>> good-bye, voting rights. let's play "hardball \5 good evening, i'm chris matthews up in new york. me start with this. a happy day for reince priebus. today the united states supreme court lopped off the head of the voting rights acthat removed a key weapon used to stop states from suppressing african-americans and other voters they don't like showing up at the polls. what a joy this must be to the republican national headquarters where reince holds way and opens the door for far more voter suppression by republican dominated state legislatures. . in 2011, 41 states all but nine

engage fundamental some form of restriction. think what he'll be able to do now that the voting rights act isn't in their way. ryan hey goode and civil rights leader julian bond. mr. bond, i don't know what you make of it. but this seems to be a 5-4 decision by a republican dominated supreme court that didn't like the voting rights act period and got rid of its teeth and head and eyes. >> it's exactly that. this is justice roberts dream. he's been trying to do this since he was in the reagan justice department as a younger lawyer. and it's finally made his dream come true. he's been able to maneuver the supreme court so that they've gutted the voting rights act just as you said, made it impossible to block attempts to suppress black voting. this is a good deal for the republicans, it's an awful deal for the united states. >> richard, you're the expert on this. it seems to me if you can't have

a map that tells you which states have to get agreement on changing your voting rules, you don't have a weapon here. >> that's right, chris. thanks for having me on the show. today's decision is a disgraceful one. it's a significant departure from the supreme court's open precedent over four decades upholding the constitutionality of the voting rights act. it lays bear, it lays vulnerable millions of voters of color in those places previously covered by seconds 5 of the voting rights act. they're now open to a haute of attacks in those jurisdictions that over time have been most adaptive and most intense in forms of voter discrimination. for example, the supreme court issued its opinion this morning around 10:30. already today, there are news reports from the state of texas which are saying now that texas will implement its photo i.d. measure. texas's photo i.d. measure was blocked under section five of the act and regarded as one of the most discriminatory voting propose in the country at the

time. >> you know, i just want to get this in perspective. i couldn't have a better person here than julian bond. if you think about the way america has changed in, 1964, the all white delegation to the united states senate, texas, south carolina, georgia, lds, mississippi, virginia, they're all white guys. they all voted against the civil rights bill knowing that was good politics to deny the chance of a black person to walk into a restaurant, go to a men's room or ladies room in a gas station to vote against all those rights was in their political interests because to blacks were allowed to vote. this is what the voting rights act particularly changed in '65. talk about the history of how everything was changed because when the blacks were guaranteed the federal government was on their side in making sure they had a right to vote, everything changed. >> we owe all this to lyndon johnson who may have been condemned for the vietnam war, but in civil rights, he was number one. he had the skills and the ability to do it.

he helped pass the civil rights act and the voting rights act. he changed america. he made it into a different country. and in the years from then until now, we've lived under these laws that have protected people if they wanted to vote. now these protections just washed away in an instant by the roberts court. horrible horrible day for america. it's an awful awful day. it's going to take an enormous effort by a lot of people, black white of all races and colors, all political persuasions, everybody who believes in fair play to set this right again. >> by the way, there was everitt dirksen. it's hard to remember there were republicans like him in the '60s who voted for the voting rights act as leaders. let me ask you about in. the real world it takes 60 votes to get anything through the u.s. senate. some many states will the get hurt under a new voting rights map. so you just assume the states targeted by a new map aren't going to vote for it. think about that. figure out you've got to get 60 of the other remaining senators

to vote for some new map. i know people like to be optimistic. maybe eric hold ser optimistic. how can any reasonable person assume the way congress is set up today they're going to come up with a map of states where there's a need to have prairie view of any voter change? >> chris, i think here is where there's a silver lining in what is an otherwise disgraceful moment. and that is that congress i think has an opportunity to take what has happened to them and to this country to mr. bond's point more broadly personally. in 2006, the u.s. senate voted 98-0 in support of re-thor ryings the voting rights act. the u.s. house voted 390-33. overwhenningly there was bipartisan support for reauthorizing the voting rights ac. what the court did today was said there were 98 senators and 390 members of the house who did something irrational and struck what they did as unconstitutional. this is a moment for the united states congress to its heart.

to look inside and look at its mettle and spirit determine whether it's now willing to stand in the gap to bridge the gulf that the decision has created. >> do you believe in santa claus. >> i don't but i do believe that congress has an opportunity to receive today's ruling as a challenge and to respond to it. >> let me go back to julian and i'll be back to you in another minute. how do you get senators and congressmen, we have a republican house, archly conservative. how do you get that house and a senate that requires 60 votes particularly to target maybe another ten states to now designate afresh states that are guilty of voting rights suppression, therefore have to have the responsibility to get prairie view for any change in their law? how do you get that through this congress? i just don't think the squares with this congress, its willingness to tame these states. >> it doesn't seem that way. i've always believed the best thing could happen. i think if you appeal to

people's better natures, they will respond. now, often they don't. often they behave in the worst kind of way. i think you have to assume they'll do the right thing and you have to knock on their doors and ask them about it. you have to tell them you're going to turn out a lot of voters and make sure they don't get re-elected if they don't do this. put the fear of god and the electorate in them. i think there are enough american who's believe strongly about this who will get this done. >> what about the republican party today? i'm not talking historically. it's not always been bad in any sense. but right now, led by reince priebus and the fact we've got 41 says the now that have tried in the last electoral cycle right before the 2012 election all tried to change their laws to make it harder for blacks to vote. what makes you think that that same political crowd, that party led by priebus who i supports all this stuff, a party intent on voter suppression of minorities and young people, will change its mind and vote to

target new states for voting rights procedure? mr. bond? >> so you have to have them ask themselves, do we want to see a republican president elected in the next decade or so? do we want 20 years from now there to be a republican president of the united states? if we do, we've got to change our behavior. we've got to be attractive to black voters, attracted to hispanic voters. the way we're behaving now, we're not attractive to either one. in fact we're repulsive to both of this em. if we want to see a republican president, we've got to do something different. >> dozens and dozens of them from states like pennsylvania where they were trying to change the law and make it very hard. all kinds of documentation to show up at a voting booth or in florida, where bill clinton went after them when they said no more sunday voting knowing african-americans like to go from church to voting prior to the election day. also because you've got these very intensely crowded

african-american areas in big cities like philadelphia where the people, the voting lines are so long. 28 minutes to vote if you're an african-american. it takes so much longer people want these options. and now the state legislatures run by republicans say we don't want you to have these options because we don't want you to vote. >> i think this is where mr. bond's point is salient. the voter suppression tactics we saw proliferate in the last several years were wildly unpopular among the american populace. americans don't like when they will see that voter restrictions are proliferating and don't like when the democracy is being contracted. americans are fans of expanding their electorate, of expanding democracy. both parties the republican and the democratic party have a real challenge ahead of them in making themselves relevant to the american populace. the 2010 census told us by 2042,

america will be a majority minority nation. there's a opportunity for both parties to realize the way the burnl oni -- congress has to step in the gap that was opened by the supreme court. >> here's the problem with your optimism. you start here. you can't have a better turnout than you had for president obama in the last election. 2012. some people -- certainly the turnout was unbelievable. a lot of it was spurned by anger and what they saw as the effort of conservative white people to screw them out of voting. everybody be said we're going to show those people. harrisburg and tallahassee we can show up at the voting booths. how they can do more than they already did and look what's happened to them now. >> you seize on one aspect of the burgeoning electorate. latinos, asian-americans are new sources of political power just not coming into their own. look at texas, the growth of the

latino. >> i think that's a state that's going to go purple soon. >> there are meaningful opportunities. the reality is we're thinking about the 50th anniversary of the march on washington and how that was a watershed moment. and how that came on the heels history of exclusion in this country and followed by an opportunity to expand our democracy. we're looking at that again now. there's an opportunity for congress to step in the gap and for us to express outrage, as well. >> ryan, let's have lunch some day. thanks so much for your optimism. plaintiff julian bond, please come back. it's great to have your historic perspective and your great mind. coming up, the so-called irs can dal? dare we use that word nim? it may not have been one at all. now we learn just today the irs flagged terms like progressive and israel as well as tea party and patriot. there was no scandal, no effort to target conservatives. no political influence from the white house. and no nothing.

what do i want to know right now, why are we only finding out this now? why are the wheels of none going so slow? plus rush yaes president putin admitted today we all expected that edward snowden is still in a transit area of the moscow airport. here's the important lesson for that episode. when you're in trouble, your enemies pop up. who is popping up against us in russia, china, they're seizing their opportunity to make us look bad. why did president obama try to move the ball on global warming and climate change today? because cities like plooim about to turn into atlantis if we don't do something about this. they're only five feet in the air, got about three feet coming at them. there will be about two feet left of them in a couple decades. how do you punish people the anti-environmentalist people in the congress and business world? because it's going to hurt us later what they're doing now. this is "hardball," the pace for politics.

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it is election day up in mass ms. voters are going to the polls to pick their next u.s. senator, ed markey is the favorite against republican gabrielle gomez in the special election to replace john kerry. markey with a lead in the high single or low double digits. polls close 8:00 eastern. if you're in massachusetts, you still have time to vote. please go out and vote. we'll be right back. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. two words. double miles! this guy can act. wanna play dodge rock? oh, you guys! and with double miles you can actually use, you never miss the fun. beard growing contest and go! ♪ i win! what's in your wallet?

i win! for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/bayarea. evidence in order to prove guilt, you need it. evidence. when it comes to the white house and the irs's is controversial scrutiny of conservative of groups, republicans have been said to rely on a tactic of accuse then prove. take a look. >> their paid liar, their spokesperson picture behind, he's still making up things about what happens and calling this local rogue. this is a problem that was coordinated in all likelihood right out of washington headquarters. and we're getting to proving it.

>> of course, the enemies list out of the white house that irs was engaged in shutting down or trying to shut down the conservative political viewpoint across the country, an enemies list that rivals that of another president some time ago. >> a coordinated campaign to use the levers of government to target conservatives and stifle speech has been in full swing and in open view. for all of us to see for years. >> we're in the process of proving, blah, blah, blah nixon enemies list, all that nonsense. now the truth. representative i lieial cummings released transcripts that directly contradict all the accusations. an inspector general report provided no evidence of conspiracy either. new information from the new irs chief daniel werfel which only adds to the gop conspiracy argument. his report finds the inappropriate scrutiny was due to management and judgment

failures. he also found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing here. most critical, new documents made public by the democrats show that irs officials were also targeting liberal groups. in other words, they were going after patriot and tea party groups but also with groups with names like progressive or blue like in blue state or anti-republican. sam stein's the reporter from the "huffington post" and michael steele a former rnc chair. both msnbc contributors. sam, i thought of you as objective about this stuff. we don't know everything. what we know now it seems to me suggests that this wasn't just a tempest in a teapot but there was no tempest at all and no teapot. there was nothing. >> well, yes. like you i'm cautious because we've dealt with selective release of information. so i'm taking things as they're coming. the revelations yesterday were pretty ground breaking i thought. for the first time we saw documents internal irs documents

which listed progressive groups, groups that advocated for medical marijuana, other groups on the left, the political left who were also targeted on these be on the lookout list they put together. when they're applying for tax exempt status, irs officials wanted to categorize them and give them extra scrutiny so to speak and so they flagged them by their names. the whole conspiracy, the whole scandal we've been led to believe was ha people behind me had used the irs to go after political enemies. it would have been a stupid idea if you're also going after your political allies alongside of them. it seems like this punctured a hole in the scandal that was brewing around the irs. >> michael, what evidence is extant now that still exists now that there was a political scandal here? >> chris, i don't think there really has been any evidence of of that will confirms or affirms that idea that this was in fact,

a political scan zal orchestr e orchestrated out of the white house. it's one of the shortcomings of the issa hearings. he's gotten ahead of his evidence and facts in some of the comments that you played as a clip there. i like sam take a more cautious approach here. this evidence is coming out in dribs and drabs. we don't know the yet what is to be released. we still don't know exactly how deep or far all of this goes. tend to be more cautious about it. >> how deep? relative to what? what has gone on so far that would go deeper? >> by deep i mean is it something that is entrenched inside the irs community itself, or does it really go. >> what is the. "it" at this point? >> pardon me. >> what is the "it"? what is the nature of this controversy. >> whether or not the hands on this were isolated to just the irs and these employees. >> okay. but we don't have any evidence

of that type. as of this moment, no. >> because the investigation isn't over. we don't know yet. >> do we have any evidence to suggest that there was political hanky panky. >> as of yet, no. >> do we have any evidence to suggest that the irs is guilty of political bias? i would say you have more evidence of that than anything else. >> what is that evidence? >> i mean, the fact that you have reams of papers with names of conservative organizations targeted. >> and other reams of papers with liberal groups with names like progressive. >> that's not true. looking at those documents, you go back and look at the redacted documents, just a handful of liberal terms were used, number one. number two, where are the liberal groups that actually were targeted? are they outraged by it? we haven't heard anything from the left if these groups were on this list and so targeted, where are they will. >> is the word scandal appropriate? >> yeah, i think it is. i think it becomes a scandal by

virtue of the way the administration's handled it. >> i agree with you there. scandalously bad ol politics. you make your point and i got a question for you. >> i got to address michael's points. he says these rooems of paper don't mention progressive groups often. i went through all documents released by house democrats yesterday. progressives were mentioned on pre single one of them in addition to tea party groups. i don't think that's a valid point. michael mentioned progressive groups haven't been outraged. a group called progress group, a liberal group in texas was outraged and did receive extra scrutiny and complained about it. so i don't agree with his point there. we're more conservatives targeted? were more conservative groups targeted perhaps in this dragnet? yes, but that could be a function of the fact that more consecutive groups were applying for tax exempt statnous 2010 and 2011 in the wake of the citizens united decision. what from our reporting and from documents i've looked at, it

seems now the irs is putting together a categorizing system in which they can create buckets of groups that could get screened by the same agents, not something politically nefarious but so that every category would have the same screening process. that's not necessarily a scandal. >> by the way, in all fairness to the bureaucrats, and i'm not the anti-bureaucrat, trying to figure out whether some sort of 501 c4 group is playing too much politics somewhere below 50%, trying to figure that in terms of behavior is going to be very tough. one thing i want to agree with michael about. what do you think of the way the white house has handled this? >> i think it's been abysmal. they've created more noise around this issue than anything else that issa has done. >> is it free floating guilt as we catholics would say? why would they act like they're guilty if there's no evidence they are? >> i have no idea. it's a real puzzle for a shop

that's supposed to be so politically keen and astute, they have a certain tone deafness. >> i agree. >> why is that. >> i agree with all that. what's remarkable to me someone clearly knew that progressive groups were on these bolo lists since when this thing emerged. and they still never said anything. we could have had a different political conversation over the past month if someone had spoken up and said this. instead we've focused incessantly on the scandal and only now learning this information. >> i sound like such a political hack sometimes. i think they need a political operation at the white house that has somebody man or woman, whatever age in charge of making political judgments. the political judgment that had to be made here was either there's nothing there or if there is something there, get on top of it. but don't sit back and let this grow and blossom till it becomes a mushroom cloud. move. >> i say let us keep on doing what they're doing. >> just move. >> thank you, sam and thank you

michael steele. up next, which republican presidential hopeful is now head of a movie studio? you'll be surprised. this is "hardball," the place for politics. i'll just press this, and you'll save on both. ding! ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, llllet's get ready to bundlllllle... [ holding final syllable ]

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call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ now to the sideshow. the producers of that off beat ifc show portlandyia get a call out of the blue from the fbi. sounds bad, right in the not quite. fred arm misston and care-brand steen and stars were not the subject of an investigation. according to the hollywood reporter in, april an instructor at the fbi academy approached the producers requesting to use a clip from the show's sanitation twins clip and its advanced intelligence classes which focus on terrorism, espionage and other crime. here's a taste of the sketch.

>> now there's a bin for cardboard and newspaper, the blue bin. >> plastic and alum num. >> black. >> yellow. >> is that how you say it. >> yeller. >> what do you say? >> yes low. >> finger nays. >> and eggshells. cobalt. >> i feel bad using fingernails. >> i don't. they're gross. >> i know but we don't know. >> we know. >> can be worth something. >> like what? if we had einstein's fingernails i'm sure they would sell for a lot. >> it's yours right. >> yes. >> are you einstein? >> no. >> they're worthless. >> carrie brand steen says this falls under the surreal he category. he didn't tell us why he was interested. don't you think fred was the best obama? if you had to guess which of the faileds presidential candidates became ceo of a movie company? it's actually rick santorum just

accepted a gig as the head of the echolight studios a company with a goal of producing high quality means for families of faith. he's not making the big move to hollywood. it's based in dallas. according to santorum, dallas can become the hollywood of the faith and family movie market. the movie means he will no longer contribute to the far right world net daily website known for providing a platform for bizarre theories about president obama, not just the typical birther stuff but things like he's gay or that he tried to stabilize destabilize the kenyan government during a fact-finding trip in 2006. keeping the company you shouldn't keep. next, another blow for the westboro baptist church, the group united in the belief that god hates gays that goes to military funerals attempting to spread their message. back in march a group with the opposite message set up headquarters across the street from the church in kansas and

made the house into a visual statement of gay pride. there it is. well, the latest even though gay marriage is not legal in kansas, the equality house as its known went ahead with a same-sex marriage ceremony over the past weekend. as expected westboro protesters were on happened with signs to protest but the brides were unfazed. quote i knew the signs would be there and i wasn't angry about it. we were just so ecstatic to be getting married. local businesses pitched. in to help cover the cost of the ceremony and the reception. up next, the chase for edward snowden is teaching a lot about who our friends and allies are. so far, russia and china don't seem to be our buddies. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. la's known definitely for its traffic, congestion, for it's smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth.

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i'm hampton pearson with your cnbc mark wrap. the dow soared 100 points, the s&p 500 up 14, the nasdaq adding 27 points. housing on the recovery. home prices jumping 12.1% in april from a year ago. this as new home sales increased 29% from may of last year. americans are more optimistic, consumer confidence surging in june to its highest level in five years. barnes & noble, their shares plunging, 17%. after reporting a quarterly net loss of nearly $119 million. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball." >> welcome back to "hardball." the strange saga of edward snowden doesn't seem to be ending soon.

vladimir putin confirmed today the leaker was still inside the airport in moscow. putin said the russians wouldn't send him back to the u.s. as the white house has been demanding. " russian leader said he's free to go wherever he wants. yesterday a report he was going to cuba set up a frenzy among reporters only to find he wasn't on board. one thing we know when you're in trouble, your enemies pop up all over the place. right now the countries are russia and china. simon marks from feature storinous and a veteran correspondent over in moscow and jonathan capehart an opinion writer for "the washington post," a great columnist and msnbc contributor. simon, the general atmosphere, why is putin being an s.o.b. about this. >> i think essentially for putin this is all part of the 21st century equivalent of the great game, an opportunity to check american power and to demonstrate that america's power

globally is on the wane and that the power of countries like china and russia especially when they find common cause on an issue like the destiny of edward snowden has the ability to trip american presidents up regardless of party or philosophical outlook. >> jonathan, i don't think vladimir putin having looked at the cut of his jib over the decades or so, he doesn't look like he appreciates irony too much. the irony of a kgb guy looking out for civil and human rights of a guy flaunting authority is unbelievable. >> it's spectacular to watch. also, here you have edward snowden sort of like the tom hanks character from that movie. >> lost in the airport. >> the terminal. victor was the character's first name. he's in a transit space there in the russian airport? you mean to tell me as you said, an ex-kgb agent who is president of the country wouldn't want to find out what edward snowden knows? what he has?

and what information that might be useful to rush xwra. >> what do you think about that, simon? i don't thinking people lie directly but maybe they do in some parts of the world. would putinen directly say he did not interrogate the kgb and nobody's going after this guy for info, no requirements on giving up stuff. is that credible? >> we, i think he absolutely would lie about it. the russians have lied for the last 48 hours. it was just 24 hours ago they insisted they had no knowledge of his whereabouts. couldn't even confirm that he was in russia. now they, of course, argue he's not in russia because he's in that transitity lounge and hasn't crossed the russian border. i've been in that lounge. you wouldn't want to spend an hour there. look, it's far toodeelicious a prospect for the fsb, the successor organization of the kgb not to sit down and talk to edward snowden, not to have some curiosity about what's in those

four laptops he's apparently carrying. >> you know, i was thinking about this and what it says about, i grew up in the cold war, jonathan. i'm older than you. there were defectors on both side. if they departed from some acrobatic team, we were glad to have them. is this a fair representation of the other side where we don't put up berlin walls, we put up walls to keep immigrants from coming in. are they just enjoying the irony of one guy probably in history that's fled our country. >> i don't recall a time. >> since oswald. he came back. >> here's the thing about edward snowden that drives me crazy. he does this thing which we now know he joined booz allen for the sole purpose of stealing these documents. >> and took the oath of secrecy. >> exactly. so then but he wants to do this because he's standing on some

moral high ground that he wants to inform the american people what he's doing and the breadth and scope what the nsa is doing for national security and on our behalf. for intelligence. what does he do? he flees the united states, he goes to hong kong, china, he then goes to moscow on en route to havana en route to ecuador instead of coming to the united states. >> what was his goal? i always ask this about people like oswald. when you do something you know is going to cause you trouble legally and make you a felon, how do you not have a plan to deal with that? >> you know, i don't know. but daniel elseburg famous for the pentagon papers. >> he put his hands out >> he went to senators to try to get their help. he went to the press. he went into hiding but he went to cambridge but gave himself up at the courthouse. >> i love your attitude about

this. what is the word on this guy? he's become as i said last night, a where's waldo. i don't think there's a person in america who reads the paper and watches the news doesn't want to know where he ends up and if he escapes justice or not. >> we're all assuming he's going to try to get to ecuador. he's applied for asylum there. they've got julian assange holed up in the embassy. >> who wants to live the life an in quito? it may be great. >> one would have to argue that life in quito is probably more pleasant than one room in the ecuadoral embassy in london. the other option is iceland. let's not rule that out in all of this. he said consistently he wants to end up in a, quote unquote, democratic country. iceland would clearly far more fit that bill than other opposites. >> back home here, you've got people like rand paul that will decide whether they like the guy home question here, like the guy

based on where he ends up. if he ends up in iceland, they say okay, we can live with that. if he ends up in a commie country or dictatorship or left wing country like ecuador, no good. >> this goes to the distraction that edward snowden has now become. we started off talking about nsa and what it's doing and what it's not doing and how it's stretching the bounds of the patriot act. now we're discussing whether he's in havana or moscow and reporters jumping on flights he's not on. >> i do enjoy this pursuit. he told us stuff we are glad we know. that's one of the great ironies. in miage are, you can do something wrong, you cannot be a perfect vessel. he is not a perfect vessel. we know more about our intelligence gathering than we knew before he started talking. thank you, simon marks. you have my attitude towards of. and jonathan capehart as always. up next, president obama is trying to tackle climate change. today, he's notect "ing any help from the congress. he know the future of the planet

is at stake. he's got the right values. can he move on this? this is "hardball," the place for politics. what's the impact of obamacare? the truth is, americans are already seeing the benefits. she's seeing more seniors for free wellness visits. he received a $150 rebate from his health insurance company. and next year, she can expand her small business, thanks to tax credits that cover up to half of her workers' health insurance. better coverage and lower costs. that's what obamacare means for them. get all the facts at: barackobama.com/healthcare

mandela tells nbc news now when she went to see her grandfather this morning she told him about president obama's visit. she told him obama's coming and he opened his eyes and gave a

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of climbed change. knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science. but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms. >> today in a major policy speech, the president tried to deliver on that promise. >> the question now is whether we will have the courage to act before it's too late. and how we answer will have a profound impact on the world that we leave behind not just to you but to your children and to your grandchildren. as a president, as a father, and as an american, i'm here to say, we need to act. >> wow. well, the president promised a series of executive actions that won't require congressional an probable. the centerpiece is a directive to the environmental protection

agency, the epa to establish carbon emission new as well as at existing power plants. experts say that has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions since power plants account for over a third of all emissions in this country. republicans are already criticizing the president for focusing on the environment. for people who live in the fact based world doing something is not simple mr. i a political issue. the sea level could rise more than six feet by the end of this century sinking sea level cities like miami below water. that should be considered a crisis. don't you think? that's why the president is acting. harold fine mann is editorial director for the "huffington post." a couple points. this is a flee flowing conversation. this is so important, i don't want to nail down to certain questions and answers. but if this is true that carbon emissions are causing the sea level to rise and we're going to have miami turning into atlantis by our children's life times, it's frightening, it's real.

it's not bs, we used to call these guys and women, mostly guys pigs back in the '60s. people that didn't care about anything except their own wealth. that's all they cared about. pigs. how can you stand up in stand us or as a business person like romney and make fun of what is scientifically happening to our planet, and it's the only one we got? >> well, i think it's hard and wrong for those people to do that. i think the political problem that the president confronted today, which he didn't do before the 2012 election, by the way, was what to do about existing coal-fired power plants. >> yes. >> and that's the heart of the heart of the country. we're talking about ohio, illinois, kentucky, west virginia, pennsylvania, the industrial heartland of america, which still very much relies both for power and light and industry on coal. now, the supreme court said in

2009 that carbon dioxide should be and could be regulated as a pollutant. in other words, as early as the beginning of his first administration, this president could have moved administratively, aggressively to clamp down on existing power plants, many of which are belching huge amounts of the carbon dioxide that results in the warming of temperatures that you're talking about. he didn't do it then. but he did do it today. or at least he initiated the process today, which he didn't want to do, frankly, because ohio voted in 2012. >> let's take a look at mitt romney. i don't want to call anybody a pig. but generically, he fits the category. here is mitt romney mocking president obama in his convention speech last year. what a hoot it got from the babbitts who were in the audience. let's take a look. >> president obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans. and to heal the planet.

my promise is to help you and your family. >> there is so much in that, joan. >> yeah. >> there is so much awfulness in that. making money in business is the size that god loves you. anything you do to make money in business is good. anybody who questions that and thinks you may be hurting god's environment he gave us is wrong, and you can laugh at them. >> and remember how ridiculous that sounded, chris, after super storm sandy after the oceans did rise and people lost their lives and their homes and people wanted help for their families. obama got the last laugh. howard is right. he did wait on some of this stuff to the second term. but that's appropriate. >> who are his enemies? is it always kentucky on coal? is it west virginia? >> you know, joe manchin's not happy today. but joe manchin is not going to be happy. the president is not going to worry about west virginia. that's for sure. >> so the democrats can kiss west virginia goodbye. >> they already did. >> and kentucky for a while. they won ohio. a lot of these threats were made about his existing policies in ohio and pennsylvania, and he won anyway.

this is necessary. he is putting together a new politics around climate change. he is doing it without congress. the house passed great climate change cap and trade legislation in the first term and couldn't get it through the senate. so people were moving on this. now there is absolute obstruction. he is doing the right thing. >> well, a lot of wealthy people live near the shore, as we know in florida especially. let's take a look at how climate change can be important today, not years from now. look at miami. rolling stone magazine reported this week that the unavoidable truth is that sea levels are rising, and miami is on its way to becoming an american atlantis. it may be another century before the city is completely underwater, although some more pessimistic scientists predict it could be much sooner. life in the vibrant metropolis, life in miami is doomed says harold wanless. that's down there at miami they're saying. it's not a question of if, it's a question of when. when you take a look at this,

they tell me in this article that something like two-thirds of the land of miami which we know is a fabulously dynamic city in this hemisphere is within five feet of sea level. it doesn't make much for the sea to rise three or four feet and remove most of miami. it's not something weird and way off. negative, it's not. it's miami in certain ways is the venice of the east coast of the united states. and just as treasured or it should be just as treasured. i think the strongest part of the president's speech was his statement that as a can do american country, we have time and again said that we do not have to sacrifice our way of life and our environment for economic progress. american ingenuity has raised, is raising mileage standards on cars. it is -- did institute reforms in industry in the 19th and early 20th century. the whole progressive movement was about that. the whole optimism and can-do

yankee spirit of america needs to be engaged in this problem. and if we just get our minds around that, if we see enthusiastically what a great, creative, and by the way job-producing challenge this is, it's a win-win for everybody. and there is always going to be people in old industries and backward industries who are saying it's going to cost jobs. in the short-term, yes. but the very capitalist theory that his republican opponents are using is one that actually supports the president's point of view. >> it's called the muffler. the muffler! it ain't so complicated. it works. anyway, i get an emissions check every year as you do on your car. thank you, howard fineman, and thank you joan walsh. we'll be right back.

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let me finish tonight with this. the trouble with democracy is that it rewards and punishes only in the short-run. think of all those in the business world and in the congress who joyously vote against carbon emissions. the results of their society won't be felt in the political stretch of their careers. think of all the environmentalests who will get no credit from voting their concern for climate change. take the example of miami. it's a great city, perhaps slated to be greatest city of the western hemisphere. but for one problem, mostly flat. when the ocean rises just three feet, much of the city will fall below sea level. over time, it will become an

underwater city, a lost city, an atlantis. when that day comes, most probably in this century people will look back at those on the piggy side today, those who laugh at climate change and say they were the ones who did this. that's "hardball" for now. our thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. a dramatic day in the george zimmerman murder trial. for the first time, the jury sees graphic photos from the crime scene. and hears about the moments after police arrive on the scene. we'll bring you all today's news on the trial. but we start with the other big legal story of the day, the supreme court's 5-4 decision to gut a key part of the voting rights act. one of the signature achievements of the civil rights era. the conservative majority ruled that congress has