state. >> congressman tim ryan, thank you so much. >> great to be with you. >> that's "the ed show." ed will be back in the chair tomorrow. "politics nation" with the reverend al sharpton starts right now. >> thank you. thanks for tuning in. tonight's lead, the gop declares war on the first lady's help the eating initiative. today house republicans voted for a bill that would mean more salt, more sugar and less fruits and vegetables in our nation's schools lunches. it was a direct assault against changes championed by michelle obama. and the arguments offered up, they were just laughable. >> i would dare say that most of what you had for breakfast this morning would not meet that standard. you would -- you would be sent to detention for what you had this morning. you wasn't served snickers and

hamburgers every day. that's not what in my small town up in northwest alabama, that's not what the lunch ladies served every day. >> the breakfast snacks being served this morning here in the room undoubtedly not pass anybody's test. pistachio nuts, pea nuts, crackers. >> let me get this straight. our kids should eat poorly because members of congress eat poorly too. i mean that's what republicans think. their bill would allow schools to opt out of nutrition rules requiring schools to limit salt, sugar and fat and to add more fruits and vegetables to school lunches. the move makes zero sense. and today, the first lady hit back in an op-ed piece saying, "as parents, we always put our

children's interests first. our leaders in washington should do the same." they should. but the republican who wrote the bill says the first lady just doesn't understand the problem. >> i do think that mrs. obama is well intentioned. i don't mean to be disrespectful to her program. i think it's just what is happening in this. i'm not sure that she realizes the full impact in greater america. >> she doesn't realize the impact in greater america. show me on a map where this greater america is, because in my america we're facing a national health crisis. one in three children is overweight or obese. and one in three is expected to develop diabetes in their lifetime. that's what these republicans in congress apparently don't understand. and today, democrats let them know it. >> the schools are full are junk

food. all the vending machines, they pay the schools to put the junk in there. if the schools weren't struggling at the local level to try to hold it together, they wouldn't have to have their hands out to put the poison in those machines that these kids eat every day. >> 50% increase in strokes for children, strokes. that was unheard of so many years ago. >> i spent four days with my grandchildren over this weekend, four days. and if they could have had pizza and french fries at every meal and ended it with some chocolate, that's what they would have done. however, i have a responsibility to make sure that they are eating properly. >> we have a responsibility to our children. but republicans would rather play political games and try to undermine the first lady. joining me now is congresswoman

marcy capter, democrat from ohio. she was a strong voice for democrats in that meeting today. and helen phillips, senior director of school nutrition for norfolk virginia public schools. she met with the first lady this week to discuss school nutrition. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you. >> congresswoman, let me start with you. when did the gop become the party opposed to healthier kids? why are they doing this? >> you know, you remember the old expression taking food out of the mouths of babes and children? well, we've seen it here this week again. it's astounding. they use all kinds of excuses, but in the end what they support is serving less nutritious food to our nation's children. the next generation, the generation that's supposed to carry this country forward into

the future. it's really neanderthal, it's backwards thinking. they use all kinds of arguments. they say, well, if a local school district has been losing money, the answer is cut good food for the children rather than figure out another way to save money. turn the lights off. maybe you can't have as many sports teams, i don't know, but you figure out ways to trim. but not nutritious food for children. not with what's going on with the rising incidents of diabetes, of high blood pressure, of conditions in our children, including obesity, that are extremely dangerous for them and for our country. >> helen, you have said, i believe, that you've seen the actual positive results in your district and how important this is in your district. >> absolutely. in norfolk public schools, we have successfully implemented the new meal pattern and all of

the nutrition regulations. we started about probably six years ago when the institute of medicine came out with their study to kind of lead the way to the new standards that usda implemented last year. so in norfolk we've been very successful. we have our students eating only whole grain breads and only whole grain pasta and rice. we've been doing that for several years. >> what does that mean? once they start doing that, how is this helpful to the children, to the students, other than the obvious health thing. does it also help them with their being alert in school, with their education? i mean tell me why this is important. >> absolutely. the health of our children, there's nothing more important than that, than taking care of our children and raising them to be healthy and make good food choices. we do that my serving breakfast and lunch at school. by offering healthy foods for them to choose from every day when they come into the cafeteria. it prepares them for learning. >> congresswoman, you know congresswoman debbie wasserman

schultz pressed republicans at whether this bill was aimed at gutting nutrition standards altogether. listen to this. >> so the majority does not intend to eliminate these nutrition standards and allow school districts to remain out of compliance? >> not in this -- not in this bill. i mean i can say there are movements out there that would like to change it, but this does not do that. >> i mean was that a slip-up, congresswoman? this bill might not have completely gutted but a later one could. is that what he's saying? >> they have got more than one that would gut good nutrition for children. this bill basically says that states can allow schools to opt out of the good nutrition standards. and we know we are what we eat. our children are what they eat and their little brains don't grow at the proper rate or they

get sleepy because they aren't eating properly and it impairs their learning. so, reverend, you asked why it's important. it's important to raise a whole human being, a healthy human being, and it starts with good nutrition. >> now, when you look at the costs, helen, school lunch is big money, a big money industry. it costs taxpayers $10 billion a year. so what's at play here? the junk food industry is trying to get a cut of the pie, is that what we're looking at? >> i'm not sure exactly who's behind pushing this desire for a waiver. definitely school nutrition programs were charged with -- the expectation is that we have a program that breaks even every year. and it is a difficult balance between good nutrition and our financial responsibility. however, we are school nutrition. the nutrition and the children are meant to come first and that's why our programs are created. when usda entrusts $10 billion to schools to feed children,

they trust us to serve the absolute most healthy best food we can to those children, so it is imperative that schools do the best they can to meet the needs of the children. and it is a balance between our financial responsibility and nutrition responsibility. but as the congresswoman said, it's not just school districts that may be losing money in their school nutrition program this year or last year, it's not necessarily only because of these nutrition regulations. there are many aspects of our job. this year alone, the weather, there's many days we missed school that you missed being able to serve a meal so you missed revenue. so districts may be able to show a loss but it's not necessarily that it's due to these nutrition standards. and there's many ways to implement the standards that are not expensive methods of instituting those standards. >> congresswoman, what about the substance of their argument about the cost. is there anything to the cost that they are raising, the

substance they're saying this costs too much money? >> well, you know, we've been able to fund these programs and they're claiming that if you purchase good food, it costs more money. well, i tell you what, if you look at the cost of spinach, for example, to add to a salad versus iceberg lettuce, spinach has vitamins. although i eat iceberg lettuce, i mix it up with other things to get more nutrition. what's happened at the local level, sadly, is that most schools no longer have kitchens. when we grew up, people worked in those kitchens. they prepared fresh food for the children. farms were close to the school. local produce was brought in. it's all changed. many schools just have warmers now and they bring in this processed food that's high in fat, high in salt, high in sugar. they warm it up and feed it to the children. it's really not healthy for the children. and you know what, the medical outcomes show it. so we have to check -- i give first lady michelle obama so much credit because she is

pointing at something that is so important and she's putting her credibility on the line as first lady of this country saying our children are our most important asset. we have to take good care of them. we have to feed them properly, and we have a role at the federal level in setting the best standards and finding ways to make that happen at the local level. >> you know, helen, it appears to me that it is totally upside down on the hill because today the gop-led ways and means committee actually approved a bill to subsidize apparently wholesome foods. this includes foods with no nutritional value like twinkies, candy and potato chips. this is unbelievable. >> i'm not aware of what you're talking about today with that vote, but i do know that the nutrition standards as we are using them now do not include foods like twinkies and foods like that. they are good, wholesome, nutritious foods. it certainly is doable.

i've been doing it in norfolk public schools for many years. i have many friends across the country who have successfully implemented these nutrition standards. we're running great programs for our children. some are using foods from scratch, some are using preprepared foods, some are using a combination of both. industry has worked to make cleaner labels for the foods that are prepared and we have the heart and soul of children as our main priority. we want to do the best for our children and provide the best that we can. >> all right. we're going to watch this as it now goes to the full house for a vote. we're going to stay on this story. congresswoman marcy kaptur and helen phillips, thank you both for your time this evening. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you very much. coming up, where is karl rove's sense of decency? it's an open question tonight after his despicable new ad using the va tragedy to try and score some cheap political

points. plus, it's the dirtiest political race in the country right now and it's also the tea party's last stand in 2014. we'll go live to mississippi. also beat the new leaders of the gop. with donald trump and mr. duck dynasty on your side, what could possibly go wrong? big show tonight, stay with us. new car! hey! [squeals] ♪ [ewh!] [baby crying] the great thing about a subaru is you don't have to put up with that new car smell for long. the versatile, 2015 subaru forester. love. it's what makes a subaru,

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remember when the gop said they were ready to rebrand? well, nothing says rebranding like their lineup at their big leadership event starting tonight. they have got leaders like donald trump, senator ted cruz, congresswoman michele bachmann and duck dynasty's phil

robertson. what a lineup for tonight's question. i want to know which of these speakers do you think most represents the gop's problems? is it trump, robertson, cruz, bachmann? you can vote on our facebook page or on twitter, so vote now and be sure to leave a comment. we'll have your answers later in the show. i love to eat. i love hanging out with my friends. i have a great fit with my dentures. i love kiwis. i've always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. super poligrip free -- it creates a seal of the dentures in my mouth. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. super poligrip free made the kiwi an enjoyable experience. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. ugh. heartburn.

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a vicious and downright bizarre battle for the soul of the gop. in five days state primary voters will choose between republican thad cochran and tea party challenger chris mcdaniel. for the tea party, this is a big moment. their last chance to oust an incumbent in the senate in 2014. and tea party favorites like sarah palin and rick santorum are lending their support to mcdaniel. but it's the daily mud slinging that's really made this national news. four people have now been arrested in connection with the shocking invasion of privacy of cochran's ailing wife, allegedly trying to photograph her as she lay sick in a nursing home, suffering from dementia. at least three of those arrested have links to mcdaniel.

there they are in photos with him, including the vice chairman of the state's tea party there on the left. now the cochran campaign is using these arrests in a tv ad. >> it just gets worse. now chris mcdaniel's radio co-host, fund-raiser and hometown friend charged with felonies. the mcdaniel campaign scandal spreads. had enough? >> mcdaniel has fired back, accusing cochran's campaign of shameful slander that goes beyond childish pranks. >> you've probably seen thad cochran's negative attack ads. newspapers call them shameless. i call them outrageous. but nobody said changing washington, d.c. was going to be easy. >> this election can't come soon enough. the race is getting uglier by the day. the district attorney says more arrests may be coming, and he also says that while there's no evidence that chris mcdaniel was

involved, he also has not been cleared yet. joining me now is ricky cole, chairman of the mississippi democratic party. thank you for coming on the show tonight, ricky. >> thank you, reverend, i appreciate it. >> so, ricky, politics down there can be pretty rough. but have you ever seen anything like this? >> this is some of the worst i've ever seen, reverend. it's to the point now where we hear from republicans who want to vote in our democratic primary next tuesday and we have open registration in mississippi. we're encouraging the republicans to come vote for our candidate, travis childers, in the democratic primary. >> you know for the mcdaniel's tea party supporters, it's all one big conspiracy. the president of the national tea party patriots citizens fund says, quote, with this big drag net they have cast, i hope the police don't swoop in here and

start locking people up. i mean is this really the argument on the far right, that some sort of obama police state is out to get them? >> well, the tea party met a conspiracy theory they didn't buy into. but here in mississippi, the tea party has just about destroyed the establishment republicans. but we mississippi democrats are going to see to it that they don't destroy our state. >> now, mcdaniel, chris mcdaniel, the tea party candidate, used to be a radio host. and he's made some pretty extreme statements. listen to what he said about taxes. >> uh, social security, we're broke. millions of illegals pouring across the border trying to become citizens and they'll all want theirs. and then reparations. let me just get crazy with it. if they pass reparations, and my taxes go up, i ain't paying taxes. >> now, this is a guy in

striking distance of getting the seat, in striking distance of getting that senate seat. you don't see this too often, rickey. >> well, he's in striking distance of getting the republican nomination. but he has a democratic opponent in november in travis childers who's going to give him a great run for the money. >> but does it alarm you that so many on the right in mississippi see mcdaniel as a credible candidate? >> yeah, but this is the monster the republicans have created. this is an outgrowth of nixon's southern strategy, those wolf whistle comments you were hearing there, those dog whistle comments you were hearing there implying certain things. the wink and the nod, that's been going on in the republican primary and with republican candidates for 50 years in the south now. >> now, you know the support for the tea party is down 20% among republicans since 2010. from what you've seen in your state, rickey, do you think the tea party is hurting the gop?

>> oh, yes, absolutely. we see it every day. >> what's the evidence of what you're seeing and hearing there in mississippi? >> well, the tea party has moved the entire political discussion so far to the right that voters who once thought of themselves as moderates or maybe even republican leaners have reached out to join our democratic party. >> well, it's a mess going on down there. rickey cole, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you for having me. coming up, growing calls from both sides for change at the va. but now karl rove and the others on the right are trying to score cheap political points off of tragedy. and there's a new game we can all play. it's called which mitch mcconnell will show up? that's next. hey. i'm ted and this is rudy.

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30 years senator mitch mcconnell has given kentucky voters a new game to play. it's called which mitch will we see on the campaign trail. because it seems like every day he's got a new position on health care. for years the senator said one thing about the affordable care act. >> there's only one way to truly fix obamacare, only one way. and that's a full repeal. >> but on friday, when a reporter wanted to know if senator mcconnell would get rid of the successful kentucky version of the law, he couldn't answer. >> i think that's unconnected to my comments about the overall question here. >> actually, it's totally connected. experts say the state exchange couldn't last without the whole law. but guess what?

now we have yet another new mitch. "the washington post" fact checker asked mcconnell's campaign what he'd do for all the people who have signed up for coverage. that's more than 413,000 people in kentucky, most of whom signed up for medicaid. his campaign says, quote, medicaid existed before obamacare and will exist if we are able to repeal it. kentucky could be able to keep many of its newly enrolled in the program if we decided to. so kentucky could let many of the newly enrolled stay in the program, but the state could also kick everyone off? senator mcconnell, or should i say senator mcconnells, you can't have it both ways. nice try, but we got you. nlimitd talk and text. (whispering) oh ten gigs sounds pretty good. (whispering) yeah really good

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the va, more than 100 congressional lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are calling for va secretary eric shinseki to resign. that after yesterday's stunning report finding widespread problems of officials manipulating veterans' wait times for care. whether or not you agree the secretary should resign, we all agree on one thing. things must change. but what we don't agree with are republicans using the situation to score political points. like oregon senate candidate monica wehby. she attacked her opponent over the va scandal and then asked for donations writing please show your support for monica by clicking here to donate $5, 10, 25, 50, 100 or more. looking to fund raise over tragedy, and she's not the only

one playing politics. the rnc launched robo calls and a twitter campaign telling americans to ask for an independent investigation. and what do you know? they're targeting ten democrats. karl rove's group, crossroads gps is using the scandal to hammer alaska's mark begich. >> senator mark begich sits on the veterans affairs committee. his response, if there's a problem, they need to fix it. if there's a problem? tell senator begich, when veterans are dying, it is a problem. >> and it's the same ugliness in arkansas, with republican tom cotton using the va to go after senator mark pryor. >> mark pryor's response to the scandal? silence. he sides with obama. >> he does side with president obama. he wants these problems fixed. that's what all americans want.

but using a tragedy as a political football, that's bad politics and bad taste. joining me now are ryan grim and goldie taylor. thank you both for being here. >> thank you, reverend sharpton. >> ryan, outrage over the va is really bipartisan, so why are republicans trying to make it political, and could that back fire on them? >> it could, and you're seeing senator richard burr in north carolina having major problems because he politicized this and started attacking a veterans group there, which then lashed back at him and he had never served in the military and in north carolina, you know, that's kind of a prerequisite for criticizing the military there. so in situations like that, it certainly could back fire. they don't want to overplay their hands. i think their political move here is they want to tie this overall in some rubric of

obamacare. saying more scandals involving health care and obamacare. i think that's the extent of the reasoning. >> you know, goldie, some on the right are actually trying to use the va problem to go after obamacare or the affordable care act. listen to some of this rhetoric. >> sarah palin and a couple other people on the right said there will be death panels. there will be people deciding who gets what treatment and when and that's going to put long waiting lines on certain types of treatment. the va is proving that right now. >> we've already seen what happens with the va, with all the layers of bureaucracy and how difficult it is to get something simple done. this is going to be the va on steroids. >> we've still got to find a way to convince people that this obamacare can't work and that everybody is headed for similar potential as these debts and the va. >> but the va is very different from the health care law. the national journal laid out the difference today.

quote, unlike the va, no one on the exchanges is buying insurance from the government. the government doesn't employ doctors or decide how much they'll get paid or require them to accept any of the insurance plans sold through the exchanges. obamacare is not a health care system. the va is. so why do those on the right pretend the va problems have to do or are similar in some way to the health care law, goldie? >> you know, reverend sharpton, the fact of the matter is the issues happening today with the va have existed for a decade or even more. when veterans like myself were denied care or delayed care or got care that was substandard care. but that isn't true for all veterans. for some veterans the va system is perfectly fine. for too many politicians and pundits alike, this tragedy is like gameday. they want to put as many players on the field and get as much

field advantage as they possibly can and that means ringing up points on the board. that means using it for right wing radio talking points. that means sending out campaign fund-raising e-mails to their base supporters with whom they know this kind of thing works. it's just like with the benghazi situation. it's something that they're going to wear into the ground until they get enough of their support sending $5, $10, $25 donations, going door to door knocking on their neighbors doors trying to get them turned out for this fall election. unfortunately they're turning this tragedy, where people have lost their lives through systemic misdeeds, that they're turning this tragedy into a fund-raising boondoggle. >> now, ryan, you know this isn't the first time the republicans fund raise over a tragedy. remember when the national republican congressional committee told supporters they could become benghazi watchdogs if they donated. why do the -- why do they keep trying to profit from tragedies, let me ask you that? >> well, there really doesn't

seem to be a limit here. some of these commercials have accused some of these democratic senators, including pryor, of almost being responsible for some of these veterans dying or for not caring that veterans are dying. you know, it's pretty remarkable the extent to which the rhetoric is able to go here. >> now, when you look at the fact that this problem, these problems preceded this administration, goldie, as you, a veteran, have said, were any of these voices that are vocal now who were there in previous administrations, were they out there being strident or even vocal about the problems of the va? >> well, absolutely not. i mean under george bush, these very same voices were dead silent. and the same is true today in terms of how many dollars. i believe $2 billion have been cut from the va over the course of the obama administration by this republican congress. and so these are people like

john mccain and others who voted for those cuts, who are now cat calling from the sidelines, calling odd iaudibles, wanting current secretary to resign and other heads to roll. if any heads ought to roll, it ought to be theirs. we ought to call them back home. their trust quotient with us has run out. they are no longer good stewards for our american tax dollars and certainly not for the health care for our veterans. it is hypocrisy, it's rank hypocrisy but that alone won't stop them. what will stop them, however, if you get in that voting box on election day and bring them home. >> ryan, you know, it is a problem, it is a real tragedy, it's a bad scene, it is being investigated and it should be. what i'm raising is the hypocrisy and playing cheap politics and fund-raising off of it. >> there's also some audacity involved, to start two nearly endless wars to send thousands of troops over to iraq and

afghanistan, you know, in iraq for ten years and thousands and thousands of them come back wounded and then to be shocked that the health care system that hasn't been upgraded can't handle it. you know, i think what -- >> that's right. >> -- we established is that congress can't really oversee this very well. they need to vest more authority in the va to make reforms from the top. that's kind of where we are at this point. >> ryan grim, goldie taylor, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you. still ahead, dick cheney is back at it, trying to rewrite history and knock down president obama. i set the record straight tonight. but first, the gop's best and the brightest. what do donald trump and mr. duck dynasty have in common? that's ahead. [ male announcer ] they say mr. clean was born to help people clean better, and that he travels the world inventing amazing new cleaners, like his newest invention, liquid muscle,

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it's been a rough few years for team gop after two brutal election losses, they vowed to seriously change their strategy in order to win new voters and elections. >> we know that we have problems. we've identified them and we're implementing the solutions to fix them. >> a report said the party was too narrow-minded and out of touch, so they would open their tent and tonight they're unveiling their new leadership

team. moments from now in new orleans, the republican leadership conference is kicking off. this year's theme, united for victory. so ladies and gentlemen, i present the 2014 starting lineup of team gop's new kinder, friendlier leadership. who will be at this conference? it starts with the captain, mr. rebrand himself, rnc chair reince priebus will lead off the festivities. and how's this for some new blood, congresswoman michele bachmann will be in attendance. 9-9-9 anyone? the pizza man himself, herman cain, will be there. but the failed presidential candidates keep on coming. nothing says change like rick santorum, rick perry and, yes, newt gingrich all on stage.

and all the way from texas, mr. filibuster, he's a proven leader. he led his party to their worst approval ratings ever. he's ted cruz, and no leadership team is complete without the birther king himself. yes, donald trump is change you can believe in. you know him, you love him, say hello to dennis desousa, the anti-obama filmmaker who just pled guilty to campaign finance violations. he's there. but the all star of this team is "duck dynasty" star phil robertson, straight from making derogatory comments about gays and african-americans, he's ready to lead the gop. ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the 2014 republican leadership team.

>> i don't want to make people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. i want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide for themselves and their families. >> all i want to do is see this guy's birth certificate. perhaps it's going to say hawaii. perhaps it's going to say kenya. >> let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. let's not do that. >> it is a consistent assault. they just want to use brute power to force the states to take down marriage laws that have been in place for centuries, and that's inconsistent with the constitution and it's not right and it's heartbreaking. >> what a breath of fresh air. joining me now, our team players, dana milbank and

krystal ball. thanks for being here tonight. >> thanks for having us, rev. >> dana, they talk about change and this is the lineup at a leadership summit? >> yeah, it sounds more like a lineup for a support group for people who have had a rather difficult time the last few years. you've got people with legal troubles, people with ethical troubles. you didn't even mention speaker david vitter who had that little problem with the d.c. madam prostitu prostitute. you've got people with all manner of controversy with anti-gay or racist sentiments. the real question is not that why would a bunch of crazy people gather, but why does reince priebus and why do the republican party continue to allow their brand to be used in such a way. >> and that is a problem. i mean talking about their brand, krystal, the celebrity headline at the gop leadership conference, phil robertson of "duck dynasty" has compared homosexuality to beastiality, and said this about african-americans. quote, i never with my eyes saw

the mistreatment of any black person. i hoed cotton with them. i'm with the blacks because we're white trash. we're going across the field. they're singing and happy. preentitlement, pre-welfare. you say were they happy? they were godly. they were happy. i mean this is the start of the leadership conference tonight. what does this say about how the party has moved forward to be more inclusive? >> well, it doesn't say much, does it? it was one thing that they had to defend this guy. it's another thing that they want to champion him and put him forward as their spokesperson, as one of their leaders at the republican leadership conference. it's absurd. and especially as you were pointing out, this is a party that came out of 2012 badly bruised. they could not believe -- they couldn't wrap their head around the reality that they had lost again to president obama. they really seemed like they wanted to do some soul searching, wanted to change. one of the issues that they put forward first and foremost was that they had to take a softer

stance on social issues, on gay rights in particular, to be able to appeal to young folks. to a rising generation of people who see this big government heavy handed approach and bigoted approach to gay rights as to what the libertarian party should actually stand for. so when they're putting this person forward, it's undermining everything they said about what they need to do as a party. >> dana, you know there's some news today of republicans being more progressive. congressman charlie dent came out today supporting same-sex marriage saying, quote, life is too short to have the force of government stand in the way of two adults whose pursuit of happiness includes marriage. as a republican, i value equality, personal freedom and a more limited role of government in our lives. i believe this philosophy should apply to the issue of marriage as well.

but now there are only six republicans who publicly have come out in support of marriage equality. only six republicans. it hardly looks like they're making any progress, does it? >> well, good for congressman dent. he's of course doing that because the pennsylvania gay marriage ban was struck down, but he is a bit of an outlier in his party right now. you can see there are a lot of republicans who realize there's a problem. look who's missing from this conference down there in new orleans. chris christie won't be there, jeb bush won't be there, marco rubio won't be there. even rand paul and mike huckabee know that's a little bit of a difficult crowd to set your foot in. the problem is the rest of the party doesn't seem to be able to have any control of this. >> but priebus is there, the chair of the party, the one who called for rebranding, so this is not some outside meeting. >> it's an awareness of a problem but they haven't quite figured out what to do about it.

>> not only that, this is in louisiana governor bobby jindal's home state. he's the one who said they had to stop being the party of stupid. then you come out with people like donald trump and phil robertson. so he obviously, even him is not committed to changing the party and starting with having people who are at least non-offensive spokes people. let's just start there. >> let me give you this one. speaker boehner recently spoke out about how to appeal to women. this is what he said. we're trying to get republicans to be a little more sensitive. you look around the congress, there are a lot more females in the democratic caucus than there are in the republican conference. and some of our members just aren't as sensitive as they ought to be. it's not about policy, it's about sensitivity. >> yeah, and that's putting it pretty mildly in terms of

sensitivity when they had a guy who was on the house science committee, todd akin, saying what he said about legitimate rape. the problem is not the gender of their members so much, although that certainly is an image problem. it is a policy issue. in texas they came upon the problem of their gubernatorial candidate being on the wrong side of equal pay for women, so they thought, okay, we've got an idea. we'll put some women out there, spokespeople for us to defend him and make the case for his view. one of the women came out and talked about how, oh, well women are just too busy for equal pay. so it's not just about having the right gender and not just about being more sensitive, it's about having the right set of policies that are actually going to be helpful to women. >> dana milbank and krystal ball, thank you both for your time tonight. be sure to watch "the cycle" weekdays at 3:00 p.m. right here on msnbc. ahead, dick cheney says president obama is the weakest president in his lifetime.

why dick cheney should be banned as a so-called expert, ahead. people join angie's list for all kinds of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

angie's list -- reviews you can trust. trwith secure wifie for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company. i would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business. and now it's time for results from tonight's big question. which of these speakers at the republican leadership conference is most representative of the gop's problems? 5% of you named donald trump.

10% said congresswoman bachmann. 15%, phil robertson from "duck dynasty." but the top response, ted cruz with 58% of the vote. rick says it is difficult to pick only one, but since you made me do it, i'll choose cruz. but a lot of people said they're all the problem. dan says which one doesn't represent a bunch of problems? mark says i love this lineup. don't change a thing, gop. hillary will tear them up. thanks to all who voted and, please, keep the conversation going. on our facebook page. this is interesting. it says here that a woman's sex drive increases at the age of 80.

helps reduce the risk of heart disease. it seems that 80 is the new 18. grannies, bless your heart, you are bringing sexy back! eat up. keep heart-healthy. live long. for a healthy heart, eat the 100% natural whole grain goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain. this is humira helping me lay the groundwork. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage in many adults.

humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. take the next step. talk to your doctor. this is humira at work. here's my bottom line. america must always lead on the world stage. but u.s. military action cannot be the only or even primary component of our leadership in

every instance. just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail. >> president obama at west point on wednesday, with a direct rebuke to the bush-cheney doctrine of bomb first, try diplomacy later. last night vice president cheney emerged from his bunker to respond. >> he's a very, very weak president, maybe the weakest certainly in my lifetime. we've got a problem of weakness, it's sitting right in the white house. >> the weakest president of his lifetime. really? so what exactly is mr. cheney's definition of strength? is it strong to invade other countries based on false pretenses and bogus intelligence? is it strong to torture people and call it enhanced interrogation? is it strong to spend a total of

$4 to $6 trillion in the wars in iraq and afghanistan. how is it strong not to change course after seeing 58,000 americans killed and wounded in those wars? the american people don't need or want that kind of false strength. we've had enough. we've paid too much. we've lost too many fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. high noon for president obama. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this unfinished disaster, this ticking grenade, if you will, at the veterans administration. timing is everything in politics and shows how a leader makes decisions, shows