there. is there a way to fight back? wolf-pack.com. join the fight today. "viewpoint" is next. >> john: thank you turk. let's get started for the only hour of news programming at 8:00 p.m. that matters. critics are calling the senate's immigration bill is amnesty. it's not. you're thinking of what ronald reagan did. we're going to talk about the bill with luis gutierrez. tomorrow is six months since the newtown killings and they're still lobbying our government for sensible, popular and mild gun control laws. rand paul calls them props. proving he's so soulless, he can't actually lose a bet with satan. and pope francis acknowledges there's a gay lobby in the vatican and a gay vestibule and quite a few really gay paintings. we'll discuss with the finest

panel. today is the birthday of u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon yates and the olsen twins. 44 years ago today the long and winding road hit number one. the last beatles song to top the u.s. charts and mccartney still plays it live at every show. this is "viewpoint." >> john: good evening, i'm john fuglesang. this is "viewpoint." thank you so much for joining us. progress continues in the senate toward passing a comprehensive immigration bill. a bill some house republicans seem determined to thwart. despite efforts in the chamber's judiciary committee to craft its own immigration bill. in the senate today an amendment that would have raised the bar for border security before undocumented immigrants could apply for citizenship was

voted down 57-43. and a poll out today shows many of the nay voters should have political cover for their choice. the poll looked at 29 states. blue, red and purple. and found bipartisan support for the bill that ranged from 61 to 78 first. and voters from both parties combined to back a pass by 62%. they came together finish a bill and pass it now. >> we have a unique opportunity that has been a long time coming. and isn't likely to come again any time soon if we do not seize it. to pass comprehensive immigration reform with bipartisan support. >> john: but while house republicans voted last week to block a presidential order stopping deportation for immigrants brought here as children, speaker john boehner says work on a house bill is going forward.

>> we're walking ourselves through a process over at the judiciary committee that i think will certainly yield a product that we expect to bring to the floor. we've got a bipartisan group that's had fruitful conversations and i think we're likely to see soon some of their work. >> john: for more, i'm thrilled to be joined by congressman luis gutierrez democrat of illinois, a member of the judiciary intelligence and finance committees and i wish you could find some way to spend your free time, congressman. >> it is a good place to be. i'm happy to be here. >> john: happy to have you. welcome to "viewpoint." let me start do you agree with john boehner? do you agree we're likely to see the judiciary committee's immigration bill soon? >> we're going to know a lot more. couple of things are going to happen. number one tomorrow i'm going to meet with my republican counterparts and we're going to try to give kind of the last

once over. make sure we have all our ts crossed and is dotted. so next week seems to be a good week. maybe we'll get a bill introduced. now, once the bill is introduced, you say voila you won't -- luis, what does that mean? they're working with our democratic counterparts. they need like 103. in order to get there i need boehner to embrace the bill. we need chairman of judiciary to embrace the bill and say this is our bill. otherwise, what we've done is spend a long time getting seven members of congress together. he has to figure out a way to get 218. >> john: sir, do you have any idea of where the judiciary committee's bill might differ from the bill that's going through the senate? >> i don't know. here's what i do believe. here's the positive -- my positive perspective on all of this long-term. we either adopt a bill next week

that's bipartisan and that is the one that's now taken to the judiciary committee much like was done in the senate. with the support of the minority and the majority leader and the kind of hovering close to but not too close from the white house. maybe that could happen. i think the republicans will have a series of bills they're going to introduce and call that comprehensive immigration reform. i hope that they don't choose the latter. i want a comprehensive bill that really is inclusive so we can go to a conference and then the conference, get a lot of work done. >> john: i don't have to tell you about the mixed signals we've heard coming out of congress on o this. speaker boehner is a fan of the bipartisan work in judiciary on the house version of the bill. you blogged in "the huffington post" today that the republicans on the committee you worked with have contributed positively to the process. >> they have. >> john: well, yeah, but also, i quote you that the g.o.p.'s anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric are metastasizing. so which one's going on here?

>> well, that's why i wrote it. because i think that what we have is a wonderful experience, much as the spokesperson for the president. the press secretary said look, we have a wonderful opportunity. it is a long time and coming and here's what i see. i've been to chicago with paul ryan. i've been to san antonio with judge carter. very conservative republican from texas. we've each spoken clearly and emphatically of the road to citizenship and for comprehensive. there are other republicans that have said the same. the question is it seems to me that what's creeping up on the republican party is the past. is the -- what i would consider discredited policies, right on immigration. which is enforcement only and to turn as we had a hearing today apparently they're going to mark up this bill. this bill would go even further than sensen brenner in creating a quasi police state.

making every police officer every sheriff and every immigration agent, instead of first ensuring the public safety and one and the other many times don't mix. look, really you don't have a choice there. legislation says if you don't go out and basically hunt down every undocumented worker in the country and bring them over to ice and it says that states can create their own laws. we just defeated in the courts, 2/3 were stricken by the court. the other part, i'm sure is going to -- the same fate is going to come to it. look, it is almost like sheriff arpaio three weeks ago didn't get -- found basically guilty of discriminating in court. in a federal court. that he was using racial profiling. i mean now we're canonizing arpaio by bringing back legislation that says everybody's gotta do what sheriff arpaio has been doing? i think it's wrong. so my hope is and i'm still

very -- i'm very hopeful and still very optimistic that we can get the train back on the tracks. >> john: i'm glad you brought up sheriff arpaio. i've met the man and been to his prison in maricopa county. that leads me to the topic of border security. isn't it the biggest hurdle to overcome to pass an immigration bill realizing, taking into account this president has had a record number of deportations. but is border security really just an excuse for some of our g.o.p. friends to try to kill this bill before it can reach the president's desk or sir is border security a legitimate debate here? >> looks i think border security is always a legitimate debate. how much more do you need to really say that the border is secure? john, you and i both know, we spent $18 billion a year on enforcement. enforcement. that's more money than we spend on the d.e.a., fbi atf secret service and all other federal

enforcement agencies. that's on immigration enforcement. how much more do you need? you're right. it's basically a net zero. people coming and going at the border. we have secured that border. but can i just say, i think you just need to understand this. the democrats said to the republicans in the house you can take all of the billions of dollars in fines basically that you're going to find. the undocumented immigrants for their access to ig -- illegalization program and we're going to put it on the border because that's the price that they have to pay democrats to get republicans to have a bipartisan proposal and sometimes there are things you just have to concede to your opponent in order to get the 60 votes in the senate and to get to 218 in the house that some things are going to have to happen. >> john: are you concerned that relying on the income that undocumented workers would have to pay in fines might be a caves counting your chickens before they've hatched? >> you know, i gotta tell you

there are things the senate bill is -- how would i say a bill i would vote for but it is still a flawed bill. but you want to know something? it is a bipartisan bill. maybe i misspeak. it is a bipartisan bill. look, can i just say, i want to make clear, there are things i'm going to accept in the house version that i would never propose. but you know, conversely, from ideological perspective from their view of the world, there are republicans that are saying, hey, luis, i'm swallowing some of that medicine you're providing to me and you know what? that's what it's going to take. in the end john, here's what i'm concerned about. 11 million undocumented workers who are exploited every day and the obama administration is ripping them at 1200 a day. today, tomorrow and every day. and you know, every day that goes by, that's hundreds of children left without a mom or a dad. so you know what i'm concerned about? i'm concerned about the families and you know what they're going to say to me? hey, luis, if they want $1,000,

$2,000 penalty and they want me to pay that, i'm going to tell you, john, they're going to pay it happily in order to have that kind of -- how would i say that sense of safety and security that they're going to have that they're going to be able to raise their kids. you have to visit with the families that have lost -- i met with a lot of little girls and little boys and wives in the last week. they're going to have a terrible father's day. i'm going to have a great one and they're going to have a terrible because they won't be able to embrace their dad. their dad will be thousands of miles away. it is going to be terrible for them. we have to heal those families. so look, there is a price we have to pay if republicans come to me and say this is what i believe is necessary and it doesn't violate core values of who you are. then we're just going to have to pay it. but in the end i will assure you, even given thousands of dollars in penalties that will be assessed, the line will be long. it will be happy and joyful.

there will be millions of people who are going to be happy and content and we're going to set them aside from deportations and we're going to allow them to protect themselves as american workers. and that has a value that i don't know you can put a price tag on. >> john: congressman, i think you just succeeded in talking me off a ledge. although the wild card, as you know, is still going to be the tea party and how willing they are to have this if this doesn't affect them on a state level. outgoing fbi director mueller said snowden's leaks caused harm to our nation and our security. meanwhile, senators wyden and udall who both serve on the senate intelligence committee say they haven't seen any evidence those programs produced any uniquely vallable intelligence. sir, they can't both be right. where do you come down? >> i'm a with senator udall and wyden on that one. i can't share with you the

specific information in the briefings i've received as a member of the intelligence committee. i do think however one thing that we can say is you know, the methods we use and the tactics we use in order to find out what the terrorists are attempting to do and if you tell the terrorists enough times what it is, our methods are and how we use them, i think it becomes more difficult to protect america and in that sense, there is a risk to putting the information out there. >> john: absolutely. do you, as a congressman feel you and your colleagues are adequately briefed in these sessions? and that the language has been explained in such a way it is transparent enough to your satisfaction? >> i have to tell you that i feel that we are better briefed better informed, more cognizant like a light bulb went off right? we're doing our work but i mean, this has brought other attention so i'm asking more questions and can i say we're getting more

answer and a fuller explanation. i'm feeling pretty cfort that we're getting a better understanding but to say that all 435 members understood everything that was going on, i think that that's just not true. we are beginning to understand the full extent and i think if nothing else, you know what is known -- revelations tell us, we need to have another conversation about the patriot act. we need to have another conversation about the fisa courts and how they operate because if what are you doing is amassing information you're getting everybody who calls everybody and every phone switch and everybody who's called everybody, you know, that's one thing. there's no names address and addresses. but how do we know? do you really trust the next president's going to do it that way? do you think there is a slippery slope? today it's that way and tomorrow they'll ask for your verizon at&t or sprint bill? >> john: i don't think they're going to ask.

>> you got it. you get my point. i get yours. tomorrow, they're not going to get -- they're just going to have an order. they do basically an order. we've read the newspapers, i'm not telling you anything -- the newspapers tell you and they have agreed that these are% orders for every bit of information that telephone company has. >> john: finally sir you put out a statement today saying you cut ties with your former chief of staff who worked in your congressional office while also working as a lobbyist in chicago including for some firms that did receive your assistance. can you explain why you let him go or why his employment reflected any conflict of interest? >> if i have to have a lobbyist in my office to help hungry people get food, then shame on me. that was one of his clients. there was no relationship between our office and the work that he did. but here's what i think. i think we have to hold ourselves to a standard that says here's the letter of the

law. the government affairs committee approves, not once, not twice. they've been approved six times. they told us perfectly good, the contract that you have with them, you guys, but you know what? i just think that doug scofield and i, he does a wonderful job for our office. i have important issues i need to attend to. it is not only the letter of the law which we obviously met at every step. i think it is also to tell the american public that you're completely transparent and that even if there is an inkling that something is wrong why not fix that? we can get other people to train. it's going to hurt us because we have a great degree of love and respect for doug scofield. we're going to miss him. he and i are going to continue to collaborate politically. he just isn't going to be a member of our staff. that's a decision that doug and i made together. he's going to be missed by my staff. but i think in the end, you can't just say hey somebody brought something up, you may

not like the manner in which they brought it up. yes, he is a lobbyist, not for the federal government. he has lobbying clients and sometimes they intermix. you know what? i'm going to see them all this weekend. he's still going tock my dear friend and we'll continue to collaborate together. we just won't do it into my office. >> john: luis gutierrez always a pleasure. thank you for coming on "viewpoint." >> appreciate it. >> john: up next, we'll be talking about gun law reform. that's right. it could still happen. documentaries that are real, gripping, current.

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?

and you weren't covered. oh, and your car is a time machine. [ beeping ] ♪ ♪ would you go back to when you got that less than amazing policy and go with esurance instead? well, they do have tools like coverage counselor to help you choose the coverage that fits you. it's like insurance from the future. actually, more like insurance for the modern world. thank you! esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. cenk off air alright in 15 minutes we're going to do the 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! >> john: welcome back to "viewpoint." i'm john fuglesang. also in washington this week, parents and family members of the victims of the sandy hook school shooting have been on capitol hill trying to reignite support for tougher gun laws. tomorrow marks the six month anniversary of the tragic shooting that killed 20 students and six adults in newtown, connecticut. there was some momentum on the issue but in april the senate

failed to pass a bipartisan proposal to expand background checks for gun buyers despite 90% approval for the bill. although most people saw that as a serious blow, president obama described it as only the first step to the very important fight. >> obama: i see this as just round one. i believe we're going to be able to get this done. sooner or later we're going to get this right. the memories of these children demand it. and so do the american people. >> john: joining us now is jennifer fiore, vice president of moms demand action for gun sense in america. miss fiore, what a pleasure to have you with us tonight. welcome to "viewpoint." >> thank you for having me, john. >> john: as you know, there is a lot happening in d.c. this week, coinciding with the six-month anniversary of sandy hook. could you tell me about some of what's going on? >> sure. i was on the hill today. we were participating with the newtown action alliance and the sandy hook families in a press conference with senate and house leadership and many of the champions in congress pressuring

the rest of the congress to kind of get it together and move on some legislation again. and also there was a really wonderful moment where several hundred people formed a green human ribbon of remembrance on the lawn in front of the capitol steps. i was part of that with a number of folks from newtown and from around the d.c. area and it it was a really wonderful moment to be participating in. >> john: well, i must say, that activism is as heartening as the actions of the nra and gun owners has been infuriating. it has been six months since the shooting. the issue of gun control has been in the news. people are definitely talking about it. aver half a year, has anything actually changed? >> i think a lot has changed. i think the first senate vote was a real eye-opener for not only the american public who realized that congress could not be trusted to make a common sense judgment on something that seemed logical and easy and a little baby step. but that when the american public responded with such

vitriol against the senate, the congress took notice. you know it is hard, i think as a member of congress to not notice your poll numbers drop spectacularly low after you take a vote against 90% of your constituents as they did for senator ayotte in new hampshire and senator flake in arizona and also senator pryer. so, it is really remarkable thing to see that the american public stood up and said we're not going to stand for this any longer. and that i think politicians in congress recognize that and are looking for a way out. >> john: as a member of moms demand action, who do you place the blame on for that bill failing in the senate to even come to a vote? >> oh, i absolutely place the blame on the gun lobby. i think it is the weakness of certain members of congress who feel that they -- they will be persecuted in some way that is much stronger by the gun lobby than they would be by their

voters. they don't seem to realize the gun lobby doesn't have the power of electoral politics that it used to. >> john: i'm sorry. you really don't think so? you don't think they used to have the power they used to? >> no, they lost the majority of the elections of the politicians they backed in the last election. the only one who won was jeff flake of arizona. interesting that he voted against the background checks, of course. >> john: after promising an aurora parent that he would. >> absolutely. absolutely. after promising that he would. and going against his dear friends, gaby giffords and mark kelly. so it is a little startling to see him do that. maybe not when you think about what's going on in the back rooms of washington on a routine basis. i don't think that the nra has the real power of electoral politics that it used to. i think the grass roots are rising up and we'll take a look at what happens in the midterm elections. we'll see that women voters who haven't necessarily been

participating in a mass in midterm elections will start voting. they'll be voting with this in mind. >> john: i think that strange sensation i'm feeling is encouragement on this issue. you've actually spoken with vice president joe bide been this issue. what did he say? >> he was very encouraging. he encouraged moms demand action and grassroots activists to continue the momentum. with the -- i encouraged him to do the same thing. i said, you know, sir please keep it up on your end and we'll keep it up on our end. we're a nonpartisan organization but we'll look to our champions in congress or the white house and find some pathway to real reform. so, i was very encouraged by the vice president's comments. and i think the white house is absolutely going to keep the momentum up on this. i look forward to, you know, the next phase of this. >> john: if you could have your way, what would you want to see happen most with gun control? what's your number one wish?

>> well, obviously i would like to have the whole kit and ca caboodle of universal background checks and assault weapon ban and ban on high-capacity magazines and you know, a lot of the work that helps protect women in abusive relationships would be wonderful. but we're looking at baby steps because the congress needs to be convinced that once they take the baby steps that they will not be persecuted by the voters in any significant way. in fact, i think they'll see if they don't take the baby steps they will be persecuted. >> john: what's it going to take to get gun control legislation passed? >> it is about the people power. it is all about people at home picking up the phone and calling their members of congress and not just today or once every now and again. it is on a routine basis because that's what the gun lobby activists do. they call five to ten times more often than we do because we're busy people and it is not

something at the top of mind for us. it probably has to become that. in order for this to change. what we hear routinely from friendly members of congress who want to see this legislation change and even unfriendly ones who use it as a defense is that the minority of gun rights supporters are extremely vocal. they call the offices. they e-mail on a routine basis. we can't leave it to them anymore. >> john: jennifer fiore of vice president at moms demand action for gun sense in america. thank you so much for joining us and thank you for all of your hard work at saving american lives. >> thank you. >> john: have a great evening. don't go away. up next, we'll be talking about the pride of nevada. of course, i mean bernie. (vo) sharp tongue. >>excuse me? (vo) quick wit. >> and yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. (vo) and above all, opinion and attitude. >> really?! this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from

their [bleep]. >> you know what those people are like. >> what could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush? >> my producer just coughed up a hairball. >>sorry. >>just be grateful current tv doesn't come in "smell-o-vision" >> oh come on! the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo)only on current tv. hi, i'm terry and i have diabetic nerve pain. it's hard to describe, because you have a numbness, but yet you have the pain like thousands of needles sticking in your foot. it was progressively getting worse, and at that point i knew i had to do something. once i started taking the lyrica the pain started subsiding. [ male announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain.

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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: on tonight's episode of wtf nevada, we honor governor brian sandoval. for signing a bill into law that streamlines the permitting process for the bernie manifest value and other events on federal land. now, most of the burning man attendees affected by the law have yet to comment because they're still tripping their faces off last year's burning man but it gives new counties to opt out the state permitting requirements for events that are held on federal land. of course, many of the folks who go to burning man tend to wander off federal property to private property and they're allowed to kok their shotguns and yell get off my land. this is known as the can cantankerous old hoot amendment.

ray allen called this law a huge victory for the festival. in fact, he's in a state of ecstasy about it. when he comes down from the ecstasy, he will be happy about it. rollin', rollin' rollin'. wtf, nevada. why are you making it easier for people to come to your state and joyously celebrate a festival in the middle of the desert? some people have been known to feel so exuberantly alive and inspired, it never occurs to flush away their life savings in a soul crushing casino. the burning manifest value you hold every year could hurt the degeneral rat gambling manifest value you all hold every day. heard the president say the other night? is this personal or is it political? a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care

about them, right? vo: the war room monday to thursday at 6 eastern

>> john: your dreams were your ticket out. there hasn't been a republican lawmaker making an incredibly stupid and insensitive remark about women's reproductive issues in a week or two so g.o.p. congressman trent franks filled the void with remarks that, in terms of scientific knowledge, barely rose above the

level of cave paintings. >> you know, the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low but when you make that exception, there's usually a requirement to report the rape within 48 hours. and in this case, that's impossible because this is in the sixth month of gestation. >> john: joining me to discuss this and other verbal atrocities of the day are my brilliant panel of nonexperts. dean obeidallah, creator of thedeanreport.com. elaineelayne boosler founder of the animal rescue group tailsofjoy.net and you're tv's frank. frank conniff. icon of mystery theatre 3,000. let me start with you. why don't republicans get it about the abortion issue? politically, it is a loser for them. it is a big fundraiser. are they clueless to winning elections on this issue?

>> what's fascinating and i think the people doesn't know this is when they're getting this information from. hasn't anyone thought to ask when they say i read a doctor said that you can't get pregnant during rape. yes, a doctor said. his name was fred mech lenberg in 1972 and anti-choice group published a book that he had a long essay in and he proposed that women can't get pregnant during rape because of the trauma going on. >> john: 40 years later. >> here's the most important thing. america needs to know what their legislators are basing their science on. do you know where mech mecklenburg got the information from? it was nazi experiments in the concentration camps during the war performed on jewish women prisoners about ovulation. so in 2013 in the united states of america we're having legislation based on nazi science that was done in the '40s. >> john: if you're just tuning

in pro-life viewers, elayne boosler called you all nazis. >> god bless her for that. >> john: todd aiken talked about how the female body has a way of shutting that done. >> goat that from the nazi experiments. not only are they not right but until we have two or three more nazi periods to redo the experiments, i don't think it should be used as science. >> what you're saying, really i have to say put the nazis in a bad light. >> it changes everything. >> john: dean, did the republicans have to implode before they get the message? it is one thing to sincerely be opposed to abortion for moral reasons. it is another thing to say things like this that send women running away from you at the ballot box. >> in defense of trent franks, he was probably talking about men raping each other. chance of pregnancy is very low. >> that was another nazi experiment. >> i think it would be a fantasy of the rape wounds that they go

to. i think that -- the fact that we're calling out the republicans to stop doing this is wrong. we should be encouraging them to push themselves over the cliff. there was a wig party presidents elected from it. there was a democrat and republican party at some point. parties fade in america due to internal fissures. either the mainstream part is going to stand up and not be defined by the crazies or go along for the ride and fall off the cliff and another party will emerge. >> john: speak of wrecking the republican party, let's talk about george w. bush. >> can i just add one little thing before we go there. what's fascinating -- you have to know this. there are 26 states where there is a waiting period before you can get an abortion. the same 26 states have no waiting period for a gun which you can walk in and buy without waiting and shoot 30 actually born children. >> john: yes but they need to have the waiting period on abortion because they care about life. >> the amount of information you're bringing here tells me you hate america.

>> john: indeed. i want to give you something republicans can take heart in. for the first time since 2005, george w. bush's popularity ratings are higher than his unpopularity ratings proving that the further he gets away, the more we like him. on facebook, i asked if anyone was surprised by this. and on twitter miss rachel wrote, americans favor george w. bush because he is no longer being unproductive in the oval office but at home. actually rachel, i thought w was productive. two wars, bankrupting the country, guy's no slacker but i put it to you. does absence make the heart grow fonder? frank? if he stays away long enough, will you grow to love w.? >> if he stays away, absolutely. but i think, you know, popularity is a weird thing in america. don't forget the twilight movies are really popular too. so you know, i don't put a lot of faith in that. >> john: dean, does it have anything to do with obama fatigue? >> i feel the legalization of pot in certain states.

i think yes. >> john: the fact that we're going through tough times. they're throwing the scandals at the president. most of them fake. but does that make people long for the simpler day? >> i'm not sure of simper will. i think the economy is still challenged. 7.6% unemployment. it is still not down to where it was before the recession. bush had a much more higher employment rate going on. keep in mind, the former presidents right now have approval ratings in the 60 percentile. but look at carter did not. when he left office, it was as low as bush. in time, i think -- >> same thing with harry truman. >> john: reagan had low numbers. >> nazis couldn't pull it off. >> john: shocking. >> right down there. >> john: they changed their name a few times. elaine, is bush's place in history secure?

>> all it tells me that the approval rating is better is that people are so busy still trying to find jobs and trying to earn a living and not get foreclosed on and feed their families so they're not paying that much attention. when you throw a question like this at them, they remember some things got down and that's because democrats are willing to work with republicans. nothing gets done now. >> john: was there anything positive about george bush's presidency? frank? >> it ended. >> john: elayne boosler? >> i second that. >> an abundance of material as a comedian. >> john: it is very good for the manufacturer of prosthetic limbs. how will this affect the value of george bush's paintings frank? >> i'm more interested than ever. i'm going to go to his booth at comic-con for sure. >> i will not take down my red skelton clown painting. >> john: don't go away. our panel of nonexperts is staying right here because it's pouring outside in new york. >> that's right.

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!

>> john: it was revealed in a private conversation, pope francis i said that a "gay lobby" exists within the vatican. joining us now to discuss this is dean obeidallah, elayne boosler and frank conniff 0% gay. we've known about gay priests or as they're called, priests. [ laughter ] the news that this pope is acknowledging something that's been common knowledge for many

decades. >> i thought the gay lobby was a bar. come on. let's be honest. the vatican is its own sovereign state. you've seen the godfather ii. why should there not be lobbies of different factions within the papal structure is beyond me. pushing for their own agenda. >> john: frank you're an expert on the vatican. when the pope says gay lobby does he mean priests work on behalf of gay interests because there have been gay priests working on gay interest or do they happen to be gay? >> unfortunately, it is not gay priests working on behalf gay interest. it is -- i think traditionally the catholic church has been a place for gay people to go hide, you know. and find a place in society where, you know, ideally, they could do good work without being judged. in many cases, ended up doing horrible things. so i think the idea of openly gay priests is that we're a long

way away from that. >> john: we had one on this show two weeks ago. >> he's still a priest? >> john: he's still a priest. more and more priests, again the celibacy law stands. there's no rule against being a gay priest, just an actively gay priest. you're allowed to be as god made you, just don't enjoy it. >> how can you be if they don't accept their followers to be gay? >> john: because they've been brainwashed to think it is sinful despite the fact the guy they named their religion after never said a thing about it. this pope said encouraging things on gay people in the past. back in argentina during the marriage equality debate, he came out in favor of civil unions. and yet he's the pope of the catholic church. elayne boosler it is possible to be more conflicted as a human? >> probably not. they seem to reverse everything that he says. i mean he will make statements when they say that's not what he meant. i'm sure this is coming again. he actually sneezed and it

sounded like that. >> john: like there is another more senior pope calling the scenes. >> it is the god couple. >> who's the slobby one? not the gay guy. >> john: et say that atheists have a place in the kingdom of heaven. >> he always has the excuse that they always have so much wine around. he drank a lot of sacrificial wine and said things that he later regretted. >> he also said that good works will get you into heaven which we thought was true. >> john: to have a closet progressive priest. jesus was -- let's be honest, biggest progressive in history or literature. >> if you're progressive, the catholic church is not the place that you're going to go, you know. >> can you try change it from within? different groups change from within. it takes time. >> john: my parentseses disagree with the pope on everything.

we're staying here because we're not going to let -- you didn't leave america when bush was elected. >> i don't get that to tell you the truth. >> john: you didn't leave america when george bush was elected. >> i grew up in the catholic -- i grew up catholic. the important thing we have to remember is it is a horrible, horrible cult. is the point i want to make. >> in the fundamentalist of every religion is a cult. >> john: exactly. we've had sister simone on the show. it would be great to see religious figures who are famous for something other than wagging fingers at you. >> i like the fact that this pope -- i think because he wasn't in the running and wasn't on the inside track for all of it it came to him and he went oh i guess i'll go pack. let me get the bus. >> i hear people saying that he's great but -- i kind of feel you don't get to be head of a criminal organization without being kind of a bad person.

>> john: again keep in mind, it seems they may have picked this guy because he was such an outsider and he is being very vocal about wanting to reform the vatican system which is their biggest criminal enterprise. they were laundering money for the -- dean, as a muslim, do these -- >> there is a muslim lobby within the vatican. >> john: this pope has walked back a lot of the anti-muslims. do these kind of debates exist? >> there's no hierarchy like that. there's no pope within the muslim faith. there are different clerics different guys issues things inconsistent with each other. people advocating things inconsistent who are viewed as senior leadership and other view them as extremists. within our group, there is no hierarchy and no structure. on some level i wish there was because at least you could say this person came out and said someone does something it is part of our faith. it is a horrible person. you have a guy saying ridiculous

things and it is up on the news. >> can you un-- someone on facebook? [ laughter ] >> john: elayne boosler wins with that. the catholic church, elaine, have a future or will the vatican eventually be some fringe? >> does it have a funeral? they're the richest organization in the world next to england. >> john: they're becoming a thirled world church. >> they're not. that's why they have a hispanic leader. they're reaching out and they're recruiting in countries that are maybe not white countries but they will be huge and they'll keep going. that's who's having the babies and joining them. if there is any chance for any kind of reform to not make people hate each other more which is what they do with gays, this priest can speak up. that would be the most amazing thing in world to stop people killing people in the street because of their sexuality. if you didn't know the lobby was gay, you never paid to get in. my goodness, there's so much

gold. >> john: you haven't looked at all of the michelangelo paintings. >> look behind the candelabra next time you're in. >> john: behind the tabernacle. we'll be hearing that from the pope in his new show with scott thorson. i try to help the lovelord, the newly single rupert murdoch. 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: welcome back to "viewpoint." rupert murdoch, head of news corp. is divorcing the lovely miss gold digger. after a night of blackout drinking what celebrity would you be most more fight to wake up beside? dean obeidallah? >> anthony weiner. >> john: good answer. why is that? >> because i'm not gay and i don't think he would have enjoyed it either. >> john: mutual morer for yourself and mr. weiner. >> come back to me. i have to see what he's having. >> john: angelina jolie

because obviously she would be just into me for my body and not my mind. >> john: elaine? >> i don't know. you dated celebrities. >> anyone i ever dated then. >> john: can we get a name? >> no. >> john: you're not fun. >> it blind-sided me. i would love to wake up next to a 100-year-old very rich man with a heart condition and i would go hon! >> john: that's what elaine looks for in a relationship. >> john: this morning, i was trying to imagine something funnier than a rupert murdoch fox news anchor complaining that someone else was listening in on your calls. but then came the news that mr. murdoch, the single biggest media cheerleader for the iraq war is splitting with his wife, wendy although some would say mrs. mur dock has been liberated. but now, the man who became a u.s. citizen just by a tv network is divorcing for the third time. that's right ladies. he's single! welcome to the bachelor

82-year-old right wing aussie billionaire edition. rupert murdoch tireless worker, bold thinker brilliant businessman, prolific phone hacker and creator of the cable news network satan use as porn. he's back on the market. he's a spry 82 with $11 billion owns news corp. collins publishing 50% of the national rugby league and seven houses but he's saving up. he's a pisces, responsible for the worldwide tabloidification of mainstream news and he can afford to keep one lucky lady's brain alive in a technologically advanced preservation jar next to his own for centuries of disembodied marital bliss. his turn johns include destroying print unions, losing millions at the "new york post" every year just so he can still keep a right wing media outlet going in the capital and making big bucks off a fair and balanced news network that's actually so unbalanced it counts as cubist art.

he's also the man behind the most expensive divorce in history. he liked wendy so much, he spent over $1 billion to get away from wife number two. he's also behind the biggest phone hacking scandal in history. your new boyfriend has hacked the telephones of murdered children's families, even the royal family all in the noble pursuit of keeping print media titillating for british people. it got so ugly that hugh grant came off as the good guy. rup managed to apologize for wrongdoing while denying any responsibility for wrongdoing, he apologized for. girls, who doesn't love a guy who can multitask? what's that? you say you never heard of the phone hacking scandal? you must already be a viewer of fox news! the number one news channel for american working class people who think the rich deserve another tax cut. this sexy single dude personally created the news channel beloved by futile lords and the surfs that love them whether it is sean hannity calling obama an

evil socialist mastermind or bill o'reilly calling obama an incompetent in over his mind, this guy has something for each hemisphere of your mind. will you get a front row seat to see rich people pay fox people to watch middle class people blame poor people. the last time he was single between wife number two and three, it only lasted for 17 days. what a romantic and how great he met the third one that fast. so single ladies, act now! we should point out that rupert is also responsible for lots of great movies including the simpsons and he's got quite a few kids. that's right a single dad. on a ale still find time for you. he had no problem telling his son, james you're on your own. he's still not big plans. he looks forward to splitting news corp. into one for media and one devoted to beating the guy who talked him into spending $1 billion on myspace. assume the staff is listening. the next time he says i want to tap that, he could be talking

about you. that's our show. thanks to my panel the great dean obeidallah, elayne boosler and frank conniff. we'll see you here next week. this is current tv. we still exist. good night mom. >> joy: tonight kanye west denies rumors that he cheated on kim kardashian and he says that the claim is made by some woman who is blatantly seeking publicity. salma hayek said she could be a lot more beautiful but she doesn't try. join the club, sister. collin quinn drops by to discuss his scene stealing work on the hbo series "girls." those are his words not mine. all of that and more next on "say anything."