phoenix, arizona. tonight's lead, change you can't believe in. after getting routed in the election, republicans said they had seen the light. they promised to change. they performed autopsies. they went on retreats. they vowed to be a more accepting party. but today at ralph reed's faith and freedom conference, it was clear that their talk of change was just talk. now that paul ryan himself didn't try, he took center stage to say the party is not so extreme. really is not. just trust him on this. >> the left likes to think that we are the fringe. guess what? you, us, we are the mainstream. when you take a look at what is happening, the goal we have in front of us is to reclaim the center of our politics.

>> the mainstream? really? even by wrongway ryan standards, that's off base. just listen to the parade of speakers at this big republican meeting. >> big government is undermining our religious liberty. it undermines all of our liberties. >> pray every day that god speaks to them and preserves and enables them to preserve traditional marriage. >> why are you getting engaged in the political discourse simply when you disagree with someone on what the definition of marriage is you're called a bigot or hater. >> college camps for the abortion industry. >> when i hear talk about restoring faith in government, no, no, no, no, no. that is the strong solution. >> see, the decimation of the progressive socialist policies that have broken down the family unit. >> we lost because barack obama won crushing, lopsided majorities, landslides among

americans who are single, poor, and irreligious. >> how's that whole change thing going? it's anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-debate. but congratulations on order tonight for the republicans. speak of boehner, confidence in your congress is at an all-time low. look at this free fall. a steady drop down. just 10% say they have confidence in congress. the lowest numbers since 1973. i guess it's time for more republican autopsies. joining me now is karen finley, host of "disrupt" on msnbc, and frank shafer, a guy who was on the inside of the religious right, a former evangelical who wrote about the experience in his book "crazy for god." thanks to both you have for being here. >> thanks. >> thanks, rev. >> karen, let me go to you

first. they say this conference is about family and protecting the dignity of marriage. but what is it really all about? >> you know, i'll tell you. it seemed about to me is seeing all the fractures within the republican party, because on the one hand you have people like jeb bush talking about why they should support comprehensive immigration reform, and then you have people like michele bachmann talking about why they shouldn't. so it raises the question. so where are your values? not only are we not hearing positive ideas and solutions, i don't know what those values are. that seems very conflicting to me. and i think that's what we're really seeing in this conference. >> well, karen, but let me follow that up with you before i go to frank. paul ryan literally tried to link obama care to abortions. listen to this. >> obama care says that if you believe in the social teaching of your church, if you disagree,

you know, with abortion-inducing drugs, it doesn't matter. you, if you're a church or a charity or a hospital, you have to buy insurance that offers your employees these things that are in contradiction to your beliefs. >> wrong. there are specific exemptions for religious employers like churches. that not right, karen? >> there are. but also how about the hypocrisy of respecting the beliefs and traditions of the individual? simply because you work for that institution, what the you're a janitor for an institution. does that mean you have less rights by the constitution than the institution itself? i thought we were supposed to be protecting individual rights an freedoms here, not standing by big institutions. >> now frank, you are inside the evangelical movement just as a right-wing religious group. and the amount of misinformation

and venom for people that don't think like them is alarming. >> yeah, you have to understand there are three things going on here not one. first of all there is ralph reed's pet project. he is the bernie madoff of the religious world. he almost got himself in jail through scamming an indian tribe casino deal that actually did put lobbyists in jail. he was part of that. he now comes back and resurfaces with a group of people who talk about morality. but apparently will allow themselves to be convened in a meeting by someone who in most cultures would have been criminally prosecuted, except in america where we give a lot of latitude to people who fly under the banner of religion. the second thing going on, this is an evangelical fundraising fest. these people need to stay relevant to the folks back home, even though they know what they're doing publicly will lose them the next election because they have divorced themselves from mainstream america. the third thing that is going son a denial of the christian faith. it's no coincidence that they picked out poor and single

people as the enemy. these are the folks that they no longer represent. so what is so odd is if you actually go to the teachings of jesus christ, you will find the exact reverse, and that is the people that supposedly evangelical christians if you look them at their word would be most interested in reaching out and folding into their party would be poor disenfranchised single moms, for instance, stuck with no child care because of the cutbacks, and all of the rest of it. instead of that, they speak for corporate america. they speak for big-time religious organizations that rake in billions of dollars off gullible lower class middle americans who have no idea that people like ralph reed are just con men. and they meet together once a year not to win elections, but to advance their own agenda within a subculture that no longer represents mainstream america. and as you know, if you read "crazy for god", my memoir and why i left this group, it's

because any right thinking person who has any vestige of honesty cannot be part of this con machine that uses words like jesus christ, religion to do the opposite, disenfranchise the poor, wok or to the koch brothers, allow people like to grandstand, keeps coming back and i'll run another conference and help you win next time. everything they're saying is the opposite of fact. >> frank, i think also karen, to frank's point, rush limbaugh, he knows the truth. he said exactly who they are, and attacked the established republican party. listen to what rush limbaugh had to say today on to the gop base. >> the republican party is embarrassed of its base. they accept the democrat caricature of the republican base: southern hayseed sicks,

pro-lifer, pickup driving gun rack in the back people, chewing tobacco and going to church and talking about god all the time. but they really see them as a bunch of zealots when it comes to abortion. >> so he is telling karen, the base, these people are ashamed of you, and you're the real people of the party. >> that's right. and i mean, that's part of rush limbaugh's overall mantra, which is us versus them and hate in general. but, you know, the other piece of this, again, there is a fracture within the republican party, and i think part of -- it was interesting listen to paul ryan talk about the center, because the truth is the majority of america on everything from access to the legal procedure of abortion to same-sex marriage to immigration reform, the majority of america has moved on. and to what frank was saying, what these guys are talking about is not where the majority of america is anymore. and that's the piece that rush

is trying to cling on to is, you know, that portion of the country that for maybe a lot of different reasons doesn't agree with those policies, but for some reason, rush thinks we have to be at war with each other rather than accepting our differences. >> but the problem, frank, is they're almost like in an echo chamber. they're talking to themselves. they are not recognizing this shift in terms of the majority of americans. >> yeah, but what i said before and what karen has been talking about this division, this is where it all comes down to something that i don't think most people realize. there are serious believers who are conned by these people. but the people in leadership positions know exactly what is going on. they know they will never win an election on these platforms. they also know that in certain southern states and certain mountain states, they can keep churning this stuff out and get elected even though they will never be in the majority and have somebody in the white house and meanwhile they can keep raising the money. >> frank, i want to ask you something directly on it. you're saying the leadership

knows that they're blowing elections. then why are they doing it? >> because they earn their living in a religious environment through essentially conning people from the pulpit, on the radio programs, through their publications and literature into believing that they are the majority and we speak for the real america. and every selection somehow has been stolen by chicago politicians or whatever it is. there is this black man in the white house who is not a real american. one of these days the truth will come out and we'll be vindicated. they always kind of move the marker further down the road. the fact is they do not represent the majority of americans. the demographics terrify them, because this is turning into a brown country, not a white oligarchy any longer. and who they truly serve is not the people. they serve corporate america by keeping our government off-balance as the republicans have shut down the presidency that we've had our first african-american president. they haven't been interested in working with him. their agenda has been obstructionist. >> thank you, frank shafer and

karen finney. thank you both for your time tonight. >> appreciate it. >> and watch karen this weekend. "disrupt" is live at 4:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. and let me say this. i'm in phoenix tonight where i keynoted the national baptist congress and went to court around immigration. what i say now i said before. the christian right needs to meet the right christians, people that believe in tolerance, even though they firmly believe in whatever their faith dictates. she is back. she is back! you're going to be seeing a whole lot more of sarah palin. i'll tell you why. and an 11-year-old is taunted with racist insults after singing the national anthem. ♪ oh say can you see by the dawn's early light ♪

>> how he and his supporters shut the critics down, and what that means for intolerance in this country. plus president obama's father's day message. you don't want to miss it. change makes people nervous. but i see a world bursting with opportunity, with ideas, with ambition. i'm thinking about china, brazil, india. the world's a big place. i want to be a part of it. ishares international etfs. emerging markets and single countries. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. you will lose 3 sets of keys

4 cell phones 7 socks and 6 weeks of sleep but one thing you don't want to lose is any more teeth. if you wear a partial, you are almost twice as likely to lose your supporting teeth. new poligrip and polident for partials 'seal and protect' helps minimize stress, which may damage supporting teeth, by stabilizing your partial. and 'clean and protect' kills odor-causing bacteria. care for your partial. help protect your natural teeth.

care for your partial. for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/bayarea. have you joined the "politicsnation" conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. everyone had something to say about sarah palin's return to fox news. gail says i bet late night comedians are lickin their chops. i'm sure they are, gail. lanae says who is next, michele bachmann? why not, lanay. we have much more on palin's

return to tv coming up later in the show. but first, we want to hear what now you've think. please head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. [ male announcer ] frequent heartburn? the choice is yours. chalky...

not chalky. temporary... 24 hour. lots of tablets... one pill. you decide. prevent acid with prevacid 24hr. just moments ago a judge ended the first week of jury selection in george zimmerman's murder trial for the death of trayvon martin. mr. zimmerman has pleaded not guilty and claims he shot trayvon martin in self-defense. lawyers questioned seven potential jurors today, grilling them on what they learned about

the case from the media. at least 87 potential jurors have been dismissed since monday. 28 have made it through the initial questioning and are moving on to round two. they will face more questions on tuesday morning. the court will try to reach a pool of 40 potential jurors for the second phase of questioning. many of the jurors moving on to this second round of express firm opinions on the case. some express views that seem sympathetic to the defense. >> the opinion of basically regarding the -- what i heard about trayvon being up here because he was on -- expelled from school. i don't want to judge, but i just want to say that this could have been prevented had ohio he not been up here. that's all. >> it was a terrible accident that occurred. >> other candidates had opinions that seemed more helpful to the prosecution. >> anything else you can remember about either the picture or the conflict that has now come back to mind?

>> that he was in the neighborhood, and that mr. zimmerman followed him. >> it seems to me at the time that a presumption was made, whereas instead of taking george zimmerman in and asking him additional questions at the station and booking him, that did not -- >> joining me now is former criminal prosecutor faith jenkins. thank you, faith for being here tonight. >> thank you. >> faith, we're getting a real sense of what this jury might look like. and it is significant to you that so many potential jurors seem to have specific knowledge of the case, even if it's not accurate info, like when the juror said about trayvon had been suspended from school, which is not -- that he was expelled from school, which is not true. he was not expelled. but it seems like they know specific things that have been floated out there. >> it's not surprising that most of these jurors have heard something about this case and

they're expressing what they've heard in court. but all of them that are moving on to round 2 have been asked the ultimate question, can you be fair and impartial? can you judge this case based on the evidence presented to you and not based on any media reports that you have heard. these are all people who have replied yes, they can do that. and both attorneys have agreed that they can now move forward to round two, which is going to be more specific substantive questions about some of the underlying issues in the case. >> but let me understand, as we end in this first week. lawyers on both sides will be allowed to strike potential jurors from being seated. they get ten peremptorily challenges each. that means they can dismiss up to ten potential jurors without giving any reason. after that, they must request someone not serve on the jury for a specific reason. and the judge must agree, that correct? >> yes there are two ways that

the lawyers can strike jurors, potential jurors from the case. for cause, which means for whatever reason that. >> can't be fair or impartial, so they're going to be removed. there are an unlimited number of for cause strikes. peremptories, they each have ten for this first group. and you can strike a juror for any reason or no reason at all, except based on race, using your peremptory challenges. after you use all your strikes, if you have ten jurors left, that's your jury. >> now tuesday the lawyers will go back to questioning and resuming their questioning. the potential jurors that made it through the round two, they will cover topics like gun control, whether the potential juror owns a gun. their opinions on self-defense. their opinions on drug use, whether they have a bias for or against police or experts, and whether they should hold it against mr. zimmerman if he does

not testify. now what will lawyers be looking for in this next round of questioning, faith? >> so in this next round of questioning, you're going to see a more traditional approach to jury selection. the jurors are going to be seated as a group. and the lawyers are going to ask them questions as a group and initially may say how many of you own a gun? and they will raise their hands. they'll go to them one by one and ask them follow-up questions. so the jurors will actually be able to hear what other perspective jurors are hearing when they're answering these questions and the lawyers will then decide who, if any to eliminate based on their answers. >> now last, the judge still needs to rule on whether the audio analysis of the 911 call is admissible at trial. and the hearing i understand starts monday at 4:00 p.m. we know they will play the tape, but we don't know if the audio analysis from experts would be permitted. that right? >> yes. and the judge is going to make this decision before opening statements, because the prosecution is obviously going to tell the judge if this

evidence is going to come in, we want to be able to present to it the jurors from is the very beginning. so judge nelson is aware of that. she is going to make this decision far enough in advance to give the prosecution time to prepare their opening statements, and the defense time to prepare theirs as well if they choose to open. >> all right. so it's going to start digging deep down in it next week. we'll be watching it and covering it. faith jenkins, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> and full disclosure. in civil court, george zimmerman has sued nbcuniversal for defamation, and the company has strongly denied his allegations. still ahead, an 11-year-old singer shuts down his racist critics and proves how far this country has progressed. plus, sarah palin and fox news back together again. why these two darlings of the right couldn't quit each other. president obama has a message for all the fathers out there.

>> this is a great way for us to celebrate father's day and to just remind ourselves those of us who are fathers how lucky we are. it's the best job i've got. >> more on this father's day message from the president, coming up.

there is a pursuit we all share. a better life for your family, a better opportunity for your business, a better legacy to leave the world. we have always believed in this pursuit, striving to bring insight to every investment, and integrity to every plan. we are morgan stanley. and we're ready to work for you.

to support strong bones. and the brand most recommended by... my doctor. my gynecologist. my pharmacist. citracal. citracal. [ female announcer ] you trust your doctor. doctors trust citracal.

we've talked a lot on this show about voter suppression,

and few tried harder to block voting in 2012's election than this guy, colorado secretary of state gessler. he sent letters to almost 4,000 colorado voters, questioning if they were eligible to vote. in the end, gessler's office found problems only with 141 people, or 0.004% of the state's voters. and he didn't even prove that number. but now the guy who was so worried about election integrity is running into ethics problems of his own. colorado's ethics commission has decided gessler improperly used state funds for a trip to florida. he has been fined for spending about $1400 in public funds to go to a conference put on by the

republican national lawyers association. now gessler claims this was a partisan witch-hunt and he didn't do anything wrong, but the ethics commission is bipartisan, and the republicans voted against him too. is this guy who is always talking about fraud think we wouldn't notice he billed taxpayers to go hang out with a bunch of republican lawyers in florida? nice try, but we got you.

i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. but with advair, i'm breathing better.

so now i can help make this a great block party. ♪ [ male announcer ] advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. [ male announcer ] advair diskus fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder. get your first prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪

our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ ♪ oh say can you see by the dawn's early light ♪ >> that was 11-year-old sebastian de la cruz, a mariachi singer who performed the national anthem at the nba finals earlier this week. he charmed the crowd. but online he was met with racism and hate. one person tweeted 9 out of 10

chance that kid singing the national anthem is illegal. another said this kid is mexican. why is he singing the national anthem? and yet another said is this the american national anthem or the mexican hat dance? get this little kid out of here. after these and other tweets went viral, sebastian got a huge outpouring of support. many others online called out these tweeters for their cowardice and ignorance. sebastian showed the kind of class that his critics lacked. >> my father was actually in the navy for a pretty long time. i salute him today for that. and i just want to -- i want to thank hem. and just to be able to sing the national anthem, people don't know, they just assume that i'm just mexican. but i'm not from mexico. i'm from san antonio, born and raised. >> and last night, the san antonio spurs invited sebastian

back to sing again in the finals. president obama tweeted don't miss his encore performance of the national anthem at the nba finals. sebastian got a huge ovation from the crowd, and his performance was a slam-dunk. ♪ oer of the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ >> in the year of 2013, the true minority are people who preach intolerance and hate. joining me now, clarence page and victoria defrancesco soto. thanks to both you have for being here tonight.

>> thank you, reverend. >> first to you in texas, victoria. what does the outpouring of support for this young man tell us? >> he is the pride of texas. sebastian is a reflection of the new tekz. he is a reflection not just of being a american mexican, but putting into the diversity of the united states. we talk a lot about the u.s. being a melting pot. and we talk about ellis island. but when we talk about this new generation coming up, latinos, this new generation of immigrants, that fuzzy feeling about immigrants starts to wane. and i think in the case of sebastian, we're seeing case in point when that ugly intolerance raises its head. but on a personal level, i feel the backlash against that intolerance speaks of the larger feeling in the united states of an acceptance of the changing demographics of our country. >> you know, it's 50 years since the march on washington, and we

see this amazing backlash, this outpouring of support against the hate that was demonstrated online to this young man. we seem to be coming a long way. >> well, yeah, you know. what strikes me about this, reverend, first of all, sebastian just makes me choke up. we're going to hear from that young fellow again. he is a really bright, very talented and an inspiration to all of us. you know we can see how hatred has been marginalized. but what amazes me in this age of social networks of how twitter and cell phone cams and all have become an avenue for sociopath news to feel like express themselves or like for that jekyll and hyde personality to show itself. this isn't the first time we've seen pinheads just come off with racist diatribes over the internet. what really encourages me, reverend, i know you and i come a long way to see so many people rising up to just show their

indignation for that kind of behavior, and to show, you know, don't associate me with that kind of hatred. it's a wonderful thing. >> and i think that we do see other examples of hate. but we also see examples of people rising up and giving a tremendous backlash. let me show you, victoria, a video posted by disgruntled dunkin' donuts customer in florida that features racist language. and it went viral. watch this. >> guess what? [ bleep ] about to go live. [ bleep ] right on facebook, because i already posted what you [ bleep ] last night. so i hope you're happy with your little [ bleep ] [ bleep ]. because i'm about to nuke your whole planet from mars. you think you all are tough, big bad arabs bombing the trade center in i'll show you tough. >> now this woman pointed -- posted this video herself,

thinking she would get a sympathetic reaction. instead thousands of people slammed her online, and the dunkin' donuts have praised how the workers handled the rant. we're seeing there is a lot of people still out there trying to hate, but there seems to be a backlash that they don't understand. a lot of attitudes in this country changed. >> well, reverend, these people are still living in the 1950s, even in the early 1960s. we're a very different country today even than we were ten years ago, 15 years ago. right now texas is one of the five states that is majority minority. seven of the 15 largest cities here in the united states are majority minority. so seeing black, brown faces is normal. it's commonplace. it's no longer the exception, but it's rather becoming the rule. and i think as we start to see more of that spread across the country, these people will become more and more and the exception. and they will understand that they are not in the right, that

these comments are no longer acceptable. not just politically incorrect, but morally incorrect. >> and we hope as we see the change in attitude, we see a change in the institutions and other things that still have us facing problems of inequality. but clearly there seems to be an attitudinal shift among a lot of the american public. >> i think that's important. you know, 50 years ago, even dr. king said you could change the law. you can't change what is in people's hearts. but we have seen by changing the law, by changing what is viewed as the legal and political mainstream, the society comes along actually society was ahead all along, and maybe they were restrained by jim crowe laws, et cetera, from doing the right thing. but we can see now how our current social standards have shifted tremendously. and we now need to just be more candid about it. what bothers me is how reluctant people are to talk about race

candidly, because they're afraid they're going to be called racist or something like that. >> or do something about race. but you know in 2008, president obama, then senator obama, victoria, made a speech on race that i think really took the mainstream a little further up the road toward really dealing with a real balance in terms of how we look at these things. listen to this. >> i am married to a black american who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners, an inheritance we pass on to our two preciouses daughters. i have nephews, nieces, uncles and cousins of every race and every hue scattered across three continents. and for as long as i live, he will never forget that in no other country on earth is my story even possible. >> so the changing demographics of america, the learning of

people that are unlike you is something that has changed a lot of attitudes and has put us on a path to complete dr. king's dream. we're not there, but we're on a path, victoria. >> what we see is not just the changing demographics, but we're also seeing a blending of individuals. what we call the modern family, as barack obama was referring to. his family is a blended family. my family is a blended family. so it's not just a matter of the statistics that the people are changing. we're seeing it in our communities, our neighbors, our family members are also changing. and additionally, we know from social psychology research that when you interact with minorities or with people of a different group, you tend to start to see things on a more personal level, and racial intolerance starts to go down. so the numbers are pushing people to get to know one another and be more tolerant. >> you know, as we see these attitudes around race, around

gender, around those lesbian and gay, the tolerance level, is this the climate that leads toward having more of a progressive legislative and a progressive institutional shift in this country which we are still faced with a challenge? >> that's a heavy question, but i think yes. is the short answer. we're seeing several things happen at once. we look at how attitudes towards gay marriage, for example, have changed over the last decade, much faster than i ever expected and most people i know. yet we felt well, it's generational. younger people just have very different attitudes that older people do, which is a replay of the '60s when i came of age in many ways. now we're seeing that race doesn't mean what it used to mean. ethnicity doesn't mean what it used to mean. mixed families are becoming more common. we're seeing the population shifts, it's going by state and region. we're seeing in the south that traditionally the most conservative area, it's still

slow, but at the same time you've got south asian governors, republican in two states, and coy go on and on about the changes happening there. so it's like i think we're going to see changes happen, we're seeing it already by region and state by state. and that's going to be the new area of conflict i think as we go through these changes. >> clarence page and victoria defrancesco soto, thanks for you time tonight. >> thank you. >> both you have a great weekend. >> you too, reverend. >> we must keep fighting for a better america. as i said here i'm here in arizona dealing with immigration and racial profiling. nothing that i say says it better than sebastian said last night, this young man standing up against hate, singing the national anthem. ahead, father's day came early to some dads at the white house today. so what advice did the president give you? plus, is sarah palin really headed back to fox?

>> you betcha', yes, yes. >> the return of the mama grizzly. don't miss it. hey mom, is there a dressing room around here? no. mom, check it out! energy drinks. no. hey mom! dare me to do a back-flip? no. 1, 2, 3, 4! no! it's rated for class five white water. no! whooooooo! no, no! no, huh? yes! [ male announcer ] in a world filled with "no", it's nice to finally say "yes". oscar mayer selects hot dogs, no artificial preservatives and gluten free. it's yes food. it's oscar mayer. could lose tens of thousands of dollars on their 401(k) to hidden fees. thankfully e-trade has low cost investments and no hidden fees. but, you know, if you're still bent on blowing this fat stack of cash, there's a couple of ways you could do it. ♪

♪ or just go to e-trade and save it. boom. ♪ the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ mommy's having a french fry. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. it was an early father's day celebration at the white house today. the president hosted a father's day luncheon with leaders from the becoming a man program.

and he looked very comfortable with some of his little visitors. the menu included cheese burgers and fries, and each table also had a bowl of apples. before lunch, the president talked about his most important job. >> obviously, this is a great way for us to celebrate father's day and just to remind ourselves, those of us who are fathers how lucky we are. it's the best job i've got. and i know that all the fathers here feel the same way. and the idea that we might get afternoon ice cream? is always good. so i'm especially glad -- yes, i know. it makes people happy. >> does the first lady know about this ice cream? happy father's day, mr. president. you set a great example for everyone. and happy father's day to all the dads out in "politicsnation."

but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪

suddenly, faraway places don'tfoour neighbors..... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created... a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more.. low and no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know... exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks... with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories... america's beverage companies are delivering.

♪ it was the celebrity breakup no one saw coming. the split that shocked the world. no, i'm not talking about katie holmes and tom cruise. and i'm not talking about ashton kutcher and demi moore either. i'm talking about this breakup. >> sarah palin says the door is wide open when it comes to her long-term plans after parting ways with fox news. >> it was the relationship that was supposed to last forever. a match made in republican heaven. but in january, mama grizzly and the mouthpiece of the republican party suddenly called it quits. but today -- ♪ reunited and it feels so good ♪

>> yes, the former half term governor and fox news are getting back together. so, america, get ready for some more of this. >> well, first off, nancy pelosi is a dingbat. go back to what our founders and our founding documents meant. they're quite clear that we would create law based on the god of the bible and the ten commandments. it's pretty simple. independent patriotic americans who desire fiscal sanity in our beloved nation being called terrorists, heck, sean, if we were real domestic terrorists, shoot, president obama would be wanting to pal around with us, wouldn't he? his theme last night in the state of the union was the wtf, you know, winning the future. and i thought okay, that acronym spot on. there are a lot of wtf moments throughout that speech. my buddy joe biden, besides his penchant for making stuff up.

>> oh, lord, are we just a bunch of numskulls out here? >> apparently. >> joining me now is joe madison. joe, thanks for being here. >> happy father's day to you also. >> thank you, thank you. now so the breakup lasted 139 days. but they couldn't stay apart. why? >> i really don't know. you know, but it's interesting in the last several weeks, maybe a couple of months, look at what fox has done. they've hired mark fuhrman, who going to be involved with the trayvon martin, mark fuhrman, who can't get a job ever again in the state of california as a police officer. they've hired allen west, who couldn't get reelected to a second term as a congressman, and now you have rehired sarah palin, who the country rejected in a presidential election. and as i was told, probably has

a 58% disapproval rating. now i don't know what is going on at fox, but when i compare it to other networks and the intelligent conversations that we attempt to have, particularly here on this network and other networks, i can only assume that fox has decided that they're going to appeal to, you know, the simplest of thinkers, and that -- i just don't know what they're thinking about. >> well, maybe, joe, maybe they're going for what is entertaining and popular to just a hard right base. i mean look at the fact -- >> oh, it is hard right base, yeah. >> after she left fox, one of palin's biggest public appearances came at the conservative conference, cpac. she was a big hit. look at this.

>> oh, bloomberg's not around. our big gulp is safe. shoot, it's just pop, with locale ice cubes in it. i hope that's okay. >> i mean, she is clearly popular with the far right. what do you see in her future, joe? >> well, i don't see -- i tell you this. maybe i see young people, i see young people who looked to the republican party, and not one of these people that have been polled name any elected official in the republican party at the top of the list. it's all these fox commentators, these people who just say horrible things who keep dividing us, who keep accentuating the negative. and it's something somebody told me a long time ago. a negative gets nine times the attention that a positive gives.

so what i see in her future is a lot of comedians at late night thinking thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. and i also see maybe a network that is gearing up for 2014 to get these allen wests, these mark fuhrman. you've got a racist, an individual damn near drummed out of the military, and a defeated vice presidential candidate. so clearly you've got a network that just wants to continue to divide, divide, divide. that's really what is happening here. >> now you got to deal with the fact when you say comedians love her, she did go on "saturday night live" and make fun of herself. watch this. >> now i'd like to entertain everybody with some fancy pageant walking. >> i really wish that that had been you. >> loren, you know, i didn't

think it was a realistic depiction of the way my press conferences would have gone. >> you can't let tina go out there with that woman. she goes against everything we stand for. good lord, norm. they call her -- what's that name they call her, cara -- what is that name again? >> caribou barbie. >> caribou barbie. thank you, teen. that this is the most important election in our nation's history, and you want her, our tina to go out there and stand there with that horrible woman. what do you have to say for yourself? >> alec, this is governor palin. >> hi there. >> the only pole i care about is the north pole, and that is melting. it's not great. >> what? >> the real one? goodbye! >> well, she's good for laughs, if not for politics. joe madison, thank you for your time. we've got to go.

have a great weekend. >> all right. travel safely, and happy father's day, everybody. >> all right. ahead, your questions are coming in, including one on my "saturday night live" persona. reply al is coming up. remember, friend or foe, i want to know. [ male announcer ] erica had a rough day. there was this and this. she got a parking ticket... ♪ and she forgot to pay her credit card bill on time. good thing she's got the citi simplicity card. it doesn't charge late fees or a penalty rate. ever.

as in never ever. now about that parking ticket. [ grunting ] [ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card is the only card that never has late fees, a penalty rate, or an annual fee, ever. go to citi.com/simplicity to apply. when you do what i do, iyou think about risk... i don't like the ups and downs of the market, but i can't just sit on my cash. i want to be prepared for the long haul. ishares minimum volatility etfs. investments designed for a smoother ride. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

now it's time for reply al. and your e-mails are rolling in. it's great to hear from so many of you. how do our leaders find it so easy to give so much money for war, but not to help the people here in the usa? well, you know, that is why we must raise our voices. that is why we must vote. because it seems like when it comes to war, when it comes to these battles, there is always some magical way they can find billions of dollars. but when it comes to our seniors, when it comes to our

young people, when it comes to ordinary, bubble americans, many of whom put their lives on the line in the military, many who have helped build this country, they always have to hear we don't have any money, deficit, budget cuts. it's a misplaced priority by our leaders but it's misplaced activity by us. have you seen "snl's" depiction of you? what do you think? >> well, i have indeed seen it. and for those of you who have not seen it, watch this. >> good evening, i'm al sharpton. republicans are mad because the tea party has been targeted by the -- i'm sorry, the irs. >> now that's keenan imitating me. and i love it. i laughed. if you can't laugh at yourself, then you take yourself too

seriously. but keenan, you need to take about 30, 40 pounds off if you're going to mimic me now. and then we need to talk about a tailor, you know. well, let me wish everyone a happy father's day. we want you to answer us by sending us your questions. e-mail me, ask rev at msnbc.com. remember, friend or foe, i want to know. one more time, happy father's day to all you dads out there, and thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. ten years, four wars let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me get it started tonight with this. the united states is now committed to an act of war against the government of syria. okay.