can't ever actually ever really be in for. you can follow me at mharrisperry on twitter. it's time now for the ed show. good night. good evening, americans and welcome to "the ed show." tonight from new york, six days away from the american economy going down the drain, and republicans still can't get their act together. john boehner is swearing up a storm, while his party holds the american economy hostage. meanwhile democrats say they have a plan to avert the crisis. lots to talk about tonight. it's the ed show, let's get to work. >> no, you can't1ç >> last time it was john boehner yelling at the democrats. now he's blasting his own caucus. >> is it true that you you told some of the republican members this morning that you need to get your a-word in line? >> i sure did. >> tonight, donna edwards, dennis kucinich all on the latest.

in psycho talk. republicans are worried the weak economy might be hurting the country club crowd. >> they don't continue paying for country club dues and mitt romney is measuring the drapes for the oval office. he's already naming his vp picks. this guy needs some help. great to have you with us tonight, folks. at this hour, john boehner, speaker of the house is twisting arms and cutting deals to round up enough votes to pass his plan to hold president obama accountable. last night i told you boehner had a short fuse, today he proved it. less than 12 hours after his original bill went down in flames, he ripped into the members of the caucus this morning. the speaker of the house said get your [ bleep ] in line this is the bill. after the meeting, boehner went on a hard right wing talk show to brag about what a tough guy he is.

>> is it true that you told some of the republican members this morning that you need to get your a-word in line behind this debt ceiling bill? >> i sure did. listen, this is time to do what is doable. and this bill isn't perfect, i told the members that the last couple of days, but it -- that's what happens when you have a democrat-controlled senate and a democrat in the white house. >> sure. boehner's a complete fraud. he always claims to have the pulse of the american people. >> what the american people want is for us to work together. >> the american people want us to cut spending. >> the american people want us to get our fiscal house in order. to focus on cutting spending and growing our economy. >> boehner has no clue what the american people want. he doesn't even know what the people in his own caucus want. it's easy for the speaker to act tough on conservative radio. he toned it down a bit, when he faced a real interview on nbc "nightly news."

>> is it fair to say you have a bit of a rebellion on your hands? >> i have a bit of a rebellion on my hands every day. >> you're not worried? >> never let 'em see you sweat. >> really? even on the golf course? boehner doesn't have to worry about keeping his job, he has a huge government pension and lifetime health care. this debt fight is ideological for those in washington, but it's serious for those who live on fixed incomes. the dow has fallen four straight days, maybe that will get their attention. the dow is headed for its worse weekly decline in nearly a year. nasdaq had its worst day in five months. boehner and the house republicans are playing a dangerous game here as the president previously stated. if the stock market takes a nosedive, it will add millions more of american workers to the unemployment lines. the speaker planned to hold a

vote on his new bill tomorrow. only five days before the deadline. boehner is wasting valuable time, his bill is dead on arrival in the senate. every senate democrat including joe lieberman and bernie sanders sent boehner a letter this evening. they wrote, we heard you said the senate will support your bill. we are writing to tell you we will not support it. even senate republicans know that boehner's bill will never fly. >> what is really amazing aboutç this, is that some members are believing that we can pass a balanced budget amendment of the constitution in this body with its present representation, and that is foolish. that is worse than foolish. that is deceiving. that is not fair to the american people, to hold out and say, we won't agree to raising the debt limit until we pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution.

it's unfair it's bizarre-o and maybe some people have only been in this body for six or seven months or so, really believe that. >> well, republicans are going to have to step up and get it through. former reagan adviser, bruce bartlett doesn't think boehner can get it done. >> i think at this point there's nothing that could pass the house of representatives. i think the boehner plan -- >> because it's too much of a zoo? >> yeah bs i think a good chunk of the republican caucus is either stupid, ignorant crazy or desperately afraid of the tea party people. and rightly so. >> that leaves the president with very few options. the house leadership wants president obama to use the 14th amendment. >> we have to have a fail safe mechanism. we believe that fail safe mechanism is the 14th amendment

and the president of the united states. >> i'm convinced that whatever discussions about the legality of that can continue. but i believe that something like this will bring calm to the american people and will bring ç needed stability to our financial markets. >> that is a big statement. house democratic leadership team coming out saying that. the house has rejected the 14th amendment solution. but we're still six days out. for leaders like mr. clyburn to go down that road gives the president some pretty good cover and a pretty good idea. the president doesn't want to overreach, but his base would love it. it's going to wipe out any discretionary cuts that would hurt low and fixed income americans. get your cell phones out, i want to know what you think.

should the president invoke the 14th amendment to resolve the debt crisis? text a for yes, b for no to 622639 and can you always go to our new blog at ed.msnbc.com. joining us now is donna edwards of maryland. she's a member of the progressive caucus. congressman elliott engle, jared nabler are holding a press conference to urge president obama to use the 14th amendment as a backup option. would you join those folks tomorrow? what do you think about the 14th amendment option right now? the white house has said repeatedly no, but the game could change. what do you think? >> let me tell you what i think. the republicans were watching ben affleck, i was watching a few good men. to the president i want to say, we want you on that wall, we need you on that wall, we want you to use the 14th amendment.

>> you're on board with that. is this something that's been discussed in caucus by the democrats in the house? or is this just democrats such as yourself coming out speaking like this?ç >> well, it has been part of the discussion, and i think the reason is because republicans have been so recalcitrant. they have been so stubborn, that it's time for the president to send a signal to world markets, to send a signal to our markets, and to send a signal to the american people who are expecting their social security checks on august third, that he means business. we want him on the wall. >> would this be the best available democratic option in your opinion at this point? or is a deal possible? >> well, i think we can also press for a clean debt ceiling. i mean, there are a couple options here. there's no reason that we can't take a vote on a clean debt ceiling that will get us over this crisis that will stabilize our markets, that will ensure americans whether they're

veterans or military retirees or whether they're our service members or social security recipients, they will receive their checks on august 3rd. >> do you think the white house just isn't showing all of their cards right now? is president obama possibly taking the position, you have to make me do it? is he waiting for those such as yourself to come out of the congress and push hard? chin up some public support and conversation to do that? >> and then in a more safe manner go down this road? >> i don't know. but what i want to say to the president is, i talked to people throughout my congressional district, i was on the phone monday with 7,000 people in my district who are social security recipients who are saying that they need the president to stand with them to receive their checks on august 3rd, because they depend on them to buy groceries. i think that they are looking to the president to stand down these stubborn kindergarteners and say to them, they cannot hold the american people hostagç

because of their ideology. and that's what this is about. and so i'm going to urge the president really -- the american people are with you, we will stand with you. we want you on the wall. >> thank you. appreciate your time tonight. now, let's turn to katrina vandenhoover. i think this is all part of the grand plan to bring the president down. keep this negative story out there every day, daily, negative, because he's such a positive guy, and when he gets on the campaign trail with any kind of positive news, he can take them to the firewall better than anybody. i think it's gamesmanship, your thoughts? >> you're watching a republican party that i think at this point wants to sabotage the economy, because they want to run against president obama, undermine him. that's been the message from the get go. people watching us tonight are saying, the real crisis of this

country, jobs. unemployment. and you got a republican party that talks jobs, but doesn't walk the walk. hasn't done a single job creation plan. so i think, you know, listen to representative boehner. he came out of a meeting with tea party freshmen. he talked about how they're looking to pitch this country into default, because they're seeking chaos that could lead to a balanced budget fight. and starving a government that's already desperately needing revenues. i think there's a measure of the republican party seeking to sabotage this country. >> the united states has its credit rating reduced. that's going to force spending cuts. isn't that what the republicans want? they're trying to starve government even further. if we get our credit downgraded which i think the republicans would be a good thing. >> you have two dueling plans at the moment.ç have you boehner, you have reid. have you boehner selling toxic

snake oil, and have you reid's which is all cuts. we've talked about the need for shared sacrifice, responsibility. those in this country who have done well, should do well by this country. the ratings agency, i think it's a fraud. and -- because they invented a financial crisis which caused millions to lose their homes, they are craven and cynical. and as representative kucinich and the head of the imf has said, they should not be playing a role in being an arbiter of our country's economy. >> you believe with bruce bartlett, nothing's going to pass the house? >> i don't think anything is going to pass the house. i think boehner has a hard time. i think the 14th amendment, which i wrote about july 5th in "the washington post." it was a small discussion then, president clinton then last week went out and talked about it. i have no evidence, but it's hard for me to believe there wasn't talk about with the white house to bring the 14th amendment into the discussion.

i think it's a doomsday scenario when that has to be brought forward. debt ceiling is unconstitutional. the validity of the debt shall not be questioned. the republican party has made americans hostage and put us in a position -- it's complicated, executive power is complicated, but it could be used. >> what do you make of jim clyburn coming out today, you mentioned bill clinton. >> and john larson -- >> and then you have mr. clyburn coming out today. it seems rare that a member of the democratic leadership team, and he normally does -- jim clyburn is a well thought out guy, he doesn't shoot from the hip. >> you have john larson, you have the respected edwards. it's growing, there's a sense as edwards said, that a president who has been conflict diverse, great leaders change, confronted by adverse circumstances. >> i think boehner's best play ç right now is to go back to president obama and say, can you

get that 4.7 trillion back on the table again? can you really do that? if the president does invoke the 14th amendment, it is a lost opportunity for the tea partiers, it's a lost opportunity for the republicans to get what they want, a chip away at the big three, and also a chip away at big spending numbers. why would they miss this opportunity? >> you know, i'm not opposed to ideology, i believe it's about principles. this party is astonishingly reckless and astonishingly in the grip of what a wall street guy called grover norquist a fiscal terrorist. you have people who are unwilling to think about what it takes to run a country. and we are now looking at a major struggle in this country that's going to play out over the next few years. the size and scale of government and what it means for people who depend on services on programs that have been part of the fabric of this life as these people try to roll back the 20th --

>> you've been around this racquet a long time, politics. we have some big stories brewing, we have this story, wisconsin. >> yeah. >> i mean, i think they're connected. >> there's a connection. >> there is a huge connection. you have the people rising up and pushing back, a -- and a sea of change taking place. that's where america's talking right now? >> what's going on in washington is is the oxygen that's being consumed when so much could be done to invest in this country to build this country. but you know what, i see below a resilience. we have to build an independent movement, take back this country and clean it out. what's the culture of washington is stacked against ordinary working middle class low income people. >> big time. we're going to talk more about that in this program. katrina, great to have you with us. answer tonight's question aç the bottom of the screen. the tea party has gotten so extreme on the debt ceiling debate, even other republicans are running scared. and later, congressman dennis kucinich joins us to talk about

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tea party republicans are starting to scare the republican establishment. john mccain chimed in, he quoted an editorial for the wall street journal talking about how delusional the tea party really is. >> the idea seems to be that if the house gop refuses to raise the debt ceiling, a default crisis or gradual government shutdown will ensue and the public will turn en masse against barack obama. republican house failed to raise the debt ceiling would somehow escape all the blame. then democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced budget amendment and reform entitlements and the tea party hobbits could return to middle earth having defeated mordor.

>> there is no doubt the radical righties are at the heart of the problem and everybody knows it. laura flanders and economist dean baker join me next to talk about it. ities. excuse me? my grandfather was born in this village. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air. that's it right there. [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say.

thanks for watching tonight. sounds like john mccain think his former running mate sarah palin doesn't agree. here's what she said about the debt ceiling crisis. >> i think this is more obama drama it's being created, the august 2nd deadline that he's insisting america must act on incurring more debt, raising that debt ceiling otherwise we will default. we will not default.

>> the hero of the tea party, senator jim demint made the same claim. >> do you think the president of the united states wants a crisis? >> every evidence suggests he does. >> the tea party even wants to ç pretend their supporters were lighting up the phones after president obama asked the american people to call their congressmen on monday night. >> we made the call to light them up, and the house and senate servers crashed. their websites went down, you couldn't get through to them. >> there's another wrench thrown into the debt ceiling debate. the deficit needs to be cut by trillions of dollars. do you think we would be hearing that if republicans hadn't started this drum beat months ago? in a congressional hearing today, the executive notice credit rating's agency refused to endorse a specific plan or say exactly how substantial deficit reduction should be. let's bring in the host of grit

tv on freespeechtv. and editor of the book at the tea party, laura flanders. and also, the codirector for the senator of policy and research, dean baker. do you think wall street regrets backing some of these tea partiers? they're about to destroy their bottom line in six days. what do you think? >> well, we're going to find out. i mean, my guess has always been at the end of the day, the wall street boys are going to call the tea partiers and tell them who pays the tab. they're going to run down and approve the debt ceiling. the wall street people will regret it. better or worse, they're on the front lines. if we don't get the debt ceiling raised, they're going to be hit more than anyone. >> do you really believe there are tea partiers in there? are they bluffing or do they really want to see default? >> i think they want to see the government shrunk. what they're forgetting is the country being shrunk. look what's happening to greece,

you have 20% economic decline under these austerity packages. i think the tea parties are after an ideological win. meanwhile, the republicans, theç rest of the republicans are saying, wait a minute. we get what we want. we're getting the submission we wanted from the democrats on spending, on revenues, on the big three. whoa! the frustrating thing is to see people who rooted for some of these tea partiers, egged them on when it was convenient, now saying, wait a minute, let's not go this far. >> what about the country seeing its credit rating lowered? i think there are tea partiers out there saying good, the only way to work yourself out of that, is either tax increases which they think they can hold off with the democrats and the other way is spending cuts. if we have a lower credit rating as a nation, and we can't borrow the money, that's going to force us to do some massive cuts, and that's what they want. what about that?

>> lower credit rating will probably have no effect. they lowered japan's credit rating. i think credit rating agencies are playing games here. you're talking about dennis kucinich earlier. these are the guys that raided off the junk bonds, aaa in the housing bubble. they miss lehman they miss bear this is totally out of line with their normal operating practices. they're not supposed to be prescriptive. they don't tell government here's what you have to do, they make judgments, and their judgments have been really bad. this is extreme to say you have to do a $4 trillion deal. >> the hearing at which these senate board guys were >> are you going to see any

apologies coming out of the chamber? you're going to be holding your breath. we have a possibility as a nation to say, even if we make these cuts, we still might see our credit rating brought down? even if we don't default? we still might have this gun held to our head? i think it's time to do what don edwards said, and use this constitution, and we need to say, the people are too big to fail. >> there is no expert out there on exactly what is going to happen, because this is foreign territory for this country. we've never defaulted. what's your call? >> well, that's right, i mean, we are definitely in unchartered territory, what the world looks like if we get past august 2nd and we can't pay the bills, we don't know what's going to happen.

people are talking about the 14th amendment, president obama's obligated under the constitution to spend money that was appropriated by congress. so he doesn't -- have to figure out what law you follow and what you don't. there's no way to reconcile these two contradictions. >> does he go 14th amendment? >> i think he does, and i think we say, rupert murdoch used to have people quaking in their boots. it's time we stop quaking around standard & poors. >> it's been done before. >> yeah. >> harry truman did it. there's a precedent there. republicans thought it was a good idea to use this man's violent bank robber movie to motivate house members. turns out the message of the movie was totally correct. and paul brown proves how out of touch republicans are with the the middle class in this country. i couldn't conceive this as a heart attack.

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>> it's hard to take house republicans seriously, when they pull stunts like this. kevin mccarthy came up with a questionable way to motivate caucus members who were hesitant to support speaker boehner's debt ceiling plan. he played a clip from "the town" to encourage party unity. this is what house gop leadership thought was a good message for the caucus. >> i need your help. i can tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later,

and we're gonna hurt some people. >> yes, you heard it right, one guy says they're gonna hurt some people and the other guy says, no problem. here's what happens next. >> who is it? >> open up. [ bleep ]. >> this is the house gop hard at work on your tax dollars, folks. tea party congressman alan west stood up and said, i'm ready to drive the car. it shouldn't be a surprise west responded to a violent call to action, this is the same alan west who was relieved from his duty in iraq for assaulting a detainee. the boehner bill will hurt a lot of american people, a lot of people, in fact. the center on budget and policy priorities says the plan could well produce the greatest

increase in poverty and hardship produced by any law in modern u.s. history. dennis kucinich will join me next to talk about how the middle class and the poor will suffer under both congressional plans and a caller to my talk show today said something very profound that i want you to hear, and i'll play it for you. with washington in crisis. mitt romney's arrogance. folks it is on display. he's already thinking about running mates. daily show creator here to give him the good medicine. fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums toi switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has ginkgo for memory and concentration, plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. [ female announcer ] one a day women's.

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thanks for watching tonight. the house republicans thought a movie clip with a guy saying he's going to hurt some people was the best metaphor for the boehner debt ceiling plan and they were right. the revised boehner plan has spending cuts that would drag down the nation's gdp during a time of unstable economic recovery. it also proposes future reductions to medicare, medicaid and social security.

who gets hurt by those losses? the people who can least afford it. the plan in the senate isn't much better. by not including any tax revenue, harry reid's proposal relies on over $1 trillion in program cuts. and who benefits most from spending programs? the people who can least afford it. all of this pain will be put on the lower and middle classes of america because the wealthiest members of society are not being asked to kick in their fair share. and it's all based on what i think is a big lie that tax increases on the rich will somehow kill jobs. joining me tonight is dennis kucinich of ohio. good to have you with us. i want to have you hear this audio clip that -- from a caller from my radio show today. i think he sums it up pretty well, the income disparity in this country, his name is dennis, he's calling from kansas

city, he's the owner of a publishing company. i want your response. >> i am a small business owner. most years i make over $250,000 a year. and you know republicans keep on saying they can't tax the wealthy, they're the job creators. ed, they're wrong. as a small business owner, i am not a job creator. the middle class in this country are the real job creators. those people making $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 a year. ed, you know, two thirds of our economy is driven by consumption. that consumption is not being done by the top two percent, it's the vast middle class. people listening have to understand that businesses exist to create a profit. you have to make businesses hire by creating demand for their goods and services. we have a demand problem in our

economy, not a cash problem for businesses. business owners, wealthy people, they don't need more cash. >> your response, congressman? >> well, you know, what he says is right, if you cut spending, that doesn't help our economy, it creates a drag on the economy. if we don't do anything about the 14 million people out of work, that is a continued drag on the economy, and it is one of the reasons why so many main street businesses are having trouble because people don't have money to buy things. we should be focusing on creating jobs, and that means spending money. investing in our people and help to prime the economy. this is not rocket science. unfortunately, the ideological horn locking which is going on right now is not serving the interests of the american people. >> at all. and -- but that sound clip pretty much sums up what the democrats need to get across to

the american people, as opposed to the short version, the republicans saying, you can't raise taxes on the job creators. >> let's look at that, ed. the bush tax cuts gave over a trillion dollars in tax cuts, most of it went to the people at the top. how does it happen that we have massive unemployment following that? we have to understand that in order for government to be able to respond to the needs of the people, the private sector isn't creating the jobs, then the public sector has a moral responsibility to create the jobs. fdr understood that, and we have to go back to that old time religion and get people back to work. and then people like dennis in kansas city will find they'll have more customers, sell more products and maybe hire people when that happens. this is where the focus should be, not on shredding the social safety net. my god, they're the very people that have been suffering. >> are you concerned the social

safety net is going to be on the table with this commission that may come out of the reid bill? >> you bet. >> how confident are you that the big three are going to be protected? >> i'll fight that all the way, because you cannot tell seniors that their golden years are no honor protected. especially when social security is rock solid through 2036 without any changes whatsoever. you cannot tell seniors that they have to worry about their medicare and medicaid benefits. >> would you vote for the reid plan in the house? >> not a chance. i'm not going to vote for any plan, which shreds america's social safety net, and which really puts the burden of america's economic problems on the people that didn't cause the problem. >> so there's no plan out there right now that you could support, it sounds like? >> we don't need to have raising the debt ceiling contingent on any plan. we should have a clean vote on the debt ceiling. this is why this is so exasperating, if we have a clean vote on the debt ceiling, we can

deal with these other issues. there's no reason the great united states of america should be subject to the implications of these crummy rating agencies that sold themselves to their issuers and created serious ethical conflicts that led to investors putting their money into products that were not worth the paper they were written on. this is wrong that the united states should be held hostage to another gang and their representatives on wall street. you have to remember what this country is about, and take care of the people here. >> there's no question, i totally agree with you. the 14th amendment, is this the best avenue for the president to take right now? to put all this bickering aside, and constitutionally make the move and fight it in the courts if it comes to that? >> we shouldn't have to get to that. congress ought to familiarize itself with article one section eight which says the congress has the power to borrow money, sure. but actually, it's the power to

coin money, make money. we gave the power to the federal reserve in 1913. it's time we understood, we don't have to go to banks to get money. the united states' sovereign government, according to our constitution, we should be able to invest in our own people, create the jobs, we shouldn't have to rely on banks. we can't be at the mercy of banks in this country. i think it's time congress studied that provision of the constitution as well. >> what would be a good deal in your opinion here? >> what is feasible at this point after all this rankering that's taking place? >> what's feasible is this. raise the debt ceiling without any contingencies, just get that out of the way. it should have been perfunctory from the beginning. end the wars, there's over a trillion dollars in savings over ten years, next, medicare for all. that would solve many of our budget problems to begin with, because the insurance companies are still taking hundreds of billions of dollars every year

in terms of their pound the flesh for a privatized health care system. save social security, strengthen it by taking the caps off so that people who make over $106,800 a year would be subject to the fica tax. these are things that could be done to straighten things out. we don't have to pretend the sky is falling, it's not. this is a political, manufactured crisis, and it shouldn't be anything that's causing anxiety among the american people. we shouldn't be creating this debt psychology and any -- >> this is a republican made crisis and it's all, in my opinion, an effort to defeat president obama and they're going to take this to the firewall, to the very last second before anything happens. that's how i see it's going to happen. >> we don't need to go into default, it would be a disgrace for america to go into default. >> thank you very much. paul brown thinks average americans can solve their problems by just dropping out of

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for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. just a little refresher course. when john boehner and his right wing buddies took over the house leadership in january. don't you remember, one of the first orders of business was to read the united states constitution on the house floor. i hope they were listening to part of the 14th amendment dealing with the national debt. ironically read by congressman steve israel of new york. >> the validity of the public debt of the united states including debts incurred for payment of pensions shall not be questioned. but neither the united states nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in eight of the insurrection or rebellion in the united states or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave.

>> hey, righties, can you hear me now? if right wingers want to call themselves constitutional conservatives, they better pay attention to the entire document. if president obama invokes the 14th amendment as a last ditch solution to prevent the country from defaulting for the first time in history, i don't want to hear a word from the republican side of the aisle.

congressman paul brown of georgia, the guy who skipped president obama's state of the union so he could heckle him on twitter. he comes up with a dandy today. brown isn't voting for boehner's debt ceiling plan, because he has his own bill to lower the debt ceiling. he thinks it's easy to reign in spending. >> when someone is overdescended and broke. they don't continue paying for expensive automobiles, they sell the expensive automobile and buy a cheaper one. they don't continue paying for country club dues, they drop out of the country club.

>> paul brown is the perfect example of what i've been talking about for years. republicans are absolutely clueless about the middle class in this country. most americans don't have the option of downgrading. they don't have expensive automobiles. they're hanging on to their 8-year-old minivan, hoping it won't give out on them. and they don't belong to country clubs, very few people in this country do. and a lot of folks can't even head out to public courses because they're working two or three jobs just to put food on the table. if brown thinks it's so easy to cut back, he should introduce a bill to make the country clubber's contribute a little bit more. because working americans have already tightened their belts as far as they can. for paul brown to think the average american can deal with financial hardship by getting rid of the mercedes and dropping out of the country club, is sincerely elitist psycho talk.

months to go until the iowa caucuses. and already mitt romney is ready to call the race for himself. liz will weigh-in coming up. ♪ so every year my family throws this great reunion in austin. but this year, i can only afford one trip and i've always wanted to learn how to surf. austin's great -- just not for surfing. so i checked out hotwire. and by booking with them, i saved enough to swing both trips. see, hotwire checks the competition's rates every day

so they can guarantee their low prices. that's how i got a 4-star hotel on the beach in san diego for half price. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com >> the word that we're being given is that it's about fiscal constraint -- >> you don't buy that? >> no, i don't buy that. >> that was florida state representative darryl roshen, talking about florida's new voting law.

rick scott claims it's about voter fraud. as you just heard, it's really about voter suppression. now reverend jesse jackson is urging the justice department to intervene. earlier this year, governor scott signed the legislation that reduced the amount of early voting days from 15 down to 8. you can bet it will affect the poor and working class the most. >> they knocked out what used to be two sundays to vote down to one sunday. you can't tell me that's not going to impact the people's ability to get to the polls. >> the other end of the country. meanwhile, republicans in maine talking -- targeting another typical democratic voting block. the state's gop chair claims that college students who pay out of state tuition rates and vote in maine are committing voter fraud? charlie webster has no proof that these students voted in maine and in their home state.

and maine's state law allows students to vote in the district where they go to school. and yet webster is still charging ahead and submitting a list of over 200 names to maine's secretary of state to investigate. announcer ] anan anthis...is the netwo.

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here's where things stand right now, our nation is heading toward default. and here are the house republicans popping popcorn and enjoying the latest ben affleck movie together. perhaps tomorrow they'll watch gigli. clearly the gop needs better leadership. that's where mitt romney comes in, romney won't say where he stands on the boehner plan, he did tell a bunch of folks in virginia who he considered to be his vice presidential running mate. as conservative blog bearing drift reports, romney was attending a fund-raiser in virginia beach, virginia and was highly complimentary of the state's incredible governor republican bob mcdonald. romney said mcdonald would be on any candidate's vice presidential short list, including his own. romny said his short list would also include governor chris christie of new jersey, who i think probably if he's watching tonight is sitting at home

saying yeah right, you're gonna be my presidential guy. and senator marco rubio of florida. that would be his other possible pick. joining me now, the co-creator of "the daily show." it's always great to have you with us. >> i love being here next to you. we're so often via satellite. >> yes, we are. >> what do you think of the mittster picking out his own vice presidential candidate already? >> choosing a vice presidential candidate is like choosing a package of expired meat that is safest to eat. i don't understand. >> is he going to beat michele bachmann in the iowa caucus? that's her home turf, isn't it? >> it is. she'll maybe win iowa, and then fizzle out after that. >> she's spent a lot of money on hair and make-up as of late.

>> ed, ed, ed, don't go there. >> i'm just saying, it's an expense. >> she's very fancy. and she's got things to do are and she's got places to go. and whenever you have michele bachmann, trouble follows. >> speaking of her, she likes to criticize federal home loans, but she had no problem taking one out for herself? >> no, she did not. she loves taking down fanny and freddie. i think she thought she could turn them straight. >> do you think john boehner really told the tea partiers to get their ass in line? >> i think they do. the tea party has basically replaced bed bugs as america's number one pest. and their leadership -- it's uncontrollable that they simply do not understand how and what the debt ceiling actually does. >> what do you make of their caucus getting a clip of the movie, the town?

>> you know what they should have gotten a clip of the movie "thelma and louise." and alan west and michele bachmann could have held hands while driving the car off the economic cliff. which is what they're doing. >> the tea party, not president obama gave the go ahead to crash all the servers and call capitol hill. he's saying that while it was the tea partiers who did that, after the president gave a speech the other night, asking the american people to engage. they have no boundaries. >> they have no boundaries. and it's -- i think their voters better figure out that they're smarter than these people they've elected. regardless, you look at all these plans, if john mccain was reading from the wall street journal today, and made that lord of the rings analogy. the one thing that's wrong about that analogy, they're not hobbits, they're orcs.

>> you're going around the country, you're touring a lot. >> i am. >> seriously, what are you hearing? are people upset? is there a sea change out there? what's happening? >> people are upset. you know what they feel like? as they're learning about this debt ceiling and seeing that they don't like the president's plan, and they don't like the republican plan, they don't like any of the plans, and they feel like they're being sold out. basically what i'm hearing from people is, america's getting screwed without any protection. and we're going to need a morning after august 2nd pill. >> is obama still in good shape with his base in your opinion? from what you hear on the road? >> he -- people still look at the supreme court and say i feel frustrated but there's the supreme court. >> thanks for your time tonight. asked in our survey if the president should invoke the 14th amendment to resolve the debt crisis, 96% of you said yes. 4% of you said no. that's the ed show.