[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, what do you say? good morning everybody. it is thursday, may 30. off again on the "full court press." good to see you this morning. good to be back with all of you. we're coming to you live from our nation's capital where it's kind of quiet these days. hey, everybody's out of town. congress is still out of town. both the house and the senate of course. president obama out of town. he's in chicago. first lady, michelle obama up in new york last night.

and the vice president and his wife dr. jill biden are down in rio de janeiro. nobody here but us chickens but we're here on the "full court press" team to keep our eye on what's going on. big news that michele bachmann, the craziest person ever to serve in the united states house of representatives has said eight years is enough. she is running for cover. joining sarah palin as the latest of the g.o.p. quitters in action. of course, michele bachmann insists it has nothing to do with she's being investigated by the federal elections commission, by the office of congressional ethics and by the fbi. and also eric holder now saying he is sorry that he spied on so many journalists and he wants to make amends by meeting with all of the bureau chiefs of the news organizations in washington, d.c. as long as those meetings are

all off the record. and most. >> reporter: s are saying no way -- and most reporters are saying no way. all of that and more here on current tv. the young turks is that were honest. they know that i'm not bsing them for some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know i'm going to be the first one to cenk on air>> what's unacceptable is how washington continues to screw the middle class over. cenk off air i don't want the middle class taking the brunt of the spending cuts and all the different programs that wind up hurting the middle class. cenk on air you got to go to the local level, the state level and we have to fight hard to make sure they can't buy our politics anymore. cenk off air and they can question if i'm right about that. but i think the audience gets that, i actually mean it. cenk on air 3 trillion dollars in spending cuts! narrator uniquely progressive and always topical the worlds largest online news show is on current tv. cenk off air and i think the audience gets, "this guys to best of his

abilities is trying to look out for us." only on current tv! [ male announcer ] this is the age of knowing what you're made of. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor.

you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? john fugelsang: if you believe in states rights but still support the drug war you must be high. cenk uygur: i think the number one thing viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. i think the audience gets that i actually mean it. michael shure: this show is about being up to date so a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. joy behar: you can say anything here. jerry springer: i spent a couple of hours with a hooker joy behar: your mistake was

writing a check jerry springer: she never cashed it (vo) the day's events. four very unique points of view. tonight starting at 6 eastern. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: pakistan says the united states through a drone strike has killed the number two taliban in that country but under our new policy of transparency announced last week by the president the united states will not confirm whether or not we did or did not send in a drone. good morning everybody. i'll tell you one thing that's changed, i'm back. good to be back with you today here on the "full court press" this thursday.

this thursday, may 30. here we go, coming to you live as always from our nation's capital, back in our studio here on capitol hill. back from the west coast and a little vacation up in bend, oregon with my family. good to see you all today. hope you had a great long memorial day. maybe not as long as i had. and are enjoying just a little -- it is kind of a kick back time here in our nation's capital. maybe all around the rest of the country, as well. everybody is out of town. president obama the first lady. joe biden and jill biden and the entire house and senate all off for this memorial day weekend. i hope you have some time off too. it is good to see you today. we will tell you though what's going on. there is still lots to talk about between michele bachmann and eric holder particularly. love to hear from you about what it all means to you. you know how to do it.

give us a call at 1-866-55-press join us on twitter at bpshow and on facebook at facebook facebook.com/billpressshow. the team here, a little undermanned or underpersonned here this morning. peter ogborn is here. >> i'm here. >> bill: wearing several hats this morning. >> indeed. welcome back. we missed you terribly. >> bill: with alichia cruz has the phones well-covered and cyprian bowlding here as always keeping us looking good on current tv. dan henning is out of course, we all know, dan's getting married. just broke the hearts of millions of our viewers. [ laughter ] >> all those ladies out there. >> bill: they were always trying to get dan's phone number and everything. we were always willing to give out. >> oh, yeah.

>> bill: so the big day is saturday for him. >> we wish him the best. >> bill: everything good? >> yes indeed. >> bill: manage to have -- two days without me. >> it still smells like smoke in there, i know. we had to put out a few fires while you were gone but i wouldn't worry about it. not a big deal. >> bill: how many stations did we lose? we're coming to you live, of course, on your local progressive talk station and we are so proud to be working with all of them across the country. and on sirius x.m. this hour only. still haven't figured that out. of course, all three hours on current tv. president obama back in his hometown last night for a little fund-raising with the democratic congressional campaign committee president said last night it was sort of like being back in the family and there is something though about politics today that

he finds distasteful. >> obama: the reason it stuck is because people spend more time thinking about the next election than they do thinking about the next generation. >> bill: yep, that is true. it is the sad part about politics today. the full-time campaign. they never take time out to govern. you've heard me say that before. go from one campaign to the other. the campaigning never stops. should be a time-out in between called governing. what the president said, here i am, i'm your friend and yet i'm in politics. you know what that means. >> obama: having a friend who is a politician is like permanently having a child who's in college. [ laughter ] you're always writing checks. >> bill: that's what it is. so what a line-up today. john fuglesang joining us. he's the star -- one of the stars of current tv in the evening. and a good friend.

sister simone campbell, the nuns are back on the bus. she'll tell us all about it this morning. we'll also have a couple of reporters in from "huffington post" and roll call and eric holder says sort of, he's sorry. should we accept his apology? but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> here are some other stories going on from the sports desk, the washington nationals are having a tough time even when they have a player. hit three home runs in one game, they still manage to find a way to lose. last night they closed out their beltway series with the baltimore orioles by losing 9-6. that's not by lack of effort from third baseman ryan zimmerman. he hit three homers in his first three at-bats in the losing effort. and the nationals are now dangerously close to a losing record. >> bill: that's really sad. really sad. how can you -- i mean, the team,

come on. ryan zimmerman has three home runs and the team doesn't back him up? >> can't have one guy win the game. >> bill: losing to the orioles. >> tough one for the nationals. two great taste that taste great together in a move that sounds too weird to be true, world wrestling entertainment is team up with the flintstones to reboot the classic cartoon and turn it into a feature-length movie which can be expected in 2015. wwe maintains they're a family-friendly entertainment corporation and this will fit in nicely with their other projects. they plan on keeping fred, barney and wilma but they're going to introduce some of the animated wrestlers that are part of wwe into the plot line. >> bill: i think this is linda mcmahon's efforts to run for governor again. yet again. >> and death by beaver might sound like a bad movie you might watch in a hotel but it became a

reality for a belarus fisherman. he was fishing when he spotted a presumably cuddly creature and wanted to take a photo with him. when the man went to pose with the beaver, the razor sharp teeth cut his artery and he bled to death. it is latest in a string of beaver attacks in belarus. they have overbred. they're now invading neighborhoods. they're sort of wandering into areas where humans are. they've lost their fear of humans and the beavers are fighting back. >> bill: well, what kind of an idiot would grab a beaver and have its picture taken with a beaver? >> i have to say that, to me was darwin showing his face in the news. >> bill: by the way, i'm back from bend, oregon. and yesterday i guess it was the day before because i was on the plane all day yesterday. the day before, i was showing my grand children a beaver lodge.

yeah. there are a lot of beavers in that area. all of the trees have you know, kind of fence around them. up maybe two or three feet high to protect them from the beavers. >> you can't go and climb in? >> bill: i didn't. i saw the lot. not that dumb. hey. indeed. one of the -- want to start by giving you the late on eric holder who is trying hard to redeem himself. i'm not making a career out of beating up on eric holder. before i left for the memorial day weekend, i stirred up a little news by -- i didn't mean to. i just said what i -- what i always do, say what i think about what's going on and gave my opinion that eric holder had outlived his usefulness with the president of the united states and with the american people. he had served his four years. four years of significant

nonaccomplishment in my judgment. four years where he showed that he was really following the wrong priorities. didn't go after george bush and dick cheney for breaking the law on torture and on the nsa wiretapping. didn't go after anybody on wall street. just let them all walk. instead, he turned his attention on medical marijuana labs in california. he's still talking to people of washington state and colorado. he's going to enforce federal anti-marijuana laws, even though the people of those states have said recreational use of marijuana is okay. just basically, i think he hasn't done a good job as attorney general. but he had four years and he doesn't deserve another four for sure. we found out about all of these real scandals. real serious scandals and his abuse, violation of the first amendment rights of first of all, "the associated press," in

one leak investigation and then james rosen from fox news who is even called a criminal co-conspirator for trying to get information from a source in the state department. and with all of that hullabaloo, i thought it was time for eric holder to either resign or be fired and said so. well, the furor hasn't died down what happened since then, just bringing you up to date is -- today's news, first of all as we know, the president said we need a little investigation. we had better -- maybe the administration has been a little out of line here. so let's take another look at what our guidelines are if you're dealing with members of the media in leak investigations and remember again, part of the problem here is that the obama administration has been overzealous in my humble opinion in prosecuting and pursuing leaks. look, leaks always happen.

ronald reagan said i'm up to my keester in leaks. john f. kennedy said this vessel leaks from the top. it is almost like nothing you can do about it. president obama has prosecuted six people for leaking government secrets or government information, i really should say. not really deep, dark secrets. at any rate, more than all other presidents combined. so the president said we ought to review our guidelines. he put eric holder in charge of reviewing those guidelines. talk about the fox in charge of the hen house. and then eric holder has said that he's told a couple of reporters at least that he's sorry because he realizes that he himself ok'd the james rosen investigation. he had recused himself from the a.p., still happened on his watch. but he personally approved the james rosen investigation

personally approved capturing james rosen's personal e-mails. captured the records of his going in and out of federal -- any federal building including the state department here in washington, d.c. and acre holder said he realizes he went too far. here's the latest. eric holder is asking to sit down and meet with leaders of media organizations here in washington, d.c. with the bureau chiefs in washington, d.c. and the department of justice has reached out to all of the above, "huffington post," politico, the hill, roll call, "the washington post," "the new york times" and "the associated press." they've all confirmed they've all been invited to a meeting or a series of meetings at the justice department with the attorney general to discuss what should the proper guidelines be when it comes to reporters doing their job and the department of

justice. there's only one catch. the meetings will be off the record. >> oops. >> bill: in other words, you can say on the record you're meeting with the attorney general but the meeting itself will be off the record. my question to you is should they accept, should they go? and i say hell, no. in fact,self of them have said hell no. you know the toll free number. 1-866-55-press. look, i mean enough is enough. eric holder has already admittedly gone too far with these leak investigations. he has admittedly already really abused, lost the trust, i think of members of the media. and abused their first amendment rights. just simply for doing their job and trying to get information and try to tell us the american people, what's going on.

and not really putting the national security of this country in jeopardy at all. in either of those two cases. eric holder wants to sit down with them and say here's what we think we should do. you can do and you can't do. here's where we think you might cross the line. here's what we ask you to consider and here's what we're willing to tolerate or accept in terms of -- this is an important discussion. this is a very basic discussion. and eric holder wants it off the record? i say no way, no how. "the associated press" has said they're not going to sit down with him unless it is on the record. "new york times" said they won't meet with the attorney general unless it's on the record. they're absolutely right. they would be fools to walk into that meeting and not have every word of that -- put out a transcript of that meeting. just like there is a transcript every day of the white house briefing. every single word that any reporter or jay carney says, you

can read it maybe an hour and a half after it's over. that's the way it ought to be. >> i think that eric holder is being foolish by doing this. the a.p. would be foolish to walk into it. the a.p. could save face here. >> bill: time for him to be totally open. whatever happened to that little transparency thing? how is that working out? 1-866-55-press. let's talk about it. on this thursday morning on the "full court press." >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries...

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: here we go. 26 minutes after the hour now. what do you say on the "full court press" here on a thursday morning. eric holder saying i want to kiss and make up with journalists in washington as long as it's all off the record. and most reporters are saying so far, no dice! uh-huh, on the record or not meeting at all is he doing the right thing. able to follow our social media friends? >> i'm keeping up as best as i can. i'm giving it all she's got captain. some of our usual suspects are not very happy with you. some people saying you deserve a medal in whining says rita. >> bill: i'm not whining. if i were whining, i would whining about not being invited

to the meeting. >> mama for obama said the a.p. was doing their job to expose a double agent in rosen. people aren't happy with you over this. >> bill: oh, well, then i'll go away again. caroline is calling from gainesville, florida. good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. i watch you every day. >> bill: good for you. thank you. >> caller: i think they should go to the meeting because they should at least go and find out what he wants to talk about. that doesn't mean they have to be favorable or unfavorable. they can continue to press whatever, you know, the point is that they're trying to make. but there may be some things that they can't say in public or are afraid to say in public. or that are dangerous to security or something. but it never hurts to get information in my opinion. >> bill: caroline, here's the problem. if you go to the meeting and it is off the record, you can't talk about it when you walk out of the meeting. >> caller: you can still say we

weren't happy. it wasn't a good explanation. you know what i'm saying. even if you can't say the details, you can keep pressing your point. >> bill: yeah, i know. but is that enough? to say they weren't happy with the meeting. you ought to be able to lay out what they propose and what the differences were. otherwise, we'll never know how far they're willing to go, right? >> caller: i think if you keep pressing, you'll find out. i don't know. that's just my way of doing things, you know what i'm saying. i always like to get as much information or listen to everything and then make a decision. that doesn't mean you have to stop pressing for your rights. >> bill: you know, i just -- i've been through off-the-record meetings, the problem with off-the-record meetings is it is a one-way street. you've got the off-the-record meeting then eric holder can say here's what we discussed and here's what we agreed to and the other side can't say oh, no, no, no, that's not the way it came down at all.

i don't buy this sudden apology of eric holder. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." go time. you know what time it is. go time! it's go time. it's go time. what time is it rob? here comes the young turks go time! it's go time. oh is it? oh, then it's go time. anybody? anybody? what time is it? oh, right. it's go time!

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: it is 33 minutes after the hour. here we go. the "full court press." we're coming to you live from our nation's capital. brought to you today by our good friends over at the sheet metal air, rail and transportation worker's union good men and women of the smart union. that's what they're called now under president joseph nigro giving a fair day's work for a

fair day's pay. find out more information about their good work at smart-union.org. that's smart-union.org. so eric holder is having second thoughts. he realized he really goofed big time. the story is that he was sitting at home one morning reading "the washington post" about james rosen. that investigation and how far it went. he said to himself oh, my god this is bad. i shouldn't have done that. he's suddenly got all of this remorse. now he's come out and said he wants to meet with the members of the media and basically apologize and work out some new guidelines for anymore leak investigations but he's only willing to meet with them as long as it is off the record and reporters are saying oh, no way jose. on the record or no meeting at all. are they doing the right thing? i think so. paul is in benton, pennsylvania.

paul, what do you say? good morning. >> caller: good morning, folks. you know i think he should have been gone a long time ago for all of the reasons that you mentioned earlier. but you know, he should definitely meet with them and it should be on the record. he's got a lot of explaining to do. i think he's just -- they put him in there because he wouldn't go after the banks. >> bill: i'm not sure that's why they put him in there but certainly he didn't go after the banks. he didn't go after george w. bush and dick cheney either. i was thinking while you were talking, if he goes up to testify in front of congress, some congressional hearing in the senate or the house, it is on the record. hell, it's on television. it is on c-span. >> caller: exactly. >> bill: at least maybe the meeting won't be on c-span but at least it ought to be on the record. agree, paul. good to hear from you. thanks four the call. in gary, indiana paula, good morning.

>> caller: good morning, bill. i agree with you so much with you and paul. that meeting should be on the record. we need to know. and the fact that there's so many things he didn't do. i personally believe that eric holder should have been gone after the second year. >> bill: i do, too. >> caller: because after the administration -- if the administrations had been in reverse and the democrats had done what bush and cheney had done absolutely they would have prosecuted. >> bill: imagine! >> caller: they would have done it. and then let us into this fake war affairs and we've had lost lives, people have been wounded forever. you know. then the banks. my goodness, people have literally lost the shirts off their backs. >> bill: the other thing paula, i was thinking, on the voting -- the attempts to suppress the vote in state after state after state, there were like i think 25 or 30 states where they tried -- the

republican governors all kinds of different ways to keep people from voting and eric holder didn't do anything about it. he went after i think two states and that was all. all the rest just look the other way. >> caller: i forgot about that. i was outraged that our attorney general did absolutely nothing. >> bill: right. >> caller: he should have been gone long ago. >> bill: he's been there four years. four years is enough for anybody. absolutely. hey, paula good to hear from you. there is the news on the political front i wanted to touch on before we go to john fuglesang in the next segment. one is, okay, little critical about president obama for not firing eric holder and critical of his administration for being too aggressive, i think in pursuing these leaks. none of which, so far as we have seen, have really been any serious risk to our national security. they always try to, you know, justify what they're doing under

that national security blanket which should raise warning bells for all of us, i believe. but i do want to give the president credit for doing something i think was a good move this week. he's getting slammed by a lot of people. what are you doing hanging out with chris christie again? why are you back up in new jersey? this guy is a republican. stay away from him right? i think the president did the right thing. i think chris christie did the right thing and christie is getting slammed by members of his party. look, this is a serious issue up there. horrific damage done to the jersey shoreline to the new york shoreline. governor christie stepped up to the plate. unlike some of the republican governors, he knew they needed help. he accepted the help. he gave president obama credit and fema credit for helping. and the president went up there in the beginning. he didn't want to do like george bush in new orleans, walk away and forget about them forever. he wanted to go back up and see what progress had been made. making sure that fema was still

on the job. and seeing if they needed anymore help up there. the governor recognized that. went out with him and they had a little fun together on the boardwalk. that's the way it ought to be. in that case, good for chris christie. good for barack obama. and look, let's be realistic right? i mean i like barbara but chris christie has to get re-elected. >> yeah. you know, it's interesting because when you talk to people about politics, their number one complaint, i would say is they can't work together. democrats and republicans refuse to work together. here's an instance where you have someone who is obviously republican, someone who is obviously a democrat who have joined forces when they need to get something done. people are complaining. >> bill: for the people of new jersey and for the people of new york. and yeah right. so they complain. i'm telling you i think if republicans don't see that chris

christie, because of his willingness to reach out is a strong candidate likely forpresident in 2016, then they're crazy. what are they going to do? put up another michele bachmann, another rick santorum? ted cruz? ought to be look for people willing to reach out like chris christie. and good for president obama. just for getting politics out of it. when it comes to -- same thing in oklahoma. went out to oklahoma to tour the damage there. with republican mary fallin. of course, at those times political parties should disappear. any consideration of political party should disappear when people like that have suffered a natural disaster and are in need. the other political news which i think is big news is up in rhode island. governor lincoln chafee, an

independent, has now announced today, he's going to announce rather that he is switching political parties. he is becoming a democrat. lincoln chaff year of course, full disclosure, lincoln chafee is my wife carol's second cousin. i know him a little bit. but at any rate, he's the son of the great former republican senator from rhode island and former governor, john chafee. lincoln chafee started out as a republican, a very independent republican. he refused to endorse george w. bush for a second term. and then he ran for re-election as a republican. at the time, i said, lincoln chafee should have changed political parties. he voted so often with the democrats, he should have become a democrat. he did not. he ran for re-election as a republican. he lost to sheldon whitehouse who is a great senator by the way, from rhode island. then link chafee ran for governor of rhode island as a

republican. no i'm sorry as an independent and was elected as an independent and he has been a very independent governor, indeed. he led rhode island into endorsing same-sex marriage recently. the last of the new england states to do so. lincoln chafee now up for re-election. he has decided, you know, i disagree with the democrats more than the republicans on every issue. it has been that way for a long time. he announced yesterday he is abandoning his independent status again from republican to independent and now he's going to register as a democrat. that doesn't mean he'll have a free ride in the democratic primary for re-election as governor. he'll have to fight it out in the democratic primary. but he just -- will join for now, the ranks of democratic governors. that makes, by the way 30 republican governors and 20 democratic governors.

so good for lincoln chafee. a big welcome to the democratic party. lincoln chafee. i think if he had done -- made that move a long time ago he might still be in the united states senate. we'll be back with john fuglesang to get his take on michele bachmann. boy, what a sad day for american politics to see her go. that and a lot more with john fuglesang. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and 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. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: welcome back, everybody. thursday.

welcome back to me at any rate. last two days off thanks to peter ogborn and to rich masters for sitting in. economy back with a heavy heart. this is probably the saddest day ever in the history of american politics. where are we going to go for laughs? joining me this morning is john fuglesang, host of "viewpoint" every night at 8:00 p.m. on current tv. john, this is terrible. >> john: good morning bill. it is a really sad day for political comedy. i wore a black armband on "viewpoint" last night. all of the political comedians i know are like over the grey today. you mentioned it. michele bachmann is leaving congress to spend more time with her husband marcus and his new chauffeur scott thorsen.

were you surprised mr. press? >> bill: surprised at the liberace movie? she joins sarah palin in the ranks of g.o.p. quitters. they want to run for president but they can't hold a job. what i love is she says this has nothing to do with the fact that i'm being investigated by agencies. >> john: or the fact that the guy she only beat by 1% in a heavily g.o.p. district is leading her right now. didn't -- did you watch that video? i thought it was a seminar on house flipping. >> bill: she's in russia, touring russia and she releases this video back in the united states. classic michele bachmann. >> john: it is sad.

i love michele bachmann. she made that campaign really entertaining last year. of course, michele bachmann is, you know, a gift to comoedians. i was sitting next to al gore on election night. i was cheering. and you know, i think that obviously she's someone who sees both sides of the complex issue. she's opposed to gay marriage and in one. but you know, she's the person who thought arab spring was a saudi deodorant. we have to honor that. >> bill: what do you make of the fact that -- what does it say about -- seriously about the republican party right? when you look at -- she was a serious contender for president. at one time. >> john: she wasn't a serious contender for president at one time. among people in the entire clown car field were serious contenders. >> bill: among republicans in iowa obviously, she was. i think it says a lot about the state of the republican party today. >> john: well, but again she

bought the iowa straw poll. that was a purchase. i don't think she was ever -- she did lead the poll. >> bill: marcus bought it. >> john: she did lead in the polls at one point but seven out of eight g.o.p. contenders were in the lead at one point. they had seven different front-runners over a five-month period. the republicans call gay guys promiscuous. they couldn't figure out who they liked the most. then she was less popular than herman cain. >> bill: when you look back at that, mitt romney won right but yeah against what competition? >> john: exactly. like we discussed last week, next year it will be all of the heavy hitters coming out next year. it was beautiful to see michele bachmann wearing so much makeup she could sing lead in the cure. she had so many great bits of comedy. when she came out and said she

supported the first amendment and also wanted to ban pornography, that was a very special time for me. because you know, if michele bachmann doesn't want people watching pornography, she should appear in it. a lot of my republican friends don't like that joke. they say she's hot. let me tell you something michele bachmann is not hot. she's attractive the way a blank e-mail is attractive because there's no subject in the header and no message in the body. god bless her. >> bill: on fire this morning, john fuglesang. 8:00 p.m. every night on "viewpoint." my favorite moment was when she went to new hampshire and congratulated them on firing the first shots at concord and conquered. >> john: or when she confused john wayne with john wayne gacy and wished an inappropriate happy birthday one day. she's terrific and i'll tell you one thing the democrats don't realize, she's an excellent fund-raiser and the g.o.p. will find ways to deploy her effectively. >> bill: raised $15 million for her last race for congress.

unbelievable. can i ask you a serious question? >> john: please do. >> bill: eric holder is going around right now i'm on a warpath against eric holder. >> john: i respect that very much. >> bill: now he's going around saying you know what? i've realized i really goofed. i went too far in the media investigations and everything and leak investigations so now i want to sit down with you journalists and make nice and kiss and make up and talk about how we'll work together in the future. but it is all off the record. >> john: mm-hmm. >> bill: "new york times" and "associated press" and others are saying no way jose. on the record or no meeting at all. what do you think? >> john: i think the press is reasonable in making that demand. i admire how people like yourself and michael hastings, good buddy from rolling stone have pushed back against this. of all of the fake scandals, again, they serve the g.o.p. benghazi and i.r.s. are completely fake but they are helping the republican establishment remove the wedge the democrats have placed between them and the tea party. when john boehner screams

benghazi he doesn't really believe anything he's saying. he doesn't think anyone's going to get a scalp over this but he is bringing the tea party back into the g.o.p. fold and emboldening the base and raising a lot of money but the a.p. -- >> bill: the dog whistle. >> john: completely. a.p. is an absolute scandal. this freedom of the press issue is a serious issue. the republicans won't care about it because they don't like the press that much themselves. if they start harping on it, they have to go through how much the bush administration harassed the press. it is a case where the liberals and progressives and real conservatives have to stand up and say you know what eric holder did was wrong. for him to want this meeting to be off the record is kind of disgusting as george bush and dick cheney only agreeing to testify before the 9-11 committee if they could do it not under oath and together, not separately. it is really skeevy. it puts the president in a tough spot because if you fire mr. holder, you'll look weak and

like you're being pushed around and even worse if you fire mr. holder, do you think the gotten's ever going to approve any of barack obama's replacements for attorney general? >> bill: there you go. >> it is going to be a long, hot summer. >> bill: i suggested eric holder should take a summer trip to russia and put out a video while he's gone. john my soul brother, so good to talk to you. >> john: great to talk to you. i want to thank you for the comments you said earlier about governor christie and barack obama. you know, you're right. that's not big government. it is good government. and i give the obama/christie alliance a 10 and not just because they resemble that number. >> bill: "viewpoint" at 8:00 p.m. tonight on current tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." tonight starting at 6 eastern. (vo) this afternoon, current tv is the place for

support the drug war you must be high. cenk uygur: i think the number one thing viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. i think the audience gets that i actually mean it. michael shure: this show is about being up to date so a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. joy behar: you can say anything here. jerry springer: i spent a couple of hours with a hooker joy behar: your mistake was writing a check jerry springer: she never cashed it (vo) the day's events. four very unique points of view. tonight starting at 6 eastern. (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.

alright, in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing 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. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar. >>current will let me say anything.

>> announcer: take your e-mails on any topic at any time, this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: sister simone campbell from nuns on the bus joins us as well as meredith shiner from roll call on eric holder, jerry says he's about as sharp as a bowling ball. he doesn't get it. the problem is too much secrecy and closed doors. wayne b. says president obama needs to fire eric holder. bill says bill, you must be getting your scripts from morning joe. you're quoting him verbatim this morning. no bill, you are dead wrong. i don't know what joe is saying but if he's saying what i'm saying, he's quoting me.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, what do you say? good morning everybody. great to see you this morning. it is thursday, may 30. good to be back with you again here on the "full court press." we are live coming to you live from our nation's capital. and our studio right here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. where it is kind of quiet around here these days. everybody's out of town. members of the house members of the senate, still on their memorial week, memorial day week break. president obama is out of town. he's in chicago. first lady out of town, up in new york. joe biden and jill biden are out of town down in rio de janeiro. nobody here but us chickens but we've got our eye on what's happening here in our nation's capital. news on a couple of fronts.

michele bachmann has decided to call it quits. the wackiest person ever to serve in the united states congress. she joins sarah palin in the ranks of g.o.p. quitters but she insists that her decision not to seek re-election has nothing to do -- that she is the subject of some 17 or 18 investigations into campaign finance violation. no, nothing to do with that whatsoever. by the way politifact reports that of all the many quotes of michele bachmann, that they looked into, they found not one of them, not one, to be true. no other politician has that same distinction. eric holder now says he's sorry that he violated the rights of reporters. what do you say? we'll tell you all about that and a whole lot more right here on current tv. 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'm given to doing anyway, by 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. i've worn lots of hats, but i've always kept this going. i've been doing politics now for a dozen years. (vo) he's been called the epic politics man. he's michael shure and his arena is the war room. >> these republicans in congress that think the world ends at the atlantic ocean border and pacific ocean border. the bloggers and the people that are sort of compiling the best of the day. i do a lot of looking at those people as well. 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) 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.

>> bill: lincoln chafee said i've had it. i don't agree with those republicans anymore. i'm going to become a democrat. going to make that announcement today. lincoln chafee. we start off our second hour together here on the "full court press" this thursday morning may 30. good to be back with you today. after a couple of days break on the west coast up in bend, oregon. great to see you today. hope you had a wonderful memorial day weekend. maybe not as long as mine. >> look at you just digging in. and bragging to everyone. >> twist that knife in. >> bill: peter ogborn and rich

masters filling in while i was gone. thank you, thank you. good to see you again. remember, are you free to join the conversation any time. we invite your comments on the old-fashioned telephone -- remember those at 1-866-55-press is our toll free number. 1-866-55-press. you can join us on twitter at bpshow and on facebook at facebook.com/billpressshow, back in studio with us for a return engagement by popular demand, meredith shiner covers the congress for roll call. >> is my dad calling into the studio all the time now? >> bill: a pain in the ass. >> it is fine. thank you for having me again. i was just thinking when you were talking about the lincoln chafee news, it was one of those kind of news stories like wait, he hasn't done that already. like hillary clinton for gay marriage everyone assumed she had done that already. >> bill: lincoln chafee hasn't been a republican for a long time. he did go from republican to

independent after losing the senate race.% i always thought if he had become a democrat when he was up for re-election as a senator he might still be in the senate. >> sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. >> bill: peter ogborn flying the 747 and everything else this morning. >> i'm here. >> bill: with alichia cruz on the phones. and cyprian bowlding on the video cam. dan henning he is off. >> getting ready to get married. huge deal. i hope he doesn't wear shorts with his suit and or tie. >> i wouldn't be surprised. >> bill: he's either going to wear the shorts or his volunteer fireman outfit. >> there are big laughs coming. >> you know what's funny is dan's fiancee who i met once, couldn't be nicer. leslie, i figured she would show up with like a wooden leg or an eye patch.

totally normal. very nice girl. >> you are so mean. >> but she's marrying dan. sweetest girl. i'm not sure what's wrong with her. >> hey dan congratulations and have a really lovely wedding. i hope you're not listening to the show. i'm hope you're sleeping and enjoying. >> bill: i doubt he's getting up early just to see us. struggle along without him. hey, how about it, i know you're a big hockey fan meredith. it seems to me this hockey playoff has been going on forever. what is it? best of seven? >> i feel like it has been -- it hasn't been going on nearly as long as the nba playoffs which basically take up three months. >> bill: true. the blackhawks and the red wings into double overtime and finally -- just one overtime. here's how it ended up. >> score! hawks win! hawks win! the blackhawks overtime goal.

serve up the calamari. blackhawks are headed back to the western conference finals. >> i should point out that was the chicago blackhawks announcer. >> oh, really? >> just listening to that makes my heart fill with joy. first of all the blackhawks should have won in regulation. there was this controversial call with about 2:00 left in the third period. they waved off a goal saying one of the officials had called a penalty first. it should have been a goal. all of the studio analysts on nbc sports which was where the game was being broadcast had said it was kind of a lousy call. and moreover, when they called the penalty they called it a double penalty so it went to a four on four instead of a hawks power play when it should have been a power play all along. so basically karma came down and the right team won. >> bill: stop whining. >> what is hockey? >> the funny thing is i'm tule not a huge hockey fan. i'm a playoff hockey bandwagon

fan but i have a deep sense of chicago sports team pride particularly when you beat the red wings and they're both original six franchises so it is kind of a big deal. >> bill: on to the kings and on to our show with meredith shiner here this half hour. sister simone campbell, the nuns are back on the bus. god love them. we'll check in with them as well later in the hour. but first... >> here are other stories. >> there are other stories? >> there are other stories believe it or not. the emmys have named their host for this year and it is neil patrick harris. he's had a lot of success. she's done the tonys and the emmys before back in 2009. he's coming back. who, in my opinion, he should just post every award show ever. he's the best. >> can you get an honor you got. i'm such a nerd on so many

levels. >> he's going to host it this year. it airs on september 22nd on contribution. he's also currently -- starring on cbs's "how i met your mother." congrats neil patrick harris. meet the world's most obnoxious couple. nancy and neil have been married for 35 years but they have tested their love by dressing like each other every single day for those 35 years. originally started out as a joke when they were dating. they would dress like each other on the weekends. the same exact outfit. what they do is they go to the fabric store and they make their own clothes. and they get the same pattern and they would make a gentleman's shirt and a lady's shirt. they would coordinate their clothes. every day for 35 years. some people out there saying what a sweet story. it is not sweet. it is obnoxious.

>> bill: underwear too? >> i don't know. that's a good question. i didn't think to ask. >> i don't even want to know. >> bill: start with the basics. >> speaking of sports -- speaking of sports, the baseball last night -- >> bill: i have a feeling that marcus bachmann and michele bachmann -- sure they weren't talking about them? >> i heard before i got into the studio that said michele bachmann was one of the craziest -- was the craziest member of congress ever. that's a really bold statement. there are a lot of crazies and there have been historically. >> bill: i can prove it with michele bachmann. >> okay. >> speaking of sports, baseball, the beltway series, the washington nationals and os from baltimore, the nationals had sort of a tough time closing that game out. they lost 9-123w450u6r789 by a lack of effort from third baseman ryan zimmerman. he had three home runs in his first three at-bats during the

game. however, they lost. they're now dangerously close to a losing record right now. >> bill: thanks, team. i can just hear ryan zimmerman in the locker room. i hit three home runs and what did you do? how did you help out? 14 minutes after the hour now. speaking of great sports events. >> yes! i can't believe it. this can't be what al gore was drawing up when he had all of this stuff in mind. but whatever, it's going to happen. >> bill: the number one sports event in the nation, of course is underway right now. here in our nation's capital. it is the 86th annual scripps national spelling bee and meredith shiner is here to talk about it. who cares. >> everybody should care. just so people are confused about what my role is whether i'm a congressional reporter or -- so i have a little bit -- i'm going to do my spelling bee. this is my halloween costume this year.

to celebrate. to celebrate the super bowl of nerds, we would talk serious about a very serious thing though. i don't understand why you don't watch this because it is the most revealing television you can watch. >> bill: what? >> the spelling bee. preliminaries were yesterday. you can watch the semifinals on espn 3 this afternoon. the finals are at 8:00 p.m. prime time espn and they've interviewed -- >> bill: espn? >> yes. america's best and most powerful sports network. best is a qual tative assessment i don't want to make. >> bill: this is where we go for the latest in sports. why are they covering the spelling bee? >> it is intense competition. >> it is a competition. we call lots of things sports. look at my mitt romney jokes. it is amazing. so some of the roles this year they changed the rules. in the preliminary quizzes and

exams they had to do before the preliminary round started they had vocabulary tests which they not only had to spell the words but they had to know the definition of the words which is new this year. now that we're in the final -- >> bill: how unusual, you have to know the definition of the word you're spelling. >> if you're 11 years old and you're being drilled into being one of the spellers, the definitions don't really matter although i think it helps -- when you're watching a contestant try to spell a word, they can ask a variety of questions of the announcer to try to get that spelling. language of origin which is helpful because certain roots have certain spellings. to use the word in a sentence. there are a lot of stall tactics, too. past doing things to try to get a better understanding of what the word is but also to buy some time before you have to start spelling it. so a lot of times kids will repeat the word to make sure they're pronouncing it correctly but also just to get more time as they're trying to figure it out. >> bill: first of all -- >> how can you take me

seriously? >> this is so great. >> bill: i was at a spelling bee once. >> i'm always watching -- >> bill: i went down on some dumb word. it was an easy word. >> one of my friends was telling me -- he spelled -- >> bill: peter was a king. >> i was the best speller in the state of south carolina for many years and i finally went out -- >> bill: not for many years. >> i had a two-year run. >> you're time limited. you have to be younger than eighth grade. >> yeah. i went out in the sixth grade on the word shellac. >> i feel like i read this on twitter about you. i put a k on it. >> no. >> i put c-k on the end. it is just a c. >> bill: i'm a good speller. >> that's what i went out on. >> it is incredible because you have all of these crazy parents sitting in the crowd. most of these kids who are doing

the competition are legacies. they've had siblings who were forced to do it. >> bill: here's my problem. my problem with the spelling bee. here it is. here is an example of my problem with the spelling bee. peter, this is from yesterday. >> eminent. >> eminent. >> eminent. >> eminent. >> bill: now, all right now the word is eminent. e-m-a -- this is according to peter. e-m-a-n-a-n-t. i have to tell you something. here is my problem with the spelling bee. i have a master's degree. [ laughter ] >> bill: i have written seven books, okay?

i have written i don't know how many commentaries. i've done how many tv shows. i have no idea what the hell emanant, i've never heard of the word. why don't they ask them words that people know that are normal words? >> because they don't have funny spellings. sometimes it is really unfair. in the way life is unfair. yesterday, this one kid got out on a german word he had clearly never heard before. i had never heard before then the next kid gets mistletoe. >> bill: here is another example. >> can you give me the definition? >> the occurrence of an intercalated vowel in the succession of speech sounds without a counterpart in orthography. >> bill: this is like "saturday night live." >> also, they get really sassy.

they say use the word in a sentence they get sassy about the sentences which is entertaining. like some of the words yesterday, it was one of those moments where you couldn't script this. one of the words was prekorbous. this -- precocious. this poor 10-year-old has to ask for a definition of precocious which killed me. there was this other word that was like a section of science. and the sentence was amazing. it was totally trolling all of these kids, eight years from now. it was like the sentence was john was talking about this scientific study on his date but his date got really bored. >> oh, no. that's so sad. >> bill: i just -- i just think the choice of words -- and also -- >> have you ever watched it on tv? you should watch it. >> bill: i don't watch it on tv. >> you know erin andrews the

side reporter for espn and she's on sports. she happens to be quite an attractive talented person in sports. >> bill: i'll bet she couldn't spell the words. >> before she left espn, they sent her to do sideline reporting. >> bill: sideline reporting with the spelling bee? good lord. >> these poor 11-year-old boys had to stand next to this supermodel as if they weren't nervous enough. >> bill: 1-866-55-press. when we come back, we're going to put meredith shineert to test and see if she knows how to spell normal, everyday words. >> oh, no. i'll also get -- >> bill: we'll be back with the "full court press." >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv.

>> only on current tv. [ male announcer ] this is the age of knowing what you're made of. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. 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.

ç] we have a big big hour and the 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. alright, in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing 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.

>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. 26 minutes after the hour now. here we go, the "full court press." she's out of uniform. out of costume, i should say. we're going to move on. >> that's fine. i was going to say you have, before you knock it, you should watch it tonight but after that, i don't know that you'll be able to make it to 8:00. >> bill: meredith shiner from roll call. we've been talking about this the spelling bee. i can't let you leave without -- after all congress is your beat. without asking you a couple of important questions in the

minute and a half we have left. first of all come on, admit it. you're going to miss michele bachmann. >> i think that she served a purpose in that caucus. i was actually thinking about this in the context of anthony weiner. there wasn't a lot of substantive accomplishment in the career of anthony weiner. the most iconic moment before he sent a picture of his junk on twitter of his congressional career was a fight that he had with pete king on the floor about the 9-11 health bill. one of the two guys was working on the bill. it wasn't anthony weiner. but he had this purpose in that caucus to drive the conversation to the left. michele bachmann was very successful at doing that for the right. whether or not that was good for politics or the republican party is not my place to say but remember during healthcare, she had that house call on the capitol where thousands of

people showed up to see her speak. so i think to the republican party, despite the fact that leaders hated her is going to miss her in a sense that at least someone was talking even if you've said politifact rated it -- >> bill: 20 seconds eric holder invites you to meet with him off the record. do you go? >> i can't make a decision for roll call but i wouldn't. i think it enables government officials to speak in a capacity that can't be reported on so what's the point of going and having that access if you can't report on it? and the more news organizations that say that they won't i think the more pressure there is on these administration officials to at least seek a background. >> bill: that makes two of us. you and i aren't going to go to that meeting. we'll have lunch instead. meredith shiner. thanks for coming in. great to see you.

guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: here we go. it is a thursday. thursday, may 30. it is the "full court press" coming to you live from our nation's capital brought to you today by the united steel workers and their great international president colorful international president, outspoken indeed, leo gerard, the united steelworkers, north america's largest industrial union representing 1.2 million active and retired members. the united steelworkers, check out their web site at usw.org. they are back on the road. you remember nuns on the bus. first appeared and made headlines when they were out going to many parts of this

country. protesting the ryan budget which would have cut every program helping the poor. nuns on the bus are back on the road to build up support for comprehensive immigration reform. leading the good sisters sister simone campbell is the executive director of network, a good friend of the program. she joins us from the bus. somewhere in new jersey. good morning, sister. how are you? >> good morning bill. i'm great. how about yourself. >> bill: you guys are already on the road this morning? >> oh, yes. we had an early morning. we met for prayer at 6:30 this morning and hit the road at 7:15 sharp. so yep we've already been doing a lot of work getting ready. exciting trip. >> bill: it is an exciting trip. you've kicked off this latest mission yesterday at liberty state park in new jersey across from ellis island. where are you headed and how far are you going on this trip, sister? >> it is a huge trip.

it is more than double what we did last summer. >> bill: whoa! >> as you said, we started in ellis island. we end up in san francisco look out at angel island, ellis island west. but it is 6500 miles. 15 states. 54 events in three weeks. it is an amazing big journey. >> bill: oh, wow. think of the logistics and the planning that goes into something like that. good for you. i love it. >> it is an amazing planning thing but you know, what we're finding, every place is people volunteer to take the point. so we just left lawrenceville the catholic church there and it was so wonderful because one of their people took the point and the pastor was out to see us off this morning. the bishop came out last night. huge reception that the parish put together. i mean this is just everybody coming together. it takes several villages, i'm

beginning to call it a metropolis to put on a bus trip. >> bill: i love the symmetry of the islands. why the issue of immigration reform. why is this so important to people of faith sister? >> what we know as catholic sisters is all of our communities were immigrant communities at some point. they came to serve the immigrants. so it is at the core of who we are as catholic sisters but it is at the core of who we are as american people. the united states, the best of our story the creativity of our story is all about immigration and so we know that it's the glory of our -- but we're totally convinced it is the promise of our future. it is an amazing opportunity for us. politically, we have a very short window to get this done. we only have like two months because of the congressional cycle. we've got to put pressure on now. it's got to happen. >> bill: what are you asking people to do as you move across

the country? >> we've got this thing about raise your hands. raise your voice. everybody in the crowd to raise their hand. then we have people signing cards so we can deliver them to their senators and members of congress to let them know they're for comprehensive immigration reform. we have this other thing. 877-877 and put in the word nuns in the message. they'll get a call back from me that encourages them to talk to their senators and put them through to their senators office. enter their zip code to tell who their senator is. we're asking people to say their names, their constituents, they're for comprehensive or immigration reform because it is part of their faith. it is really exciting. it's fun. >> bill: that's a great message. how do people hook up with that again? >> okay. they just have to text to the

number 877877 and then they put in the message nuns and it hooks you up. or if you're spanish speaking, you can put in -- [ speaking spanish ] and you can hear me in espanol. >> bill: muybyen. muy been. it is 877877. >> repeat it twice. do it twice. >> bill: 877877. >> then put in nuns. >> bill: we've got it. you get to hear sister simone campbell. you connect them right to their own senator member of congress. >> exactly. we'll put them right through so that they can right then let their voice be heard. what we're hearing is people who are fearful terrified i mean, are calling -- so what we need to do is we need to let people

know that faith tells us to step back from fear. we're not to be afraid. and to welcome in the folks that make us who we are. so this is our effort to lift the voice. in fact, this morning, at prayer, i was reading -- we read a little scripture and it was jesus coming to the apostles across the water and his first words to him is it's me! don't be afraid. and isn't that what everybody tells us. it's just me. don't be afraid. >> bill: sister, how many -- i have to ask you, how many of you are on the bus? is it one bus or more than one bus and how many sisters are on the trip? or do you pick up different sisters as you go along? >> hitchhiking sisters. right now we have seven sisters on the bus right now that started with us. actually, it is a blessing in new haven then we went over to new jersey. and two are leaving in d.c. we're picking two more up in d.c. the max we can hold are eight

and then plus we have a couple of staff. some of my staff from the office came up to ride the bus today to get the experience. so we're a little crowded today. wall to wall folks. it's great. >> bill: we're talking with sister simone campbell, the executive director of network and the leader of the nuns on the bus on this latest mission on behalf of immigration reform and of course, that's network lobby. network lobby.org. sister, i have to ask you we've talked before about the fact that the vatican was sort of on the warpath against american nuns thinking you're spending too much time talking about issues like poverty and like immigration and not enough about -- not talking enough about same-sex marriage or abortion. and i was counting on this new pope to kind of put that aside and say no, let's let the nuns do their good work and get off their backs. i read somewhere that with this pope's blessing, the vatican is still pursuing this little

investigation of american nuns. how is that going? what's going on? >> well, it does appear from the press report that the congregation for the doctrine of the faith says that the pope said -- a little down the chain continue the censure. it appears that the pope is, as you would expect is really focused on initial high level changes that he sees which is quite exciting, actually. i have a hunch that the issues of catholic sisters in the united states were kind of further down on his priority list. he's worried about re-organizing the -- you know, the whole global church. so i have a hunch. i say we're sort of like the soccer ball in the power of politics for the vatican kind of being, you know, we're not at the table. we're not engaged in the actual power conversation. bill, the thing i realized is this is all being used to the good.

the fact that this notoriety is creating a great opportunity for us to show what we do as catholic sisters. we were just chuckling this morning, who would ever think that we catholic sisters could draw this kind of attention to key issues in our society? we know that from my perspective, the holy spirit uses everything to the good. it is painful. i have to tell you the bishop o'connell came last night to -- he was taking pictures of me while i was talking and he spoke. it was just wonderful. but it brought tears to my eyes. that he was there. and so while i can say the holy spirit is alive and well and making mischief and doing good stuff, it is still painful. to have bishop o'connell come and be a part of it, it was healing for me. >> bill: i think it is extremely significant. as with your last trip that so many bishops have come out to join you and to, you know, and

to echo your message. and you know, it started there. i'm sure you'll see a lot more of that with high-ranking members of the collegery all the way across the country. and i look forward to the day sister, when pope francis says if you want to know what the catholic church should be all about, look at what the nuns on the bus are doing in the united states of america. and that's exactly the example we ought to set. that day will come. when i meet him i'm going to tell him that's what he ought to say. finally, sister, as a catholic, we never went anywhere, my family without having st. christopher medal up-front. so i hope you've got one on the bus somewhere for safe travels. >> absolutely. we do. and friends in oakland california, where i was this past weekend gave me not only the st. christopher medal but gave me the medal and in it is a

piece of tire from st. christopher's bus because it is understood he liked traveling by bus. and the medal that st. christopher wears because you think okay, we wear our medals. what medal does st. christopher wear? this medal that says nuns on the bus. >> bill: that's funny. so how do people find out your itinerary so they can meet up with you? >> they go nuns on the bus.org. and we have our whole itinerary up there. you can see the map and click on any of the dates. the little circles. all of our dates come up. you can rsvp, ask for updates. check us out. we've got blogs. i'm trying to raise my twitter followers so everybody can follow me on twitter. >> bill: twitter. sr underscore simone. >> bill: okay, great. check out nunsonthebus.org.

they're heading to a church or parish hall near you. say hello. sister simone campbell, we'll catch up with you next time we can in studio. >> look forward to it. >> bill: safe travels. i love what these nuns on the bus are doing. i think it is so exciting. they're revolutionizing the catholic church and the sisters are leading the way! >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." "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.

we have a big big hour and the 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.

(cenk) it's go time! it's go time! it's go time! go time. you know what time it is. go time! it's go time. it's go time. what time is it rob? here comes the young turks go time! it's go time. oh is it? oh, then it's go time.

anybody? anybody? what time is it? oh, right. it's go time! (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar. >>current will let me say anything.

>> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: it is thursday. thursday, may 30. can you believe it? in the next hour, we'll talk about immigration reform and that is the focus of the nuns on the bus and their latest tour which started yesterday as you heard sister simone campbell tell us right across the river from ellis island. and they're going to end up at angel island, talking about this whole issue of building up support for the comprehensive immigration reform legislation. that will be debated in the senate. on the senate floor. next week. the other big news here in our nation's capital, of course, is about eric holder. eric holder now trying to make

amends trying to restore his reputation. i think it is too late for that. eric holder, of course, who did recuse himself from "the associated press" investigation where the department of justice in an effort to find out who leaked to the reporters from "the associated press." remember, they put out the order to capture the -- to basically get all of the phone records got all of the phone records for two months of phone records from 20 different phone lines used by hundreds of reporters and editors. eric holder said well, they did that without my knowledge because i had to recuse myself from that. it turns out that eric holder himself had personally approved a similar investigation into james rosen of fox news on yet another different leak investigation and in that case, the department of justice seized

all of the personal e-mails of james rosen. they got all of the records of his travel -- his checking in and out of federal buildings to get information as a reporter and to meet with sources. and he was labeled he, james rosen, was labeled by one fbi agent as a criminal co-conspirator. eric holder is saying i'm sorry about that. i shouldn't have approved that myself. we went too far, i guess. so let's all meet and sing come about cumbaya and kiss and make up. he's invited the bureau chiefs from "huffington post," "washington post," politico, "associated press," "new york times," cnn he's invited them all to come down and meet with him and let's talk about what the proper guidelines ought to be in terms of reporters just doing their jobs in washington and i want to meet with you but i insist eric holder says that the meeting be off the record.

no. no way. as of today, "the associated press" and "the new york times" and we just learned in the last few minutes cnn has now said they will meet with eric holder but only if it is on the record. >> jake tapper actually tweeting like "the new york times" and a.p. cnn will decline the invitation for an off-the-record meeting with eric holder. >> bill: i think they're doing the right thing. you walk into a meeting like that, walk out of the meeting. you can't talk about -- i've been in off-the-record meetings. you can't talk about anything that went on. eric holder is able to give his spin, his side of the story his spin and say oh, we had an excellent meeting. we came to an agreement on a whole wide range of issues. i would not trust eric holder after what the department of justice has done in these two cases and who knows how many more. and i just repeat, look, i think

eric holder has been there far too long. he said four years. he has not served the administration well. he's not served the american people well. read my column. up on the web site at billpressshow.com. there is a whole list of reasons why eric holder, i think ought to go. but in this case, i certainly think the reporters are doing the right thing in saying no no no, if you want to meet with us, we're happy to meet with you, mr. attorney general but let's have it on the record. i would say let's have it on c-span. let's really see what eric holder has to say and his excuse for this overzealous prosecution of members of the media. doesn't look good. you expect it from george bush. you don't expect it from barack obama or his attorney general. we'll tell you what the president's up to when we come back. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show."

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'm given to doing anyway, by 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. i've worn lots of hats, but i've always kept this going. i've been doing politics now for a dozen years. (vo) he's been called the epic politics man. he's michael shure and his arena is the war room. >> these republicans in congress that think the world ends at the atlantic ocean border and pacific ocean border. the bloggers and the people that are sort of compiling the best of the day. i do a lot of looking at those people as well. 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) 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. 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.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: how about it. three minutes to go before the top of the hour. and in our final hour together, we will talk about the saddest day in american politics. probably in my lifetime and that is the departure of michele bachmann from the scene. although i have the feeling that like richard nixon like in 1962 when he told reporters you won't have nixon to kick around anymore because gentlemen he said, this is my last news conference. i think we haven't seen the last of michele bachmann no matter what she said yesterday. how soon before she signs up as a lobbyist here in washington d.c.

right? >> she will rise. she will come back. she's not going to spend more time with her family. >> bill: maybe she and sara palin will get together and that will be the republican ticket in 2016. president obama today is in chicago. spent the night at home last night in chicago. leave chicago this afternoon. after working out i'm sure this morning. leaves late this morning. just about noontime. back in the white house at 2:55 this afternoon. arriving on the south lawn on marine i from andrews air force base. no press briefing today. josh ernest, the deputy press secretary will be meeting with reporters in a gaggle on air force i on the way home. we'll come back with one more hour of the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill:ed for a morning everybody. what do you say? it is thursday, may 30. this is the "full court press." good to see you today. good to be back with you. after a couple of days' vacation here. back in the saddle on the "full court press." coming to you live from our nation's capital. and bringing you the news of the day from this little quiet quiet -- from the nation's capital. everybody else is out of town but us. the president is in chicago. the first lady is up in new york. the vice president and his wife are down in rio de janeiro. congress members of congress, the house and the senate are god knows, all over the globe. nobody here but us chickens but

we're keeping our eye on what's going on and there is news on a couple of fronts, she's traveling in russia but she put out a video yesterday saying she is not going to run for a fifth term in congress. she's going to step down, of course we're talking about michele bachmann. the wackiest person ever to serve in the united states congress. joining sarah palin as the latest of the g.o.p. quitters but michele bachmann insists her decision to resign as nothing to do with the fact that she's currently under investigation by three different federal agencies. that we know of. same time. eric holder is trying to kiss and make up with journalists here in washington, d.c. for all of those leak investigations but he wants to meet with them only off the record and they're saying no way. it's gotta be on the record. tell you about that and more right here on current tv.

the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. alright, in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing 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 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.

you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are

coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? john fugelsang: if you believe in states rights but still support the drug war you must be high. cenk uygur: i think the number one thing viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. i think the audience gets that i actually mean it. michael shure: this show is about being up to date so a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. joy behar: you can say anything here. of hours with a hooker joy behar: your mistake was writing a check jerry springer: she never cashed it (vo) the day's events. four very unique points of view. tonight starting at 6 eastern.

>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: lincoln chafee says i've had it with the republican party! i'm becoming a democrat! he makes that big announcement today. the governor of rhode island, what do you say everybody? great to see you. good to be back here on the "full court press." after a couple of days on the west coast. i'm back in the saddle here. great to see you on this thursday morning. may 30. good thank you to peter ogborn and to rich masters for filling in while i was away. we got lots to talk about even though there's not much going on in terms of physical presence in our nation's capital. everybody is out of town. president is out of town. the first lady is out of town.

vice president and his wife are out of town. congress is out of town. nobody is here except the true blue hard believers. >> we're here. >> bill: we're here. we've got it covered for you. bringing you up to date on the news of the day and of course, giving. >> chance to comment. you know you're on the job at 1-866-55-press. that's our toll free number. you can join us on twitter. "bill press show". peter ogborn is here, running the board today. >> yes sir. >> bill: dan is off still prepping for his big wedding on saturday. >> congratulations to dan. >> bill: congratulations to dan. and leslie. alichia cruz has the phones covered and cyprian bowlding, couldn't get along without him because otherwise it would be a blank tv screen. >> he makes us look so pretty. we don't look this good on our own. >> bill: he doesn't have a hell of a lot to work with.

last night was a big night for the nationals. well, at least it was a big night for one member of the nats right? they're playing the os. the nats, we had high, high hopes for them and they're just not coming through. >> they're struggling. but it is not like it is a downward spiral. >> bill: kind of a 50/50. >> they're sitting at .500 right now. >> bill: ryan zimmerman is helping him out as much as he can. get this. last night, third baseman, ryan zimmerman comes up to bat. three times in a row and he hits three homers in a row. here is the third one. >> swing and drive. deep to right field. back, way back. going, going it's gone! good-bye! ryan zimmerman with a two-run homer has been at the plate three times tonight and he has hit three home runs for the nationals! >> bill: you gotta say man he did his bit! >> can't do much more than that. you can't do much more than that

to help your team win. >> bill: he walked in the locker room and looks at the other guys and says hello! what more can i do, right? where were the rest of you guys? how about it. okay. alyse foley will join us later in this hour from "huffington post." i know let's all put our black armbands on to mourn the loss of michele bachmann. oh, what a sad day for american politics. but first... >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> here's what else we have going on. bill two great tastes that taste great together, in a move that sounds too weird to be true world wrestling entertainment has teamed up with the flintstones to reboot the classic cartoon and turn it into a feature length movie which you can expect in 2015. i know you're obviously going to be lining up to see this. wwe maintains that -- >> bill: world wrestling. >> and the flintstones. they maintain that they're a

family friendly organization that provides family friendly entertainment. so this will fit in well with their other projects. the movie plans on keeping the characters from the flintstones fred barney and wilma. they'll animate the wrestlers and incorporate them into the story. >> bill: it kind of makes sense in the sense of wrestlers and people who enjoy wrestlers are like cavemen. >> there you go. >> bill: kaymen mentality. >> meet the world's most obnoxious couple. nancy and david featherstone have been married for 35 years. they've tested their love by dressing like each other every single day of their marriage. when they were dating, they started it out as a joke by dressing alike on the weekends and then after they got married they decided to keep it official. every single day. they go to the fabric store. they make their own clothes. they get matching patterns, they make a man's shirt and a woman's shirt. >> bill: i've never heard of anything so weird in my life. >> there are a lot of people out there that are sharing this

story. i don't know about socks. i don't know about underwear. >> bill: bra? >> that's the real question. that's the story behind the story. >> bill: do they have kids? i hope not. >> i don't know. i didn't see any reports of children. >> bill: i hope they have no kids. it is sick. >> it is very weird. it is sort of attention-grabbing weirdness. okay. and death by beaver might sound like a bad title to a movie you might watch in a hotel room but it became a reality for one belarus fisherman recently. the man was fishing. he spotted a presumably cuddly creature and wanted to take a photo with it. the man approached the beaver and grabbed him to pose and the beaver's very sharp teeth sliced through an artery and he bled to death. now, it is the latest in a string of beaver attacks in belarus. they have overbred. they're coming into neighborhoods. they're entering homes. they have a problem with the overpopulation of beaver.

>> bill: i'm glad -- carol and i have been thinking about where we might go for our vacation this year. trip just the two of us. belarus is off -- scratch that off the list. >> safety first. you can never be too sure when a beaver will attack. >> bill: i think there is a little too much vodka around belarus. oh yeah, here's a beaver, let's cuddling up with this beaver. >> hold my beer. i'm going to take a picture of this beaver. hold my vodka. >> bill: oh, man. yes, indeed. i came home yesterday to a city in mourning. washington, d.c. black cloud hanging over washington, d.c. i know you talked about it yesterday with rich masters and peter, the sudden surprising sad resignation of michele bachmann from the political scene. we reporters are in mourning today. what are we going to do for

laughs from now on? i mean come on. no herman cain anymore. no sarah palin now no michele bachmann anymore? it is a sad day. she was our source when we wanted to talk about the absurdity of politics. and we wanted to talk about the total effectlessness and meaninglessness of the republican party. michele bachmann you know. as john fuglesang said earlier on the show this morning a woman who could simply see both sides of every issue. she was against gay marriage and she was in one. michele bachmann. classic michele bachmann fashion, she went to make this big announcement but she doesn't want to have to deal with the media or answer any questions so she releases this video yesterday morning at 3:00 a.m. while she is traveling in russia.

so obviously -- >> sure she lives in belarus? >> bill: she might have been in belarus exactly. she said yesterday, here is the big news. >> my good friends after a great deal of thought and deliberation, i have decided next year i will not seek a fifth congressional term to represent the wonderful people of the sixth district of minnesota. >> bill: that video is the scariest thing i've ever seen by the way. >> it is horrifying. >> bill: it really is. she says you know what? don't have to scratch your head about why is she doing this. she's been there. she says eight years. long enough. >> the law limits anyone from serving as president of the united states for more than eight years. in my opinion, eight years is also long enough for an individual to serve as a representative for a specific congressional district. >> bill: yeah. sure. there it is. she could have said you know, the law says if you're 65 and

you're a pilot, you have to retire so i'm going to serve until i'm 65. meaningless. >> it has nothing to do -- >> bill: one has nothing to do with the other. one thing for sure, uh-huh! she may be -- she's under investigation now by the fec the federal elections commission, by the office of congressional ethics and by the fbi for at least one and it looks like multiple campaign violations finance violations when she was running for president. that is nothing to do with this announcementment. >> res assured this decision was not impacted by the recent announcements of the inquiry into my former presidential campaign or my former staff. >> bill: rest assured. good to know that. yeah. also has nothing to do with the fact that she almost lost the last time in a heavily

republican district. she almost lost to her democratic opponent, jim graves, who was in studio with us right here last week. and that she is behind in the polls to him or was, at least until yesterday. now she's no longer a candidate. >> not to mention all of her former -- >> bill: she raised $15 million running against jim graves and he almost beat her. >> all of her former presidential campaign staff and staffers, they're all sort of coming out and saying -- >> bill: what a shrew she was to work for. >> exactly. >> bill: we will miss michele bachmann because i mean, who -- again, who we turn to for laughs and who represents how far republican -- how far republicans are willing to go and what they're willing to say. i mean, right? this is michele bachmann who said that president obama in 2008, had anti-american -- then candidate obama had

anti-american views. this is a woman who talked to one woman outside a campaign event and then went on national television to say that the hpv vaccine caused mental retardation. this is the same woman who said that because of the census, the census might lead to a return of internment camps like we had for the japanese during world war ii. also, the same member of congress who said that if we passed obamacare, they would be taking 13-year-old girls on abortion field trips. field trips to planned parenthood where they could have abortions without their parents knowing anything about it. she would say anything and how far she was willing -- say anything, i should say without any regard for the truth, right? "the washington post" gave michele bachmann four different -- four pinocchio awards. you know. >> that sounds bad. >> bill: meaning one pinocchio, it is a little bit of a lie. two pinocchios, four is the max

you can be. she gave her four pinocchio awards. politifact which checks the quotes of people to see whether they're valid or not said that every single quote that they checked for michele bachmann turned out to be false. there was not one thing she said that they found to be true, not one. no other politician has shared that same distinction as michele bachmann. >> so on that hand, i'm almost kind of impressed that nobody else shares that distinction. >> bill: she is certainly unique. we know some of our -- some of our favorite michele bachmann moment when she went to new hampshire and congratulated the people of new hampshire. >> shot heard around the world. >> bill: no, that was in massachusetts. that was not in new hampshire. that was her first foray as a presidential candidate.

>> bill: we remember how she greeted michael steele. >> michael steele, you be the man. you be the man. >> you be the man. >> bill: probably the wackiest person ever to serve in the congress. here's what a lot of people don't realize also is that she accomplished absolutely nothing! as a member of congress. "huffington post" reports that not one single bill or resolution she sponsored not one, was ever signed into law. she was never trusted with a gavel to head any committee or subcommittee in the republican house of representatives. the thing that she may most be remembered for is -- gail collins talked about it in "the new york times" this morning is a bill that she called -- here it is, the light bulb freedom of

choice act. president obama, she said this was -- president bachmann, this was her campaign pledge when she was running for president. president bachmann will allow you to buy any light bulb you want. >> freedom bulbs. >> bill: you don't have to buy the new little squiggly energy-saving bulbs. a chicken in every pot and a light bulb. buy any light bulb you want. i would love your take on what michele bachmann means. her decision not to run for re-election means to you at 1-866-55-press. here's what gets me. i think the story about michele bachmann is not so much about her as it is about the republican party. let's not forget at one time, she was taken by republicans she was taken seriously as a presidential candidate. she won the straw poll. in aims, iowa. she won the first republican

presidential debate. she led in the polls. she was chair of the tea party caucus. she gave the tea party response to president obama's 2011 state of the union address. the republican party embraced michele bachmann and took her seriously and she's crazy as a loon. what does it say? i'll tell you what it says. the republican party is never going to be taken seriously again as long as they keep putting people up like sarah palin and michele bachmann. let's talk about it. 1-866-55-press on the "full court press" this thursday morning. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and 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. 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.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: hey 26 minutes after the hour now. i don't want to take all of the credit for michele bachmann's decision but i think it is worth noting that jim graves was a guest here on the "bill press show." the "full court press" last week. and just two days later, michele bachmann announced that she was resigning. you know what? just sayin'! just sayin'. draw your own conclusions. but i do think it is sad on the one hand. but it says a lot of sad things about the republican party on the other. dave calling from howard lake, minnesota. are you in her district, dave? >> caller: yeah. >> bill: oh, my god.

>> you have our sympathies. >> bill: what do people in the sixth district think of this? >> caller: i don't really talk about her. [ laughter ] i don't know. i just know i'm glad she's not running again and she's called here twice before she announced she wasn't running anymore. >> bill: looking for support? >> caller: i hung up. >> bill: good for you. the people of the sixth district are going to be better served with jim graves in the united states congress. jason calling from -- i always say it wrong. naperville illinois. >> caller: you got it right. >> bill: all right good, what's up? >> caller: i wanted to say let this roll on. let her resign. let's drop all of the investigations because all you're going to do is you're going to harm her reputation. now, that may sound silly but remember she's a political

demagogue of a right-wing faction that the republican party is trying desperately to control. if you completely destroy her character, you may end up killing the demagogue and prevent a candidate from filling that political vacuum that the republican party has been trying to close desperately since 2009. >> bill: don't you think she's already ruined her own reputation jason? >> she has ruined her own reputation but not among the people who see her as a representative of the tea party. >> bill: well, she certainly is queen of the tea party. she's head of the tea party caucus. i think -- but you know, i think she's been replaced by tea party leader by ted cruz. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

young turks! i think the number 1 thing than viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. they know that i'm not bsing them for some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know i'm going to be the first one to call them out. cenk on air>> what's unacceptable is how washington continues to screw the middle class over. cenk off air i don't want the middle class taking the brunt of the spending cuts and all the different programs that wind up hurting the middle class. cenk on air you got to go to the local level, the state level and we have to fight hard to make sure they can't buy our politics anymore. cenk off air and they can question if i'm right about that. but i think the audience gets that, i actually mean it. cenk on air 3 trillion dollars in spending cuts! narrator uniquely progressive and always topical the worlds largest online news show is on current tv. cenk off air and i think the audience gets, "this guys to best of his abilities is trying to look out for us." only on current tv!

>> bill: 33 minutes after the hour now. it is the "full court press" on a thursday morning. brought to you today by the communication workers of america. the good men and women of the cwa under president larry cohen the union for the information age. you bet. and you can find out more about their good work at their web site cwa -- union.org. the congress, of course, is enjoying a long memorial day break. they will come back next week and top of the agenda in the united states senate is the beginning of debate on the floor over the comprehensive immigration reform bill moved to the floor from the senate judiciary committee last week.

covering that issue as well as others were "the huffington post," congressional reporter alyse foley joins us in study this morning. nice to see you. >> nice to be here. >> bill: welcome back. it is kind of quiet time this week around the capital, huh? >> really quite especially compared to the last two weeks. this week is kind of calm before the storm i think on the senate floor. >> bill: you had a full bore hearing under patrick leahy. the vote was a bipartisan vote, right? picked up a few republicans. >> they got five in the end. they got a few in the end. they got orrin hatch which was kind of the surprise. he was sort of the vote that they wanted to get but weren't sure they would. then you also obviously got jeff flake and lindsey graham because they're both the republicans in the gang of eight who are in the committee.

>> bill: all right. so what does it look like on the floor? 60 votes? shouldn't need 60. will it get to 60 for cloture? >> harry reid thinks it will. what i meant to say before is he has the five republicans presumably in the end if he can keep orrin hatch and then he has john mccain and marco rubio the other members of the gang of eight. so he says he only needs to get a few more, get all the way to eight republicans, keep most of his members and get most democrats and then get to 60. but he seems to be the most optimistic on that. >> bill: that, of course, is only the vote to begin debate which should happen next week. correct? >> yeah. you have some people, john cornyn didn't vote for the bill in judiciary. but he said he would vote for the bill to move forward for debate. so i think is more possible, you know. i think it will be debated. whether it will pass is a different story. i think it will get to 65.

>> bill: need 51 for passage right? if they get 60 for cloture they'll get 51 for passage. >> i think people are feeling good about it. i'm always nervous about making these predictions but i mean, i think it will pass the senate. >> bill: the key issues, patrick leahy took out one of the key issues meaning equal status for same-sex couples under the immigration reform. will that come up as an amendment on the floor do you believe? >> i think it might. it seems unlikely to -- i mean i think it is almost certainly not going to be in the bill. republicans said that would kill the bill to put it in. so it is possible, you know, they bring it up. they have a vote on it. people sort of have to add what they said and they can say oh, i voted for it. i voted against it. but it's not going to be in the bill. the fight for that became over as soon as obama sort of dropped it, the gang of eight didn't put

it in. >> bill: the other amendment you mention orrin hatch got a lot of attention is orrin hatch's amendment to -- a lot of attention is much more liberal the policy regarding -- what are they called? high tech employees. >> h1b. so that amendment basically the bill he felt, made it too difficult for companies in high tech fields, the stem fields of science, technology, engineering and math, made it too difficult for companies to bring in foreign workers. he wanted to make that easier. this is something microsoft supports et cetera. >> bill: this is silicon valley. it is interesting that he's carrying that. he's been big on it for awhile. so that was -- he said okay, if you add my amendment i'll vote for it. but he hasn't promised anything in terms of the floor.

>> bill: what about marco rubio? you mentioned him earlier. he is part of the gang of eight. he has been out there supporting the bill. you're right. he said if the same-sex marriage for whatever reason, the same-sex marriage thing were part of the bill, he would have to get off the bill. he could not support it. it is not there. so he is still on board but getting a lot of flak from fellow conservatives because of that. >> well, he said -- his spokesman and he have said that they're not going to get to 60 votes. they won't get the republicans until they put in more border stuff. so there's already a ton of border stuff in there. they added some in committee. they didn't take any of the border stuff away and so i could see them maybe putting in some token stuff just to get more republicans on board so rubio can say we did add something. you wanted us to add something. here it is. >> bill: what more could they add on border security?

there are twice as many border guards even with the sequester i think. as there have ever been. >> even right now the border security infrastructure is huge. >> bill: it's huge. the money we're spending, we've got drones there. we have a fence there. there are fewer people coming across the border for a whole variety of reasons. one, because things are better in mexico. and things are worse here in terms of the jobs market. so basically the border, at least from what i've seen is kind of under control right now. what does rubio want? machine guns at the border? do we know? >> well, so it's funny because one thing that they always go on and on about is how big visa overstays are. that's kind of oh, this is another way the border, the fake border through airports. already in the bill, they created an exit system. they already made that stronger. orrin hatch had an amendment that was passed that would

increase the exit system at certain airports so you would have to give your fingerprint. so they already have that extra step in place there. they're already sending more to the border. so i'm not sure what he wants. they're not going to make -- they've already said all of these certain things are unfeasible. so they're going to either have to go back on that or i think just add maybe some minor things. >> bill: of course, the way our system works you might get a bill out of the senate but you've gotta get it through the house. >> mm-hmm. >> bill: which is -- >> that's the harder part. >> bill: the bigger hurdle. >> yeah and they have -- they're working on their own bill in the house but they said recently that they came to an agreement but then not everybody will say that they're actually on board for that agreement they're having some issues sorting out entitlements what people should be eligible if they're undocumented now. so it's not clear -- i mean i

think in some ways it would be better for them to get the senate bill. they can also add some stuff to make it tougher. send it back, you know. to conference and then come to an agreement. if they pass the house bill, it might be in chunks. you don't really know exactly what it's going to look like. >> bill: has speaker john boehner even agreed to having a vote on the senate bill? >> he has not at this point. he said that they're going to do some -- something. he made a statement that was weird the house will work its will. it wasn't necessarily going to be what the senate wanted or what the president wanted. >> bill: i talked to a couple of senate staffer last week. from senate judiciary actually, who said the goal was they knew they had the votes. these were republicans, by the way. that they knew they had the votes to pass it on the floor. they could get enough votes but the goal was really to get up

like in the 70s. >> they want to make it such a high vote in the senate that house republicans aren't scared to hop on board. >> bill: that they almost have to. there was one other vote, i forget which one it was but recently one of the budget things where the senate passed something with like 72 votes and overwhelming number of republicans and democrats, of course. and the house just had to go along with it even though they said beforehand that they might not. so that the goal -- >> it looks bad for them. >> bill: the goal of immigration in the senate is to rack up high enough margin of both parties that the house has -- cannot not vote for it. >> right. they don't want to seem like the do-nothing congress. everybody is talking about how important immigration reform is. they don't want to be the people who block immigration reform. which is why i think they'll do their own thing and pass it but i mean if they do something

that's just clearly not going to go anywhere, then i don't think that people will necessarily be fooled with this oh, well, we tried, we did something attitude from them. >> bill: immigration reform will be the big issue. it will be on the floor. the vote will be next week. harry reid says he thinks it will be easy to get the 60 vote he needs to begin debate on the legislation. do you share that optimism? 1-866-55-press. our toll free number. and what do you think of this bill in the first place? i want to ask when we come back, elise, about this path to citizenship. i think it is a lot tougher than it sounds. maybe too tough. 1-866-55-press. toll free number. >> announcer: radio meets television. the big press show. now on current tv. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him.

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. thursday may 30. with congress out of session people are still though, a lot of work going on getting ready for the big debate over immigration reform. next week starting on the floor of the senate. >> lease foley covers that -- elise foley covers that issue reporting for "the huffington post" in studio with us. peter ogborn. quick -- >> i had to throw in this update because i mentioned this couple, been married for 35 years and they dress alike. they've dressed alike every day for 35 years. the worst couple in america. yeah, so the deal -- >> bill: did you find out if they had any kids.

>> i still don't know if they have kids but the plot thickens. they're the featherstones that created the original plastic pink flamingo that you see decorating and dotting trailer parks across this fine country. >> bill: they're the ones? >> they created the plastic pink flamingo that people put in their front yards. they're quite wealthy from that. that's how they can afford to go out and make clothes that match. we got an e-mail from betsy in new hampshire. who says i know that the featherstones dress alike. he had live in new hampshire like me. i see them at antique shows. they wear matching plaid alpine outfits which what the hell is that? plaid alpine outfits? >> bill: leather pants? >> so they have tons of money because they invented the plastic pink flamingo and they're also insane. >> bill: i thought the pink flamingo was older than that.

>> i don't think the romans invented the pink flamingo. >> bill: i've seen many a pink flamingo outside of trailers in southern delaware. >> there you go. that's the update on the featherstones, may we never speak their names again. >> bill: featherstones. elise, this path to citizenship it sounds like a good idea. and it is a good idea. again, these are families that have been on the sidelines in the shadows many of them with jobs and kids in school. been here a long time. the idea is okay, come out of the shadows. we know who you are and you can get on the path, on the road to citizenship. but 13 years? >> yeah, it takes a long time. and for some people, it might take longer. a lot of people won't even be eligible. >> bill: why? >> i've talked to a lot of people about it. i think that part of it is just making it seem as hard as you can for the republicans.

like i know one republican congressman, i won't say his name but was joking to me that what are they going to add next? make them you know, get like whipped five times get a tattoo that says undocumented? it is just like everything possible that you can make -- to say these people are paying their dues to america. they're making it better. they have these big fines and have an amendment to let people go ahead and pay them over a period rather than paying it all at once which i think is a good idea because a lot of people work these low-wage jobs and they aren't going to be able to pay the fine. >> bill: make it -- okay, so make it -- they say as tough as they can in order to show republicans we're not just letting these people in. >> so you can't say it is amnesty. >> bill: all right. they're talk about, you're right. they have to pay a fine. they have to learn english right. take some proficiency test in english. they have to pay the back taxes,

right? >> which is hard to figure out there's going to be a lot of issues with that because you have to go back and be able to prove your work, get these old pay stubs kind of thing. >> bill: they have to have -- they can't have a criminal record which i understand. that certainly makes sense. and then they have to wait 13 years. even if they're already proficient in english up to date on their taxes can write a check for their fine right now right? they still have to wait 13 years. to me, it doesn't seem very welcoming. >> no. not like necessarily american. >> bill: right. >> the other thing lindsey graham always jokes he doesn't know if all of his relatives in south carolina could pass these tests in terms of like speaking english and knowing about america which is rude to his relatives but it is kind of true. it is hard to become a citizen. you have to take the naturalization test and you have to do all of this stuff.

even if you are doing it legally. so it is like just making it as hard as they can just so that they can save amnesty. they can get all of the triggers, get all of the border stuff in order so they can say that they're doing that first. >> bill: now as a reporter who covers congress, the 112th congress, the last two years went down on record as the least productive congress ever. is 113th have any prospect of being any better? >> if they pass this, that's a huge, significant piece of legislation. i think that that would be a good sign. my colleague amanda terkel wrote something yesterday that said that over -- might have been the last decade, congress had 20% of their bills passed or about -- naming post offices. it is sort of sad. like this is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body in

the world. and they're spending a lot of time just with these little kind of -- you have to name the post offices. but it is not that important. so hopefully they'll get more done in the 113th. i think this would be a big deal. >> bill: i saw that story about the post offices. i thought every post office already had a name. i think they're renaming. >> i think they do rename them. >> bill: some of the post offices must be on their fourth or fifth name by now. they name so many post offices. there aren't enough post offices to go around, right? i don't know. elise foley, better you than me covering these clowns every day. glad that you do and glad you came in here to tell us all about it. thank you. >> thank you. >> bill: i will be back with a parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney.

(vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? john fugelsang: if you believe in states rights but still support the drug war you must be high. cenk uygur: i think the number one thing viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. i think the audience gets that i actually mean it. michael shure: this show is of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. joy behar: you can say anything here. jerry springer: i spent a couple of hours with a hooker joy behar: your mistake was writing a check jerry springer: she never cashed it (vo) the day's events. four very unique points of view. tonight starting at 6 eastern.

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we have a big big hour and the 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. 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.

>> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: on this thursday, may 30, my parting shot for today well her political career was colorful and mercifully short as jimmy kimmel once said of current tv. she took off like a north korean rocket. yet the traffic thing the saddest thing about michele bachmann's big announcement yesterday is not that she's quitting so soon, it is that she lasted as long as she did. yes, she's wacky, she is a colossal embarrassment but remember bachmann won the aims straw poll in the 2012 republican primary the first presidential debate and for a time, she led the polls. her starring role in politics

says more about today's republican party than it does about michele bachmann. the republican party will never be taken seriously again as long as it continues putting forth clowns like bachmann, herman cain and sarah palin as candidates. of course, true to form and clueless to the end michele bachmann insists her decision not to run for re-election has nothing to do with the fact that she is behind in the polls and subject of an fbi investigation. but, of course, why should we expect michele bachmann to start telling the truth now when she's on her way out the door? folks, that's it. have a great thursday! come back and see us again tomorrow morning.

[♪ theme music ♪] >> stephanie: all right. current tv land, karl frisch coming up right out of the box. michael tomasky of "the daily beast." jacki schechner i forgot to call you back yesterday. >> yeah. >> stephanie: i'll just use our air time. sorry, i had a thing with a guy. it was awesome. >> what if it was super duper