nordquist. that's "hardball" for now. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, one-on-one with speaker newt gingrich. newt gingrich and i have known each other for a few years. we worked together and we have gone head to head. we are very happy to have him here on "politics nation" tonight. let's go back to january 4, 1995, when mr. gingrich became speaker of the house after the 1994 midterm election. it was historic. he was the first gop speaker in 40 years. gingrich and his fellow republicans took back power because they stood for something. they had a plan. it was called the contract with america. now i disagreed with every page of it.

but it was a plan. the american people did respond. let's fast forward to today. what's mitt romney's economic strategy? sure he wants to bring unemployment down, he says. but he's pretty vague on details. he thinks tax cuts ought r the solution. that's fine. he's not telling us how he plans to pay for them. we know he is against the president's solution but what exactly is he for? where's his plan? joining me now is the former speaker of the house and recent republican presidential candidate, newt gingrich. mr. speaker, thank you for being here tonight. >> i have to tell you, we haven't been together recently. i am so impressed with your discipline and the way you have lost weight that i am just in admiration of you. i want you to know i'm starting the show a little bit awestruck. have you shown enormous discipline. and you are a role model for those of us who need to follow in your culinary footstep. >> well good. i hope after we are finished i

will still be a role model. let's say this. let me ask you this, given the economic times we are in, right now, what makes you feel romney's qualified to be president in this economy? >> well, look, i think that's a -- central question in the way where we are. you and i, of course, have a fundamental disagreement about this. i think that a -- red tape is killing the economy. i think that taxes are killing the economy. you go out and you talk to the actual small business owners who create jobs and who hire people and who get things done, they will tell you they are scared to death. they are scared about what obama care will do to the costs. they are scared about what will happen with taxes in january. and every time they turn around their new regulation, 12,000 pages of regulations issued, just as it relates to obama care alone. what romney represents is a fundamentally different approach. you philosophically would

disagree with it. but it is an approach that says on day one and he use this phrase and talks about it very seriously. day one, there would be a lot less regulation and would repeal a lot of stuff. on day one, small businesses would know they are not going to be crushed with health insurance cuts they can't pay. on day one, they would know they have somebody who wants to reduce taxes, not raise them. i do think in that sense, that if you -- we can argue about philosophy. if you measure as a practical matter how do you create jobs, i think that -- romney approach of relying on small business is more likely to succeed than the obama approach of relying on big government. >> what's his plan? we have seen this president have to deal with the worst economy since the depression. yet, we have been able to in the private sector to see on a monthly basis, speaker, unable to produce private sector jobs. if you look at this graph, the job growth under president obama

under all of the jobs losses under bush, every month, he has been able to produce jobs. show me where mr. romney he was 47th out of 50 governors in job creation. he doesn't want us to take about bain. i'm showing you where president obama produced the jobs. show me where mr. romney, you claim, will produce jobs. where has he ever produced a job? >> let's take the case in massachusetts. he actually brought massachusetts up from 49th to 47th in job creation. they were at 4.7% unemployment when he left office. and if we were at 4.7% unemployment right now, there would be about 5.5 million more americans at work than there are today. that's a pretty big difference. and i think you would have to concede that if we were at 4.7% unemployment the president would be getting re-elected by a big margin, people would be happy. >> if we didn't have a lot of

republicans blocking jobs in the public sector, according to "the wall street journal," we would be -- not be at 8.2% unemployment. and that's a fact. we might be like at 7.1% coming from the worst recession we have seen since the depression. and you are asking americans, mr. speaker, to vote for a man that brought his state from being second to last to being third from last? that's his job creation resume? >> no. i'm asking americans to ask of -- themselves as very simple question. can they afour more years? i campaigned in 1984 with president reagan. excuse me. president reagan's policy, he inherit ad bad economy from jimmy carter. and he inherited high inflation. he inherited high unemployment. by 1948 the recovery was so big, we didn't talk about carter. between didn't talk about the problems. we talked about leadership that was working. we talked about moving ahead. and one of the challenges for the president, this just a very

tough business. having run for office and not made it i can tell you this is a very tough business. of course, you have run before. you know how tough it is. what the public wants in their leader is delivery. and the great challenge for president obama is that with all due respect, with all of the problems the republicans gave him in the congress and they he did problems he inherited with george w. bush and they were real, by time you have been there 3 1/2 years, want a sense of why you couldn't do it but of the fact you are getting it done. i think this is a big burden he will carry in the fall. >> mr. speaker, when i talk about job creation in the private sector, talk about health insurance and health care, when you have people with pre-existing conditions, he clearly has record and what i keep hearing and we have been talking a few minutes now is that mr. romney doesn't have a plan that you are running on just attacking mr. obama's plan. you mentioned ronald reagan. ronald reagan did more than stop talking about jim write carter.

he raised taxes 11 times. you are talking about cutting taxes in the small businessman 11 times, ronald reagan raised taxes. so what -- where do you use reagan and then come with this tax cut or kind of mantra over and over again as if reagan did not raise taxes when it was necessary? >> the first place, 1981, reagan passed what was at that time by a big margin the largest tax cut in american history. remember, when reagan was sworn into office the top marginal rate was 70%. so the tax cuts reagan put in by time he left office and at the top rate was 39%. so those -- huge drop in tax rates. and all of small taxes increases you are talking about were tiny compared to the 1918 tax cut. in that sense, it is fair to say reagan was committed to a supply side approach of lower taxes and more job creation. >> but he raised the taxes 11 times mr. speaker. that's a fact. >> most of those were very small

tax increases. let me give you an example. i was in atlanta yesterday. and i was out at the galleria. and a woman walked up to me and she had her teenage son with her and introduced him. she said the jobs situation is so bad that when i went to see a friend of mine who runs one of these fast food places to try to get my son a job for the summer, he said to me we are hiring adults because, fraungly, there are so many adults out of work, we don't have space to hire teenagers. now, you know that this is a major, major problem for america. my only case is that the president had 3 1/2 years to solve it. the first two years he had a democratic house, democratic senate. he had a democratic senate for all four years. and i think people thought it would get done better what we would be more robust getting to full employment. instead they see an economy where the last poll i saw, three out of four americans think we

are still in a recession. and that's why i think when the president said last friday that the private sector was doing just fine, a lot of people thought that was a disconnect from reality. >> i think the president clearly made clear what he was saying there. let's say this. you talk about what he had in congress. every step of the way, congress has blocked his jobs bill, blocked even serious talks about the deficits. in fact, let's go to a book that mr. draper wrote about the night of the inauguration. there was a meeting at a hotel into are the inaugural ball. about a mile away. in which that night, there was a group of republicans, you among them, that was committed to the defeat of president obama. this is before any of this. he writes about that night the plan was to show united and unyielding opposition to the president's economic policies.

attacking vulnerable democrats on the airwaves. when the spear point of the house in 2010, jabbed obama marine leaptlessly, win the white house and senate. draper writes you told a group, you, newt gingrich, you will remember this day, you will remember this day the seeds of 2012 were sown. you said he hasn't done anything. if there was a commitment from day one before he ever took a seat behind the desk of the oval office, that everyone was going to obstruct him, then what he has done has been almost unbelievable against those kind of odds, speaker gingrich. >> there are three different things in this, al. reverend sharpton. if we are going to be on formal names, i'm happy to be newt. reverend sharpton. the first is it was an important meeting. and i was glad and honored to be part of it. >> i'm glad you admit you had

it. but go ahead. >> look, it is obvious. don't you think that in 2001 when george w. bush was being inaugurated, a group of democrats got together and said how do we get the white house? in 2005, they got together and said how do we get the white house? >> no. there is a qualitative difference how do we get the white house and that we are committed tonight to block everything he does, we are going to be relentless and really care nothing about the fact that he was inheriting the worst economy since the depression by a member of your party. >> look, i said at the time that if he stuck with the -- three speeches president obama gave that were truly historic and enormous opportunity for him. the manassas speech the last weekend before the election. the grant park speech election night. and his inaugural on -- which was -- which i said to cal taste when we left -- we were at the capitol for the inauguralings as i left, i said, you know if he sticks to the kind of moderation

and bipartisanship he has been describing, he will split the republican party, he will govern like eisenhower and he will get re-elected. this is the inaugural day. the reason we were able to unify the party is he basically cut a deal with harry reid, democratic senate majority leader, speaker nancy pelosi, and they ran through and -- $800 billion stimulus package with no republican really being involved. ing in fact, no elected official even read the bill before it was voted on in the house. and i think that was the decisive mistake of the presidency because -- >> speaker gingrich, that night you were quoted as saying this begins the seeds of 2012. we are going to block him. mitch mcconnell, senate minority leader said the one commitment was to stop the re-election of this president. if you were so blown away by those three speeches, you certainly sobered up by the time

you got to that meeting that night and he had just done the inaugural address. >> look, i -- i thought -- i still think in retrospect he had an opportunity to outmaneuver us by being deliberately bipartisan and deliberately open. this happened with bill clinton. he was face wad choice as i became speaker, bill clinton's faced with a choice of working with us on welfare reform, working with us on balancing the budget, or fighting us every inch of the way. he says, you know, if i work with them, i will be in the middle. i will be seen as reasonable and get realected. you can make an argument he helped re-elect the house republicans by working with us. he also helped re-elect himself. and you always have a president -- president always has a choice. this president could have chosen to be more open, more bipartisan. he wouldn't have gotten as much done. from a standpoint of a hard line liberal, you would never get obama care through if -- if he cooperated with republicans.

you would never get the size of the stimulus through. if he cooperated with the republicans. so he -- he took a gamble. the gamble was to drive through enormous change and he's an historic president, whether he gets re-elected or not, the scale of what he achieved on his terms, was very large. he dramatically expanded government. he dramatically broke through on health care. we will find out in a week or two the -- >> but we are -- we are getting off the point. the point is, speaker gingrich, that this president reached out more than you can remember to the chagrin of many of us that supported him. and john boehner would make a deal, would make an agreement, go back to his caucus, have to come back and -- how can you sit and say that he should have reached out? he reached out so he had his own party angry with him. you couldn't reach out any more than he reached out. >> sure he could. >> the difference is doesn't have anyone on the other side reaching back.

>> look, of course -- first of all, as i said on the stimulus, no republican knew what was in the bill. i mean, you are going to spend $800 billion and not a single republican knows what's in the bill and expect treps to go along with you? on obama care, he had a clear signal from the people of massachusetts when -- when you lose teddy kennedy's seat on health care, to a republican, that's a pretty big signal that maybe you have gone too fast, too far -- >> what does that have to do with the republicans reaching back? we are going to massachusetts voters. let me add -- let me bring you to another area. finance in terms of campaign finance. you in florida spent about $3 million, i think. >> right. >> heading into the primary, you were doing very well. riding high. off major victory in south carolina. and then the romney campaign massively outspent you. with all of these new laws, they

could raise money. romney and his super pac spent $16 million on ads. your campaign had $3 million. on top of that, the romney team went negative. you talk with united your party. you guys were fighting like school yard classmates in a game. 99% of the ads he ran against you were negative. you are the one that -- one if he didn't have the money and didn't go negative, don't you, newt? he went negative and it was money. that's the way he beat you. >> actually the georgia phrase would have been we were fighting like junkyard dogs. which i -- i think florida got to be pretty hard -- >> i didn't want the right wing bloggers to say i called you a junkyard dog bunt go ahead. >> they will come after me for it but it is all right. look, look, i have -- i believe that -- two-to-one i would have won the primary it took five-to-one to beat me. i think the election laws ought to be reformed. i think they ought to be

reformed by saying any american can give any amount of after-tax personal income to the candidate as long as they report it every night on the internet. if you had that kind of a system you would have less negative attack ads because the candidates just simply wouldn't do it. you would have more accountability and middle class candidates could balance off rich candidates. it is very difficult in america today. if you look at new york where mayor bloomberg spent an extraordinary amount of personal money to buy the mayor's office for the third time. it is fairly hard to compete with a billionaire if -- if they get on spend all the money they want and the middle class candidates raising money in $2,500 units. i think the current system is rigged in favor of the wealthy. >> well, i think that the -- economic system is rigged in favor of the wealthy when we are sitting around giving them tax cuts. but speaker gingrich, newt, please stay with me. we will continue the conversation. ♪

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newt gingrich on election 2012 and more. our exclusive interview continues. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you?

fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums welcome back to "politics nation." continuing with our live interview with newt gingrich, former speaker of the house, recent candidate for the republican nomination. mr. gingrich, during the campaign, you said some questionable things about poor people in this country. listen. >> the fact is that more people have been put on food stamps by barack obama than any president

in american history. if the naacp invites me, i will go to their convention and talk about why the african-american community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps. really want to create a pathway to work for people who -- when have you 43% of black teenage unemployment there is a very serious challenge of making sure people get the work habit. if you look at the largest urban housing projects, you will find areas that have remarkably few people who have work experience. >> mr. gingrich, you know you should have known better. i think do you know better because we travel together to the suggestion of president obama. and i have to ask you, is this kind of talk, this kind of language you use, just playing to the right wing, playing to the far right, david gregory asked you, with racially tension language? do you still defend now what you said? >> well, let me start with my

surprise that having a conservative republican who actually cares that there's 43% black teenage unemployment, i would think it is a good thing. having a conservative republican who is eager to go to the naacp and meet with them and talk about real issues. i would think it is a good thing. i say the same thing about loraza and my concern for latinos who are -- who are unemployed. it is a fact in america, as you know, as you talked about, when you have hard times, they are harder for ethnic minorities than they are for whites. we need a greater level of concern. >> i don't disagree with any of that about -- if you had a conservative that was concerned. what i disagree with is when we have facts that are not correct. let's deal with the facts. the facts are that there are more whites on food stamps than blacks. 49% of the people on food stamps in 2010 were white. only 26% were black.

20% hispanic. you didn't go to a -- a white convention and say you would go will and tell them to go for paycheck and not food stamps. to call the president a food stamp president, it is like a racial line to say that people don't have people that are role models, you and i went to south philly. you saw parents that take their kids to school. you saw black teachers. what do you mean they don't have role models? all they see are criminals? >> wait a second. hold on. first of all, on the question of who gets the most food stamps, you made the point i made to david gregory. he said isn't that racist to talk about food stamps? a majority of people getting food stamps are white. they are not black. if i'm talking about food stamps it is not an inherently racial comment. >> it is if you say you go to the naacp and tell them they should get paychecks and not food stamps. you didn't say you would go to naacp and help get whites off food stamps for paychecks. >> first of all, i think for the sampling of the naacp, their

number one legit mart priority is black teenage unemployment. i think -- it is not suburban white kids who are reasonably well off who can't find a job this summer. >> but this became an ongoing theme throughout your campaign. food stamps president, people get paychecks. i mean, you are -- and i know the subtleties and subliminal message there. does a republican candidate, even if they know better, are they forced to play to this extreme right wing that wants to see this kind of language? >> no. i'm not -- i'm trying to make a point about the outcome of certain economic policies. but is want to challenge you head-on for a second about the second point. are you seriously suggesting that there are not public housing projects that, in fact have a very substantial number of people with no really healthy role models? and i agree with you, we went to a school in full del together as a great trip and which event -- wish every american could have been withous that trip.

they would have learned a great deal as i did and watching have you great courage and n that community and the way you took people on was very impressive. but that also is a school that changed dramatically in three years. i never have forgotten the one young man who said to us, junior in high school the old school, people expected him to fight so he did. in the new charter school people said if you fight we will kick you out so he refused to fight. because he didn't want to ever get kicked out. it was a bright success story. >> that's right. you know who turned that school around? not criminals in their neighborhood. those same black teachers, black principals who you met, the same role models i'm talking about. i know housing developments where people get up early and get on public transit and risk life and limb and some high crime areas, and then a majority of the housing development trying to go out and work and make ends meet and for them to be miscast in this way, i think it is humiliating and is incorrect. >> but i wasn't miscasting

people who get up early and work hard. i had relatives who didn't get out of high school. i had relatives -- i had an aunt-my favorite aunt that helped raise me who worked every day of her life into her 90s. she grew up very poor, on a farm. she did maid work in her 70s and early 80s. she sewed. she felt it was an inherent dignity in work. i think i have an identity -- you know, i have relatives who were steel work in pennsylvania, who belong to local union. blue collar workers who got out of high school but never went to college. so i'm -- i'm -- i'm just saying we immediate to have a policy. i would think you would agree with this. we need to have a policy that no neighborhood in america should be left out. no community should be left out. and it is clear today that we have policies and institutions that are not working. and, frankly, i thought part of

the reason you and i went around tack being charter schools was in an effort to get communities to realize that there is an opportunity for real change and they have to make that change if, in fact, their children are going to have a future -- >> absolutely. we went with secretary duncan of this administration. this president put forth bills around education and jobs that i think is consistent with that. which is why i do not understand how in any way, shape or form we can talk about relatively few, very few people in these places that -- are employed. they have few role models. i think that the greatest role models are in the poorest communities where people have shown that no matter what their circumstances, their children should strive and struggle and pick themselves up and not make excuses and that happens every day in some of those communities that you are talking about. they should not be in any way confused with some of those that are irresponsible. all of us are against that.

that's not the picture of those of us that are in those communities working those communities, labor of those communities. i think that there is a base that you are playing to that has this misperception being played to. >> i may not be saying it exactly right. i'm not going to claim as a guy -- as a college teachering white republican, that i get all of this in the right language. but i will tell you, when i look at the collapse of detroit over the last 40 years, when i look at entire neighborhoods where half the houses have nobody living in them, when i look at places where the kids don't have good role models and surely, and i will be glad to go with you? day and take a trip together, i am find three, four neighborhoods, if you will go with me, that fit -- >> i will take you to the housing developments that will show you why we need not to be cutting the safety net because these people need us to deal with affordable housing. they work every day. and try to make things work.

and they try to educate their children. we are going to run out of time. i need to ask you a question that occurred today. we are going to continue this debate because i think we really need to straighten this out. texas republican senator john kernen called on attorney general eric holder to resign. do you support that position? >> well, think think the attorney general either has to comply with the house contempt citation or resign. it is clear that -- the house is going to vote contempt unless he turns over documents and answers questions. i think this is -- this has nothing to do with him as a person. this is a serious constitutional question. >> he says he wants to keep talking to the house. >> well, i think in that context, i think he ought to sit down with him in next couple of days. i don't think this is a six-month process. i think what the senator is pointing out, in the absence of them finding a solution if he has a contempt citation voted against him, his position will become impossible to sustain.

just as a practical matter trying to be attorney general. so i would hope if he is going to sit down he does tonight the next 48 to 72 hours and works something out because i think it is unhealthy for the country to have that level of tension between the congress and the attorney general. >> speaker gingrich, we are out of time. we will continue this discussion and these debates we had traveling together. i also want you next time we talk to bring me one job. just one that mitt romney produced. please come back again. to be continued. stay with us. [ fabric flapping in wind ]

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welcome back to "politics nation." folks, it happened again. mitt romney opened his mouth. and the truth fell out. house native truth saying we don't need more firefighters, cops and teachers. today he wants to pretend it never happened. >> do you think your comments about fire fighters and cops were taken out of context? >> i'm sorry?

>> ignore the media. great plan. earlier in the day he told fox news it was, quote, absurd to say he supported fewer teachers and firefighters. even though his own words showed the opposite. >> he wants to know the stimulus, he wants to hire more government workers. he says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. it is time for us to cut back on government and help the american people. >> these vuds are absurd and immore a. the middle class is hurting more than ever. today we learned that the bush recession caused the median wealth of the american family to fall 39% between 2007 and 2010. joining me now is joan walsh, editor-at-large of salon.com. and jared bernstein, msnbc contributor. joan, let me start with you. is all this a simple

misunderstanding? or did -- willard come out with the truth of how he feels and admits he wants fewer fire fighters and fewer cops and fewer teachers? >> he told the truth. and then he got rebuked even think scott walker, reverend al. and then he decided to hold up the etch a sketch and shake it and hope that he could change the -- history. and hope he could get rid of those tapes that you keep playing and it is not going to work. i mean, it is so -- it is ignorant on one level. because he says well, the federal government doesn't hire cops and fair fighters. actually the federal government provides a lot -- millions and millions of dollars that actually do help hire cops and firefighters and teachers. that's one thing -- >> he was the one that brought up the president and firefighters and cops and teachers. how can he turn around and talk about what the federal government does? he related the president and federal government to that. >> absolutely. he also -- he's resisting, you know, resisting the jobs act which would have kept --

provided more federal money to keep those cops and fire fighters and teach others the job. without that money more states and cities are going to have to let those myle class workers go. so, you know, it is all -- it is sort of like it doesn't matter to mitt what he says. he can shrug it off and sthak the etch-a-sketch. he's not really talking about the real world of middle class families losing jobs and as we are talking about losing that net worth in an incredible tragic fashion. that's not where his head is at. >> when you look at the time report from the federal reserve shows how badly the bush recession hurt most americans, the median wealth of american families fell 38% in just three years. matching the level not seen since 1992. 2001 to 2004, up 1%. 2004 to 2007 went up 17.9%. in wen2007 to 2010 went down 38.

>> absolutely. you are talking here about net worth which is just a family's assets, minus their debts or their liabilities. and when you are talking about the median family, middle class households, what's their most valuable asset? these are not folk who are clipping bond coupons or trading stocks and equity markets. their most valuable as set their home. three-quarters of that almost 40% decline in their real net worth from '07 to 2010 was a loss in the value of their home. some of that was inflate order the way up. no question bit. but the damage done by this housing bubble inflated by the kind of stuff we know is going on in financial markets is incredibly clear in this report. it also helps explain why the recovery has been such a slog when families lose their much of their net worth, it is going to take them a while to start getting back on their feet.

>> it will take a lot longer for them to spend and the economy to pick up that way as well as these are the same policies that mr. romney is saying we have played over and over on this show where one of his folks people talk about we are going to do what bush did but at the same time, though, that we are seeing this decline with the middle class, joan, the rich actually went up. reports showed the middle class brought the brunt of the economic hit with the middle class 60% of the country seeing the greatest losses. the top 10% actually saw their net worth increase. and as we look at this chart, except for the top 10% it actually went up. everyone else went down. and we are being told to continue giving them tax cuts, continue giving them more, it will trickle down to us by and by whether the morning comes, joan. >> when the morning comes. when the sun comes up.

i don't know when, refer rend al. but right, that's what we are being told. it is really tragic because it is -- as jerrod says, mainly we are talking about homes. mitt romney is the man that said we should let the foreclosure work faster and just give those homes back to the banks so there is a part of people's hearts that are in their homes but there is also, you know, these are people who are now not able to afford college education. these are people who are -- some not able to afford basics. >> that's why i'm raising it because that's why this statement he is make being fire fighters and teachers and cops is so important because they are the middle class. that's who we are talking about. >> right. right. we are cutting their jobs. we are cutting those jobs. at the same time as those are probably the same people who have seen their security diminish because their houses are worth so much less. you know, they are become come at in both directions. and it is really lard to watch. >> let me amplify part of what you and joan are talking about here. i think it does -- i think it does explain a lot about the way

governor romney views the economy. what you don't hear in any of his rhetoric or what you don't see and any of his plans and i have combed through them and talked to his economists is any recognition of the largest market failure since the great depression. you know, the idea the government doesn't hire cops and firefighters you and joan were talking about that, that's patently false in the context of recession. one of the most effective parts of the recovery act was fiscal relief to the states that enabled them to retain hundreds of thousands of jobs. when governor romney says that, it is suggesting he really doesn't understand, a, the magnitude of the market failure, what it has done to the families and communities, b, government as a tool to offset that kind of contraction while it is ongoing. the president continues to try to promote this idea. not big government and not government should always be in the business of creating these jobs. but looking at the reality of

the residual from the great recession and trying to do something about it. what we hear mitt romney say seems deeply out of touch with that reality. >> joan walsh and jared bernstein, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. still ahead, breaking news in the florida voter. the justice department files a lawsuit to block that state's illegal attack on voter rights. is it done? [ john ] no. were you just... no. are you supposed to be driving that in here? no! did mom say we could eat all that? [ john ] yes. [ male announcer ] it's nice to finally say "yes." new oscar mayer selects. it's yes food. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] get the mileage card with special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding.

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breaking news on voting. the justice department files a lawsuit against the state of florida for under the circumstances voter purging. that's next. surprised some people. so did the country that came in 17th place. let's raise the bar and elevate our academic standards. let's do what's best for our students-by investing in our teachers. let's solve this.

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we are back with breaking news. late this afternoon, the justice department filed this lawsuit. saying that florida's voting purge violates federal law. the justice department says the purgeness is based on, quote, outdated and inaccurate data. the purge is resulting in, quote, erroneously identified numerous registered voters in florida who are u.s. citizens. and potentially could be deprived of their right to vote, including decorated combat veterans who served in the armed forces. today attorney general eric holder talked about the lawsuit.

>> we have done all we can in trying to reason with people in florida through the provision of these letters. >> the attorney general has been strong in his defensive voting rights. but today a republican senator actually claimed that was one of the reasons holder should resign. we will talk about that outrage with congressman cummings, democrat from maryland, next. [ male announcer ] what's in your energy drink?

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today is an important day in the civil rights history of this country. on june 12, 1963, civil rights activist medgar evers was assassina assassinated. the killer p went unpunished for three decades. on this day in 1967, a loving

virginia, supreme court struck down laws banning interracial marriage. finally declaring that couples like mildred and richard could marry. a great step forward for civil rights. but today on capitol hill, we saw another scene altogether. >> the nation's first african-american attorney general eric holder went before a senate panel and endured yet another series of disrespectful, dishonest attack by republican lawmakers. >> you won't cooperate with the legitimate congressional investigation. and you won't hold anyone, including yourself, accountable. your department blocks states from implementing you a testimonies to combat voter fraud. leave me no alternative but to join those that call upon you to resign your office. >> with all due respect, senator, there's so much factually wrong with the premises that you started your statement with. it is almost breathtaking in its

inaccuracies. i don't have any intention of resigning. >> and next week, house republicans will launch an effort to hold the attorney general in contempt of congress. joining me now is democratic congressman cummings, ranking member on the oversight committee where republicans are attempting to hold attorney general in contempt. earlier this year, he issued a report debunking the gop talking points on the so-called fast and furious program. congressman, thanks for joining me. >> good to be with you. >> what's your response to niece new republican calls for attorney general holder's resignation? >> i think that basically what we have is a witch-hunt and reverend al, it is clear that they are trying to ask -- asking the attorney general to turn over information that is either illegal to turn over or information that would jeopardize witnesses and nonpeople, innocent informants,

or would do harm to the prosecution of cases. >> no, let me stop you right there. i-want people to understand that the justice department's cooperation on fast and furious has already turned over 140,000 documents that have been reviewed. 7600 pages turned over. eight hearings before congress. all of this has already happened. you are talking about some of the sensitive things that they are raising questions about. it is not like they have not cooperated and turned over a lot of things in this area. >> they have cooperated tremendously. i mean, they have gone through, i think, over a million e-mails and they have -- appeared -- attorney general has appeared before congress nine times, reverend, in 16 months. and i think it is -- cooperation has been tremendous. not only that, he's also said that he -- wants to sit down and try to resolve issues over those sensitive documents. but you -- i don't blame the

attorney general. if -- there are certain documents like a wiretap affidavit where if he were to release it, it would be a criminal violation. he could go to jail for five years. >> let me play what he said he is willing to sit down and work with them. >> i am prepared to make a compromise with regard to the documents that can be made available. i want to make it very clear that i am offering to sit down, i myself, am offering to sit down with the speaker, the chairman, with you, whoever, to try to work our way through this. >> now, you are sawing some of the stuff is sensitive but hay says i will sit down and work our way through it. i also heard the senator attack hum for dealing with voting rights. saying they were trying to deal with fraud. the justice department investigating whether there is fraud. >> when i heard that, reverend, i mean, that showed me that what we have is an election year witch-hunt. calling for the highest law

enforcement officer in the country to resign because he's basically trying to enforce the law. >> voting rights act. this is an outrage. >> absolutely right. i hope the voters can see this and understand what we are dealing with here. it has gotten -- i mean, it is ridiculous. it is a witch-hunt and very unfair to this attorney general. >> i think it is very unfair. i think it is an outrage to this country to say that as people have asked this government, this administration, this attorney general, to protect that your right to vote, when you have war veterans being purged in florida, when you have people that have voted -- had people on this show, congressman, that voted for decades, now with voter i.d. laws, their vote is being taken away and that could be used as point two of this, senator, saying he wants the attorney general to resign, i think it is an outrage. i think it is something that we all as americans need to stand