Skip to main content

tv   Politics Nation  MSNBC  July 29, 2014 3:00pm-4:01pm PDT

3:00 pm
>> good to have you on. appreciate your time. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "politics nation" with reverend al sharpton starts now. good evening, rev. >> good evening, ed. thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live tonight in atlanta. tonight's lead, republicans pretending to do their job right before they go on vacation. just two days before a month-long break, house republicans are spinning their wheels with new ways of not dealing with the crisis on the border. in a fast-moving day in washington, speaker boehner first unveiled the plan guaranteed to go nowhere. one senate democrat shouldn't try to pass real solutions on immigration reform.
3:01 pm
president obama proposed $3.7 billion in emergency funding to tackle the immigration crisis. it came to less than a fifth of the white house proposal. he's not even sure he can pass it. >> i think there is sufficient support in the house to move this bill. we've got more work to do though. >> that's right. speaker boehner is still working on the votes. he's got two days to convince these folks. >> i don't see any purpose spending a lot of money to allow the president to continue these malicious activities with immigration laws. >> giving him the permission slip to do it to the destruction of the rule of law. >> the president supports these
3:02 pm
surges in illegal alien children and other illegal aliens coming to our country again. he sees it as the equivalent of a democratic party voter registration drive. >> a democratic voter registration drive? that's the excuse? the attacks are absurd. the ticking clock is real. here's the house calendar for the rest of the year. in two days the house starts the august recess. a month-long break. look at the calendar after that. only two working days in october. only 27 days scheduled after july for the entire year. when exactly are they planning on taking real action? that's why the news today from the white house is so significant. president obama is reportedly considering a move to grant work permits to millions of immigrants in this country
3:03 pm
illegally. it's just what he ended at last month when he warned the gop he wouldn't wait for them to do their jobs. >> i will continue to push house republicans to drop the excuses and ablct. i hope their constituents will, too. america cannot wait forever for them to act. that's why today we want to fix as much of the immigration system as i can on my own. without congress. >> joining me now are nia henderson and richard wolf. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> how desperate are republicans to make it look like they are acting on immigration reform before they go on vacation? >> i don't think they are desperate at all. if you were desperate. if you lived up to the rhetoric of what they were saying a couple of weeks back.
3:04 pm
that it was hurricane katrina you wouldn't come back with a number as low as speaker boehner came back today. i don't think they're desperate. they are going through the motions. for the base because they have a base strategy for the mid-term election. accusing the president of some conspiracy to bring illegals into the country is good enough. >> the playing to the base is based only on the strategy of the opposition is not going to be able to bring people out on the opposing side. so you say and do anything to play to the base. gop congressman steve king came up with a new justification for not addressing the immigration crisis. listen to this. >> by the way, you know, how many actually are dying in their home countries? yes, there's violence down there and aside from honduras though there is no place down there that is more dangerous than detroit. we're not giving people from detroit asylum to go to, say,
3:05 pm
iowa if they want. this is america, of course. but we should put this in perspective. the only place down there more dangerous than detroit is honduras. >> so that's the reason not to address a humanitarian crisis? because it's not more dangerous than detroit other than honduras? >> yeah. i don't know how to respond to that. i will say this. if you flashback to 12012 the democrats would be forced to do something when they look at demographics and chances of winning a national election. in many ways this is giving the president room to enact a year of action. he talked about the strategy. in the coming weeks we'll see some action from this president. i also think we'll see him able to rally the democratic base
3:06 pm
around here. around this issue. you have the president now talking sort of almost taunting republicans saying so sue me if you want for doing my job. i think we'll see him take some pretty massive steps around immigration reform. in particular states, it will matter, i think. especially that obama coalition that was crucial in 2012. i think overall latino voters won't be a huge part of this election. either from 3 to 7% depending on how you slice the numbers whether you are looking at house or senate races. you will stee president's actions are rallying the democratic base. >> you know, richard, let's put into perspective what the gop's gridlock has achieved. the current congress has enacted just 142 laws. on pace for a record low. confidence in congress has fallen to 7%. another record low.
3:07 pm
are republicans setting themselves up to get hammered for failing to act on immigration at all in august? >> i don't think they see a down side in doing nothing. they can say, look, we are the only check and balance on this president who is clearly not acting in any constitutional authority. that works for the base. of course it doesn't work for the rising demographic in this country of latino voters. it doesn't work for swing voters, infrequent voters. they are banking that they won't should have up and they don't have to run a national election. they only care about their own particular race. that's how myopic the republican party is. they are looking at 2016 saying what have we got to play here on the national battlefield as opposed to the house districts? >> so, nia-malika, the inaction, the gridlock we are seeing the
3:08 pm
republicans, in richard's view, and i'm asking yours -- is that as long as they don't see a political downside in their districts and house members are in many gerrmandered districts. >> they are looking at a different map. we sort of look at the map and look nationally to see the rising number of latinos becoming eligible to vote. as you said, they look at different maps. there are not a lot of latinos in the districts. again it's something like 3%, maybe 5% here, 7% here. depending on if you are looking at the senate or house races. but they just don't look at the same constituency. also they have a very different approach to this issue. >> you know, richard. senator jeff sessions is a republican. he's attacking president obama for considering executive action to get work for immigrants here illegally that i brought up
3:09 pm
earlier. listen to this. >> such calculated action strains the constitutional structure of our republic. congressional action this week to bar unilateral imperial action by the president is surely the best course to head off what could be a constitutional crisis. >> so let me get this right. republicans block immigration reform and then attack the president for saying he will take action on oh his own. >> right. you wonder if this is the same party that was saying how great putin was for taking action and being a strong leader in russia. they are clearly setting the predicate for what currently the house republican leadership is saying is prepos prous democratic scare tactics about impeachment. when you say there is a constitutional crisis in the making. when you say they are imperial powers, you are putting down the framework, convincing people
3:10 pm
that impeachment is the only thing out there. when the president does take actions that white house sources are saying they will, then i think you are looking at a very, very tough confrontation there between the two sides of the u.s. government. >> nia-malika, i'm out of time, but i want to read a quote about immigration without telling you for a moment who said it. the quote is i believe in the idea of amnesty for those who put down roots and lived here. even though some time back they may have entered illegally. do you know who said that? >> gingrich? >> president ronald reagan. >> reagan, okay. >> 1984. how did the party fall so far reagan looks like a moderate? >> it's been some time.
3:11 pm
john mccain is for immigration reform. marco rubio last year also sounded that same framework in terms of amnesty. it's a different party, different circumstances in 2014. >> nia-malika henderson and richard wolf, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> coming up, how republicans are gearing up to go on vacation, leaving behind over 1 million workers earning minimum wage. plus, congratulations to speaker boehner. he said something today that goes down in the hall of fame for absurd gop lines. and the ranisha mcbride murder trial got heated today. is the defense trying to smear the victim? please stay with us. vo: this is the summer.
3:12 pm
the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. so get out there, and get the best price guaranteed. find it for less and we'll match it and give you $50 toward your next trip. expedia. find yours. so factors like diet can negatively impact good bacteria? even if you're healthy and active. phillips digestive health support is a duo-probiotic that helps supplement good bacteria found in two parts of your digestive tract. i'm doubly impressed! phillips' digestive health. a daily probiotic.
3:13 pm
3:14 pm
so many looking for president obama's response to the crisis in ukraine and it's wrong. late this afternoon, president obama announced harsh new sanctions on the russian energy, arms and finance sectors. he also delivered a strong message to president putin. >> if russia continues on the current path, the cost on russia will continue to grow. today it is a reminder that the united states means what it says. >> today, russia is once again isolating itself from the international community, setting back decades of genuine progress. it doesn't have to come to this. it didn't have to come to this. it does not have to be this way. this is a choice that russia and president putin in particular has made. >> this is a complicated issue. the president is getting it done. the partisan bickering needs to
3:15 pm
end. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. [ barks ] this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪
3:16 pm
the mad scramble is on. speaker boehner's do-nothing congress is getting ready to flee town friday. but they will leave behind some real unfinished business. the minimum wage. the president and democrats have been pushing for it to raise it. but republicans won't budge. to highlight just how hard it is, some democratic politicians are trying to live on the minimum wage. $77 a week. it's called the live the wage
3:17 pm
challenge. lawmakers are reporting it hasn't been easy. >> when you are living on $77 a week which is what we are doing, the members of congress that are living the wage, you have to consider every single penny. >> my wife is doing it with me. we have $154 to live for a week, including food transportation and entertainment. coffee going up 30%. cheese and milk going up 20%. eggs going up 20%. they are staples of the american diet. if you are living on minimum wage we see no increase. >> this is just one week for lawmakers. it's a reality for 1.6 million americans every day. >> barry makes minimum wage and says he barely has enough money to survive. he says working seven hours won't even fill his gas tank. >> it's hard when you are making that wage. it feels discouraging. >> asia works three minimum wage
3:18 pm
jobs. >> i dreamed about going to school, going to college, everything. right now i feel stuck. >> we are not leaving. we are not asking for handouts. we are working as hard as we can to keep our heads above water. we are starting to drown out here. >> why can't we come together on this? republicans attack the working poor for being lazy, accuse them of getting handouts, being takers. the answer is simple. give people a living wage. i would like to see some of the republicans take the live the wage challenge. maybe we'd see some action. joining me now is hakeem jeffreys. democrat from new york. thank you for being here. >> thanks for having me, rev. >> congressman, so many americans are working full-time jobs and they are living in poverty. why should republicans be
3:19 pm
against this? >> there is absolutely no legitimate basis for republicans -- that's unfortunate. at a moment in american history now where corporate profits are way up. you've got the stock market that's way up. c.e.o. compensation is way up. middle class wages have remained stagnant. there are americans working hard every day, 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year yet they are living in poverty at the end of the day because $7.25 per hour is inadequate to support a family and to live a dekreent way. >> you know, the democrats are showing how hard it is with photos posted on twitter from this week so far. former governor ted strickland could barely afford a lunch from
3:20 pm
mcdonald's. at one point he had celery sticks for dinner. congressman tim ryan showed exactly what just $77 a week to feed your family or oh feed yourself really looks like. this is what it's like for working poor people every day. they are not takers. how can democrats make this a political liability for the gop? >> well, this is just another example of the house republicans failing to be able to effectively govern. they failed to lift the minimum wage, provide unemployment insurance, failed to create jobs. you know, they failed to do the things that are necessary to put america back to work and to make sure those americans who are working hard can actually earn a living and provide for their families. we are going to go back home throughout our districts during the august recess and continue to make the case for the democratic agenda which would
3:21 pm
involve a minimum wage increase to $10.10 per hour. were there to be a change in governance in january. this is an issue that really defines who we are as americans. are we going to be about progress for the many or are we going to be about prosperity for the few. unfortunately that is the republican agenda. we are going to continue to work hard to change that approach to governing so we can do what's in the best interest of the people and give america a raise. >> congressman, if you're working full-time in america, you shouldn't be living in poverty. but that's not the case. lo look at this. the annual salary for a minimum wage worker is just over $15,000 a year. the federal poverty level for two people, $650 more than the minimum wage. that's if you are a two-person family. >> 50 years ago lyndon johnson came to the floor of the house
3:22 pm
and lost the war on poverty that gave us a significant number of programs to help lift americans out of poverty. today the house republicans have launched a war on working families. it should not be the case as you point out that you have an individual who is working hard, doing the right thing according to the american work ethic and yet at the end of the day, at the end of the year falls below the federal poverty line. that's why this is an issue we are committed to changing as part of our middle class jump start agenda. we are going to be there for the middle class and all the americans who aspire to be part of the middle class who are currently stuck in $7 at no t$. hour jobs. >> this is a big issue. congressman, thank you for your time tonight. >> hank you, rev. >> still ahead a dramatic day in the trial over the shooting
3:23 pm
death of ranisha mcbride. also speaker boehner tells a whopper about impeachment that you've got to see to believe. but first we'll play another edition of gop blaming game. stay with us. if energy could come from anything?.
3:24 pm
or if power could go anywhere? or if light could seek out the dark? what would happen if that happens? anything. caman: thanks, captain obvious. wouldn't stay here tonight. captain obvious: i'd get a deal for tonight with deals for tonight from hotels.com. and you might want to get that pipe fixed.
3:25 pm
♪ [music] defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. easily absorbed calcium plus d. beauty is bone deep. [ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. sometimes, life trips us up. sometimes, we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy.
3:26 pm
personalized coverage and savings -- all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? welcome back to tonight's edition of the gop blaming game. featuring mississippi's dapper and dashing republican governor phil bryan. in his spare time he enjoys walks on the beach and bashing the affordable care act. >> don't let anyone tell you obamacare is the law of the land. >> this system we call obamacare that we now see will be a train
3:27 pm
wreck. i don't want the name of mississippi emblazened across the train when it leaves the tracks. >> hmm. that's the second highest in the country. you may think this is a strike against our magnolia state suitor. governor bryant is blaming, you guessed it, president obama. saying, quote, if statistics show that the ill conceived and so-called affordable care act is resulting in higher rates of uninsured people in mississippi, i would say that's yet another example of a broken promise from barack obama. now that's a whopper. because governor bryant is the one who made the problem worse by refusing to expand medicaid. that would have covered nearly
3:28 pm
$140,000 folks in his state. did governor bryant think we wouldn't ♪ ? this is the lamest blame game we have seen. nice try, but we gotcha. that's tonight's edition of the gop blaming game. tthe will..., mobilizing to take on the world? you don't know "aarp." aarp and its foundation are taking on hunger
3:29 pm
with 29 million meals donated. drive to end hunger teams with local agencies to reach the hungriest among us. if you don't think feed the hungry when you think aarp, then you don't know "aarp." find more surprising possibilities and get to know us at aarp.org/possibilities.
3:30 pm
weit's not justt we'd be fabuilding jobs here,. it's helping our community. siemens location here has just received a major order of wind turbines. it puts a huge smile on my face. cause i'm like, 'this is what we do.' the fact that iowa is leading the way in wind energy, i'm so proud, like, it's just amazing. we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny. we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure.
3:31 pm
thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. no property tax. no business tax. and no sales tax. which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. it's not just business as usual. see how new york can help your business grow, at startup.ny.gov republicans say a lot of ridiculous things about impeachment. but today we heard a new one. >> we have no plans to impeach the president. we have no future plans. listen, it's all a scam started by democrats at the white house. >> oh, it's a scam all right. but started by democrats? absolutely not. it started on right wing talk radio. just weeks after president obama took office in 2009.
3:32 pm
>> i think it is time to start talking about impeachment. somebody's got to get this guy under control. he's out of control. >> that's where this started. five years ago. by 2010 republican lawmakers had started picking it up. it eventually became one of their favorite talking points. >> whether or not this is an impeachable offense would be one the congress would have to make the determination over. >> tell me how i can impeach the president of the united states. >> we want all tools available to use including impeachment. >> if we were to impeople the president tomorrow you could probably get the votes in the house of representatives. >> people may be using the i-word before too long. >> meaning impeachment? >> yeah. >> none of the guys are democrats. they were all talking about impeachment. now conservatives are trying to
3:33 pm
rewrite the history. >> do you think anybody in washington in the gop is serious about impeachment? do you think one person? >> no. >> have you spoken to one person? not one. so who wants it? the president. >> no one in the gop is serious about impeachment. no one wants it but the president? mr. beck, have you seen this man? >> i personally am calling to impeach the president of the united states. this is impeachable. >> glenn beck was for it before he was against it. and it was the same story today on fox news. >> to your point about impeachment. only democrats are talking about it. republicans, conservatives not talking about it. only democrats to gin up the base before november. >> but guess what they were chatting about on the same couch
3:34 pm
last month. >> andy mccarthy, a friend of the program with a new book out -- >> president should be impeached for this. >> that's what he says. crimes and misdemeanors. high crimes. >> that's a valid argument people will start talking about. >> republicans might regret stirring up all the impeachment talk but the tape doesn't lie. joining me now are joe madison and bill press. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> joe, what's speaker boehnerer trying to do by claiming democrats started the impeachment talk? >> it's called transference. they are very good at it. as a matter of fact in the same clip glenn beck said that the democrats brought up president obama's race before he became president. they also were the ones who brought up birtherism. i guess they forgot about donald trump and all the other people who, in fact, mentioned
3:35 pm
birtherism. >> what's happened here is that they can't control this base that they have. they know the smart republicans know that if they -- this impeachment talk continues you are not only going to wake up the african-american community. you will wake up women, hispanics, low income workers. and you will possibly not only be able to take over the senate, but you could change the arithmetic in the house and the smart democrats know it. but the reality is they can control the people that you just played in the tapes. >> you know, bill. the reason some republicans are back pedalling from the impeachment talk is because it's helping democrats raise money. >> right. >> the campaign arm of the house democrats has received $2.1 million in online donations since thursday. that's the most in a four-day
3:36 pm
period in this whole campaign cycle. does this reaction make republicans nervous, bill? >> of course it does. reverend al, i keep thinking about harry truman. remember what he said? if they stop telling lies about me, i'll stop telling the truth about them. >> wow. >> i think it fits. i saw congressman steve israel last night, head of the dccc. he had the biggest smile on his face. he told me this impeachment talk is the best thing that's ever happened to democratic efforts to win back the house and to hold onto the senate. here is what gets me. of course democrats get alarmed when they hear this. it makes them want to write a check. there is one way to stop the flow of money -- for republicans to stop talking about impeachment. that's why john boehner is nuts. if republicans weren't talking about it, democrats couldn't raise money on it. it's as simple as that. >> but, joe, sarah palin isn't backing away from her calls for
3:37 pm
impeachment. she was asked today if senate democrats would be on board. listen to this. >> do you really believe that's even vaguely possible? and which democrats would you be targeting to try to persuade them to join a vote to remove the president? >> amen. i absolutely passionately believe that it is possible. who are these democrats? you've got to know that there are still reagan democrats and blue dog democrats who will stiffen their spines and do the right thing. >> she thinks democrats will try to oust the president. is this going way beyond wishful thinking, joe? >> she's been smoking something, obviously. maybe spending too much time in colorado. i'm just telling you this is the most absurd thing she's said. you know, look. this is crazy. here is the best thing we can do. as a matter of fact, let's go
3:38 pm
back to boehner. in your first hit on boehner, he says it's off the table. he should have told his number three man who went on television and said it's not off the table. how embarrassing? how embarrassing it is that your leader tells you it's off the table and you go and say it's not. he has no control. people, you register, vote. it's not just about raising money. but the reality is this is where you now make sure they can't do it. you go out, register and vote. that will take care of all this discussion we are having. >> reverend al. let me make one other quick point. i don't want to let boehner off the hook. he's trying to have it both ways. >> right. >> oh, no, no. i'm clean. i'm not for impeachment. i want to sue the president instead. suing the president is just as bad. it's worse because it's a cheep
3:39 pm
substitute but the same purpose, to stir up the base. a chance for them to raise money by taking on president obama. don't let boehner off the hook on this. >> now, joe, besides impeachment it gets even uglier. >> why should we pass laws that the states are nullifying? bottom line, no, we should not be passing laws federal legislators or congressmen that the states would consider nullifying. bottom line.
3:40 pm
>> joe. she thinks they can nullify -- the states can nullify federal law. this is joni ernst, the republican candidate for senate in iowa. what do you say? >> martin luther king, jr., must be turning over in his grave to hear if word nullification. people are still fighting the civil war. i'll bet you most of the people in their base really don't understand what the term "nullificatio "nullification" means. >> right. >> the reality is these are folks fighting the civil war and once again this is all based on their dislike for president obama. the more they keep talking, the more i think people, independents, democrats. but here is the bottom line with me. as we talk about being progressive, they are not conservative because conservatives will want to
3:41 pm
conservative the constitution. these are regressive. they want to roll it back. >> radical regressives, that's right. >> i will leave it there. bill press and joe madison. thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> coming up, a dramatic day in the ranisha mcbride murder trial. what did the shooter say moments after killing the 19-year-old? ten years ago tonight, john kerry accepted the democratic nomination for president. and it began a new era in political smearing. stay with us. celebrate your love of crab with gthis year's largest variety!. 'cause it's crabfest at red lobster! dig into a succulent selection of crab entrées. like new crab lover's trio! with sweet snow crab legs, split king crab, and jumbo lump crab over savory shrimp. crab three ways! all on one plate. or try new jumbo lump crab over wood-grilled salmon.
3:42 pm
experience crabfest at red lobster today. only for a limited time. come in and sea food differently! and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial.
3:43 pm
ask your doctor about cialis for daily use hey there, i just got my bill, and i see that it includes my fico® credit score. yup, you get it free each month to help you avoid surprises with your credit.
3:44 pm
good. i hate surprises. surprise! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and see your fico® credit score. my motheit's delicious. toffee in the world. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.
3:45 pm
was it self-defense or murder? it was day four of the prosecution's case in the murder trial of ranisha mcbride. last november, 19-year-old ranisha was showing up on theodore wafer's porch, drunk and unarmed after crashing her car. wafer shot and killed her saying he was scared for his life. he's now charged with second degree murder and manslaughter. today the prosecution came close to resting their case, calling wafer's actions a necessary unjustified and unreasonable. but the real drama came before the jury are came in when once
3:46 pm
again the defense appeared to be putting the victim on trial. >> we heard in evidence why now can't i bring in the evidence of ranisha's cell phone pictures which show she steals drugs, marijuana specifically? >> for the second time this week the defense asked for ranisha's online screen name to be admitted as evidence. >> i think if the screen name for ranisha mcbride on twitter is important. her screen name is young and thugging. social media is probably the most accurate form of reputation evidence. even if the defendant doesn't know about the decedent's reputation. even if they are unaware of it it is admissible in furtherance to prove that the victim was a
3:47 pm
probable aggressor. >> again the judge refused to allow photos or the screen name into evidence. it's become a pattern -- attacking the victim's character. what it comes down to is this. will the jury believe he acted in self-defense? joining me now, criminal defense attorney carmen st. george and former prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst faith jenkins. thank you for being here. >> thanks, rev. >> thank you. >> faith, two days of testimony this week. two times they have asked for evidence that makes the victim look like a criminal in this case. does it surprise you? >> no i expected it in this case like we have seen in other cases in the recent past. the judge is making the right ruling. if the defense attorneys can make the person who is dead look like a criminal, it is easier
3:48 pm
for them to justify the actions of the person that's on trial. so they want to go against the prosecutor's argument that ranisha mcbride was looking for help. they are saying it defies credibility in this case. she wasn't looking for help. look at her past. look at things she's been engaged in. who is ranisha mcbride really? a criminal. of course she wasn't looking for help. even if she was in a car accident she was there to rob him. even though she didn't have a weapon she was there to break in the house. even though she was beating on the front door of the home she had nefarious intent to get in there and rob him. that's what they want the jurors to believe. >> whatever her background is or is not, wafer didn't know that when she was knocking on the door. how is that material to the particular case we are dealing with here? >> as a defense attorney you have to argue in this particular case that this is self-defense. the reason it is self-defense is
3:49 pm
because he was afraid for his life. so he has to articulate what that fear was based on. he's able to say he heard knocking on the front door, knocking on the side door. this is giving the jury the perspective that this is violent. these character traits the defense attorney is trying to advance are to prove that she was, in fact, the aggressor. what will become important is the screen door. the police tampered with the evidence. they took the screen door from its position, lined it up to a position where it wasn't instead of leaving the crime scene as it was. the defense attorney can now say look at the facts. >> but carmen, when she was knocking on the door, how does that tell him her screen name? >> right. >> how does it tell whether or not she ever smoked marijuana? >> she didn't yell out -- >> we are dealing with
3:50 pm
self-defense. in his mind if he was defending himself against things he didn't know, how is that a defense? >> because you are proving it from what's in his mind? what's he hearing, seeing? >> how is it in his mind if he didn't know it. >> she wasn't saying, let me in, my screen name is young thugging so i will rob you. if he's in fear for his life in that moment, that's the evidence. he doesn't know ranisha mcbride, what her screen name is, if she smokes marijuana or not. those things aren't relevant to in that moment when she say hs he's in fear of his life. >> you see the jury has already heard . she's on marijuana and drunk. now he's coupling up that evidence with severe banging on your door. who is knocking on the door in the middle of the night, an aggressor. >> or someone who had a car
3:51 pm
accident and needs help. >> at 4:30 in the morning? >> let me read this. other major headlines out of today was about the defense different stories. the prosecutor hit that today. listen to that. >> from the beginning he said, oh, this gun discharged, went off accidentally. that's his defense to the police from day one. >> objection, your honor. >> that's what he's talking about. we formulate our defense. all of the sudden johnny-come-lately self-defense. he's crawling on the floor. all the things the defense has created in the middle of this trial that's in skiconsistent w all the evidence that the jury will know is the truth. >> today we also heard waiver told police moments after he shot her that the gun discharged. listen to this.
3:52 pm
>> the only able i was able to make this gun fire is by take it off safe and pulling the trigger. >> you're concluding that the gun doesn't go off unless the trigger is pulled. >> that's my conclusion, yes. >> now, today, there was a ballistics expert saying that's how the gun went off. that ballistics expert testified that wafer's explanation at the scene didn't add up. >> mm-hmm. >> that's a challenge. >> listen. >> what happened here? >> a consistent knocking on the door. i'm trying to look through the windows but every time i look through the windows and the door it's banging somewhere else. so i open up the door kind of like who is this and the gun discharged. i didn't know there was a round in there. i don't get it. who's knocking on your door at 4:30 in the morning? bang, bang, bang, somebody wanting in. >> that's what wafer told police
3:53 pm
that night right after she was killed. the expert said today not true, carmen. >> that gun is very difficult to accidentally fire. they are based for people to have them as weapons in their home to protect themselves against an intruder. that's a challenge that the defense really has to own up to and deal with. if fact that he's initially claiming it just went off or whether or not it had bullets or whether or not he knew about it, that, i think, can be dealt with. but the accidental discharge of this weapon is difficult. i think he's petter off arguing that it was self-defense and he shot her once which, you know, are the facts. when he called the police initially, he was calm only because he was scared. he didn't know how else to portray it. we can sit here trying to examine a person's response but the facts are are -- >> or we can --
3:54 pm
>> she showed up uninvited in the middle of the night, banging on the side door, banging on the front door. this man is now in fear of his life in detroit. >> or we could do something very different. we could tell the truth from the beginning. >> exactly. >> if i was the prosecutor i want to know what you told the police or what you are telling the jury now, which is the truth? >> we'll see what the jury decides and what the truth is then or now. i'm sure their expert witnesses will be on as well that may have a different take on this. carmen st. george and faith jenkins, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> thanks, rev. still ahead, ten years after the swift boat attacks on john kerry what have democrats learned about fighting right wing smears? wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters shopping online is as easy as it gets.
3:55 pm
and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. buy their services directly at angieslist.com no more calling around. no more hassles. start shopping from a list of top-rated providers today. angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. visit angieslist.com today. that's why i always choose the fastest intern.r slow. the fastest printer.
3:56 pm
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. we're back with a pause from the political battles of the day. a time to rest, relax and recharge. that's right. it's time for the "politics nation" summer break. at number three, it's the house republicans running out of washington. no, that's a cross country solarer car race ending in minneapolis. congrats to the winning team from the university of michigan.
3:57 pm
for number two, we go to moscow and the the walking dead coming to life. that's moscow's first zombie walk. looks like fun. at number one, football meets "dancing with the stars." broncos quarterback peyton manning showed off his moves at training camp. mm-hmm, looks like he may have taken lessons from president obama. that's today's summer break. you know.... there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. mmmm. these are good! the tasty side of fiber. from phillips but they have to use special care in keeping the denture clean. dentures are very different to real teeth. they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident is designed to clean dentures daily. its unique micro-clean formula
3:58 pm
kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains, cleaning in a better way than brushing with toothpaste. that's why i recommend using polident. [ male announcer ] polident. cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. [ male announcer ] polident. eachwon't have a claim.wners that's why allstate claim free rewards gives you money back for every year you don't have one. and why if you're part of the other 5%, allstate offers claim rateguard. so your rates won't go up just because of a claim. no matter what comes your way, your home protects you. ...protect it back allstate home insurance from an allstate agent.
3:59 pm
the summer of this.mmer. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. where memories will be forged into the sand. and then hung on a wall for years to come. get out there, with over 50,000 hotels at $150 dollars or less. expedia. find yours. i'm john kerry and i'm reporting for duty. >> that was senator john kerry accepting the democratic nomination for president exactly ten years ago tonight. kerry was a war hero, earned three purple hearts for service in vietnam.
4:00 pm
he later spoke out against the war and promised to bring that experience to the white house as commander in chief. what conservatives did next was shameful. they launched a swift boat ad smearing his war record, trying to drag him down into the mud. a few years later, they tried it again against another democratic nominee, but it hasn't worked. you can keep trying to smear and lie, but after a while, truth will rise again. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. impeach me. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris he