new cities and this new nation won't happen by itself. it will only happen if we pick up that mantle and keep fighting. dr. king gave his life 46 years ago tonight so that we would have better lives. we need to pick up and change this nation and keep it moving toward where he had it headed. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. have a great weekend. "hardball" starts right now. supreme injustice. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start with this week in america, this week that saw the republican-dominated supreme court decide for big money over the people, that saw the

republican congress call for cuts in help for the working family and big breaks for corporations, that saw another sledgehammer assault on the country's new health care system by the right wing. a week capsulized by this morning's front page story in usa today on the growing $100 million club of this country's corporate ceos. how far will the right go in punishing the working people while gifting the wealthier with more power and money, more clout to control national policy, more taxes to avoid, more enjoyment in watching the pain inflicted on those at the other end, the people they see as lazy and irresponsible. what a week to see america's political division in clear numerical terms, the right backing every tool for the rich to get richer, opposing every progressive change to save the country's safety net. jonathan capehart is an opinion writer at "the washington post" and an msnbc contributor, and michael tomasky writes brilliantly for the daily beast. gentlemen, i'll tell you, it's an amazing week.

and somebody, one of our great producers figured this out. what a great week to put it all together. because the supreme court is celebrating the whole thing. and you have usa today ending the week by saying guess what? think of all the exciting new members of the $100 million club. meanwhile, people at the bottom, we'll get to the numbers are, not doing so great. >> and the person i should defer to michael because in his piece on the daily beast, he puts it all together, the supreme court decision, the paul ryan budget. and i always forget the third one. what is it? >> their opposition to obamacare. >> oh, obamacare. >> which is redistributive. >> and to my mind, what was so brilliant about what michael wrote today, it puts into perspective what harry reid has been doing for months now, hammering away at the koch brothers. and right now what people can see -- >> what do the koch brothers want? what do they want? they're not boy scouts. they're not turning into the peace corps. they're not doing it for national service. why are they involved in

american politics, the koch brothers? what is their approach? >> their own self-interests. >> oil and gas. start with that. >> right, right. that's what they're in for. that's why they're trying to do all these things. and to get to my point, by focusing on the koch brothers, by having harry reid hammer them day in and day out for months, everything that happened this week now has a face. >> tell us how you put it all together. it wasn't just our producer. you did a great job at the daily beast today of putting together the combination of the supreme court to have more power for the wealthy. if you need any proof that the rich are getting richer and the rest of the working public is stagnating, look at this new information on page one of today's usa today. in 2013, just the most recent year, the median national income for full-time workers rose only 1.4%, to approximately $41,000 a year. for ceos at the other end of the stream there, their annual income surged 13% to $510.5

million a year. and as deftly as i said outlining the three events that reveal once again that what matters most to republicans, especially elected republicans in washington is protecting the well off from redistribution of their wealth to those who they believe don't deserve it. and look who is helping this along, the supreme court. whose decision this very week puts money above people. here is senator chuck schumer on that decision. >> they wish to dismantle all limits on giving piece by piece until we are back to the days of the robber barons. when anyone or anything could give unlimited money, undisclosed and make our political system seem so rigged that everyone will lose interest in our democracy. >> number two after the supreme court decision, the ryan budget that cuts aid for working people and helps corporations. here is democratic congressional campaign committee chair steve

israel on "hardball" just last night. >> with this republican budget, the house republicans are turning their backs on the middle class in order to stack the deck for the special interests. >> and third, the affordable care act. it exceeded expectations by deadline day this week, but the republicans still called for its outright repeal. and president obama called them out for that. >> this law is doing what it's supposed to do. it's working. it's helping people from coast-to-coast. all of which makes the links to which critics have gone to scare people or undermine the law or try to repeal the law without offering any plausible alternative is so hard to understand. i got to admit, i don't get it. why are folks working so hard for people not to have health insurance? >> well, i think he is using rhetoric there. i think he damn well understands

what he is up against. people want to hold on to all the money they make. they don't want to pay any taxes. they don't want anybody to break in to make it in the middle class, because they're there. >> redistribution, chris, that's the key word. that's the heart of the republican party today in this town. >> that's another way of saying i don't want any taxes. >> that's right. they don't want any taxes. they don't want any money moved from the top 2% down to the rest of the people, down to the people in the middle, certainly down to the poor. all three of these pieces, obamacare, their opposition to obamacare, they don't want government to do this. they don't want government to do this for people. ryan budget. $5.1 trillion from the domestic discretionary budget, the huge whack at food stamps that makes the one they took this year look like pennies. and the third one, the supreme court, makes it all happen. if they can control the electoral process to that tune, then maybe they can, you know, make sure the fewer redistributionist kind of politicians get elected. >> there is one curiosity here, because all republicans aren't rich. a lot of republicans watching right now are not rich.

my parents weren't rich. they were cloth coat republicans, you know. but the economics of the republican party is set in a different way from its own median income voter. >> right. and those voters time and time again go to the ballot box and send folks to washington who do -- >> why do they do it? why do cloth coat republicans vote -- >> that's not a question i can answer. i don't know. i don't understand it, because these are people who are clearly voting against their own self-interests. >> the perception, i've been right here. i've been through the numbers that the republicans are looking out for the rich is already baked into the voters. they know this. this february a poll shows just how deeply it's ingrained when you ask where the policies of the democratic party generally favor the rich, the middle class or the poor. here is pretty balanced. 30% say the democratic party is for the rich. 36% believe it's for the middle class. 30% for the poor. but look how they're not mixed for the republicans. 69% say republican policies favor the rich. seven out of ten.

23% say they favor the middle class. just 3% say they favor the poor. who are those people? this impression will be hard to shake. quote, just as bill clinton showed in the early 1990s that he was not beholden to the cultural left, republicans must find ways to show that they're not beholden to the oligarchic right, that's a russian term. it's going to be harder for the contemporary gop, the danger of looking like the play thing america's super rich outweighs the benefits. here is an argument of logic, which is all the money they're getting from the adelsons, the koch brothers, is that worth being known as the party that hates the 47%, which they're now known as? >> they are. and they will be known as that. >> as long as there is a bar tend were a cell phone who will tape to it the wall when a guy like mitt romney is coming in to speak. >> look, they have other issues through which they get cloth coat republicans to vote for them. and i don't blame cloth coat republicans. if you care deeply about abortion, you think abortion

borges is murder, you're going to vote republican even though you know the republican party is for the rich people and not for you. that's fine. it's the democrats' job to make these things clear to people. >> but you're not going to sell them too hard because they don't need help is the clintons. bill clinton and hillary clinton when they were working together as a team in the '90s, they were so sharp that they would say we're not going to let you divide the country on culture. they made a point of separating themselves from the far left. they weren't part of the rap songs. we're not part of that. and they caused some trouble with jesse jackson over that fight. but they also said we're for people that work hard and play by the rules. we're for people on abortion rights. they want it to be safe, legal and rare. they didn't say outlawed. safe, legal and rare. you can be culturally middle of the road or even conservative a bit and vote democrat, because we're not against you. they made that and they were very good politicians to make that point. >> who are the clintons of the republican party who are going to step forward and say -- >> who are the clintons of the democratic party right now? >> but we're focused on the republicans.

we're focused on the republicans right now. who are the clintons of the republican party who can say to the far right of the base and to the other folks who are in league with the oligarchs. >> i'll give you a couple of names and shoot them down. kasich, who extended medicare, medicaid. he took the chance. i would say peter king comes across as a middle class republican. there is a few there. >> are a few. but will they do that if and when they run for president? that's the key. bill clinton did all those things. >> do you think i just killed all those guys right snow? do you think i just ruined? >> they're cringing. >> i liked him because he would make deals with ronde dellums. >> for too many years, too many cycles they've weighted themselves to the tea party and the far right fringe that comes with it. >> mitt romney was one guys off when he was the governor. >> a harder question. it's friday.

i got to double the question for you double jeopardy, all right. the unemployment number pretty good today. 192,000 new jobs. a really good march. >> right. >> of course, there is no publicity about it. but i'm going bring it up. number two, the stock market goes down. this is what drives the middle class crazy. every time there is evidence that the guys getting back to work, the women are getting back to work and things are looking okay, healthy, the rich and the stock market, oh my god, the fed is not going to cut rates. what do you think of this? you're in new york. you know this new york mentality. it drives people crazy. wall street is against us. >> yes, exactly. that's what today proved to me. when i heard the market went down, i thought what? this is a decent number. >> because the unemployment number is good. >> yeah. >> it's 6.7 and holding and new jobs by 192,000. >> and the participation rate is going up too. >> so why are the rich going down? why are they losing hard? >> feel picked on. it's unbelievable. >> i love your piece. you get all the credit. none of our producers get any

credit. which is a great way to start for all of us. thank you, jonathan capehart, and thank you, michael tomasky. it was a great week to have you on. it wasn't good for the working people. it's been good for the people trying to torque the system the other way. coming up, look who is searching for single women, i mean this politically. the democratic party. it's doing everything it can to find them, because when single women vote, you got it, the dems win. also, the conservative clown car is careening off the highway. one member attend adcock fighting party. plus, it's possible no community has had more "hardball" sideshow appearances than the great david letterman. tonight a look back at some of dave's best political moments as he has announced his retirement. finally, let me finish tonight with the fact that the republican party was the party of abraham lincoln, right through and up to until the mid 1960s, as recently as that. and this is "hardball," the place for politics.

well, this is something else. quinnipiac sought with its national thermometer poll where political figures are ranked based on how hot they are with the voting public. and while chris christie has cooled off a bit, a pair of democratic women score highest. let's count down the top ten. at number ten, jeb bush with a temperature of 44.7 degrees. number nine is chris christie, but he led the rankings back in january. rand paul is in the eighth spot. and hike huckabee and marco rubio are coming up next. now the top five. these are the big ones. wisconsin governor scott walker at number four. it's louisiana's bobby jindal, paul ryan is the third hottest politician right now. but get. this hillary clinton is the runner-up right now. catch. this elizabeth warren, the senator from massachusetts is in the top spot as the politician generating the most heat right now. and we'll be right back. can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps block stomach acid from splashing up-

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america make only 77 cents on a dollar that every man makes. >> it is time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a "madmen" episode. this year, let's all come together, congress, the white house, businesses from wall street to main street to give every woman the opportunity she deserves because i believe when women succeed, america succeeds. >> welcome back to "hardball." as you saw in that clip, the democrats, including president obama and vice president biden have made women's issues the cornerstone of their 2014 agenda politically. but look a little closer. issues like raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would actually benefit single women more than any other group. that's single women. and here is why that matters. as "the washington post" reports just today, democrats are doing, quote, everything they can to get single women to the polls this november as the party looks to avoid disaster in the upcoming midterm elections. and i mean everything, from pushing issues like minimum wage, as i said, and paycheck

fairness to using computer algorithms, there is a word i didn't think i would use on television, to find out where the single women live. they're trying to locate them. the democratic congressional campaign committee is building a national computer model to predict voters' marital status, with hopes of targeting what may be the party's most important demographic group, unmarried women. single women could spell the difference between making gains in the house and losing control of the senate come november. democrats dominate that demographic. look at the 2012 presidential election returns. president obama won -- these numbers are really unbelievable. 67%, 2/3 of all single women voted for the president compared to romney's 31%. 36-point margin there. its same group that delivered last year's virginia governors race for terry mcauliffe who would have been soundly defeated if he hadn't capture adam an innocent margin over challenger ken cuccinelli. and i know where the single women live, northern virginia,

the eighth district and the tenth. right across the river from here. and there is 2016 coming up, which we'll get to in a minute. susan milligan is a contributing editor and former governor of pennsylvania ed rendell. we have to start with you, susan. the single women, i always thought it's not about abortion rights. it's about health care. it's about everything they need. it's about getting a decent job at getting a decent pay. >> absolutely. >> because you got to live with one paycheck. it's the simple math. >> that's true. it's the paycheck. its wage fairness that here we are in 2014 and there is still this huge wage differential. but i think the birth control is also a big issue because that is an economic issue. you can't control the size and timing of your family, you don't really have any economic freedom. and thing is a very smart thing for democrats to do. >> single women are concerned about birth control. >> of course they are. >> as much as anybody. and it's not just abortion rights. it's birth control is part of your health insurance. >> and that's where i think a lot of this disconnect is there is a lot of people in government

who are running for office who don't see birth control as fundamental health care. >> a national state, why would he, let me go to the governor on this. what do you make of a guy running for governor of a major state like virginia which is a national state now. it's not a regional state, and saying i'm against birth control. i don't get it. i think single women must look at him like he is from mars or something. >> no question. and i think it's just a case of being obsessed with the base, the far right side of the party. and it's an issue that i don't even think resonates that well with those voters. it makes absolutely no sense. but do you think it makes sense in michigan for a so-called moderate governor to sign a bill, chris, that says you have to have rape insurance or your health care plan won't pay forfeit you're raped? won't pay for an abortion? it makes no sense. republicans are doing things to make you think that they're trying to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. >> yeah, this november. let's take a look at how some

republican women talk to other women about these issues. first up, this is an audio of a republican state representative. her name is andrea keifer warning her female colleague just last month that pushing the issue of paycheck fairness makes them look like, and this is her word, whiners. let's listen. >> we are losing the respect that we so dearly want in the workplace by bringing up all these special bills for women and almost making us look like whiners. >> well, less than a week later, the head of the texas republican party beth cubio told women to give up. >> men are better negotiators. and i would encourage women instead of pursuing the courts for action to become better negotiators. >> i think you can do both anyway. and on monday, conservative commentator told women the best way for women to empower themselves is to get married.

well, why didn't they think of that. let's listen. what a joke. here she is. >> i regard feminism as having been very badly misguided on most of the important things conducive to human happiness. married women are healthier, happier and more productive than single women. married couples accumulate more wealth and volunteer more in their communities than singles do. if we truly want women to thrive, we have to revive the marriage norm. that. >> is one of the most amazing statements i've ever -- governor, you may not want to get in on this. but i don't know what to say about reviving the marriage norm. i mean, you can say taller people are happier than short people. so get tall. how are you supposed to find the guy that you haven't found if you're looking for the guy. >> you're looking for the guy. >> you're looking for the guy. you haven't found him. but you're going to get him because mona charen says that's the smart way to increase your income. >> yeah, that's pretty offensive putting a monetary value on marriage. and the reality is 30 years ago a woman had to be married for

sex, for children, for financial security, standing in the community. you don't need to be married for any of those things anymore. >> and you also couldn't walk in those days. if you wanted to walk, you couldn't. >> you could -- you know, that's why i think women are waiting now to get married. and the reality is they seem to think if they do better among married women, if women just get married, they'll get more republican voters, whereas the democrats are being more smart about it and trying to address the concerns that single women have. look, the reality is the narrative in campaigns for both republicans and democrats have been so family-focused for so long, whether it's family values or working families, or whatever, and that's going to change as there are more and more single people, particularly single women in the electorate. >> you know, i was staggered, governor, by the increased number of single women. yesterday hillary clinton spoke to the women of the world summit where thomas freeland asked her about double standards. here is that exchange, which is not a surprise. here it is. >> is there still a double standard in the media about how

we talk about women in public life? >> well, you know, really, tom, i think -- [ laughter ] >> there is a human sacrifice. >> there is a double standard, obviously. we have all either experienced it or at the very least seen it. and there is a deep set of cultural psychological views that are manifest through this double standard. >> susan? >> there is a double standard for married men and married men, single women, of course there is. i think the democrats are being smarter about addressing the concerns and needs of single female voters as opposed to trying to get them married so they'll vote your way. that's just not going to happen. >> governor, i'm thinking of that old word, respect. if you respect all voters, especially young women or older

women who aren't married as any other voter and go to them without stupid lines like go get married, you'll do a lot better. that's my thought. your thought. last thought for you. >> or to negotiate better. the clips you played are offensive to women. and it's beginning to show. as you said, chris, the number of single women increased by nine million, double the amount of married women in the last 14 years. and to give you an idea of the republicans' problem, in 1998, the bush-dukakis race. president obama in 2012 won by 36 points, almost triple the margin of 1988. it's a big problem for republicans. >> and i would say there has been a double standard. we better get rid of it. we all better get rid of it. >> absolutely. >> thank you, susan, and thank you governor rendell. in honor of david letterman's retirement announced last night, we put together a sideshow of some of his best

moments. stick around for this. >> number nine. >> what's up, gangstas? it's the mi double tizzle. >> and number five, confused stare. when folks in the lower 48 think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. thousands of people here in alaska are working to safely produce more energy. but that's just the start.

to produce more from existing wells, we need advanced technology. that means hi-tech jobs in california and colorado. the oil moves through one of the world's largest pipelines. maintaining it means manufacturing jobs in the midwest. then we transport it with 4 state-of-the-art, double-hull tankers. some of the safest, most advanced ships in the world: built in san diego with a $1 billion investment. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. and no energy company invests more in the u.s. than bp. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. so when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis them. was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab.

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to manage your money.r guy around 2 percent that's not much, you think except it's 2 percent every year. go to e*trade and find out how much our advice and guidance costs. spoiler alert. it's low. it's guidance on your terms not ours. e*trade. less for us, more for you. you really like what you do? >> yeah, by and large, i do, sure, i do. i like it from 5:30 to 6:30 when we tape the show. everything else i'm not crazy about, you know. >> wow, that was dave letterman in his early days opening up to jane pauley back in 1984. well, from his beginnings on television as a local weatherman out in indiana, believe it or not, to his prolific 34-year career as a late-night comedian which started on nbc, of course, dave letterman has announced he

is set to retire. he just did it, next year. here is how he broke the news last night. >> it's been great. you've been great. the network has been great. but i'm retiring. i just want to reiterate my thanks for the support from the network, all the people who have worked here, all of the people in the theater, all the people on the staff, everybody at home, thank you very much. and what this means now is that paul and i can be married. >> of course, letterman wouldn't be letterman without his trademark top ten list. here is a look back at some of our favorite political moments from those over the years. >> to keep the budget balanced, i'll rent the situation room for sweet 16s. >> hey, that's a nice idea. number eight. >> i'm the guy in the photo that comes with your picture frame. >> that's right. that's where i have seen him. number four.

>> thanks to corporate sponsorship, majority whip now known as miracle whip. >> number five, first day in office, my mother's face goes up on mt. rushmore. >> wow, look there! >> and the number one sign brb is overconfident, been cruising for chicks with john edwards. >> of course, when it came to politics, one of letterman's favorite targets is chris christie who he has relentlessly parodied in some over the top videos. the new jersey governor famously got in on the joke with a little self-parody when he joined letterman in february of last year. >> i've made jokes about you, not just one or two. not just ongoing here and there, intermittent. but -- [ laughter ] >> i didn't know this was going to be this long. >> as they say, all good things must come to an end. but we're certainly going to miss david letterman. up next, the right wing clown car is drag racing into high gear. and we've got one tea party who is out there defending

cockfighting. another one who found his way to tie the ft. hood shooting this week to president obama. the clown car continues and you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there.

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i'm milissa rehberger. here is what is happening. the father of fort hood gunman ivan lopez says his son must not have been in his right mind. lopez fatally shot three people and injured 16 before turning the gun on himself. a senior officer says the soldier's mental health was not a main factor in that shooting. >> the economy added 192,000 jobs in march, slightly less than expected. the white house says the private sector has added 8.9 million jobs over 49 straight months of growth. and thursday's speculate of severe weather nay have spawned as many as 11 tornado from texas to illinois. back to "hardball."

welcome back to "hardball." what was a bad week for tea party candidates. and other passengers in the right wing clown car. one of the rising stars of the movement on the right is being forced to answer embarrassing questions now thanks to his attendance at a rally for, you can't make this up, legalizing cockfighting. and that would be matt bevin who is fighting to take mitch mcconnell's seat in kentucky. quote, bevin's campaign described the event at the corbin arena in corbin, kentucky, as a states rights rally and said that bevin didn't know that it had ties to cockfighting. but the sole purpose was to gain support for legal legislation to legalize cockfighting in the state of kentucky. yesterday bevin went on a local radio show and gave his truly bizarre defense. >> i've never been to a cockfight. i don't condone cockfighting.

but here's the thing. i'm not going to disparage people for exercising their first amendment rights. but it's interesting. when you look at cockfighting and dogfighting as well, this isn't something new. it wasn't invented in kentucky, for example. i mean, the founding fathers were all many of them very actively involved in this and always have been. >> first amendment, freedom of assembly? which one is he talking about, anyway. the fact is bevin wasn't alone in the clown car this week. he had lots of company. dana milbank for "the washington post" and michelle goldberg is a contributing right for the nation. tea party poster child allen west had an unbelievable leap of logic this week. he found a way to tie the fort hood shooting to president obama. he said once he heard there are 78 to 81 house democrats who are members of the communist party was on sean hannity's show the night of the shooting this week. hannity talked about the big picture of combatting evil in the obama era. see if you can follow allen

west's logic here. let's watch. >> have we gotten too far away from 9/11 that we don't remember the impact of that day? >> i believe that's a part of it. and i believe also we have a civilian leadership that does not want to recognize that an enemy exists. you know, you look at what is happening in the crimea when the president says that vladimir putin is operating from a position of weakness. so if you don't want to admit that there is evil, if you don't want to admit that there is an enemy, then you don't have the right type of security protocols in place. >> michelle goldberg, i don't know where to start. the candidate who is running for the united states senate, in fact, trying to take on the republican leader in the senate in the state of kentucky goes to a cockfighting rally, claims afterwards he wasn't at it. who does that help him with? and then i'll get to allen west with dana. i want to give you the cockfighting opportunity here. i don't even think about that too often. >> i wonder if the cockfighting itself is such a big problem. as far as i know, cruelty to animals is not a big issue in kentucky republican primaries,

although i could be wrong. it's more this kind of ridiculous attempt to deny that he was there and that he knew what this rally was about. and then to try to somehow bring in the founding fathers. you know, i think it's not so much -- well, first of all, now his name is going to be forever synonymous with cockfighting. >> as it should. >> but it also shows a level of buffoonery and poor advanced planning, and also just plain dishonesty. >> well, that covers most of it, dane. that you want to cover the rest of it? i think it's fair to say we will not bring up cockfighting again this year on "hardball," and we may never bring it up again. maybe there is some ethnic group that loved it or some reason you would play to them. but this apparently is just foolishness. i want to go to allen west with you. there was sort of like a 9/11 syndrome where everything was 9/11. and we had to go to war in iraq because of 9/11, blah blah blah. here it is where obama is guilty of all things, including bad weather. how would you put together allen

west, who may be flaky, connecting what happened, another tragedy, a shooting down at fort hood with the president? what did the president do to make that happen? >> i think we can put all of that together, chris, and even throw in the cockfighting as well. i think if we're going to follow allen west's logic here, i think he is blaming vladimir putin for the fort hood shooting. and then in this bizarre case of the cockfighting, i love the notion that he is tying it into his respect for the founding fathers, because you have to remember that yankee doodle stuck a feather in his cap, and we now he picked up that feather at a cockfight. but what is bringing this entire thing together here is this notion that the tea party has entirely run its course. there is a reason allen west isn't in congress anymore. and there is a reason if you're looking for support as a tea party challenger to mitch mcconnell, you have to go further and further to the right.

because the establishment has coopted the tea party. what is left now are people on the fringe. and you're finding the tea party candidates just aren't get anything traction now there is no evidence -- >> nutty is nutty enough. >> you have to get nuttier and nuttier. you're going to be with white supremacists. you're going to be out with the cockfighting legalization crowd. >> dana, michelle, let's get to the latest events besides this crazy allen west comment blaming the president for fort hood and the cockfighting that has to go to matt bevin. mississippi state senator chris mcdaniel, who is running to unseat thad cochran billed as a combined firearm freedom day and tea party rally. the only problem, one of the vendors setting up his kiosk at the event, a business called pace confederate depo, which deals in confederate tea party and white pride merchandise. mcdaniel says he never confirm head would show up at the event. but the poster for the event

prominently features him along with the pace merchandise vendor. and event organizer told talking points memo that he was confirmed in february. the chairman of the republican party in mississippi took a swipe at mcdaniel, i think fairly, telling nbc news, quote, i think he should clear it up as fast as he can. running for the united states senate is a very important thing. and as a party, we need to always be careful and focused and serious about what our views are and what our interests are. and if senator mcdaniel think there's is more to tell, to explain it, my thought is the party chair would be the sooner the better. so the weird thing about going into these collective tents on the hard right, it's also joining the hard left, you get some strange kiosks set up there, michelle. set to speak at a group that had featured white pride materials, whatever they might be. >> this isn't the first time with mcdaniel, right? mcdaniel has already keynoted, we know has keynoted a neo confederate event. he has retweeted white

supremacists. so this is kind of a pattern with him. and although i would say, you know, kind of dana seems very sanguine about this being a relevant fringe, the latest polls mcdaniel is slightly ahead. i'm not sure that ties to white supremacists really hurts you in a mississippi republican primary. >> i think that's true, dana, because the african american is going to go to the democrat in that race and they're probably not going to win that race. the whites down in mississippi vote republican. >> yeah, look, i think that race in mississippi is probably the best chance the tea party or this is even beyond tea party now has of knock off an establishment republican in thad cochran. i talked to the leader of a group of 52 surviving moderates, if we can even call them moderates in the house. and he said he does not expect a single one of his members to lose in a primary this year. that's just an absolute sea change from what has been going on two years ago or four years

ago. >> give me that list. i want to start talking with those moderate republicans. republican strategist john feehery was sitting here this week saying the bevin and mcdaniel stumbles we talked about are part of a larger problem with the party. here is what john said. when you lie down with dogs, you get fleas. this is the problem with the tea party and their candidates. they lack judgment, and that lack of judgment makes them poor general election candidates. your last thought from you, michelle, because i think unfortunately for those who are progressive or somewhere in the middle, mississippi ain't going to be joining you in your column this november. it's going to either be thad cochran or chris mcdaniel. it ain't going to be a dem. your thoughts. >> the one kind of silver lining here is that you do have the republican party which has flirted with the far right, nurtured the far right all these years, finally discovering the dangers of this thing that they've helped to create. i mean, it seems like a very salutory development when you have the mississippi republican condemning -- when you have the mississippi republican party

condemning people for their associations with neo confederates and white supremacists. i mean, that's progress of a sort. >> well, it's the old days and trent lott was involved in some of those civic councils about there. thank you, dana milbank and thank you michelle goldberg. which will be the cockfighting candidate? there may be two of them like there were the two rape accounts. if the republicans are lucky, there will just be one cockfighting candidate. up next, another example of how people pushing rights in this country always win in the end over people looking to restrict them. this is "hardball," the place for politics. yo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money.

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here are some pictures of kathleen's father being interred at arlington national cemetery this week. as i told you last night, the marine corps was stunning in its tribute to my world war ii father-in-law. every one of the marines was a person emblem of semper fi. we away for yourds, tabachelorette weekend for shopping and dancing 'til monday do us part.

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we're back. july 2nd will mark the 50th anniversary of lyndon johnson's signing of the historic 1964 civil rights act. that's the civil rights act. but back in '64, lbj's push to civil rights faced tough political opposition from his own democratic party, which held huge majorities in both houses of congress. and it ultimately took republicans in both houses to get civil rights through. take a look at the senate vote. this is fascinating. civil rights passed with 73 votes for and 27 votes against. it needed 67 to get through the

filibuster. 46 democrats, almost entirely from the north and west supported it. but they needed republicans to get it passed, and 27 voted for it. 21 of 27 voted against the bill were southern democrats with the exception of maverick texas senator ralph yarbro, six republicans including 1964 republican nominee barry goldwater of arizona voted with the southern democrats. todd pardem is author of the new book "an idea whose time as come: two presidents, two parties and the battle for the civil rights act of 1964." it's such a good book because it teaches us how good the party of lincoln was back then. it was still the party of lincoln. how it's changed and become a dixiecrat party in many ways. tell us about how bipartisanship worked in those days. president lipidyndon johnson, pe in the house and dirksen of illinois. >> the parties really have switched places. a crucial unsung hero of this,

everyone thinks of martin luther king's demonstrations, jfk's moral vision, his assassination, johnson's skill. it was william mccolloch. he told the kennedy administration in '63 if you promise not to water down this bill in the senate which had been the usual pattern and give the republicans equal credit heading into the 64 election, i'll bring the republican caucus along and that's what he did. >> everybody played. nobody tried any tricks. >> his leader respected him. >> they kept the bill strong. >> they kept the bill strong. the pattern, lbj when he was majority leader, of course, had gotten the '57 bill by weakening it. >> jacqueline kennedy wrote to him, who you mentioned there, when she got word in 1974 of his planned retirement from congress. "i want you to know how much your example means to me. you more than anyone were responsible for the civil rights legislation. you made a personal commitment to president kennedy in october

of '63 against the interests of your district. there are opportunities to sabotage the bill without appearing to do so. you never took them. on the contrary, you brought everyone else along with you." pretty sophisticated letter. >> and a pretty moving thing. three pages handwritten from the yacht "christina" in the mediterranean. the republican leader from my home state was just as crucial. he said he would support the bill but had major reservations about public accommodations, desegregating counters in hotels. in illinois, his home state, they had strong anti-discrimination statute. he didn't want as a good small town conservative two sets of recordkeeping, two sets of bureaucracy. the compromise he worked out, states with real teeth, laws in the book let them go first then the feds. >> i think it's the greatest thing congress has done in modern time. when i was a college kid, spring break, you'd drive through georgia, south carolina, places like that. those were the days before 95. there were these little speed traps through little towns. you'd see signs on the restrooms

on the gas stations, white only. it was this law that struck all that down. >> this law struck all that down and really created modern america, created the world we live in today. >> i just wonder what happened to the republican party? what happened to the party that supported civil rights? >> partly what happened is their standard bearer that year, as you pointed out, barry goldwater was the nominee, one of only six that voted against that. the republican party began to shed its image of the party of lincoln, by the late '60s became the party of white backlash. remember, ronald reagan began his campaign in 1980 miles from where -- >> i worked for carter. tell me this story. everybody wants to know about it including my executive producer who's listening. lbj. why did he support civil rights? a southern guy, grew up working class, a teacher. had played ball with those guys. why did he become the great champion of civil rights? what caused him to do that? >> i think as you say, he had that back ground as a young schoolteacher in a mexican school. he'd seen what he said hate could do to the face of a child,

the eyes of a child. remember, he was in texas. first the hill country as a congressman, then the whole state. he told the leaders of the naacp, when he became president, they said, why are you strong for civil rights? he said, i'll answer in words that will sound familiar. free at last, free at last. as president of the whole country, he had to get right with the issue. 100 years after the civil war he had to fix this problem or wouldn't have a chance to do anything else what he wanted to do, like what became the great society. >> he used words like the sold on words. yeah? >> we get our heroes in a complicated package. he wasn't the perfect person by any means. >> did he use those old words we don't like now to sort of befriend guys he was trying to move along, trying to endure them? >> i think he just kind of was a person of his time and place and knew he shouldn't use those words in public and casually might have used them in private. but if there's any proof ever of somebody whose heart was in the

right place was lbj. >> "an idea whose time as come." beautiful book. i hope everybody buys this book who's watching the show. really. the best thing congress did in our lifetime. my lifetime, certainly. we'll be right back after this. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ my mom works at ge. if you don't think "feed the then you don't know "aarp". our drive to end hunger has donated 29 million meals, and counting. find more real possibilities at aarp.org/possibilities.

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let me finish tonight with that little bit of history we learned tonight, how the republican party was still the party of abraham lincoln right into the 1960s. all but six republican u.s.

senators, 27 out of 33, voted for the civil rights act of 1964. 136 out of 171 republican members of the house voted for passage. it was the southern democrats who fought civil rights. 21 senators who voted against the '64 bill. 91 democratic members of the house. we should remember this for one big reason. the reason the republican party shifted from being a party that shared its principles on civil rights with the northern and western democrats is that it had to pursue its -- it had yet to pursue its notorious southern strategy. before it went out and joined forces with the opponents of civil rights in the democratic party. that coalition is now, today, the one running the republican party. a coalition run by old southern democratic thinking dressed up in a republican uniform. today's republican party is dominated by the south with little or no strength in the north. thanks to this bit of history we learned tonight, we know what came first, the southern strategy that led to a marriage of partisan purpose by the

republicans and old jim crow attitude. the result is a party of abraham lincoln that lincoln, himself, wouldn't be caught dead in. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. good evening to you from new york. i am ari melber filling in for chris hayes. tonight there's breaking news into the federal investigation into the lane closures on the george washington bridge at the center of the so-called bridge-gate scandal surrounding new jersey governor chris christie. we can report tonight for the first time that the attorney for christie's press secretary is confirming this evening that his client, michael druniak testified today before a federal grand jury at newark, new jersey's, federal courthouse. in addition, both abc news and the new jersey "star ledger" are reporting a grand jury,