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at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing. hello, everyone. it is high noon here in the east. 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." some of the first five stories trending at this hour. that's just nonsense. sharp words on the sunday morning news programs about the sequestration. the woodward feud. a white house adviser gets on the record about his spat with the legendary journalist. demolition plan at the site of the florida sink hole that swallowed a man. the $24 billion in bad news for warren buffett. dennis rodman with a message from north korea to president obama. details on all those stories throughout the hour, but first -- >> to washington. new today speaker of the house john boehner says he sees absolutely no path to ending the sequester which officially took effect late friday. the speaker spoke exclusively to david gregory on today's nbc

"meet the press," specifically addressing president obama's role in the debate process. >> he has a plan that he's put forward that involves entitlement cuts. that involves spending cuts. that you've made a choice as have republicans to leave tax loopholes in place and you'll rather have those and live with all these -- >> david, that's just nonsense. if he had a plan, why wouldn't senate democrats go ahead and pass it? the house has acted twice over the last ten months to replace the sequester. if we're going to -- the president counted his tax hikes on january 1st. >> democrats are firing back, though. here's senate majority whip dirk durbin today. >> what we have here is a steady diet. i don't want to point fingers, but i will. that the house republican approach to this is we're either going to do it exclusively with republicans or we just won't do it at all. only when they're pushed to the absolute extreme will they allow a bipartisan vote. >> nbc's peter alexander is at

the white house for us. good sunday to you, peter. so what are we hearing today from the white house on these latest remarks from speaker b e boehner? >> reporter: there's no real clear end in sight in the conversations we heard this morning, speaker boehner and his conversation with david gregory. also gene spurling who runs the national economic council for the president. basically his top economic adviser here that neither side wants to see a government shutdown. potential for that exists less than four weeks from now when what's called the cr, continuing resolution, where they would have to effectively extend paying for the government to operate going forward. but it looks like they'll be pushing this real debate a little bit further down the road. maybe even this fall when they're fighting over a future budget for washington right now. here earlier today we heard the both sides explaining the issue of sequester. >> the president and i never came to an agreement. he could have come to an

agreement, but he didn't. he got his tax hikes. it's time to cut spending. and every american knows it. >> our hope is that as more republicans start to see this pain in their own districts, that they will choose bipartisan compromise over this absolutist position. that's why, you know, just yesterday the president is on the phone calling both democrat and republican senators who he believes want to be part of a compromise. >> reporter: but even right now if all sides, alex, agree this was sort of a dumb way to make spending cuts, it's still even unclear exactly how bad the sequester will be. the white house insists increasingly that it's going to be more like a slow grind. that was the language some of their top surrogates said on the morning shows this morning. but even john boehner himself, alex, said -- i think his words were i don't know whether it's going to hurt the economy or not. at this point, republicans are still waiting out to see whether they actually hear about that pushback from americans. >> peter alexander, thank you

very much from the white house. joining me now for this discussion, reuters political reporter andy sullivan and staff writer for the hill elyse freeback. nice to see you both. thank you for being here. >> hi, alex, thanks. >> andy, i'll begin with you. we saw lawmakers on all the sunday talk shows, pretty much the same arguments. the senate is set to reconvene late on monday. the house comes back tuesday. what's going to happen? >> well, as i think you heard speaker boehner say today, they're moving on to the next fight which is trying to avoid a government shutdown. and that means that these sequester cuts will probably be baked in. they might try to change them in a way to make them a little less arbitrary, to make the damage a little less. but you're still going to be hurting the economy. we're still going to be seeing economic growth decline pretty significantly. we're still going to be seeing 700,000 to 1 million jobs left if they're kept in place. because this is the type of spending that drives innovation, that boosts the economy. it's not the type of spending that is making our debt worse, which is the entitlements and

the health care spending. the problem is still going to be there. >> so let's say people on the hill, elyse, what are they telling you? any glimmer of hope to stop this sequester? >> you know, i think it's going to take at least a couple of weeks before we see any hope. i think there's a palpable sense of fatigue on capitol hill right now. this is one in a series of fiscal deadlines. there was a lot more drama over the fiscal cliff at the beginning of the year. people kind of expected the sequester would take place. they sort of thought this would be the outcome. and so i think they're going to wait a couple of weeks in a sort of sense of impasse why they weigh what could happen next. >> let's look at what was written in today's "washington post" by ezra klein. makes a compelling argument that whatever president obama is for the gop will be against even if the president agrees to lowering some social security benefits over time. specifically what's called the change cpi in the past. some of the gop have said that is the key to breaking this stalemate. now the president says he's okay with it. it appears republicans want more

now. is that how you read it? >> that overlooks one important point. and this is something that the president talked about on friday. and that's that his democrats really resist this notion of changing benefits at all. you've got -- as you mentioned, the change cpi which wouldn't cut social security. just sort of slow the growth of benefits over time to more accurately reflect inflation. democrats say that's a nonstarter. you have the notion of changing medicare so the wealthiest retirees who are the wealthiest group of americans as a whole would maybe pay a little bit more in their retirement funds. a lot of democrats resist that idea, too. republicans are being pretty -- when it comes to tax increases and closing loopholes. the democrats are digging in their heels on this other side. and this is a shame because everybody's known for years these are the two things we need to do to get our finances on a sustainable course. >> so what do you think is happening, elise? is the gop holding out for some

sort of longer term political gain? >> i think republicans have cocoalessed around this idea of no new taxes. we've seen defense go by the wayside. the party has found at least within the house gop something where everybody can agree. i think we really have to remember the gop is still recovering from a very devastating election that set in motion a process of internal reform that is going to take months, if not years. and so i think we have to wait and see what the power plays will be within the gop. because we frankly don't know quite what they're going to be yet. >> andy, i'm looking at your latest article. the title of it being "cuts unlikely to deliver promised budget savings." so does that mean even the silver lining for the sequester cuts doesn't exist? >> absolutely, alex. everybody talks about how it's $85 billion cut this year. but that's not the case at all. it would actually be much less than half of that. maybe closer to $30 billion. which is still a chunk of change

but not clearly what we'd expect. some of that is because the government spends money more slowly than we would think. a lot of it is because it hurts the economy. i'll give you one example. they're supposed to open yellowstone national park this weekend. but they've got to save money. so they're not running the snowplows through to open up the roads. that saves them about $250,000 in fuel costs. but you're losing $2 million in tourism business. that hurts all the hotels and all the restaurants that depend on that for their line of work. that means they'll be paying less in tax revenue to the government. that means you're going to have more money on things like food stamps as people are thrown out of work. so you actually -- the savings start to be counteractive. they work against you. >> elise, i look at your collatest article as well on the hill. it's titled senate gop pushes hhs for sequester details. of course, health and human services, hhs. what is behind all this? >> so i think what we're seeing is an attempt by republicans in congress to really get down into the dirty details of how the

sequester will be enforced. and there have been some suggestions that the obama administration has more power than it has suggested to enforce the cuts in a way that will not be so painful. one example would be we hear the obama administration talking about things like children's vaccines which will be cut. and what republicans are asking are, you know, is it really true that those are going to be on the front lines of these cuts? or was that merely a political move in order to build up opposition to the sequester? so republicans are doing this to conduct oversight, but also to do a fair bit of messaging about what they believe is a politically motivated move by the obama administration. >> you also talk about the administration kind of cherry picking their sequestration examples to make their point. >> that's right. >> thank you, both. good to see you. thank you so much. he's back. mitt romney is talking publicly about the election he lost in november. now that infamous video where he made the 47% comment. >> it was a very unfortunate

statement that i made. it's not what i meant. i didn't express myself as i wished i would have. you know, when you speak in private, you don't spend as much time thinking about how something could be twisted and distorted and could be come out wrong and be used. but, you know, i did and it was very harmful. what i said is not what i believe. obviously my whole campaign, my whole life has been devoted to helping people, all the people. >> in the months since the election mr. romney says he's been spending more time with his children and grandchildren including taking them all on a trip to disney land. great britain's queen elizabeth ii rushed to the hospital with symptoms of a stomach infection. right to nbc's anabel roberts. what's the word from buckingham palace? are they saying details of what's wrong with the queen and her condition right now? >> well, alex, good morning p the palace statement says simply that queen elizabeth is expected to stay in hospital for two

days. the statement says this is precautionary. that she traveled to the hospital in a normal car, not an ambulance. and emphasizes that she is in good spirits. all that could be interpreted to mean that they are trying to downplay this bout of illness. the background here is that she was taken ill with gastrointeritis on friday. she had to cancel an engagement yesterday and was told to rest over the weekend at windsor castle. clearly that period of rest has not worked as effectively as they had hoped. she hasn't recovered as well as expected. we can presume she's been taken into hospital for rehydration. remember, she's 86. she turns 87 next month. so any illness at this stage really has to be taken seriously. all engagements have been canceled for this week. she was due to go to rome for two days, but that is off. and she really dislikes canceling any official engagements because it lets people down. so many people are involved in her visits. also, she's one of what we call the war generation. she dislikes being ill.

she never complains. and she's also one of those people who like to be busy. that's what keeps her going. so i think we can say that she's been made to understand that she has a better chance of getting better quickly if she goes to hospital than if she remained at home for treatment. >> well, that makes sense. we wish her well, certainly. thank you. west coast headlines are next with some unexpected fallout from a fight for a free education. and one leading republican standing against her party on taxes and fighting for the middle class. her one claim that might surprise democrats. they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter.

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some headlines making news on the west coast. the sacramento bee as the story "guns: a tale of two states." it's about how tougher laws are forcing californians to buy guns in nevada. the oakland tribune has the story new law has schools scram

j for supplies. it's about a new california law banning school fees for classroom items and activities and requiring students to bring their own materials needed for school. the law was created after the state was sued over the fees. california's constitution guarantees the right to a free public education. income inequality in america has received renewed attention with president obama's push for a higher minimum wage. that proposal has been roundly opposed by republicans who say it will kill jobs. but my next guest argues in a new op-ed the gop should lead the charge against inequality with major tax reforms and investing in our infrastructure. joining me now is sheila bair, former share woman of the fdic and offer of "bull by the horns." sheila, a welcome i tell you i love the title of your op-ed. you add one vowel and it changes everything. i love that. with party to parody. you're argument really focuses on how government actions are to blame for income inequality.

>> a lot of it is -- in ameritocracy there will always be some level of income inequality. that's not a bad thing if it's truly contributed to merit. a lot of this has been driven by government policy. it's been driven by the bailouts. it's been driven by monetary policy. it priorly has inflated values of financial assets owned by the upper classes. tax policy, too. a lot of tax policy. especially the lower rate for investment income is highly skewed towards the upper classes. so this is not an acceptable situation to the extent it's driven by government policies. we should work very hard to correct those. >> what are the specific tax reforms, some of them that you're calling for? >> i would like to, you know, the playbook what happened in 1986, and a similar recommendation made by the simpson/bowles commission, really clean the code out. start with making investment income taxes the same rate as ordinary income.

there's no reason in the world why wage earners should pay such a higher rate on their income than people who live off of investments. it completely skews the -- exacerbates the income inequality problem. and it's upsidedown. we have too much in investment income already. a study i cited in my op-ed showed that by the year 2020 we will have 9$900 trillion of investment dollars chasing only $90 trillion of global gdp. we have way too much investment. we don't have enough work and jobs. so i would get rid of that. that would be at the top. but most of it, clean it out and get the marginal rates much lower. you simplify the code and end a lot of incentives for financial engineering and tax arbitrage as well if you tax ordinary income, wage income and investment income at the same rate. >> something you wrote jumped out at me. it was not something one would expect to come from a republican. specifically you write, reflecting what you just said, skewing income toward the upper upper class hurts our economy because the rich tend to sit on their money unlike lower and

middle income people who spend a large share of their paychecks and hence stimulate economic activity. >> right. >> so you're bucking the party. >> well, i don't think i am. you know, in 1986 whep we did tax reform we had a republican senate. we had a republican president. pete dimici and allen simpson are two prominent republicans who have co-authored recommendatio recommendations. i think there's a strong tradition here. one that goes to the populist roots of my party. it's in our self-interest, too. the sweet spot of the republican constituency has always been, yes, upper income people but those who aspire to be upper income people. who have, you know, who want to work hard and have that shot at accumulating wealth and buildingwbuild ing wealth the right way. >> i hear what you're saying. yes, you are reflecting the populist element of the party.

that doesn't seem to be the predominant philosophy these days that's put out there. so what's out there is that the upper income levels will be those who stimulate the economy. and you're saying -- >> no. >> really not so much. >> no. i don't think. we have way too much in the way of investment dollars already. the world and the united states, we're awash in liquidity. we've got all this cash sloshing around trying to find investments in the real economy. and the real economy is on its back. that is completely upsidedown. i know that's been conventional wisdom. this is bipartisan. i don't know the president himself has openly said let's get rid of all of it. we kind of nibbled around at the edges. the tax increase he pushed for at the end of the year as part of the fiscal cliff discussions hit wage earners and barely hit those who make their money through investment income. i think wall street has got a lot of influence with both parties, frankly. we need to tackle that. >> here's what you write. republicans need to overcome

their fear of primary challenges and the loss of wall street money. look, a lot of great candidates have been primaried out. wall street donated a lot wsh a lot of money last year. >> they have. >> what's the chance of that actually happening? >> well, you know, look. i think you've got to show leadership. sometimes you have to take positions that are in our long-term economic interest and go out there and explain them and defend them vigorously. i think people who show leadership, who take principal positions, i think ultimately the good guys do win. we saw that in 1986 when very unpopular things were done. i think history will show that that was a very good thing for the congress and the president to do. it did help pave the way for a lot of economic growth after that. and people did survive re-election by doing it. >> it all goes in the big debate in washington right now about who should carry the burden for our massive deficit. do you raise taxes on the rich or cut benefits for the middle class and the poor? your plan, how would that impact

the budget? >> well, look. i think with tax reform, i know most republicans do not want to use tax reform to raise revenues. and i understand that. they feel like they gave a lot with the fiscal cliff discussions. but you can -- through tax reform you can both produce enough revenue to lower rates and produce revenue for deficit reductions. i would take that approach. i think just doing tax reform by itself even if it's revenue neutral will get this economy going in a way we've not seen so far. it's really flat on its back. one of the problems is we have a lot of inefficiencies and frictions because of this tax code that's encouraging investment dollars to go places where they're really not needed. >> sheila bair, thank you very much for the conversation. makes great sense. new word today from dennis rodman about his unpres tented visit to north kor ya. the first known american to meet with kim jong-un. he said he had a message from the north american leader for president obama. >> and one thing he asked me to give obama something to say and

do one thing. he want obama to do one thing. call him. >> he wants a call from president obama. >> that's right. he told me that. he said, if you can, dennis, i don't want the war. i don't want to do war. he said that to me. >> the young leader has defied u.n. sanctions by continuing to develop nuclear arms. accomplishing even little things can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure,

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in light of the sequester cuts today's number one begins with a look at countries with far bigger debt problems. japan's is far greater. the worst in the world. nearly 230% of its gross domestic product. we have all been following the money woes in greece where the national debt is 163% of gdp. jamaica's 139% of gdp. u.s. is ranked tenth. cars in this country more expensive than ever averaging 30,5$30,500 $30,500. the only sit who can afford the

550 a month payment, washington, d.c. lease stable, tampa. justin bieber. a twitter topping 35 million followers. he can't help but stir a lot of buzz. madonna's second after launching her instagram account with this photo. and in third, victoria beckham who has announced she's starting an e-commerce website. and they were full of hot air in key west, florida, yesterday for the annual conch shell blowing contest. a 76-year-old gentleman from ocean city, maryland, captured the men's crown and explains what it takes. >> you don't have to blow hard. you just have to keep your lips vibrating. >> and he did, indeed. and those are your number ones here on "weekends with alex witt." [ female announcer ] does your color have staying power... or just seem to fade away, day by day? don't compromise. new vidal sassoon pro series

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with alex witt." headlines a t the half. secretary of state john kerry continues to meet with dignitaries across europe and the middle east in his new role as the nation's top diplomat. this nine-day trip is his first since he took office. he met with egyptian president mohamed morsi and other officials earlier today reminding them how important it is for the country to put political differences aside and come together to address economic challenges. next stop saudi arabia. the space x capsule is making a one-ton delivery of supplies to the international space station. it's delayed by a day zblmpkts the quiet sunday in st. peters scare as catholics observe sunday mass without a leader. tomorrow at the vatican the process begins to elect a new pope. in an exclusive interview on today's "meet the press" david gregory spoke with house speaker john boehner about the battle of the sequester and if republicans will ever be open to tax increases. >> are you open down the line to

using revenue derived from tax reform closing deductions to actually pay down the deficit? >> i'm going to say it one more time. the president got his tax hikes on january 1st. the issue here is spending. spending is out of control. there are smarter ways to cut spending than the silly sequester that the president demanded. >> joining me now for strategy talk is former vermont governor, dnc chairman howard dean and former rnc chairman and msnbc analyst michael steele. gentlemen, good to see you both. thanks for joining me. governor dean, i'm going to start with you. does the first part of speaker boehner's answer hold any water? did president obama already get his tax increases so now it's time for spending cuts? >> well, president obama did get some tax increases on people who make more than $400,000. the speaker is incorrect. first of all, this is not -- this was voted on by the republican majority. so to try to blame president obama for this is silly. secondly, the biggest problem most economists agree that's

causing the deficit, aside from the lousy economy, which is getting better, is bush's tax cuts. and the truth is, the hard truth that most people don't want to face is if we're going to have the same kind of benefits that we had when bill clinton was president we're going to have to have the same kind of tax rates as when bill clinton was president for everybody, not just the rich folks. you know, we can continue to play this ridiculous game, but we got to have some serious adults talking about how to close the budget deficit. tax reform is a good one. i think speaker -- he wants tax reform is going to have to give on revenues. >> mikeal, we have speaker boehner who may be right that the white house proposed first the sequester. but it was never supposed to go through it and wasn't president obama's plan for the deficit. so why now in the midst of this crisis is the speaker still misrepresenting the facts instead of just working on a deal? >> well, i don't think he's misrepresenting the facts. i think he's stating very clearly, a, the president won the tax increases.

he got them. b, sequester came out of the economic team recommended to the president. the president got behind it. yeah, it passed with 174 republicans in the house. but it also passed with a majority of democrats in both houses. so everybody has skin in this particular game. i think at this point what republicans have been trying to say, sometimes not very well, is that we have gone to that -- to that edge on taxes. we've given in on the tax increases. howard makes a very interesting point. now the question becomes, do we go back and raise taxes on everyone or do we raise more on -- on the top 1% or 2%? that's part of the discussion. but i think the bottom line is really arnold the simpson/bowles reality. you're going to have to find a combination of the two. cuts in spending as well as revenue enhancements, whether that comes through closing loopholes or additional increases in rates. that should be the debate that we engage in right now. i think it's an opportunity for republicans to frame that debate on those terms so that they have

more control over how it goes as opposed to trying to catch up as we've seen in the last two or three battles. >> governor, i want to read you ez ra klein's latest two columns. not the entire columns. but a look at the failure of communication between the white house and republicans, the gop wants a chain cpo and means tested entitlements. turns out president obama has suggested doing just that. according to klein republicans don't know that even though it's on the white house website. has the president really engaged congress on the budget debate? >> this is -- alex, this is one of the silliest arguments. it's such an inside the beltway argument. it amounts to the same idea as newt gingrich getting po'd because he got in the back of the plain with bill clinton to israel when they all went. the fact is there's a deal to be made. first of all you got to deal with medicare. you don't have to cut benefits. you have to change doctors and providers who pay for medicare. that's the really big thing that hasn't been touched yet. second of all this sequester is

really tough. it's the right amount. probably not the ideal way to do this. if they want to fiddle with that i think that would be welcome. third of all simpson/bowles recommended $1 in tax increases for every $2 to $3 in spending. so far we've had $1 in tax increases for every $4 in spending. the equation has been skewed so far towards spending. i do not agree the size of government is too big. i think the american public may think that but the truth is then when you start talking about programs they disagree with cutting every single one of them. i think michael and i are actually in some agreement here other than the fing ger pointing that's going on in washington that there's a solution to be had. it has nothing to do with the fact that the president and the speaker haven't talked. that's the function of both their choices. and it's a lot of it is also washington gossip. >> ezra's, that one call may be a bit too inside the beltway for you, governor. michael, he does go on to give a pretty entertaining example of how if republicans know the president's agreeing with them, they're going to find some reason, anything to go against him. they'll say they can't trust his

offer. nitpick the details. does the republican party have any intentions of working with this white house? >> if they don't, they should. quite frankly i think you diminish yourselves when you continue down this, you know, can't say yes, can't even say maybe, road that we've been on. and i think, you know, yeah, we can go back and finger point who walked away from the table first. who changed the deal or moved the goal post. but the country right now is looking for the bigger individual. man, woman or child. to step up and help begin to pull this economy into alignment so that it can -- as it grows, translates into jobs being created. translates into a control over government spending. translates into the revenue coming into the economy that the government needs to take care of the least among us and to make sure that safety net, which everybody agrees must be there, is strong as it possibly can be. as newt gingrich noted, when people hit that safety net, they're not consumed by it.

but, in other words, bounce up from it. back into some level of prosperity and opportunity. that hasn't happened. until it does, we're going to go down this cycle. it's unfortunate. >> michael raises a really interesting point here. the dow hit 14,000. that means people investing in this country still think it's a pretty good place to invest. they don't think the sequester is a big problem. >> you make a good point with that. can i ask you quickly just to switch gears for a second because the cover article of the "washington post," governor, today is titled "obama sees 2014 as key to legacy." basically talking about how the president is trying to help do anything he can to help the house regain the majority for the democrats. they'd have to get, like, 17 seats. possible. he wants to do this to cement his legacy with some big progressive agendas here. do you think it's possible? 17 seats in the house? >> it's possible. it is tough, but it's possible. i was at hofstra with a former congressman, republican congressman. and maggie from politico.

there is a scenario. we were talking about this. there is a scenario by which young people get on the internet and get organized, and even if they turned out at 85% of the level that they turned out in the two big presidential elections, it is possible for us to win those back. so we'll see what happens. i do think it's possible. >> in a mid-term election, though. michael, possible? lose 17? >> i've said it now for over a year. it's more than possible. i think it undergirds everything this administration has been doing. particularly on the political side. the ramping up and the sort of moving of the president's campaign into a broader networking coalition. i think howard's exactly right, though. focus will be on the young voter. that 18 to 30-year-old population. to get them energized, keep them energized. so if i were the republicans i'd be very mindful of that, watching over our shoulder. you know, putting up, you know, little road signs and websites. it's not going to be enough going into 2014. the party's going to have to engage at a very personal level. something it hasn't done since,

oh, gee, when i was chairman. >> oh, okay. all right. on that note, we'll let it go, guys. michael steele, howard dean, gentlemen, always good to see you both. thank you. >> thanks very much. >> all righty. from there to alabama. an apology for a civil rights outrage more than 50 years coming. montgomery, alabama's police chief kevin murphy has apologized on behalf of the department to the civil rights group freedom riders. officers failed to act when the group was attacked and beaten badly by a white mob in 1961. congressman john lewis, one of the original freedom riders, says he was moved to tears. >> from the chief of the montgomery police department to offer an apology, i teared up. i tried to keep from crying. and i accepted the apology. and i accepted the badge. >> lewis and some other congressmen were in montgomery for the 13th -- chief murphy

says it is an apology that should have been issued long ago. a new warning from new jersey governor chris christie. also, we want to hear from you. please head over to facebook and search weekends with alex witt. like us to join the conversation. it keeps going long after the show ends. mallon brothers magic? watch this -- alakazam! ♪ [ male announcer ] staples has always made getting office supplies easy. ♪ another laptop? don't ask. disappear! abracadabra! alakazam! [ male announcer ] and now we're making it easier to get everything for your business. and for my greatest trick! enough! [ male announcer ] because whatever you need, we'll have it or find it, and get it to you fast. staples. that was easy. ♪ [ female announcer ] life is full of little tests, but bounty basic can handle them.

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you'll be better equipped to deal with today's issues and make an even greater impact. let's get started at capella.edu. zblinchts so if you're inclined to count this is the second full day of sequestration. while the halls of congress are quiet today, the effects of inaction here is slowly rippling across the country. my colleague michelle franzen is joining me with the sequestration reality check. good luck with that, michelle. >> good luck, alex. over the next seven months as the sequester rolls out, states will be increasingly feeling the impact of those $85 billion in spending cuts. some of the state by state projections that nbc has compiled are sobering. in new york city, for example,

the city's most disadvantaged children might be hit as the head start programs face a 5% cut. that could affect 70,000 kids across the country. in texas, the state budget could lose $334 million in public education programs. and starting july 1st, 285 schools stand to lose federal funding. in california, cuts to funding for schools, the military and disability services could total $500 million. a half a billion. but there's more. here's part of my colleague, kristen welker's, report and reaction on the anticipated cuts and the cuts that have already been made. >> reporter: collective concern across the country from an army arsenal in huntsville, alabama, where they're facing furlough. >> is sequestration will definitely affect my family. >> to the grand canyon. >> we're cutting travel. we're cutting training. we're reducing overtime. >> on the arizona border where agents could see their hours cut back. >> cutting down the security of

our nation, i don't believe is the way to go at it. >> reporter: in some cases the fallout has already begun. one of the navy's warships, the carrier "truman," is not going to the persian gulf. the air force's world famous thunder birds have been grounded. and hundreds of immigrants who were facing deportation have been released from prisons. >> and even one more note. cuts in funds to philadelphia's meals on wheels could force the program to stop making deliveries to homebound clients or put on a waiting list for people with critical needs. of course, these are all just projections. if congress and the president reach a deal, alex, soon, most of these cuts can be avoid zbld we shall see. thank you very much, michelle franzen, for that perspective. in today's office politics my conversation with richard haas, president of the council on foreign relations. we discuss the level to which the u.s. can trust hamid karzai and whether the wars in iraq and afghanistan are wars of choice

or necessity. first i asked richard how the u.s. should respond to reports china is spying on us. >> china is clearly spying on us. we don't know exactly who in china has authorized these things. but let's not kid ourselves. you don't freelance in china. someone in the establishment, someone with authority, is backing this. it looks to be the people's liberation army. we don't know the full extent of political participation in these decisions. they're spying on americans clearly for reasons of commercial gain. it's not unique. for years china has to use an indelicate phrase been ripping off american companies. intellectual property theft is something that is quite frequent. think about all the films and, you know, the pirating. think about all the illegal reproductions of videos. this is nothing new. this is just now a newer technology. what's even more potentially worrisome, though, is chinese seem to be selecting information on americans. they seem to be collecting information about weak spots in

our society. in our economy. and i think we ought to take this extremely seriously. and i think we ought to push back hard against the chinese to get them to stop. if they won't stop i think they've got to realize this is not going to be, shall we say, cost free for them. >> intellectual property theft is one thing. but what about literally national security? and the potential for that kind of cyber spying? >> absolutely. for example, if the chinese are probing for weaknesses in american society, this or that aspect of our electricity grid. think about it, virtually everything in this country, economically and socially, is controlled by computers. so just say there's a crisis between the united states and china over taiwan or something else. we don't want the chinese thinking that they can influence american behavior by beginning to push literally and figuratively some of our buttons. so i want right now the united states to look at what steps we can do to push back against the chinese. at a minimum they have to understand they're at least as vulnerable as we are. >> how much does it complicate matters given china's economic

investment in this country? >> sure. that's one of the real things that we are limited by the fact -- not so much their investment in this country but the fact that they're a major source of funding for our debt and our deficit. on the other hand, the chinese need to export to this country. at the end of the day a chinese leadership depends upon large levels of employment, very low level of unemployment. the american market, we represent one quarter of the world economically. china needs to continue to have access to the american market. the chinese want access to our technology and so forth. so china is also deterred from going too far. what i believe we need to underscore is they have now gone too far. and they need to know if they continue there will be extraordinary prices they will pay. >> i see a picture of you with afghan president hamid karzai. you're shaking hands and you're smiling. how much do you or can anyone in the united states government trust him? >> difficult. at the end of the day, shockingly enough, he's a nationalist.

out for his own preservation. there's a lot of corruption there. yao g you've got also weakness. it's harder to deal with weak leaders than strong leader. strong leaders can cut deals with you and they can deliver. you might not like them but they can deliver. hamid karzai in many cases cannot deliver. he's always jockeying around trying to cut deals. when he cuts them he often backtracks on them. very, very difficult. i would never use the word "partner" or most limited partner. he's not going to be there forever. i don't know if he's going to be succeeded by anybody better. it's quite possible he's going to be succeeded by somebody worse. again, it's one of the reasons that we ought not to get terribly ambitious in these countries. this is not like dealing with the british prime minister with a parliamentary system that's really grounded. these are truly imperfect countries and we need to think twice before we set for ourselves these grandiose goals. >> so were either the second iraq war or the afghanistan war mistakes?

>> i think they were both ill advised. i'd describe them both as wars of choice. just to be clear, the iraq war, the second iraq war was a war of choice from the get-go. we didn't have to go at that point. we had other options. afghanistan after 9/11 began as a war of necessity. after the bombings, we had to make sure that al qaeda wouldn't continue to use afghanistan to kill americans. but then particularly under the obama administration, when we tripled force levels, when we decided now we were going to try to build up a large afghan central government, an army and police force to remake that country, that was -- that's when it became a war of choice. i think both decisions were ill-advised. i think they were both unwarranted by our interests. we had lesser tools available. and at the end of the day, again, i don't think we're in either case going to have results that are going to last in any way proportional to what we invested. next weekend in office politics i'll have a conversation with pulitzer prize winning arthur and journalist

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governor chris christie, consider yourself warned. democratic women's pac emily ice list says it is putting the popular new jersey governor onnitis for what it calls his appalling anti-women and anti-family record. joining me is studio is president of emily's list. welcome. so glad you're here. >> thrilled to be here, alex. thank you so much. >> what has put this governor on notice? >> i'll tell you, you know, we're starting with the state that is 48th in unemployment. let's just start there right off the bat. this is not someone who has really led on economic jobs and taxes. in fact, you know, we realize that he's very popular at the

moment. but you look underneath those poll numbers, and he is upsidedown on the economy, jobs, and taxes. this election is going to be about the economy. >> now, his team, we should say, was unavailable for comment. however, here's the statement that we did get which was, from a campaign aide, we always anticipated that partisan big money washington, d.c., groups would come into new jersey in an attempt to distort the governor's record. the people of new jersey won't be fooled by partisan washington groups that distort the facts to promote their big government agendas. i'm sure you want to respond to that. >> i mean, emily's list is a community of women and good men who believe that where we're going to get progressive policies for the future of our country is by electing good, strong democratic women to office. it is as simple as that. we're looking for, you know, advancing women's leadership. and helping women achieve all they can achieve. as we look at this, we have a lot of members in new jersey as

we do coast to coast. and he's really got to answer the questions to the women of new jersey, for instance, why he's vetoed equal pay a number of times. >> hmm. >> this a governor who has not stood on the side of women and families at all. >> here's who you are standing behind in the race. and that is barbara bouno, state senator. what is it you like about her record? >> she's just fantastic. this is a mother of six. >> wow. right there. >> exactly. right? we need a lot more of women just like that. who has, you know, raised a family in new jersey. she's the first woman to serve as the senate majority leader in the state of new jersey. which is incredible in and of itself. comes from working class background. you know, which is just fantastic. her mom was a teacher. this is someone who really understands what working families in new jersey are going through. and she's going to make a great, great governor. >> yeah. now, you talked about governor christie's popularity right now. if you look at the poll numbers right now taking a snapshot, you

have a major uphill climb here. she's about 40 points behind in the polls. >> that's right. we don't go into this lightly. we realize that he's incredibly, incredibly popular right now. because folks like his schtick on late night tv. the truth is underneath it, it's about the economy. and the economy in new jersey is not where people need it to be for the future. this campaign is just starting. we've got until november to make this case. and i am confident this race is going to get very, very close and very interesting before the end of it. >> well, with emily's list behind them i'm sure there'll be a lot of success and lot of movement. i want to quickly ask you about yahoo! ceo martha mire. all you moms that are part timers or dads working from home you've got to work in at the office and work at the company. some say it's unfair for the working moms who don't have her resources. she was able to build a nursery next to her office for her own kids. some say, look, it's simple business. if you want to run an efficient

company you've got to do it all under the same roof there. what's your stance on this? >> well, the one thing i have to say here, i've been reading all of this, too, and watching this unfold. what i don't like about it is that everybody's made it about marissa. the truth is, the real conversation we need to be having in this country is that there's no system for child care in this country. for corporate america, for government. there's nothing set up to help working families on this issue. that's usually at the core of it what we're talking about. and so what i would like to say to everybody is, like, let's step back. there is only a handful of women ceos of fortune 500 companies. which in and of itself is a shame in this country. we've got corporate boards who are very, very short women. my goodness. we're lucky if there's three women on a corporate board these days. we have a lot of work to do. but the truth is just like we do in government, we need to get more women's voices in these discussions. we need to come up with solutions of how we're going to take care of our children for working families.

that's what this conversation should be about. >> you make a good point. people should logon to emily's list. list.org. check it out. thank you so much. new word from dennis rodman about his trip to north korea and a message to president obama. we've all had those moments. when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership.

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take your blindfolds off. aw man! [ screams ] [ laughs ] that smells good. i wouldn't even just put it in the trash, i'd put it in every room. stick it to eliminate odors anywhere. new febreze stick & refresh. breathe happy. good day to all of you. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." a couple minutes past 1:00 in the east. 10:00 a.m. in the west. breaking news from rome where vatican city celebrated sunday mass today without a sitting pope. and a bombshell apology from one of the cardinals. let's go straight to nbc's claudio. let's talk about what cardinal brian did. he released a statement today. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: as you remember, alex, cardinal o'brien resigned as archbishop just a few days ago and decided to not come to the conclave. the first time a cardinal

decides not to participate in the election of a pope because of a scandal that engulfs him. well, the allegations made against him were by a number of priests that said that he had improper contact with them when they were young seminarists under his supervision. today just a short while ago the catholic scottish media office issued a statement by o'brien in which he admits those allegations were true. let me just read the statement to you. it says cardinal o'brien says in recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public. initially, their anonymous and nonspecific nature led me to contest them. however, i wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal. to those i have offended, i apologize and ask for forgiveness. to the catholic church and the

people of scotland, i apologize. as you can see, alex, an admission of guilt that comes at a very strange timing, of course, when the cardinals are about to meet in their general congregation from tomorrow during which time they will have to decide the date of the start on the conclave. this admission of guilt that comes just a few hours before this meeting certainly will cast a dark cloud over them. alex? >> a dark cloud, indeed. but do you think there may be a specific reaction because of this? i mean, might the conclave be pushed back? do they have to deal with this? what kind of a public relations nightmare is this? >> i don't think that the conclave will be pushed back. but this will put pressure on other cardinals that were engulfed of different scandals. but still of sexual nature. for instance, cardinal mahoney of los angeles has been much criticized for having come to rome. he will participate in the conclave anyway despite the fact that his detractors say he

covered up a number of abuses that were performed by priests that he had under his supervision while he was cardinal. these detractors say he helped them to escape justice. so that will put pressure on him to either make a move or defend himself in front of the other cardinals. but this is what the general congregation is from tomorrow onward. they will have to talk about issues that are facing the catholic church including this one, of course. >> absolutely. relative to the conclave and actually a much bigger issue. that conversation needs to be had here. thank you very much. new today, dennis rodman is back from north korea with a message to the president from north korean leader kim jong-un. the former nba star visited the north korean leader. these are some pictures of them bonding at a basketball game a bit earlier this week. they ignited a wave of criticism. in his first television appearance since he returned, rodman says jong-un had a

message for president obama. take a listen. >> and the one thing he asked me to give obama something to say and do one thing. he want obama to do one thing. call him. >> he wants a call from president obama? >> that's right. he told me that. he said, if you can, dennis, i don't want to do war. i don't want to do war. he said that to me. >> so basketball ambassador or unwitting pawn? joining us now, columnist and author gordon chang. good to see you. >> good to see you, alex. >> dennis rodman of all people the first american to meet with jong-un since he took over for his father. what do you make of the whole thing? >> i think it's sort of a employ. i think the united states should have a diplomatic compound in north korea and we should be talking to the north koreans. but we've got to remember that president obama sent two white house envoys, two separate trips, to north korea twice last year. the north koreans just blew them off. you know, maybe there's a change

in attitude in pyongyang right now. it's pretty unlikely. got to also remember right now the united states is trying to round up votes in the security council for new sanctions. because north korea's nuclear test last month. i think this is more sort of trying to defer that, undermine the american push for sanctions. i don't think it's a real outreach. >> do you think the united states should rethink its approach to dealing with him? maybe he's a guy that appreciates doing sort of back channels or a lighter hand at doing this in terms of diplomacy. he is young. dennis rodman made that statement. he's only 28 years old. >> yeah. well, i don't think it's wrong to talk to kim jong-un or the regime. the president tried to do that so many times last year. he even came up with what was so-called leaked a deal with the north koreans which kim jong-un repudiated two weeks afterwards. there's nothing wrong with talking to the north koreans. but at the same time you can't let up the pressure. because that's really what he's trying to do right now. i don't think that this is a

lasting initiative. one thing about kim jong-un is that his position in pyongyang right now is pretty shaky. he's only been in power for 15 months. he needs to consolidate his position. it's really unlikely he could undertake a risky initiative at this time. so it sounds more like a ploy than anything else. >> here's what dennis rodman had to say about jong-un before he left north korea. take a listen to this. >> it was so honest. the one thing that, guess what, his grandfather and his father were great leaders. and he's such a proud man. he's proud. his country like him. not like him. love him. love him. guess what? i love him. the guy's awesome. >> rodman has refused to apologize for those comments even though both of former north korean leaders he mentioned, they were notorious dictators. how counterproductive do you think his ringing endorsement will be to the people of north

korea who already appear brainwashed and are living under a brutally repressive regime? >> you can't make this stuff up, alex. the thing that's really important here is that the day that rodman made these comments, within hours, the committee for human rights in north korea released their report about a significant expansion of the prison camp system. these are the most horrific places on earth. you know, what rodman did was actually beneficial. because it put a spotlight on a report that probably would not have gotten attention. but now we're talking about it. it's important we do so. because although, you know, the kims might be really nice people and they may like basketball, the problem is that they run a really repressive regime as you point out. >> yeah. does this meeting do anything, you think, in the general image for kim jong-un here? >> i don't think so. because, you know, north korea is bizarre. dennis rodman is strange. you put them together and you get the festival of the weird.

you know, i hope that relations with north korea get better. but, on the other hand, north korea has to stop doing a lot of things, not only repressing its people, but also launching three stage ballistic missiles and detonating atomic devices. that really is the reality of what's going on. >> it's interesting dennis rodman tried to make the statement about how the president and the north koreans swb as well as their leader, they share this big love for basketball. listen to what he said about that. >> obama loves basketball. let's start there. let's start there. if you see the quotes in the papers, he says that. he says that about sports. both of you guys love basketball so much. >> can sports serve as a unifying ambassador of sorts ultimately? >> well, you know, it did in the case of china with ping-pong diplomacy in the 1970s. but in 1970s china, beijing wanted better relations with the united states because they were involved in what they thought

was an existential fight with the soviets. today i'm not sure the north koreans really want better relations with the united states. i hope that they do. i don't mind testing them. on the other hand, we have to have them stop what they're doing. they are destabilizing not only their region but the rest of the world. they are selling their three stage ballistic missiles and their nukes to iran. so this is not just a north korea problem. not just a north asia problem. this is a middle east, persian gulf, iran problem as well. >> yeah. dennis rodman's going to get involved, i agree with george stephanopoulos who said, you know what, you need to read this recent human rights report before you go back and try to do your own diplomacy. >> absolutely. >> gordon chang, thanks so much. to front page politics. any reaction on day two of the painful budget cuts known as the sequester from john boehner and dick durbin. >> i'm going to say it one more time. the president got his tax hikes on january 1st. the issue here is spending.

spending is out of control. there are smarter ways to cut spending than this silly sequester that the president demanded. so we need to address the long-term spending problems. >> the notion of putting everything on the table, revenue, spending cuts, entitlement reform. if we did that we'd avoid these manufacture ed crises like the e we're in right now. the house republican approach to this is we're either going to do it exclusively with republicans or we just won't do it at all. >> nbc's peter alexander is live at the white house for us. peter, what else are we hearing on this today? >> reporter: alex, as you saw dennis rodman wearing that blazer with dollar bills on it i trust he didn't steal that from your closet. back here in washington that's what this fight is about. the tax versus spending showdown that continues between congressional republicans and the president. you heard just a moment ago from john boehner who insisted there will be no revenue. so that's why we're in this sequestration situation right now. the white house insists because of that lack of compromise. the president for one did have a

conversation, according to a top white house official, with some top senators on both sides hoping to find new compromise. but according to congressal republicans, no progress on that as well. take a listen, though, to folks from both sides as they weigh in on the impact of sequester and what it says politically. >> you know, republicans aren't getting a win by letting the sequester go into effect. they want more funding for border security. they say they want more funding for defense. the speaker says he wants more on long-term entitlement reform. this gets nothing. >> it isn't so much the extremes as much as it is a lack of appreciation of the world we live in. and this has been manifested at other times in other ways as well. >> mr. president, you played the role of ronald reagan and we'll be tip o'neill. you just change the roles around. we can do the big deal if we have some leadership. >> it appears pretty clear, though, right now is not the time for that big deal to be done over the issue of the debt. when will it take place? both sides say it's not likely

to happen in the course of this next month. it's the end of this month, alex, where they have to avoid a potential government shutdown, march 27th, is when it takes place. today both sides insisted that was not their desire either. >> okay. you make a good point. just for the record, dennis rodman and i have no shared wardrobe. not at all. no chance. >> figured. >> just saying. thank you, peter. now to selma, alabama whereby where a march is about to kick off in 45 minutes to march the 48th anniversary of the historic civil rights marches. later today congressman john lewis will be walking with other marchers. the site of the bloody clashers between protesters and police back in 1965. straight ahead, he's talking about that 47% comment. any regrets, mr. romney? switch to swiffer sweeper, and you'll dump your old broom. but don't worry, he'll find someone else. ♪ who's that lady? ♪ who's that lady?

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this morning former presidential hopeful mitt romney sat down with fox news and admitted that it is killing him not to be the president. both mr. and mrs. romney expressed their belief that the country would be far better off with the former presidential hopeful in the white house today. when asked about his infamous 47% comment romney had this to say. >> yeah. it was a very unfortunate statement that i made. it's not what i meant. i didn't express myself as i wished i would have. you know, when you speak in private, you don't spend as much time thinking about how something could be twisted and distorted and could come out wrong and be used. but i did and it was very harmful. what i said is not what i believe. >> and he went on to further say there's no question that that slip-up hurt his campaign. it is the second full day of the sequester. and lawmakers are scheduled to return to washington later tomorrow. the senate will reconvene late

monday. the house comes back into session tuesday. so will anything break the stalemate? joining me now, acting politics editor for roll call sheila and andy krul. good to see you. the blame game continues on the sunday talk shows. what's going to happen with the senate and the house returning this week? anything? >> frankly, no. probably not. at least not having to deal with the sequester. i think you'll see over the next couple days, you'll see individual lawmakers try to re-enact some funding for projects that are really important to their districts. for example, defense industry in virginia or airline tsa cuts in new york, that kind of thing. even those kinds of requests and those kinds of cries for help i think are going to fall on deaf ears. it's just not going to happen. what we're really looking at is not this week but a few weeks from now at the end of the month when funding runs out for the government and we're looking at another big budget battle. >> is that what you're hearing in dc? people telling you it's going to

drag over the next few weeks heading up to the march 27th deadline? >> that is what i'm hearing. when it comes to the sequester the republicans are just not giving on anything involving new tax renooufs. no kind of compromise is really on the table there. that debate is more or less over at this point despite the talk. but, yeah, now folks are looking to this march 27th deadline. just to keep the government going. neither side really wants to have a big fight over our government shutdown. so you may actually see some real talk here as opposed to what we didn't see with the sequester. >> sit tight for a minute. we're going to take everyone to selma, alabama, where the vice president is speaking now about the right to vote. they're at a conference right now. the middle of a three-day march commemorating the 1965 march there in selma. let's take a listen. >> i want to tell you, for me, when i got back to delaware, reverend, my city was one of the cities burned down. a big chunk of it. jesse knows my city as well as

anybody i know. i don't know how many times, jesse, you've been to my city. i came back to delaware working for what they call a white shoe law firm. a good law firm. the oldest law firm in the state that barely hired me because of my grades. well, you know, you only get to take the bar exam in delaware once, reverend. you get to take it once a year. and so they let you -- they let you study for it. and they -- you take it in september. you get the results in december. by that time, i had been home. 1965, dr. king was assassinated. 1965, bobby kennedy was assassinated. '68, i mean. when i graduated from law school. i'm thinking when i graduated from college in '65. '68 i graduated from law school and came home to wilmington. i realized i wasn't real happy doing what i was doing so i became a public defender. and i -- first cases i had were

representing some of the folks who were accused of engaging in some of the nefarious things that caused our city. had an occupation with the national guard longer than any city sing reconstruction. seven months. national guard stationed in the streets of wilmington, delaware, on corners and some places with draw and bayonets. i decided i was going to be a public defender. i used to go down to the wilmington train station. that's where the national guard bivouaced. almost 40 years ago to the moment on a cold, cold january 17th, 2000, i was standing on the send of that platform. a train that i took every day for 36 years back and forth to washington. but this was different. and i was standing with my daughter and my sons. the end of the platform. nearest philly. waiting for a train to pick me up. i'd done that many times.

but this time was different. joe biden was about to be picked up by a black man. coming from philadelphia, pennsylvania. re-enacting a trip that had occurred a century earlier. to pick me up. to take me 127 miles. to be sworn in as vice president of the united states. his name was barack obama. and i mean this sincerely. as i stood there and looked out over that third street bridge where you've been a bunch, much of which was burned to the ground, i thought, my god. never thought i'd be in this position to begin with. but never did i think, never did i think 40 years earlier that i would be standing on that same platform.

so, folks, things have changed. they've gotten better. but, folks, there's still a lot more. as the president -- and that trip, that train, slowed down, it had to get down to about 15, 10, 15 miles an hour. because people were so close to the track in my city. the same track i stood on watching robert kennedy's funeral train go by. and i watched. a friend of mine who worked for the uaw holding up a baby, getting so close to the -- we were all on the back of the caboose standing on the back. the president and i. and waving to people. there were thousands of people. you may have seen it on television. i mean, i thought they were going to get hit by the train. we were going slow. one good friend of mine holding up his little baby grandson. so close i thought it was

dangerous. i got back, it was peaches' dad, i looked at him, john, what in the hell were you doing? i saw him a couple weeks later. here's what he said to me. he said, that's my baby grandboy. i wanted him to be able to say when he grew up that he was there. he saw it. he saw it. well, guess what? he saw it, but there's a lot more we got to do before he's old enough to ride that train. president celebrating black history month this year in the white house while talking about great moments and the march toward equality used these words which i think are most appropriate. he said, these things he was referring to the emancipation, he said, these things should inspire us to do more. yes, african-americans can reach much greater heights than even a generation or two ago.

but we still have a lot of work to do. now, look, i know you hear that in every speech. particularly every white politician that comes and talks to you. okay? but i got some bona fideys here, folks. let me tell you something. that was driven home to us, to the president, me, and everyone else, all of you, driven home starkly in 2011 and 2012 when we were preparing to run for re-election. 40 states, 41 states across this nation passed 180 laws to restrict the right to vote. 180 laws. some more pernicious than others. we saw it. state legislators working to end same-day registration. cutting back early voting. requiring voter id where no fraud was ever shown.

registering voters -- restricting voters' registration drives. look, folks. here we are. 48 years after all you did. and we're still fighting? in 2011, '12 and '13? we're able to beat back most of those attempts in the election of 2012. but that doesn't mean it's over. section 5 of the voting rights act in 1965, okay, i even got -- i got credit or blame for getting strom thurmond to vote for free authorization in the '70s. strom thurmonday voted for the reauthorization. yet it's being challenged in the supreme court of the united states of america as we stand here today. legislators in a number of states are looking for new ways

to restrict and make more difficult for african-americans and other minorities to vote. last wednesday night i had my annual event for black history month at the vice president's residence. and my friend and your friend john lewis was there to introduce me in my own home. before he got up i turned, i said, john, did you ever think we'd be standing here in 2013, you introducing me in this house? just having come from the steps of the supreme court in 2013 to make the case against what the court may decide? section 5 of the voting rights act. john just smiled. like he does. said, no. he said it with that same confidence that we would prevail that he must have had when he set foot on the edmond pettis

bridge. but we can't let our guard down. no one said it better than john when he made one of the two best speeches. the other one was made by the governor of massachusetts, in my view, at the national democratic convention. here's what john said. he said, they're changing the rules. they're cutting polling hours and imposing requirements intended to suppress the vote. too many people struggled, he went on to say, and died, to make it possible for every american to exercise their right to vote. we have come too far together to turn back. ladies and gentlemen -- [ applause ] -- let me end by saying we still have a lot of work to do, but i think it's going to be easier, a lot easier than it was 48 years ago for one overwhelming reason. because what you all did here 48 years ago changed the hearts and the minds of the vast majority of the american people. and that's why i'm absolutely convinced we will prevail in this new fight with regard to

voter access and voter rights. and i thank you, i thank you for allowing me to be here. you know -- you know, right now terry said that she can't believe she's standing here. well, terry, you can't believe you're standing here introducing the vice president of the united states? i can't believe i'm the vice president of the united states for you to introduce me. standing here. standing here. >> there you have vice president joe biden. really the theme of this message here as he speaks at this gathering for an mlk jr. and coretta scott king unity brunch, he's talking about how there's still a lot more to do. perhaps the most poignant part of the three-day program over this weekend happened yesterday in a saturday service at a montgomery, alabama, church where the police chief murphy of that city gave his badge to long-time civil rights pioneer, representative john lewis, who

almost lost his life back in may 1961 as a result of nearly being beaten to death by a mob. he said he apologized for the police's actions and their inability to protect the citizens and for enforcing wrong laws. and it said -- and rather representative lewis said it nearly brought him to tears. he was choking back tears. the first time a police officer had ever apologized to him. maybe that temper and that tenor of spirit is what will help turn things around and get us to the long road ahead and get the work done that we have to do the vice president was talking about. we're going to take a break here on msnb krp. we'll be right back. ♪

[ woman ] too weak. wears off. been there. tried that. ladybug body milk? no thanks. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. it's so powerful you can skip a day... but light enough you won't want to. dermatologist recommended eucerin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." we've been giving you live coverage of civil rights leaders aened the vice president gathered in selma, alabama, today. this st the edmond pettis bridge where marchers will kick off another march in about a half

hour or so. joining me now, goldie taylor and james peterson. hello, you two. nice to see you both. >> good afternoon. >> good to see you. >> goldie, we were hearing about that incredible moment that took place yesterday. the montgomery police chief giving his badge to congressman john lewis who was beaten horribly by police, near to death, back near that 1965 march. let's take a listen to this. >> i did the right thing. to me, freedom and the right to live in peace is a cornerstone of our society. and that was something that martin luther king and rosa parks and e.d. dickson and congressman lewis were trying to achieve. and i feel like what i did today should have been done a long time ago. it needed to be done. it needed to be spoken. because we have to live with the truth and it is the truth. >> the police chief giving his badge to representative lose is

who literally fought back tears when that happened. the first apology he has ever received from a police officer. what's your reaction to that? >> it's actually mind boggling that he hasn't received an apology from anyone until now. congressman lewis is my congressman. we know and recognize his legacy in so many meaningful ways. to watch him each year cross that same bridge, leading a cavalcade of people, is awe inspiring. i've been with him on several occasions and flown the plane from d.c. down to montgomery for this march. i am just so happy he continues in that leadership role today so as the supreme court of the united states continues to ev evaluate things like section 5 that there are strong voices like congressman john lewis who can stoond up and say, i was there. and i understand. and that i was the recipient, direct recipient of that pain. and that he paid a dear, dear price. i'm glad his voice is still

strong and still continues. >> as we look at the pictures on the other side of the screen there, that is actually representative lewis being beaten there, again, near to death. james, as we look at that picture and you think about where we are as a nation 48 years later, how do you classify that? where are we? >> well, i mean, i think it's important that representative lewis and other figures keep showing us the proximity of that history. so that we don't lose a sense of it. a lot of these discussions we're having around the voting rights act challenge in the supreme court right now we have to remember we're not talking about ancient history. that's history that is in close proximation to where we are right now. these kinds of movements, commemorations and celebrations help us to frame it in the right way. hopefully will help us to make the right decision at this critical moment. >> where do you think we are in terms of the biggest challenges, goldie, that still have to be overcome? >> you know, i think there are some real issues around economic participation. but i think that is a partner along with political participation. and so as you see issues like

section 5 come into groth growth, some of the very draconian voter suppression laws coming to growth around the south and around the country, then if you can keep someone from being politically a participant, you can also keep them from being an economic participant. and i think that's where the real fight lies. >> yeah. james, when i spoke to you last weekend ahead of the voting rights act and the discussion there in the supreme court, it was before the arguments were heard. and you were hopeful. how do you feel now? >> i'm still hopeful. justice scalia's comments notwithstanding. i'm still hopeful this is going to go the right way. at the end of the day it comes down to something very simple. we talked about this last week. if a county or city or municipality or state has good behavior for a decade, they can be bailed out of this federal oversight that section 5 refers to. shelby county, the county in alabama that's responsible for bringing this to the supreme court, has not had that good behavior for a decade.

so the law is written such that we can bring other people under federal supervision and we can release people from federal supervision as long as they act in good faith when it comes to the most important right in this state, in this nation, which is the right to vote. >> goldie, at tend of the day the root of this case is really asking the court to decide if there is still racial discrimination in this country. are you comfortable with that power being in their hands, goldie? >> you know, i think that i agree with one of our former congressman from rhode island when he said that this really is a legislative question. this house decided in 1965 -- in 1964 that this was to be, you know, a precertification or preclearance law. and that we really haven't gotten beyond that. i don't know that this is something that the supreme court ought to be truly taking up. i'm not sure that i'm clear on that. but what i am clear on is that racial discrimination, racial bias still exists and persists today. not only in the american south but across these united states.

really around the world. >> yeah. >> so this preclearance is to make sure that the least of our angels don't prevail. and that we've seen in so many cases where, you know, they've put laws on the books or attempted to put laws on the books that would keep black and brown people, people who are poor, who can't afford a birth certifica certificate, who can't afford a state issued identification, people who are elderly, who may not have a birth certificate or have access to one, that they've tried to put so many barriers in place not to keep, you know, the traditional core gop voter away from the poll, but that voter who may tend to lean more democratic. the flip side of this, those very same republicans who pushed voter suppression, they've used this very same voting rights act tory apportion these districts every ten years in their own favor. >> all the gerrymandering. that's right. >> we call it bleeting districts down here. >> james, who does decide this issue? and how would you even do that? >> well, i think at the core of this we have to decide are we a

nation that is trying to open up access to voting, to become more democratic, or are we a nation that's trying to close off access to voting, to rely more on gerrymandering for the election of our public officials. essentially, you know, limit democracy. i think we want to move in the direction of the former. and my sense is that this case is just one -- it's sort of one it ration of the ways in which we're going to have to continue to have this debate. but i hope we always ere on the side of making progress towards opening up our democracy. we always want to be fair but we also want to be more and more inclusive. some of the fear you see coming from certain political parties has to do with the fact that the coalition that re-elected president obama is a very, very diverse coalition. it's a coalition that's growing very, very fast. those demographic changes are going to make very serious political changes overtime provided we keep our voting system open and fair. >> goldie and james, thanks so much. good to talk with you. >> thank you. coming up next of the big three, the fear factor in the

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it is time for the big three. today's topics, capital conundrum. there they go again. and must-reads. amy holmes. erin carmone. and jimmy williams. let's go first, everyone, to capital conundrum. take a listen to the president on friday followed by former white house press secretary robert gibbs. >> is force congress to do the right thing. the american people may have the capacity to do that. >> many people in congress are far more concerned about a primary challenge from their right in the case of house republicans than they ever are about being in a district where a democrat can beat them. so right now there isn't a lot that compels working across party lines right now. >> and so my question to you,

amy, first, that is eve fn the president calls on people to do for the greater good, isn't the fear of being primaried really, personally at home, isn't that going to take precedence and trump these polpoliticians? >> i can understand why the former press secretary is trying to shift blame. let's talk about the problem congress is facing with sequestration. house republicans gave the president is opportunity to pick and choose these cuts more wisely. now we're moving to a government shutdown. i think the american people are sick of the blame game. they want to see our leaders actually take action. to have the president of the united states sort of throw up his hands and say what could i do? that's a real lack of sleedership. >> jimmy, to you. you heard the president say he can't force republicans. but the american public might. is that being a little too hopeful? >> well, i'm probably the wrong person to ask this.

because i like a weak executive branch. i'm the one democrat out there that likes a strong congress. whether it's controlled by the democrats or the republicans. but let's be very clear. the president's numbers are perfectly good. the house republicans' numbers are at, what, 18%? the congress's numbers are lower than that. so i would suggest to you that with gerrymander districts on the republican and on the democratic side, it's going to be very hard for the president to get these guys to move on this stuff. especially the house republicans. why in the world would they go and make a deal with him at this point? listen, he can barn storm the country and he can get on air force one and go all across the country and try and guilt them but i just don't see them moving a whole heck of a lot. that means sequestration stays this. 174 republicans voted for sequestration. i'm not sure why they're complaining about it now. >> erin, i want to take with you what jimmy's talking about. the fact the president's always seemingly in campaign mode as he's courting the gop. they talk about him that way, as

being in that status. does it matter? do you think the public wants him to use the bully pulpit to push forward policy or not? >> alex, i think when it comes to those the president has been damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. in the first term he was accused of being too passive. now he's more robust and interested. everyone is saying campaign mode. if he's in campaign mode he's really looking towards the next mid-term elections and looking at how congress has been functioning it really wouldn't be a bad thing to go back to the days where nancy pelosi was cracking the whip and laws and bills were actually getting passed. >> the criticism is that he's being passive now by not being in washington and meeting congressional leaders to try to put together a deal. i think bob woodruff's column last weekend was instructive that the president, in fact, moved the goal post. that tax revenues, raising taxes, was never supposed to be an offset to sequestration. it was supposed to be part of a larger deal of entitlement reform. so the president has really changed the calculation here and republicans are responding in kind.

we're here. we are not raising taxes so that we can avoid the cuts and sequestration. a tax deal comes with social security and medicare and bigger problems. >> you want to respond to that real quick? >> i get this idea that the president moved the goal post but so did the speaker. there is a fundamental problem here. john boehner passed a tax hike on a huge number of -- a small number of american people on new year's eve. guess what. he is saying that is it. they didn't touch the corporate tax code and didn't touch a single corporate tax loop hole. >> one thing was to lower the corporate tax rate. taxes did go up on everybody. >> the president of the united states sent a bill to congress to lowerer the corporate 28%. did the house republicans pass it? no they didn't.

>> you know that john boehner offered to close the tax loopholes in the beginning. president obama said he would not go down that road. he wanted to raise taxes on the highest tax bracket. he did not want to close loopholes when it came to the fiscal cliff. >> the president sent a bill to lower it from 35-28%. >> we know that john boehner offered to close tax loopholes. >> and then he took it away. >> and then the government shut down both sides are looking to come together. >> the government shut down has absolutely nothing to do with sequestration. >> certainly but we understand that that is the next place where we will another manufactured crisis. >> i hope the republicans do shut the government down. it worked out great for them last time. >> we have to take a quick break. time-out. hey tell you that you need your oil changed

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and now we are back with the big three for this week's must read. what is your must read? >> my must read is looking at the juxtaposition of the rosa parks memorial being ejected at the voting rights. this is an important juncture. >> irony in that article right there. absolutely. >> ever since there has been racial progress there are always people trying to drag it back. >> my is far less lofty. it is about creativity. i came across this article that it is true that you are more creative in the shower. >> thank you for bringing it. >> the hot water massaging your body and relaxing and your mind is wandering. that is when you come up with

your best ideas or driving home or even cooking that apparently it is the dopamine you need a little distraction, the state of total relaxation. i want to know why all of the artists are dirty since they should be totally into personal hygiene. >> top that. >> first of all, amy is right. she is totally right i am never creative unless i am in the shower. >> tmi. >> we can take a shower together after that last one. >> please get to your article. >> the great columnist put out a very interesting piece on the tax rates and how incomes fell for everybody in america except for the top 10%. 158 million households. guess how many actually increased their income, 15,000. we have a problem with the tax code. it should be reformed. >> that is a thank you to all three of you in the big three.

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