thank you very much, bill, for joining us tonight. >> thank you. obamacare under attack. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in san francisco. let me start tonight with the big news of the day in politics. today, two u.s. circuit courts of appeal went to war over president obama's number one legacy -- health care. one in virginia said the country could go ahead with the plan. the other, the one in the district of columbia declared the health care system illegal. it said it can no longer provide subsidies to millions of people on federal exchanges who need help with their health care insurance and therefore the government can no longer require people to even participate in

the plan. the big question is which of these court rulings will win out? will the d.c. appeals court carry the day with its argument that the law that created obamacare denies subsidies to those living in states that refuse to set up their own health care exchanges or will the virginia court prevail with its argument that the provision limiting subsidies to state exchanges was the legal equivalent of a typo. if the argument wins in a ruling by the u.s. supreme court it would mean the critics of the president destroyed the historic health care plan and confiscated it from the tens of millions of people now enjoying it because of a two-step choreography. first by getting 36 states to refuse to set up health care exchanges as prescribed by the health care act. then having the failure to set up the courts to kill it and the requirement that people join obamacare in the fist place. what we are watching in today's court cases is the attack to the

heart that critics have long hoped for. jonathan gruber was a key health care adviser on romneycare in massachusetts and the affordable care act. joy reid is host of "the reid report" on msnbc. was this a typo saying only if you had a state exchange could you get a subsidy and be required to participate or was it a significant policy decision not to include states that didn't have exchanges? >> this is a typo. every single person involved in crafting this law has said that it's a typo, that they had no intention of excluding the federal states. why would they? the law says people are only subject to the mandate if insurance is less than 8% of the income. if you get rid of the subs dis-99% of people who get it can no longer afford insurance. why would congress go through

all that political battle to allow it to be destroyed? it's a typo and criminal that it made it this far. >> let me be devil's advocate. could the congress have assumed all the states would set up exchanges and they were wrong because the republicans were recalcitrant? you might argue trouble making in not doing so. >> congress assumed more states would set it up than did but congress allowed for federal backup and they -- you're right. republican opposition caused many states to turn to the federal backup which is fine in general. it's literally insane to think that because of a typo in the law which happened simply because republicans would not let the bill go to congress that it's a failure of democracy. >> joy, the critics of the president, especially those on the hard and nasty right are doing jumping jacks over this.

they love it. it verifies what they said was wrong with the bill in the first place. i don't know if it's true but they are happy to see it. what's your view of the law? do you think there is a credible belief or prediction right now that it could croak health care? >> you know, first of all, this strikes me as a very plilt call decision on the d.c. circuit by the kentuckys. it was three members of the larger panel. a lot of legal thinking is when it gets to the larger panel it won't stand which means it's very political and finding a way to essentially gut the law. it is unimaginable that after all the fight in 2009 the democrats would write a poison pill into their bill. that said i'm surprised republicans are giddy about this. i think what they are missing is when people who hear the same story on their local news tonight, if they have insurance

through obamacare they will hear their insurance is in jeopardy. this is middle class people who earn enough income at work to be able to qualify for subsidies in the first place. what you are cheer ing then is that ten million people, mostly not getting it from medicaid expansion. mostly through the exchanges. you look at states like georgia, louisiana, states where the affordable care act has been part of the political conversation. you're not just saying we won't give it to medicate recipients. you are saying to a middle class person, your insurance is in jeopardy. i'm not sure that's good politics for the republicans. >> don't tell me you're shocked that there is a partisan ruling. we had president george w. bush because of a partisan ruling by the supreme court. isn't that a fact? >> no. i'm not surprised by it. it's unfortunate. one of the reasons people started to lose trust in the federal court system n the supreme court is that what they

do does appear to be so partisan. it was a surprise to me when john roberts joined four other members of the court to uphold the affordable care act. the political pressure from the hard right is so much for shredding the law, getting rid of the law and not just the mandate but the whole thing. they want with it gone. not even pragmatically. people do want health insurance but they want it gone to erode this part of the president's legacy. i'm not surprised three conservative members on the court decided to take a shot at the law. i don't think they will necessarily succeed when it gets to the big court. that's where it will be a problem. even that failure in the larger court will expose it as nakedly partisan. >> let's go back. what the republicans are doing is saying that a bill written by democrats, passed by democrats, i don't think they got any votes. how could they argue a bill written by democrats had its own death knell written into it?

it doesn't make sense. why would democrats put in a poison pill that says, oh, if you don't have a state exchange you can't give subsidies and you can't have the individual mandate so the bill is dead. why do that? where is the logic? >> someone wrote today a clever thing. when we fight about the constitution we wonder what the framers really mean. we don't have to wonder. we know what the framers meant. we can ask them. we can go to the people who wrote it and say did you intend this as a poison pill or is it a typo? every single one says it's a typo. there is no mystery here. there is no wondering about original intent in writing the law. this is just a typo. if the courts pass it and it makes it to the supreme court, we are talking about 7 million americans uninsured because of the typo if they interpret it that way. it's crazy. >> the republicans are out doing their dance of death again.

ted cruz led the dance. here zeroing in on the ruling as a, "repudiation of obamacare and that's the hardest right. reince priebus said the decision is another reminder that obamacare is not working for too many americans. how is that connected? it's time to start over on -- as if they have a plan on health care. quickly followed by house speaker john boehner who is getting sadder every day and said today's ruling is further proof that president obama's health care law is completely unworkable. it cannot be fixed. joy, i think sometimes that speaker boehner is a p.o.w. forced to write these statement there is no replacement plan, no alternative. he ought to know it. four, five years they had a chance to write the alternative to health care and they haven't come up with it. it isn't repeal and replace. it's nothing.

as jonathan said if this goes down all the people on health care are back to where they were with nothing. facing existing conditions problems. young adults not getting coverage. all the things they love about the bill, good-bye. >> first of all those are such warmed over talking points. they didn't say anything new. this is a new ruling. the talking points are are the same thing they have been saying for years. the other issue is i don't understand how it's good politics to say to someone i promise to take away your health care. i vow to come in and take back what you have. people don't like to lose what they've got. 80% of people get insurance through their employer. it's easy to dislike a law that has nothing to do with you. the concept doesn't sound good but you have insurance. if you're one of the 8 million people with insurance the idea of a tea party person saying to

take it from you makes me want to vote to get rid of you, vote against you. >> joy, i don't want to break your heart. but these guys and women in the united states house aren't worried about the general electorate which is of a mixed mind. they are talking about the one-third of the party that votes in primaries. they are not worried about the general elections because of gerry mande are ring. it's hard for them to lose. they are playing right to them. >> unless they are in the senate running for re-election statewide. that holds true for house districts. if you're mary landrieu this is a good thing for you. the south is where uninsured people livement they are in the south, georgia, virginia, arkansas. these are the states where the

insurance of people who have got it now are in jeopardy. look at mississippi. races can get a lot closer when there is an issue on the table of you taking something that people have got. >> you have your hope poster still on the wall. i don't think the supreme court does necessarily. thank you for your are expertise with obamacare and with romney care. i think it was good. anyway, joy reid, thank you. coming up, a report from overseas on the growing humanitarian crisis in gaza. hundreds dead. then we'll talk to a top democratic senator on the refusal of hamas to accept the cease-fire. let's look at rick perry's ordering of a thousand national guard troops to the texas-mexican border. what a joke. the central american children want to surrender. you don't need guns and soldiers. is perry sending a message to central america or is the american caucus voters in iowa got their ears open for this characters. and people are calling obama

weak or come police in the the downing of the malaysian airliner. why hasn't he been stronger on vladimir putin? and why are vampires showing up at fundraisers for senator cruz? that's in the sideshow, of course. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

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we are back. israel's shelling of gaza from air and sea continued today and into the night. israel says it is targeting terrorists and rocket launchers. the civilian death toll is rising. here are the casualty figures as of right now. as you can see, palestinians have suffered a significantly greater number of deaths than israelis. today the f.a.a. took the dramatic step of placing a 24-hour ban on all u.s. flights to and from telaviv. due to the explosion of violence over there. european airlines air france and lufthansa followed suit suspending flights to israel as well. john kerry intensified diplomatic efforts meeting with

palestinian and egyptian officials in cairo today, trying to reach a cease-fire in gaza by resuscitating a truce proposal rejected by hamas militants just a week ago. for more on the bloodshed in the middle east to telaviv and bureau chief martin fletcher. what's the israeli population response to the rising civilian death figures in gaza? >> when you speak to people here there is a sense of horror at the pictures, respect for the dead. one has to say that. at the same time what they keep saying is, look, what we are doing to the palestinians, we are not doing on purpose. they would dearly love to do that to us. there is a groundswell of support for the army and the government here to finish the

job with hamas. they have time as far as the israeli public is concerned to finish this. there is great pressure on israel because of the civilian deaths to stop the fighting and reach a deal with hamas. what israel says with is we accepted that cease-fire. now all eyes are on the secretary of state kerry and the u.s. secretary general and their attempts to bring about a cease-fire. >> how will israel achieve their mission if they are able to knock out the rocket launchers and capture them. if they are able to seal off the tunnels where terrorists were able to enter israel with explosives. was that tactical goal or a long-term goal they were. >> israel is struggling to achieve either at the moment. the fighting is becoming more intense. they are not that interested in a cease-fire at the moment. the fighting looks like it will be going on for some time.

israel's ultimate goal is clear that the prime minister is saying israel will keep fighting until they achieve what netanyahu called sustained calm, no more rockets, destroy the tunnels. those are two very tough conditions. hamas is fighting back in a way that's earned the respect of the israeli army. hamas proved to be good at urban warfare, full of surprises. the tunnels are more extensive than israel expected. after the ground invasion, they continued with that. it's true the last couple of days the rate of rockets are from gaza into israel has declined. one did land a mile from tel aviv airport. that's led to the snowball of

airlines that are cancelling flights to israel which is a major blow for israel and a success for hamas. >> thank you so much martin fletcher in tel aviv. joining me now, u.s. senator chuck schumer of new york. how does the united states play a role when it is clear the netanyahu government and israel wants something done before the fighting starts and hamas in gaza firing rockets continue. it's as if both sides want to continue the fight until some point is achieved. what can the united states do to some them? >> well, as martin fletcher mentioned, there was a peace offered by egypt, that cease-fire rather that israel accepted a week ago. hamas rejected it. israel has accepted two cease-fires offered by egypt which everybody regards as the down the middle ash tor and hamas has rejected them. what other country would stop in the middle of a military

operation if rockets were coming from that country to their country and say, oh, let's sort of ignore it and let them fire at us again in a few weeks. what the israeli public is demanding, what any public would want under these conditions is that the israeli armed forces finish the job. get rid of the rockets. then see what can happen in gaza. any government's first obligation is to protect its own citizens. all they ask is the world not have a double standard. the way germany would respond if berlin were attacked. the way france would respond. the way the u.s. would respond if washington or any other city were attacked. it's all israel wants which is to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> congratulations. i said so last week. i believe you were right in a column you wrote for the times. israel's pursuit of justice in regard to the killing of the palestinian kid and perhaps

burning him alive was so at odds with the killing of the three israeli kids. >> jewish and gentile feel there is a massive double standard going on. hamas fired the rockets into israel. israel is trying to defend itself. hamas uses civilians as shields and puts rockets in all kinds of place where is civilians are. israel tries to protect civilians and have them far away from this. as you said, when the three israeli boys were kidnapped and murdered there were cheers and parades. the mother of one of the suspects said, i hope it's my son. in israel the jewish fanatics who killed the palestinian boy were condemned. they will be in jail for a long time. this idea that there is moral equivalency or as so many of the newspaper writers write, oh, both sides are at fault is just

wrong, wrong, wrong. >> let's talk domestic politics. you wrote an op-ed today in the "new york times" calling for an end to the partisan primary system in favor of what you call a top two primary system. you wrote the partisan primary system which favors more eyde lonlcally pure candidates has contributed to the election of more extreme office holders and increased polarization. it's a menace to governing. a top-two primary system would encourage more participation. it w0u8d remove the incentive to you point out both parties suffer from the fact that the 10% at either end, left and right, show up in primaries when the others don't and dictate the ideology of the party. >> i get asked all the time. what accounts for the

polarization. probably the number one thing is the primary system. the 10% on the far right vote in republican primaries. the 10% on the far left vote in democratic primaries. it's hard for people to move to the middle. more so in legislative bodies like the house but not the senate and there is redistricting. in 90% the only contest is the primary. republican candidates and office holders lean right. democratic office holders lean left. getting things done in the middle which used to happen all the time doesn't. the top two primary system forces the candidates to go to the middle for votes and independents who now in most states can't vote in any primary, could vote in the primaries. in the states that it's happened we have had governing in the middle. the classic is california. jerry brown has been able to run a middle of the road government.

the legislature backed him up in what used to with be be one of the most polarized legislatures in the country before the people put this system in place on their ballot through initiative. >> i like the idea. thank you so much, senator chuck schumer calling for a new way to pick candidates so they don't come from the far left or right. >> our system is wracked with polarization. this is a good way to end it. >> thanks for joining us. >> thanks rs chris. coming up, why vampires -- speaking of the far right -- support ted cruz. that's next in the sideshow. this is "hardball," the place for politics. they say his magic erasers tackle so many messes, that mr. clean once wrote a book about them. not only do they clean everyday dirt, they clean a lot of unexpected stuff too.

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president obama was giving an interview recently. get this. he said he thought joe biden would be a good president. when asked why he was like, because he would make me look amazing. that's the real truth. not going to lie. >> welcome back to "hardball." time for the sideshow. president obama has been criticized for his actions in the wake of the downing of the malaysian flight 17 especially with how he handled russian

president vladimir putin. the russian media says the white house was too quick to blame their country for the attack. here's what "the daily show's" jon stewart said about it all. >> the white house has found guilt before any investigation just like hussein and his weapon of mass destruction. >> that's gonna leave a mark. you invade one country under a pretext that you learn almost immediately was false and quietly change the pretekt and pretend you never made the mistake in the first place and they never let you forget it. >> can't they let it go? next, vampires invaded the george w. bush presidential library in "true blood" this week. if you missed it -- i did -- two characters went under cover to a political fund-raiser for, believe it or not, senator ted cruz. here is the clip. >> of all the horrible things i have seen in the last hundred years this could be the most disturbing.

>> it's fun because we're together. >> no, it isn't. >> even vampires weren't that im pressed with that crowd. up next, rick perry sends the national guard to the border. is it pure p.r.? yes. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. when you run a business, you can't settle for slow.

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today i'm using my executive authority as governor of texas and activating the national guard. it is code named operation strong safety all along the border region. >> welcome back. that was texas governor rick perry announcing yesterday he ordered a thousand national guard troops to the border with mexico in an operation which will cost $12 million a month. the deployment comes as an influx of unaccompanied children, more than 50,000 so far, continue to stream across the border from central america. while perry's decision may have the look and the feel of a bold stroke there is little evidence that the national guard troops can do anything to alleviate the problem. first they don't have the authority under the law to stop, detain or arrest anyone crossing into this country illegally.

second the children in this case are willingly turning themselves in already. we don't need soldiers with guns pointed at them. the governor explained the rationale this month. >> they are not under the law allowed to apprehend any of the children crossing, are they? >> well, the issue is with being able to send the message. it's the visual that's the most important. >> it's the visual, he says. admitting it even. in an interview with the washington post, the bush appointed former chief of the national guard, h. steven blum, appeared skeptical. quote, until mission requirements are defined it can't be determined whether this is an appropriate use of the guard in this case. if you're talking about search and rescue, maintaining the rule of law or restoring conditions back to normal after a natural disaster the or a ka tast fe, the guard is suited to do that. i'm not sure what we are dealing

with in scope and causation now would make it the adeal choice. i get the feeling perry is less interested in impressing central american children than the voters in iowa. joining me now is lloyd dogett of texas and wayne slater, senior political writer for the dallas morning news. thanks for joining us. i have been watching governor perry. i have been watching his attempt to deal with the visual. he now wears glasses on television. he got rid of the snappy blazer with the gold buttons he used to wear. he's trying to look like a serious grown-up. he's admitting it's all visual. sending guys and women to the border with no authority to arrest, pursue, stop anything, do anything. he says it would make a good visual. i'm wondering who he's sending the picture to? the voters of iowa or a bad guy or a good parent in honduras? >> i think the new glasses may make him look more thoughtful. they may or may not have

improved his memory. they haven't improved his vision. he doesn't understand the problem. he's even able to escape abuse. i think the taxpayers of texas are just being asked to pay once again for his rather grandiose political ambitions. our national guard is skilled, highly trained but not to do the job. he's not so much about boots on the ground. that's what he wants to project. the guards members after they get training may provide pencils on the table or a wrench at the garage. they are not going to be doing anything that we couldn't do through other means and it will, of course, disrupt the lives of many of the guardsmen who served our country so well abroad. >> well said. let me go to wayne slater. what strikes me is he's trying to off set the fact that he looked soft in the last

election. the children who were brought here illegally to texas, he was proposing that they get in-state tuition which is a great deal for a family of modest means. you know it, i know it. i got in-state tuition at a college once. is this just to make him look mr. tough? >> he's got a perry problem and a republican problem. frankly, i think yesterday's announcement was a sweet spot where he dealt with both of them on political terms. the problem was last time he ran for president some on the far right, the tea party thought he was much too soft on immigration. so he was able to suggest that now i want to toughen up the border. it's a good thing to project. the particular republican problem is -- and i think perry threaded the needle well. on the one hand they want to look tough on the border but they don't want to look mean in a way. by saying i will put a bunch of military on the border, he's

lifting himself to the level of the president saying, i look tough. i'm not here to hurt the children. i thought it was a very smart political -- >> i disagree. it's part of the problem we have had with immigration policy. it's all pretense. we hire people illegally because they are cheap and desperate. at the same time we put people on the border to pretend we'll stop them. meantime we have a magnet of illegal low paying jobs. it's like putting one foot on the pedal and one on the gas. >> chris. you know what i'm talking about. politically. as you suggest in western iowa this is going to play. last weekend he was in iowa. >> then they're stupid out there if they pal for it. they're stupid. why would anyone fall for this claptrap? we are telling them now the guys can't stop a guy from coming in especially when a kid comes in with hands up, a 10-year-old surrendering. what's the point of having a guy

with a rifle wearing fatigues? what's the goal? >> it's window dressing. you're right. >> let's look at what perry said in 2011 on the debate on fox news channel. the in state college tuition for children of illegal immigrants. >> if you say that we should not the educate children for no other reason that they were brought there by no fault of their own, i don't think you have a heart. >> congressman, why would that be a bad thing to say in the republican party -- what he just said there? >> well, there is such a fear and hate with regard to some of the immigrants. a failure to recognize that these are desperate children coming to our shores seeking refuge, but it seems to play well in the republican party to say they are not our kids, not our problem when they are our problem and they ought to be

recognizing their unique circumstance and defend existing circumstance. i'm encouraged the senate is apparently beginning to move some appropriations to fund full enforcement of our laws including the system for the children. that includes no changes in the existing law which should be forced to prevent track trafficking of the children. >> wayne, do people hate hispanics who are uneducated marathon they hate educated hispanics? >> that will be the test. we'll see at election time, both nationally and with various states. ask yourself this. the perry idea, the idea that was embraced and will be embraced in iowa and south carolina and northern florida basically says i'm going to militarize the border. it ain't popular on the border, not with the sheriffs and others. i will send people that can shoot people -- not that they will -- but have the authority to shoot children but not ask

for their papers. whether you think they are stupid or not -- and i know what you're saying. >> stupid if they buy this. >> i think it is a heck of an applause line. i have seen perry do it before. others will say the same kind of thing. if they really wanted to solve the problem down there in a bipartisan way they would approve a portion of the billions that the president has asked for to deal with the humanitarian aid and deal with beefing up the border. but to do that you have to embrace barack obama and republicans don't want to do that. >> you know, if they fall for the guy who said oops because he couldn't remember the government agencies he wanted to get rid of -- and there are three of them. and that he's wearing glasses now and must be smarter. thank you as always. wayne slater is trying to figure this out like i am. up next, president obama's two-front conflict. vladimir putin on one side and republicans who blame him, the

president, for what's going on in ukraine. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

45 years ago this week, hundreds of millions around the world watched as americans landed on the moon. today at the white house, president obama welcomed buzz aldrin and michael collins and the widow of neil armstrong. they first reached the lunar surface during the apollo xi mention in 1969.

the president called it a seminal moment in the history of man kind.

this an opportunity for me to extend on behalf of all the american people our deepest condolences over the loss of family and friends and to ensure the dutch people that we will work with them to make sure that loved ones are recovered, that a proper investigation is conducted, and that ultimately justice is done. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was, of course, president obama today, in this case speaking at the dutch embassy in washington, where he also signed a condolence book for those

victims of flight 17. in eastern ukraine, after days of delay, the bodies of the victims were finally released by the pro-russian rebels. along with the plane's black boxes. but in russia, according to reuters, vladimir putin had strong words for the u.s., accusing our government of indirectly pulling the strings in ukraine and trying to bully russia. meanwhile, there was an emotional reminder of the tragedy last week and frustration and anger many families feel. the father of one victim shared with nbc news this open letter he wrote. >> thank you, very much, mr. putin, leaders of the separatists, or the ukraine government, for murdering my loved and only child. she's been shot out of the sky. regards, elsemiek's father, whose life has been ruined now. >> according to nbc news, they say russian-backed separatists, here's the key word, probably

fired the missile that brought down flight 17 but don't have definitive proof yet. it was likely a mistake by inexperienced people. they said. while they said russia created the conditions for what happened by providing those weapons to the rebels, there's no evidence of direct involvement by the russian government in the actual downing of the plane. michael weiss is a columnist for foreign policy and editor of "the interpreter." joan walsh is editor at large for "salon" and msnbc political analyst. michael, what strikes me is we're not yet in the position politically of firm ground, that the president although he has made negative comments, of course, about putin who deserves them, he's not quite sure we have the kind of rock-solid evidence that he can stand on. is that your sense? >> i think they actually know more than they're letting on at this point. >> really? >> i think what the u.s. is doing is they're trying to provide that rock-solid case. i mean, you have to understand, chris, what the kremlin is doing right now, i mean, you mentioned that the u.s. and ukraine, according to vladimir putin's government, are responsible for

downing this plane. they are throwing so much misinformation and so much prop propaganda out there they're forcing the united states to react to it. marie harf had a press conference and was asked to rebut claims she probably hadn't heard yet, put forward by the russian government five days after the fact. i think the u.s. is actually being very wise to take its time and deliberate on the evidence and intelligence that it has. but, again, if they're saying they probably -- it was probably the separatists using russian-supplied material, look, as far as i'm concerned, nobody has seriously alleged that the separatists or russia intended to shoot down a commercial airliner out of the skies of ukraine. i mean, that would be the most idiotic thing the kremlin or people's republic of donetsk could have attempted to do. we have on record, social media backs it up, the separatists admitted. they shot down a few before including ukrainian helicopters.

it wasn't in the separatists arrived at the crash site, saw 300 dead bodies, and malaysia airlines on the plane, that day screwed up. this was reflected in the intercepts of communications not just between the separatists and each other but the separatists and russian military intelligence saying, uh-oh, we got the wrong plane. you can argue russia didn't have a direct hand in this. the indirect hand, and arming and backing these guys who are russian military intelligence officers, i think that's indisputable at this point. >> according to conservatives at home, the president's response to putin has been weak, cowardly, naive. let's watch the usual fuselage of attack here. >> what did secretary kerry not say, what is the administration not doing that you think must be done? >> one, he didn't call putin the thug that he is. there's a battle of wills between the kgb colonel and the

community organizer and the colonel is winning. >> it's just been cowardly. it's a cowardly administration that we failed to give ukrainians weapons with which to defend themselves. >> we have 300 people shot out of the sky likely by one of our biggest enemies. the president is raising money. what's next? he's going to put golf flags since he plays golf 180 times at half-mast? i mean, where is presidential action here? >> missing in action. >> i keep hoping that this will be the time when he will man up, when he will take a stand, when he will represent america and recognize our goodness and the evil, the true evil that vladimir putin is inflicting. >> allen west, the former congressman, went further blaming the president's weakness, the word he used, as being partially responsible for what happened. the former congressman and fox news contributor if that's the right word, wrote, "the blood on vladimir putin's hands was poured by barack obama who was indirectly responsible,

accountable, and no different than neville chamberlain's weakness in the face of the 20th average maniacal dictator, adolf hitler." joan, i'm glad you're on the show tonight. whatever question of doubt, if there is any, about who did this, means nothing to the right wing. it's all about this weird notion of manlihood, macho, some -- i don't know what the right reference, test -- whatever they call it. they're not talking about facts or leadership or statesman ship or anything to do with the world. it's about manhood weirdness. why is lindsey graham focused on that in why are these guys like allen west focused on that in why are they talking about this sort of testing the guy's manlihood? why do they do it that way? explain if you can. >> because it's all they understand. and with this president, you know, they've got the obama insult generator, chris, and for domestic stuff, he's a tyrant and a king and a dictator, but on international stuff, he's weak, he's a coward. now he's got blood on his hands.

i means, allen west is just a terrible, terrible person. but we know that this situation, as michael as said, is much more complicated than this. right now, vladimir putin has created a nightmare for himself. you know, these rebels are crazy. they're asking him to annex the eastern ukraine. he's now shown to the world that these people that he's backed are willing to desecrate death sites, they're willing to steal from people that they killed. it's awful. there is -- it seems to be, and michael knows more than i do about this, that there's an opportunity or president obama is hoping for an opportunity to strengthen the spine of our european allies who don't want a no-fly zone on their eastern border. you know, i just don't see that we can do anything else right this minute but wait for more resolve on their part. if it doesn't come, that's a different ball game then we'll see what happens. >> i think we need more evidence apparently and more resolve from the europeans to lead them. i do think the president at some

point in the next week or so has got to come out firm with the facts, hopefully with the facts, i don't think he can speak until he gets them, and let them know they made the mistake of putin's life. thank you, michael weiss, and thank you, joan walsh. we'll be right back after this. t before i do any projects on my home. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list for bringing us together. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

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. let me finish tonight with this show. and that's the right word for it. that governor perry of texas is putting on at the u.s./mexican border. this is simply the latest use of

performance art to address a serious question of national integrity, a serious country and serious public officials would take action to regulate entry into sovereign territory. it would not leave the decision up to the exploiters on this side of the border looking for cheap labor or exploiters on the other side seeking to evade or exploit u.s. law. governor perry is not a serious official. he sent 1,000 u.s. national guardsmen to the border with no other mission than to stand there. they can't stop people from entering the country illegally, have no right to arrest anyone who does. they are there as a, quote, visual, as he himself put it, a symbol. a symbol of what? of our refusal to do anything about illegal immigration? to pass a law, a progressive american law that we're proud to enforce? a symbol of what a clown act we can put on in the face of young people openly surrendering themselves to the authorities? those kids don't need uniformed soldiers standing there watching them with gun. they're surrendering. hasn't anybody noticed it? it strikes me the governor known

for the word "oops" is showing us what the word looks like in action. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. war caught on camera. correspondents in the heat of battle. >> i remember hearing it, bing, bing, bing, as the bullets are hitting the side of the humvee. >> troops recording the danger they face every day. >> oh! >> my first instinct was that i just lost three soldiers and a vehicle. >> come on, fire. >> and a classified military video that stuns the world. in this hour, troops from the front lines to their front lawns. >> i think he remembers you. >> war, up close. "caught on camera: combat."