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 his rifle. lindsey graham blaming all the

world's ills on benghazi. both these characters, both up for reelection, both pandering so far to the right, they're about to land on their butts. meanwhile, at a meeting called the uninvited were those judged too far right even for this week's cpac convention. ted cruz joined steve king who says illegal immigrants have calves as big as cantaloupes and louie gohmert who says the president is one of them. but hold on, if you think you have reached the full crazy, meet the truly far-out right. folks like frank gaffney who believe that antitax pitchman grover nordquist is an undercover agent of the muslim brotherhood. justice thomas' wife who believes the government may be secretly backing terrorists. or the panelist who says john boehner is covering up benghazi, boehner is. in right to the far right to the far-out, it's a daisy chain pulling right ward, where even establishment figures like mitch mcconnell and lindsey graham trying to join the crazy. with ted cruz pushing his way through the right wing crowd,

calling people like bob dole and john mccain names all the way, anything to get to the hard right frontier where to lead the country he intends to plant his flag. dana milbank is a columnist for "the washington post." and jonathan capehart is an opinion writer, also with "the washington post" and an msnbc contributor. gentlemen, this was something. this week went really far right. >> it's always a bit of a circus at cpac when they come to town. and of course everybody is under pressure on the right to provide all the red meat. but this did go further. this is the time when you had ted cruz not just speaking to cpac, but speaking to the uninvited. >> further right. >> people who were too far right to be invited this. you had the spectacle of cpac not inviting the leading republican in the land, the speaker of the house, not eligible there. you had republican candidates in turn snubbing cpac -- >> is this the republican party of 2014? people working here, i've been

talking with people today, they say you could argue this is the republican party. it's not long the fringe of the fringest. >> right. paul ryan was saying it's not necessarily a civil war within the republican party, and he is right, because there is not really an establishment versus the tea party. it's really a free-for-all. >> it's a jamboree. >> it absolutely. and the in a way, the establishment has been taken over by the tea party. it's infused the whole thing. >> to make your -- are you agreeing tonight that what we saw was this little sort cotillion of the crazy right? when you have elections, pretty much half the country sometimes? >> look, remember, you've got senators lindsey graham, john mccain, john cornyn, people who have been in congress, in the senate before 2010 when the tea party came in. they are now saying and doing things that we would think were unimaginable ten years ago, and that's why the tea party has come in and has yanked the party

to the right, made them all fearful ever since bob bennett lost his senate seat during the primary. >> so they're not stupider than they were five, ten years ago. >> no. >> lindsey graham is just as smart as he has ever been. >> absolutely. >> and yet he is scared to death. >> he is up for reelection. and because they have seen one too many of their colleagues go down to defeat -- >> how about the number to make your point -- i'm sorry to jump on you. to make your point, this week in texas, john cornyn, who had no real opponents had 41% of the primary voters vote against him. that's pretty scary. >> yeah, it's pretty scary. that's why you see, that's why i agree with dana. i think we're all here in agreement that the republican party, it's not that the republican party has coopted the tea party movement. the tea party movement has coopted. it is the republican party now. >> they must think of the future, i suppose. a terrible phrase. as which mentioned, cpac wasn't ted cruz's only stop yesterday. a group even further to the right, if you can believe that place exists, set up their own shadow conference dubbed the uninvited.

well, look at the list of attendees at the uninvited. steve king, he is the cantaloupe guy of iowa. he says all immigrant people coming across the boarder from the south have calves has big as cantaloupes because they're carrying i guess 150 pounds of marijuana, which i would think is big as a room. and louis gohmert of texas. both are recognizable members of the clown car, often there is mo brooks of alabama who once said this on the topic of undocumented immigrants, i will do anything short of shooting them. well, that's kind. and then trent franks of arizona. frankss once referred to president obama as an enemy of humanity. and jim bridenstine of oklahoma who made headlines when he refused to challenge a town hall attendee who told him that president obama should be, quote, executed as an enemy combatant. as i said, the far right is now the far out. and then there is this group of full mooners at the event. here is some more color from conference as reported by mother jones. a nonprofit called empact

america schooled attendees about the threat of a terrorist attack by way of an electromagnetic pulse. former reagan defense department official frank gaffney articulated his view that american conservative union grover nordquist is an undercover agent for the muslim brotherhood. got that one? jenny foms, i don't know her, but a daily caller contributor and wife of clarence thomas, she alleged president barack obama may be guilty of providing material support, material support, like guns and ammo i suppose for terrorism. and at least one panelist at cpac suggests that john boehner was part of the benghazi cover-up. >> yeah. >> this reminds me, you know, of what was it called? the john birch society when they accused the eisenhower brothers of being come mys. >> right. >> when you start calling

boehner part of this, the benghazi cover-up. grover norquist of the hard right some sort of secret brotherhood guy, you're a full mooner. >> i think they left out the obvious situation going on here, that president obama is controlling the country with flower ride in our water. >> what is the latest variant of that? >> i don't know. maybe it's from using our cell phone taos much. you see what is going on here, as we were saying, the establishment has been coopted by the tea party. so what do the guys who were the tea party, the ted cruzs, the louis gohmerts, what do they do? well, you have to stay one step ahead of this parade now and i think that's what is causing that. saying cpac isn't conservative enough. we've got to go further. we've got to go in the direction of the magnetic pulse. >> you guys take sides a little bit. what ask this thing with the dynamic out there? because they're not going towards winning a presidential election. they're going towards winning something. i think cruz wants to get to the farthest right rail, because he believes in the race that is coming the next two years that

will be the best post position to be in. i think that's pure politics. why does that whole crowd seem to be going right? >> i'm mystified by what is happening. i can't quite tell you exactly what their -- what their number one goal is, because it certainly isn't winning the white house, that's for sure. but here is the thing -- >> hillary must love this. >> the reason we're talking about how we went from having cpac, which was the far right, and you couldn't get any farther right than that to this uninvited conference is that there is no one in the republican party now who can tell the full mooners, who can tell the crazies what you're saying is wrong, what you're saying is factually incorrect, what you're saying is disrespectful, what you're saying is unamerican, what you're saying is bad for the party there is no one within the republican party who can say that. and so that's how you have this. >> i will be contentious on this. do you mean to tell me, gentlemen, that the republican party chair of say ohio, a middle of the road state, or

pennsylvania or virginia even now middle of the road, the republican party chairs, men and women of those states are happy with this zoo they're watching on television? that they think this is good advertising? >> i don't think they necessarily. look, they're not necessarily worried about 2014 because this is going to be a good year for republicans. cyclically it always is. cpac has a presidential ballot. they always do. 26 people on it this year. how do you differentiate yourself in that field of 26? well you got to be one step further to the right than all the other guys. >> the right person always win? >> not necessarily in the primary, but you get the attention, at least early on. >> no does the furthest right candidate at cpac win at cpac? >> this is sort of a ron paul-rand paul crap. >> so cruz could win this thing? >> cruz could win many a presidential primary. >> anyway, yesterday cruz told conservatives if they don't stand for principle as he defines it, they will lose. cruz made his point by attacking

the last three unsuccessful republican nominees for president by mockingly referring to them as president romney, president mccain and president dole. well, today mccain, no surprise here. did you think there would be a problem here? he fired 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. bob dole is such a man of honor and integrity and principle. i hope that ted cruz will apologize to bob dole because that's -- that has cross adeline that to me is -- leaves the

realm of politics and discourse that we should have in america. >> of course, ted cruz crossed that line a long time ago, followed by bob coal himself who told nbc news, quote, that senator 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 conservative. well, that's the problem. a criminal conservative republican. by the way, bob dole was fighting up there near in the western part of the war up there in italy, right near the end. and he is going back to pick up guy who is wounded. that's how he got shot. so the idea of taking this guy down, he is old now, handy is not in great shape. and for the cheap shot artistry of cruz, can't be beaten by this. never seen a guy take a cheaper shots. your thoughts. >> this is the disrespectful thing we're talking about. >> who does he respect? >> ted cruz, clearly.

he will do what is best for ted cruz. senator dole isn't the first republican senator cruz has gone after. remember during chuck hagel's confirmation hearing, he questioned the secretary's americanism because of something dealing with north korea. >> why doesn't cruz go after castro? i can agree with him completely on that. beat the hell out of them. go land on the beach tomorrow. i don't care. leave our guys alone. he attacks so many americans, he is really bad news. he really is joe mccarthy. he is bad news. thank you, dana milbank. that's my opinion. thank you, john. have a nice weekend. i hope mr. cruz does not have a nice weekend. coming up, things go better when you attack koch. at least that's harry reid's thoughts on the assault on the koch brothers who are spending 10s of millions of dollars on tv ads against the democrats. the koch brothers, they get two for the price of one. plus, not enough whites for republicans to win the white house. how is that for math? and not enough minority voters in enough places for the democrats to win back the

congress. why this could be the new normal. also, as every day goes by, vladimir putin looms as a major challenge to president obama. and last night david letterman and jon stewart had lots of fun at his expense. finally, let me finish tonight with jimmy carter's success. yes, the subject of the new play camp david opening here at arena stage in washington on march 21st. and that is "hardball," the place for politics. ...return on investment wall isn't a street... isn't the only return i'm looking forward to... for some, every dollar is earned with sweat,

sacrifice, courage. which is why usaa is honored to help our members with everything from investing for retirement to saving for college. our commitment to current and former military members and their families is without equal. congressman darrell issa, the chairman of the house oversight and government reform committee has apologized to the committee's ranking democrat, elijah cummings. congressman cummings says issa phoned him last night at home and apologized for his conduct after the chairman cut off cummings' microphone as cummings tried to speak attend of a hearing wednesday on the irs affair. anyway, house democrats yesterday called on the house to sanction issa for his conduct, a measure that failed as republicans refused to back it. we'll be right back. you stand . around here you don't make excuses.

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welcome back to "hardball." well, democrats find themselves facing an uphill battle to hold on to the u.s. senate in this year's midterm elections. there are as many as 13 democratic seats in play, in other words vulnerable versus just two republican seat that are vulnerable. if republicans pick up a net of six out of all that, it's game over for democrats, because they only have a five-seat advantage now. well, democrats have one mission right now, take down the far right's money men. we're talking about the billionaire koch brothers, of course, who have made it their mission to create pure tea party chaos for democrats on the ballot by bankrolling an onslaught of attack ads. over the past ten days, harry reid, of course the senate's top democrat has waged an unrelenting assault on charles and david koch personally. here is how it started late last month. >> this is the truth. what is going on with these two brothers who made billions of dollars last year in an attempt to buy our democracy is dishonest, deceptive, false, and

unfair. just because you have huge amounts of money, you should not be able to run these false, misleading ads by the hundreds of millions of dollars. >> well, early this week, reid doubled down. >> 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. >> addicted to koch. and yesterday he told reporters he would not let up, saying, quote, i've been told by lots of people don't pick a fight. they're wealthy. they're very vengeful. but without sounding too melodramatic, if not me, who? i am after the koch brothers. they are two people who are trying to buy america. they have the money to do it. a republican strategist and steve mcmahon is a democratic strategist. is anybody making money off of these guys? they spend billions of dollars.

are the consultants or ad copywriters making money? they're paying the checks to somebody. tv stations, i guess. >> on himself. but harry reid doesn't like -- well, the unions also gave him money. >> let's get to the point here. why is harry reid going after the koch brothers? why is he making it personal and admitting it's personal. he doesn't like these guys. >> well, he doesn't like them. but he also wants to make it much more difficult for them as business people to be successful in business if they continue down this road. so he wants them to be shunned at cocktail parties. he wants their business associates to question their motives and what they're doing. he wants to make their lives difficult in their communities. and i think he -- >> here is what i know about the koch brothers. they don't like being talked about. they like spending lots of money. they like to be able to dive-bomb into a campaign. jump into somewhere like north carolina, splurge a ton of money when they find a vulnerable democrat and then come out anonymously.

but the democrats i think would be stupid to let them be anonymous. aren't the democrats smart to jump the guys and say these are the boogiemen. they're the bad guys. >> i think he and elijah cummings went to the same faux outraged acting school. >> that was real. >> this is about changing the subject because harry reid doesn't want to talk about people who have lost their health care. he is talking about a stagnant economy. >> presumably, rick -- >> sure, whatever. >> say benghazi. >> why do you want me to say benghazi? >> because it's on the list. >> is it a game? >> it is a game. it's called change the subject from the koch brothers. should a couple of brothers who have made a lot of money in oil and gas decide who wins the senate race in north carolina for united states senate? >> of course not. everybody is free to give as much money as they want. >> but nobody has the kind of money they have to throw around. who else can write a check for a couple of million. >> it's okay for c-5s is that what you're saying? from 1989, c-5s put in over half

of expenditures. >> there is some democracy there. >> it's okay for the unions when they agree with harry reid. >> okay. the goose and the gander kind of thing here. george soros. don't the democrats have some money men who just go around spending money where they want? >> yeah that. >> do. >> so how is it wrong for these guy as? >> that's why so many democrats and some republicans like john mccain think we immediate campaign finance reform. because nobody should be able to slip into a state under the cover of darkness, spend several hundred million, not in just one state, but several, and pick the united states senate that is going to work for their business. that's not the way democracy is supposed to work. and frankly, i'm surprised that the stations are so anxious to take this money. they used to have standards and they used to make people prove things. one of the things that is true about these koch 46 funded ads is many of them have turned out to be drownright false. they continue to run them. so they have a first amendment right to do this. but they're not above the law with respect to slander and

other things. >> let's take a look at this. i want to get to the interest of these groups. sorrows is the man on the left. maybe generalized left. but what do the koch brothers' economic interests? i get the feeling they should write off all these expenses. i think every dollar they spent spend on the republican party is good for their business. tax write-offs, oil and gas industry, the whole deal. this is economic investment for these guys, isn't it? >> i don't think so. >> they're not doing it for ideological reasons, are they? >> i don't know them individually. i think they're actually patriotic. i think they actually believe in america. i think they actually believe in free enterprise. i think they believe in freedom. those are the things that harry reid doesn't seem to believe in. that's why he is upset. >> i think harry reid is a guy who pulled them up by his bootstraps and he believes in this country implicitly. anyway, here is harry reid taking on the koch brothers. according to "the new york times," by the way, since september, americans for prosperity, a group financed in part by the billionaire koch brothers has spent an estimated $20 million on television

advertising, since september. look at this. groups backed by the koch brothers are airing ads literally thousands of times against vulnerable democrat incumbents. look at these numbers. they pay for over 3,000 ad spots attacking senator kay hagan, a democrat in north carolina who is a senator there. they financed more than one thousand against mary landrieu in louisiana. nearly 700 against senator mark begich. this saturation campaign adding, do you think that's good for democracy? over and over again blasting people. >> the only thing that is different is citizens united where now corporations can run ads. most of them are mom and pop shops. >> do you think this is a good? it's a good call? >> i think you should allow candidates to raise all the money they want individually because it's their name on the ballot and put them on it. they're limited. >> but you don't like the outside. >> that would be better than what we have now. it's funny because it's sort of what you see depends on where you sit. i can remember back this 2012 when mitt romney's little mysterious funders were taking

newt gingrich to task and taking him out of the primaries there was loot of outrage from rick and some of the folks in the newt gingrich camp. and it sort of depends on where you sit. these guys come in, they come under cover of darkness and they do what they do because they want to pick a senate that is going to be more reflective of their business interests. >> what i don't like is the tag line, you're getting at it here. if it says at the end of the ad paid for by the meshes for prosperity, nobody knows what that means. it sounds sort of vaguely good. it doesn't say paid for by a couple of guys who made billions of dollars in the oil industry that would be useful information, that tag line. on the other point, to your side do, you think democratic working people, middle class democrats give a rat's butt will some rich guy is paying for ads? does it work as a negative attack line to say that there is koch brothers? >> no here is the thing. it work as a fundraising line you. remember back in day when i worked for ted kennedy. ted kennedy was used repeatedly to raise money for republican causes. so symbols do work in politics.

but this symbol isn't well enough known to enough people to have an impact broadly. but they're well enough known in their communities so that when harry reid is talking about them, they're getting asked about it at cocktail parties and business meetings and 3w0rd 3450e9s. he is wants to make it socially unacceptable for them to do this. they're in business, and half of their customers are democrats, and they know it. and they don't want to be as controversial as they're becoming. they don't want the spotlight. >> i don't think it hurts them in their little social set. >> i don't think it does either. they don't want the publicity. they like to do this, they think they're doing the right thing. i think they're doing the right thing. they're allowed to do it. it's legal. i think we should go further. i don't think citizens united went far enough. but that's the law. >> we encourage people on this show to get out and vote. get out there and vote. your vote matters. it's harder to make that argument when you know that these kind of characters, they're americans, i agree. they're legal, are spending billions of dollars to turn the elections in another direction.

it doesn't strike me as very democratic. it's not democratic. it's something else. it may be legal. thank you for making a good argument for a terrible cause. curve, the more vladimir putin acts like a dictator, the more the late-night comics pepper him with jokes. the sideshow is coming up neck. this is "hardball," the place for politics. ♪ [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪

she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪

all of the sudden vladimir putin invades the ukraine. nobody knows what is going on. so we put together an informative segment for you tonight called understanding the ukraine crisis. take a look at this. >> the current crisis can be traced back to -- >> there is nothing to understand. here is all you need to know. mind your own business.

ptoo. >> time for the sideshow. that was of course david letterman's not so subtle commentary about vladimir put putin's control of the media. yesterday putin blocked two ukrainian tv channels from being broadcasting into the russian-occupied crimean peninsula. as the old proverb goes, truth is the first casualty of war. putin of course sees it differently. he held a press conference yesterday to show off how open he is being with the media and to explain his side of what is going on. and surprise, surprise, putin blames america. quote, this is putin, they sit across there, across the pond as in a lab, running all kinds of experiments on the rats. why would they do it? no one can explain it. well, here was jon stewart's reaction to that putin press conference on the daily show just last night. >> this is what i'd like to suggest. let's have a conversation rather than an interview. >> you know what? i did not see that coming.

a conversation, a rap session. i never saw putin as the cool dad. well, let's get to the conversation. >> i would ask you to begin by stating all your questions. i will jot them down and try to answer them. fine. i will begin. don't interrupt me. >> i frog it was an interesting fact. in russia, the word for conversation is the same word as the word for shut the [ bleep ] up. >> well, the post and applebaum may have summed up that well. putin's press conference reveals that we may have reached the weird moment when the dictator believes his own propaganda. up next tonight, the real reason why democrats are set to hold the white house for a while, and why republicans can hold on to congress for a long time. that's ahead. we're going to try to explain future history tonight. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

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i'm milissa rehberger. here is what is happening. the economy add 175,000 jobs to payrolls last month. that was more than economists had expected. the unemployment rate inched higher, 2.67%. the white house praised the gains in job creation during a march plagued bihar, weather. russian troops have reportedly stormed a military base in a crimean port city. the pentagon believes there are about 20,000 russian troops currently in ukraine. and florida authorities have charged especially bonnie wilkerson with three counts of attempted first-degree murder for driving her minivan with her three children inside into the atlantic ocean. back to "hardball."

welcome back to "hardball." well, if the early predictions hold true, republicans could control both houses of congress by next year, and hillary clinton could be the odds-on favorite to win the presidency in 2016. and as the nation's demographics change, it's possible that the start of a long-term trend is there. democrats in the white house, republicans in the u.s. congress, especially the house. here is why. the democrats coalition minorities, young people and single women are highly concentrated in a minority of congressional districts, around big cities, mostly in urban areas. the republican party appeals primarily to rural, blue collar white voters. journalist ron brownstein writes in the national journal that the big takeaway from the 2012 election was the limits of the modern republican electoral coalition. it appears that the limits will be the modern democratic coalition. each side of the dilemma fits neatly into a bookend. republicans can't attract enough minorities to cap their the

white house because they can't carry the big states, and democrats can't carry enough votes to carry congress because they can't win enough to carry the cds. eugene robinson with "the washington post" and michelle bernard is founder of the center for women, politics and policy. thank you, both. during the break, i was stunned by this new number that charlie cook came out with, which is for the first time a president was reelected with a popular vote, pretty good popular vote, 52%, but didn't win a popular vote in most of the -- he has done well in berkeley, los angeles, chicago, atlanta, miami. but out in the rural areas and out in the suburbs, the vote is more split apart and thrown around, dispersed. and he doesn't do that well. >> right. he is winning tons and tons of votes in the cities. >> 92% in charlie rangel's district. >> exactly. mitt romney didn't win any district. >> it's big cities.

philadelphia, for example, is about 50-50th nickcally. but 85% of the city went for obama. so big cities are also the stronghold of white liberals and groups that tend to vote democrat. >> absolutely. and to an extent, suburbs, right, because suburbs can tend to vote like cities more than like rural areas. but this is a real thing. you know, the question is, though, it is affected by the way you draw the districts. and so, you know, i'm a little suspicious when you talk about the long-term -- >> they won in 2012 big, the republicans. >> oh, yeah. >> before they got their redistrict, they won the right through the state legislature. they did. guys like meehan and fitzpatrick that. >> all won in 2010. they won with white males, culturally conservative who i believe don't necessarily like seeing a black president in the white house. it is black and white, maybe not 100%, but it's an issue there is absolutely no denying it. >> exacerbates.

>> let's look at the senate, because the senate was drawn by the states. it's the nature of the states. but the senate, our founding fathers ruled that the smaller states with less people in them who tend to be white states today, they didn't plan that part, rural states had the same two senators at new york. >> that was the idea. >> you called me on that. but they do. >> like wyoming and montana coming up this time. and alaska. alaska has very few people living in it. montana, south dakota. these states are going to dominate the senate. and they're all republican. >> this is a problem. democrats, if they're going to play in the senate, if they're going to keep this very slim majority they have, they have to find a way to play in these states. and it's not easy, because their voters don't live in these states. so they're going to have to find -- appeal to other voters. >> there was a time that idaho had frank church and south dakota had george mcgovern, utah had frank moss. they're all over out there. >> yeah. >> moderate to lib rat

democratic senators in those rural rocky mountain states. what is wrong? what has changed? >> the whole country has changed. but what i would like to say is how about focusing on like positive change, battleground texas, this move, for example, to turn texas into a blue state. it's not going to happen in 2014, but it could happen in 2016. what if democrats get smart in all of these rural states that we're talking about, instead of thoughing in the towel and saying we can't compete -- >> wait for the demographic time bomb. >> the demographic time bomb has already happened. we're seeing the browning of america in every single state many this country. what we're not seeing is people being smart and going out and reaching out to people that have traditionally democratic values that don't see any reason to show up at the ballot box. >> get minorities and young people to vote in midterms. >> that's exactly what i'm saying. that's point. >> that's got to be democratic strategy in this election. >> the ones who don't register, because they don't think they have any reason to register. >> do you think there is a

connection between having a health care plan but not figuring out to roll it out? so the conservative political action committee, that's cpac hosted a panel discussion on the gop's outreach to minority. but most revealing was the attendance for the discussion, which sums up the struggles republicans are facing with their national electoral coalition. take a look at this photograph that room is empty. it was tweeted out by a fellow name john hudak is a fellow at brookings who was attending pretty much all alone that cpac event. tweeted big problem for gop. most important cpac 2014 panel. topic, minority outreach. view, largely empty room. 10 i guess they didn't have the welcome mat out. they charged people to come to this damn thing. that's not exactly -- a certain crowd that shows up. the yaffers all show up there.

aren't many black yaffers. maybe there are. >> here is my advice to the people who do these panels and want to do african american outreach. take a page out of karl rove's book. in 2005, president bush, i was there, president bush had a meeting with 20 african american leaders at the white house. most of them were ministers. most of them were overwhelmingly democrats. and he sat down and listened and said what are your issues? and we saw it translate into policy. most of the room was very much anti-gay marriage. most of the room wanted to see the country do something with regard to hiv/aids in africa. we saw it translate into policy. it's not large -- >> is that what has left to the fight against aids? >> and he listened. an that's his greatest legacy. and the black vote went from 9% to 11% between 2000 and 2004. it takes being smart, not throwing out yahoo or somebody, absolutely. >> fighting aids in africa. >> i've written in several columns that that was his greatest achievement.

and it was a huge achievement. it should go down in the history books. >> and he listened. it's not -- you don't have to peddle. you just have to listen and be smart, and maybe not turn back the tide of voting rights. >> rove got this, george w. bush got this. the current crop of republicans does not get it. >> yeah. >> mitt romney didn't get it. >> isn't it funny how the more recent republicans are beginning to look like moderates? every old picture of you looks better. that's what i noticed. this question of the white house. let's go back to our premise, and then michelle, jump on this. does it look like now that hillary or any -- hillary looks like the problg nominee has a better shot at the white house come 2016 now than any republican, and yet there doesn't seem to be an horizon out there you can see where the democrats take back the house. >> you know, i don't see the horizon. i do think that democrats really ought to concentrate on doing better in the state houses because it certainly won't hurt if they're able to draw some

congressional -- >> their next shot is 2022. >> exactly. that will be their next shot. but it's tough. i mean, it's tough. i never say never, because stuff happens in politics. >> holding on to themselves, the democrats have a good chance to hold it? >> i think hillary clinton is the next president of the united states if she wants it. >> okay. >> house, a different story. >> i like your clarity. have a nice weekend. michelle bernard, i mean it. up next, you may remember him as john boy from "the waltons." one of the most popular shows in the '70s. richard thomas is in washington. he is taking us behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic examples of presidential diplomacy. this is "hardball," the place for politics. unlimited text ...and 10 gigs of data to share. 10 gigs? 10 gigs. all for $160 dollars a month. you know, i think our family really needed this. it's really gonna bring us closer together. yep. yep. yep. yep. yep. yep.

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the scene in the white house last night was almost unbelievable. begin of israel and in a bear hug that worked out in 13 days at camp david. it will be the first time in history that an arab nation has agreed to a peace treaty with israel. >> the first time an arab nation made peace with israel. the signing of the sold camp david accords was a landmark achievement of presidential diplomacy back in 1978. the triumphant conclusion of an intensive closed door negotiation led by jimmy carter between two unlikely partners, the leaders of egypt and israel. there they are. but that's just what the public got to see, the public part, the hugging. the truth was the summit was more fraught with tension, discord, and actual animus than the press could ever have known at the time. it all played out in the tranquil wooded hills of its namesake, camp david, the 120-acre presidential retreat

north of washington. now pulitzer prize winning journalist turned playwright has written camp david based on the events that unfolded in the day agreement. see a real life work of political theater here, the play which is 36 years in the making is as much about human drama as anything written for the stage. debuts march 2 1st in washington at the great arena stage. with us to talk about it, the camp david," richard thomas who plays president carter. he's a 55-year-old veteran of performing arts, of course, acting in "the waltons" all those years. what did you learn in all this? i went to the reading, tough jewish guy. really tough who has lived through the holocaust, knows all the things about the world that hates the jewish people. totally sensitive to giving up the land. and anwar sadat who seems like a nice guy but just as tough. >> just as tough. it is drama. absolutely is drama. you see the signing and

embracing as you say in the headlines. larry wright has done the most extraordinary job of taking you into those 13 days of intense back and forth and each man so passionate in his beliefs and desire to defend his own people and carter desperately trying to feel the idealist in him, knowing that piece is achievable and the alchemy between the three men that they managed to do something, i'd like to see something like that happen now. >> yeah, what struck me is, because going through the reading, the israeli -- the jewish side -- here he is this older guy speaking for the history of the 20th century and horror of the holocaust and speaking from that. should we trust you people? >> yes. >> why should we trust you? >> exactly so. two implacable enemies. one thing that comes up in play, it's as hard to let go of an enemy sometimes as it is to let go of a friend. there's so much investle in the

conflict. >> how many anwar sadats are there on this planet? how many eser weismans? how many great people? >> sadat's commitment to carter from the very beginning of the play, i'm here to make peace. i will make peace. i've gone to jerusalem, spoken to knesset. i want this to happen. he drove a tug bargain, too, because he wanted to do the right thing but he was constantly having to dig in. >> he remembered this -- the yam kapur war. invaded israel in 7 3s is. >> all these things are in the play, but what makes it exciting, what larry's done, it's a play about people. about -- of very principled, very strong men who were also flawed human beings. >> anyway, tempers flared in the early days in the meetings. in fact, the entire peace summit was nearly derailed on the very first day. let's take a look at a scene

from a rehearsal of "camp david." it was carefully researched, constructed by the language previously used. >> what promises can you make that will protect us? you're the most impeccable enemy the jewish people have had since the nazis. >> always the nazis. >> that's right. as you should know. >> i admire him because he fought the british as i fought them. >> in your career. >> who is the real terrorist here? you have the blood of hundreds of innocent people on your hands. >> well, that was -- that guy reminds me of omar sharif. he's egyptian, right? >> yeah. we got a great cast. ron rifken is playing, holly is playing roseland. this wonderful egyptian actor who's a big star in egypt -- >> he didn't have to fake thing

a the accent. >> he brought egypt with him. >> is this going to inspire us? i saw brian cranston in "all the way" about lbj that talks about negotiations and leading this country, how you do to do it. is this going to teach us how to negotiate a deal with the middle east peace with john kerry pushing it over there? >> both that play and our play are about getting things done, about people who know -- >> grown-ups. >> -- how to get things done. the idea you couldn't have two more entrenched opponents than in this story. but they did it. they made it work. >> would it have happened if it were on television? >> i think -- >> happened in secret? >> carter was very clear, i want to be isolated away from the world, surrounded by nature and just the three of us talking in the room. >> richard thomas, you're the perfect guy for jimmy. >> i love it. >> i'm going to say something after this about jimmy carter. e he ought to get credit for this. richard thomas. "camp david" debuts march 21st. mark that down. march 2 1st.

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let me finish tonight, and the week, with this. the right wing has decided to couple president obama with president carter. i think it's time people stopped them. made them pay for the cheap shots. here's a little comparison. president carter forced a peace treaty between israel and its greatest strategic threat at the time. he got egypt to sit down and agree to recognize the existence

of the state of israel. the first arab state to do so, and certainly at the time the most important they could have done it. compare this to what the most recent republican president achieved in the middle east. he took us to war in iraq, dug us into the sand of that country, a burial job that will take us years to liberate ourselves from. he took a buffer to iran. killed it as a buffer. making it a shiite ally or even client to be in years to come. great work, mr. president. anyway, thanks to the president, many on the right fell loyally and stupidly into war, we have a more dangerous situation in the middle east. thanks to president carter, the man they jeer, israel still has the treatly partner with egypt, a real country with a real history and real recognition of israel which it honors all these years since 1978. we will see how president obama does in the history books. we know how w. has done. we should remind ourselves occasionally what jimmy carter did. something no other president has done before or since, made peace between israel and its chief

regional rival and not only that, but getting that rival to recognize its right to exist. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. and happy friday. the rich pageantry of the republican party was on full display at the gaylord international hotel in washington, d.c., today. >> when the president says i can write the laws, watch me, he's got a pen, he's got a phone. he doesn't care what the law is. a tyranny will ensue and we must stop this president from treading the constitution. >> i know that life begins at conception. i know that the irs is a criminal enterprise. i also know that four americans were murdered in benghazi and our government lied to us as to what happened. >> get out of