>> how about a grand bargain for middle class jobs. >> when he does come to the hill, it's basically just another internal campaign rally. >> 40 meaningless votes to repeal obama care. >> if i have poll numbers as low as his, i'd probably be out doing the same thing. >> we're lacking action. >> do you believe there is going to be a civil war within the republican party? >> well, it's not exactly a game of crow kay. >> you're probably not going to get president obama to sign a bill that repeals obama care. >> congress should defund it. >> it is he who wants to shut down the government. >> do you think the republicans have the courage to do that? >> frankly, probably not. >> i don't look at that as very courageous. >> suicidal political tactic. >> they ought to clean themselves up and drink wine and have a jolly time ♪ just a little something to break the monotony. >> it is the last day of july

and throughout the capitol, fingers are drumming on decks impatiently waiting for the kickoff of a five-week fun in the sun hot summer recess. but first, both parties are strategizing about how to push their agenda forward. or in the case of republicans, devising how to grind government to a complete halt. for the president, it was a rare visit to capitol hill meeting with democrats in the house and senate and he condensed his message down to just four concise words. >> what's the message you're bringing to the hill today? >> jobs, middle class growth. >> that's great because republicans have actually got their agenda down to just one word, no. as such, republican congressional leaders spent the day scratching their heads over why on earth the president would go to the capitol to meet with members of his own party. >> it's almost like there's a gone campaigning sign outside

the oval office. a gone campaigning sign outside the oval office. and on the rarest of occasions when he does come to the hill as he will today, you fied out it's basically just another internal campaign rally with democrats. >> a political party uniting around a shared agenda? how ridiculous. even more perplexing, the president's been taking his message to the people with a series of speeches on his economic agenda. and an already sun tanned speaker boehner is still trying to wrap his head around that one. >> i'm not going to speak for what the president is doing or why he's doing it. if i had poll numbers as low as his, i'd probably be out doing the same thing if i were him. if i were him. >> that glint in boehner's eye aimed at a reporter who reminded the speaker that his poll numbers are in fact, much lower

than the president's. 30 points lower in our latest survey but no matter. i'm sure his poll numbers will soar with his strong leadership on the effort to defund the affordable care act just as soon as he figures out exactly how to do that. >> i don't know whether there's a technical way to get at this or not. but we've made no decisions about how we're going to proceed. >> the speaker there referring to a rush by some republicans to rally their constituents with opposition to the health care law. senator ted cruz looked forward to the tsunami of anti-obama care sentiment that will greet lawmakers when they go home. >> and if in the next 62 days we see what i believe we're going to see which is the american people rising up en masse, unhad dreads of thousands, millions of americans standing up saying, it didn't working. it's hurting our jobs, our economy, our health care, making our lives worse, stand up and

defund it. >> senator cruz seems to have forgotten the wave of citizens who rose up en masse and re-elected the president there be affirming his signature legislation last november. for more now i'm delighted to say we're joined by pulitzer price winning columnist eugene robinson of the "washington post." we're counting down to a healthy five weeking congressional recess. so much for jobs, immigration reform. instead we're anticipating a 40th vote to try and take down the affordable care act. ted cruz says they'd better do it quickly before people get addicted to the benefits. it wouldable funny if it wasn't so serious. isn't that right? >> it would be funny. and actually, sometimes it is kind of funny, martin. you know, at least they'll go out on a round number, 40 votes tote.4useless votes, 40 pointless votes to defund obama care which is never going to happen. so you can either look at this as clinical insanity, doing the

same thing over and over again and expecting different results or you can look at it as a way of republicans rallying the conservative base at home with by chasing rainbows, by looking for unicorns, by searching for something that simply is not going to happen. if it got through the senate, president obama would veto it. you know, full stop. >> but eugene, the president has tried everything. a round of golf. a jobs act. lunch. dinner, breakfast. movie night at the white house. now he's even proposed a corporate tax cut. is this not the clearest sign yet that house republicans have been infected with this virus of rejectionism and the only treatment is likely to be their removal from the house as a majority? >> i think actually that's the very case president obama issal beginning to make. and i think he's setting it up like a prosecutor laying the foundation for his closing

argument. so with these economic speeches, he's pointing out that republicans are you know, are not doing anything and refuse to do anything, refuse even to endorse their old ideas, corporate tax reform is something about wilrepublicans said for years, we've got to do it, we've got to do it, and now, that president obama proposes it, be they say, oh, there's no way we're going to do this. just get it out of here. and that's -- that is absurd and that absurdity is one of several, one of many that the president will try to drive home with the public over the next weeks. >> mr. ted cruz was joined in his effort by senators marco rubio and mike lee who was forced to hear a litany of intraparty criticism from fox news earlier today. take a listen to this eugene. >> i've heard words like silly, dumb and dishonest. orrin hatch called it a fekless

proposition. senator bob corker, i think it's a silly effort what would you say to your colleagues? >> those kinds of statements are not helpful. >> he's right about that. that's understatement of the year. it's not helpful. but do these senators, eugene, seriously believe if they shut down the government to prevent funding the affordable care act that it's the president who will be blamed for that? >> right. and if they believe that on what evidence? look, history problems that when republicans shut down the government, they lose. they get blamed for it, and people don't like it. people think it's silly and dumb and all the other things that fox anchor said to senator lee. but you know, so are they determined to march off this cliff? nay, to run off this cliff or are they indeed just posturing for the folks back home? it's hard to tell, frankly, with some of them. i think the more intelligent are posturing and some may want to

just take the plunge. >> what kind of reception are they going to receive when they meet their constituents who are working damn hard to make something of their lives and they see these absurd elected figures who have done absolutely nothing for the most of this year? >> well, it's a good question. i mean, the best they can hope for is head scratching. remember that congressional an probable ratings are now beginning to flirt with negative numbers. they can hardly get lower. and i suppose there's going to be that hard-core of small government or no government conservatives back home in their districts who will cheer them on and say absolutely this is the right thing to do, even though it will come to nothing. but i've got to think that moderates and independents will, again, at best be scrapping their heads and at worst be giving them an earful one hopes they get an earful about like, what are you guys -- why did we

send you there? you know, we wanted you to do the people's business. not to sit there and do nothing and try to undo the business that's already been done. >> just a final question, eugene. we've heard this congress described as dysfunctional. we've heard it as described as do nothing. quite seriously, isn't this destructive? isn't it destroying the fabric of this nation's governance? >> i suppose it is if you look at it that way. i mean, it's a kind of anti-hippocratic oath, right? the hippocratic oath first do no harm. they seem determined to do harm. look at john boehner's quote of a week or two ago. don't judge us by the laws we passed, judge us by the laws we repeal. i mean, which is just an astounding thing for a speaker to say. they're not even repealing laws. they're not passing laws, not repealing laws, just making a lot of hot air. >> eugene robinson, thank you so

much for joining us this afternoon. >> great to be here. >> coming up, summertime. and the many senior skip days of speaker john boehner. >> halfway through 2013, just 15 bills passed by congress had become law. they almost passed a 16th bill but obama refused to sign hr-2904, the this is not another repeal of obama care we swear but don't look inside it just sign it act. >> we're not just over here making noise. the house republicans are copy continuing to take action. being sixteen, alex thinks he's invincible. his dad knows he's not. that's why dad got allstate accident forgiveness. it starts the day you sign up. [ female announcer ] with accident forgiveness from allstate,

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the days before any much needed vacation are always hectic, just ask any family in america. and congress has only two days left to get so much important work done. there's the bill based on the irs controversy. then there's the other bill based on the irs controversy. then there's the other other bill that's based on the irs controversy. and then there's got to be at least one irs bill that ties into the affordable care act. and because those bills are so critically important to the functioning of this nation, house leaders this afternoon were forced to temporarily abandon efforts to fund two cabinet level departments. those departments transportation and housing and urban development. more commonly known at thud. the house is ending its summer session this friday, neither with a bang nor a whicher but a simple thud and a very raucous

one at that. >> i've watched for 2 1/2 years. it's not enough to win. you've got to make the other side look really, really bad. >> sorry folks, you're not allowed to support the constitution. only when you like the results. >> joining us now are two members of the esteemed house, democrat peter welsh of vermont and chris gibson of new york. welcome to you both. both of you have found a way to bypass this partisan acrimonious and work together on syria. if i might begin with you mr. gibson, how did this happen and what are you proposing? >> well, first of all, peter and i have been working together for as long as i've been in the house shortly after the storm, hurricanes irene and lee. both of our districts were devastated by those storms. we took up the mantle of leadership as coshares in the house of the recovery task force and insured we got the appropriations. we learned we have a lot in

common. we're both point guards as a much younger day. >> would you like us to record what you just said and send it to speaker boehner as an example of how he might lead his caucus? >> well, look, i would hope that we're examples for all because even beyond that storm, we've worked together tore veterans, for farming. we're co-leaders in the no labels group. and today as you point out, we're here today to talk about something we think is very serious and very important. that is to say no to war with syria. if another corrupt was going to arm a rebel group with the express purpose of attacking our country, we would view that as an act of war. and our founders made it clear that on issues of war and peace, that the people's representatives were to be on record to vote as to whether or not we were going to proceed in such a manner. peter and i are here today we're circulating a letter, a bipartisan letter asking the administration before they take any action to arm rebels that

they would first come to this body for express authorization. >> congressman welsh, that is a strong solid and sensible thing to do in relation to syria. why on earth is it possible for you to work with republicans on foreign policy issues and yet, cannot do a thing about immigration, about the budget, about the debt ceiling, about guns, i could go on and on and on. why a failure on domestic issues and yet, you two get together and resolve an issue in release to a foreign country? >> i think what we both understand is that it's true america voted for divided government but didn't vote for dysfunctional government. there's a lot of rank and file dissatisfaction and frustration that we're not getting anything done. and we can point the finger back and forth but what a number of us are trying to do is find out, all right, we agree on syria. we agree on emergency aid in

irene. we agree on energy efficiency. there's a number of folks both sides of the aisle working on that. define the bill around the area where we agree in a substantive and push that and actually make a pledge mot to put on the partisan amendments that apiece our base but get nowhere for us. but there's a lot of rank and file frustration about the stall speed that congress is in. >> i have to say, congressman, that is the understatement of the decade. frustration, the nation has your body at its lowest approval rating for a very long time. congressman gibson, what do you plan to tell your constituents, for example, about where we are in relation to food stamps? or where we are in relation to comprehensive immigration reform? or where we are in relation to gun safety? after all, 90% of the nation would like universal background checks. what are you going to say to your constituents, sir? >> i will tell you this.

i'm on the agricultural committee. i believe we're going to get a farm bill done by 30 september. the staff is working now between the senate and the house to reconcile differences. i don't think we're that far apart. i do believe we will get a comprehensive farm bill. it will include a nutritious title in the end. it will be something that i think will enjoy bipartisan support. let me also say i think we're going to pass this week important legislation to ensure that our students don't have their student loan rates double. and i believe the president will sign it. so look, as you point out, there's so much more we need to be doing, but in can the fa, we are trying to find ways, peter and others to be functional, to do our responsibilities here in the congress. >> congressman welsh, considering the lack of action on passable bills, this feels more like six weeks of vacation and you know, i would agree with you that vermont is a wonderful place to have a holiday. what's your analysis? >> well, it is.

you know, we have a low regard by the american people and we've earned it. that's the truth. what i'm saying to you is that those of us who are in congress, the one thing we have is an opportunity to try to make the institution function. it's really quite amazing to employee because this changed from when i got here. i thought i would be focused on getting it right on an issue. we've got to the make incremental steps and make this institution work. there's this ideological divide in this willingness on the part i'd say at the leadership level to batten down the hatchs and fight, fight, fight on issues where we're not going to agree like obama care. there's a real divide there. that's fair and squire. but when it comes to passing a transportation bill, making progress on student loans, areas where we actually acknowledge some common agreement, why can't we make progress there? i think what you're seeing it's not just chris and me but a lot of members who would feel better at the end of the day if we actually had something to show for our efforts rather than the

back and forth bickering >> you know, we're not going to tire. look, we may be disappointed, but we're not discouraged. we'll continue to find ways to work together. and you know, from my time in iraq, leading troopers in iraq, i can tell you we were always trying to find a way 0 bring the iraqis together in northern iraq where i served, we had sunni, shiia, kurds, turk men, christian jews, all in one province. we had he that response. we had to bring them together. in america, we have so much moral in common than part. we've got to keep working for the people. >> congressman chris gibson, sometimes it feels liking this place is worse than iraq. thank you so much, jmt. coming up, anthony weiner slows the roll? never. >> i know that there are newspaper editors and other politicians that say boy, i wish that guy wiener would quit. he had don't know the new york. they certainly don't know me.

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more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, this abbey vanity combo is a special buy. just $299. i know that there are newspaper editors and other politicians that say, boy, i wish that guy weiner would quit. they don't know new york. they certainly don't know me. quit isn't the way we roll in new york city. >> don't know you? actually, mr. danger, if anything, we know a little too much. >> he had a lot of fantasies as far as like he loved me in heels, loved pictures of me in heels and he was really into talking about shower sex. >> and as for how you like to roll, perhaps you should spend a little more time on ow your campaign rolls. your manager has resigned and now your communications director is apologizing for ma lining a former intern with a catalog of

curses and expletives which included referring to her as -- i can't say that on television. and then there are your public appearances which have devolved into this. >> i don't quit. new yorkers don't quit. i'm not going to go into the corner and curl up because someone found something embarrassing about me. you know who i decided to vote for? thooen wiener. >> you and 16% of likely voters. more on weiner just ahead. coming up, some say it makes everything taste better, even republican politics. we dive into the bacon battle featuring chris christie and rand paul in today's top lines" that's just ahead. >> say, i smell bacon. does anyone else smell bacon. >> yeah, i definitely smell a pork product of some type. i'm here at my house on thanksgiving day,

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gimme gimme gimme. >> i was asked a question. >> funny how? like i'm a clown. >> gimme gimme all the money you have. >> i find it interesting that senator paul is accusing us of having a gimme gimme at that timitude. >> waging a war of words. >> new jersey is a donor state. we get 61 cents back on every dollar we send to washington. >> the attitude. >> kentucky gets $1.51 on every dollar they send to washington. >> we have two military bases in kentucky. >> maybe he should start cutting the pork barrel intending that he brings home to kentucky. >> maybe senator paul could deal with that, but i doubt he would because most washington politicians only care about bringing home the bacon. >> the king of bacon talking about bacon. >> the sausage king of chicago. >> he's making a big mistake.

>> smooth snotty. >> chrissiest and paul -- what's wrong with him. >> because america is shrinking. >> calls and tells republicans i'm the one trying to grow the party. >> they're getting smarter and smarter. >> they are. >> attacking me isn't helping the party. >> gimme. >> how log wash. >> i don't think the bill of rights is esoteric. >> we disagree. >> he's on the wrong side of history here. >> he has something personal against me but that's okay. just get in line on that front. >> the old steal covered let's go bomb everybody into oblivion -- >> that kind of attitude in the republican party i think is actually shrinking >> we've had enough bushes. >> this is one thing i don't think you can blame president obama for. >> my grandma in dalton georgia, georgia, said this. >> this might not be president obama's fault. >> never get in a fight with a pig. >> oh. >> because you both get dirty

and the pig likes it. >> let's get right to our panel. joining us now is krystle ball, co-host of the cycle here on msnbc. we're delighted she's back with us after her pa interpret lead and jonathan capehart an opinion writer for the "washington post." john, this beef between rand paul and chris christie really got me thinking about some other famous rivalries. you can go all the way back to the very beginnings of the country. you'll find thomas jefferson versus alexander hamilton, more recently drake versus chris brown. i suppose honorable mention should be made of tom and jerry. if we use those rivalries as a guidepost, where do you think rand paul versus chris christie comes? >> know, i'm not quite sure. but in terms of -- but i think in terms of come meedic value it ranks way up there just 0 watch tease twos try to slug it out.

rand paul he's a very brave man if he's going to go up against christie. as someone who has gone toe to toe in a fight with chris christie, it's not easy. it's one that senator paul's going to lose. >> well, there are actually krystle some important issues here. as governor christie just pointed out, new jersey gets 61 cents for every dollar it gives and mr. powell in kentucky getting $1.51. so on that point, chris christie is right. it's rand paul that's the gimme. >> this is a point missed in our national dialogue all the time. if you look at the top states that are the gimme gimme states from the government, they are almost all red conservative states that claim to want government off their backs and everybody on their own. >> on that point, crystal, i think we've got the a graphic which shows the top tin states which get more money than they

put in. guess what, eight out of ten voted for mitt romney in the last election. >> virginia and new mexico are still purple states in terms of the political economics. this is a hypocrisy that exists in our national debate. one other thing that i want to know is when jonathan capehart went toe to toe with chris christie, he did not lose. capehart definitely got the better of him. >> thanks. >> jonathan is a sharpshooter. he's small but quick with his hands. jonathan, have a column out today about mr. carlos danger, new york city mayoral candidate. danger's latest video, you write this, quit doesn't exist in the big apple dictionary but chutzpah does. weiner's message is the vet definition of the word famously butchered by michele bachmann. so here's a question, john. do we have to suffer this right the way through till september

10th? >>. >> the judging by that video, probably so. i mean, one thing as michele bachmann butchered it by saying chuz pa and weiner has the chuz pa to stay in this race, he is defiant, two sitting on a stack of money and every time he opens his mouth he gets even more free media. people talking about his campaign gives him another opportunity to talk about what he wants to do as mayor even though his congressional record is even less than paper thin be. >> but isn't that a problem for him? because the more he talks, his polling rating actually declines? >> that's true, but i think the way he's looking at it is number one, he has a tremendous ego and can't get out of the race because then people would stop talking about him. number two, if he leaves the race now, he is leaving in disgrace and period, end of story, that's it for him. he's hoping that over the course of this, people will get tired. the drip, drip drip of

revelations will end and at some point people will pay attention to whatever it is he's talking about. his resume is so paper thin. he brings so little to the table that there's very little else to focus on. so i don't think that even staying in the ray he's going to be able to better his position from here. >> john, when do we actually get down to discussing the pertinent issues that affect a major city like new york? a city that has suffered as a result of the recession. there are all kinds of issues in relation to education in the city. conflicts with unions. the transportation system, the condition of the roads. all i ever hear about is tone weiner's penis. >> yes. but martin, i can't believe -- >> well, i mean -- what have you heard about over the last 24 hours apart from anthony weiner's penis? >> anthony weiner's website,

keys to the city, has his 60 something point plan for what he wants to do for the city of new york. from education to transportation to criminal justice issues, then is trying to use the celebrity and notoriety and infamily of what he's done and seems to continue to do as pivot points to talk about exactly what he wants to do for the city. every time someone gets in his face what he's done with pictures of his well, with his rather explicit -- i'm not going to say that on the grounds of the white house. but his rather explicit pictures he uses it as an opportunity to be belligerent on behalf of new yorkers and the mills class of new yorkers who he will tell you who he's fighting for. >> he's painting himself as a victim of the media. we should be feeling sorry for him. he's taking it to the media. he's done this to himself. he knew this information was out there. he knew there was more that

could come to the table. at this point, he is an utter distraction in the mayoral race. >> he spent $45,000. >> campaign dollars. >> to investigate himself knowing he had done this. >> that's where it crosses the line from just something someone does in their private lives to really impacting the kind of public bent they are. those were campaign dollars that he spent. he has broken the public trust and it cannot be restored. >> krystle ball and laughing jonathan capehart. thank you both so much. coming up, a show of bipartisanship may be exactly that when it comes to race and politics. but first we'll give david letter mann the final word for today on the life and times of mr. carlos danger. >> 9:00 a.m., arrive at work. 9:01:00 a.m., go home. thanks for watching a day in the life of a new york post headline writer.

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simple banner was hung from a third story window in harlem. it read "march on washington for jobs and freedom, august 28th." >> speaker boehner, thank you, thank you for bringing us together for this congressional bipartisan observe ser advance of the 50-year anniversary of the march on washington. >> that was moments ago at the congressional ceremony to mark 50 years since that historic march on washington. although it's still about a month till the actual anniversary itself. yes, it's always encouraging to see a bipartisan celebration of the great men and women who fought to extend civil rights to

millions across the nation but it's worth remembering that the march on washington in 1963 was for jobs and freedom. and at a time when unemployment remains at 7.6% and 13.7% for african-americans, there's a great deal of work to be done. while speaker john boehner got a nice photo op with john lewis, perhaps a more meaningful move would be to pass legislation on behalf of minorities in this corrupt. and a good place to start is in texas where in the wake of the supreme court striking down section 4 of the voting rights ac, legislators acted quickly to put into effect a new voter i.d. law. for more on this, i'm delighted to be joined by eddie berniece johnson, a democrat from the texas. good afternoon, ma'am. it's not quite the industry as you know of that historic event. but speaker boehner wanted to make sure he was part of the celebration before congress goes on recess. am i being a bit too cynical here, or is there something a

bit odd about this speaker attending this event when many of his own party's policies work against the vet people that the civil rights movement was trying to help? >> well, first, let me thank you for having me on the program today and simply say that it's almost like it's a new beginning because we, of course, needed the speaker to be there to probably feel some of the feelings that all of us felt, especially those of us who were quite aware of that march at that time. i was a young married woman with an infant son. and remember watching it on black and white television. but my heart and spirit was there as it was today listening to john lewis and thinking about my native state of texas and how there is a new push to push us away from the polls instead of

working on us about the vote. >> that's what i was going to come to because the supreme court's decision on the voting rights act immediately following that, texas attorney general greg abbott said that a 2011 voter i.d. law won that had been struck down by a washington court for placing severe burdens on poor and racial minorities, would immediately go into effect. >> yes, within an hour or two after the ruling was announced. it was almost like gotcha. you know, we're going to keep you from voting. and actually, when this bill was passed into law last year around june, i started to work with people then to get the information out. knowing full well that if the leadership we had at that time continued to be leadership at this time which it is, we could look forward to them trying to enforce as much of it as they possibly could. we've never objected to having

identification to register to vote and to vote. we've never. but the kind of burdensome problems that they're making makes it a lot more difficult. >> yeah. >> so it's obviously an intent to it. >> yes, absolutely. congresswoman, spoke yesterday at the house hearing on race and justice in america. i'd like our viewers to hear a little of what you said. >> when we talk about the civil rights movement, i think it's just beginning. it seems to me that we've made strides, but we've made strides to the point where somebody else noticed we were making them and now we've got to stop them. >> what did you mean by that, ma'am? is. >> well, like voting. you know, the one thing that we've learned that they forgotten we know and that's how to read. years ago, they could pull a lot of games on us but now we can read the rules and we know how to follow them. we also know when they're unfair because we also know how to

think. we have more people educated, more people interested in voting and we also know who we want to vote for. you know, they have cracked and packed different districts to keep our votes from counting but we do a study every year who votes which way. and we want the people that will listen to us and that represent us to be available so they can win some of the seats. >> representative eddie berniece johnson, thank you so much, ma'am. >> thank you very much. >> coming up, presumed guilty. is this new normal? a primer on the american criminal justice system just when we come back. stay with us. sara wants to save on lunch. what if switching from fast-food could save you over $470.00 bucks a year. that would be awesome! let me show you something. ok. walmart has a bunch of tasty lunches. i see. ok this one is less than $1.50 per serving. i like that. yeah.

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today, this network launchings a new series called "presumed guilty." which will confront the two the different experiences minorities and white americans encounter in

this nation's criminal justice system. here's just a sample from the first episode on racial profiling. >> consider new york's stop and frisk program. last year, the nypd conducted 532,000 searches. the targets were far from random. about 85% were racial minorities. almost double their share of the city's population. hundreds of thousands of black and latino new yorkers were presumed suspicious, stopped, questioned and searched. the vast majority at the time that presumption was wrong. 9% were innocent. defenders of the policy including michael bloomberg, mayor, however, say that it works. >> there's no denying that it's helped to take guns off the street and saved lives. >> i think we kind of dismiss it as some innocuous action by a police agency and that good citizens will appreciate the attempt at enforcement. but in fact, it is a high level of disrespect. >> and joining us now is my

colleague ari melber from the "cycle" who is helming this project. tell us about this racial profiling episode and also the gentleman we just saw at the end of that clip. >> that gentleman is marquez claxton who worked for 20 years as a detective. he grew up in brooklyn. new york city. he talks about being on the street and stopped and fricked as an innocent person who was black and as the data shows overwhelming majority of people stopped and fricked are not only independent but also minorities. after 20 years on the force, now he's retired and able to speak out. he's one of the people i talked to who said this kind of profiling which so many people say are bad is happening and needs to stop. >> on the principal of racial profiling, you heard mayor michael bloomberg claiming it's a very effective deterrent against crime. >> i think that that is what you hear from a lot of leaders. >> is that empirically true? >> i think there's a big debate. it's not as true as they claim because what we see is a lot of

mark crow factors that show crime is down in many big cities. there are cities using this program saying look, crime is down but others are not. there's also the question of whether this violates the constitution, a federal court is considering that and whether as a country we want to be doing this, john conyers the top democrat on the house judiciary committee introduced legislation just yesterday saying we should ban this practice which is something george w. bush said in his 2001 state of the union. >> were you attracted to this as an issue and reporting in this series because you feel as a lawyer, yourself, that we're not paying sufficient attention to the undergirding of the law and how it's practiced? we've had this role about racial profiling in a court about an individual young man who was nedlessly shot. what about the law? >> mentioned that the experience, i remember when i was working in the public defenderer's office in manhattan walking into the morning arraign thes. it smells like piss.

it's dark and just a mass cell. what you see, those are the people indigent defenders people who have no money for defense. that's why i was helping other lawyers defend them is almost all african-american and minorities. and then when you hear the charges, loitering, drugs, public alcohol use and you look at the master, the larger master sticks that show in some cases in the element of pot, much more use by whites than african-americans, four times the punishment for african-americans and you think this is a story we have to tell. the trayvon martin george zimmerman was one story. it got the rez 0 respond. there's other stories we very to tell. >> we're delighted you're covering it. find out much more at ari's blog, tv.msnbc.com. we'll be right back in a moment. did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age?

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it's time now to clear the air. and from the very moment that this president decided to tackle the country's inadequate system of health care, republicans have responded with bucket loads of deceit and his honesty. it began early with that paragon of stupidity the imbell see lick sarah palin suggesting that the act would produce death panels which could ultimately decide upon a patient's treatment. of course, this was utterly untrue. but this deliberate campaign of lies and smears has continued virtually every day since, sul minnating in this latest ad by americans for prosperity funded in large part from the wealth of charles and david koch. >> if we can't pick our own doctor, how do i know my family's going to get the care we need? >> there's nothing in the law that prevents you from selecting your own physician. but again, this hasn't stopped

republicans from pedaling another nasty untruth. and the third falsehood concerns their latest ridiculous claim that the affordable care act is now responsible for a rise in part-time workers for the month of june. but republicans know that it's the sequester that they love so much which is much more to blame for forcing workers into furlough, thus producing more part-time employees. it's got much less to do with the affordable care act. but that won't stop senator ted cruz. >> if there is ever a time to defeat obama care, it is now. moreover, we have, i believe, the best opportunity we will have and possibly the last good opportunity we have to defund obama care with the continuing resolution. >> so there you have it. three lies and a government shutdown. the republican approach to health care in america. thanks so much for watching

this wednesday afternoon. chris matthews and "hardball" is next. able. >> weiner snitzal. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start this story mazes me. i've worked in politics for a long time, and that said, i've never stuff like this that's coming out just tonight and i think in politics, left right and crazy and never heard stuff like this coming out of the weiner operation. it is unbelievable. we'll try to explain the lingo coming out of the campaign as it crashes and falls apparently. what people are talking about, the language they're using, i've heard bad language. this is just lightning years ahead of it. the american politics does have a measure of true nobility. we all know that, certainly at times. you have to judge tonight for yourself when you think of thi