screaming it to people because we are proud of it. >> ben & jerry's, ahead of the curve. good to have you here. i can attest that your ice cream tastes really, really good. i love that ice cream. i think folks can tell. that's "the ed show." "politicsnation" starts right now. good evening, rev. >> good evening, ed! thanks to you for tuning in. we have a big show tonight. the president made a big statement on what he will and won't do in iraq. and we'll are have my exclusive interview with the queen of soul, aretha franklin. we start with developing news about one of the gop's top contenders in 2016. prosecutors claim wisconsin republican governor scott walker is at the center of what they say was a nationwide criminal scheme.

it all revolves around walker's controversial 2012 recall campaign. in documents released today, prosecutors write, quote, the scope of the criminal scheme under investigation is expansive. it includes criminal violations of multiple election laws. the filing alleges walker and top aides illegally coordinated with outside conservative groups to raise money and push campaign messages. it includes an e-mail from governor walker to karl rove detailing the activities of a top walker deputy, rj johnson. "bottom line, rj helps keep in place a team that is wildly successful in wisconsin. we are running nine recall elections and it will be like running nine congressional markets in every market in the

state and twin cities." so far no criminal charges have been filed. this is a dramatic development. scott walker's fight to stay in office was a national story, a showdown between progressives and conservatives trying to gut labor unions. walker's campaign spends $36 million. groups supporting walker poured in another $22 million, setting records for wisconsin campaign. all culminating in walker's victory. conservatives hailed it as vindication. today, serious new questions about that campaign and whether walker broke the law to secure victory. last month, he says he wantses to put all this behind him. >> my hope is with a lot of issues we can just move on. i have tried to stay focus, as you know, asking me about this over the last several months that this is a hand in the state

of helping the state get back to work. >> walker wants to move on. there's even talk of him running for president in 2016. but prosecutors in wisconsin may have other ideas. joining me now is wisconsin democratic state senator john erpenback and patrick marly, state house reporter for the milwaukee journal sentinel. he helped break this story today about the prosecutor developments. he's the author of "more than they bargained for" about walker es's fight against the unions. thank you both for joining me. >> thanks for having me on. >> thank you. >> patrick, this is the first time we have seen governor walker's name connected to this, isn't it? >> well, we have seen his name connected to it before. this is the most detailed accounting we have had yet. this is the first time with knowledge of his personal

involvement in this. we have known his campaign was at the center of the investigation. now they are saying he's had personal knowledge of this, was personally involved in fund-raising efforts with outside groups to help his campaign inpatrick, here is wha wrote about two aides to walker. "prosecutors allege johnson and jordahl acted as a hub to coordinate activities among walker's campaign and a host of conservative groups to help walker and other republicans in the recall elections." so what exactly does it mean to act as a hub? >> well, the wisconsin club for growth is a group that's long been active in wisconsin politics. they run ads on issues affecting the state and have been very active in promoting the labor cuts that walker was responsible for. rj johnson has been a principal

activist with the wisconsin club for growth. he's a key consultant togo norwalker's campaign. since walker first became governor he's been working for an outside group and for his campaign. what prosecutors are alleging is that he and deb jordahl worked to garth together money from multiple groups, the state's business lobby, a number of national groups to run efforts to help governor walker and they were aware of this. prosecutors are saying the groups are supposed to act independently but by working with the campaign they were not independent. >> senator, let me go to you. prosecutors say that under governor walker, two aides were working for both the official campaign, friends of scott walker. and that they weres also running an outside group, the wisconsin club for growth. you were involved in the recall fight. did you have any suspicions

about where all the money was coming from? >> no. i was just surprised at the amount of money, al. . you were right at the top of your show. you talked about the millions of dollars flooding into wisconsin. it was a tremendous amount of oh money. the issue here is collusion. an outside group can't work in concert with a campaign like the governor's campaign to not only raise money, direct how the money is spent but also to develop messages. that seemed to be the case here according to the prosecution. this isn't a liberal accusing the governor. this is a prosecutor saying he's at the center of this illegal activity. it's a sad day in the state. despite what you think of the governor, you never like to see this. >> no. the walker campaign released a statement saying, quote, the friends of scott walker campaign are not party to the federal suit and have no control over any documents in that suit. two judges have rejected the

characterizations disclosed in those documents. so, pat are rick, why did the judge release the documents today? is this investigation in a kind of oh legal limbo? >> it's halted for the moment. this is a complex case. it's complicated by the fact there are five lawsuits connected oh the the investigation. prosecutors started what's called a john doe investigation which is similar to a grand jury. it's a secret investigation where people are forced to testify or forced to produce documents and told they can't talk about it publically. in the course of the investigation they issued subpoenas to the wisconsin club for growth and other conservative groups. in january of this year, the judge who oversees the investigation quarterbacked tqu. he didn't think the activity was criminal. then they claimed the

investigation was an infringement of their first amendment rights. a federal judge halted the investigation. prosecutors have appealed that to the 7th circuit court of appeals. this entire investigation -- or this entire lawsuit has been unusual in that large sections of court documents that are normally open to the public are blacked out. the 7th circuit court of appeals today ruled that documents that were previously filed would be unsealed completely. for one set of documents made up 250 pages perhaps. that's what became public. there are many other documents sealed. but this one that outoh lines the prosecutor's theory of what happened is the most important document we have with seen yet out of this. >> let me go back to you, senator marley -- i'm sorry, senator erpenbach.

>> that's okay. i have been called worse. >> the name karl rove has come up which we had not ever heard in connections with lawsuits. is scott walker that important nationally you have big players like karl rove directly communicating with him and at least the name coming up in this? >> well, if you remember at the time -- and i know you do -- all eyes in the nation politically were focused on wisconsin. if scott walker is recalled that's good for public unions and says to the republican governors don't think about taking away collective bargaining rights, if governor walker is successful in the recall which he was it says to republican governors, okay, go ahead. you can do the same thing. scott walker made it through wisconsin. you can make it through your state. i wasn't surprised to see karl rove's name as far as the statute is concerned.

it seem it is prosecutors are focused on johnson, jordahl and the governor. i can't tell you if you are the walker campaign, on top of dismal job reports today in wisconsin, you almost have to be spinning out of control if you are that campaign now. >> you know, you involved in the recall and groups like wisconsin club for growth are classified as 501-c-4s. it means they can't coordinate with campaigns and they cannot push candidates on the issues. watch this ad that they ran in 2011. >> governor walker promised to make government live within its means. though the special interests don't like it, he's making them pay their fair share. call governor walker, tell him to keep his promises and continue fighting for wisconsin taxpayers. >> senator, does that sound like an ad pushing an issue and not a

candidate? >> it absolutely does not. it sounds like it's pushing the candidate. but they didn't use the magic words, vote for or against scott walker. that's not the issue in this investigation. the issue is the governor and his chief strategist coordinating raising money, directing money to funding nationally and telling the groups how to spend the money. that's illegal. it's called collusion in wisconsin. it doesn't matter what the ad says. they are saying it's a free speech issue pt. it's not. it's governor walker, according to the prosecutors, deb jordahl and rj johnson, colluding with independent groups who they shouldn't be talking to in the first place during a campaign. >> i have to leave it there. we'll be watching this as it develops. state senator john e rpenbach and patrick marley, thanks for your time. >> thank you, al. >> thank you. coming up, crisis in iraq.

president obama talked about america's hard questions. and about not repeating the mistakes of the past. plus, mitch mcconnell and the koch brothers' ritzy hideaway. there is a new secret plan to try to buy the election. and the queen of soul, aretha franklin has been called the voice of the civil rights movement. we'll have my interview with her tonight. talking about freedom summer 50 years late. her apollo meb memories and more. you don't want to miss it. bulldog: ah, the dog days of summer!

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what do you think could help improve american s' confidence in congress? if they pass the jobs bill. if they could pass any bill. or fewer tea party members in office. the poll is live on our facebook page and our twitter. vote now. we'll have answers later in the show. ♪ abe! get in! punch it! let quicken loans help you save your money. with a mortgage that's engineered to amaze! thanks, g. this is mike. his long race day starts with back pain... ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve... ...for all day relief.

"start your engines" how low can they go? that's the question facing congress right now. after years of gop obstruction

and tea party extremism the american people are fed up. just 7% of americans have a great deal of confidence in congress. 7%. that's a record low. now the president's numbers are down, too. but with congress we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. things won't get better soon. today, house republicans elected congressman kevin mccarthy as the new majority leader. he's been in the house leadership since the tea party wave of 2010. he's part of the problem. we won't see any fresh ideas out of him. and the new number three in the house is congressman steve scalitz, part of a group that doesn't think paul ryan's budget didn't cut enough. they are headed for more of the same. a party modeling itself after senator shutdown, ted cruz.

>> we are seeing at the same time liberty under assault. we are seeing our constitutional rights under assault like never before. take obamacare. please, take obamacare! we have seen threatses to libertiment religious liberty and more of the bill of rights, more dire than they are now. >> they are not interested in governing. they just want to spout doom and gloom about the president. joining me now, krystal ball and karen finney. >> thanks, rev. >> they are down to 7% for confidence in congress. are they hoping to get to 2 or 3%? >> you have to wonder who are the 7%? that's the question. >> that's a good question. >> the sad thing is for

republicans with their anti-government rhetoric and ideology, in a way it serves their interest when government institutions like congress are viewed so unfavorably. sometimes we don't do a good enough job are. we do at this network, but often times there is not enough attention paid to who is in the way. where is the obstruction coming from. voters say none of this is working. let's get them out without making the distinction between folks really standing in the way of things like a jobs bill, things like infrastructure, things like improvement to education. all of the things our nation needs. they don't make the distinction between those in the way and those who are working to make progress. >> you know, karen, in the past there's been ups and downs in how the public views congress. in the last few years confidences has cratered. it's not only the lowest numbers

on record. this is the first time gallup found confidence in a major u.s. institution in single digits. doesn't it show how damaging the obstruction we have seen has become? >> it does. at the same time, we need to say that was the goal of the tea party folks when they were elected. they don't believe in government. they don't hold the samele values you and i and krystal do about the role of government. where is that role? where is the role of the private sector? they don't believe in that. they wanted to make government dysfunctional, be obstructionist, not just to stand in the way of president obama and hatred of obama but also to make government look as bad as possible. and as ineffective as possible. in spite of that, we have had small glimmers of places where we have had success.

i think our value ares hold that government has a role to play in our lives. remember, this was part of the agenda. this is part of the talking points part of what they campaigned on, part of what they came to washington to do. >> she raises a good point. are there republicans in congress that want to be unpopular in certain parts of the country? >> in a certain way, that's are right. you have to think about the absurdity of someone who has like a louis gomert, someone on the far right with so much contempt of government that they want to be elected to serve in it? it makes no sense. they didn't come to govern or get things done. their measure of success is the number of things they can keep from happening. during the government shutdown there was a wing of the party that was delighting that the government was so small at that point. that basic services weren't provided. they thought it was great. >> you know, on issue after issue, the tea party pulls the

rest of the gop to the right. take, for example, immigration. the new nbc poll finds 68% of tea partiers think immigration hurts it is country. that's way higher than the main street republicans and the entire country. so now the new majority leader is more open to immigration reform. but if the tea party is against it, will it happen? karen, let me ask you that. >> here's the problem. the tyranny of the tea party minority, if you will, because we are talking about a few people that stand in the way that have the attitude that immigration is so harmful to this country when a majority of americans including republicans and moderate republicans hold different views. when you lay out the full argument you get to a different place. it is the extremistses who are talking about the fact that they can't trust president obama to enforce the laws, despite the fact that he's done better on

enforcement than any previous president. >> right. >> we do need to remember that part of this is almost the tyranny of the minority halting progress on such an important issue to this country. remember, this is an issue where even the business community agrees with the administration. >> absolutely. >> and moderates. >> absolutely. you know, the party shift to the right is having an impact across the country. take arkansas, for example. mitt romney won there in 2012 by 24 points. but the senate race there is close. here 's why. republican tom cotton supported the ryan budget to voucherize medicare. on privatizing social security he said, everything needs to be on the table. he voted against thes violence against women act. is the gop agenda too conservative even for a red state like arkansas? >> it looks like it may be.

arkansas also has a minimum wage increase on the ballot in november they are hoping will boost turnout among democratically aligned voters. yeah, mark pryor's campaign against tom cotton is hitting him hard on positions on medicare and social security. very hard on things like violence against women and equal pay for women. it's been effective. democrats have done well with movinging women increasingly into their camp by highlighting the extreme and out of touch and outdated policieses of republicans like tom cotton. >> thank you for your time. >> thanks, rev. >> watch crystal on the cycle, weekdays at 3:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. still ahead, the secret koch brothers summit. and the new right wing plot to buy the next election. it's a wake-up call for democrats. also, president obama gives a

history les ton to those beating the drums of war on iraq. our exclusive interview with the queen of soul. that's ahead.

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the republican party is known as the party for the rich. the party that fights for big

corporations over the middle class. senator mcconnell is trying to change that image with an attack on the president and the democrats. >> instead of delivering relief, they have delivered a steady diet of bad political theater day in and day out. >> political theater? more like political farce. >> republicans have been quietly assembling a lot of good ideas aimed at helping middle class americans deal with the stresseses of a modern economy. all of these ideas are consistent with our party's long-standing commitment to the principle ps of upward mobility, shared responsibility for the week. apparently senate democrats would rather people didn't know republicans have been working overtime behind the scenes to make their lives easier or paychecks bigger for working mom s and recent college graduates. >> really? well, they have a funny way of

showing it. by opposing the paycheck fairness act, opposing a minimum wage raise, and trying to repeal the affordable care act is how you do that? maybe senator mcconnell and his republicans' friends hang out with the middle class champions in their free time. i'm sure he saw them here a few days ago at the ritzy st. regis monarch bay resort in la gu that beach, california, where the nation magazine reports mcconnell was a featured speaker at the koch brothers secret conference for mega donors. for the record the billionaire brothers are also against the paycheck fairness act. they also oppose raising the the minimum wage and repeal the affordable care act. so senator mcconnell's song and dance routine on the gop fighting for the little guy, it's one of the best pieces of theater i have seen in years. joining me now is joe madison.

thanks for being here, joe. >> thank you, reverend. >> senator mcconnell said the gop is the party for the little guys. days after speaking at the koch brothers retreat. how do you react? >> well, you didn't leave me very much on the national scene. let me run oh the commonwealth of kentucky. here is a man who's supposed to represent kentucky, but you have tens of thousands of veteranses who, by the way, depend on food stamps, depend on unemployment insurance he's cut. you have thousands of kentuckyans that are college students. they have cut pel grants. he doesn't even take care of his own home state, the poor in his home state. by the way, he's the leader of his party in the senate. that's my reaction. you have pointed out nationally the impact that he's had and the

people in kentucky ought to pay close attention because he's really hurt them. oh, by the way, he wants to repeal the affordable care act and folks in kentucky are probably benefitting more from that than any other state thanks to a democratic governor. >> senator mcconnell also had insight into why the american public is so frustrated with government. watch this, joe. >> whether it's frustration over an absurdly complicated tax code that drains people of time and energy or programs rigged to help the well off and the well connected. an increasing number of constituents don't even think government is capable, let alone interested, in making their lives any easier these days. >> this is the same man who spent three days with a couple of billionaires not dealing with any issue that would help middle class or oh poor.

he's talking about fighting the well off and the well connected? >> oh, by the way, they met in secret. these are folks who bought out the entire hotel, put up security so no one could come within miles of them, i suspect, and met in secret. if they are so interested in helping the poor or helping those who need help, why would you hold a closed, secret meeting. remember what happened during the presidential campaign and the last secret meeting to mitt romney and thank goodness a working class waiter had a cam a there and we found out what he thought about what was it, the 47% at that time? >> let me tell you what they were meeting in secret about. according to "nation" magazine they reported the koch brothers announced their spending goal at the retreat. they want to raise $500 million for republicans to take control

of the senate in the 20 oh 14 midterms and $500 million more to take the white house in 2016. that's $1 billion, more than twice what was raised in the 2012 elections. joe, that's what they were meeting about. >> so therefore, what they will create and let everyone out there who is a working person understand. they are creating a plutocracy. the rich will control the house. the rich will control the senate. the rich will control the white house. you now have that in this country. that's what it is. it's a fancy word that means the wealthy, the land barons in this country will, in essence, run the government and we become their servants. >> i will hold it there on that point. joe madison, thank you for your time. >> thank you, reverend. >> coming up, on the 50th anniversary of freedom summer, we talk to the voice of the

civil rights movement. the one and only queen of soul. aretha franklin. my interview with her on that, her apollo theater memories, her relationship with the obamas and much more is next. ♪ the last four hours have seen... one child fail to get to the air sickness bag in time. another left his shoes on the plane... his shoes! and a third simply doesn't want to be here. ♪ until now... until right booking now. ♪ planet earth's number one accomodation site booking.com booking.yeah! it says here that increases at the age of 80. helps reduce the risk of heart disease. keep heart-healthy. live long. eat the 100% goodness of post shredded wheat.

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she's a musical genius. a groundbreaker, activist, and the undisputed queen of soul.

she's aretha franklin. she was a child protege gospel singer who came up singing in the church with her father, the reverend c.l. franklin. ♪ >> aretha burst into the main stream in the 1960s, becoming the voice of the civil rights movement. asking for a little respect. she's racked up 19 grammy awards and sold more than 75 million record ares worldwide. in 1987 she was the first female performer inducted into the rock & roll hall of fame. in 2008, rolling stone named her the greatest singer of oh all

time. she's performed at the white house countless times. most recently three months ago for the women of soul concert. ♪ >> she was born in tennessee and raised in detroit. but in many ways her home is right here in new york city on 125th street in harlem, the legendary apollo theater, the stage that launched her career and so many others. in the early '60s at the anyoge 16, she would do four shows a night. by the '70s, she was a worldwide star. but always made time to come home. last week, the apollo marked its 80th anniversary. who better to honor the theater than the queen of soul herself?

>> it's a true honor to welcome to "politicsnation" the queen of soul, miss aretha franklin. >> thank you for having me. >> i want to talk to you about the apollo. because all over the world everyone knows aretha franklin. what was it like the first time you came to perform at the apollo? >> oh, my god. i first came to new york when i was about 16 or 17. i came with my father, the reverend c.l. franklin. we were doing gospel programs and services from major city to major city. when i heard about the apollo, i would go and see the artists there is -- gospel and secular. many were from detroit, the motown artists. i saw a lot of artists there is -- the four tops and the spinners who were my friends. of course i would go back and say hello to them.

wow. the apollo was it. >> you have a lot of fond memories, i'm sure, performing there. what were the audiences like at the apollo? >> the audiences were absolutely great. but if they didn't like you, ooh, ooh. you were in for a bad time. but they were very, very nice to me. they were lovely to me. >> now, you were inducted into the apollo hall of fame. you have had every honor there is to have in music. what did being inducted into the hall of fame mean to you? >> everything. i ran up and down those steps a lot. for the apollo to give me anything, you know, i was up and down those steps all day. we would do four, sometimes five shows a day. when you would finish one show, somebody would call the half is in meaning it's a half an hour before the next show starts. so it was wonderful. let me just take this and run

with it >> now you were here in new york at radio city. >> yes. >> sunday night you had church. >> yes, we did. >> you rocked it with church. >> we the did. >> i was telling friends of mine, you are the daughter of the greatest gospel preacher of all time that i know. >> thank you. >> reverend c.l. franklin. >> thank you so much. >> all of us grew up wanting to be like your daddy. the eagle stirred his mes. >> absolutely. >> a lot of people didn't understand how close reverend franklin was to dr. kingle. first time he said, i have a dream your father had him in detroit before the march on washington. >> you're right. >> the story that you sang at dr. king's funeral and then at the dedication of the dr. king memorial, the same song. >> yes. that's right. >> what did it mean for you to see the journey of the civil rightses movement from king who was close to your father and you, from king's funeral to

standing there watching them put him there with lincoln, and all of these. >> mm-hmm. >> only you saw it at the level you saw it. >> it certainly was a struggle. and it still is. although we have come a great ways, a long way. there still is a significant way to go. i went out in the early days as a young vocalist. harry belafonte, lena horn, leon hall. you know those people. >> oh, yeah. in fact, i remember we were talking in detroit. you were talking about harry got you to do a tour. you did it for nothing to help dr. king make payroll before he was killed. people didn't understand he didn't always have the support we thought about later. >> sure. in the early days there was no money. i was just coming out of school.

i listened to dr. king on tv. i saw what he was trying the to do and i thought it was important and relevant. i asked my father, could i go on tour with him. he said, yes, if i wanted to, sure, i could go. >> now you sang at the first inauguration of president obama. >> yes. >> i think the only thing that may equal your fame as a vocalist is the hat you wore. everybody will always remember that. what was it like other than the bitter cold day for you to be standing there after your father marched, after you helped raise fundses for dr. king. you were born in tennessee. to be standing there and being asked to sing at the inauguration of the first african-american president in the history of this country? >> it was absolutely tremendous. to look out and just see owl of the throngs of people as far as you could see out in front of you and to the right and to the

left. knowing what moment in history was about. having evolved out of the civil rights movement. this moment is certainly the dream of many including yourself are. reverend jackson, reverend abe are rnathy, andy and so on and so forth. this is the fruition of their and your struggles. >> you performed at the white house and have been there many times. how do you think the president is doing? >> i think he's doing wonderful with respect to the pressures. different pressures of the office and things like that. i think he's doing a super job. >> i have to ask why you're here. the song "respect" is a universal classic. anywhere i have gone many the world, people love that song. >> they do. >> did you have any idea when you recorded "respect" that it

would be what it was? >> no, i did not. i did not have any idea that the civil rights movement would adopt that as its mantra. >> that wasn't what you had in mind? >> to begin with, no. mine was more about a relationship thing was where i was coming from, man to woman, woman to man. just people generally who want respect. even children want respect. in their own small way. >> you have been able to work with the classics, james brown is like a dad to me. i remember the dvd y'all did late in his career. >> yes. it was amazing. you still tease me all the time. >> right. you got on down at radio city the other night. you got down as you'd get down every time you hit it. >> i tried not to embarrass myself.

i have to say this. with all you have done there is no slowing down. i mean, you still put everything in. do you think you would ever, ever give up the stage? >> definitely not. i feel great. i have a great regimen -- walking. a great fitness regimen. today, i feel like, what, late 40s? early 50s. >> you look great, too. >> thank you. you testified the other night. you had a bout, but you healed. you said, we're going back to when mama used to play "amazing grace" in the kitchen here. >> my friends said, you reached back to about 16, didn't you? >> you did. >> yeah. >> it's a great honor to have you here. it means a lot to our audience and to me. the one and only aretha franklin. >> thank you so much. god bless you. >> all right. >> okay. my thanks again to aretha franklin. you can see the entire interview

on our website, politicsnation.msnbc.com. still ahead, president obama shows he's determined not to repeat president bush's mistakes on iraq. it's a history listen to war with hawks on the right. first, a teachable moment in detroit. beatings that stunned a community. that's next. ♪ they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪ (dad) we lived... thanks to our subaru. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru,

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now to a disturbing and gruesome beating in detroit. and admissions of guilt today. in april, a traffic accident turned into a violent mob attack. steve yutash, a white man accidentally hitting a 10-year-old black boy with his pickup truck. the boy stepped into traffic, as shown in the corner right -- right corner of this surveillance tape. the man got out of his car to help the boy who had a broken leg, but a crowd gathered and he was attacked and beaten unconscious. that beating was not caught on tape. yutash was in a coma for nearly two weeks. he may suffer long-term brain damage. police arresteded four suspects and charged them with attempted murder. a fifth suspect, a 16-year-old, was charged with a hate crime.

on monday, the first plea deal was struck. the suspect would get a lesser charge for agreeing to testify against the others and admitting to his role. today the other three accepted a deal and pleaded guilty. >> were other people as well joining into this melee and striking him? >> yes. >> basically there was a crowd beating on steven utash. i pulled up to the scene. i kicked him a couple of times and i left. >> you kicked him? >> yes. >> describe to me in your own words what you did? >> punched him twice and kicked him once. >> you punched him twice and kicked him once? >> yes, sir. >> the new charge carries ten years behind bars. let this be a teachable moment. this was an act of senseless violence. we must think before we act and respect each other. mr. utash did what was right to help a young boy. i pray for his full recovery.

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we are back with the results from tonight's question. what do you think could help improve americans' confidence in congress? 23% said if they could pass a jobs bill. 32% said if they could pass any bill. 45% said fewer tea party members in office. thanks to all who voted. you can join the conversation by heading to our facebook page. we want to hear what you think. finally tonight, the crisis in iraq. today president obama announced he's sending up to 300 advisers to help iraq in the iraqi military forces. he made it clear he's not sending combat troops. >> p american forces will not be returning to combat in iraq. but we will help iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the iraqi people. we will be prepared to take targeted and precise military

action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it. it is the in our national security interests not to see an all out civil war inside of iraq. >> this is a complicated situation. but the president refuses to repeat mistakes of the past. >> here at home, iraq sparked vigorous debates and intense emotionses in the past. oo we have seen those resurface. what's clear is the need for the united states to ask hard questions before we take action abroad. particularly military action. >> hard questions before we take action abroad. we saw what happened last time. i was against the war from the start. we can't let history repeat. we do not need combat action. we do not need military action on the ground from our military

men engaging in combat. and we must stand up and fight those hawks that are trying to repeat the mistakes of yesterday. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. back to baghdad? let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start with us getting back into iraq. question, do you as an american citizen of this country think we should be doing this -- getting back into the iraqi fighting this time in the midst of a civil war? do you think the president has the constitutional -- or the moral authority to do this? i asked these questions tonight because this afternoon president obama who won the presidency by opposing the decision to paycheck take the