hooray for hollywood! let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington and leading off tonight's l.a.'s story. what made hollywood's "a" list come out for a dinner at george clooney's house last night and leave $15 million behind for president obama? and within vn that hollywood is happy for the president who will not compromise his principals, because all of the stalwarts are for the president. rob reiner joins us at the top of the show. we now know that joe biden

felt he needed to apologize to president obama for getting out in front with his gay marriage comments last sunday. short people inside the white house were angry that biden stole the president's thunder. why are they going public with their anger? that's my question. why splash it across all the major newspapers today? who wins there? that's what i want to know. also, how seriously should we take the report of mitt romney's high school open antipathy, action against a presumed gay classmate? should something that happened in high school be forgiven because romney says he's forgotten it? and suspicions confirmed department, wisconsin's governor scott walker has always insisted he's not anti-union but now a new videotape has emerged in which walker tells a wealthy supporter, he plans to use a divide and conquer strategy to defeat unions and turn wisconsin into a right to work state. in the recall election, the mayor, tom barrett of milwaukee

joins us tonight. we begin with president obama's big hollywood haul last night. rob reiner, his newest film is called the magic of bell isle. starring morgan freeman, which will be out this summer and john heilemann is national affairs editor for "new york" magazine and msnbc political analyst. rob, thank you so much for coming on "hardball" tonight, right after that big event last night. you were there, of course. you're a regular, very supportive democrat. what was it like? what can you tell bus the feeling, the mood, the purpose, the energizing force of evening? >> it was a great feeling in the room. i mean, first of all, as you said, there -- $15 million were raised. i think what's significant about that, two-thirds of that money came from small donors. the majority of it didn't come from the people in the room. there were people they raffled off a ticket to, you know, come to the dinner and the people who won were sitting at our table from florida.

and this to me was a significant thing. also, great thing was that there were about 15 tables and president obama moved from one table to the next, so he got a chance to talk to everybody. i think it was a great evening. >> well, let me ask you about the cultural feeling. that tends to unite the democratic party these days, at least in the theatrical world and a lot of the media world, i must say, this sense that he's right to be fighting for rights. in this sense that having made that big statement this week. what do you think that did to the evening? >> it definitely energized everyone there. but i think we were in a room full of avid supporters to begin with. certainly him making that -- he said -- he was very funny at the beginning. he said i made some news this week. you know? >> yes. >> he made a joke out of it. it was really a bold move on his part. it was the right thing to do. we know he had been evolving on this issue. and he came to the right place.

we always, in fits and starts, move towards doing the right thing. there was a time women couldn't vote, blacks couldn't marry whites, blacks couldn't vote. we always seem to do the right thing, get it right. a sitting president, supporting the only minority group in america that is not considered equal under the law. and this is a big step forward to making sure that that all is taken away. >> i think the old line is america only does the right thing after it's tried everything else. anyway, let's take a look at the president, as you mentioned, his not so veiled reference about the news he made about the right to gay marriage. we don have the actual tape because it was a closed fund-raiser. obviously yesterday we made some news. but the truth is it was a logical extension of what america is supposed to be. it grew collectively out of this

difference of visions. are we a country that includes everybody and gives everybody a shot and treats everybody fairly and is that going to make us stronger? how do you put this in context? they still do the left coast. you have the culturally identified people who care about freedom and rights issues, certainly when it comes to kpreem of expression in the movies. you have unity, it looks like at the front, the people on the left, you'd say, middle of the road democrats, hillary people, the stalwart obama people, all seem to be united for the president. >> thinking in terms of fund-raising, chris, mannly, you think about the obama coalition in terms of money. back in 2008, all of those elements were in place then. he raised a ton of money in hollywood. he raised a ton of money from small donors. he raised in the end a lot of money from former hillary supporters who eventually came around despite some reluctance.

the one element of his fund-raising coalition that is absent this year and it's a big problem for him, both in terms of the campaign and in terms of the democratic superpac that's allied with the president is wall street. where president obama raised a lot of money in 2008. and that well has gone dry for him. so he's looking for new sources of money. i don't think that necessarily this decision was calculated to have that effect. but it may have that effect. he's replaced a lot of wall street money with gay donors. they are now, i believe the number is one in six of his bundlers are from the gay commune. this zig, as i said, not calculated necessarily for financial profit or dividends for him but it's going to pay those for him. he does need that money. right now there's no one on orth side that doesn't acknowledge that the president will be the first incumbent president that will get outspent in this election. that's a significant problem. >> he will be outspent, that's your assessment. >> i think not just outspent but outspent by a significant

amount. >> a donor said he's giving the maximum he's allowed to donate. he came out in support of marriage equality, he didn't have to do it but he did it. it's what the country needs.i s. rob reiner, it's great, i know you're a good, strong activist about this country. you've always been out for the right things. let me ask you about hollywood and the business world. it seems to me that the people on wall street, let's put it to the republican side, i'll stick it there, when they invest a republican candidate they want a better tax break. in a sort of perverted way, they should get a tax write-off. they're doing it for the money. you guys are doing it for cultural reasons. especially gay people are concern and do get a value and interest in terms of rights but that's what they have a right to anyway, i would argue. this is interesting you guys out on the coast do it because you agree with the president. people in wall street and business world and texas around there, they give money because

they make money off republican politics. >> that's exactly right. and it's interesting but the hollywood community is only donor base, as you call it, that has no quid pro quo. we don't support a candidate because he might be able to do something for us. when you see the koch brothers throwing 20 to hundreds of millions of dollars into a pac, they're looking for a payback. they want -- and they'll get it, too, if their man gets in the white house they will get it with, you know -- >> oil money. >> more than oil money. regulations that are reduced to allow them to pollute and do all the things they want to do. we're the only group of donors that doesn't ask for something in return. we support somebody because, like you say, they share our values. whether it comes to education, health care, the environment, the economy, social issues they're in line with what -- how

we feel about things. and we look at -- we look at the totality of a candidate, not just at a very narrow, specific financial interest. >> what do you make of romney's absolute straight arrow opposition 180 to anything for gay people? not only opposition to marriage which we still argue about in this country but total opposition to any movement whatever. he says i'm never going to evolve, nothing for civil unions with be no rights, nothing in terms of equality. is he just -- you're a political guy. do you think he's saying maybe i can pick off north carolina here, get back in the game in ohio and iowa. what's he up to in saying nothing? i'm giving gay people, maybe 5%, 10% of the country is gay voters, i'm not giving them crumbs. what's he up to? >> i don't think obama came out in favor of same-sex unions, marriages in order to build his donor base up.

but the end result is that it will do that. i think on the same token, i don't think romney is saying that because, you know, it's going to energize his base. but the fact of the matter is, it does energize his base. there are a lot of christian conservatives that probably wouldn't have supported romney that might now do it if their single voter issue, if they're single issue voters. i think this is a deeply held view by romney. i don't think we should diminish the feelings he has. this is part of his religion and he's entitled to his opinion. i believe he's wrong and i believe history will show that he is wrong on this. i think, you know, my good friend and colleague chad griffin was on earlier with andrea mitchell and he said this will be -- there will never be another president who will not support marriage equality. i think that's right. >> thank you. good luck with the latest film. great filmmaker.

i still love "a few good men." >> thank you. >> i still love "princess bride." they're all great. and why are white house staffers talking trash about vice president biden so openly with the press? i know why they're mad. he jumped the gun. why are they talking about it so much? this is "hardball," the place for politics. purina one discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. with this kind of thinking going into our food, imagine all the goodness that can come out of it. just one way we're making the world a better place... one pet at a time. vibrant maturity. from purina one smartblend. today training depends on technology. and when it takes a battery, there are athletes everywhere who trust duracell. they rely on copper to go for the gold.

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back to "hardball." this week, there have been a lot of anonymous white house sources talking about their irritation with vice president biden. it all stems from the vice president's appearance on "meet the press" last weekend when they say he got out ahead of the president on gay marriage. white house staffers complained to reporters openly saying they were enraged by the episode and reminded reporters that biden had in fact counselled the president to stay mum himself on gay marriage out of fear of

alienating voters. why are they going public? glenn thrush and mark leibovich is a celebrated reporter for "the new york times." i have to start with the "new york times." i'm not a student of the press but i know how to read a story. source after source after source, high-level, top campaign official, close to the president, people on both staffs, the white house and the vice president's office, all talking openly about the president's concern, anger, the white house staff's anger at the vice president. i know you can't give away your sources, but why is everybody talking? >> i'm not going to ask them to stop but i think -- >> i know, it's your job! >> this is an exacting staff. they do things on a schedule, david plouffe, jim messina, these are not my sources but they have a strict plan. this week was to talk about the

campaign rollout and a $25 million ad buy which they would go over their accomplishment list. here we are day four talking about gay marriage. >> did they pull back the money when they knew it wasn't going to do any good? >> not that i know of. i think a lot of that has already been spent. >> the vice president, as you understand the role, without getting too personal with your sources, is the role of the vice president basically to operate within the confines, the discipline of the white house operation? in other words, he's not an individual thinker, his job is to play a role, supporting the president? it's an operative role, not really a creative role? >> yes, theoretically. >> that's the way they look at it? >> yes. again when you have someone who, one, is used to being his own voice -- >> he's been a senator for 40 years. >> 36 years, might run for president again. clearly is interested in, you know, making his voice be heard. that's how he's conditioned. there's going to be a natural

tension there as there often is in these situations. >> between a guy that is spontaneous and someone who speaks husband mind, now he has to speak the talking points? >> absolutely. that's what they want. >> let me go to glenn to talk about that. is that the problem here. >> i'm still being stuck on leibovich being celebrated. >> we have a history. >> i think the issue here is the white house has outsourced a lot of the president's job to joe biden. biden is the guy they sent to the midwest. he does a lot of the retail politicking that another president, one with a more rounded set of skills might do. the other thing about it is, he is a guy who they like to have as comic relief. and they have used before to float stuff. this is the problem, when you let the dog the leash, sometimes the dog bites or megss up.

>> why the anger? i can hear you're upset. but why, the irritation has gone to outrage. i read in your coverage both of you guys, outrage, irritation, antipathy. it's joe's bad this week. he was a bad, bad operative. what's that about? you first, glenn and then back to mark. >> most of the time when biden does this stuff, it doesn't force the president's hand directly. this is a white house, plouffe and those guys talk about the long game. as mark can tell you, they're reactive, particularly when they see something on the front page of "the new york times" or "the washington post." biden made them act. the other thing i want to say, chris, one of the givens here they have been saying they would have done before this the convention. that was not what i was hearing in weeks leading up to this. >> let me check mark on that. that's a key point. was the president intending sometime before now and the conventions to support marriage equality? you say, glenn, they weren't set on that course yet?

>> i had heard -- now, the thing that the white house folks say is that obama made the decision and that changed the political calculation. so i'm not accusing anyone of being disingenuous. the book on this prior to his announcement was that they -- the thought was it would have been smart to do it six months ago but in the absence of doing it six months ago -- >> did biden goose them into action or push them into action? did he create the idea of doing this and force president's hand or simply move the president ahead of schedule. >> i think there was a very lively debate internally about this. i think the sense was, the argument was by the political folks who thought they shouldn't do this right away is the moment had been lost and we have to wait until after the election. >> i'm not getting an answer out of you, glenn. before anything happened on "meet the press," before gregory ever asked the question, before that was the president intending to come out for marriage equality, do you know or not? >> i don't know. i don't think so. >> what do you know?

>> the first i heard of whether he was going to come out for marriage equality is this week after biden spoke. >> let me ask you about the vice president. any doubt he'll be on the ticket. >> no. >> any doubt he'll be on ticket. >> i don't, i don't think so. >> why publicly punish him if he's going to be part of the team. >> to put him back in his lane. >> in other words it's a brush-back pitch. >> maybe. it's more than a brush-back pitch. >> it's a spanking. >> the ball has been hit. if you want the metaphor. biden's been pretty good for the last four years. what really ticked them off is how it came out. i think people have theories. clearly in the back of people's mind is 2016 and is biden maybe doing a flutter eye to the left? >> here's my question, because i really like biden, maybe because we have similar backgrounds. i'll ask you this question.

biden spends 99% of his time, if not 100%, thinking of one thing, how do i help my friend, barack obama. when you're with him, it's all he talks about. it's all he is. this is his life. >> thank you. up next, an amazing moment on the floor of the house the other day. a congressman took back his statement and position because he offended one of the heroes of civil rights, john lewis. an amazing pullback. sometimes things real happen on the floor. this is "hardball," the place for politics. it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education

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back to "hardball." we usually reserve this part of the show to highlight some of the lighter moments in the world of politics but today calls for something different. the debate over republican push voter i.d. laws, these laws have been seen by many as ways to cut into minority voting. the day began when republican paul brown proposed an amendment

that would cut all funding from the part of the 1965 voting rights acts that requires states and counties to get federal approval before changing election laws. enter an icon of the civil rights lewis, john lewis who was brutally beaten as a freedom marcher back in the '60s. >> it is hard and difficult and almost unbelievable that any member, but especially a member from the state of georgia, would come and offer such amendment. there's a long history in our country, especially in the 11 states that are all confederacy, from virginia to texas, a discrimination based on race, on color. before the voting rights act of 1965, it was almost impossible for many people in the state of georgia, in alabama, in virginia, in texas, to register to vote, to participate in a

democratic process. it's shameful! that you would come here tonight and say to the department of justice, you must not use one penny, one cent, one dime, one dollar to carry out the mandate of section 5 of the voting rights act. we should be opened up the political process and let in all of our citizens come in and participate. people die for the right to vote. friends of mine, colleagues of mine! i speak out against this amendment. >> wow. minutes later, u.s. congressman brown was back with his response. >> i apologize to my dear friend from georgia if he's gotten angry with this amendment and it was never my intent to do so. i certainly wasn't meaning to try to hurt anybody's feelings. i ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment. >> without an objection, so ordered. >> what a done -- condescending

wa i to talk to congressman lewis. that's "hardball" for now. coming up next, "your business" with j.j. ramberg. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills. sealing the deal... when, hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. it can relieve pain all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lois... who chose two aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

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