but this is something that he needs to explain to the american people. and they're going to point to the trade, and they're going to point to the amount of exports. but the imports, it's not a level playing field. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. >> good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, fighting for fairness against a heartless and gutless gop. today they announced a plan to extend unemployment benefits to over a million americans. it would be a critical lifeline to families across the country suffering without aid for over one week. and yet, just minutes after it passed, house republicans turned their backs. speaker john boehner raced to put out a statement blocking the bill, demanding spending cuts as an offset. they're making it about politics instead of people.

today president obama met with a group of americans who lost benefits. here is just one of over a million. >> my cuts include heating my house to 58 degrees, wearing a hat and a coat to stay warm because oil is expensive. both of my sons are serving in the u.s. military. it was very hard for me to let one of my boys serve a year in afghanistan, but i did. and he was proud to serve his country. i hope our leaders in washington can find a solution to help families like mine. >> the republicans can put an end to it right now. today the president called for action. >> this is not an abstraction. these are not statistics. these are your neighbors, your friends, your family members. it could at some point be any of

us. that's why we set up a system of unemployment insurance. we've got to get this across the finish line without obstruction or delay. and we need the house of representatives to be able to vote for it as well. and that's -- that's the bottom line. >> that's the bottom line. no delay and no obstruction. first republicans said jobless aid does a disservice to workers. now they're demanding offsets, saying the $6.5 billion price tag is just too much. remember president bush's prescription drug bill cost? $180 billion. his wars in iraq and afghanistan cost over $800 billion. and his tax cuts cost $1.8 trillion. what do they all have in common? none of them had offset cuts. and guess who voted for those

very policies? the same house republicans now demanding offsets. speaker john boehner, majority leader eric cantor, and congressman paul ryan. and what do they all have in common? none of them demanded offsetting cuts. so what is the excuse? they don't have one. it's a heartless ideology that puts politics ahead of people. and that's why president obama and democrats are ready to fight for fairness. bringing the heat in the dead of winter. joining me now is congressman jim mcdermott, democrat of washington, and msnbc's abbey huntsman. thank you for being here. >> thanks, rev. >>. >> congressman, let me good to you first. speaker boehner wants to offset the cost of unemployment aid, even though he voted for bush policies without any spending cuts.

what's your response? >> well, you don't expect him to be honest and even handed. this is about an attack on the poor. now one of the myths, al, that they're operating under is they say people sit at home and don't go out and look for a job. but in the last five years, the number of college graduates who are working for minimum wage jobs has doubled. that means that people who went to college and did everything right, lost their job and have been looking and looking and looking, finally have taken a job that is a minimum wage job. and there are three people out there looking for every job that comes available. so the myth that these people are not trying is simply wrong. and in 7 degree below zero weather, to say to somebody we're not going to give you any money for your oil or no money for your rent or no money to feed your kids is simply inhuman.

it is the worst kind of society. >> and saying it when you have as the lady that spoke with the president today in the east room of the white house where she is talking about sleeping in her overcoat. and then, abby, the president himself addressed the same issue that congressman mcdermott said this whole thing is bad enough that i'm unemployed. even worse, you're going to take my unemployment coverage. but now you call me lazy? listen to what the president said. >> that really sells the american people short. i can't name a time where i met an american who would rather have an unemployment check than the pride of having a job. the long-term unemployed are not lazy. they're not lacking in motivation. they're coping with the aftermath of the worst economic

crisis in generations. >> now abby, let me ask you a question. you're a moderate republican, and i'm a moderate democrat. by my own definition. >> self-definition there. >> right. do you -- do you honestly believe that the right wingers that are saying that the long-term unemployed are lazy, really believe that, or is this just to try to get the base up? you honestly belief this? >> it's all ideological. that's my personal opinion. what we're talking about is at the heart of what it means to be an american. >> right. >> americans want a job. they are motivated. they want to work. they want a purpose and a passion in life. and i think this represents we're in a new year now. and this represents for republicans one of many opportunities where they can show that they are actually thinking about reforming the platform, a platform that speaks to a broader group of people. and this one in particular, unemployment benefits is one

that women in particular care a lot about. minority groups care a lot about. and it's one in my mind we should not even be debating at this moment in time. you look at the reality of our economic situation, right. unemployment is higher than it's been since the great depression. so it's really hard to look at the situation and say we don't have the jobs that we need to have right now. we don't have the opportunity. we don't have the growth. and look at that and say let's just let this go on and let these people live without having the jobs that they need. i think the focus should be growing the economy. how do we help people develop the skill sets. >> i agree with that. and not disparage the people, but something, congressman, abby said. she talked about what the republicans ought to be addressing, and she mentioned the concern of women. i remember there were talking points and things that were put out by the republican party on how to try to deal with women, if you remember that, how to talk to women. well, let me tell you something that happened tonight. this is amazing.

and very, very new development. "the washington post" obtained a memo that house republican leaders sent to their rank and file members. it tells them how to talk about unemployment. reminds us how the folder on how to talk to women. it tells them according to the post, the memo reminds gop lawmakers to be empathetic towards the unemployed, to remember that it's a personal crisis for individuals and families, and to always they'll gave proper consideration to an extension if there are spending cuts. so be nice, but no spending cuts, we're not moving forward, congressman. but say it nicely. >> we've offered them lots of spending cuts. we could take away subsidies to the oil industry. there are all kinds of tax

loopholes would could close to get $6.5 million. the republicans do not want to give anything in the way of social safety net. they want everybody to be out there on their own with no help from the government. that's the koch brothers' whole theory of what they're energizing this bunch in the tea party to do. and they simply do not -- they're not honest when they say we have haven't offered ways to make cuts. let's cut the oil industry $6.5 billion. have they made enough money in the last ten years? you bet they have. they could easily give it. and we could feed the people in this country that need food, that need housing. we could take care of them. >> but abby, the fact of the matter is, let's talk reality. the deficit has been steadily falling for years now. i mean, this year it's projected to be less than half of what it was in 2011. so when we're talking about

spending cuts, we're already going down in terms of the deficit. and they never demanded spending cuts for the litany of things that i named that president bush went ahead and spent money on. >> well, speaking of president bush, i think what we're seeing here, and as we have talked about over the last year is really a shift in the agenda for the gop, which is far different even from the bush days. if you remember back in 2002, increased unemployment benefits. and at that point in 2002, unemployment was at 6% i think it had gotten to. now obviously it's much higher than that. so we're looking at a very different republican party even from 2002. i think we can all say the economy could move faster than it's moving today. but we're not even able to have that debate around how we get the engines of jobs moving faster because we can't even get past this ideological debate about extending unemployment benefits. i think that is the biggest challenge we face today. >> congressman jim mcdermott and abby huntsman, thank you both for your time. i agree with both of you.

we need more huntsman republicans, abby, not john. and be sure to catch abby on the cycle weekdays right here at 3:00 p.m. coming up, day one for the house republicans. they're back in washington with a plan. repeal health care. fight against fairness, block and obstruct. what could possibly go wrong? plus, 15 years ago today, president clinton's impeachment kicked off. 15 years later, republicans are still obsessed with the i word. why they never, never quit. and right now we are witnessing an incredible weather experiment. the polar vortex's affect on right wing brain. it has them denying climate change. bill nye the science guy takes them to school tonight. and live from new york, there is a new cast member

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have you joined the "politicsnation" conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. everyone has been fired up about jobless benefits today. calling out house republicans burning for offsets. cara says they have no idea how to balance a budget, except on the backs of the most vulnerable among us. gregory says the reason the gop doesn't want to extend them is they hope obama will be blamed for their plight. and will harm the dems in the next election. we want to hear what you think too. please head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends.

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house republicans are doing something rare today -- they're working. it's day one of the new gop agenda. yes, the house is back in session. it's a new year. they've got a clean slate, a chance to turn things around from literally being the worst congress ever. last year that's what they were. so that's on tap for 2014? attacking obama care. eric cantor's schedule shows two

of the first items of business are anti-obamacare bills. way to go. new year, same old far right agenda. what about immigration reform? cantor says immigration bills may be brought to the floor over the next few months there is that republican urgency. and nowhere on the january agenda is increasing the minimum wage or extending unemployment benefits. the real leader of the party weighed in on that today. >> the president's been speaking for the last 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever. on the morality and the economics of extending emergency unemployment benefits, anything to get obamacare off the front page. to get obamacare off the radar. it's nothing more than a distraction.

>> helping people is a distraction and a trick to get obamacare off the radar? how about republicans get anything else on their radar? after all, the house is only planning to meet 112 days this year. we're just 97 before election day. it might be another record setting year for speaker boehner. but president obama and the democrats are ready for the fight. joining me now, thank you both for being here. >> thank you, reverend sharpton. >> richard, it seems republicans want this year to be a repeat of the do nothing congress of last year. how do democrats fight that? >> reverend, the republicans would like the clock to be frozen at the end of last year. they want the health care website still to be broken. because they thought that was it. unfortunately, you don't get to pick when elections happen. so how do democrats fight that?

you know, there is this thing called events there is this thing called the economy that needs fixing still to this day when you're walking about the long-term unemployed. other things will crop up, and it won't be the midterm elections for many, many months. the republicans can try not working, but that doesn't freeze the clock. and as long as the obama administration is playing policy and not politics, it will be in a better position. >> we really thought 2013 was the year of the do nothing congress. just 72 bills became law, which "the washington post" calls easily the lowest tally for any year. but "the new york times" says, quote, the do nothing congress is preparing to do even less. why is their strategy -- why is this their strategy you think? is it about obstructing the president or avoiding tough voting? what is the strategy here? >> well, it really is a bit of

both. if you look back to history in the days and months leading up to a midterm election, congressional action tends to slow down on its own. but you couple that on top of this idea they need to obstruct each and every policy move that the president attempts to make, and you have not just a do nothing congress, but a do even less kind of congress as "the new york times" described. i'm not surprised by any of this. the american people seem to be allowing them off the hook when it comes to cutting snap benefits, when it comes to not putting forth a comprehensive immigration strategy for this country. so it seems to me that the american people, and let's hope this doesn't last, seem to be allowing them to get off the hook without being a party with solutions, but really being a party of nope. >> you know, another thing that i took note of, richard, republicans are not only pushing anti-obamacare bills, ron johnson filed a lawsuit because the government helps pay for

congressional staffers' insurance. listen to what he said. >> i think this lawsuit will hopefully provide a very long overdue check on presidential power, expanding presidential power, particularly with this administration. i think we'll see it over the next three years a real abuse of executive authority by this president. >> i mean, they never, ever miss a chance to accuse the president of abusing his authority. even republicans say this lawsuit is a waste of time. wisconsin congressman jim sensenbrenner called it, quote, frivolous. and he said senator johnson's lawsuit is an unfortunate political stunt. he should spend his time legislating rather than litigating. spend his time legislating. isn't that a crazy idea? >> yeah. i don't know what the play is

for wisconsin republican. we're not talking about someone from the south here. a wisconsin republican to try and for start not be on point for where wisconsin is at in terms of jobs and the economy. i know republicans keep on trying to say that stopping obama care is going to free up the economy somehow. but you can't have it both ways. you cannot say obama care is a complete failure, it doesn't work, and at the same time it's crashing the entire economy. beyond the website, what have they got here? and it's not an agenda to go statewide. for the house republicans, it's something else. they don't need to go statewide. they don't need to bring in the moderates. >> but johnson does. >> he really does. in a piece of legislation it's something you would expect from ted cruz who really doesn't have to worry about moderates at all. >> goldie, the president sounded despite all of this, he sounded optimistic today because of the bipartisan vote to at least advance the bill before the

senate and on if it gets past that to the house. the senators voted for unemployment benefits. listen to the president's optimistic statement. >> congress should pass this bipartisan plan right away, and i will sign it right away. more than one million americans across the country will feel a little hope right away. and hope is contagious. when congress passes a bipartisan effort right at the beginning of a new year, who knows, we might actually get some things done this year. >> i mean, he is still pushing for minimum wage increase and immigration reform. i mean, are these reasons to be hopeful that we saw a little movement today, goldie? >> i think it is the president's duty, and he is carrying it well to keep pushing for an agenda that raises the tide and all boats for americans in this country. for him to be on the phone personally whipping votes to extend the unemployment benefits for some 14 million americans who may very well lose that

check at some point this year, for him to be on the phone personally whipping those votes is the thing to do. i'm glad that the senate got to vote on it. i hope that the house comes together and comes to their right minds and decides that americans who are getting a benefit that they certainly worked hard for and earned, that we're not going to rip that safety net from underneath them so that they don't have to turn to things like welfare and medicaid and other, you know, social programs to keep their houses moving along, and that they can return to looking for a job in a meaningful way. you know, i'm glad the president is behind that. let's hope that this house gets behind it as well. but the president is right to push forth his agenda in this way. it's a positive agenda and it's one that is right for this country. >> all right. well, it's certainly headed to the house. and we'll be watching. richard wolffe, goldie taylor, thank you both for your time tonight. and thank you and happy new year to both of you. >> thank you. >> happy new year. coming up, 50 years after

president johnson's war on poverty, president obama is fighting a new battle in the war on the poor. and 15 years after president clinton's impeachment began, they just won't quit. why the right-wingers in congress love the word "impeach." stay with us.

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the world may have changed a lot since 1999, but the republican party not so much. 15 years ago today the gop's impeachment trial of president bill clinton began in the senate. >> it's a virtual design for the first impeachment trial in the senate almost 200 years ago, and it's been updated since then. 13 republican house members who act as prosecutors in solemn procession arrived in the senate chamber. >> republican henry hyde, the president's chief accuser reads the charges. >> william jefferson clinton willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony. >> it was part of an effort to oust the president from tower, and it began a gop blood sport. stop at nothing to overturn a presidency you don't like. back then, the cast of characters bent on taking down

the president included lindsey graham. there he is, delivering the articles of impeachment to the senate this day 15 years ago. and here he is just last year talking about the obama administration. >> the bond that's been broken, mike, between those who serve us in harm's way and the government they serve is this huge, and to me, every bit as damaging as watergate. >> forget clinton. lindsey graham thinks president obama is as bad as nixon. with president obama, the gop is still partying like it's 1999. heck, the right wing has even a how to guide at this point. world net daily is out with seven easy steps that will land obama in jail. because, really, if you can't beat 'em, just impeach him.

>> we want all tools available to use, including that impeachment. >> he continues, could that build up to make a case for possible impeachment? >> all options should be on the table. >> if we were to impeach the president tomorrow, you could probably get the votes in the house of representatives. >> people may be starting to use the i-word before too long. >> i-word meaning impeachment? >> yeah. >> i've had lawyers come in, ph.ds in history. tell me how i can impeach the president of the united states, you have to establish the criteria that would qualify for proceedings against the president. and that's called impeachment. barack obama is a personal friend of mine. >> a friend? with friends like these, who needs enemies? joining me now dana milbank and joel madison. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> hi, reverend. >> dana, let me start with you.

why hasn't the republican playbook changed in 15 years? >> you know, it has changed in a sense that they're using the impeachment even more liberally, if you will. there have been maybe three dozen members of this congress, republican members of congress by my count who have suggested impeachment for the president, for the attorney general, or for others in this administration. what seems to have changed now is they'll use it for just about any ordinary policy disagreement. so people have suggested impeaching this president over benghazi, over syria, over gun control, over gay marriage, over the debt. you know, i mean probably right now somebody is cook up articles of impeachment related to jay carney's beard and the first lady's birthday party. >> yeah, you know, joe, you know, over the last couple of months we've heard the right wing make only one argument about why they can't impeach the president listen to this.

>> we've also talked about the i word, impeachment, which again i don't think would get past the senate in the current climate. am i missing anything? >> to successfully impeach a president, you need the votes in the u.s. senate. and with harry reid and the democrats controlling the senate, it can't succeed. >> but the national republican senatorial committee makes it clear that they want to control both chambers of congress. quote, the 2014 election will be a showdown for control of the senate, and republicans are in a strong position to win. so my question, joe, is could extremists in the gop aim for impeachment if they get control of both parts of congress, senate and the house? >> i think you're absolutely right. and that's what it appears the game plan is. they're thinking ahead. this is 2014. this is an issue that riles up their base. and if, in fact, and people ought to understand this, if they get control of both, both

houses, chambers of congress, then i guarantee you that there will be articles of impeachment. and people need to understand. an impeachment is a trial. this is where you make an accusation. now you then have to have a trial and prove it. and that's part of the issue too. this is a group of people, and we might as well say it, who can't get over the fact that president barack obama, you talk about they don't know the i-word. they don't know the e-word, election. and what has happened is that they want this man to go down in history as having been embarrassed, even though he beat them twice in a fair and legitimate election. >> maybe not even though. maybe because he beat them twice. but the house judiciary committee held a hearing last month, dana, about how the president has failed his constitutional duties. they offered up a laundry list

of issues they had. listen to this. >> then you can insert whatever you want, benghazi, fast and furious, the irs targeting of advocacy groups, nsa overreach. if you like your health care, you can keep it. >> the president had order on war al awlaki killed by drone strike. >> the president effectively enacted the dream act himself. >> the deep-water drilling ban, mr. holder's attempt to reform criminal justice by selectively enforcing our laws. mr. obama's unilaterally ignoring immigration laws in many cases. >> i mean, dana, you wrote about this hearing. it's like a complete grab bag, wasn't it? >> right. and i think the republican leadership recognized they look a little crazy, to be having an impeachment hearing. joe is right. if both chambers were controlled by republicans, they may well attempt to do it. but there is another thing out

there called the public, and the public would say that's a bunch of nonsense there is nothing approaching high crimes or even misdemeanors here. but i think what this represents, it's not a serious effort to remove the president. it's a certain frustration, and they said as much in this hearing having lost these elections, what do you do to count their president. i think that's in a way what politics has become now. it's not just about defeating your opponent, it's about taking him out. and i think that's sort of this revenge killing almost that has become part of our tribal politics right now. i think that's what we're feeling. >> june, the focus on impeachment hasn't really hurt the gop as much as it has of late, you know, before we saw the gop use this with clinton back during the clinton impeachtree era, the gop's favorability hit an all-time low of 31%. the only time that it's been

that bad has been to fast forward when it dropped to 28%. this is not a good strategy for them. >> they can't get much lower. but think about this, everybody. here is a congress, at least the house, that says they're only going to work 97 days this year. so where are they going to find time for impeachment? >> right. >> 97 days. wait a minute. they can find time to shave 1% off of working veterans, cut their money. they can find time not to help poor people and elderly people with fuel when the country is caught in this winter freeze we're in. but then they can actually spend time with only 97 days working to talk about putting up articles of impeachment. what are they going to do? add time to their work schedule? >> no, no, no. they're going to do it within the 97 days, i would imagine.

dana, the president keeps saying i'm not a king. i can't do anything without working with the members of congress. listen to this. >> i am not a dictator, i'm the president. so ultimately, if mitch mcconnell or john boehner say we need to go to catch a plane, i can't have secret service block the doorway. if in fact i could solve all these problems without passing laws in congress, then i would do so. but we're also a nation of laws. that's part of our tradition. it is not simply a matter of us just saying we're going to violate the law. that's not our tradition. >> so he's clear. i don't understand what is so unclear to them, little things like elections, vote, winners, losers. you know, it's amazing. >> reverend, if he were a king, he would be doing a particularly

bad job since he can't actually force this congress to get anything done. that would seem to refute the argument right there. >> dana milbank, joe madison, thank you both for your time this evening. >> thank you, reverend. >> thanks, reverend. coming up, the polar vortex is giving right-wingers brain freeze on climate change. bill nye the science guy brings the heat and the facts, next. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. mom? come in here. come in where?

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folks, i have a news flash for you. it's cold outside. this deep freeze has brought record low temperatures to much of the country. the coldest in a generation in some places. it's all the result of an arctic chill from the north. but some of the climate change definieie deniers, it's proof they've been looking for, that climate change is a hoax there. >> has been a concerted effort of people to believe that global warming is taking place, that we're all going to die and all of that. at the same time, the evidence out there is almost laughable. >> so let me get this straight. it's cold during the winter. so that means global warming isn't real. that's ridiculous. nobody else thinks that. right? wrong. >> global warming is a great example.

it's a full-fledged now documented hoax. >> this whole global warming hoax. this winter is brutal. i mean, i'm in new york right now. the airports were closed, everything is closed. it's freezing. >> so it looks to me like we're looking at global cooling. forget this global warming. >> the age of the dinosaurs was dramatically warmer than this is right now. and it didn't cook the planet. and in fact, life was fine. >> life was fine during the age of dinosaurs? maybe for the dinosaurs, but not for the humans. there weren't any humans around. and anyway, the dinosaurs died off because their climate changed. it's times like this that you want a scientist around to explain things. well, i got one. joining me now is the one and only bill nye the science guy. bill, thanks for your time tonight. >> it's good to see you, reverend. >> first off, bill, how is the

temperature there in balmy los angeles? >> it's crazy. it's fabulous. it's beautiful. it's in fahrenheit it's probably 62 or 3. for christmas day here, isaac newton's birthday here, it was 80 degrees fahrenheit. that's a little unusual. >> just one of those adjectives would have done. you didn't have to keep rubbing it in. >> but the idea that because it's cold for a few days back east negates the idea or the concern about climate change is -- i'll say is not right. is wrong. >> well, explain. because you've heard some people out there saying it. explain to us how the weather getting cold really has nothing to do with the idea and scientific conclusion that there is climate change. >> no, no. it has to do with it, almost certainly. but here is what i mean. we use the expression climate

change or global change to describe what we believe or predict will the future, where the warming of the earths atmosphere, more energy held in the earth's atmosphere will create nontraditional weather patterns. and so this -- in this case is very reasonable that this polar vortex or arctic whirlpool, whirlwind is dipping so far south because the motion of large air masses in the northern hemisphere have changed the weather over north america, especially for a few days. i think many people back east may be equally surprised come friday or saturday this weekend when temperatures say in the atlanta area will now be 60 degrees fahrenheit, in just a matter of a few days. and this is consistent with climate models. whether or not it's especially cold. >> so what you're saying is that it does have something to do

with it. quite to the contrary, and that these going from one end to the other end, because it was 71 in new york just two weeks ago. it's like 9 degrees now. it's this back and forth, in fact shows there is climate change is what you're telling me. >> well, it's very reasonable that this is a result of climate change. as we say, and this is what is so difficult for so many people. tying one specific event to this larger decades long change is very difficult mathematically, or by computer programs or by weather, by satellites. however, it is consistent with what we would expect. now keep in mind senator inhofe was a guy that was at least in one quotation, he was concerned about climate change until he found out how much it would cost. when you tie this idea to the ancient dinosaurs, we can spend

all day trying to debunk these spurious ideas. but when it was warmer, the concern is not that the world was not once warmer, or that there was not once more carbon dioxide in the air than there was now. it's the rate. it's the speed at which we're adding these greenhouse gases that is of deep concern, because we have now instead of in 1750, let's say about a billion humans on earth, now we have well over 7 billion humans on earth. so pumping out all this carbon dioxide and other green house gases as we all try to live the way we do in the developed world is going to be very difficult for large populations to make adjustments. and this is why we're concerned. so this is a teachable moment, this very unpleasant cold snap. so i'm sorry it's so cold where you are. and a big concern if you like to worry about things is the electrical grid. it's not clear that we're making enough electricity to keep everybody warm when it happens this fast.

>> well, it's great to have the science guy on tonight. and i will worry about that after i worry about if my scarf is full enough to get me to the car. >> i'd recommend the scarf. the scarf will buy you 10 degrees fahrenheit like that. >> i'll take you're word for it. bill nye the science guy, thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you, al. coming up, "saturday night live" makes a big move. we'll introduce you to her. and how the movement of millions pushed the country and a president to start the war on poverty 50 years ago. [ female announcer ] who are we? we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses,

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live from new york, it's a new cast member. a few months ago, "saturday night live" came under some criticism for not having a black woman in the cast. rather than duck the diversity issue, they dealt with it head-on, making fun of itself. guest host kerry washington opened the field first she impersonated michelle obama and then it was oprah winfrey. and then i made an appearance to open the show. >> good evening. i'm the reverend al sharpton. what have we learned from this

sketch? as usual, nothing. live from new york, it's saturday night. >> but they did learn. they fixed it. meet sasheer zamata, the newest cast member starting january 18th. she is a 27-year-old sketch comedian based here in new york city. and get ready to see more of first lady michelle obama because she likes to play that role. but her favorite person to play is reportedly beyonce. so this is going to be fun to watch. i applaud loren michaels for this move. "snl" is a great show, and it's funny, sometimes. >> jim, those in the gop want to talk about helping people -- wrong camera? well, which one is it? the red light. there's red lights everywhere. on the top.

okay. so this one? wait, you just switched it on me now. no, that's what i need to be asking you. have you ever been on tv before? >> like i said, sometimes. 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? i'm bethand i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase

for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts, that's why we have ink. we like being in business because we like being creative, we like interacting with people. so you have time to focus on the things you love. ink from chase. so you can. peoi go to angie's listt for all kinds of reasons. to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list

actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. finally tonight, one war we should fight, the war on poverty. tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of president lyndon johnson's speech to congress announcing america's commitment to fighting poverty. january 8th, 1964. >> this administration today here and now declares unconditional war on poverty in america. it will not be a short or easy struggle. no single weapon or strategy will suffice. but we shall not rest until that war is won.

>> the speech that sparked a wave of government programs that provided a lifeline for those in poverty, medicare, health care for the elderly, medicaid, health care for the poor, head start, pre-k education for low-income children. and snap, formally known as food stamps. over the last 50 years, these programs, yes, government programs, have helped literally hundreds of millions of americans. they have been the difference between putting food on the table and going hungry. between being healthy and being dead. and they've worked. in 1967, the poverty rate, factoring in safety net programs, stood at 26%. last year that poverty rate had dropped down to 16%. yes, still too high. there is more work to do. president obama continues the

fight to close the income gap and deal with unfairness in this country. but this extreme crop of republicans even getting a bill to extend unemployment insurance is a fight, and we're ready for it. we're ready to fight. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. it's an election year. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews back in washington. if you look at barack obama right now and where his presidency stands in football terms, it's midway into the third quarter. it's a contest of will and skill between him and his critics out there, some of them pretty vicious that we know from last night's national championship game in football can still go either way. either he turns things aun