to happen. i can get great union leaders such as yourself to talk about it, advocacy people to talk about it. i want elected officials to come out in 2014 and lay it on the line and don't go home and tell us how you're so supportive of the middle class unless you're willing to do it in front of the cameras in washington and collectively put it together. where is the progressive caucus on this? where's the congressional black caucus on this? they need to make this front and center. this is america's economy on the line. no doubt about it. mr. cohen, good to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. we will do this story again and again until we get those lawmakers off their duff to do something about this and say it. that's "the ed show." i'm ed shultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. >> good evening. happy new year, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, happy new year to taall and a healthy new yearo

those gets insurance for the first time. despite hysterical right wing rhetoric and despite threats of impeachment, 6 million americans are now receiving insurance coverage under the president's health care law. welcome to 2014. on january 1st, coverage went into effect for 2.1 million people who enrolled in private plans through the health exchanges. it took effect for another 3.9 million covered through medicaid expansion. this is a major milestone. it's a day the president looked towards when he signed the affordable care act into law nearly four years ago. >> it'll take four years to implement fully many of these reforms. because we need to implement them responsibly. when this exchange is up and running, millions of people will get tax breaks to help them afford coverage which represents

the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history. that's what this reform's about. >> 6 million americans now covered. and millions more are benefitting from other protections taking effect this month. insurance companies can no longer charge women more than men for the same coverage. insurance can no longer place limits on annual coverage leaving families to foot the bill for outrageous cost. and they no longer deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. bun of the most notorious abuses during the old system. this is a great way to start the new year for millions of families. and yet the far right still doesn't get it. here's what senator shutdown ted cruz tweeted on new year's eve. quote, retweet if you hope 2014 brings a full repeal of

obamacare. congressman eric cantor said today that republicans will start 2014 with more house votes taking aim at obamacare. and a right wing group backed by the koch brothers is spending over $2 million in three states on tv attack ads. >> obamacare doesn't work. new hampshire families deserve better. >> tell kay hagen obamacare hurts north carolina. >> obamacare hurts louisiana families. >> it's a new year, but the same old message from republicans. and millions of americans gainigain ing care this week are sick of hearing it. joining me now congressman jim mcdermott and krystal ball. happy new year, first of all, to both of you. >> happy new year. >> same to you.

>> let me ask you. more than 300,000 people in your state are covered under obamacare. about 65,000 through private plans. about 230,000 through medicaid expansion. are your republican colleagues thinking about those people when they're thinking and talking about repealing obamacare? >> reverend, they're really not thinking about any people. they're just talking about money and they're talking about an ideology that says that government should never do anything for anybody. so they can't look at the people who are getting insurance and are getting things taken care of that they haven't had before. and seriously say we don't want you to have coverage. they just -- they close their eyes and say i don't believe in government and i don't believe we should be doing all this stuff and we ought to repeal it. i mean, they simply are not looking at the human beings

involved. because the stories are -- they're as long as my arm in my office of all the people calling in and saying what's this has done for them. >> tell us some of what you're hearing of, congressman. give us a flavor of the people who are calling in. >> people who have had things they've been putting off and they haven't gone to the doctor. they found a lump and it wasn't a very big lump, so they decided they wouldn't go and see about it. but now they're looking forward to being able to go, because they couldn't figure how to pay the money for $300 to see a doctor about a lump. if you have insurance and you got a lump, you go see the doctor. and the doctor looks after it. but if you don't have insurance, you sit at home and wait and pray that it's not cancer. that's the kind of thing. >> it's very tough to take that away. real people. in fact, president obama's

grassroots groups organizing for america is out with a new campaign highlighting stories from real people like this getting covered under obama care. listen to this and tell me how important it is to get the real people's story out there. >> in 2006 i was diagnosed with breast cancer. shortly thereafter i lost my health care coverage. i've been waiting a long time for january 1st, 2014. >> i found a new plan on the exchange. and it's going to have a lot more coverage. i'm excited about that. >> to go from paying $15,000 a year to less than $300 a month is unbelievable. >> the maternity services are covered. we're thinking about having another kid because we could afford it. >> regular people on ads talking about the affordability. talking about they can now get covered. the congressman talking about real people facing real health threats.

i mean, there's nothing scarier than having a health threat. how do the fact that we're seeing people get this out there, how is this on the politics? >> it matters a huge amount. not only are these stories real. not only are there millions of stories out there in the country, but it's something everyone can relate to. everyone knows someone who has struggled to get insurance who was denied who had a problem with their insurer whose incentives were to provide them the least possible care. and where costs were so high that millions of people have never been able to afford health insurance. it's absolutely critical. and not only is it irresponsible for republicans to attack this law without providing another alternative solution. when you look and listen to stories like those, it's absolutely immoral. and i don't think that republicans have ever thought through what they are going to do when this law is a success. they've always just convinced

themselves it's going to fail. >> well, even beyond that, congressman, not only have they not thought about what they're going to do when the law's a success, they don't know what they want to do as alternative to the law they want to repeal. many republicans are still talking about repealing obamacare even though they have no backup plan. give you an example, congressman. "the new york times" asked a republican senator names dan coats about it. quote, asked what should be done with the millions of people getting health care through the law, senator coats said, call the white house and ask them. i mean, it's unbelievable. >> well, you know, i sit on the ways and means committee, al. that's the committee where we wrote the obamacare or affordable care act. and members on the other side who are voting again and again and again to vote out these repeals, i've said repeatedly to them, look. if you have an alternative, why don't you bring it out here and

put it on the table and let us look at it and vote it up or down. they have no alternative. they haven't had one for three years. and yet all they talk about is getting rid of what the president has. it's simply -- it's mindless kind of politics and it's inhuman. >> and it is all of that. that was what i was going to say, inhuman. but, krystal, talking about the insensitivity of it, gop governors and lawmakers in 25 states have refused to expand medicaid. it denied insurance to nearly 5 million americans. we're not talking now about posturing. they have refused to expand medicaid impacting the lives of 5 million americans. >> it is hard to believe that they looked at this situation and looked at their own state's residen residents, people who are counting on them as their public servants to do the right thing

and said sorry. my ideology, my desire to hurt this president says you cannot have health insurance. it is despicable and i think they will ultimately pay the price in terms of their political careers. >> congressman mcdermott and krystal ball, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. >> and be sure nothing has changed in 2014. catch krystal on "the cycle" week days at 3:00 p.m. right here on msnbc. ahead, the fight to save unemployment benefits for over a million americans is on. and pressure is building on republicans to act. plus the progressive wave rolls into 2014 for new york to congress to the white house. get ready for action on the fight for income equality. and the mystery deepens in new jersey. did chris christie shut down a

bridge as a political payback? big news from the lead investigator leaves many more questions. and the comedians get a big new year's gift. a major announcement from toronto's mayor rob ford. stay with us. [ sneezes, coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is.

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when congress comes back to work, their first order of business should be making this right. i know a bipartisan group is working on a three-month extension of this insurance. they should pass it. and i'll sign it right away. >> we don't abandon each other when things are tough. that was president obama fighting to save unemployment benefits which expired last week. and democrats are ready to follow his lead. harry reid will hold a vote monday to extend jobless benefits for three months saying, quote, the rich are getting richer. the poor are getting poorer. the middle class is getting squeezed. it's just not fair. he's right. it's not fair. so far 1.3 million people have lost their jobless benefits because republicans refused to act. and already families across the country are getting hit very

hard. >> i'm very scared. you know, i mean, you -- where am i going to pay my mortgage? i love my home, but i'm afraid to lose it. >> i'm going to have to either look for a temporary part-time job doing menial labor or i'm going to have to consider giving up the house. >> it's important especially when it's the only income i had. i have to push my schooling off to the side for the moment to maintain employment. >> i wouldn't be worried of how i was going to keep the car or pay my mortgage. it's not just me. i have three boys i have to think of. they're my first priority. >> real people in real pain. those are the voices that republicans should be listening to. joining me now is jared bernstein, former chief economist for vice president biden. thanks for coming on the show, jared. >> my pleasure, rev. >> why would republicans let this happen when it hurts so

many people and it hurts the larger economy as well, jared? >> it's a good question. i think the misunderstanding among republicans is that the economy which is clearly improving is somehow back to a place where any job seeker can find a job that will meet their qualities, that will meet the kind of skills they bring to the labor market. now you and i know that's not though case. they're confusing an economy that's on the mend with an economy that's healed. in fact, the share of long-term unemployment is twice as high as it's been in the past when congress has extended emergency benefits like this. >> you know, look at some of these that are the grinches on the right who stole christmas. that's when this expired. in senator rand paul's state of kentucky, 18,000 people have lost their jobless benefits.

senator chambliss let 54,000 lose their jobs in georgia. and senator ted cruz allowed over 64,000 texans to lose theirs. on monday these senators will vote on jobless benefits. i mean, how can they not extend them for voters back home if nothing else, jared? >> i mean, if you look across the states where many of these republican representatives hold office, illinois, ohio, you mentioned georgia, mississippi, florida. many of these states have unemployment rates that are above the national average. and by the way, i think the unfortunate thing you said they're going to vote against it, this may never come to a vote. they may employ a filibuster. we'll see that on monday whether harry reid has the votes to at least get this to a vote. if it does get to a vote, one of

the things we hoped is over this recess, the kind of points you just made, the people you shows in your introduction would move this in the right direction. i'm afraid that may not of happened. >> but what this means for the economy as well, clearly it helps people that are in pain and need it. people that worked and lost their jobs but the economy, what it means to the health of the country's economy, what does that mean? >> very important. clearly unemployed people go out and spend their unemployment insurance benefits. they have to to meet their family budgets. when they do so, they create more economic activity. if they buy groceries, someone has to restock those shelves. there's another job. nonpartisan analysts tell us by failing to extend unemployment insurance benefits we're shaving two points off the gdp this year. >> jared bernstein, thank you for your time tonight.

>> you're welcome. coming up, did governor christie shut down a bridge for political payback? the lead investigator is breaking news, and it puts christie on the hot seat. plus florida governor rick scott vowed to drug test people on welfare. tonight i vow to say we got you. and think the rob ford reality show ended last year? think again. news today making comedians very happy. stay with us. ♪

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florida's republican governor rick scott may be in for a rough new year. he's up for re-election with polls showing that just 23% of voters say he's doing a good or excellent job. ouch.

and now a federal judge has struck down one of his pet programs. drug testing poor people. in 2011, scott signed the law to drug test all welfare applicants in florida. and this is how the governor explained his reasoning. >> studies show people on welfare are higher users of drugs than people not on welfare. studies show that people on welfare are using drugs much higher than the population. >> i don't know which studies governor scott's referring to, but his math just doesn't add up. in florida only 2% of welfare applicants failed rick scott's drug test. 2%. but nationwide, the percentage of americans who use illegal drugs is nearly 9%. scott also claimed his program would save money. but florida lost money when it

had to reimburse everyone who didn't test positive. rick scott's crusade to drug test poor people turned into a national joke. even the daily show poked fun at him. >> to take down this cartel, i had to get the kingpin. governor rick scott. but the money that went through the legislature were not. >> governor, you benefit from hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars every year. so would you be willing to pee in this cup to prove you're not on drugs? we can all turn around. it's fine. >> and guess who else thinks this law is a joke. the federal judge who just struck it down as unconstitutional. governor scott, did you think we wouldn't notice your lame drug

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[ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. . for too long we had a problem in this country. the rich has gotten richer while everyone else struggles to get by. the top 1% have seen their income grow by 271%. but the vast majority of americans, they barely made any gains. that's deeply unfair. but there's a battle to change that. and it's being led by progressives. new york just swore in a new mayor who ran on a platform to change this. this broken system that keeps perpetrating this kind of inequality. after swearing in bill de blasio, former president bill clinton praised this focus on fairness.

>> this inequality problem bedevils the entire country. and i can tell you from my work, much of the world. but it is not just a moral outrage, it is a horrible constraint on economic growth and on giving people the security we need. we cannot go forward if we don't do it together. >> that focus on creating an economy built for everyone is being felt all over the country. 13 states raised their minimum wage yesterday. that means a pay raise for nearly 2.5 million low-income americans. and now the president and democrats are ramping up pressure on the issue as well. making it a key focus of the 2014 election. in washington, strong progressives like senator elizabeth warren are voicing the concerns that americans have felt for far too long.

>> there is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. nobody. we need a strong cop on the beat to make sure no one steals your purse on main street or your pension on wall street. wall street ceos, the same ones who wrecked our economy and zro destroyed millions of jobs still strut around congress no shame demanding favors and acting like we should thank them. does anyone here have a problem with that? well, i do too. i do too. >> i have a problem with that too. but now from the white house to the congress to cities all across this country, people are looking to do something about it. joining me now are brian grimm and patricia murphy.

thank you for coming on the show tonight. >> happy new year. >> thank you. >> patricia, elizabeth warren has made the issue of income inequality an issue in the senate. >> yeah. absolutely, she has. i think she is really filling the shoes of somebody like senator ted kennedy and wellstone. after they died, we didn't have a strong progressive voice to take up that battle. she's had a lot of success doing that. i do think democrats are going to have to have a lot more senators like elizabeth warren or they're going to need to start to see challenges from the left in the way that the tea party conservatives are challenging republicans for the right in order to actually move legislation through the senate on its own. otherwise they're going to have to keep doing deals with republicans. elizabeth warren has shown what is possible. but i think a lot more is going to have to change in the makeup of the senate to find out what's likely to happen. >> but when you read today e.j.

dionne's piece in the "washington post," he makes an important point about the need for a strong left. he writes, when politicians can ignore the questions posed by the left and a push to focus almost exclusively on the right's concerns, the results immoderate and ultimately impractical policy. to create a real center, you need a real left. what do you think, ryan? >> i think that's right. and the additional consequence of it is that the people in the center actually then start moving left. and just take a look at bill clinton at de blasio's swearing in. bill clinton comes out and says, look. inequality is the driving force of our time. and if we think back, the clbt clintons here, these are the more centrist faction within the

party. but hillary clinton i think sees kind of the way the wind is blowing here. and she has to kind of move close tore this populist wing. so not only do you have a strong left creating a stronger center, but the center can move towards the more populist wing. >> doesn't that begin to answer some of your point and concern about the senate? when you see bill clinton who brought the democratic party to the center and many of us fell right of center in the '90s. dick morris was a secret campaign adviser in re-election. for bill clinton to now talk about income inequality and move that far to the left, doesn't it show the footsteps of voters are being heard by more moderate democrats? >> i think it shows that the footsteps of 2016 are being heard by the clinton family. >> that too. >> well, just that too.

also, you know, they're close with bill de blasio. he was hillary clinton's 2000 campaign manager when she was running for senate. so they have a long standing relationship with him. but if you do listen to the language of the way he was praising bill de blasio, i think it's so important because he was talking about income inequality that has only become more acute. and as we seen the recession start to ease off in terms of the markets, the housing market, the stock market, it has not just eased off for average americans. that's where i think democrats can really start to exploit this issue or make it an issue that is not just about progressives, but about the middle class. when you're talking about an issue that can be labeled as progressive but instead what is the minimum wage that 57% of republicans think should be raised. 70% of moderates believe should be raised. i think that's when they'll start to see traction on these issues. and the clintons are smart

enough to know that. and i think we're starting to see when bill clinton starts to make those moves, many more democrats are going to start to listen to that. >> and more democrats will have to see the same thing. because the issues as patricia says, 84% of democrats would like to see the minimum wage raised. so do 70% of moderates, 57% of republicans. so this is not just a progressive issue. this is an american issue. but despite that, the right wing continues to bash the idea of raising the minimum wage. listen to this, ryan. >> raising the minimum wage doesn't have one significant economic benefit. >> when you raise the price of employment, guess what happens. you get less of it. >> a minimum wage law is not the way to do it. >> i don't think raising minimum wage and history is clear about

this, doesn't wait accomplish those goals. >> the minimum wage is not about economics or standard of living. it's just a leftist prop. >> so it's just a leftist prop. shooting it down. but the polls clearly show most americans including 57% of republicans want to see the raise of minimum wage. this income inequality is real. >> you know -- right. and that's an excellent point. and i think it actually distinguishes elizabeth warren from paul wellstone and ted kennedy that patricia was mentioning earlier. those were liberal lions and they were champions in the senate, but elizabeth warren is a slightly different political figure. she's more trans-partisan. not exactly a standard liberal. and that's why people use the word populist a lot when they're referring to her. kind of a left populist. her issues are broadly popular.

the minimum wage is broadly popular. so is targeting wall street. you'll find many who think wall street is out of control and has too much power. >> well, we'll be tracking this issue all year. thank you for your time this evening. >> thank you. still ahead, new questions for chris christie on the bridge scandal. and things could get a lot worse. a whole lot worse. plus big news from toronto. mayor rob ford. we'll tell you why he may be adding to his blooper reel. stay with us. ♪

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it's the new jersey missry that just isn't going away. we've told you how two top aides to governor christie resigned after how two lanes on the bridge were shut down in december. they said it was part of a study of the george washington bridge. but other officials said that wasn't true. and some believe it was political payback. because the closure caused huge traffic jams in the town of fort lee, new jersey. and fort lee's democratic mayor didn't endorse democratic christie in his re-election

campaign. but we may learn more next week. because former port authority official david wildstein has been ordered to testify at a hearing one week from today. he's the one who ordered the lane closure and later resigned. he's also a high school friend of governor christie's. but the assemblyman said the story's bigger than one lane. he said the lane closures, quote, came from a higher authority. and there are words that are used that would imply an improper motive. now, governor christie has not responded to this latest news but has denied any involvement. >> i know you guys are obsessed with this. i'm not. i'm really not. it's just -- it's not that big a

deal. just because press runs around and writes about it, i know why that is and so do you. it is because i am a national figure and anything like this will be written about a lot now. >> not that big a deal? i think we'll have to wait and see. joining me now are new jersey assemblyman gordon johnson who represents fort lee, new jersey, and msnbc contributor goldie taylor. thank you both for your time and for being here. >> thanks for having me on. >> thank you. >> assemblyman, one of your colleagues now says the decision comes from a higher authority. what's your reaction to that? >> well, you know, the committee has received about 5,000 pages of subpoena documents. somewhere in there, the chair of the committee feels that there is something else that goes

beyond mr. baro mr. barr row ba and mr. wildstein -- and testifies under oath, we'll know exactly what has sparked this comment from john. >> now, goldie, the reason that this is such a story is the political implications of clust christie who's a national figure now as he says. but who is being widely proclaimed as a republican candidate for president in 2016. and this would if, in fact, if at all implicates him would show how he does politics or worse if he ends up being proven to be involved at all. >> i think the operative phrase here is as he says. a lot of us have propped up chris christie as a national

figure, someone who is able to attract people from both sides of the aisle to a common solution. and that really just hasn't proven to be so. if you look at the economic record in the state of new jersey. if you look at christie's overall record. and so i think that we have got a step back and take a really hard look at how much coverage we give to somebody like chris christie. you know, whether or not this pans out to be true remains to be seen. but if it is true, it caters to the narrative that christie's a bully. that he is very hard on people who might disagree with him for a small slice of maybe some huge retribution. it plays into that narrative. we don't elect presidents like that. we don't elect mean guys. >> the temperament and the way he does politics if he's offering himself -- if he were offering himself to be a presidential candidate. if he is proven to be involved

in any way in this manner. assemblyman, one of the things i think makes this issue not go away other than the notoriety of the governor is the one that looks through the documents has found no traffic related reason for the closure. quote, i've gone through all 907 pages twice since christmas and i've never seen any explanation. now, do you think this is part of the reason this won't go away? they said this is about a traffic study. yet they can't find any documentation or any good explanation. >> first they said it was a traffic study. in addition, they said it was a specific entrance for fort lee residents. neither of them have found to be true. there is no special entrance for

fort lee residents. there's no signage that says there's special entrance for the fort lee residents. and this fictitious traffic study has proven to be nonexistent. you think he would know about it if there was one. >> you know, when we look at a recent new fox news poll, goldie, it shows christie leading the field in a potential republican primaries in 2016. he got 16% compares to 12% for ted cruz, paul ryan, and jeb bush. what effect will this kind of bridge story have on his standing with the republican party voters nationally? >> well, there's a couple of things there, reverend al. you know, the numbers today may not be the numbers tomorrow. i don't think we know the chris christie today that we're going to know in 2016, number one. two, conservatives around the

south. conservatives around the rust belt, these are the kinds of people that don't get behind a chris christie candidacy and can't on principle reasons. a lot of people want to compare him to mitt romney saying well he was a moderate too. well, mitt romney had something going for him. a very splintered gop primary and a war chest that overwhelmed his competitors. so this issue to me is much like saying that you're for pushing the economic development when you're really for shutting it down. it's as if he shut down the key bridge in d.c. or the bay bridge in san francisco to oakland. you're keeping people from getting to work. i don't think that's the kind of president you're looking for. >> you represent fort lee. it really, really put a burden on the people there. one would hate to think this is politically motivated. give us quickly a sense of what this did to your city. >> you had middle class people trying to get to work. you had first responders trying to get to calls.

the traffic chaos that it created increased the response time for police and for ems and for the fire department. we had one incident where a person was having cardiac arrest. the response time was increased because the balance couldn't get to there. there was a call of a missing child in fort lee. police couldn't investigate thoroughly because of the traffic chaos from this closure. >> so this was serious. i'm going to have to hold it there. we'll certainly be watching this theory next week. assemblyman gordon johnson and goldie taylor, thank you to both of you for being on the show. happy new year to you both. >> happy new year to you and thank you for having me on. up next, why 2014 may be a big year for toronto mayor rob ford and comedians. stay with us. and the ones who turn ideas into action.

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big news today from our neighbors to the north. toronto mayor rob ford has officially filed to run for re-election. he was the first candidate to show up at toronto city hall to register today. he tweeted this photo writing just filed my paperwork for the 2014 election. and he sounded confident. >> i've got the strongest track record. i've been the best mayor that this city's ever had. >> well, the comedians in the

united states agree, but there was that whole smoking crack thing. >> do you smoke crack cocaine? >> exactly. yes, i have smoked crack cocaine. >> when, sir? >> but no -- do i? am i an addict? no. >> and of course he refused to resign. >> there is no need for me to take a leave of absence. i am not leaving here. i'm going to sit here. i'm going to attend every meeting. i'm not taking a leave of absence. most definitely keeping this job. >> i guess that's up to the people of toronto to decide. after all, they've seen this show up close. >> i'm not going to continue this meeting until i get to move that budget. because this snitch should be back in his cage where he comes from. you slithering snake. [ bleep ].

holy christ. >> so you thought the gop primary was a reality show? wait until you see this one. mayor ford even announced today he'd like to have 200 debates in the upcoming election. and the late night comedians are dancing like the man tonight. better get the popcorn out. this is going to be fun. i have g when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is.

[ male announcer ] this is the story of the little room over the pizza place at 315 chestnut street. the modest first floor bedroom in tallinn, estonia and the dusty basement at 1406 35th street. it is the story of the old dining room table at 25th and hoffman avenue. the southbound bus barreling down i-95. ...and the second floor above the strip mall at roble and el camino. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. ♪ so different and so new where those with endless vision and an equal amount of audaciousness believed they had the power to do more. time and time again. ♪ and then, it happened at dell, we're honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. stories that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- # 2713.

♪ this magic moment ♪ diarrhea, gas, bloating? 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'. finally tonight, the power of forgiveness. 17-year-old claire davis was shot and killed last month by a classmate at her colorado high school. yesterday her parents remembered her and honored her with wonderful words. >> my wife and i forgive carl pierson for what he did. because he didn't know what he was doing.

we would ask all of you here and watching to sherge your hearts and also forgive karl pierson. he didn't know what he was doing. karl is no longer with us, so it's no longer our responsibility to pass judgment. as each of us will do one day, karl has faced the infinate alone. unchecked hatred can lead to blindness and a loss of knowing, a loss of humanity. the last thing we would want is to perpetuate this hatred in connection with claire. claire would also not want this.

as citizens of our community, the state of colorado, our nation, and the world, we must strive for kindness, compassion, peace, and love to maintain our humanity. we can't allow anger, range, or hatred to take root now or ever. and as we all move forward with our lives, we would like to ask you to join us and honor claire by forever showing compassion and forgiveness and using whatever is within your power to reach out to those around you that might need the light of your love to help guide them through the darkness. >> unchecked anger and rage. they did not want that associated with their daughter. the strength to forgive, the power to rise above their pain

and use the legacy they wish for their daughter to be that of love and forgiveness. many of us have struggled over the last 24 hours on new year's resolutions. maybe we would not be strong enough to forgive everything, but maybe we could be strong enough to take his advice and leave unchecked anger and rage in 2013. and have a new year committed to higher ground. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. is the country about to make a left hand turn? let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm