well as their own church. could an american politician really be talking theocracy, control over the state by religion? well, anyway, keep your ears open when santorum is talking. this is getting interesting. coming up next -- first of all, this is "hardball." "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton live tonight from atlanta. our lead story, there's two conversations going on in this country. for months now, the president has been talking from coast to coast about the thing americans care most about -- jobs. but funny enough, that word doesn't seem to be in the gop vocabulary. the four candidates in last night's debate only said the word ten times between them. willard only said it twice. rick santorum didn't utter the

word at all, but let's face it. the republican candidates and their crowds seem to get more riled up by other things. they booed a question on birth control. that's right. in months past, gop debate crowds had booed a gay soldier, applauded the death penalty apparently and now made it clear they don't really like birth control. good thing for their candidates, it fits right in. >> not once did anybody in the elite media ask why barack obama voted in favor of legalizing it. >> children being raised by children. children being raised out of wedlock. >> most recently requiring the catholic church to provide for its employees and various enterprises health care insurance that would include birth control, sterilization and the morning after pill. unbelievable. >> wow, willard. no wonder the president leads you by 35 points among unmarried

women. and your attacks on women are about as tone deaf as your attacks on the president. >> i don't think we've seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, relidgeience tolerance that we've seen in barack obama. >> he was willing to jump into bed with the muslim brotherhood in libya and egypt. >> this is an administration which as long as you are america's enemy, you're safe. >> really? keep going extreme, fellas. just know that the more you do, the more it hurts you in those swing states. 53% of the people in those states, including 44% of your own party, say this process is weakening the field. these republican candidates are talking to the right, but it's the wrong conversation for america. joining me now is bab shrum, a democratic strategist and professor at nyu and nia-malika

henderson, national reporter for "the washington post." thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> great to be here, rev. >> bob, let me start with you. you write in a almost out later today that romney may have stopped his bleeding in the primaries, but has opened his veins for november. what do you mean by that? >> he engaged in a panderthon last night. was as though he felt he had to satisfy every right wing instinct inside the republican party. so not only did he do what he did on birth control and, i think, jump into that after rick santorum delivered himself a jeremiah, he's created with that an almost impassable gender gap between himself and the white house. he then went on and cited arizona's anti-hispanic, hispanic baiting, immigration law as a model for the nation. you know, karl rove said that a republican can't get elected president without getting about 40% of the hispanic vote. john mccain got 31% last night. right now, mitt romney is

polling at about 25%, and that was before last night. this process is dooming the republicans, especially as and if the economy continues to recover. >> now, nia, when you look at the fact that the economy, look at the polling. the economy is 56% of what people are concerned about whereas the deficit is 15%, health care 14%, immigration 5%. abortion 3%. clearly in the economy, they are concerned about jobs, as i said. it was mentioned ten times collectively last night. do these candidates feel the polling is wrong or do they feel that we are off or they don't care or there's no game plan? i mean, you are covering these candidates. it seems to me they are in another world or maybe they have some data that we just are not privy to. >> well, they are in the world of the republican primary, and i think for now, they are trying

to get an engine among those base reporters. to win that republican primary. you saw a resurgent rick santorum and that surge was powered in many ways by his talking about contraception. by him talking about this catholic church controversy. and so then you have romney trying to make some inroads with that as well. but i do think overwhelmingly this will hurt them in the general. in some ways it was fitting it was in arizona. arizona is going to be a state that's going to be about 16% of the voting population will be latino come this fall. and they are going to have 11 electoral votes. that's up one from last time. and a white house very much concentrating on this western collection of states, including arizona, new mexico and colorado. and for mitt romney who looks like he's a stronger candidate at this point. the white house views him as the presumptive nominee. you have a candidate who in some ways you saw him softening his rhetoric on the latino issues and in terms of immigration. then again you heard him

pandering, calling arizona a model for immigration. i think it is a model in some ways. it's a model for alienating the hispanic vote. republicans have to figure out how they're going to move to the center come the general election in november. >> when you talk about him moving further to the right or immigration, look at exactly what he said about that last night, bob. >> you talked, governor, about self-deportation. what about arresting. should there be aggressive seek them out, find them and arrest them? >> i think you see a model here in arizona. the right course is to drop these lawsuits against arizona and other states that are trying to do the job barack obama isn't doing. i'll also complete the fence. i'll make sure we have enough border patrol agents to secure the fence. just as arizona is finding out you can stop illegal immigrat n immigration. it's time we finally did it. >> now, bob, when you see him going not only to the extreme right on immigration and you raised the point about the latino vote, you also showed

they showed sheriff joe arpaio who is the subject of a lawsuit on discrimination. not only does it seem like they don't regard the president as the president. they don't take seriously justice department lawsuits that they should at least wait until we see whether or not they are proven to be discrimination or not. it just -- a total, total, in my opinion, ignore something very serious charges about discrimination that is tied to these discrimination laws. this insult has got to cost them latino votes and other votes. >> romney's rhetoric may not be as hot. i haven't heard him recently talk about satan. but the message he's sending out on social issues nld and immigration is if you want someone at the extreme, i'm your guy. he's doing it because he thinks he has to to get the republican

nomination. i think it's going to be very hard for him to build a bridge back. maybe he's hoping that his saving grace will be that people believe he's actually lying about his real beliefs, doesn't mean any of this. i think it would be very hard to persuade folks of that come november. and at the same time as he does this, he's creating a character problem for himself. he looks like someone who will do anything or say anything. i think it's a real problem. >> now when you look at the fact that even the republican leadership, let me show you what some of the members that are distinguished members of the gop, they seem disgusted at the direction the race has gone. john huntsman says the gop risks finding itself in the dust bin of history. governor of louisiana bobby jindal says demonizing the president won't work. karl rove warning about how all this is -- all this intramural warfare is coming across. nia-malika, even in the party,

they are being kind of critiqued kind of harshly. what happens when they get out of the primary process and has a party that, at best is demoralized? >> well, you know, i think the republican party in 2009 in electing michael steele to head the rnc was trying to have a more big tent philosophy in terms of their party. diversify the ranks in terms of adding blacks and attracting latinos to the party. i think that's where they'll have to go back to. and even george bush. he was able to get something like 44% of the latino vote. meaning he was able to win by about 3 million. he had a base strategy but also a latino strategy. i think that's what you'll have to see from republicans if they have a hope of having some sort of broad coalition that looks like america. suburban women, latinos are going to be very important to that. and we'll just have to see how this candidate or this nominee is going to have to shift to the middle more so so they can get some of those latino votes and

those key swing states. i think the president is, obviously, trying to do that. he's said in some ways, all he would have to do in terms of strategizing against whoever the republican nominee is is to play clips from these debates. of course, he's probably going to have to do more than that. but it goes to show how damaging democrats think this rhetoric is. >> well, bob, you brought a lot of national campaigns. you've been involved in the last few. certainly alienated a lot of women. they've certainly alienated latinos. they've alienated african-americans. i mean, can they get back from this far right position? how do they get back to the center where they can appeal with some level of credibility to independents and to key constituent groups or is it too late? >> i think it is too late unless the economy goes south again. if they try to make themselves look like america, they're going to look like a 19th century america. what they have done is taken themselves out of the mainstream on a whole set of these issues. i mean, the very notion of these guys running around campaigning

against birth control is ridiculous. it alienates women. and they've alienated hispanics. you put that all together and they are headed for demographic doom in this election. >> bob shrum and nia-malika henderson. thank you both for joining me tonight. >> thank you, rev. coming up, a major republican retreat and their assault on women's health. can their radical agenda be pushed back across the country? plus, republicans say president obama is to blame for high gas prices. today, he struck back. >> the american people aren't stupid. they know that's not a plan. especially since we're already drilling. that's a bumper sticker. it's not a strategy to solve our energy challenge. and conservatives take aim at dr. seuss. watch out, america.

apparently the lorax is the latest threat to democracy. you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc.

a major retreat today in the gop in virginia. it's a big development in the fight to stop the gop war on women's rights. that's next. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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virginia. yesterday, republican governor bob mcdonnell backed down on a radical bill to force women to undergo intrusive ultrasounds before an abortion. before that controversy, virginia was poised to be the first state to pass a personhood bill that says life begins at conception. meaning a fertalized egg is legally a person. it could have banned all abortions no matter what. and even ban hormonal birth control. but today, in a completely unexpected move, virginia's republican-led state senate killed the personhood bill, tabling it until next year. the retreat comes after protesters took to the statehouse for the second time this week. they let the bill sponsors hear it today. >> how do you feel? how do you feel, bob marshall?

doesn't it feel great? shame! shame! shame on you. shame! shame! shame! shame! >> shame is right. the progressive pushback is working, and now is the time to keep going. joining me now is congresswoman deanna, democrat from colorado. she's the co-chair of the congressional pro-choice caucus and in richmond, virginia, democratic state senator louise lucas. thank you both for joining me tonight. >> it's good to be with you. >> thank you for having us. >> saint senator lu >> state senator lucas, let me start with you. you were there for all the action in virginia. today it was a big surprise when the senate withdrew the bill. what happened? >> we actually went through the entire hearing during the

committee and, of course, there were so many people inside of the committee room there was an equal number of people outside the committee room that fire marshals wouldn't let anybody else in. but if you could just hear the screams and the cries of the women standing out in the halls and in the corridor. they're saying, we will not be silenced. we don't know what virginia is coming to. we can't believe we're being subjected to this kind of legislation coming out of richmond. what is virginia going to? where are we going -- where are we headed? i mean, i could -- i could barely contain myself. the emotions were high and the tension in the room was so tight and the committee chairman even threatened to have the people removed from the committee room because they were forced into unhappiness with the bill. the big surprise came when we got all on the senate floor. one of the difficult -- my democratic colleagues moved to have the bill carried over until next year. we were able to get six

republicans from the other side to vote for us so the bill is carried over for right now. the bill is down. but i can tell you it's going to come back with a vengeance next year. >> now it may come back with a vengeance next year, but this year, clearly the protesters and the progressive pushback clearly made them at least retreat for now, wouldn't you say? >> absolutely. and let me tell you, three days ago, when those women came to the captain capitol and they were lined up from ninth street to bank street. they were standing outside the gate. i kept asking, why are these visitors outside the gate. and they were being told they couldn't come on to the capitol grounds. as capitol police, i asked state police. where are these people outside the gate? nobody could give me a clear answer. so i went to the gate and marshalled for those 1100 people to come inside the gate. otherwise their protest may not have been accurately reported. so they came in very silently and quietly and in a dignified way stood and stared at these legislators as they walked back and forth from the capitol over

to the general assembly building. and i got tell you. it was just awesome to see that silent protest. was very impactful. and i'm sure that coupled with all of the protesters who came here today made the difference. because i think the legislators started to count the votes and they knew they were in trouble. >> congresswoman, this personhood bill started in colorado where you're from. you're with the pro-choice caucus. the people around this country have clearly said that they are against these reactionary anti-woman type of legislative proposals. why do we keep seeing them pop up and what do we do to resist them nationally? >> there's really a war on women's health going on. it's everything from its personhood amendment which we've defeated now twice in colorado. they even defeated it in mississippi this year. it's so extreme.

not only would it ban abortions. it would ban most forms of birth control and in vitro fertilization and even probably stem cell research. and so you see this. you see restrictions on women's access to birth control. i'm so proud of my colleagues in virginia today for making them postpone the personhood bill. we still have a bill in virginia and many other states that requires women to get unnecessary medical procedures before they can exercise their legal rights to women's health. so we're seeing unprecedented assaults on women's health at every level. at the state level, theatfederal level. and i hope the women of america hear what happened with the women in virginia and they start acting the same way around the country because it is very, very dangerous when women's health is put so much at risk as it is in this election year. >> no doubt about it. when you look at the fact that 13 states around the country are

looking at these personhood bills and what is being proposed from all the way from colorado to virginia. virginia, at least postponing it and killing it today. i hope that they are all looking and knowing that protests and outrage being expressed works. and you, senator, certainly, senator lucas, have been instrumental in that as an elected activist or legislator who understands activism as part of the process. >> absolutely. and let me tell you something. >> congresswoman? >> let me tell you every single republican presidential candidate, including mitt romney has endorsed these personhood amendments. it is very, very extreme. like i say, it would ban even birth control pills and iuds and most commonly known forms of

birth control. and it's so extreme it was even defeated in mississippi. so people need to wake up. the women and men of america need to wake up and realize this is a very extreme assault. i think one of our last panelists said we're in the 21st century now. we're not in the middle ages. we need to make sure women have access to health care. >> and that's why it's so amazing to me that all four republican candidates endorsed what senator lucas and others were able to stop in virginia today. let me show you something else, congresswoman. the previously rejected witness woman who was going to testify at darrell issa's hearing returned today to give her testimony on the importance of the president's birth control mandate. so democrats in the house, democrats around the country, women, activists are standing up and fighting back. i think that you can turn back the clock but you can't turn

back time. some of us are not going back. >> that's right. we're not going back. >> i can tell you that -- >> this is -- this is the young woman, the young woman who testified today is the young woman who, darrell issa, chairman issa said was unqualified to testify about her need for birth control at the same time he had a panel of five men talking about women's access to contraceptions. so we were very happy she was able to come to the hill today. >> i'll give you the last word, senator lucas. it's your day. >> yes, sir. reverend sharpton, all minority leaders saying on the floor yesterday that these right wing republicans if they could, they would turn back the 20th century. >> congresswoman degente and senator lucas, good night and good luck. >> thank you. we need it. ahead -- republicans are blaming president obama for high gas prices.

but he fired back today in a major way. and how about this one. a republican lawmaker in wisconsin who is worried about voter fraud is caught on tape committing voter fraud. unbelievable. stay with us.

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as the republican candidates continue slamming the auto

bailout, president obama's campaign is driving home its message on detroit. >> made in america. for generations of michigan auto workers, it's more than a slogan. it's a way of life. but when a million jobs were on the line, every republican candidate turned their back. even said let detroit go bankrupt. not him. now a retooled, restructured industry is back because of the grit and sacrifice of michigan workers. >> this ad's airing only in michigan where it should get a we nee nbc poll finds 63% of al michigan voters thought the bailout was a good idea. 42% of republicans did, too. and the bailouts aren't just popular in michigan. 56% of people nationwide said the bailouts helped the economy. the president's decision to rescue the auto industry saved

more than 1 million jobs. the republican answer? >> that was my view. go through bankruptcy. >> i haven't been for bailouts. i wasn't for the bailout of wall street. i wasn't for the bailout in detroit. >> i think they would have been much better off to go through a managed bankruptcy. >> i said don't write the check. they need to go through managed bankruptcy first. >> it's true. they'd rather lose jobs than let the government do the right thing. does the gop really think they can fool anyone into thinking the obama bailout of detroit was not a good thing for working people? nice try, guys. but we got you. years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. it's this... the etrade pro platform.

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>> his policy has been outrageously anti-american energy. the high price of gasoline is a direct result of obama. >> if he's re-elected, he'll continue to put the hold on natural gas and oil and coal. >> the president of the united states, when he ran for office, talked about -- talked about how we need higher prices for gasoline. >> but today the president hit back in a big way. >> they are already dusting off their three-point plan for $2 gas. and i'll save you the suspense. step one is to drill and step two is to drill. and then step three is to keep drilling. the american people aren't stupid. they know that's not a plan. especially since we're already drilling. that's a bumper sticker. it's not a strategy to solve our energy challenge. >> the president is right. we can't drill our way to lower

prices. we're already producing at historic levels. u.s. oil production is at an eight-year high. drilling rigs have quadrupled since the president took office. and we now actually export more oil than we import. today the president went after oil companies who are making billions while taking $4 billion a year in taxpayer subsidies. >> it's outrageous. it's inexcusable. and every politician who has been fighting to keep those subsidies in place should explain to the american people why the oil industry needs more of their money. especially at a time like this. >> last year, the top five oil companies earned $137 billion in profits. an all-time high. these guys need subsidies?

good luck running on that one, gop. joining me now is democratic strategist tad devine, senior adviser for the kerry and gore campaigns and chip saltsman, a republican strategist who was mike huckbee's campaign manager in 2008. thank you both for coming on the show. tad, is high gas prices a threat to the president's re-election campaign? >> well, high gas prices are always a concern because it's something that affects people immediately and affects their pocketbooks. thing president's case on this will be very strong. he's done everything possible with all of the above energy strategy. it's included domestic gas exploration, oil exploration, biofuels, wind, solar. and i think the president's case to the american people is going to be, listen. these guys can tell you they can fix this problem overnight. you know it can't be done. we need an aggressive having to

get america off foreign oil. and the foreign oil in this country, our dependence on foreign oil is at a 16-year low. and that's directly because of the policies of president obama. >> now, chip, isn't it perceived that maybe the republicans are just desperately looking for some issue they think in the economy was going to be worse than it is? they cannot run on that so now they look like they are just grabbing at something. or is this a real threat. and if so, why? what are the indications that this could really political ly turn into something that will bear fruit for them? >> it's not only an achilles heel for obama but for the recovery of our economy. i've been on the show giving credit when we have good economic news. but high energy prices can derail that quickly. when the -- if you are going to take credit for the good you have to take a little blame for the bad. when obama took office, gas was about $1.85 a gallon.

it's more than doubled since then. he's got to take a little blame for that. tad is talking about all this domestic energy and growth. most of those were leases and agreements and contracts that the bush administration left over and this president has time and time again tried to stop domestic energy drilling. he's tried to stop the keystone pipeline. he's tried to stop energy exploration in alaska and he's put just an absolute halt on any kind of drilling in the gulf. we've had to fight that time and time again. drill, baby, drill. he says that's not a policy. it may be a place to start because last time i checked, to get more oil you need to drill. >> but, tad, isn't it true that a lot of the things the president has stopped was because of environmental concerns and american people are also concerned about things like environmental protection, things that would potentially poison certain of the natural things that we want to enjoy in this country? so it's not just like out of

thin air he's blocking some of these things that the republicans have proposed. >> that's absolutely true. the president has made the environment an important concern. but he's also opened up 75% of the gulf and of arctic areas to exploration. he's opened up more area to exploration than has ever been opened before. the truth is the president has been very aggressive in developing domestic sources of oil and gas and that fact is something the republicans can't seem to come to grips with. >> the bottom line on that is there's been 50% less in exploration space. we're now up to only 3% of the land that we could actually explore for oil is what the administration has allowed us to do right now today. >> the question becomes a line of the environmental concerns. but let me ask you, though, about the politics of this, chip. when you look at the polls, today's polls. just came out today. 48% of people approve of the president's handling of the economy. that's up 9% since december. then the economy, is it starting

to recover? 54% say yes. that's up 26 points since september. so clearly, what you're saying may be what the republicans are going to come with, but the american public seems to be growing in their support of the president around economic concerns. >> you've heard me say this before. i hope the economy gets better every day. there's no question. and when you re-elect a president, a lot of that is based on his job performance over the last four years. we know -- everybody asks the questions. your doing better than you were four years ago? and that's going to be the question all the way until november. i hope the economy does better because that's not good for republicans or democrats. that's good for all of us. i know you agree with that. but i think -- the polls for president obama are going to rise and fall based on every kind of economic news that comes out. there's no question. and what i'm saying is the energy prices, especially the gasoline prices are going to be the achilles heel to our

recovery as a country but also a political impact every day on barack obama. that's why he was out there talking about it today in florida. >> well, you may be right, but the polls right now showing that his talk is working. right now. but, tad, let's look at some of the key states for the president. there some are obstacles. nevada has a 12.6% unemployment rate. michigan, 9.3% unemployment. florida, 9.9%. with the unemployment rates in these states high, these can be problematic if we do not see improvement in those states. >> absolutely. but the truth is in each one of those states, the unemployment rate in the last year has dropped over 2%. so people on the ground there are feeling it. i think in places like michigan, people are going to have a strong contrast. do you want someone to be your president who did what the president did to step in and save the auto industry or someone like romney or even santorum who refused to do it? romney who said let detroit go

bankrupt. thing choice is so stark and clear for people who live in those states on issues like that and other issues that they'll not just look at what the president has done, which i think is remarkable to help turn this thing around but also what his opponent would have done which would have been disastrous. >> tad devine and chip saltsman, thank you both for your time tonight. >> good to be with you. ahead -- caught on tape. a wisconsin lawmaker worried about voter fraud is caught redhanded. incredible story. we're live in wisconsin. and you caught the conservative conspiracy theory against the muppets. you thought that was bad. now they're at it again. [ laura ] maine is known for its lighthouses, rocky shore, and most importantly, its lobster. it's the tastiest, the sweetest, the freshest. nobody can ever get enough. [ male announcer ] it's lobsterfest at red lobster, the one time of year you can savor 12 exciting lobster entrees

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meet wisconsin state representative joel clayfish. this youtube video clearly shows him voting for an absent member. but there he is voting for someone else. the rule clearly states, only the members present in the assembly chamber may vote. so what's his excuse? >> it depends how you interpret the rule. the bathroom counts as the chamber and the parlor counts as the chamber. they yell lies at us. they shoot specific video of me when he could have had video of 24 to 50 other people at that time. >> the bathroom counts as the chamber? well, now to be fair, this happened with democrats in wisconsin as well. but what democrats haven't done is signed the harshest voter i.d. bill in the country. that's what state representative

clayfish signed on to. but he's not the only republican coughing about voter fraud while committing it. last month the undercover team in new hampshire trying to get ballots with the names of dead people. last week the maine republican party chair blamed e-mail spam for votes not tallied. and now we have wisconsin representative joe kleefish joining the effort. now it would be funny if it wasn't so sad. i'm in atlanta tonight fighting back against this effort to suppress the vote. they'll keep trying games, but we won't let them get away with it. joining me now is judith brown, co-director of the advancement project, a civil rights group focused on the issue of democracy and race. today they filed a lawsuit against the state of wisconsin charging that the state's voter i.d. actis discriminatory against minorities.

and in milwaukee, we have deborah crawford whose 77-year-old mother betty jones is one of the lead plaintiffs in that case. betty's voted in every election since 1956. today she can't get voter i.d. in wisconsin. great to have both of you with us. judith? let me start with you. i want to talk about this lawsuit. but first, what do you make of this lawmaker who got caught redhanded in wisconsin voting for his absent colleague? >> you know, reverend sharpton, you have done a great job over the last month -- few months showing the republican party getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar. the hypocrisy of this, the folks who talk about election integrity and talk about trying to stop voter fraud caught redhanded doing it themselves time and time again. just like the case in maryland

with the conviction around misinformation to voters. i mean, it just shows that they are not about preventing fraud. they are about preventing voting. >> now you filed a lawsuit today. many of us up in arms about this as you know. and your lawsuit says that disproportionately in wisconsin. 55% of black males, 49% of black females don't have state-issued i.d. 46% of hispanic males, 59% of latinas don't have state-issued i.d. this is your lawsuit. this is -- explain to us why this is something of great importance. >> sure. this case is important because this is the first case that challenges one of these voter i.d. restrictions under the voting rights act of 1965. we believe that the wisconsin

statute takes us back to a time when people of color were not given full rights to citizenship in this country. second class citizens, we were treated. and again under this law, this is what wisconsin is doing. miss crawford will explain her mother's situation which shows that there are people who want to participate in this election process who fought for the right to vote and who are being disenfranchised by laws like the one in wisconsin. >> miss crawford, tell us why your mother is one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit. >> well, thank you for having me. my mother relocated at the end of last year to live with me so that i could provide care. and as we went to change her current photo i.d., which we just had issued in the state of ohio late last year. so it was current. as we went to convert that to a wisconsin i.d., we were told she

had to have a birth certificate. i went home to retrieve a letter that she's had all these years because she had conducted a very thorough search in her original state of birth and they indicated there was none of record. she was born at a time when it wasn't uncommon that the -- they didn't register people of color when they were born. and until she moved to wisconsin, that letter had served fine for her to indicate who she was, but the issue here is that beginning december 23rd is when i found out that she could not get the i.d. at the department of motor vehicles. i began the search process then for our upcoming april 3rd election. and i have here -- >> your mother voted -- i want people around the country to understand it. she voted in every election since 1956. we're not talking about someone who is not a voter. we're not talking about someone who hasn't voted for half a century. and she's denied the right to vote even with a record of

voting every election in a half a century because she moved to a state that had these laws that required her to have a birth certificate that she didn't get because of the color of her skin. they were not giving birth certificates at the time of her birth. >> she's voted regularly since 1956. i don't think she's ever missed a major general election. and that's the case. she helped as part of the civil rights movement when they were electing the first black mayor carl stokes. and, yes, right now, right now, she is not able to produce that birth certificate, even though she has a photo i.d. from another state and that she has a record of voting with regularity in another state. she cannot vote in this state, in this upcoming election unless i can get the documents. and i've been working on it since december. and i've invested almost $100. >> judith, let me go back to you. out of 11 million votes cast in that state since 2004 in the

state of wisconsin, only 23 cases of voter fraud. 0.0002%. so there's no widespread voter fraud. they have this law for. this is a problem -- this is a solution looking for a problem, and we suspect maybe something even more insidious. >> that's right. this really is not about preventing fraud. it's about preventing voting. and at the heart of it is that we can't disenfranchise people. we need to open up participation. >> thank you judith browne and debra crawford. thanks for your time tonight. i mentioned i'm in atlanta tonight. i'm here in preparation for the voting rights march from march 4th through march 9th. we'll retrace the route of the historic 1965 voting rights march from selma to montgomery, alabama. we're marching to make sure our voting rights are protected for now and generations to come. martin luther king iii, john

lewis, congressman and others will be joining us as we march against these draconian laws all over the country. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues

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finally tonight. with the economy healing, republicans are ramping up the culture wars. their target now? animated characters. they just love to blame real world problems on fictional characters. dan quayle started the trend 20 years ago by attacking tv's murphy brown for being a single mom. >> it doesn't help matters when primetime tv has murphy brown, a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid professional woman, mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another lifestyle choice. >> but these days, republicans are turning against talking

sponges. >> spongebob is talking a lot about global warming. >> clearly nickelodeon is pushing a global warming agenda. >> oh, yeah. that sponge clearly has an agenda. and they are worried about those muppets brainwashing our kids with a liberal agenda. >> liberal hollywood depicting a successful businessman as evil. that's not new. is liberal hollywood using class warfare to kind of brainwash our kids? >> yeah, absolutely. >> oh, yes, those muppets are dangerous. but trends come and go so quickly with kids. fortunately, fox business host lou dobbs is up on the latest fads. he's bashing the new doctor seuss movie "lorax" for being too pro-environment. >> the president's liberal friends in hollywood targeting a younger demographic using animated movies to sell their