scalia said now amounted to a perpetuation of racial entitlement. and that remark created the strongest argument of the morning. do you think that the right to vote is a racial entitlement? she later asked a lawyer challenge challenging the law with an edge in her voice that left little doubt that she was responding to justice scalia's statement. do you think that racial discrimination in voting has ended? that there is none anywhere? i was thinking something while reading about that exchange. namely, i'd like to be able to watch it on my tv or my ipad. when going through con for mags in 2009, sotomayor said she liked that idea. i've had positive experiences with cameras, she said. when i've been asked to join experiments of using cameras in the courtroom, i've participated. i have volunteered. more recently, she expressed a change of heart telling charlie rose i don't think most viewers

take the time to actually delve into either the briefs or the legal arguments. they speculate about the judge favors this point rather tlan that point. very few of them understand what the process is, which is to play devil's advocate. well, her answer is a problem. even if most americans couldn't follow the arguments, that's no reason to shut us out. ironically, that logic sounds similar to what was used to justify the voting rights act. and i bet this week, justice sotomayor wishes a camera would have recorded justice scalia's intemp rant remark. he once said since the supreme court of the united states decides the most important issues facing america, its open proceedings should be televised to inform the government how its government operates. specter was right. it's time to televise the court. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us.

"politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. ♪ >> folks, no need to adjust your television set. the budget fight in washington has gotten so surreal, it's like something out of star wars or some other science fiction movie. today, still trying to get

republicans to compromise, the president reached way out into space for a metaphor. >> most people agree that i'm being reasonable. that most people agree that i'm presenting a fair deal. the fact that they don't take it means that i should somehow, you know, do a jedi mind feld with those folks and convince them to do what's right. >> jedi mind melt. the president combined star wars with star trek right there, but who cares? by midnight tonight, huge spending cuts will start to kick in. cuts that mean eventually, hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs. he knows the republicans' cut, cut, cut approach makes no sense. in this galaxy or any other. >> just have them down here and refuse to leave the room.

>> i mean, jessica, i am not a dictator. i'm the president. so ultimately, if they say we need to go to catch a plane, i can't have secret service block the doorway. you know what, mr. president, you're right. we slould close some tax loopholes for the well connected in exchange for some serious entitlement reform and spending cuts of programs we don't need. i think if there was secret way to do that, i would have tried it. i would have done it. >> there are no secret solutions. nor is there any mystery about what the american people want.

76% said they want to replace this cut, cut, cut mess. no wonder speaker boehner didn't want to take a single question today after making a brief statement. what could he possibly have said? hundreds of thousands of people could lose their jobs. the economy would take a serious hit. speaker boehner, take it from me, these aren't the cuts you're looking for. joining me now, thanks for being on the show. >> thank you, rev. >> dana, we're joking about starwarz, but this is serious. how can republicans intentionally do something they know will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. >> well, the president was slightly wrong there. there is a secret sauce. it's merlot.

but the fact of the matter is, reverend, the republicans are pretty happy where they are right now. they've got $85 billion in annual cuts to the federal spending. and they've done nothing in exchange for it. it sounds like they're just going to let it sit there for a few weeks. and then when we get to the end of the spending bill when the government is in jeopardy of shutting down again, that's when a whole new round of negotiations will start. maybe then they'll start talking a little bit about taxes. >> that's what bothering me. maybe then we'll start talking. we're talking about people not having a job. we're talking about families not being able to pay their mortgage or their rent. we're talking about food on the table. and i think they've totally

dismissed the livelihood of people in the beltway. and it's an out rage to me. >> there's an extraordinary disconnect rite now. this is why america hates washington. we're all sitting here arguing about who was responsible for the sequester. whose idea was it two years ago? the danger of course is these things snowball over time. people are going to say a ha, tomorrow is here. we're going to cut even more. we're a long way from having a rational approach to this. >> now, dana, i think that's the point. the world won't collapse tomorrow, but if you're getting a furlough notice, if you're losing your job, it certainly collapses for you. and the president reached out today and said he would do whatever he could to try to bring this together. listen to this statement.

>> it's not as if democrats aren't being asked to do anything either, to compromise. there are members of my party whoolently disagree that we should do anything with medicare. and i'm willing to say to them, i disagree with you because i'm willing to preserve medicare for the long hall. we're going to have some tough politics. >> both sides need to be willing to compromise. >> now, he used the word compromise. he used the word medicare. and i'm one of the ones that don't want to see medicare dealt with. watch speaker boehner. >> government means compromising. >> it means working together. >> it also means compromising.

>> it means finding ground. when you say the word compromise, a lot of americans look up and say oh, oh, they're going to sell me out. >> so you did compromise? >> we found common ground. >> you're afraid of the word. >> i reject the word. >> angela, i don't know if he's afraid of the word, afraid of those on the extreme right of his party that use the word as being synonymous with sellout. and when you think of the people that are being impacted and affected by this, do we really have time to care about extremists when we have people on the brink of economic ruin? clearly, if you are furloughed or fired in the interim period, your whole world collapses and it will take a whole lot to put it back together again. >> right. and then guess who sold out? you sold out the entire country. so this isn't about selling out.

this is about doing the job that you were elected to do. you are absolutely elected to compromise. you are absolutely elected to find common ground with the president. and at the end of the day, when you have 76% of the american people saying not only do we want you to compromise, but we want you to compromise by finding common ground in this particular policy, by implementing revenue raisers as well as cuts to frivolous prachls or wasteful programs, the president has gone above and beyond by saying yes, i stretch my party, but i'm also going to stretch you. members were adamant about not seeing the sequester happen. they, unlike the president, knew what we were dealing with with this particular party. they knew that this gop was

going to boycott their jobs. so the president relying on hope and change and what's best for the country regardless of blue or red or any other party affiliation is getting burned by it now. and got only knows what's going to happen march 30th. >> there you go to where i want to go to you. you mentioned government shutdown. do you think we really could be looking at going from bad to worse? bad now because some people we already know are getting furlough notices already. >> the republicans are saying they're going to keep government open. they learned their lesson from newt gingrich, bill clinton wars

of all of those years ago. that said, there is going to be, at some point, there has to be some sort of a showdown here in order for them to reach this sort of a grand bargain. it has to happen at some point. the president is going to have to give more at some point. but at a particular moment, there's nothing for him to give up since they're not coming to the table with anything at all. >> and what amazes me, angela, is we're talking about cuts as opposed to closing loopholes on private jets, yachts, people who make over a million dollars a year in terms of their homes. i mean, we're not talking about things that don't show people that have access. we're talking about hurting people jobs.

as opposed to a guy having a loophole on a yacht? on a private plane? things that are, in many cases, toys? are we really going to do this to american people? >> no, rev, we aren't. but they are desperately trying. again, when you're talking about a million cuts, and some are saying up to a million jobs could be furloughed. so at some point, you have to say what really matters? or is it just the one percent? or am i going to look out for the 99%? >> it's amazing. >> thanks for your time tonight. >> live long and prosper, reverend. >> coming up. these cuts will mean real pain

for real americans. and that's why president obama just unloaded on republicans today. plus, ira glas is here to talk gun violence. a tragic story we all need to know about. and first lady michelle obama responds to right wing attacks: and she's also having a lot of fun. >> let's have some fun. are you ready? all right, let's move. >> big friday show coming your way. stay with us. ♪ blue moon ♪ you saw me standing alone ♪ without a dream in my heart ♪ without a love of my own ♪ ♪ blue moon

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have you joined the "politics nation" on facebook yet? we hope you will. today, the first lady dominated our site. everyone was cheering her for rising above the negative talkers who love to criticize her. peggy says she has integrity. what a wonderful role model. robin says i'm tired of seeing the right go after her in a hateful, petty way. we've got more on the first lady's response to her critics coming up. we want to know what you think. please head over to facebook and search politics nation. and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. though. the end. lovely read susan. but isn't it time to turn the page on your cup of joe? gevalia, or a cup of johan, is like losing yourself in a great book.

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in just a few hours, $85 billion in cuts will begin to kick in. cuts that will affect some of the most vulnerable and vital parts of our economy. >> we shouldn't be making a series of dumb, arbitrary cuts to things that businesses depend on and workers depend on like education and research and infrastructure and defense. it's unnecessary. and at a time when too many americans are still looking for work, it's inexcusable. it's not fair. it's fot right. the american people don't think it's fair. and don't think it's right. >> it's not fair and it's not right. the cuts are becoming a reality. and they're going to affect real

people women, children, teachers, air traffic controllers, they're all going to feel the squeeze. even the people on capitol hill will take a hit, though not the ones you might expect. >> all the folks who are cleaning the floors at the capitol. now that congress has left, somebody is going to be vacuuming and cleaning those floors and throwing out the garbage -- they're going to have less pay. the janitors, the security guards, they just got a pay cut and they have to figure out how to manage that. and that's real. >> republicans lawmakers get to keep their pay. it's just everybody else that's being made to suffer. joining me now is jim mcdermott from washington. congressman, how do you explain it? >> well, it's pretty simple, al.

yesterday, we passed the violence against women's act. it was passed out of the senate. it came over to the house. john boehner put it on the floor and all of the democrats and a few republicans voted for it and it passed. the same thing could happen today if mitch mcconnell would let a bill come out of the senate, let the majority rule in the senate if they passed it over to the house and boehner put it on the floor, you'd have 200 democrats and a handful of republicans and we would not have to have this sequester happen. it doesn't have to happen. it's only because mitch mcconnell will not let the majority rule in the senate. it's the filibuster rule in the senate that's keeping any kind of compromise from coming out of the senate. >> let me hold you right there, congressman. i want people to understand that. when you say mitch mcconnell is using the filibuster rule and blocking this from going before

the senate and then coming to the house to stop this, explain the process for those around the country that may not understand how mcconnell can do that. >> well, he invokes the filibuster rule which says you have to have 60 votes to move a bill. so the majority in the senate, the democrats, the 57, 58 or 59, whatever it is, can decide on something but they cannot bring it to the floor for a vote because mcconnell says you have to have 60 votes even to have a vote. now, that's not majority rule. if he'd let the democrats put something on the floor that had been agreed with by the president, they can send it over to the house. at that point, the house speaker can put it on the calendar and it could be voted on. he would have only a few republicans vote for it. all of the democrats would vote for it. and it would pass and his sequester would disappear.

it is absolutely mitch mcconnell. see, what's going on is mitch mek connell is running for election. and he's afraid of a tea bagger running against him . >> i mean, you had the new york times, for example. reporting that there are republicans happy with the sequester. congressman scalise called it, quote, a big victory. an congressman mulvaney said sequester was a welcomed development. who is this a big victory for, exactly? >> it's a big victory for mitch mcconnell. those new freshmen over in the house don't understand what's going to happen. when you start laying off air traffic controllers and there's a 90 minute delay on every

flight going to chicago and you have the whole airline system slowed down in the entire country, then america is going to see what's happened. oh, when they come and there's nobody to open up the national space museum in washington, d.c. for tourists to come in, there's going to be a hundred thousand effects that will happen because of all of this that will happen little by little by little. the tea bag party, basically, is people who don't want government, who want to kill government, and want to make president obama look bad. that's all they're about. they have nothing positive. >> and when you look at the fact we're talking about women and children and seniors and, as you say, government workers, 600,000 women and children lose nutrition aid. 125,000 families lose housing aid, 70,000 kids lose head start

and 20,000 lose cancer screening so their private yachts and private jets remain in place, this is absolutely the height of insensitivity by those in government. >> there's no question about it. you're really protecting the people at the top. boehner says there will be no more tax increases. well, he, himself, put $800 billion in tax loopholes on the table some months ago. and now he's pulled it back. he's said oh, no, no, no, we're not going to talk about that anymore. he wants it both ways. he wants to have it one way, having them believe they gave us tax increases and now they're not giving us tax increases. it's simply a game that's being played that's going to hurt ordinary citizens. >> unfortunately, for american families, putting food on the table is not a game.

thank you, congressman. ahead, think all of those leaders from the tea party faded away? think again. why the gop is the tea party. plus, the president made a comment today about republicans who demonize him. it made us all stop for a moment. and, for the first time, michelle obama responds to the right wing attacks. stay with us. ♪ it keeps me crying baby for you ♪ ♪ keeps me sighing, baby for you ♪ ♪ so won't you hurry ♪ come on, boy, see about me ♪ come see about me ♪ see about you baby ♪ come see about me [ female announcer ] does your color have staying power...

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>> members not to paint horns on my head. >> the in-your-face. he's responding toet in-your-face attitude and style we've seen from the far right that has only gotten worse since the tea party got into the act. now the tea party is pretty much running the republican party. and that is no good for getting anything constructive done. joining me now is jonathan capehart and victoria francesco. jonathan, this really shows how far to the right the party is. >> it shows how far to the right the party is. but it also shows how entrenched the tea party caucus is and how powerful they are in, i was going to say getting things done, but, in this case, in keeping things from happening. in the old days, speaker boehner

would have been a really successful speaker. he would have gotten the grand bargain done and we probably wouldn't have had the fiscal cliff and all of these other showdowns and manufactured crises we've had over the past couple of years. but because the republican party put all of his chips on the tea party in 2010 and brought these folks to washington, now you have lots of people in capitol hill, and i'm talking about republicans who are constantly looking over their right shoulder worried about whether there's going to be a primary challenge to them if they do something that smacks up governing. >> you know, it goes to your point when i look at the fact that tea parties who pushed hard for a sequester have won their first big fight in congress with the automatic budget cuts. in many ways, a sequester marks the tea party movement's maturation into a virtually

mainstream role in the republican party. cutting the pentagon's buchblgt once was unthinkable. but now it is trumped by the drive to keep down taxes whenever possible. victoria, when you see this, you actually understand how much in charge of the party the tea party has become -- have found themselves positioned. >> my dad's favorite saying is don't cut your nose to spite your face. but that is what tea partiers have done. and that has become almost the m.o. of our government these days. tea partiers can definitely claim a win today. they got to march 1st and they held their ground. they didn't budge. but, for me, the real question is what's going to happen in the coming weeks. these cuts are supposed to be rolling cuts. so, in theory, congress can come back to the table and put an end

to this craziness and actually do something. but are the tea partiers going to look at the trophy on the wall and say okay, maybe we can do some work to keep the cuts from hurting americans. and that's going to be a really good indicator of what the midterm election is going to be. are the tea partiers going to keep pulling farther and farther to the right or are they just looking for these trophy wins, sitas today with the sequester. >> well, that's an open question. you know, jonathan, the tea party is determined to bring down the government. and insisting on automatic cuts is their first step in making that happen. he writes, "what they set out to do was not simply change washington u but e vis rate the u.s. government. drown it in the bathtub. the tea party is now running the

gop a serious only about dismembering the government. that's a frightening statement, but it appears to be where they're heading. >> this is sequester was put in place because it was supposed to be something so own rus, so bad that congress would get a deal in place so that those cuts wouldn't be necessary. and, now, here we are. it's happening. and it's happening because people on capitol hill who were actively saying if the sequester goes through, that's not a bad thing. actually, that's a good thing. and that's why we're here at this very moment today. >> and you know, victoria, tea party representatives push the leadership into the budget cuts and made it clear this week that it would be a good thing for the speaker -- it would not be good for speaker boehner to oppose

them or to back off from this sequester. example, ron johnson told fox news i don't believe speaker boehner would be speaker if that happens. i think he would lose his speaker ship. for them to go back on their word certainly threatens the ability to lead. i mean, they are absolutely saying yes, we want to force the sequester. yes u we want to topple government and he would lose his leadership. >> the tea party of the gop has really morphed because of the responsiveness from boehner. but at the same time, let's not forget that the tea party is alive and well at the state level. here, in texas, my home state, it is a very powerful voice. so that's the other source of the power for the tea party. and going forward, what we're

going to see is speaker boehner going to try to find a middle ground. i doubt it's going to happen. and in that case, president obama is going to have to give up on negotiations. there is not going to be a resolution to this through a bipartisan mechanism. >> now, there are some on the republican side that are fighting this. rich lowry writes it is not just the winter of republican discontent, it will likely be the spring, summer and fall, as well, and more seasons yet after that. the national party is leaderless and nearly issueless.

that's some kind of statement there. >> yeah, the bad place that the republicans find themselves in, it's not just bad for the party, it's bad for the country. we should expect to see speaker boehner search for a middle ground. that would be wonderful if only he had some folks within his party who are willing to follow behind him on that middle ground. it's one thing to run for congress and bringing down and reducing waste and and all of that. but once you get to washington, i believe it is to put them on par with the interest of your districts. right now, we're seeing that the tea party folks here aren't thinking about the national interest. >> thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. >> i should say i hope you have

a healthy weekend. i don't know how great a weekend we could have with this sequester. ahead, the first lady takes on the right wing, hitting back against her cooky critics. you'll want to hear it. plus, a powerful story about life and death in our schools. ira glass is here live in the studio. >>my guy ♪ ♪ no handsome face could ever take the place of my guy ♪ ♪ he may not be a movie star ♪ but when it comes to being happy ♪ ♪ we are ♪ there's not a man today [ justin ] mulligan sir. mulligan. take a mulligan. i took something for my sinuses, but i still have this cough. [ male announcer ] truth is, a lot of sinus products don't treat cough. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ angry gibberish ] [ fake coughs ] sorry that was my fault sir.

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none of them charge annual fees and all of them offer low cost investments. why? because we're not your typical wall street firm that's why. so you keep more of your money. e-trade. less for us. more for you. today, including justice scalia's offensive comments. >> that is called perpetuation of racial entitlement. whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal, political processes. >> voting as a racial entitlement instead of a civil right? that's just offensive. the good news on these tapes is justice sonya sotomayor who took

direct evidence as she's trying to end the voting rights act. >> i think that the right to vote is racially insovereign in section 5. >> the 15th amendment protects the right of all to vote. >> i asked you a different question. do you think that racial discrimination in voting has ended? that there is none anywhere? >> i think that the world is not perfect. >> justice sotomayor repeatedly stood up for hours for american voters. it's great to have that vision on the kourlt. [ male announcer ] this is kevin.

to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

. since the massacre at sandyhook elementary school, the issue of gun violence has become an issue that the country is talking about. gun violence is an epidemic. the shooting of 15-year-old hadiya pendleton in a chicago park touched all of us,

including president obama. a little more than 6 miles from where hadiya was shot is harpo high school. a school that deals every day with the issue of gun violence. in the last school year, eight current or former students were shot and killed. another 21 were wounded. reporters showed this american life spent five months inside the school watching and documenting how the community copes. >> it's hard not to think that if you grafted these facts onto another high school in a wealthier place, maybe a suburb, dozens of students shot, three of them killed, in other places, that would be national news. we would all know the name of that school. >> many of us knew what harpo high school faces now. the entire country is learning their story.

joining me now is ira glass and alex harkowitz. let me start with you, ira, why was it important to you to present the story of harpo high school? >> i think we all hear about gun violence in this country. most of the shootings are concentrated in certain parts of the cities. >> we felt like people where they see 29d shootings a year, they knew something where most of the country didn't. you usual li hear it's like a gang kid. and there's a tendency around the country that thinks he must have had it coming. but gangs are different now than they used to be. the police tell you you cannot be in a gang. you're assigned a gang based on the geography.

it's not guil ee's not about se territory. it's totally different i. when you hear it's a gang kid, you're really not understanding. >> you know, i was fascinated, alex, when you talked about how everyone in america should know harpo high. agt people killed, 21 wounded. you said if it was in another community, another type of people, the whole country would be out raged. tell me why you feel that way. >> the violence is great here. you know that as well as anyone. i think one of the things that was remarkable, you found this incredible collection of adults who, you know, provided this

sense of safety for the kids there. and i think it was cleared after spending just a little time there that these adulgts made an i nor mouse difference in the lives of these kids. but you're right, we don't really pay much attention to what's going on in these communities. they're physically and spiritually icelated from the rest of us. >> and i think the fact that there's so many shootings, i think reporters -- i just think that there's so many shootings, there's so much violence that reporters, you know, it's hard. and i have sympathy for daily beat reporters that -- just to get the facts of what happened out there with the speed that they have to is a job. and then to be able to go in and actually spend enough time to figure out what are these murders about? why is this happening? what is this like? because there are so many shootings, i think a lot of news rooms just -- >> yeah, but you did it. and i question why more haven't done it. that's why i wanted you on. and i wanted alex onto talk

about it. the other thing is i don't think people understand the environment. i heard kids talk about the rules they have to live by on one of your tapes since you were there, alex, and was actually embedded in the school. let me play this sound byte to you talking to one of the students about what it is to live -- rules they have to go by. >> yeah, and i always welcome people. >> what's the advantage? >> it's not trying to get juc d jumped on or shot. everybody messes with somebody. >> so they have to walk in a group because no one will mess with you if you're walking in a group. so literally afraid to go to school, walking alone or with one other friend. imagine that kind of environment? >>. >> right. well, that was my colleague, linda lutton who was speaking to one of the boys there about the

gangs chl and i think one of the things that was clear is, you know, there are rules and, in some ways, there aren't really rules. this boy talks about how it's necessary to walk with a group and, yet, other kids will tell you they want to be by themselves. if you're walking with a group. you're likely to be associated with others and likely to be pinpointed as a gang member. >> they'll think you're a gang member. oh, you're really with them and then you can become a target by being in the group. >> you know, one of the things that is great about the story you've done is the staff's commitment. the principal, leonetta saunders, who we wanted to get on and we'll have on, u let's listen to you and her conversation. >> principal sanders sets the tone. just listen to her.

she says the girl can never do that again. >> oh, my god. you look so cute. too bad you can't wear a white shirt, but you look so cute. >> that's classic harper. you're reprimanded, but with love. >> reprimanded, but with love. how effective is that? >> well, i think it's good to know. we were impressed with the competence of the staff of the school. if you think about the impact of the shootings, i think that one of the things that people don't see is just in a human way what it does to individual kids to know that their friends have been shot at. to be there when their friends have been shot at. to witness it themselves. and at the school, there's 1.5 social workers. and they're going to lose next year that's going to be cut down to 3/4 of a time social workers. and one of the interesting

things is that the city of chicago sent in a lot of money. they say there's a problem here. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. so he basically said what would happen if you just throw enough money at a school like this so money isn't a factor. and that's what they did in the school for the last few years. they had millions of dollars extra to basically have aadulthoods wadults who could help protect them from the violence. >> alex, i was fascinated by what you did because i knew there were a lot of americans that didn't know. we have a society problem. from harper high all the way to newtown, i think people have no sense of how people are living under fear and siege.

and i think you captured it in your work and, ira, for you putting it on, that's why i wanted to put it on the show tonight. and we'll have the principal on at some point. ira and alex, thank you both so much for joining us tonight. >> thanks for having us. >> ahead the first lady gets moving and brushes off her lame critics on the right. that's next. ♪

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