i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live tonight from louisville, kentucky. tonight's lead, republicans are getting too extreme, even for some republicans. and it's tearing the party apart. a gop civil war has erupted at the right-wing cpac gathering where ugly anti-obama rhetoric is the main attraction. >> apiece a syrian tyrant and embolden his russian ally, policies that destroy our economy and embolden our foreign enemies. >> taking us on a trajectory toward tyranny and must be changed. >> a klassen have i leftist language that divides america. >> it's not what he has done with his usurpance of power as

precedent that sets for lawlessness. >> these republicans are all presidential contenders. they actually believe this kind of talk is their ticket to the white house. in fact, right wingers like ted cruz think the party should run farther to the right. and they're bashing the sold moderates of the past. >> if all of us remember president dole, and president mccain and president romney. look, those are good men. they're decent men. but when you don't stand and draw a clear distinction, when you don't stand for principle, democrats celebrate. >> not standing on principle? today john mccain hit back. >> he can say what he wants to about me, and he can say anything he wants to i think about mitt. mitt's capable of taking it.

but when he throws bob dole in there, i wonder if he thinks that bob dole stood for principle on that hilltop in italy when he was so gravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country. >> and former senator dole himself said, quote, cruz should check my voting record before making comments. i was one of president reagan's strongest supporters, and my record is that of a traditional republican conservative. today republicans aren't like the republicans we've seen in the past. their gender is more extreme and more intolerant. it's hurting both their own party and the country. joining me now is former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and susan milligan. thanks to both of you for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> our pleasure, rev. >> governor rendell, let me start with you. does ted cruz really think he

would have any more success than mitt romney? >> yeah, i think they actually believe the rhetoric. and they believe it because they talk to each other. they don't get out and talk to ordinary americans all over the country. they just talk at tea party rallies and right wing affairs. they don't talk to ordinary folks. i mean, the things that ted cruz has propose ready absolutely absurd. does he think that any americans want to see a tax system where we have a flat tax and the richest americans pay the same percentage as the smallest, as the poorest americans? of course not. does anybody think that, you know, we want to have no regulations for banks and wall street? of course not. the more they talk like this, the more they're signing their death warrant. >> but susan, it's not only ted cruz that is talking this way. there are other republicans that

think that the more conservative they get, the more they can win elections. listen to this. >> it isn't good enough to pick the lesser of two evils. we must elect men. we must elect men and women of principle and conviction and action. >> we're really done following those who advocate mushy, mealy-mouthed moderation. >> how did it work out for the republican establishment in following their lead nominating moderate candidates in the last two elections? >> they're pushing all the way to the right, susan. >> yes, and i don't understand it, because it didn't work for them in two election cycles. this is the third time i've watched this litany of candidates talk about whom they hate and what they're against. and i don't think that's going to win you a presidential election. it didn't in 2012. and they lost senate seats in 2012. so i don't know why they're

behaving this way. i don't think it's going to be a successful strategy. and i have to say going after senator dole like that was just stunning to me, because he is someone who is very well liked and very well respected on both sides of the aisle, not because he was a moderate or mushy mouth or whatever he was called, but because he was somebody who was a conservative but who worked with democrats because he felt he was there for something bigger than himself. they were there to serve the senate. they were there to serve the american people. and that was really a slap not just at senator dole personally, but just also the whole idea of what the senate is supposed to be. >> but, you know, governor, ted cruz said the gop needs to move away from candidates like bob dole. well, look at this. on the eve of the 1996 election when bob dole was the gop candidate for president, republicans had a 50% favorable rating. now with leaders like ted cruz in office, the party's

favorability rating has fell to 28%. that's an all-time low. >> and you're right, rev. but the problem is all of these contenders, ted cruz, perry, you name it, it's all a race to the far right because they're concentrating on winning the primaries. but the problem with that strategy is the things that they talk about, the things that they say and do to win the primaries make them unelectable in the general election. and the reason that mitt romney lost, i think is because he veered so far to the right during the primary season that he couldn't convince americans that he was mainstream in the general election. had mitt romney ran as the governor of massachusetts, the things he did there, i think he could have very easily won. so i think this is a strategy that is doomed to failure. by the things that they say and do during this time period.

talking only to the same tea party-ites. they're dooming themselves to eventual failure. >> so you think that had governor romney ran more to the middle, he could have actually won in 2012 against president obama, governor? >> sure. and when you think of the swing states that were that president obama carried all but north carolina, there were three or four of those states that just a little bit of shift in votes, governor romney might have prevailed. he shouldn't have run away from romney care. he should have said we did it right in massachusetts. and people deserve health care coverage in the greatest country in the world. if he had something like that, i think he is a winner, or at least had a real good chance to be a winner. >> but susan, i understand the primary fight with the tea party right. but are moderates afraid of these far right wingers when they have to look at the fact

they have to win elections in the general election? are they afraid to denounce or even stand up to these guys? >> oh, i think they are. i think we've seen that in a lot of the senate primaries as well. even jack kingston in georgia sounding not like the man that i've been watching in the house because he's got, you know, candidates who are further to the right of him in the primary. and then they box themselves in the general. that puts them in a difficult position. this is the third time republicans have a really good chance of taking back the senate. and probably a better chance this time than the last two times. but they may implode yet again for this very reason. the thing, those people that were at cpac today and yesterday, they're appealing obviously to a very particular audience, a very particular part of the republican party. it's just not enough to win a national election. so we'll see. >> well, governor, i don't know who they're playing to, but speaker after speaker launched vile attacks on the president. listen to this.

>> the commander in chief garbed as a nobel laureate, trotting around the world, kowtowing to foreign leaders and apologizing for america. >> he is somebody who wants to shrink america's footprint in the world. >> we live under the imperial president, his highness barack hussein obama, mmm, mmm, mmm. >> i mean, these are some very ugly, vile attacks, governor. >> they are. and again, they -- the red meat appeals to the base. the base is very strongly anti-obama, anti-the president. but to the independents, the people who aren't democrats, don't think that president obama has done a great job, they don't like to hear the president of the united states demeaned and insulted. you've heard that from even a number of -- michelle malkin, they don't like it.

i think they just kill themselves do that. we didn't do a very smart. there were people in our party who attacked president obama and called him names. and that was wrong. and it's wrong to do it. the president of the united states should be respected for the office that he or she holds. and i think when you attack the president in such vile and angry and clearly bitter and irrational terms, i think you turn off independent undecided voters. >> governor ed rendell and susan milligan, thanks for your time. i'm going to have to leave it there. thank you tonight. have a great weekend. >> you too. >> you too, rev. coming up, conservatives love paul ryan's story about the poor kid and the free lunch. only problem, it wasn't true. also, darrell issa apologizes for cutting off congressman cummings' microphone. but wait. we have a few other things he should apologize for. plus democrats launch a new

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lowest price, guaranteed. ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ republicans have found a new target in their war on the poor, children. and paul ryan is leading the way, denigrating poor families whose kids get free lunch at school. but his claims don't add up. that's next. in the nation... what's precious to you is precious to us. and from your family, to your belongings, to your dreams for retirement, nationwide is here to protect what you love most.

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congressman paul ryan claims the left is only offering the poor, quote, a full stomach and an empty soul. and he explained that dubious proposition by telling this story. >> this reminds me of a story i heard from eloise anderson. she serves in the cabinet of my buddy, governor scott walker. she once met a young boy from a very poor family. and every day at school he would get a free lunch from a government program. he told eloise he didn't want a free lunch. he wanted his own lunch, one in a brown paper bag just like the other kids. he wanted one, he said, because he knew a kid with a brown paper bag had someone who cared for

him. >> does the congressman actually think that poor mothers love their children less? that statement was disgraceful. and what's more, it wasn't true. it turns out the woman that paul ryan referred to never actually had that discussion about the bag lunch. as "the washington post" points out, the story was actually derived from a book titled "the invisible thread." and get this, there is no discussion in the book about the school lunch program. better yet, the author of that book is partnering with an organization that helped connect kids to school lunch programs. "the washington post" gave ryan four pinocchios for this whopper. he has since released a statement saying i regret failing to verify the original source of the story.

that's what he regrets? really. does he also regret trying to shame poor families? does he also regret his immoral plan to lower taxes for the rich while cutting food aid to the poor? it's time for mr. ryan to rethink his priorities. joining me now is e.j. dionne. thanks for being here, e.j. >> good to be with you, reverend. >> let me ask you, how can republicans like paul ryan suggest that poor parents care less about their children than wealthy parents do? >> well, you know, you said it up front. but i have to say, when i first heard that story, before we all learned it was a fake story, it really bothered me for the reason you described. he is essentially saying there that a kid who brings his lunch in a brown paper bag has people who care about him. and kids on the lunch program don't have people who care about

them. now, that's an insult to poor parents all over the country. poverty, being poor does not mean you don't have people who care about you. and so -- >> that's right. >> -- it might have tipped him off to the fact there was something wrong with his story. and then it turned out to be astonishing that not only had the original teller of the story heard it on television, but that the people who brought the story of this flash kid of the world weren't talking about lunch programs at all. they were talking about the problems of poverty. and so it really makes you worry. because ryan has tried to present himself as someone who really cares about the poor. he has been on this poverty tour around the country. >> right. >> i would like to think that encountering poor people might finally some day make him change his mind on these things, beginning with this notion that being on the lunch program means

you come from people who don't care about you. >> no, it is absolutely insensitive at best. and you know, for some on the right it's become okay to attack kids on free lunch programs. listen. >> should students have to work for their school meals? send those comments over to us. >> why don't you, you know have, the kids pay a dime, pay a nickel to instill them that there is, in fact, no such thing as a free lunch. or maybe sweep before in the cafeteria. >> when you get a new pet, what is the first thing you do to try to bond with it? you want to be the one to feed it, right? well, same thing here. >> have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. the kids would actually do work. they would have cash. they would have pride in the schools. >> i mean, have we gotten to the point, e.j., where children who get free lunch now become just something that you use as political chips to move around

your board, to throw red meat at the far right? this is amazingly insensitive. >> it is amazing. and, again, the free lunch program, as far as i can tell, has not been that controversial. our conservative friends always talk about the importance of people working hard in school so they can become self-reliant. and i think progressives are for that too. what does the school lunch program do? kids can't learn when they're hungry. and kids and their parents don't want to admit because they're proud that they might be short of money and can't adequately feed their kid in school. and the school lunch program says we're not going let kids go through the school day not being able to think about their work because they're hungry. so this ought to be the kind of program that people who call themselves conservative would be sympathetic to. instead we say not only are those kids potentially hungry, but we're going to pull more away from school work so they

can do the jobs of janitors at the same time. it's a wacky way to think, in my view. >> you know, we're seeing a disturbing trend too, e.j. recently, kids actually being denied lunch at school because their accounts are not up to date. take a listen. >> an estimated two dozen students at the middle school were allegedly denied lunch, some told to throw food out because of low balances on lunch cards. >> i hear my son didn't eat. that's terrible. >> reporter: he left for school at 8:45 yesterday morning and didn't get home until 4:00. making the situation even more upsetting, john robert is autistic and cannot say that he is hungry or needs food. >> i mean, this is what we're dealing with in this country. and they're trying to make it even more difficult, e.j. >> well, what is pernicious is

we're equating poverty with moral disability. i mean, show me any kid, let alone a poor autistic kid, but how many kids get their accounts wrong? how many kids don't know? middle class, rich kids, poor kids don't know exactly what is going on on a school card. i mean, this is nuts. but there is a danger here that we are just going to become a meaner country. and that's not us. we're not a mean country. and all these stories add up to that. >> well, you know, i've got to leave it there, e.j. but if they're so opposed to a handout, what about a hand up? >> and these programs are hand up. >> if they would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, it would cut food stamp spending by $4.6 billion a year. why don't they really try to do something about food stamps and help people get up? e.j. dionne, thank you for your

time to that. >> amen to that. >> have a good weekend, e.j. >> you too. ahead, democrats are launching a new campaign to call out the billionaire boys club. but first, you won't believe who republicans are comparing to notorious segregationist george wallace. it's disrespectful and it's tonight's got you. ♪

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almost exactly one year ago, top republicans announced they wanted to expand the party and reach out to minorities. so how are they doing that today? by comparing president obama and attorney general holder to the late alabama governor george wallace. that's right. the notorious segregationist who literally stood in the schoolhouse door to try to stop black students from enrolling at the university of alabama.

>> 50 years ago, george wallace stood in the schoolhouse door and said that african american students couldn't come in. today the obama administration stands in that same schoolhouse door. >> we've got eric holder and the department of justice trying to stand in the schoolhouse door to prevent minority kids, low income kids, kids who haven't had access to a great education the chance to go to better schools. >> comparing the nation's first black president and the first black attorney general to the most infamous segregationist of the last 50 years, it's insensitive and disrespectful. especially since one of the students that george wallace tried to block was eric holder's late sister-in-law. that's right. vivian malone jones is the courageous young woman shown in this photo after she was finally

allowed to enroll. i would hope that governor jindal was ignorant of that relationship when he made his comments. but either way, it's offensive and a shameful distortion of civil rights history for political gain. it's not a nice try, but we still got you. means advanced technology. we learned that technology allows us to be craft oriented. no one's losing their job. there's no beer robot that has suddenly chased them out. the technology is actually creating new jobs. siemens designed and built the right tools and resources to get the job done. an entirely new menu created with your busy schedule in mind. pronto lunch starting at $6.99. handmade italian sandwiches, flatbreads, and our signature soup and salad. starting at $6.99. and all served "pronto!"

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the billionaire koch brothers are two of the most powerful people in our politics. the political network they support raised more than $400 million during the 2012 campaign. but the brothers like to keep a low profile, and senate majority leader harry reid is on a mission to push them to the center stage. >> it's too bad that they're trying to buy america, and it's time that the american people spoke out against this terrible dishonesty of these two brothers

who are about as unamerican as anyone that i can imagine. what is unamerican is when shadowy billionaires pour unlimited money into our democracy. to rig the system to benefit themselves and the wealthiest 1%. senate republicans, madam president, are addicted to koch. >> a spokesman for the kochs responded, quote, attacking koch is nothing new, and it appears to happen whenever senator reid and the democratic leadership want to distract voters from their abysmal record. but the amount of money the koch network is spending on 2014 senate races isn't a distraction. it's a real issue. americans for prosperity just one of the groups that the kochs support has spent $2 million so far in militia. $3 million in louisiana, and

million in north carolina. all together, the group spent more than $30 million on tv and other ads in states with competitive senate races. senate democrats want to make sure voters know whose behind it all. they've even created a campaign website called addicted to koch, highlighting the koch brothers' influence. and at a time when many americans feel the system is rigged in favor of the wealthy, it's a message that is starting to sink in. joining me now are angela rye and ryan grim. thank you both for being here. >> thanks, rev. >> thanks, reverend. >> ryan, why do democrats think they need to expose the koch brothers' influence in this election year? >> well, i think just the fact that they are spending more by themselves so far than pretty much anybody else at this point. i think a lot of what they're doing is they're trying to let

the democratic base know, look, this is what we're up against in 2014. and they're hoping i think that the base will start kicking in these small dollar donations to fight back against the kochs. and what this really is about, and it doesn't get talked about much is climate change. the kochs are all about oil, coal, and tar sands. and everything that they do is geared around shrinking the power of the government to regulate the fossil fuel industry. the biggest threat to fossil fuels is the government saying, look, these fuels are destroying the planet, and we need to do something about it. they have taken what used to be a bipartisan issue. remember, nixon created the epa, and made it a completely partisan issue and they're trying to elevate the party that only backs fossil fuels and thinks that solar power and wind are complete frauds. >> you know, angela, "the washington post" reports the network of political groups backed by the kochs raised at least $407 million in 2012, and

was an operation of, quote, unrivaled complexity. i mean, how do the democrats counter this. >> well, rev, i think, first of all democrats are late on this. i think we have to look at the history of what the koch brothers have really done. and part of that is going back no further than just a few years, rev, when you started talking about this too, american legislative exchange council. so they're not just new to this and starting to buy up what happens in the house of representatives and the senate. they started this on the state level, and they were successful. we've seen them be successful with voter suppression laws. we saw them do the same thing with stand your ground for which you have a rally coming up. it's really important for us to look at the way in which they were very strategic, not just in spending dollars, to impact the political process, but by ensuring there were policies on the books that harmed communities all throughout this country. so we really need to be aware and be prepared to fight back. and it's not just about being addicted to koch. it's realizing that koch damages

communities just like it did when it started in the '80s. >> you know, ryan, one of the ads put out by the koch-backed americans for prosperity that is getting a lot of attention is this one featuring a michigan woman who has leukemia. >> my insurance was canceled because of obamacare. now the out-of-pocket costs are so high, it's unaffordable. congressman peters, your decision to vote for obamacare jeopardized my health. >> you know, it's a powerful ad, ryan. but fact checkers have found a lot of issues. the woman found a new health plan. her old doctor was in her new network. and while her out-of-pocket costs might have gone up, her monthly premiums were cut in half. in fact, politfact found at most she would pay $2 over the cost

of the year. are facts optional when it comes to these attacks on obamacare, ryan? >> it's an awfully powerful ad. and the kochs are going to be spending, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars to push this ad all over michigan. and they're doing the same thing in other states. in some states they've been caught using pure actors and actresses. but their theory seems to be that it doesn't matter whether or not the facts completely stack up. we're going to put millions of dollars behind these ads, and we're going to blanket the airwaves. and we know that people are very busy. and the majority of people, the overwhelming majority of people don't read politifact. they're going to catch this ad, and that's going to be what they absorb about obama care. you know, if they actually cared about whether or not people are getting health care, you would think that the first place they could focus on would be the medicaid expansion. hundreds of thousands of people are uninsured today who could be getting insurance but aren't

because of particular gop policies in a variety of states. i'm certain that thousands of these people have cancer and might not even know about it at this point. >> you know, angela, yesterday chris christie made a point of calling out harry reid for criticizing the koch brothers. listen to this. >> but there in washington, d.c. is toe have the leader of the senate democrats stand up and rail against two american entrepreneurs who have built a business, created jobs, and created wealth and philanthropy in this country. harry reid should get back to work and stop picking on great americans who are creating great things in our country. >> you know, angela, this is a real defense of the koch brothers and attack on harry reid. are they protecting this kind of huge investment by the koch brothers to keep sustaining these kinds of ads and other

things that the press are now questioning that is being in many ways brought to light by harry reid of late? >> well, rev, i think there is two things. one is chris christie can't wait to get the heat off of him. i think the second thing is he's probably got his eyes towards 2016. and clearly, the gop needs koch money. and so does chris christie. so he's got to try to make friends where he can find them. and hopefully they're not stuck in traffic. >> well, ryan grim and angela both thank you for your time. by the way, angela, i can rock those glasses on a friday night too. >> well wear your glasses! >> still ahead, attempted murder charges for the mother who drove her minivan full of children into the ocean. but could police have stopped her ahead of time? plus, congressman issa says he is sorry for cutting off a democrat's microphone.

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going on. but once i heard the cries for help, it was a done deal. i knew i had to do something. reached out and grabbed the -- grabbed the door, and that's when i noticed there was a child in the car seat. and from there i saw her. she jumped out of her window. she began climbing out of her window. and tim was coming in the neon shirt, he was coming to help me. that's when i told him, i got them there is a baby in the car still. go get the baby. and they took off and grabbed the baby. >> and today the volusia county sheriff's office filed serious charges against the mother, ebony wilkerson. >> at this time ms. wilkerson has been arrested on three counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated child abuse involving great injury. >> if convicted, wilkerson spends the rest of her life in

prison. but reports she was suffering from a mental illness may play a key role in this case. on monday, ms. wilkerson checked in to a hospital. but the following day she checked herself out again. that afternoon, her own sister called 911, worried about wilkerson's well-being. police catch up with wilkerson and interview her, but ultimately let her go. two hours later, wilkerson drove her van into the ocean. prosecutors clearly felt a crime was committed here. but how will reports of her erratic behavior in the hours and days before this incident affect the outcome? joining me now is former u.s. attorney kendall coffey, and psychologist dr. jeff guardier. thank you both for being here. >> thank you. >> thanks, reverend. >> kendall, are you surprised they charged this woman with attempted murder? >> i'm not surprised.

florida is a tough state in general when it comes to law enforcement issues and has a very slim view of what constitutes the legal defense of insanity, which is certainly going to be the key issue here. so in florida, as police officers, the sheriff makes the arrest, they assume that she is sane. so if you assume that somebody apparently some degree of planning, driving the kids into the ocean. the obvious reason of trying to drown everybody in that vehicle, in theory, that's a premeditated attempted murder. now, what really happened is far beyond that, and you would like to think beyond the original charges that the prosecutors who actually filed the formal charges are going to give a serious look to this woman's mental condition, because there is so many indications that those mental issues were serious and actually caused what was almost a terrible tragedy. >> now dr. gardere, let me get you in here as a psychologist.

you have the erratic behavior. you have the facts here, been in the hospital, checked herself out. her sister called 911. how do police deal with the psychological questions here? >> well, kendall is absolutely correct. you have to prove that she had a mental health illness. you have to assume that she was rational. but you're right, reverend. the sister called in, said that her sister, ms. wilkerson was actually hearing voices, she saw demons, she talked about seeing jesus christ. so certainly law enforcement, yes, they have to charge her, take her through the legal process. but at the same time, this is a woman who tried to kill her children. now, if she wanted to do it privately, she could have poisoned them. but the fact that she drove that van into the ocean, did it in such a public way speaks to the fact that she is very mentally unstable. if you look at the pictures, look how incoherent she is walking around. she didn't try to run away.

she had a blank stare on her face. she looked like she wasn't even there physically, emotionally. so certainly, they have to look at that this is a woman who would want to kill her children. any woman who would want to kill her children has to have either some sort of psychosis at the least. at the most probably some sort of severe personality disorder, as we saw, for example, with susan smith. so this is more of something of andrea yates who was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity. and i suspect that's what is going to happen with this woman once she goes to trial. >> now, but kendall, tim tessenneer, the man in the video, he also describe how'd the mother reacted to the rescuers. listen. >> i just sprinted to the van. once i got to the van, i could see the lady in the front seat. she had this look on her face.

i can't strike it. it's just an awful blank look, like a spaced out look. and a kid on her lap. and the two in the back seat was crying with her arms out saying our mommy is trying to kill us. please help. >> i mean, the look on her face, the kid saying mommy is trying to kill us, the look that dr. gardere says she is stumbling around. you see that, not running away, not at all reacting as someone whose kids are in the car that she attempted to kill. police had talked to her two hours before this. couldn't they sense something? couldn't someone see there is a psychological issue here? >> well, i think that's a critical issue you have just raised, reverend, that is going to have to get looked at. no one wants to second guess officers who are trying to do the best they can in a difficult circumstance. but they had a 911 call with

some serious comments being made about demons, about things that would have anybody very concerned. then they look at her and they see something is amiss. if the officers could have a probable cause to believe that there was some imminent danger to the children, they would then have the authority under florida law to do some kind of intervention effectively under the child protection laws, not a crime, and maybe before a crime could be committed. not an easy judgment to make. but one of the things that is important in the law is trying to intervene, prevent things before it becomes too late. thankfully there was some great people on the scene who saved this from being a tragedy. but if it had gone the other way, then we would all be wondering why didn't the officers do something when the kids were alive, when they were at the van with an obviously troubled woman at the wheel. >> now dr. gardere, here is what

we know about especially bonnie wilkerson from the press conference today. she claimed her husband was physically abusive, and she was trying to get away from him. she has no documented history of mental illness. there were apparently no drugs or alcohol involved. she is 27 weeks pregnant. she has not asked for any legal counsel at this time. does any of these things say anything to you as a psychologist? >> absolutely. the fact that she is not asking for legal counsel, the fact that we can't blame this on her being on some sort of a bender from drugs, that she is being physically abused or claimed to be physically or emotionally abused, all of those exacerbate what may already be an emotional condition that she has. and reverend, let's look at the reality here. they all say, the authorities say that there is no medical mental health history. but she just checked herself out of a hospital against the advice of doctors from mental health

issues we believe. so there is a mental health history here. as for the police, yeah, we don't want to second guess them. but a lot of times we have to weigh the rights, the civil rights of a person. and so we try not to get them into a situation of where their children are taken away. but i think we can all learn from this that if she was acting in a bizarre manner while she was driving the kids and was stopped a few hours before, then i don't think she just got crazy all of the sudden. i think there was a psychotic process probably going on. they should have stopped her. they should have taken her out of the car, taken the children and her into custody. but i think this is something that people will learn from, especially law enforcement. >> now, kendall, looking at florida law, if these charges stick and they go to trial, my understanding is in the state of florida that the proof -- the burden of proof is on the defense that they will have to

prove her mental illness if the claim is mental insanity, that the burden of proof shifts to her, not to the prosecutors. >> that's exactly right, reverend. and that's why contrary to sort of the popular assumption that people are always beating the rap with some kind of trumped up claim of insanity, the opposite is true. maybe one out of 400 cases have a successful defense of insanity. and florida, as you say, the defense has to prove it by clear and convincing evidence. if it's self-defense, all you got to create is a reasonable doubt. if it's the legal defense of insanity, you to meet a very technical definition by clear and convincing evidence. that's a tough one, reverend, and that's why rarely succeeds. >> we'll be watching this one. kendall coffey and jeff gardere, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you, reverend. up next, first congressman issa apologizes for his disrespect to congressman

cummings. but today he has another reason to say he is sorry. so our business can be on at&t's network for $175 a month? yup. all 5 of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans our best value plans ever for business.

this week we saw a stunning display of partisanship and disrespect. republican congressman darrell issa refusing to let democrat elijah cummings speak in a hearing, cutting off his microphone. but now an apology.

last night congressman cummings announced, quote, chairman issa telephoned me and apologized for his conduct and i accepted his apology. congressman issa also told a local paper, quote, as chairman i should have been more sensitive to the mood of what was going on and i take responsibility. so far so good. but congressman issa has a lot more to apologize for. shouldn't he apologize for leading the charge to hold attorney general eric holder in contempt? shouldn't he say sorry for cherry picking information to make it look like the health care website wasn't safe to use? or shouldn't he apologize for spending $14 million of taxpayer money on his bogus investigation into the irs? of course he should. but check out what congressman issa also said. in an interview that aired right

around when he apologized. >> do you apologize to congressman cummings? >> you know, i broke no rules, and he broke the decorum of the house. the fact is that i did things according to the rules, i followed a script. and then mr. cummings decided to have quite a hissy fit. >> he is so sorry, he'll accuse his colleague of throwing a hissy fit? well, i'm sorry to say looks like congressman issa hasn't changed. cteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience

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repealing it. 71% want to fix the law or keep it as is. just 28% want to get rid of it completely. the law is here to stay, and with 24 days left in the enrollment period, there is still plenty of time to get covered. well, before i throw my "politicsnation" hissy fit, thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. the wild things. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. the right, the far right, the far-out right. this week the wild things were out there as far as the eye can see. mitch mcconnell waving