leaders think towards obama? how can they rightlydeny their voters to have a candidate that does just that? well, it will be interesting to watch the republican leaders and thinkers find ways to measure and modify their words to avoid the anger of the party's base itself. otherwise they will be condemned to repeat what the party did in 1964, run a presidential candidate who said, extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. and i've got great news for "hardball" fans. my wife, kathleen, is going to join us a week from now to talk about the year that was. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. the face of economic injustice, children go to capitol hill to tell their stories about being homeless.

president obama wants to help them but republicans just keep playing political games. a major development in the fight to kick right-wing governor scott walker out of office. we have the news. and gop insiders go after gingrich. is tonight's willard's last chance to take newt down? >> he has been unreliable and under the support of the most conservative principles. >> the first reaction is to hit back. well, my campaign is entirely based on the idea that i'm not going to hit back. >> welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, the shocking numbers that show just how much this country is hurting. look at these numbers. nearly one in two americans are living in poverty or just getting by. one out of every two. that's about 146 million americans. how staggering is that? the number of people struggling in this country is greater than

the population's of france, the united kingdom, greece, switzerland combined. look at that. the combination -- the combined populations of these countries equal and children are bearing the brunt of this. >> we lost everything. it affected my attitude because i lost all my friends over and over again. i would love some place to live, a healthy place to eat, school, and live my life. >> i have seen my dad cry the last month more than i have my entire life. when i see my father cry, it hurts me a lot because i know he is trying his best and it just

still isn't good enough. >> his best just isn't good enough. that's the headline of this economy, folks. millions of unemployed are doing their best. but the jobs just aren't there. for every four people looking for work, there's just one available job. this is why extending unemployment insurance is so important. this is why extending the payroll tax cut matters. and this is why it's so infuriating when republicans hold these benefits hostage for bills fill of oil pipelines, cuts to environmental legislation, and pay freezes for federal workers. this is why it's infuriating, when they refuse to even consider taxes on millionaires and it's why the president won't stand for it. >> congress should not and

cannot go on vacation before working families don't see their taxes go up by $1,000 and those looking for work don't see their unemployment insurance expire. >> joining me is a democrat from missouri and chair of the congressional black caucus and msnbc contributor, melissa harris-perry, a professor of tulane and columnist. thank you for joining me tonight. >> good to be with you. >> congressman, how can republicans play these political games when so many people are hurting? i mean, children, not republican children, not democrat children, children sitting there and they still play these games? >> reverend, having served as the mayor of kansas city, missouri twice and now here in congress, i have never, ever been more moved and in some ways angry -- angered by the

testimony that i received like i was today. it was unbelievable to hear these kids, through no fault of their own, talk about how difficult it is for them to just make it from day to day. now, these are not people who are just trifling and don't want to do anything for themselves. some of them worked and did anything that you would expect any kid to do just to try to make it and right now 97.3 million americans are considered low-income. these are people who are working every day trying to make it. this is a tough time and this is a not a time to be mean. there is a lot of meanness right now. not only in congress but around the country. >> but dr. perry, i mean, when you listen to children, i mean, i don't care who you are, if you listen -- let me show you another one of these children testify before congress today. >> i've lived in over 16 places

in my life. i would like people to know that it is different going through this than just hearing about it. you never experience being homeless. it is worse than hearing about it or watching a movie about it. you are in it. >> professor perry, i know there's a debate tonight and i know everybody's all souped up on that. but the children need to be front. we wanted to lead with this. people need to understand what we're really debating in this country. you're a mother. when you look at that, forget you're a professor, that you're a columnist. what does this say if we can overlook homeless children? >> reverend, what i want to point out here, i heard you start to say, it doesn't matter who you are, this is going to touch you. the fact is that just a couple of days ago forbes produced an online blog that said, you know,

if i were a poor black kid, here's what i -- >> i wanted to talk about that. because i was a poor black kid. >> as was i. >> right. and the whole idea here, in fact, for plenty of people, they can know these stats, hear these testimonies, and the response to it is, well, kid, do better. rather than a response being as americans it is our fundamental responsibility to make sure that these children don't have these circumstances. >> now, congressman cleveland, to show you how callous, in my opinion, some of your republican colleagues are, in the face of this, in the face of one out of two americans, poor or barely making it in the face of these children, they are listing as their priorities, no hiv aids funding for needle exchange programs and $5 million for abstinence, cut funding to the

epa, prohibit federal funding for abortions in d.c. i mean, what planet are these people living on? >> well, i think, unfortunate and tragically, there are some who are trying to play to the base and the base is demanding red meat and there are people here willing to give it to them. you know, the thing is, there are a lot of people up here who are upset with what's going on and who don't believe that we're doing anything to build up this institution. in fact, with this functionality of congress right now is at such a level because the litany of things that you just read off that are included in the bill that people don't believe that anything can happen here good. >> professor perry, in light of this, let me show you this. new contrast, we just saw children, black, white, latino,

all kind homeless talking before congress, at the same time that i'm showing that and i show this graph, look at this. the pay for american ceos has gone up as much as 40% last year. top ten ceos took home a combined $770 million in compensation. so i mean it sounds like a cliche but the data shows that the rich are getting richer and poor are getter poorer and no one seems to get it on n washington on the republican side of the aisle. >> you're making a fundamental error. you are approaching politics from your perspective, which is to say that you think elected officials should be primary responsible for the good of their constituents and of the country generally. but if you are someone who is, instead of worried about kind of general well being, you're worried primarily about re-election, then i'm here to tell you the easiest group of

people to write off are a bunch of homeless young people and their poor parents. because do you know how hard it is to obtain a birth certificate so you can get your state-issued i.d. so that you can go vote, so you can even figure out where you are supposed to vote if you don't have an address? so if you're worried about who your voters are, i promise you the people at the top of that rampging in terms of money that you've just seen, they've all got their driver's license and stable homes and know exactly where they can vote. >> i made an error because i grew up in school baulking about the land of the free and home of the brave. i believe it and still do. you're not just talking about the normal poor. you're talking about the base that the congressman is talking

about, congressman cleaver land we need to register to get those people out to vote to change this. >> ref lend, will tl is a lot going up here talking about religion. and we're going to make tlur there's a population explosion. >> i think we need to read other parts of the bible maybe we need to talk about that on christmas. thank you both for being on the show tonight. >> good to be with you. >> coming up, newt claims he's

going to turn the other cheek when willard attacks him at the debate. but we'll see how long that lasts. plus, is it time for the white wing governor scott walker to start looking for his next line of work? huge news on the recall effort. and the justice department is calling it the worst racial profiling they have ever seen. arizona sheriff joe arpaio is right in the middle of it. you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right,

i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years.

when you do unpopular things, you become unpopular. hot news on the effort to recall wisconsin gone nor's scott walker. that's next. with covergirl lashblast fusion. our biggest brush meets our fiberstretch formula

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welcome back to "politics nation." i always heard if you fight you might lose but if you don't fight, you're guaranteed to lose. they marched, they protested, they rallied, and they forced the world to watch. they occupied the state house before it was cool. when they got kicked out, they stuck it out, braving the cold to make their voices heard.

>> yes, scott walker has got to go. well, today the people that set off the progressive revolution are one step closer to victory. the democratic governor of wisconsin announced today they've collected an incredible 507,000 recall signatures. that's 94% of what they need to recall walker. and after only 30 days, they've still got another month to collect more signatures. folks, there's a long way to go on this journey but i have a feeling this is what this looks like. joining me now is senator john, a democrat from madison who has been one of the biggest supporters. john, thanks for joining me. you fled the state in protest. did you think you'd be this

close so fast? >> no. i'm really kind of surprised. there's no doubt in my mind that we'd get enough signatures to recall the governor but then again al, it doesn't matter what part of the state you go to. i was 80 miles west of madison last night in a town which is about 80 miles west and you drive down a certain highway out west and you see handmade recall stations set up along the way with people holding clipboards. so i'm surprised but i guess i'm not that surprised. there's no doubt we're going to get more than enough signatures that are going to be needed. >> now, walker, who is the king of the republican overreach, let me show you these graphics. his disapproval rating is about 50%. now, if you look at him, 51%.

kasich in ohio, 52%. florida rick scott, 58%. these are the disapproval numbers. disapproval. now, these guys were elected, went straight at breaking unions, straight at collective bargaining, and the people rebelled. in ohio, we were able to when i was involved -- that's why i say we -- to deal with sb 5, turning that around. now you have a recall. >> uh-huh. >> is this sending a message, jon, to these right-wing that you can win an election but we're not going to let you turn the policies used against the american people? >> i think it's sending a loud and clear message. obviously what happened in ohio was a huge victory and what will happen in wisconsin, hopefully defeating governor walker, will send shock waves throughout the country.

you pointed out something really important, al. they are overreaching. in every state that you talked about, they are overreaching way too much and people are pushing back and people are fighting back. >> now, let's play so people can hear how the pro walker people are trying to come back. and they are trying to try out the pro business credentials. listen to this. >> governor walker's a friend of small business. he recognizes that 70% of the jobs created in this country and in the state are by small businesses. he wants all of the people in the state to be successful. we can see that if wisconsin continues on a pro business strategy, we're going to grow our staff here. >> how do you respond to that, jon? >> well, the numbers just came out this afternoon. wisconsin lost jobs in november alone. what walker is doing for

businesses obviously isn't working. it's not working for the democrats, for the republican businesses, for anybody here in the state of wisconsin. >> now, the 14,000 jobs he tried at collective bargaining, callous, disrespectful, caught and and say misconduct in office, such a thing like that. >> now, is it that he doesn't get it or is he running scared, john? what do you think? >> i think you have denial and

there's chosen to govern. and picked public employees against the private sector on purpose. that's a very irresponsible thing to do. since then, it hasn't gotten any better. yeah, he's running scared. i don't think he quite understands the insincerity of the signatures staring him in the face today. >> now, john, do you think he will ultimately be recalled? we're getting the suggests. do you think he will be recalled and are you thinking about running against it? >> i have no doubt in my mind, al, that he will be recalled. i wouldn't be surprised if they approached 700 to 800,000 ballot signatures to recall the governor. now, the question as to whether or not i will or won't, my biggest concern is the best person to defeat scott walker when that happens, when that

finally happens. who is the best person to do it? if it's not me, i'm willing to help out who it's going to be. one thing for sure, it's got to be a well rounded campaign down to our environment, what he's done with voter i.d. in the state of wisconsin, cutting school funding and collective bargaining and spread into progressive movement all over the country. state senator jon erpenbach, thank you for your fight and keep it up. a human hand grenade with character flaws and half baked ideas. this is what conservatives are saying about newt. wow. but first, i marched against sheriff joe arpaio's racial profiling in arizona and now the feds are getting involved.

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arizona's sheriff joe arpaio is the guy that calls himself the toughest sheriff. he faced claims of racial profiling for years. he made inmates stay in their tents during air zone naz summers and wear pink underwear and handcuffs. he's a victim na tore and anti-immigration law.

but today the justice department came out with a shocking and disturbing report saying arpaio violated civil rights. the justice department expert on racial profiling said the profiling he saw committed by arpaio's office was the worst he had ever seen. he found latino drivers were four to nine times more likely to be stopped than nonlatino drivers. denied basic services like clean sheets and arpaio's office made immigration sweeps based on unverified tips. >> we are not talking about isolated incidents. it was deeply rooted in the culture of the department. did disregard for constitutional protections. >> arpaio has to agree to make

changes by january 4th or the government will sue him. this is a step in the right direction. this man must be stopped. i've been following arpaio for a long time. in 2009 i met with him. we marched and spoke out against his profiling in arizona. i also called him right out on this show. >> can't we understand that everybody -- >> no. >> -- cannot be judged in different standards? you cannot just say because somebody looks a certain way they are a criminal suspect? that's a threat to americans. >> a threat to americans. but apparently not a threat to republicans. a number of presidential candidates met with him hoping for an endorsement. he ended up endorsing and campaigning with rick perry. so the sheriff who feds say violated civil rights is who they are courting. that says a lot about their party. nouncer ] this is your moment. ♪ this is zales, the diamond store.

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they rise, they fall. anyone waiting for the newt implosion is still waiting. it has been the republican establishment a leading conservative blasted newt. saying, his character flaws, his i am pull sifness, his grandiosity made him a poor speaker of the house. again and again he put his interests above those and the causes that he championed in public. then comes the other barrage of hit pieces from conservative columnists. peggy says, gingrich is a human hand grenade who walks around with his hand on the pin saying, watch this. george will says, he's the least conservative candidate. david brooks simply says, stay away. and speaker boehner isn't

exactly giving him a ringing endorsement. >> i'm not sure he's as conservative as some people think he is. but newt is a conservative. >> how will it play out? joining me now? jonathan k. parks, editorial for the washington post and an msnbc contributor, casey hunt, national political reporter for the associated press, in sioux city, iowa, and bill, thanks to being here tonight. jonathan, let me start with you. why are all of the conservatives freaking out now? >> because they know newt gingrich. he wasn't a factor a while ago. remember, his campaign completely imploded. the trip to the greek isles, the tiffany bill, i don't think anyone expected him to come

roaring back the way he has. they know him, they worked with him, know what it's like to work with him as speaker of the house and they didn't like it. >> now, let me ask you, casey, you are in sioux city, this is the last debate tonight before the iowa caucus. i've been in those debates and everybody is in their little room getting ready. what do you hear is the strategy or the plan or what do you think is going to happen tonight? >> well, we've watched -- this is now the 13th debate so far and we've watched as each one has made an impact on this race. i mean, the whole thing has really been driven by debates. that's why you've seen newt rise

the way he has, because republican voters think that they would like to see him debate president obama. so he came out of the last one, went into it as a front-runner, came out again as a front runner and that's the question again tonight. he is he going to be able to stand across from mitt romney, avoid all of these things that as those conservative columnists were saying, he's going to make sure that he keeps his focus on that. >> we'll talk more about the debate. let me go to you, bill press. why is the establishment going like they are going against newt gingrich? he was the speaker, the face of the republicans flipping the script yet you have almost a unanimous establishment against newt. what's the problem? >> i think the problem is they want to win and they don't think

newt can win. i think it's as simple as that. look, in politics, you can forgive somebody who endorses a candidate and finds out they have flaws that they didn't know about. it's pure followly and to know somebody's falls, to know how much baggage they have and to endorse them any way as the national review laid out. i agree with what jonathan said. it's the grand daddy of all publications formed by william f. buckly. what they are saying is, we know newt. he was a disaster as speaker. his fellow republicans threw him out as speaker. he's a serial adult error and he's a flip-flopper on the issues and what they are saying is, if we want to win, we cannot take a chance with a newt gingrich. >> when you look at the fact that newt gingrich has been able to rise this close.

>> yeah. >> the fact is, when all of the republican establishment going after him, they can't seem to deliver their base to will regard romney. all the kings horses and all the kings men seem not to be able to put him together again. so the problem is they are going to have to let one of the other ones come up, blitz newt out, and who opens the door to who? huntsman? >> i bet camp huntsman hopes that's the case. romney can't seal the deal. they have serious concerns about whether he is conservative enough to give him the nomination or at least to vote for him to get the nomination. and they have him on tape saying that he's not a partisan

republican. he views himself as progressive. >> right. >> those are the kinds of comments in the past that make it really difficult for him to seal the deal with conservatives, which explains why he ran headlong into the embrace of christine o'donnell when she endorsed him. >> now, let me ask this, because i think, casey, that it seems as though willard changed strategies. he was above the fray and focused on attacking president obama and now he seems to take on newt. he has a whole new posture. watch this. >> newt gingrich has been an unreliable leader in the conservative movement. he has a very questionable movement when it comes to leading conservative principles. he's lived in washington nor the last 30 years. he went to washington to do good and stayed to do well. he's been unreliable in his support of conservative principles. >> sounds personal to me, casey. he went to washington to do good

and did well. wow. >> yeah. well, he also used the word zany in an interview with the "new york times." we've seen over the past few days and we've seen a distinct shift from the previous he's all about the economy. and i think the timing of it, in particular, made it really dangerous. we're less than three weeks from the start of voting in iowa. if newt gingrich comes up on top, it's going to potentially create serious problems for romney heading into new hampshire and on to south carolina. >> now, bill, the unpredictable guy in the whole race is ron paul. and ron paul didn't take his gloves off because he never had them on. watch what he's saying about newt. >> he's probably as aggressive with the military as anybody. he supports all of the wars in

the middle east. a thousand times more than i would. but in the 1960s, when i was drafted, he got several deferments. he chose not to go. he'll send our kids to war but at that time he said one person wouldn't make a difference. so i see that important information. people should know that. >> newt got several deferments while i went to war. that does not resonate well with republican right-wing voters. >> no. first of all, ron paul has been so consistent from the very beginning. he was tea party before tea party was cool. i think newt gingrich hears somebody stepping on his back, it's ron paul. he's been devastating. he called himself an historian.

he was not a historian. >> i want you all to stay with me. we'll talk about the fireworks that we're expecting tonight from willard. ahead, a big debate tonight. the last time the republicans will meet before the iowa vote. we're going to know it's going to get ugly. but how ugly will it be? and take a look at this article titled "if i were a poor black kid." except the writer is not poor, not black, and not a kid. but it is just the latest attack on the poor from the right wing. these attacks must stop. and i'll talk about that a little later. stay tuned. i take an omega for my heart. but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum, a name i trust. it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too.

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welcome back. it's the final fight night before the iowa caucuses and with this cast of characters, anything can happen. but the big headlines will likely come as willard and newt and ron paul duke it out for the hearts and minds of iowa voters. this could be the night to remember. i'm back with my panel,

jonathan, kasie hunt, and bill press. kasie, you're standing in sioux city, outside the building where the big debate will take place tonight. i'm been in sioux city but will newt turn the other cheek tonight? >> you're right. it's chilly outside here. i think we're looking for newt gipg rich to take it to mitt romney. we're waiting for romney to land some hits and he hasn't done it. newt, on the other hand, has promised over and over again he's going to refrain from running a negative campaign. he fired a staffer who made disparaging comments about mormons earlier in the week. >> right. >> and today he jabbed at romney last time, said that he would be a career politician if he hadn't lost to teddy kennedy.

i think you may see a changed dynamic on the stage tonight. >> but, bill, the fact is, since november, look at this poll. newt has dropped 12 points in iowa. >> uh-huh. >> usually newt can afford to be graceful and will we see newt fight with both barrels? >> i don't think newt can help it. i think there's going to be a great show tonight, al. this is a last chance saloon, okay? i really believe mitt romney can almost afford to ride it high and talk about the economy but for michele bachmann, rick santorum, rick perry, ron paul, this is their last chance on stage, maybe forever, and their last chance to bring newt down. newt's numbers are already

slipping. i think you can see ron paul, as i said earlier, take over for him in iowa and michele bachmann, don't count her out either. they've got to do it tonight. >> now, newt has had an interesting strategy in the other debates. he has not gone after the other opponents. he's gone after the media. he has been able to use the media as his straw guy to get to audience behind him. watch this. >> how do you respond to people who say that your campaign has been a mess so far? >> i took seriously to put aside the talking points and i wish you would put aside the got you questions. i just want to point out that my colleagues have done a terrific job of answering an absurd question. to say in 30 seconds -- >> you have said that you want an appeal, is that sdplekt. >> who has the better chance of

this argument? >> i'm not interested in your effort to get republicans fighting against each other. >> the strategy seems to be quite intentional because, jonathan, when he went to talk to people at your paper, he was questioned about all this media bashing. and let me show you what he says. he says, those two things galvanize people anded it media becomes a good target for him in these debates and might be the target tonight since he says he's not going to fight any of his opponents. >> right. that's what he said in those previous debates again when he was not -- when he was not the flavor of the month. when he was nowhere near the top three poll getters. what we're going to see tonight,

though, i don't think he can stand to do that above it all tactic. you're going to have mitt romney going after him hard, i think, as he's been going at him in television interviews and print interviews and as bill was saying, ron paul coming at him on the other side going after him talking about newt gingrich and all of his fobles and they are going to come at him -- i would be very surprised if they didn't do this, hit him hard with all of the messages, zany and unreliable and being a lobbyist and all of that, and then letting the campaign commercials flooding the airways there to pound in to compound the message, to bring the message home that newt gingrich is not someone who should be the nominee. >> now, if they do that and he plays, i'm not the enemy, the president is, and tries to act as though they are being divisive and they ought to be, kasie, going after the president, could that backfire on willard and the others?

>> well, i think you've seen newt be successful with that message but our other panelists have made a good point in that his role is much different up on the stage now. he's been the professor, the historian, guy that's been able to stand there and say what we need to be talking about are conservative ideas. i think he's going to be in the spotlight again tonight like he was in the most recent debate. i think you're going to see him be forced to respond to the other folks up on stage even if he resists it. >> let me go across the board. a quick answer. jonathan, does romney need a knockout punch tonight? >> i don't know if he needs a knockout punch but he needs to keep doing what he's going to be doing and that's giving great debate performances. >> kasie, does willard need a knockout punch? >> he needs to not make a major mistake. >> bill, does willard need a knockout punch? >> i think as long as he doesn't

bet rick perry $10 thourngs, he will be fine. keep his cool, don't get rattled, and move on to new hampshire. he's not going to win iowa. >> kasie, you see the writers don't know tv. you're the only one following the rules. it's going to be quite interesting tonight. i'll tape it because, quite frankly, i'll be watching rachel. thank you so much for your time. >> thanks, rev. ahead, a forbes magazine titled if i was a poor black kid is sparking controversy and outrage. my commentary, next.

we began the show tonight

talking about economic injustice in this country. there's a new article about this in "forbes" magazine that's sparking a lot of outrage, and rightly so. the article is called, "if i were a poor black kid." the "forbes" writer claims that poor children still have many opportunities to succeed despite the obstacles they face. he says, "technology can help these kids but only if the kids want to be helped. yes, there is much inequality but the opportunity is still there in this country for those that are smart enough to go for it. so let me get this straight. if kids don't succeed, it's because they don't want to be helped. it's because they are not smart enough. it's ridiculous but it's become a republican talking point. the poor don't deserve our help. it's their fault they are poor.

>> if you don't have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself. >> really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who works. >> only 53% of americans pay any federal income tax. people who pay nothing can easily forget the idea that there is no such thing as a free lunch. >> republicans are wrong. they and this writer target poor kids and say they can solve their problems by using skype. i mean, are they serious in is this for real? one in every two americans are poor or low income, including 57% of children. all they need is skype. we also told you today the homeless kids testifying on capitol hill with heartbreaking

testimony. >> the hardest thing being in a hotel is being in a bus and knowing kids are getting off at their own home and going to a one-room hotel. it makes me feel really upset. >> it's especially hard for my 2-year-old daughter because he does not understand why mom is always crying. he cries too. he wants mom's attention. >> sure these kids need to have self-motivation. sure they need to have the will and the desire. but government must do its part and telling them to just go learn technology and have desire is not dealing with the systemic inequality. you like to give that advice next time? tell them to go to the library. tell the ceos of the failed banks to go get themselves some skype. you bail out the rich and when the poor say, let's even out society, you give them advice to