e is some theory that says they may have been incapacitated in some way. >> thank you for that update. i appreciate your reporting on this story today. that is it for "now." good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show" live from new york. let's get to work. tonight, a student at the center of a racist chant is about to speak out. >> i don't believe he is a racist. >> later -- >> one of the good things about obamacare. >> i like green eggs and ham. >> ted cruz eats his own words. >> we'll be getting new health insurance on the federal exchange. >> and smog defender. >> burning the constitution of the united states cannot be part of our national energy policy. >> if you control carbon you control life. >> plus new details on the

germanwings crash. >> it contains usable voices. >> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. we're moments away from a press conference down at the university of oklahoma. it was 17 days ago a university of oklahoma student was caught on camera participating in a racist chant. he'll address the media for the first time. the video emerged on the internet showing members of the sigma alpha epsilon fraternity singing references to lynching. >> there never be a [ bleep ] in sae, there never be a [ bleep ] in sae. >> the national office dissolved the chapter. rallies erupted on campus. the university of oklahoma evicted the brothers from sae

house. two of the members were expelled. they'll hire a national director of inclusion and put its 15,000 members through diversity training. >> although we find the song disgusting, we also recognize that this is a moment to better engage in a important dialogue in issues of race and we don't shy away from doing so. >> the two students have stayed away from the cameras until today. parker rice released a statement apologizing for the incident. the family of levi petit issued an apology. the family called his behavior disgusting. an oklahoma state senator will also join the press conference. >> this is a great start.

i think it has to happen in order for us to look forward and help this young man move forward, but i think our community has to learn a lot about it as well. >> the full investigation of the incident is ongoing. now we are told that the press conference has been pushed back some 15 minutes. we're told that the student will step forward and make about a three or four-minute statement and then take three questions. so it is very controlled and we're also told that the state senator will be the first person that will speak at the podium. until then i'm joined tonight by trumaine lee and dr. michael eric dyson and dr. james peterson. gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. dr. dyson, you first. what is happening here today? it would seem to me that this kid is going to come out and try to put his life back together. no student at this age is used to this kind of national

exposure. it has to be somewhat gut-wrenching to him, but this is part of the process. how do you see it? >> absolutely right. first of all, i'm a professor, so i have empathy for the young people who were victimized by his racist chant and i have empathy for him going through a difficult process in full glare of the public coming to grips with the consequence of his behavior standing up to speak forthrightly to it accompanied by a state senator and his parents, all of whom have found his behavior disgusting. what that young man did did not grow out of a vacuum. it grew out of a cesspool of suppressed bigotry and a context in which it makes sense to make racist slurs. on the other hand, it continues to grapple with the persistent

ma ma lig nance of bigotry in our culture. >> dr. dyson, you along with dr. peterson, deal with college students, african-american college students. dr. peterson how do you think this will be received? will students view this as something that has to be done, or is this more for the kid that's involved in this than it is anything else? >> i agree with dr. dyson that we need to take a look at the broader issues here. we teach at predominantly white universities. while i think it is great the national statement that sae made which is they're going to hire an executive of inclusion,

i'm curious as to where the university of oklahoma beyond expelling these kids and beyond expelling that chapter of sae. it's great for this young man to have an opportunity to redress all these issues publicly but i would love to see what the university of oklahoma is going to do in terms of their hiring practices with faculty and retaining students of color. i'm interested to see what the constitution institution is going to do. we zero in on the individual nature of these things without thinking about the systemic structures that prop them up. >> as far as the young person involved here is concerned, this is about, i think, him being remembered for what he is about to do than what actually happened. that's really what he has to do. now i'm sure he's had -- i'm speculating that he's had some counseling and some coaching on

exactly how to handle this but do you think this was part of the deal with the university of oklahoma or are they out of it at this point? >> i think this is part of this idea of accountability. we look at the conversations we have had about the long shadow of bigotry and racism whether it is the police department or in the communities. one major piece of that people have been saying is it is about accountability. at least this university forced the two young men out of the school. there's all this public scrutiny scrutiny. 17 diesays ago, this young man was living a completely different life. this apology will always be linked to that very reprehensible act that he and his classmates took part in.

to some degree there is some accountability that people are acknowledging how bad and despicable this was. >> do you think anything that sae is doing is going to have any impact? or is that window dressing? >> to some degree it is always window dressing but i think it puts these other institutions and other universities and colleges and these fraternal communities on notice. >> dr. dyson and dr. peterson i want to ask both of you the same question. if this was your student, what would you say to him before he goes to the podium? dr. dyson? >> i would say, look first of all you're doing an honorable thing because you did a dishonorable act. now you can erase or at least minimize the damage that was done by being forthright about it. number two, understand that this

is part of a larger problem. you don't get rid of this problem today by making a may yaea culpa culpa. thirdly, how do you act as an agent of change among your own fellow white students? white students hear more from their fellow students and peers than they can from people of color. how do you address this in your own culture when those jokes are told when those bigoted stereotypes are put forth? there's a school of thought that talks about multiculturism, which is fine and progressive,

and then there's a question of structural realities. beyond that how do we talk about words like white privilege that are bandied about and systemic inequality? when you talk in terms of the institution will do, the student must join with and challenge his own institution to live up to its legacy of enlightened liberal education for all human beings and to come to grips with these infamous things. that's what a university is for. >> dr. peterson, what do you say to this gentlemen, if he's your student? >> i would say everything that dr. dyson just said and then in addition what i would say to him is you should think less about the actual incident itself less about this moment where you're trying to redeem yourself and apologize and focus more on the work you have to do ahead.

there's plenty of work for you to do to make this right in a more tangible sense than what we think about in terms of the media. the movement around black lyeives matter around ending racism and rape requires white male allies particular those who are elite and privileged. he can actually use the leverage leverage, the power he had, to make this sort of act that he did when he was singing the song he can use that same power to sort of reverse some of the challenges that we're seeing on college campuses every day. we need people in privileged positions to take up that fight. >> i don't want to be too hard on the kid okay? i don't want to be too hard on him. if that's in his heart, if what happened on that bus, if that's

in his heart, how does that change in 17 days? it was either taught. he either believes it or he was trying to impress somebody. i don't think -- >> you're asking the tough questions, ed. >> you're going to tell me he has had a total change of heart on racism in his heart on 17 days? that's a tough bar. >> this is what we're saying. he didn't come out of a vacuum. he came out of a culture. he came out of habits dispositions practices in a society there at the school that tolerated this permitted this. don't scapegoat the kid alone. talk about what led to this. talk about the passive indifference. >> what about all the other kids on the bus that were singing and chanting along with him? i think dr. dyson is right here. there's a way -- look at our

society, ed. look at how republicans in congress treat the first black president of the united states. look at how law enforcement in ferguson treats black citizens in the city of ferguson. when you think about models of race around our country, it's not surprising to kids on any college campus this is the case. >> this is a state senator that i believe is going to speak first and then we're going to hear from levi petit. he's one of the two students. this is the first time he has come to the microphone to address a racist chant that was on a bus of sae fraternal members 17 days ago. both of them were at the university of oklahoma. they're not there anymore as we understand. so the student at the center of this chant is going to speak out here in just a moment. trumaine lee, your thoughts as

we're getting ready to hear this? this is a life changing moment for this young man. >> i think that stands out having spent so much time around young protesters is you look at the age of the folks up here, the elders. >> good afternoon. it's a wonderful time for us in our community. i'm senator anastasia pittman over senate district 48 in oklahoma city, and one of the things that we have just shared in a private meeting is we have hope for our healing and we're here to share this opportunity with you. we're going to be proactive rather than reactive because we know the state of oklahoma has some issues that we need to talk about, and we've done that. this is just the beginning of a great conversation in our community. so i want you to know there's some things that we will come back to you, some solutions, some things we want to apply from this point on.

so i stand with you today with all of the community leaders that are here that were able to stay, some students from the university of oklahoma representation from the naacp, and other elected officials who had to leave, but i want to say thank you for giving us the opportunity to introduce levi pettis to the world. what i want to do is not belabor this. i will come back to you and introduce each speaker to let you know who is speaking to you. levi will share with you some of his comments. he will take a few questions and then we will let the rest of the guests speak. without further ado, i say to you that on this great day at the fairview baptist church in oklahoma city we have heard the sentiments of levi pettis and his family and we want to receive those sentiments and

things that were said to us in a closed meeting and we want to give you an opportunity to hear what was shared in that meeting. at this time i introduce to you levi petit. >> thank you all for being here today. even though i wish today's meeting was not necessary, i am deeply appreciative of everyone here that joined us. also thank you to senator pittman for inviting me today. you're a blessing to me my mom, and my dad. >> thank you. >> i can't thank you enough for the way you have embraced me and opened my eyes to things i have not seen before. let me start by saying i'm sorry. deeply sorry. i'm so sorry for all the pain that i have caused. although i didn't deserve it i want to ask for your

forgiveness. there are no excuses for my behavior. i never thought of myself as a racist. i never considered it a possibility. but the bottom line is that the words that were said in that chant were mean hateful, and racist. i will be deeply sorry and deeply ashamed for what i have done for the rest of my life. some have wondered why i haven't spoken out publicly. the truth is i have had a mix of pain, shame, sorrow and fear over the consequences of my actions. i didn't want to apologize to the press or the whole country first until i came here to apologize to the community most impacted so i decided it would be best to wait until the leaders were back from spring break. i think the best way to express the truth about whoo i am and what i feel is to read a letter

i wrote to the president of the university a few days after the bus ride. i would like to express my deepest sorrow and regret for what i said on the bus. i'm so sorry for what i have done, who i have hurt, and the repercussions of what i have brought to the university i love. i would do absolutely anything to take it back if i could. to hear the words that i am a racist or a bigot may seem logical after seeing my face and seeing my participate in a sickening chant, but who you saw in that video was not who i am not who i was raised to be and not who i think myself to be. all the good in my life has been erased by a six-second video and

i will carry this burden forever. it was a tragic failure with far reaching consequences and i'm extremely disappointed in the weakness i demonstrated by en engageing in activities that were so hurtful to others. there are many things i will need to do over time to regain the trust of my friends and family and the public at large. i am thoroughly devastated that my actions have caused so much pain to my college community. i understand why i have lost this privilege, but i do want to find some positive outcome from this situation to move forward with my life and make amends to the degree that i'm able. if there's anything at all i can salvage from my mistake, i would

hope it would be tools to help otherwise. the words in that letter are all heartfelt words and i think the president of the university for accepting my apology. i had a chance to meet face to face with the leaders of the football leadership team. they accepted my apology and we discussed steps i could use moving forward to make sure this doesn't happen again. over the past week or so i have met with a number of pastors and leaders in the community to seek understanding of the meaning behind the words i spoke on that bus. meeting with a few people does not change what i did, but it does change my understanding of those hateful words. those words were disgusting and they should never be repeated

under any circumstance. i now have a clear understanding of what lives behind the words. from this point forward, i will be the leader that i should have been on that bus and stand up against racism in any form. before i take a couple of your questions, let me just say this. all the apologies in the world won't change what i have done so i'll spend the rest of my life trying to be the person who heals and brings people of all races together. that is what i hope and pray comes out of this. thank you. >> levi you have obviously apologized to a lot of people. during the aftermath of this whole ordeal what has left the biggest impression on you? >> the people i have met with have opened my eyes to things i had not been exposed to leading up to this event.

these stories and lessons and insight that they have shared with me is stuff that i will carry with me for the rest of my life and use as tools to live a life that refutes any type of racestist act from happening again. >> where did the chant start and who did you learn it sfrfrom? >> i'm here to apologize for what i did. the truth is what was said in that chant is disgusting and after meeting with these people and everybody else i met with i've learned that these words should never be repeated joked about, or ever used in any form ever again. these are lessons i'm going to carry with me for the rest of my life. >> can you tell us was it that

you just didn't understand how bad those words were or simply chose to ignore that? >> i knew they were wrong, but i never knew how or why they were wrong. the people i have met with like senator pittman and all these leaders behind me have opened my eyes to really put meat behind those words and the impact that people have one those words are said. >> levi it obviously can't be easy for you to get up in front of these cameras. a lot of people were hurt by those awful words and how they were said. what were you thinking? >> i'm not here to talk about what happened on the bus. everyone here and across the nation has seen what i had done. i have apologized for what i did because this is something i have

learned is disgusting and should never happen again in any form. >> levi, what are you doing to do to change this? you have talked about asking for forgiveness. you have talked about moving forward. in real terms, what is your plan to move forward? >> just in everyday day-to-day life if i ever see racism in any form, whether it is in a public or private setting, i believe i have the courage and the meaning behind those words to stand up and refute that kind of behavior. i'm looking forward to working with senator pittman and maybe even speaking. i don't know what else that holds, but i'm looking forward to the opportunity if it ever arises. >> a live press conference in oklahoma city, oklahoma. his life has definitely changed. 17 days ago, videotape surfaced

that was caught on camera on a bus and the sae has taken action, the university of ak oklahoma has taken action, and this man has realized it is going to have a lifelong impact and is very aware of the damage and really taking full responsibility. i want to get reaction from our panel tonight. dr. dyson, your thoughts on what you just saw and heard? >> i heard was an honest apology from a young man caught in a very difficult man and grappling with the consequences of his heinous act and the vicious character of the racist slur that was used. what i saw was the choreography of black support to receive a white young man who has victimized others but who has

now turned into a victim himself so to speak. he's the innocent victim of a process. he's a good kid, good looking boy, college student. he did a horrible thing and he has the black elders surrounding him putting their hands on his shoulder. i so wish black victims of white supremacy and victims of police brutality could receive the same in return. that white elders could surround them and extend to them an arm of love. i'm talking about the choreography. this is the difficulty when we reduce the complexity of a structural problem to personal reactions. the personal grief he feels should also be connected to a broader systemic approach that talks about how we can uproot and chastise these relatealities. >> i know he was counselled to say i'm not here to talk about

this but isn't this a kind of cheapened gesture? i don't want to confront where i learned that song. >> it was a focused statement, no doubt. he wanted to focus on the apology and that was all he was going to address. >> doing that dismisses the legitimate concerns about what fed it what fueled it what continues to perpetuate it. we know this will go on in my other circles as well. i just want to give a cautionary tale to that. >> but i don't think the kid's mission was to go there and change society. >> i'm not saying that. i wasn't saying he was there to change society. if you're asking me what i saw, i can cheerlead on it but offer a cautionary tale. that's all i'm saying. >> dr. peterson your thoughts? >> i agree with the dock on the

choreography of this piece. the reason why those black folks are there is because they want to model for american society how you wrap your arms around a deeply troubling situation having to do with race. i think it was a very well rehearsed or very well coached statement. i still think we deserve to get answers about how that song is transmit transmitted, because we are interested in systemic solutions to this systemic problems. if they're passing this song down from generation to generation, that's not something an inclusion executive is not going able to train out of them. we have got to understand the systematic nature of of these things. i'm not satisfied with the university of oklahoma here. i would like to see what they're doing more with their fallculty

and recruiting of black students. >> focusing on this press conference, trumaine your thoughts on it? >> when you look at the optics of the elders wrapping their arms around him, i wonder how that plays on campuses where young white people were coming together to voice their opposition to this. he talks about this loss of privilege. this public shaming. he knew the words wrong. he didn't know how they were wrong. not connecting the implicit violence in the words, i think that's very interesting. >> all right. gentlemen, thanks for your time tonight on this story. and we will continue with "the ed show" right after this. you're watching msnbc. but who's got your back when you need legal help? we do. we're legalzoom, and over the last 10 years, we've helped millions of people protect their

families and run their businesses. we have the right people on-hand to answer your questions backed by a trusted network of attorneys. so visit us today for legal help you can count on. legalzoom. legal help is here. when you ache and haven't slept... you're not you. tylenol® pm relieves pain and helps you fall fast asleep and stay asleep. we give you a better night. you're a better you all day. tylenol®. that's it. good job. nice coating. and get this one next. whoa! what are you guys doing? making sure nothing sticks. otherwise, we gotta scrub all this stuff off. huh, what? nobody thought of this before? what's wrong with people? dish issues? not with improved cascade platinum. it powers through... your toughest, starchy messes... better than finish's best... the first time. as if your dishes were non-stick.

cascade. now that's clean.

hey, girl. is it crazy that your soccer trophy is talking to you right now? it kinda is. it's as crazy as you not rolling over your old 401k. cue the horns... just harness the confidence it took you to win me and call td ameritrade's rollover consultants. they'll help with the hassle by guiding you through the whole process step by step. and they'll even call your old provider. it's easy. even she could do it. whatever, janet. for all the confidence you need td ameritrade. you got this.

and now to politics. ohio governor john kasich says all options are on the table for 2016 as he toured the key primary state of new hampshire. he spoke at the politics and eggs event and met with students at a community college on tuesday. his east coast tour continues today in new york and tomorrow in maine. back in the buckeye state, legislators are already trying to give the republican nominee an advantage in 2016 whoever that might be. a provision in the state's new transportation budget could make it more difficult for new residents in the state to cast their vote. the provision would require people who move to the state of ohio to register to vote to reregister their vehicles within 30 days. drivers who do not comply would lose driving privileges in the state until they receive an ohio driver's license. the provision could effect more

than 100,000 college students in ohio. democratic lawmakers in the state are calling it a poll tax. republicans say the provision is about fulfilling the responsibilities of an ohio resident. >> if you're going to have the privileges of being an ohio resident, you have the responsibilities of being an ohio resident. our read of this is there is no difference. all it does is set a time frame for that of 30 days. >> i'm joining tonight by nina turner and amelia hayes. amelia, i want to visit with you first, if i may. what's your response to this and what are the students saying? how passionate are they about this? >> my response to this is that this is definitely a poll tax. how do you think that this is not something that is going to effect young people in

particular? young people are mad. we're consistently we're told we're the apathetic me linealill -- mill linealsynn millenials. we don't want to vote. there's going to be a lot of pushback from young people. >> just when you thought you've seen it all, your response to this? >> it is appalling, ed. over 100,000 college students but also need to add active duty military and people who might not necessarily be college students. this is wrong. it has taken us back in time. this country has been pushing forward to expand access to the

ballot box and here we have republicans singing the same old song because they can't win elections legitimate. i want to commend the democratic caucus who stood up strongly in the senate to line item veto this. this is wrong all day long. another thing, we should not sleep on midterm elections. one of the reasons why we're going through this right now is because folks did not come out to vote their interests in 2014. while it was wonderful to have the president of the united states in cleveland, ohio a couple of weeks ago, what would have been better is having him here in 2014 helping my brothers and sisters running for statewide office so we can stop this kind of madness. our very democratic foundation is in peril. i want this congress to restore

and strengthen the voting rights act. ohio needs to be in there. >> the republicans aren't going to do that. you know that nina. this is another form of voter suppression. just a different tactic, a different method and a different way to effect young people. college democrats and republicans at ohio state university put out a joint statement opposing the bill yesterday. they said that the provision raised concerns over the disenfranchisement of young voters. last night the university's college republicans posted a re retraction on their facebook page. amelia what's your response to that? >> i'm not surprised. it is republicans who are trying to take the right away so why would the college republicans be for the college democrats? >> first they're against it and now they're for it. or vice versa.

they're for suppression, but now there that there is a light shined on it they've changed their mind. >> they probably do want some people to not be able to vote. with young people in ohio we tend to vote a certain way that may not go with the college republicans. probably not smart to be aligned with the college democrats on this one. >> what's the plan? how do the students fight back? >> the college republicans got pressure from republicans in the legislature asking them to retract. within hours they retract, you best believe the republicans in the legislature put the hammer and the muscle on those young college students which is wrong. the answer to this is to get out to vote. this is a national cry. republicans are chip chip

chipping away of all the gains that have been gained in this gain. 50 years from selma, 50 years from the voting rights act, i know they're turning over in their graves. we have to get people out to vote and we can't sleep on the midterm elections. if we had different types of folks in the legislature, we wouldn't be going through this now. >> how can the students fight back? >> students have to do what we've been doing. we need to vote. we need to be in the streets. we're in the streets over a lot of things. we saw it after ferguson. we're smart. we know exactly what politicians think of us especially in ohio. if you want to come to our great state to go to school, you're going to pay $75 in order to vote. that's ridiculous. we need to take a stand against it. >> we need letters to go to the governor and phone calls to ask

him to line item veto. he take that out of the budget right now. >> nina i think you've got a young friend there that's going to be just like you. >> oh yeah. she's a dynamo. >> when it comes to activism amelia. you have done a remarkable job. keep going. >> thank you so much. still to come ted's excellent adventure into what? obamacare? stay tuned. red it to that truck. here in san diego, we're building the first one ever to run on natural gas. ships this big running this clean will be much better for the environment. we're proud to be a part of that. photos are great... ...for capturing your world. and now...

...they can transform it with the new angie's list app you can get projects done in a snap. take a photo of your project... ...or just tell us what you need done... ...and angie's list will find a top-rated provider to do the job. the angie's list app is the simple, new way to get work done on your schedule. the app makes it easy, the power of angie's list makes it work. call, click or download the app for free today.

know your financial plan won't keep you up at night. know you have insights from professional investment strategists to help set your mind at ease. know that planning for retirement can be the least of your worries. with the guidance of a pnc investments financial advisor, know you can get help staying on track

for the future you've always wanted. mouths are watering, and stomachs are growling. or is that just me? it's lobsterfest red lobster's largest variety of lobster dishes all year. double up with dueling lobster tails. or make lobster lover's dream a reality. but here's a reality check: it ends soon. ♪ the new, twenty-fifteen ford focus believes in "more." more to see. more to feel. ♪ more to make things really really... interesting. ♪ the new focus. from the auto brand more people buy, and buy again.

why are you deleting the photos? because my teeth are yellow. oh yeah, they are a little yellow. hey! why don't you use a whitening toothpaste? i'm afraid it's bad for my teeth. try crest 3d white, it's actually good for your teeth. introducing the new crest 3d white diamond strong collection. the toothpaste and rinse... ...gently whiten... ...and fortify weak spots. use together for 2 times stronger enamel... ...so you can whiten without the worry. your smile looks great! oh, thanks! crest 3d white. life opens up with a whiter smile. and we are following the latest gomt latest developments in the germanwings crash. the state department confirming a third american death among the 150 people killed in the crash. we know the name of two of the

victims. one was a long-time government contractor. also her daughter emily was a recent graduate from drexel university university. french officials are saying they are close to finding out what caused the crash on bus 320. investigators have been able to recover some sounds and voices on the damaged data recorder. >> we have not yet fully understood and worked on it to be able to say, okay this is starting at this precise point in flight this is ending at this precise moment in flight and this is an ongoing work for which we hope to have a rough idea in a matter of days. >> at this hour, searchers are still looking for the second

black box. up next ted cruz's obamacare conversion. stick around.

you can call me shallow... but, i have a wandering eye. i mean, come on. national gives me the control to choose any car in the aisle i want. i could choose you... or i could choose her if i like her more. and i do. oh, the silent treatment. real mature. so you wanna get out of here? go national. go like a pro. why do i take metamucil everyday? because it helps me skip the bad stuff.

i'm good. that's what i like to call, the meta effect. 4-in-1 multi-health metamucil is clinically proven to help you feel less hungry between meals. experience the meta effect with our multi-health wellness line. i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because it gives me... zero heartburn! prilosec otc. the number 1 doctor-recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 9 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. ♪ ♪ i'm almost done. [ male announcer ] now you can pay your bill... ♪ ♪ ...manage your appointments... [ dog barks ] ...and check your connection status... ♪ ♪ ...anytime, anywhere. ♪ ♪ [ dog growls ] ♪ ♪ oh. so you're protesting? ♪ ♪ okay. [ male announcer ] introducing xfinity my account. available on any device.

after five years, more than 16 million uninsured americans have gained health care coverage. 16 million. just over one year shs the ranks of uninsured have dropped 1/3. >> a very unexpected republican is about to join those 16

million americans. senator ted cruz's wife is taking a leave of absence from her job at goldman tight spot. he was on her insurance and now ted cruz has to go get some health care. >> we'll be getting new health insurance and we'll be presumably doing it in my job in the senate and we'll be on the exchange like others on the federal exchange. >> so you'll be getting obamacare effectively? >> it's one of the good things about obamacare, is that the statute provided that members of congress would be on the exchanges without subsidies, just like millions of americans, so there wouldn't be a double standard. >> that's one of the good things. you mean there's more than one good thing, senator? when was the last time you, as a news consumer ever heard ted cruz say anything good about obamacare? but now that it affects him and his wallet it's a little bit different now when you think

about it. ted cruz played a major role in shutting down the united states government in an effort to defund exactly what he's going to take advantage of. obamacare. he announced his campaign on the fifth anniversary of the law promising to repeal every word of obamacare. cruz has spent every waking moment as the united states senator trashing this law. >> obamacare is a train wreck. and that's actually not fair to train wrecks. >> do you like green eggs and ham? >> we need to repeal every word of obamacare. >> cutting a deal with iran is going to be the obamacare of the second midterm. >> we need to repeal every word of obamacare. >> i intend to speak in support of defunding obamacare until i am no longer able to stand. >> we need to repeal every word of obamacare. >> obamacare is the biggest job killer in this country. >> we need to repeal every word

of obamacare. >> why don't we fund the entire federal government but don't fund obama? >> we are going to sign legislation repealing every word of obamacare. >> i do not like sam i am i do not like green eggs and ham. >> imagine 2017 a new president signing legislation repealing every word of obamacare. >> now we have entered the twilight zone have we not? that guy will soon be covered under the affordable care act. senator cruz is running on a platform of taking away his own health care. that's amazing. now, how many times have you heard ted cruz talk about, we've got to have a principled conservative? well if you're against obamacare, that is a matter of principle because there have been some very good outcomes because of this law. so if he's principled he actually should turn down obamacare and say, you know what, i'm going to do what i

want every other american to do. i'm going to go to the free market. gosh, he could call bluecross of blue shield of texas. he could call aetna. he could call cigna. there's all these free market opportunities out there. but oh no, the senator from texas, he's going to take the good deal because he now admits that's one of the good things about obamacare, is that they cover members of congress. so he's in it. what a hypocrite. we've got to get reaction to this tonight. our rapid response panel, former vermont governor howard dean, mercedes, republican strategist and spokesperson for george w. bush and jim moore, investigative journalist and author. governor dean, your response to this story? >> it's pretty funny. >> yes, it is. almost unbelievable. but money talks. the conservatives in the senate insisted be obamacare, the

conservatives in the senate that was a condition of any kind of letting go. that was something the right wingers put in there. and here we are, he's taking the government previews. he's getting a lot of money out of the government, isn't he? >> he certainly is. is this hypocritical? does this tarnish him at all? >> ted cruz is not going anywhere. he's going to get 15%, maybe higher in iowa. he's not going to be the nominee and if he is the nominee -- i shouldn't wish this because last time i was hoping ronald reagan and he of course became president. he doesn't look presidential, he doesn't sound presidential. i don't think it's going to hurt him that much he's got a true believers. >> what's interesting about this whole thing, there's nothing surprising about this behavior.

you know he disclosed two income tax filings in his adjusted gross income was $3.5 million and his charitable giving on those income tax returns, the houston chronicle reported about this in great detail he gave 0.0%. his overall charitable giving was .00.3%. he talks about his christian faith. he's one of the hypocrites of all time. this is not new. i can't stop thinking about the guy as history's lone comedian. >> mercedes how do you defend this? >> well i think it's very difficult to defend because i was talking to a conservative who said on principle, i will not sign up for obamacare. he's willing to pay the fine. so i think ted cruz is kind of stuck in a situation and, quite frankly, i think that his

campaign they were not surprised that the question was asked. to governor dean's point here when governor dean ran for president, you know how this is the campaign step that's part of their responsibility to ask you the 20 million questions, to make sure you have the answers ready to go. i have to tell you, they are back peddling right now and they are saying well he is looking into other options. i think this has become something that senator cruz was not expecting. >> you don't get fined for not signing up for obamacare. the law doesn't say you have to sign up for obamacare. it says you have to have health insurance. >> that's right. >> mercedes, again, there are other republicans in the congress who want to be president, marco rubio, rand paul. they have both been trashing obamacare. are they doing the same thing that obamacare is doing? is this a problem? >> it could become a problem. for ted cruz the light is shining on him because primarily he's been so vocal on repealing

obamacare, as you played word for word we're going to repeal obamacare. so, yes, this is going to be a question that, of course senator rubio is going to have to face and senator rand paul. so it will be interesting to see how they are going to answer it. it might be interesting that senator ted cruz is going through this process first. >> he's against obamacare, he uses it as principle kontzs and it's a different set of circumstances that he plays by. >> this campaign is not about principle or winning the presidency. it's about ted cruz. it's the ted cruz show which is why he's not going to win but certainly is going to be interesting. he could cause a nomination to go to jeb bush because if he gets 10 15 20% of the conservative vote, it makes it that much harder for the conservatives in the political race. jim moore, i want your take on this. this could have been a golden opportunity. this is a guy going around the

country and trashing obamacare relentlessly. he could have at the college liberty university the other day stood up and said you know what, obamacare is terrible and i have to go into it but, you know what, i'm not going to go into it because i talk to you about principle. he missed a big opportunity here and he would have put rand paul and marco rubio on the defensive. he missed it. he doesn't have the chops. >> senator cruz has always been about senator cruz. if he really cared about texas, he would have been doing something to help this state get an exchange instead of the approximately 2 million uninsured people in his home state who have gone into the federal exchange and have gotten insurance while he's been fighting against obamacare. he's done nothing for the people of his home state. they haven't filed a single piece of legislation here that matters to anyone in this state. so this is about ted cruz attention for ted cruz hearing himself talk seeing himself on tv and going with that as far as

he can. >> is this a good time for jeb bush to speak up on this? >> i think he's going to let senator ted cruz fall into his words, type of thing. i don't think he's going to get involved in this sort of debate. >> your opponent is killing himself. don't get in his way. >> i'm waiting for the diaries of obamacare by senator ted cruz that should be available on amazon.com. >> howard, where's the opening here if there is one here politically. >> the opening for who? >> for anybody who wants to deep six mr. cruz. >> you don't have to worry about it. he's going to deep six himself if he hasn't done it already. this is one of the worst rollouts. look, you have to look presidential when you're running for president and he hasn't looked presidential yet and he's

been in the race for 24 hours. it's a big problem. >> howard dean, mercedes schlapp, jim moore, thank you so much. that's "the ed show." "politicsnation" with al sharpton begins right now. thanks for tuning in. we begin tonight with breaking news. one of the oklahoma students caught on video singing a racist chant on a frat party bus making a very public plea for forgiveness. >> let me start by saying that i am sorry. deeply sorry. i am so sorry for all of the pain that i have caused. i want you to know that directly from me. although i don't deserve t. i want to ask for your forgiveness. there are no excuses for my behavior. i never considered myself a