that means this could be all about erasing the loss in 2006, a beauty contest in deed. that's "hardball" for now, "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts now. >> welcome to "politicsnation," i'm al sharpton in atlanta, georgia. it's game on in the election of 2012, and it's not just a contest between two men. now it now seems clear that romney will be the republican choice, but this is really a battle of ideas. a fight about the fundamental relationship between ourselves and our government. and it all comes down to fairness. that's the conversation we need to have in this election. president obama is drawing a bright line attacking the republicans flagship plan, the ryan budget, that guts the safety net. >> the republicans running congress right now have doubled

down. and proposed a budget so far to the right, it makes the contract with america look like the new deal. it is a trojan horse disguised as deficit reduction plans. it's an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. it is thinly vailed social darwinism. >> but romney channelled paul ryan. >> i will gradually raise the age for social security,ly cut tax rates for individuals and corporations. i will repeal burdensome regulations. >> attacking social security, lowers taxes for the rich, lowers taxes for corporations. that's deeply unpopular. 76% don't want social security cut.

64% say millionaires should not have cuts. and 80% say there are programs like medicare and they should not be slashed. president obama wants to keep those programs in tact. >> any one of us, at any moment, might face hard times. might face bad luck, a crippling illness or a layoff. and so we contribute to programs like medicare and social security. we provide unemployment. these investments are not part of a scheme to redistribute wealth from one group to another. they are expressions of the fact that we are one nation. but mr. 1% is ready to slash the safety net. >> cast over 800 vetoes and cut entire programs. if there was a program, agency,

or department that needed cutting, we cut it. i will repeal obama care, and cut programs that we simply cannot afford. >> willard wants to rob the poor to pay the rich. but obama's work is paying off. a fight about fairness, that is the conversation we need to have in this election. joining me now, former pennsylvania governor ed rendell, now an nbc news political analyst, and jared anstein a former chief economist for joe biden. thank you both for being here tonight. governor, let me start with you, governor romney loves the ryan plan, is that what the american people want to hear? >> no, and it's as if the gop is

suicidal. this plan destroyed medicare as we know it, and every senior citizen and tea party people don't want to change. this idea that we will cut taxes and it will trickle down. there is no evidence this has ever worked before or it will this time. the fairness argument is a big winner for the president, and if he says on that argument, it's a solid path to reelection. if i'm the romney campaign i duck the fairness and say the most important thing for americans is to get a job. we have to get the economy moving again and here is is our plan. it's not a well defined plan up until now, and it has a lot of old things that they don't want to fight. here is our plan, we can get people back to work more

quickly. if they're forced to defend the fairness issue. they're cooked. >> beyond the partisan politics, when you look at what they're proposing in the ryan plan, 63% of the plan is budget cuts targeting programs for the poor. $3.3 trillion from low income programs, $2 trillion from other programs. this is really devastating to a lot of people depending on this. >> that's exactly right. and in fact, if you look at those cuts, medicaid, food grants, pell grants for lower income kids to access higher education. they're precisely the kinds of programs that provide people with the economic mobility that's been lacking in this economy. you want to talk about fairness, those are the kinds of mobility

ladders that provide the fairness this economy has lacked under the supply side trickle down theory that doesn't work. the other side of that 60%, so really carry this through, they take the ryan budget, endorsed by governor romney, takes those savings and gives them out as tax cut that's disproportionately benefit the wealthy. 40% of the tax cuts accrue to millionaires and billionaires. >> that's the other part of it, governor. we're not only talking about literally slashing trillions. on the other hand, his tax proposals, the tax code, supported by governor romney, millionaires would get an average of $265,000 in tax cuts, and middle class people would get only $751. so not only are you cutting into the safety net, you're rewarding

the rich at the same time. what could be the thinking behind this politically? >> politically, it's just feeding the base, the special interest, and hope that they'll dump enough money in to win today. it's bad economics. president clinton raised taxes on the top develop president, and despite all of the predictions, we added 23.5 million more jobs. and president bush cut taxes on wealthy americans and we had the slowest job growth in 50 years. you don't have to look far to see that it doesn't work. by the way, one of the things in your discussion with jared. when you talk about all of the cuts, they're coming on top of cuts that state governments are making. here in pennsylvania, we have taken 90,000 children off of the

medicaid program without any federal cuts at all, that's just in the state budget. >> just state cuts in pennsylvania alone. >> now jared, with all of this, the blessings of myth romney, he said about president obama last night -- we'll i'll show you. >> president obama thinks he is doing a good job. it makes you think that flying around for four years in air force one, and staffers telling you you're doing a great job, you might become out of touch, and that's what happened. >> president obama is out of touch mitt romney says. let me show you how intouch mitt romney has been. >> i drive a mustang, and a pickup truck, ann drives a couple cadillacs. >> rick, i'll tell you what, a

$10,000 bet. >> i like firing people that provide services to me. >> corporations are my friend. >> so jared, we're not going to have a close one on who is is out of touch, but will the president's stuff really matter with this election, when all of the great problems people are facing, will this be about policy or personalities and personal attacks? >> look, personalities will always play a roll, but there is nothing any politician can say in terms of how in touch or out of touch that will convince people. people have to feel you out there on the stump talking to them. i used to work for joe biden. he is a guy who understands the middle class very well. and it's also going to be about policy. one of the things you have to appreciate, if you want to understand the middle class squeeze, is that over the last

few decades, the incomes of the average incomes of the top 1%, have grown about 275%. while the incomes of folks in the bottom half have grown like 20 to 30% over 30 years. if you just look as the governor was talking about him. in the bush years, we ened up worst off. so it's, you can say how in touch or out of touch you are, but if your policies exacerbate the qualities and that trickle down stuff does exactly that, it's obvious to people where you're coming from. >> now governor rendell, you have been a very successful politician. when you hear what jared just said, and you look at a recent "new york times" poll asking americans who understands their needs and problems, it was, to me, astounding. president obama 55% said

president obama. 31% said mitt romney. how does romney turn that around? >> i don't, as a practical matter, think he can. i think governor romney has locked himself into so many positions that are conservative like the endorsement of the ryan budget. and in one sense, the campaign guy is right. there is a reset and you start anew. but the great david axelrod will not let romney forget what he said in this campaign. i think it would take a significant event for the president to lose. having said that, it doesn't mean that democrats can be complacent. we will have to be on our toes, we want to win back the congress, and there is plenty of fight ahead. i think they're locked in and it was a huge mistake. >> i agree and the in your opinions say that, but i don't take granted for granted.

>> absolutely. >> thank you for your time tonight. ahead, willard is trying to erase his policies on women. sorry, that won't happen. plus, what a long, strange trip it's been. we'll show you why the republican race tarnished the gop brand like we have never seen before. and inside the george zimmerman investigation there is a laser focus on the crime scene and many questions remain. you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc. [ donovan ] i hit a wall.

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new poll numbers show willard's war on women is hurting his campaign, so here is the save willard plan, sorry, it doesn't work that way.

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welcome back to "politicsnation." mitt romney is reaching for his etch-a-sketch because he has a serious problem with women. over the last few months, the gop war on women has exploded, and willard has been right smack on the far side of extreme. he is in favor of radical prisoner laws that ban abortion under any circumstances. he is for the blunt amendment that gives employers the right to refuse any health care service in they morally object.

and he talked about defunding planned parenthood. now he is feeling the hit. a new poll shows president obama crushing romney by 18 points with women voter ins 12 critical swin states. so here comes the great -- listen to romney's campaign chair on his trouble with women. >> i think when the general election, again, when you have 101 general election, and they are reminded of governor romney's real views, that gender gap will dissipate quickly. >> real views? so all of this was a fake out. >> would you have support of the constitution amendment that would accomplish life at conception. >> absolutely. >> my life is a pro-life

presidency. >> his views might be suck in the '60s, but we have this new technology called videotape. good luck, willard. joining me now is terri o'neil, and laura basset. thank you both for joining me. >> thanks for having us. >> nice to see you. >> terri, let me start with you, how will you react it romney tries to pivot back from his stance on women's issue sns. >> too little too late. we know romney supports restricting birth control and the blunt amendment. maybe he is etch-a-sketch and come in with something different, but he is not, as a republican candidate, i don't think he will be able to come

out and say to women they understand your everyday struggles. i know that you need birth control, andly do everything i can to make sure women have access to it. the other thing that will be, unfortunately for him a real failure, is his support of the ryan budget. this very disproportionately hurts women because it slashes the social programs they rely on. >> he can bring his wife out. his wife can appeal to women voters. let me show you what he said recently about that. >> i had the thought of being out with my wife the last several days on the campaign trail, and she points out as she talks to women, they tell her the number one concern is the economy. women are really struggling in this economy. and i believe the way we'll get women voters in our side of the column is by talking about how

to get the economy going again. >> so terri, he brings his wife out, they talk about the economy, they talk about women suffering disproportionately in the economy, does that persuade some women to forget his other positions. >> no, she may be a very admirable woman, and i'm sure she is, but that doesn't change the fact that, in fact, the economic policies that mitt romney supports are bad for women. and the thing is that women know this. the fact that his wife is out there doesn't change the reality that his policies hurt women and women know it. >> let me ask you laura, you have been covering these issues for months on the gop race. do you think there is any way, now that it's pretty clear that romney is the nominee, that romney can walk back a lot of

these very extreme positions and appeal to women voters from where you have covered this. can he flip-flop this back? >> i don't think he can, it's too late for him to win back women voters. especially the way he's going about it. sending out his wife. it's patronizing and it treats women like a special interest group, but they're more than half of the population. it sends the message that i don't understand you, but let me send someone that does understand you. ann romney is not running for president, and you don't see barack obama sends out michelle. he speaks to women, and he outlines the policies he has that benefit them. if mitt romney is unable to do that, women will see through his attempts to court them. >> he knows he has a problem because of the people he is sending out, talking about what

women are focused on. let me show you what some of his surrogates are saying. >> i think that women voters very much care ab the state of the economy. >> women don't care about contraception. they care about jobs, the economy, and raising families and all those things. >> what do you say to that? do you think the surrogates, leading women with positions of prominence, can they talk women into saying all of that opportunity matter? these are the things that matter? >> you know, i have to say. i found it really insulting to hear that women don't care about birth control, about contraception. women care very much when government officials start cow tailing to the catholic bishops and take the contraception away at religious extremist. women care about that. of course we want jobs and we don't want people like mitt romney and santorum going after birth control.

but as long as they are, women will see to it that those candidates are defeated. when it comes to jobs, let's be clear. romney is not supporting any policies that actually help women get back to work. women have lost, on net, over 200,000 jobs since the recovery began because of state and local communities laying off public workers. you don't hear romney saying i understand this and we have to get the teachers, nurses, child care workers, and social workers back on the job. you don't hear him saying that, and his claim for women's economic security rings hollow. >> you're correct when you look at the polls and the polls say that when you ask women about their strong support of required contraception coverage, 66% of women support. a poll on more than three quarters of the country agree,

birth control should not be part of the political debate. so laura, it seems thatwomen ha -- that women do have strong views. >> they certainly do, and i would add that birth control is not an entirely separate issue from the economy. especially for women. you know, in addition to many low income women struggling to pay for date of birth control. the ability to afford it allows them to delay child bearing and helps them. women who have earlier access to birth control in their lives earn much more 10 to 20 years down the road. it is an economic issue. this is all intertwined. >> terri, let's look at this broader than romney. has this become republican orthodoxy that we're going to be

to the extreme right on women's issues when it comes to all of these things that we've heard throughout the primary season? because we have not seen anyone get on the stage at those debates or major contender and take a different position? it's like they have competed for who can be more extreme. are we seeing a real swing in the body of politics as far as the republican party is concerned? >> yeah, it's just astonishing. this year you're seeing all of the republican candidates, including mitt romney whob used to be a moderate, going to the extreme right wing in their policies. and may i say that's a terrible thing for the women's movement. frankly, we -- it's not good for us to be able to rely on only one party. we need republicans to be for women's rights. but what we don't need is for anti-women's right republicans telling us we have a problem, so there have you should support

us. we need serious policies, democrats and republicans guaranteeing access to birth control for women. promising no cutting to social security, no increase in the retirement age, no messing around cola formula for social security. we need democrats and republicans doing the right thing for women, and it's not so good for our movement to be able to rely on only one party. we need both. >> thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> thank you. >> ahead, the right wing's freak out over president obama's comments about the supreme court. but an alert, we have seen this move from their side before. wake up!

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the folks on the right have new outrage over a phoney controversy. they're horrified about president obama's comments about the supreme court and the health care law. >> ultimately i'm confident that the supreme court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of over turning a law that was passed by

a strong majority of a democraticly elected congress. >> translator: president's confident the court will uphold the law. not exactly shocking, but the right thinks the president is being a bully. now a federal judge, nominated by ronald reagan, is playing politics with this by demanding that the justice department write a letter explaining the views. >> that letter needs to be at least three pages, single spaced, no less. and it needs to be specific. it needs to make specific reference to -- >> i'm surprised he didn't say what color ink they should use. first of all, most americans think the conservative dominated court is ruled by plucks. in fact, 75% think politics will influence the supreme court's decision on health care and the

health care law. second, it's ridiculous that conservatives would be upset about questioning a judge's authority. gingrich said he would haul judges before congress to explain decisions he didn't like. >> would you send is the capitol police down to arrest him? >> if you had to, you instruct the justice department to send a u.s. marshal. >> it sounds like a bully to me. but newt is not the only republican who has been worried about judicial activism. >> unfortunately, some judges give into pressure and make law instead of interpret it. >> republicans are very worried about so-called activist judges, but only when it's their laws being struck down.

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. wow, i had a crazy dream. i was dreaming that the republican party was going nuts. they were going right off a cliff. it was very strange. they were saying scary bizarre things. >> it is is is tragic what we do in the poorest neighbors, entrapping children in child laws that are stupid. >> the answer is self-deportation, people think they can do better by going home. >> i had that mother come up to me that told me her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and suffered from mental retardation after. >> i would send troops back into iraq. >> president obama said he wants everybody in america to go to college.

what a snob. >> sadly, it wasn't a dream, it was the republican presidential race. it was a bizarre alternative universe. child laws were stupid, troops were going back to iraq, and immigrants would happyily self-deport. half of all american vs. an unfavorable view of mitt romney. that's up 19% since september. right now 58% of americans have an unfavorable view of the gop as a whole. that's up 10% from this time last year. and the republican party is becoming more extreme and less popular by the day. no etch-a-sketch can erase that. joining me now is "washington

post" columnist, and erin mcpike, who spent a lot of months covering the gop primary, thank you for joining me. dana, can you explain this inpulse over the gop right now? >> well we were all living the dream there for a long time, and from a journalist point of view, it was extraordinary to see this kind of self-destruction going on for this long of a period of time. it was not driven by party interest, it was self-interest. and you have a lot of self interested characters that did not like mitt romney, and didn't care how much earth they scorched bringing him down. santorum is still going to bowling alleys and thinks he

might be president. >> erin, let me ask you this -- you have been on the road, through the whole primary season, just about, and the move to the right has been so extreme, president obama said yesterday this about ronald reagan and this present party. look at this. >> ronald reagan, who, as i recall, is is not accused of being a tax and spend socialist, understood repeatedly that when the deficit started to get out of control, that for him to make a deal, he would have to propose both spending cutting and tax increases. did it multiple times. he could not get through a republican primary today. >> so erin, has the party really gotten that extreme, to where

the father of republican conservatism couldn't get through a primary season today? >> maybe not, but the fact is is that mitt romney is is the most moderate candidate in the field, and ultimately he has gotten through the primary, but it's been very difficult and he comes out wounded. but he is is benefits by santorum staying in for a little while longer and saying that mitt romney is too similar to barack obama. because mitt romney starts to pivot to the general election, he can say i'm not as conservative as others,ly try to governor from the center. it was bad in the primaries with him being bashed by the republican opponents, but he has the spring and summer now to try to curb some of that and make up that ground. he is starting from a bad position, but he has a long way to go until voters tune in and get to know him on a deeper

level. >> dana, he may try to walk back some of the extreme positions, and time will only tell, but there will be whacky stuff that will be hard to erase not only for him, but for the party when you look at who their candidates were and some of the stuff they did. watch this. >> i love this state. it seems right here the trees are the right height. >> commerce, education, and the -- what's the third one there? let's see -- oops. >> i got started this right with a biscuit and cheesy grits. >> he was before the social programs. >> the 999 plan. 999. 999. 999. >> when you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down, i think the devil is in the details. >> live free or die. >> they ask me who is the

president of -- you know, i'm going to say i don't know, do you know? >> today has been awesome, girl. >> i mean, it gives the party a whacky image, don't you think? >> that's quite a highlight reel. i think you could do one for the whole hour. the poll numbers indicate the damage to the party. it's not necessarily permanent damage. a lot will be changed. and the romney advisory is right, there is an etch-a-sketch effect that will occur here, and romney will modify his positions yet again. what will not be forgotten is that romney has welcome a -- he was giving corporations are

echos of our people and that line. that's not going to work for him when he mixes it up with president obama. >> thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks. >> ahead, breaking news, right now two agents from the special prosecutor's office are canvassing the crime scene where trayvon martin was killed. that's next.

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>> investigators are back on the scene of trayvon martin's killing, where is this investigation heading? with secret's 48-hour odor protection technology. new secret outlast. i don't want a plunger anywhere near my coffee. not in my house. with maxwell house french roast, you let gravity do the work. [ male announcer ] maxwell house french roast. always good to the last drop.

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could've had a v8. we're back on "politicsnation." with new signs that the trayvon martin investigation is gaining momentum. nbc news can report two agents from the special prosecutor's office is canvassing the twin lakes area where trayvon was shot right now. they're interviewing neighbors. this coming after two days of fbi agents on the scene. they're going door to door and compiling information on zimmerman's background. with less than a week to go before the grand jury, there is a laser focus on the crime scene. but many key questions still remain, and we're going through them now.

joining me now is tim padowitz, and john j. do.or your time tonight. first, let's go to the investigators. eugene, prosecutors are on the seen now. what are they doing right now do you think? >> it's very rudimentary police work that hopefully happened the first night, but in this case there's no way to say it did. this is called a canvas, and it's the most elementary policing. it's so important in a case like this, because when a picture is is emerging that this shooting was unjustified, you don't want someone to come forward in the 11th hour, so one hopes they did this the night it happened.

>> so you're saying what special prosecutors did now is what what the prosecutor and police should have done the night of the shooting? >> yes, this is a homicide, not an auto theft. this is the most serious business the police have, and this is the most basic approach, and this is ageing old. long before csi, long before the labs. this is what policing was. knocking on doors and talking to the community, trying to coax and conjol people. >> we had the fbi out there a couple of days. now the state prosecutors are coming. we know the state grand jury is scheduled to start on next tuesday. are the state prosecutors gathering information for that grand jury, or are they gathering information they can use and make an arrest before that grand jury? >> reverend, a lot of people

watch "law and order" after the likes of this case, they should name is "law and disorder." now they're taking the right focus and approach. they're gathering evidence, witnesses, testimonial evidence, forensic evidence, and putting these together to the prosecutor can make a decision on whether or not to file charges on her own, for second-degree murder or manslaughter, or present the case to a grand jury. >> let me get this straight, so the public understands. she's not bound to wait on that grand jury next tuesday? >> absolutely not. she has the ability, since it's something less than first-degree murder, she can make the decision on her own and file an information, which is similar to a grand jury indictment. it has the same force and effect. she doesn't have to wait around for a grand jury. she can make the decision on her

own or elect to present witnesses and evidence to a jury. and they can indict or not indict based on the evidence before them. >> let's talk about the evidence. of what we have seen, what evidence will play a big role here, eugene? >> i think the audio tapes are crucial. i think they depict a man on a mission. and it's unusual to have those tapes. this is somebody who was held bent on precipitates these events and could not be stopped. >> let me play the tapes so the audience can understand why you think this is important. >> these [ bleep ] always get away. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay, we don't need you to do that. >> now why is that important, eugene? >> because in many cases where people claim self defense,

there's not many there beside their allegation and maybe some witnesses that are spotty in temperatu terms of their recollection. but in this case, right before the event, you know what this man is thinking, what's driving him, and that he could not be stopped. and somebody that is a prosecutor, these tapes would be vital if this case were to proceed to trial. it gives you a window into what he is thinking. and this is an aindividualing angel, somebody who is is not the police, who is dismissing the ability of the police to catch perceived bad guys and he is deputizing himself. >> i agree that the stap is a

essential, fantastic piece of evidence, and i would build my case around that tape. the fact that he says they always get away with this. it shows that he is per suing. he is told to stop following. this is a very, very important piece of evidence they would build my whole case around, and if charngs were brought, you can bet that tape will be played over and over by myself in front of a jury. >> eugene, right on this show, the mother of a witness said the lead investigator told her he didn't think it was self-defense and the stereo typing was at play. >> the lead investigator from the sanford police department stood in my family room and told me this was not self-defense and they needed to prove it.

he told me, and i'm paraphrasing this, but "read between the lines. there is some stereotyping going on here." >> gene, how important would that be? >> i have tried not to jump to conclusions, but from the first day i heard about this case, it was in my mind and i'm sure other people's minds, it was possible that people could look at this young man and make an assessment that his life was less valuable than someone else because of the color of his skin. i'm not naive enough to think that could not have happened, but that's an awful, awful place to be in this country if we rein 2012 that judgments are made on the spot on the basis of the background of the victim for their race or ethnicity. >> you know, eugene, you're right. and i think we don't know that. i think what disturbed a lot of

us is just like we don't know what was in his mind is even more disturbing to many, that we are willing to dismiss that it might have been in his mind. i think that is why we need a trial. this should not be a conviction, but it sure should not be an acquittal without a trial. thank you both we'll be right back. ♪ you do

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i'm here in atlanta today honored to receive one of the drum majors for justice awards. it's give ton those that continue the work of dr. martin luther king jr. on this day, 44 years ago, dr. king was assassinated in memphis. until his last days, king was defending the civil rights of people. he informs memphis, and he urged all of us to keep the fight going. >> all we say to america is be

true to what you read on paper. the greatness of america is the right to protest for rights. [ cheers and applause ] >> so i say we're not going to let any dogs or water hoses turn us around. we're only going to let an injunction turn us around. >> we have a long ways to go before reaching dr. king's dream before we all see that mountain top. but that fight is still going strong. yes there will be criticisms, yes there is different ways. you may choose a different way than me. but all of us, all of us, are responsible to do our part to keep the dream alive and to achieve the america dr. king gave his life for 44 years ago today. thanks for watching, i'm a