to give them a brighter future and better way. >> charlie crist, spending time in florida. great to have us with us, thanks so much. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. >> good evening. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight, gop hands a gift to president obama and it sticks with its absurd law sought. today a dramatic new sign of just how much speaker boehner's lawsuit over executive orders is back firing. the democratic congressional campaign committee reports it raised over $2.5 million in the six days after boehner's announcement. including support from 30,000 first-time donors. 30,000 people. people are sick of the games and the scandals.

millions are looking for jobs and the gop is dropping lawsuits on the president. actually trying to do his job. that's why they are sending a message to top ranking republicans in the country. enough is enough. but what's amazing, is the republican response. today they're moving forward with the suit anyway. >> this is one of the few options behave for reigning in a president who is taking way too much power, much more than the constitution granted it. >> so you plan to vote to authorize it? >> i will vote to proceed with the lawsuit. >> yes. they are going to proceed. who knows, maybe their secret is trying to raise money for the democrats. maybe they are listening to the ugly rhetoric coming from this guy.

>> the framers of our constitution did not want a king in this country. >> they didn't want a king. they didn't want king george iii an didn't want number one. this man has done more to re reinstitute the presidency since they put the secret service in the weird uniforms. he is basically saying, i don't care what the law is. if i don't like the law, i'm going to do what i can by an executive order to change and alter the law. >> of all people, karl rove, the guy who helped orchestrate power from congress, says president obama doesn't care what the law is? it's about as credible as 2012 election night claims. this lawsuit is only emboldened president obama. speech after speech he's essentially been saying, bring it on. and he actually looks like he's

having fun mocking them. >> i might have said in the heat of the moment during one of the debates, i want it raise the minimum wage, so sue me when i do. but i didn't think they were going to take it literally. >> if house republicanis are really concerned about me taking too many executive actions, the best solution to that is passing those. pass a bill. not crazy. not socialism. it's not -- well, the imperial presidency. no laws are broken. >> so sue me. as long as they're doing nothing, i'm not going to apologize for trying to do something. >> the president is loving this lawsuit.

and he's going to love it even more now that republicans are handing him a political gift, by sticking with it. joining me now is congresswoman january she could you ski, democrat from illinois and msnbc's crystal ball. thank you for coming on the show. >> thank you. >> from what you've seen in your home district, do you get the sense that this lawsuit is just energizing the left? >> i think there's no question that people feel that solution to the gridlock would be for congress for the republicans, to underscore that this is a do-nothing congress. and for the president to use executive orders, which he used far less than george w. bush, than bill clinton, than many other presidents, just goes to show that these people are just

desperate to go after barack obama. i think it definitely is having a backlash and it is the response to the democrats trying to raise money for the 2014 elections and finally put the gavel on the hands of nancy pelosi where we can get something done. i think it's indicative that republicans are really off base and they are making a political mistake. by this lawsuit. i want to follow something up that congresswoman just said. karl rove, she just mentioned karl rove, is weighing in. essential thing of bush's presidency is power from congress. fuelled by the vice president who always talked about a strong executive branch. listen to this. >> we find ourselves in the situation where i believe there is strong executive leadership. what we did in this administration is to exert that

kind of authority. >> if the president, during war, decides to do something to protect the country, is it legal? >> in general proposition, i would say yes. >> if the -- if the president does it. president obama has issued 180 executive orders and president bush has issued 211 by this point in his presidency. and yet, now former bush officials are accusing obama of overreaching. >> right. and president obama, as you're pointing out, not only is it fewer than under the bush administration but fewer than any president since grover cleveland, over 100 years ago. so, it's actually dramatic. we've seen a massive expansion of executive power, largest of course, under the bush administration which was facilitated, political strategy for doing that, was in fact facilitated by karl rove himself. it is remarkable that in a lot

of wayes this president sought to rain in executive power bb looking to fix some of the successes of the patriot act, for example. looking at what the nsa is doing, saying, we're making some changes here. facts are no obstacles for the republicans trying to keep their coalition together. a deeply ideal logically divided coalition. and the one thing that they can all agree on is their opposition to the president. >> and that's my point, congresswoman, the reason i'm raising the stark inconsistency between the bush crowd, when mr. bush was president and now the president obama is there, is this is not about exec tough power. this is about their opposition to president obama. because they could have such a dramatic 180-degree turn on the use of executive power. particularly when he hasn't even used it nearly as much as they did. >> they also had to have had to

ideological. they have been against lawsuits and overusing and excessive lawsuits. but now, they've decided that the way to go is to sue. and in the past, the courts have not been hospitable. they have told people to take those suites and politely told them to leave. frustration shouldn't be illegal, that they can use that to sue. and so, i think that what we really are looking at is there should be any lawsuits for congressional malpractice because they are simply not doing their job. they have changed the definition of legislators, of members of congress. because they are simply refusing to address the critical issues,

raising them in minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance, you name it. as the president pointed out, they won't even agree to pay for fixing roads and bridges. >> infrastructure. things we've never seen -- >> never. >> i think what is so appalling. what really gets me, is they are doing nothing. i mean, people, millions looking for jobs. millions needing their unemployment insurance benefits. and have you time to go for a lawsuit that has the congresswoman said, most courts don't even want to entertain this kind of lawsuit. you can con injury thjure this . you can put time and effort into something that is really a gimmick at best, in most circles. but you can't look out for people that are trying to feed their family. and when the head of the party is questioned about this, let me show you what the head of the

republican national committee is saying when he was questioned about boehner's lawsuit threat. >> i think john boehner is absolutely right in his lawsuit against the president. and he obviously doesn't respect the foundation of the constitution. this is a president that views his presidency more as a king ship than he does as bound by article 2 of the constitution. >> they are so inconsistent their position with bush, they can't believe that and they won't get to the work the american people need. >> that's right. as you're pointing out, let's be clear about what this lawsuit is. it's nothing. at this point a press release. not even a real thing. it is a political gimmick. a trick to get their base to continue supporting them despite the fact that they have nothing to offer. when john boehner was asked about the fact that this congress has the lowest approval rating ever of any progress ever in the history, and what responsibility he bears for

that, he says he used partisan's responsibility as keeping things from happening, not just getting things done. >> if it wasn't hurting so many people, it would be humorous. but it is sickening. >> this is the 50th anniversary of the civil rights act. >> we are getting ready to go right into that. >> but i think it is important note that the emancipation proclamation by abraham lincoln was an executive order. >> and it is important to note there was opposition then too. but it wasn't by those that were freeed. and we have got to free this country from those kind of gimmicks and get into the business of taking care of the american people. congresswoman, jan schakowsky and krystal ball, thank you. >> thank you. >> have you heard about president obama's war on religion?

me either. but rush rush and the gang are fired up about it. plus, that ugly scene in california. immigrant protesters heckling buses full of mothers and children. a years later, do conservatives want to gut it the same way they gutted the voting rights act? stay with us.

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there's continues to be a lot of interest in our facebook community about president obama taking action by executive order. linda says, i applaud the president's decision to do something when we have a do-nothing congress. i agree, linda. pamela says, i hope he issues an executive order everyday from now until the end of his term. jennifer says, well, someone has to be an adult an run the country. well, you're right, jennifer. we want to know what you think. please head over to our facebook page and join the conversation. it keeps going long after the show end.

the supreme court decision to give family companies the decision to deny women birth con groel ignited the religious right. they say it is a victory over the government's war on religion. >> what this was about i believe in the eyes of the obama administration was to break through the firewall that has long existed around the religious freedom in this country and if they could enforce byes on thissishi busin issue in this manner there would be nothing to stop them from pushing forward their liberal

anti-religious agenda. >> the liberal anti-religious agenda is the anti-liberal rights agenda. there is a film about the hobby lobby case, and in a new trailer, they compare the free mandate to the nazi germany. >> before we have the erosion of liberty happening in our lifetime. >> and it will go away if we do not tend to the religious freedom right now. >> barack obama knowes it is impossible to wake up the german church if they don't wake up. >> if you and i don't do this, we may spend our sunset years

telling our children what it was like in america. >> yes, that is a real clip. far right using religion to take away people's rights. this isn't about a war on religious freedom. it's standing up for women's rights. for gay rights. or civil rights. joining me now is frank shafer and the author of "why i am an atheist who believes in god, how to create love, beauty and find peace." frank, what is this talk of the president's war on so-called religion really about? what are we really looking at here? >> you're looking at a group of people who raise money for religious organizations and get votes for republican tea party candidates by lying to the american people about our first african-american president, who they have hated, in their

unchristian, despicable and vile manner since day one. he wasn't born in america, he's kenyan. he isn't a real american. by wait, he is against religious liberty. this war on women and war on gay rights, which they are also launching, has two parts. one to raise money for evangelical and roman catholic organizations. two, to keep people fired up so they can win elections from people who would rather believe lies, knowing full well they are lies, than look at humanity, compassion and decency of an american president who cares about my wife, my daughter, by two granddaughters, and wants them to have access to contraceptive. what we have here is a despicable situation, and it is simply the next chapter. what is shocking is not that these people lie about the president. there are always people like that. >> they've done that before. >> yeah. what is shocking is that the

court, the supreme court, that is supposed to be a serious organization, is now run by a bunch of gop lackeys. if anybody who read my book, "why i'm an atheist who believes in god", will know, the important i worked with, a sidekick to my evangelist father, i used to fly around in jerry falwell's jet, and we came up with an idea, to use these social issues, these litness test issuisissues, like the koc brothers, and those that can rile up and give red meat to people again and again and again. >> when you look at rick santorum's company's tape, almost like the apocolypse and nazi germany used here. this is some real ugly stuff. you're saying as a young man,

these were the kind of things where we are driven now, actually plotted by some of the evangelical leaders for political purposes? >> absolutely. for instance, i'll give you an example. when we met with people like ronald reagan, they did not believe in the pro life issue as it was called, the anti-abortion movement. but they were told, if you want our votes, you have to do something about it. you've got say you believe in it. then they come in the office. then that moved along and then we started bashing guy people. and then guy people move along. now it is contraception. but what it is, is a strategy to look for ways to weaken and damage this president. >> whether or not the president really believes in it or not, they've got a feed to this extreme fire right religious group. you know, because rush limbaugh told women today that they didn't need contraception. listen to this, frank. >> pregnancy requires action that has consequences. and yet we treat it as a great

imposition that women need to be protected from. it's a sickness, a disease, whatever. there's got to be a pill for it. and yet, they wouldn't have the problem if they didn't do a certain thing. it's that simple. >> these are the kind of things that are driving this whole right wing attempt to, one, raise money as you say, and energize a vote. >> i would love to strip that bloated fool of his health care. and put him in the position of my daughter or grandchildren who face a future where the religious right has taken over the gop through the tea party and is trying to establish a theocracy in this country that fits their agenda while people like the koch brothers use these voters, who they don't care about at all, as basically their shock troops to really do the republican agenda, which is to keep taxes for corporations,

move jobs off overseas, and to deregulate the energy industry so they can strip our country of its environment and get away with it. it's a dirty game, a filthy game, racist game and played by these people to the point where folks like me, who used to be in this, are just tired and sick of it. i'll tell you one other thing, so are the american people. these idiots are shooting themselves in the foot. they are handing dm krats a gift on a platter. do you want an anti-women bunch of white fat fools like rush limbaugh pontificating about your wife and daughters. >> i don't call people names any more. i used to when i was young and immature. i call rush limbaugh what he is, the head of the republican party. i don't have to call him names. it is dangerous that he is setting the tone. thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you.

>> coming up, 50 years after the civil rights act, we are facing new challenges. civil rights activist williams is here. and emotions boil over. anti-immigrants yelling at buses of women and children. where are the gop leaders during this? shingles affected me tremendously as a pilot. the pain in my scalp area and down the back of my neck was intense. it would have been virtually impossible in that confined space

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immigrants have been flown into california from facilities in texas. officials said most of the people were families. women and young children. buses drove them to a town of murrieta where they were supposed to be given case numbers and gone through background checks but they were greeted by this. [ chanting ] >> go home! >> usa! >> usa! >> those protesters eventually got the buss to turn around. families were then brought to another border patrol station.

no matter what your political beliefs or views on immigration, there's no excuse for screaming "go back to where you come from" to a bus full of little kids and their mothers. since october, 52,000 unaccompanied children have been apprehended at the border. it is a full blown crisis. but it isn't about politics. it's about people. >> to escape violence in el salvadsal have sal have a /* in el salvador, cecilia crossed the boreder with hire children. >> join meg now is telemundo anchor and soon to be msnbc

host, jose. thank for being here, jose. >> thank you. >> what is your reaction to what happened to the families on the buses today? >> reverend, think for a second about who the people were in those buses and what they have just been through. it takes one or two weeks to get from mexico into the united states with not accompanied minors. on the way we race rape and for tour. let me give you an idea. a honduras woman i spoke to said when she was in her hometown some month ace go wbt gangs that patrol and virtually run parts

of her town came to see her little brother, who i think was 14 or 15 years. time to come with us. and join the gang. he said, no. so they called him. wow. she said, what could i do? do i stay here and be killed or become property, sexual property of gang members that run amok in places like honduras. so i take my chances and come here. >> they just came in the house, told the 14-year-old it was time. he said no. she killed him. she faced becoming property as you said, enslaved. or escape. yet, the protest was met with as much ugliness outside the protesters as the process itself. listen to rush limbaugh and what he said about yesterday's

protest. >> you can't dump your dog on the street in most of america. but you can dump 50,000 kids from central america. i was not comparing the children to dogs. i'm talking about the difference in law. it is illegal to dump animals, pets. if it's discovered, there's a problem. but you can dump kids. >> does this tone help make it even more difficult to find solutions here, the tone of people like rush limbaugh? >> any time you dehumanize somebody, rev, it's easier, i guess, to get rid of what you perceive to be a problem. but that problem doesn't go away because of dehumanize little boys and little girls. the congressman from the area of the rio grande valley told me he visited one of the centers where kids are. kids as young as two years old.

he said that one in three told him that they had been raped along the way come together united states of america. now i know a lot of people don't have kids and it is easy when you don't have a kid to call people like those dogs and being dumped. but you know something, there but for the grace of god, in many opportunities. what would you do if your child was rape ordered destroyed by gangs? what would you be willing to do for your children and regardless of the political position, you said this in the beginning, one should sit back and say, what is -- what should we as a country be standing for? maybe they will be returned back to their country in the future. but let's at least process them. let's find out who they are and what their reags is. it is part of the law. if you bring the kids and you process them. and that's what they are going to do. when these people in murrieta

turn then back. >> it is part of the law. we're not talking about the law here as not being abided by. and this president said, let us deal with immigration reform. let's deal with this. no one is more plugged into this issue than you have been talking to everybody. what are you hearing in the community out there? what needs to happen to move this immigration reform forward, jose? >> first of all, if the house would at least do their job and deal with democrats, republicans, liberals and conservatives, agree that immigration system is broken, right? by wishing it went away, it won't go away. if there had been immigration reform, take the senate bill passed a year ago. or make it a straight republican bill that has been discussed in the house. all of these issues would have been dealt with. if you have the legalization,

not citizenship even, legalization of the 11 million people then this waive of humanity may have been avoided. but you know what, these kids don't come here because they want to go to disney world. they come here because they have family members and they are dying along the way. and that is the responsibility of politicians of beth sides of the aisle that are more interested in talking politics than dealing with life and death situations occurring on the border as we speak. >> and most of the country. most of the country supports reform that includes a path to citizenship. one recent poll found 62% of all-americans supported including 51% of republicans. it's only among tea party republicans that it really drops off. jose diaz-balart, thank you for your time tonight. we're so looking forward to your show right here on msnbc.

>> thank you, friend. >> still ahead, 50 years after the civil rights act, how do we expand its promise for the future? and protect the gains of the past. also wbt funniest lines about u.s. goalie tim howard. what else could he say? stay with us. , wbt funniest lin about u.s. goalie tim howard. what else could he say? stay with us. t wbt funniest lin about u.s. goalie tim howard. what else could he say? stay with us. h wbt funniest lin about u.s. goalie tim howard. what else could he say? stay with us. e wbt funniest lins about u.s. goalie tim howard. what else could he say? stay with us. wbt funniest lines about u.s. goalie tim howard. what else could he say? stay with us. funniest lines about u.s. goalie tim howard. what else could he say? stay with us.

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welcome back. take a look at this picture from 1960. it shows reverend dr. martin luther king, jr., pulling a burnt cross from list lawn with his young son, martin, standing by. four years later, dr. king was at the white house as president johnson signed the landmark civil rights act into law. those four years were filled with struggle and sacrifice. but it was worth it. the new law banned discrimination in public, in schools, in the workplace and at the ballot box. >> we believe that all men are

created equal, yet many are denied equal treatment. yet it cannot continue. our constitution, foundation of our republic, forbids it. the principles of our freedom forbid it. morality forbids it. and the law i will sign tonight forbids it. >> after johnson signed the bill, he famously said he lost the south to the gop for a generation. sadly he was right. here is the map of the states of the old confederacy. now look at the map today. for just the second time since the civil war, republicans control the legislature in every confederate state. and in all those states, politicians want to reassert the old motto of states rights. trying to limit the federal

government and role back many of the civil right movements gain. we've come too far to let that happen. and there's too much work still to be done. education, jobs, voting rights, women's rights, gay rights, criminal justice. the fight for civil rights isn't over. it's just begun. joining me now is the woman who knows that all too well. mary williams. a civil rights icon in her own right. when she met with president kennedy in 1963, he gave her a copy of the bill that he just sent to congress. a bill that became the civil rights act. signed 50 years ago today. ms. evans-williams, thank you for being here night. >> my pleasure, as always, reverend.

>> is america ready for a new chapter in the civil rights struggle? >> would you repeat that? >> i said, 50 years later, is america ready for the next chapter in the civil rights str struggle? >> i'm not sure whether america is ready. but i think america will be forced into that. if i may go back, just a moment, on june 11, 1963, president kennedy delivered his speech to the nation that set the stage for the civil rights bill. at midnight or shortly after midnight, my husband was at our doorstep. on the 19th of june when president kennedy talked about

this bill, and the following day we met with the president in the white house, in which he gave us a copy of that bill that had just been printed, and he autographed that for us. and of course, president kennedy did not live long enough to see that bill become law. but there was president johnson who, i believe, was such a strong advocate for it. >> we are here today some 50 years after that time. and reverend i have to ask the question, how far have we come? we can analyze everything that has happened and we can see progress. but somewhere underneath all of that, evil spirit of racism and prejudice still exists in america.

so we look at the past. we look at today and we're back where we are still saying there is still so much to be done. and one of the things i feel we must do is help our younger generation understand what happened 50 years ago and their responsibility for what is happening today. >> when you say that, i love that the fact that the bill banned discrimination from schools. but still, schools spend $733 less per student than in white schools. look at the median household income now. whites, about 55,000. hispanics, just under 39,000. blacks, down just about 332,000.

you're absolutely right. i get up this morning, and the wall street journal column is staring me in the face and it says the supreme court should reexamine the civil rights act. the column says the civil rights act that has been quote abused for ends thatity authors never intended and has become a quote for racial appearances. it appears as though we haven't even finished achieving the goals of the civil rights act. they are claiming it just started taen should be gutted. somehow they gutted the voting rights act. >> does that not speak to what america is today. so many of us had hope there would be a new day. no longer having to go through those rather stupid, if i may call them, tests that were given

us to in order to be able to register and to vote. corporations began to slowly open their doors to minorities. but there was a thing within the corporate entity where they would pit one race against another. which did not make easy. going forward, looking at our young people today, somewhere i think we as a race of people have not taken the time to really train our young people in terms of what happened and what their responsibility for today. i simply see us some 50 years later going backward and it is very, very disturbing to see that happen. we cannot sweep it under the rug. for if we do, we will find ourselves much further back than we have ever been before. >> i want to thank you for giving up that challenge on this

day. and i want you -- i want my production staff, put up that picture again of president kennedy. this is again, ms. ever-williams, in the oval office with president kennedy. 50 years later, we are commemorating 50 years ago today. what are we going to do, she has not dropped that banner. and we need to learn what it means and keep going forward. >> thank you. and i'm still moving forward. thank you. >> thank you for your time. thank you for your lifetime of service to the country. we'll be right back. >> thank you.

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maya angelo that essence is putting together. tell me about it. >> such a champion of essence when we started in 1970. the leadership started the festival, she wrote a tremendous forward in the book, talking about black women always kept ourselves, our families, our institutions together and we must never stop doing that. it is that spirit that we celebrate. that celebrate that we celebrate her life and contribution. we have this festival and continue on to keep the issue at the forefront of our progress in our lives. >> what are the issues we will good over next weekend? >> health care. health care continues to be a significant issue in our community. alicia keys will talk about aide. we will talk about what is at stake leading into the mid term elections.

thank you, reverend, for being a part of that. so much is at stake as we go to the polles this fall. we will cover all of these issues that are so important. education. we have an initiative and partnership with the white house. department of education. we talk with activist moms. talk about how moms create a culture of education in our homes. smart starts at home and we will get into that. >> how did you get prince? prince is performing friday night. >> prince performed at our tenth anniversary. we asked if he would return for our 20th sell vice. we were over the moon when he said yes. it is also the 30th anniversary of purple rain. he was excited to come and be a part of this anniversary. as we realize, this is the largest gathering, largest live event in the country last year over 540,000 people. so he wanted to perform, but

also, to have an impact in the community. >> my thanks to michelle ebanks. it's going to be a wonderful festival. thanks to you for watching. "hardball" starts right now. >> border wars, lets eplay "hardball." >> good evening. let's start with the growing humanitarian in political crisis. along the u.s./mexico bored per. inundated by an influx of minors who have been coming in since october. president obama is pleading with immigrants not to send their children to the