>> good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, darrell issa's witch hunt. this republican congressman has repeatedly vilified the president. persecuted the attorney general. and turned his committee into a kangaroo court. and we saw it again today. chairman issa hauled a former official back before his committee even though he knew she'd plead the fifth and refuse to testify. he grilled her repeatedly all for show, all for the benefit of the tv cameras. then issa bankruabruptly ended hearing without allowing a single democratic lawmaker to ask even one question. the democrats ranking member congressman elijah cummings was not having it. >> therefore, we stand adjourned.

>> chairman, chairman, i have a statement. i have a procedural question, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i have a procedural question. mr. chairman, you cannot run a committee like this. you just cannot do this. this is -- we're better than that as a country. we're better than that as a committee. i have asked for a few minutes to ask a procedural -- now you're turning me off. i don't care. the fact is i am asking a question. i am a ranking member of a committee and i want to ask a question. what are we hiding? what's the big deal? may i ask my question? may i make my statement? >> you're all free to leave. we're adjourned but the gentleman can his his question. >> cutting off the mic. silencing a fellow congressman. then things even got more

heated. >> let me say what i have to say. chairman, i have one procedural question -- >> miss lerner, you're released. >> but first i would like to use my time to make some brief points. for the past year, the central republican accusation -- >> we're adjourned. close it down. >> -- collusion directed by or on behalf of the white house. before our committee there is a single document or interview one witness. chairman issa -- >> shame, shame, shame, shame. >> this was the targeting of the president's political enemies effectively and lying about it during the election year. he continued this theme. >> where is your question? >> if you will sit down and allow me to ask the question, i am a member of the congress of the united states of america. i am tired of this.

we have members up here each who represent 700,000 people. you cannot just have a one sided investigation. there is absolutely something wrong with that and it's absolutely un-american. >> hear hear. >> we had a hearing. it was adjourned. i gave you an opportunity to ask a question. you have no question. >> i do have a question. >> i gave you an opportunity. >> chairman, what are you hiding? >> chairman issa twice cut off the mic. and then he turned his back and walked away. while the ranking democrat was still speaking. it was a revealing display. republicans aren't interested in the facts faced with a tough response. they just simply refuse to listen. joining me now is d.c. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton, a member of the

oversight committee who was at the hearing today. and salon.com's joan walsh. congresswoman, chairman issa cuts off the microphone and refuses to let democrats speak. what's your reaction? >> reverend al, you know, our committee is not known for its dignity or civility. remember this is the committee that denied us the right to even have one witness. and that made a national figure of sandra fluke when they had an all-male panel on contraception. but this is a low and that was i thought the bottom. but when you deny the ranking member one minute, and usually he would have five minutes at least, after you have taken 12 minutes, by the way, in violation of ethics. ethics says you cannot call a witness if you know in advance that that witness is going to

take the fifth. he called her anyway. >> right. and knew she was going to take the fifth. >> knew it. and you will notice that ranking member cummings kept saying what are you hiding. reverend al, this is what he was hiding. his staff had asked lerner -- ms. lerner's lawyer if he would proffer what she would say. if normally if you ask that, you give the witness immunity. then we all could find out what there is to be known from ms. lerner. so he said, yes, i would be willing to do a proffer to say what she would say. what chairman issa was trying to do today was keep us from revealing that we could have learned exactly what she would have said. and he didn't want ranking member cummings to get that out and i'm putting it out here right now. that's what he was hiding.

>> so he really didn't want that to come out. so this display was in many ways covering something which is what congressman cummings referred to when he said what are you hiding. >> precisely. that has to be explained. what did he mean? when his staff says would you as a lawyer, an acceptable procedure, a proffer tell us what you would have said and he says yes, then she's -- he's there sitting beside her. he should have asked the lawyer what she would have said. then the committee -- a committee to investigate -- would have had exactly what we've been asking for. tell us, ms. lerner, what you know. and he wanted to do a show. a show in violation of every ethical norm. and he got away with it by turning off the microphone. >> joan, this is supposed to be what they want to know is the

irs had -- had the irs targeted right wing groups, going after the tea party and all. so why would you be playing games when you're the one claiming that you really want to know and the lawyer said i will tell you. >> okay, here you go. we're going to let you know. because they haven't been interested in getting to the bottom of this. that's been clear from the beginning. the congresswoman knows better than i do. congressman cummings has been the picture of patience and discretion and calm throughout this whole ordeal. he has said again and again and again let's release all the testimony we've taken. let's release all the evidence. let's put it into the public realm. and issa shuts him down again and again. today was brand new. this was thuggishness. i've never seen anything that thug. when he does the throat slit to cut the mic action, who treats another congressman like that? i just -- i would ask the congresswoman if she's seen anything like that in her life. it was beyond disrespect. >> now, congresswoman, mr.

issa -- congressman issa also told reporters he'll continue his investigation. which he swore is not political. listen to this, congresswoman. >> at this point we will continue our investigation into the irs targeting of conservative groups. >> mr. chairman, how much of this is a political play for republicans in the election in november? >> none. not a shred of it. not a smidge of it. >> now, you know the thing that is flagged by the irs for extra review is that they've done it on the right but they've also done it on the left. on the right terms like tea party, patriots, 9/12 project. but also on the left. terms like progressive, occupy, acorn. all of them have had the designation of being flagged for extra review by the irs. but you notice chairman issa, congresswoman norton, said our

investigation into the targeting of conservative groups. and yet he didn't want the lawyer to tell us what this witness would have known. >> that proffer is the answer. and reverend al, it would have been very easy -- it would have been very easy to simply -- in fact, i think he would have been the hero of the hearing if he had brought this out. instead he suppressed it. this was a show. it was an abuse of power. and it defeated his purpose. because if the point was a show, the talk is all about tonight him silencing the ranking member. >> you know, joan, the fact is the gop's irs investigation, they've had 16 hearings, 255 irs employees involved, 97,000 hours

spent responding. it has cost the irs $14 million. but a treasury inspector general said they found no political motivation at all by the irs. >> they found nothing. and they keep going back again and again to the same dry well. and congressman issa then selectively leaks things, wrongly leaks inaccurate information, leaks the opposite of things that lois lerner said. she's specifically on record telling her people do not use political criteria, do not look at politics. he says the opposite to fox news. he treats fox news like it's a fourth branch of government to help him prosecute this case when there's no basis. and we know that, reverend al. >> congresswoman norton and joan walsh, thank you for your time tonight. >> always a pleasure. ahead, what led to the eruption on capitol hill? when we come back, what's really behind darrell issa's witch

hunt? the long years of scaring. and if at first you don't succeed, try 50 times. holding a 50th vote to repeal obamacare. and we're celebrating "politicsnation" style. plus, fair or crazy? a new jersey teen sues her parents for college tuition money. tonight you be the judge. and the must see clip of the night, jon stewart responds to the fox news food stamp obsession. stay with us. let's say you pay your guy around 2 percent to manage your money. that's not much, you think except it's 2 percent every year. go to e*trade and find out how much our advice and guidance costs. spoiler alert. it's low. it's guidance on your terms not ours. e*trade. less for us, more for you. predibut, manufacturings a prettin the united states do. means advanced technology.

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he continued this -- >> what is your question? >> if you will sit down and allow me to ask the question. i am a member of the united states of america. i am tired of this. we have members over here each who represent 700,000 people. you cannot just have a one-sided investigation. there is absolutely something wrong with that and it's absolutely un-american. >> gop congressman darrell issa, the man at the center of today's farce on capitol hill.

he has a history of witch hunts against this administration. before he even took control of the house oversight committee, he promised to hold hundreds of hearings on the obama administration. he spent the last five years searching for scandals everywhere. >> this is a failure. it needs to be investigated. our committee can investigate it. solyndra is a story of political interference. picking winners and losers. that includes fast and furious. we are here today because failures within the irs are not isolated to just tax-exempt division. four months ago when obamacare opened for business -- this fast and this hearing is now over but this investigation is not. >> you see, the investigation is never over with congressman issa. if it's not solyndra, it's

benghazi or obamacare. and this year promises more of the same. congressman issa's agenda for 2014 includes more hearings on the irs, benghazi, and fast and furious. what a surprise. joining me now are joy reid and ryan grim. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> joy, is issa just throwing stuff at the wall, it doesn't matter if any sticks at all? >> no, it's interesting. so darrell issa's job is to sort of make real a lot of the conspiracy theories you see on the right and right wing media. they've got these -- it's issa's job to deliver. he keeps promising he's going to deliver. that any day he's going to deliver hard proof on solyndra, benghazi, or the irs.

and i think one of the reasons he's failing is because you have congressman elijah cummings sitting there saying where's the proof. and if you try to put out false information, i'm putting out the facts. i think he did that again today too. >> ryan, back in 2010, this is very interesting. this is before congressman issa even took over as oversight chairman. he went on rush limbaugh's show and said this about president obama. listen. >> it's going to acrimonious. there's no question. he has been one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times. >> now, he later apologized for saying that. most corrupt president. later apologized. but how can you be objective when you have that kind of view? >> and it's remarkable, too, because objectively he's not that corrupt. you can disagree with this president politically and

ideologically, but compared to other recent presidents, there are no real scandals. all of those other presidents have had very real scandals. reagan easily could have been impeached for what he was doing. but this works for congressman issa. he just recently went to new hampshire where he raised a ton of money. he has raised more money than any other member of the house of representatives. other than paul ryan who's coming off a vice presidential run. so this works for him. because he's not getting involved in legislation that parts of the republican party might disagree with. he's just hating on the president which they all agree with. so that builds his power. and going into 2016, you're going to see him be a powerful force. not a candidate, but somebody that has to be reckoned with. >> you know, joy, that congressman issa also led the push to hold attorney gerald holder in contempt. >> many it was another instance

just like today with congressman cummings he got tremendous pushback on live tv. because eric holder pushed right back at him and said you need to respect me as well as attorney general of the united states. it came up empty. i think the problem is you do have this need on the right to portray president obama as simultaneously this weak, ineffectual president and this dictator all at the same time. but you have to eventually have some meat there. but what's amazing to me is there have not been more repercussions to the fact they haven't found anything. we had a congressman on today who was at the committee who said they spent $14 million just investigating -- >> i just reported that, yeah. >> they haven't found anything. and i think for spending all that taxpayer money -- >> and the irs money defending it. >> and he hasn't found nothing. there's no comeuppance because the right needs to keep believing this. >> ryan, even gop members and

leaders are scared that the congressman issa has taken attacks too far. late last year politico wrote, quote, gop leaders think issa should stop personalizing the scandals by insulting obama and his aides and focus on the facts. so could issa's overreach had hurt the party especially in an election year? >> those are tactical problems that they have. notice that they're not saying that they want them to back off the president or back off any of these investigations. they're basically just saying, hey, frame your message slightly differently. instead of saying that jay carney is a paid liar. say he's not being forthright with the american people and continue with your benghazi and fast and furious. and fast and furious, what are we? three, four years into this thing? you get 18 months. if you have a major network like fox behind b you pushing a scandal and you have power, you get 18 months to find something.

if you don't, move on. i mean, three, four years? >> the only way these things work is if you can take a scandal that starts out in right wing media and have it metastasized to the rest of the media or have it go just beyond your base that's feverish on the radio. and they can't. because there's nothing to it. independents won't pick this up. they're going to look for facts. they're not with the obama fever. they're talking to their base over and over and over. >> and i don't think it's a matter of people that are pro-president obama or pro-attorney general holder. it's more people saying i have too much respect for my own skills that i'm going out there on something that there's just no there there. >> i think a lot of the mainstream media is snake bitten by it. he put out partial transcripts or pushed them in a direction pl

particularly with the irs one. >> the cutting off the mic act today doesn't help him with adults. joy reid and ryan grim, thanks for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks, rev. >> and be sure to watch joy on "the reid report" week days at 2:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. still ahead, the vote that president obama calls a travesty. it's gotten a lot of americans very upset. i'll tell you what happened. also, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again. we got a special "politicsnation" surprise for speaker boehner to mark his 50th attempt to roll back obamacare. plus the dramatic video of a mother who drove her three kids into the ocean in this. is this a case of mental illness or attempted murder? that's ahead in tonight's justice files.

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playing politics with crisis while president obama's dealing with a series situation unfolding in ukraine and many on the right attacking him. but now they have a brand new talking point. today the conflict between russia and ukraine somehow has to do with drilling for oil? >> we can't supplant russia's influence. we won't so long as we have to contend with the energy department's achingly slow approval process. >> i think we should move forward on natural gas exports very quickly. i think we should approve an lng terminal to go to europe. i think we should show that the u.s. is going to be moving forward on becoming energy independent. >> so using this crisis to push a pipeline? yes. and on the headline on a right

wing blog says quote, ukraine crisis means drill, baby, drill. so the answer to the problems in ukraine is to drill, baby, drill? wait a minute. what happened to yesterday's attack? you know, the one from senator lindsey graham when he tweeted, quote, it started with benghazi. when you kill americans and nobody pays a price, you invite this type of aggression. it started with benghazi. but i thought it was about drilling? so i wonder what's next. repealing obamacare will show putin who's boss? or slashing food stamps will keep russian troops at bay? do they think we wouldn't notice they're using an international crisis to push their domestic agenda? this isn't even close to a nice try. but we got you.

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family in poverty. that violates a basic sense of who we are. and that's why it's time to give america a raise. it is time to give america a raise. >> president obama on the road today making the case for raising the minimum wage. but back in washington speaker boehner's house was voting for the 50th time to repeal part of the health care law. their 50th vote. can you believe this? president obama had a little fun with it. >> you know what they say. 50th time is the charm. maybe when you hit your 50th repeal vote, you will win a prize. maybe if you buy 50 repeal votes, you get one free. >> get one free. i think the president's onto

something. they should win a prize. gold is the traditional gift for a 50th anniversary, so how about a golden gavel for speaker boehner? or maybe a golden golf club. or a golden stethoscope for the health care expert. this vote was a complete waste of time. and if the division of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, i think our republican friends are definitely in trouble. joining me now is congresswoman jan schakowsky of illinois and cynthia tucker. thank you both for being here. >> good to be here, reverend. >> congresswoman, with today's vote do you sense -- do you feel a sense of deja vu? >> no question about it. they had a similar vote to this one last year.

and the vote was almost exactly the same. same number of democrats that actually voted for it. and the same number of republicans. so they just keep trying. and of course it's overwhelmingly the republicans who want to, you know, repeal the mandate for individuals. the effect of that, of course, would be to raise insurance rates and have about 11 million people without insurance. and those would be the healthiest people. and the youngest people. and it doesn't work. and mitt romney knew that when he did that in massachusetts. that there had to be a mandate. >> now, you know, cynthia, today was the 50th house vote to repeal obamacare. let's first take a walk down memory lane. >> we could repeal obamacare and get this monkey off the backs of the american people. >> the worst example of the abuse of the rule of law has

really been with the president's health care law. >> if obamacare is ever implemented and enforced, we will never recover from it. >> let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. >> but cynthia, the truth is that the law is working. i mean, at least 4 million people have enrolled through the health care exchanges. and just yesterday, cynthia, a compromise in arkansas to keep medicate in expansion. i mean, is the tide starting to turn? >> well, the polls show that a majority of americans support keeping obamacare in place. despite the relentless drum beat against it by republicans that continues. most americans know that the old system was dysfunctional.

that people who desperately needed health insurance could not afford to pay for it. so among ordinary americans out there who have some experience with the health care marketplace, yes, the tide has turned. among republicans in congress, clearly the fever has not broken. but they do not care if people can't afford health insurance, reverend al. >> now, you know while republicans were hard at work on their latest repeal vote, the president was talking about where their priorities should be. take a listen to this. >> this should not be that hard, you'd think. because nearly 3 in 4 americans, about half of all republicans support raising the minimum wage. i don't know if that's just because i proposed it.

maybe i should say i oppose raising the minimum wage. they'd be for it. that's possible. >> maybe he's onto something there, congresswoman. are they against it because he proposed it? >> i think they're against it because they are completely out of touch with the american people. the benefit of raising the minimum wage would be felt in our economy, people would have some money in their pocket. and, for example, $46 billion over ten years would be saved from the s.n.a.p. program, from the food assistance program. because people would be able to afford to feed themselves. which is certainly a goal -- ought to be a goal in our society. though the republicans on obamacare, i think they are making a bad bet if they think they're going to ride to the november elections opposing obamacare. because just today about 13 million americans have benefitted from obamacare.

and i hope by march 31st we'll see millions more. >> i want to give a -- obamacare which millions are signing up for are working. they're against minimum wage which would stabilize a lot of families and lift people out of poverty. even the cbo reports that they're against so many things that every poll indicates americans are overwhelmingly for. i mean, does this lead to some political consequences in your judgment, cynthia? or are we dealing with such a jury map it matter? >> clearly in the house the map is gerrmandered and it would be extremely difficult for democrats to get control of the

house of representatives again. >> oh, i disagree. >> the senate is another matter. >> all right. well, congresswoman, you disagree. tell us why. give me the democratic majority. >> there are a number of districts that have been gerrmandered, but there are far more where we have competitive races and where we can -- we have at least 52 districts that are in play right now. and there are a number that we know we can win. we only need to win 17. so we feel optimistic still because the republicans are on the wrong side of most issues that the people really care about that we can win. so cynthia, no, we can do it. >> all right. well, we're going to have to leave it there. we're going to see about that. we won't be going anywhere. cynthia and i will be watching, congresswoman. >> we will be. and good luck. >> congresswoman jan schakowsky and cynthia tucker, thank you for your time tonight. ahead, a pregnant

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it's time for the justice files. the big criminal justice stories making headlines today. joining me now, former prosec e prosecutor seema ayer and ken padowitz. thank you both for being here. start in new jersey and a story getting all kinds of attention. 18-year-old rachel canyon, a high school student and honor student is suing her parents shawn and elizabeth for money to go to college. rachel claims physical and verbal abuse. the parents say it was just discipline. the court says it was the first time they've seen each other since october and so far the judge ruled with the parents. >> we want to establish a precedent where parents live in constant fear of establishing basic rules of the house.

since if they institute a rule that junior doesn't like, junior can move out and can move in with another family. he can sue for child support, attorney fees, car, cell phone, and a few hundred grand in college. >> another hearing is set for next month. seema, should rachel get paid? >> absolutely not, rev. i don't know about you, but are you hearing whispers of casey anthony here? she's a narcissistic, self-centered young lady. and the investigator who conducted the assessment agreed that she is spoiled and the judge also agreed with that. so why should we start setting a precedent when she's legally an adult. if they pay her for college. and let's talk about the millions and billions of children in this country who are getting financial aid and going to college that way. why is she entitled to more? >> ken?

>> i think the judge sounds like a very wise man. i clearly -- we don't want to have a precedent of every parents' nightmare that the children is going to sue them because they don't like a rule instituted in the house. i don't know if this child is self-centered or narcissistic. maybe she's just given bad advice and is misguided. i think the judge is correct to get counseling as the priority here. get this family into counseling and let's see if they can repair this relationship in the form that it deserves to be repaired in at a counselor's office and not in a courtroom. >> no. and we just saw photos of the mother and father crying. they do need counseling. but i had to think about if it had been me suing my mother, i would have been the one crying. >> i would have been spanked. >> i wasn't going to say that. and now to a biker paralyzed in an altercation in new york city speaking out. you remember this video from back in september?

the driver of a range rover was chased by bikers and dragged out of his car and beaten in front of his family. just before one of the motorcycle riders was run over by that range rover is now paralyzed. 11 have been indicted, but the driver has not been charged with anything. and today the victim broke his silence on the "today" show. >> as soon as he hit me, i shut my eyes. i didn't want to open my eyes because i knew he had hurt me. >> do you blame the driver of the suv who hit you for your injuries? >> no. i don't blame him. because at the end of the day, i'm not him to know what was going through his mind. >> he doesn't blame him, but his attorneys said they're leaving the door open on a lawsuit. >> gloria, i know you haven't yet, but are you planning to sue either the driver or the city of new york? >> we have not filed a civil lawsuit. >> i know. but will you? >> we don't rule anything out.

>> ken, is there a case against the driver? >> well, of course there's always a case that could be made by an attorney. whether or not it's going to be successful in court is completely another matter. i think with this gentleman who suffered terrible injuries and it's a horrible thing that happened to him that he has to live through, i think he articulated what many of us are thinking when we see that video. is that if we have to protect our family and we think we're under attack, that many people would do what the driver did in this case which is step on the gas to get out of a situation that he considered dangerous for his family. so there may be a lawsuit in the future, but i don't know how successful that may be. >> seema? >> i think it's very beneficial for him he hasn't been prosecuted in criminal court. so the likelihood of a civil suit is greater. additionally, let's not forget this is a man who had no license

and at the time of the incident, 16 tickets, outstanding tickets in several different states. so let's not forget who he is actually. >> all right. >> and whether -- i'm sorry. was he getting off that bike to terrorize the driver or whether he was trying to protect his friend. >> all right. finally, a terrifying moment caught on camera. a pregnant mom intentionally drives her van into the ocean in daytona beach, florida. with her three children ages 3, 9, and 10 inside. bystanders rushed towards to help. two of the rescued children were pulled from the car and they were able to pull the third child from the car as well. today the sheriff talked about charges. >> we're looking to see if criminal charges are going to be appropriate.

it's early in the investigation, but we want to get to the bottom of it to determine which is the correct way to go about it. >> should there be charges brought against the mother? like the sheriff just said, the first step is investigating a possible medical situation. now, think about this, rev. the bystander that was there, mr. tessenier, he stated that the mother had a blanked out, spaced out look on her face. >> while she was driving into the ocean. >> while they were taking her out of the car. she wasn't responsive. she wasn't responsive to the bystanders. she wasn't responsive to law enforcement. that corroborates a potential psychiatric issue here. if there is one, i believe the state may hold off in pressing charges at this point and continue an investigation. >> ken? >> i don't know about that. from what i've heard, the sister of this woman actually called the police and the police stopped this woman a brief time

before this incident occurred. and this incident may be described as a murder/suicide situation. so there may be charges. an insanity defense is something the defendant may consider if in fact, she's charged with a crime. but they rarely work and are usually unsuccessful at trial. >> but, ken, do you not agree they have to investigate her medical and mental health history here? maybe that's why the sister called. maybe there is a history here which is why she got to her breaking point and had a psychotic episode. >> i'm going to have to step in. i love justice files because we all get into this and riled up, but i'm going to have to leave it there. thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. still ahead, jon stewart calls out the right wingers for their strange obsession with food stamps and seafood. you'll want to see this. also, today's shameful vote against the man that president

obama wants to lead the charge on civil rights. what was this vote really all about? that's next. ok, here's the way the system works. let's say you pay your guy around 2 percent to manage your money. that's not much, you think except it's 2 percent every year. does that make a difference? search "cost of financial advisors" ouch! over time it really adds up. then go to e*trade and find out how much our advice costs. spoiler alert. it's low. really? yes, really. e*trade offers investment advice and guidance from dedicated professional financial consultants. it's guidance on your terms not ours that's how our system works. e*trade. less for us, more for you.

we know many on the right want to slash food stamp spending. but today a solution. a new report says raising

minimum wage would reduce spending for the food stamp program by $46 billion over the next decade. but even with that, i'm sure some in the right wing media would keep focusing on food stamp fraud. last night jon stewart took on one particular obsession. seafood. and it was hilarious. >> the least you could do is "a," not spend it on food that could be used as a weapon in the coming class war. and "b," spend it on nutrition food like seafood. eat more fish. you could use that. the fox hounds would have no problem. >> this picture says it all. people using food stamps to buy gourmet crab legs? >> is it now considered acceptable for a burgeoning number of people to be on food stamps. is it so acceptable that fresh

seafood, whatever you want to get is no problem. >> give the people what they want. fresh seafood. >> i think we established it is possible if you're on food stamps to buy seafood. which is apparently now considered the mercedes of food. i don't want food stamp recipients eating junk. but we also don't want them taking our nice human food. what's the right mixture of quality and class-based shame? >> now, that is some must see tv. . all-you-can-eat is a hotel policy that allows you to eat all that you can. the hotel gym is short for gymnasium. the hotel pool is usually filled with water. and the best dot com for booking hotels, is hotels.com. it's on the internet, but you probably knew that. or maybe not, i don't really know you. bellman: welcome back, captain obvious. captain obvious: yes i am. all those words are spelled correctly.

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[ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ . finally tonight, a slap in the face of anyone who cares about justice and civil rights. today's senate republicans and even a few democrats rejected adegbile, president obama's nominee to head justice department civil rights division. the president called the vote a travesty based on wildly unfair

character attacks. attorney general holder said, quote, at a time when significant voting rights cases and other consequential matters are pending, it is more critical than ever to have a confirmed leader for the civil rights division. that view was echoed by senator harry reid. >> they've distorted this man's good name in an attempt to score points politically and block confirmation of a faithful defender of voting rights which the republicans do everything they can to not protect. they want fewer voting people. they don't want people to vote. and they especially don't want poor people to vote. >> adegbile was voted down today because of his work at the naacp legal defense fund. that's the legendary civil rights firm founded by thurgood marshall. it's the group that brought us the brown versus board of education case ending segregation in schools.

but today critics pounced on the group's defense of a man convicted of murdering a police officer back in 1982. he has always claimed his innocence, but senators voting no today declared the president's nominee guilty by association. even though he was merely given this defendant his constitutional right to a fair defense. how can you hold a lawyer responsible for the alleged crimes of his client? it would have a chilling effect on courts all over the country and undercut every american's right to a fair trial. what does it say about the judges who for all of these years voted to give jamal a new trial or voted another hearing? who were more directly involved than this man who was just a part of the legal defense firm that was there to make sure this

man had a fair trial when there were so many questions that were still unresolved. this is a bad precedent. it is bad voting. and those republicans and democrats we need to remember they did this. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. point of order. let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. the nonstop partisan attack it is on our president remind me of the joke about the young postal worker when the postmaster told him he was the fastest mail sorter he'd seen, his response was you just wait until i learn how to read. the right wing assault on president obama is just like