[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> michael: coming up, the honorable robert menendez senior senator from the great state of new jersey, and a lot more. i'm michael shure and you are in "the war room." >> michael: the immigration debate is back, and this time all of the action is in the house. house republicans will meet tomorrow to talk about their version of an immigration reform bill. this comes after the senate led by the so-called gang of eight was able to pass an immigration bill last month despite intense

in-fighting on the republican side. 58-32 with 14 g.o.p. senators voting for the comprehensive bill, but it looks like house republicans will not be able to find middle ground. john boehner saying he won't even look at the senate bill. >> the house will not be age to take up and. vote on what the senate passes. we'll do our own bill through regular order and there will be legislation that will reflect the will of our majority. immigration reform has to be grounded in real border security. >> michael: still stuck in the past is the speaker of the house. some republicans though, do seem to understand that not passing an immigration bill is political suicide, and they're urging other conservatives to compromise. the conservative action network is now running an ad campaign highlighting their own horse in the race, stricter border

control. even if they do pass a watered down version of the senate bill, president obama has promised to veto any legislation that does not include a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the united states. let'slet's go to one of the most important voices on immigration in the country that is senator menendez. he comes to us from washington, d.c. senator welcome in "the war room." >> good to be with you michael. >> john: senator menendez, let's assume that the house rejects the senate bill outright. what happens if nothing passes? >> well, if the house doesn't pass anything at all then all of the benefits of immigration reform which the overwhelming number of americans want to see happen in poll after poll in 70% of all americans want to see immigration reform, and the congressional budget office i think made a compelling case for

immigration reform. it said that we would have the gross domestic product grow in the first ten years. 5.5% in the second year. and jobs would be created each year for the next ten years that's 1.2 million jobs. over 20 years we would reduce the deficit by nearly 1 trillion-dollar. so these are all compelling economic reasons for reform as well as securing the country as well as ultimately providing a pathway to earn citizenship so people can fully participate in society, pay their taxes and earn their way towards the american citizenship which is our history as a country. >> michael: in short it just seems that the republicans--that's everything--everything you just said is everything that they have allegedly wanted, yet they're still not happy with this bill.

if they don't find compromise, i can't help but think like many americans, that they're shooting themselves in the foot, and ruining their own political career. i'm almost afraid to share this information with them because they might figure it out. >> well, you know, if i were speaking strictly politically i would agree with you but i really do want to see for the nation comprehensive reform passed. but you're right in your calculous. to win the white house again to win the presidency, increasingly congressional districts are more diverse as well as who supported this effort in the senate, and is still supporting it. evangelicals business, high

high-tech communities agricultureal growers labor they're all behind the senate bill. to say that we'll do nothing and to say that they reject the senate bill outright, the real question here is speaker boehner and other republicans in the house are going to permit a pathway to citizenship as far as any version they come up with. that's the critical question at the end of the day. >> michael: and that's the critical question for president obama. how much of this vote is motivated by personal careers, and how much is motivated by actually seeking progress. >> i believe if they do the politicalpolitical calculous right, they would find voices. there are some of the most

anti-immigrant voices in the nation can be heard in the house of representatives and unfortunately in the republican party, but i believe they are the minority of voices. i believe if speaker boehner permits the democrats which overwhelmingly support immigration reform, and to the extent that there is a block of republicans if given their opportunity to vote, there would be more than enough votes to pass the senate bill or any similar version. the question is are we going to unshackle the opportunity to positively affect the economy of the country grow the country's gross domestic product create jobs increase prosperity, and take those dreamers to help fuel our competitiveness globally. greater security in our country and at the same time preserve our history the greatest experiment in the history of mankind which is the diversity

of the country that exists today. that's what the republicans have to decide on. >> michael: and it's an experiment that clearly thus far worked. senator, i want to switch gears with you. i want to talk about egypt. the situation is still volatile. egypt receives $1.5 billion in aid. you recommended that the government pull those funds. why? >> what i said is pause to use our funds in are a way that ultimately have us see the result that we want. what do we want to see? we want to see a quick transition to a civilian government. we want to see an inclusive civilian government in egypt because egypt's challenges cannot be overcome by simply one element of egyptian society ruling in an absolute. there are deep-seeded economic

issues in egypt. so my view is use the leverage that we have, this $1.4 billion to insure that we have the transition and inclusiveness that we want to see to create stability in egypt which is in our national security interest, and at the same time in the interest of the region. >> michael: how do we use that influence? how do we do what you just said? what role do we take? >> we have to send a clear message to the egyptian military. look, you say you want to work towards an transition. we have to insure that you do so. failure to do so would cut off aid to you. secondly, we have to say to the egyptian society that we will be supportive of egypt, not only in terms of the economic assistance that we give to the country but in the international role we play to help egypt move forward.

but that can only come if you have an all-inclusive egypt. if you can do that we can create a stability that is good for egypt, that is good for the ally whyallies that are in the region, we are concerned about the sinai and concerned about the security in sinai we're concerned about attacks against israel. we're concerned about the suez canal. these are all national security issues for the usa as well. >> michael: i want to move to another subject of international intrigue, of course, globe trotter nsa leaguer edward snowden was granted asylum in venezuela. you said that any country that

accepts snowden is taking a step against the u.s. how should we treat snowden. >> snowden should come back to the united states, which is the model of justice in the world submit to his trial and make his case. i don't think he's a hero. what he has done is undermine the national security of the united states, which we'll see as the days roll on, and at the end of the day its interesting to me that he's seeking refuge in countries that are far from either a free press or a free society and that an at utah cratic at the end of the day. autocratic at the end of the

day. he could still have information that would further undermine the security of the united states. so you're accepting the undermining of the security of the united states. i think if a country should make that choice, they should know that's the way we would look at it. >> michael: in fairness, he feels he's facing prosecution here. i believe that's what is keeping him from coming back here. i want to ask you a wonky question senator. i know you don't want to get on a horse in the senate race to fill the seat next to yours but what has it been to research the race of frank lautenberg. as the senator as the senior senator, how do you approach this race? who goes into your calculous. >> we're lucky in new jersey we

have a deep bench. the four people running on the democratic side in the senate, each one of them would be an exemplary senator. they would an good partner to work on behalf of new jersey. this is an opportunity for our party back at home to seek from the candidates what their views are, and who is going to take on the mantle that senator lautenberg so valiantly left when he was in the senate. he was a tremendous voice for new jersey. his motto was i put new jersey first. i think the person who wants to succeed him would be well-advised to make their case to new jersians about how they would make new jersey first, what their vision is and that person that is going to be a low turnout. this is august, a special election. nobody else is running at that

time. they're going to have to make a compelling case, and i think some of the most progressive elements of the party are the one who is will turn out on election day. >> michael: no one else is running because chris christie wanted it that way. senator bob menendez on behalf of all of us and our producer from nutley, new jersey, we thank you. >> great community, nutley. >> michael: all right. two of our favorite political strategists join us right here of a the break. and then two views of america. looking at the cities, both both prospering, those in peril and tries to find out why. and a grand breaking documentary following two american families over 20 years. it's "the war room." we'll be right back.

>> michael: we've all heard the

former new jersey democratic governor eliot spitzer and former representative anthony weiner is running again. eliot spitzer wants to be comptroller, and anthony weiner wants to be mayor of new york. they have two things in common, both have had scandals, and both are straight white men. although they both resigned they're campaigning yet again for political office. weiner seems to be doing quite well for himself. he's five points ahead of christine quinn. have people simply gotten over weiner and spitzer's scandals, and does the fact that they're straight white men have anything to do with the public's

forgiveness. we have ke llielli and donnie fowler. kelli i'll start with you. in a recent article you wrote about the different standards the public sets for politicians carding to race and standard. hillary clinton is one. would she have been as successful if they got into the same trouble? >> no woman would have recovered from her husband's scandal. look at monica lewinsky she never recovered. and there are countless examples. kristin davis is running for city comptroller as well.

i'm referring not to an actress but what was she convicted of? she was convicted of being the madam that run the brothel that that a candidate was accused of patronizing, and that was eliot spitzer. she's knowledgeable, she has an interesting libertarian sensibility, but the reason why she's a laughing stock is because she's a woman involved in a sex scandal. >> michael: i see the point you're making, but the most specific point is monica lewinsky. when eliot spitzer decided to run, he asks his family if he's going to run. he doesn't ask ashley dupree who is trying to live a private life i don't say this with any

authority, but that point is most interesting. the point about kristin davis eliot spitzer has a record of financial know-how both as governor and as a businessman. i sort of think-- >> if that is qualifition, can you explain our last president then? >> michael: i'm talking about the job of comptroller. there are so many reasons why i can't explain it. >> i'm going push back because if you watch kristin davis in the debates when she ran for governor, one of the compelling arguments she made she was one the only people on the state who could balance the budget because they are business is successful. >> michael: she ran an illegal business that she--i mean, listen, i understand why we make fun of t and i know donnie fowler does, taking nothing away from how bright she must be, what a goodbyes woman she is. >> and the fact that she went to prison and he didn't. she went to prison, he didn't. he gets to now run for office,

and she gets to be kind of a joke. that's the pattern. the other example i made i know you read the piece but for your audience i wrote with mitch daniel and his wife. they were afraid to run because of her role of a potential sex scandal. however, we would have no congress, senators or certain presidents in history if everyone was worried about the scrutiny. there is a double standard in this country. >> michael: what about these scandals? what has happened to scandal. sex scandal. gary hart had stopped running for president, but now you have sanford in your home state of south carolina. you have weiner, spitzer david vitter who ran virtually unopposed. >> 25 years ago we had a nominee for the nominee of the supreme court who admitted he smoked

pot. yes, standards are changed we're intolerant to human frailty, and that may be a good thing. >> michael: there will be a whole generation-- >> do you really want to be a puritan country again? >> i agree with him, but i throw something out there. you know after my piece ran i am in the double standard, not just in terms of gender but sexual orientation. the reason why mcgreevey was run out of the governor office is not because of the affair but because he admitted to being gay because of the affair. i think if barack obama were caught in a lewinsky type of situation, he would not go on to run the type of life he had. look at qualitiy kilpatrick in detroit. he had an affair, he tried to cover it up.

>> he broke his--his demise, especially his time in prison was primarily because of wrong doings that had nothing to do with the sex scandal. >> but how did the dominoes start falling? i'm not being funny. how did the dominoes start falling for that scandal. >> he was using properties in illegal fashion. it doesn't matter which came first. which problems came first. the reason he went to jail is not because of his fair. >> lying and committing perjury. i'm sorry, i think there is a fair comparison. >> michael: if you're going to use the hypothetical about barack obama, which is clearly hypothetical. >> absolutely. >> michael: but had bill clinton also bilked the government, i'm

not saying that's cha what kilpatrick did but it would have changed everything. we learned that jack hunter, one of rand paul's aids was a neo-neo-confederate. what is with the stars and bars and everything. >> red white and blue. >> michael: it is. >> look, this is a problem when you get in bed with the right wing. because not all but a lot of right wing is still driven by antiquated notions of race and successsecessionism in the south. what does it say about senator paul from kentucky. he's a right wing nut that we thought he was, and b he has butt judgment in people who are working for him. >> michael: why do they flock to

paul. ron paul was different than rand paul. ex-a texas congressman, but these types of neo-confederate politicians went to rand paul as well. >> the conservative party in this country is the republican party. the south is conservative. secessionism is still a conservative point of view. when you want to make social change, and you're a conservative activist you go to the republican party. that's what this guy did. he was a crazy right-wing radio talk show host in south carolina. he attached himself to a crazy right wing senator rand paul. >> michael: who is an optometries. >> if you want to make change you have to get involved in politics. >> michael: you see these people going to these guys. >> here is the lesson. if everybody else stays out of

politics, all it there will be left are the nuts. it's not oh, my god we got to get out there and outnumber these people. >> michael: that should be the call to action, keli. >> this is not the first time. mickey hayley just went through 2058through this. it's like the league of the south, they're not racist, they just think that blacks are inferior. we don't hate blacks, we just know they're genetically inferior. we don't hate jewish people, we just don't want them around our children. ii would love to live in a country where i feel like i have options as a voter. it's not fair that one party has the monopoly on the interest of

minority voters. this makes it hard to do the outreach that republican party is doing. they're hiring staffers of color, but when you have supporters of a senator who is a member to a racist hate group and won't admit that he was. the senator from mississippi is in the senate right now. i don't think he has fully apologized for speaking against the council of citizens, and he's a hate group. >> michael: wicker barely acknowledged that did he that. both of you i wish we could sit here and talk all day. we have a lot to talk about. donnie fowler here in san francisco. keli goff, you can read her www.ontheroot.com. you have trouble right here in river city and a lot of cities for that matter, and they trust the federal government to fix their problems about as much as they trust howard hill. that story right after the break. 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?

>> michael: in a country of 300 million people spread out over thousands of miles have a cohesive national identity? could lawmaker legislate it, can policies setters set a globally competitive economy? we look at those questions. >> we started as a country of 13 colonies and grew into a nation of 50 states. but the iconic image of the

republic no longer reflects how the country actually works. power is shifting away from the federal government and even states to cities and metropolitan areas. while washington and states bicker and delay cities have emerged as the vanguard of action taking steps to grow jobs and remake their economies for the long haul. there is a revolution under way in the statuses, united states, and its time to reflect the flag of how the country really functions. >> michael: home to two-thirds of the population and generates 75% of our gdp. without help from a completely ineffectual government, cities like los angeles, boston and houston are taking it upon themselves to overcome political barriers even to reshape

immigration. joining us is bruce kstz, the author of "the metropolitan revolution: how cities are fixing our economy." welcome to the war room. >> thanks for having me. >> michael: explain what the metropolitan revolution is. >> well, there is no secret to your viewers. cities face super charged challenges and washington has essentially left the building. what jennifer and i see are cities stepping up to grow jobs and make their economies more prosperous. investing in infrastructuring equipping workers with the skills they need. increasinglychange is increasinglying happening where we live and it's going to spread across the country and bring benefits to

the metropolis. >> michael: you spoke about denver where politicians were overcoming obstacles that seemed impossible at the federal level. >> cities and metropolitan areas are not governments. they're networks of institution leaders, companies advance research institutions and mayors and county leaders. they're powerful by themselves, but when they come together they can do the things that are necessary to propel their economies forward. and again they understand they live in a fiercely competitive world. they're competing with other cities around the world that are rising and growing and expanding rapidly. they got to make these signature investments, and really pull together as networks so they can build on their distincttive assets and attributes. >> michael: that makes sense the way cities are run versus the federal government. immigration has been a huge

national debate as we know, but houston has come up with an innovative solution. explain what that is? >> well, the federal government may deal with immigration reform. maybe they won't deal with it, but cities have to deal with literally millions of immigrants who have come here. and they have the challenge that we had back in the early part of the 20th century. how do we integrate and assimilate immigrants into the economic mainstream, make them strong entrepreneurs that's what has happens in houston one of the most diverse metropolitans in the country. they have a settlement house that started in 1907 with the grandmother of jim bakker, the former treasury secretary. they're essentially helping immigrants get low-cost banking access to english as a second language healthcare. they understand that immigrants are our future workforce. we need to think about how to

bring them into the mainstream. it's not a political issue at the local level. it's an issue of pragmatism and pushing their economies forward. >> michael: cities need to harness characteristics to push forward. how are cities able to reshape their city and dismiss as well. >> they each have a distinct economy. portland is an economy that has deep roots in computers and electronics, think intel but it's a sustainable me drop metropolis. boston sits in the shadow of mit, harvard advance medical campuses. they're harnnessing that innovation for new growth and entrepreneurs in these innovative districts where new

growth clusters together. finally detroit, detroit is really a tale of two cities. in the downtown and midtown of detroit you have unbelievable assets, architecture, and then there with government out of the picture networks and civic and business leaders philanthropy are helping the core of the city to revive as they struggle with their fiscal stress. we see leaders stepping up across sectors jurisdictions and part ideology to do what has to be done. >> michael: your book, bruce has a number of success stories and some of them you mentioned. but the dynamics between federal, state and local governments can be really tricky tricky. municipal bankruptcy is increasing, especially here in the state of california. how do they navigate that relationship. >> again, what metros need to do

is come together as networks as we said before, but also ask of the federal government and the state governments what is absolutely necessary. there are some things particularly the federal government does that cities can't do. they can't secure our food. they can't strike their own trade deals with china. they can't finance entitlements like medicare and medicaid. what we need is a national government that does less better and then for those things where cities really need to decide their own vision and their own priorities given their special advantages we need cities and metro--we need the federal government to come behind cities and metros. one of the most interesting stories in our book is around los angeles because there you had voters in the depths of the recession vote for state of the art transit and then the mayor and really coalitions of business civic union leaders from all across the country went to washington and said, we need more innovative finance from the national government so when a city or metro basically

uses it's own local resources to invest in transit you can accelerate the construction create jobs and have the benefits of these smart strategic investments. >> michael: such interesting stuff. the book is "the metropolitan revolution." thank you for the conversation. up next, two american families, 20 years one extraordinary documentary with perspective on the real america. "the war room" is next. stay with us. 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.

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. >> once upon a time when people got your age and you're much younger than i am, you got 60, they started thinking seriously about retiring. >> i can't do that. the reason is you can't stay on the job enough to retire. >> my heart goes out. i was promised something by

america to have a better life, but that's not the case any more. >> michael: that is from the "front line" documentary which rares tonight on pbs. it tells the story of american dream, and spoiler alert it doesn't have a happy ending. in 1991 filmmakers started following two young families in milwaukee, one black and one white. three of the parents had just been laid off from union factory jobs and both families found themselves scrambling to make ends meet. they were sure if they worked hard they would be on their feet. for the next ten years the documentary follows them as they struggle to maintain their place in the middle class. but they were not always able to keep the lights on and the fridge full. that was in the booming 90s. in the financial crisis and the the great recession, the crow went crew

went back to see how the families fared. you filmed these two families throughout the 90s and then took a 12-year hiatus. what made you go back? >> you know, this is a story that we've always gone back to, michael. this is the fourth film we've made involving the newmans and the stanley families. we never meant to go back for the second time. after the second film we never meant to go back the third time. but it is such a deeply american story, important story personal story, and yet at the same time universal story. it's one that we just can't help going back to, and we were wondering ourselves i wonder how these folks are doing. we haven't spent much time with them. we haven't seen them in a long time. there has been a spectacularly sized recession. the kids have grown up, we haven't seen the kids in a while. we wanted to get back to them. you'll see those kids grow up

before your eyes and see a real human drama played out several decades. >> and we knew that. >> michael: that's an interesting way to do it. go ahead kathleen. >> just that we knew that the numbers were telling us that wages were continuing to go down, that great recession was a problem, but that if you really looked long term from the 70s that american worker wages were declining. we wanted to see if those numbers were holding up for our families. unfortunately, they were. >> michael: yeah, and the real answer is you wanted to worry with bill moyers again. >> we were lucky that way. >> michael: i'm sure. i want to play a clip from your film. this is terry newman who found work as a home healthcare aid. >> there is my paycheck. this is a two-week paycheck.

so year to date, what are we talking here, november? that's what i paid, $9,464.89. that's poverty. >> michael: two years after losing their factor job it seems neither family made that much money again. kathy, how is that possible? >> well, it's what the new economy is offering people. most working people. i don't exactly know how it's possible. that's a big question. but it seems to be the reality. terry newman you know, has done everything she was supposed to do. she got training for different kinds of factory jobs. she did pretty well for a job relatively speaking. lost her factory job, and then when she lost her factory job

she didn't crawl in a hole. she went back to school again to train to be a home healthcare aid. everyone told her that was the thing to do, the health industry. all kinds of healthcare is a growing industry, but for the vast majority of people who are getting jobs in those industries, they're finding that the wages are not that great and there is minimal benefits attached not to mention job security lack of job security. >> michael: we focus on terry here, but their kids and their families their kids face an even more daunting economic future is that accurate? >> yes i think it is, michael. in the parents' generations there was not only an expectation that they would have a middle class life, they had a real foothold in the middle class. they were able to buy homes and for a long time hang on to those homes. in the stanley family the kids

were in private school. they really were--neither of these families were ever going to be rich, but they really had a foothold in the american middle class. their children have grown up without those expectations. the stanley kids were taken right out of private school when their father was laid off 20-some years ago. the newman kids were little when their dad was laid off. they've had a completely different american experience. one where they, people of their generation don't feel the same sense of optimism, the same sense of promise and perhaps not the same sense of betrayal, either because they never expected to achieve the dream in the first place. >> michael: that's an interesting thing that you added there. that thought right there that they won't feel as betrayed because they didn't even have the hope, which makes it almost doubly sad. i want to ask you this, kathy. we've been taught in the u.s. the black and white experience is very different. you look at a clip from your film. you see a black family and a

white family, this has nothing to do with race, though. the experience of these families what is remarkable, is how very similar it was. is that what you found? >> we did in this case. i mean, there are numbers in milwaukee, there are a lot of statistics that say that the city is terribly racially divided, and the unemployment rate for african-american men is insanely hi, well over 50%. there are a lot of other things going on. but in this case both of these families faced many of the same hardships. you know. >> people loving their children, and wanting a better life for them doesn't know any racial boundaries. >> right. >> michael: that's what i mean and sadly it's an american experience. we keep saying the word sad, and a lot of this is depressing, since you filmed i'll ask you tom, has there been any good news about these families? anything uplifting in this story? >> i find the whole story

uplifting in the sense that the human spirit cannot be dominated by this bad economy. people have kept on working kept at it. they have never given up. they never will give up. they put their hearts into raising their kids and into working hard and it's not a good story for them economically, but it is a story about great americans americans who are living the life that they feel like they're supposed to be living, it's a good life doing the best they can. i do take something inspirational away from watching their stories. >> michael: that's an important thing to remember, that there is something inspirational about what they're doing. you both said you didn't expecting to back and you didn't expecting to back. i think are you going to go back? are you going to film again? >> yep, i hope so. >> i would never say never to that. the the michael apton films were

a great inspiration to us. when we first met people we thought wouldn't it be fun to do something like that, not knowing we would be following people over such a long period of time. >> michael: "two american families" airs tonight on pbs and will stream online at pbs.org /front line. i don't think its anything that people want to miss. up next, which 19th century with a 1990s name died in office? the answer right after this.

>> michael: well, you don't need me to tell you 163 years ago zachary taylor died in office. for your epic political trailer he became a hero. he defended fort harrison in

indiana during the war of 1812 and then he led the united states to victory in three important battles during the mexican-american war. most significantly at the battle of buena vista. without that victory there would be no california, and without california i wouldn't be able to do this segment on him. exactyzachary taylor had vision. his was the shortest presidency. securing annexation in the west, his former presidency was devoid of any notable accomplishment. some of taylor's most compelling history has to do when he became, well, history. it was thought that taylor died from dysentery contracted from eating cherries and iced milk from a party. later some thought he was poisoned in arsenic. in 1991 a historian paid to have

taylor's body exhumed. it turns out that lincoln was the first president to be assassinated and the last president to have a vice president named millard. time to go down to see what brett erlich has slammed together. >> well, 15 minutes that's a generous allotment of time. and i would like to acknowledge whoever etched your beard into the mountain. i'm going to have my face etched into a mountain. it's the third day of the trial and it's day two for my movie that will be based on it. i want to cast the lawyers.

i have an animated group. first up, we have bernie d.--bernie--bernie di rionda. i thought we have the graphic and i think the pringles guy is a dead ringing for him. then the other guy, we have to go to the defense side, and there is don wes he started it all, he's good as the monopoly guy. >> michael: i thought they were the same guy but this is perfect casting. >> i think we can get this guy for around $200 depending on what side of go he's on at the moment. finally there is another--i wanted to find someone who had the charisma of the third lawyer, and i decided the person that could capture that charisma is a box of staples they're about the same amount of charisma watching this every

morning through the afternoon is just painful. >> michael: just like being stapled. >> it is. i have another story for you. democrats are trying to--there are a few democrats in congress who are trying to start a new national park. and usually national parks are somewhere in this nation. this one is out of this world. they're actually trying to start a national park on the moon. so they can protect the landing site as there are new commercial endeavors to try to land on the moon and maybe colonize. they're trying to protect all the junk we have left on the moon surface. i don't know if it will pass, but i do know there has been one volunteer for the park ranger on the moon. i think we have that. there he is. >> michael: yes, the perfect guy. maybe he could open up a zoo on the moon. >> that would be amazing. animals. they're so friendly. fantastic. that was probably the most fun i had making a photo shop in a

while. >> michael: yes. >> and finally this is my favorite story there is a man--have you heard about the phantom planter. >> michael: yes, in washington. >> yes, someone thought that the washington metro was a little ugly so they decided to beautify it by planting a thousand morning glories throughout the subway station. and so they--everyone thought it was very awesome and beautiful except for the people who worked for the metro. so what they did the metro authority went in and took out all of the phantom planter's morning glories. they eradicated the work of the phantom planners. >> michael: ridiculous. it's the only efficient thing that has happened in washington in a thousand years and it's devastating. brett erlich, thank you for being here. we thank you for making us laugh. thank you for joining "the war room" tonight. "the young turks" are next on this network.

[ ♪ music ♪ ] compelling true stories. >> 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.

♪ theme ♪ cenk: welcome to "the young turks." elliot spiritser is back, the sheriff's back in town. i like it. he's being grilled by the media. all of a sudden, they've said they're going to do accountability of politicians. i'm amused by that. we'll get to that later. we'll start with edward snowden. he of course is on the run. is he in moscow? or could he be in venezuela? not yet! hold! hold! we have a controversial tweet