jail and all kinds of danger. what we face today is far less, but we must be equally determined and let them know no matter what games were played, lyndon johnson was right as he echoed those marches in the south. we shall overcome. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. making trouble for republicans. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. have you noticed that the liberals usually win the argument, eventually? it's been true for the beginning of our country. back this the 18th century, the tories opposed independence thanks to thomas payne, an

immigrant, the one radical case for separation from england emerged to win the day. the move to abolition of slavery, but with it came emancipation. women wanted the right to vote and won it. jim crow lost his fight with dr. king and civil rights became law. gays today are winning the battle for full acceptance and marriage quality. the same is true of the safety net. ronald reagan championed the fight against medicare. the republicans voted as a block against affordable care. and in each case the liberals won, eventually. even as the struggle heads to another test this november with the gob rear guard sniping away at health care, and every voter obviously has a stake. john heineman is the co-author of "double down" and jonathan capehart is a columnist with "the washington post."

both are proud and needed msnbc analysts. a republican out in arizona going after the social safety net. if you want to see by the way how hell bent some republicans are, take a look at this. buzzfeed is reporting this congressional republican candidate, his name is jim brown went on a racially charged rant earlier this week by comparing social safety net programs to slavery. i want folks to think seriously about how slavery really works. back the day of slavery, they were kept in slavery by denying them opportunity. entitlements are means of enslaving people by robbing people by taking care of basic needs. brown apologized yesterday for those remarks there is still this sympathy, john heilemann. you constantly hear republicans say we've got to cut entitlements. entitlements, if you look at our social security and medicare

mainly, yet they keep saying we got to cut back on government. we've got to cut back on this entitlement stuff. and yet they don't pay a price for it politically. i'm determined that they pay a price for their words, like every politician should. your thoughts. it seems like republicans better be focusing on what democrats promise to do on issues like choice or they're going to get their asses handed to them this november. your thoughts. >> boy, there is a lot to say there, chris. >> i have a lot to say. >> i know you do. there is no doubt that democrats need to rally their troops if they're going to hold the line. it's very unlikely they're going to advance much in the midterm elections this november. and there is no doubt they have to rally the troops because the republican electorate in an off year is already fired up. they have a very pointed message, specifically on health care, but more broadly on entitlements. so democrats need to get their forces out there and get them rallied around something whether that's around opposition to the

republican party or a positive vision like increasing the minimum wage. democrats have got to get up off the ground or they're going the face even worse losses that they're already looking like they're going to face kind of inevitably in this offyear election. >> jonathan, i think the republicans benefit from a lot of vague talk that go after entitlements, people think minorities, welfare, somebody in an urban area. they don't think the massive nature of entitlements that are being threatened by republicans. every time they get to do a budget, they always go after them. chained cpi, cutting cost living adjustments. they're constantly looking for ways to chop away what they don't like which is the new deal and the great society. your thoughts. >> well, look, i think democrats have to force republicans to answer some questions. so they want to cut social security. they want to cut medicaid and medicare. democrats need to ask republicans, so what are you going to do about the people whose benefits are cut? when will they be cut?

whose benefits will be cut? when will this take place? the affordable care act, how many votes have we gone through now? 50 votes to repeal the affordable care act, and yet no one has pushed republicans into the position of answering the question, for instance, what happens when we repeal obamacare and all those people who have gotten insurance, even with the preexisting condition, what happens to those folks? republicans need to answer some questions because i think when it comes down to all the issues that you were just talking about, health care, entitlements, equality -- >> their parents health care. >> equality under the law, democrats and progressives have an answer to the questions. republicans don't. and they need to be called out on that. >> well, john, my main point is i think a lot of the voters because of the atmospherics right now, the blues out there, and there are blues in this country because the economy hasn't perked up the way it should or people believe it should and are feeling it. all they do is go in the voting

booth in november and vote no, and the only consequence is it will feel bad for the president that night. but in fact the consequences of elections are always bigger than that. they impact who is going to get reapportioned, who is going to get gerrymandered? who is going to lose the access to voting? who is going to lose the programs they believe in? the other party isn't just a no to obama, it's a yes to what they want. i'm afraid it's going to be a free ride this november. people are going to be oh my god, did we vote for that? i thought i was just showing my anger against the president. >> what they're trying do again in 2014 is to nationalize the elections and to raise the stakes and get their voters out in that way. democrats have to meet that head-on and say okay, this is going to be a nationalized election. let's have another big fight over values and big vision issues. but the one thing that makes it more complicated for democrats, i think, is that you are president of the united states in barack obama who in principle and in practice if favor of entitlements. >> i know.

>> he is reasonable, fortunately. >> at different times of the course of his administration, he has been on record for proposing relatively large cuts to medicare. he is in principle for trying to reform social security. and frankly, for the long run fiscal health of the country, those things probably need to happen. the question is how they get done. and that's where the real argument that democrats should want to have is. the republicans just want to say cut everything. >> john, i'm with you. i think in the end you have to compromise. but when you go into an election with a posture, alex sink in florida, this week, the big test election, she went in there with an idea of compromise, let's work across the aisle. we saw her commercials. we showed them. she also said obamacare isn't perfect. it's got to be fixed. but that point of view, which was so darn reasonable and good for the country in the long haul is exploited on the other side because they come in like demolition derby. they say we're getting rid of everything. you people are all weak. we have a strong view. back to religious values, and we

hate obama. that's simple, what you call black and white view of the world seems to beat the softer, more reasonable view of the world you got from alex sink. i think she can win the general. i think she should try in november with a bigger electorate. you can't get a smaller juan than you get in a by-election. but i do think it's a problem i'm trying to look at here. >> that's the thing. alex sink lost the election in a special election which just by definition gets fewer number of people vote thang say in a presidential election or even in an offyear election in november. perhaps she should jump back in the race and run for the general in november, because lots of analysts say if the election had happened in november, she would have won. but you know what? one thing that i think, we all know that the democratic party base just doesn't typically show up during a midterm election. and that has to change. and one of the things that people always say is that, well, midterm elections, the turnout

is lower because the president is not on the ballot. well, the democratic party faithful have to realize that while president obama is not on the ballot and won't be on the ballot ever again, he indeed is on the ballot in november 2014 because everything he has been working for, everything that he has been pushing for is on the line. if republicans hang on to the house and take the senate, the obama presidency basically is done. you think he can't get anything done now? >> it might even literally be done. i've been saying all week, jonathan, the democrats are better off going on the offense, not getting into a defensive crouch. that's what some of them are. on tuesday, we saw a canadian doctor showed how many republicans are not just against obamacare, but any health care system whatsoever. here is an exchange between republican senator richard burr from north carolina attacking a doctor from canada at tuesday's hearings in washington. this is getting a lot of attention today.

senator burr tries to box the witness into a corner, but it doesn't work out that way. take a look. why, are doctors exiting the public system in canada. >> thank you for your question, senator. if i didn't express myself in a way to make myself understood, i apologize. there are no doctors exiting the public system in canada. and, in fact, we see a net influx of physicians from the united states into the canadian system over the last number of years. >> how many canadian patients on a waiting list die each year, do you know? >> i don't, sir. but i know there are 45,000 in america who die waiting because they don't have insurance at all. >> john, isn't there a rule in the courtroom never ask a question unless you know what the answer is going to be? this guy got cold cocked by this woman. she just nailed him on his two main points. the canadian system is no damn good and ours is great. >> there is a television show i'm familiar with called "hardball" that was hardball right there. and he got knocked out of the park. look, the debate over health care has always been filled with

canards and a lot of no nothingism. and there is no doubt that a lot of republicans look at he has refused to acknowledge the fact that almost every industrialized country in the world, including canada, have better health care systems than ours and better by the measures that matter in terms of mortality rates, in terms of the cost per capita, in terms of life expectancy. all those things are true, and they've always been true. it's why there has always been an imperative one way or the other to have a better health care system. and the affordable care act act may have flaws, but it's trying to move news the direction of where every other rich country in the world. and canada is a scapegoat, but it is true by lchl every metric a better health care system than ours. >> i want your reaction to what we just saw. a lot of people watch this and say that's how you argue, you get the fax and you fight the fiction. >> and that's what i was going to say. you push back with facts and against hyperbole. and she did it very calmly.

and i think you're absolutely right. democrats have to stop being in the defensive crouch. they have a lot to defend and defend in a good way and have a lot of facts on their side. and so now it's time to, you know, break free, use those facts and push republicans into answering questions they don't want to answer. >> well, the great irony, gentlemen, is way may end up with the canadian system because the republicans are so confused in their fighting and so confused in their motives they attacked the very plan they advocated idealogically which was is heritage family plan, which is a republican, a market-driven plan. by pounding into it and pounding into it, i wonder sometimes that i'm not that far left on a lot of issues. but i have to say, i think the canadian system is beginning to look better and better because of its simplicity and the clear understanding. there is nobody grabbing any profits out of it. anyway, thank you, john heilemann, sir. you were great as always tonight. thank you, jonathan capehart. may you vat it with all the joy

you can fine. coming up, dick cheney told us how to pronounce his name this week got five deferments from a war he fully supported. when is he going to exit the stage and stop his war whooping? also, look at where republicans are now eliminating weekend voting, the time when many african americans go to the polls. wisconsin republicans, they just want to be fair. anyway, plus, the senate versus the cia. late night tv is now focusing on dianne feinstein's who is right in her battle with the agency. finally, let me finish tonight with the irish, like me. and that is "hardball," the place for politics. you can separate runway ridiculousness... from fashion that flies off the shelves. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. and only national is ranked highest in car rental customer satisfaction by j.d. power.

(natalie) ooooh, i like your style. (vo) so do we, business pro. so do we. go national. go like a pro. and i see hey there, i just got my bill, and i see that it includes my fico® credit score... is that new? yup, you have our discover it card, so you get your fico® score on every statement. and, it's free. that's pretty cool of you guys. well, we just want to help you stay on top of your credit and avoid surprises. good. i hate surprises. surprise! whoa. is it your birthday? yep. cheers. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. free fico® credit score. get the it card at discover.com. this is great. when you hear conservatives say they're losing the culture wars, that's right. no more so than same-sex marriage. even among republicans. look at this pew poll.

over 39% equality in marriage. when you break it down by age, you can clearly see the generational split among republicans on the issue. 61% of republicans between the ages of 18 and 29 say marriage equality should be the law. support declines a bit among older groups. 43% 30 to 49. among 50 to 64-year-olds, the number drops to 30%. and only 22% of americans over 65 support it. does any of this surprise you? the younger you are, the more you're for it. we'll be right back. latte or au lait? cozy or cool? "meow" or "woof"? exactly the way you want it ... until boom,

it's bedtime! your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. enter the all-new sleep number classic series. designed to let couples sleep together in individualized comfort. starting at just $699.99 for a queen mattress. he's the softy. his sleep number setting is 35. you're the rock, at 60. and snoring? sleep number's even got an adjustment for that. find your sleep number setting only at a sleep number store. know better sleep with sleep number.

welcome back to "hardball." when presidents and vice presidents leave office, there is a protocol here in washington, d.c. that has been followed for as long as i can remember, certainly. you leave the stage. you don't publicly second guess your successor. and you certainly don't stick around washington. but former vice president dick cheney is writing his own rules. he has repeatedly criticized president obama, most recently this sunday. >> we have created an image

around the world, not just for the russian of weakness and indecisive. the syrian situation is a classic. we got all ready to do something. a lot of the allies sign on. at the last minute, obama backed off. >> you know, the way he leans his head sideways and he gets avuncular and he bonds with you, anyway, cheney criticized the president's ukraine strategy for not using the military options available. he had a military option. he could have fought in the vietnam war. he didn't like that option. anyway, let's watch now. >> there are military options that don't involve putting troops on the ground in crimea. we could go back and reinstate the ballistic missile defense program that was taken out. it was originally going to go in poland. czech republic, obama took it out to apiece putin. >> this is a far cry from former george w. bush who in his first speech after leaving the white house said of president obama i'm not going to spend my time criticizing him there are plenty of critics in the arena. he deserves my silence. well said.

joining me is david corn, msnbc contributor andday dana milbank, a columnist for "the washington post." gentlemen, i know i'm on this cheney case. gung-ho, we got to fight the war in vietnam. that was a military option available to him. he said at the time i had other priorities. and now every time a war comes along -- >> he is saving his butt. >> pushing, pushing, pushing, war, war, war. he is now talking options in ukraine, about building the anti-ballistic missiles. we're not worried about missiles. we're not fighting the soviets over nuclear weapons. i don't want to talk about it. he is basically pushing the iron curtain further and further east to see if he can get the former soviets crazy. >> see, i have a theory. i think he is obsessed with his legacy. and i think he has good reason to be. this is a guy -- >> what does he want his legacy to be? >> i think he wants it to be that he saved america, not that he led sexual abuse a war with lies and misrepresentations, not

that he started torture. >> killed 186,000 people. >> so he can't leave the arena because he is unsettled. you know, he left things kind of -- >> no, no, no. he is never wrong. >> i think that's true. but i think bush doesn't think he is wrong either. but bush is willing to lay low. >> no. we disagree twice. i think bush thinks he was led around with a bull with a little hook in his nose, a little ring. >> i agree that cheney is unsettled. but i think it gives him a little too much credit to say that the strategy, i think the man is driven by anger and animus, as it has been. it's been ten years since brent scowcroft, his old friend said i don't know this dick cheney anymore. >> you hare hear this from the jim baker and those guys. >> if he had any sense, he would do what bush did. bush's favorable rates are now above 50%. cheney, they don't even poll cheney, but he has the popularity of spiro agnew.

because he is the angry man. he is against cheney. he has offended his old friends in wyoming with his daughter. he is antagonizing everybody. >> i think he led scooter libby into hell and let him sit there. he couldn't even give unqualified praise for capturing and killing osama bin laden. this is cheney on hugh hewitt's radio show last fall. let's listen to this. >> you don't go out and broadcast the fact that you got the guy. you want to take that intelligence and be able to exploit it over the next few nights and wrap up large parts of the network. they were in such a hurry to go out there with bin laden, such a hurry to go out and announce victory that i'm convince they'd probably did not get maximum damage out of the intel that they had captured. >> excuse me, who was it that put on a flyers uniform and declared mission accomplished a bit early about ten years prematurely. >> also, what he says doesn't make sense there is a firefight at the compound that was covered

on national tv in pakistan. i mean, people knew what had happened. it was oh, let's keep this quiet. so they exploited the intelligence as fast as they could. and so, i mean, this is what he always complained about when he was in power. secondguessing. >> we have man who covered all this. you covered. >> covered the white house. >> and dana, get you mixed up. and walter pincus. you covered the fight over who screwed up the iraq war. you got the fight that was going on for months, all that issue. what is cheney up to in that regard? he is trying to blame the intelligence community. they were trying to blame him for all the lousy information we're getting about the wmd over there. >> right. and he was the force who was always taking things one step further, who was saying that these people in iraq are the ones who attacked us on 9/11. he is saying we believe that iraq has reconstituted a nuclear weapon. so he wasn't operating even by bush standards he wasn't operating in the same realm of fact. and eventually, you saw in the

second term, bush finally said look, i've had enough of this. cheney became more marginalized and the big rift. >> that was very important. even the president, who he was supposedly serving realized he had been misserved. >> and he was also saying at that same time that the cia was too soft. that only -- >> they set up the special unit. >> that only cheney himself and a few acolytes had the true wisdom and truth about 9/11 and terrorism and what to do about it. the cia, they were panting away. said they didn't have any -- >> how do you explain the guy's brain soup? why is he so ferociously for war, for partisan combat in a kind of way that is really not aimed at any positive purpose? >> well, it is a world view in a sense. but it's more -- i think it gives too much credit to say it's a philosophy. cheney cease himself in a bunker, besieged on all sides. >> when he was there in congress, everybody in congress covering him on capitol hill he

wore button down shirts. he was a moderate speaking guy. they thought he was a moderate. i said no, he was always the biggest partisan in the business i ever came across. thank you. hi, dick. david corn and thank you dana milbank. up next, the late-night comedians have a little fun with dianne feinstein's fight with the cia. by the way, she is right. they're wrong. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. gunderman group is a go. yes! not just a start up. an upstart. gotta get going. gotta be good. good? good. growth is the goal.

how do we do that? i talked to ups. they'll help us out. new technology. smart advice. we focus on the business and they take care of the logistics. ups? good going. we get good. that's great. great. great. great. great. great. great. great. great. (all) great! i love logistics. iwe don't back down. we only know one direction: up so we're up early. up late. thinking up game-changing ideas, like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com

crestor got more high-risk patients' bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100. way to go, crestor! yeah! getting to goal is a big deal, especially if you have high cholesterol plus any of these risk factors. because you could be at increased risk for plaque buildup in your arteries over time. so, when diet and exercise aren't enough to lower cholesterol, adding crestor can help. go, crestor! ♪ ♪ oh, yeah [ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone, like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine, or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects. crestor! yes! [ female announcer ] ask your doctor about crestor.

if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. smoke? nah, i'm good. [ male announcer ] celebrate every win with nicoderm cq, the unique patch with time release smartcontrol technology that helps prevent the urge to smoke all day long. help prevent your cravings with nicoderm cq. yesterday in washington, i didn't realize this until today. they had a big power outage. it was so dark down there in washington when the power went out, the only thing that was glowing was john boehner's face. honestly. do we see? there, look at that. >> time for the sideshow. david letterman is clearly following the latest news out of washington these days.

just look at his take on senator dianne feinstein's charge the cia stole documents from the computers of her senate intelligence committee. >> this is dianne feinstein yesterday talking about the cia sticking their nose in the secret business of the united states senate. did you see this? take a look at this. >> there are thousands of such documents in the committee's secured spaces at the cia. facility. now prior removal of documents by cia. in early -- >> see? >> next, california's former governor is back again. in january, arnold schwarzenegger wore a disguise to prank customers at gold's gym. now he is holding a raffle for a chance to ride around l.a. with him in a tank. take a look. >> i finally have achieved my

life-long dream, and it is not determininator or conan the barbarian or anything like that. no, not at all. it's to finally possess my own [ bleep ] tank. look at this. come to l.a. and crush in my tank. let's crush a taxi cab. let's crush a piano. a weight bench with 521 pounds. i'm going to crush it. 66 years old and everyone has birthday cakes. why? because i wanted to crush them. i'm going the crush a copy of "million baby" because it makes me cry. i don't cry. that. >> is really something. the he is doing it to raise money for after school all-stars. a great charity. finally, he took questions at a press conference for the national cannabis association

industry yesterday. take a look at how he answered this one about his colleagues in the house. >> without naming any names, how many members of congress do you think use marijuana? >> used or use? i don't think more than five or ten i would guess. but i really wouldn't know. because i haven't seen them use it. i would be completely guessing. i don't know what percentage of 60-year-olds use marijuana, but it's probably similar in congress. so if it's 5% of 60-year-olds, it's probably 5% in congress. >> smart answer. up next, republicans in wisconsin are eliminating weekend voting. and guess what? that's when many african americans go to the poll. it's the latest effort to punish voters who intend to vote democrat. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. er. you raise her spirits. we tackled your shoulder pain. you make him rookie of the year. we took care of your cold symptoms. you take him on an adventure.

tylenol® has been the number 1 doctor recommended brand of pain reliever for over 20 years. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. you want a loan to build you can't do that.ica? nobody builds factories in the us anymore... you can't do that. using american raw materials makes no sense... you can't do that. you want to hire workers here in the states? they're too expensive, you can't do that. fortunately we didn't listen to the experts. at weathertech we built american factories, we use american raw materials and we hire american workers. weathertech.com, proudly made in america. quality like this...you can't do that.

peoi go to angie's listt for all kinds of reasons. to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

i'm paige hopkins. here is what is happening. government sources tell nbc news the missing malaysian flight did

make a left turn towards the mainland and then a right turn up the strait of malacca. officials believe the plane then went north, while investigators believe it is more likely to have flown south. investigators are looking like pings to figure out where it might have traveled. john kerry and his russian counterpart met for talks about the crisis in ukraine. russia's foreign minister says the u.s. and moscow have no common vision of the situation. a vote on the future of crimea is set for sunday. vice president biden will travel next week for talks on that matter. president obama met with immigration advocates today. the meeting focused on the white house's review of the u.s. deportation system. and now we're going to trach you back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." another state this week moved to make it harder for people to

vote. do you believe it? republicans in wisconsin passed a new law, drastically reducing early voting in that state. it would eliminate weekend voting entirely and restrict voting on weekdays to no later than 7:00 p.m. the bill would limit the total hours of early voting a week to 45. the goal, the bill sponsor's say is to make statewide standards uniform. but critic says the goal is to help republicans by limiting the ability of poor minority voters to cast ballots. state senator lena taylor passionately buicked colleagues on the senate floor out there in madison, telling them they should be ashamed. >> i feel like i'm in 1906. fighting the fight that people who came long before me had to fight. >> that's great. one of the sponsors of this new effort doesn't have much sympathy for anyone prevented from voting. told msnbc back in november, quote, between early voting,

mail absentee and voting the day of the election, you know, i mean, anybody who can't vote wall those options, they've really got a problem. i really don't think they care that much about voting in the first place, right? that's how he talked. the co-director of the advancement project and dale ho is the director of the aclu voting rights project. i don't quite get what is going on here. it just it seems to me that the republicans figure out when black people vote and shut it down. it just seems that's what they do. your thoughts. is it more complicated? >> well, chris, this is still out of the same playbook. that's about making it harder to vote for partisan reasons. they're trying to manipulate the outcome of elections. they know there are certain groups, you know, that use early voting, that use sunday vote where black churches go and caravan down to the polls with their congregations to vote in unison. and what they've done is they've gone after those voters. it's strategically crafted bills

in order to hit those who are african american, latino, younger voters who typically vote democratic. >> why now? why in 2014 after we've had at least on the books voting rights since the '60s for minorities, especially. why now the crackdown, the attempt to shut the door? >> you know, we continue to see this crackdown and this making it harder to vote. voter suppression has come back, and it's come back aggressively. and the reason that that is happening is because we're seeing changing demographics in america. so the more people that you have of color in the country, we're seeing more people registering democrat. and so this is a way to control the outcome of elections, not only this year because they have a gubernatorial election, but for 2016. >> you go at it because i see the same way. i keep looking at the pattern there is a cookie-cutter. somebody is going around from state to state saying here's what you have to do. your thoughts. >> it's really amazing. they could pick any day they want to get rid of.

but for some reason, every one of these states, including wisconsin always want to get rid of sunday, which as judith pointed out the day you have a particularly high african american turnout. one of the things that really upsets me when i hear some of these comments from legislators claiming that they need to do this in the service of uniformity is kind of crazy to me. if there are problems with some people not having enough access in other parts of the state, the solution is not to shut down early voting on the weekends in the places that have it, but to expand access for everyone. and it's also kind of crazy to me this idea that every community is exactly the same. it's not that every place should have exactly the same hours and exactly the same number of polling locations. milwaukee has 600,000 people. there are town shimps in wisconsin that have only 10,000 people. should they have the same number of voting machines now? >> we'll seattle. republicans say new law likes the are needed because rural voters might feel shortchanged. senate majority leader scott

fitzgerald defended the measure by saying it's difficult for people to turn on channel 6 in milwaukee and there is a shot of someone voting during a time when it's not available to people in rural areas. he went on, here he is. >> they turn to us for the answer like why is this going on? why are there people voting in milwaukee on a saturday afternoon when i couldn't go to the town and vote right now? there is nobody there. the town hall is closed and the lights are off. >> i have to wonder whether you have big states, minorities often grouped in big cities and liberal and all kinds of ethnic groups, they tend to be the liberal areas. it seems they wished those areas weren't in the states. they could like republicans just outside the city limits. >> looking at rural areas and comparing them to the cities, the bottom line as dale said is let's increase access for everyone. we shouldn't be restricting the vote. >> what about 7:00? a lot of people, all the producers agreed about this today. look, if you go work -- if you're a working person, you

also work far from home, it's not your office nearby or your factory. so you get on a bus, public transportation. you may take two or three buss to get home. certainly a couple. by the time you do get home, you got get to the voting station. 7:00 could be a pretty tough deadline. >> that's right. can you imagine the d.c. area? 7:00 closing. we know our traffic takes an hour and a half to get home. so cutting it off at 7:00 really -- >> why would you do that? >> it's about hitting working americans who they are afraid will not vote for the republican party. >> anyway, milwaukee mayor tom barrett had some strong words for republicans pushing this bill. here is what he had to say what's really behind it. here is his thought. let's watch. >> you can see what the goal is here. the goal is to just jam up the city of milwaukee and other large municipalities. let's just jam it up. let's have people frustrated and wait and leave the polls. that's what is going on here.

>> is that it, dale? is that the bottom line? >> i really think it is, actually, chris. you look at florida, which got rid of six days of early voting before the 2012 election. and they experienced the longest wait times of any state in the country during that election. some people casting ballots after the president's acceptance speech there was one estimate from an engineer at ohio state university who calculated that 200,000 people gave up because the lines were too long in florida. i don't know why any state would think that that would be a model that they would want to emulate in future elections. it makes absolutely no sense. everyone ought to be able to participate in our democracy. it shouldn't matter whether or not you work hourly wage jobs that make it hard for you to vote on election day. >> well, judith, in south africa back this the bad old days, they worried about an ultimate race war. the whites will be in the lager. is this the lager? is this the demographic change? >> its last stand. if we can control the vote,

especially in wisconsin where governor scott walker wants to control not only -- he wants to control the vote for a running. >> to get reelected. >> it's about the policies. to get reelected so that he can push through his conservative right wing agenda. >> and maybe to run for president. >> oh, maybe. >> dale, how is this going to end? is this going to stop or keep going? is this battle going to go on to try to stop people from being able to vote, even though they're american citizens? >> it's really a shame that some people think instead of trying to convince more people to vote for you, that we should try too prevent people who might think differently from voting at all. and this fight is going to go on, unfortunately. until we start changing people's minds and reminding everyone that your choice matters. it's not about whether or not you can pass some state imposed obstacle course, that every person matters in our democracy. we have to get back to that basic principle of one person, one vote. we're litigating these kinds of cases right now alongside the

advancement project, which judith is the head of in places like north carolina. and you can bet that we're going to take this fight to other states that continue to cut back voting opportunities. >> well, i could say as a lover of politics, the great political leaders of our country in both parties over the years have trusted the voter. they're not afraid of the voters. that's how you can tell a great leader. thank you, dale ho and judith. everything is going green. st. paddy's day. we're going to talk about why so many irish in this country have gotten into politics. this is "hardball," the place for it. we'll be right back. or how ornate the halls are. it doesn't matter if there are granite statues, or big mahogany desks. when working with an investment firm, what's really important is whether the people behind the desks actually stand behind what they say. introducing the schwab accountability guarantee. if you're not happy with one of our participating investment advisory services,

we'll refund your program fee from the previous quarter. it's no guarantee against loss and other fees and expenses may still apply. chuck vo: standing by your word, that's what matters the most. but you're not done. capella university can help take your career even further, with the most direct path to your point "c". capella university. start your journey at capella.edu. it's red lobster's lobsterfest! all promotions! the year's largest selection of lobster entrees, like lobster lover's dream. hurry in and sea food differently. go to red lobster.com for ten dollars off with purchase of two lobsterfest entrees.

well, this week marks one year since pope francis was elected to lead the catholic church. in our new nbc news-wall street journal poll finds americans are giving him high marks. 60% of american catholics say pope francis has renewed and strengthened their faith to the church. and 55% of the americans overall, not just catholics say they have a very positive or somewhat positive impression of the pope. and we learned today that house speaker john boehner has issued an open invitation to pope francis to speak to an open meeting of congress. we'll be right back. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule.

the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. and his new boss told him two things --

cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. so i get invited to quite a few family gatherings. heck, i saved judith here a fortune with discounts like safe driver, multi-car, paperless. you make a mighty fine missus, m'lady. i'm not saying mark's thrifty. let's just say, i saved him $519, and it certainly didn't go toward that ring. am i right? [ laughs ] [ dance music playing ] so visit progressive.com today. i call this one "the robox."

we're back. it's an early st. patrick's day here in washington. this morning vice president biden hosted irish prime minister kenny for the annual st. patrick's day breakfast he held, which i was happy to attend. then kenny went to the white house to be with president obama and exchanged shamrocks there, a tradition that began under president truman. after that, house speaker john boehner hosted the president, the vice president and the prime minister from ireland at the speaker's annual friends of ireland luncheon, which was started by my old boss, tip o'neill. it was ronald reagan who helped break the ice in many cases back in the '80s between them, even though they fought most of the time, they were able to cut some deals that wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for that personal bond. if you look back through history, you could say the irish '-eom-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?sf=

james michael curly of washington. but it wasn't an easy road. the democratic nominee for president back in '28. he may have overcome his humble beginnings, but his national campaign sparked virulent anti-catholic backlash that was as overt as it was ugly. a vote against the protestant faith. and cartoons like this one suggested that the pope himself would be the one at the helm of an administration announcement. you can see at the cardinal at the center of the cabinet room with smith serving him, the cardinal as a waiter. it's a reminder of how far we have come as a country and talk about the irish influence in america. bob, these are two great exemplars, especially my old classmate congressman james moran, and republican strategist who i really like who is on the other side of that aisle. moran, you are a great tribute. there you are with that incredible green tie.

i think that's kelly green. i have a more modest one with shamrocks on it. tell me why you intuitively knew you were a politician. you were a soft-spoken guy back in college. but you are what is it about the irish that make them good? clinton's a good one and certainly tip o'neill. what makes you guys, us, good at politics? >> i don't know. i can't talk so much about myself, chris. well, the kennedys, for example, they love people. you knew ted kennedy. he loved to be around people, and it's important, and i think this is something that's particularly applies to the irish. they don't take themselves too seriously. they always have a joke to, you know, to break the tension. >> what about bill o'reilly? what about bill o'reilly? they don't take it seriously, bill o'reilly. >> well, i'm talking about -- he never ran for office. and i do think -- >> okay. >> -- there's been a turn to the right. and, you know, we got a whole

lot of irish catholics who would cause some of our fore bearers to turn over in their grave given their conservative leanings. >> why is peter king -- why is peter king a republican? he's not a right winger but a republican. let me go to feehery. >> john can answer that. >> our family's republican. the bosses of the philadelphia republican machine, the meehan family, all irish, all catholic. boston it may be a new thing. >> for me, it was ronald reagan. i thought he was the -- i became republican because ronald reagan -- my dad was a republican. he voted against kennedy for nixon, though he's an irish american. part of it is because -- >> made a few bucks. >> well, yeah. if you make a few bucks -- that's not surprising. if you're part of the american dream, there is this political diversity that a lot of republicans have migrated like a paul ryan, migrated to the -- irish migrated to the republican party. that's a healthy part of this debate. the interesting thing is republicans now are the swing vote. irish are the swing vote.

that's been an interesting thing. >> if the republicans ever back immigration reform, congressman, that's because they must be betting that eventually if enough hispanic people, latinos, become middle class, they'll republic republans otherwise th screwed. they have to believe that, right? >> they're affluent now, but i also think it's the church and the church has turned much more conservative, much more orthodox. i do think pope francis may turn that around a bit. boy, it was wonderful today. he told the story about so many young irish boys coming across the pond to the parish where they wanted to visit their dear mother. then they didn't want to break her heart by going back across to the island, and now they're undocumented. and so he made a pretty compelling case for immigration. but the fact is, you've got the -- the irish have a lot at stake with immigration. we have a lot of undocumented folk here. boy, he hammered away but he did it in a way that didn't offend

anybody. he didn't take himself too seriously. told jokes about it, but he was insistent. i love it today and the message was delivered to both sides of the aisle. >> okay. the guy you talked about, the one who's a hero to all of us, even mr. feehery, of course, john f. kennedy. here he is. one of the lasting irish traditions in politics is the annual al smith going. it's been the tradition for presidential candidates of both parties to drop the campaign rhetoric in favor of good humor ribbing. here's how jack kennedy took onyxo nixon in '60. >> so widely respected in american politics that he could bring together at the same banquet table for the first time in this campaign two political leaders who have long eyed each other suspiciously and disagreed so strongly publicly and

privately. vice president nixon and governor rockefeller. >> you know, mr. moran, kennedy had the gall to show up not in white tie but with a regular tux looking like a million bucks. nixon shows up like he's supposed to and kennedy looks better. your thoughts about the sense of humor of the irish. this is an easy one. what is it that makes most irish with the exception of bill o'reilly not take themselves seriously? >> you know, they -- i think their parents keep them in check. they usually come from large families. >> that's for sure. >> so they can't take themselves too seriously. but i also think that you figure out that if you want what you need, you got to make people feel relaxed and got to like people. when you go into a crowd, you got to want to embrace them. i do think there is that spirit among irish politicians. now, there are exceptions and o'reilly may be an exception and so on. i think that is the way that the irish endear themselves to the american public. you know, and we've gone a long ways from al smith. that was just pure anti-catholic bigotry. otherwise he would have been

president of the united states. but jack kennedy had it, and i think he's taught a whole lot of irish politicians how to get ahead and get the things you care about done by wanting to be with people and having a sense of humor and not taking something too seriously. >> i'm proud to say you're my classmate from holy cross, jim. jim moran, u.s. congressman from virginia. john feehery, a great regular on this show. we'll be back after this. >> john's a great guy. mine was earned in korea in 1953. afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971.

[ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. so i deserve a small business credit card with amazing rewards.

with the spark cash card from capital one, i get 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. i break my back around here. finally someone's recognizing me with unlimited rewards! meetings start at 11, cindy. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? i need your timesheets, larry!

let me finish tonight with this. the irish have taken over the calendar, certainly mine. i was in new york on wednesday for irish american magazine. last night was the american ireland fun gala in washington with the big tribute to vice president joe biden. earlier today was a breakfast at the vice president's residence and this evening it's president obama's reception for the irish at the white house followed by a party given by the irish embassy. see i've got on my green shamrock tie now and thinking after the years in the distant past when i first discovered this irish thing i could lay claim to. one of the great advantages of the catholic school system, i never once doubted how fortunate we are to be born exactly who we are. i love being irish. i took incredible claim to it. anyway, it means something. it doesn't mean everything, but it means a lot. we have a clear sense of where we came from. while it's not something especially posh, it is something to be proud of. make that very proud. let's hope the old sense of being an underdog carries those of us who grew up, like me, to

care about people who are underdogs today. to not fall into the complacency that the way things are is the way they have to be or even should be. 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. as the search for malaysia airlines flight mh-370 nears the end of day 7, an increasingly credible array of incoming data further support the notion the plane was taken deliberately off course and continued to fly long after its last radio contact. according to "the new york times," malaysian military radar indicates the airliner made significant changes in both altitude and course after vanishing from civilian radar. that is based on an unidentified blip moving through malaysian airspace and detected by military radar. informationch