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tv   Hardball With Chris Matthews  MSNBC  September 18, 2013 11:00pm-12:01am PDT

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the hope is we will learn from this and better regulate the industry in the future. >> thank you for joining us tonight. straight from colorado. straight from the site. thank you, david. loan eye looney toons. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews. there's something strange and frightening emerging in american politics. i don't think it's right to call it politics in the same sense. there are dozens on the right who are trying to jeopardize the american economy by defaulting on the debt. they want to basically kill the affordable care act in its crib. that's the threat, that's what the demand is, and it's now all out there for all to see.
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i can't remember when the political party did something like this. it could throw the market into a tailspin and whack our 401(k)'s into a fare thee well. so what justification does the right wing of this country have for the senseless assault on the credit rating which happened the last time they pulled this tactic? what's the end game in which the world watches us as the country defaces itself. it achieves nothing, kills whatever's in its path. this is how i look at it. and i hate to see what i see because i still believe despite this hard evidence in the rights of self-government.
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david, political analyst. i respect your office. congratulations on representing your district. my question is, what do you think will be the impact of a default on the u.s. debt? >> i don't think there will be a default on the u.s. debt. the total amount of debt, interest payments are in the hundreds of billions of dollars. we have revenue in excess of $2 trillion. so there will be no default on our obligations unless the president decides to set us on that course. that would be his decision. plus the house has passed legislation that would make it clear that the debt obligations ought to be paid first before everything else. so i reject your premise. >> which economist have you gone to that told you that the secretary of treasury was wrong yesterday that when he said u.s. receipts coming in go above what they have in the costs they have
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to put out, that there will have to be a default. do you believe the secretary of the treasury is lying? and do you have someone else who says we will not go into default? what will we pay in terms of cops against? suppose you're wrong? >> the white house is using political gainsmanship and wordsmanship. it depends on what the word default means. to most people it means you're not paying your debt obligations. and there is no way in the world that we would not have sufficient revenue to pay our creditors. now the president in his discretion in a government shut down or in a no-raise the debt ceiling situation may decide he doesn't want to pay our creditors, but we still have over $2 trillion of revenue coming in, and our obligations are in the hundreds of billions. what the white house is using is they're saying the entire things we want to spend money on, if we
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don't spend them it's a default. >> this is kamikaze. the other question, if there is a raise in the debt ceiling, why are we arguing about this? it doesn't make sense what you're saying. it's ill logical. is there a debt ceiling? >> there is a debt ceiling. and that limits the amount of money the united states can borrow. if we're going to continue on this spree of trillion deficits. it's going to be a good year, of course that sarcasm is bad. >> you know as well as i do that these bills have been passed. the costs haven about run up already. the bills have been signed by the president. what you're talking about is will you pay your debts or not. >> wait a second, chris. it's the same thing that governors have to do in the 50 states. if you have a legislature and they're wrong and the spending exceeds the revenue then you have pro ray shun.
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>> there's no danger here of the unit going into default. >> i'm not saying there's no danger. there is a risk to our economy. and i hope that the president will understand that there is a bigger picture here and that bigger picture is whether or not the united states of america is going to continue on this path to insolvency and bankruptcy. that is a much bigger threat. >> what does he have to do to avoid dough fault, the president? >> what the president has to do. okay. which default are you using? the jack lew's? >> i want to get the congressman's views before we bring you in david. you're saying that the president has to do what? >> the president needs to be financially responsible. i will vote to raise the debt ceiling if the president will start addressing the underlying cause of the problem, which is our deficit.
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>> that's not what you guys are saying. >> the deficits are going down. >> excuse me, david. just a minute here. i want to get his view. i thought you guys were saying if the president doesn't dough lay or kill obamacare. the affordable care act. isn't that what you're demanding as a price for raising the debt ceiling? >> i'm not. i've never said that. >> you're not demanding that. >> i've never said that, now i will support a continuing resolution, and i will support a bill at the same time that kills obamacare because i think obamacare is that dangerous to our financial situation. >> what did i just hear you say? >> there in are other circumstances i would vote for a continuing resolution. it's not limited to obamacare. although that's one of the things that would cause me to do it. >> is one of the conditions getting rid of obamacare? >> when you use the word condition, no. but that's one of the carrot. >> we're, that's a way of saying that you guys on the right are
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basically saying there's a hostage situation here. we will not bring the government into default if you get rid of obamacare. >> wait a second. i don't want a government shut down. that's something that the democrats and the senate and the white house want because they think they can use it to their political advantage in the 2014 elections. >> that's a conjecture. i don't know whether that's true or not. >> chris. >> there's a problem very easily, by just addressing the appropriation bills that the house has already passed. >> before you start, david i want to point out a couple facts. two years we went through this and we didn't reach the default and we lost points in the stock market. the dow just dived. this hurt everyone's 401(k). the wall street journal in its lead editorial the other day said this is kamikaze politics. your thoughts, david? >> it's not just kamikaze. it reminds me of those stories of japanese soldiers left on the island after world war ii. we went through the debt ceiling
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fight. we've been through several budget showdowns again and again. and you see the same thing. you see congressman brooks and his pals and they are taking hostages. and they're even trying to defy john boehner and eric cantor who would like to come to some sort of compromise. they refuse to recognize that we have divided government. and they refuse to recognize that the congress passed obamacare. the supreme court said it was constitutional. and they want to keep having this same fight over and over again. in groundhog day, bill murray -- >> i want to ask you about the polling data. i know there's a political consideration. what do you think. >> chris. >> according to a recent cnn poll, a majority of americans will blame republicans if congress, if the government is shut down. only 33% will blame obama. now when it comes to debt default.
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>> i'm going to have to interject. i appreciate the opportunity to be on your show, but we have a natural resources vote taking place right now and i have 30 seconds to cast that vote. >> make your vote. david, i want you to pick up, but a couple things are important. it's not just ideology. it has to do with governance. if the government goes into default or threatens it, i was at jack lew's breakfast the other day, filled with business people. i listened to the wall street journal editorial. this is not a left/right argument. it may seem like one, but if our government goes into default our credit rating will go down immediately. the stock market will drop. this recession could return, all kinds of bad things. this is not a left/right argument. >> interest rates could go up. there could be a financial crisis that extends beyond the shores of the united states. now the congressman can get up there and make an assertion that
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everything will be fine and the president can finning ale his way out by paying a certain set of bills rather than other payments which we argued and debated two years ago, but the bottom line is that most economists of the right, left, and middle disagree with this. so is he willing to take a gamble? is he willing to throw the dice here because he's so mad about government spending, which is actually going down? or is he so upset by obamacare? >> let's take a look at what the president said. president obama took to the offensive. this is the president earlier today addressing business leaders in washington. >> you have never seen in the history of the united states, debt ceiling or the threat of not raising the debt ceiling being used to extort a president or a governing party and trying to force issues that have
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nothing to do with the budget and have nothing to do with the debt. >> you know, ronald reagan had it go up several times. the responsibility is to keep those savings bonds real, and to make the money you borrow in t-bills and everything else around the world mean something. it's not a joke. and it's not a political argument. >> some republicans want to take hostages to get policy concessions out of the president. i think some republicans want to take hostages just to blow up the bank. they want chaos. >> i think you're right, actually. >> and i think that's what's dangerous here. >> i think they're willing to dance on this thing, thinking maybe it will blow up. if it does, that's the grownups problem to deal with. that's not for little members of congress who only have to represent 600,000 people. all i have to do is be ideologically in synch with them and i'm covered.
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>> boehner's empowering these people. he won't face them down. so they feel like they have a lot of muscle. they can even defy the wall street journal page. >> i think if boehner does the same thing he'll be there for five more minutes. a big dog, he love does do all the things obama hates doing, and right now the president could use some help. and two groups are working against the voter photo id law. and the ceo of starbucks coming here. he says he loves your business, but please keep the guns at home. and why would any normal person want to detonate the american economy? this is "hardball," place for politics. you make a great team. it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction -
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here's a big reason republicans should be worried heading into next year's elections. according to our poll, women are leaning more toward the democrats than they were even in 2010 or 2012. women prefer democrats by a margin of 51% than 36%. that's a spread of 15 points. and white women who went republican in the last elections now lean democrat. so if they fail to win next election it could be due to their poor showing among women.
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the california teachers association. 150 years of making a difference that lasts a lifetime. welcome back to "hardball." there's an old saying that opposites attract. style wise there are few poll significances less alike than barack obama and bill clinton. a story describes this this way, his close contact with members of congress is something of a counter point to the current
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president. well president obama's being sharply criticized not just on the right but by his supporters for being too aloof. u.s. congressman steve israel is chairman of the democratic campaign committee and informal member of the bill clinton caucus. i don't know how many calls you get, but you're editorial director of the huffington post. i know if you got any calls, you'd be reporting in minutes. let me ask you about this. clinton schmoozing. you know, tip and reagan always used it, this willingness to pick up the phone and stay in touch on the little issues. he apparently like does talk to you guys about policy nuances. he likes to talk about wonky
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stuff. >> clinton connects, and i've seep him connect walking through a hotel kitchen. and he connects with members of congress where he wants to talk about the dynamics of a congressional election or the future of medicare or wants to talk about the broad range of issues we have. so he does have this relationship with members of congress. it's not calculated. it's not orchestrated. he just has these relationships, and he deepens these relationships and sustains them over the years. >> you do what i've been through once or twice. describe congressman, because you are the chairman of the campaign committee, what it's like when bill hits you with those big blue eyes, and makes you feel like you're the only person on this planet that he thinks or cares about. >> it's almost indescribable. i've been there, done that. it's like that tractor beam on the old show star trek. his, resistance is futile.
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it's not just the intensity and the body language. it is the intellect that brings you in on a very deep level. and no matter how much you know on any issue, he figures out the one question that you cannot answer. >> and he also figures you out. he finds out one thing about you that he thinks you've got on your mind and he works it. it's not bad. it's just really good. i want to talk about the political impact of this. is the former president playing cleanup for the current president? looking around for balls that can be batted in with a little help from him? >> i think bill clinton regards the obama presidency as an accidental interregnum between clintons. he agrees with the president on most things he's thankful to the president for having hillary be secretary of state.
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they're on the same team, but as you said and the congressman said, they have very different skills. and the thing about bill clinton is that nothing is irrelevant to his constant weaving of the social construct of politics. nothing. no people, no issues, no facts. and he's constantly telling and retelling and reanalyzing and selling that story. >> let's talk -- >> there's nobody better. there's nobody better. >> he's not only self-interested. is he fundamentally thinking though, if he helps obama at least leave the presidency with a pretty good record, pretty decent record, not a failure, of course, that's more helpful to mrs. clinton, secretary clinton when she runs and we all expect she will. >> they're on the same team. and what he's doing is finding the people who are not engaged with or not directly focused on the white house, and that's a lot of people, because as you
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said earlier, a lot of people in washington, a lot of people on capitol hill, a lot of politicians don't feel connected to barack obama. they might admire barack obama. they might have been inspired by barack obama. but they don't hear from barack obama. bill clinton talks to all those people. >> he's amazing. >> best thing that president obama could do to get his agenda passed here in washington or at least give it a chance over the next few months is to bring in bill clinton and put him in charge because the staff around the president at the white house as good as they are and as good as they were in the first term don't hold a candle to billion clinton's ability to explain himself. he can do it to 20 million in the tv audience or person to person. >> nobody retails better than he does. president obama could use a boost. people 65 and older obama's in trouble with, a favorable rating
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of 31%. unfavorable rating 57% among the senior people. clinton is strong in the south where he's from. a region where the president struggles, 42 favorable, unfavorable 50%. clinton is a rock star in his home state of arkansas. by the way, that's not his fault. former president clinton enjoys support from 48% of white males. >> you know how campaigns work. does bill clinton simply benefit from the fact that he doesn't done anything lately that bothers people. look at george bush senior. he hasn't done anything in public life except jump out of an airplane and his popularity has gone out of the roof. people like politicians when they're not in their face.
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>> i will say this, as a chair of the d triple c i talk to incumbents all over the country. i don't care whether you're a blue dog in a republican district or a progressive in a solidly blue district, you want bill clinton in your district, red, blue, purple, in the middle. there's not a single democratic incumbent or challenger who doesn't want bill clinton in their district. >> you're out there jogging in the mall. it's a good run by the way. and he's on the phone with you for like 80 minutes. and he's doing a granular examination of you. tell me what that was like. >> i had just become the d triple c chair. i had about an hour, so i figured i would steal a run. went outside for a jog. it was in the summer. cell phone rang. picked it up and it said president clinton. those are calls you take.
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so i found a shade eye spot, sat under a tree and he went through a very lengthy phone call where he was talking about medicare, talking about our message, specific districts, giving advice on what we needed to do in order to win seats. and that was a very instructive call. there is no better political tutor in the world than bill clinton, particularly when you're in the middle of a job and find a shady spot. >> was he interested in people he wanted to help and also people he didn't want to help who he had to settle scores with? because clinton does keep count. my experience tells me that. >> no. when he goes into a district he wants to know everything about that district if there's something he doesn't know. so he gets granular. he wants to know the candidate, their position, the demographic performance index. he gets very, very detailed on every element of the districts he's going to help. >> are these guys true allies? >> yes. i don't know that they're
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soulmates necessarily. i don't know that they spend as much time talking to each other about politics of the districts as former president clinton did with the congressman recently. they don't just sit down and do that, but yes, they have a community of interest, which is that bill clinton wants the democratic party to be as strong as possible, with as many electeds as possible heading into a 2016 race where he fully expects his wife to be the democratic nominee. and barack obama has an interest in keeping the democratic ranks together to the extent that he can. the infusion of energy and interest from bill clinton as he tries to prepare the ground for his wife, i think is a gift to the obama administration if the obama administration would only take it. >> he's amazing, and i think everybody wants to be friends with bill clinton because his wife may very well be the next president. that's part of life too. >> thank you for joining us. we'll be right back after this. [ male announcer ] progresso's so passionate about its new
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joe biden has got people talking that he'll run for president after he was spotted at a fund-raiser in iowa this week. unfortunately, he missed giving his speech because he spent four hours trapped in a corn maze. >> jimmy fallon on the speculation that joe biden will run in 2016. but mitt romney's strategist isn't having any of it. he poked fun of the iowa trip comparing the bids to a fringe party candidate named vermin supreme. they have run for president the same number of times and have won the same number of delegates. part activist, part performance
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artist, vermin supreme is known for campaigning with a meg phone and a boot on his head. well, hillary clinton may be the frontrunner, but biden does have a lot of support over the last five years, he might just end up be being the we try harder candidate. it seems that funnyman david letterman was watching the discovery channel. let's just say he uses artistic license. >> they're doing a documentary called the gatekeepers. and we've excerpted some of it for you so you get an idea what the presidential chief of staff does. >> if's good and bad, somebody else will handle it. all the stuff that gets into the oval office is between bad and worse. >> the chief of staff has to bel
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to tell the president the truth. >> if w made it all the way through a cia briefing, we gave him a gumball. dennis rodman is playing up his relationship with the north korean leader in a commercial for pistachios. here's the ad. >> the secret to world peace is pistachios. >> dennis rodman does it because he's nuts. wonderful pistachios. get cracking. >> a parody. up next, a fight in texas over the voter id law. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead.
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welcome back to "hardball," last year a federal court handed a stinging rebuke to texas legislators who tried to add a strict voter id law. they said the law as written would disenfranchise minorities
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and the poor. the law was blocked under section five of the voting rights act. then the supreme court gutted the voting rights act. they decide things have changed dramatically since the law was passed. justice ruth baiter ginsberg summed up, it's like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet. the result of the supreme court's desis was dramatic and swift. within hours, the texas attorney general said his state would move to implement the controversial law. eric holder sued to block the law. and now two groups have filed their own suit. clearly other states are watching to see how things unfold in texas.
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we have the co-director of the advancement project. lawyers from the groups are involved in the lawsuit. let me go first to wendy. let me ask you about this case. what was the previous way of deciding, the current way of deciding whether a voter is a legal voter or not, what were the documentary requirements? >> there in is a federal requirement that applies across the nation that a first-time voter, the first time they vote after registering by mail has to show some sort of id to establish their identity before getting in the system and voting. there are a wide range of ids that suffice. >> it's a border state, texas. how do you prove you're in this country legally? how do you do it? >> you don't actually have to file proof of citizenship when
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you register to vote. you have to swear an affidavit under penalty of perjury. and that is the proof of citizenship. the election officials can then investigate whether there are any questions and prosecute or remove people where there are questions. >> what's real way it works? practical terms? >> as a practical matter, the penalty for fraudulently voting is dramatic. >> i see. >> it is five years in prison, $10,000 in fines. those are the federal penalties. it is very easy to get caught. and the benefit to that individual voter casting a fraudulent vote are quite small. it really doesn't make sense to do that. and it makes sense that very few people actually do. >> we were trying to figure out what a disincentive is. it's common accept. why would a person in 24 country illegally, why would they risk exposure to vote when they're not an american.
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let me go to you. do you argue that the current ways to determine whether a voter is that voter when they show up is adequate? >> yes. absolutely, chris. the help america vote act requires every voter to show id when they register. it's just a question of the type of id. we're seeing across the nation states enacting laws more strict than the next so it's only a particular form of id. in texas it could be up to 200 miles to a motor vehicle location to get that id. you may have to pay $22 for a birth certificate or hundreds of dollars for a marriage the certificate. >> it's like a poll tax. >> it's exactly like a poll tax. >> greg abbott rejected the arguments. voter ids are require the of every texan regardless of race.
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is that true? that it's regardless of race and it's free to get a voter id card? >> it has an enormous racial impact. the people who don't have it are disproportionately people of color. i think wendy's lawsuit lays out that this is intentional or the basis of race. and third, even though texas is making the id available itself for free, if you can get to the place and you have to pay for transportation, and you have the documents that they require, which cost money, then allegedly it's free. >> anybody get caught like they were in pennsylvania, where they were stupid enough, the republicans, to say this is why they were doing it? >> not this year. but there have been years past where there have been public statements made by party officials saying that, you know, this is likely to reduce voter
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turnout. it has been a subject of contention in texas for a number of years. everybody knew this had a disproportionate turnout on race. there are hundreds of voters that don't have ids acceptable under this law. this is the same state that was found last year by another court to have purposely discriminated on the basis of race in its redistricting plan. >> i bring that up, because the party chair in pennsylvania said it would shave points like in a basketball game. the other guy was saying we were going to carry this state because of the voter id laws. so they're pretty open minded. talk about open carry politically. let me ask you the chances of eric holder winning this case, this voter id requirement coming in.
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>> i think it's a very strong case, the case brought by the department of justice and the case that was just filed today by the naacp with wendy as one of the lawyers. both of those cases are very strong because the impact on voters of color is very harsh and there's strong suggestive evidence that it was intentional to keep voters of color out of the system. >> how do you prove that? >> there's a lot of circumstantial evidence that they took really unusual steps in order to get this voter id law through. this, the evidence is going to, you know, pile up over the course of the case, you know. we haven't even started any of the discovery in the case. but, again, this is a state that has in the same legislative session have found to do other voting actions that were purposely done on the basis of race. we don't have to show motive in
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this case under the voting rights act, but it is clear that the motive was present already. >> that's going to be interesting how you develop that. texas not alone. north carolina approved a law that is even harsher than texas. it cuts early voting down by a week, it eliminates the ability for poll workers to issue provisional ballots for someone who shows up at the wrong precinct. i tie this into shifting the presidential election into a full winner take all basis upon which we do it now, it looks like to my an attempt to disenfranchise black people and people of color generally. it's the same pattern. don't let the big cities counts. that's what they're up to. >> absolutely. this is politicians manipulating the system for their own advantage. we're seeing it in wisconsin. we're going to trial in november.
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we're seeing it in north carolina. we're seeing it in mississippi where they've announced they're going to start implementing their strict photo id. we've seen it in pennsylvania where the trial just concluded. it's a pattern across the country. >> yep, i see the pattern, and we're going to keep talking about voter suppression. that's one of my most important issues here at "hardball." it has so much to do in our divide in this country over race. it sits there. good luck in your case. up next, the ceo of starbucks wants you to leave your guns at home. that seems reasonable. we have the ceo of starbucks. this is "hardball," the place for politics. my mantra?
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ask your doctor about the only underarm low t treatment, axiron. ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around barry ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ new polling. according to a new quinnipiac poll, it's mccallive 44%. the libertarian in that case, 7. and the first poll out in the new york race, bill de blasio has a lead of 65%. for months, gun rights
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for months, gun rights advocates have been holding starbucks appreciation days throughout the country, including in newtown, connecticut. starbucks' policy has always been to follow local gun laws which includes local carry which exists in some 45 states. it was celebrated by activists who showed up to buy their lattes with their firearms showing. ceo is asking them to leave their guns at home.
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>> tell me about your decision. i've read the letter you've sent to everybody in the country, urging people, at least voluntarily, not to bring open guns into starbucks. why did you do it? >> well, let me say at the outset, that obviously starbucks is not a policymaker, and we're not pro or anti-gun. we do, however, believe that at this point in time we are respectful asking customers not to come into the store with a gun. the question is why? well, a lot of customers told us they are jarred and are uncomfortable seeing people walking in with a gun. i think many people in the country are confused about actually what open carry means. and we do not believe that guns should be a part of the starbucks experience, when people are coming in for a sense
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of respite and calmness. >> well, the law says you are allowed to carry, the states voted that way. that is the way it works. you don't have to like it. but the question is, is it open to any business? like for example could a gun, a tap room say no guns in here after midnight or no guns in here at all? if you were legally allowed to do it, could you say no guns, if you wanted to? >> well, as you mentioned, 45 states right now have an open carry law. but the law is fairly ambiguous about whether you can walk into an open establishment. >> well, you know the law, does the law allow you to say no guns if you said that? if you said no guns in starbucks, could you get away with it legally? >> i think you could get away with it legally. the question is how would you enforce it? the question is, we don't want to put our people in a position
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where they have to confront or enforce the law, on a position they would take with somebody holding a firearm. so we thought the best example we could do was make the request respectfully, with civility. and the majority of americans will believe this is a good request and the majority will honor the request. now, the people who are not going to honor it and walk into a starbucks with a gun, we think it is important that we're not going to serve them or make them feel uncomfortable, we're not going to make that a part of starbucks, we have both been put in a position as anti-and pro gun advocates used starbucks as a stand for their position. that is not a reason for our brand, that is why we're having an open-minded policy.
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>> most people don't just say it is up to the customer, their own intentions or desires, why are you so open-minded? don't you have a personal opinion about whether people should walk around like the old west, carrying guns? >> well, chris -- >> i think it is odd where a person wants to walk in a saloon, where you see the dangers of mixing alcohol with gun plays. i guess there is much more danger mixing it with caffeine, but you don't have an opinion -- it seems strange. >> it is not that i don't have a position, chris, as you know this is perhaps one of the most polarized issue in our country. for 200 years, the second amendment has provided the opportunity for people to have a firearm. it is not up to starbucks to make a policy. but it is up to starbucks to preserve the integrity of the experience the customers have in our stores.
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and they don't want to see guns. as a result, we are in business for the customers, not to make a law or make a policy on the side of, pro or against the gun. >> what is the reaction of the baristas? by the way, they're very incredible and well-mannered. i like most of the people i deal with in northwest washington where i go to starbucks. i have to tell you, i spent a lot money over the years. what do they think? young and old people work at starbucks. what do they think about a guy walking in with an open pistol? does that bother them? >> i think it has produced a fair amount of confusion and discomfort for our people. and i think our people today, the vast, vast majority of starbucks personnel have really supported this decision. >> your decision. >> they think we're on the right side of it. >> so they're happy with your decision to discourage people from bringing guns and open carry into your starbucks? >> yes, because we have embraced
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the guiding principles of our company, to serve the customers. >> i like your idea, people may not be ready to go home. there is still a nice feeling about going somewhere where you don't work for somebody and have the idea of relaxing and doing their homework there. thank you very much, howard schultz for coming on. when we come back, why would a person want to tank the economy? we're watching "hardball," the place for politics.
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why would any normal person want to tank the economy? if they love america, why are they out there bringing it done, having the u.s. government default? i used to be a newspaper boy, we were encouraged to buy the u.s. savings bonds, it was the patriotic thing to do, the bonds were as good and solid as the u.s. government itself. it is that u.s. government the looney tunes are pushing down, knocking off the u.s. economy, killing hopes for the decent retirement, and while they're at it they want to carry pistols, rifles, whatever they want to carry, the fire power, in there -- when they go in to buy their lattes. who are these people cashing in, on the going institution, arming
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up themselves. is this the right wing future? the dream land of the looney tunes? government that has gone into default, the main stream they can prowl loaded for bear. that is "hardball" for now. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. >> good evening, from new york, i'm chris hayes, and tonight on "all in" showdown to shutdown, house republicans are threatening a government shutdown, while also signaling they will surrender and then trying to throw each other under the bus. it is a total mess, also extremely entertaining to watch. and we'll bring you all the details. then i'll go toe to toe with a republican economist about his deranged existence on prolonging misery, then, one of the best political ads i have ever seen. but for now, we begin with john