momentum to lapse. >> in the moment newtown happened, the president has put a lot on the line to try to make progress here. he's put a lot of effort into this. >> february 4th, 11th, 19th, 20th, 21st, these are all presidential and vice presidential engagements or events regarding this very important issue. >> also out today, a new "morning joe/maris poll that weighs the appetite for stricter gun administration. 60% of responders favor a crackdown and just 33% say laws should stay the same. it's 53%s that say it's more important to gun control violence than it is to protect gun rights. >> translating that to real legislation for things other than the background checks i think is a pretty far stretch, isn't it? >> i don't think it's a far stretch at all. it's a dead matter. i don't think -- i don't think there's anybody anymore who has any hope for anything passing

that congress. >> democratic congresswoman sheila jackson lee of texas will hold her own rally tomorrow. we start with the appalachian trail to the road to redemption. former governor mark sanford claiming victory last night with his former mistress now fiancee at his side, the man who left office amid scandal said this earlier today on "morning joe" about getting that second chance. >> we all have events that we regret, that we mishandled, that we wish we could have done better. i would certainly say that regarding me with regard to the events of 2009. i tried to be transparent in its aftermath and lay my cards on the table, but some people may never forgive me for that. >> let's bring in our wednesday morning political power panel, aaron blake reporter for "the washington post," democrat ikt strategist david goodfriend, and msnbc contributor and republican strategist susan del percio. gang, great to have you here.

a lot of people i think not too surprised mark sanford was able to pull it out against boss tick last night. but one thing that was interesting is the fact at how i guess the act of contrition that mark sanford has put out for the public to see, and it was interesting how he thanked his god. take a listen. >> i want to thank my god. you know, i used to cringe when somebody would say, okay, i want to thank my god, it was at that point, okay, this is getting uncomfortable. but once you've really received god's grace and seen it reflected in others, you cannot stop for a moment and publicly acknowledge that grace? and while god may be a god of second chances, at times voters are a little bit less forgiving. >> he may have nailed it on the head. susan, i want to start with you. obviously god can be forgiving, voters not so much. looks like he's off to a solid start. >> i'm more comfortable talking about voters than the god issue. going to the voters, i think

what we saw is, if you take a crisis and you aaddress it head-on and you don't lie about it and you're honest, you can have a second chance in politics. unlike what happened with anthony weiner who basically lied to the press, lied to everybody,s and it's hard to rebuild that trust. so one of the first things you do when addressing a crisis is address it head-on and be transparent about it. that's exactly what he did. no one thought he had a second shot, but he basically did the mea culpa. >> this is after leaving the country and going on the open la appalachian trail it's not like he poured his heart out. >> once he was busted -- >> once the public is hear the tree fall, the tree actually fell. >> that's the crisis, once that happened he did address it. it took some time and his campaign was also really smart in how they addressed him gom coming out of the gate, addressed the issue and they went about it -- given the circumstances he had great name

i.d. so that certainly helped. >> david, do you agree with this? the crisis is now the fiancee standing at his left-hand side. >> yeah. listening to susan talk, i have to remind you, as you mentioned, thomas in introducing me, i worked for president clinton and i worked there at the time president clinton was being -- by republican congress. and i remember the vitriol coming from newt gingrich and the self-righteous republicans to the president. i invite all the republicans who criticized president clinton to support mark sanford and to say how he's somehow different i. look forward to hearing how the republicans at a national level rally around this guy. come on, give me a break! this is actually an example of duplicity, of how one party looking at an opposing party's president will say one thing and looking at their own candidate will say another. it's shocking. >> it's shocking. susan, you're shaking your head. >> i don't see the comparison between what he's talking about when people went after bill clinton. bill clinton part of the problem is he didn't address it head-on,

and he did get caught up in it. and while i understand the point about, you know, criticizing, i don't see how that changes what mark sanford was able to do in kind of getting a second chance. >> well, the obvious thing here i think with all of these cases as we look at our elected leaders is that the cover-up is always worse than the crisis with whatever woman or whatever you're in. it's the cover-up that matters and the truth be damned until the outcry ramps up to the point where you can't face it anymore. aaron, i want to move on now because the sanford march now goes up against elizabeth colbert bush, lulu bush. this is the statement from the bush campaign says, the families of this district need a representative they can trust. mark sanford has the wrong values for our community whether that's his terms as governor or the last time he was in congress. do you think there's going to be a real problem when we think about sanford going out and trying to get women to support him? and they know a lot more about

the coverage that happened in south carolina than the -- the intimate details than most of the nation does. >> look, the one thing we have to remember about this district is this isn't just the state of south carolina. this is the district that mark sanford represented when he was in the house. this is his old district. so if anybody's going to forgive him for some moral misdeeds i think it's going to be this district. the one thing we're missing here, you know, the sex scandal is obviously the salacious, more interesting part of this whole thing. this is also the guy who had the highest ethics fine in the state's history that came out after this whole scandal unfolded. so if you had to ask me right now, i would say democrats will focus more on the ethics side of things than the moral side of things. i think that's a more fruitful argument particularly in a district that liked this guy and could be made to like him again. >> the road to redemption he's on again. let's talk about the road to hell being paved with twitter

tweets and the fact that president obama politico's headline, obama's trash-talkers. look at this gang. they are some of the most infamous for being very opinionated on twitter and taking people on directly, politico's article saying they are offering an unequalled window into the culture of the obama west wing. the brash, argumentative, sarcast sarcastic, all -- can now be followed by everyone in realtime. susan, do you think this is a good thing, we're getting the inside look, most of these aides have graduated outside of the west wing, they've moved on, so we can finally get inside their head, so to speak, to find out what they really think? >> it's a dangerous slope to go down because, while people will say they're independent, they no longer work at the white house, everyone knows that they have the in, and that they are connected to it so it probably does represent what the white house is thinking. and when you get into these twitter rages, as we saw in this article some of them do, you can

step the line very easily. and at what point are you representing yourself or are you representing your former boss? so i think you have to be a little wary of it. >> david, are you glad that pitter didn't exist when you were working with clinton? >> yes. but i also want to say, you know, when i left the white house i was talked to about this, and i was told, look, david, you're your own man, say whatever you want, but people are always going to associate you as a clinton white house sta staffer. and that's true. to this day i'm associated that way. but still i have to be able to speak my own voice as does david ax aelle rod and these staffers. i agree with susan there's a delicate line to be walked. they are aware they could reflect poorly upon the president if they're not careful, but that shouldn't stop former obama white house staffers from expressing their views and people want their views. you invite them on to msnbc to discuss what they think, and that's fair game. >> well, the views we get out here on the air are a little different than people staying up late at night 140 characters or less, aaron. isn't that true, the fact that

the tweets can be ripe for the picking, especially when they're hot and then they get a lot of attention and sometimes they disappear? >> and the temptation for anybody on twitter is to engage with people who disagree with you. i think that for people especially in the obama white house who have been so careful with their messaging, the obama white house are always on background, never on the record, when they have this chance getting out of this -- gegt out of the white house to say what they want, respond to critics immediately and do it without any editor, it's very tempting. i'm not too surprised at how this has panned out. >> the her medic seal is ripped off. thank you all. >> thank you. >> don't tweet anything bad about me after you get off the air. now we want to go back to the president's trip to colorado today. his push for federal gun control measures, joining the conversation sheila jackson lee. congresswoman, it's great to have you here. as we started off the hour talking about, is this a little too little too late to see the

president reinvigorate the push for what we know is almost a lifeless issue going on in washington, d.c., right now with the stalemate that exists? however, colorado is a place where some gun violence measures have been implemented, as we look at this new bill that has been introduced and passed there, magazines limited to 15 rounds, background checks for gun purchases, buyers pay for those background checks, the law is going to take effect july 1st. can this be a model for the nation? >> absolutely, thomas. good morning. it's never too late for the president to use one of the most vital tools he has, and that is the bully pulpit, the moral compass, the leadership of the nation, the calling together of the people. i'm glad president obama is on the road. i invite him to texas to come and talk to those here who are known to have an aaffinity for their guns or hunting and for certainly having guns in their homes. we have a concealed weapons permitting law. we understand that, in order to

pass real gun legislation, you're going to have to avoid the empty soup presentation that the nra made yesterday. simply an empty suit. you've got to get people to say to them, all we want to do is protect your families, protect your children. that means you have the protection of the second amendment but you also have added protection such as a universal background check, the ban on assault weapons. >> right. >> certainly a reduction in the number of multiple rounds. why do you need, in the instance of colorado, more than 15 rounds? so i think this is extremely important because it speaks in opposition to what many people heard yesterday in an incredulous fashion when they listened to the nra. they said, this is really not the right direction to go. >> one thing, though, i do want to point out that we were able to learn after the nra came out with its suggestions for the school shield program, we've gotten new information from "morning joe"/maris poll that

shows the appetite in this country when it comes to gun laws by party, as we see 83% of democrats think it should be more strict, less strict when we see the party -- falling of party lines, 9% say less strict. but it seems as if there is agreement that we can get something done incrementally in this country that is not going to be against supporters of the second amendment and, as you point out, texas is certainly filled with those. also for background checks. and this is really important because so many people thought that background checks would be something everyone could agree on. as we look at the support for this, 87% in the country support it under the "morning joe"/maris poll, 12% oppose. this was asa hutchinson on cnn talking about the very fact that the nra is willing to concede that point on background checks. >> i'm open to expanding background checks, if you can do it within a way that does not infringe upon an individual and

make it hard for an individual to transfer to a friend or a neighbor somebody that -- if you're in montana and have a casual sale, we don't want to infringe upon those rights either. >> congresswoman, is that the opening you're looking for right there, to get them and hold their feet to the fire that they can agree that background checks are an easy fix for the country to agree on? >> well, thomas, you know, the devil is in the details. i know asa hutchinson, we served together in the united states congress, he's a balanced former member of congress. but he made it very clear that he was not speaking for the nra. if there is an opening, i certainly would like to walk through it. i think universal background checks has to be a simple process for americans who likewise are committed to the second amendment, and that's all of us, and likewise committed to the safety and security of this nation. first of all, if you talk to law

enforcement, thomas, over the last year and before, they've been outgunned by so many people buying guns. after the tragedy of the incident in connecticut, there was a run on guns that law enforcement couldn't even purchase enough to protect the community. so we realize that there has to be some focus on bringing this gun thing, in essence, under control. i certainly think universal access to -- universal gun checks is important, the avoidance of straw purchases, and i think holding people responsible for storing their guns. i have hr-65 that holds adults responsible for having a real secure system for their guns. maybe that would have had an impact in some of the incidences we've seen over the years. but there are things and issues that i think can bring us together around the table of compromise. do we want to see 20 children killed again and 6 adults? do we want to see the horror of

the theater in aurora? or do we want to see columbine? do you want to see virginia tech and many, many others? and it bothers me when people say, for example, that only happens every couple of years. i think gun violence in america we must get a handle on. tomorrow i'll be standing with gun victims and others here in texas saying we've got to stop the gun violence and we've got to stop the filibuster that is proposed in the united states senate. i do think, thomas, there is a compromise, there is a pathway to passing gun legislation, the first one being the universal background checks, and i'm willing to accept that offer and work together with my colleagues in the united states congress. all of us have to walk halfway, and that means if you're from texas or mississippi or colorado or from new york and california you've got to be able to walk halfway on behalf of the american people. let's see how many people are willing to do it in the house and the senate. >> i think that most of the american people listening to you right now would agree that you can hopefully find that

compromise. congresswoman sheila jackson lee, i appreciate it. >> good to be with you, have a good day. coming up next, hillary clinton makes her first public appearance since leaving the obama administration. former clinton adviser james carville will join us to talk about her potential run in 2016. plus, the breaking news about rutgers firing its basketball coach after this shocking video became public. coach mike rice seen physically and verbally abusing his players. he was originally suspended, paid a fine for his actions, but the athletic director let him back on the court. dave briggs, co-host of "the crossover" joins me later in the hour on that. starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family.

[ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air.

so a big night on the stage for two possible 2016

presidential contenders, former secretary of state hillary clinton and vice president joe biden spoke in washington last night. it was clinton's first public appearance since stepping down, both giving praise to one another. >> vice president biden and i have worked together on so many important issues, and i know what a personal victory it was for him to see the violence against women act reauthorized. >> there's no woman like hillary clinton. hillary clinton -- that's a fact. >> so in case you've foerlgten it's been 147 days since the last presidential election. there are only 33 months until iowa, and 3so there really is a rush to talk about this. joining me now is democratic strategist james carville. great to see you. there has been a lot of taj

about the high approval ratings we've seen of secretary clinton and that she is the democrat that could clear the field. >> right. >> but clinton heard that back in '08 and then barack obama came into this. so do you think that secretary clinton is skeptical of that talk? >> i think by nature she's a fairly skeptical person and she's been around politics long enough to know that nothing is ever given in this business. things are only earned. so i'm sure all of that is in the back of had her mind somewhere. but i think right now she's starting -- as you can see last night she was enjoying herself. she had a really hard job for four years, really hard job before that, she was running for president. so my guess is that she's going to enjoy herself a little bit. but, sure, i know that she realizes that this is a business in which, you know, much is worked for, very little is given. >> is it fair the scrutiny, james, of her reemerging as she has and going to be speaking publicly, paid to speak. i know she'll be here in new york for the women in the world event where she won't be paid to speak on friday morning, but is

the scrutiny fair for people to see her reemerge and then everybody starts to scratch their head and wonder? >> well, fair or not fair, no, it -- i don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing. it's a thing. and i think that the former secretary of state has been around public life enough to know that this comes with the turf. she's a person of great interest. she is a prohibitive front-runner if she decides to run for president in 2016, the likes of which maybe we've never seen before, and the way our country and our system works, that brings a lot of scrutiny and attention. there's not much that can be done about that. in fact, she's a compelling person, it's interesting to talk about. had what's more interesting than what -- we're political junctionyjunction june kis. we want to talk about the next election. >> i'll get tweets about talking about it so far in advance. but the strategy involved in this and as we look at all the pros in her column going into potentially throwing her hat in the ring for 2016, can she truly

wait as long as she wants to make that call, to make that decision? without derailing somebody like a biden and cuomo and o'malley? >> i don't know as long as she wants, that presumes that she wants to do it and, b, she has a set period of time in her mind, neither of which i have any privy of knowing. but i suspect that she's not -- look, people tend to announce for president, at least in the last few cycles, right after the midterm election. so we're really not far from, if you will, starting to gear up somebody for presidential elections. if you think about it, it's closer than you think. >> there was a pro-will hihillay outside the event, three different pacs have formed to raise money for her. one super pac went live last night. money is starting to come in already. could that be something that pushes her over if she would be on the fence? >> i don't think so. i think that she has an

impressive fund-raising apparatus, and i think that she knows that if she runs for president she'll be aable to rely on people, i know she'll be able to rely on me. i'm not a huge fund-raiser but i'm sure we could put something together in new orleans pretty quickly. but i think she knows that if she runs for president she'll be able to raise a good deal of money. but a lot of people want to be on the bandwagon early and are sincerely motivated and want to help her run thinks this encourages her. i understand that, and i don't think it hurts anything for sure. >> how much does she pigeonhole the aspirations of vice president joe biden? he's immediate no se ae's made desire to run. >> i think most democrats, we all love the vice president but i think most democrats feel like it's kind of had her turn, if you will, if she decides to run. i don't know if she's going to decide to run, but certainly there's a psychology among people i talk to all the time who come up to me and says, gee,

i hope she runs, she'll be p great, and she worked so hard for it last time. this feeling i've never experienced in politics where people really want her to run. whether she runs or want, as they say in the pool hall, a lot of green between here and there. >> certainly. the new quinnipiac poll out today showing no clear front-runner on the republican side of things, senator rubio with the highest percentage. if hillary decides to run, how would she shake up the gop's nomination process? >> well, i don't know, certainly a couple of things to remember. a big thing in the republican nominating process this time is going to be who can win the election. they've lost abunch of elections here and they're not happy about it. if they lose this one, it's the fourth in a row. what i think is very fascinating and something to keep in mind, in the last six elections democrats have carried states totalling 242 electoral votes, a state they haven't lost since

1988. and florida has 29. if they were to carry that 242 plus 29, they wouldn't have to carry ohio, nevada, virginia, iowa, new mexico, new hampshire, or anything else. so there's going to be a very big inclination for republicans to nominate somebody from florida, whether its senator rubio or governor bush, i don't know. it may not work out, but they literally are going to have trouble winning anything if they can't win florida. it's the state that the democrat graphics of it are changing rapidly in favorite of the democrats. it will be fascinating. >> james carville, great to see you. >> always glad to talk about presidential politics. i don't care how early it is. we're just junkies. >> nothing but time on our side. >> you bet. two more senators come out in support of marriage equality, including republican mark kirk. but there are still seven democratic holdouts. why they may or may not evolve on that issue, straight ahead. i remember the day my doctor said i had diabetes.

there's a lot i had to do... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe and a vial or carry a cooler. flexpen® comes prefilled with fast-acting insulin used to help control high blood sugar when you eat. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. no drawing from a vial.

you should eat a meal within 5 to 10 minutes after injecting novolog® (insulin aspart [rdna origin] injection). do not use if your blood sugar is too low, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life-threatening. ask your health care provider about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions and low potassium in your blood. tell your health care provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat, or sweating. flexpen® is insulin delivery my way. covered by most insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay cost at myflexpen.com. ask your health care provider about novolog® flexpen today let's see what you got. rv -- covered. why would you pay for a hotel? i never do. motorcycles -- check. atv.

i ride those. do you? no. boat. house. hello, dear. hello. hello. oh! check it -- [ loud r&b on car radio ] i'm going on break! the more you bundle, the more you save. now, that's progressive. at a hertz expressrent kiosk, you can rent a car without a reservation... and without a line. now that's a fast car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. we replaced people with a machine.r, what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello?

ally bank. your money needs an ally. and i've seen the promised land. i may not get there with you, but i want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land! >> that was a clip from martin luther king'ses historic mountaintop speech given 45 years ago today, one day later he was assassinated. right now in new york city the national action network is keeping dr. king's legacy alive at their national convention and starting today and wrapping up on saturday this convention will touch on issues including voting rights, immigration reform and gun violence. joining me now is the reverend al sharpton, president and founder of the action network. just minutes from now, you'll be moderating a panel there

discussing protecting the right to vote in this country, certainly a serious issue that i know we all here devoted a lot of time and coverage to during the last presidential election. as we show everybody a look at this map, the 30 states which have introduced 55 new voting restrictions just in the past three months,s and they include bills requiring photo i.d. to vote, proof of citizenship to register to vote, and then reducing early voting. these are the same type of voter suppression we saw last year. what's next in the fight to protect the right to vote? and what role is n.a.n. playing in it? >> what we're doing in our discussions on that is saying that first we have the case of voting rights section 5 in front of the supreme court. if the supreme court votes against us, those of us that want to see it continue, what do we do? how do we mobilize, how do we go back to the congress and get a new voting law and begin to protect the disenfranchisement that would cause it if it's a

negative vote. if it is not a negative vote, how do we deal with these 30 states? so what we're doing over the course of this convention in the areas of voting rights, immigration rights, gun violence, we have the parents of hadea pendleton, eric snyderman new york state attorney general speak, eric holder will be here tomorrow, four members of the cabinet. we're planning in each area a civil rights action agenda because much of what dr. king fought for, voting rights and civil rights, is at stake now, in this court in this session, if they vote against the voting rights act and vote against affirmative action, on the two cases, a lot of what was achieved by the king movement will be deemed unconstitutional. we need a strategy to deal with that, and that's our concentration over the next three days. >> let's talk more about that. as you know, the president just formed this bipartisan election commission to look at ways to make voting easier. as you point out, the supreme court is weighing the legality

of section 5 in the voting rights act, and some of them, the conservative justices, may tip their hand to say we're living in a post-racial america right now. how do you respond to that? >> well, when we look at the data, we found that the voter i.d. as well as ending early voting disproportionately impacted blacks and latinos. so if you have a law that is put together in a state that has a dispror disproportionate impact based on race, that's not post-racial, and you cannot consider that as something that is just collateral damage in a democracy. and we must drive that point home. that is why we're convening and why we're going to come out of here with an action plan. people from ohio, people from florida, bishop curry from florida, others are here. we need an on the ground strategy to deal with this. >> reverend al sharpton, we'll let you get back to the work you're doing there.

see you tonight at 6:00 right here as the rev will be hosting "politics nation." thanks again. [ boy ] i used to hate eating healthy stuff. but badger likes it, so i do too. i used to have bad dreams, but not anymore. [ barks ] i used to be scared of the basement. but when badger's with me, it's not so bad. [ barking ] [ announcer ] we know how important your dog is to your whole family. so help keep him strong and healthy with purina dog chow. because you're not just a family. you're a dog family.

since aflac is helping with his expenses while he can't work, he can focus on his recovery. he doesn't have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. kick! kick... feel it! feel it! feel it! nice work! ♪ you got it! you got it! yes! aflac's gonna help take care of his expenses. and us...we're gonna get him back in fighting shape. ♪

[ male announcer ] see what's happening behind the scenes at ducktherapy.com. more senators are coming out in support of marriage equality. republican mark kirk of illinois said on his blog that life comes down to who you love and who loves you back. government has no place in the middle. also yesterday tom carper became the latest democrat to announce that he backs marriage equality. now, that leaves seven democrats still holding out, for a variety of different reasons, including reelection and personal values. joining me now is josh glass our, executive editor of the national journal hotline. good to have you here. the national journal took a look at the seven senators who haven't come out for marriage equality and broke down why or why not they'll change their position. "the washington post" also ranked the seven senators and they did so in order as who they felt were most likely to change and flip for marriage equality.

we'll start with south dakota's tim johnson and just point out that the reason why they think he'll flip, josh, is he's ret e retiring. what's your take? >> tim johnson is one of the likely seven candidates because he's not running for reelection. but there's another political dynamic in a conservative state like south carolina that could allow him to stay opposed to gay marriage, and that's because his son is a very likely candidate for the senate seat that he a's vacating. so he doesn't want to give his son any potential baggage. it's a socially conservative state. so if his son does run for the senate seat it's more likely he'll probably continue to be one of the seven who decides not to change his mind on gay marriage. >> as we look aat florida's bill nelson, why he'll flip, 54% of florida voters support marriage equality. isn't that a good indicator right there, josh, of where -- if the constituents feel comfortable with marriage equality, shouldn't that be reflective upward? >> yeah, thomas.

i think of the seven the most likely to change his mind is bill nelson. it's the only state -- he represents the only state of those seven senators that voted for president obama both in 2008 and 2012 and florida has the types of voters that would be much more likely to support gay marriage. you mentioned the polling data, the evolution of the florida electorate has changed dramatically just in the last decade. so if you had to put a bet on which one of the seven is going to flip next, i would say bill nelson is a good choice. >> when we look at north dakota's heidi hide camp, she won't face voters until 2018, but the post thinks she won't flip because she believes it's a state issue. do you think the supreme court potentially will provide a lot of people cover in late june? >> it's possible, though heidi hidecamp is an interesting choice. she has publicly said she believes it's a state issue. she side-stepped the question. but because she's not going to be on a ballot until 2018, for another six years, there's a

good chance that she has aa lot more wiggle room to evolve and to slowly walk back her position from the campaign. also north dakota, the mountain west, is a little more libertarian minded than the deep southern states so i wouldn't be surprised if hidecamp at some point between now and 2018 changed her position on the issue. >> as we look at mary landrieu, louisiana, the language she's been using or you say she's been using is that she could be evolving, her personal feelings anyway. is that a good indicator right there? >> that's an indicator. i think the better indicator, though, for both mary landrieu and -- she's up for reelection in 2014 and thomas, louisiana is a avery, very republican state so if she hasn't changed her mind by now, i find it difficult to find anyone like mary landrieu or any other democrat up for reelection in a deep south state to change their mind before that. >> indiana's joe donnelly. he was or at least positive endorsing of marriage benefits

for gay couples, but is it his cathol catholicism that will stand in the way. >> he went to notre dame for undergraduate and got his law school from notre dame, and notre dame and the part of the state where he represented in the house is much more culturally conservative on issues, especially relating to gay mairrriage. donnelly is from a state where he wouldn't be hurt politically that much if he changed his position, but there may be some religious and cultural views why he hasn't changed his mind. >> then west virginia, joe manchin, someone who doesn't really feel a pressure to change, doesn't face voters until 2018. >> no pressure but west virginia is a very conservative state on social issues and he's always shown he marches to the beat of his own drummer. i don't expect man chin to change his mind. >> last, arkansas's mark pryor, arkansas securely a red state, but there could be pressure that could help encourage him? >> it's interesting, thomas, that mark pryor is i think the

only one of the seven who's come out with a statement explicitly doubling down on his opposition to gay marriage. mark pryor is also up for reelection in arkansas in 2014, he's the least likely of the seven to change his mind. >> josh crush shower, thanks. we are following the breaking news right now from rutgers university, firing its basketball coach less than 24 hours after this video went viral, becoming public, showing mike rice physically and verbally abusing its players. he was fined and hsu suspended and send to anger management classes. why is the school changing course today? more on that after this. york? a new property tax cap... and the lowest middle class income tax rate in 60 years... and a billion dollars in tax breaks and incentives. new opportunities for business. over 250,000 new private sector jobs were created over the last two years. and 17 straight months of job growth.

with the most private sector jobs ever. lower taxes, new incentives, new jobs, now that's news. to grow or start your business in the new new york visit thenewny.com we believe it can be the most valuable real estate on earth. ♪ that's why we designed our newest subaru from the back seat forward. introducing the all-new, completely restyled subaru forester. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you.

call and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now.

o0 hoo-hoo...hoo-hoo. hoo-hoo hoo. sir... i'll get it together i promise... heeheehee. jimmy: ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? ronny:i'd say happier than the pillsbury doughboy on his way to a baking convention. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. . breaking news out of new jersey, rutgers university firing its basketball coach within the last hour and a half

for the violent, physical and verbal abuse displayed in this video that went viral, including that ugly display of homophobia you heard there. today's firing comes hot on the heels of this video which millions have now seen, showing mike rice hurling everything from insults to basketballs and actual punches at his players during practice. now, ahead of that decision both the university and its athletic department stayed in damage control mode, claiming that these incidents were not widespread and that rice was justly punished with a three-game suspension and $75,000 in fines. >> it's an unfortunate situation, you know, definitely was not an incidence where i had a line of people out my door concerned about the matter, but as soon as we were made aware of the fact we dealt with it and mike obviously paid a significant price. >> that was then, this is now. he is fired. head offage let icks backtracking saying, i'm responsible for the digs to attempt rehabilitation of coach rice. i thought it was in the best interest of everyone to rehabilitate but i was wrong.

nbc sports network anchor and co-host of "the crossover" dave briggs. dave, we're getting different reaction from the sports world but also governor christy put out this statement, this is regrettable, but i completely support the decision to remove coach rice. it was the right decision in light of the videotape. all of the student athletics entrusted to our care deserve much better. as we move on from this, i'm very optimistic that rutgers will select a new head coach that not only put a's winning team on the court, and he goes on. but this a big black eye for them. >> huge. >> do you think the a.d. is going to go down for this as well? >> i think he's gone. i think there's question tim pernetti cannot survive this. look what happened. he let go of an aassistant coach because he didn't like an appearance he made at a camp, yet you did not fire your head coach for both the verbal and the physical. i think you said it best. if you turned that video off and just listened to it, you ought to fire the coach.

if you watch the video without sound you should fire the coach. having the two things combined, there's no question you have no chance, no choice but to let him go immediately. and now it's just because of public outcry. >> again, we get to the public outcry of all of this. obviously it's embarrassing for rutgers. but why is it for school athletic programs their first offense is cover-up as opposed to a zero tolerance policy to this type of behavior, especially when leadership, you're casting leadership with vision as a coach, sportsmanship, integrity, character, and this is the way you lead? >> shocking for several reasons. one, pernetti is a tv guy who worked with the tv network, was in programming, knows what the yourt cry would have been had this tape gotten out. two, we all learn what happens when you try to cover these things up with penn state. they clearly didn't learn a lesson from that. and, three, there's tyler clementi, the same year that this coach was fired tiler clementi committed suicide

because of the videotape recorded in his room with an encounter with another male student there. so the second you heard the homophobic slur you as a leader at a state university had to let go of mike rice. all three of those things, it makes this unthinkable and this wept all the way up to the president of rutgers who saw the tape, signed off on a three-game suspension and a fine. >> so the human rights campaign has weighed in on this saying mike rice's despicable behavior is completely unacceptable. do you think that we're going to learn more about other coaches? you know, coach bobby knight, infamous for being a hothead. >> will reed, the choking motion. >> do you think, though, we'll find out, are other kids and other athletic programs going to feel the comfort and the confidence to come forward if they need to expose something like this? >> it's shocking that with the world of cell phone cameras we didn't get this video earlier. i do not think this is par for

the course in college athletics. now, the ncaa has taken a lot of black eyes over the last couple of years. they have to show leadership here. i do not think we'll see other cases like this. this is a disturbed individual. i don't think this the whole of basketball. guys like john calipari and rick pitino, mike krzyzewski, that's what college basket all is all about. >> a bribery part to the story is emerging as well. we'll get more of that. the first lady go goes to bat for number 42, including an emotional tribute to his widow, rachel robinson. [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness? by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. [ sneezes ] you're probably muddling through allergies.

try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec® love the air. email marketing from constant contact reaches people in a place they're checking every day -- their inbox. and it gives you the tools to create custom emails that drive business. it's just one of the ways constant contact can help you grow your small business. sign up for your free trial today at constantcontact.com/try. some brokerage firms are. but way too many aren't. why? because selling their funds makes them more money. which makes you wonder -- isn't that a conflict? search "proprietary mutual funds." yikes! then go to e-trade. we've got over 8,000 mutual funds, and not one of them has our name on it. we're in the business of finding the right investments for you. e-trade. less for us. more for you.

the fund's prospectus contains its investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information and should be read and considered carefully before investing.

it was an emotional mom for the first lady. michelle oblama hosted dozens of high school and college kids for a workshot with the cast and crew of "42" a new movie about

jackie robinson's pioneering career. mrs. obama said he loved the film and spoke movingingly about robinson's widow, raching. >> to sit in the same room, do you all understand? we are here with rachel robinson. the woman who lived through that life, whose memories and perspectives will forever be shaped by those experiences. her presence here today makes us realize just how connected we are to that part of our history. it is very real. >> good afternoon to everyone. >> rachel robinson, believe it or not, she is 90 years old. gorgeous. and says that we have made some great progress combatting racism, but there's still a lot more work to do. so great to see her there. president and the first lady

will attend the opening of the george w. bush library later this month. chuck hagel is giving back part of his salary, as a reply appointee, he won't have to face 14 days of furros, but the pentagon says he will take the paycut along with his employees. furlough notices are expected in the next few weeks. how is this for a summer vacation? arizona republican senator jeff blake says he's going back to a deserted island in the middle of the pacific for a second time. back in '09 he went to test his outdoor survival skills. with two teens, no access to iphonings and ipads, we'll see how that contingencies. congressman adam schiff will join us, but "now with alex wagner" comes your way next. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics...

a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks.

all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.

bulletproof glass, armed guards with ar-15s, fenced-in perimeter. maximum security prison or limit tear school? ask the nra. it's wednesday, april 3rd. this is "now." a toddler in alabama picked up a handgun and shot himself in the chest. earlier that day a ma'am in ohio ambushed a church service, killing his father as he left the chapel. the same day a football player was dropped off with fatal gunshot wounds. and a 33-year-old woman celebrating her birthday was hit in the head by a stray bullet at a detroit nightclub. this is the sampling of the gun violence that took place over the weekend. those were in addition to