what you are looking for. newspapers not only tell you what is new and what you know about, but also what is new on what you should know about. they alert you, tickle you, taunt you, until you have caught up and know what the story is. the sale of "the washington post" is a tricky matter for the single region that it is an original source of knowing what you and i should know about. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, hey, republicans, let's get ready to crumble! the gop is going to cave when it comes to health care. it's not a matter of if, just when. need an example? today president obama visited arizona. and just look who went to the airport to greet him, republican governor jan brewer. look, she is all smiles. gee, isn't that a big change

from her last airport pickup. last year, governor brewer was waving her finger in the president's face. she was defiant. back then, she was one of the health care law's strongest critics. that was then. this is now. just listen to her sing the praises of the law just last month. >> in a few minutes, i will sign into law legislation that extends cost-effective health care to hundreds of thousands of arizona's working poor, our friends and our neighbors in need. this legislation will protect arizona's hospitals. it will create thousands of jobs, and it will save lives. >> you heard the governor. it will save lives. it will create jobs. eight other republican governors agree. they want the president's health

care lawfully implemented in their states. the law is here to stay. but that hasn't stopped the far right from threatening to shut down the government in order to defund the law. the tea party types are so obsessed that they're shouting down gop lawmakers who don't agree with them. >> this is what the tea party wants to know. will you vote with mike lee -- and meadows here, to defund obama care, yes or no? >> a thoughtful answer? >> i want yes or no. >> do you think harry reid is going to pass that in the senate? >> it doesn't matter. >> we need to show the american people we stand for conservative values. >> shutting down the government is a conservative value? if we do that, pay for our troops will be delayed.

is that a conservative value? pentagon workers will be furloughed. is that a conservative value? the party's whole argument against this law is nonsense. but this comment from congressman yo-ho is a yoke. >> i had an indian doctor in our office the other day, very dark skin with two non-dark skin people. and i said look at him. and they started laughing. and i said have you ever been to tanning booth? and he said no, i don't need. so i'm going to go get to a suntanning booth so i can come out and say i have been disenfranchised because i got taxed because of the color of my skin. >> a tanning tax is racist. what is this, the jersey shore? hey congressman snooki, i'm not laughing. joining me is congressman allen grayson, democrat from florida

and cynthia tucker, a pulitzer prize winning syndicated columnist. thank you both for your time and coming on the show tonight. >> good to be here, rev. >> congressman grayson, let me start with you. the health care law is racist because of a tanning tax? is that all they've got left? >> well, it's another weapon of mass distraction. what this bill does is it extends health care to the 50 million people in this country who can't see a doctor when they're sick. and it maybes it affordable for everyone else. it does that through common sense things like having standard contracts, like having a website that you can go to so that you can pull your buying power with others, and so on. none of this should be controversial, but it is because the tea party republicans are bent on making it that way by ignoring reality. all they want to do, the fundamental principle the republican party these days is let's make absolutely certain that poor people can't get health care when they're sick. that's what it's come down to.

president lincoln, one of the founders of the republican party said that the principle involved here was equality for all. they want to make sure that people who are sick can't see a doctor. that's how far they've come down. their principles are making the republican party the largest suicide pact in history. i just hope they don't bring us down with them. >> you know, cynthia, congressman grayson talks about equality and everyone else having a chance for health care. former senator jim demint argued today that we need to repeal health care for the little guy. take a listen. >> it's the little guy, it's the young people that are going to get hung with this thing and lose their insurance. what we're trying to do is sound the alarm, encourage americans to get engaged, and hopefully push their lawmakers of all parties to stop this thing while we still can. >> how do you respond to that, cynthia? >> well, you know, reverend al,

their arguments change weekly. when they don't get traction with one argument when it's shown to be ridiculous, they quickly change to another ridiculous argument. i remember when the law was being passed. they claimed that it was going to affect old people, death panels. you remember? >> right. >> the elderly were supposed to be the one who were going to be most harmed by the affordable care act. if it passed, for heaven's sakes, there would be death panels deciding whether grandma could get health care. >> right. >> well, that has been shown to be absolutely absurd. so now they claim that it will be the young who will be hung, as demint put it. in fact, there are many young, healthy people who don't work for big corporations who cannot afford to get health care. and they may not be sick today, but they don't know when they'll be sick. reverend al, when i was 27 years old, i had to have surgery.

>> right. >> i had not been sick. i didn't expect to have to have surgery. and i was in between health insurance policies because i was starting a new job. and my health insurance didn't pay for that surgery because it was a so-called preexisting condition. with obama care, 27-year-olds no longer have to worry about that. if you get sick, your insurance will have to cover you. >> and you know, congressman, the fact is when you look at how it's beginning to work, even republicans, i just showed several governors, republican, who now want the act. jan brewer, the governor of arizona who was waving her finger at the president's face the last time she greeted him on the tarmac is now praising the health care law and acting like the most gracious hostess. when you look at massachusetts, it's already -- it has universal health coverage. look how popular it is.

84% of people in that state say they are satisfied with the health care coverage. this is something that they are really going against the grain of where the american public is headed. >> for sure. and there is already practical results that you can point to. there are tens of millions of people who could not get health coverage and could not get health care because they had preexisting conditions. now they can get that. my wife is one of them. she had a stroke a few years ago. she couldn't get any sort of private individual health coverage before, and now she can. that's just one example. how about the youths that the senator was so concerned about. now up until the age of 26, they can remain on their parents' policies. over and over again, what you see is that this bill has done a lot of good in places that have cooperated. in california, health insurance premiums down by approximately 20%. what happens is in places like florida, where the republican majority in tallahassee has dragged its feet, you have these problems getting worse, not

getting better. we have a million people in florida who are not going to get coverage under obama care simply because the republican majority in tallahassee wouldn't go along with it, even though it cost the state nothing for the next three years. according to a harvard study, roughly one thousand people every year will die because they don't get this health coverage in florida that the government would be extending to them. and we don't have to pay anything extra for there is going to be a lot of blood on their hands in tallahassee. and god help them on judgment day. >> you know, cynthia, the president is pushing very hard on this. he called for the republicans to end the gridlock for the sake of the country. watch this. >> and it won't be easy. but if we take just a few bold steps, and if washington will just end the gridlock, set aside the slash and burn partisanship, actually try to solve problems instead of scoring political points, our economy will grow stronger, a year from now, five years from now, ten years from

now. and as long as i've got the privilege to serve as your president, that's what i'm going to be fighting for. >> he's fighting. he is standing up. he is really -- really charging and bringing the fight to them. >> yes, he is. but, you know, reverend al, they are so consumed with their hatred of obama and everything he stands for that they would rather hurt the country and hurt the many people who don't have health insurance than cooperate with the president in any way. but there will be affordable health care for all americans. it's going to happen, no matter how much they resist it. and there is a lesson from medicare here. you know, ronald reagan who is the republican's patron saint, went around in the early '60s campaigning against medicare. if it ever happened, it would be the downfall of america. it was socialism. it was the worst thing ever. and now beneficiaries of medicare love it.

and the republican party, quite frankly, is afraid to stand against medicare. ten years from now, there will be the same kind of -- >> no doubt about it. >> -- obama care will be equally popular. negative, doubt about it. congressman alan grayson and cynthia tucker, thank you both for your time this evening. >> thank you. >> coming up, 48 years ago today, the voting rights act was signed into law. today those rights are under attack. plus, remember donald trump's birther madness? it's back in a big way with sitting members of congress going there. this summer, where is the leadership? and the right wing wants you to slap hillary clinton across the face. this is how low they're going. you can smell the fear. what is on your mind? have a question, have a comment? e-mail me. friend or foe, i want to know.

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today marks a milestone in the fight for justice. 48 years ago today, president lyndon johnson signed the voting rights act into law. the first steps toward getting rid of poll taxes, a literary test, and voter suppression of the jim crow era. >> millions of americans are denied the right to vote because of their color. this law will ensure them the right to vote. the heart of the act is plain. wherever by clear and objective standards states and counties are using regulations, our laws are tests to deny the right to vote, then they will be struck down. and i pledge you that we will not delay or we will not

hesitate, or we will not turn aside until americans of every race and color and origin in this country have the same right as all others to share in the process of democracy. >> reverend dr. martin luther king jr. was there at the bill's signing. he was a driving force behind the law. applying pressure in public and behind the scenes, as in this phone call with president johnson earlier that year. >> it's so important to get negroes registered to vote in large numbers. it would be this coalition of the negro vote and the popular white vote that will really make the new south. >> that's exactly right. we take the position that every person born in this country when they reach a certain age, that he have a right to vote. we want equality for all. and we can stand on that principle.

>> equality for all. the basic right to vote. this great achievement is now under attack. first by the supreme court, and now by conservative politicians all across the old south. in florida, a new voter purge from the gop governor. in texas, a harsh new voter id law announced just hours after the supreme court ruling. and in north carolina, a new voter suppression law that some call the worst since the jim crow era. 48 years after the voting rights act, we cannot let dr. king's dream die. we must stand and fight and march. joining me now is lee saunders, president of afsme, with some 1.6 million members. lee, it's great to have you back on the show. >> great to be on the show, al.

>> you know, lee, you were instrumental in getting out the vote in 2012. will these new gop attacks on voting rights energize minority voters? >> well, i think it will energize our member and working families and people all over the country. we have to go back to the basics. we've got to understand that our voting right are under attack like never before. you mentioned north carolina. you mentioned florida. you mentioned texas. this will repeat itself in state after state after state where people really want to see the right to vote diminished, where you have voter ids and the early registration programs being either decreased or stopped completely. and it's up to us, i think, to fight back. the labor movement with our allies and partners across the country, we've got have a grassroots campaign. but we've also have to go to coming. and we have to lobby congress and push congress to do the right thing as far as voting

rights for all americans. we need to be pushing universal voting rights rather than trying to take voting rights away from people. >> and you and martin luther king iii and i are going to be doing a big march on that later this month. we'll talk about that in a minute. talking about votes, though, today is the primary day in detroit. and your workers and members are under particular assault in this emergency management, and now bankruptcy in detroit. and detroit is being used as a symbol of attack by the right wing. let me show you -- let you hear rush limbaugh in an attack he has been making when he was talking to fox news about detroit last week. >> that town has been a petrie dish of everything the democratic party stands for. everything the democratic party loves. massive unions, massive pensions, pay people pensions

and health care long after they've stopped working. the math doesn't add up. you have massive welfare states where citizens are given things left and right in order to buy their votes. >> limbaugh on the right going right after the people's pensions, right after workers rights. it is a real wall with working class people in detroit. >> it is. and i think that rush needs to be educated on the right of issues. let's deal with the fax. first of all, nobody is arguing about the fact that detroit is experiencing severe economic crisis right now. the question is what you do about it. folks have said that it's the blame of unions, public service workers in that city. they're being blamed for crisis that exists right now. that's the furthest thing from the truth. manufacturing jobs left that city 20, 25 years ago. the tax base eroded. government jobs have been

eroded. our members have sacrificed like never before. we sacrifice in giving up pensions. 40% of our pensions have been cut. we gave up wages, 10% of our wages in this fiscal year have been cut. we have sacrificed. but we cannot be used as a scapegoat. right now our pensioneers, those who have served the city well and worked 35 or 40 years and retired, they retire on $19,000 -- on average, $19,000 a year. now they're talking about under this bankruptcy proceeding going after the $19,000 a year. that's asinine. it's crazy. and what needs to be done is to have a strategy, not only in detroit, but other urban centers across this country are under severe crisis. we have to have a strategy to deal with the urban crisis. we need help and support from the federal government. we need help and support from the states where urban centers are located. we've got to put minds together to talk about this crisis.

if we're able, al, if we're able to spend billions of dollars overseas to rebuild countries, we are able to help the automakers and rebuild the auto industry, if we are willing to bail out wall street, which we did, then it seems to me that we have got to deal with this urban crisis that is on hand that deals with unemployment. that deals with this crisis as far as attacking workers, attacking those who have retired. that's unacceptable in this country. and great minds have got to come together and deal with this very serious choices. >> and those that voted to bail out wall street will not bail out detroit. let me say this. at the end of the month when we have the march on washington, 50th anniversary for jobs and justice and fairness, president obama recently talked about the original march in '63 in an interview with "the new york times." and he reminded people about that march. >> i always remind people, and

in fact i have a copy of the original program in my office framed that that was a march for jobs and justice. when you think about the coalition that brought about civil rights, it wasn't just folks who believed in racial equality. it was people who believed in working folks having a fair shot. >> so august 24th when we all labor in civil rights and all of us come together, this is really what happened 50 years ago. it was the fight for jobs and civil rights. >> it is so important that we come together on august 24th. and i'm happy to be working with you and martin luther king iii and other labor unions and our allies and coalition partners. we've got to make a statement. this should not be about commemorating the 50th anniversary. this should be about recharging ourselves and rededicating ourselves and recommitting ourselves to the struggles that still confront working families across america. it's about voting rights. it's about jobs. it's about being treated fairly,

having the ability to move into the middle class, having the wherewithal to put bread on the table, send your kids to school. that's what this march is going to be all about. and that's what we've got to continue in the future. this cannot be a one-day march. this has got to be the beginning of community organizing, organizing our neighbors and our friends and our family members in talking about the importance of involving ourselves, in changing this country, in changing it for the better in 2014. so this march really is just the beginning of what we need to do in future days and months and years ahead. >> well, we're going to be talking a lot about it in the next couple of weeks. lee saunders, thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks for having me, al. coming up, what did speaker boehner give to president obama? it may surprise you. plus, how is this for rebranding? a right-wing group asking you to slap hillary clinton in the face. classy.

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the republican slap that must be called out. the republican group inviting people to slap hillary clinton in the face. we're talking about that, coming up. yeah? then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident,

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boehner's birthday gift to president obama. no, it wasn't compromise. it was a gift basket. that included some of speaker boehner's favorite things from his home state of ohio. like cincinnati's famous graters ice cream, black raspberry chip, and ribs from the montgomery inn, one of boehner's favorite restaurants. i have to say a nice gesture from the speaker, especially because so many of john boehner's house republicans continue to promote the fringe conspiracy that president obama was not born in america. just two days ago, congressman ted yoho of florida said he is ready to co-sponsor a new birth birther bill. >> i called steve up. i says when i got back, he says yeah, we're doing it. would you want to get on that? i says yeah.

and so back from there to here. then i asked, and i'll ask you guys. that really where we should be spending our time? >> no. >> well, i'm going to check into that. >> he's going to just check into that. and just last week, watch out a republican congresswoman responds to this offensive comment. >> what i need from you is to know what you can do, you and your fellow noncommunist colleagues in the lower house, what you can do to stop these communist tyrannical executive orders laid down by this foreign-born american-hating communist despot. what can you do for me? we need to know. >> so thank you for your question. he said it loud enough that you all heard it.

look, i can't emphasize the oversight part of my job enough. >> republican congresswoman martha roby smiled and laughed at a voter describing the president as a, quote, foreign-born, america-hating communist. and earlier this summer, republican congressman jeff duncan went there. >> any chance the house may actually pursue barack obama's phony identification papers? >> well, you know, how is the original scandal, congressman? that's the original scandal. >> people should have voted against him in november. and i'm afraid that that wouldn't get to the supreme court where it ought to get. >> but if we know -- if we know that they're lying about all of these other things, why not go back and say, well, maybe the first scandal was a lie too. >> there you go.

i'm all with you. let's go back and revisit some of these things, because americans have questions about not only the irs scandal, but also about the president's validity. >> he's got questions about the president's validity. so speaker boehner, forget the rips. forget the ice cream. how about denouncing the crazy talk? how about showing some leadership? that's a birthday gift for all americans. joining me now are nia-malika henderson and joe madison. thanks for coming on the show. >> great to be here. >> nia-malika, the birthers are still out there, and silence from speaker boehner. is this what is behind all this gridlock in washington? >> well, you know, speaker boehner actually did speak out when, for instance, steve king said some things about latino. so he did do that. but i think the reality of what we see going on in some of these town halls is these are primary

voters. these are the voters who are going to show up in 2014. these are the voters that are going to show up in 2016. so for those folks, those representatives who are there talking to their constituents, hearing from their constituents, we very much see that they are beholden to a very different strain of the republican party than the strain of the republican party that is talking about rebranding. they're at least something like 54%. there was a poll out recently that showed 54% of republicans actually want republicans to be more conservative rather than doing the sort of outreach and broadening the base that you hear from folks at the rnc, for instance. so we've got a lot of competing interests out there. and boehner can only go so far in terms of curbing some of the remarks at these town halls, and from his members in the house. >> but it's not only town halls and members in the house, joe. a polling came out in january of this year showed republican

voters still in to this birther stuff. 64% of gop voters said they believe president obama is hiding important information about his early life and background. i mean, no wonder republicans are afraid to compromise. >> well, yes. because of that. you know, in a way, i hope that they keep these polls going like that, because here is the poll that you really ought to ask. and that is if it's birther or employment, what is more important? if it's birther or immigration, what is more important? if it's birther or jobs, what's more important? if it's birther or if the fighting terrorism, what is more important? and the only thing i would say is that you're absolutely right. these are primary activists that come out to these town hall meetings. but remember now, they think that they've got safe districts. and the republican party didn't win all the safe districts that they had put out two years ago. so what it really takes, the

battle will be at the ballot box. and i know i repeat that over and over again. and boehner is not showing any leadership. boehner acts like an adult. and this is the best analogy i can come up with, who is enjoying watching the kids in the playpen. because that's really all they're doing. this is a congress that votes 40 times to repeal obama care because they don't want everyone to know the benefits. but yet they would rather introduce legislation. it's like the guy who drove me over here today. he said you've got to be kidding me, madison. these folks are still on this issue? >> well, let me show you why there is no leadership as you say. nia-malika, when speaker boehner had been asked to condemn birtherism in the past, listen to his answer. >> as the speaker of the house, as a leader, do you not think it's your responsibility to stand up to that kind of ignorance? >> david, it's not my job to

tell the american people what to think. >> i mean, is this why boehner and the republicans won't compromise? nia-malika, because they -- if you tell people that the president is not an american, then how do you have a climate to reach any compromise on what americans need? >> no, i think that's exactly right. if that's the starting point, these sort of conspiracy theories, and essentially, invalidating obama as president, you can't go very, very far in terms of compromise, in terms of working with him, because then you sort of delegitimize whatever work you're doing. i think boehner has not tried very hard to get the more raucous members of his caucus in check in the house. they are very much freelance artists at this point, trying to win in those districts that are overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly conservative. that's the way that these maps

were redrawn. and they don't even have any incentive to gout and broaden the base of the party, because those aren't the people who are in their backyards. in some way, they're shooting themselves in the foot. >> absolutely. >> because these aren't people who could run for statewide office or senate or governor. they're very much trapped in their own congressional districts. >> now joe, the republicans have ground law making to the halt because the 113th congress has signed just 22 bills. >> yeah. >> that's on track to be the slowest pace in modern history. and even fox news anchors are grilling republican leaders about it. chris wallace went after eric cantor on sunday. watch this. >> congressman, rightly or wrongly, none of these bills that you passed is going to become law. your own member says they're not going to pass the senate. the president won't sign them. let's talk reality. you haven't passed a farm bill. you have only passed four of the 12 appropriations bills you're

supposed to pass. we face a government shutdown and a debt limit in the fall. again, is this the best way to spend your time, passing bills that aren't going to become law, and an added question, with so much unfinished business, why not stick around instead of taking a five-week vacation? >> i mean, this is a fox news anchor going after them for their lack of getting anything done. >> because, reverend sharpton, what we're finding out and what they're finding out is that as a professor from cornell told me on the show, it's no longer them, it's us. you know, i had a farmer from the delta of mississippi. he said i want to identify myself. i'm a white listener. i'm a farmer, and i'm here to tell you we are so upset with the republicans for what they're doing, trying to tie the food stamp into the farm bill. you had bennie thompson, who said as many of the members of the caucus said for the first time in 20 years, they had to vote against the farm bill.

people are seeing that these individuals are going against the best interests of their own party. >> there is no doubt about it. i'm going have to leave it there. >> yeah. adults will speak up, al. >> nia-malika henderson and joe madison, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you, rev. coming up, the gop's newest plan to go after hillary clinton. we've seen this scary movie. [ male announcer ] running out of steam?

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the head of the republican party has a big job. his party has lost the popular vote in five of the last six national elections. only 19% approval the jobs republicans are doing in congress. and the next generation of republican heroes can't stop talking about shutting down the government. so what is party chairman reince priebus worried about?

movies. yep, that's where he is focusing his energy, complaining that nbc is making a miniseries about hillary clinton. and cnn is producing a documentary about her. even though nbc news has said it is completely independent of nbc entertainment and has no involvement in the project, the head of the rnc is sure these movies are what is bringing his party down. >> about a time that our party stands up and protects the party and our candidates from networks that are not in the business of promoting our party. they're not in the business of promoting our candidates. they're not in the business of doing anything but promoting the democratic party. and i'm not going to sit around and watch this happen anymore. >> he's not going to sit around and watch it happen. the right wing loves complaining about movies.

remember when they were sure "zero dark thirty" was an election year scheme? >> yeah, it's coming out three weeks before the election. and remember the bin laden raid was one of the biggest moments in this administration's history thus far. >> a hollywood production team making a film called "zero dark thirty" about that obama/osama bin laden raid in which they, well, apparently glorify the president's role. >> access to classified information for a movie that is going to come out three weeks before the reelection? >> incredible. >> it's funny. the right never seems to mind movies or series that attack democrats, like this special on the president in 2008. >> we'll have exclusive information never revealed before about his ties to controversial people and radical groups. >> obama definitely has something to hide. >> many believe it was during these formative college years that his radical beliefs and

relationships began. >> we're basically going to be in the throes of a socialist revolution. >> republicans need to spend less time thinking about movies and a little more time on fixing their party. joining me now is victoria di francesco soto and ari melber. thank you both for being here. >> thanks, rev. >> thanks, rev. >> ari, priebus is putting all of his energy into these movies. what should he focus on? >> he could start with the jobs plan instead of worrying about the motion pictures. i love the story, rev, and i love the way you set them out. it's a problem here for them if they're focusing on movies and not reality. they're worried that the movies are going to depict reality about hillary clinton the way they don't like. they need to figure out how they want to deal with the democrats in congress, the jobs and mortgage plan the president has been outlining this week. the other thing about this that is amazing. sun tzu famously said that the true warrior only fights battles

that he has already won. you have to pick good battles here. the chairman is going to lose this battle. they did 20 debates last time with every single television network. and if their standard is as you just played, rev, promoting our party, they only want news channels promoting their party, they're not going to have anybody but fox to work. with. >> victoria, the right wing is really getting ugly in its attacks on hillary clinton. a republican superpac has a game where you can slap hillary clinton in the face. just look at this website. i mean, victoria, is this -- i mean is this how low they're willing to go and willing to sink? >> reverend, this is just incredibly disrespectful. i mean, politics is dirty, but this is really reached a new

low. but more than that, i think it's interesting that the fury is misplaced. so we see this web page of hillary clinton instead of attacking hillary clinton or smacking her down, why don't you turn inwards and get your house in order. the republican house is metaphorically on fire. but what they're doing by pointing out hillary, whether it's nbc, cnn, to web page, they are trying to distract away, where as the real danger is at 2016 for the republicans is shaping up a lot to look like 2012. you have extreme elements like ted cruz, rand paul getting a lot of attention. ted cruz just had an iowa event. so we see it's going to be pumping up toward the train wreck that it with us in 2012. so look in. don't worry about what the networks are doing. don't worry about the movies. and get your house in order if you want to be viable at the national level. >> ari, your reaction to this game of actually slapping mrs. clinton. >> i think they have a real

hillary obsession. i think she scares them. i think she scared them in every iteration. she scared them when she was a first lady which is a position as you know we don't generally bring into political attacks. they had a terrible record on that. she scared them as secretary of state, which is why benghazi has never ended as a political dispute. and now of course she scares them as an independent person who is reserving her right to potentially reenter the political arena. they can't slap that down so they can have fun with video games and films and all of this carping. but i do think it makes them look like they can't deal with her ideas and with her record. and for a party that is out of power of the presidency and looking at another potentially formidable candidate, that's not a good look for them. >> you know, victoria, the real issue is that republicans want to avoid debates in general. let's listen to what priebus said back in march. >> i think we had way too many debates with our candidate slicing and dicing each other.

and i think they had to wait too long to get to the convention. i would limit the debate to a reasonable amount. i don't know, maybe seven or eight. >> you know, how much damage to the republicans did these debates do? >> reverend, it's a stage for the republican party during the primary debates to showcase their fractured nature, their extremism. so if you're a strategist, a republican strategist that wants to get somebody into the white house and wants to appeal to a more moderate constituency, get those independent votes, you're crossing your fingers, and you are hoping that you can get down to as few debates as possible during the primary season so that you can get away from the surface of the extreme elements that we saw in 2012. remember the gaffes of rick perry and the gaffes of newt gingrich. you want to get away from that. get the cameras away and focus on the issues and focus on building up the moderate base. so priebus, i think he is baiting the networks to keep the movies going so he can

conveniently pull out. >> and maybe, ari, that's the point. if he can do that, keep the battle going to the networks, pull out so only fox news is where you would see republicans. >> yeah, and that wouldn't be a good strategy as you were saying. they have lost four of five of the national votes when we have had full presidential contests. they did fox, cnn, bloomberg, "washington post," union leader, facebook, national journal. when it's come to the record rather than the talk, they found every platform under the sun. i think they'll do that next time, and that's why i think this is short sighted. >> victoria, ari, thank you both for coming on the show. and please catch ari on "the cycle" weekdays at 3:00 p.m. right here on msnbc. friend or foe, i want to know. "reply al" is next. being sixteen, alex thinks he's invincible.

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it's time for "reply al." remember, friend or foe, i want to know. luther writes why is congress exempt from the effects of the sequester? luther, congressional offices are getting hit with budget reductions and furloughs, but congressional salaries are not impacted. i'm sure if congressional salaries were impacted, we'd be having a much different conversation in washington. about the sequester. joshua wants to know, i'm curious, how does one advance in politics? i'm a student in high school, and i really love helping people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and all walks of life. well, then, choose where you want to serve. it is in a local or national office? get in that district. start working in that area, if

that's your passion. nothing succeeds than working in the area where your passion is, and grow into serving. and people will vote for you if you show the people you are worthy of the leadership. follow your passion, and your passions will never let you down. thank you for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. reince priebus declares war again. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. reince priebus is on the warpath again. the rnc chairman who has made bones trying to suppress african-american votes now has a plan to suppress the free media. having waged war on the 15th