>> michael: coming up, the gun debate is over. let the gun debate begin. that's washington's way of saying we cut a deal but we're not really sure what happens next. i'm michael shure. this is "the war room." [♪ theme music ♪] >> michael: after months of turmoil in washington today actually brought a moment of calm and bipartisanship. senators announced that they had come to an agreement on guns. finally. joe manchin, and pat toomey

announced the deal. >> we have an agreement on a [ inaudible ] to prevent criminals and the mentally ill to be prevented from getting firearms. >> michael: the plan closes the infamous gun show loophole. this is big news. it will be the first major piece of legislation on gun control to come to a vote on capitol hill in nearly decades, and both men have an a grade from the nra. chuck schumer was nowhere to be seen as the press conference. toomey thought having him there would hurt their cause. schumer and others had been working with manchin for weeks, but coburn wouldn't agree with a

paper trail of gun sales. once he was gone the group added toomey instead and the new coalition was able to come up with a moderate plan that pleased everyone. and that seems to be enough for the 14 republican senator who just yesterday had been sheiking about filibustering any gun bill that came to the floor. ted cruz actually cancelled a press conference this morning on the filibuster that he had scheduleded. but he didn't let reporters know. so when they showed up there was an empty podium with a handwritten note. cruz's spokesperson says he still plans to filibuster but that doesn't matter. the families of newtown were on capitol hill today meeting with the senators. >> i'm a parent . . . and a

grandparent . . . >> let's all share. [ laughter ] >> i can't imagine. if i could do something. i can do something. >> michael: it's just so incredibly moving each time we see that. at the same time, first lady michelle obama was in chicago making her own heart felt call for action. she spoke about hadia pendleton who was shot outside of her school just two weeks after she presidented at the president's inauguration. >> dozens of them later spoke at the service, each referring to her as my best friend and let

me tell ya it is hard to know what to say to a room full of teenagers who are about to bury their best friend. but i started by telling them that hadia was clearly on her way to doing something truly worthy with her life. i told them that there is a reason that we're here on this earth; that each of us has a mission in this world. and i urged them to use their lives to give meaning to hadia's life. i urged them to dream as big as she did, and work as hard has she did and live a life that honored every last bit of her god-given promise. so today i want to say the exact same thing to all of you. i want to urge you to come together and do something worthy of hadia pendleton's memory and

worthy of our children's future. >> michael: so eloquent and so impactful from the first lady. we're joined now by juana summers, a reporter from political. thank you for coming back inside "the war room." how did this deal get done? >> obviously there has been a lot of impassioned heat behind the gun-control debate after the shootings at sandy hook elementary. for lawmakers the idea of voting for gun legislation is naxious. but have these senator at the helm, gives republicans a way to take it home and say this is a bipartisan deal. this is something that democrats and republicans are doing together at a volatile moment. so i think that had a lot to

play here. >> michael: there was a little bit of a soap opera, tell me about pat toomey why he didn't want chuck schumer at his press conference. >> as we have talked about before toomey and manchin wanted to make sure there were no loose strings. so certainly always a little bit of drama here on capitol hill. >> michael: and tom coburn left the whole thing. lindsey graham is proposing his own legislation, what will that mean? >> it is important to note that this is not a done deal. this still needs 60 votes and harry reid has said if this proposal does not in fact get 60 votes, we will enter a number of smaller gun bills, so this is

far from over. and you saw the opposition in the house. john boehner was asked whether he would bring this bill to the floor, and he said we're going to wait and see what happens. many house republicans believe it is not a problem with gun laws being too weak it's a problem with the laws we have right now not being enforced. while this is a good day for those who are looking for new legislation, this is far from over. >> michael: yeah, i can't help but agree with you on that. moving to ted cruz who do you think put pressure on cruz by the way still a freshman senator, not to have that press conference? was it inside his party? was it maybe the nra? >> that is entirely possible. ted cruz is very powerful within the conservative base. so it was probably important to not have him get up and give that press conference and say if

there's any chance of a bipartisan agreement to move forward. we're certainly looking into that. >> michael: let's talk about the deal itself. what is in this deal? >> the biggest part of this deal is like you said earlier this gun show loophole. it requires background checks on gun sales on the internet and gun shows. and that's very important. it also creates a facility to look at the growing epidemic of gun violence. and how we can curb these kinds of shootings. >> michael: you know, president obama a big part of this dialogue obviously. he released a statement saying he supports the bill but quote, it is not my bill, and there are aspects that i might prefer to be stronger. do you think this is the end of the conversation, or could more

gun legislation be coming? >> i think there certainly could be. president obama has staged quite a bit of his political capital in order to resolve this issue and make sure we don't have more senseless killings. that signals to me there could be more efforts from the white house like from vice president joe biden on this issue in the days ahead. >> stephanie: juana summers says it is far from over. thank you as always for being here in "the war room." now to possible deal on immigration. over a thousand protesters swarmed capitol hill to call for immigration reform. their leaders will meet with several members of the gang of eight, and they are demanding action. >> our communities are getting more and more frustrated and

angry at politicians for delaying the progress, for politicians must choose people over politics. >> michael: they might not have to wait long. patrick leahy told univision that a deal is imminent. but there are several extremely controversial elements. like a system to monitor everyone who comes in and out of the country. but the most controversial part is border security. law enforcement must stop 90% of people illegally crossing the border. waiting until the border is more secure could create an indefinite debate for immigrants that are already here. and 11 million people in this country will still not have a path to citizenship. coming up in "the war room," the

participate's bill has an olive branch or two, but progressives aren't happen. and we'll tell you what hand when rand paul went to a black college to discuss the history of civil rights. afterwards we'll talk with julian bond who is actually qualified to talk about it. and they are back. some of our country's most disgraced public figures are proving that getting caught in the about does not preclude you from having a second act. bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look

out for us. hi i'm terry and i have diabetic nerve pain. it's hard to describe because you have a numbness but yet you have the pain like thousands of needles sticking in your foot. it was progressively getting worse, and at that point, i knew i had to do something. once i started taking the lyrica, the pain started subsiding. [ male announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing rash, hives, blisters, changes in eye sight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever tired feeling, or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem

may be more likely to misuse lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain.

>> if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. ♪ >> michael: you're back inside

"the war room." the president released his budget today forcing us to learn about chained cpi and bracket creep. here are his remarks this morning. >> obama: if we want to keep rebuilding our economy, then we have got to get smarter about our priorities as a nation. and that's what the budget i'm sending to congress today represents. a fiscally responsible blueprint for middle class jobs and growth. >> michael: his $3.8 trillion budget cuts the deficit by $1.8 trillion over the next ten years, with $1.2 trillion replacing the sequester cuts that went into effect last month. all week this "war room" has covered the left's unhappiness with the social security cuts. >> house republicans passed an balanced budget that will help

foster a healthier economy and help create jobs unfortunately the president's budget never comes to balance. every family has to balance its budget washington should as well. >> michael: but their refusal to make a deal could be politicallied a van politicallied a -- advantageous to president obama. chain cpi, decreases the amounts seniors, vets and disabled will see in their checks. yesterday progressives dlifrp dlifrp -- delivered signatures to fight the cuts. max richtman joins us now to discuss that. welcome inside "the war room." >> thanks for inviting me in to

"the war room." >> michael: what is the simple layperson's explanation of the president's proposal? >> under current law, there's a formula that is used to measure inflation, and that is the measurement that is supplied to the cost of living adjustment for social security and veteran's benefits benefits for disabled federal, civilian retirees. that doesn't look at the market basket of goods that seniors rely on. so the current formula is flawed. so what is the answer from the white house? an even worse formula that will lower the cost of living adjustment over time, that is compounded, so the longer you live, the worse off you'll be in terms of keeping up with inflation. the chain cpi is not a tweak.

it's not a minor adjustment. it's a dramatic cut in benefits that grows over time. >> michael: those cost of living adjustments, i remember when i first started working in politics, claude pepper was a congressman at that time and they said they are never going to touch colas, and now it sounds as if the president is talking about touching colas. listen to this. >> obama: they are reforms that keep the promise we have made to our seniors basic security that is there for you when you need it. that's what my budget represents. >> michael: is this what his budget really represents? >> i'm sorry to disagree with the president. i admire him. i have dealt with him and his staff in a positive way over the years, but on this score, i -- i

disagree. the president himself going back as far as 2008 when he was debating senator john mccain, he said raise the age for benefits and mess with cola, i don't do either. one week affleck -- after election day, we met and i made the case that social security changes, whatever they are they don't have to be felt with in the next couple of weeks or months, but whatever changes should be made for the sake of the program, separate track, not part of a fiscal cliff negotiation, or debt deal negotiation, and the president said we agree with you. so something has changed, and even -- even his eloquent words in his inaugural address, when

he said that social security medicare, and medicaid should be protected; that the commitments we make to each other through these programs strengthen us, and do not diminish us in terms of the initiatives we take. so in my book he has not met the commitments he has made himself during the campaign and during other parts of his administration. >> michael: and i hear everything you are saying. he does have to try to keep commitments, especially if that's what he got elected on. there is also a part that is a politician. could this be a way to put the republicans back on their heels so they have to vote for tax increases which is just poison to them when they go back to their district? >> it's a risky proposition if you look at it that way.

it is a sad commentary in my opinion that for a group such as the national committee to preserve social security and medicare and the other progressive groups like now, move on.org social security groups that delivered those petitions in front of the gate of the white house yesterday with members of congress. it's a sad commentary if we have to rely on republican entrancesy -- intransy gents. >> michael: well if he does what he said he would do then the president as lost me. nearly two/thirds of recipients rely on social security for half of their income. if these cuts go into effect how will it effect every day americans? >> you are accurate in your

statistics, but almost 40% of social security beneficiaries defend on social security for at least 90% of their income. the average benefit of social security is about $1,267 a month, the average. that means a lot of them are getting less. they are getting 7 $800 a month. cutting the cola will diminish their ability to survive. these folks are not living in the lap of luxury, they are just getting by. and i have participated in many townhall meetings hundreds of them, and if there's one thing seniors are familiar with it's the cola. they defendpend on the news to be announced every fall.

and the average of the cola has been 2.3%, and two of those years there was zero cola. i feel sorry for a politician to go out to explain to seniors that we think that this small bit of money that is added on to your benefit check monthly is too much it's too generous. you are getting too much. it will not be accepted. >> michael: yeah, if that's what it comes to i don't feel sorry for them at all, max, because they know what they are doing. by using words like and complex formulas like chain cpi is this a way to exclude some of those average americans from being able to participate in this budget debate? >> well, the chain cpi it may sound exotic but our challenge and i think we're up to the challenge is to explain it and

it's pretty easy to explain. it's not a tweak or adjustment. it will mean lower benefits over time. growing, the benefit reduction will get longer the longer someone lives and stays on the program. so we need to -- we -- seniors know a cut when they see it and we will do everything we can along with the partners many of whom participated in the petition delivery yesterday afternoon at the white house. we will do our best to make sure members of congress understand that seniors will -- will recognize a cut is a cut, and will remember who supports this in november of 2014. >> michael: and they vote. they vote -- >> and they vote. >> michael: max richtman. he is the president of the national committee to preserve social security and medicare we thank him for joining us here today.

up next in "the war room," this week we celebrated equal pay for women day, though for women who aren't making as much as their male counterparts i'm sure they would rather have a keep the day and give me my equal pay.

>> michael: today the political front is crowded. we're seeing progress on gun safety and immigration reform as president obama's budget is being attacked from the left and the right. and not everyone on the left is jumping for joy over the gun bill either. keith ellison told tamara hall he would hold his nose and vote for the senate bill if it ever

reaches the house. >> it's so much less than the people of the american -- the american people deserve. it's so little and so meager. i just think we ought to be able to do more and i think we shouldn't settle for this although we ought to take it and move forward and keep plugging. >> michael: the less unhappiness is seen on this meme remaining the president why they voted for his reelection just a few months ago. david langley shows off his bumper sticker, volunteer pass and window sign. for incite on how the left should feel right now is christine pelosi. christine chairs the california democratic party women's caucus. welcome back inside "the war room," christine. let's start with this budget. let's listen to what the president had to say. >> obama: if anyone thinks i'll finish the job of deficit

reduction on the backs of middle class americans or through spending cuts alone, they should think again. >> michael: why is that message not getting through loud enough. >> president obama promised jobs. he is trying to deliver jobs but the republicans won't compromise. he is trying to deliver the american safety net but the republicans won't compromise. we need to elect a democratic house in 2014. until then he is playing chess when every one else is playing checkers. >> michael: is this about getting your mother to be speaker of the house again? i have a feeling everything he is doing on the budget is to get john boehner out of the speaker's chair. >> this is about putting the american people back to work and making sure we have a safety net when we retire. president obama needs to say to his base i hear you, we are not

a nation of takers, it allows us to make the investments going forward. >> michael: i do think it is a little bit about individuals here as well. i do think it's about changing the congress. let's go from the budget to guns. if this background checks bill gets through, and that's all that gets through, should the left be happy or disappointed that more didn't happen. >> when i was here the day that the violence against women act was passed i'll say the same thing, if you want better policy, elect a better congress. and if you want more comprehensive gun safety, then you have to elect a number of people that support gun safety. >> michael: so if you want more you clearly want a congress in

2014 that represents that more. of these bills, the gun bill the budget the immigration bill, which one strengthens the democratic hand most going into those elections. >> immigration. we have seen people from all over the country, immigrants from all corners of the earth who have come to america, they listen to the promises the democrats and some republicans made in the election. romney said self deport. obama said pass the citizenship, i think the republicans understand they will lose latinos, asians, and elections unless they pass comprehensive immigration reform. >> michael: your argument makes all of the sense in the world. i don't remember any kind of legislation having 90% approval across the board. 74% of nra members support background checks. why wouldn't that translate into

number 1. >> because backgrounds are only a small part of the menu that we need to protect our children and families from gun violence. so to say 90% of you wanted this, we delivered it that's not going to be enough. again, people want and need jobs. equal pay someday far away from women of color across the country, including immigrant women. so it relates back to immigration, and also back to jobs and equality. >> michael: let's talk about that. yesterday was equal payday. equal payday represents the day in which women from 2012 -- in 2013 would have work to earn what men did in the entire year of 2012. you just tied it to immigration reform explain that. >> in california latinos make $0.43 for what white males make

and many of those latinos are imma grants. so unless you have immigration reform and bring people out of the shadows and up from wage exploitation, then not only do you hamper the economy, but you lose all of that human potential. we need immigration reform, decent wages, raising the minimum wage, and make sure we hold on to that safety net. because more money going in as salary means more money for social security. >> michael: right. and that's a big problem as well convincing people that yes this is all tied together. if they see this equal payday go earlier and earlier in the year will that translate to immigration reform as well? >> absolutely. because what you saw was labor, and non-union workers together on capitol hill today. it used to be a split. remember ten years ago they were saying things like immigrants

are doing jobs that american workers refuse to do. that's not true. americans can and will do any job that is available to us, so rather than pitting workers against each other, we are now bringing workers together. and we want to lift up wages, pensions, retirement security for all workers, that's the goal. >> michael: and that's why 2014 is a great time to vote. christine pelosi thanks so much for being on the show as always. up next if your passions include civil rights and baseball this picture is praisely. that's willie mays talking with mr. bond at last night's giants game. documentaries... on current tv.

>> michael: tea party darling rand paul gave a speech today at the traditionally black howard university as part of the gop's outreach to young minority voters. let's take a listen. >> here i am today at howard an historically black college. i once presumed to discuss a section of the civil rights act. that didn't always go so well for me. some have said i'm either brave or crazy to be here today. i take to heart the words of toby morrison who wrote if there is a book that you really want to read that hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. i can plunge into the arena, and stumble, maybe fall, but at least i will have tried. >> michael: is there anything quite as awkward as rand paul

quoting tony morrison. back in 2010 paul said he was opposed to parts of the civil rights act before talking it back in a major way and saying he would have supported it. joining me tonight in san francisco is someone who knows a thing or two about the intersection of politics, race, and youth, as a student, julian bond lead student protests against segregation and helped establish the student non-violent coordinating committee. he went on to serve in the georgia state legislatedture, and served as chairman of the

naacp. i'm hon in order welcome both of you into "the war room" today. when you hear rand paul say those things what does that make you think? >> it makes me think that they have nothing to talk that happened in the recent past. they talked about republicans being the moving factor in passing the 64 civil rights act, that was 1964. there is nothing on the republican agenda for the last 35, 40 years that gives black voters any reason to vote for them. >> michael: let me get your response to this. >> i think that is a great question, and that hits the nail on the head exactly as to what our obstacles are, because people, including those who may have just slapped perceive they

are completely different parties. and you don't agree to all of that -- i'm either going to convince you or not, but my argument there are some of us who are still the party that you liked, but there are part of us who truly believe that reagan is part of that. >> michael: what do you think of that response? >> it is unimaginable to think that the republican party today is anything like the republican party he is talking about. this is night and day, black and white, red and blue. this is just difference difference, difference. >> michael: but in essence, though, don't you think he has to go to a place like howard university to start this dialogue. >> if he is starting a dialogue. but he is not. he is trying to pull the wool over these students' eyes and these kids are just too smart

for that. they are not going to fall for this kind of oakky doke. >> michael: you know, last night you had a special chance to sort of merge, you know, two -- two times -- two different careers from the civil rights era, your own and willie mays what was that like for you? >> i never had a thrill like this -- i can't remember having a thrill like this ever in real life. to meet this guy, talk to him, and see he's as sharp, and whitty as it had ever been it was just wonderful. and he new his record. when he batted for the aaa team in minnesota. it is just great to see him and

touch living history. >> michael: as someone who -- you know -- he -- he was part of history but he also felt like he was touching history with you, i'm sure. another part of your history is the civil rights movement. we have a special guest here today in rutha harris. rutha, i want to ask you the importance of music to the civil rights movement. and then i want to hear you sing if you don't mind a little bit. and hear julian talk about music in the movement. >> it played a very important role. without the music there wouldn't have been a movement. the songs of the movement gave us hope kept us from having fear while in jail and there is a particular song that i sang when i'm on a march. ♪ walk with me lord ♪

♪ walk with me ♪ ♪ walk with me lord ♪ ♪ walk with me ♪ ♪ while i'm on this freedom journey ♪ ♪ i want jesus to walk with me ♪ >> michael: julian when you hear that -- >> i get shivers. >> michael: do you? >> absolutely. it takes me back to sitting in these small tiny churches and

people joining and lifting their voices? song to say things they can't say walking down the street they can't say on their job, to talk about ain't going to let nobody turn me around, to sing these songs that everybody knows them because many are based on gospel songs that everybody knew, and to have somebody like rutha sing it it gives me shivers. >> michael: what is ain't nobody going to turn us around? ♪ ain't going to let nobody turn me around, turn me around ♪ ♪ ain't going to let nobody turn me around, i'm going to keep on a walking keep on a talking, marching up to freedom land ♪ >> michael: i hear julian singing along to that one as well. when you were in these churches is that how -- you know, movement events would start and

then you would go out into the streets beforehand or were these mass meetings all about the singings? >> during the mass meetings we had people there, and of course the songs of the movement were taken from spiritual, gospel music, rock and roll rhythm and blues, and these songs were familiar to the congregation and all we did was change the lyrics to fit the occasion. >> michael: i know one song that i love that is a defiant song if you miss me from the back of the must ♪ if you miss me from the back of the bus, and you can't find me nowhere, come on up to the front of the bus and i'll be riding up there, oh, i'll be riding up there, i'll be riding up there ♪ ♪ come on up to the front of the bus, and i'll be riding up there ♪ >> michael: it's just so

fantastic. julian, when you would be planning events, when -- whether it was sit-ins, protests marches, would -- how much of it was about music and getting people together? >> an amazing portion was about music, because music pulled people together. everybody is singing if you miss me from the back of the bus, and everybody knows the lyrics and it pulls them together. and there was a song that used to sing oh prichet oh kelly, for profitet open themselves. prichet was where the movement found her and lifted her up. because they knew they could use this magnificent voice. >> michael: we have been doing this march goes on on this show talking about the history of the civil rights history, and where it goes, you are out there singing still.

>> we can't let the music die. >> michael: and do you see young people singing these songs now? >> i'm still teaching the songs of the movement. >> michael: and i know you are teaching, julian, and i think it's so important that we all remember this part of our recent history, so important to how we live today. an honor and privilege to have you both here. >> thank you for having us. >> michael: up next we'll come back with our own brett ehrlich. >> what a way to start the day. (vo) followed by "talking liberally with stephanie miller" >> this is big for me. only on current tv.

fruit just got cooler. fruit on one side, cool on the other. ice breakers duo a fruity cool way to break the ice.

♪ >> michael: don't call it a comeback. mark sanford is one step away from returning to public office, tiger woods is number one in the

world again, and the newest comeback kid could be anthony weiner. the congressman who resigned after sending the infamous underwear twitter pick around the world. for more we have our own brett ehrlich in the studio. brett this is big news. >> this is huge news. i'm very excited. business insider ran a photo of a bunch of photographers waiting outside of anthony weiner's apartment to get a photo of him. and my question is don't we have enough photos of anthony weiner and do you think the one you are going to get waiting outside of his apartment is going to be any better than the one we already have. you should be waiting by your computer waiting for him to second another photo.

>> michael: that's right. do you think he's done his time? it is over yet? >> it's tough. he -- yeah, he might come back and apparently he has like spent money on polling to see if it is time. i think he has done his time. if you think about how little he individual in the real world he did a lot of real things bad. >> michael: he could be the mayor of sin city. >> exactly. but he has been through so much. we have seen the photos and now we feel guilty, i think as the general population, and he has paid so much. i think these scandals they are like taxes. like you look at what you have done, you have pay as much as you think you owe, and hopefully you have paid too much and everyone sends you like a refund in the end and i think that's what he is counting on.

>> michael: exactly. what is the media's role in this? >> the media is the problem and the solution it's the problem because whatever you do is everywhere instantaneously but they are also the solution in that they are on to the next thing so fast, we are, i am anyway, that like as soon as we ruin someone we're moving on to the next thing, and they can make themselves up in the public eye. >> michael: yeah david vitter had prostitutes. he is a senator from louisiana and he was reelected after that news. >> it's tough because you don't know if it's a real big problem with the public. the media goes crazy, the public is tweeting something else and eating corn flakes as they are judging you as a human being.

and vitter just looked the public in the eye, and said i don't care. i'm just staying here. >> michael: now that we see weiner coming back -- every time i say it -- does larry craig have a chance? >> and mark sanford is right around the corner. he is all in in his response. he is like i know i did something wrong. he did his tearful weird apology, and now he is engaged to the woman he was hiking the appalachian trail with in argentina, which i think was a euphemism for something grotty. >> michael: all right. brett thanks so much. i'll see you back here on "the young turks." have a great night everyone. ♪

honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.