is [ music ] [ music ] >> bill: hey. good morning. good morning, everybody. great to see you today. it is friday april 12th. thank you for joining us here on the full court press on current tv, your morning town hall as we bring you the news of the day and, of course, give you a chance to comment on what's going on at 866-55-press, our toll-free number. on twitter @bpshow and on

facebook.com/bill press. a couple of weeks ago, they said it couldn't be done. then families from newtown, connecticut, came to washington. and yesterday, the senate voted overwhelmingly, as a result of their lobbying the senate voted 68 to 31 to open debate on tough new gun safety legislation. let the debate begin. in other news did mitch mcconnell break the law by bringing senate staffers into his campaign meeting when they talked about ashley judd? we will ask melanie sloan, the head of citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington. are a group of professional athletes ready to come out of the closet? >> the rumor. we will find out more about it from cindy boren from the washington post. and is texas ready to turn blue? boy, if it does, that will shake

up american politics. we will ask the chair of the harris county, texas democratic party. all of that right here on the "full-court press" on current tv. >> "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.

(vo) current tv is the place for compelling true stories. (kaj) jack, how old are you? >> nine. (adam) this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. way inside. (christoff) we're patrolling the area looking for guns, drugs bodies ... (adam) we're going to places where few others are going. [lady] you have to get out now. >> lots of terrible things happen to people growing marijuana. >> this crop to me is my livelihood. >> i'm being violated by the health care system. (christoff) we go and spend a considerable amount of time getting to know the people and the characters that are actually living these stories. (vo) from the underworld to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real,

gripping, current. >> occupy! >> we will have class warfare. (vo) true stories, current perspective. documentaries. on current tv. >> broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv this is "the bill press show" >> bill: the newtown families make a difference. the senate votes to open debate on gun safety. what do you say? hello, everybody. good morning. good friday morning. ♪ alleluia. ♪ >> bill: you bet. it is friday april 12th.

♪ alleluia >> bill: i know it's your favorite day. we worked hard, worked hard for this weekend here here we go. but we are not just going to the weekend. we have a lot to talk about. great to see you this morning on this friday april 12th. and bouncing off of the big vote in the senate yesterday, the lopsided debate to begin gun safety legislation. it shouldn't have been a tough vote. it turned out to be for some senators. in the end the knew town families won the day. a lot going on here in our nation's capitol, around the country, around the globe. we will tell you all about it and give you a chance to sound off about it at 866-55-press. reach us on our studio in washington, d.c. you can also join us and we invite you to join us on twitter. trying to build up twitter

followers, trying to catch up with paris hilton on twitter. >> getting close. >> is she the queen of twitter? >> no. not at all. >> it depends upon who you ask. but... >> bill: trate, it's @bpshow. we want you to be our friend on facebook. facebook.com/bill press show. befriend us on facebook. man, a lot going on here. peter ogburn and dan henning. hello, guys. >> happy friday. >> happy friday is it, indeed alicia cruz, get to talk to her when you call in and cyprian boulding. keeping us on the air. >> shouting at everyone. >> i know. >> screaming. >> we couldn't put him on the air. >> no. >> this is the family show.

after all. right? >> how about it? a lot of flap about jay- z's and beyonce's trip to cuba. he got even when he came out. wouldn't you know he would turn it into a little rap-fest about his trip and all of the flap about it saying that obama -- obama might get him impeached over it ♪ obama say you are going to get me impeached ♪here on the beach. >> he thinks obama might get impeached over the fact he was allowed to go. of course, wouldn't you know the white house briefing yesterday took this so seriously. president obama is going to get impeached because jay-z went to cuba? >> one thing i have learned having listened top rap music,

they are best taken literally. you should take them literally and assume that that is it. >> they have the gospel truth about what's going on. for any reporter to spend any time thinking talking about that is just a waste and a joke. and an embarrassment to those of us who take issues seriously. it was raised at the briefing yesterday. jay carney did his best to try to say, come on. get serious. >> i guess nothing around here is treasury because treasury offers and gives licenses for travel as you know and the white house has nothing to do with it. >> are you saying the president did not have a conversation with him. >> i am absolutely saying this white house, from the president on down had nothing to do with anybody's travel to cuba. that is something the treasury handles. >> these are trust words.

a song for jay-z. >> he plays along for a second and finally, it's a song. i am going to spend every day trying to figure out what rhymes with treasury. >> a pretty good reporter but she was way off line yesterday. and we will get into spending more time with jay-z but in the big issues of the day with good friends, donna edwards, one of our favorites, congresswoman from maryland. cindy boren, another big favorite of ours the supports blogger for the washington post will join us as well. then we will spend time with media matters looking at the sunday talk shows and what little they are doing to provide any real balance. all that and more coming up right here. but first... >> this is the full court press. >> other headlines making news on this friday secretary of state john kerry quenches his

thirst. he won a bet with the foreign minister of canada over the women's world hockey championship and the u.s. beat canada 3 to 2 on tuesday. so yesterday, john baird presented kerry with a case of molten lager in a meeting in canada. h canada won, kerry would have had to give him a case of sam adams. >> he is going to south korea, from london to south korea. >> and drinking beer while he is doing it. >> we may not see any super crazy guests at the upcoming white house correspondents dinner because the person known for bringing them is not coming greta van sustren is taking a pass because of a prior commitment. guests she has brought include kim kardaashian and ozzie and

sharon osborn. >> and sara palin. >> bookies in london. >> i would have had something to say. i am so -- i have nothing more to say about that. >> about sarah palin? no. yeah. she was not one of the guests that i invited this year. >> i was going to ask: are you bringing sarah palin? >> no. >> booknies london are busy taking bets on what the name of the royal baby will be according to the associated press, the odds on alexandra are 2 to 1 down from 25 to 1 we know it's a girl. >> she is rumored because she let it slip about a month ago. >> daugh. >> odds on alexandra are 2 to 1 after getting an unusual amount of bets on that name in recent days. prince william and kate are due in july. >> what's wrong with grary? >> nothing. >> it could be prairie.

how about victoria? wouldn't it be nice to have another queen victoria? >> sure. or elizabeth. queen elizabeth iii. >> all right. thank you, dan. yes, indeed, a big, big, big turnaround here on the issue of gun safety. i mean, you know, it reminds me so much of the turnaround on marriage equality and same-sex marriage where remember six months ago, a year ago this was the poison pill this was the issue all politicians were staying away from and then suddenly the tide turned and democrats were saying, i am for it. i am for it. down to four democrats, i think, who have not yet, in the senate who have not come out only for in support of same-sex marriage. the same thing on the gun safety issue. a week ago right here in studio victoria jones.

who else was in with her that day? but the two of them, might have been tomasky. >> it was john stanton. >> john stanton from buzzfeed, the two of them in together. they know the scene here both of them were saying there was no way we were going to have any gun safety legislation, no way. we wouldn't even have a debate in the senate on it. it was just going to get shot down. well, look what happened yesterday. unbelievable. unbelievable turnaround. 68 to 31. here is freshman senator schatz from hawaii. he was presiding announcing the vote. >> on this vote, the yays are 68. the nays are 31. three-fifths having voted in the affirmedtive. the motion is agreed to. >> remember, this is just the cloture vote, what they call which is they agree that this will debate this issue on the

floor of the senate. >> that's where the filibuster has always been. >> that's been -- that's kind of the locked gate, if you will. granges have filibustered everything over the last four years and at this time 16 republicans jumped ship and went to open debate. >> that's all it means is they will debate the issue, but at least, it will be openly debated on the floor of the senate and senators will have to vote up or down on every aspect of this gun safety legislation and all of the amendments, again at our briefing yesterday, jay carney saying, good deal and the president's plan is really working here because the american people have put pressure on the congress. >> the president has said all along and you have heard him in hartford, on monday that congress will do the right thing if the american people speak up if they raise their voices. >> as joe biden said yesterday on msnbc, the public -- look at this. 91% according to the latest

quinnipiac poll, 91% of americans support universal background check. joe biden again on msnbc yesterday said democrats -- i mean, politicians, rather are far, far behind the public on this. >> this is one of the cases where the public is so far ahead of the elected officials. i mean so far ahead. you saw it in immigration. you saw it in marriage issues. you are seeing it now. the public has moved to a different place. and there is not one single thing we are suggesting not one, the admissionstration in our proposal. that anyone can make a prima facia a case that it impacts on the second amendment. >> joe biden who has been the point man, an amazing turnaround 16 republicans broke

with their party and voted to open debate. when you vote for the final bill, you only need 51 and again, 68 yesterday. so what happened miss short span of time? joe mancion and pat toomey got together in the old-fashioned way, people of both sides getting together to try to see where they could come together on an issue. they came up -- both conservatives, both gun owners,got both get an nra rating of a plus and they came together and said here's our plan. no reason why we can't have almost -- almost totally universal background checks on every purchase of a gun. they put that plan forward. i think a lot of senators said this makes sense. if these two guys can do this how could we vote against it? >> number 1. no. 2, and most importantly, the

families of the victims of sandy hook elementary school came to washington, d.c. i can't imagine having suffered the loss of your 6-year-old, your first grader and living with that pain and that grave and that reality and yet being willing to come down here and walk the halls of the congress and sit down with these senators and they did. and they did it for the last three or four days and they turned people around. you continue look them in the face and then say, i am going to vote against your son, or i am going to vote against your daughter. it's so powerful. >> it is powerful. you look at the people who are fighting the hardest for gun safety, it's the people in connecticut who talked to these parents and saw these parents and were with them moments after their children were killed. >> yeah. >> that will change you. >> the parents from connecticut parents from colorado. >> yeah. >> parents from virginia tech these are the people who really suffered. they know what it is. and they put themselves on the

line in congress and it made a difference. let's talk about it, 866-55-press. i will tell you what it means. i am telling you, i disagree with most people say still doesn't mean there is going to be any bill. there will be a bill now out of the senate. the question is, what's going to happen over in the house? john boehner is dragging his feet but let me tell you something. you turn those newtown families loose on the house of representatives, i think we will get a vote out of the house, too. i really feel very, very good, very positive. i am not one of the naysayers. 866-55-press. thanks to joe mancion and pat toomey and those families from sandy hook in newtown, connecticut. what's wrong with mark degish and pryor, the only two democrats to vote against debating the issue? well, what the hell are they there for?

this is what senators we elect them to do debate the issue and vote up or down. what's so controversial about that? chicken. i can't say the second word. >> chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is "the bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. when i first felt the diabetic nerve pain, of course, i had no idea what it was. i felt like my feet were going to sleep. it progressed from there to burning to like a thousand bees that were just stinging my feet.

[ female 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 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. having less pain... it's a wonderful feeling. [ female announcer ] ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain.

this show is about analyzing criticizing, and holding policy to the fire. are you encouraged by what you heard the president say the other night? is this personal or is it political? a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given

to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care about them, right? vo: the war room monday to thursday at 6 eastern [ music ] >> this is the full court press, "the bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. >> 25 minutes after the hour here on the full court press. we are talking about an amazing vote yesterday in the united states senate, defied all of the

nay sayers santa republicanssayers, santa republicans joining almost all of the democrats to open debate on the gun safety issue, which has been a prior to for president obama. only two democrats refused to go along. we will get to your call peter on the sorry media. >> on twitter @bpshow. jim wants to know if it's possible the gop senators want to get democrats' vote on the record as the anti-gun or anti-second amendment. >> that premise, that total question is based upon the wrong prem premises. they are not anti-gun. they are not anti-second amendment. just requiring a criminal being check so a criminal can't buy a gun is not anti-gun. get that through your damn thick head. anything else? >> keep tweet he is @bp show.

>> let's jump to the phones here donald. this can't be right. baton rouge illinois. >> from baton rouge, louisiana. >> of course. >> that's where it is. it says illinois on my sheet here i'm sorry, donald. i knew that had to be wrong. >> from north baton rouge. >> somebody knows something about baton rouge. >> damn right. i have been there. goodtown. what do you think about this? >> well, it's amazing. i am shocked it was passed. it's a shame that it didn't pass. but i was just reading. i surf the internet. in our state louisiana, baton rouge, the city of baton rouge has the highest number of homicides by gun violence in the united states. >> really? >> new orleans is not far behind. that's correct. louisiana has some of the most lax gun laws. we are a sportsman paradise. >> right.

>> that's a dedicated fund. they can cut healthcare and legislation. as we speak, our second largest charity hospital will close down at 12:01 tonight. >> bill: really? >> 11:59. but with that said, a person was stopped in louisiana, went through the court in new orleans. he was a 3-time convicted felon, a couple of homicides, on probation, a judge had to release him because there is a law that governor jindall signed, the government association who travels all over the nation and only spent about 30 days in this state during his entire term >> bill: donald, listen. we ran out of time. i thought chicago wasnu 1. didn't realize it was baton

rouge. just shows how widespread the problem of gun violence is. >> this is "the bill press show." that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not 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.

[ music ] >> this is "the bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> 33 minutes after the hour now. here it is the full court press on a friday morning. and you know what they say: if it's sunday, it's old white republican men on television. >> that's what it seems like. and media matters has done a whole study of what the sunday shows are doing and how much dye versety, in fact, there is and

how much either political diversity orreth ethnic diversity or gender diversity and jeremy holden is the research director joining us in studio early this friday morning, good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> let me tell you before we get to your findings my biggest beef with the sunday morning talk shows across the board, every one of them is that every sunday, i have to listen to john mccain and lindsey graham. >> yeah. >> every freaking sunday, every show. >> the data bears out what your eyes tell you. john mccain leads the pack on sunday show appearances. it's indicative of who is getting on these shows. we looked at the data going back to the beginning of the year. and from january to march, the first quarter of the year, it's predominantly conservatives, democrats hold the white house. democrats hold the senate. but yet, again and we've looked at this years ago and saw that it's conservative voices on the

sunday shows. this is across the spectrum, meet the press, "this week" all of the shows are dominated by conservatives. let's just take your findings, kind of one at a time here. broadcast networks posted republican and conservative guests more often. is that like across the board or just ms -- i mean nbc or abc? >> no. it's across the board. i mean, this is an issue that happens show after show after show. you look at them conservatives are getting to the mic phone in greater numbers than democratic voices. this is, you know, we talked about we always hear about how the liberal press. right? we have this liberal press. >> right. >> look who gets the microphones. >> you show here, this is based since january. is that right? >> that's right. >> so just this year, not talking past history, democrats, 29% of the guests across the sunday shows, republicans, 40%,

and then so-called neutral, 31%. they even get more than democrats. >> that's right. that's right. yeah. >> so if you add them together, it's 71% to 29%. >> that's right. >> right. your second finding, each network network. host: more guests from the right than left which follows up on that. why? >> that's a great question. i think that's the one for the producers of these shows to answer, for the folks that are reaching out and trying to put their panels together, you know why are we hearing more from john mccain than we are hearing from anybody from the left? >> yeah. i mean we have talked about this so many times that i think some of the producers don't realize that there are 100 united states senators, you know and 98 of them we never see. we just see lindsey graham and john mccain and there are what what? 50 democrats plus the independent. >> sure.

>> this extends beyond political leaders. we looked into the partisan journalists on the show. the same thing. right? we were hearing from george will -- way more than from paug krugman. peggy noonan is on every sunday on one of these shows. it's the political ideologically right-wing journalists dominating the show. the extends beyond john mccain and the elected political leaders. >> you expect it from 230ks fox. fox news sunday, if you watch and i think chris wallace does an excellent job by the way. but if you tune in to fox news sunday, you expect to get a right-wing slant on the day's news. right? but on "this week" or on face the nation or meet the press. >> yeah. it's not what you expect. >> they have a reputation for being fair and right down -- right down the middle. right? they are not by either way. %

what you are saying is, in fact, they are. >> that's right. in terms of the guests that are getting on the show. >> right. >> we are not getting a balance. this study here we are talking about goes back to the beginning of the year but media matters looked at this several years ago and found the same thing. so this isn't a new issue. this is something going back five years ago, the data tells the same story, that it's conservative journalists conservative elected officials dominating our sunday morning news shows. >> is cnn any better than others? >> slightly but not much one model we see is up with chris hayes. started a show greater diversity both crippling in terms is msnbc. staking to look at some of the

ideological leadings and journalists that are on the show, about the political leaders but the journalists, themselves, who come at this from an ideological lens we are seeing more balance. >> which of the shows? without having done your research of course my bess would be that bop schieffer of face the nation would have the most balanced show. am i wrong? >> yes, you are. >> bob schieffer, my buddy. i like him. i look him. >> it tells you who infeltiltratesnfiltrates. we are seeing more conservative voices get to the mic phone and help set agenda to drive the week's news. >> continuing through your findings elected republicans hosted more often than elected

democrats and obama administration officials. not putting his people out there, i don't know we are letting the data speak for itself. this is difficult to imagine. right? it was a pretty big megaphone for delivering a message. so it's the white house. it's democrats in the senate. it's, you know, political organizations and down into the journalists that get to speak. it goes from top to bottom throughout the voices on these news channels. dan can speak to this. sometimes it's getting -- it's tough getting guests.

there are some people who just don't make themselves available. i think this is -- to me this is also a message to the administration they don't put their people out often. they don't the they are hard to get. he specially in the morning. some members of democrats in the house and some members in the senate who won't get off their lazy as. not just here but other places. also, let's take back to john mccain and lindsey graham. they appear on anything, he wantaccept any invitation. they see the importance of getting their message out. i think sometimes democrats don't i wouldn't name names. i wouldn't mention chuck schumer's name at all. you know. >> in a former life i worked in

i worked in republican media and they know how to get the message out. you are seeing a lot of white men and they know how to get their message out. >> to get that perspective: we should not have to ask these people to come on the show. they should be calling us every freaking day. three hours. right? >> right. >> we have great guests. chris coons in the studio. who is on these television

shows. right? you see the numbers. the numbers speak for themselves. whether this is an issue of democratic political leaders having better outreach and needing to understand the need to be on these shows better or whether it's producers needing to cultivate a broader network of possible voices a end to the notion that we have lib are a media. they are proceed dominantly conservatives on sunday morning. who is responsible for getting a broader range of voices we need more voices. >> absolutely.

we want to continue our conversation and invite you to join us at 866-55-press. jeremy, when we come back for a while, they thought bobby jindall was the savior then maybe marco rubio. now, it looks like it's a guy named ben carson from baltimore. i want to find out. we can take a look at him when we come back with media matters on the "full-court press." >> radio meets television "the bill press show" now on current tv. >>

[ music ] >> this is "the bill press show." >> you got it. thirteen minutes before the top of the hour, sports cindy boren, early news sports blogger for the washington post joining us at the top of the next hour and we are going to talk texas politics. is texas ready to turn blue? right now, sunday morning talk shows. is there any balance where you think you might find it? media matters says no. jeremy holden is the research director for media matters for american in studio with us. jeremy, good to have you with us on this friday morning. >> you get extra points. >> i need all of the extra points i can get. >> in the first hour. >> top of the list. peter, what's going on in the social media word. >> -- social media world >> bill: i want to make a point. we don't pretend to be balanced.

we want you to know. >> we are proud, progressive left. right? in the morning. >> that's not what the sunday shows are supposed to be. >> that's not meet the press. >> on meet the press, perry says since david gregory came over, it's all conservative. i miss tim russert. apparently david gregory is a favorite punching bag of our people because he says david gregory is a karl rove guy, a gop butt kisser. >> that's why you see mccain and graham. find us on frith twitter. >> i knew tim well a wonderful, wonderful guy and a wonderful friend. i was never sure of his politics. he was left of center. he was an equal opportunity interrogator offender. his slight was in catching them with something they had said five years ago.

right? something like this. you knew it didn't matter who he was. he would go after them. i don't have the same impression of david gregory. >> look. i don't know his politics but watching him in action. >> yeah, but i think whether the interrogator or interviewer is aggressive as any journalism professor would wanted him to be, if it's all the same voices that are coming on the show we getting the same conversation. right? we are talking about the same issues. you know, you talked about chris wallace, who i think does a fine job moderating the show most of time, but it's almost predominantly a conversation amongst conservatives about things conserveatives think are important. i think that becomes the problem whether it's tim russert, tim wallace or david gregory hosting the show >> bill: when he was the white house reporter for msnbc under george bush in the time of the

iraq, david gregory was one of the most aggressive almost a sam donaldson kind of reporter in the briefing. i wasn't there then but i just remember watching him and praising him for challenging all of this stuff we were hearing about reps of mass destruction, for example. let's say hello to john. thanks for joining us. >> hi, gang. thank goodness for media matters. >> holding these people account accountable. sunday shows, it just shows i got two or three minutes can. it shows the amazing success. this is my term, the bully boys the bully boys on the right, o'reilly, hannity and limbaugh in intimidating the mainstream press. every other show is, you know, the left wing press, undermining the country, the left wing press

is, you know, this business, it's the same cushy kind of statements, the false equivalency between both sides. washington is broken. why didn't obama bring bi-partisanship? washington is not broken? it's one faction, s & p, when they gave the downgrade cited republican obstructionism. >> stop because in the interest of time, it does drive -- that drives me crazy. we complained about it here all the time and you hear that across the board. >> the other point john made was this issue of the liberal press. this has been going on for debck decades decades. >> you want to see the liberal press?

here i am. this is it. >> watch "the bill press show." >> i am the liberal press. there ain't no more. there are very few of us. >> those sunday shows, i think where people think of -- where so many people go to get their news and set the agenda. >> why are the sunday shows -- are they as significant as they used to be? >> as they used to be when? certainly, the audience has broken up. right? and this has been a decades long process. there is more than three shiploads now. meet the press by definition it has less influence than it did 40 years ago, but it has influence and it has influence on elite audiences. you tune in monday morning to the blog, tune in to "morning joe." any of these shows and we are

talking about what happened on this week. we are talking about what happened on meet the press yesterday. so they do still have an ability to set the agenda. it's too few voices that are setting that agenda. >> again thank god for media matters. you are our watchdog. we didn't have one before. we have a damn good one and you are a big part of it, it's mediamatters.org. make it one of your favorite go-to places here as we do. thanks so much jeremy. >> thanks for having me. >> we will be right back. >> on your radio and on current tv. this is "the bill press show."

current tv is the place for true stories. with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries... on current tv.

>> taking your e-mail on any topic at any time. this is "the bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> talking about the sunday shows, wayne says, bill you are right. the old conservative white guys i haven't watched sunday political shows for years. talking about going vegan. who was going vegan. >> mike tyson. >> that's right. vivian says, the family bombarded her with questions. do you eat eggs? do you eat dairy? is he said i eat nothing with eyes, to which my brother equipped potatoes have eyes. >> i love that. delicious eyes. >> she said she wouldn't eat anything with a face or that

pooped. >> this is "the bill press show."

>> good morning everybody. it is friday friday, april 12th here on the "full-court press" on current tv coming to you live all across this great country of ours from our studio right here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. where we have our eye on all of the big news here in our nation's capitol, at the capitol building down the street at the whitehouse five metro stops away.

we will tell you what's going on here, around the country around the globe and most importantly give you a chance to tell us what you think about it all at 866-55-press. that's our toll high free number. on twitter, we are @bpshow, our twitter handle and be our friend on facebook and give us your comments at facebook.com/bill press show. a week ago, even a week ago they said it couldn't be done. then the families from sandy hook elementary school came to washington and yesterday, as a direct result of their lobbying the senate voted 68 to 31 to open up debate on tough new gun safety legislation. let the debate again. in other news, did mitch mcconnell break the law by bringing senate staffers into his campaign meetings. we will have melonie slow from krew. are professional athletes ready to come out of the closeet?

we will ask cindy boren for the washington post. all of that coming right here here on the full court press, yours on current tv.

>> broadcasting across the nation, on current and on your radio. this is "the bill press show." >> 68 to 31. the senate votes to open up debate on gun safety legislation. good morning, everybody. what do you say? happy friday. thank you for being part of the show, the full court press coming to you live from our

nation's capitol and bringing you up to date on the news of the day here in our nation's capitol around the country, around the globe. most importantly, giving you a chance to join the conversation 866-55-press, our toll-free number. @bp show is our twitter handle, or facebook at facebook.com. we cover everything from politics to sports but when we get into the sports arena, we need a little help of course. she has become, i think, "full-court press" supports queen here cindy boren early league sports blogger for the washington post. great to see you today. >> good morning. it's good to be the queen. >> have you seen "42" yet? >> i have not. >> there have been some advance screenings? >> the movie about ronnie lott?

different 42. i'm sorry. >> no. >> about jackie robinson. i have seen the trailers. >> it's incredible to me to learn there has never been a movie about jackie robinson. there was one like 50 years ago and it started jackie robinson. maybe sixty years ago. >> i think it was 1953. how this never came to be again, he was -- but i guess he just wasn't controversial. he wasn't terribly corflo. he quietly went about his job with a quiet dignity and that doesn't always lend itself to film, i guess. >> his widow is still alive. >> 90. >> at the whitehouse. wasn't she? >> she was. >> hairso ford for playing branch bricci the guy who hired

him. here is harrison ford yesterday talking about his role. >> your enemy will be out in force. and you cannot meet him on his own low ground. we win if the world is convinced of two things: that you are a fine gentleman and a great baseball player. >> what a voice. >> that's terrific. >> that gets right. the coach talks about it that gets right to the heart of the whole jackie robinson thing. there might have been better baseball players but there probably wasn't a lot of other black baseball players who could have handled the pressure where people throw stuff at you and not freak out and break down and do something. >> he had add war experience. you know, he had been to college. so he was just the perfect guy.

>> what baseball had he played before he went to the major leagues? >> the negro leagues. >> it's sad because so many of them, there was an issue a few years back with getting healthcare benefits for them nursing home benefits, you know, stuff like that, and, you know, frankly they are dying. it's a very small group of people, very sad to see and baseball made slow efforts to kind of take care them. >> cindy boren. we will talk a little bit later. texas politics and whether texas is about to turn blue and granite state woman donna edwards joins us at the top of the next hour for the "full-court press." we will get to the sports news of the day. but first this is the "full-court press." >> overhead lines making news jenna bush hagger says her dad is excited to become a grandfather. she is telling people magazine

he has been hard at work in his artist studio so much now that she called him an artiste. he has depleted comings for the baby's nurse, a portrait of jenna's cat a landscape of his ranch and a still life from a cross for her wedding site. >> this is the greatest story of all times. it is fas natureing. >> he has become a serious artist. >> pictures of cats dogs. >> and himself in the shower. >> yeah. yeah. >> that was a little weird. >> this is how he is spending all of his time. >> yes. >> he goes out. he makes a few speeches' here and there. >> i want to say it's better than starting wars. >> it is. he is progressing. my 8-year-old child did after dinner last night, he drew a picture of our cat and our dog. make him president.

if you are near georgia and have extra time, you can get into the theer's today and through the weekend. several weeks available on stub had you been from 2 to $7,000 each. >> walk around? not to play. >> that's a drop in price. >> the beer is cheap there. seriously. >> all of the food. >> do you know how much -- i am curious. do you know how much a beer is? >> 2003 three and four bucks. it's ludicrous cheap. >> a third of the price, bill. yeah. nine bucks for a beer. >> the pimento cheese, they changed the recipe. >> on white bred. >> white bread. it's very white. >> sold for $10,000 a pop earlier this week. these are actually dropped in price. got this from some writer in the washington post, louisville basketball coach rick patino is

getting a tatoo as a result of a bet he made with his team telling his players if they won the ncaa championship he would get a at that time toon of a cardinal, their mascot on his shoulder. he is going through with it. it will read 2013 champions on it as well. >> good for him. >> that's great. >> this needs to be an espn special. >> like lebron? >> the decision, now the tatoo. >> funny. it's a funny bet. >> i am sure he said it and he knew he had a loaded team. he knew it. >> that's pretty cool. >> most coaches, i think, would weissen out on it. >> on his shoulder? >> well, you know 60, never had a tatoo before. >> we mentioned in the master's. let's start with the masters. we played this yesterday that billy payne says there is a reason to celebrate now.

>> welcoming condi represented a joyous occasion for the club. this week, that's truer than ever. i hope the experience for condi and darla as members of our club has been every bit as rewarding and enjoyable for them over the last eight months as it has been for their fellow members. >> a tad condescending. how does this make you feel? >> angry. it does. i am more interested in seeing, you know, who and when there will be number 3 and number 4 and number 5 members. it's, you know it was ludicrous but, you know what? these are private clubs. they can do whatever they want. they can exclude whomever they want. it's been a problem for golf for a long time, you know back 20-something years ago with shoal creek in alabama. they had an exclusionary policy

towards blacks. it seems sillily to me. really does. you have to be someone with a connection. >> bragging about the fact that now we are in the 21st century. >> yeah. >> i miss -- the thing about the master's that i miss this year is that we no longer have kelly? >> martha during. >> in protest. >> the thing that irritates me most about the master's is because of this policy that they had, they had all of these sponsors and martha burk targeting them so now you can't see it because they pulled in and said you know what? we will get responsos to run the master's. now, you know, we will limit what you can see. >> that's why you are not seeing it live on espn on thursday and friday. you are only seeing amen corner the three holes from 11 to 13 and 15 and 16 as the players go through, online. you can watch that online. then at 3:00 o'clock you can see it live.

well, you know, great. from 3:00 to 7:00, you can watch it live which is betten nothing but otherwise you are sitting there clicking the computer board over and over a and espn has the lookins but it's not the same. >> it's remarkable how they maintained their control over that event. the thing about the master's is you might have heard it's a tradition unlike any other. >> really? >> the fact there are so many people putting stuff on t.v., they still maintain that iron grip on that tournament is remarkable to me. >> the front page story in "the new york times" this morning, headline, major sports leagues prepare for the "i'm gay" disclosure and talks about nature, national hockey league, national football league and others so in a sense, what's the big deal? >> they want to make sure that when the player/players come out

that it's -- talk about controlling, that it's as welcoming and nurturing environment as it can possibly be. i think the last thing they want is for, um cat calls and a lack of acceptance among teammates. they are just trying to pave the way. it's also good pr, the nhl has the initiative i think is you can placating kids of all persuasions are welcome, you know all of that. i think that's what they are looking for. it's also pr. >> if they are talking about this and brenda formerly with the studios who has kind of become a lieder or spokesperson for this movement of its okay for professional athletes to be gay and play on these teams. but if they are preparing for this, they must know that they have members on their squads right now who are gay? right? >> of course, i would think it

would be sort of unrealistic to think whatever the percentage of gay people in the overall population is to think that's probably not the same percentage in sports. it just makes sense to me. i think, you know, whether they know or not who is who isn't, you know, it's kind of irritating to me. i want these people -- i want this to come out and i want these players to become known. now people speculate. >> we don't even care. we don't even know. >> it is like a 42 moment. isn't it? >> oh, yeah. very much so. very much so. >> the question about jackie robinson. can he hit the ball? the same thing with these guys. >> doesn't matter. and i think that there probably will be a few moments where, you know, their going to hear it from the fans, from the opposing

fans actions but, in hockey, there are a couple of black players, been the target of racial taunts. you knew, that's going to happen. but i think they are trying to minimize it as much as possible. that's the last thing they want. >> right. you mentioned, started with jackie robinson but it was interesting that as the movie cowbells out, major league baseball has formed a task force to take a look at the kind of troubling lack of dye versety, particularly african-americans in major league baseball. >> emphasis on americans. >> why is that? >> i think last year on jackie robinson day when all of the players wore 42, which is april 15th. >> there were a couple. >> it's a moving thing to see the guys in 42.

there were a couple of rosters that had like one starter who was black. it's not an anomaly any more. for whatever reason, whether it's economics, the facts that these kids who place baseball happen to usually play football too and that's the point you have to make a choice. maybe in the future with the emphasis on concussions and if a football injuries maybe parents will start pressing their kids if it looks like they can handle a fast ball play baseball because you are going to get paid better. the baseball union is stronger and has negotiated really bigger contracts for baseball players. you will have a longer career. >> that's for sure. you will be a heck of a lot health year when you are done playing. but, you know, i think another problem baseball has is all of its post-season games which have been so exciting especially the last two years are so late in the evening, kits can't see

them. >> interesting. >> so they are not recruiting as much. >> and a kid can turn on t.v., you know, and if it's a disadvantaged kid in the city and you don't have the cable and 150 channels, you turn on the t.v., get, you know, fox nbc, football games all day long but when baseball? >> so many seem to come from central america, latin america and dominican republic. >> some zap. >> a few. cindy barnes with us, early sports leader for the washington post. follow her at washington post.com and on twitter@isn't twitter@cindyboren. ask her a question 866-55-press. >> this is "the bill press show."

>> she's joy behar. >> and current will let me say anything. >> only on current tv.

>> 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.

>> this is "the bill press show." >> 26 minutes after the hour talking master's talking major league baseball, talking everything to do with sports with cindy boren, the early sports league blogger for the washington post. always good to have you in studio. every time we have cindy in, we get a lot of sports comments. jim irwin, one of our frequently tweeters @bp show let's go o's. >> dan and i were talking before i came on about turning on t.v. every night here in d.c.

the orioles have a good team to watch. we get consumed with the mets. >> we have one team we support. >> no. >> you and your orioles. >> but i can watch multiple teams. it's okay. >> gnats off to a great story, great baubs. my wife carol, she watches every single game, every play. >> it's just entertaining. >> they are entertaining. >> they are. it truly is. >> bryce harper. >> os. >> i made my wife watch some -- we didn't go to the game. i made her watch some on t.v. when zimlerman hit that double and bryce harper is run so fast are they supposed to run that fast? running his ass off. >> they are supposed to.

>> let's say a quick hello to pat. >> i grew up listening to the braves. the abc outfield covington and all of the colorful people but they are a part. aaron bagged groceries in milwaukee in the off season. they have become millionaires. they aren't the people we can relate to as easily because they are just not as colorful that we get the bres coverage to attract the young athletes to baseball. >> pat, stop right there. because of the interest of time. >> they raises a really good point. i think, you know, in the of seasons, you used to have all of these players out interacting with the community though they lived with the community in the off season, they were there. the nfl and the players association and some of the other sports league have their players out doing things in the off season, you know, doing charitable things. maybe they need to do a little bit more of that. >> cindy thank you again for coming in. find cindy at washington

post.com. >> this is "the bill press show." >> (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current.

[ music ] >> chatting with you live at current.com/bill current.com/billpress. this is "the bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. ? >> you got it. 33 minutes after the hour. here we go. the full court press rolling on here on a friday morning april 12th. we are coming to you live on your local progressive talk radio station wherever you happen to be. you are lucky if you have one or everywhere in this currents tree, coming to you live on current tv coast to coast, from our studio on capitol hill in

washington, d.c. back to the political front. we have -- well, let me put it this way. i read an article a couple of weeks that got me thinking in the new republic that said republicans are right down now to on the nationwide looking at the electoral college, 13 solid states and texas. >> that's why they have a shot of winning the presidency. if they lose texas, there is no way republicans could ever win the white house again. so texas is key. what's happening in texas politics which is, by the way, maybe after louisiana, the most colorful politics in the country today. lane lewis is in the middle of it. he is the chair, democratic party care of harris county, texas joining us in studio this morning. wayne, it's good to meet you. nice to see you.

>> good morning, bill. thank you for having me. >> thanks for coming in. >> do you see texas as that critical? i forgot who wrote this article in the new republic. do you agree with that? >> absolutely when i first ran for the harris could you tellnty democratic party chair, one of the mace messages is harris county. harris county, believe it or not is 25% of the state's vogt one out of every vote. we are the third largest county the in the united states. a lot don't realize that because they have never heard of it, they think of dade or whatever. but that's why we are so so very crucial. and dallas is a pretty strong blue county. travis, which is austin, a great progressive city in texas. >> right. >> most of the valley is deep deep blue. but when you've got a fourth of the vote coming out of a state that can waiver from one to the other, obamacare in carried, carried harris county. our statewide governor race in

2010 carried harris county albeit not by much but they carried it. when harris county goes, you are exactly right, when harris county glows blue, the state falls. like you say, there is not an electoral map that you can show me where you have lost new york you've lost california and now you have lost texas? it's game over. >> and it wasn't so long ago, right? i mean, texas was a blue state. >> it was. >> ralph yarborough borrow lyndon johnson, on and on, jim hightower. >> i think. >> ann richards? >> ann richards probably the last one, i think, that won statewide. but a lot of them have gone over to the republican party as well as the tea party over the last 30 years. >> so how many? -- what are the chances of turning blue is where i am getting? but let's start by saying statewide elected officials today, how many democrats? >> statewide?

zero. >> all right. so we have a long way to go. >> yes we do. >> in the state legislature you've got two houses. right? >> yes. >> are either one of them democratic? >> no. >> no? all right. two united states senators both republicans? >> correct. one of them is ted cruz. >> you can have ted cruz back. >> he might be right of republican. >> that's right. calling him a republican is probably insulting him. right? and then, in the house, you have 36 members of the house of representatives from texas? >> uh-huh. >> how many democrats? >> i don't know the new numbers. i don't know. >> okay. >> but we have gone up. in 2010 it was just a disaster. >> sheila jackson lee, i know. >> yeah, sheila jackson lee, al green and gene green and they are on significant committees. >> let's say three out of 36. hum? >> uh-huh. >> what are the chances, then? i keep hearing that texas might

be getting a little purple and it may be even chances of turning blue. i don't see the evidence of it. why do you think there is a chance? >> one of the things i tell people all the time, they always want to talk demographics. i say demographics are not destiny. yes, they help and the demographics in texas are changing but they are not destiny. you have to do the actual work. that means changing the party from a party of politicking to a party of people, and that's what we have been doing in harris county is we are crating a new culture of organizing where we are engaging people 365 days of the year not just during an election year, but so far this year, we started a program called engage 365 where we are marrying political organizing with community organizing so that we can go in and help people redesign their neighborhoods and get involved in community activities so that when we come back and ask them for their vote, we are the nice guys. right? i tell people all the time, this is the image that we need to get, the mentality in harris county.

while republicans rant democrats do. and we need to be seen doing in our local communities. >> do you think it's working? >> yes. >> how do you gauge it? i mean, i am just curious. i am a former democratic party chair of california. >> i hear. >> all right. so i have been there in a sense. >> yeah. >> where that happens. how do you get your success? where are you starting? do you want to turn this whole -- now, i had a pretty good start in california. we were able to make it en more democratic whereas today, the republican party in california practically doesn't exist. so i want texas to be like california. it could be. where do you start? electing people tom school board like city counsel or state legislative races or all of the above? >> where i am starting is starting with the voters. i am starting with making sure that they are eligible to vote, making sure that they are registered to vote and making sure we are talking to them 365 days of the year and then making sure that we communicate our

message appropriately and convincingly. the other message that i, you know, try to point out to people is the hypocracy of the republican party across the nation. i try to get across to my voters look with we want democrats to understand. republicans say one thing and then they go off and do another. no one knows that more than you, i am sure. they need to decide whether or not they are going to be this sort of congressional regional party or going to be a party national party. right now, they bowing to the lowest common denominator on the congressional side siding with the tea party: 9-11 happens on their watch. they say they are for individual freedoms but against marriage equality, women's rights and all of these other issues. they need to decide who they are and be that person. but right now, i was on a talk show last friday and the conversation was this new study

that the national republican party has come out that they have decided they are nothing but old white men. >> yeah. >> they are losing everybody. >> we talked about that. right. >> i was on a panel with the harris county republican chair, the galveston republican chair and the vice chair of the state republican party and me. and they are still alive. >> the sunday morning talk show that's about as much balance as we see. >> they were towing the line. i said y'all keep doing what you are doing and it makes my job easier. >> lane louis the democratic party chair here for harris county, texas, 866-55-press, is our number. what is it that you find lane the issues? is texas that different from the rest of country >>. >> in terms of the issues people care about? what are the number one issues?

>> the economy, education healthcare, depending upon who you are talking about which order it is. >> marriage equality and women's rights, those issues are turning people off. i am able to connect two volunteers. republicans talk about those issues it makes my job easier. >> how about immigration? obviously texas right on the border. that an issue? do you find? again, maybe painting with a broad brush here but texans are open to immigration reform? >> the ones i am talking to are, certainly on the democratic side. the republicans in texas aren't talking immigration at all. at least, i am not hearing them at least on the local level. i am not hearing them talk about immigration at all. i hear them still towing the hard line which, again, makes my job easier. >> en though republicans got

shellacked in the last election. >> not seeing any movement. indication as well. democrats traditionally very pro-public education. maybe you can explain to us before we let you go rick perry. >> he is an ineg ma. >> peter is from south carolina. >> that's embarrassing enough, you know, when they put mark sanford back out and everything but when you look at this rick perry, he is considered almost a clown at the national level. >> yeah. >> and this issue now of medicaid, republican governor after republican governor after republican governor is saying, you know, we don't care if it's obama's program or not. this is good for the people of our state to have this healthcare. rick perry is saying i think it's bad for texas. how does he get away with that

in texas? why do puteople tolerate it? >> rick is very good with red meat. the governor knows how to throw red meat and they vote and stay with himself. the democrats certainly are not favorable on him. the republican insiders are not favorable on him. he is constantly having a battle with him. right now, they are discussing for the first time ever, placing limitations on the number of times a governor can serve. i think they want him gone, too. >> too bad they didn't do that before rick perry got elected. at any rate you can find out more about the good work here. this could be where american politics turns around. >> harrisdemocrats.com. lane lewis is the chair of that democratic party in harris count that we are counting on to turn texas blue. thanks, lane. >> we will get it out. >> thank you for coming in this

morning. >> this is "the bill press show." the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

this show is about being up to date, staying in touch with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. in reality it's not like they actually care. this is purely about political grandstanding.

[ music ] >> this is "the bill press show." >> four minutes before the top of the hour, friday april 12th. in the next hour congress woman donna edwards from the state of maryland here in studio with us and then melanie sloan, head of citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington to look at the question about whether mitch mcconnell might have broken the law when he had campaign staffers in his campaign meeting down in kentucky talking about how they were going to take on and try to destroy ashley judd.

all of that coming up in the next hour. peter, what's going on? >> i hate this story. >> i do, too. >> you already hate it before we talk about it? but it shows why it matters when the supreme court takes up issues like gay marriage and defense of marriage act. in missouri, a gay man was arrested becausehe refused to leave the bedside of his sick partner. the hospital has a policy that only family members can be in and -- >> ridiculous. >> he has been with his partner for quite some time. they are not married because they are not allowed to be married and the hospital had the man arrested because he won't leave. >> and show this article to the people who say it doesn't make any difference. civil unions. that's all you need. this is why. >> this is exactly why. >> it's inhumane. but, you know what? it's changing. >> it is changing.

>> some day, even in missouri people will moved in to the 21st sent re and start practicing what the goes pels are all about. it is a friday guys. >> one of the reasons fridays are our favorite day of the week on the bill press show, yours, too, tgif is that we get to play your favorite sound clips of the week, looking back to our top 5, we start at the bottom, work our way up to the top. it was memphis soul night at the whitehouse the other night. and among the stars that performed, this great new hot band alabama shakes ♪ born at a bad time. ♪ been down since i began to crawl. ♪ you know i wouldn't have... ♪

>> what's her name again? >> brittany howard. >> bill: i didn't even know them until memphis soul night at the whitehouse. i bought their album, downloaded their album, i got my ipad. i got my earphones. i am going to listen to alabama shakes all the way to new york. >> yes, indeed. >> we lost ronald reagan's sole mate maggie thatcher. had he she knew her nickname. >> the iron lady of the western world. yes, indeed. mitch mcconnell claimed -- maybe correctly, that his office was bugged when they were making plans about how to take on ashley judd and mitch mcconnell says this reminded me of some

real crook. >>nu 3. >> unbeknownst to us at the time they were bugging our headquarters, quite a nixonian move. this is what you get from the political left in america these days. >> uh-huh. you get from republicans. nixonian. next hour about whether or not he may have broken the law. david letterman says a new movie, "42" we have come a long way since those days of jackie robinson. >> breaking the color bear ye in major league baseball and you say thank goodness. look at things now. we have a president who is black. we have a supreme court justice who is latino. and we have a speaker of the house who is orange. >> you can't make enough fun of john boehner and the color orange. finally, in the great big media news of the week a big shake-up at cnn.

could it en include bringing back crossfire? we remember the golden days of crossfire. >> from washington, crossfire. on the left bill press. on the right john sununu. >> wow. >> from the left bill press the here we go? >>throwback. >> that was early on when pat buchanan was off running for president. usually it was bob novak or tucker carlson but john sununu there for a couple of years. >> on the left. >> on the left. and still on the left and proud of it. what's potus up to today? we will tell you. >> on your radio and on current tv this is "the bill press show."

i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're 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.

[ music ] >> this is the pull court press, "the bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. >> okay. on this friday morning april 12th, taking a look ahead at the next hour at the top of the hour congress woman donna edwards from the state of maryland will be here in studio with us. she is now leading the charge in the house of representatives to make sure we get a vote in the house on gun safety legislation, a vote on whatever comes out of the senate and after yesterday's lopsided vote of 68 to 31, to open debate on gun safety it looks pretty clear that we will have 51 votes by the end of the day to pass bold new gun safety

bill out of the united states senate which will include a deal on background checks and we will be joined by melanie sloan, the head of citizens for responsibility in washington to take a look at what's happening with mitch mcconnell and evidence that he used some of his senate staffers in his campaign, which is against the law. president obama today, he and the vice president get their daily briefing at 11:15 and at 2:00 o'clock this afternoon, the president will do something he likes to do best and that is welcome athletic team to the white house. today, he will present the commander in chief trophy to the united states naval academy fool team and. >> in his element there? >> he is in his limited. he loves it. he loves it. they will be coming down from anapolis. press secretary jay carney will be holding his briefing at 12

noon. we will be back with donna edwards. >> this is "the bill press show."

>> at the bill press show, a week ago, just a week ago, they said it couldn't be done. there wouldn't even be a debate. not even a chance to vote on gun safety legislation on the floor of the senate. then those families from sandy hook elementary school and those dear little victims there, those families came to town. they started talking to members of the senate and the members turned things completely around. yesterday, the senate voted 68 to 31. sixteen republicans breaking ranks and voting with democrats to open up debate on tough new gun safety legislation on the floor of the senate. let the debate again. in other

news, did mitch mcconnell break the law by using campaign staffers in his campaign against ashley judd? we will ask men knee sloan-- melanie sloan right here this hour of the "full-court press." those types are coming on to me all the time now. >> she gets the comedians laughing... >> that's hilarious! >> ...and the thinkers thinking. >> okay, so there's wiggle-room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> you would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me. >> absolutely! >> and so would mitt romeny. >> she's joy behar. >> and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> only on current tv.

>> 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. 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. (vo) this afternoon, current tv is the place for compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside.

(vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current. [ music ] broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv this is "the bill press show." >> it wasn't even close. 68 to 31, the vote yesterday to start debate, open up debate on gun safety legislation in the united states senate. two democrats still voted against it. i can't believe it: good news overall. with that good news we start off our final hour with the

"full-court press," friday morning, friday, april 12th. great to see you today. that you were for coming on board as we take off to bring you the news of the day. on the capitol, around the country and give you a chance to talk about it all at 866-55-press. >> that's our toll-free number 86677 join us on twitter. talk to us @bp show. >> that's our twitter handle. pardon me. @bp show and then on facebook facebook.com/bill press show will get you in and we want to hear from you on twitter on facebook or on the phone. thank you so much for joining us again this morning and joining the whole team here with peter ogburn and dan henning leading the pack. >> hey hey hey good morning. >> alicia cruz has the phones and taking care of our guests and doing those good things

while cyprian boulding keeps us looking good. thank you for your good work too. and i am telling you a little stormy day here in washington, d.c. >> say farewell to those beautiful little cherry blossoms. >> they had maybe a five-day run. the first storm usually wipes them out. very fragile. but it's supposed to be raining up and down the east coast, a friend is going to the yankees game. he expects the game to be rained out. >> excited. >> all right. nets are looking good. >> 8 and 1. >> so on the political front by the way, in this hour, we are going to be joined right here at the top of the hour by congress woman donna edwards from maryland. on the political front, our good friends at buzz feed look back.

if you don't think politics has changed, the way they listened to some of the political -- this is the way they used to sell candidates. okay? with political jingles. this is what their political commercialsew to sound like. they rated the top 10 or so. number 5 was the jingle for richard nixon. ♪ reaching out to find a way to make toma brighter day. making dreams realities for, for ever nixon now. ♪ >> there it was. >> i love that. >> so cool. >> that's how political commercials used to sound like. that was richard nixon. >> who does political jingles

anymore? >> nobody. maybe they did in maryland? >> maybe. >> congresswoman donna edwards great to see you? >> great. that was wonderful to hear. >> a throw back. >> it's better than what we have today are those mean voices talking about how he beats his wife. >> same voice all the time, you know, it's sort of like the voice mil lady. >> the next one, listen to this, john f. kennedy. ♪ kennedy, kennedy, kennedy for me. ♪ kennedy. kennedy. kennedy. >> do you want a man for president who is seasoned through and through and this is the not a season that he won't try something tu. >> enough to do. >> it's up to you. it's simply up to you. >> up to you. >> amazing. >> i love that. okay. i definitely got work to do for my next campaign. >> i am telling you according to

buzzfeed, the political best jingle of all time, none other than dwight d eisenhower, ♪ ike for president. ♪ ike for president. ♪ you like ike. ♪ everybody likes ike ♪ ike. >> sounds like they are selling soap. >> it does. anyhow -- >> it is. >> sounds like it. >> how times have changed? >> very clean. >> on our facebook page see campaign videos and they are longer than that. we played selected clips. they are a mint long each television commercials. just so happens that carol, my wife, gave me this and said you might be able to use this on the show. i didn't know we were going to play the eisenhower jingle or the eisenhower commercial but how about? dwight d. eisen hour

generalizen hour once said quote, every gun that is made, every warship launched every rocket fired signifies in the final sense a theft from those who healthcare provider and are not if he hadfed. those who are not clothed. >> that's so true. >> it is true and it's exactly what this debate is about. >> coming from dwight d. eisen hour. why don't republicans listen to their own? >> that's why we like ike. ♪ ike for president." > there it is. congress woman, good to see you? >> good morning. >> that does come at a time when congress is facing some tough choices. this vote yesterday in the senate, were you surprised? 68 to 31 to open up debate on gun safety legislation.

>> i think it was a little bit surprising, you know, given the number of republicans, you know, who joined in, and i think that it is a sign that they are hearing from the people. i mean this is really clear. when you have 80, 90% of the american public saying the least we can do is a background check, there is no excuse for anybody to sit this one out. >> the latest quinnipiac poll 91% of the american people say background checks. right? >> right. >> also, it seems to me to be pretty clear that the families from newtown, connecticut made a big difference in the senate. >> i think so. you know, when you think about president kennedy and what he identified as profiles in courage, what you do in public service, there are a lot of profiles in courage because this is one of those, one of those votes and one of those debates that, you know, you may not be able to follow the exact

sentiment of, you know the most loud voices in your district or your state but you know it's the right thing to do. we need a little political courage here. >> so the question everything is now saying looks like now, we are going to get a debate in the senate and we will get something out of the senate most likely probably with background checks and then it comes to the house and all john boehner now will say is well we will look at it or we will wait and see and whatever and so people are saying no chance in the house. are you as pessimistic? >> i can't that under estimates the power of the people. i really do. i mean i think, you know, whether those newtown families and when other families who have lost loved ones to gun violence come onto capitol hill and tell the stories of their pain and call us to do something and, again, 90% of the public and that means republicans democrats, intents out there who are strongly supportive of, you

know, the bear minimum, doing a background check so that republicans and terrorists and, you know those who have diagnosed mental illnesses that make them a threat to our communities aren'tability get guns. >> i would imagine -- i don't know this for a fact, but i would imagine that the sandy hook families and newtown families and others by aur ora, colorado action, they are here and matching marching the halls of the senate and meeting with every senator, even those who would threaten to filibuster they met with them, those who would meet with them. some wouldn't. but i would imagine that when this legislation moves to the house, they are going to move to the house, too. >> i welcome it. i cannot wait to see them walking the halls of the houses side of the congress because i think you cannot listen and see these family members and not say that we have to do something

about that. you know, for communities like mine, it may not be the mass shooting but these individual incidents of gun violence or domestic violence that turns into a homicide and question see these things every single day. we are all called to action. i think, you know, while the leadership and the houses may be able to say, well we will see right now, that's because it hasn't passed. the moment this passes in the senate, the house will be compelled to act. >> you think make the point of the mass shootings get our attention. and certainly sandy hook rightfully did and turned, i think, the direction of the nation on this issue. but yesterday, jim wallace from sew journers was here and he joined other faceith leaders. they planted crosses and stars of david in front of the capitol yesterday representing the 3300

people who have been shot and killed, gun violence since newtown, connection, december 14th. >> it really is extraordinary and i think that that's important. our faith leaders have really stepped up here. you know doing something on gun trafficking trafficking, making sure criminals can't use straw purchases purchasers before one a washington post report said was responsible for most of the guns that were used in criminal activity in the metropolitan region. this is true in every metropolitan region. the responsible gun dealers, responsible gun owners who, themselves, go through background checks. my goodness. if they do it, so should everyone. that will ensure that we can keep guns out of the hands of people who don't need them. congresswoman donna edwards. down at the whitehouse when the

president unveiled his budget congressman keith ellison was with us yesterday talking about the budget. i would like to get your take. we heard a lot about the fact that chained cpi is in it. there is some good stuff in the president's budget but some stuff that would impact a lot of the people in your district in terms of medicare on social security. >> look. let's be clear. the president's budget really is quite a statement about the kind of investment that we need for an economy that's going to grow in the 21st sent re when you look at what he is doing around stem education consolidating throughout the federal government to make sure they get rolled out into all communities, under served communities, things like that, investment in k to 12, you know, and prekinder garden. these things are important and tra portation infrastructure. i have to tell you i have a problem with the application of

this change in the inflation index. it's a technical term for benefits cut to social security. so i have a problem with that. i think that there are things that we can do to shore up the solvency of social security even though i don't think it has anything to do with our current budget and fiscal problems but if we want to shore up the solvency of social security, i would put some other options on the table for the president and they would be better than applying the chained cpi. >> that will can be taken care ofn independently and separately and not getting -- not pretending part of the deficit reduction. how about for women? for women as they age and are left on their own really only have social security and medicare.

so for them, it is a life line. i go outed to senior centers and for every nine women, there is one man. >> that's who is populating our senior homes. they don't have a 401(k). they don't have pension plans. pangs plans have almost disappeared anyway. the average 401(k) is about 14 or $16,000. >> that's not going to last you a lifetime. i think even though the president did put some protection in for the lowest income, social security recipients, the problem is that people in the middle who are struggling medications are going up: it's a big deal. >> it sure is a big deal for those people living on a fixed income. congress woman donna edwards. you are free and invited to join the conversation at any time at

866-55-press. when we come back, i want to ask a little bit about the sequester and if you have seen the impact in your district as a congresswoman. we will be right back on the "full-court press." >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is "the bill press show."

[ music ] >> this is "the bill press show." >> 25 minutes after the hour. the full court press, melanie sloan for citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington joining us in studio in the next segment. right now, we are visiting with one of our favorites, congress woman donna edwards, a regular

guest here proud to say on the full court press. congresswoman, i have to tell you, you represent just one congressional district in maryland but maryland has really had a good year thanks to, i think, in part to your governor, martin o'malley but in terms of progressive legislation. >> maryland has had a great year. we passed our own dream act. the voters ratified the marriage equality. a gas tax >> that's what bill knows about. >> very impressive. >> which makes sense. >> the gun safety. >> and connecticut and new york, one of four states that's acted since newtown. >> right. over this period of time we

have utilities our structural did he haveset as well. it's a proof that you can do those kinds of things and make investments that you need to grow your state's economy. >> martin o'malley? >> i don't have any skin in a game. >> the leadership of the state showing the way on many many issues. >> we are fortunate. we have a democratic governor. we have a democratic general assembly in both houses. so, it helps when you have everybody on the same page, kind of moving the same direction. so a lot of other states you know. >> let's say hello to les calling from winamuka nevada. >> of course. >> thank you for having me on.

ms. edwards, it's a pleasure to speak to you. >> thank you. >> you are a vote for progressives. i am in the most right-wing district, we have never elected anything but a republican to go to the house. it's just wonderful to have you on air. i would like to say. >> thank you, les. move to maryland. maybe you will get better representation. we have a few seconds. sequester is for april. isn't it? >> it is for real. en in my district now people understand a lot of federal employees understand instead of 24 hours, now that it's been put in place with the continuing res lou, it's going to be 14 days of furlough. >> still 14 days to furlough? >> yes. >> a paycut. >> if you have two workers in a household, that's a long time. >> you got to. congress woman great to see you.

give them hell. keep going. >> thank you. >> this is "the bill press

show." >> [ music ] >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the bull bill press show. >> all right. now, on a friday morning, april 12th, '33 minutes after the hour it is the full court press coming to you live across this great nation of ours on your local progressive talk radio station and on current t.v. and don't forget your comments are always welcome on twitter twitter @bp show. you can join the chat room on current tv as long as there is a current t.v., there will be a

current tv chat radioed. you are in. a lot of flack here in washington still about a claim by -- after mother jones published a videotape where the mitch mcconnell and his campaign staffers were figuring out how they could attack ashley judd when they expected her to be the -- his opponent for reelection. mother jones published the accounts of that tape. mitch mcconnell accused democrats of nixonian tactics by bugging his. he has demanded an fbi investigation. now crew says maybe you should be elected because it looks like there were a lot of senate aids in that came pain meeting against the law. melanie sloan is the head of citizens for responsibility and

ethics. you were on top of it. welcome back. >> nice to be with you. >> why should we not be surprised. so first of all, who taped the meteing? do we know? and how? >> it appears from press accounts that a group called progress kentucky, a couple of its staff members stood outside the door of the campaign office in a larger being, in some kind of haul apparently and there was a gap in the door. they put some sort of microphone to the door and taped the conversation that were. >> that's what's being reported but we don't know for sure. >> listening to the tape and we played excerpts from the tape here on the show the sound is pretty good. the quality is pretty good. it sounds like there is like a little recording device like in the middle of the table. like i see reporters put their devices there. this could have come through the door? >> i am not a tech person. >> i have no idea.

having heard that audio, i don't know how they got audio that clear without somebody knowing that there was a bug in the room unless they actually got in and literally bugged the room. if they are standing outside the door. >> they are saying progress -- well, a democrat from kentucky has said this is the way progress kentucky did it and this is the way they did it. >> right. >> that's what happened so far, yeah. >> if i went down. so if i went down the hall here to the food safety people next door to us and they are having a meeting and i stood outside the door with my iphone? >> it all depends upon what state you are in. different states have different rules regarding this. this is a state law issue rather than arrest federal law issue. sometimes states have one party consent, only one person needs to be aware you are taping the conversation. other states, it's two parties consent so everybody needs to be aware of the taping.

i am not sure what exhibit law is on this subject. >> to use radio law, media law, you have to let someone know if you are recording them. even if it's somewhere that, you know, if it's assumed that it's going to be just a conversation from a radio show you have to say i want to let you know you are being recorded. >> it sounds to me and i am a political operative but it sounds that's over the line under headanded. >> we will agree whether somebody, it's not a tactic anybody should be condoning. >> absolutely. there is also the question with mother jones racend and you have raised it if you listen to the tape, the consultant starts out by thanking all of the people who contributed to this opposition research they did on ashley judd including several l.a. did or lots of l.a. s and that means in washington, legislative assistant.

those are senate staffers. >> in fact two other people are named, a guy named fill maxum, and somebody named josh holmes who is chief of staff. so those two people are named in this to the l.a. s. it seems like there were a lot of senate stairs. >> what's the law on that? >> exactly. the law on that is that senate aids are permitted to volunteer for a campaign in their free time. but they are not permitted to engage in campaign work on the taxpayers' dime which means they can't do it in the senate office or during office hours and can't use any senate equipment. it seemed very unusual that so many senate staffers would have been involved in engaging in this kind of campaign research. we checked with mcconnell's fec reports, federal election reports and they are not on the campaign payroll. so the question is: were they really doing this on their free time or doing it during office hours?

and considering the number of people involved t sounded like they likely were involved in this on senate time. >> this meeting took place. do we know what time of day? >> i do not know what time of day this took place. >> it did take place, though in kentucky >> right. >> in campaign? >> right. >> in kentucky? >> but there are other things unclear if other people were on the phone in the meeting because they were thanking some people. that doesn't mean they were actually in the office, either. >> yeah. so what about mcconnell's claim that is so nixonian? >> that seemed over the top to go with nixonian. there are a couple of points about that. first, mcconnell sense of moral outrage about this, i think, must be tempered by the fact of what they were discussing. he is talking about let's go after ashley judd for her mental health issues. it's not exactly like he is on moral high ground to talk b how horrible everybody is.

>> the complaining to people complaining that they got caught doing so. >> right. >> is what they are doing? >> in connection to that, i have missed his moral outrage over all of the other taping incidents we have had in the past couple of years. there have been a number of taping incidents where there were some right-wing bloggers who had taped -- set up an incident at parenthood attempting to be pumps seeking abortions for prostitutes. >> james o'keefe. >> james o'keefe. thank you. >> with him doing because i haven't heard about him in awhile. james 0 cave had attempted to bug senator maryland renewlandrieu. it seems his outrage is being caught at his own behavior. >> how about obama was heard talks talk being guns and

bibles. >> yeah. something like that. again, no outrage there. >> good point? >> conservatives used that a great deal against obama. i think we could agree taking people isn't okay. it's not a good -- inc., it's a pretty troublesome thing to do. >> we are taping you now i wanted to let you know. you are being taped. >> i can't pick and choose when you are out graged? >> a little hypocritical and nixonian is a whole new level. next we will talk about hitler. >> the other two people go to. hitler and nexton so what is crew demanding or asking in this case? >> look, mcconnell asked for and got an fbi investigation into this matter. it seems to me once we have an an fbi investigation, they ought to investigate all elements, at whether or not the senate aids were involved in campaign activities on senate time using

senate resources which would be a crime. it's theft of government property. people have been prosecuted for this in the past. >> a federal crime? >> a federal crime. so we've got prosecutions and certainly, i also -- crew asked the senate ethics committee to investigate because it's in the ethics manual this is not permitted, a clear violation of ethics rules. so i think that a full and fair investigation a thorough investigation into the entire matter is warranted. you don't raise one but there are others that have beenrade by the content. >> seems fair to me. absolutely and the senate ethics committee, there are rules and senators, everybody, these people had to know. i mean if you are on the senate payroll. >> this is a very clear rule. this is not a gray area. >> not something new, either? >> no. why should taxpayers be paying

for opposition research. senate staff is paid by our money and they are supposed to be engaged in the people's business. >> crew is right on it. mitch mcconnell, what do you think? 866-55-press. i -- you know, we don't know there are a lot of questions about this story. sorry people are suggesting the mcconnell campaign might have engineered this whole thing just to get people doing what we are doing. >> your take on it. 866-55-press. melonnie sloan from crew here on this friday i hadedition. >> chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is "the bill press show," live on your radio and current tv.

all the time now. >> she gets the comedians laughing... >> that's hilarious! thinking. >> okay, so there's wiggle-room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> you would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me. >> absolutely! >> and so would mitt romeny. >> she's joy behar. >> and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> only on current tv. my relationship with water started when i was a kid. you think of how many people go to the ocean and for such different reasons. it attracts everyone but i think we're all attracted by one similar thing which is the horizon. ya know, there is nothing more peaceful than standing on the edge of the shore and looking out at that horizon. that place where blue meets blue.

i'm a story teller. as a story teller i really think that adventure works to draw out people into a story. i have this long relationship with "national geographic". it's afforded me the opportunity to organize expeditions with their encouragement that have taken us by kayak literally around the world. historically a lot of people who go out on adventures go out for adventure's sake which i applaud. but this day and age i think you have to go out with a higher purpose. everywhere we went we talked to people about climate change, overfishing. all those things we've saw we've seen literally everywhere we've gone. a big part of our motivation in going out and having these adventures is to bring back stories that we can share. ya know, the tools are incredibly important. technology has changed but the goal is the same. it is to enlighten people using adventure as the trigger. on each of these adventures, at one point, i'll just be sitting

on a beach, looking at that horizon line and reminding myself how lucky i am to be able to be out there and to be both learning for myself and then sharing. i know that we're not going to change the world from the seat of a kayak but if i'm able to bring those stories back and share them and i manage to change the life of one person or two or three or four then it was totally worth it. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> with a distinctly satirical point of view. if you believe in state's rights but still believe in the drug war you must be high. >> only on current tv.

>> heard around country and seen on current tv, this is "the bill press show." >> 33 minutes -- no. 13, make it, minutes before the top of the hour here i am in a hurry to get into the weekend. we are almost there. mellany sloan is with us for citizens for ethics. we are talking about among other things, mitch mcconnell and whether or not some of his staffers may have broken the law if not senate ethics rules by working in the senator's come pain on taxpayer dollars.

look like they may have. >> on bp show where josh mathis says why is it okay for people not to know how dirty and deplorable politics is? >> you don't have to illegally bug campaign offices. >> pull the certain back. stephanie palmer says, i am so enjoying mcconnell's discomfort over this. >> aren't we all. >> if there were an illegally obtained audiotape and mother jones reports it is more jones at all -- >> i don't think so. i think there is no liability for mother jones. they didn't get it illegally unless they were involved in the taping which is simply no allegation and it would be impossible to imagine. they are fine.

>> actually recorded. okay. crew is also social welfare groups and politics? >> this is a huge issue that most people just don't understand. i am so glad we have this chance to talk about it. >> poo em get board about thinking about it. 501 c 4 organizations which are social welfare groups are groups like the american action network run by norm coleman and ran a bunch nasty political ads. there are others chair at this and educational groups are c 4s. ever since the supreme court's united decision we have seen these a stand-alone c 4 decisions like the american action network and super p.a.c.s like crossroads. >> karl rove. >> crossroads gps. the reason people have these 501 c 4 groups is so that get

unlimited doane basis they remain anonymous but under the way the statute reads, the tax statutes governing 501 c 4s, you are only allowed to engage in social welfare activities exclusively. that's all you can do with your money. >> no politics? >> no. no politics. but the irs back in the wrote a regulation that says well we think you can be -- you must have as your primary purpose engaging in social welfare so the question is the irs has a regulation saying primary you were purpose. but the law pass says exclusively. exclusively and primarily do not mean the same thing. our view is the irs should be fixing its regulations to accord with the congressionally passed law so we can get rid of this problem of people anonymously contributing to the c 4s and running nasty political as. the american action network

seems to be funded in large part by health organizations we found through some kind of filing accident last electionciling aetna had made a several million dollar and pharma in its tax returns that it had given a lot of money. if pharma and aetna had to put their names on ads that they ran, you would see different ads than the vitriolic material we saw. we think the irs needs to step up enforcement. sheldon white house had an issue on this asked the department of just about what you are doing about these and the answer was, we refuse to sxhent and they are doing nothing. crew is doing it's part to try to fight with the irs to make sure they do this. we also sued the irs a few weeks ago about the same question about the use of this regulation. we will see where we get. there has to be some effort made to are have these groups held

accountable. >> it's extremely important because, you know, carlkarl rove and others, i keep coming back to crossroads are in fact subverting the law and turning these into political machines is what they have done? >> right. >> they used their 501 c 4 and others have to get that money and as you body out, people can give all of money they want. they are never identified. if you can get the irs to actually enforce the law. right? two more things. >> to reflect the law. >> that is one way of getting out from under the citizens united decision. a con at this timestitutional amendment maybe. >> something smaller now this exact issue. the irs is basically passed a regulation that doesn't comport with the law that congress passed. that seems to me that that shouldn't be permitted.

as you said, this is so important because it's anonymous money, not like these people couldn't contribute. et natural could contribute as much as it wanted to. >> that's why they use them. >> we don't have to and the constitution? >> right. >> congress doesn't have to change the law. irs has to enforce the existing law. >> exactly. >> makes so much sense. i don't know why everybody doesn't seen it. >> mellony, keep us up to date on what happens with mitch mcconnell mcconnell. i am glad you are on that case and what happens with the irs. support their great work. find out more about their great work by going to citizens for ethics.org. ? >> thanks. have a good weekend. >> i will be back with today's parting shot. >> this is "the bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. [ music ]

>> the parting shot with bill press, this is the bill press show. >> bill: hey, on this friday april 12th, my parting shot for today, just a week ago, nobody gave new gun safety legislation a chance in the senate. it was, every agreed dead on arrival, but suddenly, things turned upside-down. as you know in its first test vote, gun control moved by an overwhelming 68 to 31 vote. what happened in the meantime? well, two things. first, the newtown families came to washington stared senators in the eye and dared them to vote against the memory of their poor little gunned-down sons and

daughters. just two or three days on capitol hill, they turned many votes around. then, democrat joe mancion, west virginia and republican pat toomey got together in the old fashion senate way let's reach across the aisle and get things done. they came up with a compromise proposal on background checks which a majority of senators found it impossible to refuse. after all, nobody could accuse these two gun owners a list members of the nra of sponsoring any legislation that would take people's guns away. after yesterday's vote we now know that some form of a gun safety bill will get out of the united states senate. of course, at this point, prospects are a lot bleaker in the house of representatives. but just wait until those newtown families start walking the coredors and meeting with members. >> that's it for today. folks, folks, that's it for this week. go out and have a great, great

weekend. come back and see us here on monday. >> this is "the bill press show." >> have a good one.