ollow-up work on whether cookie monster makes kids more into cookies, because he was so obsessed with them. >> now he says they're a sometime snack. >> thank you for joining us. that's it for "the ed show." "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts now. tonight on "politicsnation," paul ryan's bait and switch on obamacare. he says he's got a plan b, but he's gonna wait until you lose your insurance before he tells you what it is. also jeb bush once said we should, quote, shame single moms. does he still feel that? we reached out to his office today, and we'll tell you what they said. and the first lady's emotional speech to high school students who overcame their own personal tragedy.

welcome to "politicsnation." we're just days away from a major court decision on obamacare. and republicans have taken a stunning position on it. they want the supreme court to take away insurance from millions of americans. they won't do anything about it and then they'll blame the president. just ask paul ryan. >> whatever the supreme court decides later this month, i think the lesson is absolutely clear. obamacare is just flat busted. it just doesn't work. and no fix can change that fact. we're not talking about a ding or a dent or a fender bender or a flat tire the whole law is a lemon. the answer is to repeal and replace this law with patient-centered reforms. if the court rules against the administration, millions of

people will be stuck with a government-designed health insurance that they cannot afford. >> let's be clear. they're arguing for the supreme court that because the language said states rather than federal government, that they should therefore take away insurance in 34 states. that will affect 6.4 million people that now have insurance under obamacare. 6.4 million people in these 34 states will lose their insurance. now, it also includes paul ryan's state of wisconsin. in his state, 166,142 people will lose their subsidy in wisconsin. average tax credit per enrollment, $315 a month, gone. playing politics on a word game.

and they have the audacity to say, oh we have a plan b, but we're not going to tell you until we take away your insurance. because we are playing politics while we're dealing with people's lives. we must see the gravity of this. 6.4 million people 34 states, you petitioned the supreme court, and you tell these 6.4 million people, we'll tell you what will happen to you, if we win, and we're going to blame it on the president, who provided you insurance in the first place. this is blatant and this in my opinion, is reprehensible. paul ryan says about this when people, in their understandable fear say, well what's going to

happen if the supreme court does what you guys asked to do? listen to what he says. >> we do have an alternative. i don't think it's going to be the next couple days more like the next couple weeks. we'll have a lot more on that later. >> we'll have a lot more on that later? people will no longer be dealt with in terms of their subsidies, their preexisting conditions. we'll have more on that later. let's go talk about it. let's bring in congressman lloyd dogget. he was in that house hearing today and jonathan capehart. good evening, gentlemen. >> good to be with you, reverend. >> congressman, it amazes me that you would have men elected to office that would say with a straight face that we will tell you what plan b will be after

you lose your insurance, that we and our colleagues on the right, have petitioned the supreme court for. and mind you, we're going to blame it on the president who provided this. we're going to remove it on a word game and we'll tell you later what we'll do if you lose your insurance. >> that's so very true reverend al. what they're doing is picking out four words, established by the state, that appear two places in a 900-page bill and asking the court to disregard all of the history about our efforts. why in the world the congress would want to discriminate against some states and their uninsured over others it makes no sense at all. and what we have is really a historic moment where chairman paul ryan is saying to the supreme court, please deny $52 million a month in federal tax relief to the people of

wisconsin because i have such an ideological commitment to destroy this president and his health care plan. he joined with two senators from texas, cruz and karnen where they proposed to take away $206 million every month from texas families over 800,000 texans would lose that tax credit that they need in order to have health security. and to call it a lemon, my goodness, for some of these families this is the first time they've ever had health security because of preexisting conditions. >> absolutely. >> perhaps a child born with a disability. a family that has had cancer they have some security now and these republicans are begging the supreme court to take that security away and deny their families tax relief it's just so wrong. and then to have almost four years and offer nothing but platitudes and attacks and 58 attempts to repeal this act, they don't have an alternative

to obamacare. >> but congressman, that's my point. not only do they not have a plan b, if they had a way to insure those americans, they had five years to present it rather than obamacare. >> absolutely. >> they never presented an alternative plan. they fought the president's plan that went through and is working, and now they tell us we'll talk to you later about a plan b, if they succeed with the word game before the right-wing supreme court. jonathan, it's not only ryan look at what senator mcconnell said when he was asked what are we going to do to the millions of people that could be with no insurance if you succeed in the supreme court. listen to what he said. >> well depending on what the supreme court decides, we'll have a proposal that protects the american people from a very bad law. >> i think we have to see what the supreme court decides before

we announce a proposal to deal with it. >> we'll have to wait. we'll get to that later. i mean this is a callous disregard for how serious this is to 6.4 million people. >> you're talking about people's health and it's not as though if the supreme court invalidates the exchanges and the health care law is gutted and all these people are thrown off their health insurance, that the republicans just can walk in and in a matter of days or weeks, put in an alternative that would then get those folks their insurance back. that's not the way governing works. that's not the way any of this works. if the supreme court does what the republicans have been trying to do for the last five years and guts obamacare, you're going to have millions of people 6.4 million people as you've been saying, since the top of the

show, will be without health care, and there will be no alternative on the horizon, for months. the way things go in washington and in the capital and the congressman can talk about this better than any of us right now, nothing will get done. nothing. >> and that's the fear. let me tell you, it's not even political wise. it's a moral outrage. this this is a moral argument to me. but even on the politics side you have seven gop senators who are up for re-election in 2016, who are in states that could lose these subsidies. these are states that elected president obama. 2.3 million people in those states could lose insurance. so you've got gop senators that are up for re-election next year that have 2.3 million together

people in their states that could lose insurance and they're in states that the president won. how could they sit by silently and allow their own party to put their politics in terms of their careers and their positions in jeopardy like this? this is crazy. >> it really is amazing. and of course some of those states have the power to act on their own. pennsylvania, for example, it can solve its own problem, by simply creating a state exchange. and i think some of these republican senators who hopefully are going to be displaced in this next election some of those senators want to have their cake and eat it too. they'd like to keep obamacare in effect through the 2016 election year, so those families won't feel the immediate pain while at the same time claiming that the supreme court is throwing out obamacare. so they want to delay the pain and make the claim to their right-wing constituency that they prevented obamacare.

hopefully the supreme court will come along and do the right thing and preserve health care security. we need to be ready to act. i'll have a bill to file the day any bad decision comes down that would simply eliminate those four words and preserve protection for everyone. and we need to stand by the president on this issue. >> so you would have a bill ready right away that would eliminate those words and continue to do what obamacare presently does. so you're not saying that you'll have a plan later if they lose or by and by when the morning comes, as we used to sing in church, you'll be ready right there specifically with a bill that would deal with this problem? >> absolutely. all we need to do is take out those four words. i don't think the court will rule against obamacare, but if it does simply removing four words in two places in a

900-page bill, that solves the problem. we don't need hearings or investigation. just preserve the health care security that so many families across america are counting on. >> jonathan, are they on the right so captured so intimidated by the far right, the tea party, that they would risk seven senators' seats and risk 6.4 million people's insurance, because they want to make a point against this president? have we come to this? >> i was about to ask, is that a rhetorical question rev? they've within at this for five years. they would love to have the supreme court throw out obamacare. losing six or seven senate seats, look this is a group of folks who think in the short-term. saving six or seven senate seats is a long-term situation.

and they're thinking that way, they would do themselves they would do their party, and they would do their country a favor by presenting an alternative in case the supreme court does their bidding. >> if they have an alternative. >> right. >> in five years, they haven't shown an alternative. and that i think is the problem. and we're talking about a decision congressman, this month. the supreme court is coming back any day now. this is imminent. not something far-fetched. you know this can go either way, and this is frightening for those people that are sitting there that has the threat of their insurance, some of them, for the first time in life being taken away from them. congressman lloyd dogget and jonathan capehart thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you. coming up, the fight for $15

an hour as the minimum wage. one of america's largest cities just took a huge step and your city could be next. >> also president obama moving forward with plans to expand his legacy and it could be the summer's big political fight with republicans. plus the first lady's powerful speech to high school grads in her hometown of chicago. and the kid president is trying to help other kids get enough to eat. >> let me get out my chalk board. here. so, we got a problem, people. if you're running a business legalzoom has your back. over the last 10 years we've helped one million

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coming up the fight for fairness and a living wage. history was made in los angeles today. also a comment on single mothers from jeb bush 20 years ago is raising questions today. stay with us. next. ♪♪ expected wait time: 55 minutes. your call is important to us. thank you for your patience. waiter! vo: in the nation, we know how it feels when you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. vo: we put members first... join the nation. thank you. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪

if you truly believe you can work full time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, try it. [ applause ] >> if not, vote to give millions of the hardest working people in

america a raise. >> the president is right. try it. i can't count the amount of people that have come up to me around the country and said, reverend al i live on the minimum wage i can't survive. i can't keep going like this. this is real life. and for people to act like they are being extreme, try living on what they have to live on -- $15,000 a year or less. it's amazing that people could be so insensitive. listen to the real people out there fighting for higher wages. >> i work an entire day of work and it's enough to pay for one can of formula for my son. >> mothers that are paying bills with this, utility bails and making a way for their children and we need a living wage. >> if the wage goes up i can

provide better for my family. i'll do whatever it takes. >> it's a push we've seen all over the country. workers rallying calling for a raise. one central front in this fight has been los angeles. and today, history. the los angeles city council voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. >> it's going to directly impact thousands of lives. >> i'm in the business of helping people and i believe this helps people. >> people who are poor in this city don't get their fair share. >> we can increase the minimum wage and lift those families out of poverty. >> los angeles is now the largest city in the country with a $15 minimum wage. could it be a turning point? joining me now is herb wesson president of the los angeles city council. he presided over today's vote in

the council, which passed 12-1. thank you for being here councilman. >> reverend it's my honor to spend some quality time with you, to celebrate. >> and it is a celebration for working people. it's a historic moment in the fight for higher wages. what's your reaction? >> well in the line of work that i'm in and my colleagues every now and then you have an opportunity to change the world. today we took advantage of that opportunity. we believe that the winds in this country blow from the west to the east and that the action that we took today will have a ripple effect where it just won't lift out of poverty, the 800,000 people we have here in los angeles, but we think this will have an effect throughout the country, changing the lives of millions of working people.

and we're proud to have done that today. we made history. >> that sounds very poetic, the winds blow from the west to the east. and i hope it proves true. what will this raise mean to the workers of los angeles, councilman? >> obviously, it will mean a lot. it will take average yearly income of $15,000 and double it increase it to about 30 $31,000. that's a significant increase but i would still find it challenging to live on $31,000 a year. so this is for us reverend this is the beginning. we are now going to be looking at ways to provide aid and assistance to our businesses. it's important for us that we recognize that business needs labor, and labor needs business. so now we need to do something to give a shot in the arm to our

businesses, to ensure that this works. because the better it works here, i think that it will give the confidence and the courage to other areas throughout the country to do what we believe is the right thing. >> when you say businesses, some would say, what is the down side of giving a heightened minimum wage in this case $15 an hour the chamber of commerce let me play for you what they had to say. the los angeles chamber of commerce. >> a year from now, a hotel worker lost his job. a garment industry worker lost their job. and a dry cleaner picked up stakes and moved into a neighboring city that doesn't have these wage regulations. >> now, that was at one of your meetings. what's your response to that? >> yeah and that was my good friend ruben gonzalez who made that statement. businesses are concerned, and we understand that. that's why we had a nine-month

process to try to address this. and that's one of the reasons why you will see us trying to assist businesses to ensure that they can continue. i don't believe that that's what's going to happen. we've had reports from three different economic analysis. we've had two oversight groups that reviewed what we're trying to do. the key for us now, is just to try to find the balance. so the things that the chamber are concerned about are the very things that we're concerned about as well. we think that we have a plan that's going to address their concerns and we're again, confident. you don't get a 12-1 vote or if every member of the council was there today, it would have been a 14-1 vote. you don't get that unless

there's a high comfort level among the other 14 members of the council. i was proud to be a part of it. i was proud to keep this on the rails, if you will. >> well you did that and it's a big day, and it could lead to huge days all over the country. councilman, thank you so much for your time and congratulations again. >> it's my pleasure. coming up 20 million lower income kids get free school lunches. so what happens in the summer? we need to get on this issue. the kid president is taking action. plus jeb bush has some explaining to do. a comment he made in 1995 on single mothers, and shaming, is getting a lot of attention. you pay your auto insurance premium every month on the dot. you're like the poster child for paying on time. and then one day

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there's controversy tonight about something jeb bush once wrote about single moms. in his 1995 book bush wrote, quote, one of the reasons more young women are dwifing birth out of wed lock and more young men are walking away from their paternal obligations is that there is no longer a stigma attached to this behavior no reason to feel shame. their parents and neighbors have become ineffective at attaching some sense of ridicule to this behavior. so single moms should feel shame? they should be ridiculed? does governor bush still feel that way now? today we reached out to his office for comment, and they pointed to parts of his record that address these issues saying, quote, governor bush has dedicated himself to helping low-income kids in broken homes,

single moms and victims of domestic abuse, so that they can achieve their dreams. that's what he's all about. but his office did not say whether he stood by those comments about shaming single moms. and that's disappointing. there are 10.3 million single moms in the u.s. nearly 70% of them have jobs working hard to feed and care for their families. 44% are white. 29% are black. and 23% are hispanic. there are single moms in every state, in every level of society. they shouldn't be shamed. they should be celebrated. whether they had children out of wed lock or not, those children should not be stigmatized and those moms should be saluted. my dad left when i was young. my mother raised me as a single mom, me and my sister by

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climate change over the next few months with plans to limit emissions from planes and trucks, cut greenhouse gases and crack down on power plants. it's an extension of the president's focus on equality and fairness. because the environment is a civil rights issue. it's about social justice. think about it. if a company is dumping some chemicals into a river, will they do it near a wealthy country club? or will they do it near a poor neighborhood where the people don't have a voice? the headlines tell the story. poor americans face more toxic exposure. climate change affects poor neighborhoods the most. pollution is segregated too. in fact, people living in poor urban areas are at risk for higher rates of cancer asthma and heart attacks because in part, they're more likely to be

exposed to harmful air and water. this is not just an issue for our children or our grandchildren. it's something we should be focused on right now. joining me now is bob dean at the natural resources defense council and carter economic development expert and public radio host from the south bronx. thank you both for being here. >> thank you. >> bob, let me go to you first. how important are these actions from the obama administration the ones they're taking now? >> well reverend this is about doing our part to protect future generations and ourselves across this country, from the dangers of climate change. this president has done more to accomplish that than any leader at any time anywhere on the face of the planet. we're cleaning up our dirty power plants and our trucks and our airplanes. we're building right here in this country, the next

generation of energy-efficient cars, homes, and workplaces. we're getting more power from the wind and the sun. we're driving american innovation creating millions of american jobs and striking a blow against a central environmental challenge of our time. the president knows we can do this. he's not listening to people who say we can't. he believes in the power of american promise and he's not going to let anybody turn him around. that's what presidential leadership is all about. >> a lot of people don't think of the environment as a social justice issue, but it is right? >> i absolutely agree. the bottom line is if by chance all those environmentally burdened facilities had been located near wealthy people, we would have had solutions a long time ago. but the leadership the president is showing on this right now and also create the opportunities to create economic incentives that could support the development of looking at those communities where those facilities are and coming up with alternatives that

also are market-based, that provide great opportunities in renewable energy and other kind of projects like that, than what we have is a way to bring people along through job creation wealth creation. >> we're seeing issues on the local news all the time. watch this. >> persistent complaints about a toxic dust that blows off of those big piles you see behind me there. >> it would be like black dust. so we have to clean that so we keep our windows closed. >> an ongoing study of 600 children living in upper manhattan, details the impact pollution can have on a child's developing brain. >> children who live in this neighborhood are twice as likely as the state average to go to the hospital for asthma. >> in these homes, have an abandoned chemical plant in the backyard. residents say it's a hard to breathe. >> a lot of people sick in this neighborhood. >> everybody, the ambulance been

to just about everybody on this street. >> environmental problems disproportionately effect low-income americans. how do we fix it? >> one of the main ways to do it is to create economic opportunities to counteract that with the kind of technological advances in all sorts of different types of energy efficiency all the techniques associated with that. we absolutely can have the opportunity to make this work now what the president is saying with this plan creating more opportunities for states to actually decide how they want to support innovation in energy reduction and things of that nature we can actually say, these are jobs creators. this is how we can do this. it might be sort of difficult in places where there's energy extraction like coal and oil, but in plenty of other states around this country, we can see an opportunity in particular to help poorer americans, see that there is a clear path between environmental stability

and their economic well-being. >> let me go back to you, bob. the epa was created ironically, by president nixon. but now republicans are known as the anti-environment party. even lindsey graham thinks that needs to change. watch this. >> here's a question to ask everybody running as a republican. what's the environmental policy of the republican party? when i ask that question, i get a blank stare. if i'm president of the united states, we'll address climate change in a business friendly way. i do believe climate change is real. >> this should be a bipartisan issue, but why is there so much pushback from the right? >> well reverend it has been in the past a bipartisan issue, but the environmental safe guards that we depend on to protect air, water, wildlife, and lands were passed by huge majority of republicans and democrats alike. what's happened in the past two years, reverend, the fossil fuel

industry has spent more than $720 million supporting its allies and its agenda in congress. the plan is simple put polluter profits first and put the rest of us at risk. the president is not letting them get away with it. he has a vision for a cleaner, more sustainable america for all of us and he has a plan he recognizes opportunity to advance that vision and we're making enormous progress. >> the president is going to restore pollution protections for streams and wetlands that end up in our water supply. 80% of the voters overall support it. that includes 94% of democrats, 75% of independents and even 68% of republicans. bob, is washington lagging behind the rest of the country on this issue? >> the republican leadership in congress is lagging way behind reverend. this is drinking water that affects one out of every three americans. the new epa rule would protect,

tens of millions of acres of wetland, two million miles of streams, that's where the drinking water is coming from. instead republican leaders in congress are standing up for big industry, big polluters, big acculture, they need to be standing up instead for the people of america who depend on safe drinking water everywhere. >> majora? >> and i bet if we can connect with regular americans, with the fact that cleaner water is often dependent on restoring the retlands where it's naturally filtered through those are jobs. this is how we get regular americans, not the policy wonky people, but regular folks to see that the environment is something that affects them. it affects them in their pocket book, in their lungs. and that's how we can make regular americans think about environment in a different way. >> well this is a social justice issue, a civil rights issue, and we're going to stay on it. bob deans, and majora carter thank you both for your time

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school is coming to an end. the season of young people kids really, being off for the summer is upon us. but there is a huge issue that this presents. do you know during the school year -- let me show you -- home kids have their lunches in the school year at school? 21.5 million children eat every day, their lunch at school. now, in the summer when we see the summer come on and school's on vacation it reduces down to 2.7 million children. so the summer meal program is 2.7 million from the over 21 million. that gives you a difference in the summer of 18.8 million

children that are not getting summer meals. the kid president and internet star took this issue on on the internet, to really try to do something about it to bring awareness to it. and i think that it is applaudable and something that we all need to get behind. let me show you what the kid president had to say. >> so we got a problem, people. the problem is there are kids in america who don't know when their next meal is coming. especially when it's summertime. school's out. they don't know when. that's just not okay. we got to do something about it. and that's why i'm talking to you right now. i need your help. >> and he not only needs your help. these 18.8 million kids need all of our help. do you realize, some of them that's the only balanced meal

they get in a day? for the summer it's over. we can't be that heartless in this country. let's talk to joel berg about it because it's really a problem. joel, these are startling figures when you see them right on the screen and you realize we're not talking about just a few here and there that could be easily dealt with in some city or village. >> absolutely reverend al. 16 million american children live in households that can't afford enough food. >> 16 million? >> yes. they're not starving every night the way they would in somalia or north korea, but they're choosing between food and rent getting less healthy foods, missmiss missing meals. but as you pointed out, 80% of the kids who get school lunch year round do not get summer meals.

>> you know, the programs to feed kids in the summer keep kids healthy, as you say, 16 million in the land of the free and home of the brave, are not getting the right kind of meal. it brings parents relief when they get these meals in school. listen to this. >> i go to work i said i'm not going to rely on food stamps to feed my son. but maybe he only eight twice a day. sometimes on the weekend once. >> i think it's pretty good. the kids seem to enjoy it ask it's an easy meal for me. the parents anywhere a simple way to budget their financial situation a little bit better. >> so this is really-life people on the ground and saying they need the help and that their children's nutrition, the future of our country, is really being dealt with here. >> yeah thank goodness there's a federal program, the summer meals program that provides meals for kids funded by the federal government. and any site that provides

meals, any kid under 18 can show up. the problem is -- >> but that safety net is under attack by the right-wing. >> it's under attack overall. snap is particularly controversial, but there steams to be a broader consensus, that child nutrition programs need support and there's a bipartisan bill in congress that even a conservative congressman from alaska alaska, is supporting ways to ease access to these meals. so i'm hopeful this is one issue we can find bipartisan consensus over. >> and some people are stepping up but we need a whole lot more. the kid president even interviewed another kid who is doing his part to help out. listen to this. >> for my son's birthday i wish that i could give food and not presents. and after that i started doing food drives.

since then i've collected 15,000 pounds of food and $18,000. >> wow. >> wow, that is beautiful. >> thank you. >> that's a kid. people need to get involved in this, joel. pushing their legislators, pushing whatever. tell us how people can be helpful. >> two ways. they can go to our website, www.hunger volunteer.org and find out how to volunteer to increase participation in summer meal sites. also if they're hungry who know people who are hungry call 1-866-3-hungry and get the information about the summer meals breakfast and lunch sites closest to them. >> joel berg thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. coming up first lady michelle obama delivers an emotional graduation speech in her hometown of chicago.

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straight ahead, first lady michelle obama goes home to the south side of chicago and talks personally to students about the struggles she went through. that's next. >> i was born and raised here on the south side in south shore, and i am who i am today because of this community. i know the struggles many of you face, but more importantly, i also know the strengths of this community. now i use this. the nicoderm cq patch, with unique extended release technology helps prevent the urge to smoke all day. i want this time to be my last time.

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speeches over the last few weeks. she talked passionately about race and obstacles to overcome. last night, she went home to chicago's south side giving the commencement address to king college prep high school where all 177 graduates from have been accepted to college. it was personal and moving. it would have been hadiya pendleton's graduation. two years ago, she was fatally shot days after marching in president obama's inaugural parade. the school left an empty chair for hadiya draped in purple her favorite color. her family was also presented with a cap and gown and class ring, the first lady talked about the violence students have had to deal with in chicago. >> if hadiya's friends and family could survive the

heartbreak and pain if they can find organizations to honor her unfulfilled dreams if they can inspire folks across this country to wear orange in protest to gun violence then i know you all can live your life with the same determination and joy that hadiya lived her life. i know you all can dig deep and keep on fighting to fulfill your own dreams. >> the first lady added, growing up wasn't easy talking about her own south side struggles. >> i was born and raised here on the south side in south shore, and i am who i am today because of this community. i know the struggles many of you face, how you walk the long way home to avoid the gangs, how you fight to concentrate on your homework when there's too much noise at home how you keep it together when your families are having hard times making ends

meet. but more importantly, i also know the strengths of this community. and i'm here tonight because i want people across this country to know that story. the real story of the south side. the story of that quiet majority of good folks, families like mine and young people like all of you, who face real challenges, but make good choices every single day. >> yes, we need to have legislations about guns. yes, we need to have better community-police relations, but we also must instill in young people, a sense of hope a sense of self-esteem, a sense of they don't have to succumb to the temptations of violence and decadence in our community.

and when a first lady when anyone that can come out of the environment and say, i'm a living example of what you could be that hope will get us to where we need to go. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. no escape. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. this war we know is bad. usually the bugles are blowing and the crowd is cheering yet here we go back into iraq knowing how little hope there is lacking any faith in our side. how can president obama sound the trumpet for a war that's already lost? and the story i love how two bad guys got through thick