. more politics ahead with al sharpton. mitt romney says corporations are people. and folks, that may be his best campaign slogan yet. tonight, as president obama talks jobs in michigan, romney talks gibberish in iowa. nice going, front-runner. and senator jim demint says the obama administration is anti-america and proves he is just anti-making sense. plus, florida governor rick scott's healthcare hypocrisy hits a new low. and another sarah palin bus tour. another chance to meet the people. i mean, corporations. welcome to the show. i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, good news america, the republicans finally offer a jobs plan.

the bad news, it consists of attacking president and sticking up for big business. today, president obama went to michigan and blamed partisan politics for blocking job growth in this country. >> the only thing keeping us back is our politics. the only thing preventing these bills from being passed is the refusal of some folks in congress, to put country ahead of party. there is some in con gresz right now who would rather see their opponent lose than see america win. and that has to stop. >> it has to stop. we've been one that brinkmanship has to stop. but of course, for republicans, it never does. speaker boehner released this statement following the president's speech. quote, president obama likes to talk about being the adult in

the room. but there's nothing adult about political grand standing. and partisan rhetoric doesn't stop there. just listen to senator jim demint. >> it has been the most anti-business and i consider anti-american administration of of my lifetime of things that are just so to the principles of freedom and everything he has come up with, centralizes more power in washington, creating more socialist style collective policy. so this president is doing something that is so far out of realm of anything republicans ever did wrong, it is hard it even imagine. >> he called the administration anti-american and socialist in one soundbite. so there you have it. the gop's jobs plan consists of attacking the president. and when they're not doing that, they're sticking up for big business. and here is this shocker from

willard mitt romney. >> you have to make sure that promises we make in social security, medicaid and medicare, are promises we can keep. there are various ways we can do that. one is is we can raise taxes on people. >> corporations. >> corporations are people, my friend. of course they are. everything corporations are ultimately it goes to the people. where do you think it goes? >> corporations are people. so the obama administration, anti-american socialists, why? because corporations are people. so if you see corporations as people, i guess that makes sense. so i've got to bring on my guest because i have to go home to take my pet for walk, bank of america. joining me now, is congresswoman donna edwards,

democrat from maryland and bob shrum, from new york university. >> congresswoman, this is outrageous. you have the front-runner, the day he is getting ready to debate. they are going tonight, the republican candidates it debate, saying that rather than deal with people talking about corporations must be treated as what they are and be taxed for what they are, he says, oh, no, they're people. you have senator demint accusing the obama administration of being anti-american and anti-socialist. and this is all in the wake of this s&p downgrading, saying brinkmanship caused the downgrading of america. this is outrageous. >> well, i have to tell you. i mean, it is actually really shocking. i don't know who the republican candidates and senator demint of

talking about. but american people actually understand that real people go out to the grocery store and are paying more for their groceries. real people want to find work in this really bad economy. real people are concerned about their retirement security. real people are concerned about spending their children to college. i was grad it see the president today, in michigan, not just talking about jobs but demonstrating about how u.s. tax dollars were being used in a tough economy in michigan. i think we need to do that around the country. whether he is go together bridges and roads that need fixed or the plans that need redeveloped, we should be create jobs and i don't know what the republicans are doing there is the discon frekt, congresswoman. because you and i and others see real people as the people that need the jobs, as people we are trying to stand up and say you've got deal with the fact that people all over the country, rural and urban, are

unemployed. and the republicans see people as corporations pch we're talking on different levels, different waves. bob shrum, i think that the real problem is not that romney and others don't get it. i think we don't get it. they are not operating off the same wave length that most people -- they don't understand when we are talking about what people need this this skun try. they have a different definition whf people are. >> reverend, i think that's completely right. we now know why they kept mitt romney off the campaign trail. ben smith, of politico, say they have the mittness protection program. they hide him away because every time he goes out there, he says or does something goofy and shows how out of touch he is. jim demint, that's an ugly thing we heard. socialist, collectivist,

anti-america, painted him as other than is. is alien to us. the two examples demint cited are health preform. that's why the president is so anti-american. health reform is as anti-american as theodore roosevelt who proposed it almost a century ago and reform is become as american as eisenhower who had strict regulations in the 50s. >> let me say this, bob, the irony to me is that the president was in michigan today where he did the auto bailout. let me show you how unamerican he was. and what that bailout meant. i mean, for demint to be saying this where the president was, in michigan, with detroit was the backbone of this country's economy, for many years, the auto industry he saved 1.4 million jobs and prevented 96.5

billion dollars in personal income losses. does that sound to me anti-american? does that sound socialist? i mean, this is outrageous to try and project that when he is really at a place that literally was taken back from the wink. let me ask you this congresswoman edwards. there's been a lot of talk about the president ought to call congress back from vacation and should not go on vacation themselves. he directly addressed that today. listen to thz this as the president directly talked about the people at least asking congress to come back. >> there's been a lot of talk in washington right now that i should call congress back early. the last thing we need is congress spending more time arguing in d.c. what i figure is they need to

spend more time-out here listening to you. and hearing how fed up you are. that's why i'm here. >> do you feel that if if congress came back, if the president called them back, that you and your colleagues will stand in the house floor and grab arms and sing kumbaya? >> we are definitely not going it sing kumbaya. i do share the president's view that we need to be out in our communities and our districts. real e hearing from the american people. on the other hand, the only reason we should come back is if we were going to pass a surface prancer to pags bill that would call on us to fix up roads and bridges and water and sewer systems and get milloons of people back it work get out dodge. i want him standing strong for

creating jobs for the american people. i think he is on the high road here. he guess that that is what we need to do and it really is a sim 78 formula. this job creation. it is about fixing this formula and butting putting us into a place where we can be competitive. invest in research and development and manufacturing like the president was there at a new economy manufacturing plant today. these are real jobs for the american people. this is what we ought to do. the president needs to be on his bully pulpit be under a bridge, at a watermain that is a hundred years old and calling on congress to do what's right by the american people and pass a jobs plan. >> bob, not only does the pret president get it as, the american people get it. watch this washington post poll just a day and a half old. it should in august of this year, right now, 71% feel that

government o is focused on the wrong things. in october 2010, right before the election. only 55%. that is his interest, bob, and you're the strategist and expert here. it seems that before the republicans took control of congress in november of '10, less americans felt we were in the wrong direction than they do now. >> oh, i think that's absolutely right. i think congresswoman edwards is right. he need to invest in jobs and what has to happen here, is you have to have a short term program to sustain this economy and this recovery and medium and longer term program to cut debt and deficits. republicans aren't interested this that. in my view they have demonstrated over and over again. they are ready to ruin the economy to take to take over the white house. you were talking about saving the auto industry and the bailout in michigan and all

those jobs, mitt romney opposed that. when he was running a buyout company that special eyesed in buyout and stripping down other companies and firing people, he took a $10 million bailout for himself and his partner and made millions of dollars. i don't think if he is the republican nominee he would fair very well in michigan when people know that. >> bob, your problem is you don't understand corporations of people. >>. corporations are people. >> congresswoman, bob shrum, thank you for your time. >> thanks. >> republicans may not support fairness in a budget deal but the american people are speaking long and clur. they do. it got even worse for mitt romney in iowa today. i give you your gop front-runner. >> no, no, i came here to speak. and you will get to ask questions. hold on a second. hold on a second and i'll let you speak.

>> we're live in iowa with all the politicses. stay with us. [ male announcer ] looking for a complete picture of your money? meet pnc virtual wallet. it comes with a calendar that shows you all your finances at once. it lets you know when your money's going out. and when it's coming in. it even tells you when you're running low. we call that danger days. it's built to help you see your money in a whole new light. experience everything virtual wallet has to offer at pncvirtualwallet.com. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. ♪ in one place. the winning horse you could have picked. ♪ that "old flame" you should have called. ♪ that leap of faith you never took. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event, with exceptional values on the lexus is.

but only until september 6th. see your lexus dealer.

republicans are refusing to take on taxes but the heat is on. in town haul meeting, people are coming out saying they want change. the problem with the republicans town hall meetings, is when the town people show up in the hall.

congress may be on vacation but the battle over the economy is still raging. today house minority leader

nancy pelosi name herd picks to the budget super committee. representative bucera clyburn and van hollen, a trio of progressive democrats expected to fight hard for the democratic policies. but they will join six conservative republicans, all pledging ton raise taxes under any circumstances. meanwhile, republicans are on vacation holding town hall meetings. and finding angry voters demanding, the message is clear, taxes should be on the table. >> why do you believe that tax breaks to the wealthy improves jobs -- >> i do not believe that raising taxes on anybody is helpful in making our economy better. [ inaudible ] >> let's have the discussion.

>> let's tax the rich. >> let's tax the rich. >> we would tax some of the big business instead of always putting it on the backs of middle class and low-income people. if [ applause ] [ inaudible ] >> yes. >> compromise is not a four-letter word. >> will the republicans get the picture and learn that compromise is not a four-letter word? joining me now is a kol you will any of the for the nation and msnbc contributor even long time congressional correspondent bob franken, now syndicated columnist for "king features." melissa, corporations and obama is anti-american, corporations are people. i mean, how do you get a compromise with people that are preaching this and seemingly

believing it. >> the supreme court of the united states basically did say that corporations are people. that was that horrible citizens united decision. in a certain way romney isn't completely inaccurate. i suspect part of what we are seeing here is the result of that. that once corporations are able to behave with such overwhelming influence on the electoral arena, you will see their interests cared for over citizens. i have to say, i'm slowly becoming convinced that if na congress shouldn't be in session that they should be out in the town halls. whenever i get really disillusioned by what is going on in washington, i find that the american people, even despite my disagreements with half of the population of course, that i just like how americans are willing to come out and say, look, that doesn't make any sense to me. we are hurting. we've got jobs -this is a pretty

loud and clear pressage in the districts. >> bob, i think melissa is correct that when you look at the supreme court decision that talks about corporations can operate and have rights as people do, and now, it is being verbalized by the front-runner in the middle of a confrontation, i think we are beginning to see that they look at humanity and business one way and most people look at it another way. that may lead us where the problem is. >> i think right now a lot of republicans would like to turn mitt romney around a little bit and wish that these people they are facing were corporations. that is to say they're sitting in some board room somewhere, groveling for the political contribution so the fat cat

doesn't have to pay their fair share of taxes or anything. as for bringing congress back it washington, i would go a step further and say we shouldn't allow them to get back. >> i like that plan. now, let me ask you, when you have this combination, political reality, melissa, three progressive, trio of progress e progressives be and you are dealing with six republicans that have said no taxes on the table, we're not talking about it, one released a statement today when it was implied or inferred that maybe he was open to republicans talking about taxes, he said, no, not me. how do you get a climbate of compromise. these people acting like that compromise is some profane word. something that should not be spoken among respectable people. >> look, i am really worried about this committee.

yes, pelosi did put three, not only -- not only three reliable progress ifs but also the only diversity that shows up on this entire committee. also, when i say diversity, don't just mean the gender and race piece, but the folks on this committee that don't have uber wealth themselves. when you look at how the individual wealth of the various congressmen and senators spreads out, it is really only the congressional democrat from the white house so who have sort of more ordinary wealth. it is really the uber rich. >> one diverse with race and class and politics. >> that's right. >> the other looks like upper, rich, white males. >> but i'll tell you the person i'm most worried about on this committee is baucus. he is coming from the democratic side but when i think about what went wrong fundamentally in the healthcare debate as president obama is maligned for his actions in healthcare reform,

the fact is that it was baucus over and over again who was standing there with his hand, you know, extended to republicans when it didn't have to be. when democrats in fact did have a majority. so, i'm very concerned that the way that the compromise will be reach said in a baucus fashion which really has not proven to be the sort of thing that leads it progressive agenda. >> well, what we've got it see, bob, is the people's outrage. many offis are mobilized and many of us are moving forward. but one sign that is hopeful, when you look at 22 polls, 22 polls, show majority of americans want to raise taxes. this is not one poll. 22 different polls. when you look at anger in town hall meetings that republicans are calling as they go home, on vacation, and their own constituents are saying, taxes should be on the table. that gives us the glimmer of

hope that people are going to turn the heat up and change the climbate for this discussion. >> well, am i going to be the skunk at picnic here and try and sniff out that glimmer of hope? i think that would all be relevant if he lived in a country where politicians were responsive to the people instead of their campaign contributors. but to be perfectly honest about it, we less and less do. i think we make a mistake it put too much hope in this committee. i think the best that is going to happen, particularly if history is a guide, this committee will come up with a compromise that apoints another committee 37. that's what they do. >> that's true. >> i think committee it committee, i think first of all, and i realize that they do have their campaign contributors, but people i think has to mobilize and i think that people have to vote and they can go from committee to committee. there is an election next year. >> there is an election but i think that it is an election

that is pretty much controlled these days by distortions. people, particularly the ones with -- >> melissa, we did see two seats change in wisconsin, despite all of the contributors. we didn't the tle we wanted. but it shows that people did something unprecedented, so i don't count out mobilizing people yet. and even though bob will be the skunk at the picnic, i want you and your husband, melissa, next time you're in new york to go out with me and my new pet, bank of america. if corporations can be people, my pet can be banks. >> melissa and bob, thanks for a great conversation. coming up, the circus hits iowa. republicans are set to battle each other. but after the day mitt had, i'm not sure he's ready for it. and florida governor rick scott turns down healthcare for his residents. why is he getting this on his

own? that con job revealed next. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker...

whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ [ male announcer ] if you're in a ford f-150 and you see this... it's the end of the road. the last hurrah. it's when ford's powertrain warranty ends. but in this ram truck, you've still got 39,999 miles to go. ♪ guts. glory. ram. ♪ energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources

within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas.

florida governor rick perry refuses healthcare money for his residents. but gets his tax pay irfunded insurance at a bargain rate. that's our con job of today. since taking office in january, governor scott made his name slashing budgets and turning down money from the federal healthcare overall.

even though florida has the nation's second highest rate of uninsured residents. but scott doesn't refuse everything the government offers him. the associated press reports, scott's enrolled in a taxpayer subsidized insurance plan that gives cheaper coverage it high ranking state officials. so while most florida public employees pay $180 a month, for their family health coverage, scott only pays $30 a month. now as a multimillionaire, scott really needs that deal. things like that, that explains why only 35% of florida residents approve of governor scott. rick scott getting discount id health insurance while he denies health insurance funds for the rest of the state. this is also our con job of the day. into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen.

i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. you had me at "probiotic." what's it going to take? do we have to spell it out? can't republicans in congress get the message? instead, they protect tax breaks for big oil. tax breaks for billionaires. even tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas. republicans in congress have shown who they stand up for. voting to take care of the wealthy. not the middle class. it's time to bring jobs back to america.

seiu cope is responsible for the content of this advertising. yes! ha ha! [ clicking ] ♪ what happened? power went out, want a hot dog? [ female announcer ] oscar mayer selects are made with 100% beef and have no artificial preservatives.

welcome back. we have breaking news to report. nbc hasfirmed that texas

governor rick perry will announce that he is running for president. he will make it official in south carolina on saturday. perry is already polling very strong in second place behind mitt romney. even before this news broke, romney was under pressure. today at the iowa state fair a group of hecklers went after him. take a look. >> you came here to listen to the people. >> no, no, no, i came here to speak. and you can ask a question. hold on a second. barack obama is why 25 million people don't have jobs and can't find jobs. >> wall street greed. >> okay, next question. >> social security, medicare and medicaid account for about half of federal spending. >> lie. >> lie. >> just hold on. >> then romney made the statement that could calm back to haunt him for some time. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes -- of course

they are. everything corporations are ultimately goes to people. >> if things couldn't get wackier in iowa, look who's joining the party. you betcha. sarah palin is rolling into town. even though she won't take part in tonight's debate. all this comes just two days before the poll. this is an event that could signal the end of the campaign road for can dates who finish poorly. ginning me now is nbc news campaign gary. he was five feet from mitt romney during the ruckus today. gary, thank you for joining us. >> reporter: my pleasure. >> gary, what was the reaction from the romney camp today when this happened, when the hecklers got on him and he responded that corporations are people. what was the reaction of the romney campaign people around him? >> reporter: well, you know, you saw it there on the video.

you had a very tense couple of minutes with a few q and a's going back and forth, then you the had hecklers shouting. shortly of that, things calmed down. he was able to answer a couple questions before time went on for the soap box event. they toured the fairgrounds with the senator. >> did they feel like he had made a mistake or were they upset? did they feel that they had to spin him saying corporations were people? how were they trying to deal with this? >> reporter: no, they didn't treat it as a mistake at all, al. the campaign came out later in the afternoon and said absolutely corporations are collections ever people. if you work for a big company, you work for a corporation. they are really standing by that line. while the soundbite may kind of ugly, they stand by that concept. >> gary, thank you for joining me. good luck on the campaign trail.

with me is malia from washington post. i'm surprised but maybe i shouldn't be because i would think that at, at worst, at worst, they would say that we've got to, at worst from my vantage point anyway, that we have to clarify this and make the statement seem like it is not as out of touch as it is. but maybe they believe that. because clearly corporations are not people and clearly the people that work in corporations don't have the advantages or the treatment that the corporate structure that they work for have. >> well, you saw the campaign released via twitter, a couple of responses. one of the tweets early on said, do people think that corporations are buildings? corporations are in fact job creators, so that is one attempt to clean it up. a couple hours later there was

another tweet tw fr a campaign spokesman saying they are glad to draw this contrast from obama who was bashing businesses and romney who they said was somebody who very much looked at corporations as a job creator. what you will see tonight is mitt romney on stage tonight in iowa. he will further try to clarify. the video i think speaks to one of the things we will see throughout this campaign, that is how much the unscripted moments matter. it is one thing tonight where he will be essentially rehashing his stone speech but in those moments you get to see how candidates react in pretty tense situations. >> that's a very good point, nia. as you know, i ran in the democratic primaries in '04. i was in scores of debates. i think that one of the things that we've got to see tonight, is in the unscripted moment where there is an exchange between candidates, who makes the mistake. but not only who makes the mistake, who can move forward

and really stand out from the crowd and score. will pawlenty or one ever those considered second tier score tonight or will the front runners break news or go further ahead? i think the debate is one that's been on that stage. >> i don't care how much you have been prepped. it is you and whatever is in front of you. and you can either make it or break it tonight. >> exactly. it'll be tough because there is so many candidates on stage tonight. i think one of the things to look for is romney. do people pile on romney? does pawlenty pile on romney? does he try to go toe to toe to elevate his stance? or focus just on bachmann where the main thing right now is the poll in iowa. will be a question. does romney respond if he is attacked or does he duck. that's a question as well. i think looming over this whole

thing is rick perry. of, of course, will get in this thing. he announced his campaign -- >> before you make that point, i want to talk to you about that. let me bring in jill lawrence, who joins us from ames, iowa. jill, tonight is going to be the republicans are all on stage. but as nia was saying, two republicans not on stage are really going to dominate a loet lot of the attention that you have, rick perry, who just happened to announce today, right on the day of the debate, that he is -- to upstage the debate and the strong poll, that's quite a coincidence? >> reporter: it is not a coincident at all. in fact, people in iowa are not happy about it. i was talking to the congressman

from iowa. he said if he were advising perry, he would advise him to not make it look as if he were trying to overshadow the straw poll. to add insult to injury, he is coming to waterloo to exactly the same spot where michele bachmann announced her campaign. rick perry has a reputation for playing hard ball and i think it has already started. >> nia, rick perry is also is not alone because sarah palin is coming into town. she has decided that with all of the bus routes in america, she's got to bring her bus through iowa. what is that all about. >> yeah, i think one of the things you've seen spr sarah palin over the last months is a pitch to continue her relevance. it doesn't look like if you ask most people, it doesn't look like she will get in this thing. she isn't making any of the moves you need to to get in a race like this. whether it is fund-raising or reaching out to republican grass

roots. leaders, in some early states. i think this is again is way it suck away the oxygen. one of the things i think is interesting that it looks like palin is coming out, in this sm ways she is critical of romney, so it will be interesting to see if she forms an alliance wiie w perry. >> i will ask you jill, who has to score big tonight and who has to hold on tonight at the debate, in your opinion some. >> well, you know, the debate is so high stakes for so many people, particularly with the straw poll coming right after it. i mean, if tim pawlenty does not do well tonight and come in second in the straw poll, the straw poll is brutal in terms of wintering the field. in 1999 there were two candidates who dropped out within a day or two afterwards. quail and alexander. within months dole and buchanan were gone too. these people have to score

tonight and make an impression for the undecideds who will be at the straw poll on saturday. you won't see much of ronald reagan's 1 17b8g commandment tonight where you don't speak ill of other republicans. they really have to cut into each other and there is a lot of material out there now that there hasn't been. you know, a lot in the press and a lot going on that either the moderators or the other candidates can bring up. so i think you're going to see some kinds of strong. >> i think in '04 when i was in them, is you have some that there are to win the nomination and win president and then have you others that are there running to bring forth what they believe and a point of view that they want to make sure is part of the presidential campaign discussion. who really have not much to lose because they are not trying to win votes as much as bring out their point. those are the ones that could really cause serious problems

for a front runner that is trying not to offend certain voters or take very definitive stands. that's a problem, don't you think? >> that's exactly right. and have you people who really don't have much of a shot at winning the presidency, winning the nomination or the ames straw poll. people like caine, santorum, paul, they might, as you said, want to put something into the discussion that might be further right. so you will have to see how the candidates who do have a chance of viability in a general election like mitt romney or tim paw looent, how do they engage with that. do they feel pressure to go a little to the right or do they feel like they want to stake out a more centrist, a center right position, with an eye really toward the general election. >> governor romney, has the problem of being the front-runner even though perry and other -- well, perry and palin, if in fact some people

think she is still coming in, consider the top ten, they're not there. so he has the problem jill that if somebody wants to move to the right, based on their belief, based on the sincerity and want to move further than he would want them to move, he loses the crowd but he also says something that could cost him in the general if he is in fact the nominee. how do people prepare him for that tonight? >> you know, he is really in a tough spot because he is, first of all, he add lot of reversals in his past so he is trying to to be consistent. second of all, he is trying to appear as if he is not competing in iowa so he is here for the debate but not speaking at the straw poll but apparently calls are being made to see, you know, if he will have some kind of critical mass at the straw poll and because he is doing well if polls nationally, he is probably going to take some hits tonight. and you know, as we saw earlier in the day, sometimes he's not

really kind of flexible and unexpected situations. so tonight will be unpredictable andple only remember they were in the debates. nia, jill, thank you for your time. scott walker says recall elections are no big deal. okay, governor, you hope so. later, sarah palin isn't the only one getting on the bus. they are all doing it. a full ses

plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. [ male announcer ] get five dollars in money-saving coupons at v8juice.com. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪

democrats in wisconsin almost pulled off the unthinkable this week. they will within 2200 votes of overtaken the state senate. now, governor scott walker says, it's all over. nothing more to see here. he thinks recall elections are history. quote, whether it's a gubinatorial recall, any other recall, i don't think there's a whole lot of enthusiasm for having a whole wave of ads and money come into the state of

wisconsin. really? you don't think there's a whole lot of enthusiasm? >> [ crowd chanting, we want walker ]. >> check back in january and see how that is working out for you. and governor walker and some other far right gofr nors are turning down money that would help people. that's next. we're thinking about them. a couple decades ago, we didn't even realize just how much natural gas was trapped in rocks thousands of feet below us. technology has made it possible to safely unlock this cleanly burning natural gas. this deposits can provide us with fuel for a hundred years, providing energy security and economic growth all across this country. it just takes somebody having the idea, and that's where the discovery comes from.

the party of no thanks. republicans turning down millions of federal dollars to push their own political agenda. kansas governor sam brownbeck just rejected a $31.5 million federal grant to support healthcare reform. wisconsin governor scott walker's administration, just turned down $9 million that would have gone towards drug and alcohol abuse treatment. but the grand daddy of the

republican nay sayers, florida governor rick scott. has turned down the most money of them all. more than $54 million. that would have helped floridians get better healthcare. look what they could have gotten. $40 million for chronic disease and health management. $8 million for build health he is noters. $2 million for hospice for kids. $and 2 million for seniors medicare premiums and prescription costs. let me be clear, they are pushing ideology over helping their constituent. joining me now by phone because of audio difficulty says scott randolph. representative randolph, thank you for your time tonight. i mean, can you believe the governors, ideology over real healthcare and real help for people that need the help in their states?

>> that's exactly right. i mean, you've got a situation where florida has the second highest rate of uninsured. some of the highest rates of seniors per capita and here have you a governor that is absolutely determined to put ideology above the health of their own citizens. in addition -- i'm sorry, in addition to money already talked about, he also is trying to get a waiver under the federal healthcare law that would deny consumers in florida the right to the $60 million in rebates from their own hmos. >> that is what i was going to say, that wasn't all and you answered it before i got to it. let me ask you this, mr. randolph. isn't this something that outrages the public. don't the people in florida -- don't people in other states get what is going on here? i know in florida, scott is very

low in the polls. i mean, to me i don't see how people are even passively letting this go down like this. >> well, unfortunately we don't have the recall provision in our state constitution like wisconsin. so given that we also have a republican legislature that won't impeach him, we're going it have to put up with him for four solid years. that's unless the doj diets him on indicts him on on medicare fraud, before he was governor. he is unpopular and people need to keep hounding him where where he goes in this state and remind him that his policies are job-killing anti-middle class politics. >> florida state representative scott randolph, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you very much. >> republicans are taking to the wrote, bus tours to meet corporations. i mean, voters. that's the next story.

as luxury s.u.v.s, it helps to have the quality and craftsmanship of your leather interior test better than the lexus rx 350. it's also helpful to set your "select terrain" dial to "sand." ♪

[ kate ] can't believe i have high blood pressure. what's that thing? another medication. ♪ i really should have taken my shoes off before i got weighed. [ female announcer ] you've got a lot on your mind. that's why every walgreens prescription goes through a 10 point safeguard check that reviews your current walgreens health record for allergies and potentially harmful drug interactions. [ kate ] i can do this. [ female announcer ] the 10 point safeguard check from walgreens. there's a way to stay well.

republican candidates are hitting the road with their own personal bus tour. and in my opinion, they are all running on fumes. remember palin's one nation bus tour? after stalling for two months, she is headed for iowa. guess what we called the, i'm still relevant bus tour? herman cain with also driving around iowa with his common sense solutions bus tour. but with the way his campaign is going, he might make a bigger splash if he used it as the pizza delivery bus tour. rick santorum's campaign couldn't even spring enough money for an actual bus. his tour is made up of two mini vans. with record heat temperatures across the united states. tim pawlenty's bus tour turned

into a sad metaphor for the campaign we the air conditioning broke. you want to move and motivate people to vote for you, well then a bus tour isn't going to be enough. remember, you got to beat this guy. >> there's no stopping the united states of america. there is no holding us back. we can strengthen this economy. and we can put our nation back to work. and we can lead the world in growing industries and we will make it through these economic storms and reach calmer waters, stronger than we were before. >> look out, president obama's own bus tour starts monday. but when the tours are over, the voters will decide who took them for a ride. and people like me will tell them who threw them in front of the bus. i'm al sharpton, thanks for watching and we'll be watching you guys. "hardball" starts right now.