"politics nation" join starts now. >> thanks to you for tuning in tonight's lead, the gop's health care hangover. today, republicans woke up after the day of historic news about the president's health care law. but they're still struggling to wake up to reality. 8 million people have signed up for the plans on the exchanges. and now comes the denial. speaker boehner said the president is obscuring the full impact of the law. the third ranking republican in the house said, quote, republicans cannot and will not accept this law..

and on the right wing airwaves, conservatives are in full spin mode. >> all those companies breaking down employees to part-time work so they don't have to deal with these onerous regulations from obamacare. >> the rapidly escalating cost to the taxpayer of obama care suggests it will raise the deficit. >> despite all their attempts at spin, the law is still under water in public opinion. >> this system is ritled with errors and destined for failure ultimately. >> destined for failure? 8 million feel getting health care is a failure. but maybe this shouldn't be a surprise, because this party has spent five years attacking the law. for five years, we've seen lies, fear mongering and paranoia. in 2009, then senator jim demint said the health law could be the president's water lloo, that it

would break this president. it didn't. we saw tea party rally ace attacking the president for socialism. in 2010, there were massive tea party protests as a final vote in the house approached. >> kill the bill! kill the bill! kill the bill! >> democrats on their way to vote for allegedly heckled and spat on. then it became law. and in came the scare tactics. do you remember the death panels? >> making our health care premiums enormously unsustainably more expensive with death panels to boot. >> let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. >> well, that literally never happened. then they moved to a new talking

point. it would kill jobs. >> in my opinion, obamacare is the biggest job killer we have in america today. >> it's become such a job killner our economy. >> obamacare is the biggest job killner this country. >> and the economy keeps adding jobs. so then they warned the law would kill itself, collapse under its own weight. >> the law is so massive, burdensome, bureaucratic and confusing that it's collapsing under its own weight. >> the collapse of obamacare is happening before our own eyes. >> i think this law is going to collapse you should its own weight. >> it didn't collapse. it exceeded expectations. but when your party's soul focus is destroy a law, there's no wonder they're in denial today. this is a political hangover that will be tough to shake. joining me now are e.j. dionne and melissa harris perry. thank you both for being on the

show tonight. >> absolutely. >> good to be with you. >> melissa, five year, an election, a supreme court decision and now the proof that it works. why can't republicans just accept reality and move on? >> first of all, you have to respect just the extent to which they stick to message, right? there is some value in that in politics. i think that's part of what's going on here. if you ask republicans what have you accomplished the last five years? the answer is, we have fought obama care. because that can be their answer, they then don't have to answer, well, we pass this legislation or done this. it's a little bit of a smoke and mirrors. we're going to be over here looking looic we're doing a lot. and the thing we're doing is actively working against a law, as you point out, is being implemented, working well at this point. and then that keeps us from having to be accountable for anything else on the other side. >> you know, and maybe i'm sure i'm a little older than you melissa, at one point, it sound like a brilliant talking about.

another point it sounds like the old records you used to play, you scratch the record and it keeps staying there because it's scratched. it's like a scratched record like they just can't move on. if they have a gerrymandered district where this familiar message works in those districts. it may actually be quite effective for them in 2014 midterms. it may be less effect i going into a presidential election year. >> you know, ted cruz, e.j., responded to the new enrollment numbers with a tweet. quote, the repeal debate is far from over. #fullrepeal. >> he didn't make any argument in there. he just said i'm going to keep saying the same stuff like the record. i think the one thing the republicans have done is by sticking to all these talking points is it's still been a really long slog for the law to come out from under a negative rating. there are signs that a coup

polls showed positively and there was the unfortunate rollout. the president looked in a really good mood. secondly, he was really aggressive. he called out the governors, mostly republicans who have not expanded medicaid. who are keeping 5 million people off. you have some republicans on the ballot, particularly in senate races where it's biggest electorates. they're having a really hard time finding their footing. some are not giving straight answers about whether nept to expand medicaid in their states or whether they want to take that coverage away. so you may -- you may seen a turn on the republican side in their uncertainty, even if a lot of the public talk is still the same anti-obama care stuff. >> that calling now on the republicans, melissa, the

president was very forthright. watch this. >> these endless, fruitless repeal efforts come at a cost. the 50 or so votes republicans have taken to repeal this law could have been 50 votes to create jobs by investing in things like infrastructure or innovation. the point is the repeal debate is and should be over. i recognize that their party is going through, you know, the stanls of grief, right? anger, denial and all that stuff. and we're not at acceptance yet. it seems as if this is the primary agenda item in the republican political platform. i'm still puzzled why they've made this their soul agenda item when it comes to our politics. it's curious. >> their soul agenda item. but the acceptance part, we're not there. i thought it was an appropriate way of explaining it. >> he really has been in a good

mood. we certainly saw it in his conversati conversation not about something that was positive, but in the conversation about voting rights. we see a president who in the last midterm in his presidency. never facing another election himself. as e.j. was pointing out about the republican governors who are keeping millions of their own constituents from having that medicaid coverage, because it is expansion of medicaid that covers that gap between these folks who are kind of available for the aca versus the poorest of the poor. >> when you look at the fact that this week right before the numbers came out, the right wingers were already accusing the white house of cooking the books. listen to this. >> i don't think it means anything. they're cooking the books on

this. >> with millions of obama care applicants appearing out of thin hair in the last few days, kath theen lean sebelius is fighting allegations they're cooking the books. >> when have they not lied when it comes to obamacare. >> they said they had 7 million start-ups. does anybody believe that? it's an absolute possibility. >> no evidence, not on the hint of evidence, then a afind out that they were even underestimating the real number, which was 8 million. this was leading up to the announcement. >> well, mr. trump wasn't even sure that the president's birth certificate was right. the polls were cooked about the 2012 election and that milt romney was going to win. i don't think this should surprise us that they're doing this again. because it is bad news for them. that the number is so big. it's actually bigger when you

count the people who sieped up on medicaid and some other folks who have gotten coverage. the republicans were obsessed, the democrats embraced it but then turned to jobs. i think he's trying to foot the argument and say all they want to talk about is obamacare, what i want to talk about is how you get the economy growing and pull people up from the bottom. i think that's where democrats can actually start winning in this election. they can't just stick on obama care. >> got to leave it there. thank you, have a great holiday weekend. >> happy easter. >> and do what e.j. and i do and most smart people. catch melissa harris-perry 10:00 a.m. eastern right here on msnbc. coming up, going on offense. they wanted a fight on health

care and they're about to get one. 14 years ago, a man was sentenced for armed robbery with a b.b. gun. a clerical error kept him free. he's turned his life around and become a father of four. should he still be jailed? and toronto mayor rob ford makes it official. he's running for re-election and might be running into a few more cameras. big show ahead tonight. stay with us.

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president obama says it's time for democrats to go on the

offensive when it comes to health care. republicans claim they wanted a fight. well, they're about to get one. that's next.

>> with 8 million people now enrolled in health care exchanges, the president has a clear message -- it's working. and yesterday, he gave democrats a blueprint for how to campaign this fall. embrace the affordable care act. don't run from it. >> i think the democrats should forcefully defend and be proud of the fact that millions of

people like the woman i just described, who i saw in pennsylvania yesterday we're helping because of something we did. i think there is a strong, good, right story to tell. be proud. it's helping millions of people. in alaska, a group supporting democratic senator mark bagic is proudly running this ad. >> i was lucky. i beat cancer. but the i shurns companies denied me because of my pre-existing condition. now i have health insurance again. in kentucky, democrats are hitting republicans for opposing state exchanges set up by the affordable care act.

they are now over 370,000 people in kentucky who have insurance f, thanks to obama care. it's cut the uninsured rate in the state by 42% and democrats see that as a winning attack. >> when i learned andy bar voted 19 times to stop health reform? i was disappointed. barr along with mcconnell voted to end kynect. >> that's the message for november. it's been four years since the affordable care act has passed and now is the time for democrats to stand up and be proud of what they've established. joining me now are former

pennsylvania governor ed rendell and angela wright. thank you both for being here. governor, let me ask you to put on your other hat. how shouhow should they talk ab obama care in 2014? >> they should talk about it as the success that it is. it isn't perfect. it does still need some change but on balance it's been a tremendous plus for the american people. i want to correct you on one thing. if you count the medicate expansi expansion, there are about 4.5 million people who got the medicaid expansion, so really it's 12.5 million americans who have been put on health care. so that's a point we should hammer home. and we should talk about the benefits of the act and say do you want to go back? do you want to repeal it and go

back to a time when you were sick and had a pre-existing illness you couldn't get health care? as a senior, there was no way to help with your prescription drug coverage? if you had a son or daughter living at home with you, they couldn't be covered under your health care plan. lifetime caps on how much money you could spend. and yearly caps on how much money you could spend, the insurance companies imposed those. if you want to go back to that, of course not. all these guys want to do is repeal it and leave you uncovered again. and take 12.5 million people off of health care. i think that's a winning attack. of. >> let me go to you on this one. a republican congressman was confronted at a town hall just this week. and a constituent was asking with the gop health care plan was. check out this video from think progress. >> you voted to repeal it approximately 50 times.

had zero votes on a replacement. my question is why do you think it's so good to deny seniors on part d to make more, about $4,000 more for medicine and people with pre-existing conditions, deny insurance, have 26-year-olds having a harder time getting insurance because they can't get on their parents. why do you think those are good ideas? >> i don't, and let me tell you, i think one of the most unfortunate things that my party did the last three years was not offer an alternative to health care. >> a lot of republicans going to be confronted by this kind of questioning during the midterm? where's your plan? why didn't you come with something as a party? >> i think that has to be our greatest hope. not to mention this guy really fumbled this town hall, rev. but it really is important that, to governor rendell's point,

even for me as a law school tunt, my second year, having to get kicked off of my mom's insurance plan and scrambling during finals to figure out what's next, here's other students similarly situated that won't have that struggle. the anecdotes are the best way for us to reach everyday americans about the successes of obama care. members of congress absolutely have to do that, including those who may be fearful based on the fact that they're running statewide, including senator landrieu and others. so it's very, very important that we continue to tout the successes and realize the milestones they covered. it's important to understand the impact that access to health care has for all americans. and it's a great victory lap, not only for the president, but that it can be during the 2014 mid determines. >> the republican spoke about republican-led states that refuse to expand medicaid.

listen to this 3. >> does frustrate me, states that have chosen not to expand medicaid for no other reason than political spite. you have 5 million people who could have health insurance now at no cost to these states, zero cost to these states other than ideological reasons, they have chosen not to provide health insurance for their citizens. that's wrong. it should stop. those folks should be able to get health insurance like everybody else. >> now, governor, the white house says that by 20165.7 million people will be uninsured fwauz 24 states have not expanded medicaid. how can republicans continue to ignore the uninsured people in their own states, governor? >> on the moral issue, they

can't. but politically, think about it if you're running against kay landrieu -- i mean, mary landrieu in north carolina. they've refused expansion. what do you say about that? do you say it's a good thing that those people don't get health care? in pennsylvania, our governor did not join the expansion and there are 600,000 pennsylvanians without health care. but additionally, it's 1.2 million of federal money that would come into the pennsylvania economy that we've turned down. and $110 million to. pn hospitals sna th s that they getting. or in arkansas, you ear running against mark pryor, do you want oball ma care to be repealed so the people on medicaid because the arkansas governor expanded they're going to be kicked off? the people on the exchanges will be kicked off? what does mitch mcconnell say about those 370,000 kentuckyians that are on the most successful

state exchange in the country, thanks to the leadership of governor brasheer. it's a devil's choice for them. >> i'm going to have to leave it there. thank you both for your time tonight. have a great holiday weekend. >> you, too. thanks. still ahead, should a man be sent to prison 14 years after his crime if he's turned his life around with a job and a family? that's tonight's "justice file." also, republican candidate compares taxes to apartheid. it's unbelievable. and it's part of a disturbing pattern. but first, rand paul is once again playing fast and loose with the facts. i guess old habits die hard. but he's up in tonight's "gotcha." [ hypnotist ] you are feeling satisfied

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>> rand paul is ready for his closeup. he's been practicing his lines. >> the president keeps offering you free stuff, but you're still in poverty. you're not getting any better. >> we're in a terrible recession. we're still barely grow, if growing at all. you get free stuff. >> the safety net is just free stuff? 245 tired old dialogue won't win him any oscars. i think he needs to rehearse a little more. >> when was the last time in our country we created millions of jobs? it was under ronald reagan. >> the last time we created of jobs was under reagan? senator paul, i think you messed up your line there. because that's just not true. under president obama, 5.4 million private sector jobs have been added to the economy.

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candidates like christine "i'm not a witch" o'donnell. and this year, expect more of the same. the gop's 2014 senate candidates are already extreme than ever. like north carolina tea party candidate greg brannon. he compared taxes to the holocaust and apartheid. >> how did we possibly get along without income tax? >> bingo. when has central planning worked, bill? it's called holocaust. it's called soviet union. it's called apartheid. central planning does not work. what america's version of it is better? >> it's not. >> the holocaust? apartheid? that's vile. but he's just one in a long line of republican candidates who have embraced offensive views. like the mississippi candidates who criticized victims of katrina, calling them welfare

dependent citizens. and then there are the candidates vying for georgia's senate seat. here is what one leading candidate once said about the health care law. >> if obama care passes, that free insurance card that's in people's pockets is going to be as worthless as the confederate dollar after the war between the state, the great war of yankee aggression. >> health care is like the war on yankee aggression? and the gop rival in the race is no better. just listen to what he said about president obama's push to energize mie norty voters. owe. >> i guess you always have some prejudices exist in the minds and hearts of certain individuals. but to use it as a political tool get out the base i think is sad. to use it to try to create

divisiveness or one race against the other. i'm sick of all of that. and i think the american people are, too. in every race in louisiana and west virginia, the democrats are tied on leading in the polls. extremism didn't work in 2010 and it won't work in 2014 either. is this who the party really wants representing them? candidates comparing taxes to apartheid? >> yes. apartheid was, in fact, based on

parable domination and oppression. everyone knows that. and it was a republican party, if you remember, reverend sharpton, that under ronald reagan had something called constructive support. you and i both know what happened in new orleans when they were stuck in the superdome. and folks were -- lives, people died. they couldn't get their medicine. people were displaced, sent to cities far away. this is extreme. and how insulting to the memories of those who died in the holocaust to compare taxes to the holocaust? i mean, yes, these are their candidates. these are the people that they've put out there. and i just hope they pay the price.

>> the candidate that compared taxes to apartheid called jesse helms a modern hero. >> he's been endorsed by rand paul. you just talked about rabd paul. so any idea that the republican party is moving away from these guys is simply wrong. two points, i guess, reverend al. one is, i think these people are their own worst enemy. you pointed out what happened in 2010. look what happened with todd aikin. the more exposure they have, the more harm they do to themselves and the more they help the democrats. i hope paul brown wins that primary in georgia buzz the more i see these guy, they do not remit in any way the american people. they're far, far too extreme.

the more i see of them, the better i feel about the democrats' chances of holding on to the senate this year. a. >> as bill just said, figures on the far right have not been shy about backing candidates like brannon. listen to this. >> i want us to make his so we write history. that's what i'm looking at. >> i could tongue kiss you. if you have money, donate. if you have time, donate. >> i don't know about the tongue kissing, but bill just said that rand paul has endorsed brannon. he is a guy who said jesse helms is a modern hero. >> yeah, remember, he also had the -- jesse helms, my goodness. who went after harvey gant with one of the most racist ads in the history of of senatorial

politics. noes people don't. thing's really what they're playing to. the fact that a lot of young voters, new voters. they were just kids. they don't remember this history. that's why we have to keep talking about it. a politician once told me, read with a third eye and listen with a third ear. when you hear about yankee aggression, that's civil war talk. i mean, that's what folks talk about during the civil war. maybe the best thing for these folks to do, just let them keep talking pbt but politico really showed folks what -- who pays for all of this -- these talk radios. glenn beck, sean hannity, these folks wouldn't exist without tea party financing. >> i see you shaking your head anxiously there, bill.

>> joe is absolutely right. it was revealed by politico that glenn beck and sean hannity and laura ingraham and these guys are getting paid millions of dollars of advertising going to these talk shows to have these yahoos on their show. and it's the koch brothers from freedom works and americans for prosperity who are paying these talk show hosts to feature these tea party people. that's why they sdo so well in the primaries. you know, we've just got to know where there is all coming from. >> i want to go back to something you referred to, joe. chris mcdaniels wrote blogs posting, criticizing the poor people affected by katrina. as you say, some of us were down there, calling these people, calling them, quote, the well tear dependent citizens and

saying that people of all races ignored common sense and waited for the great federal father to save them. >> now, when mcdaniels was asked if he still held beliefs like this, his campaign said, quote, the liberal press clearly loves to attack conservatives of all times. when chris got into the race, he knew they would throw mud. throw mud? this is his statement, his blog. >> and remember brown kneie, yo doing a good job. remember flying over and not landing but watching and being criticized? i remember being there and talking to a lady who watched her mother die inside that superdome because folk couldn't get out. they weren't waiting. there was no way for people to get out. >> people of means.

these people were not welfare dependents waiting on the federal father. i mean, this is absolutely absurd. >> they were fighting for their lives, reverend al, in the greatest breakdown of this federal government that we have seen in our lives. that statement reminds me of mike huckabee, there's another, thinking of running again. uncle sugar, any program to help the boor or middle class, they're against. any tax break for the wealthiest americans, go right ahead. that's what the government is all about. >> i'm going to the to leave it there. thanks for your time. have a great hollywood weekend. >> coming up, this single mother loses her kids after leaving them on n a car to go on a job interview. today we find out she was not homeless. should she get her kids back? and a clerical error kept this

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patowitcz and former prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst faith jenkins. thank you both for being here. we started in missouri tonight and a case that's getting national contention. cornelius mike anderson was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2000 for armed robbery. after taking money from a burger king manager who was making a bank deposit. he had a b.b. gun on him. but he was never jailed because of a clerical error. over the last 14 years, anderson lived a normal crime-free life. he became a master carpenter, a business owner, a husband and a father of four. in july of last year, he and his youngest daughter were sleeping at home when a s.w.a.t. team busted in and arrested him in front of his children. he is now nine months into his sentence and the state wants him

to serve his original time, 13 years. his wife is now pleading for his release. >> it's just very hard and i miss my husband very, very much. my kids miss their father. >> anderson recently spoke out saying he never ran from the law. >> i never felt like a fugitive. a fugitive is someone running from the law. i never ran from the law. i was there. the system failed. they did say i was incarcerated and i wasn't. and for them to say that i've been in their computer for 13 years. >> this week, anderson's lawyer formally asked missouri's governor for clemency, saying anderson is a beloved father, faith, this is a complicated case. should he spend 13 years behind bar? >> no, i don't think so. i think 13 years from the very beginning was an excess i have sentence. he was 21, 22 years old. he did not have a felony record.

he committed this armed robbery. but here, this case is really a case study on how we have completely abandoned the idea of resocialization and rehabilitation in our prison system. and we solely focus on retribution and isolating people from our society. when you look at this, what do you want to do, this is someone who lived a life the past 13 years, law abiding citizen. he didn't run, he didn't hide. now we want to take him away from his community. he contributes to the community. and put him in prison. the solution what they're suggesting would do more harm than good. >> he didn't run. he appealed the case. his lawyer said wait till they notify you. they never did. even the guy that was robbed said he shouldn't have to do time. what do you say? >> well, you know, i was a prosecutor for 16 years and i

put a lot of people in prison and behind bars. but sometimes we need to take punishment and make that secondary and put society first. in this case, through fault of his own, this man rehabilitated during that 13-year mistake the state made showing that he can be a member of society, raise a family, do good in his commun y community, pay his tacks. he should be given a break. the state should not incarcerate this man now. they made an error, not through any fault of this man and he's shown he's rehabilitated. society should come first, punishment should be secondary. he had this hanging over his head for 13 years. he should be allowed to walk free out of that jail. >> now to the growing support for a brief stricken arizona mother who had her children taken away from her. this is the tearful mug shot of 35-year-old shanisha taylor.

the single mother was arrested last month and charged with felony schield abuse. she allegedly left her two kids, a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old in the car when she went on a job interview. she spent 11 days in jail before being released on pail. bail. but hearn children are still in the custody of child protective services. this week, a decision signed by 12,000 people from all over the country was dropped off by the county attorney's office. the petition asks that the charges be dropped. an online fundraiser has collected over $100,000. but dud we learned that she may have not been unemployed or homeless. the mare cota county prosecutor is saying, quote, she actually had part-time employment, so she was employed and she had a residence listed so she wasn't really homeless. she faces up to seven years in prison.

should the charges be dropped? >> i saw the report you're referring to. just because someone provides an address does not actually mean they have a place to live. >> he just said it was listed. didn't say that she -- >> and the last time i checked, having a part-time job is probably not sustainable to raise two children. i'm not going to disparage this woman for trying to interview for a job. what she did was wrong. you can't leave two young children in a car by themselves. but it's about intent and the circumstances now. this is a woman that obviously needs support. a criminal record and going through the system is not going to help her. it is going to hurt her an undermine what she's trying to do. the same people criticizing her would be criticizing if she didn't work and were on welfare. >> i agree if she was december

tut is not the issue. she had a car so we knew she had something. the question is whether she had enough and did she need this job and even though faith is saying what she did is wrong, what would you do, would you drop the charges? >> the police should be commended for making the arrest. leaving children, young children in a hot car can cause a death. and i actually had to represent individuals where people and children died. so it's good that she's into the system now. however, i also again agree with faith that even though she's in the system, i think we need to have sympathy for her plight that she's trying to get a job and support her family and get that extra money so she can be a productive member of society and be supporting of her children. yet, at the same time, she obviously has to learn that that behavior cannot be tolerated and

her children cannot be put at risk. so again, proper training for her, but criminal charge, i don't think really should be seriously considered to be dropped in this case, based on the serbs that surround her situation. >> we're going to continue following both of these stories. ken and faith agreeing on both cases tonight. it must be easter. thank you both for your time. ahead, toronto major rob ford just gave a big gift to late night comedians. stay with us. cut! [bell rings] this...is jane. her long day on set starts with shoulder pain... ...and a choice take 6 tylenol in a day which is 2 aleve for... ...all day relief. hmm. [bell ring] "roll sound!" "action!"

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>> the mayor of toronto he's out of control. i just love this guy. toronto mayor rob ford. this guy, rob ford, the mayor of toronto, i love this guy. everyone loves the guy. ford has even offered a sneak peek at some of the posters for an upcoming campaign. and we have an exclusive. first we have yes, we canada. >> jimmy fallon and the late night comedians love embattled toronto mayor rob ford. and they can get ready for more of pmayor ford. he's running for reelection.

officially kicking off his campaign last night. >> on november 27, the people of toronto, you folks, you folks will continue the most open, honest, fair, hard-working mayor that this city has ever seen. so here we go again, the late night comedians are looking for more of this. >> say hut! >> excuse me, guys. >> this is going to be fun to watch.

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who would have thought masterthree cheese lasagna would go with chocolate cake and ceviche? the same guy who thought that small caps and bond funds would go with a merging markets. it's a masterpiece. thanks. clearly you are type e. you made it phil. welcome home. now what's our strategy with the fondue? diversifying your portfolio? e*trade gives you the tools and resources to get it right. are you type e*? >> finally tonight, 8 million people have signed up for health care. there's a long way to go.

today a sobering reminder of why we need health care reform. progress lights a new study showing the rich are living longer while the poor are not. this is not about which party is right. we all should agree that we want everyone in america to live long and prosperous lives. the debate should be how to do it not whether we should be. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. have a great holiday weekend. "hardball" starts right now. >> rad obama care. who's got the winning hand now. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm joy reid in for chris matthews. leading off tonight as mark