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tv   Politics Nation  MSNBC  March 11, 2014 3:00pm-4:01pm PDT

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transcanada whistle-blower. he'll talk about the lack of oversight on the keystone xl pipeline. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. good evening, ed. thanks to you for tuning in. tonight the gop's alternate reality on obamacare. with less than three weeks until the deadline for americans to sign up for health insurance, the right wing is in overdrive to do something, anything to try to undermine the law. house republicans have announced they will hold their 51st vote against obama care, yes, sure, 51st time is the charm. give me a break. and outside washington, many conservatives are trying to spread as much misinformation as possible. the billionaire koch brothers have supported groups that have
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spent millions attacking obama care in political races this year. that includes this ad, which features a michigan woman with cancer who says she can't afford her treatment. >> my insurance was canceled because of obamacare. now the out-of-pocket costs are so high, it's unaffordable. congressman peters, you decision to vote for obamacare jeopardized my health. >> of course, we all feel for the woman's plight. we all have feelings about that. but the detroit news reports the facts don't support that ad. the woman will save at least $1200 a year under her new plan, but she says the idea that her plan is cheaper, quote, can't be true. and, quote, i personally do not believe that. that makes sense that she
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doesn't believe it, but right wingers' talk have spread false stories about this law for years. and fill the airwaves with nonsense like this. >> the government's making the decision who lives and dice. that's what obama care. >> when it comes time to schedule your grandmother's cancer surgery, what happens then? >> there is new evidence to suggest the obamacare death panels are alive and well. >> it allows the federal government to have all of your medical records. they'll know all of your deepest secrets. >> it sounds more like obama scare to me than obamacare. >> let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. >> that's literally not going to happen. this law is helping real people. just today the obama administration announced 4.2 million americans have enrolled in health care plans. a quarter of them are young
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adults. but the right won't talk about that. instead, they'll say anything to scare people away from the law, even if it means convincing sick people that they're worse off. joining me now are congresswoman karen bass, democrat of california, and michelle cottle of the daily beast. thank you both for being here. >> thanks for having us. >> i should note, we reached out to koch industries about that ad, and their spokesman said the koch brothers were unavailable for comment. congresswoman, they lost in congress, in the courts, and the election. >> right. >> now it seems their tactic is to lie about health care. i mean, do you see it that way? >> oh, absolutely. and you know what? i think this is really a tragedy. a few years from now, we're going reflect back on this. and the fact that they spent almost half a billion dollars in the last election cycle to do misinformation around this law
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is really sad. you know, in california, the republicans even went so far as to set up a fake website, because, you know, we don't have this issue in california. we have covered california. we weren't a part of the national website. so to see them doing this, it's actually going to result in people losing their lives because people won't realize that there is actually health care that could protect them. >> you know, michelle, the debunked ad that was put out was put out by a group called americans for prosperity. now, they've spent $30 million on states with competitive senate races like michigan, louisiana, and north carolina. and right wing watch found audio of the koch industries spokesman talking about the americans for prosperity, or afp last week. listen to this.
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>> make no mistake, charles koch and david koch are very simpatico with everything that afp does, as well as any one of a number of organizations that they support and try to help flourish. >> they're very simpatico. i mean, what does that say about this latest ad? >> well, look, this latest ad is part of a much bigger kind of effort they're making to get into places like north carolina and help out in races where they think they can turn the tide. and the democratic party has finally started responding, you know. they've got this addicted to koch campaign. they want to make it very clear to voters in these states that a national group is coming in and trying to influence local elections, you know, how this pans out, we don't know yet. but at least the democratic party is trying to make clear kind of what is happening here with outside groups. >> now congresswoman, you know, the democrats have been more aggressive, and people like me
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are glad about that, about going after the koch brothers. >> me too. >> and dealing with their political support. but here is what gop congresswoman michele bachmann says about that. >> i just thank god that there is a billionaire or two on our side. all the billionaires seem to be on the radical left. i'm glad we've got a couple on ours. i hope we have a few more that are willing to come out. but realize also this is an intimidation movement. i'm sure that the donors on our side don't like to have their names vilified. >> nope. >> and just remember, that's really what this is about. intimidating people from giving money to our cause. that's it. >> so first of all, she thinks they're being vilified. and second of all, they need more billionaires, she says. >> well, you know, i think that that's just completely false, because if you look at the koch brothers, and a lot of times the comparison is made with labor, and there is no way in the world
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you can compare two billionaire brothers with the several million members who are in labor unions. and if you compare the dollars that are spent, the koch brothers spend three to four times as much money trying to influence elections. but i think what is really important, it's one thing to spend money to influence elections. but they're spending money lying to people about their health care, which prevents people from being covered. that is a tragedy. and frankly, i wonder whether or not it should be a crime. >> you know, michelle, the right doesn't mention the people that are benefitting from the health care law. i mean, let's listen to some of their stories. >> russell fuller worked at a plant for 40 years. and once he retired, he didn't have insurance. and as a diabetic, he says he desperately needed it. >> and the affordable insurance saved me, saved my life, because the fact i couldn't afford to pay $800 a month. >> no one has been harder to
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reach than the 20-somethings like law student allen. he was hit by a car riding his bike in december. he signed up in the days following, no longer willing to take chances. >> at $40 a month, that's less than -- that's less than almost every bill i have. >> pshe has been without health care. she found and purchased coverage. >> now i'm feeling -- i'm protected. >> these people don't quite fit the gop narrative, michelle, i suppose. >> they don't fit the narrative. but they are exactly what opponents of the bill have been concerned about. when senator ted cruz would talk about how people, once this went into effect, people would get addicted to it and they would get hooked on it. and the more people that get signed up, the harder it is to do anything to roll it back. this is why there was such a push before the implementation to kill it. because once a lot of people get signed up and start benefitting from it, it becomes that much harder to do anything about it.
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>> but here is where the insensitivity comes in, congresswoman. here is what bothers me. we understand political parties. we understand partisan feelings. we understand different feelings in terms of ideologues. but shouldn't all of us in the public arena put a separation between when we really want to see healthy people do better and when we want to score political points? i mean, at what point do we really stop being what we claim we're out here for? we can disagree on how to better serve people. but when serving people doesn't matter anymore, isn't that time for us to leave the public arena altogether? >> oh, absolutely. i mean, can you imagine what it would have been like if after this law had passed, the republicans said okay, it's the law. now let's all join together to make sure that it works right. because that's what happened when the democrats opposed, you know, what was done during the
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bush administration years. everybody came together and they figured out how to make it work. you know, as you mentioned at the top of the program, i'm getting ready to take my 51st vote. >> 51st? >> every couple of months, we all walk down to the floor. and i vote, of course, against the repeal. and my republican colleagues vote to repeal it. if all of that effort and all of that money had been put into making the system work, can you imagine what that would mean? >> that's the point. well, we'll be watching for the 51st time. >> exactly. >> congresswoman bass and michelle cottle, thank you both for your time this evening. >> thank you. coming up, did the central intelligence agency spy on u.s. senators? today a bombshell from the head of the intelligence committee, who says lawmakers may have been broken. plus, a key hearing in the bridgegate scandal. governor christie's former aides
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trying to stonewall investigators? and the president obama interview that is lighting up the web. check out his satirical sit-down with the star of "the hangover" movies. >> it must kind of stink, though, that you can't run three times. >> actually, i think it's a good idea. you know, if i ran a third time, it would be sort of like doing a third hangover movie. it didn't really work out very well, did it. now, i have to say that i've seen the show before, and some of the episodes have probably been a little bit better than this. for example -- >> we'll tell you why this parody had a serious purpose. big show tonight. stay with us. check it out. i can't believe your mom has a mom cave! today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup. she gives me chunky before every game. i'm very souperstitious. haha, that's a good one! haha! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.
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is the cia spying on senate democrats? it's an explosive story on capitol hill today.
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but what it's really all about is president bush's so-called enhanced interrogation program. will we ever know the truth? that's next. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts, that's why we have ink. we like being in business because we like being creative, we like interacting with people. so you have time to focus on the things you love. ink from chase. so you can. over one million hours of research. are inside are specific vitamins and minerals to help support your heart, brain and eyes. centrum silver. for the most amazing parts of you.
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did the central intelligence agency spy on united states senators? it's an explosive allegation, and it burst into the public view this morning when senator dianne feinstein, the chair of the senate intelligence committee, went to the senate floor and suggested the cia broke the law. she says the cia removed
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classified documents being used in the senate investigation into the bush era detention and interrogation program. >> without prior notification or approval, cia personnel had conducted a search that was john brennan's word, of the committee computers. i have grave concerns that the cia search may well have violated the separation of powers principles embodied in the united states constitution. >> the justice department is considering an investigation. but the cia director john brennan, who headed the detention and interrogation program during that time told nbc's andrea mitchell the agency has done nothing wrong. all these years later, will we ever learn about what the bush administration called enhanced
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interrogation techniques and what others have called torture? is the story behind this story that the cia is still trying to hide what happened? joining me now is nbc's kasie hunt, who has been covering the story all day. kasie, the cia spying on u.s. senators, i mean, how did these allegation come about? >> so this goes back, as you said, to the bush era enhanced interrogation techniques and to the senate intelligence committee's investigation of those techniques. so senate intelligence committee staff were at an offsite location that was controlled by the cia. they were reading documents as they were trying to put together their own report about these enhanced interrogation techniques. the problem comes in when senator feinstein says the cia removed from this pile of documents that the committee had access to an internal review that was conducted when leon panetta was the director of the cia. >> let me hold you right there. so they're at an offsite
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location. the senate investigators are reviewing documents the cia has turn over. >> yes. >> which means they're no longer the cia property or no longer in their possession? >> at the point where they were at this facility, there were cia-provided documents. there were also notes that the senator's staff had taken that were supposed by behind a firewall. >> okay. >> so at this point, they were computers as this these staffers were using to work every day. and that's what feinstein's allegation essentially is, that these computers were inappropriately searched. and she alleges that the search may have violated the fourth amendment. it may have violated the separation of powers clause in the constitution, it may have violated several different laws. and that's what she took to the senate floor today and aired these grievances. now, you mention the department of justice. and one of the things that senator feinstein highlighted today is that a cia lawyer referred this investigation into how the committee had obtained this internal review over to the justice department. and senator feinstein interpreted that as something that was aimed at intimidating
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the staffers on her committee and potentially shutting down their investigation of these techniques. >> now senator mark udall, who is a member of the senate intelligence committee, he had voiced his concerns on "now with alex wagner." watch. this. >> there are a lot of smart, dedicated patriotic americans who protect us through our intelligence operations. but there has to be confidence that the cia also respects the balance of powers and the separation of powers. and that respect has not been shown by the cia's actions in accessing our computers illegally. it's spying, unfortunately. >> i mean, there is a lot of anger around. what kind of reaction are you getting? >> and, you know, it's bipartisan anger. it's not just senate democrats. i spoke to john mccain earlier today. and he said that it's possible that an independent inquiry might need to be started to figure out exactly what happened in this case. now, mccain, of course, has a long history with brennan. but you will remember there are republicans who opposed the
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enhanced interrogation techniques programs. mccain was one of them. as somebody who endured torture at the hands of america's enemies in the vietnam war. this is something that cuts across all lines. and the next stage of this is going to be in the senate intelligence committee. and they have to decide whether or not they're going to vote to declassify a portion of their enhanced interrogation technique report, the report that they were writing when all of this supposedly took place. and they're discussing declassifying the executive summary of that report. it's a 6,000 page report. they're talking about declassifying about 300 pages of it. >> i think the real question, though, is will we ever find out about this enhanced interrogation program. i mean, will we ever know the facts of what really happened and didn't happen? >> if you listen to the way senator feinstein tells this story, it's pretty clear that the cia is very reluctant, even now, to put this out. and senator feinstein is not somebody who is -- has typically come out against what the cia has been doing. she is typically a defender of
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the cia. >> yeah. >> and that's what makes this so remarkable. >> it is different for feinstein. >> it is. >> nbc's kasie hunt, we're going have to leave there it. thank you for your time tonight, thank you so much, reverend. still ahead, the woman at the center of the chris christie bridge scandal heads to court. we'll have a live report on what happened at that crucial hearing today. and a man who made headlines talking about women's libidos is now coaching the gop on how to run against women. governor huckabee will be tonight's got you. and that's next. ♪
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we cannot have any stupid comments this year, okay? no stupid comments. >> no stupid comments. that's the answer to the gop's women's problem. no more legitimate rape. no more caterpillar wars, and definitely no more uncle sugar. >> if the democrats want to insult the women of america by making them believe that they are helpless without uncle sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it. >> talking about women's libido, mike huckabee? that may be the best way to win their votes. governor huckabee just sat down for an interview about his presidential aspirations. he talked about how running against a woman is different than running against a man. quote, for those of us who have some chivalry left, there's a
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level of respect. you treat some things as a special treasure. you treat other things as common. he said a male opponent is, quote, common. and a woman requires a sense of pedestal. special treasure? pedestal? is he talking about women candidates or an art gallery? did mike huckabee think we wouldn't know he is a bump in that republican road to recovery with women? nice try, but no pedestal for you. we got you. ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve... ...for all day relief. "start your engines" [ male announcer ] nothing says, "you're my #1 copilot," like a milk-bone biscuit. ♪ say it with milk-bone.
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still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. bridget, any comment you want to make right now? >> can you tell us how you're feeling, bridget? >> that was bridget kelly today right after a critical hearing in the bridgegate scandal over her refusal to hand over documents, including texts and e-mails to investigators. she's the author of that now infamous e-mail, time for some
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traffic problems in fort lee. and investigators want to know why she sent that. today her legal team strategy was simple. continue to block and deny and fight tooth and nail not to release those documents. her attorney, along with a lawyer for bill stepien, who is christie's former campaign manager, they both argued today that handing over the information would violate their clients' rights. outside the courthouse, protesters demanded answers. today they didn't get those answers. the judge said she would make a ruling, quote, sooner rather than later. the stonewalling from kelly and stepien is a far cry for what christie said he would tell his staff to do. >> listen, i have absolutely nothing to hide. and i have not given any instruction to anyone yet. but my instruction to everybody will be to cooperate and answer
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questions. >> cooperate and answer questions. today that's the opposite of what bridget kelly and bill stepien are doing. joining me now is nbc news national investigative correspondent michael isikoff. he was at today's hearing. and former prosecutor paul butler. thank you both for being here. >> great to be here. >> good to be with you. >> michael, bridget kelly and bill stepien are really fighting tooth and nail to withhold these documents, aren't they? >> they are. and we had three hours of argument during this court hearing today, which actually turned into quite an intense and at times fascinating discussion about the contours of the fifth amendment. this was not by any means a slam-dunk for the committee. in fact, the judge made it clear at the end that she -- that the issues raised here are very serious constitutional ones, and she is going to take her time to make a ruling.
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and, look, the basics are, though, that reid schar, the counsel for the special committee said that bridget kelly is essential to this investigation, finding out what was behind that e-mail is -- the committee cannot do its job without getting her e-mails, text messages documents that might explain that. on the other hand, her defense lawyers argued -- her lawyer and stepien's defense lawyer argued that the committee subpoena was not specific enough, and it required them to make decisions about what might be relevant, what might not be relevant. it talks about all e-mails and documents regarding the traffic lane closures, what is regarding the lane closures. they in making that decision could be in effect testifying. and there is a supreme court
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ruling involving web hubbell, a former law partner of hillary clinton if somebody has to make a decision about which documents are relevant to a subpoena, that could be a form of testimony, and it's covered by the fifth amendment. so this is going to be a very interesting legal argument. and i think it's pretty clear to say that it's not going to end here. whoever loses will likely appeal. this could drag on for quite some time. >> but paul, bridget kelly is the author of the e-mail as i said, "time for some traffic problems." now, here is what bridget kelly's attorney said about that e-mail. listen to this. >> everybody says my god, this does it. this ask the document. reduce the lanes. okay. so when i look at this document, i look, on its face, on its face, does it regard the george washington bridge? nope. on its face, does it regard the
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reduction of three lanes to one, access lanes to the george washington bridge? no. >> i mean, is this stretching the argument to the breaking point, paul? i mean, he won't even concede the e-mail is about the lane closings. >> well, reverend, it's his job to represent bridget kelly to the best of his ability. and he's really got a decent argument. you know, the fifth amendment says you can't be the agent of your own destruction. you can't be forced by the government to testify against yourself. normally, it doesn't apply to things like text messages and e-mails. but what he is saying is if my client has to go through all of her texts and say, well, this applies to bridgegate, this doesn't, that's kind of like testifying. and i have a constitutional right not to do that. it's not that lawyering. we really wish that most of the people in the criminal justice system were mainly poor people, minorities charged with crimes, we wish they had the benefit of this kind of lawyering. >> but you see, when he puts it that way, michael, you know, you
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deal with council of state lawmakers. he argued that stepien's attorneys will find fault in any subpoena, no matter what it says. listen to this. >> i didn't hear anybody articulate what a valid subpoena would be in this case. nobody. because they don't want there to be a valid subpoena. >> i mean, do investigators think kelly and stepien are just searching for reasons not to comply? >> yeah, basically. and, look, there is a very good reason for that. they are both facing a criminal investigation by the u.s. attorney. and that's what they're worried about here. in some respects, this legislative committee is for them a sideshow. you know, it's paul fishman, the u.s. attorney in newark, who is conducting the investigation, who could indict stepien and kelly. and one important concession that reid schar, the special counsel for the legislative
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committee made today is that, yes, that that is a reality. he had previously argued that they didn't have to worry, they didn't have grounds to invoke their fifth amendment claims because there was no -- no real likelihood of them being indicted, no evidence that they were the targets of a grand jury investigation. today he stepped back from that argument and said he wasn't going to vigorously defend it in light of some of what the defense lawyers put into their motions, that federal agents have questioned -- sought to question kelly's ex-husband, her in-laws, in stepien's case, his landlord. it's a pretty clear sign there is an aggressive federal investigation going on. and that's what they're worried about. >> paul, what is your guess? what will this judge do about these documents? what is your -- what would be your guess? >> you know, at the end of the day, judges usually end upsiding with prosecutors.
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so i think this is going to be a long process. it could well stretch into the republican primary season. but i think at the end of the day, kelly is going to have to turn over the documents. and then what she is looking for, reverend, is to make a deal. she is going to go to the federal prosecutor and say if i give you the goods on christie, will you give me a break. and that will be really interesting. >> very. and we'll be watching. michael isikoff and paul butler, thank you both for your time tonight. >> great to be here. >> sure enough. thank you. coming up, paul ryan went after poor kids receiving free school lunches. and now it's becoming an ugly trend on the right. plus, president obama heads to the gap to pick up a few things for the girls and first lady michelle obama. >> two down and one to go. >> now michelle, i have no idea what to get. >> okay. >> maybe i should buy her some sox. >> our socks are so cute.
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empty souls. as jesus once said, if you give a man a fish, don't, period. end of bible. >> paul ryan's recent speech at cpac has become a joke, literally. last week congressman ryan told a story about a young boy who wanted to bring a brown paper bag lunch from home, instead of getting school lunch. that way he would know someone cared for him. too bad it wasn't true. well, it wasn't true. >> paul ryan told a powerful story about a woman who met a boy who doesn't want food assistance. but some sort of state or local based soul program. and even though the woman in that story never actually met that boy because she took the actual story from a book, and even though the actual boy in the story paul ryan was telling was not complaining about getting food assistance, but asking that when he got food assistance, could he get that food assistance in the brown
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paper bag because it could help him avoid the stigma of getting food assistance. and even though that actual boy who is now an adult and the author of the story regularly makes appearances to advocate for free school lunches, point taken. >> but while ryan's story is a joke to jon stewart, it's a talking point on the right. the national review said paul ryan's moving story that explains the difference between hard work and dependency. it's all part of a growing trend from some on the right, attack kids on free lunch programs. >> should students have to work for their school meals? send those comments over to us. >> why don't you have the kids pay a dime, pay a nickel to instill in them that there is in fact no such thing as a free lunch. or maybe sweep the floor of the cafeteria. >> when you gate 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
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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. >> it's a valuable resource for families who are struggling, and critics say a nice freebie for those who are not. >> a nice freebie? since when is it okay to degrade poor children? the answer is it should never be. but welcome to today's gop. joining me now is msnbc's contributor goldie taylor and joel berg, executive director of the new york city coalition against hunger. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you, reverend sharpton. >> thank you. >> goldie, denigrating poor children on assisted lunch. i mean, why has the right adopted this new line? >> i think the problem for the right is instead of adopting policies and narratives that sort of fit the american story, they're out there looking for american stories to fit their policies and narratives rather than the other way around.
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at the end of the day -- >> even if the stories are not true? >> even when the stories and especially when the stories aren't true. the more interested in supporting their narratives and crafting their policies that will support real people. so what they have to begin to do is listen to what is happening in communities. here is radical idea. why not provide breakfast and lunch in our public schools, knowing what hunger has to do with outcomes in education, why not solve it across the board for any child who wants it? and let them opt out, rather than having them opt in. why don't we provide breakfast and lunch for every schoolchild who wants it. >> joel, the right acts like this is no need for school lunch program. but children that are receiving the free lunch, they come from families make less than $31,000 a year. and three out of five teachers report kids regularly come to school hungry. so it's necessary. we're not talking about something that is not necessary, joel.
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goldie, let me bring that to you. something is wrong with joel's mic. we'll get it straight. >> what absolutely is necessary. my mom worked a 48-hour workweek. she wasn't frankly home in the morning to make my lunch to go to school. and on top of, that she was among the working poor. so i got free and reduced lunch for all of my public school years. a lot of free lunch. and i certainly was not ashamed of my free lunch. but i knew other students that were. we should not be stigmatizing poor people. my mother was doing the hard work that this gop was calling for. but she was still poor because she wasn't working for a meaningful wage. they ought to focus on wages. >> that's what got to me. and i said on the program before, i had free lunch and food stamps and all. what got to me is that if you were trying to be sensitive when ryan told a story that ended up being false. >> that's right. >> the real story was that this young kid at the time wanted a brown bag so he could not be
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stigmatized. >> that's right. >> how do you walk over, step over, ignore his feelings of he didn't want to be stigmatized to just redo the story to make your point without everyone knowing this real isn't about you having a different view of public policy. you have no regard for the feelings of a human being who happens to be a child. >> well, for so many, it's even worse than that. for jack kingston, our congressman from south georgia who is running for u.s. senate in a very conservative gop primary, he took $4200 in free reimbursed congressional lunches. but he wants children to scrub floors, sweep floors, paint walls in georgia schools in order to get their free lunch. thing is a level of hypocrisy here that i haven't seen really in a very long time. >> but, you know, this is just a variation of what we have heard from the right for years now. a demonization of the poor. listen to some of this. >> what is unemployment
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insurance? it is paying people not to work. >> it's like a paid vacation for people. >> the minimum wage makes no sense whatsoever to me. i mean, honestly, it's just the black teenaged unemployment act. >> a lot of people are lazy, and a lot of people are becoming lazier. >> when you're hungry, you'll figure out a way to eat. >> people in poverty are washing their own dishes, half of them are. the reason why only 45% have a dishwasher is because things like chicken mcnuggets don't come with dishes. >> i mean, just denigrate anything. these are people that just are less fortunate. and many of them work every day. they just don't make enough. so why do they have to be the ones that have to bear these insults, these ugly kind of references? >> the problem for the gop is that they seem to believe that the poor in this country are only black and brown, when in fact the new face of the poor,
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the growing rate of food stamp dependency is mostly in red states. >> right. >> it's in their very own backyards. and so the poor we saw yesterday aren't all the poor we're seeing today. we're seeing people who lost their homes during the housing bust, who lost all of their wealth, who suddenly have long-term unemployed and now cannot afford school lunch for their very own children. >> you know, president obama just made a surprise appearance at the gap, a gap store here in new york. and that company is increasing its minimum wage. and the president wants to see that nationwide. listen. >> i'm here at the gap, a, because it never hurts to bring something back when you've been on a road trip. you get points when you go home. so, gentlemen, i just want you to all take that tip. not only am i continuing to push congress to pass a federal increase in the minimum wage, but what i also said was that businesses could take, and they should have as well as states and local governments to make
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sure that if folks are working full-time, that they're not living in poverty. >> not living in poverty. minimum wage. so they ridicule people that live in poverty. but they don't want a minimum wage that would really guarantee a certain income for people that are working every day now who can't bring home enough to take care of their families. >> you know, the minimum wage ought to at least be tied to the cost of living, the rise of cost of living in this country. >> absolutely. >> it certainly hasn't been. companies like the gap, company likes costco who pay well above the minimum wage also count on more productive employees, employees that stay with them longer. when you invest in people, people turn around and invest in your business. so the president was right to ask private enterprise to step wrap-up this congress would not. >> goldie taylor, thank you for your time tonight. we obviously had some issues with joel berg's studio. we'll have him back very soon. coming up, the parody interview that has everyone talking and laughing. president obama goes toe to toe
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with the star of the hangover movies. >> is it going to be hard in two years when you're no longer president and people will stop letting you win at basketball? >> how does it feel having a three-inch vertical? >> it's a three-inch horizontal. i have to know. what is it like to be the last black president? >> seriously, what is this like to be the last time you ever talk to a president? >> folks are laughing. but there was a serious purpose behind that video. stay with us. covert ops? double agents? spy thriller? you don't know "aarp" thanks to the aarp tek program, this guy is spying on his new grandson. aarp tek gets people better connected to technology, to better connect with each other. with social media, digital devices and apps. if you don't think "hashtag love dad" when you think aarp, then you don't know "aarp" find more surprising possibilities
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less than three weeks left to sign up for obamacare, the president and first lady are going all-out to make sure people get covered. we saw mrs. obama do a skit on "the tonight show" with jimmy fallon and will ferrell in drag. and now president obama's doing a spoof interview with "hangover" star zach galifianakis who does a satirical web show where he and guests do their best to be as insulting and awkward as possible. it's funny and weird all at once, especially when there is a president involved. take a look. >> it must kind of stink, though, that you can't run three times. >> actually, i think it's a good
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idea. you know, if i ran a third time, it would sort of be like doing a third "hangover" movie. it didn't really work out very well, did it? >> is it going to be hard in two years when you're no longer president and people are going to stop letting you win at basketball? >> how does it feel having a three-inch vertical? >> it's a three-inch horizontal. >> where do you plan on building your presidential library? hawaii or your home of kenya? >> that's a ridiculous question. >> not to bring up the birth certificate thing you never really produced? >> where is your birth certificate? >> i don't want to show anybody my berth certificate. it's embarrassing. >> what's embarrassing on it? >> my weight. you know what i would do if i were president, mr. president? i would make same sex divorce illegal. then see how bad they want it. >> i think that's why you're not president. and that's a good thing.
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>> the president gave as good as he got. but there was a purpose, getting the word about obamacare to young people. >> so do you go to my websites that are dotcoms or dotnets, or do you mainly stick with just dotgovs? >> no, we go to dot govs. have you heard of healthcare.gov? >> here we go. okay. let's get this out of the way. what did you come here to plug? >> first of all, it's fair to say i wouldn't be here with you today if i didn't have something to plug. have you heard of the affordable care act? >> oh, yeah, heard about that. that's the thing that doesn't work. why would you get the guy that created the zune to make your website? >> healthcare.gov works great now, and millions of americans have already gotten health insurance plans. and what we want is for people to know that you can get affordable health care. and most young americans right now, they're not covered. and the truth is that they can get coverage all for what it
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costs you to pay your cell phone bill. if they get that health insurance, it can really make a big difference. and they have until march 31st to sign up. >> that video has been viewed more than five million times so far just today. and the white house says it sent nearly 200,000 people to healthcare.gov. and that's a feel-good story. not a punch line. ♪ [ 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. ♪
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my mom works at ge. ♪ but with less energy, moodiness, myand a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer, worsening prostate symptoms, decreased sperm count, ankle, feet or body swelling, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing while sleeping and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count,
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headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. ask your doctor about axiron. i use my citi thankyou card to get two times the points at the coffee shop. which will help me get to miami...and they'll be stuck at the cube farm. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn two times the points on dining out with no annual fee. go to citi.com/thankyoucards. america's becoming more diverse, more tolerant, and more open-minded, and that's driving some right wingers right into freak-outmode. here is what congresswoman michele bachmann said about the veto of an arizona bill that would have made it legal for businesses to discriminate against gays. >> the gay community, they have so bullied the american people and they've so intimidated politicians the politicians fear
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them. and so they think that they get to dictate the agenda everywhere. >> bullying? congresswoman, that's called activism, not bullying. and the polls show congresswoman bachmann son the wrong side of history. only 30% of older republicans approve of gay marriage, but that's double to 61% among younger republicans. those under the age of 30. the tide is turning. attitudes are changing, and we've seen this before. in 1958, only 4% of americans said they approved of interracial marriage. 4%. but last year that number had climbed to 87%. times change, and so do the american people. if the republican party has any hope for the future, they must change too or get left behind in the past. don't worry about growing and
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don't get caught trapped in old thoughts. expand and think, or at least realize the world will not be stuck in your trap with you. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. bridget kelly's blues. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews up in philadelphia. let me start tonight with this. a double barrel of politics today. in new jersey, bridget kelly trying to keep bridgegate from becoming bridget-gate refused to hand over e-mails on the scandal, saying to do so would be an admission of involvement. today in washington, the chair of the senate intelligence committee accused the cia of violating the constitution by spying on the senate itself. more on that explosive story right after .

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