and i approve this message. [ ♪ music ♪ ] >> jennifer: all right, good night, everybody. see you tomorrow. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening i'm eliot spitzer. this and this is "viewpoint" live from the nation's capitol washington, d.c. this election was supposed to be all about the economy but now foreign policy and the middle east have taken center stage with an attack that killed an american ambassador and three others, and mitt romney taking any political advantage any way he can. in cry cairo the flag torn down and shredded by a mob. reports of a bear budget

anti-muslim film said to have been made in the usa. shortly after what seemed to be another protest against the film beganouts the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, but it appears to have been a well armed, well coordinateed event with indirect and direct fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. four americans were killed, including j. christopher stevens and information management officer sean smith. secretary of state hillary clinton eulogized the ambassador and defended the america's commitment to libya. >> everywhere chris and his team went in libya in a country scared by war and tyranny, they were hailed as friends and partners. the world needs more chris stevens. >> eliot: and at the white house, president obama condemned the attacks. >> obama: there is absolutely no justification to this type of

senseless violence. none. and make no mistake, we will work with the libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people. >> eliot: but unfortunately and predictably there was a political dimension to this as well with protest against the film tuesday morning. a foreign service officer in the embassy tried to calm the situation with a tweet condemnic the ain't muslim film and i read in part. respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of american democracy. we firmly reject the actions by those who abuse universal right of free speech to putter religious beliefs of others. the embassy later confirmed that statement. a few problems with that response. the tweet was not a first response to the attacks. it preceded the attacks and it was an effort to head off the protest. it did not come from the administration but a lower level

foreign service officer. it did not thinkize with the attacks but nonetheless the state department and the white house disavowed it. none of that stopped romney from doubling down on a news conference. >> i think it's a terrible course for america to stand in apology for our values. instead when our grounds are being attacked and being breached, the first response of the united states must be out outrage at the breach of the sovereignty of our nation. >> eliot: president obama fired right back. >> governor romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later. as president one thing you learn is you can't do that. >> eliot: tough words from the president. for more let's go to special assistant to president clinton

and previews of georgetown university. pj-- >> george washington university. >> eliot: excuse me, i'll stay out of that. this is not a laughing matter. what do we know about the genesis of this deadly and violent attack in benghazi. >> that's a key question. we know the attack and the reality and the tragedy. we don't yet know whether there were sparks by this film, and if it was a respond takennous spontaneous response taken to the extreme and who was behind it. >> eliot: and you're trying to zero on the genesis where it came were. it could have been a al-qaeda plant, and this could have been a response made in the west we

just don't know. >> sure, it partially reflects the ongoing relationship and future relationship of the future of the united states and this pivotal part of the world. but it's also a fight within lib y within the region about the future of this world. you do have conservative elements al-qaeda sympathizers who have a very restrictive very conservative view of what life should look like in the middle east. you have others who are modernizers who want to see libya and other countries integrated with the rest of the world. those are two very different competing visions. it's not surprising that we see people resort to political violence to try to influence in that direction. >> eliot: and the turbulence in benghazi is reflective of those schisms that you just talked about, and secretary of state clinton went out of her way to say this will not change or challenge our relationship with the libyan government. >> absolutely. libya is going through a typical post conflict, post civil war

situation. it is awash with weapons. protesters showed up, protesters do not normally showed up with rpgs. >> eliot: being rocket propelled grenades. >> predictably you now have a democratic government in libya. it's weak. it's institutions are weak and police. libya had a police that was primarily gear at protecting gadhafi's regime. now that police is being asked to protect civil society including foreign diplomats and obviously it does not yet have the capacity to do that. >> eliot: libyan society questions being asked perhaps unfair but the caliber of our intelligence especially after the 9/11 debacle and the editorial op-ed piece

challenging the quality of our intelligence. did we know enough what was going on in the libyan civil society and the possibility of these sorts of attacks. >> attacks against u.s. embassies have happened before. most significantly before this, dramatic attacks by al-qaeda on our embassies in east africa, in kenya, in tanzania in 1998. they are ripe targets. there is always this balance that has to be done. you can make embassyies into security fortresses, but that comes at expense to pursue national interest. >> eliot: and the tragedy of taking of life goes without saying needs no further explanation, but this ambassador had been someone supportive of the revolution, and by everything that i've read was beloved by the forces of the revolution. >> this is the irony of chris stevens. he was inserted early in 2011. he was a liaison to the national transition council that over

overthrewga gadhafi and recently gave power to the government. he survived the civil war only to become a victim of the new libya. >> eliot: these two events occurred almost simultaneously. in cairo the protest had a slightly different feel to it. not as much evidence yet that this might have been something that was fabricateed elsewhere. >> no, in egypt it appears to be more of a reaction to this obscure video on youtube. but then again it's the difference between the two countries. for egypt it was a relatively rapid and soft revolution. for libya, it was a civil war and one in which every political faction is armed to the teeth and reaped to use these weapons. there is a dramatic difference in how the two countries have evolved in their transitions. >> eliot: you have these two different demonstrations of

emotional in libya how does the white house begins to build a relationship with the libyan and egyptian government who can handle these very serious bumps. >> we have a policy. it turn u.s. policy on its head last year. we are supporting these transitions. there are going to be bumps in the road. for every two steps forward there will be one step back. we'll have good days and bad days. obviously we've had a bad day here. i think very much it's staying the course. obviously they're armed opposition in the middle east who are prepared to knock us off course and disrupt the emerging relationship that the u.s. wants to have with these very important societies. >> eliot: look, you importantly make the point that within the context of the arc of revolution, this has been a very rapid transition from where we were both in libya and egypt two years ago to where we are today.

you're saying staying the course and building those relationships is what we should be doing. >> eliot: chris stevens in libya was trying to promote a new libya, and libya has the resources to get there. they have the desire to get there. but obviously they have elements within their country that want to bring libya in a different path, and the united states has to be a force for good and maintaining it's relationship with this nation's democratic government. it's good for the united states. it's good for the region. >> eliot: these delicate balances the high wire acts you're describing, how is it effected by comments by mitt romney who wants to will be his campaign, and i'll let the comments speak for themselves. >> we all know that first reports could be wrong. what we thought we knew this morning we're less certain of tonight. now you've been in political campaigns. the impulses are great. the juices are flowing. they want to get involved in everything. i wish he would have said, today

is not the day. i'll call a time out today. >> eliot: and clearly the president did not hold his own fire in pushing back at romney saying, you know what, campaigns should stop at the border. >> but it just shows there are very great limits in the campaign in a bumper sticker scenario. it's hard to address the complexities that really exist in the middle east policy. >> eliot: i will try to avoid the temptation to editorialize too much, but mitt romney is desperate for some edge in the campaign. and what has been a very deft handleing of the arab spring, he has cast it in a negative light. you say they've been deft and calculated in what they've done. >> there is a risk of scoring political points. he may have cost himself political points. we'll have to see. >> eliot: p.j. crowley professor at george washington university, thanks for your insights. how are we going to clean up our

energy act? congressman he had markie joins me next. this is "viewpoint." there's joy and now there's joy on current tv. >>i feel like i don't even know you. >>just stay on your side of the screen, okay? >>brought to you by geico. 15 minutes could save 15% or more on car insurance. visit geico.com for a free rate quote.

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>> eliot: a leading voice in the fight to i'm jennifer granholm, let me tell you a story. in colorado the auto rescue saved more than 9,000 jobs. in the great state of michigan, 211,000 good paying, american jobs! in romney's world, cars get the elevator, and the workers get the shaft! (vo) want more granholm? get her every night.

if you have an opinion, you better back it up. >>eliot spitzer takes on politics. >>science and republicans do not mix. >>now it's your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. >>join the debate now. >> eliot: the divergence between democrats and republicans on energy policy could not be greater. the republican platform reads like a manual of carbon based industry, coal, oil, gas. the democrats focus on renew renewal energy resources. >> romney: president obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans. [ laughing ] and to heal the planet. my promise is to help you and

your family. [ cheering ] >> eliot: indeed in his acceptance teach president obama went out of his way to make clear the global warming was a general threat. joining me now is democratic congressman ed markey of massachusetts, one of the leading voices in the house of representatives on all matters relating to energy and the environment. you may remember the markey cam with the gulf of mexico during the bt spills. it's a pleasure to have you, sir. >> thank you eliot. >> eliot: look at this chasm of where energy policies should go, we haven't made as much progress as we wish we had with the democratic president. where should we be going and how do we get there? >> well, honestly, president obama has done quite a job. since he was sworn in, since bush walked out of the white house in 2009 we have gone from 57% dependence on imported oil down to 45% dependence on

imported oil. now we have a record number of rigs drilling in the gulf of mexico 50% more than before the bp spill. record high natural gas. 35,000 new megawatts of wind. 3200 megawatts of solar this year alone and an increase of 54.5-miles per gallon. >> eliot: all of these are great statistics. having said that, look, the dependence-- >> it's all in the arithmetic. >> eliot: arithmetic is good. bill clinton taught us that, and i think mine is still good. the dependence transference from imported oil to domestic oil you were the author of the bill cap and trade. you said we've got to control carbon emissions. it ran into a roadblock in the republican house. >> it did.

>> eliot: how do we get that issue geared up again. >> well, they broke--they broke the back of that bill back in 2009 in the senate, with nancy pelosi we passed the bill in the house of representatives. >> eliot: when it was controlled by the democrats. >> when it was controlled by the democrats. there was a barrier and they were able to stop that bill going into place. the co2 that goes up is really nothing more than the cumulative total of all the vehicles we drive, the buildings the appliances, and so here is the good news. in 2005 the united states sent up 6 billion cubic tons of co2. last year we only sent up 5.4 billion. this year, 5.2 billion. there has been a dramatic decline over the last seven or eight years. it's not as fast as it would have been. but it does show that this combination of natural gas substituting for coal, wind,

solar more fuel-efficient vehicles appliances with energy efficiency can do the jobs. >> eliot: i want to promote your bill your bill would have done it the right way cap and trade and we'll get to carbon tax in a minute. but many of the factors that led to that decline were in a significant economic recession maybe no longer but our economy is not robust any longer, and that also helps us to reduce our total emission to switch to national gas is progress. better than oil but not as good as win and other renewals. >> let me add one more stat for you. in the last five years we have dropped from 51% of all electricity being generated by coal to 35% this year. now coal is the single largest contributor to co2 in the atmosphere. to go from 51% to 35% and it's only likely to go down to 20% in

the another five years. that's how quickly the natural gas revolution is taking over. >> eliot: natural gas clearly better than coal. it's pricing has dropped in pricing because of fracking and other terms. and with wind and solar. >> in 2008 wind was 1% of our electrical generation. this year it's up 4% and next year 5%. combined with wind and solar we can expect to see 12 to 15,000 new megawatts in the next 15 years. that would dwarf nuclear power in the united states. >> eliot: nuclear becoming less and less important as pricing on other forms of energy--but i want to come at this from a different perspective. remarkably the clean air was signed four years ago.

the notion of shifting towards clean energy was viewed as being good. what happened to that bipartisan understanding. >> you showed the clip of mitt romney getting a laugh out of the entire republican convention convention, which is very bizarre because they were the party of the environment. you know, for-- >> eliot: from teddy roosevelt on down. >> for almost an entire century. so mitt romney, when governor of massachusetts, he actually took state money and invested it in clean energy. when he was governor he believed in climate change. he talked about it in his 2010 book "no apologies." but talking to that mitt romney, it's like talking to an empty chair. the condition for winning the nomination for president in 2012 is to not believe in climate

change. >> eliot: many of us want you to be chair of merry christmas and commerce. >> thank you. >> eliot: which you were in the democratic alcohol of the house. democratic controlled house. >> i think we can layout the differences of the party. the polls have shown a real bump for obama that did not occur for romney after their convention. the tracking polls show that the people of the country are more likely to vote a democratic member of congress than a republican. there is a lot of this story to be told, but we're on track to making this very close. it is really going to be a race to the wire, and i think if things continue to break our way, you just were talking about the misplay by the romney campaign in libya earlier today.

there is this mishandling of issue after issue three weeks ago romney went to an oil baron summit, day after day we're gifted by a very make-prone candidate. >> eliot: ed markey, we'll finally get the clean policy that we need. democratic congress ed markey of massachusetts. we appreciate your fight for all these important issues. the congressman leads the charge for the democrat control of the house.

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[ train whistle blows ] [ ball hitting paddle ] [ orbit girl ] don't let food hang around. yeah! [ orbit trumpet ] clean it up with orbit! [ orbit glint ] fabulous! for a good clean feeling. try new orbit micro packs. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: after a solid post-convention bounce president obama's re-election seems more and more likely. but his job of leading the country becomes significantly

more difficult if the republicans retain control of the house. representative steve israel is the chairman of the democratic congressional campaign committee, the so-called three ccc, charged with giving control of the house of representatives. we had a chance to speak with him earlier today about his fight to take control of the house and the republicans war on the middle class. >> eliot: congressman, there is a sense that the middle class is under assault and the foundation that this nation built for the middle class is under assault. do you sense that when you're out there campaigning. >> absolutely. i travel all over the country. no matter where i am, there is a sense that the middle class is under assault by the republican congress who wants to ship middle class jobs to china yesterday of providing incentives of creating new jobs for america. they have sided with the rich and turned against the middle class.

>> eliot: when up the you were at the dnc, you began with a beautiful story about how one individual mailed in a war bond from world war ii and said my dad bought this but i want this used to make taken a democratic stronghold. >> i received a war bond that this guy's father purchased on the island of guam in 1945, and his son was contributing it to elect democrats. if you could ever have a more powerful statement about the need to invest in the middle class that bond was a bet on the middle class and now this guy knew that the middle class is losing the bet under these republicans in congress. >> eliot: not to be partisan, but the bet you're placing you're doubling down on that bet with policies that you are trying to put in place. paul ryan, on the other hand is the leader of the architect of the assault of the middle class. what has it meant politically since mitt romney chose him as his running mate. >> it has given us wind at our backs. when we left congress at the end

of august, the generics were pretty much tied. but when mitt romney took the architect of the plan to end medicare to end tax cuts for corporations and millionaires and made him the vice presidential candidate that gave us a breeze. we were tied 46-46 in the reuters generic poll at the beginning of august. now we're at five in that poll because of ryan. >> eliot: the medicare has received appropriately so, loads of attention how it would devastate beneficiaries down the road. medicaid has not gotten as much attention, but medicaid is also a middle class foundation. why is that? >> we need to do a better job of what president clinton did and remind people that medicaid is a middle class issue. it helps with autism and assisted living. this is their priority debate. they want to end medicare and salvage medicaid, the bought

line is they believe you grow the economy from the top down. we believe you grow it from the middle class out. >> eliot: as one the president said in one of his many great lines, they want to double down and trickle down and it's not the way to run an economy. medicaid in dirk which is paul ryan's budget, would throw another 30 million people off the rolls of healthcare which seems antithetical to what we believe. >> this is what i worry about. if mitt romney and paul ryan win this and the republicans win the house, it's over. they will not only double down, they will triple down. they'll have the plant and medicare in the white house, and the house of representatives. >> eliot: i think most polls are saying that president obama will be re-elected. the house is a tough battle. you're leading the effort to get the democrats back to make speaker pelosi the speaker once again. the margin is 25 net seats to pick up, how does that look? >> it's in play.

we start on the 25-yard line, no pass, no play, we drove the ball in their 25-yard line and we're in there in their red zone. we can do this with the right resources and the right candidates, and that's what we have now. >> eliot: you talked about resources. does the super pac inflood of money that we focused on the presidential level does that play out at the congressnal level as well. >> absolutely. they say they will' spend $50 million in super pac money. i've got a guy with a world war ii bond at 10 bucks i'll take that any time. >> his statement is more powerful than all the koch brothers and sheldon adelson money in the world. but you still need money to make the argument. how many seats are in that swing area? most of the 435 have been redistricted or jerry mannedderred.

>> there are 66 districts that voted for president obama and/or john kerry that have republican member of congress, a tea party member of congress. that's our sweet spot. 6 districts. we have 75 in play. we need 25. speaker boehner admitted he thinks 50 of those republicans are in trouble. and we put 75 in play. >> eliot: i'll ask you a question, and i don't want to stump you. of those 75 you talked about how many of those members have been in obvious one or two terms. how many are recently elected. >> 63. >> eliot: there go. you know your stuff. you ask the question, and you got it. >> 63 seats in 2010 and there are 63 that we think we can get back. >> eliot: what is the driving issue, when you make the argument as you just did for medicare and medicaid in the middle class is that what swings voters. >> it's medicaid, medicare, it comes down to this.

you want a congress who will vote to end medicare or do you want a congress who will invest medicare for seniors medicaid for growing families to grow the middle class. >> eliot: the issue of job creation the economy hovers over everything in this campaign, as it rightly should. do you think the public is satisfied that it's heard an adequate's job plan from president obama. >> i think sow. he has made a coherent statement and he has been talking about what he wants to do. he has put on the table in the house of representatives every week jobs bills jobs plans he has put their own ideas on the table and said you introduced these bills pass them. this congress is more interested in taking this one guy's job away from him than this country. >> and voted 33 times to repeal the healthcare reform act. >> and keep their own. >> eliot: which is one of the great hypocrisy because public should have access to

healthcare. this is a closing metaphor. the etch-a-sketch toy that is romney he has outsourced his own toy. >> what can you say. >> eliot: the latino vote, republicans want it, but there is talk and then there is action. congresswoman linininininininininininininininininininininininininin ♪ lord, you got no reason ♪ ♪ you got no right ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i find myself at the wrong place ♪ [ male announcer ] the ram 1500 express. ♪ ♪ it says a lot about you. ♪ ♪ in a deep, hemi-rumble sort of way. guts. glory. ram.

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>> david: the latino vote is a key swing in the key swing states. if you watch the convention you knew thahat both parties were doing their best to court the latino vote. when the speakers appeared at

the lecturn they spoke to issues near and dear to latino voters. this may hinge on which party did the better job. with me now is congress woman linda sánchez. thank you for joining us tonight. who did a better job closing the deal and let me ask you this way, do you think presidents clinton and obama have closed the deal of the latino. >> it's important to know that latino vote is not monolithic, but i think the vast majority of latinos were convinced what they heard at the democratic convention making sure that we're doing what we can to preserve the ability for the next generation to live the american dream in this country. >> eliot: it seems to me there are so many pieces of this, which is critical. one is the budget, which we'll

get to that. and the core of those who want to work hard and succeed. and then the dream act that says to immigrants, we understand what your dream is all about. >> absolutely. not to mention increases in pell grants so that kids who have the capability have the financial ability to go to college the democratic party decreasing student loan interest rates so that more people have that opportunity. i'm a product of student loans. without them i would not be able to attend law school and have all the opportunities that having a law degree opened up to me. you go down issue after issue whether it's small business or social services, social security medicare. those are the touchstones for hispanic families. that's what helps them lift the next generation up on their shoulder. >> eliot: as you point out, it's not a handout. it's a hand up. these are programs that have given people the opportunity to work hard and then succeed. yet they're the very parts of the budget that paul ryan wants

to cut. >> absolutely. they are the tools for success. it still depends on the individual's determination and hard work to make themselves successful but it provides the opportunity. if you look at the ryan budget it decimates everything that latino families hold near and dear to their hearts. >> eliot: when you look at the budget, it's the romney ryan aiken budget, abortion, god all those issues. but when todd akin referred to pell grants as the third degree of cancer, creeping socialism they don't get what government should doe. >> no, they don't. that's the difference between members who serve in government who come from perspectives where they utilize those programs and understand the value of it and they paid it back versus people who never had to worry about making rent or writing your tuition check at the same time.

they don't know how necessary these programs are for middle class families to thrive. >> eliot: and how virtually everyone from one point or another have benefited. there are those who say we did it on our own, why can't you. >> absolutely. there is a fallacy that people do it all on their own and it takes a community to make people successful. you know, for businesses and for people who created them, they may believe that they did it all on their own but the infrastructure that gets clients to their front door, the government paid for. the test incentives and subsidies in some industries, that's what gives businesses their starts. yet it's looked at virtuous for them but bad that everybody else gets some kind of assistance, or it's looked at i did it on my own and nobody helped me, which is not true. >> eliot: we all want to believe in the virtue of our own goodness. it would be nice if it was true, but it's a mythology. once we get rid of that mythology, we're healthier as a

consequence. let's talk about the convention conventions. both parties put up a litany of latino speakers. who did better. >> for me what killed it, you look across the crowd when the cameras panned. you saw no diverse faces in the republican crowd. when you look at the democratic convention, you can see we are the party that is the party of inclusion and wants to help everyone in this country and you saw the faces in the crowd that spoke volumes of what the party stands for. but the speakers who knocked it out of the park julian castro just lit the place on fire. while the republicans tried and this is what i find interesting they try by sprinkling spanish phrases or having one or maybe two selected hispanic speakers, you don't see them in the

audience. you don't see them represented at the table. the message they're sending on the one hand, hey we're your party. but their policies are shoving latinos as far away as they possibly could. >> eliot: you changed my question and made it more interesting and more important. it's not who is behind the lecturn but who is in the audience. >> absolutely. >> eliot: and marco rubio was a good speaker i don't agree with him. but both parties had speakers behind the lecturns, but what matters is where you had a diverse audience and crowd for the democratic party and and a monocratic audience in the republican convention. >> they had run or two dare i say token speakers? >> eliot: and then you see mitt romney who wants to pretend he's inclusive and talks about immigration in a certain manner and then joes up shows up with jan

brewer. >> i think jan brewer is toxic for the republican party in terms of the latino vote. the more they embrace her the more they'll push the latino vote away. mitt romney withmitt romney given that his family fled to mexico for a time. they accepted him, but some how we're suspect in this country through mitt romney's eyes. >> eliot: one of my favorite stories through fdr eleanor they're not clear who but spoke to the daughters of the revolution saying fellow immigrants. we are all immigrants. the moment we forget that, we're all in bad situation. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> eliot: new citizens means new politics. >> always outspoken,

now unleached: joy behar. >>tonight, hanna rosin discusses her new book. it's called "the end of men". oh my god, whos going to kill the big bugs in the bedroom? only on current tv. >> eliot: behind the veil of latino support who else, steve king congressman luis gutierrez joins me next. but right now airing at a brand new time slot at 10:00 p.m. eastern, let's check in with jennifer granholm in the war room. good evening governor, what have you got for us tonight. >> we'll continue the coverage of the tragedy in libya, and we'll delve into mitt romney's terrible statements on the events of the middle east and what it means for the campaign. is it one of those near fatal campaign moments we've we will look at the policies, not just libya but it's egypt and it all starts at

10:00 eastern. >> eliot: the difference between a white house that is deft and a romney campaign that is tone deaf they just can't get anything right any time, anywhere. take a hike,

the chill of peppermint. the rich dark chocolate. york peppermint pattie get the sensation. >> eliot: nearly one month after president obama's executive order to suspend deportation of jong-il legal immigrants went into effect, 72,000 immigrants applied to the program out of the 1.2 million who were eligible. over 200,000 young immigrants could have applications in the pipeline. i had the opportunity to discuss this and other issues of one of the extreme proponents of the dream act congressman luis

gutierrez. i see mitt romney campaigning around latinos then i see him standing with steve king who is the most rabid anti-immigration. >> you have the politics, then you have rubio. good speaker introduces him. affectionate--latino. then the next step, steve king. he not only goes to iowa you endorses him. there are ten things you can say about him or more, this is the man who came before the floor the house with an electrified model of fence of electricity saying this is the way we take care of our lifestyle. in other words. >> eliot: i saw that on c-span

and i couldn't quite believe what i was hearing the level of rhetoric, the inhumanity of what was reflected in what he said. it was deeply troubling. >> mitt romney spoke about immigrants, a beautiful introduction, look they're going back, and they're going to lose the election. they need to expand. this is not going to play well. as i discussed with you before. you want to have king. you don't want to have rubio then give up on the hispanic and latino vote. >> eliot: there is a nativism running through the republican party that speaks to the narrowist ideological base in our nation's history. i thought we moved beyond that. >> no, and you know what is really troublesome about his campaign? four years ago and i know everybody says he flip flops, he was with immigration reform and he was articulate about why we should have it, number one. we with you remember when they had governor rick perry who simply said, we should give

these latino students a chance. when they criticized him they took the heart out of his campaign. that is who they are speaking to. mitt romney has the most zenophobezenophobic posture. george bush is like an icon to the immigration community in comparison to mitt romney. >> eliot: i saw george bush. we were both up on the dais, i was governor. i said mr. president, we disagree on many issues, but thank you on what you tried to do on immigration. mitt romney is going back the other way. it is reprehensible. switch gears. not totally but the dream act. what the president has done. i know you love to talk about this. 72,000 kids so far. >> yes. >> eliot: 200,000 by november, december, this is changing lives. >> oh, it is changing lives. i came out of an activity today. i had to contain my tears. a young woman she's working at a restaurant, and she's a

waitress. i'm walking out and she says, thank you, i'm you changed my life. i'm putting my application in. 72,000 lives have been changed. i love my party when it does these significant things to change people's lives. 72,000, we'll get the first people out. this young girls says, look, congressman, this is what i got. it was the letter. the happiness. please come down and share your fingerprints with us. we would like to process your application. she's happy because the government wants to take her and do a background check. >> eliot: i had an e-mail from one of my students who said, can you help me fill out my forms. i want someone who is a lawyer to go over this stuff and make sure they're done properly. >> we need that. >> eliot: it's not my area of expertise, but i'll be there to make sure its filled out. i may not be qualified but i'll

do what i can. >> they're difficult but what are we going to do next? i tell people, save the million first. the first thing we have to do is extrapolate every last ounce and goodness out of the first million before we step up. let's organize. >> eliot: that's step one. but step two is getting back the house so the dream act which would apply to all who would be covered by it, any hope to get the 25. >> i think we can. in illinois we're going to bring three, four, possibly five more democrats back to the house in terms of bringing--i think we can do that. this wonderful woman, one of the dreamers, she walked way back two years ago from florida to washington, d.c. challenging the system to do better. i was on the panel with her yesterday. it's wonderful to see the youth growing. you know what she said the next step is? she said the next step is my mom, my dad my uncle and my

aunt. it's wonderful to talk about comprehensive immigration. >> eliot: it's incremental. it does not happen all at once. and whatever the grievance is that the president didn't do on day one he's doing it now. quickly, i saw the house and the judiciary committee having a meeting about the president usurping power what is the republican mania that this is what they're wasting time on instead of passing a jobs bill or working on immigration. >> i think they're just so unhappy. i'm serious. they read the same report did you. here is a congress in a republican congress who do everything that they can do to stop immigrants from getting into the united states and dispelling as many families. i think a president when they controlled the house they granted this authority to the president of the united states. they're saying what, we did something that could actually

help? you know the joy and happiness i see reflected in your face when we talk about the e-mail. that is the same joy most americans share with us. unfortunately they're saddened by the prospect. they want to scare people. >> eliot: maybe get one or two of the kids who have these amazing smiles have them call the republicans by mistake. maybe they'll feel the joy. >> maybe they'll feel the joy but at the other end sadly they want to scare them. they're saying this does not work. we'll repeal it, so they are scare people. >> eliot: and scaring what they're doing on the voter front, voter suppression is an issue that will have to wait for another day. thank you. you're doing great work. >> appreciate it. >> eliot: always an ex-sureber rant conversation with luis