in there. >> karen phinney gets tonight's "last word." so appropriately tonight, karen. thank you, karen, very much. >> take care, lawrence. >> thank you. now sell it. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews, back in washington. let me start with something that's bothering me. its's about the democrats. it's about the president who, whether he likes to say so or not, is a democrat. why are you people so bad at the sales pitch? why can't you sell yourself? even when you are delivering the goods. excuse me for saying so, but we have a new monthly jobs report showing an up surge with almost 300,000 new jobs. a winning steek of five months with over 200,000 new jobs every 30 days. we have an auto industry that

competeses robustly in the world. we have a stock market that's nearly tripled since obama has been president. a jobless rate headeded down to half what it was the year he started. what do we hear from the democrats? woe is me. we have trouble in river city. oh, my lord, the sky is falling. i grew up watching and hearing the democratic party cheer. i heard of franklin roosevelt running for office with "happy days are here again," jfk bopping to "high hopes." what is it about the democrats today? they remind me of al gore refusing to take pride in the clinton economic success and losing. spending time talking about something called the lockbox and not mentioning the good times clinton brought us. why? please explain the democrats are the are country's debbie downers and this president has the least reason to join the club. people are having a hard time. of course the good news isn't reaching everyone. do you think talking up failure helps the consumers have confidence? the business leaders to have

guts? do you think it makes people worse off feel better if you prowl the country pred issing talk of gee, i wish it wasn't so. do you think misery loves company? that's for secretary clinton i have the same exact message. with a little value added. you have one or two, perhaps two big elections to win. if you think it is smart to put down the president's economic record, check how it worked for al gore when he shrunk from cheering for bill clinton's economic record when he ran on fear and failure rather than progress and success. he let it get so close and let the supreme court steal it from him. if you don't blow your own horn, mr. president, don't expect someone to do it for you. be a democrat. be a job creator. please take joy in your work. they are the leaders we like. the kind we like to follow and trust. ed ren dell, governor of pennsylvania and harold forld was a congressman of tennessee. here are numbers.

according to the latest job numbers, 288,000 new jobs were added in june. that's five consecutive months of job growth. over 200,000 per month. last time that happened was in 1999 or 2000. meanwhile, the unemployment rate which peaked in october of 2009 at 10% is down to #.1 this june. the stock market, as i said, has tripled in the last five years. march 9, 2009 it was at 6500. today, over 17,000. there is also the auto industry, of course. which the president saved. a december study by the center of auto ma tif research, the president sponsored the bailout and saved 1.5 million real, high-paying jobs. harold, start first, congressman. what good is it being debbie downer this president isn't connecting to his own good work. i don't get it. >> i agree. not only there but you can talk about the amazing energy renaissance, manufacturing

growth in the country. there are a number of stoies to told. one or two caveats concern the president but it shouldn't prevent him from bragging about what he's accomplished. the labor participation rate about unemployment is down. the wage growth is a little down. if i were president i would ask whomever wrote -- if you wrote that intro i would take it and tout and trumpet it around the country. i would add one thing to it. the next part of the growth effort is to ensure we do what ed rendells has been talking about for years. rebuilding america. strengthening our infrastructure. we have to create jobs that raise wages and restore what we know is the american middle class and bring back the dream. i would say the oh republicans if i were barack obama we have done amazing things in spite of you. if you worked with us, one half, one quarter of the way, amazing things we could do to grow wages and jobs and get people participating in the labor pool. >> this president didn't run on a platform nor the portrait of

nope. he ran on the portrait of hope. that's what he was for. he's very good at the nope. he'll tell you what isn't getting done, what he's not getting done at the republicans. he'll complain. yet i don't see him bringing together the common sense attitude which is you want something to work, you sell it. tell the republicans we are creating real jobs. create higher jobs. we are on the road. i think republican business guys get together and talk down the economy. so they can justify their chicken behavior in terms of velt. your thought? >> chris, you're right and harold is right. the president should -- from the beginning they have not done a good job spinning their accomplishments. the stimulus was a success. >> yes. >> it saved the country 2 million jobs. the stimulus created a lot of growth. it did wonders for infrastructure.

it had a lot of good programs, far-reaching programs. they got outspun by the republicans and they didn't talk about the successes. they didn't market it right. they gave tax breaks to americans and nobody knew they got a tax break from stimulus. i would have sent out a letter signed by tim geithner saying here is your check from president obama's tax cut as part of the stimulus program. they have done a good job in many areas. you outlined it well. the economy is doing great. interest rates are low. almost historically low in a time of growth. talk about the good stuff. then say, i know there are wages that aren't as good as they should be. we have to do more. pivot off the good stuff. start with the good stuff and then say what we need to get accomplished. challenge them to pass an infrastructure bill. that used to be a basic core of the republican philosophy.

>> you grew up in a democratic family and you know this tradition of the democrats being the upbeat, forward-looking party. the president is able to cheer the country and inspire it. bring confidence. president roos vel adapted the upbeat song "happy days are here again." imagine that. in 1932. played for him again in 1936. let's listen to that. ♪ happy days are here again ♪ the skies above are clear again let us sing a song of cheer again happy days are here again ♪ >> it gets more upbeat there, more mournful than the first rendition. frank sinatra ordered the lyrics of "high hopes" for kennedy. this is the democratic spirit, not a billion years ago.

here it is. ♪ everyone is voting for jack ♪ because he's got what all the rest lack ♪ ♪ everyone wants to back jack ♪ jack is on the right track ♪ because he's got high hopes ♪ he's got high hopes ♪ 1960 is the year for his ♪ high hopes >> i wonder what the call pain song of this president is. i can't hear it. president reagan touted the improving economy by declaring it was mourning america. republicans can do this. at least one did. >> it's morning again in america. today, more men and women will go to work than ever before in our country's history. with interest rates at about half the record highs of 1980. nearly 2,000 families today will buy new homes.

more than at any time in the past four years. >> congressman, you know more about the business community than i do. you know the guys up there. my question is why doesn't the president run ads like this? why not sell the pact that the unemployment rate is down and the stock market. if you have a 401(k) it's almost tripled. if little w. had done it he'd be jumping off the ceiling. the republicans would be saying it's heaven on earth. the same numbers and the democrats go, oh, i guess it's better for some people. i don't want to brag are. it might be untoward. get off of this. the people at the bottom aren't happier because the president is more miserable. it doesn't work that way. you have to be huh bert humphrey, fdr, jack kennedy. sell it, sell it, sell it. it makes the republicans out of tune with the public. instead the republicans sell bad news all the time in the board room, talk down consumer confidence, investor confidence. it works policecally. they don't have a candidate but they think they can get the white house back.

>> i agree with just about everything you said. one thing to remember as the conversation is unfolding is there's been an a adversarial relationship between the broader business community. certainly specifically the wall street community or the banking community with this white house. at least the perception is there. maybe the white house in some ways is reluctant to brag. they might feel they are touting and trumpeting the horn of big business. >> explain that. explain why selling a better economy makes the fat cats happier than they should be. >> no, no. >> they are already rich. they know they're rich. >> that's not what i -- >> >> i'm saying the opposite. there is reluctance on the part of the white house. when you look at the numbers that have come out, particularly in the last six months, the real are winners in the economy have been those earning over a quarter million a year. they are more likely to be invested in the markets. >> why not everybody with a 401(k)? you're in finance.

>> sometimes we get bogged down talking about wall street. i'm talking about the larger business community. they have been big winners under this administration. the business community should be touting what this administration has done. >> why aren't they? >> i think there is an adversarial relationship whether it's fair or not or should be the case. that's the case. that should not prevent this president -- >> why are they peeing on his pa aid? >> i can't answer for the business community. if i were president tomorrow morning i would do what you did at the start of the show. at a minimum you shame some of the business community to support him more and remind the broader elect cat of things we have done a as a country and the things republican said would happen if obama's economic plan, health plans passed. how terrible it would be for the country. the president has stats and numbers to show that's not only wrong but completely wrong. to call on republicans to work with him in ways they haven't in the past.

>> governor, good luck. you look great. >> thanks, thanks. >> don't you feel better than if i said you look tired? you really do. it's like the american people. p if the president says, you look tired out there. how about, you look great out there? it gets your day going more. >> no question. >> more upbeat. harold ford and ed rendell mentality. being president is a cool job, mr. president. you should like it. >> there is no better job in america. >> no. you were on the road there. you might be back on the road again. coming up, the new frontier in the fight for the right to vote. the young college students are arguing out there that north carolina's voter i.d. laws are specifically designed to keep the young college age people from voting. they are afraid they will vote democrat. also the lawsuit john boehner is pursuing against president obama over executive orders? boehner hasn't named one action he thinks is unconstitutional.

some on the right think it's a stunt, a gimmick that could hurt republicans down the road. >> what does an urban black republican have are in common with a white are you able from utah? they are working together to get something, anything done. elijah cummings, a big friend of the show and jason chaffetz join us tonight. when dorothy came back to kansas she said, there is no place like home. try telling that to pat roberts of kansas. he hasn't been home much. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

republicans are quick to blame president obama for the horrors in iraq. the american people are not. listen to this. according to a poll, 58% of american voters say president obama's decision to withdraw from iraq was the right thing to do. 61% say that george bush's decision to invade iraq back in 2003 was the wrong thing to do.

a majority, 51% say they blame bush, not obama, for what's going on over there. we'll be right back.

welcome back to "hardball." we'll look now at the latest frontier in republican efforts to limit access to the voting booth. the slogan, old enough to fight, old enough to vote became a battle cry in the push the to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. the fact that 18-year-olds were being drafted to fight in the vietnam war heightened the urgency of lowering the voting age back then. student protesters here with vines that say support the 18-year-old vote. the push for a constitutional amendment the to lower the voting age to 18 was supported by even conservative senator barry goldwater who david brink areally for nbc reported extolled the virtues of young voters. >> senator goldwater endorsed the vote for 18-year-olds saying the present young generation is splendid, falsely portrayed by

liberal journal is as what he called unclean, vile-tongued, rock throwing, campus storming, street rioting hoodlums and misfits. >> supporting the lowered voting age was powerful then. president nixon signed the 26th amendment into law making 18 the age to vote. it reads further the right of citizens of the united states who are 18 or older to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of age. repeat that word out of the constitution -- or abridged. that right is at risk now in north carolina. we have done a lot of stories about voters in north carolina including gimmicks like shortening early voting periods and eliminating same day registration. young voters are join aring forces with groups like the naacp and the aclu to protect their rights particularly for young voters. look at the restrictions.

in 2016, voters in north carolina need to show photo i.d. student i.d. cards will not be acceptable. the north carolina law eliminates a program where teens who preregister to vote are automatically registered to vote at 18. young voters and civil rights groups have a lawsuit against the state of north carolina. today a hearing will be held on whether to delay the north carolina voter law until a judge decides whether or not it's constitutional. brian pearlmutter graduated from n.c. state last year. also denise leeberman, senior attorney at the advancement project representing plaintiffs in the case against north carolina. denise, give me the info. what are they up to? give me the raw politics. why are they trying to stop young adults from voting?

>> today they were seeking an injunction that seeks to affect a broad swath of voters. young voters, voters of color through the provisions including the voter i.d. provision that blocks student and that hampers and abridges the right to vote at every step of the voting process from are the registration table to the voting booth to having those votes counted. this law abridges the right to vote by eliminating same day registration, by eliminating successful preregistration programs for 16 and 17-year-olds that were found to have a disparate use by young voters of color to get them engaged in the voting process. this law eliminates a week out of the early voting period and numerous other provisions that the state does not dispute have been more widely used by voters

of color and have been responsible for expanding access to the vote booth. >> you're 23 years old. tell me what this new law has meant to you and your peer group. >> i think it is important to understand to see uh how important the injunction is. there is a report by democracy north carolina published in 2012. 150,000 people over 150,000 16 and 17-year-olds used the proare vision that allowed them to preregister. during early voting in 2012 when we had same day registration, 42% of people who wh used it were with under 30. not only did we eliminate same day registration and making it preregistration for 16,

17-year-olds, would the provisions be gone? it's clearly intentional that the new law is going to disenfranchise young people. >> why is a student i.d. card not reliable? say you go to chapel hill or n.c. state. why isn't that good enough for voting? >> that's the point. there is no reason that it's legitimate. nondiscriminatory. for why the provisions exist other than the conclusion that the legislature knew the impact would be to harm young voters and particularly young voters of color. that's the intent they have. >> why is a gun license good, not a unc student card? who would have a gun license? they assume right-wingers have

guns. denise? >>that's right. these are cards. there is no explanation. that's the argument in court today. the state offered no explanation except voters need confidence in the process. it seems when we restrict measures shown to be successful at expanding access to the vote for groups tishlly left out that it doesn't increase confidence. it dekeyses it. you have an example with the student i.d. cards issued by the state of nebraska. what possible reason could there be that the cards were less reare liable than other cards? the broader point is there is no evidence that this identification is necessary at all. the legislature had no evidence before it that voter fraud was a problem. the legislature knew it. they also knew that young voters and voters of color were far

more like areally to lack one of the forms of i.d. they included on their narrow are list. >> restrictive voting laws across the country. this is a point that has to be made. a republican lawmaker was quoted in the new york times. jeff tarte, who supported the voter i.d. laws said lawmakers didn't intend to keep younger voters away from the polls. they were trying to keep students are from submitting absentee ballots at home and also in north carolina. not that they would necessarily do it but why offer the possibility. brian, to you. i'm trying to think of what weird person would risk a felony charge by voting in north carolina when they are from virginia, though it hasn't happened yet. that's their excuse for why you can't use a virginia driver's license if you're voting down there.

>> it seems like every week it seem there is a new reason or falls out of the sky for passing this law. it's ridiculous. there is no evidence no precedent. students and young people and people of color need to access the ballot boxes as one of the pillars of democracy and a way to express their voice. these measures are making it harder for young people, people of color to vote. it's intentional. there is a legal battle going on now that's so important to the case. also folks all over the state that are passing out wallet cards from democracy north carolina and giving people access and information to the ballot box. this law is absurd. >> just to remind everybody.

for the constitutionless out there on the right, center and left, this is the 26th amendment again. the right of citizens of the united states who are 18 years of anyone or older to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of age. couldn't be clearer. strict construction. let the young people vote. thank you, brian and denise. you are on the right side of history. here's a tip when running for re-election. don't admit you only come home when you are in a tough race. that's what one republican senator has done. this is "hardball," the place for politics. don't just visit rome.

[ thud ] visit tripadvisor rome. with millions of reviews, tripadvisor makes any destination better.

back to "hardball." time for the sideshow. republican senator pat roberts may represent the state of kansas, but critics of the 78-year-old incumbent are challenging his are residency in

the state saying he's got deeper root miss in washington than in kansas. roberts is facing a tea party challenger in next month's primary acknowledged this january that he rents the house he owns in dodge city but stays with campaign contributors when he visits the state so he can vote there. even joked to the new york times that, quote, i have full access to the recliner. the residency issue gained traction after usa today reported that roberts spent just 97 days in kansas between july 2011 and august 2013. now a month before the primary roberts compounded -- >> we are asking why don't you live here though? >> i own a hole in dodge city. i have a residence in dodge city and i vote there. >> you're not asking the question. why don't you live here?

>> you know, we declared dodge our residency. our kids went to school there. every time i get an opponent -- i mean, every time i get a chance i'm home. >> every time he has an opponent he goes home. sounds like a freudian slip to me. next up, the fourth of july celebration in norfolk, nebraska, turned ugly on saturday after a crude anti-obama float was included in the city's independence day parade. a flatbed truck carrying a full-sized outhouse bearing the level "obama presidential library" elicited disgust from many spectators trying to celebrate the national holiday. defenders of the float called it political satire. the committee will meet to consider banning similar floatses in the future. up next, john boehner's lawsuit against president obama. even some on the right call it a stunt. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

dsl myth #1.

it can help your business save money. false. the truth is when you compare our fastest internet to the fastest dsl from the phone company, comcast business gives you more for your money. why pay more for less? call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business. [ female announcer ] f provokes lust. ♪ it elicits pride... incites envy... ♪ ...and unleashes wrath. ♪ temptation comes in many heart-pounding forms. but only one letter. "f". the performance marque from lexus.

>> are you planning to initiate a lawsuit against the obama administration and president obama over use of executive action? >> i am. the constitution makes it clear

that the president's job is to faithfully execute the laws. in my view, the president has not faithfully executed the laws. >> we are back. that's house speaker john boehner two weeks ago announcing his intentions to file a lawsuit against president obama for what he calls his executive bad action as. president obama responded last week. here he is. >> middle class families can't wait for republicans in congress to do stuff. so sue me. >> so sue me. last night in an op-ed on cnn.com -- i guess he couldn't get it anywhere else -- speaker boehner doubled down on the intention to bring legal action. he wrote too often over the past five years the president circumvented the american people and their elected are representatives to executive action. changing his own laws and excusing himself from enforcinging statutes he has sworn to uphold. the constitution makes it clear the president should faithfully

fe cute the laws. in my view he has not including the health care law, energy regulations, foreign policy and situation. as nbc's first read points out, yet again, not once has boehner actually outlined a specific example of oh obama breaking the law. or even violating the constitution. he can't find anything wrong but he's still suing. is this -- let me be completely cynical. >> go ahead. >> one day his deputy, the number two guy from virginia gets blown away. right? >> uh-huh. >> the next day he sues the president. is this something to do with self-protection from the hard right? >> i say that for a couple of reasons. first of all, if you read the op-ed boehner wrote, he frames

everything there in political terms, ignoring his job, ignoring the people. not passing jobs measures. ignoring the things the house did. they have nothing to do with constitutional arguments. he frames it politically. having studied this, it's a very long shot, if not completely improbable to file this kind of suit. you have to have real people with real controversy. not one branch of constitutional government suing another. there is no case like this. s this is what boehner is proposing to do. congress as an institution walks into court. imagine that. congress walks into court to sue the president. it doesn't work that way. there is impeachment. or election. those are the ways we do it. >> let me ask you this. is this like the boring time

over the weekend when you have advertisements from law firms? did you suffer an injury at work? call this number. >> i believe before this is over there will be a hot line by the house of republicans. tell us your constitutional horror story about barack obama. >> seriously. can he go to court on this? howard says he can't. >> but given this court which is now giving the rights of personhood when it comes to religious freedoms. >> will they give toyota the house of representatives? >> if he thinks he has to do it with a house vote, does he need the senate to vote for it, too? >> proposition. he's doing this because he's scared he'll be cantorized. he has to appeal to the right but knows going for impeachment is nutty. >> he can save it for later. that's for next year. he opened up the cage.

>> where will it end up? >> that's the problem. >> once you open this door, a lot of the base is unsatisfied because it's not impeachment. you may get 30, 40 members of the house who don't vote for this. it may not happen or if it does happen and it doesn't work he has to take the next step of impeach lt. it's riding the tiger that got him in. he doesn't know how to ride this tiger without the tiger eventually taking over and consuming them. >> i detect atelts to try to -- attempts to frame this in terms of the president is ignoring the people. republicans are using this to try to create a metaphor for the election season about the president. >> eric erickson called it a stunt and a waste of taxpayer

money. quote, i realize john boehner and the house republicans may lack the testicular fortitude to fight president obama. i would kindly ask he save the taxpayers further money on a political stunt solely designed to incite republicans who may stay home given the establishment's bungling of mississippi and abandonment of the constitutionally derived powers. john boehner's lawsuit is nothing more than political theater and a further republican waste of tack pair dollars. >> you know, the tea party doesn't want a lawsuit. they are not on the streets. >> they are -- >> they want to win in mississippi or see impeachment. >> when will john boehner, who i do not dislike. i come from a back ground like him. i know this guy. when will we have his bullworth moment and throw off the mask? >> oh, no. >> i think that john boehner's

inner bullworth is counter manded by survival instincts. he's doing something intermediate he thinks will get him through the 2014 elections. as far as eric erickson and others who want impeachment are concerned he'll wait and have it in reserve. meantime, this is complex. >> this is why people don't believe in politics. >> they could be too smart by half here, chris. getting involved in this kind of litigiousness is the kind of thing that doesn't play well with average voters. why some like it, middle of the road voters may not. >> there is nobody who likes this. the pea party doesn't like it. >> tort reform. >> maybe he's playing to 20 members of the house. >> this is what happens before a country has a coup. we won't have one because we are

america. howard fineman and david corn. you're both right. coming up, elijah cummings and jason chaffetz. they are coming here live. this is "hardball," the place for politics. so this board gives me rates on progressive direct and other car insurance companies? yes. but you're progressive and they're them. -yes. -but they're here. -yes. -are you... -there? -yes. -no. -are you them? i'm me. but the lowest rate is from them. -yes. -so them's best rate is... here. so where are them? -aren't them here? -i already asked you that. -when? -feels like a while ago. want to take it from the top? rates for us and them. now that's progressive.

former new york mayor michael bloomberg is trying to be the counter weight to the national rifle association in this year's midterm elections.

bloomberg's group every town for gun safety has begun surveying candidates for the house and senate to see where they stand on issues like expanded background checks, limiting magazine capacity for guns. bloomberg vowed to spend $50 million of his money to the help elect candidates who support gun safety measures. we'll be right back.

we are back. there is a reason why the u.s. congress is suffering from a job approval reading in the single digits. gridlock in washington is near epidemic levels. compromise is a dirt question word on the hard right to such an extent that trying to do

simple things like pass a budget or raise the debt ceiling spiral into criseses. partisan war fare is the norm. which is why a story about two congress mann men working to build a relationship is a political odd couple if there was one. jason chaffetz is a mormon republican from utah who has investigated the white house on issues from benghazi to the irs. also elijah cummings, the baptist democrat from baltimore who's considered one of the president's top allies in the house oversight committee. chaffetz spent a day with cummings touring his district in maryland and speaking to his constituents, a place where president obama dominated with 75% of the vote. as the washington post or thes in a washington fully engulfed in partisan warfare, the buddy day was an anomalous throwback to a time when members of congress of different political parties spent time together off the clock and liked one another.

elijah are cummings and jason chaffetz join us now. you are smiling, congressman cummings. did i overstate the relationship or what? >> no, you didn't. chaffetz and i had a wonderful outing in baltimore. he had an opportunity, chris, to meet my constituents. i often say i don't worry about who i'm fighting against. i worry about what i'm fighting for. i wanted him to see the people i fight for every day. it got kind of emotional at times when he listened to young fathers struggling, trying to be better fathers and minority business people and seniors who told us that the only money they have is what they get from social security. basically begging us not to reduce their social security. from hearing that to taking the time to do that, i really appreciate it. i think he got a lot out of it.

>> congressman chaffetz we have taken amtrak and driven through the poor neighborhoods of baltimore with the row houses. you visited the people. what did you learn? >> you know, it's difficult. i got to tell you, when we sat for an hour with 12 aids patients, what they're going through and the heart ache they're going through, the urban center that we visited, you know, that was very different for me, and i'm glad to go there, and it wouldn't have happened if i wasn't invited by congressman cummings. we had talked about provo in baltimore, probably being polar opposites. we have a lot in common, but on the other hand, they're dealing with some things there in maryland we don't deal with in great as numbers as we do in utah and vice versa. we have a lot of issues here. he's agreed to only out to utah. i'm anxious to show him what we're up against and what our constituents want in utah. >> so are you going to go out there during snow season and go to sundance and places like that, congressman?

>>, no, no, i'm going to two in the next few months. whatever he wants me to see, i'm going to see it. chris, i think the americans are tired of dysfunction and tired of distraction and really do want us to work together and don't want the norm to be that we don't resolve problems. so i just think that when you see what somebody comes home to, when i see the folks that chaffetz comes home to, his constituents, and an understanding of what they go through, when it comes to compromise, it makes it easier and makes our relationship a better relationship also. >> where's the area for compromise, congressman cummings? where do you see it that's not being realized? if both parties don't agree, the democrats are more progressive on spending, think it helps the economy. it's just an example. how do you find a compromise?

>> i think you, for example, we had some young folks who -- we have a program here in baltimore that has taken young people, work with them, people who may have had difficulties in their lives, and now bringing them back together so that they can pay their child support, so they can get a job, pay their child support, and they came up with innovative strategies by which it was a win/win situation. right now those people are being -- driver's licenses are being taken from them and things of that nature because they don't pay child support. they've come up with a way to make that happen and i think jason as he listened to them had to agree. it made sense what they were trying to do. in other words, there are a lot of things we're not doing from a practical standpoint. jason chaffetz has been a leader with regard to prison reform and trying to find other ways instead of imprisoning everybody, try to find ways to help people be productive. things like that. there are a lot more things, too, by the way. >> congressman chaffetz, your thoughts on compromise.

where can you go that will work? >> we're about as conservative of a state. i'm one of the most conservative in the country. the trick isn't to continue to throw verbal bombs at each other. i'm pretty good at that. >> i know you are. >> the real conservative, the real trick is find somebody who can convention democrats and find that common ground and actually push something to the finish line. because the best pieces of legislation, they're going to ultimately be bipartisan. that's the -- >> i agree. >> -- only way we're going to achieve something. >> the only stuff that really endures is partisan. let me ask you about the senator who got knocked off by mike lee. here's a guy who got in trouble for doing what you're doing in a specific way. bob bennett, your former senior senators was out there, maybe not senior, but was in the senate for a long time. he was dealing with ron wyden to find a better health care solution than the president's. aren't you worried by doing anything real you're going to cost you your seat? your bipartisan effort?

>> look, i'm here a limited amount of time. i'm elected to get results and not going to sit back, be a back bencher and two along and vote no. anybody can do that. >> that's true. >> i want to actually engage with these people and actually come up with some solutions that make sense. >> okay. >> with the conservative bent, yes, i'm not going to give up my principles, but we can do this. we have to. they've been doing it for 200 years. >> compromise is not a bad word. say it, congressman. say it, congressman. just say the sentence, compromise is not a bad word. >> compromise is not a bad word. >> not a bad word. >> now that i got you here, excuse me, congressman cummings, i've got this guy in the chair here. my question to you, i talk about it all the time lately. i think mitt romney in his head, looks at the polls beating the president if there was another election, won't be, that he wants to run for president again. what do you think? >> i think he's going to run for president. he probably doesn't want me to say that. 100 times he says he's not. mitt romney has always -- i

happen to be in the camp that thinks he's actually going to run and i think he will be the next president of the united states. >> thank you so much. you're a loyal utahan. that's a great thing to say. we made some news tonight. congressman cummings, thank you for bringing us mr. chaffetz for this purpose. thank you so much, gentlemen, for joining us. we'll be right back after this. ] woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this? [ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen.

that's why i always choose the fastest intern.r slow. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. let me finish tonight with

some love for north carolina. nothing gives me greater pride than to have attended the university of north carolina. what an incredible institution. just think of those who edited the student newspaper there. "the daily tar heel." thomas wolf. author of "look homeward angel" and "you can't go home again." or jonathan daniel of "the new york times" or edwin yoder or jonathan yardley of the "washington post." or other chapel hill greats like charlie rose of public television. think of the people who made north carolina the center of learning that it is today. the research triangle of duke and nc state university. all in close connection with the university in chapel hill. and around the state. what an irony to see the rightward forces in that state today try to reduce the state's commitment to learning. and not only that, but to hit the students, themselves, by cutting into their right to vote. the greatness of north carolina today is the direct result of progressive thinkers like the great frank graham, longtime president of the university. they and their state built a

university system that made the state a magnet for ideas and enterprise, a state fully capable of competing for the best and the brightest. i keep my hopes alive for a state and a university that i love. the same deeply rooted positive belief in the young has not seen its last days in north carolina. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. tonight, we are "all in." >> right now, we are getting really close to having a chaotic situation. >> the immigration wars rage through the weekend. more protests and now arrests in murrieta, california. >> go back to mexico! >> as republicans call for mass deportation -- >> i know it sounds harsh. i know it sounds difficult. >> -- tonight, why the origins of this border crisis point to another presidency. >> i'm the decider and i decide what is best. then, the u.s. state department demands answers after the beating of an american teen by israeli forces is caught on