houston, we have a problem. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. let me begin tonight with this, glee, it's a tv show, it's also what we're seeing happening on stage down in houston tonight. we're looking at the triumph of gun power over the will of the people. 90% of the american people we know want better background checks on who buys a gun. they want a way to stop felons from getting more fire power.

the national rifle association is now engaged in some same politics marriage with the republican national committee. those two have put the kabosh on anyone that threatens their deal. tonight, we look at the celebration down in houston tonight of the marriage between lethal hardware and the hard right. yes, houston, we do have a problem. ed rendell, of course, former governor of pennsylvania, or he is former governor of pennsylvania, anyway, the nra convention taking place in houston shows how far right the far right has gone the once independent and once bipartisan group has gone so far right. look at the speakers list, almost exclusively composed of people like sarah palin, ted cruz, rick perry, rick santorum, and glenn beck. looks like the roster from a cpac convention. this afternoon, ted cruz took an end zone dance, if you will for

helping them defeat the background checks bill in the senate. let's watch his dance. >> a month ago, you had the president holding the press conference after press conference after press conference and his package of legislation that would've underminded the second amendment in washington looked like an unstoppable freight train. i'll tell you, i was proud to join with my friend senator rand paul and mike lee. in writing a short and simple letter to harry reid that says we will filibuster any legislation that undermines the bill of rights to the seamt right to bear arms. every vote that would've undermind the right was voted down.

>> well, he was engaged in this, rick santorum also celebrated the bill's defeat. let's watch him in action. stood up when freedom was under assault. you made a difference. you can point to what you accomplished over the last few months. when the entire tide of the national media and the popular culture was trying to erode a fundamental freedom. you didn't let all the smoke and mirrors of trying to hide behind a horrible tragedy. behind a horrible tragedy deter you from the truth. >> governor, i think these guys are gig tribute as though they are talking about the boys that took to hawk, took to the cliffs at normandy. they backed the nra and yet it was almost like a religious experience for these clowns. your thoughts, governor.

i guess there's been things in the center left but what a smooching contest that was. >> and it's particularly disturbing, chris, because there's the under tone of not only defeating a bill to 90% of america but more importantly defeating president obama and that seems to be the main thrust here. we're not going to give the president a victory. we're going to defeat the president. we're going to defeat the president's attempt to take our guns. they lied to people. the bill, in fact, made a federal registry impossible because it made a creation of it a felony. they didn't want to give commonsense victory and they didn't want to give president obama a victory. frankly, that's disgusting. >> pat toomey, you were actually repeating what your colleague i guess from pennsylvania, mr. toomey, has said. >> that's right. it's not about winning or losing. it's about what is wrong for america.

they are going to pay for it because people are getting fed up. and as i said when we talked about this earlier this week, the people who care about this issue are not going away this time. >> you know, joy, churchill, my hero, said in victory magnanimity. they believe in rubbing the guy's face in it. they have limited the end zone dance as something minimally triumphant now. these guys -- i hear it's going to go on all afternoon. sarah palin is going to do one of these things. it's going to go on and on. i think it might be a dance over the grave. i think the governor is right. it can't be about less invasive background checks. is this the holy grail for these people? >> i think so. i used to like it when the nfl did back flips. i was thinking i almost feel like the right is suffering from body dysmorphic disorder.

they have an in ability to see them as the way others see them. the rest of the country is looking at them thinking, wow, these guys are nuts. the rest of the country is looking at them and thinking that. and the problem that the nra has now is that their power used to be that they were a bipartisan organization, such that he had ed rendell was similar simpatico with them. it is something that is a broad position in the middle. now they are associating themselves with the far, far right, the people that independents look at it, they are insane. the fact that they are entrenching themselves makes no sense. >> i think there are strong lobbies, israeli lobby, aarp, they are all big time -- they played both sides, governor. they say anybody can play this game. you help us back our positions and we're going to play ball

with you but these nra guys have said, no, we like one side of this fight. we're going to go with the conservatives. and it may work. it's working now. >> well, it's working in the short run. i think it's going to fail in the long run, chris. but think about this. this is an issue that a decade ago the nra supported universal background checks. there's been no difference in those ten years. this bill is actually a better bill, from their perspective, than the legislation they supported ten years ago. so they are on very, very shaky grounds and aligning themselves with one party and joy is right, the biggest problem that the republican party has, forget the nra, they took positions all last year that were totally out of the mainstream of america and here's an issue where the republican party is doing a victory dance, as you said, on an issue that 90% of americans disagree with. it's absolutely stunning how myopic they are and they don't see what is happening around them. they are absolutely spiralling towards crushing defeat even

more crushing than they -- >> and they bought a ticket here, guys. they bought a ticket on the next bad ticket on the next time a person is mentally deranged or is a wife beater, whatever we're going to call them, the category that would have been kept from getting a gun gets a gun and does something horrendous, heinous, and they did the permission slip. >> and even more than that, chris, i think the big risk for the nra is that if i'm a democrat, even a moderate democrat or conservative democrat or a republican running in a purple or blue state, i'm thinking to myself, if they are going to be that far to the right, maybe i can have some space to buff the nra. there's other money out there. there's michael bloomberg's money and i don't need to be associated with them, especially if i'm a pat toomey or kelly ayotte that seems to be shaken from the response she's gotten in a purple state. >> toomey may get reelected on this, he did the right thing. >> absolutely.

coming up, we continue our series, the unkindest cut. it's a series we're doing on the real pain being caused by the sequester cuts. tonight, promising heart attack research imperilled because of lack of money. just about everybody wants to help the rebels in syria, but which ones? that's tricky. a reality check tonight from our own richard engel. and we learned today that job creation is better than we ever thought for the past few months, the unemployment rate down to 7.5%. could that be a boost for democrats in 2014? that's our angle tonight. and already heard a lot from the nra today, but now this, the new president refers to the american civil war as not the war between the states, okay. the war of northern aggression. and that's talk of the cause, the lost cause if you remember it. this is "hardball," a place for politics. ] it's just so frustrating... ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom.

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also the sequestration cut $5 million out of the fema emergency food and shelter program. homelessness prevention organizations here in the city. 2/3 of the soup kitchens and food pantries in new york city already have to ration food. >> welcome back to "hardball." this week, we brought you reports, seeing one there how the arbitrary across the board spending cuts called the sequester are hurting the poor and vulnerable. there was joe by the way you just saw there from the new york city coalition against hunger. before that, we told you about cuts in meals on wheels. tonight, we're talking about reports all week, we're calling it the unkindest cut. we asked for your input and now, we want to share your responses, how the sequester is affecting you. from megan w.

my federal work study is being cut by seven hours a week, looking for a second job. full time student workload. judith tweets $695 total and no food stamps. i live on peanut butter and oatmeal. we want to hear more on how the cuts are affecting you personally. tweet us, join the conversation on our facebook page and then go to tv.msnbc.com and click on hardball. i'll have that information again before the end of the show. today, we bring you another story of how these cuts are rippling through american society and affecting lives. these are cuts to medical research issued through national institutes of health and if you think they can't affect you, listen up. doctors at philadelphia's temple university were doing promising research on repairing the heart

after a heart attack will have to cut back their work significantly because of these cuts. the lead doctor sums up this way his dilemma. it is more likely we will miss something important now. we have so many wonderful things we can do right now, but we end up in this political climate. think about that the next time someone you know has a heart attack. john led a rally here in washington protest those cuts to scientific research. this misbegotten sequester is causing. two of the many speakers calling to end the sequester were cokie roberts and mara tyranny. >> not only was i treated for cancer at nih and was the direct beneficiary of that research and it could not be a stupider time to cut back on funding for medical research. >> i have a good sense of what's at stake and this debate about federal funding for medical

research and the short answer is a lot. >> john is managing director of science policy and david cornyn washington bureau chief for mother jones. everybody loves research. it means people can live to 90, healthy. if we don't do that, we're just going to fall back. if you don't have verge keeping up with stress, we're going to fall back. if you don't have research, we're going to fall back. >> the most important investment that our company can make and that's what's so discouraging right now. when you're talking about the sequestration, it's a $1.6 billion cut for health. the past ten years, a decade, we've had cuts at the nih and going on f billion when you account for inflation. so, we're at a time -- >> what's it mean an ek doe tall

terms? you can't do certain tests or what are you hearing? >> probably most discouraging is you're talking about researchers have about a one in ten chance to get funded, so all of the grants going to the national institutes of health, only one out of ten doors are we able to open. the most ideal situation is between 25 and 30%. actually, when congress decided -- >> you're turning down good proposals. >> they're on the cutting room floor right now. it's affecting young investigators who are deciding why should i stay in this area of career when the chances of my getting funding is so small right now. so, it's affecting labs across the country laying off people and right now, all of the, we have 435,000 people who are directly, indirectly funded. >> cancer survivor is a term we use today. isn't it great? we're used to the term. >> 14 million. >> we know the term.

it used to be cancer meant the end and now, survivor for so many people because of research. >> absolutely. 14 million survivors. >> you guys just amaze me what you can do. >> this gets to some issues in terms of the values we have on society. >> you mean the tax cut issue. >> what republicans are doing. before the show, one of your producers, connie, asked me, wasn't cancer research, meals on wheels, didn't they used to be bipartisan issues? indeed, they were. years ago, bob dole led the effort against hunger, but the republicans now have this view of government which is just cut, cut, cut. they don't, i really hate to say this, care institutionally, collectively. >> you know what they're thinking. the poor minorities. they're cutting the welfare. that's what they think. >> when you cut and you know this better than i do, when you cut this research, it means

you're going to have more medical costs at the end if you don't do stuff about diseases, we as a society end up paying more. so these guys talk about fiscal sanity and doing this, they're really adding more -- >> you know what the problem is? people think when they're cutting, and i think reasonable people. they're thinking we're cutting and there's the information again. i want to tell you so you can get involved. if you know one of these programs that's getting cut, tweet us at the hashtag unkindest cut. and you can also join the conversation on our facebook page at facebook.com/hardball. or go to your website on tv msnbc.com/hardball. we haven't heard this, the group's new president referring to the civil war as, i love

this, a civil orderly question. the war of no northern aggression. that's going to unite the country. we're in a tyranny. haven't you noticed? just come back to jefferson davis, he'll save us. this is "hardball." the place for politics. is right for me. you should try our coverage checker. it helps you see if you have too much coverage or not enough, making it easier to get what you need. [ beeping ] these are great! [ beeping ] how are you, um, how are you doing? i'm going to keep looking over here. probably a good idea. ken: what's a good idea? nothing. with coverage checker, it's easy to find your perfect policy. visit progressive.com today. [ male announcer ] from the way the bristles move to the way they clean, once you try an oral-b deep sweep power brush, you'll never go back to a regular manual brush. its three cleaning zones with dynamic power bristles reach between teeth with more brush movements to remove up to 100% more plaque

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now the side show. some people live in a political isolation booth. billy long of missouri here talking to a local reporter about the effect of the sequester. quote, the people i've talked to seem to be doing well. in fact, when i go out in restaurants here in town, people come up to me, they want to see more sequestration, not less, so i think that's different than it could be in some parts of the country, but we haven't seen any measurable effect. in reality, long state is missouri and his own district are getting hit with cuts. a non-profit in charge of head start programs in several

missouri counties plans to close five classrooms and reduce enrollment by about 200 children. the head responded this way, it's been in the news, all over the place. we are facing cuts in all our programs. food assistance and other programs are also facing slash funding in long's district itself. nancy pelosi's hoping for an answer to her prayers concerning the white house in 2016. >> i pray that hillary clinton decides to run for president of the united states. let's set aside for a moment the fact she is a woman. as a person, she will be the most qualified person to enter the white house in modern history. now, i have no knowledge of anything except my prayers. >> it's been a big week for nudging hillary toward a run. henry kissinger and now, nancy pelosi, are urging run, hillary,

run. next,when ever someone runs for office, we can expect a lot of digging into the their past. now buzz feed featured this nugget today. back in 2006, there was a debate going on in virginia's office. official state sign. he filed an amendment with his own idea. tax man. he thought the song would be perfect because quote, virginians feel like all they get is more taxes. he did not prevail. when it didn't become the state song, is state remains without an official song. finally, a preview of what's in store when jim porter becomes president of the national rifle association next week. at an event last year, he talked about the nra's roots going back to the civil war, except he doesn't call it the civil war. >> started 1871 here in new york

state. it was started by some yankee generals who didn't like the way my southern boys didn't have the ability to shoot in what we call the war of northern aggression. now, y'all might call it the civil war, but we call it the war of northern aggression. >> yesterday, i showed you a fairly dickenson poll, three in ten americans think armed revolt might be necessary to protect our civil liberties. porter has his thoughts on that very matter. >> i am one who still feels very strongly that is one of our most greatest charges that we can have today. is to train the civilian in the use of the standard military firearm, so when they have to fight for their country, they're ready to do it. also, when they're ready to

fight tyranny, they have the where with all and the weapons to do it. >> so, it's not about hunting, not about defending yourself against criminals. he's sounding off about tyrannical government and a possible takeover. that's "hardball" for now. coming up next, "your business." i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer through 6 months. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events, including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers,

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two is better than one when small businesses hook up and co-brand. what the owners of this bookstore didn't know about their bookkeeper cost them dearly. and a seattle clothing store has a revolutionary high-tech way for customers to shop. small business owners, it's time to make money coming up next on "your business." ♪ small bus