be any getting around for them that they have an extreme record on women's issues. they've proposed an ancient and tried and failed economic policy that would drag us back to the failed policies of the past that nearly crashed our economy. got us into the worst economic crisis that we've faced since the great depression. and actually are proposing trickle down economic policies like increasing taxes on the middle class to pay for budget busting tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. i sit on the budget committee. i've had a front row seat to the romney/ryan budget. and the potential for it to really crash our economy again. you know, $5 trillion in proposed new tax breaks really skewed mostly toward the wealthy. and asking the average middle class family to pay an increase

in taxes of $2,000. the average middle class family with children to pay for a -- several hundred thousand dollar tax breaks for someone who makes more than a million dollars. it is outrageous and in florida it is unbelievable that they have the audacity to have the convention in florida with two candidates who propose to turn medicare into a voucher system and force increased costs on seniors and future seniors. >> bill: one of the things they're going to do today again we're talking with the chair of the democratic committee debra wasserman schultz, they haven't released the official party platform. parts of it have leaked, madam chair. "the new york times" called it insensitive and -- i forget the other word. mean. i think it was mean and insensitive platform. there are some pretty extreme positions to this platform.

correct? >> absolutely. they have a republican party platform that is absolutely extreme in many ways but particularly for women and women's issues. it includes a human life amendment to the constitution to ban all abortions nationwide under any circumstances. no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. they have the opportunity to strip the language out. but instead they voted to affirm that language. it has been interesting to watch mitt romney and his team try to distance himself from what will be his platform. i heard my counterpart reince priebus say it would be the g.o.p.'s platform. that's just ludicrous. what happened if we tried to suggest the democratic party platform wasn't barack obama's? >> bill: romney says it too. i disagree with the party platform. it is his party his platform. he controls the convention.

>> then he should have exercised some leadership and insisted his party's platform, the party he leads, reflects what he says his position is on a woman's right to choose and the exception for rape or incest. it is not there because he didn't insist on it. didn't push for it. and he didn't push for it because he probably knew that the extremists on women's issues like todd akin and others in his party would have rejected it. so it is just -- another example of utter lack of leadership on the part of mitt romney. >> bill: there is also a full page ad in the tampa newspaper i was just looking at that time online read -- written by the democratic committee which ties together mitt romney paul ryan and todd akin. now, again romney and ryan have been trying to distance themselves from todd akin. what you're saying is they can't do so? >> i don't think they can do so at all because when mitt romney chose congressman ryan as his running mate for vice president he chose someone a member of

congress who fully embraces the outrageous sentiments that todd akin expressed, you know, he can say what he wants about it, disagreeing with what todd akin said. the unfortunate thing is it is not words that matter as much as actions and paul ryan cosponsored legislation with todd akin to actually narrow the definition of rape to only mean forcible rape in federal law. and that was hr3. in this congress. so you know, between the human life amendment with no exceptions in their platform and their cosponsorship and leadership on actually trying to redefine rape as only meaning forcible rape on cutting planned parenthood funding preventing women from having access to affordable birth control. this is a ticket that is extreme on women's issues and that -- it says they want to narrow government everywhere except

your personal life. >> bill: so i mean you cannot distinguish really romney from ryan from akin on these issues. one other part of the platform i wanted to ask you about and a big contrast between what we're going to see in charlotte is the republican party platform does again ban any -- ban marriage equality, ban same-sex marriage. the democratic party platform will say just the opposite. is america ready for that, do you believe, madam chair? >> i think it has become very clear that over time, the views have -- of americans have evolved and changed and lgbt rights has really become one of the most important civil rights issues of our current time. and i can really -- i have to rejoice as someone who is a member of congress representing one of the largest and most vibrant gay populations in the country that views have evolved to a point where overwhelming

majority of americans actually really have either no position or embrace the notion that if you love someone you should be able to marry them regardless of your sexual orientation. >> bill: you know what? i think that is going to be a great hallmark of your time as chair of the democratic party that you will preside over that policy for the first time. >> bill, my heart bursts with pride that we have a president who has embraced marriage equality and that i can preside over a party in a convention that will adopt a platform, embracing marriage equality. >> bill: i want you to know, we're boycotting tampa but we'll be there in full force. >> i'm not. i'm going to be there. >> bill: i know you will. we'll leave it to you. you can show the contrast there with the etch-a-sketch but we'll see you in charlotte next week. >> see you in charlotte. absolutely. >> bill: thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks, bill. >> bill: debbie wasserman schultz, chair of the democratic national committee. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 27 minutes after the hour. terri o'neil is the president of the national organization for women joining us in studio in the next segment. one important facet of this split screen coverage which is what we're seeing between tampa and new orleans between mitt and isaac is that at the very time that this storm isaac is bearing down on the gulf coast all of the states there are demanding and pleading for

federal funds and help from fema, it is worth pointing out as "the new york times" does this morning that this is a big embarrassment for mitt romney and paul ryan because during the last two years 2010 to 2012, republicans in congress led by paul ryan and his budget have cut 43% they've cut 43% from the loans that fema has available to give to local governments. that's $1.8 billion that is not available today even though louisiana, mississippi alabama and florida are begging for it. $1.8 billion not available today to first responders, to cities, to counties, to buying generators, whatever other supplies they need. uh-huh. aren't available because of the hard-hearted paul ryan and house republicans. let them talk about small government. now is the time when government's gotta do the job and they're preventing it. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

>> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour now. here it is the "full court press." on a beautiful tuesday morning. august 28. i guess it is beautiful unless you're on the gulf coast. we're brought to you today by the international association of ironworkers. good men and women of the ironworkers union under president walter weiss. ironworkers, period. the sky is the limit for them. visit them and find out more at their web site, www.ironworkers.org. so the latest poll shows

president obama among women with a 15-point lead over mitt romney. why? what's that all about? joining us here in studio, we're pleased to welcome back, i think her first time on our current tv show, terri o'neil is the president of the national organization for women. great to see you this morning terry. >> we're coming to you live on current tv and on your local progressive talk radio station. how important is the women vote in this election or any election? >> it is going to determine this election. i'm absolutely convinced. >> bill: really? >> women are galvanized. it has been building ever since the disaster of the 2010 elections. i think we didn't really understand the full impact of what happened in 2010. this was the first citizens united election, if you will. and tea party extremists come streaming into the united states congress. also into some key swing states.

you have this extreme takeover. the house of representatives for the past two years has repeatedly proposed and passed regulation that has devastating impacts on women's access to healthcare. access to abortion care which is part of -- very important part of their ordinary reproductive healthcare. access to birth control. and then, in addition, we've seen, in the house of representatives, these attacks on women's economic security. so paul ryan's plan for medicare, for medicaid, for social security and for pell grants and head start and food stamps, those are all things that women rely on disproportionately to keep themselves in the middle class and to keep some falling into poverty. paul ryan slashes all of those kinds of programs. >> bill: to which i guess you could add the fact that the republicans have killed every one of president obama's jobs

programs. many of which those jobs would have belonged to women in terms of public sector jobs, teacher's jobs cops, firefighters. >> exactly. in fact, women lost jobs in sort of the second wave of the great recession. the first wave hit men. it was the construction industry. but the second wave was when state and local governments began contracting. the first -- at the local level they began defunding nonprofit organizations that had started doing some of the work that government agencies had previously done. those nonprofits mostly staffed by women. >> bill: yeah. >> then when they had to go to their own employee base, they start laying off employees teachers nurses, home healthcare workers these are disproportionately women. so women have struggled because of state and local government cutbacks. the obama jobs program first

thing he would have done -- what he proposed, shifting cash to the state and local governments which would have allowed the rehiring of 200,000 teachers as well as first responders, police and firefighters and so forth. >> bill: disproportionate number -- >> absolutely, they are women. >> bill: when you look -- so we're into the first day now of the republican national convention. they're going to do a couple of things today. call the roll and nominate mitt romney as their candidate for president. and they're going to adopt the party platform. >> right. >> bill: i don't know how much of the party platform, they haven't released the official final document yet. we've seen the battles or the different planks adopted. what is this party platform saying to american women? >> it really jumps out at me is the full support for a constitutional amendment that would effectively criminalize abortion period. without even any exceptions for

rape or incest or to protect a woman's health. or her life. vast vast, vast majorities of women and men in this country believe that there should at least be exceptions to protect women's health, life and in cases of rape, excuse me or incest but that is not there in the platform. the platform committee adopted that provision in the wake of the scandal of representative akin saying that well, in cases of legitimate rape, women can't get pregnant because their bodies -- >> bill: somehow know -- >> shut that whole thing down. >> bill: yeah. >> so -- and you know, later he apologized later for retraumatizing rape victims which is what his remarks do. but he did not apologize for his policy prescriptive which is that there should be no exceptions for rape. women should not be able to terminate a pregnancy.

32,000 women per year are impregnated through rape. every single one of those women needs to have the ability to terminate that pregnancy if she decides to. >> bill: on top of that now we have a senate and republican, senate candidate in pennsylvania, tom smith running against bob casey who says that having a child out of wedlock -- rape is no more serious than having a child out of wedlock. >> that's it. that's exactly it. and this is what -- the mask really has been ripped off. >> bill: don't they know anything? what rock have they been living under? >> they have a policy which is no abortion under any circumstances. then to justify that policy, which is again wildly unpopular with both men and women in this country, to justify their policy, they start saying really, really stupid things. like well, you can't get pregnant from rape or well, a pregnancy from rape is the same thing as pregnancy from -- as an unintended pregnancy from

consensual sex. they're floundering around looking for some kind of justification for their proposed policy which is no abortions under any circumstances including the circumstance of rape. i've heard from the father of a 13-year-old child who was raped. and the emotion in his voice the true anger and really rage at todd akin's comments and this dad was -- what his point was was -- angry about todd akin saying you can't get pregnant from rape but he was really angry at the cavalier attitude that the rape survivor herself can't make these decisions and have that. and he described the case -- this young girl was adequately treated. she got very good healthcare, emergency contraception to prevent any pregnancy so that was a good thing. that's not available to all rape victims in this country and this is why 32,000 pregnancies do

result from rape. >> bill: but of course now mitt romney and suddenly paul ryan say no! despite what they said in the past. we disagree with the party platform. that's the party's platform. that is not the romney/ryan platform. >> women don't buy that. women are not that stupid. and the thing is that i think that certainly governor romney and representative ryan are truly, truly relying on women to uninformed and not very interested. and frankly i think the psychologists call that projection. they're not interested in women so they assume that women are really not paying attention to what they're doing. >> bill: it really is condescending, right they think that women are that stupid. they're not going to get it. they don't realize what games that they're playing. and if anything, i would have to say that i think women voters are better informed, more active, more engaged more

committed than most men voters. seriously. i may get a lot of crap from that. >> i think the independent women voters are notorious for making up their minds later. they tell pollsters until very close to the election that they haven't decided how they're going to vote and they also tell pollsters that they're looking at policies. one of the reasons they take a long time to make up their mind is that they are looking at substance. women notoriously don't pay so much attention to the horse race nature of an election. they actually want to look at substance. so it takes -- so actually what you're saying is born out by the polls. >> bill: 1-866-55-press. join the conversation. we always save a seat at the table for you as i say. and this is your chance to take it with a question or comment for terry o'neil. before we take the break on top of the other moves against women

we've seen in this congress and in the republican party platform which will be adopted today the violence against women act. which has always been an automatic, of course we're going to renew it every five years since joe biden first put it in '94. >> yeah. >> bill: held up this year by republicans in congress. why? >> representative paul ryan and others certainly speaker boehner, what they're trying to do is cram down the throats of the american people a truly poison violence against women act. they have their version. it excludes protections for underserved populations namely lesbian, gay bisexual and sexual assault. it excludes the needs of women living on reservations in native-american -- and native-american women and immigrant women who come to this country with a sponsor for their

immigration papers and the sponsor turns out to be extremely violent. those women are -- the protections for those women are knocked out in the house version. the house version passed on a strictly party line vote. with 23 republicans actually voting against it. that's how bad it is. president obama took one look at it and promised to veto it should it ever be passed. the senate version of re-authorization is inclusive and bipartisan. sailed through the senate 68 votes in favor with 15 republicans voting in favor of it. that's the bill that needs to pass. speaker boehner is now holding it up. but this isn't -- this is the important thing to me here is that paul ryan voted for this dreadful horrible bill and they knew what they were voting for. >> bill: ris record on these issues is abysmal. paul ryan can't hide or run from it. terry o'neil won't let him. president of now. it is now.org. >> that's right. >> bill: get your call in now at 1-866-55-press.

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>> announcer: this is the bill press. >> bill: visiting with terry o'neill, president of now, the national organization for women. we'll get back to terry and your calls in just a second. here is an article that caught my attention from the american banking association journal. employees -- get this. employees of some of the nation's largest banks have rereportedly been stealing customers identities in multi-million dollar fraud

schemes. some of them sentenced now to well over 20 years in prison. boy, you hear a story like that and it reminds you identity theft is real. it is happening all the time. you should be protected against it. i am with life lock ultimate protection. the most comprehensive protection available out there. includes your bank accounts as well as everything else. but of course life lock can't protect you or your bank account if you're not a member. call now. mention press 60 for 60 risk-free days for ultimate life lock identity protection. if you're not happy with that, call within 60 days and cancel and they'll give you a full refund. give them a call at 800-356-5967 for life lock ultimate. 1-800-356-5967. boy, terry, you lit up the phones. a lot of people want to have comments or questions.

let's start with renee in montgomery alabama. hi renee. good morning. >> caller: hi, good morning. >> bill: what's your point? >> caller: my comment was just the fact that the republican party is insensitive to -- women's matters and hypocritical when it comes to abortions because a lot of abortions the people are going out and having abortion is because of having affairs and they're the ones that are paying for it. if a women has to give an account for having an abortion then so does a man for causing it. there's more to the issue than what meets the eye. and that's what -- that is what occurs a lot of times. they're trying to hide an affair or some sort of adultery and as a result they pay for the women to go out and have the abortions. >> bill: i got your point. i don't think abortion is ever an easy decision for any woman. the way they pretend it is.

go out and have a fling. >> it is neither an afterthought nor is it always a tragedy. every woman's abortion is her own. just like everyone's heart attack is their own. it is healthcare. and it is a healthcare decision that you need to make. one in three women will have an abortion by the age of 45. it is a common and necessary aspect of women's reproductive healthcare. the vast majorities like between 90% and 95% of pregnancy terminations occur within the first 12 weeks. >> bill: i heard mitt romney yesterday -- in fact, peter we have that clip from romney where he was talking with scott pelley about his views on abortion where he said he disagreed with the platform and he makes a point here about the courts. i would like you to listen to. we'll get back to your calls. >> well, the platform as written at this convention for the republicans, does not allow for exceptions on abortion with regard to the health of the

mother or rape or incest. is that where you are? >> my position has been clear throughout this campaign i'm in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest and the health and life of the mother but recognize this is the decision that will be made by the supreme court. the democrats try to make this a political issue every four years. this is a matter in the courts. >> bill: my question is this has already been decided by the courts right? what is he talking about? >> exactly. well, you know -- >> bill: what he's saying is i hope the court will change its position some day. >> i think there's no question about it. he's supporting a platform that has zero exceptions for an important aspect of women's reproductive healthcare. it is completely outrageous. >> bill: he has said in the past he supports -- so he can't -- he really can't have it both ways. if you support the human life amendment, you can't then come out and say but my personal

position is making exceptions for rape, incest, health or life of the mother when, at the same time he's supporting a constitutional amendment -- >> he supports a constitutional amendment that equates the fetus with a human being. full human life. he also equates the so-called personhood legislation or personhood amendment which declares that life begins at fertilization. he told mike huckabee, go to youtube, you can see him right on tape. mike huckabee says do you support a personhood amendment that declares life begins at conception. absolutely says mitt romney without missing a beat. absolutely, he supports it. so yeah, he does support criminalizing not only all abortion and by the way the personhood amendment would also criminalize abortion even when a woman's life is at stake. >> bill: terry o'neill leading the charge for women in this country. president of the national

organization for women. you can join the battle by going to now.org. you can follow terry on twitter at terry at terry o'neill. great to see you. thank you so much for everything that you're doing. >> great to see you. >> bill: for men and women in this country. come back soon. >> thank you. >> bill: i'll be back with a quick parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

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!