this morning my question. what's next for the l.a. clippers? plus, highlights from last night's nerd prom in washington, d.c. and two women behind a new initiative from the white house. but first, this is the reunion story we are thrilled to be able to share.

good morning. i'm melissa harris-perry. even after all the budget standoff and congressional obstruction in washington, there was one result we were certain election 2012 would bring, comprehensive immigration reform. the expeck taxs were so high it was all anyone could talk about. especially the presidential candidates and their running mates. >> when it comes to immigration, politics have been put ahead of people for far too long. i will work with republicans and democrats to permanently fix our immigration system. >> the goal should not be to treat the symptoms of the broken immigration system, but to fix the broken immigration system, so that we have good, legal immigration. >> what i've said is we need to fix a broken immigration system. and i've done everything that i can on my own and sought cooperation from congress to make sure that we fix the system. >> they support it, the action taken by the president to lift the cloud of deportation off

millions of kids who were brought here. as if they're going to say at 2 years old, mom, i don't want to cross that border. >> and with president barack obama winning a second term, everyone was like, yes, we can finally get a victory on this comprehensive immigration reform. especially when house speaker john boehner said this just two days after the presidential election, and it was kind of promising. kind of. >> on an issue this big, the president has to lead. i think members on both sides of the aisle want to resolve the issue. the president is going to have to lead here. i'm not going to get into any of the details of how you would get there. it's just time to get the job done. >> so it kinded sounded like speaker boehner was endorsing reform. it wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement. he still firmly placed the responsibility on president obama. but what boehner's statement reflected was the realization by the republican party that had just suffered a presidential

election loss that the shift in public opinion in support of immigration was very real. 60% of americans view immigration as a good thing for the u.s. the highest level since 2006. and abc poll showed 57% of americans support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. but for republicans the road to find a unified voice on comprehensive immigration reform has been filled with blockades, potholes and a lot of wrong turns. one right turn was former president george w. bush. he won 40% of the latino vote in the election and led a charge for comprehensive immigration reform in p 2007. then there was senator john mccain. prior to 2008, senator mccain was a long time supporter of

comprehensive immigration reform. and then the presidential election happened and mccain did a 180. senator mccain went so far right to appease the conservative base, instead of advocating for his own bill on reform, he ended up pushing border security, and on election day, he took home 31% of the the latino vote while his competitor our and our current president took home 67% of latino voters. mccain lost nine points. now, then there was former massachusetts governor and republican presidential candidate mitt romney. you'll remember him of deportation fame. he fared even worse, receiving just 27% of the latino vote, versus the 70% that president obama won in the 2012 election. so if republicans are looking to make end roads on the issue and with the latino community, they

may the do well to listen to one of their own. a high profile member of the party testing the waters for a 2016 presidential bid. >> this week i made statements that generated more news than i anticipated. the simple fact is there no conflict between enforcing our laws, believing in the rule of law, and having some sensitivity to the immigrant experience, which st a part of who we are as a country. >> former florida governor jeb bush was defending his comments that people who came to the u.s. illegally in search of a better life for their children, they broke the law, but it was not a felon but an act of love. and while i want to say you go, jeb, to the full understanding of the comprehensive immigration reform by governor bush, i got to hesitate. really, just how is that language gong to work out for him in this presidential election cycle? this is not the first time a republican presidential hopeful

has had to defend his stance on immigration reform. let me take you to 2011 when rick perry was still riding high and said this at a gop debate. >> if you say we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they've been brought by no fault of your own, i don't think you have a heart. we need to be educating these children because they will become a drag on our society. >> commendable compassion, good policy, maybe good for a general election. but smart primary politics? not so much. governor perry didn't last to the south carolina primary. let us not forget that the republican party is not the only one who has had a rough path. president obama promised in his 2008 campaign to tackle immigration preform. true effort was put off for years. and while it is true he was met with opposition from congress in

trying to get there and took the important step in 2012 to stop the deportation of hundreds of thousands of undocumented young people, through the deferred action program, he still has the dubious distinction of supporting immigrants at a faster rate than any other president in u.s. history. now we could spend the rest of the show on which party wins or loses when it comes to the issue of immigration reform. but here's the thing, this is not really about politics. this sure is about people. according to a report on vox.com, in 2012 alone, 150,000 children, u.s. citizens had a parent deported. in 2011, 429,000 immigrants were held in detention and this is about the three people who participated in a hunger strike outside of the white house just

a few short weeks ago to bring attention to the plight of their detained loved ones. this is about cynthia diaz, one of the hunger strikers, who spoke with me the day before she decided to end her strike. >> i'm doing this hunger strike for my mom. she was unfairly deported in may 2011. it was a saturday morning. i was 15 at the time. i have ha little brother who was 13. >> cynthia's story is a reality that was far too common and far too many children in the country face when parents and other loved ones are ripped away from their families. and while we wait on washington to get it together on comprehensive immigration reform, cynthia's action preceded this moment on friday night. [ sobbing ]

>> indeed, her family. reunited after more than two years. cynthia's mom maria was free from detention on wednesday night, and without further delay, i am beside myself to welcome cynthia diaz and her mother, maria rodriguez to the show. joining me in the studio is tals to tell board member of united we dream and lead organizer for make the road new york. it's so wonderful to have you here. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> cynthia, how are you feeling sitting there now with your mother? >> i feel so much better, thank you. very relaxed now. i have peace of mind.

so much better. thank you. >> mrs. rodriguez, can you tell me how you felt when you learned cynthia was on a hunger strike for you? [ speaking in spanish ] >> she said that she couldn't believe it. she's very proud of me, and she felt that i was able to make it, and i did. >> we all felt very proud of you as well, cynthia. what is next in your mother's case? >> we still have to get her home. we still have to welcome her back. we still have another court date. we still have to, you know, take

care of my mom, welcome her back. so there's still another process to go on. so the fight is not over yet. >> mrs. rodriguez, when you saw cynthia and your son, what were you feeling? [ speaking in spanish ] [ speaking in spanish ]

>> she felt as if this time was never going to come. she felt really comfortable, and she told us that, you know, she's here now, and she's going to make sure we know she's here for us. she's going to keep giving us support and everything we missed out on the past three years. >> hold on for a moment. i want to come to you, natalia. i can see the emotion you're having in this moment. we are so thrilled for cynthia to be back, reunited in this moment with the mother. but what is going on legally in the case of this moment? when will we have final answers? >> each case is different. it has a lot to do with representation. like cynthia mentioned, they will definitely have to go back to court. a lot of cases, when they fight a detention, they have to every

year show up in court and every year kind of hope that the stay in the country gets extended. and so it's a way of living that is very nerve racking. you have no security and no certainty that you will be able to share the most cherished moment that any family needs to have together. >> detention is such a benign word. it sounds as though people are being held in college dormitories or something. what the real circumstances of detention? >> a lot of the places that are come coming are definitely in humane. i've heard numerous stories of high critical health conditions and not being able to receive the care they need. being in places where it's worse than jail. i don't know if anybody can imagine what jail is like or has been, but it's worse. you don't have access to books. you don't have access to family

visits. you also know you're not there because you didn't commit a crime. a lot of people, like in cynthia's case, they get held like the last place think think they'll be detained or they're driving without a license or were at the workplace and had a bad day and they got raided. and so it's really unfortunate our community that has to go through these situations. >> cynthia, my last question to you. how do we get people in washington to stop playing politics and focus on families like your own? >> yeah i'm an example of many other families. i'm a u.s. citizen. we are the future. i haven't voted yet, but i will in the near future. many other citizens are being impacted by this negatively.

because i now have this experience, i'm now pay ware of the politicians. and if there's no difference, then we will keep fighting for what is right for our families and for our country. >> cynthia diaz, i am so proud of you and so happy to see you sitting there with your mother. thank you for being here. thank you for all of your work. thank you for being on the the show this morning. thank you for being here. >> gracias. >> she said thank you and she hopes there's many more mothers next to their children like she is. >> de nada. coming up we're going to talk about highlights from last night's correspondence dinner in washington, d.c. >> you know, i get letters from

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last night washington played host to the annual event that has become nerd prom. no, it is not a convention of experts discussing deep empirical evidence on how data can be used for social justice, making it a ball than a nerd prom. but i digress. it's the white house correspondence dinner and there was plenty to laugh and groan about with comedian and actor

joel mchale as the headlineer. >> good evening, mr. president. or as paul ryan refers to you, another inner city minority relying on the federal government to feed and house your family. >> but mckale may have been upstaged by the president himself who proved he could take a joke and tell one too. including this one about cliven bundy. >> as a general rule, things don't end well if the sentence starts with "let me tell you something i know about the negro." you don't really need to hear the rest of it. just a tip for you. don't start your sentence that way. >> the president also took some friendly jabs at his republican

colleagues in congress. >> i'm feeling sorry, believe it or not, for the speaker of the house as well. these days house republicans give john boehner a harder time than me. which means orange really is the new black. >> yes, politicians on both sides were laughing last night. but the midterm elections are coming up, and they are no joke. we are going to get the scoop on the republican strategy when we come back. you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™.

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but the senate, that's the real prize in 2014. democrats hold it now with a five-seat margin. but republicans are within striking distance. as nate silver put it a few weeks ago, we think republicans are slight favorites to win at least six seats and capture the chamber. about one--third of the senate seats are up for election. that's 36 seats. there are st 12 seats that are competitive. in iowa, alaska, arkansas, colorado, michigan, north carolina, montana, west virginia, georgia, and kentucky. in four of those states, the sitting senator is retiring. three of those retiring senators are democrats. e and money is already flowing. candidates have already spent $160 million on races according to the center for responsive politics. outside groups spend another $50 million on races, including $8 million in north carolina alone.

and it's just may. there's a strategy in elections like this this. you must decide how much to run on your candidate's personality and on local issues and how much to run on your national brand, and you must get your people to the polls. here to tell us what the republican strategy is for taking that big juicy senate price and giving us a truly divided government is the national republican consultant and former chair of the south carolina gop. nice to see you kaden. >> nice to be here. >> so i have the best conversations with you in the makeup room and commercial breaks where you're always giving me digs of insight about how the gop is strategically thinking about this. so what is the plan for retaking the senate? >> first you hire the mathematicia mathematicians. and you get them to look at the the states mitt romney won. south dakota, arkansas, louisiana, and louisiana i'll put to the side because that's a real competitor. north carolina has a lot of

things going on we'll cover. but mitt romney won so the affordable care act is still alive there. the conversation is still there. it hadn't waned any. you throw that in with the president's popularity upside down in these states and look at low information voters. lowly informed voter who is will really make up the difference in november. what we have is republican primaries again and we're trying to avoid the death by suicide inside the the primaries. we have the tea pargt argument fight. right now mitch mcconnell is going to win both times. north carolina, til lis is going to come in and win speaker of the house. >> so pause. you're moving fast. you said three things that i think are great and i want to dig in a little bit. so start with the tea party piece. when you look at the tea party challenges, is that going to weaken the capacity for the republican party to win the senate, or do you think you'll be able to throw the folks off? and i mean mainstream establishment republicans?

>> i do. we have primaries coming up, ending in the second week of june. and tea party voters are now being identified. they're not that well organized. except from the national level. where else do they have to go in november? they'll stay home. this is a midterm election and history shows you that republicans have a chance. now we have screwed it up before. right now the candidates are starting to surface. lindsay graham is way up. we have a lot of positive things happening with the the incumbents, and then we have the open seats. it's certainly in our corner, but we have messed it up before. >> translator: let's go to louisiana. landrieu has a real name there. you can't watch tv in any household without seeing a million mary landrieu loves the affordable care act. >> and she gets more republican every day. she's talking about energy and

the pipelines. she's making that sift to the louisiana voter right now. i never discount the way that family can compete. you have georgia. plenty of money so you have to come down to the colorados and new mexico to start picking up numbers. >> is one state the prize? is it north carolina this year? >> it is. and there's a lot of things why north carolina is so important. it's moved up in the presidential calendar. f it's moved the primaries. all of them, to a week behind south carolina's presidential primary sochlt that moves everything up. now you've got jeb bush in, who endorsed the speaker of the house. you have rand paul with the tea party of north carolina. you have mike huckabee who has moved in. which we taught to be careful. we have a senate seat that could very well be the number. >> hold on for me.

we're going to bring other folks to the table. this north carolina one, we have our eyes on it. before i tell you what we're going to do next. happy birthday to one of our newest nerd land producers. she is turning a ridiculously young age today. but this is sarah's dog. and her dog sent this video in. she's still down living in louisiana, this dog gi. she's missing her mommy and just sent the video to say happy birthday, sarah. f up next, tough medicine for the gop. if millions of are signing onto obamacare, who do you run against it? >> of course, we rolled out healthcare.gov. that could have gone better. in 2008 my slogan was yes we can. in 2013 my slogan was control, alt, delete. 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.

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midterms will be, whether we like it or not, the affordable care act. senators will get a chance to make hey for the aca for their campaigns when confirmation begin for president obama's nominee to replace the current secretary for health and human services. if the republicans have their way, the hearings will serve as a sound teenage for republican campaign ads, as republican strategists say the many dramatic moments could yield rich material for television ads and oeshl media campaign. one gaffe and they, the democrats lose the news cycle. will that work as a strategy? joining the table now is former adviser to candidate obama and to christina beltron from new york university and author of

the trouble with unity, latino politics and the creation of identity. and a primary care doctor at john hopkins and former obama aide. so nice to have you here. >> thank you. >> there was a wonderful memt on my colleague chris hayes' show earlier this week. and mr. from said this. let me play it for you and have you respond. >> if you're someone on medicare, if you're affluent or elderly, you think this has to come from me. it's not coming from the future. and that's why obamacare remains such a potent issue as democrats tell themselves it seems to be working for our people. the more frightened republican voters become this will be at their expense. >> i thought that was a stunning insight. zoo you buy that? that this strategy will work for republicans? >> well, i buy into the the fact

that republicans are going to try to use and exploit any aspect of negative stories about whether it's one or two seniors or some seniors expressing confusion about where the money to pay for obamacare comes from. and i think that's absolutely going to be true. i don't buy into the notion that voters are automatically going to hear stories about seniors saying this is coming out of my pocket and therefore all the elections will hinge on this one perspective. and i think what is really important is p what caden mentioned is there's some critical states and critical senators who have voted for obamacare, who are also going to be on the chopping block for their votes. >> i love that you took us back to north carolina and kay hagan. you're not inher campaign, if you were, would you say don't run from obamacare, run to it. put your arms around aca and say this is what we have done?

>> i think it's a mistake. president obama came into office aing i'm going to do something about health care and he did something. and democrats have to standby that. they can't disown it. you can't say i'm more like a republican than you think. he will sweep all those elections with joy. so we have to deal with issues like the affordable care act and say this is what we are doing. 8 million people signed up. rates have gone down. lay out the facts. this is why it is good for you. you can't run away from it when it's yours. you own it. >> so what mark is saying here feels to me like a common theme that we often here. particularly from progressives within the democratic party, in a way that maybe the tea party members feel anxious because they're more libertarian and their party, and progressives are like could y'all just be democrats and em brags this thing that you have done?

but are midterms the time to do such a thing? >> it's never a bad time to be bold and own policies if you support it. democrats never do well in the defensive crouch and timid. so i think owning this, and it's an interesting moment. . up until now it's a story of what's going to happen with obamacare? now it's 45e7 happening. there's real stories of real people who were saying i was afraid. but now i can see this is helping me. there's a real moment. people were afraid they were going to lose something. his argument is the fantasy of loss that hasn't necessarily happened. you wonder with the reality of it. the sky isn't falling, this is working and undecided voters in particular respond to people who have a critique and and answer and a response. >> so we were looking at one of the polls around the aca. this is a kaiser family

foundation poll asking whether or not the debate should continue. we're sitting around saying why does anybody want to talk about this? 49% of republicans are saying yeah, let's keep talking oobt this. is that why you decided to keep talking about this? >>. >> things keep cracking loose. whether it's real estate or taxes. it's the gift that keeps on giving for a while. so i'm talking about campaigns and elections. we're into the season now. the thing they have is the establishment out there looking at the presidential election. the republican nominees are all sh like we have so many running it's unbelievable. they're landing in every state there is. from rand paul to ted cruise. . there's a dynamic going. there's a low intensity, low

informed voter coming that's going to be able to read some of these things in the seven places that matter. >> have we lost the opportunity to effectively brand aca with low information, folks, or is there still an opportunity for the administration to make its own message clear about aca. >> there's still a huge opportunity. the administration, when they rolled out, not only did they joke about the website rolling out. for people who wanted to sign up, there's still so much that should be done, can be done, and i hope will be done to help with not just low information voters, but we see the surge in declines in off presidential year elections. so we're hoping to bring back the loyal obama voters that made nok a state in play for them.

ch there's a huge opportunity in time. we still have a lot of time until the midterms. it's like petey pablo song in here. up next, the numbers game. if the economy is looking up, why are the president's poll numbers still looking down? >> your approval rating has slipped. you only have two stars on yelp. nobody told us to expect it... intercourse that's painful

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really want me campaigning with them. and i don't think that's true. although, i did notice the other day that sasha needed a speaker at career day and invited bill clinton. i was a little hurt by that. >> joining us from washington to tell us what those and other numbers mean is fred yang, part of the team who conducts the news polling. nice to see you. >> good morning, melissa. what's the biggest mistake when reporting poll numbers. what are we doing to produce the numbers for mid outcomes? >> the numbers are the numbers. i think one mistake we make is

assuming what happens in march, april and may will happen in november. the 40% of the job waiting for the president. it's not great. but it's the best it's been since last october. and i think the other things we need to look at as media and analysts are also trends. and right now, the president is trending up. i think in some respects because of the success of the 8 million signups for the aca. >> that's an interesting one. we were just talking about whether or not there's an opportunity to rebrand this. honestly, i'm a little interested here in the key reasons for why the president's approval rate remain so low, despite that the economy is adding jobs and 8 million people have signed up. >> i think one of the fascinating numbers that we released this week is with the real economic numbers, there's a big chunk of the country. democrats, republicans,

independents who don't feel it. 55% of americans and again, it's bipartisan, feel that the economic and political systems are stacked against people like them. feel feel there's more income inequality. part of the the disconnect is the economy may go well in the macro sense but for our nar families, they don't feel like a rising tide. >> i thought the idea that there's a majority with the system stacked against them. i know democrats will be pushing minimum wage as a central issue moving forward. we know a majority of americans support minimum wage. but is there an enthusiasm gap around it? help me understand the difference between supporting minimum wage and coming out to vote on minimum wage? >> i think -- i've listened to

your segment earlier with kate and other folks. it's very clear from the polling why the republicans are pushing obamacare. that works for republicans. on the flip side, issues like pay equity really work for democrats. and look, this is a cliche, but we have the votes to win elections if our folks get out. minorities, unmarried women. minimum wage, pay equity. ch those are issues that work with so-called dropoff voters. elections are usually in the middle. they like the minimum wage. i really think independents are the toss-ups. since the elections are still six months away, you know, elections are about the future. i think americans understand that president obama has two more years, but this is part of the future of this country. and honestly both parties are still trying to angle with the

issue for the talks of the future. >> i appreciate you for joining us. and we will have more when we get back. >> how well does obamacare have to work before you don't want to repeal it? what if your yearly checkup came with tickets to a clippers game. not the old don sterling clippers. the new oprah clippers. in pursuit of all things awesome, amazing, and that's epic, bro, we've forgotten just how good good is. good is setting a personal best before going for a world record. good is swinging to get on base before swinging for a home run. [ crowd cheering ] good is choosing not to overshoot the moon, but to land right on it and do some experiments. ♪ so start your day off good with a coffee that's good cup after cup. maxwell house. ♪ good to the last drop

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he was doing it again in the commercial break, explaining the big strategy. and who did you say poll numbers mean? >> they really mean money. i've been in new york three or four days raising money. you show poll numbers and trends. and to us who do this for a living, unless we have a primary inside the 36-day window, poll

numbers help us national parties raise money. because it shows we have a chance. we got beat in the two presidential elections pretty handedly by obama. now president is upside down in new mexico. first time we've seen the numbers. we have a chance to spend money. >> is there a way democrats can take the numbers and say we still have a shot. is there a way to go get north carolina? >> there's a way to get it. you have to get out there. the money is going to be a challenge. people are saying that's not a winning case, and they're going to look somewhere else. as we have talked before with mr. yang, they may be not as good right now. enit comes to voting, we have the chance. when it comes to raising money, that's a big challenge. but ofa could help out. and there are other ways to push money and resources into the campaign. >> where the president's poll numbers where they are now, do

you invite him to come stand next to your senate candidate if you're running in a southern state. >> the reality is if -- if i'm doing it? >> if one is in fact leading this. >> i think you have to, frankly. you have to say this is who i am. an you're not going to be somebody different. you're not going to say i'm the republican running against another republican. you're a democrat. but then you say what are we doing? we're getting 300,000 new jobs. we're trying to put minimum wage up. if you look at the the gap of where minimum wage has been, basically under president bush, nothing is happening. unemployment, skyrocketing under bush. we're pushing for a better wage. unemployment is coming down. this is a guy that i'm doing it with, and we're going to keep doing it. >> i love this discourse. it's a real policy that democrats can run on.

and also those folks are least likely to show up. >> also the people benefitting from obamacare are the same least likely to vote. that's really interesting. but mundmentally, the democrats have to really run against republicans. the enthusiasm gap is not somebody saying, i know things are got great. but they're getting better. look at the alternative. look at what we're facing if this party comes into power. look at the policies we're going to be faced with. this is the future if this party is in power, and this is -- so in a way, it's not the most positive vision. being afraid or what could be worse? a lot of voters remember last year with the shutdown, people remember that. >> f don't you guys really run

the senate? as long as democrats don't have 60, don't you already have a majority? >> i wish we did. then we could show you something. >> oh, i'm in trouble. >> who is in charge is back to the president. i think mark is right. one thing president obama has that george didn't have is president still has likability. at the end of george bush's term. i remember al gore wasn't invited by sitting democrat governor. big mistake. john kerry couldn't come in when we were sitting there. everybody was saying don't bring him. once you decide your brand is no good, you're right. you bring that president down to the urban areas. you bring them to charlotte and greensboro, just watch what happens. thank you to mark alexander and christina, who are going to hang

around in the next hour. coming up, athletes as activi s activists. after the nba ban on don sterling, are star players red the i to flex their political muscle? this allergy season, will you be a sound sleeper, or... a mouth breather? well, put on a breathe right strip and instantly open your nose up to 38% more than allergy medicines alone. so you can breathe and sleep. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right.

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mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. welcome back. i'm melissa harris-perry. the clippers won and despite the surrounding drama, the team persevered. the wen came hours after the nba announced it would appoint a ceo to supervise the team, having banned this guy, the team's owner still, donald sterling, whose audio taped racial comments in a conversation with a woman who calls herself his personal assistant made him extra famous, or rather infamous in the last eight days.

their coach, doc rivers, expressed relief more than anything else after last night's victor victory. >> i just thought this team really needed the game. i just wanted us to win the game. not because of not winning last year. i thought with all this stuff, this team just needed this win. for me, my excitement was not for me at all. . it was for everybody. i wanted the fans to get excited. i wanted them to get excited and excel for a second. >> this was a big week for the clippers as they saw their owner hit with a $2.5 million fine and a lifetime ban from the basketball association, as well as the other 29 league owner tried to force him to sell the team. his strong stance has been widely lotted, but it would be a mistake to see his actions as his i alone.

this was a man reacting to significant external pressure. this wasn't a retort to sterling's racist remarks as it was a reaction by a league being pressured into doing the absolute most it could do according to the nba's constitution. once the ban was handed down, the nba asked the many sponsors who abandoned the clippers, companies like kia, carmax, virgin america to return after they jump ship, following social and mainstream media's explosion over sterling's remarks. some are coming back, though clippers will be donating to charity. just as responsible for this as when the great first round of the nba playoffs, the players this far. lebron james made it clear that there's no room for donald sterling in our year and bobcats owner well known for not taking police cat stances in his

political career say this. i'm appalled that this time of ignorance still exists in the country and the highest level of the support in a league where the majority of americans are african-american. >> you probably already know the clippers spoke with team 4 of the playoff series. warming up with team t-shirts turned inside out so as not to display any logo. the harsh penalty for sterling headed off what could be a dra maltic protest. the plan was to go to the pre-game festivities tuesday night, take the floor, get in position for the jump ball, and as soon as it was tossed the point guard and his team was going to walk off the floor in protest. all of them. curry told thompson it would have been the only chance to

make a statement in front of the biggest audience that they weren't going to accept anything but the maximum punishment. that's pretty much what sterling got. the players took a stand and it paid off. it was a full court press. joining me now, the cohost of espn's numbers never lie and the his and her podcast. michael, political director for russell simmons and editor in chief of globalgrind.com. and swin cash, who is on the executive committee for the wnba union. former wnba champion basketball player. most recently of the chicago sky and fairly recently of nerd land where you suggested some folks could take multiple seats. >> a few seats open right now. so do you think we should be largely applauding the players for taking such a strong stance

in this moment? >> absolutely. absolutely. i know at the beginning people wanted to make a rush decision when this came out. you really need to digest everything. they took the leadership sp from doc rivers and chris paul. they took the time to think about everything. >> were you surprised? michael jordan had something to say in this moment? >> that's shocking. if you know you're considered a racist when you dislike magic johnson and "b" you get michael jordan to speak up. i don't know if this is being se selfish, i kind of wanted him to do it. i wanted to see the historic

moment happen. for so long they've been criticized for being desensit e desensitized for the amount of money they make. all the things they fought for they reaped all the benefits. and rarely have we see the action from the civil rights heros. personally i wanted to see him go through with it. >> some of the folks you have, mohammed ali and his position particularly against the war in vietnam. we can go back to john carlos and smith in 1968, standing on the podium with their fists raised. but they were not critiquing a racial moment within the sport. they were critiquing a racial environment more broadly. i love what the players did. but does it count as being part of that tradition? >> i think yes and no. in one sense, you talked about this yesterday on the show. americans like simple racial

narratives. and we like them to wear black hats. it was an move in saying the guy is racist in an america as divided as ours is. you can speak out and not get any disagreement. it was important. it was powerful. but it's hard to know. these are people who may become activists, but they're also a commodity. they're trying to leverage the brand. and who at this moment now is going to consider themselves an activist in a new way? what players are going to say this is the first stap in making this better and in some sense the whole political climate supported them. >> we did some some players come

out in the moment of trayvon martin and george zimmerman verdict. in that moment we saw some folks stepping outside of questions of race within their league and seeing a racial moment more broadly. do you think this is a moment that activates the players not just for trayvon. as a king. when michael was king of the lead, michael was silent. they won. >> and i have to give him a tremendous amount of credit. as a society, we can't look to these men and women in support to solve all problems of racism. if we point two fingers, let's not forget these conversations are happening amongst white men in closed doors are not uncommon. i'm not surprised by what donald

sterling said. this is happening on the street, with our friends. and we have to solve those problems and not look to them to do it for us. >> so one is about women athletes. i'm wondering if there are differences, because of the commodity of male athletes. whether or not they may be a space where more of this could happen. because there's not as much money. >> contract negotiations. exactly. >> but i can say this. for a woman, there's levels to it. it's not only racism at times it's sex schism. i want to go to that point as well about speaking up. he did that. he showed great leadership. i talked to the guys on the phone. you want to get all the the facts. and they had a lot of trust and

respect for adam silver. once he made the stand, trust me. those players were not going to play. if for women if it happened in our league, it would be the same way. we supported our brothers completely through the time right now. it's far from done. he said it's like a surgeon cutting you without the anesthesia. you hear racism on the streets and stuff. when you hear it from the top, from a boss, that's when it really cuts deep. >> so part of it, the other part of what you said, everybody being part of it. of course. it's a team dominated by african-americans. what were the white guys going to do? i think we can be over any sart of romantic notion that because

guys are playing together, they are necessarily all in racial harmony. white players were also apparently completely appalled by what happened? i hate to say this. it almost lends more credibilities to the movement overall. i know when kevin johnson spoke, steven ash was right behind him. i hate to say it. but just to get back to something you both said. are they capable of sustained anger? this is not over. the new season begins in 2014. it's very convenient to take a stand when you have everybody else with you.

it's much hard er when you're in that alone. then war games. i think personally he should very much be on the table for them. >> and then you're talking union politics. and people who can be workers and celebrities. >> hold that. this is what you and i have been talking about previously and whether or not this could mean something for whether or not college players may ever be able to take these stances. everybody stay with me. when we come back. i'm going to show you how senate majority leader harry reid weighed in on this and took it to whole other city. >> these events remind all of us that hatred and bigotry are far from over.

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when the explosive race tapes of l.a. clippers owner donald sterling were made public last week, former and current players in the nba did not sit by quietly. they organized, spoke out and openly protested. it is they who forced the nba's commissioner to take the strongest stance available to him. to broadcast clearly the message that we do not tolerate racial bias in this this league. many were proud of the players for the decisive action, including doc rivers. and while expressing pride in his players who pulled out a seven-game victory over the

golden state warriors, the coach questioned why it is so often the victims of racial bias who are forced to take the stand against it. here's what rivers said shortly after the penalty was haned down on wednesday. >> with the murder of racism, it always falls on the person who has been offended. i've always that is interesting. i felt the pressure on my players. everyone was waiting for them to get a response. they didn't do anything, yet they have to respond. so adam responded. and i thought that was the sigh of relief. so the coach raises an important

question. it's a question native american activists must be asking themselves as they press washington, d.c. nfl team owner to remove a mascot they experience as a racial slur. with barely more than a shrug, schneider said he will never change his team's name. so the indigenous communities fight on trying to gain leverage against the racially offensive end zones, facilities and all their manner of branding associated with the washington team. but what if these native american activists, the aggrieved parties in the case didn't have to go it alone. what if the nfl players wore their jerseys inside out or refused the use the team name in press conferences? what if opposing teams refuse to change them unless the name was changed. what the if nfl commissioner took a clear stance, sent a clear message. we will not tolerate racial bias

in this league. i'm not alone asking these questions. senate majority leader harry reid took to the senate floor to use the sterling moment as a challenge to schneider in the nfl. >> how long will the nfl continue to do nothing, zero, as a team bares a name that inflicts so much pain on native americans. the national football league should take an assist from the nba and pick up the slack. . >> now now this is getting interesting. >> that should just about do it and quality of the network. it means you'll be able t post from the breakroom. great! did it hurt? when you fell from heaven (awkward laugh) ...a little.. (laughs) im sorry, i have to go. at&t is building you a better network. [ male announcer ] sponges take your mark.

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vaginal bleeding and vaginitis. estrogen may increase your chances of getting cancer of the uterus, strokes, blood clots or dementia, so use it for the shortest time based on goals and risks. estrogen should not be used to prevent heart disease, heart attack, stroke or dementia. ask your doctor about premarin vaginal cream. and go to premarinvaginalcream.com this is worth talking about. . let's bridge it back again to the white house correspondence dinner in washington, d.c. last night. take a listen to the sports reference from president obama. >> sometimes i do feel disrespected by you reporters. but that's okay. seattle seahawk cornerback richard sherman is here tonight, and he gave me great tips on how to handle it. jake tapper, don't you ever talk

about me like that. i'm the best president in the game. that was such a great moment! but id did leave me thinking this is interesting. are we going to do race and sports in america, it's about to get really much more interesting. >> we've always done it. we didn't know we were doing it. that connection has always been there. even president obama, we were talking about the clippers. he was immediately asked questions about donald sterling and what his comments meant. i think that horse -- shoutout to the kentucky derby. so i'm so glad you brought that up. the president was asked about it. he weighed in on it. and for the first time in weighing in on a race issue, didn't get this enormous applaud. so going back to your point, this is -- i also, you know, being in the media, you have to

be really careful. i have been stunned. that's racist. he's a racist. that's definitely racist. did something -- what is it about what happened here that makes this sort of okay to weigh in and say, no, this was wrong. >> well, white folks who don't think we're racist. we want to think we can pin the tail on the donkey and say that's the guy and we're off the hook. and we're okay when we say this or that. but i got a picture of jesse owens, the '68 olympics, and we want to think there are interracial teams in every league now, but as fans as we saw with the boston bruins, there is still a separation in terms of how we look at black or white players, and for us as fans we're trying to understand that we can accept a black man as our hero. >> and folks don't know with the boston bruins, it was an

african-american player who scores a winning shot and twitter loses its mind. saying the there's racism on twitter is like saying water is wet. the sky is up today. so let's go back, so if we're going to do this, the other thing we have done is workers. this question of unionization. you and i were talking about the possibility of the ncaa players having a union. i kept thinking part of the reason they can behave in this way is because they have protection as workers. if the ncaa players had a union, would they respond to campus incidents? i wish the players would come stand with us, but they wouldn't because they were scholarship athletes who were vulnerable. >> absolutely. we can all sit here and say we don't know if a union would be the complete answer for these college students, but i do think having a body, a group of players to come together, and maybe it's not titled as much by a union, but players that have a

voice. that's what happened in the situation with the clippers. they brought in kevin jones. he was speaking. he was able to galvanize them together and make statements and make a reaction. college students need that as well. >> is anybody surprised? as much as we were very, very clear about racism, there was an awful lot of sex schism in that tape. and nobody is like, you sexist! we seem to be maybe a little more okay with the sexism? >> i really do think that the way this played out says so much about this weird post racial moment that we're in. there's a fantasy of post racialness so the kind we respond aggressively is when it's overt. he would have to say something really appalling about her breasts or something so bad that's sexism. one of my worries or concerns that everybody feels so congratulatory is i worry that

it makes us harder to talk about subtle, structural equality. it's such an easy hit in that way. it just makes that problem. >> i do think that a union is a place of protection for workers. but unions are what you make them. organizing workers and raising their consciousness. there are good and bad. and the the good understand that it's a place, it's a democratic space to empower workers. it's not like you have a union and are magically active. >> we're in the state with the players that are trying to find a leader. that's what kevin johnson did. he's moving over to the space that we need to find an executive director. . because with the wnba, we had collective bargaining agreements. we had so much mass chaos and trying to find a new executive director. you have to have stability, voices and people who are activists. >> i think also to structural

racism, let us not forget the same week when the tapes were leaked the, the supreme court ended affirmative action. the country was silent. >> right. >> there was no up roar. there's still structural racism in the country that we are not dealing with because of the moments that seem sort of pop culture-esque. but we have to focus on the big problems as well. >> we need a tape. we need the supreme court in the back. i can't believe this. that says something about the collective national intelligence with these issues. you know, there are layers to race. you know, it is very much like an onion. and we have all gone and allowed ourselves to be duped into thinking everything should be clear cut and overt. part of the reason he stayed in power is because of the fact that the nba owner ship group provided him a safe haven.

that's why it was never exposed. what he did to those black and brown people, the one lesson i hope they take away. they thought he would be different because they were paying him money. he's talking about you just like he talked about them. >> i really appreciate that so much. this idea that there is, that being wealthy is not a protective glaze over and against this. and it was fun to watch these men respond in this way. and i hold out for even more historic moments. let me tell you this. on wednesday a manhattan bound "f" train derailed in queens. six of the eight cars on the trean derailed. and new york firefighters and emts climbed into the subway cars to evacuate 1,000 people on the train. it was incredible. they are real heros. on that train in one of those cars was one of our producers. and she came into work that day

and she worked the whole day. and we sort of think that, you know, she is a super hero herself. and so that is our super hero producer there showing us what it means to do it all. thank you so much. swin, i totally think you need a tv show called like "have a seat." thank you for being here this morning. still to come, two young women who started a very personal campaign that has now gone all the way to the white house. super hero. yeah! [ male announcer ] legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses. if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you. with easy step-by-step guidance, we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality. start your business today with legalzoom. we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality. nehey!r! [squeals] ♪

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complaints that stations were blocking out coverage. in 1964, the church used information from the information to petition the fcc to deny them to one of the stations. so the church went to court, and in 1969 they reversed the fec, morninging the first time they decided a license based on racial discrimination. it was one victory in a long risry of faith based action oriented towards justice. in 1972 the church ordained reverend johnson, the first openly gay minister in a historic protestant denomination. in 1997, it published the landmark environmental justice study, toxic waste and race, which found that communities of color in the united states were

disproportionately likely to have hazardous waste facilities cited in their neighborhoods. they contribute to the launch of a critical field of study. that's the same man who was arrested in 1973, along with nine other civil rights activists, falsely accused of arson at a grocery store. the church raised more than $1 million to bail the activists, the wilmington ten, out of jail. in 1976 the church elected reverend joseph h. evans as they president. the first african-american leader of a racially integrated main line church in the country. and in 2005 when up to 68% of the country still believed that marriages between same-sex couples should not be valid, the

church -- united church of kris passed a resolution in support of same gender marriage equality. the ucc has yet again undertaken a historic first for equality. the incredible claim in the deep south is next. and get $100 off for every year of safe driving. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side

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a dry mouth isn't. biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth. ♪ 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. this lawsuit is about more than restrictions imposed on ministers. it's about safeguarding americans' first amendment rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. >> now that was reverend jesse amt black, the president and general minister of the united church of christ, making the argument we normally hear used against same-sex marriage. ch they are suing north carolina to overturn the state's ban on a marriage for lgbt couples.

it's the first of more than 60 such legal challenges across the country to make a faith based argument. on monday leaders from the united church of christ joined with other north carolina faith leaders and same-sex couples to file a lawsuit against the attorney general, ray cooper and other local officials, one of the targets is north carolina general statute, 51-7, which spells out marriage license requirements and makes it a crime, in fact, a class one misdemeanor. back with me at the the table are kaden and michael scolnic. the editor in chief of globalgrind.com. and the associate professor of social and cultural analysis. and reverend bennett, a national officer of the united church of kris. thank you for joining me this

morning. >> thank you. it's a pleasure to be with you. >> we're really enjoying reading about the strategy. if we were to play that video of the head of the ucc, it certainly sounds like he's about to make an argument against marriage equality, rather than saying we need our religious freedom in order to perform same-sex marriages. how did you all end up with this strategy? >> well, this lawsuit began in north carolina because the united church of christ clergy were organized marriage junkets, if you will, which they were charterring buses and taking couples that wanted to get married up to washington, d.c. because these pastors wanted to be table to be with their parishioners when they were getting legally married. they knew them and loved them and wanted to be with them. so these parishioners began talking and saying why is it that we, as religious people, have to leave our communities of faith behind, have to leave our

sacred space ps behind in order to go to another place to perform a religious ceremony, that's perfectly permissible in the united church of christ. add to that, north carolina's amendment one, which was passed by voters in 2012 not only outlaws same gender marriage but allowed civil unions and domestic partnerships. in a great overreach, they made it a crime for clergy to perform any religious ceremony wo without a license. of course, gay and lesbian people can't get a license and therefore the clergy are faced with criminal prosecution for blessing same gender marriages. >> okay. that is -- that kind of overreach feels like the kind of thing that is just that. it goes too far. when we look at views on marriage in north carolina, on marriage equality, a recent poll

in september of 2003 shows us although support is only at just less than 43%, 42.6%, that the opposition doesn't reach a majority. opposition is only at 46.5. if we look by age, it is clear that a majority of young people, 18 to 30 years old in north carolina absolutely support same-sex marriage. given those realities, how optimistic are you about this case? >> i'm very optimistic about the case. there's been an incredible ground swell of organizing across the state of north carolina. the campaign for southern equality is doing incredible organizing and acts of civil disobedience in north carolina and across the south to tell the personal story ps behind same gender couples. and we're being joined in the lawsuit, although the ucc is the lead plaintiff.

we have outstanding local clergy and same gender couples that are plaintiffs as well. they represent a broad coalition of reformed judaism and evangelical church in america and your own universalists. we're proud of the ways in which we're telling stories which are the ways that we really make a difference in this effort. >> let me come out to my table a little bit. i would love to get your responses. what do you think of this strategy? >> it's interesting. 68% of people in north carolina. but republican people, 61% support gay marriage. so i think republicans should think differently or they may be out of a job soon. young people are voting in big blocks. this is an uncommon strategy for faith based community. coming out in favor of gay marriage, uncommon folks coming to the table are persuading young folks to look at this differently. >> i love the idea of this age difference that is part of what's going on for the republican party. but more than that we were looking and this attorney general, the one who is actually

named here said -- it's been some time now, but he said north carolina should change its laws to allow marriage equality. that he believes in basic fairness. but also said he had a responsibility, a duty in north carolina to make the arguments in court. but this is certainly not someone who is like rah, rah, i can't wait to do this. and the arkansas attorney general on saturday, in an ap managing editors convention said i want to tell you i do support marriage equality. i do think they should be equal in the eyes of the law. are you coming with us? are the republicans coming? >> we'll throw african-american churches in there on the pro-life issues and same-sex marriage issues. and they're going to be heard in north carolina. and they're going to be on the other side of this aisle in my opinion. you're also in a state heavily southern baptist. you're going to hear that. so it's going to be a lot more than a one-sided fight. attorney general cooper is

running for governor in two years. he is pretty popular. >> and let the church say amen. >> but what's going to happen is the the number,s as good as they sound, the electoral numbers don't add up. those were ballot measures to change the constitution and both the democratic and republican side, it upheld. so if you're going to go to electoral politics, that issue lost in north carolina. is the temperature changing? it is. north carolina also put stuff in there for civil unions. >> in cleveland, one last question. we've been covering world mondays. we've been talking about the centrality of north carolina. how much do you see this as a part of a larger movement within the context of north carolina? >> there's incredible organizing happening in north carolina on many fronts. and this is one of the significant issues. and that's why there's a significant coalition blind this. i agree with you that this is

about changing hearts and not minds, but this is also a constitutional argument that we have a very strong case right here. this law in north carolina is akin to north carolina telling pastors they can't baptize babies until they have seen a birth certificate or a pastor can't bless your harley davidson unless you have a valid license plate. it is a very clear overreach by the state of north carolina. it's not only absurd, it's blatantly unconstitutional. >> thank you, to reverend ben guest in cleveland. thank you to caden dodson and christina beltron. i want to say my favorite thing about marriage equality came from dolly parton. i think gay couples should be allowed to marry. they should suffer like heterosexual parents. more on that coming up.

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a pentagon study found reports of rain and sexual assault were up 50% in the last year, a sign military personnel are growing more willing to come forward and speak out. but the report also came under sharp criticism. new york state senator -- excuse me, new york senator kristin gillibrand who has been lobbying for reforms in prosecuting sexual assault cases says even if reports are up, the numbers of convictions aren't. >> your percentage of convictions, 1 out of 100 and how many of those went to jail? very few. it's a huge problem. >> defense secretary chuck hagel acknowledged his work is far from complete saying "we have a long way to go before we get close to solving this problem." what's not the only news on efforts to combat bat sexual assault. on tuesday the white house issued its report to prevent

sexual assaults on campuses. vice president joe biden had this stern message. >> no man has a right ever to raise his hand to a woman. period. end of story. it is assault if they do. [ applause ] >> the vice president went on to urge men to be part of the fight against campus rain. my next guests were both invited to the white house for tuesday's event and have had a huge impact in the way colleges are handling sexual assault. the two filed a title ix complaint with the department of education's office for civil rights against their alma martyr unc chapel hill for that school's handling of sexual assault crimes. they have also helped other students do the same at dozens of colleges and universities. welcome back annie clark and andrea pinot. welcome back. what was it like to be back n the white house? >> it was great to see so many advocates who worked for so long. and to see the vice president give such an impassioned speech.

it was great. obviously these are very much first steps of a larger conversation and change that needs to happen but it was great. >> it may be the third or fourth step. you all have been doing steps one, two, three, and so you know cover of the "new york times" this morning, fight against sexual assaults holds colleges to account. so you've got the white house taking account, you've got the "new york times" front page. what has been the journey to get here? >> it's definitely been a very long journey here from our own assault experiences to coming forward to our school to filing complaints and helping students at dozens of other colleges. it's been a long way. when we first did it we were ridiculed and told it was in our heads and we were in over our heads over everything we were doing and now the white house and the senate is talking about it and clearly we're fall this together. >> but that's always what sexual assault victims are told, right? we're always told that this is our fault, that it's happening to you and that it's not what you think it is, right? that is actually sort of that cycle of abuse. so i'm wondering in the moment

when the white house is now taking account of it, now saying you're not crazy, you didn't make this up, this is real, how much do you they will shift the conversation? both for the legal work and the activism? >> definitely. i think we have two sides. we have the prevention side which is culture change and we can't legislate that. then there's the policies. that's the nuanced bit with the department of education. even, for example, upping their staff. it now has 12 people from the entire country looking at these complaints so to get more stuffing, those are easy. but in terms of policies and holding schools accountable, that's going to take a little bit longer but we're getting there. >> it's also we know we're not alone and that was the title of the white house's recommendations, not alone and that's something that is a big change from just a year ago. when we first came forward we definitely felt alone now you see this trending everywhere. title ix was trending on twitter and facebook. gillibrand is talking about it, republicans are talking about it. it's not an issue will leave the

national agenda and that's something we're excited about. >> remind people what title ix has to do with this. a lot of people think girls athletics. >> we're definitely doing a good job of explaining that to people. title ix guarantees gender equity. so transgender students, gender non-conforming students, women and men. so if a university has rampant sexual assault there's -- there cannot be an equal educational experience. women cannot go to libraries, that i don't feel safe at night or walking to their dorms, they don't feel safe going to school events. it doesn't guarantee an equitable education. >> i'm wondering if there is an opportunity for colleges and universities which see themselves as competitive for the best students to actually sort of take a leadership role and therefore be able to attract the best students, the best faculty, better donors by saying we are on top of this, look at how well we are doing. is there anybody who you think is doing this well? >> it's getting there. it's definitely -- i think now

with all this attention being put to it by the white house and definitely by all of washington schools are starting to at least talk about it. even just four years ago -- i'm a senior graduating next week. >> congratulations! >> thanks. and when i started the whole college tour no one talked about it. we had the blue light talk, we had zero numbers across the board and it seemed like campuses were very safe but they're not. and schools are starting to respond to these recommendations. they're not being proactive but someone has to because parents will be much more informed and as the media continues covering it parents will know to ask the hard questions beyond the blue lights. >> i spent my entire career on college campuses first as a student and then a teacher but the parental side, the part where i now have a middle school girl and we're starting to think about college and i was thinking about the president also having daughters who are going off to college and suddenly when you start thinking about it as a parent you start thinking, wait a minute, we have the get this solved. thank you for your activism, for your work, for your tireless

efforts and being survivors not victims. greatly, greatly appreciated. >> thank you. >> that's our show for today and this week. thanks to you at home for watching. i'll see you next saturday at 10:00 a.m. next weekend. but coming up, "weekend's with alex witt." yes! [ male announcer ] new crest pro-health tartar protection rinse. it helps you escape the scrape.

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on capitol hill, the battle of benghazi. why one leading democrat today says his party should be defiant when it comes to any new investigation. >> an american won the boston marathon for the first time 30 years. [ cheers and applause ] which was inspiring and only fair since a kenyan has been president for the last six. [ laughter ] >> that was a good one. president obama delivering some sy zingers last night. poking fun at his critics and 2016 contenders. who big moments in the case of l.a. clippers owner donald