thanks for disrupting your afternoon. i'm karen finney. we have disrupted our set. welcome to our new home in studio 3a here in rockefeller plaza. valerie garrett joins me for an exclusive interview. the race for 2016 on display in iowa and new hampshire. and obama derangement syndrome all on display this week. it's all coming up. >> it's scandal mania in the gop. >> i don't need lectures from you about contempt. >> you look at the way the attorney general of the united states was treated yesterday by a house committee. had nothing to do with me. what attorney general has had to deal with that kind of treatment. >> what's treated differently mean? >> you see the way they treated the attorney general.

it's not about me. >> eric holder is using his skin color as a shield. >> the first african-american president has sadly resorted to exacerbating racial tenure and he has an attorney general who is helping. >> what president has had to deal with that kind of treatment. >> there's no issue of race. >> the time of the gentleman has expired. . >> the chair recognizes the gentleman -- yesterday at the national action network convention led by al sharpton president obama made a forceful case for voting rights and didn't mix words about attempts to block the vote. >> so let's be clear. the real voter fraud is people who try to deny our rights by

claiming bogus rights. some of the officials passing these laws have been more blunt. they said this is going to be good for the republican party. some of them have not been shy about saying that they are doing this for partisan reasons. >> some in the gop may say it's about voter fraud and some may admit it's about party politics. when voting laws pushed by republicans disproportionately and tactically prevent people of color from being able to cast their vote, it's impossible not to question the motive behind the moves. some on the right like to accuse president obama of playing the race card suggesting that race is no longer an issue either politically or practically in america. but most of us recognize that his presidency has been a catalyst to raise many of these issues and in some cases em boldening those who hold such believes. remember the president's birth certificate? >> just to be clear, i know where my birth certificate is, but a lot of people don't.

a lot of people don't. i think it's still up on a website somewhere. you remember that? that was crazy. >> we can all laugh about it now, but not long ago and frankly still many come places it was a completely serious attempt to undermine the legitimacy of our first black president. and how about the constant disrespect that's been hurled at attorney general eric holder over a number of fake conspiracies? >> either you lied or incompetent. >> i cannot have that challenge my character. >> the gentleman will suspend. >> further mr. attorney general, you're well known in this town for not reading memos. >> mr. attorney general, i need

a yes or a no before you go into the long dialogue otherwise i'm wasting my time. >> let's bring in our panel. senior fellow at the center for american progress. and managing editor of think progress. a comedian and cocreator of "the daily show." thanks to you all for being here. kevin, i'm starting with you. i wanted to have this conversation because that sort of exchange with eric holder and then his comments really reraised and reignited the conversation. you saw from the right blaming holder as being a cry baby and all this. which part of the reason i wanted to show all those other instances is it feels like when they do that and say we're playing the race card, it's like we're just imagining it. >> for holder he actually never even mentioned anything about

race at all. the people that mentioned anything about race is usually from the right that actually said this. so they were asking, who is it that's twam throwing the race card? it's the people saying it's all about race, when no one themselves is even actually ever mentioned it. the problem there is that race exists as this backdrop, even when the person isn't saying anything, it's attributed to the way that they look, although they haven't actually said anything about, well, as a black person, or as a female. >> it strikes me in the era of obama that it's not -- i sort of feel like republicans acted like all those problems went away and you're bringing them back up. when you say you're playing the race card. yet i didn't hear any of them -- i have a quote from a gentleman running for senate in iowa who suggested that the reason that president obama, they are not trying to impeach president

obama is he said "i would say there are people in the house of representatives right now that would very much like to take the opportunity to start the process. and i think the reason that they are not is because they are concerned about the media. now we have a situation where race is thrown into the cards as well. whether we like it or not, race is an issue." on the one hand they are saying we are just making it all up. and here he is saying if he wasn't black, we'd be impeaching him. >> that's a whole other conversation. i think the reality is there are a lot of disgruntled white men who happen to be part of the republican party and very partisan in a way they weren't. there used to be a white northerner and southerner divide. but not race simply because i hate you because of the color of your skin. but because race is tethered to our economic system and that's what this is about. republicans see big government as a way of em boldening people of color and because they do that through the new deal, they see that as a threat to their

political power. that's burying some truth given people of color are voting for democrats. there is race. it's not just as blaten as we don't like you because you're black. >> there's the racial component. it's not that obvious anymore. when we talk about dog whistles and the language of makers and takers or a culture of the inner city, we know what they are talking about. >> you take race, and then you add the component of a black president advocating for women, empowering women, empowering gay folks, all of a sudden, this white male power structure has been threatened not only by the black president but empowering women and other minorities to have a seat at the table. and so all of a sudden these people who have been in charge because that's what we did, because america, and now are being threatened and all of a sudden when you put smart women and people of color up there against people with undeserving

power, they are going to be shown up and that's equally as square ri. >> the other piece to this, this fight we're having about the vision in terms of budgets, we'll talk about paul ryan a little later, but when we talk about free stuff, a lot of the language is that supposedly democrats just give away the free stuff. and i want to read something that lee atwater once said. by 1968 you can't say the "n" word. it hurts you. you say forced bussing, states' rights, and you're talking about cutting taxes and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a by-product of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites. that really fundamentally today still feels like what the conversation we're having when we talk about tax cuts. >> mitt romney in the 2012 campaign said multiple times that obama doesn't understand the american experience. his policies don't fit into this

american construct. they spent days on that campaign directly saying that obama just isn't american enough. and, yes, it it also goes beyond the rhetoric. it goes to their policies and the fact that they disadvantage large parts of the community with repealing health care, with tax cuts that only help very rich people. that's equally problematic. >> that is when they talk about him as not understanding the american experience, that's kind of othering. you put that in conjunction with the kinds of disrespectful language yelling you lie or just the exchange, as the attorney general pointed out, such disrespectful treatment of an attorney general of the united states of america and yet one of the other things you're seeing is the republican party saying we are the party of lincoln. as if to try to move away from, what is legitimately part of

their past. >> race intensifies everything like a shampoo effect. whatever you would see there as normal, whether it might be a regular candidate if that person is female, if that person is gay, if that person is a person of color, we can attribute it to something else. i like to think of it as remember the jamaicaen bobsledding team. there was this speck tor that they were all black and doing something that was in this cold, winter sport and, oh, social security that interesting. no one is saying it's all about race. the entire coverage of that was entirely about the fact that those athletes were all black. >> the other thing that was interesting this week is you had nancy pelosi raise the issue with race. and we saw a little bit of a backlash on that. but at the same time, it strikes me that the republican party really has talked itself into a corner in terms of the rhetoric and so not surprising this is where we are. >> that's exactly it.

you hit it on the head when you said it was about the othering. the real problem is that republicans believe in this american ideal, this american dream that really is about white people in america who are this faux middle class. many swabts who are one step away from being out on the street and getting social security and taking these benefits that they don't believe they are entitled to. it's really this idea of an american dream that nancy pelosi called out that this is about race too because these aren't immigrants that are like you. mexican are the only people they talk about. there are other immigrants too. if it weren't people who were brown, you wouldn't. care. there's this challenge we need to make to who the american dream includes. >> my panel is sticking with me. coming up, 7.5 million signed up, but as kathleen sebelius leaves her cabinet post, how does the white house reframe the story of the affordable care act. my interview with adviser valerie is up next.

>> the other piece is what so many have focused on with her. >> so many people in the press and so many people -- [ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel! before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. [ male announcer ] just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles. [ corrine ] super poligrip is part of my life now. i got this. [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.

in a sceremony on friday, president obama formally announced that kathleen sebelius will step down as secretary of health and human services. the news coming as they reached a milestone with the closing of the first enrollment period and 7.5 million americans signed up. republicans lost no time attacking kathleen sebelius making it clear they are going to make the confirmation process of her replacement as painful as possib possible. a few minutes ago, i sat down with white house senior adviser valerie garrett to discuss the next phase of the affordable care act rollout. i started by asking whether she

thought kathleen sebelius was unfairly targeted by republican critics of the law. >> i think she was absolutely unfairly targeted. but she's tough, she comes from a political family, she's devoted her life to public service and having had dinner with her the night before the announcement in the rose garden which was a terrific sendoff, what she takes pride in is the fact over 7.5 million people enrolled. 3 million people on their parents' insurance. millions of people who are benefitting no longer being a factor that insurance companies can use to discriminate against people. her legacy is strong and solid and although there was some bumps early on, she finished strong and we're just proud of her effort. >> one of the things people are curious about is what was her role? the initial rollout was rocky. there was a period of really getting it together. what was her role in that? >> absolutely. she was instrumental to crafting

the solution and making sure it got done. the president's attitude was all hands on deck, work together as a team, make sure that we are absolutely doing everything possible to get it up and running as quickly as possible to enable all the millions of people who wanted to take advantage of this incredible program to do so. kathleen was right in there. nobody worked harder than she did. when you consider all of the attacks, she never lost her focus. >> why do you think so much attention has been focused on the attacks and not and people don't give her credit. it's now working. you have 7.5 million people in the program and yet the other piece is what so many have focused on. >> so many people in the press and so many people who have voted 50 times to try to repeal the affordable care act. but what kathleen has shared with me and what she said publically yesterday is she

takes pride in the people she bumps into who say my child had a preexisting condition, my child wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you. that's what we're all so proud of. kathleen was there from the beginning. she served five years. she's done a tremendous job. think about it. she oversees the nih that provides all these important grants, the cdc, she's really involved in all issues having to do with health care. the food and drug administration falls under her watch. many other illnesses all happened under kathleen's watch. she has a great deal to be proud of and i think we should all be grateful that someone of her caliber served in the administration and did such a terrific job. >> let's talk about sylvia burwell. some raised frustration at the

timing of secretary sebelius stepping down and the timing of sylvia's confirmation process in terms of concerns that the affordable care act will be kind of the punching bag for the republicans rather than the agenda that democrats wanted to be talking about in the fall. are you concerned about that timing. >> i think the timing worked well for kathleen. she goes out on a high note with the huge accomplishment of the enrollment period. sylvia comes in with really wind at her back and the fact that she was confirmed the first time. obviously she's well respected on both sides of the aisle. we had senators mccain and coburn tweeting how competent she is. i think the fact of the matter is people are always going to look for an excuse to be critical. the real fact is that this is good timing for kathleen sebelius. there's no one more competent and ready for this job than sylvia. we would hope for a swift

confirmation. >> are those attacks and criticism, i would assume it's something you have gotten used to. it comes with everything else. >> it does. i think part of this comes from the president setting the tone at the top. his view is do take the long view. remind yourself every single day who we're there to serve. that's the american people. so if you keep that focus and the rest of it you just have to let it roll off and kathleen is really good. she knew it was going to be tough. the fact of the matter is how many presidents dfr president obama tried to get sensible affordable care act passed. so she knew there would be heat that goes along with it, but she's tough and strong and she's really focused on what's important. >> i happen to know sylvia matthews from the clinton administration. but my final question, is she prepared for how tough it's going to be. whether or not it's fair to do her confirmations, republicans will use that as an opportunity to get to push their message.

the affordable care act has been a real punching bag for republicans. do you think sylvia is ready to take it on? >> she is more than ready for that. she served very well in the clinton administration. she's had experience in the private sector working for the gates foundation, working for walmart, sitting on the board of an insurance company. she comes to this competent and well prepared for it. she knows what she's getting into. she too has the maturity and the wisdom and the integrity to know she has this unique opportunity. what she said to me yesterday is, look, it's two and a half years left. i want to make sure i do everything possible to implement this in away a way that's going to benefit so many people and she's up for it. >> my thanks to valerie garrett for her time this afternoon. when we come back, our panel returns to discuss the hateful response to kathleen sebelius stepping down pr her cabinet post after accomplishing a near-impossible task. ♪

[ 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. ♪ 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. ♪ but add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance... ...and we'll replace destroyed or stolen items with brand-new versions. we take care of the heat, so you don't get burned. just another way we put members first,

because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ when it comes to the right wing attack machine, the affordable care act has been at the top of the list. leading the law's implementation, kathleen sebelius has remained one of their favorite targets. it's no surprise the criticism didn't stop. >> the one responsible for the obamacare law is resigning. >> she was given a very, very hard job and that job ended up making her very unpopular and with some good reason. >> lots of people have made her the whipping girl, if you will, for all the problems. >> what does that mean for

kathleen sebelius's potential replacement and how does this news change the role of the affordable care act in the midterms? my panel is back with me to discuss. egor, i want to start with you. it was seconds before we started to see tweets coming out that were quite harsh and while so much attention has been paid to it was a bad rollout, we can all admit that. but you still have 7.5 million people who now have insurance. >> you zoom out of the day-to-day politics. that's the number. the 3 million on medicaid, the numbers are only going to keep grow i growing. her biggest accomplishment is finding common ground on the fact that she was able to fly to states and convince red state governors to expand their medicaid program is a huge get for the people in those communities, but also her ability to give them the political cover they knew they would need in order to expand

the program and make it work. >> do you think she was able to do that because she was a red state governor? >> i think so. she ran when she was governor from kansas. she worked close ly with the republican legislature. she had the abilities. that's why obama chose her because she was able to work on the state level with republic s republicans. >> that is an undertold story about kathleen sebelius. i think a lot of people forgot she was a red state governor. she very quickly became the focus of the affordable care act dysfunction when it was not working and got no credit when it was working. how does that not translate then to sylvia burwell, is that going to be a fresh start for the democrats or do you think it's going to be just more of the same? >> i think it's going to be more clown car hearings that have

nothing to do with her and her competency and any of the mistakes from the affordable care act -- i bring this weird perspective. i travel on the road constantly doing comedy and political satire. as i have done shows, the jokes about the reaction to putting everything on to the website were almost more powerful -- and i get all kinds of people coming to my shows. it's not just people who think how i think. those jokes were just as powerful as we know it was kind of a mess, but regular people understood that completely. but i think what we should really start looking at now is we have passover, and we have easter. when you get together with your families, see if what happened at thanksgiving and christmas, which was you liberals it's all a disaster, see what the conversation is now. that's going to be really telling as we move forward. i want everybody to see what the family brings up and how they are framing this conversation now. >> so kevin, one of the things that kathleen sebelius said was that she said "if i could take

something along with me, it would be the animosity." there was a piece written saying she should do that. that should be her last act sort of going out the door is take as much of the blame and keep it on herself for the good of the program. i'm not sure i completely agree with that because i think she deserves some credit, but what do you think? >> the greatest thing about this is there's a sincere case of wag the dog. obama takes her outside, he has this ceremony for her as if she was a basketball player and they were retiring her jersey. then all we have to think about is this number, 7.5 million. i think it's fine if she bundles all of this negative energy that came along with it. it's like remodelling a home. you say the contractors are coming to your house and they tell you august, but everybody knows it's going to be february and there are going to be difficulties along the way. when you're sitting in the new

house, you're never thinking how bad it was the time it was being constructed. >> i have a hard time believing that republicans will not go after sylvia and sort of make her these hearings less about her and more about the affordable care act and just try to expound a pound or two or 10 or 20 of flesh at her expense. >> let's face it, the obama administration it can message this to death. the secretary can walk out and take all the blame that she wants to take with her, but you can't control the fact that republicans are going to continue to try to get rid of the affordable care act and try to repeal health care. that's what their m.o. has been. they have been very proud about it and clear about it. i don't think there's going to be anything that happens that it going to change. >> last question to you, there are democrats who are very concerned that this now means that the fall conversation is going to be about the affordable care act again because of the nomination hearings instead of being able to put republicans on

defense over the ryan budget. >> i think it should be about obamacare. the faster you run away from obamacare, the less popular it becomes. you voted for it already. you're going to get attacked for it no matter what happens. >> why do democrats not understand that? >> there are numbers they can point to there are personal stories, the coke brokoch broth having trouble finding a r horror story about obamacare. >> they are making up people. >> there you go. thanks so my panel including kevin. paul ryan passes his budget and heads to iowa while ted cruz and rand paul take to new hampshire. the early battle being waged for 2016 nomination is coming up. [ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors... oh hey, neill, how are you? [ male announcer ] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one.

ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. sfx: car unlock beep. [ male announcer ] and we do. vo: david's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

(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.

with no clear 2016 gop front runner, big republican names are scrambling for the spotlight. ted cruz, rand paul and mike huckabee made their way to the state of new hampshire for the conservative freedom summit, hosted in part by none other than the koch brothers-backed americans for prosperity. >> instead of listening to the pubas that are in charge of the party that want to dilute the message, we branch out and take other parts of the bill of rights that we all support and take it to people where they are. if we do, we will be the dominant party again. we have to do it with a smile. we have to do it with opttism. >> the people who have been hurt the most by the obama economy are the most vulnerable among us. it's young people, it's

hispani hispanics, african-americans, single moms, people who are struggling to climb the economic ladder and to reach the american dream. >> if there's one thing to bring this country back to its senses it's power out of the government, moving it back to the states, the counties and the cities where it was intended to be. >> let's not forget paul ryan with the house just approving his budget, if you want to call it that. he turned his attention to iowa headlining the lincoln dinner last night. >> i have to go back and say here's our plan to balance the budget, here's the plan to pay off the debt. here's how you successfully fight poverty not by simply managing poverty, but going after the root causes in the first place. we don't believe in inputs and throwing money at the problem, we believe in outcomes. we have to be not just the good opt sigs party. we have to be a great all t alternative party. >> i want to start with you.

you're obviously up there and get a sense of how each of these men were received today because it was interesting i noted that huckabee seemed like he did not necessarily go to his sort of social conservative message. he seemed like he was trying to sound a little more libertarian or at least small government. >> for sure. and the small government sort of idea has been in a state like new hampshire is the message that it was clear that all these candidates wanted to hit. there were jokes galore about the nsa. quite a few swipes at the common core. jeb bush was absent pr this stage, but has been a big proponent of that. the crowd was not interested in going after hot button issues like abortion. they were focusing on these things that would be more likely to residenate in this primary potentially. i would also note that even this event was very focussed on the conservative wing of the party. jeb bush was missing.

chris christie was not even invited to attend. so instead you heard from these conservative base activists. whether that's going to end up being a reflection of where the new hampshire electorate is rem remains to be seen and is probably unlikely. >> it's interesting because you did also kind of hear a little bit from paul ryan talking about his budget and a little from rand paul, sort of this idea they need to try to come together as republican party and ignore that there's this inner party dispute. i wonder if that is for 2016 is that going to be a message that they think is going to work or matter to people that, okay, we have to all come together. the far right and the establishment republicans and the libertarian republicans and the social. is it going to be about unity because they are not going to be able to run against barack obama? >> they know they won't be able to run against hillary clinton. they are trying to figure out what they are going to do with themselves to keep the tea party from sinking the ship.

the one thing i have to say that i can't even watch this with a straight face is to hear them talk about african-americans and hispanics and women and all these other people and getting to the root cause of poverty. i would like to see the republican agenda that's really about solving structural issues that per pep wait poverty and i would like to hear what they have to say about it because i don't think they got anything. >> to that point, the ryan budget, i think, is absolutely one of the best indicators of that. for democrats going into 2014 it's going to give them a way to put republicans on defense because people have a lot of concerns about the ryan budget. and certainly when you talk about sort of root causes of poverty and other issues, the ryan budget does not get us there. >> it certainly doesn't. the ryan budget is very extreme. other republicans voted lock step for it. it does something more than just giving democrats something to bash or play defense against. it really is pumping new oxygen

in the room for people like elizabeth warren and her allies on the campaign trail to put forward a progressive vision pr america. so this week as paul ryan is talking about lowering taxes on millionaires and cutting programs to benefit jobs and education, we have progressive candidates actively saying let's have millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share to fund programs. that is actually a very important down payment on the type of progressive success we want to see this in country. hopefully as paul ryan continues to play to the extremes will em baur elizabeth warren to get this message out there. >> we wanted to look at the polls and see how they are doing. in the partial poll, rand paul is at 16%, paul ryan at 15%, rick perry at 11%, huckabee at 10 public. we went to iowa and paul ryan doesn't even really rate. it's huckabee at 11%, bush at

10%, ted cruz at 9%, and chris christie at 7%. if he can't get it going in iowa, where is he going to go? >> you have to remember iowa is just to the south of wisconsin. they have been paying attention to paul ryan a little bit longer than most of us have. the thing about paul ryan that democrats should never stop saying is paul ryan was the one who started whispering privat e privatized social security in bush's ear. and when they have the unmitigated sense to sit there and talk about either moving things to the states or the democrats are henot helping, wh they have cut medicaid and snap and all this stuff, it's going to hurt and then on top of it have the states pick up the tab and the slack? what are they smoking? >> neither i don't think are

from washington or colorado. >> we looked at the polls in new hampshire. whooil rand paul did get 12%, undecided got 14%. so what does that say to you in terms of also chris christie at 11.5% and jeb bush at 9%. what does that say about the potential strength of who is going to be able to, i think for a long time it was chris christie everybody seemed it he would be the front runner. is rand paul making the sale in new hampshire? >> new hampshire is new hampshire. the voters here expect every one of these candidates to come up and shake their hands. we have to be a little careful away all of these early polls. on rand paul, what he's benefitting from is the organization that his father had in place here. the question really is how much beyond that libertarian base can rand paul expand beyond what ron paul already built.

that's what you're seeing. e we saw paul in that clip about the grand of the republican party. senator paul is off in kentucky supporting one of the grandest in the republican party. and he's take an little bit of flak from conservatives for that. he's clearly trying to expand beyond what that libertarian base gave to his father. the question is whether or not he's successful at it. >> final question to you, it's interesting to note that jeb bush was not there and he's someone who started to gain a little bit of steam as a potential candidate. rupert murdoch even gave him a shout out. he said in order of preference, jeb bush, paul ryan, who might have a particular adoration for, and maybe even hillary clinton if he had to. the question is jeb bush the one that we should be keeping an eye on because he is trying to have -- it's not quite a progressive message, but a warmed over version, i would

say, of the sort of compassionate conservatism message and more of a republican populous message, if you will? >> right, so he's certainly trying to have compassionate conservative part two. if george bush didn't drive that brand into the ground, it it might be plausible. so we should keep our eye on him, but i'm not that worried about jeb bush or paul ryan, even those the right think they are the mainstream people. the people are huckabee and rand paul. even though they are on the extremes, the way they present themselves is with a populous brand, fighting for a little guy. if we have a presidential candidate giving $200,000 speeches to goldman sachs while somehow the right is perceived as sticking up for the little guy, it would be ridiculous. but that would be their one fighting chance of winning this election. hopefully that does not happen. >> the panel has spoken, thank you. still ahead, corporate

activism or intimidation? carl rove says corporations fear retribution but i thought corporations wanted to be people too? we need it right away! we cannot let the fans down. don't worry! the united states postal service will get it there on time with priority mail flat rate shipping. ♪ whoo-hoo! ♪

[ male announcer ] our priority has always been saving the day. because our priority... amazing! [ male announcer ] ...is you! the amazing spider-man 2 delivered by the united states postal service. ♪ aflac, aflac, aflac! ♪ [ both sigh ] ♪ ugh! ♪ you told me he was good, dude. yeah he stinks at golf. but he was great at getting my claim paid fast. how fast? mine got paid in 4 days. wow. that's awesome. is that legal? big fat no. [ male announcer ] find out how fast aflac can pay you at aflac.com. they're about 10 times softer

and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. salesgets up to 795 highwayal is the passamiles per tank.sel 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.

don't forget you can disrupt the conversation all week long on facebook or twitter. don't go anywhere. we have much more right after this. what super poligrip does for me is it keeps the food out.

before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. [ male announcer ] just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles. [ corrine ] super poligrip is part of my life now. worst morning ever. [ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel!

this is totalitarian discourse and shows a level of intolerance and it should be unacceptable and people ought to be -- ought to get out and feel a counterboycott. >> that was charles stepping down following a public outcry over his views against marriage

equality. an outcry that was sparked by the dating site okcupid. this week in a way he got his counterboycott when okcupid's co-founder was forced to apologize for his donation to a republican congressman with a voting record against same-sex marria marriage. we're in an era where research and political campaigns has made its way into the corporate world. this week chile's felt the heat and cancelled a drive for an autism fundraiser. they cancelled the event based on guest feedback. corporations seem to be eager to be treated like people, but that comes with its consequences pr the people involved and for the bottom line. we're back with our panel. i'm going to start with egor. i was interested in this because you hear corporation says they

are afraid of retribution, yet it feels like the little bit of power that we have is the power of the purse. we can decide i'm not going to spend my money at this business or that business. is that bullying or activism? >> it's activism. as a private person, you can hold whatever belief you want. but as soon as you enter into the public market, then your consumers and customers then have an option. what's become really interesting here is for the first time -- this wouldn't have happened five years ago. now you have a situation where gay rights are fundamental human rights and the fact that customers are deciding that if this guy doesn't believe in fundamental human rights, i'm not going to shop or use his product, that's just i think a natural outgrowth of the marketplace. >> and don't you think that's sort of a natural outgrowth of activism? how they treat women or what have you, it was interesting

andrew sullivan's column this week that he saw it as kind of going too far and being not tolerant. but again, it feels to me like we kbet to say where we spend our money. >> absolutely. in the next decade or so, we're going to see even more consumer activism and shareholder activism as a way of holding corporate decision making accountable. so that point about have we gone too far? there are ceos who donated to mitt romney and john mccain. they didn't get protested against. one of the things i see from this example is that on the issue of marriage equality, it's no longer contested ground. you can support john mccain. that's contested ground whether you're democrat or republican. but marriage equality is seen as much as a civil rights issue is diverse couples in a public library. it is a civil rights issue of our time. i think that's a big victory for

the marriage equality movement in this country. >> it's interesting because we have confronted this in the political sphere. i cited karl rove and he basically talked about how some of these big donors are afraid of retribution. that's why they don't want people to e know what they are giving to. and i just find that funny because, like i said in the intro, on the other hand, they want to be treated like people and people are held accountable for the choices they make. >> the big elephant in the room is there's more transparency. there's forced transparency. that's what activism is all about. there was a time you could take your money and buy anything you wanted and nobody would know about it. the truth is that people are following the money. we know who is behind alec pushing crazy stand your ground laws. and absolutely there has to be accountability around that. this is all about capitalism.

most corporations know discrimination is not profitable. so many companies in arizona came out against that law. >> it also cuts the other way. chick-fil-a that can give to gay causes and still does well. >> and i think in those instances, though, it was interesting, it wasn't just gay activis activists. it was a whole range of people who said, wait a minute, this isn't right. you had major companies stepping up and saying, this is not just bad for business, but this isn't right. it's an interesting shift on activism. my thanks to our panel. that does it for me. thanks so much for joining us. i will see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. eastern. ♪ 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. you are about to become very popular sweet and salty nut bars by nature valley. because when you buy the new samsung galaxy s5 on verizon, you get a second samsung galaxy s5 for free. so, who ya gonna give it to? maybe your brother could use it to finally meet a girl. your mom, but isn't your love reward enough? it's not. maybe your roommate, i mean you pretty much share everything else. hey. your girlfriend. just don't tell her it was free. whoever you choose, you'll both get the best devices on the best network. for best results, use verizon (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. 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. ♪ [ 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. ♪ add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance

and get $100 off for every year of safe driving. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side caught on camera, teens pushing drugs on a toddler. >> a car crashing into a diner. >> a man trashing a supermarket in his birthday suit. >> an innocent passenger violently attacked with a h hammer. >> his intention was to kill. stories that are shocking. >> somebody detected a small pulse in his leg and said this man is not dead, he is alive. >> behavior