tv Martin Bashir MSNBC September 12, 2013 1:00pm-2:01pm PDT
1:00 pm
and defending our values. that does it for our show today. >> ari, thank you so much. good afternoon. it is thursday september 12th. the secretary of state has a message for vladimir putin, this is not a game. >> vladimir putin has spoken. >> the russian government indicated a willingness to join with the international community. >> the credible threat of u.s. military force brought us this diplomatic opening. >> it has to be real. >> it is not a love letter to the united states. >> the whole purpose is to try to weaken our resolve. >> vladimir putin lecturing about god and equality and democracy in the "new york times." >> i was insulted. >> he is a pretty good writer. >> i almost wanted to volume it. >> the vodka and caviar are flowing. >> he closed with with one simple line, i must break you. >> we have a lot more to do many in government. >> there are also of this
1:01 pm
speculation. >> i like john boehner. i do feel sorry for him. >> he has to break away from the people. >> only you can win this fight. >> i am well aware of the deadlines. >> the american people are still interested in making sure the american people are getting -- >> good afternoon. we begin with the obama administration driving hard for a diplomatic agreement to get syria to turn over its huge chemical weapons arsenal before it yields ever more deadly mayhem in that country's civil war. secretary of state john kerry is in geneva with a team of u.s. arms control experts to gauge the all important viability of a russian plan to secure and dispose of syria's chemical cache. this afternoon as the secretary of state prepared to meet with his rug counterpart, he
1:02 pm
emphasized the crucial importance of this moment. >> the expectations are high. they're high for the united states. perhaps even more so for russia to deliver on the promise of this moment. this is not a game. it has to be real. >> mr. kerry was obviously absent today from our white house cabinet meeting where the president expressed his hope for a productive outcome. >> i am hopeful that the discussions that secretary kerry had with foreign minister lavarov and as well as the other players can yield a concrete result and i know he will be working hard over the next several days to see what possibilities are there. >> those possibilities are already unfolding with the u.n. saying today it has now received
1:03 pm
documents from syria on joining the antichemical weapons convention. word from syria that it will submit arms data a month after signing. sounds good. not so fast. assad has conditioning. telling russian state television syria will give us up its chemical weapons when the u.s. stops threatening and stops in his words arms deliveries to terrorists. kerry said assad's words are not enough and there are other sticking points to the russian plan, too including the trust worthiness of vladimir putin who got up on his high pors to scathe an op-ed in the "new york times" decrying the president's case against syria. quote, i carefully studied his address and i would rather disagree with a case he made on american exceptionalism.
1:04 pm
it is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. of course there are exceptions to that rule, say, when putin is rallying his own supporters, telling them at an event last year, quote, we are a victorious people. it is in our genes, in our genetic code. aside from the entertainment value, putin's op-ed had another unintended effect, proving to be the one thing that can solidify bipartisan unity in disgust. >> i almost want to volume vomit. >> i was constitutionalitied. >> it sickened me. >> if only we could get him to weigh in on the debt ceiling fight. joining us is congressman elijah cummings with us from baltimore. good afternoon, sir. >> good to be with you. >> some of your congressional colleagues expressed outrage at putin's comments, speaker
1:05 pm
boehner said he felt insulted and senator bob me men dez says it almost caused an hemetic response. how do you feel? >> well, you know, it was a well written letter, martin, and to be frank with you, i did not give it a lot of time. let me tell you why. we sim pry and the president cannot be distracted. i can understand why president putin would write that letter and he is attempting to appeal to the congress and the people of the united states and the president has made it clear and keep in mind the president is the one who did make a decision in all of this, and that was he decided to strike. and it was a congress that was relucta reluctant. he has done his part and made it clear that's what he is going to do. now with this most recent
1:06 pm
russian syrian offer i think what we have to do is not be distracted and go back to exactly what the president said he wanted to do. that is to degrade president assad's capability, to use chemical weapons, and to number two deter. and, martin, this solution, if it works, is probably the very best solution that we could come up with at this moment. >> you previously expressed the deep tension of your own constituents that you say are 99:1 against intervening in syria and your own experience of viewing the evidence which shows hundreds of defenseless children gassed to death. i have to put it to you, does today's meeting in geneva at least provide you with some relief at a time when you were personally struggling as to which way the nation should go?
1:07 pm
it does provide me with temporary relief but very cautious relief. i thought the president laid out a clear case, the moral case the other night, but at the same time we have to make sure that the russians mean what they say and the syrians mean what they say and say what they mean. and i think what happens over the next 24 hours to 48 hours is going to tell us a lot. if i were the president, again, i would not be distracted. i would be focused on trying to make sure that i got those weapons -- first of all got a list of all the weapons, the chemical weapons they might have, and make sure that there is a clear path to getting those weapons under control, international control, and then
1:08 pm
a clear path to making sure those weapons are destroyed. martin, if we're able to do that, if we are able to do that, we will have accomplished a major victory without firing one bullet, no collateral damage, not a trillion dollars spent on a war, and 11 to 12 years possibly, and we would have been able to get to achieve even more than what the president laid out. there is another thing it does. i think it opens the door for trying to come to some resolution with regard to the civil war which is going on in syria. that's a lot. >> it is a heck of a task. while speaker boehner expressed hope for a diplomatic solution to secure syria's chemicals, he had other important priorities for congress's homecoming. take a listen to this, sir. >> for the sake of our economy we'll continue to do everything we can to repeal, dismantle, and
1:09 pm
defund obama care. >> so there you have it, sir. everything old is new again, isn't it? >> yeah. it is very unfortunate that the republicans -- >> congressman, unfortunate, could you use an adjective that correctly defines how this nation feels about this tedious farago that repeats itself every single day congress meets virtually. >> 41 times we voted on this now. the republicans still have not learned that this is the law. there are so many people that have benefitted from the affordable care act already. i have a meeting in my district where i know it is going to be packed because people want to find out about it because they know this is possibly going to insure another 30 million people and provide a lot of very important health care to so many, and so i would appreciate it if the republicans would accept the fact that the law is
1:10 pm
passed and that chief judge roberts has already said it is constitutional, and it is the law. and we need to uphold the law and make it work as opposed to trying to tear it apart. >> congressman, elijah cummings, thank you for joining us today. >> thank you. >> coming up, syria, things abroad, serious matters at home. isn't that right, speaker boehner? >> i do feel sorry for him. he has to break away from those people that are ruining the republican party. [ whimpers ] - hugs from beneful baked delights... - [ barks ] are crispy, oven-baked dog snacks with soft savory centers, made with beef and cheese. beneful baked delights: a unique collection of four snacks... to help spark play in your day.
1:11 pm
he was a matted messiley in a small cage. ng day. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. diarrhea, gas, bloating?
1:12 pm
yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues... with three strains of good bacteria. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. ♪ [ male announcer ] 1.21 gigawatts. today, that's easy. ge is revolutionizing power. supercharging turbines with advanced hardware and innovative software. using data predictively to help power entire cities. so the turbines of today... will power us all... into the future. ♪ into the future. ♪ for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/bayarea.
1:14 pm
concerned about what some might want to describe as perception. i am sure the recess will have our members in a better mood when they come back. >> that was a confident speaker john boehner just six weeks ago assuring the american public the august recess would allow his dysfunctional and dispersate caucus much needed time to rest, reflect, readying themselves to make a deal with democrats to prevent a government shutdown. guess what? six weeks, six years, never enough time for him. >> there is all of this speculation about these deadlines coming up. i am well aware of the deadlines. so are my colleagues. we're working with our colleagues and to work our way through these issues >> joining us now to work their way through is joy reed and jonathan alter who was a columnist with bloomberg view
1:15 pm
and continues to be an msnbc political analyst. one of the least remarked aspects i think about this debate and syria and chemical weapons is it seems to be the only thing that is united the republican party in the dislike of this president. they have actually become unified to that matter. >> they still don't want to vote on it. >> that's true. >> they don't want to do their job. they demanded it be brought to them. the thing is the budget, it reamplifies the big difference between the traditional deal making republicans like columbine eboehner and the rest of them. they don't want to do anything unless they defund obama care which is impossible and therefore they end up doing nothing. >> let me tell you what the unnamed house republican said. i believe the white house wakes up every morning thinking how they can punch us in the nose, and we wake up every morning
1:16 pm
thinking how we can punch each other in the nose. we were supposed to have a vote today on gop resolution to continue funding. we're not. eric cantor's plan, apparently, it is not conservative enough. when did eric cantor become too liberal for the republican party? >> recently when tefs clear that the missile attacks in syria. >> right. >> if you side by definition with these folks, you are not a real republican. you are a rhino. if you side with bam on anything. have you the leadership as one analyst compared it to going from ice floe to ice floe trying just to hang on and get through the day without plunging into the depths of takes on of what they call the raucous caucus. they are not only destructive to governance because we're not governing the country now, but
1:17 pm
there are also enormously self destructive as that comment indicated, and so long-term this is very difficult for the republican party. to that point, let me tell you something about this far right element. it is very short. take a listen to this. >> the anarchists have taken over. >> the anarchists have taken over. we keep going back to this problem of the gop versus the wing. >> and first of all the credit to alex wagner. i don't want it steal it. the idea that you do have this group of about 70 republicans in the house whose only job is to get anything done in washington. they ran on this tea party and they want to collect the government paycheck and they don't want to do anything because government itself is bad. all they want to do is undo things. they measured their success for
1:18 pm
what they can get rid of and they haven't been able to get rid of much because it is not the way washington works. they're tilting at this windmill of cutting obama care and they do sound crazy. what they are trying to do in the context of governing. >> the reckoning is coming. >> is it? >> that's what the deadlines are about. >> is it? you said this before. we have been in this tenure of presidency for five years and not much changed. >> actually, we have all been in this situation for a couple of years. since the summer of 2011. at this point obama is holding the high cards. he is not going to negotiate with them. obama care is not going anywhere. they can under mine it some at the state level. there is absolutely nothing that republicans and congress can do to either defund or reverse obama care which i think can't be said enough because in the context of our political culture, it is seen as an open question whether obama care
1:19 pm
survived. the republicans need to get over it. it is here. it will be here 100% forever. not going anywhere. >> and by that point, that is actually true. the irony for republicans is the more they fight on obama care, they sort of spiraling themselves down a drain because it can't be done but they have to keep saying they're going to do it in order for their base not to get angry. they're literally destroying their party from within. it is like a virus inside the republican party that they can't cure. >> don't you think they're doing this with a number of subjects, like, for example, what happened in benghazi? the relentless pursuit of something which will do nothing to bring back the lives of those four proud public servants, which will do nothing -- they don't talk about raising investments in consulate security. >> and they turn september 11th into bash obama day instead of a solemn memorial. >> and a unified one. >> and the force of unification in the country.
1:20 pm
i imagine a lot of families that are pretty angry justifiably when they turned on their tvs yesterday and saw these yahoo!s trying to exploit 9/11 for their own political purposes was disgusting. >> and it is because the media wing has taken over completely. this he have to give them the oral fixation of hearing anti-obama and obama bashing and even if it means embracing vladimir putin. they have to give them this treat of attacking barack obama and they can't do policy and they're literally destroying the party and doing it at the behest of people like rush limbaugh that make money when republicans lose. >> we talk about the derangement syndrome. >> you have written about it. >> in the past it was a fringe movement, the birthers and now what's happened is the obama did he rangement syndrome moved to the center of the republican party and it is eating them alive. it is hollowing out that party and they will have victories. they will do well in 2014 and
1:21 pm
fewer people vote, but they are destroying the political party. >> thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. coming up, the curious tale of cory booker, senator rand paul and an afterable drug lord named t bo t-bone. should be fun. they are trying to fill empty store fronts and by from extra customers. find out how they plan to revive downtown sunday morning. >> brought to you by american express open. visit open forum.com for ideas to help you grow your business.
1:22 pm
the timing, the actions, the reactions. everything has to synch up. my expenses are no different. receipt match from american express synchronizes your business expenses. just shoot your business card receipts and they're automatically matched up with the charges on your online statement. i'm john kaplan and i'm a member of a synchronized world. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. this man is about to be the millionth customer. would you mind if i go ahead of you? instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. nobody likes to miss out. that's why ally treats all their customers the same. whether you're the first or the millionth. if your bank doesn't think you're special anymore, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally. and struggle to sleep comfortably together,
1:23 pm
now there's a solution. sleep number dual temp, the revolutionary temperature-balancing layer with active air technology that works on any mattress brand, including yours. whether you sleep hot or cool, sleep number dual temp allows each of you to select your ideal temperature. and it's only at one of our 425 sleep number stores nationwide. sleep number. comfort individualized.
1:24 pm
plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. you have to ask him. he is running for president. he was in the senate for five and a half minutes. >> that was senator barbara boxer on this broadcast with a word for senator rand paul after his rebuttal to the president's speech on syria. yes, senator paul, a man always ready to offer an opinion so long as the spotlight is on him and not on another rising
1:25 pm
political star like, say, cory booker for example. and so after maligning the president, mr. paul is en route to new jersey where tomorrow he will stump for republican senate candidate steve lonegan who happens to be mr. booker's oppone opponent. mr. paul licking his lips at the prospect of savaging the democratic candidate has given an interview in which he attacks mr. booker for what he calls an imaginary friend. he has taken heat, particularly from the far right for what they say is a tendency towards exaggeration o wednesday the national review filed a suit in an attempt to verify one story told about a man dying of a gunshot wound whose life he failed to save. this paesht act is not senator rand paul's target. instead, mr. paul chosen to deride another man, a drug dealer called t-bone.
1:26 pm
if cory will introduce me to t-bone when i get there, he told politico, i would love to meet t-bone. if t-bone is not real, maybe we need to get mr. booker to talk about real problems. senator paul, a man happy to talk about real problems and happier still to talk about presidential politics and any rising star that may stand in his way. stay with us for those headlines including what egypt needs. um... where's mrs. davis? she took an early spring break thanks to her double miles from the capital one venture card. now what was mrs. davis teaching? spelling. that's not a subject, right? i mean, spell check. that's a program. algebra. okay. persons a and b are flying to the bahamas. how fast will they get there? don't you need distance, rate and... no, all it takes is double miles.
1:27 pm
1:29 pm
1:30 pm
characteristic. >> we're here to demand the defunding of obama care. >> are you here. you are ready to turn up the heat? >> yes. >> this atrocity of a law. >> i can't win this fight. >> as you look across america from living rooms to boardrooms. >> mike lee can't win this fight. >> from kitchen tables to countertops. >> rand paul can't win this fight. >> how about we defund the whole damn thing? >> only you can win this fight. >> yesterday on the 12th anniversary of sept 11th, a small krup of conspiracy lovers gathered for a rally demanding congress reveal the truth behind the attacks in benghazi. >> what happened in benghazi. >> what happened in benghazi. >> livaudeville, let's pull out the benghazi dummy. >> we should go to war with libya. >> i think that's the way we
1:31 pm
should do it. >> the three ameeg owes. >> we're in egypt talking about how the muslim brotherhood caused 9/11. >> i like this guy. funny guy. >> please be at jimmy kimmel tonight. >> yeah. >> could these three people be any more condescending. >> we were nothing 236 years ago. today we are strong. >> maybe some day, egypt, you will be strong enough to build something lasting. maybe. ? let's get to the panel 6789 joining us is karen finney, and there is a lot happening in washington this week thanks to the return of congress. one of the highlights, of course, the fourth annual jesse helms lecture at the heritage foundation and ted cruz delivered this address named for
1:32 pm
jesse helms and when he retired, karen, in 2001, the "washington post" wrote that helms was, quote, the last unabashed racist politic in this country, and yet he thinks we need 100 more senators like that? >> you know, martin, here is the thing. if you listen to the rhetoric we heard over the last several years, i would say we already have some. i won't name names. i suggest there is quite a bit of racism and it is very destructive to our democracy. >> you think that mr. cruz is being a little -- under estimates the success of his campaign? >> i think he might be. i think he is under estimates the voracity. >> excellent. iowa congressman steve king was just in egypt. we saw him. now he is back in washington thank goodness and getting right back to work. take a listen to him. >> i am not confident this
1:33 pm
administration has identified our friends. what i have seen is that when we align with anybody in the middle east, it is the muslim brotherhood. >> okay. so this learned discourse was part of a dialog between representative king and one of his republican colleagues. it went on for almost an hour just batting around and conspiracy theories and benghazi and is that really the summation of what they have to offer voters today? >> i think, look, the reason that benghazi has come up again is because, a, the syrian has been stalled and republicans have moved back to issues like defunding obama care and benghazi that are sort of the bread and butter for the base and the one year anniversary of the attacks and so, you know, those two things combined is why we're hearing republicans talk about it, but i think that going forward we're going to have to see whether the republicans have a winning message when we're actually dealing with these domestic issues, benghazi is not really an issue most americans
1:34 pm
care about anymore. it is just not. the longer that they spend time talking about, it the more time they lose to talk about issue where is they think they can actually make a difference. >> and yet karen, for the last 24 hours all i have heard from the conservatives on the right in the media and the republicans is benghazi, benghazi, benghazi, and defund the affordable care act. >> yes. so far they haven't really cared much about having a message. i don't disagree with mckay, but that has not really seemed to be something that bothers them actually. even if you take a look at the fact that john boehner, what did the house of representatives under john boehner's leadership do today? they had to pull the conditioning resolution that would help keep the government funding going so we could be focused on some of these other issues and what did they do? they voted for the 41st time against obama care. so that is their priority. that's their positive agenda. >> karen, the side show continues on capitol hill. the middle class is disappearing in this country, and you have
1:35 pm
studied this we found that 95% of all the income gains over the last few years have gone to the richest 1%. people need jobs that pay not a third rate interrepublican psycho drama about who most hates the affordable care act. >> here is what is so frustrating, martin. if you think about how much rhetoric we heard from republicans this week on syria, some genuine and some talking about how they were listening to their constituents, the message that is they were receiving from constituents, about how they felt about getting engaged in syria, if they paid that close of attention to what their constituents want with regard to obama care and the economy, they would stop this non-sense ask try to work with the president to get this done. >> i have to ask you, do we have another year of conspiracy theories and inquiries into benghazi and so on. >> karen talked about the constituents. i think for a lot of the republicans if you are a
1:36 pm
republican senator or a member of the house, are you looking at 2014, a good chance you have a likely primary contender and you know that the conservatives in your party want you to fight obama care every inch of the way. it is already law. they want you to try to defund it. they want you to stop it in any way you can. that is what we're seeing. the constituents they're worried about is the republican base, the conservative wing, and i think that, yeah, for the next year we will hear a lot of this stuff. >> and there was us thinking stupidly perhaps these people were elected to serve the country. mckay and karen, thank you both, and reminder, of course you can catch disrupt with karen finney every saturday and sunday at 4 p.m., and right here on msnbc. coming up, over 100 arrested fighting for an issue the republicans would love to keep on the back burner. stay with us. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain,
1:37 pm
you feel...squeezed. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your face. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief. so you feel free. liberated. released. decongested. open for business. [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] powerful sinus relief from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. sudafed. open up. your financial advisor should be thinking about your retirement at least as much as you do. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do. face time and think time make a difference. at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing. face time and think time make a difference. i had pain in my abdomen... it just wouldn't go away.thing. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer,
1:38 pm
1:39 pm
1:40 pm
i think you would aagree there are people that can't tell the difference between hispanic person and arab person. >> they say nobody in the gop is talking about immigration? of course they are. they took time out of summer recess to do so and even at the expense of an 11-year-old girl. >> i have a dad cho is undocumented, and what can i do to he can stay with me? >> big intimidating crowd, and i appreciate you coming forward and asking your question. the answer still kind of remains the same, that we have laws and we need to follow those laws and -- [ applause ]
1:41 pm
>> we're joined by victoria and if i may start with you, the president mentioned immigration reform, one of the issues he hopes to work on and it seems lately the only thing we hear about immigration from the gop is the kind of hateful language we had from steve king and others and now even a crowd cheering the idea of a little girl being separated from her father. is the reason that this is all we're hearing because that is all they're saying? >> it is. martin, comprehensive immigration reform was already supposed to be passed by now. >> yes. >> that was the initial plan. >> yes. >> at least voted on. what's happening with immigration reform regrettably, it keeps getting pushed to the back burner. in june it was the marathon bomber, so congress could not multitask. now it is syria. then it is going to be the fiscal cliff. the inherent problem with the republican led house is that they say they want to work on
1:42 pm
immigration, that they acknowledge it is important, but at the end of the day they zero it out. what we're seeing, though s a humanizing effort by the part of immigration reform advocates because they're not taking no for an answer. we saw the protests today and earlier this week we saw a 40-day prayer and fast vigil being kicked off because immigration reform is not just an abstract theory and abstract law. it is about the lives of millions of people. >> we're showing pictures, victoria, of the protests today where i think something like 100 protesters, mothers, who are undocumented were arrested, and jared, the republican party keeps telling us they're all about jobs and the economy. they're all about jobs and the economy. wouldn't legalizing the 11 million illegal undocumented immigrants not right move economically for this nation? >> no question that that would take those workers out of the shadows and actually be helpful not only for them but any low
1:43 pm
wang wage or domestic workers that compete with them. it is hard to compete with someone. i consider myself immured so the createsness but the second clip you played of a bunch of bullies, i can't think of a better word standing up to an 11-year-old girl like that gave me chills and just how incredibly hateful that came across, at least to me viewing it here for the first time. it is not -- it would be bad enough if they were just not dealing with the economy, not dealing with pressing issues like immigration. it is actually worse than that. these guys are kind of doing more harm than anything else at this point. let me just say i don't think that immigration is on the back burner. i think it is off the stove. it may not even be on the counter. it is in like another room. >> what do you think of that, victoria? do you agree with jared, it is not just off the back burner, it
1:44 pm
is never going to happen in the short-term? >> you know, i think the comprehensive immigration reform idea is in the other room. i do think, and maybe i am being optimistic, a part of it will be drawn out and maybe the dream act portion and maybe we can eek out in the republican led house, well, for those folks, those students brought here at a very young age, let them stay, but the worry is it just keeps getting pushed. it was supposed to take place in 2008 t didn't happen. when are we going to see it happen, 2015? i don't know. 2016, are we going to get into 2020? >> let me just say i agree with victoria, it would be great if actually if we salvage some pieces of it, that would be great. the interesting thing is that those of us who thought that immigration reform had a chance this year, thought so because of the way the politics lined up for the republican party that seemingly or at least some of the senior members seem to
1:45 pm
recognize their viability of national party could not exclude immigrants, hispanics and so on. that very simple and i think rational political explanation has shown to be really not nearly as forceful as we thought because of the power of the extreme base. >> thank you both. as we go to break, are you looking at live pictures of a massive five alarm fire burning along seaside park. we're told several businesses and the boardwalk are burning and high winds are not helping the situation. there are no injuries reported at the moment. this is obviously an area that continues to rebound after last year's hurricane sandy and we of course will continue to monitor this and bring you any developments as they occur. [ male announcer ] this is pam. her busy saturday begins with back pain, when...
1:46 pm
hey pam, you should take advil. why? you can take four advil for all day relief. so i should give up my two aleve for more pills with advil? you're joking right? for my back pain, i want my aleve. before mike could see his banking and investing accounts on one page... before he could easily transfer funds between the two in real time... before he could even think about planning for his daughters' future... mike opened a merrill edge investment account and linked it to his bank of america bank account to help free up plenty of time for the here and now. that's the wonder of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america.
1:49 pm
if you opened the "new york times" op-ed beige this morning you may have noticed an interesting by line, vladimir putin who continued a piece called a plea for caution from russia. the russian president went on to urge the u.s. not to use military force in syria and warned the united states against considering itself exceptional, and concluded with a piece on earth goodwill towards men message saying, quote, there are big countries and small countries, and rich and poor, and those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy and the policies differ, too, we're all different and when we ask for the lord's blessings, we must not forget that god created us equal. if anybody knows about theology, democracy and equality, it is the president of russia or at foreign secretary of defense former secretary of defense leon panetta put it this morning. >> president putin should be the last person to lecture the united states about our human values and our human rights.
1:50 pm
>> for more now i am delighted to say we're joined by ambassador mark ginsburg. mr. ginsburg, i have to ask you the obvious question. what was this man thinking? what was he hoping to accomplish by writing this? >> how many bottles of vodka do you think you can open up while writing an op-ed in the krem lynn. >> a few. >> how do you translate the word hu hutszpa into russian? they're back in play and the world is back and i am leading it and i have the president of the united states on the ropes here, and by the way, my hands are completely clean on syria. >> oh, yeah. so let's just go through that. here is a man whose opposed to the united nations every step of the way over the last eight years, and now he says he believes the united nations is the most important body and it is a man who talks about american exceptionalism where as
1:51 pm
he is imbused the notion and what about the fact this is a man supplied all the weaponry to president assad that he is using to kill his own people? >> that is probably the most important thing for the viewers to understand. it is russia and it is vladimir putin that has been providing the overwhelming amount of significant arms that assad used to kill over 100,000 people in this civil war. no matter how many times the united states appealed to mr. putin to stop the arms transfers in order to quell the violence, to use the united nations as a forum in which to find a political solution and at each step of the way the hypocrisy of that op-ed comes through in mr. putin's actions. let us not be fooled. he is trying to fool the american people into believing he is mr. innocent in this and let me tell you something. he has more blood on his hands
1:52 pm
than almost any other country. >> are we trusting him too much with this potential diplomatic agreement? >> trust? let me tell you something. even mr. reagan would be rolling over in his greg if he thought we could use his trust when did comes to mr. putin. we're going to be in this play now thanks to mr. putin for months to come. i hope you bought long-term seats and have a big bag of popcorn to watch this play. he is going to drag this out in order to prevent the president of the united states from doing what is necessary here. >> do you think that assad sending this letter of accession to the united nations, a precursor to saying that he wants to join the convention on chemical weapons, is that not a sign of progress? >> i am prepared and let me understand where i am coming from. anything that we can do here, even if we fumble our way into a solution is better to prevent
1:53 pm
the humanitarian suffering and avoid conflict. if it plays itself out in a way to leave to a geneva conference, i don't care how much the president is criticized for falling into the trap of buying into this. if he buys a big and a poke, it is one thing. if it alleviates the suffering and leads to the political solution i am if naifr and if he has to be dragged kicking and screaming into the solution, i am all in favor of it. >> ambassador mark ginsburg. thank you. we'll be right back in a moment. building animatronics is all about getting things to work together. the timing, the actions, the reactions. everything has to synch up. my expenses are no different.
1:54 pm
receipt match from american express synchronizes your business expenses. just shoot your business card receipts and they're automatically matched up with the charges on your online statement. i'm john kaplan and i'm a member of a synchronized world. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?
1:55 pm
1:57 pm
after the president had addressed the nation on possible military action against syria, we now know that russian president vladimir putin not only read the speech, he then decided to write an editorial column published in the "new york times" in which he casts himself as the chief peacemaker as one might expect mr. putin says absolutely nothing about the vast military arsenal that russia has shipped to syria enabling president assad to kill thousands of his own people and nor does mr. putin mention the fact that he used the united nations not to resolve the conflict in syria, but to prevent any kind of resolution to stop the use of chemical weapons. instead, mr. putin appears to have been offended by how the president of the united states described the notion of american exceptionalism in the following terms. >> my fellow americans, for nearly seven decades the united states has been the anchor of global security, the burdens of leadership are often heavy.
1:58 pm
the world is a better place because we have born them. >> despite the president's measured tone, mr. putin didn't like that one bit. i would rather disagree with the case he made on american exceptionalism and stating that the united states policy is what makes america different and it is what makes us exceptional and it is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. well, i would rather disagree and i would invite to you consider the words of another foreign leader, winston churchill. back in 1943 when europe was in peril and the united states intervened in the second world war, the price of greatness is responsibility, said the british prime minister. if the people of the united states have continued in a mediocre station, struggling in the wilderness, absorbed in their own affairs, and a factor of no consequence in the world,
1:59 pm
then they might have remained forgotten and undisturbed beyond their protecting oceans. one cannot rise to be in many ways the leading community in the civilized world without being involved in its problems. without being convulsed by its agonies, and inspired by its causes. this is a difficult moment for the united states. it is only difficult because america has carried the burden of leadership and has involved itself in the agonies of the wider world. and that, mr. putin, is what makes this an exceptional nation. thank you so much for watching this afternoon. coming up, right now, the ed show with ed schultz, and we leave you with a picture from a very water logged white house, foggy and in the rain. ♪
2:00 pm
good evening, americans, and welcome to the ed show live from new york. let's get to work, not war. ♪ >> there is a new revolution in america. >> all because obama care is about to become -- >> we're not going to put up with funding obama care. >> fully implemented. >> the new revolution in america is about brains and balance and we the people got the brains. >> aww shucky ducky. >> if your kids haven't figured out what a lie is yet, you ought to tell them. >> obama care is a disaster. >> time for you to tell them. >> this atrocity of a law. >> atrocity of obama care. >> we cannot take our eyes off what it will mean to the devastation of healtre
159 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC West Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on