and the women's uconn teams have walked away with that title, so good luck to them. >> ed. >> i've learned this is an amazing country. we have someone running for the u.s. senate in south carolina who wants south carolina to print its own currency. >> why can't they just pay in pimento cheese. it's good down there. >> that is without a doubt the most delicate currency. what did you learn? >> guys play as a team. i still love that in the ncaa. i love kentucky but uconn played as a team. >> i'm going for uconn tonight. we love geno and so we'll see what happens. if it's way too early, mika, what time is it? >> it's time for "morning joe." but it's time now for "the daily rundown" with chuck todd. what does chuck stand for? have a great day, everybody. clashes again in ukraine with pro-russian protesters calling for russian troops to help them. the world wonders whether putin is meddling again and

potentially fomenting a so-called civil war. back at home, it's equal payday. as president obama gets set to take executive action, we'll talk about the politics of the gender gap and how important it is to the democratic party's hopes of holding the senate. and a three-day celebration of civil rights history kicks off in texas at the lbj library. it's a special event on one of the president's legislative legacies featuring four of his successors. good morning from new york. it's tuesday, april 8th, 2014. this is "the daily rundown." we begin, though, with this developing news out of eastern europe where the standoff over ukraine is once again building to a potential boiling point. just because the cameras are off doesn't mean this story isn't big. at least 70 pro-russian demonstrators have been arrested after an anti-terrorist operation ordered by the government in kiev drove them out of a government building in

ukraine's second largest city. the demonstrators are still occupying a government building in the city of danetsk calling for the people of eastern ukraine to follow crimea's lead, that is secede and join the russian federation. remember this is the area bordering on russia where tens of thousands of troops are still sit. it's an area mostly made up of russian speakers. now today the russian government decided to weigh in, defending those protesters and warning that a ukrainian crackdown could send violence spinning out of control. in fact a message on the russian foreign ministry's website calls for this. we are calling for the immediate cessation of any military preparations which could lead to civil war, says the government with troops on the border of ukraine. on monday, white house press secretary jay carney said the administration believes outside entities, hint hint russia, are trying to push the region into an open conflict. >> we have seen evidence, strong

evidence that some of the demonstrators were paid, as i said, and were not local residents. we've continued to monitor developments on the border and the positioning and dispositioning of russian troops on the border and that is a concern. >> big public accusation that the russian government is paying protesters. bottom line here is that any threat of civil war coming from russia isn't about a civil war at all, is it, it's about a potential invasion. look at the demonstrations, look at moscow's troop buildup on the border. it's fair to ask whether the kremlin is simply looking for a reason to go in. folks, this is something that is more to a boiling point right now than folks realize. again, time to turn the cameras pack on in ukraine. turning now to my first reads politically of the morning. today the white house is spotlighting equal payday and here's why in a nutshell. women voters have been the difference between democrats winning and losing elections, period. the administration is seizing the opportunity of this anniversary to try and highlight their own commitment to closing

the wage gap, specifically between men and women, and to try and put, of course, the health care hurdles in the rear-view mirror. president obama will sign a pair of executive orders in the east room this morning. the first will stop federal contractors from retaliating against employees that discuss their compensation and the second will direct the labor secretary to force federal contractors to submit information been wages broken down by categories, including gender and race. the idea is that the order itself will get contractors to voluntarily comply with existing laws that cover equal pay. president obama is also expected to push the senate towards passing what he calls the paycheck fairness act, which would add new regulations to how private companies pay workers. that vote is expected this week, although the bill faces stiff opposition in the house. frankly it's about having a vote to create direct mail pieces. but republicans insist they aren't opposed to equal pay for equal work. what they say they're opposed to is the legislation that the rnc

is describing as a desperate political ploy. quote, this law will not create equal pay but it will make it nearly impossible for employers to tie compensation to work quality, productivity and experience. ultimately this bill will hurt all workers, especially women. despite that, democrats are intent on putting the issue of wage disparity front and center. according to government data, women currently earn 70 cents on the dollar for every dollar that a man earns. on monday, the president's senior adviser, valerie jarrett, pointed out the disparity is wider for african-american women who earn 65 cents and hispanic women who earn 56 cents f evefo every dollar a man earns. republicans say they don't do apples to apples, like the job varies from job to job. but in most cases there is still a gap. while female office clerks and social workers made 99% of what

their male counterparts made, female sales reps and finance managers made close to 70 cents on the dollar. and it's not just women voters that are going to be the difference between whether the democrats keep or lose control of the senate, it's women candidates who will be playing a big part as well. you'll see a coordinated effort today, several democratic candidates, particularly the female candidates, are now also pushing this issue of pay equity as a weapon against their republican opponents, most of whom in all the cases are going to be men. the issue has already cropped up in the senate campaign for incumbents kay haguen and jeanne shaheen as well as challengers in georgia and kentucky. lily ledbetter, the name sake of the women's rights bill the president signed back in 2009 has endorsed grimes and put her name on e-mails to donors. ledbetter will be on hand today, boy the way, at the white house as the president signs those executive orders. now, back in washington, the dsec is launching a gop pay gap

campaign to attack republicans over the wage issue. make no mistake, the white house is fully involved in this campaign as well. the president has held about half a dozen events focused on women and girls this year. there are several more on economic opportunity. even mentioning equal pay in his state of the union address. all of this is a clear sign the administration is going all in on this issue of closing the wage gap in an attempt to gain some traction before the midterms. the effort hit a bit of a bump on monday when critics brought up a study by a conservative group claiming that the white house had its own wage gap. the administration's own figures show that women staffers make on average $9,000 less than men. now, carney pushed back on monday, insisting that those that do equal work get equal pay, regardless of whether they are men or women. >> for example, we have two deputy chiefs of staff, one man and one woman, and they earn the same salary. we have 16 department heads,

over half of them are women, all of whom make the same salary as their male counterparts. >> as the republicans put out this morning, they're saying what carney is saying is exactly what they're saying on this issue. joining me now is rosa deloro, the sponsor of the paycheck fairness act in the house. congresswoman, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, chuck. and first off, happy birthday, and go huskies. >> it's a big day for connecticut. >> amen, amen. >> we'll see if there's championship equity tonight, by the way, when it comes to basketball. >> i'm expecting it will be. >> and they'll have done it undefeated if they pull that off. >> that's right. >> but let me start with where we ended there on this bill that you're sponsoring, which is this issue of with the white house using the same talking points with republicans saying it isn't a wage gap, the argument is it's more of an opportunity gap. that on merits that women are earning the same as men on

specific jobs in most cases, it's getting better, but the real gap continues to be the opportunity gap, where women are just not getting the same opportunities at those same high-paying jobs. what say you? >> oh, no. that's not the fact at all. first of all, in terms of the first part of your commentary, i've been introducing the paycheck fairness act every congress since 1997. the president did sign the lily ledbetter act on fair pay several years ago, his first piece of legislation. so this whole notion that we have created this construct about pay equity for women in preparation for november, we have been laboring long and hard, a number of us, on this issue because of the very fact that women are making 77 cents on average of what men earn. and that is true for education

and skills as well as for opportunities. there's a real fact of life. i sit in the united states house of representatives. men and women doing the same job should get the same pay. this is a very, very simple principle. and that is not happening in the united states today. an i don't care what occupation you look at. and you can just take a quick look, look at what was in "the new york times" a week ago on the business page, which showed that in this major jewelry chain in the united states, kay's jewelers, zale's, that this young woman found that she was -- same job, she's being paid less than her male counterpart who has less experience. that happens -- this is happening everywhere. and there's so many documented cases. it is a fact that women are

being paid less for the very same job. >> you brought up the fact that you have been -- you've been pushing this for a very long time. >> yes. >> it wasn't very long ago that democrats had control of both the house and the senate. so what do you say that the criticism that says -- because you pushed back on the election year mantra and the election year framing that i put on that, fair enough, but i guess i would ask you what happened in 2009 and 2010. >> i love this question, chuck. let me just tell you that when leader pelosi was speaker pelosi, we in the house of representatives, we passed the paycheck fairness act. and i might add that we had 14 of our republican colleagues who participated in that victory twice. >> what happened in the senate? >> in the senate, we needed two more votes for it, and quite frankly, there were five

republican women there at the time and all we needed was two of them to move forward and they said no. the second time we passed it in the house again and in the senate, it was filibustered. so this is -- you know, the time has come to do this. if you talk to women -- no one went in a closet and said, okay, what are we going to do here for the november elections. this is a very, very serious issue and it's not just about women. it is about women and their families. you know, this is important to note. in passing the affordable care act, we said to insurance companies, no, you cannot charge women more for their insurance policy. and what we now want to do is build on that and in the workplace say you can't pay women less for the same job. that is it, pure and simple. >> all right, rosa delauro, i

have to leave it there for time. i appreciate you coming on. i think we all want to see the huskies pull this off tonight, back-to-back would be a very impressive feat and to do it undefeated. championship equity in connecticut. we'll look forward to it. >> amen. much more here ahead on tdr. new frustration for search teams trying to relocate the pinging sound that they did hear over the weekend in the indian ocean but they're not hearing today. plus, we're kicking off the 50th anniversary celebration of president johnson signing the civil rights act. what's behind this celebration? but first, you can see it on the politics planner there, president carter kicks things off down at the lbj library tonight. he's the first of four presidents that are speaking at this three-day event, which we'll be at on thursday, by the way. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. because you can't beat zero heartburn. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years.

one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. ♪ i ♪ and i got the tools ira ♪ to do it my way ♪ i got a lock on equities ♪ that's why i'm type e ♪ ♪ that's why i'm tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ i can do it all from my mobile phone ♪ ♪ that's why i'm tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ if i need some help i'm not alone ♪ ♪ we're all tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ we've got a place that we call home ♪ ♪ we're all type e ♪

you've reached the age where you know how things work. this is the age of knowing what needs to be done. so why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long- term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to you doctor. these days, everything is done on the internet. and tomorrow you'll do even more. that's what comcast business was built for.

slow dsl from the phone company was built for stuff like this. switch to comcast business internet. then add voice and tv for just $34.90 more per month. and you'll be ready for tomorrow today. comcast business. built for business.

a few updates on the international drama that say we're all following. for the first time we're hearing from olympian oscar pistorius about what happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend. pistorius, who chose not to testify on camera, but we hear audio, explained how he grabbed his gun when he thought someone was breaking into his house through, apparently, the bathroom window. >> before i knew it, i had fired four shots at the door. my ears were ringing, i couldn't hear anything. so i shot -- i kept on shouting for reeva to call the police. >> authorities describe finding steenkamp's body in the bathroom and realizing he'd killed her. >> i sat over reeva and i cried. i don't know how long.

i don't know how long i was there for. she wasn't breathing. >> we'll take an adjournment. >> as you can tell, he seemed to lose his composure there. court has adjourned for the day to allow pistorius to regain his composure. he's expected to take the stand for a third day tomorrow. meanwhile, in the indian ocean the search for sounds for flight 370 turned up nothing new overnight. there's still no sign of the wreckage of the jet that was carrying 239 souls on board. chinese and australian ships picked up acoustic pings from the black boxes off the coast of perth, australia, over the weekend, but since then there has been not a single ping detected. the black boxes could be more than two miles underwater and as you know, the batteries either

are running low or totally running out since the plane has been missing now for 32 days. search organizers say they will not send submersibles into the area that they picked up the ping until they pick up another ping. ian williams is in perth with that part of the story. >> reporter: the search coordinator, angus houston, said they would not give up listening until they were sure the black boxes had stopped transmitting. now, the batteries in a black box have a shelf life of 30 days, but he said that previous experience suggests they do last a few days longer. he warned again that the search will take time. there's a lot of noise in the ocean. when it comes to detecting sounds in water, he said funny things happen. topping today's data bank, your computer software could be going extinct today. here's the number.

10/25/01 since microsoft released xp. today they will stop supporting the system. nearly 30% of all computers are running xp. as you learned yesterday, we have some atm issues dealing with xp and that could be catastrophic for some banks. up next, former lbj adviser and cabinet secretary joe califano and taylor branch helped kick off this week's summit at the lbj library. they'll be here to talk about lbj's legacy on that issue. first, how many presidents won more electoral votes than lindyndon johnson. the first correct answer will get the on-air shoutout coming up on tdr. [ male announcer ] they say he was born to help people clean. but there are some places even mr. clean doesn't want to lug a whole bunch of cleaning supplies.

that's why he created the magic eraser extra power. just one eraser's versatile enough to clean all kinds of different surfaces and three times more grime per swipe. so instead of fussing with rags and buckets, you can get back to the great outdoors, which can be pretty great. that's why when it comes to clean, there's only one mr. [ bird screeches ] without standard leather. you are feeling exhilarated with front-wheel drive. you are feeling powerful with a 4-cylinder engine. [ male announcer ] open your eyes... to the 6-cylinder, 8-speed lexus gs. with more standard horsepower than any of its german competitors.

this is a wake-up call. ♪ this is a wake-up call. when you didn't dread when youbedtime becausenner with anticipaof heartburn.itation. when damage to your esophagus caused by acid reflux disease wasn't always on your mind. that's when you knew nexium was the prescription medication for you. because for over a decade nexium has provided many just like you with 24-hour relief from heartburn

and helped heal acid-related erosions in the lining of the esophagus. and now the prescription nexium you know can be delivered directly to your door with nexium direct. talk to your doctor to see if nexium is right for you. there is risk of bone fracture and low magnesium levels. side effects may include headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. if you have persistent diarrhea, contact your doctor right away. other serious stomach conditions may exist. avoid if you take clopidogrel. for 24 hour support, automatic refills, and free home delivery, enroll at purplepill.com. it's the nexium you know, now delivered.

for decades, the specter of vietnam and president lyndon johnson's escalation of the war that cost 60,000 american lives and eventually pushed him out of office in '68 has overshadowed the 36th president's domestic achievements, which are enormous. now, five decades after johnson took the oath of office on air force one on november 22nd, 1963, we mark the 50th anniversary of a monumental civil rights act. johnson's family and legacy shapers also hope maybe the narrative will help re-examine some of his applicators at home and at least give it equal weight to vietnam. from the '64 civil rights act to the '65 voting rights act to the social programs of the so-called great society. think about over the next decades and how many of those issues still impact american politics today. over the next three days the lbj library in austin is

re-examining the civil rights portion of that lengthy legislative record in a summit that the library is calling "we shall overcome." it's also to address the civil rights issues we face today in america and around the world n some ways johnson's civil rights legacy is unexpected. he voted against every civil rights bill that made it to the floor from his arrival in 1937 through 1956. in 1957, johnson as majority leader reversed that record and ensured the passage of the first real civil rights legislation. johnson called kennedy a martyr without a cause and said he intended to give him one. when advisers cautioned johnson he should tone down his emphasis on civil rights and first major address as president because it was a lost cause, johnson replied, what the hell is the presidency for. he spoke with dr. martin luther king just days after kennedy was

assassinated. >> you know you have our support and backing. we know what a difficult period this is. >> it's just an impossible period. we've got a budget coming up. we've got nothing to do with, it's practically already made and we've got a civil rights bill that hasn't even passed the house and it's november and hubert humphrey told me yesterday everybody wanted to go home. we've got a tax bill that they haven't touched and we've just got to not let up on any of them and keep going. i guess they'll say i'm repudiated but i'm going to ask the congress wednesday to stay there to pass them all. they won't do it but we'll keep them there next year until they do and won't give up an inch. >> but his ability to hammer out deals in congress was key to getting a civil rights bill passed. for 57 days the civil rights act faced the longest filibuster in senate history. to get the 67 votes that were required then to break it, johnson needed help from the senate's 33 republicans. and to get their help, he needed to win over one man, their

leader, edward dirksen. johnson told senator hubert humphrey, the bill's floor leader, you get in there to see dirksen, you drink with him, you talk with him and listen to him. in the end, johnson got his vote in exchange for some pork, by the way, a flood control project in dirksen's state. >> what's the total cost? >> the total cost of the project i think is 30 some million dollars. now, it's in that area of illinois that's -- >> let me call you back. >> it passed the senate 73-37. johnson signed the civil rights bill into law, a bill he predicted would change the political landscape. >> my fellow citizens, we've come now to a time of testing. we must not fail. let us close the springs of racial poison. let us pray for wise and

understanding hearts. let us lay aside irrelevant differences and make our notion whole. >> joining me now, joseph califano who was president johnson's assistant and taylor branch, the author of the landmark history of the civil rights movement, america in the king years. let's talk a little about the larger lbj legacy here as, you know, vietnam can't ever be taken away from that legacy but it seems to be that the library wants to remind people, and you were a part of this, there was a pretty large domestic legacy that president johnson left. >> it was extraordinary, chuck. you mentioned the civil rights bills. he did pass the voting rights act in 1965, he passed fair

housing in 1968 in the wake of king's assassination. but beyond civil rights we had the pre-k and headstart. he started head start. the higher education bill, 60% of our college kids are there on grants and work study loans, they're called pell grants now but the higher education act he passed. but it didn't stop there. it was the first clean water law, the first clean air law. needless to say, you shouldn't have to go to boston and new york to see good theater or go to broadway for a good musical. so he passed the national endowments for the arts and humanities. there are hundreds of orchestras and theater groups all over the country now. and it was -- he was determined, and one other law i think is very important which taylor is well aware of, the immigration act. he ended -- we turned off half

the world. we wouldn't allow in africans, latin americans, asians, southern europeans under the quota system. that immigration law he signed in '65, i think taylor calls it the fourth civil rights act, he's changed the demography of america. the america we live in today is more lyndon johnson's america than any other president's. >> very interesting way to put it. >> i could go on and on. >> let me get taylor in here. >> food stamps, we were talking about food stamps today. >> i want to get back to you in a minute. taylor, let me ask you this about the difference between -- you know, this is revisionist historians have tried to tackle this question. does president kennedy, if he lives, get the same bill out of that congress in that same year in 1964 or not? or was there something unique about lbj? >> well, i don't think that's a fair question and of course it's impossible to say, but the momentum had gone out behind the civil rights act by the late

fall of 1963. they were already trimming the bill in committee and there was very little optimism it could be passed. i don't want to say that the entire difference was made by lbj's drive and legislative skill. it also mattered that president kennedy was killed and the country was deeply grieving and lbj presented this as something that could be -- hatred could be attacked and president kennedy could be remembered and his death could be overcome in part bypassing this bill. so president kennedy gave a lot to the momentum to the bill simply by the way he died as well as having introduced it in the first place. >> taylor, let me ask you this about reverend king. did he -- when did he become convinced lbj was going to fight to the end for this? >> i don't know about fight to the end but he went back and told his aides it's a totally different environment. all he talked to me about was getting the civil rights bill passed. when he met with president

kennedy the previous summer, all president kennedy talked about was how the civil rights bill needed to do what j. edgar hoover said and not be tainted with being subversive. kennedy was afraid of this, afraid of losing the south. no democratic president had ever been elected without the support of the solid south that was democrat in those days and all segregationists. so president kennedy was not making up these political handicaps, they were real. >> mr. califano, i want to go to this -- go ahead. and then i've got a question for you. >> i think it's interesting to note you think about selma and king's march in selma, which was critical to the voting rights act. that came out of conversations between president johnson and martin luther king when he said to king, you know, you find the worst place in the south, you find where people can't vote without reciting the constitution and you get down there.

get all the leaders down there so that a guy that's on a tractor in the midwest will say it's just not fair, everybody ought to be able to vote. you do that job down there, get radio and television down there, i'll push this bill through up here. so it was that kind of partnership. go ahead, i'm sorry. >> let me ask you, because you've been quite vocal about this and there's this sort of -- is there a real tension that you think or do you think that this white house of president obama, he doesn't like the lbj comparesons, i don't think any president does, and any president will say that was a unique period and lbj had a unique set of circumstances, similar to what president obama argues and it's this whole idea that president johnson was so capable of getting things through congress, making stuff happen, and obviously this has been a chief criticism of this president. what do you say to those comparisons? the white house obviously thinks they're unfair. what do you say to them? >> well, look, i think you have

to deal with the hand you're given. johnson had a hand with southern democrats who controlled all the senate committees and virtually all the house committees, totally opposed not only to all the civil rights legislation but all the great society legislation. people forget some of those bills like poverty we passed with a handful of votes and a lot of work. i do think that, sure, they're different in the sense that there are republicans controlling the house for part of president obama's presidency. but i think you can work -- you can find ways to work with people. personally, you know, i know boehner has 100 problems, but somebody who started work at age 11, worked his way through college, worked his way through law school, there ought to be a way to sit down with him and say look, john, mr. speaker, what do you need? tell me what you need so we can get a few republicans, because with medicare and medicaid,

johnson insisted we have half the republicans in the house and senate. he said the bill is not self executing. if we don't, we'll have trouble in the appropriations committees. the governors will give us hell about medicaid, they won't do it and we'll have what lbj sometimes called the fellow travelers in the big corporations. now, i know president obama has got a tough hand, but they are different. i mean johnson loved that world, knew everybody in it, had an incredible rolodex not only of congress, chuck, but as you well know of all the constituents that play on congress. he knew what labor wanted, he knew what business wanted, he knew what the churches wanted when he worked out some of this legislation. >> taylor, let me let you have the last word on that comparison. fair or unfair? >> i think it's fundamentally unfair in the sense that ten years of civil rights activity

from the movement had finally mobilized the country to deal with race and it had always been the gateway to new freedom and what citizenshipment. in 1964, even the fridge columnists and food critics were writing about what race meant in america. it had tremendous power to open gates for equal citizenship not only for american black people but for women, for senior citizens, for the disabled, for medicare, for illegal immigrants. it would take another movement to restore that kind of optimism today. but the results of the civil rights era, nobody wants to undo any of these gains, make it evident that it's worthwhile. >> all right. taylor branch, joe califano, i could go on for a long time, love going down history's memory lane here. we'll be down in austin soon enough. we'll be live. thank you, both. we'll be live from the lbj library on thursday. that's the day president paobam is scheduled to speak. what does civil rights mean to

you today? tweet us using the hash tag #advancingthedream and we'll share some of them. we'll be right back. the conditions in new york state are great for business. new york is ranked #2 in the nation for new private sector job creation. and now it's even better because they've introduced startup new york - dozens of tax-free zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. you'll get a warm welcome in the new new york. see if your business qualifies at startupny.com

(agent) i understand. (dad) we've never sold a house before. (agent) i'll walk you guys through every step. (dad) so if we sell, do you think we can swing it? (agent) i have the numbers right here and based on the comps that i've found, the timing is perfect. ...there's a lot of buyers for a house like yours. (dad) that's good to know. (mom) i'm so excited.

trivia time. three presidents won the white house with more than 486 electoral votes. the three are fdr, nixon in '72 and of course reagan in both '80 and '84. congratulations to daeds winner, david. our soup of the day comes from the north carolina outer banks. today they're serving up chicken tortilla. [ male announcer ] what if a small company

became big business overnight? ♪ like, really big... then expanded? ♪ or their new product tanked? ♪ or not? what if they embrace new technology instead? ♪ imagine a company's future with the future of trading. company profile. a research tool on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade.

as you know, our tdr 50 series is in the tar heel state this week, and today we're taking a look at a fascinating nonviolent protest movement that started in north carolina and has now actually spread. it was this time last year that

we got started in north carolina and it has since spread to half a dozen states in the south. it's a social justice movement the region hasn't seen frankly in 50 years. it's called moral mondays, also known as forward together movement. it's a series of protests that were first organized by the north carolina chapter of the naacp and began nearly a year ago. they have drawn thousands of people to the state's general assembly to protest the republican legislature's agenda, including cuts to medicaid, unemployment benefits and public education. >> these are mean-spirited policies that republicans have wanted to execute and implement for many years, and now they are in power and they're using that power in a mean-spirited way. poor people are paying the price for it. so moral monday has emerged. >> that's from one of the organizers. the protests expanded rapidly over the past year. in february, the naacp estimates that up to 100,000 people rallied in the state capitol. it's the largest civil rights rally in the south since the march on selma that we were just

talking about with the lbj legacy. voting rights has become a key issue, particularly a new set of laws in north carolina that will be put into practice for the first time in the may 6th primary. north carolina isn't the only state grappling with this voting rights issue. several other southern states are dealing with changes to their election rules as well. that comes on the heels of that landmark supreme court decision to lift requirements that were put in place by the voting rights act itself in '65. nine states and parts of six others are required to get federal permission before changing voting laws. the states have been identified as having laws on the books that restricted voters' opportunities to register or vote. laws that typically targeted minorities. that included 40 counties in the state of north carolina of the last year the south carolina struck down the provision arguing that it was based on decades-old data and eradicated practices. within months the tar heel state passed a new package of voting laws. among them was a measure that repeals the provisional allowing

of allowing a person to register on the same day. it cuts the 17-day voting window to 10 days. it ends the annual state-sponsored voter registration drive. all of those provisions are currently in effect. the big one starts in 2016 when voters will be required to present photo i.d.s in order to cast a ballot. now, critics say the laws will disenfranchise -- the governor says those concerns are unfounded. >> of course that hasn't stopped the protest. moral mondays have become regular events at the general assembly where around 1,000 peaceful protesters have been arrested since last year.

among those that have been arrested are my next guestful he's the president of north carolina's naacp chapter and the leader of the moral monday movement. he's reverend dr. barbara. good morning, sir. >> good morning, chuck. thank you so much. >> let me ask you this. how much interaction have you had with the governor since this protest movement started, personal interaction with the governor since you've begun these moral mondays? >> we didn't just start this, we've been organizing for years. even when the governor came into office, before he took the oath of office, we sat down and met with him and we said, governor, it didn't matter to us whether you're republican or democrat, we need a different kind of dialogue of t dialogue. let's talk about our deepest constitutional values and moral values and we asked him to commit to economic sustainability policies addressing poverty, educational quality for all, health care for all, addressing disparities in the criminal justice system for black, brown and poor white people and to work at expanding and defending voting rights,

women's rights, immigrants' rights and equal protection under the law. instead, he chose to follow the paths of extremisextremism. and push forward the most extreme laws and policies we've seen in decades. first 50 days, chuck, they vote to deny 500,000 people medicaid. take 900,000 people's earned income tax credit. deny 170,000 people unemployment. cut education to the point of driving us lower than mississippi. and then in march of last year, they decided to attack voting rights in the way we have not seen since jim crow. 40 changes to our voting rights laws and that's why hundreds of thousands of people have said we can't take this, black, white, democrats, republican, it's not about party, it's about our deepest moral and constitutional values. >> why do you believe the governor has not listened to you? why do you believe he has signed all this legislation? >> we really believe, particularly in the south with the election of president obama

and more importantly the electorate, those who are extremists see their world falling apart. holes are beginning to come in the so-called solid south. the walls that were put up are opening up. we've built powerful coalition of whites and blacks working together and that scares literally the political life of extremism. they know they cannot win when you see an expanded electorate and people working together. and so you take that, you take the deep influence of money like the money of art polk and it's a threat to extremism and that is why we see this almost extremism on steroids, if you will. >> let me ask you this, there's a democratic secretary of state, there's a democratic attorney general in north carolina. do you think they should be doing more? >> well, i think they're doing what they can do. in fact and continue to fight. there's certain constitutional requirements with our attorney general. >> by the way, let me stop you

there. there's attorneys general in other states that decline to defend laws that they don't agree with. we just had a very high profile one in the state of kentucky. the democratic attorney general said i'm not defending the same-sex ban in i'm not defending the same sex ban in kentucky and would you like to see that out of roy cooper, the democratic attorney general? >> well, what we are seeing and showing in the movement is that the movement is raising up people of all races, creeds and colors of parties saying this is the d wrong direction and just like in '64 with the civil rights movement, and you were talking about it earlier, creating a new context and language and consciousness to give face and not just for roy co cooper, but even the republicans. we have seen the republicans now co coming to the movement saying that this is the wrong direction. we cannot stand, chuck, a new form of interposition and nullification, and that is what we are seeing, and not only in the state legislature, but when we see the supreme court rolling back voting rights and opening up the door for more money, and

now even in the congress, and a voting rights act fix that is a good start, but that voting rights act, if it was pass ed today would leave out north carolina, south carolina, alabama for preclearance. we have a lot of work to do to not only defend, but protect the rights that we have won. >> reverend barber, i have to leave it there and i appreciate you coming on, and founder of moral mondays which is a spreading movement across the south and not just north carolina. thank you, reverend for your time. >> thank you, god bless. >> and turning to the last number in the tuesday data bank. 138 is the number of days that vance mcallister was served before being caught in the first scandal. that is a record. he is married with five children and ran the campaign on family values and apologized after being caught on surveillance camera kissing an aide and then published in a louisiana

newspaper. there you go with the equal pay takeaway. miles per tank. salesperson #2: actually, we're throwing in a $1,000 fuel reward card. we've never done that. that's why there's never been a better time to buy a passat tdi clean diesel. husband: so it's like two deals in one? salesperson #2: exactly. avo: during the first ever volkswagen tdi clean diesel event, get a great deal on a passat tdi, that gets up to 795 highway miles per tank. and get a $1,000 fuel reward card. it's like two deals in one. hurry in and get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months on tdi models. (agent) i understand. (dad) we've never sold a house before. (agent) i'll walk you guys through every step. (dad) so if we sell, do you think we can swing it? (agent) i have the numbers right here and based on the comps that i've found, the timing is perfect. ...there's a lot of buyers for a house like yours. (dad) that's good to know. (mom) i'm so excited.

♪ i ♪ and i got the tools ira ♪ to do it my way ♪ i got a lock on equities ♪ that's why i'm type e ♪ ♪ that's why i'm tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ i can do it all from my mobile phone ♪ ♪ that's why i'm tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ if i need some help i'm not alone ♪ ♪ we're all tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ we've got a place that we call home ♪ ♪ we're all type e ♪

time now for your tuesday takeaw takeaway. as we mentioned earlier, one big reason that the white house is spotlighting equal payday with aggressive event today by holding another round of events focuseded on the women is because they are key to the democrat's success for elections. president obama won the women's voters while mitt romney won the men by seven points, but further down the ballots. last year virginia governor terry mcauliff won the gubernatorial election by the women's count, and so did bob mcdonnell, and then he won in a landslide in 2009. so it is a big, big deal for democrats to win elections. and so in a place like colorado

where they held their seat, they used the women issues, and michael bennett won the women by 17%, and whopping gender gap there, and roy blunt running against robin karnahah and he won that election by 5% because of the women's vote. so the secret for democrats to win is the women's vote, and th they are trying to the expand that potential advantage through any way they can, and today it is the economy and health care and of course, the issue of contraception and abortion, and don't be surprised to see more events similar to what the white house is ding today and it is coordinated with the democratic issues up and down the ballot. that is it for the "daily rundown." up next is chris jansing. i will see you tomorrow.

i'm msnbc bill karins and we are in for some nasty thunderstorms over to the past couple of years, and now we will see the weather pattern calming down. we will see the rain heading from the midwest to the northeast. and so we will see a nice finish in the mid-atlantic and portions of the northeast. have a great day. ♪ when i'm halfway into your heart ♪ ♪ you have to let me know [ female announcer ] when sweet and salty come together, the taste is irresistible. sweet and salty nut bars by nature valley.

nature at its most delicious.

oscar pistorius breaks down in court talking about what happened the night he shot his

girl frebd. will the judge believe it is an accident? no more pings and the crews have not heard anything from the weekend and is this more false hope or could they find malaysia airlines flight 370? and it is 50 years since lbj si signed the civil rights act and four of five of the living presidents are headed to texas. a major civil rights summit kicks off today, and how can we continue to advance the message? i'm chris jansing. today, democrats are about to target a key voting bloc, women. today, president obama will sign two executive orders aimed at closing the pay gap between men and women and giving more information for salary transparency to know if they are paid fairly. >> through the transparency, we can have an honest conversation, but many times women have no idea they are being discriminated against. >> and this afternoon, eight women