good evening, americans, you are watching "the head show" live from new york. let's get to work. [ music playing ] >> they are redrawn by force the pressure is mounting on president obama. >> that there will be costs, mainly military intervention in ukraine. >> i have heard mediation. i think everybody is shocked by the weakness of obama's statement. >> our leadership is perceived as weak. >> america's weakness is becoming pervasive. >> american weakness and withdrawal. >> weak. so mad at him, weak. >> we want a president that will look at diplomacy. >> we want a peaceful resolution. >> not get us into or write a check that our you know what doesn't want. >> the ukrainian people deserve the opportunity to determine their own future. >> good to have you with us

tonight, folks. thanks for watching. well, we're back at it. it's war talk again. now we will see the republican party get all invigorated about the upcoming election because president obama's weak. republicans never miss an opportunity. every time there is a major foreign policy issue that involves possible situation where force might be used, quickly, republicanings line them up. they trash the president. after russian troops entered crimea, republicans wasting no time calling president obama weak. south carolina senator lindsey graham, he is one of the best at this. he ran to the cameras to slam the president. >> every time the president goes on national television and threatens putin or anyone like putin, everybody's eyes roll, including mine. we have a weak and indecisive president that invites aggression. president obama needs to do something. >> yeah, i wonder if intlaud rolling his eyes.

i think they're at the bottom of the sea. how about gadhafi? it's not just lindsey graham from south carolina where they hate the president anyway, his partner john i'm pissed off at mccain is also out criticizing obama. he says the world you know what no longer believes in american strength. >> the people of ukraine by the hundreds of thousands went to the square in subfreezing weather saying that i did not want to be a part of putin's russia. that's what it was all about and now now that the olympics are over, immediately afterwards, with enow see the occupation of crimea. why do we care? because this is the ultimate result of a federal governmentless -- feckless policy. >> it's good he never became

president. republican mike rogers, he is out there jabbing the president. >> how do you think president obama is handling relations versus how vladmir putin is handling relations with the united states? >> i think putin is playing chess. i think we are playing marbles. i don't think it's even close. >> chess and marbles? congress marp, have you ever been in a war room? do you know exactly what gross on in a war room? the republicans aren't going to give president obama the opportunity to even navigate through this quote crisis. now, as chairman of the intelligence committee, it would seem to me rodgers would know a little better than going on national television and calling the united states of america weak. doesn't that kind of embolden the enemy? war icon john bolton. that's right. -se always attacking the president over the crisis in the ukraine. >> what we've got in putin is a man with a strategic vision and an autocratic mentality.

in obama, we got a weak, feckless inattentive president who not only doesn't know what america's interests are, i don't think particularly cares about american national security. he's devoted to transforming america domestically. we can see this all over the world, american influence slipping. slipping away in ukraine and venezuela and the middle east and we will pay the price of this for a long time unless people speak up. >> now, folks, these are four examples right here. four examples of republicans where they never pass up the opportunity to trash the president of the united states. now, in the midst of all of this, here comes president obama just calling for national unity to navigate through all of this. >> at this stage, there should be unanimity among democrats and republicans that when it comes to preserveing the principles

that no country has the right to send in troops to another country unprovoked. we should be able to come up with a unified position that stands outside of partisan politics. >> meanwhile, secretary of state john kerry isn't minceing his words. he gave put an strong message on sunday. >> the reason for this, david, is because you just don't invade another country on phony pretext in order to assert your interests. >> interesting. i seem to remember this president invading a country on completely trumped up pretext. conserve stiff policy, you know what they've done? they have made us weaker, if we are weaker when it comes to foreign policy, because right now, we've got limited options. back in 2001, i believe it was problem who said he found putin to be very trust worthy. >> i looked the man in the eye i found him to be very straight forward and trust worthy.

now, we had a very good dialogue. i was able to get a stens of his soul. he's a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country. >> yeah, soul, brochlts where is it now? one meeting and bush was sold putin is a great guy. so it's all president obama's fault. to say president obama has been weak on foreign policy is flat out wrong and it's lying to the american people. president obama has taken out ocalm bin ladin as he said he was going to do if pakistan. gadhafi and libya, he ain't looking at anybody right now. he's working on a dangerous situation in syria. of course the four we showed you earlier, they can't wait to get into syria. he has taken us out of iraq, which is what we voted for, winding down the road in afghanistan, which we have wanted for a long time. this is what the earn many empoo voted for. let's not lose sight of that. americans are sick of war and, of course, we didn't know how to

pay for it. there is a clear difference in the democrats and republicans when it comes to confrontation. you see, democrats are deliberate. they want to talk about it before we do it and, oh, by the way, can we pay for it? and, of course, republicans still have the shoot from this hip mentality. in fact, they refuse to mop up from the last confrontation. just look at what happened in the senate last thursday. republicans killed the largest veteran spending bill in decade. it falled by a vote of 56 to fruvenlt only two republicans voted for the bill. senator bernie sanders wrote the bill. here's what it would have done. it would have expanded health care. it would have expanded education. fwof restored the cost of living increase. the bill would have paid for reproductive services for over 2,300 troops and expanded conversation for care givers. you know, care givers. you see those commercials on tv about wounded warriors, can you pay $19 bucks a month.

good bless those people for what they're doing. the reason that is gaining strength in this country, is we are not taking care of our veterans legislatively the way we should. it was supported by nearly every veteran's group. republicans voted against the bill because the what? money. it's always about the money but it's never about stop and going to war, is it? the bill would cost over $21 billion in ten years. i think it's a small price to pay for a veterans, don't you in? republicans voted to send troops to war. they should do the right thing an vote to take care of them when they come home. they just can't feel it in their little e belly the way they feel the hate for the president because we're not doing international intervention on the other side of the world right now. we should point out senator lindsey graham who was out heckleing how the president is weak, he voted against the bill for the veterans. now, here's the trap. the trap is with these neo-cons

if we were to do anything militarily, we'd instantly have to get involved in a discussion in congress about offsets. then, of course, we'd have to go back to the social safety net of america, which we're trying to gut and, of course, we can't get a jobs bill. we can't take care of anything at home. it's all about ukraine right now. this idea that president obama has internationally harnessed the united states, because if we had done something in syria, we'd be from a better position. putin might not be doing militarily in crimea. >> that is so wrong headed. it is highly intek lative and it's flat out bases will. we voted for a diplomat. we voted for someone who put coalitions together instead of shooting from the hip. but today because of what unfolding with putin, we are reminded how reckless this country has been and how reckless this country could be.

yes, if we don't stand up. the president of the united states deserves the benefit of the doubt from all americans right now to be on the same page and to have an opportunity to navigate through what these people are calling a crisis. putin may be somewhat justified in this move. there are 65% of the people in crimea who think that it's not a bad deal. if we're going to have this idea that we have to support democracy in every corner of the world, well, okay but you rich folks, you better start paying up real soon. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think to tonight's question. do conservatives have any business calling president obama weak on foreign policy? text a for yes, b to no 67222. you can go to our blog. we will bring you the results later on in this show. let's bring in senator bernie sanders from vermont.

i appreciate what you did for the veterans. we will get to that in just a moment. i want your reaction to some republicans who are calling the president weak in saying that the united states is not in a position to do anything when it comes to the situation on the other side of the world. >> well, as you indicated, these are exactly the same guys who told us it was absolutely necessary for us to go into iraq to stay in afghanistan year after year. to run up a bill of somewhere around $5 trillion for those wars. a bill that was never paid for. just put on the ed c it card. so i have a real hard time as chairman of the veteran's committee, of hearing guys who are ready to rush off to war in syria, really concerned about the ukraine. when it comes to the folks back home the men and women have put their lives on the line to defend our country who often came back wounded in body or

wounded in spirit. somehow these very same guys who are prepared to spend any sum of money going to war. they don't have the funds available to take care of folks dealing with ptsb, ptsd, dealing with traumatic brain injury. who can't get the education they were promised. unable to get health in terms of having the family and all of the types of veterans we are not providing right now. so i got a real problem with that. >> if we were to do anything militarily in the ukraine, we know what this would lead to, don't we? it would be more conversations about offsets, more conversations about going after the social safety net of america. balls we know dam well the republicans aren't going to fork out any extra cash for this? >> well, this is what we learned under the bush administration. if we spend trillions of dollars in iraq and afghanistan. at the same time bush gave huge tax breaks to the wealthiest people in this country.

ran up a huge deficit. then under obama the republicans come back. they say, gee, we have a terrible deficit. we're going to have to cut social security, medicare, medicaid, education, environmental protection. the needs of the kids' nutrition programs because of this deficit. so if you are asking me, do i this i that same set of policies will play out? more money for defense, then rising deficits and then cutbacks on programs that middle class and working families need? absolutely, that is what will happen. >> what is going to happen to these veterans, now, senator, if they're not going to get this kind of funding. there are a lot of veterans in this country that are being undercut, that are not being -- our obligation, we are not living up to our obligations because of war and budget cuts. so what does that say to the next generation thinking of a career in the military? >> that's a very important point. it says if we cannot keep faith

with those people really hurting as a result of service to this country, i think you will have a lot of young people out there saying do i really want to make a career in the military? i will tell you this, ed. i didn't know this until i became chairman of the senate veterans committee t. cost of war is enormous. >> yeah. >> you are talking about people whose lives have been shattered. their family's lives have been shattered. their kids' lives have been shattered. and if there is any priority the government of the united states should have is you take care of those people first. >> senator, your thoughts hon how the president is handling this and is it a crisis? i mean the russian, you can see while they're making this move. alt least i can. because they want to keep that base that has been there. it's their only military base to the open water on the world. they're concerned about security as well. a lot of the people in that country want them to be there. you have a country of divided loyaltys here.

it's a security call on putin or is it an invasion? >> i think what you have, ed, as is often the case with foreign policy a very, very complicated issue. and usually what the republicans do in complicated issues says, the only thing these people understand is force. we got to ge up. we have got to be tough. yeah, that's what goes into iraq at rouge costs of military lives and money. it kept us in afghanistan for 11 years. so i would prefer to deal with a complicated issue in a meshed way, serious international discussions about how we proceed. but force should be the last option that we use. >> so you are okay with the way the president is handling this right now? >> yes. >> senator bernie sanders, thanks, so much. remember tonight's answer at the bottom of the screen, share your thoughts, show in on facebook. we want to know what you think. coming up, a license to discriminate. the rapid response found. we talk about who is pulling the

strings on the right wing recent anti-gay legislation. and still ahead, hundreds of people were arrested at a keystone xl pipeline protest outside the white house on sunday. a member of bold nebraska.org will join me to talk about why he doesn't think their message is being heard. stay with us. that are powered by the moon. ♪

. >> it's time now for the trend in social media is out there. we appreciate the support. find out at facebook.com/ed show and twitter.com/ed show and ed@msnbc.com. we we will talk across the country. you can get my podcast at we got ed.com t. social media decided where we are reporting. here are the top trenders voted on by you.

>> why don't you take a picture. it will last longer. >> the number 3 trender, selfie destruction. >> so i thought we would break another record right now with the most retweets of a photo. bradley, we want you in it. [ music playing ] >> looking at us. >> ellen's selfie wins best picture and crashes twitter. >> we crashed and broke 26th. we have made history. >> it's broken. >> we are all winners tonight. that's what it means. >> i am a winner. >> hashtag oscars, hashtag blessed. >> next my selfie could do the same thing. the number two trender, buzz kill. >> four years ago, we were talking about legalizing marijuana, good idea or a bad idea for california? >> there will be no problems at all, man. >> a surgeon amount is okay. but there is a tendency to go to extremes. >> i can probably smoke this moel whole joint, man. >> california governor jerry brown is off the pot.

>> how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation? >> you are kind of a buzz kill. >> it's not 24 hours a day, more than some of the potheads might be able to put together. >> and today's top trender. cutting remarks. >> it's the first budget in 12 years. >> it's not a budget based on war footing. you reset your whole enterprise based on the new realities. >> conservatives put up a fight over defense cuts. >> what we're trying to do is solve our financial problems on the facts of the military. >> it isn't me cutting the budget. it's the congress's decision on sequestration. >> this will invite, attempt our adversariess to take action against our interests. >> i think in this very dangerous world we live in is a serious mistake. >> what we are talking about is gradually reducing our active duty strength to 10%. >> it costs money to be peaceful.

>> i agree with it. >> joining me tonight colonel jack ka cobs, msnbc analyst. a lot of talk about the bucket. are these severe cuts a and will they have an impact? >> i. >> i think they are too severe and they will have an ill pact. it's interesting, with recutting people. it's the fastest way to save money. anybody in business will tell you that. if you want to save money today, cut people. can you cut overhead costs immediately. if you want to cut programs, you will not save money today. you might save it down the road. the bad news, of course, that if we are cutting it far below what we need to bhan a force that can respond to crises, i think it's interesting to note that the decision-makers both in the congress and out of the congress who have decided that the budget will be what it is are really

the intelleu intellectual stepchildren of donald rumsfeld. i think they're both wrong. >> so we don't fight the next war the way we not the last one. there is of course evolutional changes that take place in defense and also in offense. but does this put us in a position? take for instance right now we would not be able to respond to something in the ukraine? >> i don't think we're going to respond. >> i know we're not going to. diplomatic and economic. i'm talking about do we have the hardware to put an option on the table that would be a ground force of some substance. >> well, we wouldn't use a ground force in any case whether we had it or not. we might be a part of a ground fwors that included nato. but we would not need massive numbers of people in order to enforce anything in ukraine if that's what we wanted to do along with our allies. whatever we wanted to do within

reason, we could do without people. but in actual fact, we're not going to do that stuff. it doesn't make any strategic sense. >> so why is putin testing us? >> i think he's testing us less than he is going after something that he thinks is vitally important to his national defense. >> the port? >> you said earlier in his previous segmentes the his year round ice-free naval port. it's the only route the navy has of getting through the black sea, through the mediterranean and the atlantic. it's been critical forever. as a matter of fact, even after ukraine became independent, the russians maintained the port down there. in the end, by the way, to jump ahead, i think that any solution to the problem is going to be i betcha a guarantee by everybody involved, including the rest, that russia can keep its port there unmo lefted.

that's what putin was very much concerned about. i'm not patting putin on the back. >> there is a strategic move. >> that's why he's done it in all the rest of the nonsense that you hear about putin is notwithstanding, the principle reason for all this is he was terribly concerned about ukraine turning to the west and his losing his access to that particular port and to that extent, i think the eu has a lot of answer here, trying to lure ukraine and splut it apart and anger futureen? >> do you think we can put economic sanctions on them that would have an impact? for instance, eliminating them or expeling them for a certain time from the g-8? the ruble has dropped dramatically, they are going to have some financial issues here in a big, big way after spending all that money on the olympics? this is somewhat a gamble by putin as well, isn't it? >> yes, he thinks any restrictions will be short

lived. i think they will be. if you remember, because of the close economic relationship between russia on the one hand and all of its allies and europe on the other, particularly germany, that there won't be significance sanctions against them because the eu is vitally interested in a continuous flow of fossil fuels, particularly natural gas in the east. there are ties between western europe. it's far away from us. when you dot-com to merkel, for example, around say, isn't he a bad guy? yeah, he's a fwad guy on a different planet. should we knock him out of the g-8? we don't want to do. that she is right. >> russia is a customer to all of those european countries. it's a real economic balance here. >> they're inextricably intertwined. they won't be the kind of structures on russia that will make life difficult for weren't europe. i don't think that will happen.

>> colonel, appreciate it. coming up, discriminatory religious freedom bills popping up across the country. we will weigh in on the dark money, force behind the anti-gay legislation. later, those living on the keystone bl pipeline, public comment periods ends this weekend. i will talk to you. benefit gotschel says they refused to meet with peaceful protesters. next your questions on "ask it live" here on "the ed show." iwe don't back down.

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every year. and gays guns and god, of course, has been the rural issue republicans have been able to be successful with. it's getting closer every year. stick with workers, 66 with the family issues and i guarantee you they will come to the democrats the progressive side. our next question is from philip. he wants to know, how did you like the os stars? did you pick any of the winners? i didn't. i didn't pick any of the winners, i thought ellen was terrific. i wish she'd do it every year. surprisingly enough to some of you, i thought the song played by pink, sung by pink, "somewhere over the rainbow" by the wizard of oz, i thought that was cool. i thought it was neat. can she sing or what? stick around, rapid response penalty coming up. .

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. >> the ability to make your own choices rather than have powerful interests make them for you is too important to our future to be undone by politicians who are stuck in the past and some states, they're so far in the past they're even pushing laws to legalize

segregation based on sexual orientation. as democrats, we've let the other side define the word freedom for too long. freedom to go in a store or a restaurant to be refused service because of who you are or who you love. >> anti-gay conservatives are trying to behind behind the word freedom. democrats know it. we saw it last year when proponents tried to feed it as a religious freedom bill. let's call it what it was. a license to discriminate. senate bill 1062 would allow businesss to refuse service to gay and lesbian americans and people of other faith. president obama got it right. this is modern day segregation t. fight is far from over. discriminatory religious bills,

religious freedom bills have been popping up all over the country, georgia, idaho, mississippi, missouri, ohio, oregon, a bunch in south dakota. colorado, kansas, maine, tennessee, utah, oklahoma have all seen it and most of those bills have failed and many last week with the public outcry in arizona, the recent wave of religious freedom laws is no coincidence along with the ilines defending freedom have been rallying forces behind these bills. these are the proponents t. push has been coming from james dobson. he is best known as the founder of focus on the family. dobson is also the co-founder of alliance defending freedom, which consulted on anti-gay legislation in both arizona and ohio james to beson has been fighting against civil rights under the banner of religious freedom for some time. listen to what dobson said about marriage equality almost ten

years ago. >> how about group marriage or marriage between little girls or marriage between a man and his donkey? anything allegedly linked to civil rights will be doable and the legal underpinnings for marriage will have been destroyed. now, that's more or less a prophecy, not a prophecy but a prediction. >> joining me on our panel. dillon scott reporter for talking points memo. dillon, you wrote up a good piece on this on talking points memo. how closely are these religious freedom groups working with state legislate o, to lack of a better term quarterback these whole things through? >> well, i think the bills speak for themselves, ed. a lot of them share a similar language and as we reported this year the alliance for defending freedom group you mentioned was on the ground in ohio and

arizona which were two of the first bills introduced this cycle and so you have that kind of foundation laid, where these groups were kind of in on the ground floor and then you have sort of an organic grass roots process where a law maker in missouri seizes the bill in arizona and says i can more or less copy that word-for-word and bring it over to my state. >> doesn't citizens youfied open the flood gates for this type of legislation? >> absolutely. i think if we did an overlay of all of the maps, alex sponsored legislation on stand your ground our gun rights. also the inferences on women's rights, many of these things are going to line up. because you will see in many of these states, mild legislation is being given to legislators and they introduce it and oppose these bills without making changes or reading the legislation. so the bottom line here is that this group is promoting religious freedom for a very, very small portion of christians based on the premise if you are

christian, then you must be opposed to gay marriage and that's not actually true a. lot has changed since 2005 in that quote that you just played. >> i wonder if we will see a turning point here that now business is going to be the driver of freedom? i mean, i would like to think that arizona would have done the right thing with or without the super bowl. but the pushback, dillon, was so strong fwra the business community. there was going to be an economic impact. that's the last thing any governor wants to have in his or her state. was this a game changer, this veto? and what's the future of it? >> i think so. i thif you saw the way the business community rallied against the bill in arizona and for republican governors, conservative, moderate, wherever they call, the business community is somebody they have to pay heed to. when you have them united in the way that they were. you see what the result was in arizona and already, i've spoke with the atlanta chamber of commerce. there is a bill, as you said there. >> excuse me.

>> and they're already speaking out against the bill. you've seen it in mississippi as well with the bill that currently is under consideration in that state. so as long as the business community is alive with the gay rights community, it's hard to see that moving forward. >> is this a turning point on legislation like there? there is a pushback. even so, these republicans that said they didn't want to vote for. they thought it was good for their caucus. obviously, mayor looking for media cover on that one, they're really not that bad. they did at this time wrong way if i they want to get it done. does the clang the game on how these will be presented and debated in the future? >> i think so. i think this is all about the money. the fact that delta airlines came out. put a statement opposing the laws in a number of different states, including georgia. as you know, their base is in atlanta. i think like the civil rights movem, the justification, the

basis for the end of segregation was interstate commerce. it wasn't out of the good faith of the hearts and minds of the americans. it was about the business interests in the '60s. i think that anyone who wants to put forth bills that infringes rights on some americans in the name of the rights of a very small minority of christians. because again, just being christian does not mean you are opposed to marriage equality. i think they're on the wrong side of this issue and like dillon said, as long as the business interests and equal rights are on the same side, they will continue to lose. >> and dillon, it's discrimination, no matter how you look at it to tell someone they can't be served in a public place to render judgment on someone based on how they look. how do the conservatives walk away from this? how are they going to be able to generate popular thinking with society just turning so much

against what they have proposed? >> well, that's a question that i don't think they have a good answer for now. they were continuing to search for. i think they were surprised by the backlash to the arizona bill and so from a way they're starting to regroup. to their credit, i think they're stanz parent to the court rulings and the popular rulings that advance marriage equality across the country. now they're trying to figure out how they respond to that around how they sell it to people. >> i will tell you how they respond to it. they will sell more fear. it's great to have you with us tonight. thank you so much. coming up, from misinformation to avoidance, benjamin goetschel will join me to august about how they are dodging the proponents of the xl keystone pipeline. stay with us. .

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>> and pretenders tonight the outrageous alex jones and tuxer karlsson him karlsson and jones say they've blown the hood off the democrat's kkk movement. part-time fuse host join forces to bemoan the white man's persecution. >> we all have been conditioned as republicans or libertarians or white people to be o my gosh, we're not ratist, please, do whatever, i'm sorry, i'm blind, beat ours with whips on the head, democrats have recreated the klu klux klan movement but with minorities. >> there is a lot of truth in that. i wish it weren't. the government spoils on your skin color. really? their attention is divide between racism and baseless comments. jones and karlsson would love to race away the data. if these two talkers believe a kkk caper is the winning strategy. they keep on pretending.

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welcome back to "the ed show." this is the story for the folks who take a shower after work. opposition against the keystone xl pipeline is heating up down the stretch. more than 300 anti-keystone protesters were arrested sunday afternoon outside the white house. it's the latest push by environmentalists to convince the obama administration, actually the president himself, to reject the canadian oil pipeline. members of bold nebraska.org, a group of people organizing in an

effort to stop the proposed pipeline from being built in their state told me the lobbying effort and misinformation campaign are two of the biggest concerns they have. one example they talked about was an e-mail from congressman lee terry's campaign manager. >> he sent an e-mail to his supporters saying that their electricity bills will go up unless the keystone xl pipeline is approved. that is outrageous. it is outrageous. >> so the fear tactic is out there as well? >> oh, sure, yeah. >> you were told that your electricity rates are going to go up unless the pipeline is built? >> yep. >> it's outrageous. >> and that's the type of tactics that not only represent terry uses but alex and americans for prosperity. all of those groups on the far right who don't care about protecting farmers and ranchers. they'll put them in their political ads. but when it comes time, when the rubber hits the road, where are they? has a single republican leader stood with us throughout this time? no. >> the e-mail from kevin conroy, terry's campaign manager alleges

energy prices have risen over the past few years. they claim prices will continue to rise if the keystone xl pipeline isn't approved by the president. it says i'm proud of the work leer the have i doing to lower energy costs at home by passing keystone xl. it doesn't stop there. the group also expressed how they feel their elected officials aren't taking them seriously. even when they've made trips to washington to see the lawmakers who represent them. >> i used to think whoever you elected in office, juvenile, they were working for you. >> for you. >> that's not the way it's happening? >> i woke up. i was a guy -- i was that naive. until we went to washington, like i said, we went to senator johanns, his first comment to us was i don't care about you and the pipeline. >> on september 19, boldnebraska.org executive director was bullied by republican lawmakers at a house hearing on keystone xl.

>> what qualifies you? we've got three experts. do you hold a graduate level degree in any relevant field? do you hold a graduate degree in any field? you ever take a chemistry course? >> no, sir. >> have you ever taken a physics course? >> have you ever worked on a farm. >> ben gotschle joins us bold nebraska's energy director. ben, good to have you with us. i'd like you, if you could for our audience, describe the kind of representation you've had when you have shown your concerns about the keystone xl pipeline. >> well, it's run the range from inconsistent to downright combative. early on in the fight when it looked like the pipeline was a done deal and the president would approve it, we had senator johanns on our side standing up for the sandhills and the

aquifer, and even our o opposition to the pipeline. but then once it looked like we were gaining momentum, it was just kind of a pile-on for the other side. the efforts were led by lee terry in a lot of case, proposing amendments and bills to rubber stamp approval of the pipeline. so it's been kind of a roller coaster ride for us with our leaders in washington. >> and why do you think the governor and senator johanns were against it before they were for it? >> i think that they were against it because they thought that it was going to be approved, and that they definitely didn't want to be on the same side as obama on that. and once he delayed it and denied it in 2012, they completely flip-flopped and you saw the governor and the senator then wholeheartedly embracing the project, even though the major concerns that the majority of nebraskans had were still not addressed.

>> so at this point, after the environmental impact studies have come out, there is still 75 miles, as i understand that has to be hooked up that landowners have said no, we don't want this. what kind of representation are you getting now? do you think that they're more apt to hear your points of contention at this point, or have they all decided and they don't want anything to do with you? >> well, it seems like they're doubling down on their same bad position. we feel the lawsuit that was awarded to nebraska citizens a couple of weeks ago that ruled the siding law unconstitutional, our attorney general and our governor have appealed that. and lee terry is out, you know, saying that was a bad decision. other candidates for some of those federal offices are saying that it was bad decision, and that they're going to continue to fight for approval of the pipeline. so it's zil stihl -- if not

anything, it's getting worse. >> will this public comment period have an impact on the issue, as you see it? >> i believe so, yes. i think the public comment period is very important. and it gives folks a chance to weigh in on the issue from all across the country. and i think that from what i've seen, folks from all across the country all have their different reasons to be concerned about this issue. and i've been encouraged by a lot of the support that we've had for our efforts here in nebraska from people all across the country and all across the world. >> what would it mean to you and your ranch, ben, if the keystone xl pipeline were approved and it's going to be on your land? >> well, the pipeline wouldn't actually cross my land, but i would be downstream and very near to the pipeline route. and we all mostly drink from the ogallala okay fer here in nebraska. so affecting that drinking water is going to be a big deal.

and all i need to make a living is sunlight and water and grass to feed my cows. and if that water is damaged or poisoned and if that land is damaged, my family, my neighbors, other folks in nebraska can't make a living. >> what would you say to the president of the united states if you had a moment with him on this issue? >> well, i would encourage him to step up. this is his decision to make. and i think nebraskans and americans have given him enough reason to make this decision. and this is actually one of the ways -- the only areas that i agree with lee terry. i think the president should make a decision and i think he should deny the pipeline. he doesn't need congressional approval on this. he can be the people's president that so many people voted for him to be. and it's all in his court now, and i think he is the man for the job and that he should do it. >> from the heartland in nebraska, a rancher from

nebraska, ben gotschall with us tonight. appreciate your time. thank you forbe joining us. that is "the ed show." "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, ed. good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning on. i'm live tonight from miami. tonight's lead, the gop's poor judgment. today congressman paul ryan unveiled an amaze anything report on poverty that reads like a battle plan for attacking the poor. surprise, surprise. he blames the safety net, accusing welfare and social programs for making poverty worse. the report goes after medicaid. quote, medicaid patients use the emergency room inappropriately. he goes after the food stamp program known as s.n.a.p. quote, s.n.a.p. discourages