guess who is in that chair tomorrow night. he is the kind of guy, may take this chair. it is up to him onset. mr. martin short will be here on the last word as a guest, possibly co-host, who knows. >> he is canadian. check his papers. second amendment remedies. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this, where we are in this country with guns. guns and the law. three years ago republican candidate for the senate out in nevada said we may need to resort to our second amendment remedies if we can't get public officials to do what we want. second amendment remedies meaning use our guns guarded by the second amendment to deal

with people in government we don't like. if that wasn't frightening enough for you, how about what's happening in colorado and texas? in colorado a top prison official was gunned down in his home. in texas two prosecutors were killed, a third has now pulled out of a case against the aryan brotherhood of texas for, quote, security reasons. we have people using guns to settle their disputes with public officials, using their second amendment remedies. don't like the sound of this? think it's an overstatement? there come times when overstatement becomes the truth out there. we've got a texas senator, ted cruz, who won't led the senate hold a democratic vote on gun safety. so no democracy. we've got people out there using guns to get even with public officials, intimidating those they don't kill. this is where we are with guns in this country. second amendment remedies. being executed on public officials. refusal by some elected officials to let us have a democratic vote on what to do about it. this is before we live. april 2013.

in a moment we'll talk about democratic congressman carolyn maloney in new york. with me now, dana milbank from the "washington post." your column today was frightening. frightening. i'm stunned when i hear about a bunch of guys showing up at the national press club, which i would think would be first amendment territory, showing up with all their guns in their pockets, with earphones, taking over the place, basically. >> when you're with the nra, nothing trumps the second amendment. even the first amendment. so, yes, i showed up for their

news conference yesterday. they took over the place with 20 armed men. some in uniform, some with the bulges in their jackets. rope line. >> when are they going to do this to the senate? >> searching people's bags. they attempted to do it when their officials came up to the senate, too. capitol place said we make the rules around here. it's almost like might makes right in this. >> what right does a bunch of private people who are just working for some organization, the national public radio -- national public radio. national public rifle association. what right do they have to take over a place like a national press club? >> i think that has been the idea of the nra from the very beginning of this fight. it's like, we have the fire power. we make the rums. whoever has the guns makes the rules. unfortunately that's exactly how the congress has been responding to them. we made a lot of complaints. i said you can't kick us out of the hallway of the national press club. we're the press. so i walked right through, said what are they going to do? shoot me? >> it's like an old agatha christie play. everyone goes to a house somewhere and they start

disappearing. nobody thinks they can think about that. can't touch that. we were going to do the 30-round magazines. can't even think about that. then we thought the bleakest possible, maybe we could do something about background checks. this person was obviously disturbed who shot those kids in connecticut. that's apparently disappearing from the screen. >> it's worse than that. the nra is now trying to gut the provision that makes gun trafficking a federal offense. >> which was the softy. the easiest ones to get passed. we're down now -- we're going to have carolyn maloney joining us who's had threats, death threats against her. this idea of no vote. how does that stand? they're not going to bring it up because there's a bunch of filibusters out there saying we don't want to have to have a vote. >> look, a lot of it is also on the democratic side. harry reid said i don't want to bring up assault guns because he knows he doesn't have the votes here. >> 40 votes or less. >> sure.

it looks like it's going to be defeated one way or the other. so in a sense it doesn't matter if ted cruz and others are blocking it from coming to a vote. they can kill it in the house. they can kill it in any number of ways. the point is the nra, the gun lobby -- >> why don't they want a vote? >> why don't they want a vote? >> well, because 90% of the country by numerous polls is supporting the idea of near universal background checks. it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to oppose it. the nra used to support it. >> you said they could win. if they could win why don't they want to have the vote? then they can screw the other guys. carolyn maloney from new york. thank you for joining us, congresswoman. >> thank you for having me. >> i don't like to talk about this, but you've been threatened. >> that's true. that shows you how deep and intense this gun safety debate is in the country. >> what's going on? what's happened to you in your office? what has been the threat, the nature of the threat? we've got public officials down in the southwest, two prosecutors killed.

another one pulling out of a case against the aryan brotherhood of texas for security reasons. a prison official gunned down in colorado. this second amendment remedy is no longer the crazy talk, talking about an odd duck senate candidate in nevada. second amendment remedies are what you do when you don't like public officials, you shoot them. and that's what's going on. >> now you have the remedy law enforcement has been calling for. to pass sensible gun safety legislation that would have reasonable penalties for straw purchasers. and make trafficking and guns, illegal guns a felony. they're begging for this law. we should pass it and give them the tools to do their job. >> why would anybody oppose that? we've already said we're not going to do assault weapons p we're not going to do magazines. we're not going to do background checks. why would anyone oppose the secondhand buying, when you buy a gun for a crook totally dishonestly and illegally, and that should be illegal in itself, why would anyone oppose the enforcement of that kind of a law. >> people are astounded when they hear that.

they think it should be illegal already. we need to pass this bill. of course the good ole nra and others are trying to stop it. we have over 20 different law enforcement agencies that have endorsed my bill that are calling for its passage. at the very least we should pass that. but i can tell you, chris, as long as americans are dying, i'm going to keep on trying to pass these bills. >> good for you. >> i think let's put them out on the floor and have a vote. the american people as dana said, support a vote. they want a vote. they want gun safety. the president is in colorado trying to build support. we should give him at least a vote on these measures in the house of representatives and in the senate. >> i'm with you. let's take a look at the other point of view on this. the hard right point of view. it's voiced very well by nevada republican senate candidate sharon engel where she talked about the right of people. not just the right but they ought to use it, the right which she called second amendment remedies. meaning use fire power against public officials you don't like. let's listen to how she put it. make your own judgment.

>> you know, our founding fathers they put that second amendment in there for a good reason. and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. in fact, you know, thomas jefferson said it's good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years. i hope that's not where we're going. but, you know, if this congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those second amendment remedies, they're saying, my goodness, what can we do to turn this country around? i'll tell you, the first thing we need to do is take harry reid out. >> if this congress keeps going in that direction, people are looking toward their second amendment remedies. that's what you're being threatened with. they don't like the way you're going so they're threatening you with that second amendment remedy which is gun play. this is verbatim here. this is the way the right wingers talk now. other people are beginning to act that way.

we haven't had these cases closed out west. you've got a prosecutor pulling herself out of a case against the aryan brotherhood of texas. you can bet none of those characters ever voted for obama. you've got people on the hard right out there. what are we doing now? how far do we have to go with this before you people in the congress say to the people like boehner, you guys cannot hold office if you don't let people vote? >> we will be saying that. but fortunately we have a revolution every two years. we can shoot at the ballot box and elect people that are going to support gun safety and reasonable gun safety measures. i support the second amendment. none of the bills before congress in any way hinder the second amendment. or the right of law-abiding people to own guns. it's going after criminals. it's going after traffickers. it's going after those who want to purchase assault weapons that aren't used to kill animals, they're just used to mow down people. but her language is not helpful, it's extreme. fortunately, she wasn't elected. >> let's look at the polls now. because it is a democracy. it's not perfect. let me show you some of the poll numbers from "morning joe." a poll with the marist group

today. 60% of all registered voters believe laws covering firearm sales should be stricter. 50/50 on the gun owners. on the issue of background checks for private and gun shows, 87%. 9 out of 10 registered voters support those background checks. even 83% of gun owners agree on those background checks. let me ask you, dana. you've covered this. i don't know many bills to get 4 out of 5. i don't know many that get 9 out of 10. we're talking big support. we're talking apple pie here. yet we can't even get a vote in the united states senate. therefore we probably won't get one in the house. >> of course. one follows the other. let's be fair about this. what sharron angle said about second amendment remedies is -- is something that comes from the very extreme of our culture. she lost that race. >> pretty close. >> she lost the race in part because of that. well, she's admitting other crazy things, too. >> we raised hell about it. people said, wait a minute. what are you actually saying here? >> exactly. i think we can say there are very few if any people in the

congress right now who would dare say something about -- >> about using a gun against somebody you don't like. >> what they're not doing is going out and standing up against this. they're enabling that sort of thing. the threats being made against the congresswoman. in terms of the polls, if they were voting the polls of course we would have reasonable gun control in this country. the problem is based on the gerrymandering in the house and in the way the senate is structured, they're not responsive to public opinion. they're responsive to disproportionate slices within their own districts. >> let me go back to carolyn maloney. congresswoman, i've respected you for a long time. you have to think, it's not just the schools. these horrendous, horrible situations like we had up in newtown, connecticut. they come just often enough to remind us they can happen. there's gun deaths on the street. there are people committing suicide because they happen to have a gun around. there's husbands and wives shooting at each other when they get upset about something because they happen to have a gun around. too many guns. people do things with guns they wouldn't do without the gun. we are a violent society maybe

already. certainly the presence of so many -- so much fire power. >> i agree, chris. >> is it ever going to stop? are we going to keep harming ourselves? >> if guns made us safer we'd be the safest country on earth. we are the most heavily armed country on earth. and one bill that i introduced would require liability when you purchase a gun. so often the -- the onus or the responsibility is put on the victim and on society at large to cover the gun violence, the terrible pain and suffering. if someone buys a gun, they are responsible for that gun. they are responsible for gun safety. that would help. we require that when you purchase a car that you have liability insurance. let's do the same with guns. that's another step in the right direction. but what gets me is these drive-by killings of young people. particularly in new york and l.a. innocently sitting in their cars, and they are shot and

killed. in brewster, new york, just ten days after sandy hook, our fire officers and firefighters and police officers were mowed down by a deranged -- >> good you remind us of that. >> -- gun trafficker. it's happening all over the place. if nothing's done to stop it it's going to keep on happening. that's why we need to pass the sensible laws. >> congresswoman, take care of yourself. i'm terrorized myself by this whole stuff, people threatening people. so many members of congress trying to do the right thing. dana milbank, great column about the thuggery of the national rifle association. heavily armed at the national press club building. coming up, it felt an awful like 2016 in washington, d.c., last night. there were two big names in the democratic party, hillary clinton and joe biden going at it, making speeches and generating a lot of happy speculation on the center and center left. they got a new poll out that's going to tell us all about 2016. also, why mark sanford could be the only republican capable of losing south carolina's open house seat to elizabeth colbert bush.

stephen colbert's sister. why colbert bush might not hold that seat for very long, of course. this just in from quinnipiac. 24% of republicans now believe president obama is the antichrist. that puts things in perspective. doesn't it? 33% saddam hussein actually hit us on 9/11. 53% of republicans say global warming is a hoax. not just wrong, but a hoax. before you get too smug, democrats believe some weird stuff, too. we'll get to that. the truthers are out there, too. yesterday it was radio talk show host who found a way to link gay marriage and trouble in korea. today we bring you the texas congressman. louie gohmert connects gay marriage and limiting magazine capacities in guns. you are our side show. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

the man who gave us that term for appearing on all five sunday morning talk shows the same day has died. william ginsberg was monica

lewinsky's lawyer. on february 1st, 1998, he appeared on all five of the major talk shows. "meet the press." face the nation. fox news sunday. late edition. the full ginsberg. the most recent was jeb bush last month promoting his book. we lost him, william ginsberg, gone at 70 years of age. we'll be right back.

welcome back to "hardball." last night was the hillary and joe show, some say. former secretary of state hillary clinton and vice president joe biden shared the stage at an event for the global women's organization hillary clinton herself founded when she was first lady in '97. the appearance of the two democratic heavyweights is fueling speculation about 2016, obviously. they each had some kind words to say about one another. this is a little love here if you like it. let's watch. >> 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 last month. [ applause ] >> there's no woman like hillary clinton. [ applause ] hillary clinton -- that's a fact. >> and while many may think this was hillary's coming out party for 2016, it was biden who may have stolen the show, many say. >> the ultimate abuse of power, as my sister valerie, who's with me here tonight often heard my father say, the ultimate abuse of power was for a man to raise his hand to a woman or a child. >> with me now is the great andrea mitchell, the host of andrea mitchell reports on msnbc. and howard fineman. that's right. little lower. you guys are great friends of mine. i have to say, andrea, i've watched you since you were on radio in philly. i've watched your career. you are a great role model. >> thank you.

>> one of the great feminists of your time. you don't push it but that's what you are. you represent fighting for a great job and doing a great job. got to do both, right? got to fight for it and then you've got to do it. not so easy. hillary clinton, i thought, should just take a breather. no more awards. no more ceremonies. go to the canyon ranch, some place, do what we'd all like to do and we could all use. just get the wrinkles out. relax. stop worrying. stop sweating. >> what's a breather? >> you are the classic. type a's don't do that, do they? >> if you're hillary clinton, first of all, she is motivated by her passion for service. there's no question about that. this is not power with her. this is accomplishment. it's policy related. that's why vital voices, the organization she was at last night, is so part of her soul. >> you were there, right? >> i was there. >> my wife was there. >> i know your wife. >> you were there. >> you go back to the peace corps days, you and your wife. that's exactly what motivates hillary clinton. >> remember the great line in

downton abbey? what's a weekend? can't she take a weekend off? i think she's starting already. >> i agree with what andrea says. it is service. this is her organization. and hillary was there giving an award to her help mate for 30 years. in that sense it was not political. by the way the women that they honor there every year are always so inspiring. their stories are amazing. i think it's the best event in washington every year. it's the most inspiring event. but there's the service part of it, but there's it, but there's inexorably the political part of it. >> i don't think i've heard that word before there on this show. inexorably. >> i used to work in a news magazine. we got paid by the fancy word. sitting there in the audience, listening to the story of this organization and these women and how they learned to assert themselves and tap into power in the world, you had to say to yourself when you're watching hillary clinton, there's no way

she won't run and there's no way she isn't running, because she owes it to the vision of this organization of these people. >> without endorsing her, you're a straight news person. the thing is, there's something that's discernible out there this time. we saw last time the first african-american president. a lot of us were thrilled by that knowing this country's history. it's about time we did something right we did so many hundreds of years wrong. with women it's just about time. it's not correcting anything. it's just about time. hillary clinton is the best bet of all women in this country to be the next president. if she doesn't do it next time she won't do it ever. so -- how do you say that? >> inexorably. >> it's time. it's historic. it's the moment. i can reflect the passion and this isn't politics, this is just my family. my 95-year-old mother, she'll be 95 next week, she wants to see

this. and she's waiting for hillary. there are a lot of women of her generation as well as younger women. >> my generation. >> the important thing to effect here is also joe biden has with these women. he walked into her home court advantage and got cheers for his passionate speech about protecting women and girls. >> is that close to the bone? the idea of wife beating or beaters? >> it was part of it. >> is that something women really worry about? >> yes. >> men being brutal? >> the violence against women act -- >> in the home. >> yes. domestic violence. he was honoring three indian men who have fought -- brothers who have been -- who were honored by vital voices last night for protecting women and girls in india, where rape is endemic. this was a big deal. and biden had them -- >> you're watching this like i'm watching this as a male. we're both students. of politics. there is something going on here. this is not going to be a regular election. remember when teddy ran in '79 and '80 and didn't quite make

it. carter was president. we had obama who's coming along who's a big phenomenon in himself, obviously. this time this is even bigger than both those occasions because it's more -- most democrats are women. >> yes. >> it's overwhelming in some states like california. just if women just vote and men just vote gender, it's over. >> well, in addition -- >> not that they will. >> the other thing i was looking at as a student of politics was the crowd. and there were a lot of young women there. >> last night at the kennedy center? >> at the kennedy center who are interested in electoral politics, in movement politics, in nongovernmental -- you know, nonprofit organizations for women's empowerment around the world. well educated, sharp, eager to get involved in a crusade. and hillary's opportunity, and i think maybe to some extent her challenge, is to be as inspiring to those young women, i'm talking about women under 30 who were there, and there were many of them, to be as inspiring to them. don't just be an icon of the past.

she's got -- >> they don't know what the fight over choice was. >> they don't know about those old arguments. she's got to be able to connect with them and say i still have fights to carry out for you. >> although hillary clinton praised joe biden and the first ambassador of global women's rights, she made sure everyone's aware of her legacy as secretary of state. let's watch. >> we've shared struggles and successes, and even some fox holes over the years. it's a little bit like a family reunion. our unwavering faith in the potential, the untapped potential, of women and girls is at the heart of the work we've done together. when i became secretary of state, i was determined to weave this perspective into the fabric of american foreign policies. >> it's so interesting. and this is a genderless or gender-free comment. so often it's almost like the super bowl. you have to run once to win the second time. bush senior lost. eight years later he's back in.

reagan lost twice. '76 and '68. he lost twice. hillary clinton has lost once. she's eight years older. now, some people get better with age. nixon i think got better in certain ways and worse in other ways. he got imbittered. how do you think hillary clinton is different? >> she's seasoned in a good way. and experienced. she deferred to barack obama for four years on policy differences. and you never heard a leak out of the state department until she was out the door that there were differences over syria. >> i've never heard them. >> after she left it was revealed in various testimonies that there were differences over syria. but you didn't hear that then. she was very conscious that she had to try to avoid that kind of infighting to get along. but there were policy

differences. i think she's learned better how to run an organization, a big organization. but that doesn't mean to say that she will be better organized or more effective in a primary battle than she was last time. she had those huge advantages going in. >> i hope she doesn't have to get negative ever. i think it would be nice to have a totally positive campaign. never seems to end up that way. howard, can she run a totally positive campaign? i've done this. i'm ready. i should be president. >> if she learned anything four years ago it was she needed to get off the pedestal and fight from the very start. >> we'll see that again. >> you're not going to see her greeting everybody in a sunny sun room in her house to start her campaign. >> i always tell people, if you meet her alone like you've met her many times, she's wonderful as a person. she's fun. a great sense of humor. doesn't always come across on the stage. she's got it. anyway, andrea mitchell. howard fineman, a fine man. wish i could be as fine sometimes. up next, our pal louie gohmert. he's a birther. he starts with that. he wants to restrict the size of gun -- he doesn't want to restrict the size of gun magazines because he says it's like legalizing marriage for two people of the same sex.

if you can make the connection this crazy guy has made, you're better than me. and he's a u.s. congressman. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ other merv ] welcome back to the cleaning games. let's get a recap, merv. [ merv ] thanks, other merv. mr. clean magic eraser extra power was three times faster on permanent marker. elsewhere against dirt, it was a sweep, with scuffed sports equipment... had it coming. grungy phones... oh! super dirty! and grimy car rims... wow! that really works! ...all taking losses. it looks like mr. clean has won everything. the cleaning games are finished? and so are we. okay, but i just took a mortgage out on the cabinet. [ male announcer ] clean more, work less, with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power. >> announcer: an important free offer for men with balding or thinning hair. >> i'm happy with e way i look now. >> with his hair now, it's just this new-found confidence and there's a glow aboutim you just can't match. >> announcer: men, no diet, no exercise program, no new set of clothes can ever improve your confidence, your good looks and the way women look at you the way a thick, full head of your own real hair will, and now you can have it

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traditional marriage as between one man and one woman. i have. a newly released audio from a february conference call of gohmert, the congressman describes a link between that one man, one woman stuff and gun restrictions. >> i had this discussion for some wonderful, caring democrats earlier this week on the issue of, well, they said surely you could agree to limit the number of rounds in a magazine, couldn't you? i mean, what -- how would that be problematic? well, and i pointed out, well, once you make it ten, then why would you draw the line at ten? what's wrong with 9 or 11? it's kind of like marriage when you say it's not a man and a woman anymore, then why not have three men and one woman or four women and one man? why not, you know, somebody has a love for an animal. there is no clear place to draw the line once you eliminate the traditional marriage.

>> he hit it all, didn't he? bestiality? polygamy? thanks for tying it all together for us, congressman. did we really arrive at this serious point of debate over same-sex marriage thanks to a popular dv show? some on the right seem to think so. trouble is they can't decide which tv show. the atlantics politics blog picked up on the trend. first rick santorum says, "will & grace" is the culprit. at an event during this year's cpac, conservative political action conference, santorum said attitudes on marriage it's basically safe to say for 30 years after the sexual revolution didn't change until one program on television started changing it. that was "will & grace." next, the group 1 million moms says it's nbc's "the new normal" which features a gay couple. it's attempting to desensitize american and our children. next, the parents television council called out "the simpsons." for a 2005 episode where marge's

sister reveals she's gay. quote, at a time when the public mood is overwhelmingly against marriage any show that promotes gay marriage is deliberately bucking the public mood. finally, bristol palin went to "glee." when president obama came out in support of same-sex marriage, bristol wrote, it would've been nice if the president would have been an actual leader instead of merely reflecting what many teenagers think about one too many episodes of "glee." finally back in november, televangelist pat robertson surprised all of us by suggesting the religious right had gone too far when it comes to science. >> you go back in time, you've got radio -- all these things. you've got the carcasses of dinosaurs frozen in time. there was a time that these giant reptiles were on the earth. it was before the time of the bible. so don't try to cover it up and make like everything was 6,000 years.

if you fight reveal science, you're going to lose your children. and i believe in telling them the way it was. >> that was november. earlier this week robertson described the side effect of learning about evolution. a viewer asked why miracles seem to happen overseas but not here in the united states. here's the reaction from robertson. >> people overseas didn't go to ivy league schools. we are so sophisticated. we think we've got everything figured out. we know about evolution. we know about darwin. we know about all these things that says god isn't real. we have been inundated with skepticism and secularism. and overseas, they're simple. you say good will do miracles. they say, okay, we believe you. >> what's all this about ivy league schools? robertson got a degree in history at washington and lee university. went on and graduated from yale law school. he begs the question of who's right.

are these events miracles or explainable by science? he doesn't say, did he? up next, mark sanford wins his runoff. could he be the only republican that could actually lose the open seat down in south carolina? could sanford be the only losing republican down there? you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

welcome back to "hardball." when it comes to must see political contests they don't get much better or hotter than the special election may 7th. that's coming up for south carolina's first congressional district. on one side you have the political newby elizabeth colbert bush who happens to be the sister of comedy central star steve colbert. on the other side you have an infamous -- well, infamous former governor trying to make one of the most dramatic political comebacks in history. for many, mark sanford's legacy will forever be tied to his press conference when he confessed that he had been hiking in the appalachian trail, but rather was having an affair down in argentina with a woman down there. >> i would also apologize to my staff. because as much as i did talk about going to the appalachian trail, that was one of the original scenarios that i'd thrown out to mary, that isn't where i ended up. the bottom line is this.

i've been unfaithful to my wife. i developed a relationship with a -- which started as a dear, dear friend from argentina. it began very innocently, as i suspect many of these things do. >> last night sanford clinched the republican nomination in the runoff down there. he thanked god for giving him another second chance. >> 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 and stop for a moment and publicly acknowledge that grace and that difference he has made in my life and he's making in so many lives across this state, across this nation, and certainly in this campaign. and while god may be a god of

second chances, at times voters are a little bit less forgiving. >> will he win his comeback victory? gene robinson hails from south carolina. favorite son of the great state of south carolina. rick tower, republican strategist, former spokesman for the man who actually won the republican primary in south carolina last time. just a year ago, actually. how time flies. let me go with this right now. because you're both local to this situation. let me ask you, rick. >> yeah. >> i think this district is republican. >> it is. >> it's become republican. and i think it's very hard for them to vote for steve colbert's sister just because they got a problem with this guy. the only question is is going to be turnout, then. who shows. >> that's the whole thing. normally if this were a general election, there would be no question. no one would be paying attention to it. >> because the republicans would win. >> the fact you have a quasi celebrity and the fact that she's colbert bush, sister of stephen colbert who's famous, well respected, people like, and then you have mark sanford, who

it -- didn't the appalaichan trail go down to argentina? >> no. it stops. doesn't go all the way. it doesn't go that far. >> gene, i don't like to overcomplicate politics. some people like jargon and long words. i come back to the word "like." if you like bill clinton you forgive him. if you don't -- if you like somebody, you make that decision after you see him a few times, you know, he's me. in some way he's me and i get it and i'm with him. i think a lot of people made that decision about sanford. i'm with him. i may be wrong. >> well, i'm not sure. >> your views. >> there wasn't a lot of turnout in the -- in the special -- in the primary or in the runoff. i'm not sure if people are that enthusiastic about voting for him. i think a lot of republicans believe he let them down. he kind of abandoned the state while he was governor and he was off, you know, it was his not a family values kind of situation. and she's foreign. you know, she's from argentina. >> he's marrying her.

he's getting married. this isn't some roll in the hay if you will to use an old phrase. he's fallen in love. he didn't use the phrase but he's fallen in love. she's his fiancee now. there she is right there off to the right there. i mean, obviously attractive. don't have to be complicated about that. he's in love with her, he's going to marry her. does that solve the problem now? >> well, it's complicated. it's like you say, if people like mark sanford -- mark sanford has two problems. his greatest asset is people know mark sanford. his greatest liability is people know mark sanford. her greatest asset is people don't know who she is if you go on her website she seems like a reasoned, moderate, centrist. she's carved out this space for herself. >> doesn't she -- doesn't chef to at some point come on television, start doing interview programs and introduce herself? she's apparently been hesitant to do that. >> this is going to be about execution. mark sanford is a pro. >> he's on tv. he's everywhere. >> he's done this before. it is going to be about getting voters out to the polls. if the sanford team can do that because i wouldn't rely on a national committee versus her team.

>> is this going to have a rebound or ricochet effect? they're basically giving us one more bit of information. one more bit of information that bill clinton is home free now. that we're not going to hold these things against people for very long. >> well, yeah, i suppose so. >> they can hardly come out and scourge bill clinton all over again in a couple years. >> sure they will. >> they will. >> they've been scourging bill clinton -- >> there's always a difference. viva la difference. the difference between colbert and cobert. >> wouldn't you say infidelity is an evil. >> bill clinton went on television and denied the affair. he did not. bill clinton didn't do something that -- >> this guy didn't have ken starr chasing him either. >> sanford actually went away. remember? he actually left. now he's come back. bill clinton never went away. >> he did go away. he did come back. there was, i think, a distinct

lack of enthusiasm for the guy, though. in the primary most people voted against him. in the runoff -- >> his one-time mistress is now his fiancee. last night she stood behind him as he gave her a special thanks. this is interesting. he didn't know she was going to be there, he said. let's watch. >> i thank you. i guess to my fiancee, belen, who's right here behind me, for her long suffering as she put up with me being on the road for more than just a few months. and i thank you for that as well. >> i bet a lot of wives out there aren't thinking of long suffering. >> exactly. sh th is a direct that's along the coast. a very sophisticated part of the state. still, that's not going to go over that well. you might disagree. but i don't think -- >> let's -- i think it was smart for her to be there. because it was a staged surprise. i don't think -- >> i've got my vote. i've got my vote figured out. who's going to win? >> who's going to win?

oh, i bet a nickel on -- i'm going to bet a nickel on colbert bush. >> i'm going to say mark sanford's going to win. >> i'm with you. sanford's going to win. thank you. i'm almost always right. thank you, eugene robinson, rick tyler. one in five republicans think obama's the antichrist. that's in revelations. this is "hardball," the place for politics. to make the call. to treat my low testosterone, my doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet or body swelling;

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will be stepping down from the tonight show next year. he'll be replaced by jimmy fallon. he will wrap up his 22 years in late night in the spring of 2014 and then the show will move to new york. two very good guys. we'll be right back.

we are back. how crazy are we as a country, just when you think the birther men has mellowed down for a while, we get new numbers from polling showing some americans are keen to believe conspiracy theories that sound ripped from the pages of a supermarket tabloid, and not surprisingly, republicans are keen to believe just about anything that makes president obama look bad. antichrist, anyone? here to have some fun with the

data, lizz winstead and d.c. bureau chief david corn, who's also an msnbc political analyst. thank you, both. let's start with a wild one, do you believe president obama is the antichrist? let me give you a refresher, webster's defines antichrist as, quote, one who denies or denounces christ, specifically a great antagonist expected to fill the world with wickedness but to be conquered by christ in his second coming. 13% of americans and 22% of romney voters believe obama is the antichrist, incredible. another 13% can't make up their minds. lizz, 26% think he might be the antichrist. what kind of a country of a loony bin are we living with? >> i don't know what to say except for this should be sort of the poster for what happens when people have idle time to wile away in their little brains. we need jobs and we need education. if people are led to believe

things they read in news max or on world net daily, i mean, the fact that that many people find this information out, where would they think that up or learn that? where are they getting it? >> the thing also, i think this measures what people want to believe. so, 1 out of 6 or 1 out of 7 americans, whatever it is, want to believe that he's the antichrist. >> a lot of people are looking for it. >> that's what i mean. only 4% of americans believe that we're ruled by lizard people, so three times as many people believe that obama's the antichrist. >> here's another gem, 11% say the government knew about and let the 9/11 attack happen. the same are not sure whether the government did or did not try to stop it. lizz, this is the problem. truthers, birthers, they are all over the wall here. i tell you, the truthers that believe george w. had a plunger and blew up not just the world trade center, but his own pentagon, why -- what's the purpose here, to get us into iraq where he was already

talking us into anyway probably? your thoughts. not me. >> i feel like, do these people just need an ulcer in their lives? right? because there's so much to worry about as it is just being a regular person who thinks sanely, that when you have to pile on insanity, i don't know how you get through the day. >> what i don't understand is why does anyone believe he and dick cheney would have the guts to do that? i mean, imagine if it goes wrong. come on. >> both of you, i can't resist doing this, if president obama gets 50% to get reelected, that means he had get 50% out of the 100% that had 30% taken away by the crazy people. he had to get 70% of the same people to vote for him to win the presidency. anyway, who can forget the night when the president announced osama bin laden had been killed over in pakistan. apparently, 6% of the country didn't believe that ever happened.

they believe bin laden is still alive, the whole thing was faked. i love these people that say i'm not sure. >> they are hedging their bets. maybe, maybe not. >> can i be honest, when i was sitting there watching that announcement, the first thing that went through my shallow brain was, oh, my god, can we travel with big shampoo again? i didn't think anything crazy, oh, i'm sure he's not dead, even though there's people that can prove it and say it and now there's a movie. i don't understand why people are invested in crazy talk. >> well, they are. finally, climate change, which does matter. theory they love to hate, do you believe global warming is a hoax, not that it's in dispute, is it a hoax perpetrated by environmentalist, 37% say yes. majority of romney voters, 3 out of 5 romney voters believe it's a hoax to fight industry. >> this is one of the worst pieces of data here. >> because it matters.

>> it matters a lot. you also had 28% believing sudan hussein was behind 9/11. that matters too. all this happens because, in this instance, given the wrong information and they are buying it. >> lizz, this is the peanut gallery for glenn beck and company, they are playing to people so paranoid and crazy. >> it goes much deeper and scarier. i was looking for a yoga tape to bring on the road with me, i googled yoga tape and yoga and the devil, it was synonymous, how yoga is of satan. is goes on and on. >> i'm with you, lizz. we're both together on this. anyway, thank you, david corn, thank you, lizz winstead, we'll be right back after this. this is america.

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let me finish tonight with this, three quarters of this country doesn't believe the president is an antichrist, three quarters doesn't believe it, i guess that's a start. a bit more, not too many more, believes the united states government allowed 9/11 to happen. that's 4 out of 5 who aren't truthers. that's more good news. here comes the bad news, only about half of us are ready to deny climate change is a hoax, just about half are ready to say not that it's subject to dispute, but it's not an outright concoction dreamed up by environmentalists. no wonder it's hard to get people excited to demonstrate for gun safety. by the time we exclude obama being an antichrist and get past people who think the government had a role in bombing the world