wizipan and dallas goldtooth, i appreciate your time. we'll follow up on the march and what impact it will have. >> that's the ed show, "politicsnation" starts right now. good evening, ed. >> good evening, ed, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, karl rove gets schooled. today, former president clinton went after karl rove's dirty suggestion, that hillary clinton might have brain damage. >> well, first of all, i got to give him credit, you know, he did that embodies that old saying that consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. first, they said she faked her concussion, and now they say she's auditioning for a part on "the walking dead." >> he openly mocked rove and exposed just how absurd these attacks is. >> she works out every week, she is strong, she's doing great.

as far as i can tell, she's in better shape than i am. she certainly seems to have more stamina now. i was sort of dumbfounded. they went through all this trouble that said she stayed, terrible concussion that required six months of very serious work to get over. something she never low balled with the american people, never tried to pretend didn't happen. now they say she's really got brain damage. if she does, then i must be in really tough shape, because she's still quicker than i am. >> the president's tone was light, but make no mistake, this was a warning to the right wing spin machine, that machine is in full spin cycle right now. others in the right wing media are pushing rove's false claim that hillary clinton was in the hospital for 30 days. >> 30 days in a hospital, is that true? who ever spends 30 days in the hospital these days? >> is there a chance something

deeper happened, like a t.i.a. or something like that? >> absolutely. >> actually, she was in the hospital for three days. yes, it was a serious health issue, but these attacks are about one thing, dirty politics. trying to raise doubts about a clinton candidacy. joining me now, but there's nothing funny about what rove's saying. what do you think he's up to? >> well, i think bill clinton's attitude, a bit light hearted, was the right way to approach this, ridicule it, demean it, because it's, obviously, a sign of weakness on the part of karl rove and the republican right. naturally, they don't like hillary clinton, and this is a great way to fire up the base, making any kind of attack against her, but this is such a

cheap shot that it only enhances her status as being a real threat to republican victory in 2016. so i can certainly understand why bill clinton responded the way he did. >> what do you think they are up to, karl rove, and hillary clinton thought it was enough to respond to. what do you make of this? >> i think you do have to respond, though, because as much backlash as karl's getting over this, it is one way he's going to inject this issue into the conversation and always age comes up when you're talking about a presidential candidate. you saw it with mccain, dole, reagan. this is an issue karl rove wants people talking about sooner rather than later. >> is it different, michelle, because it's a woman now? because i've heard some suggest sexism, as well as ageism in this. >> you're going to have that come up because you've had

people say things like i don't want to watch a woman grow old in the white house for eight years, and you do have to be more careful with female candidates because it's so easy to step over that line. that said, age and health are always an issue, but i think rove handled this a little bit over the line here in that he's going to engender sympathy for her, and it is always dangerous for republicans when they start going after the clintons personally, because then people start feeling like the republicans have gone too far. and clintons have always benefitted from the fact that their enemies just always kind of go a little mad. >> now, talking about enemies going a little mad, president clinton said, get ready for more and more of these ugly attacks. listen to this. >> this is the beginning. they'll get better and better at it. i mean, you know, i'm still waiting for them to admit there was nothing to white water.

just part of the deal. when a question is asked, it has to be answered in a serious fashion. if it raises a serious issue, even in a ridiculous way. >> now, karl rove, clarence, he justified his speculation about hillary clinton's health by pointing to her age, something michelle and i touched on. listen to this. >> look, she'll be 69 by the time the 2016 election. she will be 77 if she serves two terms, and this ends up being an issue. >> now, she raised -- he raised, rather, about her age being 69, but that was reagan's age, was it not, clarence? i mean, where's that? >> she's actually younger than reagan was when elected and it didn't bother republicans then. look, we could expect this sort of thing, and bill clinton is right, and he ought to know about how this is only the

beginning. i remember eight years ago when karl rove was bragging about the big opposition research book they already had on hillary clinton, and, obviously, we remember back in the 1990s when the clintons were accused of everything, including running a drug underground and murder, et cetera, et cetera, but a lot of other people, this is only the beginning. and as we have seen, the clintons are well accustomed to this sort of thing and the rest of us in the public are well accustomed to this sort of attack. it looks rather weak, actually, for the republicans to be launching a negative campaign against a woman who is certainly not even announced she's going to run yet. >> you know, michelle, when we look at the fact that rove didn't raise age around reagan and media matters dug up something from 2008 today, he did raise it about john mccain. look at this. >> they conclude that the age of

john mccain is hurting him with some of these moderate voters. what is your take on that, as they take on mccain? >> you know, look, i think this is really reprehensible on dean's part. >> so, it is reprehensible for democrats, some democrats, have raised it in 2008 about john mccain, but it's acceptable for him to bring it up today about hillary clinton? >> yeah, and, you know, karl's got some very delicate sensibilities that have been offended here. nobody's ever accused him of being too consistent. i thought bill clinton's joke about the hobgoblin of small minds was a pretty good one, because, obviously, this was a big issue with john mccain, not just because of his health, but not just because of his age, but because he'd also had skin cancer and he'd had kind of a hard health run, and this will be an issue with hillary. she will have to release health records, just like every other presidential contender, and this will be an early gut check to

her of kind of whether or not she's committed to going forward with this, because it will get worse. >> you know, clarence, michelle mentioned karl rove going over the line. well, jon stewart got ahold of it, and he got the jon stewart treatment, and it was funny. watch this. >> on the 30th of december she goes in and turns out to have had a blood clot. they won't say where. >> unanswered questions, an attempted coverup. my god, it's brainghazi! how many -- when did you start caring so much about the brain fitness of those who have to hold the oval office? i assume it was right after your boss fell and banged his head after losing the battle with the pretzel. >> brainghazi, clarence. >> i love it. that's appropriate comparison, because this is a lot like

birtherism, no matter how many answers you provide, the question keeps coming back, why aren't you telling the whole truth? that's the same thing with benghazi, over half a dozen hearings, they are saying we want to get to the truth. you know, the fact is, they don't like the truth they are hearing and that's the case with hillary clinton, that people who don't want her to run, don't want her to be president, don't like the truth that they are hearing. >> but michelle, i don't want to end this too light. bill clinton says it's going to be dirty. do you agree it's going to be dirty, isn't it? >> oh, it's going to be so dirt yichlt i've already talked to a couple of pacs who attack hillary and stop her as early as they can. if not by destroying her reputation with voters, by making it so uncomfortable for her that she decides not to run. that is the stated goal of a lot of republican operatives. >> clarence speight s -- >> good luck with that.

>> clarence and michelle, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you, reverend. coming up, president obama's tough message for republicans. you want to create jobs? prove it! >> it's time for folks to stop running around saying what's wrong with america. roll up your sleeves and let's get to work and help america rebuild. >> we'll talk about it with massachusetts governor deval patrick. also, are republicans having second thoughts about their benghazi obsession? top leaders are worried this whole bogus scandal thing could backfire. and first dog sunny obama is making a big splash tonight, literally. she might be going to hollywood. we'll explain that ahead.

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republicans keep pushing their phoney scandals while president obama today pushed his plan to rebuild the country and create jobs. we'll talk the hunt for jobs with the democratic governor of massachusetts, deval patrick. that's next. tigers, both of you. tigers? don't be modest. i see how you've been investing. setting long term goals. diversifying. dip! you got our attention. we did? of course. you're type e* well, i have been researching retirement strategies. well that's what type e*s do. welcome home. taking control of your retirement? e*trade gives you the tools and resources to get it right. are you type e*? what if it were more than something to share? what if a photo could build that shelf you've always wanted? or fix a leaky faucet?

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to push a bill that would add millions in infrastructure spending. the legislation would literally save jobs and our country's crumbling roads and bridges. and it comes at a time when republicans are gutting money from the transportation program. >> so far at least, republicans who run this congress seem to have a different priority. instead of putting more workers back on the job, they put those workers jobs at risk. instead of breaking ground on new projects that improve quality of life to millions of people, they gave tax cuts to households making more than a million a year. instead of making investments to grow our economy by growing the middle class, they are still convinced that prosperity trickles down from the very top. if you want to tell them what you think about that, don't worry, because usually they show up at ribbon cuttings for projects that they refuse to fund. >> that's bold-face hypocrisy.

the truth of the matter is, this shouldn't be a partisan issue, and in the past, it hasn't been. under president george w. bush, 47 senate republicans backed an infrastructure bill, as did a whopping 217 house republicans. so why is the gop against bills like this now? >> they are more interested in saying no, because they are worried that maybe, you know, they'd have to be at a bill signing with me, than they are at actually doing a job that they know would be good for america. it's time for folks to stop running around saying what's wrong with america. roll up your sleeves and let's get to work and help america rebuild. that's what we should be doing. >> that is what we should be doing. this should be a no-brainer. this should be an easy call.

the question for republicans is this, do they care more about petty politics than they do about rebuilding america and about getting americans back to work? joining me now is governor deval patrick, democrat from massachusetts. governor, first of all, thanks for coming on the show tonight. >> al, nice to have me, thank you very much. >> let me ask you a question, how can republicans in washington oppose a plan to create jobs in your state and in states all over the country? >> how can they do it? that's what they call a rhetorical question, al. i mean, look, infrastructure investment works. we've had a very disciplined strategy over the last almost eight years here in massachusetts of investing in education, in innovation, and in infrastructure, which i always describe in the latter case as the unglamorous work of government, but it supports everything else. and that strategy is the reason

why we came out of recession faster than most states. in 2013, we added more jobs in a single year than in nearly 14 years, and it's the fourth straight year of strong job gains. >> this weekend, governor, during the republican weekly address, gop lawmakers repeatedly called for job creation. listen to this. >> republicans are relentlessly focused on building a strong economy that chooses good jobs as fine jobs. >> compete for in-demand jobs. >> 42,000 direct and indirect jobs. >> american and manufacturing jobs. >> help them find good jobs. >> promote innovation and job creation. >> that's destroying jobs. >> keep good ideas in good jobs. >> but if congress fails, governor patrick, to act on the president's infrastructure bill, nearly 700,000 jobs are at risk. >> that's right. and that's just talking about projects that are currently in the pipeline, including many,

many projects here in massachusetts. we have certainly as a state been doing our share and then some, but the federal government since the 1950s has been an incredibly important partner with states in investing in our collective future. and that's what infrastructure is about. you know, as strong as businesses are and we wish them to be, they are not going to build their own road, their own airport, their own school, their own public laboratory space, or affordable housing. that's something we do together, and when we do those things together, it's called government. >> it's been bipartisan. i mean, the president today blasted republicans for standing in the way of what is always been a bipartisan issue. listen to this, governor. >> right. >> here's the sad part. rebuilding america, that shouldn't be a partisan issue. my favorite president happens to have been a republican.

guy named abraham lincoln. in my home state of illinois. and it was lincoln who committed to a railroad connecting east to west. even while he was struggling mightily to hold together the north and south. it was a republican, dwight eisenhower, who built the interstate highway system. it was ronald reagan who said that rebuilding our infrastructure is an investment in tomorrow that we must make today. since when are the republicans in congress against ronald reagan? >> it's always been bipartisan, governor. >> well, you know what, this notion that you can grow an economy in the modern information age by just cutting taxes, crushing unions, and wait, is a failed strategy. it's a stale rhetorical point. >> i have to ask you one question. >> yeah? >> have you ruled out running for president in 2016? >> you had to ask, didn't you?

>> i had to ask. >> i will finish my term in early january next year, al, and i promised my wife that we don't have term limits here, that that would be the end of my time in public life, at least for a little while. >> a little while, so next year, 2015, so 2016 could be a little while. >> it maybe not a little while, not enough of a little while. maybe too little a while. >> what about if someone asked you to join their ticket? >> no, listen, thank you for the question and, you know, i'm embarrassed by it because i'm still a kid from the south side of chicago and people ask me questions like that, it still kind of blows my mind, so thank you. >> i talked to another guy that had been to the south side of chicago about this time in 2008, so maybe i'm in the habit of trying to look down the road a little bit. thank you, governor. >> thank you, al. >> governor deval patrick, thanks for your time this evening. coming up, cheer up,

congressman ryan, we figured out where your bizarre theories on poverty come from, and we're getting the "politicsnation" time machine ready. plus, you've got to love this one. the party that's perfected the art of a good conspiracy theory is now worried about them. and first dog sunny obama is making a big splash tonight. stay with us. awesome, amazing, that's epic, bro.

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obamacare. it will be very unpleasant if the death panels go into effect. the president of the united states effectively becomes a health care dictator. let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. >> and this health law fever hasn't gone down, even though 8 million people have now signed up. just this week, bachmann got into a heated debate over the popularity of the health care law with dnc chair debbie wasserman shultz. >> so they want to change. that's really what the result is. they are not -- >> this is why. >> they want it changed, and now just in the last day or so, debbie, you had your turn, now it's mine. in the last two days -- >> don't want you to run out the clock. >> how this is hurting the bottom line of major businesses, from ge, to ups, to dollar

general, this is hitting their earnings, because the affordable care act -- >> ladies and gentlemen, we have a new one. now the affordable care act is hurting businesses' bottom lines. nice talking point, but sadly it's not true. "the washington post" fact checker looked at bachmann's claim and wrote, "given the employer mandate was delayed until 2015, it's unclear what additional cost these companies face now." and there was more. "when a company such as unitedmental healunite unitedhealth group must now accept clients with pre-existing conditions, most americans probably would not weep." congresswoman bachmann has

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get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. folks, do not adjust your television sets. we've taken a trip back in time to find the source of the gop's backward policies. we went all the way back to the 1950s, but it turns out we didn't go far enough. so now, welcome to the 1870s. just like today, there were all kinds of curious theories about how to help the poor. one reformer said, "it is not bread the poor need, it is soul. it is not soup, it is spirit." the poor don't need food, they need a soul? that was then. this is now. >> the left is making a big

mistake here. what they are offering people is a full stomach and an empty soul. the american people want more than that. >> it's the same talking point, nearly 150 years later, and then there's this one, "the best means of doing the poor good is found in friendly intercourse and personal influence." you just need friends to get out of poverty. it was a silly idea then, and it's silly now. paul ryan says the poor should be, "embracing the attributes of friendship, accountability, and love. that's how you fight poverty." wow. a real original thinker, that paul ryan. the gop might think not much has changed in the last century or so, but i'm here to say their policies aren't just bad, they are ancient history.

it's time to snap out of it. and join the 21st century. joining me now, author delaney porter for "the huffington post." his article details how paul ryan's policies can actually be traced back to the 19th century. and also with us, james peterson, professor at lehigh university. thank you both for being here. >> thanks, rev. >> thank you. >> arthur, great piece today. >> thank you. >> tell us how congressman ryan's ideas to help the poor go back to the 19th century. >> well, a model for paul ryan has always been the welfare reform of 1996 in which newt gingrich and bill clinton teamed up to make our welfare system for mothers with children a lot less generous, and at the time, a big inspiration for gingrich and congressional republicans was the charity reformers of the late 19th century, the people

who were talking about indiscriminate soup being the problem that's causing this phenomenon of tramping. there was a tramp crisis at the time and they were saying we've got to quit giving out all this soup. it's making the tramps worse, and instead we need to be their friends, give them love and friendship. >> this is in the 1800s? >> that's right. you know, this is an idea that was popularized at the time by marvin alaskey, who wrote a book that is still popular today. though to be fair to paul ryan, i don't think e propose we abolish every federal welfare program that's gone up since then and return us to a soup-based safety net, but this is a source of inspiration for republicans today. >> i mean, james, today's republican party sounds amazingly, though, like some of these 19th century quotes that we're hearing from arthur delaney's "huff post" piece

today. >> they do, rev. they've taken nostalgia to an entirely different extreme and you can see how this cuts across a swath of issues that they are interested in, but mr. ryan and his colleagues, first of all, they've got to know poor people have friends, they have souls, they go to church, poor people are accountable, and the reality is, there are structural limitations to reducing unemployment in this society. there aren't enough jobs, so to moralize them and to overly moralize them seems inappropriate. the reality is, rev, they should take that moral compass argument and apply it to the 1%, apply it to the wealthiest amongst us and see if they are giving back enough, see how they conduct their lives in an everyday sense, is consistent with what they believe should be the morals of the country. to sort of blame poor folk seems not only misdirected, but inaccurate. >> you know, arthur, there's not only soup or welfare, it's other issues.

fdr, he signed the first minimum wage law way back in 1938. just listen to what republicans are saying about it now. >> this is a state-level concern and issue. >> so does that mean, is the federal minimum wage then, is that unconstitutional in your mind? >> i don't see anywhere it has been constitutionally defined. >> where are you on the minimum wage? >> i believe minimum wage decisions need to be made by the state. instead of focusing on this sort of defeatist mentality where we've got to up the minimum wage, why don't we focus on creating better paying jobs? >> the federal government has absolutely no business being involved in mandating salary and wages in the private sector, none whatsoever. >> so it's shocking, arthur, what you point out, but james, this is a law that fdr signed in '38. what are they talking about? >> again, this is, you know, there's a series of throwback politics, rev. it's the minimum wage, it's

access to health care, it's tax policy, and remember, within the republican party, rev, as you've documented on this show, there is a sense that since obama has emerged as president, constituents of the republican party feel america is no longer america, there has to be some kind of overarching reclamation process. that to me seems absurd. the reality is, we do need a federal minimum wage because the federal government to lead the way for the private sector. part of the way why poverty is so pervasive right now is simply because the minimum wage is too low. >> now, let me ask you, arthur, what about these poverty tours that ryan is going on, where he's going around the country to see the poor and what can be done about poverty, what is your feeling about that? >> i think this is something that really does differentiate paul ryan and makes it worth looking at his rhetoric all the more closely. this is not something any other

republicans, to my knowledge, are doing right now for the past year. really ever since he had that photo op in the 2012 campaign where they were washing pots and pans and people said, well, are those pots and pans even dirty, paul ryan? he's embarked on a totally different approach with no media. it's been other people telling us about these visits he's done, going into poor neighborhoods and looking at nongovernmental programs that help poor people help themselves, and he's working on some new proposal that he'll bring out this summer. we don't know what it will be, but presumably something that will help these kinds of groups, maybe a voucher that poor people can take and get this kind of faith-based counseling to help them get their lives back on track, but it's not really -- >> or maybe we'll have to read more 19th century reformers to find out what he's coming up with, because so far, it sounds very, very much like stuff that we've heard 150 years ago.

it's not only this, you know, james, when you look at the fact in 1973, roe v. wade happened, '65, president johnson signed the voting rights act, yet you have 11 states that have made abortion illegal after 20 weeks. you have other states claiming that they are doing things that are really violating and rolling back the effects of the voting rights act. it's almost like they are acting as if what is established is not established, and what is ancient becomes new to them. >> it is, rev, they believe that their political viability going forward is going to be situated in this kind of retrograde looking backwards kind of politics, and what they used to sort of underwrite policy changes is this ideology of doctrine of states rights, which also, by the way, is a throwback to sort of civil war era

federalism versus state sovereignty kinds of politics. what we know about states rights is unfortunately when you allow states to make policy that the federal government should be responsible for, oftentimes it's easier for states to discriminate without the sort of oversight of the federal government. >> the problem and the fight and the battle for a long time. arthur delaney, james peterson, i'm going to have to leave it there. thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. still ahead, are republicans getting cold feet on benghazi? top leaders worry the phoney scandal could make them look ridiculous in this election year. also, a rough homecoming for the number two republican in the house, eric cantor. [ booing ] why are republicans booing a fellow republican? and we have a first for

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so you can make owning business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can. it's a time honored republican tradition, in bending conspiracy theories. karl rove's new one suggesting hillary clinton might have brain damage is all coming out now

because the gop is scared of hillary's potential presidential run. it's also why the fake benghazi scandal has been everywhere. why the gop is putting together yet another committee to investigate it, and now some republicans think their strategy may actually backfire. eli lake in the daily beast reports, the new investigation is spooking some gop leaders. with three congressmen who chaired committees that looked into benghazi, all against the new committee. congressman mike rogers was saying, this could be a rabt hole and was warning us that we should not let this investigation get into conspiracy theories. i've got a news flash for you, congressman, the conspiracy theory started a long time ago, and good luck finding party leaders deep down in that rabbit hole. joining me now are goldie taylor and krystal ball, thank you for

being here. >> thanks for having us, rev. >> krystal, this is exactly what the gop scandal machine was hoping for. >> no, it's not. and i do think there was a concern among the top leadership that they were becoming too focused on benghazi and it was an issue that only the base was interested in. now, the flip side of that is they are the reason that the base is so interested in benghazi, because they have been spinning these conspiracy theories since it happened, and first this started really as an attempt to tarnish the president, right, and to keep him from winning the election. i think part of the reason -- >> and block susan rice. >> absolutely, absolutely, that was part and parcel, too, but i think part of the reason why they are having so much trouble letting go of benghazi as an issue is, number one, they have nowhere else to go, especially with health care now becoming more and more of a success, and number two, they still can't admit to themselves that this president won re-election fair and square. so if he somehow cheated with benghazi, he lied about benghazi, then their world can

make sense again because he's not rightfully the president. he cheated and that's the only way he could get there. >> goldie, you know republicans have already done a ton of investigations on benghazi without finding anything, really. the seven congressional committees have investigated, there's been 13 congressional hearings, 25,000 pages of documents, and the pentagon said the investigation's cost is in the millions of dollars. i mean, won't one more committee make this look like it's even more of a waste? >> you know, the unfortunate part of all that, reverend, is they did not take the time to ask the most salient, the most critical questions, what must we do in terms of our security apparatus around the world to make certain that our embassies and other facilities are safe for our personnel? they didn't ask the questions about that. they are not asking the questions about what might have prevented benghazi. they did not ask the questions

about what might have kept ambassador stevens and three other americans safe that night. what they are asking is about talking points on a sunday morning talk show, and i think that that is, you know, the most unfortunate part about this, but even still, speaker boehner did a little math and he said, if i just talk about benghazi a little bit longer, i can reset the narrative for 2014 and i can keep another democrat, namely hillary clinton, out of the white house in 2016. and so they believe that this is the gift that keeps on giving. unfortunately, it is stinging them right in the butt. >> now, you know, i mentioned to you and goldie, krystal, congressman rogers and him being worried about conspiracy theory, and, you know, it's funny that he's worried about that, considering all of the right wing conspiracy theories about the president. they said he had a fake birth certificate, that he didn't write his memoir, that he faked

going skeet shooting, that he fakes job numbers, that he works with the muslim brotherhood. some claimed he was sworn in on the koran, that he won't say the pledge of allegiance, and he's coming for your guns and your gold. i mean, what is he talking about he's worried about them going into conspiracy theories? >> they are already there, and they've been there on benghazi. i mean, the ridiculous things that we've heard coming out of the right about this grand conspiracy going all the way to the top. most of the overwhelming majority of the american public finds on its face to be totally ludicro ludicrous, but it is interesting they are saying, no, we don't want to go forward with these conspiracy theories, because when they are convenient for them politically, they are perfectly happy to indulge in them. when it was motivating the 2010 fervor and wave they saw, they were perfectly happy and would say, well, we never said, you know, that the president won't

say the pledge of allegiance or wasn't born here in america, but they tacitly let these conversations go on and never stood up for basic facts and decency in our civil discourse. >> but they are trying to have it both ways, goldie, but the president knows how to deal with them. look at how he handles the conspiracy theories. watch this at the white house correspondents dinner. >> while we're talking sports, just last month a wonderful story, an american won the boston marathon for the first time in 30 years. which was inspiring and only fair since a kenyan has been president for the last six. let's face it, fox, you'll miss me when i'm gone. it will be harder to convince the american people that hillary was born in kenya. >> that's the way to handle it,

goldie, just acknowledge it, but make light of it and show how ridiculous it is, some of these things? >> sure. i think there's always a time and place for levity, and i think that night was a perfect time to sort of bring it front and center, but there's a real danger to this kind of thing. this kind of narrative keeps swirling its way in the grassroots of the gop is also paralyzing what's happening inside the beltway. it's the reason we don't have comprehensive immigration reform. it's the reason we don't have a nationalized energy policy that really works for businesses and for the safety of americans, you know, it's the reason why, you know, we can't get meaningful legislation through to raise the minimum wage for working class people in this country, and so while these narratives can be funny and sometimes offputting, and, sure, they live inside the rabbit hole every day, i think they are building new tunnels and building homes down there, but on the other side of this, it's incredibly dangerous to our public we can't move forward to

raise the quality of life for everyone. >> but isn't it diminishing returning for them, krystal? >> i think it already has been diminishing returns. i mean, it obviously didn't work in 2012. the president was re-elected. i think they realize that they have to at some point steer the party back to at least a reasonable place where we are all dealing with the same set of facts, or else they are never going to win a national election again. >> well, goldie taylor, krystal ball, thank you both for being here tonight. >> thanks for having us. >> and be sure to catch krystal on "the cycle" week days at 3:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. coming up, eric cantor helped build the tea party monster, and now it's back coming to haunt him in a big way. and first dog sunny obama is making a big splash, literally. we'll tell you some exciting news about the first dog next.

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house, and it's going to be a great summer, too. just be sure to drink up. tigers, both of you. tigers? don't be modest. i see how you've been investing. setting long term goals. diversifying. dip! you got our attention. we did? of course. you're type e* well, i have been researching retirement strategies. well that's what type e*s do. welcome home. taking control of your retirement? e*trade gives you the tools and resources to get it right. are you type e*? but with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair

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four years ago, the mad scientist in the gop created the tea party frankenstein monster, and republicans like eric cantor fell all over themselves talking about how much they loved the tea party. >> the tea party's been a tremendously positive input, i think, in this election, and they've been a tremendous force and look forward to their continued energy as we get into some of the very, very difficult challenges ahead. >> he boiled over with praise for the tea party. they are tremendous force. too bad that tremendous force is turning on him now. cantor is in a tough re-election fight with a tea party challenger named dave bratt, and at a gop convention this weekend, cantor tried to call out his opponent, and the tea party monster he helped create went right after him.

>> when i sit here and i listen to mr. bratt speak, i hear the inaccuracies. my family is here -- [ booing ] -- when you throw stones -- my opponent served on an economic advisory board to liberal governor tim kaine. [ booing ] wait a minute. wait a minute. here's the point. here's the point -- >> ouch. i'm pretty sure they are getting booed and echoed in your own district by members of your own party is not a good sign if you're seeking re-election, but, of course, if cantor or any republicans run into trouble with the tea party, they only have themselves to blame. i learned a long time ago, you can play to the extremists, but the extremists will remain

extreme and come back to haunt you. an old activist once told me, don't invest in those that carry mess, not if you really have a message. the tea party is going to remind some republicans of that. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. the clintons are in the ring. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. let's start with the best fight in the country, the clintons versus karl rove. rove started this battle row yal over hillary's health, this brain injury he's mixing it up about. the clintons are hitting back with a combination of punches, the defense of the former secretary of state is 100%, that rove is dealing with some