>> scott paul, good to have you with us tonight. >> good to be with you. >> that is "the ed show." i'm be in the reporting later on the prime time coverage here on msnbc. now it's time for reverend al sharpton and "politicsnation." good evening, rev. good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the year of action. in just three hours, president obama will lay out his agenda for 2014 in his state of the union address. the president will focus tonight on his promise to fight inequality. the major theme of his presidency. >> a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility that has jeopardized middle class america's basic bargain, that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead. i believe this is the defining challenge of our time. >> the defining challenge of our time.

and the american people agree in a new nbc poll, only 22% of americans say the economy works well for the middle class. and most americans want the government to do something about it. 51% believe the government should be involved in reducing inequality. and they support one of the president's biggest economic proposals, 51% say raising the minimum wage should be a priority this year. the american people know it's time for a change. since 1960, the richest americans have seen their income rise 271% while the rest of the country has hardly seen an increase at all. president obama making sure the country confront the worst inequality we have seen since the 1920s. and tonight he'll take steps,

even if congress won't. in his address he'll announce a plan for his executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 an hour. where this dysfunctional congress fails to act, the president will. we've seen it on gun safety, on immigration, on climate change. and the president says we'll see a lot more of it in 2014. >> we are not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we're providing americans the kind of help that they need. i've got a pen, and i've got a phone. i can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions, administrative actions that move the ball forward. >> the president isn't waiting around for congress. and tonight he is pushing forward. joining me now from the white house briefing room is valerie

jarrett, white house senior adviser and assistant to the president of the united states, barack obama. valerie, welcome back to the show. >> good evening, reverend al. it's a pleasure for me to be here. it's a very important day. the president is really looking forward to this evening. and i welcome the opportunity to chat with you in advance of his speech. >> now the president is talking tonight about executive actions. can he not rely on congress to do its job? >> well, i think what you're going to hear from the president this evening is twofold. number one, we're going to continue to work with congress, just as we always have to try to find common ground and move our agenda forward there are important pieces of legislation such as immigration reform and trade agreements that protect our workers that will create jobs here in america, patent reform, tax reform, all of which would require acts of congress. but what the president is saying, you sounded it really well in the introduction, reverend sharpton is he is not going to stand by and wait. he wants a year of action.

so, yes, he will sign an executive order that increases the minimum wage for all of federal contracts for new workers, new contracts. because he believes if you are working in service of the federal government through a contractor, that you should not be raising your children in poverty. so he called on congress last year to raise the minimum wage. he supports the harkin-miller bill that would raise it to $10.10 and provide cost of living increases on a regular basis as well. in absence of that action, he intends to act. >> now a lot of the republicans, john boehner and others have said today all kinds of things like this is some confrontation. the president is going to run into a brick wall. >> no. >> last year i remember when the president spoke, he talked about how he needed to do something about gun control. he talked about gabby gifford deserved a vote, the people in newtown deserved a vote. the whole congress stood up. a huge standing ovation. they did nothing.

how long can the american people sit around watching the congress applaud and do nothing? the president has no choice but to move forward with some action. >> and last year in the wake of their not moving forward with sensible gun legislation, the president signed 23 executive orders that would strengthen the ability of the federal government to try to reduce gun violence. and there was no objection to that. a couple of weeks ago the president invited college presidents and university presidents here to washington to strategize with us in how we could help disadvantaged young people aspire to go to college and succeed once they get there. there was no objection to that. this friday we're inviting business leaders to washington to talk about how we can get the long-term unemployed their fair share to get back into the workforce there should be no objection to that. so i think that once the republicans actually hear the speech, they'll understand the

intentions he takes, they're going to provide the ability for our folks to have the skills that they need to compete in this global marketplace. and that should compliment the actions that congress takes. so it's not intended to be controversial at all. it's the president doing his job, and his job demands that he take action. >> now senator mcconnell talking about the year of action today. this is what he said. listen to this. >> he can ask members of both parties to help him make 2014 a year of real action rather than just a talking point. if he does, he is going to find he has a lot of support from republicans, because we want to work with him to get things done. and we always have. >> so senator mcconnell says he wants to work with the president to get things done. you know, i'm confused because i thought he was the one that was going to do anything he could to make sure the president wasn't reelected. but you know i get over things

badly, ms. jarrett. tell me how you respond to what mr. mcconnell had to say. >> i think that's terrific news. when he hears the president's remarks today, he will hear the president say the same. he looks forward to good ideas coming from members of congress on both sides of the aisle. he has always said he is open to new and fresh ideas, figuring how to grow our economy, protect and expand the middle class, provide those opportunities into the middle class. he is very optimistic about our future. and he believes if we can work on both sides of the aisle in congress, as he has done with state and local elected officials across our country, mayors and governors and state legislators have come together. so they have acted. his challenge to congress is let's find that common ground. i think if leader mcconnell fulfills his pledge that he just made that he we will be able to move our country forward together working with congress. >> and it would make sense

because the american people are there. recent polls show 91% consider job creation a priority. 63% say universal pre-k is a priority. 59% want to close corporate tax loopholes. and 54% say we should fix and keep the health care law. people are ready to move forward. >> they absolutely are. and i would say to you, reverend sharpton, for this state of the union we did an extensive amount of outreach around the country, talking to americans from all over, talking to the business community, small entrepreneurs who are just starting companies to major players. and we said what can we do to grow the economy? what is the message you would like to hear from the president? and i think the message that he will deliver this evening will reverberate and will be well received by americans all over the country. it is an optimistic message. it is a message about action. it's a message about opportunity. you know, if you work hard and you play by the rules in this

country, you should succeed you. should think that your children are going to have a better chance than you have had. and all it's going to really take is for us all work together towards that end. if we do, then we will have a very bright future ahead. we are the envy of the world over. if you talk to businesses, global businesses that could invest anywhere, reverend sharpton, they say i want to invest in the united states. well, that creates jobs right here at home. and so there is so much we can do working together. and we're feeling very positive about it. and i'm encouraged to hear leader mcconnell signal the same desire to work in a bipartisan way. >> all right. well, we'll be watching. i'll be right here with my colleagues, watching the president tonight prime time. valerie jarrett, thank you so much for coming on such an important night. >> my pleasure. thank you for informing your viewing audience about what is coming up next. thank you so much, reverend sharpton. >> all right. it's about action. >> it's about action. >> ahead, the far right fringe

calls president obama king for doing his job. the old gop smear is back. plus while the president was busy prepping his speech, republicans were busy attacking women's rights. we'll tell you what they did in the exact same chamber where he'll address the nation later tonight. and some bad news for chris christie. he may not have been born to run after all. has the bridge scandal ended his 2016 hopes? big show tonight. we're gearing up for the state of the union. stay with us. >> tonight i want every american to know this. we will rebuild. we will recover. and the united states of america will emerge stronger than before. [ male announcer ] legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses.

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just a few hours before the state of the union and the republican right wing is trying to expose president obama as a dictator. huh? what really exposing is their own hypocrisy. that's next. [ male announcer ] campbell's homestyle. mmm! this is delicious katie. it's not bad for canned soup, right? pfft! [ laughs ] you nearly had us there. canned soup. [ male announcer ] they just might think it's homemade. try campbell's homestyle soup.

the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ less than three hours until president obama's fifth state of the union address and the right wing smear machine is on full throttle. the president has promised to take executive action if congress can't get the job done. and now the right is trying to paint him as a dictator.

>> this is truly the imperial presidency. the president wants to just be king for a day. the president has given up on persuading people that his course for the country is the right course. i mean, i think for a while now, for probably since he was inaugurated the first time, the president has been annoyed with the checks on his power. >> he has decided rather than to lead to play small ball and to do things that he said himself you can't do in a system of separation of powers and under our constitutional. >> i think it's a constitutional violation, this threat that the president is going to run the government with an ink pen and executive orders. we've never had that president with that level of audacity and that level of contempt for his own oath of office. >> he is an imperialist, he is a king, he is unconstitutional. of course the right doesn't have their facts straight. the last three republican presidents signed plenty of

executive orders while they were in office. gop hero ronald reagan even issued 213 of them. and president obama has signed fewer executive orders over his first term than any of them. so do these republicans think reagan was a dictator? do they think bush was a king? if not, then the only thing they're exposing is their own hypocrisy. joining me now are dana milbank and karen finney. thank you both for being here tonight. >> hey, rev. >> karen, isn't all this gop talk about dictators and kings another way for them to try to delegitimize this president? >> sure they are. let's not forget if you look at the approval rating of congress right now, it is so low. why? because people feel like things aren't getting done. so if the worst things republicans can say about

president obama that oh, my gosh, he is going to work hard to get things done for the american people, i mean, that's what they're afraid of. they're afraid of being shamed into actually having to take some action rather than obstructing this president time and again. >> now, you know, dana, the right wing talkers are stoking the hysteria on the president's promise to take action. watch this. >> tonight the state of the coup. and you'll see how things don't change. and you know what the theme of the state of the coup is, inequality. >> this is the mind-set and the language that dictators have. you are witnessing a gradual yet quiet coup. >> quiet coup. i mean, you're up there on capitol hill near the coup. what do you think, dana? >> oh, the coup is well under way, i hear, reverend al. look, this has been something that has been used against him

from the very beginning. it makes absolutely no sense in this case, because the whole idea of what the president is doing here is he is basically reduced his strategy. he said, look, you guys aren't going to pass anything. so i'm going to do what i can in a limited way with executive's orders. they're by definition limited, and by definition, the next president can get rid of these executive orders. so they're temporary. rather than accepting this as a gift, the republicans are saying new evidence that he is some sort of a dictator. the president keeps talking about having his pen and having his phone. but i think to deal with these guys, they're better off having a cattle prod and a baseball bat. >> you know they have actually gone, karen, into talking about suing the president over the executive actions. a resolution introduced last month calls on the house to bring a civic action over president obama's continuing failure to faithfully execute the laws, saying he has overstepped the limits on the

executive branch. >> right. >> his resolution now has 61 co-sponsors, karen. the republicans aren't doing their job so they want to sue the president for doing his? >> well, that's what it sounds like. it's my understanding that the president is on very solid legal ground with the announcement that we heard earlier today about increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors. >> right. >> that is something that he is within his purview to do, and it is because in part it is a good thing for the economy. the republicans don't want to admit that, but that is a fact and that is the truth. now for republicans who want to spend taxpayer dollars trying to sue the president for doing his job, i think that is going to be a fool's errand, and i think it's going to backfire on them horribly, because they're basically suing him for trying to get something done when they won't take any action themselves. this is not a good message to sell. >> but dana, the fact of the matter is every poll shows the people of this country want action. they're concerned about inequality. they're concerned about the economy.

i mean, are these guys in some kind of echo chamber, they can't hear the will of their own constituents? >> well, it sort of shows a certain level of irrationality, reverend, because these conservatives have talked for a long time about trying to do away with frivolous lawsuits. now the main activity here seems to be launch a lawsuit that they know is not going to go anywhere. so we've alternated between going through the courts to try to stop the president and to perhaps impeach this president, as we have discussed before, which are both basically to replace the fact that he won an election just over a year ago. >> now, karen, let me show you something very interesting. a new pugh poll shows people think the democrats are more willing to work with the other party. let me show you the results of the poll. 52% say democrats are more willing to work with their colleagues across the aisle.

just 27% said republicans were. when asked which party is more extreme in its positions, 54% said the gop. only 35% said the democrats. now, this is a poll that has asked the american people what they think. is this why the president has to use executive action, because the republicans are so extreme in their views and don't want to work with others, and even the american people feel that way about them? >> well, look, i think this president is also recognizing he's got what, three-plus years to go. and he's got things that he wants to accomplish. i don't think any american would be satisfied if we just saw the president kind of sit back and give up and say congress isn't going to do anything. so i guess there is nothing i can do. again, that's part of what they're trying to convey here. all right. we'll work with congress where we can. and where it's not possible, we're going look at what things i can do on my own.

and don't forget the third piece of this, the phone and the pen is like you brought in college presidents, right? so it's also business leaders and others who he can try to work with to try to say let's get something done. and then it puts the republicans in the position they're the ones who don't want to get anything done. >> dana milbank, karen finney, i'm going to have to leave it there. thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> and be sure to catch karen on "disrupt with karen finney" at 4:00 p.m. eastern weekends right here on msnbc. coming up, big news about chris christie tonight, and it's not pretty. you'll want to hear this. and not one, not two, not three, but four republican responses tonight. it's been a curse recently. so i have some tips ahead. we're back on our big state of the union night here on msnbc. stay with us. >> the era of big government is

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we're back with plummeting poll numbers for governor christie. the eyes of the world are on the state of new jersey, host of the super bowl. for governor christie, it was supposed to be a time of celebration. last night christie, along with new york mayor bill de blasio and others kicked off the party in jersey city. but listen to what happened when the new jersey governor first got on stage. [ booing ] >> it was a dramatic contrast to what we saw three months ago. governor christie winning reelection by the largest margin in almost 25 years. the bipartisan support set the stage for a possible 2016 run. today the controversy swirling the governor is in a different place. a brand-new nbc poll has his approval at just 22% nationally.

to put this into context, in june of 2011 through next year, his favorability ratings were below 30%. after hurricane sandy, his numbers shot up. over 40% at one point. but today, as i said, his approval is back down to just 22%. and he is losing support from voters of all stripes. since october, he is down among democrats, 15 points. down 11 points with independents, and down 6 points among republicans. the investigations are ongoing. in less than a week, over 20 subpoenas will roll in. clearly the legal questions are taking a toll politically. joining me now is richard wolffe, executive editor of msnbc.com and criminal defense attorney brian wice, who has experience with political corruption cases. thank you both for being here.

>> thank you, reverend. >> richard, let me go to you first. how alarming are christie's numbers for supporters banking on him as the 2016 front-runner? >> well, reverend, the numbers themselves are deeply troubling for anyone looking at a national run. but even worse than the overall numbers is the fact that here is a candidate who doesn't enter an election cycle with a whole bunch of hope. he is well-known at this point. he has had this cycle of being relatively unknown and then popular on a national stage, and now known for all the wrong reasons. that's what is very hard when you're looking at national campaign. you have to reeducate, reintroduce yourself to all these voters who are looking for a new option in 2016. so it's not just that it's bad, it's how widely this story has spread and how negative it is combined. >> his calling card was that he was a republican that could get democratic votes.

that he potentially could be the bipartisan republican candidate. is that gone? that. >> is gone. i mean, the democrat numbers as they've come down, the independent voters as they've come down, the number -- his bleeding of support entirely among african americans. these are disastrous numbers for someone who as you say it's not just a calling card, the essence of his brand was that he could reach out across the aisle. and the problem with this story isn't just about the traffic problems on a bridge, it's that he was trying to bully people into believing that he was a bipartisan figure. he was bullying democrats. the brand is fatally undermined around this story. and that's the problem of these investigations because more and more you're seeing democrats say he is not the person to bridge any kind of divide at all. >> brian, let's look here into this investigation a little. we have no idea what is going on. but i want to ask you about david samson, the port authority chairman. the long-time christie ally. there are some real questions

developing. we know he got a subpoena after his name appeared on an e-mail sent by david wildstein with the quote "samson helping us to retaliate." simply, samson's law firm represents the developer behind the hoboken project that the city's mayor allegation christie officials tried to push. now i should note the developer has been accused of no wrongdoing. and today a new report in the bergen record questions a vote david samson made as port authority chairman, a vote that may have had a bearing on samson's business interest. so brian, there are some questions centering on samson's relationship with christie as a lawyer. what would you be asking? >> first of all, the good news for samson is he represented by one of the best lawyers in the

free world, mike chertoff, former u.s. attorney. he is in great hands. the problems is the spector of money in some of these a-rod like numbers that we're seeing. and i'm reminded of what holbrooke told charlie sheen in wall street. the main thing about money is that it makes you do things you don't want to do. and if there is this belief out there that there is a nexus, a connection between all of the money that david samson's firm made and ultimately what is happening with all of these ongoing investigations, it's going to be a very messy series of months ahead for david samson. >> now, you know, richard, when you look at the fact that the new supercommittee formed yesterday, right away four republicans on the committee started saying they were concerned about the fairness of the investigation. listen to this. >> reiterating the concerns that our party has expressed about

the bipartisan nature of this commission. >> there is what i see as a glaring omission here. it seems to me under these circumstances, anybody could investigate anything. >> there is a concern that most of us would have when you take on a lawyer whether there is ever a conflict. >> if there are any documents which are not disclosed to the minority party, will receive a privileged log or a list of those documents that are not provided to us. >> richard, are the republicans trying to turn the investigation into some kind of political battle? >> well, they've already tried to say this is a partisan witch-hunt. that's been their talking point. they're obviously going to stick with it. the danger is that in defending governor christie and saying this is overreach by the democrats, you're still undermining the notion, this brand, this core christie brand that he can bridge the partisan divide. if it does in fact become this trench warfare between republicans and democrats in the state, then how is chris christie the guy to unite these two parties, especially when we're talking about questions

involving also possible allegations of corruption. remember, before he was the bipartisan figure, he was the guy cleaning up new jersey politics. you have management questions. you have corruption allegations. and then you have this partisan pitched battle. and none of that represents what chris christie -- >> for the man that was supposed to -- >> the man who was going to change new jersey politics. right. >> there are subpoenas out from the state legislators super committee due back monday. what do you expect to happen after that? i mean, how long do you think this will run? >> that's a great question, al. i think listeners need to understand that investigations of this type are marathons. they're not sprints. which of course as richard pointed out is bad news for governor christie. and really, the starting gun has only sounded. i think what we need to really look for is not this alleged bipartisan investigation the legislature is obviously going to advance, but paul fishman is the u.s. attorney in new jersey.

he is the shot caller. he is the alpha male. i think that any criminal defense attorney who lets any client appear before this bipartisan committee that the legislature has created and lets them talk about anything without a blanket grant of immunity that covers everything from the limburg kidnapping is going to be working at dave & busters this time next year. >> right now it's documents they have asked for. none of them have been asked to appear. we'll be watching to see what happens. richard wolffe and brian wice, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks, reverend. still ahead, counting down to the state of the union. president obama wants equal rights. republicans want to roll back women's rights. we'll tell you about that and about the all male panel that fox used to talk about the war on women. plus, saying goodbye to legendary folk singer and civil rights activist pete seager. i'll share some memories ahead.

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in just over two hours from now, president obama will stand in the house chamber and deliver his state of the union address. it will be a speech about fairness for the middle class, for immigrants, for gays and lesbians and for women. and despite all their talk about uncle sugar and liberty does,

the gop wants america to know that they care about women too. for if first time in history, the gop has tapped two women to give the official buttal to the public. one in english, one in spanish. do they think that will make up for their anti-women policies? because just today in the very same chamber in which the president will deliver the state of the union response, republicans passed an anti-choice bill. and get this. it was sponsored by 154 republican men. how is that for respect for women's rights? at this point, the party seems to be taking pointers from the folks over at fox news. yesterday, they convened an all-male panel to tackle the war on women. >> you can talk about women's issues in terms of late-term abortion and other stuff.

>> not the best booking of this panel with four guys on this panel. >> now, given that half the planet is made up of women, yes, i would say that's not the best booking. the right's inability to appeal to women would be funny if it weren't so disgraceful. joining me now are michelle cottle and brian grim. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> thank you, reverend. >> michelle, just hours before the state of the union, the house voted to restrict federal funding for abortion. a law is on the books that already restricts this. so what was this, just for show? >> on some level it is a message to the base that we haven't been cowed by all of the war on women rhetoric. and i think we've seen in some of the republican meetings in the past week or so that they've decided that this is a winning issue for them and they're not going to back down. this is why we have mike

huckabee out there talking about women's libidos so glibly. >> you know, ryan, senator rand paul doubled down on his statements about republican war on women. he told politico, quote, republicans are as pro women's rights as any other group out there. if democrats are going to say otherwise, they need to explain why they defended a guy, president clinton he is referring to, who really had his own personal war on women going on. it seems as though rand paul is really going to try to do the monica lewinsky on the democrats as a way of countering the war on women that they're doing with legislation and all kinds of things. i mean, doesn't that seem a little little light to try and cover the '98, year 1998 case that has already been dealt with to try to deal with legislation that is pending today in states

all over the country that the republicans are sponsoring and trying to pass? >> yeah, a lot of young voters barely remember the monica lewinsky situation. they've heard of it. just vaguely. and i don't really think that it benefits rand paul for the republican party to remind people of it. anybody that goes and looks at it will say wait a minute, the house of representatives actually impeached a president over this? >> right. >> it seems like a private matter. how did this become one of two impeachments in the entire history of the united states. rand paul is obviously free to argue that republicans are great defenders of women. but women are the ones who are going to make that decision. and when they go to the polls, they generally tend to disagree with him and cast it with democrats. and this is not an accident. over the last 20 or 30 years, the republican party by design went after kind of like white

working class, middle class voters mostly men, hoping that the husbands would persuade their wives to also vote republican. this was the strategy. that hasn't worked. so now they need to figure out a different approach. >> well, i think that's right, michelle. i mean, talking about different approaches in the past seven days the right wing has repeatedly said absurd things about women. listen to this. >> why don't women like yourself, then, you know, maybe have a woman adopt a birth control program. >> uncle sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido. >> this whole sort of war on women thing, i'm scratching my head because if there was a war on women, i think they won. >> i'm going to be very blunt. the left tries to win the women's vote by talking from the waist down. >> i mean, those are some wild statements, all within the last seven days. >> exactly.

and this is a recurring problem for the party. no matter who they give is up there to give the response to the president's speech, they still come back to the same policies that a lot of women find to be objectionable for obvious reasons. and so there is a kind of ongoing conflict between the message and the messengers and the policies. and rand paul, with his bill clinton reference clearly doesn't understand the difference between, you know, bill clinton's personal vice or virtue isn't what people were interested in. it was his policies promoting equality and opportunities for women. it doesn't seem like they get it. >> we're not even talking about bill clinton. we're talking about hillary clinton, who absolutely had nothing to do with any of that. unless we're trying to now say that we are going to hold women responsible for their husband's behavior. i don't even understand where bill clinton gets into the discussion.

but let me ask you a question, ryan. take me into congress. because clearly politically this does not make a lot of sense, these positions on women nationally. so is this just about congressmen not worrying about the national, just worrying about their district, playing to their home base? i mean, what are we looking at here? take me inside the heads of these congressmen in a midterm election that is clearly doing something that nationally makes no political sense. >> no. you said it exactly right. these are people who represent largely white rural very conservative districts. the only threat to their reelection is from the right. they have a huge base of supporters who vote only on the issue of abortion. you know, it's one of these things it might be a minority in the entire district, but the people who care passionately on

the pro-life side are the one s who are going to vote on that issue. jobs, war, nothing matters, that is the one thing they're going to vote on. so these republicans want these people in their camp. these are the foot soldiers that go door to door and get them past their primary. because of gerrymandering, they cruise to reelection. >> will that, though, generate a turnout among women voters? is that going to generate some kind of backlash? >> well, if you wind up with another todd akin moment, with a republican going out there and saying something about legitimate rape, that does tend to motive on the other side. so it's a risky balancing act they pull here. >> well, a couple more uncle sugars, you might get there. michelle cottle and ryan grim, thank you both for your time this evening. >> thank you. coming up, the republican response to the state of the union has been more of a curse recently. but don't worry. i've got your response. tips ahead.

but first, remembering legendary folk singer and activist pete seeger. why he is a hero for the civil rights movement and for me. that's next. [ male announcer ] here's a question for you: is your tv powered by coal? natural gas? nuclear? or renewables like solar... and wind? let's find out. this is where america's electricity comes from. a diversity of energy sources helps ensure the electricity we need is reliable. take the energy quiz. energy lives here.

tonight, saying goodbye to a true hero. the folk singer and civil rights activist pete seeger. he was a legendary musician and progressive, ahead of his time in crossing barriers to the

fight for justice. in 1957, seeger attended civil rights workshops with martin luther king and rosa parks. it was there that he first played for dr. king an old spiritual that he had updated with new verses and a new title, a song that became the anthem for the movement. >> i sang a song called "we shall overcome." afterwards, a friend of mine drove dr. king to a speaking engagement in kentucky, and she remembers him sitting in the back seat saying "we shall overcome, that song really sticks with you, doesn't it?" >> in 1963, seeger helped register voters deep in the heart of mississippi. and he helped teach students during the freedom summer of 1964. >> pete, you know, played a constant role in the movement long before i was involved in anything having to do with civil

rights, pete seeger was doing that. >> seeger never gave up his fight for justice. later, he marched against the vietnam war. and i had the honor of marching with him during a protest in the late '80s. pete got arrested along with the rest of us, even though by then he was 68 years old. years later, seeger performed on the steps of the lincoln memorial at the inaugural concert for barack obama. ♪ this land was made for you and me ♪ >> seeger was 94 years when he passed away yesterday. but he was young at heart, using twitter to get his message out. last month he tweeted the civil rights movement would not have succeeded if it hadn't been for all those songs. people hum them when they were most beaten.

i remember talking with him. he would spend time with the younger guys, and he would talk to us at coffee shops, where we would meet and get rallies together. he and reverend frederick kirkpatrick told me about the song "we shall overcome." they always said, young, all don't ever forget. you've got to have freedom songs to have a freedom movement. because of pete seeger, some of us will never stop humming our way to freedom. male announcer ] campbell's homestyle soup with farm grown veggies. just like yours. huh. [ male announcer ] and roasted white meat chicken. just like yours. [ male announcer ] you'll think it's homemade. i love this show. [ male announcer ] try campbell's homestyle soup.

[ male announcer ] you'll think it's homemade. i love this show. so when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis them. was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions,

and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make the most of every moment. ask your dermatologist about humira, today. clearer skin is possible. it's time now for rev al's republican response tips. >> we are just about two hours away from president obama's state of the union address. he'll lay out his plans for what he has called a year of action. and that means tonight we'll also be getting the republican response, or should i say responses.

we'll get four tonight. but this honor has been more of a curse recently. so i'm here to give my friends on the other side some help. tip one, do not awkwardly walk up to the camera. there is no need for random stroll up. governor bobby jindal perfected this totally random saunter. and what followed was a rambling performance. so when that camera goes on, just be in place. let's get tip number two. it's basic. look straight at the camera. >> good evening. my name is congresswoman michele bachmann from minnesota's sixth district. we believe in lower taxes. we believe in a limited view of government and exceptionalism in america. and i believe that america is the indispensable nation of the world.

>> over here, congresswoman, over here, michele bachmann. missed the mark three years ago. so remember, know your camera. let's get to the next tip. tip three. deliver a speech, not a pizza. if you want to be taken seriously, don't have the pizza man deliver any response, even if it's 30 minutes or less. and the final tip is the big one. hydrate, because you definitely don't want a repeat of this. >> nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like the one the president has laid out tonight. the choice isn't just between big government or big business. >> who can forget marco rubio's watergate. and here is a bonus tip. if you feel the need to reach for that h20, it's okay to lose

eye contact with the camera. once you have committed to the sip, you're all in. look away. if you listen to these tips, you should be okay. now all you have to do is change all those lousy policies. remember to respond is all to deal with content. of what the american people may really want. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. i'll see you back here tonight at 9:00 p.m. for our special state of the union coverage. "hardball" starts right now. well, close that bridge when we come to it. let's play "hardball." good evening.