>> we keep our selves light. i don't want to look like i'm patting myself on the back. >> um, i do think it is obviously a hot topic. and modern family serves as a cultural touch stone. it does play a part in that. i think it is a save in for a lot of people. >> you making that joke with hash tag politics. there is this thing with politics and then there is this think of life. it makes it somehow less threatening. >> and our writers are smart in the way that they do it. the character like my father is not comfortable with it but he's learning. some people attach themselves to that and they are going through the process and that is okay. >> the culture of hollywood gets attention in pop culture at

large. and you are in los angeles. i'm curious. it seems like it is a toller lant culture and it has been on the culture. and it seems like a sexist culture and there is a lot of anger about the jokes that seth mcfarland made at the oscars. >> i think a lot of it is because social media is out there. i think it is just a lot of people and i'm guilty of it too. and it goes sighra es viral. and i think that is the main driving force of it. it is a tough city. i was thnot thrilled to move he. >> yesthank you so much. >> you can see my show up every weekend morning

good evening, americans. and welcome to "the ed show" from new york. the beltway media is focused on the wrong threat. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> it makes me very uncomfortable to have the white house telling reporters you're going to regret doing something that you believe in. >> a legendary reporter whines about the white house, only to be exposed by his own e-mail. but the facts don't matter to the right-wing media. >> he's continued on saying, you know, ronald reagan wouldn't have done these kind of threats and creating armageddon like president obama has. >> tonight, former congressman barney frank, david corn of "mother jones," and michael tomasky on why bob woodward's embarrassment is a symptom of a much larger problem. a vote on women's rights forces a republican civil war. >> you're a coward, eric cantor. it's time to step down. >> the big panel weighs in. plus, why justice scalia's

racial entitlement remarks are worse than they sound. pat robertson says the devil wears goodwill. the ceo of subway is spreading anti-obama baloney about small business. and advocates for victims of sexual abuse are demanding action as pope benedict leaves the vatican mired in crisis. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. a total failure by a legendary journalist is exposing the problem at the core of the washington media. "washington post" reporter bob woodward became an unlikely hero to conservatives thanks to a recent op-ed about sequestration. woodward wrote, "when the president asked that a substitute for the sequester include not just spending cuts but also new revenue, he is moving the goalposts." well, the conservative media, they just couldn't wait to repeat this talking point.

>> this is an idea of the president. he also talks about how the president and his team are moving the goalposts. >> yeah. moving the goalposts. republican politicians used woodward's column to back their own ideas. >> bob woodward's got a great piece where he tells the president, basically, he doesn't use these words, but he basically say the president has amnesia about this. >> and there are other examples. we don't have all night. the only problem with woodward's op-ed is that it's simply not true. president obama never moved the goalposts when it comes to new revenue. because you could go back to july of 2011 when the white house released this statement, saying that "the president will demand that the super committee pursue a balanced deficit reduction package where any entitlement reforms are coupled with revenue-raising tax reform." this account is backed up in woodward's own back, where he writes that the "supercommittee would come up with its own deficit reduction plan" instead of admitting his error, what did woodward do?

well, he decided to make things very personal. he claimed that the white house, an aide sent him a threatening e-mail. >> i think it's important for people to understand, he says, you know -- "i think you will regret staking out that claim." >> oh, come on. once the ball got rolling, woodward continued to play up the drama. >> it makes me very uncomfortable to have the white house telling reporters you're going to regret doing something that you believe in. >> he feels uncomfortable. you know, this really sounds juicy. is this how the white house does business? the white house is putting a heavy hand on one of the country's biggest and well-known journalists. not so fast. politico revealed the e-mail was from white house economic adviser gene sperling. see if this seems like a threat to you. let's say you're in the office and you get an e-mail like this. "bob, i apologize for raising my voice in our conversation today."

sperling goes on to say, "i know you may not believe this, but as a friend, i think you will regret staking out that claim." later he adds, "just my sincere advice. your call obviously. my apologies again for my raising my voice on the call to you. feel bad about that and truly apologize. gene." i tell you what. woodward really felt threatened, you know. here's how he responded to the so-called threat. "gene, you do not ever have to apologize to me. you get wound up because you are making your points and you believe them. this is all part of a serious discussion. i for one welcome a little heat. i also welcome your personal advice. i am listening." now, after reading the e-mails, woodward i think lost some real shine in the conservative circles in this country. for instance, the daily caller website said conservatives got played by woodward. but the most important thing this episode reveals is that --

really the broken nature of mainstream journalism in washington. the washington beltway media have a real impact on how stories are shaped and get shaped in this country, with the reciprocal pickup across the country, once they see what the washington media is saying. and don't you think they have a responsibility to get the story right? and when they get it right, they have a responsibility to make sure that they continue to report it factually. but when they get it wrong, they have to correct it. bob woodward in my opinion on this whole ordeal's been nothing but a drama queen. he was totally reckless. he has put the white house and president obama and his team in an untenable position. the white house is now out defending itself from accusations of threatening people. if they don't get what they want, they threaten people. what's that mean? an irs audit? what does this mean? what do you mean threaten people? you're going to affect their career, their job?

this is not responsible. it's not responsible in any way. and certainly not journalistically credible. what woodward ought to do is send a note of apology to the president saying, i really know you don't handle your staff like this, and this is a bad reflection on you. by the way, can i have more access so i can write another book about you? get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question. does the beltway media serve the interests of the american people? text a or yes. text b for no to 67622. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. joining me now is former congressman barney frank of massachusetts. congressman, good to have you with us tonight. appreciate your time. >> you're welcome. >> did you ever find yourself in a situation where the journalist made himself part of the story? your thoughts on this. >> oh, absolutely. i think this shows two things. first of all, the hypersensitivity of journalists, particularly striking in people who make a living by writing rude things about others.

there is this apparent view that the first amendment says two things -- one, congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech and, two, no one in public office shall ever criticize a journalist. they are hypersensitive. and yes, they've become part of the story. the second thing that troubles me about mr. woodward's journalism and some others is it focuses on who did what to whom in the process and the substance gets lost. the important questions today are should we be cutting the military? which i believe we can do safely. should we be raising taxes? and by the way, as far as the administration moving the goalposts, i would like to ban metaphors from the use of political discussions. they mislead people. but doesn't anyone remember the position that president obama and we democrats when i was in congress, was we wanted to go back to the clinton tax rates on incomes above 250,000. we were only able to get 450. so that's been our clear position for a while. there's a gap between what we

had staked out as our position, raising the clinton-era -- reimposing the clinton-era tax rates between 250 and 450. and it's outrageous that we should be worrying about bob woodward's hurt feelings and then i would say finally to interpret that you're going to regret what you said when it clearly meant you're going to be shown wrong, again, it's the hypersensitivity of journalists and a focus on the kind of inside baseball that unfortunately excludes a discussion of real substance. >> i think that this is a big story from the standpoint that the american people can easily comprehend. this is how the spin game works in washington and how we can quickly lose focus. and many times journalists think it's about them. bob woodward was also critical of the president for not violating the law when it comes to sequestration.

here it is. >> we now have the president going out because of this piece of paper and this agreement. i can't do what i need to do to protect the country. that's a kind of madness that i haven't seen in a long time. >> and of course because of sequestration and the budget cuts across the board of the military the president is saying that he's not going to be able to move a carrier group into the persian gulf. that's where woodward was very critical of him. your thoughts on that. >> let me say a couple of things. first of all, to describe a law as, quote, a piece of paper is appalling. but beyond that i want to make a prediction. sequestration is apparently going to take effect. now, i voted against sequestration. i believe we could cut the military by even more than sequestration requires, but i would do it with some more sensitivity and flexibility. i would shut down the american protection of europe. i think it's time to say to germany and france that stalin is not coming after them and that they don't need our troops protecting them anymore. but i'll make this prediction. we will go through with sequestration in the military, and three months from now

america will be every bit as safe as it was before. these predictions that oh, our security will be in trouble will be gone, but there's one other very important point that needs to be made, and it's a point you've been making and others. let's now mark the death of an argument that federal spending has no positive effect on the economy. when we were doing the economic recovery bill, the stimulus, when we have been talking about spending on highways or providing funds for local governments, the right-wing argument was that spending doesn't help the economy, government spending doesn't do anything to add to jobs. all of a sudden, when it's the military, they do a complete reversal, and there is now universal agreement that very substantial reductions in a short period of time will cost jobs. you may think that's a good thing or a bad thing, but let's mark this whole debate over sequestration as the end of the preposterous argument that government spending has no positive effect on jobs. >> all right.

former congressman barney frank. great to have you with us tonight on "the ed show." appreciate it so much. now let's turn to michael tomasky, special correspondent for "newsweek" and the daily beast. and david corn with us tonight, washington bureau chief for "mother jones" magazine and an analyst here on msnbc. i want you both to hear what nbc's mark murray had to say about the e-mail bob woodward got from the white house. here it is. >> that is some of the nicest brushback an administration official or any type of political aide might end up giving a political reporter. oftentimes we end up getting e-mails that have some curse words attached to them and people saying not so nice things and you end up getting a pretty thick skin in this business. >> what about it, guys? have you seen worse? david corn, you've been in a few scraps before. >> yeah. as a representative here of the beltway media with my good friend michael, i have to say this brushback was hardly that. it was -- i mean, i've known gene for 30 years. i've known bob woodward for a long time. they both have played this game.

they both have seen a lot worse from the other side -- >> well, why do you think woodward did it? >> i'm puzzled by that. i've had differences with woodward over the years on some stories he and i have written. i've also supported and i've been supported by him on some of the stories i've done. and i think he had a bad day, but i think one story here, too, is that the politico, you know, which puts a premium on doing what? enhancing conflict in washington no matter what the substance is or who's right or who's wrong, really went to town on this. rather than asking can we see that full e-mail, who sent you that e-mail? we want to talk to them too. they just sort of took bob -- >> well, woodward knows what threatened is. >> they took bob at his word and just went to town because they thought it was juicy, and this is what happens. >> michael, what do you think? >> david's right about politico. politico actually ratcheted this up. it was the politico writers who used the word "veiled threat." i think woodward never actually

used the word even though he clearly tried to imply that it was a threat. it's just hilarious and sad, ed. i read these e-mails this morning when i was still kind of groggy before i had even read the politico story, so i didn't have the context for reading the e-mail. and i thought, oh, that's kind of a nice e-mail from gene. and i got to the sentence, the controversial sentence, and i took it exactly the way you described it a few minutes ago. he was obviously saying to woodward, you're going to be proven inaccurate here, and you want to look out for that. and that really -- that's the most important point. and i'm glad that you started at the top of the show talking about that because if you go back to 2011, when this law was passed in the summer of 2011, you go back to november of 2011, when the supercommittee gave up and collapsed and said we don't have a deal, that was around thanksgiving of 2011, at every one of those points obama and his people said the same thing. we want revenues as part of the replacement. >> yeah. >> i don't understand why woodward can't get that through his head.

>> david, what's the lesson here? >> i think there are a lot of lessons. i think mike -- michael is right. that the big picture here is that the president has stuck to his guns. you know, i did a whole book that involved reporting on that episode. and i just put up a story the other day when i found boehner days after the deal was struck saying, well, i don't think -- i don't want tax revenues but it's possible that they be part of this. but i do think that we gin up -- i try not to. i'm using the royal we in washington. we gin up these disputes because they're gossipy and juicy and we put aside really trying to arbitrate who's right and who's wrong on these very big and important issues. and if the media doesn't take a role in evaluating claims, it really puts the readers and the consumers of the news at a disadvantage. >> well, the media culture is a lot of times we cover what everybody else says. and such is the case with the republican strategy, michael, on the sequestration. because what woodward wrote

instantly got into the sound culture with bobby jindal repeating it, fox news repeating it. it became the narrative on talk radio. listen to what woodward is saying about obama. you see he can't do this. and somewhere we lose the word "responsibility." >> yeah. and we lose the sense of what is actually true. woodward wrote this piece last friday, i guess, and he was immediately corrected by ezra klein of the "washington post" and by me and by john chait and probably by david and by a lot of other people. but boy, it was whipping around the right wing like crazy, and with no regard for what was actually the truth here. >> whatever happened to picking up the phone and saying i just got this e-mail from you, what did you mean by that? >> i hate to sound like an old fogey blaming the internet. but this is part of the hyper soundbite culture we live in. politico thought they had something hot and juicy, get it out right away, you get the eyeballs, you get the tweets. and then of course all the right-wing media picks it up and tries to amplify it. and no one really paused for those -- >> got to run, guys.

you bet. >> to get a sense of what was right. >> david corn, michael tomasky, great you have to with us tonight. remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts with us on twitter @edshow and on our facebook page. we want know what you think. a real, very real threat all americans should be concerned about. activist judges on the supreme court. that's next. [ dad ] find it? ya. alright, another one just like that. right in the old bucket. good toss! see that's much better! that was good. you had your shoulder pointed, you kept your eyes on your target. let's do it again -- watch me. just like that one... [ male announcer ] the durability of the volkswagen passat. pass down something he will be grateful for. good arm. that's the power of german engineering.

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coming up, eric cantor's talking about a new civil war? our big panel will talk about that and draw the battle lines. pope benedict rides off into the sunset and leaves a legacy of child abuse in his wake. a victim speaks out tonight. you can listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio channel 127 monday through friday noon to 3:00 p.m. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using the #edshow. we're coming right back.

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the proof? see it tonight, at eleven. head & shoulders damage rescue. live flake free. welcome back to "the ed show." justice antonin scalia's assault on the voting rights act is still sending shock waves. in yesterday's oral arguments on section 5 of the voting rights act scalia said, "whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it's very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes." this is not about racial entitlements. it's about equal access to the ballot. well, the reaction today has been pretty fierce. the american prospect says "scalia's argument has precedent. in the white supremacist

arguments made by the supreme court in the 19th century when it was dismantling reconstruction. the majority opinion said there must be some stage when the freed slave takes the rank of a mere citizen and ceases to be the special favorite of the laws." scalia also drew attention for basically saying senators couldn't possibly vote against the voting rights act and so the supreme court would have to intervene. the legal expert at think progress said, "if the theory were taken seriously by a majority of the justices, it would potentially undermine medicare, social security, and countless other programs." today was not all doom and gloom, however. some voting rights advocates said justice anthony kennedy might uphold the law despite his tough questioning. "i think justice kennedy was very methodical and deliberate in his assessment," said texas state representative trey martinez fisher, who witnessed the argument. "i don't think he showed anybody anything." well, cross your fingers. tonight let's bring in congresswoman sheila jackson lee

of texas. congresswoman, great to have you with us tonight. >> ed, good to be with you this evening. >> you bet. this story deserves more conversation. that's why we're doing it tonight. i mean, it sounds like justice scalia is prepared to do the dirty work of the right wing here and justify in the most offensive way possible. your thoughts on this. >> ed, i'm glad you're doing this show. first of all, i was in the courtroom as well. and all of us have such an enormous amount of respect for the three branches of government and certainly the awe of being in the united states supreme court, even though a member of the supreme court bar. and what you wanted was justice. and frankly, there was a lot of give and take and there are a lot of judges that i think will have a strong effort, or make a strong effort to work with justice kennedy in spite of his questions to really explain what section 5 is. it is a codification of the 15th amendment, ed.

and it is not about entitlements. what it says is that there will be no blocking of a right to vote on the basis of race or color. and that means that whether or not you are hispanic or african-american or asian as the bill has translated itself through adding language minorities, it simply says that you will have the right to vote that has been given to all citizens. why a justice would classify the simple protected right to vote as racial entitlements baffles me and offends me. in fact, yesterday was an enormously emotional day. with the rosa parks statue, with the hearing of this case, in the words of john lewis, who said, "we are not going back." the court took the shelby case because in fact, ed, there were a number of laws that blocked a citizen's right to vote. that's why this case is before the supreme court. and that's why section 5 has been used to create an opportunity for voting. >> that speaks volumes of just what's out there across america, about how people want to attack the voting rights. despite the federal law. and run it the way they want to

run it in their own back yard. the voting rights act has been reauthorized four times on four different occasions by -- we can only term it as overwhelming margins. i mean, are you hearing republican lawmakers standing up for it now that it's under attack? >> well, i am -- i know that we worked very closely with chairman sensenbrenner in the 2006 reauthorization with some 15,000 pages. i know that -- >> the point i'm making here, congresswoman, is that i don't see any republican stepping up saying, you know, we've done this before, 98 votes in the senate, a bunch of votes over in the house. they're not troubled at all by what justice scalia said? i find that very interesting. >> well, i hope we give them an opportunity to take to the floor and take to public forum. you're absolutely right. if you want to ask me whether there's been a choir, a

crescendo of republicans challenging that statement, i've not heard nap. >> here's one of the lawyers challenging section 5. >> we've made great strides over the years. we have minority participation at record levels. we have minority candidates elected by 90% white populations. >> he says we no longer need the voting rights act. i mean, what is reality here? >> he's absolutely wrong. and i will say this. this is what we said in 2006. i'm on the house judiciary committee with the other colleagues. and what we said is progress -- when i say we, members of congress listening to testimony said progress has been made, ed. but the purpose of section 5 is to ensure that as the states make each additional new law that may block voting we have section 5 preclearance. in 2006, ed, we did not have the discriminatory texas voter i.d. law that would not allow to you use your student i.d. or your state government i.d. but a concealed weapons i.d. and did not allow you to have voting

places where you could get the -- >> they're working against the federal law as best they can. >> so section 5 was the one that would help say to the texas folk that cannot be. so to my friends who want to argue that they're out of it, no, they're not because next year they could make another law that would block voting and section 5 stands there as a codification of the constitution to block those kinds of laws. john lewis said it. i join him. we are not going back, ed. and we're going forward. >> that is the bottom line. that law is there for a reason, because we know the righties aren't going to stop going after it. congresswoman sheila jackson lee, good to have you with us tonight. thank you. the man who created a sandwich empire is whining about president obama? i'll take a bite out of that one next. governor chris christie has a message for the boys over there at cpac. our big panel jumps in tonight. stay with us. [ engine revving ]

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welcome back to "the ed show." another day, another billionaire ceo complaining about government regulation. meet fred deluca. fred's a pretty successful dude. he's the co-founder and president of subway restaurants. he's done quite well for himself. good for him. he's worth $2.5 billion. in 2011 subway overtook mcdonald's as the world's largest restaurant chain. so what's deluca complaining about? >> it's continuously gotten worse because there's more and more regulation and it's tough

for people to get into business, especially a small business. i'll tell you, if i started subway today, subway would not exist because i had an easy time of it in the '60s when i founded and i just see a continuous increase in regulation. >> okay. hold it right there. if he were to start subway today, if he were to go into business it wouldn't exist. sought sandwiches would taste differently because of government regulations? a couple of things here. first, deluca has it wrong. the new businesses actually has increased under president obama. how in the heck are they making it with all those pesky regulations? i hope mr. deluca wasn't talking about the occupational safety and health act of 1970, which of course requires employers to teach employees how to use the equipment. it's kind of a good thing. provide them with any necessary safety gear that they might need. inform employees of potential workplace hazards. or the food safety regulations which require, holy smokes, employees might have to wash their hands or they might have to wear gloves or they might have to have food storage units for sanity, which is a

regulation that's really bad. everybody's against that. and properly refrigerated to prevent what? bacteria growth. sure, there are more regulations since mr. deluca started subway, but there are regulations aimed at making sure the food we eat is safe and that the workers are treated well. if deluca couldn't have started subway under current regulations, i don't know about you, but i'm not real sure that i would want to eat there. there is no surprise here. deluca also has a problem with obama care. >> that is the biggest concern of our franchisees. they don't have enough information. they don't know what they're looking forward to. it's causing a lot of concern. but that too will also pass to the consumer. >> sound familiar? oh, yeah. it's the same old story. the government proposes policy aimed at helping low-wage workers and now another billionaire executive is crying

foul. i'd rather pay a little bit more for the foot-long sub and know that their workers have got health care. eric cantor is demanding that the conservatives vote for this, and if they don't there's going to be a civil war. >> republicans are imploding again over women's rights. the big panel on the republican civil war is next. pat robertson says the devil wears goodwill. >> can demonic spirits attach themselves to inanimate objects? and pope benedict leaves the vatican for good. but the legacy of sex abuse continues. >> he will leave vatican city for the final time as leader of the catholic church. >> victims advocate barbara blaine is demanding action, and she's here tonight. a febreze experiment. to prove febreze can keep this car fresh, we loaded it with fast food, sweaty hockey gear, and a smelly dog cage. and parked it at a mall. in texas. for two days.

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for pushing his party to vote on the violence against women act this afternoon. cantor did not ask fellow conservatives to vote yes on the measure. in fact, cantor didn't even end up casting a vote on the bill himself. as the national review online reports, cantor warned fellow republicans there would be a civil war in the ranks if the senate bill didn't at least get to the house floor. cantor convinced enough republicans because the violence against women act did pass today after more than a year of nasty partisan bickering. the president says he'll sign it. these nine conservatives make up the fringe driving cantor absolutely crazy. all of them voted against the violence on women act. they think it gives government too much power. right-wing talker mark levine is calling for cantor to resign. >> politely and civilly. and tell the republican majority leader in the house of representatives it's time to step down. because you're a phony.

you're a fraud. >> ooh. let's turn to our panel. georgetown university professor michael eric dyson with us tonight. david corn of "mother jones" magazine. and former rnc chair michael steele. gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. >> good to see you, ed. >> mr. steele, you first. what are we seeing here? is this eric cantor saying, you know what, guys, there's going to be a civil war here, we can't say no to everything? what does he mean by civil war in the ranks? >> i think what he means by that, the fact that there were republicans who obviously supported moving this bill out to the floor for a vote. there are republicans, particularly female republicans who have been quietly saying to the caucus, guys, get your act together, we're getting killed on something we don't need to get killed on. and i think eric cantor was

basically bringing a level of common sense, you know, to the caucus in terms of let's move on the important stuff that really matters to people right now. this is a reauthorization. if there are provisions you think are unconstitutional, then submit the bill to deal with that or let the supreme court handle it. that's not our purview in the first place. why are we going to, you know, fall on this particular sword? this is not a battle for us because it's just a reauthorization, it's not a new bill, there's very little change from -- >> but it took a year. >> it took a year. that's the point. it took a year. and it brought a lot of unnecessary attention and damage to the caucus. >> michael, you know -- michael eric dyson. just a few right-wing conservatives are controlling the congress right now and screwing a lot of stuff up. >> yeah. >> why was this such a heavy lift for the conservatives? >> it's a great point, but we have to go back to what michael steele just said and we have to underscore that. the bill is virtually the same. what has changed now is the composition of those who are looking at the bill. this made sense to american citizens for all of this time. since what?

1994 or thereabouts when violence against women had to be marked as a serious legislative item and priority on the agenda. now you've got these far right-wing conservatives who are so hellbent on taking hostage any form of legislation to prove they're bona fides and to prove they are somehow committed to this perfectly conservative ideology that does nobody any good, it doesn't do the conservative side any good because they look like they are paleolithic kind of people stuck in the dark age when it comes to women. you would think they would have enough with this past, you know, election where they're recommending to women to put aspirin between their legs, they have no idea about transvaginal operations, they talk about rape as legitimate. this is something that even from a pr stance you would think they'd have enough sense to say let's sign on here to something non-controversial. but they have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and once again look like what they are, sad excuses for legislators in america. >> david, will this embolden some moderate house republicans,

if there's any left, to rise up against the tea party fringe? i mean, they're going to be able to go home now and say that they voted for this, that they're not anti-women. it also plays into the rebranding of what they're trying to do. >> well, i think what you hear right now is the sound of hell freezing over. finally, eric cantor is in a position of moderation. the guy who blocked the grand bargain and who is seen as being the chief jacobin ready to lead mutinous tea party members against john boehner if john boehner got too far oust line with the conservative agenda, has come forward and said hey, guys, enough's enough, we can't be seen as being opposed to anything -- everything. and in fact, he put out a press release i think it was yesterday saying that he himself, eric cantor, just as the supreme court is hearing the decision on the voting rights act, will be marching with john lewis to mark the selma march of years ago. so he's clearly, you know, in a pr mode here to try to convince people that republicans aren't

what they have been for the past few years. and he won this round. mark levin notwithstanding. >> well, let's go to new jersey governor chris christie. he's getting snubbed by cpac. he was invited to speak by this organization next month. but it doesn't seem to be worrying him too much. >> i didn't know i hadn't been invited to cpac until two days ago when i saw it in the news. i wish them the best. let them have a great conference. and as for the rest of it it doesn't bother me a whole heck of a lot. i can't sweat the small stuff. i've got a state to rebuild. i can't sweat the small stuff. >> michael steele, what do you think? >> ditto, period, exclamation point. >> is cpac the small stuff? >> you know, the invitation, or the lack thereof, is the small

stuff. not the organization. and i think the governor is exactly right. okay, invite me or don't invite me. i'm running a government. i'm governing. imagine that. actually governing. so he's not wasting time, giving speeches and doing all of that. he's doing the important work of demonstrating leadership. so if people want to snub him, snub him. but do you think christie gave rat's you know what? i don't think so. >> but the issue here, michael, is that conservatives are saying -- they're right to say this. that if you work with the president on disaster relief, if you accept this expanded medicaid program we don't consider you a conservative and that's fine. but those are minority positions that they're only emphasizing here with this snub. and they're well within their rights to do this. when i first heard it, i thought the problem was that they thought he was gay. obviously, that's not it. >> i don't think that's it.

>> michael eric dyson, this has everything to do with president obama. he got too cozy with the president. this guy has gone after unions. he's cut teachers and public education. he has given tax breaks to the wealthiest folks in his state. i mean, he's very conservative on a lot of issues. too close to obama. what do you think? >> well, it just shows you how idiotic and how maniacal is the obsession with obama and the resistance to obama, anybody gets close. he's not going to get charlie cristed here. he's going to survive. he's going to govern. and he's going to do well. but cpac might as well be tupac right now to him. he doesn't care. his concern is about governing. he's still pretty conservative. and he's pretty popular. i don't think the snub by cpac makes him any less attractive to those who were doug christie fans -- i mean chris christie fans to begin with. >> does he have 2016 written on his shirt? what do you guys think? i would think so. >> yeah, under his shirt there's a big 2016 -- >> not with his republican base. >> michael eric dyson, david corn, and michael steele, great to have you with us. thanks so much for joining us tonight. pat robertson's dire warning about demonic sweaters. you can't make this stuff up. stick around. [ coughs ]

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we love hearing from our fans on facebook and twitter. many of you are praising the obama administration's decision to file a brief using the supreme court to overturn california's ban on same-sex marriage. on facebook candice storms writes, "great day. religion has no place in civil rights or politics. hope marriage equality becomes legal everywhere." terry mcbride predicts, "all the states will fall in line if this is overturned for california." and michael anderson says, "it's too bad the obama administration can't file a brief in favor of removing out of touch republicans from congress." you know, i like that one. you can go to our facebook page right now and get in on the conversation. and don't forget to like "the ed show" when you're there. we need to make a quick clarification about a wedding at west point military chapel. we meant to show you this photograph of a west point graduate marrying her same-sex partner in december. we showed you a picture of a young cadet in error last night. we apologize for that.

this picture is a powerful sign of the end of don't ask, don't tell in one of the military's most symbolic locations. by the way, congratulations to penelope and sue. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] what's the point of an epa estimated 42 miles per gallon if the miles aren't interesting? the lexus ct hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. [ male announcer ] from the way the bristles move to the way they clean, once you try an oral-b deep sweep power brush, you'll never go back to a regular manual brush. its three cleaning zones with dynamic power bristles reach between teeth with more brush movements to remove up to 100% more plaque than a regular manual brush.

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how often do you listen to a tv evangelist? pat robertson is warning people that they may be getting more than what they bargained for in thrift stores. on monday "700 club" a concerned viewer e-mailed robertson for some important advice on secondhand clothing. >> hey, pat, this is carrie, who says, "i buy a lot of clothes and other items at goodwill and other secondhand shops. recently my mom told me that i need to pray over the items, bind familiar spirits and bless the items before i bring them into the house. is my mother correct? can demons attach themselves to material items?" >> now, before we play pat robertson's response, i want to go over a few things that he's got wrong in the past. 1980 he predicted the end of the world.

that was wrong. 2006 he predicted a tsunami would hit america's west coast. that didn't happen. 2007 he predicted mass killings because of a terror attack in the united states. that was wrong. in 2008 he predicted a war in the middle east resulting in a nuclear attack on the united states. good thing he was wrong on that. and last year robertson predicted mitt romney would be elected president. wow, are we happy for that. now, with all this in mind, here are pat's thoughts on demonic sweaters. >> can demonic spirits attach themselves to inanimate objects? the answer is yes. but i don't think every sweater you get from goodwill has demons in it. but in a sense your mother's just being super cautious. so hey, it isn't going to hurt you to rebuke any spirits that happen to have attached themselves to those clothes. >> with pat's track record, i wouldn't lose any sleep over demons in your sweaters. tonight in our survey, does the beltway media serve the interests of the american people?

5% of you say yes. 95% of you say no. coming up, pope benedict xvi officially steps down and the catholic church is at a crossroads. can it regain the people's trust? that's next. [ male announcer ] why is kellogg's crunchy nut so delicious? because every flake is double-toasted... splashed with sweet honey... and covered in rich double-roasted peanuts. mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. it's super delicious!

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the first leg of his final journey as pope. >> at 8:00 p.m. local time in rome pope benedict xvi officially stepped down. he left the vatican by helicopter heading to a nearby summer residence used by popes for centuries. earlier in the day he met with the men who will choose his successor. pledging his loyalty and obedience to the next pope. the conclave is expected to meet in mid march with a church mired in scandal. >> just this week cardinal keith o'brien of scotland resigned amid charges of improper contact with priests. the church has been plagued by scandals in recent years. stories of children sexually abused by priests, cover-ups, allegations of financial mismanagement, the pope's butler leaking secret documents, some taken from the pope's own apartment. >> benedict has said that he is retiring freely and for the good of the church. his successor will inherit a church in crisis following decades of child sex abuse and cover-up. as cardinal benedict led the

vatican office charged with investigating abuse. his critics have accused him of taking no meaningful action. and on this final day of benedict's eighth-year papacy, a victim support group is speaking out. today the survivors network of those abused by priests, or s.n.a.p., as they are known, formally asked the united nations to censure the vatican for failing to protect children from pedophile priests. joining me tonight, barbara blaine, the president and founder of snap. barbara, thank you for your time tonight. i think we hear around the country from a lot of people saying that the time for apologies are over with, that the catholic church needs to fix this. can they do it? >> well, not with their current processes and guidelines and status. i mean, for any change to happen we need some structural changes and we need to see action. they're big on lofty words and not very -- they just don't take

the kind of simple steps that could really protect kids across the globe today. >> your group took a big step today. s.n.a.p. says the holy see is in violation of a children's righties -- or rights treaty, which was signed back in 1990. what are you hoping for the u.n. to do? >> well, we hope that the u.n. will use its influence and power to finally hold top-ranking vatican officials accountable for this cover-up and concealment and then the enabling of the sex crimes against children. i mean, this is -- it's a significant moment because it's the first time that a -- an international body that has some authority is actually looking into these allegations and investigating what the vatican and what the holy see is doing to protect kids. obviously, their record has been dismal, as you know. >> what is going to be benedict's legacy here, in your opinion? >> well, i think, you know, people keep talkg