sitting in for ed shultz. we're grateful to have this opportunity to talk to all of our friends here in america. and we're also, of course, i want to thank you for joining us here thank you. and we're always in tune and in time for the great topics of the day. we're grateful for this opportunity. i love my man ed shultz and sitting in for him is a wonderful, remarkable opportunity. and we invite all of you to come back to recall night when i have a chance again to say hello to you, to talk to you and engage you in some of the most stimulatin stimulating, interesting topics of the day. it's always fun to talk to my grandchildren on camera as well. that was a treat as well. we're grateful for this opportunity. now i'll turn it over to the baptist preacher from michael eric dyson to the right reverend al sharpton. >> tonight's lead, the gop's s dishonesty on sergeant bergdahl.

it's become more clear every day that republicans care more about throwing red meat to the base than they care about the truth. today, military officials briefed members of the senate armed services committee. but as they were laying out the facts of bergdahl's release, republicans were in if full spin mode. >> i was never briefed about a five to one swap, nor were there any names. there was a discussion several years ago about efforts to get bergdahl back, and we're glad that he's back. but i was never briefed on any specific negotiation. never briefed? really, speaker boehner? senator john mccain made that exact same argument last week and guess what? he earned a rare upside down

pinnochio for that phony claim. and while we're at it, a front page washington post article on february 17 of this year even reported that the deal was in the works. february 17. quote, five members of the afghan taliban would be released in exchange for the release of bergdahl. and if that weren't bad enough, now the right wing has a new bogus talking point. that we paid a ransom to the taliban. >> perhaps the administration may come out and say yes, in addition we paid "x" amount of money to get this guy freed because we thought he was so important. >> how will you get tot bottom to know if money was exchange popped. >> what they wanted was not releasing anyone from gitmo. they wanted money. the question that needs to be answered, and somebody in congress has got to stand up on their hind feet and ask it. was ransom paid?

>> it's not just the fox news bubble. republican congressman starkman has a letter posted on his website that asks the president, did you pay terrorists? today the pentagon refuted that claim, as did the white house. but it's funny. as it's reported in today's "daily beast" the right didn't mind when bush paid a ransom to terrorists. that's right, the bush administration paid $300,000 to get back american hostages in april of 2002, even fox's brett behr said this about the deal, quote, the u.s. government facilitated a reasonsoansom pay al qaeda-linked terrorist, end of quote. where was the gop outcry back then? i guess i missed it. i guess they only queue up their

phony outrage when a democrat is s in the white house. joining me now is congresswoman john chikowsky and former u.s. marine and msnbc contributor goldie taylor. thanks for coming on the show tonight. >> congresswoman, why are we hearing so many false attacks against the president for bringing an american soldier home? >> you know, at first, they were glad. the response when we heard that sergeant bergdahl was being turned, everyone seemed to be happy, and then they much got an memo, reverend al, that said wait a minute, it was that guy in the white house who helped to negotiate this, and so we can't be for it. and they're looking for reasons. the bottom line is we leave no american behind. and that doesn't say only the best american or the best

soldier. we leave no american behind. all of us should be grateful to this administration and to the military anticipate the intelligence community for making this exchange happen. they are searching for a reason to be mad. this very idea that they weren't informed, they know darn well that last december when the national defense authorization act was passed, the president had a signing statement that said, you know, if there is going to be the transfer of some american that's being held, i will do it anyway. he made it very clear. >> well, last december -- let me get that clear, congresswoman, while they were signing the act, the president stated what at that time? >> he said that he would use his executive authority to execute a transfer of an american and

waive the 30-day requirement in that narrow circumstance. and as you said -- >> and was there any outcry from the republicans wh s when he m that statement? >> i'm unaffair, because at that time, many like john mccain were saying do everything you can to get this soldier back. and as you said, as late as february, in the public domain, there was discussion of this kind of transaction going on. so i actually -- i wonder what those conversations were about. we better change direction here. it looks too good for the white house, i guess. this is politics, and i really resent them playing politics with the life of a soldier. >> we need to find out if they knew about the signing statement. but goldie taylor, the hypocrisy, what the congresswoman just said, the idea of leaving an american soldier behind, just that idea, what does it do to our troops, what does it do to the morale of

those in the military? >> that's the reason why it's a poor value. we don't leave a soldier or service person behind, man or woman, no matter what we believe about their individual morals, whether we believe they violated a law or not. we don't leave them behind. it violates troop morale. it decreases our troop readiness. it harms troop cohesion. so in order for us to be a ready fighting force, every man and woman who fights on our behalf has to know that their brothers and sisters will come and get them, come what may, dead or alive. we're still bringing home service members who died during previous wars and whose remanes we want return the. and so that's really our core value. but at the end of the day, the republican end of this argument has changed from day o'day. at first, they were questioning whether or not sergeant bergdahl should have been brought home. now they're questioning whether or not they were truly briefed. when it turns out they were briefed, now they're saying which five taliban leaders were

released. and when that gets answered, now they're moving on to something else, the trumped up bribery deal. no answers will solve this for this republican party. they're after for 2014 and 2016. they're after raising abargument that will be sustainable enough for them to drive out their base. >> you mentioned that speaker boehner and the whole question of the briefing. and today, speaker boehner was asked why congress couldn't be trusted not to leak details of the mission. watch his response. >> this idea that they couldn't trust us to not leak things is just not true. and it wasn't just me. there were other members of leadership who were well aware of the planning and the activities that were going in. to this effort. >> but politico reports today

that, quote, senator saxby chambliss said he, quote, absolutely would have raised holy hell publicly had he gotten wind of the proposed release of five taliban officials in a prison swap. i mean, this is prorted today. chambliss said i would have raised hell publicly. sounds to me like a leak. >> sounds to me like a leak as well, that it would have gone to the media, i guess, if not just to the white house. so what is he say? that we should have left this soldier? i want to tell you something. as recently as yesterday, one of my colleagues that i spoke to personally on the floor, and he spoke in the briefing that we got, said that sergeant bergdahl had given up his right to be exchanged because he was a deserter. i said oh, really? and you're going to decide that.

yeah. so we're going to let the taliban mete out justice, not the united states government when we bring this soldier home. yes, there will be an investigation. but that doesn't mean that we should have left him in captivity in the hands of the taliban. >> this is the kind of thing, congresswoman -- pardon me for cutting you off -- that really gets to me. i spent most of my life, all my life, fighting for equal rights for civilians. to think that a member of the military who volunteered, volunteered to go, to stand up for this country would be convicted without an investigation or a trial. it's just outrageous to me. >> that's the right of every american that you are innocent until you are proven guilty. but they are ready to condemn

this individual over five years. and it sounds like he was held in horrible conditions. >> i know you have to go vote congresswoman. thank you for your time the both of you. thank you. coming up, paul ryan claims he's looking for ways to tackle poverty. well, i've got a few ideas. we'll get into that next. also, the las vegas killers and their anti-government paranoia. are we doing enough to stop a fuse like this before they turn violent? plus, legendary soul and funk artist ron eisley of the eisley brothers joins me right here in the "politics nation" studio. we're celebrating 80 years of the apollo theatre. that's ahead.

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>> the fight for fairness is heating up in washington. as democrats push to raise the minimum wage. and that brings us to tonight's big question. can democrats prevail in the battle to raise the minimum wage? yes, no or not unless they criminal congress again. we want to know what you think. the poll is live on our facebook page and on twitter. so vote now and be sure to leave a comment. we'll have your answers later in the show. in the nation, it's not always pretty. add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance... ...and we'll replace destroyed or stolen items with brand-new versions. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ is all ready the brand ofstate the year.d

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i woke up this morning and i heard something amazing. house republicans were taking action on income inequality. there was a hearing on the war on poverty. but here's what i realized can't be serious. paul ryan was running it. yes, the guy who wants to shred the safety net. for years, ryan and the gop blamed poverty on the affordable care act, the existence of the minimum wage and the breakdown of the family. and today, they're back at it. >> the breakdown of the family. it seems it provides a strong social safety net. we're destroying that natural safety net that ought to be our first line of defense against poverty. >> distraction in hiring would be a minimum wage increase. minimum wage increase does

nothing but cost job and make prices go up. >> one size fits all living wage does that really solve or problem? doesn't that create disincentives. >> we're due for an adjustment. the last time we made big changes was welfare reform in 1996. that was almost 20 years ago. >> obama is a real disaster when it comes to small business owner. >> what a great plan. attack the war on poverty with their own war on the poor. they're against a minimum wage increase, even as a brand-new poll shows americans want to raise it. 90% of democrats favor a hike. 67% of independents, and 54% of republicans. and attack the war on poverty by blocking action on unemployment insuran insurance? today we learned 3 million americans have now been cut off from long-term jobless benefits.

so enough of the hearings, enough about talking war on poverty. there are things you can do right now. let's see some action. joining me now are michelle cottel and dana millbank. thank you both for being here. >>ry, empbd. >> at this point, is the gop more interested in holding hearings about poverty than actually doing something about it? >> well, paul ryan is fighting his own war on poverty, but he's shooting blanks because it has been a whole bunch of speeches about what would be better in an ideal world and not actually dealing with what the government can be doing. i don't understand why they're not viewing this minimum wage as a way to shrink the size of government and to fight off corporate welfare. because companies are paying their wages so low, uncle sam and you, the taxpayer, have to make up the difference in welfare and income transfer

payments to these people who are not being paid enough in the first place. so, you know, make business pay the people what they're earning and stop dumping on to the taxpayers. why aren't conservatives making that argument? >> you know, michelle, today at the hearing with esaw criticism of the war on poverty. and it was coming from gop lawmakers and a right wing, quote, expert they invited to speak. listen. >> we spent nearly $20 trillion or to zo on poverty. >> we spend $82 billion in poverty and yet the poverty rate hasn't budged in years. >> the excesses of the great society taken as a whole has weakened family, driven men out of the labor force and are responsible for some of the social problems, much of the

social dissolution we see today. >> it seems, michelle, an emerging talking point from the right is to attack the war on poverty. you know, medicaid, medicare, food stamps and head start. i mean, who will this appeal to other than a very small group attacking the great society programs that millions of americans benefited from. >> well, look, this is kind of the latest incarnation of the war on the welfare queens back in reagan's day. the idea that, if you have a social safety net, it encourages people to be lazy and shiftless and undermines their will to work. you know, now that doesn't address kind of why you would want to cut programs like s.n.a.p. that help the working poor. so i think what you're dealing with is very deeply engrained,

ideological suspicion of any kind of intervention. it's going to be hard for paul ryan or anyone to come up with programs to help the poor when you're dealing with that kind of starting point. >> you know, dana, here's what paul ryan told a group of conservatives just a few days ago. quote, i'm part of the irs investigation. we've got the benghazi investigation. the veteran affairs investigation, and we're going to do an investigation about this troop transfer with the taliban. so we've got a lot on our plates. that's what they're busy with? things like the irs and benghazi while millions are losing unemployment benefits? >> here's the way to think of it, reverend is basically, the house republicans have decided they're going to play a sort of stall defense for the rest of the year. so there's not actual legislation to be passed in terms of the minimum wage, in terms of immigration reform, in

terms of long-term unemployment benefit benefits. what are they going to do with all of these days? they scheduled most to be home in their districts on vacation. they have to at least pretend they're doing something. so there are going to be hearings and there are a whole bunch of sort of message bills that are not going to stand any chance of getting through the sena senate, much less being assigned by the president. this is what they do when they have no more legislating to do for the rest of the year. >> the theme of the republican house on fairness is do nothing and blocking. you read an article about how their stifling debate often preventing democrats from offering amendments to bills. quote, this is your article. the republican-led house will reach a dubious milestone this week. it will enter the record books as the most gagged in american history.

i mean, dana, this gop house has set records for the fewest days worked and the fewest bills passed. is this new record right in line with that? >> well, it is, reverend. both sides have been known for stifling debate for the years. they came in promising open and promising no more of these closed debates on the floor where they don't allow people to offer amendments, and they have now set the record 62 of them in this congress, beating nancy pelosi's record in 2007-2008. so it's a great milestone for them. >> will there be a political consequence for this in your opinion? >> you know, i think the sad reality is that most people don't expect anything else to get done through the rest of the year. and so it's going to come down to the messaging that the republicans are going to try to do with obamacare, and the democratics are going to have to try to find a way to push this back and come up with a message that they think voters will

respond to better. at this point, i think most people have thrown up their hands and don't expect anybody to get anything done. >> it seems like just a game to some on the right wing, but to real people, this is real life. and this is not a game. if you're dealing with unemployment insurance, and unemployment period. thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. coming up, what drove them to kill. is this anti-government violence a trend we could be fighting better? and call it the waffle house miracle. no, i'm not talking about the breakfast special. wait until you hear what happened to this waitress on mother's day. it's a feel-good story, and it's coming up. ♪

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today new details are emerging about the las vegas couple who went on a shooting rampage that left five people dead, including two police officers. as the country tries to understand what drove jared and amanda miller to commit this murder/suicide, friends say they were stunned to hear about amanda's role in the shooting. >> she kept saying that, something about the government, like, watching their every move. that's the only thing that got

me. i thought well, how do you know that? jared said he thought the government was watching all the time. amanda was such a good person. she was such a good person. i miss her. >> neighbors dismissed the couple's anti-government and anti-cop ranting as just talk. >> she said bye to her cats and she hugged me, he hugged me and he said that he had to do what he had to do and the revolution has just begun. i should have called the cops myself. but i didn't, because i thought they were talking smack. >> by sunday afternoon, it had become all too clear what the millers were serious. but it was too late. now amanda's father is speaking out, saying jared was responsible for his daughter's role in the shooting. quote, he was into all this patriot nation and conspiracy

theory stuff. and the next thing i know her phone was getting shut off and she was getting isolated from us. while authorities don't believe they're affiliated with any group, we know they had thought out like-minded people. we know of their connection to anti-federal government rancher cliven bundy, visiting his ranch in april. jared even posted a picture of a meeting he had with an extremist conspiracy theorist on his facebook page. so what drove them to act? is this anti-government violence a trend we could be fighting better. joining me now is brian levin, director of the center for the study of hate and extremism at california state university, and from the anti-defamation league and an expert in right wing

extremism in america. thank you both for being here. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> brian, how big a threat are domestic extremists in america? >> that's a great question. you're not a threat numerically. they're not a threat politically like the far right is in europe. however, where the threat is, is from these social networks, these folks that are on the tangents and loose orbits of more organized types of entities and social networks. the loose cherries the most violent that fall off the tree. and what they are able to do is either alone in duels or small groups take that inspiration and know-how, and take these hatrtrs and personal frustrations they have and direct them and amplify them to those who are considered enemies within the overall anti-government patriot movement. >> mark, you studied this a long time.

how big a threat are they? >> well, they are a really significant threat. we have 314 million people in the united states. so even the fringe of the fringe is a lot of folks. and some of these folks are more than willing to take up arm against their own government. we are several years into a major resurgence of right wing extremism and the amount of violence that's come out of that has been really significant. >> stop right there. i want to ask you that, when you see the emergence. because in 2009, the department of homeland security released a nine-page draft of a report that warned about the emergence of potentially violent extremist groups. kwet, that are mainly anti-government, state or local authority or rejecting government authority entirely. and that by lone wolves and

small terrorist cells are more pronounced in past public year. they specifically point to obama's election a driving force for right wing recruitment and radicalization. do you agree that president obama is part of what's inspiring this? or the election and re-election of president obama? >> the election of barack obama in 2009 was one of the major factors that caused this insurgence of right wing extremism. white supremists were agitated by that for obvious reasons, because he was the first african-american president. but anti-extremists quickly incorporated him into their new world order conspiracy theorys. so thousands of them became convinced that obama was going to be responsible for confiscating their guns, that obama was setting up concentraticon se concentration camps. and so he became someone to rally against for almost the entire extreme right.

>> now let me go back to you, brian, because the right wing's reaction to this report, their response really hurt the report. watch this. >> outrage over conservative americans being labelled extremist by the dhs. >> i warned you that if there were a terrorist event in america, the first people to be targeted by this spineless, cowardly, communist federal government would be patriots who own guns. >> the report i'm talking about came out a couple of weeks ago where they said that the veterans, exveterans may be a threat, a tea bag person is kind of a threat possibly to the united states. >> for liberals to now claim that the atmosphere is somehow more violently anti-obama is simply preposterous. >> so the report was actually withdrawn.

and the department even apologized about it. but these weren't empty warnings, were they, brian? >> no. the report was spot on. there was a little awkward language in there. but i tell you something, the report was started under the bush administration. the primary author of the report is a conservative, gun owning pro life person, and it was a disgrace what was done to this report. >> in fact, what we're seeing, including looking at the offender's web pages from over this past weekend, there is a mixture of both extremism and mainstream paranoia and conspiracy theorys. and one of the things that i think is problematic is that we have an embrace overall of violence in this culture, but there's also in the far right an embrace of an insurrectionist theory of the second amendment.

if you're upset with the government, you can go in shooting. there's conspiracy theories from the new world order to entrails in the sky that are poisoning people. what we have seen is some irresponsibility from some folks in this echo chamber that encourages the delegitimatization of the government, as well as wild conspiracy theorys that go far beyond birtherism. this is a problem. >> what is concerning a lot of us is that there must be other people out there like this. this can't be the on guy. and that is what is so much of a concern to a lot of americans. >> well, you feel the millers were not alone. in the past five years between 2009 and the end of 2013, there were 43 violent confrontations

between police and extremists in which shots were fired typically at the police. >> how many? >> 43. and of those 43, 39 involved one form of right wing extremism or the other. so this is not the start of something. this is just the latest of a long series of violent attacks that are threatening our nation's police officers. >> abosolutely. and mark is one of the best in the business. all of us in this area admire him. he's brilliant. a and he's also directly on point here. what we worry about is not only these spontaneous situations, but what we're worried about is we're seeing plots come up, bombings and targeting of institutions or public events. luckily they've been thwarted. but remember, oklahoma city only took a couple of people. and what we are constantly

seeing is this growth of this movement jofr yawl which doesn't believe that the government should be shrunk or that policies should be changed, but the government should be overthrown. and what we're seeing is within the political mainstream countenance to some of this kind of violent, shrill rhetoric and conspiracy theorys. i think both of us are worried about also a bigger plot. because you can sense it in the air. there's a lot more activity going on and a precipitous rise in these types of individuals involved in this movement over the last five years. >> i must say this is scary and frightening, but we are going to monitor and follow this up very carefully. brian and mark, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. still ahead, legendary soul and funk artist ronald eisley of the eisley brothers is here in

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>> one of the great moments in apollo history, court city of president obama. this year marks the 80th anniversary of the apollo theatre. for eight deck sads it's been the epicenter of music in new york city. witness to some of the greatest moments in american music history. tina turner's electrifying performance at the apollo in 1981 helped launch her solo comeback career. ♪ ♪ rolling rolling rolling rolling rolling on a river ♪ >> patly labelle brought apollo to its feet for an historic concert. ♪

>> and in 1968, my mentor, james brown returned to the apollo for a legendary concert that cemented his claim as the fastest, funkiest performer in music. ♪ i feel good ♪ i feel good ♪ i knew that i would >> but it's not just a concert venue. the apollo is a culture and social hub for conversations about the issues that resonate in the harlem community. last year, the apollo hosted our special, advancing the dream broadcast, where stevie wonder led the crowd in an alsoso -- acapella rendition of "we shall overcome." ♪ we do believe

and we have overcome today ♪ >> tonight, the legendary eisley brothers will perform at the apollo's 80th birthday party. eisley hits like twist and shout. and it's your thing. launched them into music history. and now the eisley brothers will be abducted into the apollo hall of fame. after their career was launched at the theatre more than 50 years ago. joining me now is the legendary lead singer of the eisley brother, ronald eisley. >> it's so good to be here, especially on your show. >> what does it mean for you to be performing at the 80th anniversary of the apollo. >> oh, wow. i was telling my wife and her mother. i said, you know, when we first

played here, you know, we dressed way up at the top of the apollo dressing room. and later on, when we got to meet our friend james brown, we went in his room and watched all the clothes and said one day. one day we're going to have this dressing room is, the star dresing room. after we recorded the record, "twist and shout" we were in that same dresing room and james came by to see us. >> is that right? >> and that was like, we had made it. >> you know james is like a father with me. i came with him a few times. >> yeah, yeah. >> now, how nervous were you the first time you performed at the apoll joe. >> we couldn't wait. this is our chance. >> we just really wanted to go over.

♪ you know you make me want to shout ♪ ♪ throw my hands back and shout ♪ ♪ don't forget to say you will ♪ don't forget to say yeah, yeah yeah, yeah ♪ say you will >> that was your first big hit "shout." could you imagine you would who inducted into the hall of fame 50 years later? >> we wanted to be. that's what we were striving for. >> so you always wanted to go to the top? >> that's right. >> you know, the hit with "twist

and shout." here's paul mccartney a few years ago. >> what should we play? >> stand by me. >> without you, the beatles never would have left liverpool. i mean, what did you hear when you heard paul mccartney say that to you? >> man, they wanted to come, they wanted to come to new york. they wanted us to show them everything about -- everything, they asked did james brown have 100 pair of shoes? they bring them all in their dressing room. him and mick jagger. we used to sit up and talk about it all night long. >> the beatles?

>> yeah. >> what is the special thing about the apollo to an artist. >> everybody that i knew from nat king cole, everybody has played apollo. and to play there and to do something good there, accept it as great there, it means everything. because everybody that you know that's been famous or, you know, before you, and at the beginning, sammy davis, just everybody. >> well, you're among the greats. you've always been among the greats in my book. the eisley brothers, congratulations. >> thank you very much and god bles you. >> god bless you. coming up, i'm calling it the waffle house miracle. one night shift, one tip, and one very happy ending. wait until you hear what happened to this waitress next. s as easy as it gets.

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but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business. >> the old saying goes no good deed goes unpunished. but this one has a happy ending. our story begins at a waffle house in north carolina on mother's day about 3:00 in the morning when a waitress, shana brown got to talking to one of her customers. she didn't realize what a huge impact he was about to have on her life.

>> i came back and i let him know, you know, i'm a single parent, you know, i go to school online. i have three children. and i'm just thankfully trying to make it out here like everyone else. he said i'm going to bless you tonight. and i didn't think nothing of it. >> that patron left shaina $1,000 tip on his bill. $1,000. but this is where the punishment part of the good deed comes in. waffle house denied the tip to ms. brown. because of a totally understandable policy to protect the company. it doesn't accept large tips on credit cards. so what happened next? >> you get your check? >> yep. >> for $1,000. >> he did. he did. i was so happy. he's like a hero to me. i thank him for that. >> we all thank him for that.

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with chicken or beef as the number one ingredient. the best treats come from the kitchen. >> finally tonight, an awful example of what happens after years of republicans refusing to address this nation's immigration crisis. in the last eight months, about 47,000 children have crossed the southern border illegally. they're coming without adults. many fleeing violence in central america. government agencies have been overwhelmed. now hundreds of children are being temporarily housed in an arizona warehouse until they can be turned over to relatives for immigration hearings. president obama is asking congress for $2 billion to help with what he's calling an urgent humanitarian situation. our immigration system needs to be faced.

but republicans refuse to act. marco rubio went on tv and said this -- >> as far as politics and immigration reform are concerned, it's the right thing to do for the country, i recognize there's political resistance to that issue. but i also recognize those of us who were sent here are not sent here to simply poll well. we're sent here to try to make a difference on an issue of extraordinary importance for our country. >> in reality, senator rubio abandoned his own immigration reform bill. and we can only hope the republicans will get serious about policy and agree to immigration reform. and now it's time for the results from our question of the day. can democrats prevail in the battle to raise the minimum wage? 35% of you said yes. 3% said no but most of you think democrats won't until they criminal congress again.

62% of you said that. thanks to all who voted. you can join the conversation by heading to our facebook page to make your predictions. we want to hear what you think. well, that's it for tonight. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. book report, let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. a huge crowd greeted hillary clinton at the barnes & noble at yuan yor square in new york. some waited until 2:00 a.m. the first person in the line was there from 2:00 p.m. the afternoon before waiting in line. anyway, tonight, we look at the best questions